"Huh?"
Bai Ming poked her head out from the tangle of blankets.
"Train warp? What's that?"
"Let me out!!!" March 7th's muffled yell came from within the cocoon.
"Eh, okay."
Saying this, Bai Ming shifted aside, finally allowing March's head to emerge from the fabric prison.
March looked towards the door. "What was that announcement? I was half-asleep, didn't catch it."
"Oh—!" Listening to March, Bai Ming nodded. "Nothing much. Just Pom-Pom saying we're about to do a warp jump."
"A warp jump... oh, a warp jump. For a second I thought you said a warp jump."
"..."
"..."
"Eh?!!!!!"
The sudden realization hit March 7th, and she stared at Bai Ming in shock. "We're warping?!"
"Y-yeah..."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!"
"Well..." Bai Ming replied, sounding a bit wronged. "Pom-Pom just announced it."
"Then we need to get up, quick!" March looked at Bai Ming across the blanket nest. "This is important!"
"Eh?! Really?!"
Hearing March's urgency, Bai Ming immediately grew tense as well. "What should we do now?"
"We need to get to where Pom-Pom is!" March declared. "There's still time!"
"Okay—!"
After a hasty freshening up and straightening their clothes, Bai Ming and March hurriedly left the room.
Arriving in the Parlor Car, Bai Ming immediately spotted Pom-Pom standing on a table. At that moment, the conductor had its paws on its hips, surveying the area below with an air of great authority.
"Conductor! We're here!" Bai Ming waved as she spoke.
Hearing Bai Ming's voice, Pom-Pom turned around. Seeing Bai Ming and March, it suddenly clapped its paws together.
"Pom-Pom knew something was off! So it was you two missing! No wonder it was so quiet, Pom!"
"That's because..." Bai Ming cupped her cheeks, a blissful look on her face as she reminisced. "...March and I shared a wonderful night last night~ We almost crossed that forbidden line!"
"What are you talking about?!" March's face flushed crimson as she shoved Bai Ming beside her. "Keep talking nonsense and I'll ignore you!"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't!" Bai Ming grabbed March's hand. "I'll stop! I promise!"
As for their antics, Pom-Pom watched with evident satisfaction. After all, if March was occupied with Bai Ming, it wouldn't have to worry about someone constantly following it around, scheming to braid its long ears and tie them with bows. But satisfaction aside—
Pom-Pom cleared its throat and spoke with gravity. "Ahem, alright, alright! Save your chatter for later! We're preparing for a warp jump! This is a major event!"
Seeing how seriously Pom-Pom spoke, Bai Ming grew concerned. "Pom-Pom, what exactly is a 'warp jump'?"
"You don't even know that, Pom?!" Pom-Pom glanced at Bai Ming, then seemed to remember something. "Oh, right. You just boarded. Of course you wouldn't know, Pom. Listen up!" Pom-Pom raised a tiny, adorable finger. "I'll only explain important things like this once!"
"Understood!"
Seeing Bai Ming respond so earnestly, Pom-Pom's little ego was immensely gratified. It cleared its throat again.
"Ahem! Bai Ming, you should understand the Astral Express isn't as simple as it looks, right?"
"Mhm!" Bai Ming nodded vigorously. "I remember you said it was the... Trailblaze Aeon Akimi... no, Akivili, right?"
"You blockhead remembered something correctly for once, Pom!" Pom-Pom pursed its lips and continued. "Correct! The Astral Express is precisely what the Trailblaze Aeon, Akivili, left behind!" Pom-Pom looked out the window. "But the universe is vast. If we traveled at normal speed, we might never reach the next destination in a lifetime. So—" Pom-Pom looked back at Bai Ming. "—for finite beings like us to walk on an infinite path, we must shorten the journey. That process is what we call a 'warp jump,' Pom."
"Oh—!" Bai Ming's face lit up with understanding.
"So you get it?"
"Not at all!" Bai Ming declared with unshakable confidence.
"..." Pom-Pom twitched. "Bring your head closer."
"What, why?"
"Just do it! Don't be such a... girl about it!"
"But I am a girl..."
"You—!"
"Alright, alright!" Bai Ming waved her hands, laughing. "I know you want to hit my head. But not understanding is just not understanding. Besides—" Bai Ming looked at March beside her and linked arms with her. "—if March thinks it's fine, then I won't worry either."
Pom-Pom looked at March, then at Bai Ming, finally squeezing out a sentence. "Fine. Both of you, sit down properly! Don't get flung out of the train later! Pom-Pom won't go retrieve you!"
"So where exactly are we going?" Bai Ming couldn't help but ask. "You haven't told us yet, Pom-Pom!"
"To the place I mentioned last time!" Pom-Pom answered.
Hearing this, March 7th froze. Bai Ming also froze.
The latter recovered slightly faster.
"Pom-Pom... you mean this time, we're warping to that planet where girls can marry girls?"
"Correct, Pom!" Pom-Pom declared proudly. "Pom-Pom keeps its promises! Said I'd take you there, so I'm taking you there!"
"QAQ Pom-Pom!" Bai Ming bent down, grabbing Pom-Pom's little paws with immense gratitude. "If you do not disdain me, I, Bai, wish to acknowledge you as my sworn father!"
"Hey—!" March, who had reacted a beat slower, immediately cried out. "Why are we going to such a weird planet?! Pom-Pom, did you get it wrong?"
"Pom-Pom doesn't make mistakes!" Pom-Pom stated firmly, paws still held. "Because—"
"—because no law in the universe dictates that girls cannot marry girls." Himeko's voice interjected smoothly. "That's what you meant to say, right, Conductor?"
"As expected of the person who's spent the most time with Pom-Pom! You understood immediately, Pom!"
