Work Text:
This car doesn't look great, she decided with a quiet huff only she (and maybe Atticus) could hear.
The three stood at the door, staring into the new car with disdain. A maze. It looked to be made of concrete, and dimly lit.
"This will all end in tears, I just know it," One-One muttered quietly in the background.
Tulip shrugged off her backpack and opened it, pulling out her beloved notebook. She flipped it open and jotted a few things down, mumbling to herself.
Atticus looked at her, tilting his head. "What are you writing?" the dog asked, curious.
"A summary of the last few cars," Tulip muttered. "Uneventful, boring summaries, If I may say..." She closed the book with a soft thud. "I don't know why I bother," she grumbled.
The king gave her a sympathetic smile and a patient look. "What's wrong?"
Tulip's frown faltered and she apologised. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired and... I've been on the train for... how long? Three months? And we're no closer to the engine. You'd think this train was infinite," she half-joked. "After this car, I'd like a nap."
Atticus nodded. "That's a good idea. Just be patient, Tulip. We're a team, and we'll keep working together until we achieve our goals." He grinned proudly.
Tulip smiled, thankful. At least she had her friends by her side. She didn't know what she'd do without them. She turned to peer back into the car. "Welp... let's go." She stepped in.
Her boots hit the hard gray floor. Instantly, the sounds from the train seemed to vanish. It was startlingly silent. The constant sound of wind went absent, and the steady hum of the train disappeared. She peered back through the door as One-One and Atticus followed through.
In most cars, the sounds very rapidly vanish, but you can still hear through the door, especially if it's still open or you press your ear up to it, though the exact distance it went silent seemed to vary by car. She had tested this extensively and recorded it all in her journal.
Well, she'd note that in this car's summary. She lightly kicked a wall with her boot. Yep. That's concrete.
She quickly looked over the car for any dangers. She figured she'd hear anything coming in this silence, so this car must be empty.
She quickly came to the conclusion the most dangerous thing in this car was its awful aesthetic. Entirely gray and badly lit- by apparently invisible sources, as the ceiling was also concrete and had no light fixtures. Her shadow was barely visible on the wall, like it was a very cloudy day.
Atticus padded in right behind her, giving everything a good sniff, tail high, as always. One-One trotted in behind him, merrily humming some song to himself. Atticus wagged his tail to the unsteady beat.
Tulip found it utterly adorable, and made a mental note to add that to this car's summary.
"How long do you think this car will take?" Atticus asked.
Tulip shrugged, thinking it over. "Some mazes take a few minutes... That one car with the city in it took days, and people were helping us. So... I'd guess this car will take an hour or two?" She frowned at that, really hoping it would be much quicker. This car was ugly. Abandoned parking lots were more picture-esque, and way more lively, by far.
The king thought over this. One-One chimed in cheerfully, "Time flies when you're with friends!"
The king gave a firm nod. "Those are wise words."
Tulip chuckled to herself. "Well, we should start going. The quicker we start, the quicker we finish," she declared, spinning around to start the trek.
Atticus' yelp was cut off as something slammed down behind her, painfully loud.
Her ears rang and she screamed, jumping and twisting around to see what had happened. Her heart beat like a drum. Had the ceiling collapsed? Had her friends been hurt?
A wall.
A wall had appeared out of nowhere, separating her from the others. And she had no idea how thick it was. For all she knew, it was feet thick and had gotten her companions.
She stared in shock for a long moment, too scared to move. Maybe another wall would fall. It was dead silent, barring her quick and shallow breathing.
She panicked.
"Hey! Can you hear me!?" She banged against the wall. It was just as solid as the floor beneath her, and wouldn't budge.
She kicked at the wall in vain. She tried to call for the others. She couldn't hear them, so she assumed they couldn't hear her.
After a minute, she calmed down a bit, and forced herself to take a deep breath and make some plan.
Okay. So a wall had fallen and separated them... and ignoring the new wall, nothing had changed. There didn't seem to be any threat or danger, but that didn't mean there was none. She learned you couldn't judge a book by its cover. Some trap could be hiding around a corner. Pressure plates, arrows, trip wires, pit traps...
