The mighty steps of the engine car at the front of the Trailmarcher reverberated throughout the train.
The Trailmarcher’s large Mech-Heart provided it with a large but stable supply of power, allowing the gigantic magical instrument to run across the length of the kingdom. The Trail was meant to display the Kingdom of Ogdenn’s might and technological prowess to other nations, and for several other reasons besides that, it remained in service without any lapses regardless of any problems occurring in its surroundings.
“Whew! I ride in freight cars every day, but it’s been a helluva long time since I’ve ridden in a passenger car! Come to think of it, it’s the first time since I came to the city.”
“Father...your posture is rather unbecoming.”
Watt had slovenly cast himself across the seat in one of the first-class cabins Otto had arranged for them. Riding in a first-class car was more than expensive enough to make someone on Watt’s income think twice. The cabin was as spacious as it was expensive, however; the seat offered Watt plenty of space to lounge around in, even with his height.
Despite furrowing her brow at the fact that Watt was a grown man acting like a child, she could only sigh after she noticed Meddié was sprawled out too. As a proper lady, it simply wouldn’t do for her to act unseemly before them.
“It was just the other day that I came to Front-Edge City on the Trailmarcher,” Anna pondered. “It feels like it’s been so much longer than that, though.”
“If that’s how much you liked being there,” Meddié replied, “then I’m just as happy as you are!”
Anna gave a vague smile and nodded back. It wasn’t just that she’d come to “like” the city—after spending almost all of her life around the palace, the city had been her first chance to engage with the outside world. As short as her time there might have been, it had been a meaningful experience for her, filled with all sorts of stimulation and excitement.
“Even on the famed Kingdom’s Trail, it’ll take us a while to get to the capital,” Watt said. “Might as well take it easy and get some shut-eye while we’re traveling!”
“And miss out on this?!” Meddié objected, leaning forward. “It’s your big chance to take a trip on a Trailmarcher! I’m the master of the Trail—you just leave all this to me!”
Meddié leaned forward while Watt tilted his head to the side.
“I help pops, see?” she said. “I’ve been on the Trail several times on Socom Co. business.”
“Guess you were doin’ that, now that I think about it...”
In fact, Watt had even seen Meddié off as a station worker. It finally dawned on him that she’d been going on company business.
“Heh heh!” she went on. “The Trailmarchers running on the Kingdom’s Trail are the largest and most luxurious of all! And there are plenty of other Trails out there too! Don’t even get me started on the amenities. My pick out of all of them is the dining car, though! You can try foods from all over the kingdom!”
“They pay you to say that?” Watt said.
No match for Meddié’s passion, the group followed her oh-so-confident lead and staggered off to the dining car. Along the way, they noticed a bulletin board. These were used to list all sorts of notices from all over the kingdom, and sometimes even messages addressed to certain individuals were attached there.
Noticing a face she could’ve sworn she recognized in the corner of the bulletin board, Anna froze in place, absorbed.
“Umm...is there any chance that...this might be you, father?”
“Huh? Master?” Meddié asked. “Where? Hmm... It’s a lot more sinister than the real deal, but...it does look a lot like him!”
“Hey, what the hell kinda take is that?” Watt demanded. “Actually, wait a sec—did you say that’s me?”
It was enough to make even Meddié stare and nod, leaving Watt to rush to inspect the flyer. It was, without a doubt, a portrait of him. Something about it seemed off somehow, but that was probably because the portrait looked younger than he did in real life.
More than his depiction, however, the real issue was the message written beneath it:
“WANTED FOR TREASON AGAINST THE ROYAL FAMILY”
“Now hold up just one darn minute! There’s no reason to just slap me on a wanted list! Ugh, it’s gotta be those damn ruffians behind this. They couldn’t get the better of me on the battlefield, so this is what they stoop to!”
Unable to hold his tongue, Watt clutched his head in his hands. He didn’t even have to stop and think about who did it or how. The culprit had to be someone who knew Watt, was able to put him on a wanted list, and would want to charge him with treason against the royal family of all things; that narrowed things down tremendously.
