I dont know what compelled me to draw this but it was really fun doing so! Imagine the train just passes a time tunnel and then the conductor finds himself all alone in the train, goes outside to investigate and he can only find endless strange corridors. His train unable to move properly due to the lack of tracks and worse of all, he can't tell what time it is.
[Human AU. Boris, drunk, calls Thurston at night while he and Sonny was sleeping]
Boris: Thuuuuuurston
Thurston: What?
Boris: Thuuuuuurston
Thurston: What?
Boris: Thuuuuuurston
Thurston: What?
Boris: Thuuuuuurston
Thurston: What? Who is it?
Boris: This is Boriiiiis.
Thurston: WHAT. DO. YOU. WANT?
Boris: I always thought you were cute.
Thurston: I think I'd rather hear it from my own people than from you when you're drunk.
Boris: I want you to… I got a beer… I brought oxycontin… Come to my house…
Thurston: Let me interrupt you, because I'm not going to do all this. IT'S 3 O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING!!!!!! I HAVE TO GO TO WORK EARLY IN THE MORNING AND GILBERT HAS TO GO TO SCHOOL!!!!!!!
Boris: Come on, Thurston. I thought we were friends.
Thurston: No offense, mate, but I hope you're buried alive.
Boris: Wait a minute… Some stupid jerk is looking at me…
silence
Boris: Oh, wait, it's me, looking in the mirror.
silence
Boris: Wait, I need to talk to the mirror, I'll call you back, Thurston.
HE HANGS UP THE PHONE.
Thurston: AM I THE ONLY SANE PERSON IN THIS CRAZY WORLD OF WEIRD PEOPLE?!?
(A couple weeks or so post-Day Of The Robots) *SPOILER WARNING*
(The Conductor is in Central Park while the train is refueling and being serviced, and notices Tiny on a park bench and walks over to her)
Mr. Conductor: Well, hello, Miss Tiny.
Tiny: Oh, hi, Mr. Conductor.
Mr. Conductor: Whatcha doing all alone, kiddo? Not with your brothers and sister?
Tiny: Oh, Don's hanging with Gilbert, I think Shiny and Buddy are doing something, I've... just been thinking...
Mr. Conductor: (Kneels down to her) What about? ...Are you okay?
Tiny: Well, it's... about when the robots attacked and kidnapped Buddy... and y'know, how I ran away trying to play hero and find him on my own...
Mr. Conductor: I see...
Tiny: I was so foolish... I did all that trying to prove a point because everyone looking up to Buddy made me feel like I wasn't as good as him... or Shiny, or even Don...
Mr. Conductor: Oh, I know, Tiny... You were going through a hard time, but it's not all your fault, y'know.
Tiny: I... I know... but I still let all that bother me way more than I should have, and because of that I made a very reckless mistake and made everyone worry about me.
Mr. Conductor: Yes, Tiny, but we all make mistakes sometimes... Even really bad ones...
Tiny: (looking away) Yeah, but... I was still terrible, I- ...I feel like I didn't deserve anyone's forgiveness, especially not yours... I didn't listen to your advice the morning before Buddy got captured, and I also shouldn't have doubted some of the things you said about that creep girl... She wanted to steal Buddy all for herself, and she humiliated me, and I just know Buddy still blames himself for me not knowing about it this whole time... and none of this was even his fault...
Mr. Conductor: D'oh, I know, Tiny, that whole thing was just a mess... Truth be told however, I don't know if your parents told you this, but you and Buddy aren't the only ones carrying guilt for that calamity... Your mom, dad, and well, even I can't help but feel a little responsible...
Tiny: (turning back to him) You do?
Mr. Conductor: Yes... we feel like we could've kept more of a watchful eye on you kids in all that excitement to make sure you were safe and nobody was giving you any trouble, especially when those robots and that rotten sinovenator spy of theirs started causing trouble, but Thurston, Tricia and I were busy fixing our trains after the accident those snakes caused, and if they knew how to do anything, it was making stuff happen right under our noses...
Tiny: Yeah... I guess. But that still doesn't change the fact I scared all of you so badly, Buddy was really scared when I admitted I ran off and got chased out, and when I almost got blown up saving Lily, he thought I really died...
Mr. Conductor: Well, we all did, Tiny, that was terrifying! It's unbelievable you walked out of that with no serious injuries, I had to put up with Gilbert going insane over how that was even possible every night for a whole week!
Tiny: Yeah, I know... but if there's one person I really hurt, it was Amara. I snuck off from her in her sleep when we found the steelworks just like I snuck off from all of you because I was so selfishly set on rescuing Buddy myself. She knew I was actually crazy, she was trying to keep me alive and she wanted to be my friend... and I took her help for granted. When Shiny, Don, Annie, Gilbert and the others found me, she felt like I didn't need her anymore because I left her... and... and after she lost her... I really didn't deserve her forgiveness... Even if she was doing the right thing, I know she wouldn't have otherwise...