And what about the other two? Had One-One and Atticus been separated, too?
She stared off down the maze's dark halls. Anxiety whelmed in her.
Well, she wouldn't know until she found them and asked, and she can't sit here forever. She needed to find her friends and the exit. They can't hear her from here, clearly.
She went over all of her experiences in mazes and made up a plan. An amazingly new and clever plan, never before thought of.
She placed her right hand on the wall and started walking.
. . .
The corgi whimpered in pain, his ears pinned down tightly, and his tail hid between his legs.
The thunderous bang made his head ache. He panted and blinked his eyes open. He stared at the wall in shock.
His eyes darted around, then he spun around. His friends weren't there. Two walls had closed in on him, one behind and one in front. But thankfully he wasn't trapped. One of the side walls seemingly opened up, leading into the maze.
His heart raced like a rabbit and he shivered. He was alone! His friends might be hurt or worse!
But he stilled himself from spiralling. He wanted to lay down in a tight ball and sleep until he felt better, but no. He took in a deep breath.
I am a king! I can't give up! His tail slowly unfurled and rose into the air. His ears perked. He had learned long ago to put his fears behind him, for the sake of his people.
Even here, where the silence was so loud it scared him, and there was no one by his side... He channelled his determination.
He listened intently for any sound at all, in utter vain. Even in the quietest days in Corginia, the river ran, the wind blew, and dogs walked. But here, he could hear his own heartbeat, breathing, and his fur brushing against itself.
He started walking in circles just so he could hear his paw steps. He lowered his nose and focused deeply. He could smell Tulip by one wall and One-One by the other, but the walls cut them off. The smell of concrete was the only other thing.
The dog's tail wagged. He could focus on the bright side of things: He would easily be able to catch their trail in a car like this, with no wind or other obstacles. All he had to do was explore until he caught something.
With a plan in mind, he set off.
Yes, he was scared. The silence was worrying and the smell of stone was quickly growing old, and he was alone... But his friends could be in danger, or even just scared, and he was set on finding them and reuniting his group.
He set off down a random hall.
. . .
One-One stared at the wall in front of him, eyes wide with shock.
A whirl of emotions and thoughts stormed and fought in his mind.
Dread and anxiety mixed with nonchalant curiosity, pessimism battled optimism. He wanted to both shrug it off and continue on like nothing had happened, and cower in fear and weep.
All of this equalled out, and all he managed to do was to stare in shock.
After the initial panic died down and nothing else seemed to happen, he debated on what to do. He eventually settled on following the more logical choice, something he'd seen Tulip do in mazes before.
After a brief moment of internal arguing, he decided to use his left hand, trailing it against the wall as he walked in a random direction that he decided looked lucky enough.
...
This might take a while, he realized, rather quickly. The silence was boring and he had nothing to do but walk. He kept getting distracted and almost missing a turn or swapping hands. When he realized he was humming, he grumbled to himself bitterly. Focus, or else we'll be stuck here forever.
Really, he had enough of that in the snow car, and didn't need anymore.
"Fine," he said to himself, the optimistic half sounding surprisingly cold. (It happened on occasion.)
He gave a nod. "Good," The other half said simply.
...
A few minutes passed.
"I am bored though," Glad-One said.
"I'm well aware," Sad-One replied briskly.
"Let's play a game? Twenty Guesses?"
"I need to focus... and isn't it 'Twenty Questions'?" Sad asked.
"Is it? Well, OK. But can we please play? It'll pass the time quicker. And I hate the silence."
Sad groaned to himself. "Fine, fine. You can start."
One-One hopped a little. "Yay! OK. I have something. Guess."
Sad thought about it, but tried not to cheat by thinking about what he was thinking about. "Is it alive?"
"No," Glad said.
"Is it something in this car?" Sad asked.
"No."
"Is it... in one of the last cars we were in?"