"Eh?!" Bai Ming looked up. "So everything Pom-Pom just said was a lie?!"
"It can't exactly be called a lie." Himeko rested her chin on her hand, looking amused. "Our next destination is a small planet, designated 'Jarilo-VI.' The Express last visited there thousands of years ago. According to Data Bank records, it was a lush, vibrant, and beautiful world. However, after such a long time... it may have undergone dramatic changes." She then looked at Bai Ming, a charming smile gracing her lips. "As for what you wish to do afterward, Little Bai Ming... you'll need to put in more effort. If you can secure Little March's consent, it's not entirely impossible, right?"
"Miss Himeko!" Hearing her words, Bai Ming's eyes sparkled with excitement. "March, did you hear that?! Miss Himeko says as long as I work hard to get your consent, it can happen!"
"Y-you, what are you trying to say..." March watched as Bai Ming took a step towards her, a sense of impending doom washing over her.
"Isn't this basically Miss Himeko giving her blessing? So—" Bai Ming gazed at March. "—all I need is your agreement, right?!"
"How did you make that connection?!"
"Enough!" Pom-Pom raised a paw. "Everyone, sit! Warp jump commencing soon!"
"It's starting~" Bai Ming scooped March up and headed towards the sofa. "March, hold on tight to me~ That way, there won't be any problems!"
"Who, who wants to hold you tight?!" March protested verbally, yet she obediently settled into Bai Ming's embrace. Admittedly, it felt incredibly secure.
Seeing its passengers gradually taking their seats, Pom-Pom didn't delay. It stood its ground and pulled out something resembling a microphone from its attire—likely the device used for the earlier announcements.
"Testing—testing, one two! Warp jump initiating shortly! All passengers, check your surroundings! Prepare accordingly!"
"Five!"
The chess pieces on the table began to tremble incessantly.
"Four!"
The Astral Express's hull started to emit a golden light,distinctly different from before.
"Three!"
The train's body entered a sort of quantum-state shimmer.
"Two!"
The starlight outside began to stretch and elongate.
"One!"
As Pom-Pom shouted the final number, the train shot forward with a whoosh and vanished from the universe as if it had never been there.
In an instant.
On the other side of the vast cosmos.
The quantum-state Astral Express emerged from a patch of darkness. However, upon seeing the sight before her, Bai Ming couldn't help but press closer to the window.
Because what lay before her wasn't something else. It was a planet blanketed in white snow. Aside from exposed patches of ocean, everything else was a vast, desolate expanse of white.
This didn't match Himeko's description at all!
Himeko, of course, knew what Bai Ming was thinking. She walked to the train window, looking at the snow-covered planet with a trace of concern in her eyes.
"Thousands of years have passed...Jarilo-VI has become like this..."
March also came to the window. "Eh? That white planet is our target this time?"
"Correct." Himeko looked at March. "I imagine this Trailblazing journey won't be easy either."
"The Land of Snezhnaya..." Bai Ming murmured, looking at the scene.
"Snezhnaya? What Snezhnaya?" Himeko looked at Bai Ming with a gentle smile. "What's that?"
"N-nothing!" Bai Ming waved her hands in explanation. "It just looks a bit like a place I once imagined!"
"I see..." Pom-Pom walked over and reported in an official tone, "All passengers, change in docking plan! Docking duration at this station changed from seven days to indefinite."
"Indefinite?!" Bai Ming patted her own face. "Why indefinite?!"
"Because an anomaly has appeared!" Pom-Pom explained with utmost seriousness.
"An anomaly?!" Bai Ming was even more confused. After all, Pom-Pom's earlier explanation hadn't hinted at any anomalies.
It was Himeko who stepped in to explain again. "To use a land train analogy, it's like the tracks ahead suddenly break, if we proceed—"
Pom-Pom took over. "—it could lead to extremely serious consequences!"
"Another situation like this..." March held her forehead, then looked at Bai Ming. "So this anomaly is also—"
Before March could finish, Welt Yang emerged from the side. He adjusted his glasses and spoke. "Preliminary detection results for the anomaly are in. The root cause is still a 'Stellaron.'"
"Stellaron—?" Bai Ming glanced guiltily at Welt Yang.
The latter was silent for a moment before continuing. "You guessed correctly. It's the same as the one inside you."
"This..." Bai Ming hesitated, then suddenly cupped her face and exclaimed in dramatic surprise, "Could it be my little brother or sister or something?!"
"How could that be?!" March was about to deliver a hand chop to Bai Ming's head to disprove her ridiculous claim. But soon, she realized things might not be that simple. Because neither Himeko nor Welt Yang outright denied Bai Ming's statement. This made her worry.
"Um... could it really be like Bai Ming said? Her sibling?"
"I don't know." Himeko smiled slightly. "The mysteries surrounding 'Stellarons' are far too many. Even Herta at the space station hasn't fully unraveled their secrets. So—"
"—so it's really possible?" Bai Ming couldn't help but shudder. If there was a second version of her... that would be terrifying!
"Don't worry, Little Bai Ming." Himeko's voice remained gentle. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened. It's just that your appearance naturally leads thoughts in that direction. The actual truth requires further investigation."
"So you mean we're going down there?!" Bai Ming asked.
But before Himeko could answer, Welt Yang, standing to the side, spoke first. He looked at Bai Ming, his tone carrying an indescribable emotion.
"No. This time, Himeko and I will not be going."
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A/n: Hey over on my patreon there are currently two for the time being exclusive books which are
Zenless Zone Zero: Loving Daily Life Starting in New Eridu
Honkai Impact 3rd, I Can Transform into a Valkyrie!
patreon.com/deadlygoober