"All passengers, please be seated. The train is about to initiate the warp jump." Pom-Pom interjected into their conversation. As the train's Conductor, its words carried weight, Pom!
"March, what are you doing?" Star, having finished her usual antics, looked strangely at March 7th, who was standing in the middle of the aisle muttering numbers.
"Trying to stand through the warp jump activation without falling over." March 7th kept her eyes closed but still gave Star a thumbs-up.
Star glanced over at Himeko, saw she didn't say anything, and quietly sat back down in her spot.
"So that's how it is." Correct, Tian An was currently introducing this universe to our dear Teacher Te. She felt that if she fed Teacher Te enough information, she could become even stronger.
"And then there's the Express Crew. The Astral Express is a product of Akivili, the Aeon of Trailblaze, it..."
Scrape.... Scrape...
Tian An was still excitedly chatting internally with Teacher Te when a scraping sound came from beneath her feet.
"It possesses the power of Trailblaze..."
Scrape.... Scrape...
"...of...."
Scrape... Scrape...
Alright, let me see what's going on here.
Tian An was quite displeased by the noise interrupting her, so she prepared to look down and identify the culprit.
"Theresia, what are you doing now?" Star glanced over again and saw Tian An searching for something.
Tian An looked all around her feet but didn't see anything strange.
"Um... Your Highness... do you know what that thing is?" Tian An tried asking Theresia for help.
"Regrettably, I'm not sure either." Theresia indicated she didn't know either.
Scrape.... Scrape....
Ugh.....
"Theresia, can you teach me how to perceive my surroundings?" Tian An decided to solve the problem herself.
"I could, but are you sure you don't want to look ahead?"
"Look ahead?" Tian An followed her line of sight forward, only to discover a pair of bright, intense eyes under the opposite sofa, watching her nervously.
???
"Wah!..."
As a scream rang out, the light waves caused by the warp jump arrived simultaneously. After a violent, earth-shaking tremor, the train suddenly plunged into darkness, only to be re-illuminated by the lights moments later.
Star heard the sound too, but before she could even voice a question, everything went dark.
By the time everyone regained their senses, the train had already completed its jump.
"Hiss..... Oww....." March 7th lay moaning pitifully on the floor. She had been standing just fine, then was suddenly hit by something unknown, and the next thing she knew, she was sprawled flat on her back.
Star was even more of a spectacle. Having heard the scream, she had subconsciously stood up and was now face-planted onto the sofa.
Only our Tian An remained securely seated.
Ahem....
"What was that...." March 7th couldn't open her eyes against the bright lights and could only try to fumble her way up.
But before her hands had moved much, she touched something soft.
Forcing herself to endure the discomfort of the light, she cracked open her eyes slightly.
"Eek, who are you?!" Lying on top of March 7th was none other than a short figure.
A girl with long hair was tightly clutching the pocket on March 7th's clothes, refusing to let go.
"Is this... a child?" March 7th stared in astonishment at the person sprawled on top of her.
"How could there be a child on the train?" Himeko was also puzzled and quickly walked over.
At March 7th's request, Star forcefully lifted the child up.
Seeing herself being lifted, the little girl quickly closed her eyes and covered her head with her hands.
"Little friend, how did you get up here? Where are your parents?" Himeko asked gently.
"Mmph.... Mmph! Mmph!" The little girl resisted Star's grip with low grunts, forcing her to put her down.
Her height only reached Star's waist.
The little girl ran in front of Tian An and pointed at her haughtily.
Tian An had been watching the commotion, not expecting to suddenly become the center of attention again.
"Little friend, can you tell us where your mommy and daddy are?" March 7th also came over, trying to speak to this uncommunicative little cutie.
"Mmph! Mmph!" The little girl pointed somewhat excitedly at Tian An, occasionally hopping up and down.
"Uh... me?" Tian An was inexplicably caught in the crossfire again.
"Are you saying she's your mom?" Star pointed at Tian An, expressing extreme doubt.
Then, silence fell over the car.
Until the little girl leaped directly into Tian An's arms, unceremoniously grabbed her horn, and started digging around for something on it.
"Y-You calm down first!" Tian An didn't dare make any sudden movements towards her and could only let her rummage around.
Finally, the little girl jumped back down, opened her right hand, and held out a name tag.
"Tian.... Ning?" March 7th read out the crooked characters on the tag.
"Mmm-hmm~ Mmm-hmm~" The little girl, whose name had been called, nodded with satisfaction.
So she was looking for her name tag, that scared me.... But why was her name tag on my horn?
"Can you not speak?" Welt had also approached. He had just sent a message to Dan Heng, indicating that there was a new situation.
"I.... am.... Tian.... Ning." Hearing someone doubt her, Tian Ning used all her strength to utter these four words.
Even though the words were spoken awkwardly, much like a baby babbling.
Afraid they wouldn't understand, Tian Ning repeated more excitedly while jumping, "I... am! Tian.... Ning!"
"Okay, okay, we know you're Tian Ning. Do you know why you're here?" March 7th quickly agreed. She felt like if she didn't respond soon, the little girl before her might just strain herself to death.
"Is there something wrong with her language system...." Star whispered quietly to Tian An.
"Uh, I don't know," How would Tian An know?
Hearing March 7th's question, Tian Ning stared intently at her, then shook her head.
"Where are your parents?"
"Don't.... Don't... have," Tian Ning struggled more and more to speak.
"....." The train car instantly became very quiet.
"So, you're saying our Express crew has inexplicably gained another member?" Pom-Pom had been watching from the back for a while.
"Looks like it...." March 7th said, scratching her head.
"Mmm.... Mmm!"
Although Tian Ning was a little loli, she was still much taller than Pom-Pom. And now, she had become very interested in the fluffy rabbit before her.
But she didn't just rush up and start cuddling or anything. Instead, she took out a small doll from the pocket of her little black jacket, handed it to Tian An, and then gestured with her eyes towards Pom-Pom over there.
Tian An took the object from her hand, completely bewildered, only to realize.....
Isn't this Big Daddy?