"Uh... no." Glad thought it over then said.
"Is it something on the train?" Sad asked. (He immediately called himself stupid because everything that exists, can exist, has existed, or will exist, exists on the train. It doesn't narrow it down at all.)
"Yes!" Glad inevitably replied. "And how many guesses do you have left?"
Sad counted. "We have.... I have sixteen questions left. How about: Is it in one of the first cars we went through with Tulip?"
"Yes!" Glad chirped. "Traveling with Miss Tulip has been so much fun, hasn't it? Then Atticus joined us and made everything even better!"
"I suppose so..." One-One stopped and glanced backwards, making sure he hadn't missed a turn. Then he continued talking to himself. "Is it something in Corginia?"
"Nope!" Glad said.
"Is it... something from the first car?" he asked, a bit hesitantly.
"Yes," Glad said.
"Is it cold?" Sad asked.
"Wasn't everything?" Glad asked, suddenly sounding baffled.
"Oh. Uhm. Yes," Sad mumbled, wondering how he could've possibly forgotten. "Is it... made of salt?" he asked skeptically.
"Ah- um... it... Maybe?" Glad stumbled over his words. "I mean, it looks like it, so it must be... but wait... " He trailed off, trying to remember what salt was, exactly.
"It's snow," Sad declared.
"You're right!" One-One cheered and jumped up and down in celebration.
"So you'll be quiet now?" Sad asked hesitantly and softly, not wanting to offend or demoralize the other half. Glad must've understood because he just nodded, and as a whole, One-One felt pretty content.
He continued down the path. He tried listening for his friends. He didn't hear a thing. He tried calling out for them, and got no reply. He gave up on that idea. He trotted down the corridors and realized he was humming again.
He came to a T. This is going to take forever! He bemoaned in his mind.
"Maybe if we split up," Glad suggested, "We can quickly check down halls just to see if they're dead ends or not? Maybe the exit is just around that corner, but we continue going left, it'll be hours before we find it!"
Sad frowned. "That's not a good idea. We should minimize getting lost to zero. We shouldn't split up at all."
Glad frowned too. "But it might be quicker. I hate this car and I want to leave as soon as possible."
Sad hummed softly. "Let's try to be logical about this."
"I think I'm being logical," Glad said.
One-One shook his head, starting to feel on edge. He paced in place, anxiously. He hated when he disagreed with himself.
"I don't want to get hurt," One-One said quietly.
"Look, it'll be fine," Glad said reassuringly. "But If you don't want to do it, we won't. Let's continue walking, ok?" He smiled lightly.
Sad thought it over. "No... let's... Well, now, I want to check that corner. Just run over there real quick and be right back, got it?"
One-One, having settled on an idea, felt better again. "Got it!" he replied happily. He split into two. The optimistic half took a few steps away, paused, darted back to headbutt the other in a sort of hug, then raced down the hall.
Sad-One felt a spark of a bunch of emotions (surprise, shyness, embarrassment, then amusement), and went to wave goodbye.
Before he could lift his arm, a wall crashed down between them, and the two were separated.
. . .
He stared in utter horror.
All he could see was every worst case scenario, being simulated in vivid detail in his mind. Glad was crushed to death, or damaged far beyond repair, and he'd be forced to live by himself for the rest of eternity. He'd never find anyone else. He'd be alone and lost forever in a car worse than the Snow Car.
Even if he found the exit, he could never open it. Tulip might leave him behind or starve, and so could Atticus-
He was frozen in place. He dropped his arm. Trying to wave goodbye? How stupid. They never should have split apart! It was entirely his fault this happened, he never should have agreed to splitting up.
If he could breathe, he would've been hyperventilating. He shook and heard a sob come out of him.
Oh god, I'm going to die- I'm not going to die, I'm going to live and it's going to be so much worse-
He covered his face and wept.
. . .
He stared in utter horror.
It was a rare, novel, and entirely unpleasant feeling that coursed through Glad and made itself home. He didn't have much to compare it to. (Getting lost in a blizzard was the closest thing, but it had not been nearly this bad, because he could simply follow Sad's voice.)