“W-Wait, this isn’t good! We’re on our way to the capital! If we get put on a wanted list, then—!”
Meddié grew flustered, but it was already too late for that. A voice spoke up from behind them as they panicked.
“Is something amiss? Some sort of problem?”
They flinched as they turned around, finding themselves greeted by none other than the patrol soldiers making their rounds through the Trailmarcher. Suspicious of the way the group froze and failed to respond immediately, the soldiers’ eyes fell on the bulletin board to their side. The gang rushed to cover up the wanted flyer, but they were too late. The soldiers looked at the wanted flyer and then at Watt, their expressions growing visibly more and more stern.
“Hey, don’t tell me, you’re—!”
“Run for it!!!”
Watt made his decision in a split second. He rushed to grab Anna before dashing off as fast as his legs would carry him, with Meddié running along after him.
“Stop at once!” the soldiers shouted. “It’s a wanted criminal! We’ve got a wanted criminal onboard!”
Behind them, the group heard the shrill screech of a soldier’s whistle ringing out.
“Aaaaaaaaaah, I’m innoceeeeeent!”
“Those charges are egregiously false! We’ll have to officially appeal them and have them dropped!” Anna added.
“That ain’t how this works!” Watt replied. “We could appeal all day, and it wouldn’t do a lick of good!”
As the group darted through the inside of the Trailmarcher as fast as they could, more patrol soldiers who’d heard the whistle began to gather from all over.
“A wanted criminal?! Where?!”
“Keep your eyes peeled! Apparently, he’s vicious scum who plotted treason against the royal family!”
“And he’s taken a young girl as a hostage! The scoundrel’s as cowardly as they come!”
“You gotta be kiddin’ me!” Watt said. “They’re slappin’ even more charges on me?!”
“They’ve got the facts all wrong!” Meddié replied. “But now’s not the time to be worrying about that, master!”
Pushing through the other passengers frantically trying to escape, Watt and the others dashed through the train, with the soldiers forming a single unit to chase after them.
Just as the soldiers had made their way through the gangway and entered the next car, they found the pathway leading farther into the train empty of any traces of their target.
“Where’d that criminal go?!”
“I don’t know, but if we chase him all the way to the car at the end, he won’t be getting away! Now come on!”
The shouts and sound of footsteps sank into the distance.
“Looks like they’re gone.”
Moments after the soldiers left, a passenger cabin door inched open as Meddié stuck her face out to inspect their surroundings. After making sure that no one was following them, she slowly retreated back into the room.
“Whew! Good thing there was an empty cabin, huh?”
“No kidding! Now that was a scramble!”
If they hadn’t found this room along the way, they would’ve dashed to the end of the Trailmarcher only to find themselves trapped. The three of them sighed and quietly discussed their next steps.
“What’re we going to do? We’re still a long way from the capital.”
“Well, too bad for us, it looks like the Trailmarcher isn’t an option. What about renting a Mech-steed or something?”
“The cost is one thing, but more importantly, it’d take way too long,” Watt replied. “It sure wouldn’t look good if we got there and everything was already said and done!”
As they were speaking, the Trailmarcher began to slow down. Now that he thought about it, it was just about time for them to arrive at the next station.
“This is perfect! We can make our break this way!”
Watt opened a window in the passenger car. After seeing that they were close enough to the station, the three of them leaped out the window without waiting for the train to come to a stop. Turning their backs to the hustle and bustle of the station, they dashed away as fast as they could.
“You’d better believe I won’t forget this, you damn bandits! When I get to the capital, I’m gonna punch you into next week with Lord Gryphon!”
“Man, this is the worst! We didn’t even get to eat!” Meddié moaned.
“This is the first time I’ve ever gotten off a train while it’s moving! It’s just so exciting somehow!”
“Like hell it is!”
With a trail of screams behind them, the three shadows disappeared into the trees.