Wayward Line

"Take good care of your ticket."

Anomaly Story

Kapanela rose from the icy river, soaked from head to toe and shivering in the evening wind. All he wanted to do was return home to the warmth of the stove and a dinner made by his loving mother. When he staggered to the bus stop, he realized he had missed the last bus.

"Just my luck…" he muttered, wondering about the route he would take home.

Just then, a bus pulled over by the roadside. He had never seen this bus before, and it looked nothing like any bus he had ever ridden. When the driver opened the door, Kapanela was shocked to see Xiaomin—the little dog he had once raised, who had died before he started middle school. Xiaomin had both paws on the steering wheel and wore a driver's cap.

Xiaomin honked the horn. "Hop on, Kapanela!"

"You can talk?!" Kapanela exclaimed. "I haven't seen you in so long, Xiaomin! I've missed you so much!"

Kapanela eagerly boarded the bus. As he watched the scenery pass by, he told Xiaomin about everything that had happened over the years, pouring out all his troubles about school.

The bus soon stopped at the next station, and a Frizzle climbed aboard.

"Want to try some of my French fries?" the Frizzle asked warmly. "I've never seen a human on this bus before!"

Kapanela picked up a fry from the Frizzle and put it in his mouth. It was crisp and well-salted, with the rich flavor of potato spreading across his tongue.

"It's delicious!" Kapanela cried. "Can we be friends? Then I'll have endless fries!"

"Of course! We can be best friends forever!"

The bus soon reached the next stop, where two Danzaburou climbed aboard. They appeared to be arguing, and almost looked ready to scuffle. Kapanela hurried to mediate between the two, and learned in turn that they were actually friends who were blaming each other for waking up late and nearly missing the bus! Thanks to Kapanela's mediation, they were able to agree and let the issue drop.

"Do you always mediate arguments between your friends at school, too?" one of the Danzaburou asked.

"No… I don't have any friends at school," Kapanela said. "They always bully me. One time, they even threw my homework into the river, so I had to go into the water to retrieve it. It's not so bad, though… It's not like anyone talks to me anyway. If they stopped bullying me, no one would pay attention to me at all."

"We'll be friends from now on, then."

Kapanela was overjoyed. In such a short time, he had somehow made many, many friends.

The bus stopped again, and a Mysty climbed aboard. It looked around the bus and quickly spotted the conspicuous Kapanela.

"Hey! What is a human doing here?" the Mysty demanded. "Get off, quick! We're almost at the Terminal Station. Once we get there, you won't be able to leave."

"What's at the Terminal Station?" Kapanela asked.

"I don't know. I've never been there either. They say that whether you're human or an Oddity, you only get one chance in your life to reach the Terminal Station."

"Please let me go with you, then. You're all my friends, and I've never had this many friends before. I'm having more fun on this bus than I've ever had in my life!"

Seeing that Kapanela could not be persuaded, the Mysty said nothing more.

After the bus had traveled for a while longer, Xiaomin suddenly spoke up. "Everyone, we've entered the Terminal Station. Please, look out the windows on both sides of the vehicle."

Kapanela pressed himself up against the window and glanced outside. The scenery of Hethereau was gone, replaced by a sky full of stars. More precisely, he was surrounded by stars, floating in outer space. Red, yellow, blue… Stars of every color glittered like sugar crystals. Kapanela gradually forgot the past, where he came from, his parents, the way home, and, eventually, who he was. Gazing at the vast, dazzling starscape, he exclaimed from the bottom of his heart—

"Oh my gosh, there are only stars from here on out…"

Anomaly Characteristics

In appearance, the Wayward Line has no significant differences from any other bus. Its overall body is only slightly larger.

The Anomaly has a unique ability to attract Oddities, especially low-level Oddities.

The time required for the Wayward Line to complete its entire route varies, usually depending on the number of Oddities that board at each stop.

The Anomaly can maintain a nearly constant speed while traveling. Its maximum speed ranges from roughly 40 to 45 miles per hour.

The Anomaly itself has no independent consciousness and does not respond to interference from the driver. This means the bus can easily be operated by unaffected humans or Oddities, which is one of the main reasons it is classified as an object.

Anomaly Nexus

Return the Anomaly to containment

Risk Assessment

Stable

Containment Status

Contained, with the Bureau of Anomaly Control acting as Guarantor, and operated under supervision.

Experiment Record

The following experiments were conducted on the Anomalous Realm entered by the Wayward Line when it traveled to the Terminal Station under its own power:

Cameras and audio recorders were installed inside the bus. After it entered the Anomalous Realm, the video showed radial static, while the audio consisted of irregular low-frequency noise. The devices disconnected after a dozen seconds.

A tracked robot carrying cameras and collection equipment was used. After it entered the Anomalous Realm, its signal rapidly degraded and was lost within 5 to 8 seconds.

A low-level Oddity was used as a carrier for experimental equipment, with its behavior controlled through simple bioelectric neural stimulation. Its signal was lost instantly upon entering the Anomalous Realm.

Inference: The speed at which the Anomalous Realm blocks signals appears to correlate positively with the intelligence of those entering it. The more intelligent an object is determined to be, the sooner its connection with the outside world is lost.