He couldn't be alone. He couldn't truly live without his other half. It would be like a human trying to live without half of their brain, or body. (Do-able, but not advisable.)
While he could split himself in two easily with no problems, he couldn't remember a time when he'd been forcibly kept apart. Oh! Sad must be so scared! He must be blaming himself! Glad felt terrible.
It was entirely his fault this happened, he never should have suggested splitting up. Couldn't he have been patient?
He scrambled at the wall. He jumped into it, hoping it would disappear like it was an illusion. They had been through cars like that.
But instead of falling through, he slammed into it and fell. He yelped in pain, though it didn't actually hurt him.
Desperate, he clawed at the wall. He almost felt like a magnet, being denied stability. Everything he tried was in vain, and he really did try. The wall wouldn't leave, it wouldn't listen to him. Why not? He felt so painfully out of control, and he suddenly had the strange feeling that Sad wasn't the only thing he had lost.
At some point, he decided he was just wasting time being angry at a wall. He should actually do something useful... Logical, reasonable...
He didn't think about those often, but he thought it was a good idea. He should continue going through the maze. Then, he might find Sad-One. Or Tulip and Atticus, but he mostly thought about One-One. He needed to find himself.
(And obviously he couldn't phase through the wall. This isn't how this car worked, he'd tried.)
He steadied himself and declared he would find the others. Even if dread nipped at him, he pushed it away. He tried to remember what hand he'd been using (left or right... surely right) and continued on, right hand to the wall. He hoped it wasn't a dead end.
Onward! He mentally cheered himself up. He'd push on, and reunite with the others.
. . .
Tulip took a quick break when her stomach demanded it. Her throat was starting to hurt from calling out names, and her palm felt rough, from being dragged on concrete for so long.
She crouched down and rummaged through her backpack. Past her notebooks and pens, she had a few snacks. Just enough to last a few cars if they got stuck. She had fruits and bread for herself, and she saved almost all of the meat products she found, like jerky, for Atticus.
She grabbed a banana and ate, leaning against the wall she was following.
Her opinions on the car hadn't changed much. It was extraordinarily boring, but probably not dangerous. She hadn't found any traps. The worst thing she found was the hundredth dead end.
She frowned as she thought about the others. Atticus and One-One were together, right? She had only seen one wall fall. She could ponder it all day, but it wouldn't help, and she'd never know until she found them.
She still worried, though. She knew Atticus was brave and determined, but he could go hungry or thirsty. Tulip was the one hauling all the food and water. And while One-One couldn't go hungry, he was very emotional.
She fretted he was stuck in a loop, or stuck... She shifted her weight from foot to foot.
Just focus on finding them first. It won't help anyone if I stand around and imagine what could've happened... but I hope they're okay...
. . .
Sad-One didn't have the best sense of time (or spatial awareness, for that matter) But he still figured a decent stretch of time had passed.
He didn't feel like crying anymore. The pain and fear had mellowed into a lonely melancholy.
He didn't want to be here. He didn't want this.
So... Think about it logically, he told himself. Sitting here won't help... I have to find Glad. I'll just... keep going through the maze.
It took an obscene amount of effort to haul himself up. He trudged back to the wall. He tried to bring to mind a vivid image of finding everyone else. What they'd say and what he'd do. It distracted him from the present despair, and encouraged him, even if just a little.
He trailed his left hand against the wall and he walked.
His LED 'eye' was still the shape of a tear. He was dimly aware of that, and doubted it would change. He managed to stifle back the crying.
Why did he cry? It served no purpose. He was a robot, he didn't have tear ducts or vocal chords, so why did his screen change to display tears, and his voice box simulate the sounds? Why did he have those sub-routines? It wasn't very logical.
After a few minutes of deeply pondering this, he calmed down. He liked thinking about philosophical stuff and logical problems. It distracted him and helped calm him down.
When he managed to find his voice again, he went to calling out names.
