Later
"I-I'm sorry..." Zhi Jiang mutters as Pom-Pom takes away the empty food tray. "I-it's been a while since I ate a normal food."
"It's okay. Pom-Pom's glad you're able to eat properly." Pom-Pom says, waving it off. "You should get a proper rest. You are not fully recovered after all."
"I...alright..." Zhi Jiang merely nods. He lowers his guard a bit, given that they didn't attempt to harm him, like poisoning the food. If they did, ZhiJiang didn't feel like he cared.
"Well, I hope you're able to recover swiftly," March says as Pom-Pom and the red-haired woman walk out of the room. "I wanna show you around the train, and even a bunch of planets we have to visit!"
"...that sounds nice," Zhi Jiang says honestly, a small smile forming on his lips as March responds with a large grin before leaving the room. Zhi Jiang was left alone in the room as he let out a sigh before glancing around.
He notices a mirror in the room, and what he saw should surprise him, but he didn't. He looks much younger than he is supposed to look; his messy long hair, his mustache, and his beard are all gone, albeit he still has a scar on his left cheek. He now has much shorter hair, all his fat has gone, and he notices a few strands of grey hair on the right side.
He looks at his body and curls up his sleeves. Many of the scars on his body seem to be missing, but some remain. Zhi Jiang immediately concluded that his sudden appearance in this sci-fi-esque world had reversed his aging, possibly back to his early years of being stranded.
The moment he thought of the time of being stranded, his mind immediately wandered back to his parents. In an instant, his thoughts filled with all the regrets he felt before he took his last breath on Earth and somehow got teleported into this train. He blankly sits on the bed (He had just realized he's been on someone's bed for the whole time) before slowly lying down, staring at the ceiling.
He had held himself from tearing up again as he believed he had cried one too many times. But, in the end, a single tear falls from his eyes, and a sob escapes from his throat.
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Meanwhile
"So, he had no idea how he got into the train?" The red-haired woman asks as March nods.
"Yeah, he told me how he was supposed to...die after being stranded on a deserted island without being able to find enough food to sustain himself for several weeks...." March says sympathetically. "And this planet called Earth, it seems like it's a planet that has been completely isolated. He had no idea about a lot of things, like the IPC, the Genius Society, or even the Antimatter Legion. All planets we visit so far know about them, but ZhiJiang...he is clueless."
"...this could be one thing. A powerful being or even an Aeon had brought him into the Astral Express." The woman muses. "Only Aha comes up into my mind. They're the only ones who would do something as random as this, and Pom-Pom once said they had a history with the Astral Express."
"Pom-Pom never likes Aha," Pom-Pom says as they cross their arms while huffing. "They blew up the Astral Express once! Now this!?"
"Miss Himeko..." March calls the woman, getting her attention. "Is...there a way we could help him?"
"All we can do is stay by his side and keep an eye on him," Himeko says. March was about to protest, but Himeko cut her off. "It's not because he's suspicious, but it's for his safety. I doubt he's mentally fine after everything he went through."
"Oh..." March nods, agreeing with Himeko.
"You already did a great job just now," Himeko says gently, smiling softly at the young girl.
"O-okay," March says with a nod before pausing. "So, if he had no idea about anything, then what about the weapons that we found next to him?"
This makes Himeko and Pom-Pom glance at each other before looking at March with a knowing look. March looks a bit confused, tilting her head before she realizes what they're implying.
"...is Aha that weird?" March can't help but voice her thoughts.
"Pom-Pom says it's more like something is wrong with their head!" Pom-Pom huffs, steams coming out of their hat.
"...I really want to know the full story," March says with a sweatdrop.
"Maybe one day. Pom-Pom has yet to even tell us the entire story." Himeko says with a chuckle. "Let's meet up with Mr. Yang and Dan Heng to discuss a few things with them."
"Oh, right. They're trying to see if the weapon's explosive...." March trails off before sweatdropping again. "Oh...."
"Yeah," Himeko chuckles once more as they walk into the train's parlor car. The room is very huge, both side has a huge window and a large couch. There are a few coffee tables, each having three chairs and separated by a small wall. They all notice two men are sitting while staring at the weapons lying on the coffee table blankly.
One is an older man with light brown hair wearing glasses, a gray coat, a pair of black trousers, and a white shirt under the coat, holding a walking cane. Another is a young man with black hair and a pair of light green eyes, wearing a white and green coat with a shoulder pad on his left shoulder, a pair of grey jeans, and a black shirt underneath the coat. A long jade spear can be seen lying next to his seat.
"Oh, Miss Himeko," The older man calls, noticing the girls and Pom-Pom had returned. "Has the person awakened? Did he say anything?"