Mr. Conductor: Well, I think the real reason she forgave you was because she felt lost herself. She was growing up stranded in the wild, in a time period her species isn't even from, with no real family left or place to call home. When you two found each other, and then when your search party found you, that was a sign of hope for her. Now, she's safe here with us in Troodon Town. The evil robots and that sick girl spawned by the devil are gone, and you and Buddy are back home safe and well.
Tiny: (looking back at him) ...
Mr. Condcutor: (places hand on her shoulder) ...And you made that happen, Tiny. You were the one who led us to Tirant Tage's defeat. Yes, you made a terrible mistake, or two, but you gave it your all to make up for it, and you still are.
Tiny: Yeah... But back to what I was actually thinking about... Everything's back to normal now, and I know now that I am great and how much I mean to everyone... but there's still something about all this that doesn't make me feel right... something that... actually kinda scares me..
Mr. Conductor: And what's that?
Tiny: Well, I feel like I still don't understand what my real skills are, or what I'm truly destined to be in life. Yeah, I'm brave and daring, and I actually can be a genius when I'm not reckless, but... I don't know what exactly I can use that for... That's why I got so worked up and felt so undervalued in the first place. I used to be perfectly happy with who I was, or... maybe who I thought I was, and I always thought it was that simple... until then, and I thought it was something that should've been all fixed now, but... I still feel a little thrown off... What does it mean?
Mr. Conductor: (sits down on the bench next to her) Well, I think I can answer that. What you've been going through recently, Miss Tiny, is called an identity crisis. In fact, it's a bit like what your brother was going through, when he was still trying to find out what species he was.
Tiny: Really?
Mr. Conductor: Absolutely!
Tiny: But... Buddy never ran away or got stranded in the middle of nowhere in enemy territory. Even back then he was still so level-headed, another thing he's better than me at...
Mr. Conductor: Well, no, he didn't, because he had his family as well as Annie's to guide him, including you, just being there by his side for him, and yes, keeping a level-headed mind is something you should be working on yourself, especially when it comes to your survival instincts. ...But Tiny, it's really not healthy to put yourself down like this all the time because someone is better at something than you.
Tiny: Well, yeah, I get that now, but I wasn't as open with how I truly felt as I should've been... and I didn't listen to anyone's advice even after Buddy got taken. If I had instead of being a sulky loser everytime I get put down or screw up, I wouldn't have run off from you guys like that... And I still feel terrible about it. That I made everyone scared for me when we were already worried sick for Buddy, that I made them search through the entire rainforests for me... heh, even that Shiny got all muddy as hilarious as it would've been seeing that...
Mr. Conductor: Maybe so, but we'd do it again. Why, I'd turn every stretch of the Mesozoic covered by Dinosaur Train Industries upside down for you kids, and then some! I wanted to be in the search party for you and Buddy so bad, but I couldn't... Mother and Father insisted that I kept looking after the Dinosaur Train's repairs and that any of The Conductor Family leaving would draw attention and cause further panic. I knew they were right about that... but I also knew it was because Mother knew it was for my own good. I was livid the moment we found out Buddy was taken, and she knew I'd let my impulsiveness get the better of me out there, much like you did. Hooo, you should hear the shenanigans Thurston and I got into from her, being our professor when we were rivals in Conductor School.
Tiny: (looking amused) Really?
Mr. Conductor: Yes indeedy. But regardless, it's good to see you're learning from your mistake and starting to understand your own feelings better. And speaking of Buddy, if there's anyone you should talk to more about anything you're going through, it's him.
Tiny: You really think so?
Mr. Conductor: Of course! He always talked to you and your mom about his questions about figuring out who he was, and you two were always so close.
Tiny: You're right... he did. And we are, he's my brother and my best friend, even if I never had the answers to his questions. I may not have been the best friend to him lately, but I'm going to fix that.
Mr. Conductor: Now that's what I like to hear, kiddo. And remember, you may not understand what you're destined for in life just yet, but you're still a kid, and you still have a lot of learning and growing to do. But you should be taking it a step at a time, and enjoy being a kid. That's what Mother and I have always been telling Gilbert. He spends so much of his time off Junior Conductor duties focusing on his future of being a Conductor, especially when he was still studying at the academy. But he's starting to get better now, and the night you and you family came over and informed us Buddy was missing, why, he dropped everything to help. He's been so loyal to Shiny and Don, and wouldn't leave their side, especially when they went out to find you in the Triassic, and I'm so proud of him... I couldn't have asked for a better nephew.
Tiny: (Smiles faintly at this)
Mr. Conductor: (places hand her back) And I'll always be proud of you, Tiny. You may sometimes be a reckless pain, and you made a very big mistake, but we all forgive you, and you're still a good kid. You're loyal, brave, adventerous, and you'll continue to do great things, though we'd just prefer if they didn't involve getting stuck behind enemy lines. But in the end, Tage, his clone army and that rotten kid are no more, you and Amara are friends now, Buddy is safe, and you kids saved us all. So don't feel too bad, okay? And no matter how many mistakes you make or how reckless you are, you'll always have a place here... and you'll always be my kiddo.
Tiny: (hugs The Conductor, her voice soft) Oh, Mr. Conductor... Thank you...