He hesitated, unsure of who to call for. Atticus, Tulip, and... One-One? But he was One-One?
If I am split in half, would each half separately be called One? Or are we sharing the same name, One-One?
In his mind, he sometimes referred to his halves as 'Sad' and 'Glad', because they rhymed and fit, but those were more of nicknames than proper names. And he always called himself One-One...
Hm.
He settled on 'One-One'.
He pushed away the thoughts of writing an obituary, deeming them useless. He didn't have paper, either way.
He rubbed his arm against his face as if he were wiping tears away, before steadily continuing down the maze.
. . .
Atticus finally caught something.
A new scent. It stood out from the dull concrete and smelled metallic and faintly like carpet and paper. (The previous car they had been in was a library.) Atticus' first thought was that Tulip was bleeding. His ears flattened and his tail lowered, and he felt a quiet growl in his throat at the thought of something attacking her.
but then he realized it lacked the smell of tulip herself, and that pungent plant called 'Onion' Tulip loved so dearly. He had no idea why anyone would eat those.
It was just metal, specifically, like a very faint version of the metal of the train itself and plastic.
The king's tail wagged once more and his ears perked. One-One!
The dog followed his nose, trotting down a few paths, making sure the trail got stronger and not fainter. "One-One!" he barked a few times. His grin faltered when he got no response. Was the robot hurt?
His pace quickened with worry. He called louder.
He darted around a corner. "One-One-" he cut himself off.
One of One-One's halves stared at him, tear-shaped eye wide, with a hand trailing against the wall.
Atticus broke into a run, tail wagging furiously. One-One ran towards him.
The two met in the middle. Atticus booped the robot with his nose. "One-One!" He panted happily. "I'm glad to see you're okay!"
One-One shivered and made a choking sound, startling the king who recoiled back. The small robot cowered and pressed himself against the dog, as if afraid he would freeze to death without his warmth.
Atticus' tail lowered and his eyes widened. "Are you okay?" he asked gently. He slowly layed down and carefully rested some of his weight on them. He thought about how when he was a pup, he was comforted by the pressure of his friends and family when they cuddled together. A blanket of warmth and protection.
One-One spoke up after a long moment. "No," they muttered quietly. Atticus recognised it as the sadder half.
"Where is... your other half?" the king asked gingerly.
"I don't know!" wailed One-One. "We split up to check something out, but then a wall fell and separated us! I can't stand to be alone any longer! I have no idea where I am or how long it's been and- and it took everything I had just to get up and walk! I can't do this anymore!" He cried.
The dog licked him and nuzzled him. "It's okay," he murmured softly.
He had learned from experience that keeping himself calm in worrying situations inspired his followers to stay calm too. He would lead by example. "We found each other. We'll stick together and make sure we aren't separated. We'll find the others."
The robot's tear-shaped eye finally changed back to a regular circle. "Thank you, Atticus," he said quietly.
The king smiled. "It's my duty to make sure you're safe," he said with an air of proud royalty, head high.
"Says who?" Sad-One asked, muffled by fur.
"Myself," Atticus declared simply.
The robot shook, and Atticus was proud to know it was from amusement, not fear. One-One laughed almost silently.
"I think the best way to stay together is if you ride me," the king explained. "We don't know how far of a distance is needed for a wall to be activated, and we shouldn't take any chances."
Sad nodded and didn't say anything, but stood up. Atticus shifted his weight to set the robot free. One-One went to Atticus' side and propped himself onto two legs, climbing up onto his back. Atticus helped him, nosing him up. One-One carefully situated himself and hooked his legs around the dog.
Atticus slowly stood up, then started walking. Slow and carefully at first, but when One-One proved he could hold on, he slid into a steady trot, nose low to the ground.
"How long has it been?" the robot asked after a while.
"Since what?" the king asked.
"Since we entered this car," he clarified.
"I'd say... An hour."
Sad groaned. "It feels like longer..."
The king gave a brisk nod and turned to look over his shoulder at One-One. "Don't worry, we'll be out of here soon enough. I once heard that time flies when you're with a friend," the king joked lightly, ear flicking.