"He says a lot," March says, and the man notices how she looks hesitant to spill it out.
"...we might need a few moments before we could say anything," Himeko says.
"Did something happen?" The young man asks.
"...it's more like something happened to him," March says as they all sit down while Pom-Pom remains standing. "He says he's from a planet called Earth."
"...I'm sorry, March. Did I hear that right? He's from Earth?" The older man asks, blinking owlishly.
"Uh, yes. Uncle Welt, do you know about it?" March asks in confusion.
"Well...It was my home planet," The man, Welt, says while hiding his wince upon being called uncle. He wasn't that old...is he?
"Oh, wow! What a coincidence!" March exclaims excitedly before pausing. "Wait, why are we hearing about Earth now?"
"It's no surprise," Welt adjusts his glasses. "There hasn't been any record of Earth in any archives. I am not sure if the Genius Society had heard of it, but they have yet to publish a new planet discovery news for years now, and neither of those planets is called Earth."
"Oooh," March nods.
"But, besides that, what happened to him?" Welt asks curiously,
"He...has been stranded on a deserted island for Aeon-knows how long, and from what he said earlier, he had believed he had died," Himeko says as everyone goes silent. "...he looks like he's around your age, Dan Heng..."
"...so, he had no idea how he got here?" The young man, Dan Heng, asks.
"From what he said earlier, no," March says. "He literally asks how a train can run on water and is surprised that he's in space. I don't think he was lying; his reaction was genuine."
"Pom-Pom thinks he isn't lying," Pom-Pom adds their two cents. "When we leave, Pom-Pom heard a sob from the room. He seems...devastated..."
No one said anything after hearing Pom-Pom's words, feeling sympathetic towards the unknown passenger. Welt adjusts his glasses while looking at the weapon on the table.
"...for now, let's help him recover first, and for the time being, let him stay in the Express. Anyone would like to object?" Welt asks as everyone shakes their head. "As for these weapons, it's nothing advanced. Merely a bow that could create an energy arrow and a collapsible energy spear, nothing seems special about it."
"So, nothing explosive, right?" Pom-Pom asks nervously.
"...only if they were adjusted. There are a few settings to change the arrow's properties." Welt says as Pom-Pom sighs.
"Pom-Pom hopes that when the new passenger uses that bow, he won't explode the Express," Pom-Pom says.
"You believe this belongs to the passenger?" Dan Heng asks.
"His name is Zhi Jiang," March interrupts, earning a surprised look from Dan Heng. "Yeah, I notice how the name reminds me of yours, Dan Heng."
'Is...it possible that Xianzhou had once visited this 'Earth'?' Dan Heng ponders a bit.
"It's Aha, Pom-Pom believes with them involved, anything is possible. This one is the least strange thing Aha has ever done," Pom-Pom mutters in exasperation.
"...when in doubt, blame Aha," Welt says with a sweatdrop as Pom-Pom nods before they walk away.
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Later
Zhi Jiang wakes up once again as he gets up from the bed and glances around, noticing that everything remains the same. An unknown room, a window showing the sea of stars, and him still being much younger than when he died.
"...right, I'm in some sort of weird space train..." Zhi Jiang mutters before glancing at the door. Silently, he approaches the door, but despite the meal and rest, his body still hasn't fully recovered as he almost stumbles.
Good news, he managed to prevent himself from falling by leaning against the door. Bad news, the door is automatic.
Zhi Jiang yelps as the door slides open, causing him to fall out of the room with a loud thud. Zhi Jiang didn't notice a surprise yelp as he groaned in pain.
"Z-Zhi Jiang!? What are you doing!?!" Zhi Jiang glances at the source of the voice and sees March 7th lending a helping hand, which Zhi Jiang accepts without complaint as March helps him up.
"Just...want to go...for a walk..." Zhi Jiang says while rubbing his head. "I-I'm not trying to escape...I mean, how can I even escape from a space train..."
"...we didn't kidnap you, you know," March says with a snort. "I get you're wary, but we're not bad people."
"...yeah, sorry," Zhi Jiang apologizes. "I...honestly thought everything was just a sick twist of a dream...it's been a while since I interacted with anyone..."
"I know. You said it before, remember?" March says as Zhi Jiang blinks.
"...oh, right..." Zhi Jiang mutters. His mind seems to be messed up a bit.
"Anyways, you said you wanna go for a walk?" March asks as Zhi Jiang nods. "Well, let me give you a tour around! I did promise you earlier, right?!"
"...yeah, okay," Zhi Jiang says with a small smile as March leads the way.
To be Continued