Goh is freaking out over how Chloe is in Silent Hill, not sure what to do. Ash just consoles him to fulfill Chloe's promise to wait until she returns. Goh wonders just what type of partners Chloe has on the train if she doesn't have Pokémon her and Ash explains them.
Meanwhile, Grace and Simon are shocked to see Amelia as the Conductor they worshipped. Amelia couldn’t care less about the cult leaders.
Tropes found in this chapter include:
- Adaptation Expansion: This chapter expands on why Amelia was even in the Pumpkin Car; she and Alrick went to his uncle's pumpkin farm on Halloween.
- All for Nothing: Amelia wastes no time telling Grace that this little cult she made was absolutely worthless; the numbers don't do anything except say how far away you are from progress and Amelia does not care a single bit about them.
- Big "YES!": Grace and Chloe both shout this when Henry questions if everyone sees him and Walter as suspicious.
- Buffy Speak: Trip exclaims that Ash's Shiny Chansey is a thingy, a fiendish thingy.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": An inversion that's Played for Drama. When Hop talks about Wooloo, he calls them a sheep. Not even the Sheep Pokémon, just sheep. And when Chloe asks about his Corvisquire, he calls it a finch. This is a very big indicator that Hop is mentally gone.
- Continuity Nod:
- Simon brings up the time he and Grace attempted to wheel MT and sent the Mirror Cops on her.
- It's implied that the giant robot the Apex and Amelia had separately met at the Giant Farmstead Car is D-16/Megatron, whom Sad-One referenced in The Cyan Desert Car.
- Amelia, again, talks about studying other universes including Chloe's own, while the Conductor.
- Dinner and a Show: Non-family example, but the dinner the Red Lotus team and Apex leaders have when they arrive at the Fog Car holds many potential red flags for things to go to hell, with each only being narrowly avoided.
- Dramatic Irony:
- Paul is assigned as the guide for Grace and Simon's group, the latter completely unaware that Paul indirectly killed Sean.
- Walter telling Grace that the children of the Apex are fine is this, as it's impossible to come this far into the story and not know about the horrible plans Walter and Henry have for the Apex as a whole.
- Grace having no idea that Chloe is from the Pokémon world, where readers know that she fought off against Trip and Gladion in the past.
- Entertainingly Wrong: With what Grace had learned about Chloe's world and her father's job her assumption is that her father is a whatever hunter. Professor Cerise is many things, but Steve Irwin he is not.
- Exact Words: Walter says that the Apex are safe and sound. He is right as being in the waiting room is much better than roaming around Silent Hill.
- False Reassurance: When Grace asks for the children of the Apex and whether they're safe, Walter tells her that they're safe and sound. When we see them near the end of the chapter, they're still in the "waiting room" with Henry and Alain keeping an eye on them.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Simon shows signs of this towards Chloe, not sure why the Train worships her and how she's getting everything (as in asking for where Alain and Paul are) while he and Grace are in the dark about the Apex and Sean.
- Hidden Depths: Alex is the cook making the feast for everyone. Chloe even lampshades this.
- Insistent Terminology: Hop doesn't call Wooloo a Pokémon but a sheep. That is an indicator that Hop has lost his identity as a Pokémon trainer.
- It Only Works Once: Chloe's cloak allows her to see into someone's soul one time as Chloe tries to use it again on Hop, only to find nothing. She can, however, use it on Wooloo.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Simon really tears into Chloe about how she ran away because she wasn't worth it to her parents or friends and probably only made their lives worse. Chloe breaks down in the apartment room stating that everything on Vermillion City is both on Sara for her bullying and for Chloe never speaking up and running away from home onto the Train. Amelia helps to point out that it's not 100% the case.
- Kick the Dog: Simon telling Chloe that everyone at home would be better off if she was never born. Chloe admits that the thought did come into her mind, but hearing it from this asshole makes her feel a lot worse about herself.
- Mama Bear: Amelia being protective over Chloe is this, as she knows that if Simon gets his way, he will pull on the girl's hair until her neck snaps.
- Grace shows this twice: she wants to do all she can to protect Hazel from Simon's wrath and she chews out Walter for not caring about how some of the Apex kids have food allergies and even names many of them off the top of her head.
- Mood Whiplash: After a cold and tense argument between Apex Leaders and Quarto it cuts to Ash and Trip on their date with Ash revealing his shiny Chansey.
- Not So Similar: Grace is compared to Sara by Chloe after seeing her memories, but even someone who's only seen a little of this fic and Book 3 would know the similarities are shallow: While they both corrupt people around them to serve them, Sara does it out of jealousy, Grace does it to not be left alone (although she does like being praised and adored). Sara is well aware of what she's doing and relishes in it, Grace and the Apex didn't know how the Train worked for the longest time (or if they did, they didn't care about the lives they ruined). And of course, Sara cares about nobody but herself, while Grace cares about the children of the Apex and especially Hazel (albeit in her own twisted way to get love and attention).
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: It is implied that the Apex, alongside their beatdown of Trip, had previously defeated Wizards, Digimon and Digidestined, and a sparkly vampire, while in turn being more or less curbstomped by Megatron and Mad Ben.
- Pass the Popcorn: As Alex wrestled Simon to the ground — for trying to attack Hop — Walter and Henry sip on wine and have cheese and crackers.
- Rage Breaking Point: Atticus is calm and wanting to be friendly with Hazel. And then he snaps when Simon brings up how he was going to kill Tulip's reflection, MT with Lexi having to keep him steady.
- A Rare Sentence: Chloe admits to herself that using a line from My Little Ponyta in the context of Silent Hill (when she tells Alex that she'll advise Hop to "giggle at the ghosties") was impossible but shrugs it off as it's a first time for anything.
- Reality Warper: Hop has obtained the ability to turn the fog into smiley-face balloons when close to breaking, and Chloe suggests that it's because of Hop having such extreme emotions.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Amelia gives a massive one to Grace and Simon, calling them out for the all the destruction they have caused. And when Simon tries to insult Chloe, she insults him right back, telling him that Chloe is a better person than either of the Apex leaders.Amelia: (in regards to Grace making the Apex and her huge number) And to your god, you sacrificed all these denizens for blessings. Tell me, have you gotten anything else aside from some glow-in-the dark tattoos? Super speed? Super strength? The ability to shoot lasers from your eyes? Did the Conductor ever graced your presence in the past few years and thanked you for your hard work in destroying communities, families and lives for good? I find it very sad that you can convince children to follow your ways but not to listen to strangers.
Grace: No. W-we have a rule not to trust any adults.
Amelia: You’re 18; you are an adult.
Simon: You told them to leave home to chase after this princess! Why? Why would the Conductor ever bow down to the likes of this...this...What’s so special about her?!
Amelia: Because she has something that you would never have even if you killed a million denizens!
Simon: Oh really? What’s that?
Amelia: A heart!- Chloe brings up her own against Grace, stating that deep down, she is a bully with a false sense of authority.
- Villain Has a Point: Grace built a cult, corrupted children to act like monsters and has numerous deaths on her hands. But Chloe internally admits that the cult leader isn't wrong to state that the Train is dangerous nor about One-One not caring about them (or in a way that makes sense, seeing as Glad-One doesn't seem so concerned about the implications of Sean dying).
- Villain Respect: Walter speaks praise for Chloe chewing out Grace.