One-One was torn between laughing or crying at the irony, so he just smiled.
. . .
Glad watched as the minutes ticked by, and felt the hope drain from him each step. It had been an hour by now since he'd lost Sad. Sixty minutes and twenty seconds by now.
He had an internal clock. At most, it was vaguely useful, as he could tell Tulip if it was night or day regardless of where they were. His internal timer was more accurate. He could count the seconds they spent in a car, and used to time Tulip at her request.
So he was left with a stopwatch, counting the amount of time he spent in this car.
It made him feel on edge, like it was counting up to something. Like it was taunting him about the time he was wasting here.
One-One forced himself to keep his right hand to the wall, but kept forgetting and raising it. In his mind, he tried drawing an internal map, but it was just lines of loops and dead ends.
He turned a corner and stopped.
Another dead end.
He wanted to scream. He stomped a foot and internally writhed in frustration. It felt like everything crashed down on him at once.
Why did he ever suggest splitting up? How stupid of him! Now he was going to be lost in here for who knows how long! He imagined what would happen if the others left without him. He'd have to wait by himself until somebody else came, and happened to stumble upon him, and happened to agree to letting him out.
He decided this was the worst car, and he'd get rid of it if he ever had the opportunity to do so.
It was too much to bear. He let himself collapse onto the floor and shiver. He wasn't made for this. He couldn't handle this. The silence filled his head and he felt devastatingly alone, without another voice in his mind.
If Sad was here, they could feel miserable together! Then Glad would be happy enough (Because Sad's mere company was enough for him to feel better) to cheer them both up!
He tried not to cry. That's not what he was meant to do.
I can't do this, I can't be alone- I'm not made for this-
He heard footsteps and froze.
. . .
Tulip stared down the hallway in shock.
After turning a corner, she saw half of One-One laying on the ground in the middle of the call. He was facing away from her and crying.
It was wrong in so many ways.
It was the optimistic half's voice that sobbed instead of the pessimistic half's. The other half was nowhere in sight. Glad was sitting in the dark, not moving.
Fear pulsed through her. They HAD been separated! Before she knew it, she was flying down the hall. She fell to the floor and scooped him up into a tight hug.
"One-One! What happened!? Are you okay?" She held him tightly like someone might try to pull him away.
The robot stumbled over his words. "Me and- I split up and then a wall separated us and- I can't be alone anymore! Please please please don't leave me alone!"
"Calm down!" Tulip breathed. "You're with me now, and I won't let you go. I swear." She said gently but firmly.
One-One calmed down a bit. He sniffled. Tulip vaguely wondered how or why he could cry.
"Thanks," he mumbled. "Sorry. I just... I was never good at being alone..." His voice sounded so dejected that Tulip couldn't help but to hug him tighter.
"Look," she said, "I'll just hold you the whole time, so we can't be separated. Are you okay with that? Or do you want to be in my backpack instead?"
"No, I'd rather be held, I wanna be able to see," he said.
She stood up, readjusting her backpack, and put her right hand back to the wall. She made sure she was holding Glad-One securely in her other arm. She continued down the path.
She felt relieved with Glad by her side, but felt bad for him. She hoped they'd find the others very soon.
After a while, she decided to start a conversation, if just to break the silence.
"I was calling for you for a long time. Did you hear me?" she asked.
Glad frowned. "No. I never heard a thing. I called for you too. But I don't think you heard me?"
Tulip shook her head. "I didn't even hear you crying until I saw you. I think in this car, you can only hear what you can see. I'd love to test it out, but obviously, we're not going to."
Glad hummed. "Yeah." He sounded melancholy, but not outright sad. He looked up at her. "I'm glad I met you, Miss Tulip," he said somewhat suddenly.
Tulip faltered, then smiled kindly. "Thank you," she said warmly. "I'm glad I met you too." She continued talking, both to keep the silence at bay, and to try to make Glad feel better. "Going through all those cars together... It's been so much fun, with you and Atticus."
She thought over her past adventures, from the dangerous to fun and amazing. "Remember when we had that snowball fight? It was me and you against Atticus and your other side. We won!" she cheered lightly.
Glad perked up. "Yeah! That was fun. We buried them in the snow! They never saw it coming." He sounded a lot more lively. Tulip grinned.
She wondered where Atticus was, and if Sad-One was alone or not. She felt a pang of despair at the idea. She quickened her pace a little. She wondered if she'd find the exit or the others first.
In the meantime, She and One-One chatted about past cars.
. . .
Atticus treked on, nose low. Only the scent of stone.
One-One layed loosely on his back. He didn't weigh too much. The robot hummed some depressing sounding melody quietly to himself.
Atticus decided to break the rather morbid silence. "What song is that?"
"Funeral March," Sad-One sighed.
"Do you know any... happier songs?" he asked. "I feel like I'm trekking to my demise," he joked.
Sad chuckled so faintly Atticus only felt it. The robot thought it over. After a bit he shrugged. "Nothing I can think of."
Atticus ended up thinking about music in general, and the traditional songs from Corginia. He picked his favorite, a ballad about the great mountains, and hummed it to himself.
He imagined the cool, crisp air of morning. The dew brushing against his fur. The cold river water on his tongue. His tail wagged, and he picked up the pace. He couldn't wait to get out of this car.
To his great delight, a few measures in, Sad joins. Atticus grinned.
Two songs later, Atticus slowed to a halt in the middle of a hall, hum trailing off. He searched the ground intently. Sad leaned over a bit like he was trying to look. "What is it? Did you get something?"
The dog didn't respond immediately. He took his time to study the scent. If it wasn't for Tulip's smell itself, the onion would've given her away. "I got Tulip's trail," he said, omitting the fact he had also smelled jerky and suddenly felt very hungry.
"What about my other half?" One-One asked.
Atticus shook his head. "Not yet, but I'll tell you when I do."
Sad hummed a sad acknowledgement. The king continued walking.
His tail swayed to the beat of his songs as he picked back up where he left off. One-One played drums on his back and tried out humming harmony.
Soon, Atticus stopped again. His ears twitched. "I think Tulip is holding your other half," Atticus declared.
Sad shuffled around a bit, and sounded genuinely happy. "Oh, nice. I'm glad he isn't alone." After a moment, he asked curiously, "Why didn't you smell him earlier?"
Atticus explained it easily. "If Tulip's holding him, he's higher up. Maybe even in the backpack. So the scent was muffled and more distant. Also, when I first caught it, I thought it had been you. You're on top of me, after all."
"Oh, OK," Sad said.
Atticus continued down the trail. As it grew stronger, he sped up. Soon he was darting around corners. Sad yelped and clung on tightly. Just as Atticus was about to apologize, the robot laughed. The dog's tail wagged faster.
The two slid around a corner, Atticus almost slipping. Down the next hall, they saw the redhead from behind. "Tulip!" Atticus barked excitedly.
The girl jumped in surprise and spun around, then laughed in joy at the sight of a Corgi running at her full speed wagging his tail like a propeller.
One-One felt utterly thrilled to see himself. Glad-One waved excitedly and Sad-One smiled.
Tulip crouched, opening up her arms. Atticus ran into her. She nearly fell over, but managed not to, and gave the dog a myriad of pets and pats. "Oh Atticus!" She laughed. "I'm glad to see you! I'm glad you're safe!"
The dog lapped at her face. "And I'm glad to see you, Tulip," he said. He didn't notice his fur was a mess thanks to the pets.
Sad-One fell off of Atticus in a rush, and Glad squirmed until Tulip let him go. The two halves darted to merge back into one.
One-One spun around in a tight circle, ecstatic. Oh! To be whole again! He felt bubbly and excited to hear his inner mind full and complete. Like he wasn't missing anything. He saw Tulip and Atticus looking at him, both looking happy for him.
He jumped to join the group hug. He felt safe and warm, surrounded by his friends.
Tulip grinned. "I'm so glad to see everyone! Is everyone okay? No one's hurt, right?"
"Besides the trauma," Sad muttered.
"I think I'm fine!" Glad chirped.
"Well, now that you mention it, I am feeling a bit peckish," Atticus said formally.
Tulip giggled and gave him a jerky stick. "We can have lunch when we get out of this car, assuming we do that in a reasonable time. For now, let's hurry up and get out of here.
"That's a good idea," Atticus mumbled as he chewed his meal.
"Now," Tulip began, "I know you hate being carried, so how about you get in my backpack, and I hold One-One. We can not risk being separated again."
One-One agreed quickly and wholeheartedly. "Absolutely."
Atticus scarfed the rest of his food and nodded, albeit with a quiet sigh. "Of course," he agreed.
Tulip lowered her bag and he took a moment to get in, so his head was poking out and he wasn't sitting on pens. She zipped it up mostly, so he could poke his head out, but wouldn't fall out. "Are you comfortable?" she asked.
"As much as I can be," he grumbled. Tulip gave a sympathetic smile and patted his head. She slipped on the backpack and tightened the straps. Once she was sure it was secure, she picked up One-One, and carefully stood up.
"Everyone ready?" she asked.
"Yes," Atticus said firmly.
"Let's go!" One-One cheered.
. . .
They spent about thirty minutes more in the maze.
Tulip almost didn't mind. She was just grateful to have her friends safe. She listened to Atticus recite a classic Corginian fairy tale, where an evil cat spirit tries to trick a band of warriors into crossing a deadly river.
One-One was enthralled. "That'd make such a good idea for a car!" they chirped.
"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Tulip asked, but she found his enthusiasm cute.
He paused and thought about it. "Well... yes... but lots of cars are dangerous, so it's fine. Would you listen to someone who told you to cross a dangerous river?"
Tulip shrugged. The backpack dug into her shoulders, and she couldn't readjust it too much without risking Atticus falling out.
When it's quiet, Tulip pondered over One-One. She wondered how he thought and felt. How exactly his mind worked. He could separate at will, but she supposed she never had seen him kept apart.
She hugged him a little tighter. She wondered how the Snow Car had been for him if he hated being alone in the silence. At least then, he hadn't been alone.
She turned a corner. A red and gold door sat in a dead end. She gasped in delight and briefly admired how beautiful it was. A glimmer of color! Anything but gray!
"Finally!" One-One bemoaned. Atticus barked happily.
Tulip rushed to the door, trying not to laugh as she opened it one-handed. She could feel Atticus' tail trying to wag in the backpack.
The doors opened before them. She found it funny how lively everything looked in the wasteland after that maze car. She stepped out, letting the hot dry air greet her. The doors closed behind her, but she barely heard them as she listened to the wind instead.
She stared out to the warm red deserts and watched a few dead brown blurs whiz by. Wow, the wasteland looked nice after that car! The stormy clouds and distant mountains, at least.
Atticus wiggled in the bag. Tulip giggled and crouched down. One-One jumped out of her hands and walked in a large circle like they were stretching their legs.
"Calm down," Tulip jokingly chided, trying to unzip the bag fully.
Atticus flopped out of the bag the moment he could. He stood up and shook his fur out, grumbling. "Sorry," she murmured, petting him and smoothing back down his messy fur. She plucked a stray sticky note from his fur and gave him back his crown.
He stretched, bowing and sealing, then flopped over on the ground lazily. "It's fine, really. I just hope we don't have to do it again any time soon." Then he trotted over to the bridge. "Perhaps we could have lunch and rest in the next car?"
One-One rolled up to him. "I'd love that!" he chirped.
Tulip stood much up, feeling so much lighter. She stretched her arms and yawned. "Sounds good to me!" she said happily.
The three walked to the next car. Tulip Opened the door, willing it to be something good and not dangerous. To everyone's delight, it was a beautiful forest car where everything looked painted.