Pilot
| The following information is from the pilot, which is not canon to the series. To see the texts, put the orb back where it belongs. |
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 Lake in the pilot. Lake technically made her first cameo appearance in the pilot when Tulip visited the Fart Car. She can be seen on the reflective surface of the car.
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Book One - The Perennial Child
"The Grid Car"
Lake initially made a brief cameo appearance in the series when Tulip and Mikayla both walked past a lake in a forest.
"The Cat's Car"
Although she does not make a physical appearance, Lake can be seen among Tulip's memories of her past as she is thrust out of her Memory Tapes.
"The Chrome Car"
In her debut episode as an actual character, Lake is initially the antagonist. First appearing as a normal reflection of Tulip, she then refuses to move in perfect reflection to her prime counterpart. This causes Tulip to briefly freak out, and Lake explains that to open the door to the next car, they must swap positions and open it together. After swapping (Lake appearing in her chromatic colors), they open the door, though Lake reveals that she conned the real Tulip and was only using her to open the door to the outside world and escape. She explains that she hated having to do everything that Tulip wanted, and wishes to make her own identity. Mirror One-One calls the Mirror Police on her, placing a bounty on her head. Tulip expresses that she doesn't wish any harm upon her mirror counterpart and decides to try and help her, and after using her friends to keep the police at bay, talks to Lake in an attempt to help calm her down. Lake, being bound to the reflective surfaces of the Chrome Car, cannot leave, and in her desperation begins berating Tulip about how reclusive she has been, never letting anyone talk to her about her issues, and even about how she herself is a "nobody" and "doesn't even have a name". Tulip is able to convince Lake that she can help her, swapping back to normal positions and letting Lake live in the prime world via her Swiss army knife's mirror, enabling her to escape the police and go to the next car. She, Tulip, and her companions end up in an accounting car full of sentient pencil people, which sparks an interest for accounting in Lake. She stays behind and bids Tulip farewell. From this point forwards, Tulip has no reflection.
Book Two - Cracked Reflection
"The Black Market Car"
Lake modifies her appearance and wanders the train, spray painting any reflective surface she sees as a protective measure—the Flecs, Mace and Sieve, can pass through reflections and subsequently catch Lake if she allows herself to be reflected in any surface on the train. However, the Flecs catch up to her in the Black Market Car when a denizen holds up a magnifying glass. Fortunately, she loses them in an autumn forest-themed car—unknown to her as the Family Tree Car—with help from a deer that can camouflage itself by turning invisible. Two days later, she comes across a passenger named Jesse Cosay, who she berates for putting sunglasses on the deer and naming him "Alan Dracula" without her approval. They soon come to realize as well that Alan Dracula has other powers besides invisibility, such as abilities to manipulate his physical form, and laser vision. As they fight, Alan Dracula falls through the floor, revealing they are on a giant tree.
"The Family Tree Car"
Lake flicks her finger at Jesse’s forehead in response to his antics, hurting him given her body’s chrome makeup. After scolding him, she tears out several thick branches and leaves from the hole Alan Dracula fell into. Jesse asks Lake if she has special metal strength. She denies this, saying that she doesn’t feel pain like him with his “squishy flesh.” Lake then jumps down the hole, landing on one of the limbs of the Gillicutty/Trundleshank Family Tree.
After Lake travels with Jesse a little ways along the limbs of the Family Tree in order to find Alan Dracula, they decide to split up. This was because Lake tried to say that Tulip was a friend but they grew apart due to her parents and their differences, which Jesse found horrible. Both deal with the arguing family tree portraits of the Gillicuttys and Trundleshanks, and it is revealed that Jesse has trouble with confrontation and being too much of a people pleaser, to a point of detriment that easily allows him to be pressured and controlled. Running into Lake again, the two argue about this until the branches of the tree suddenly grow and ensnare the two of them. As they continue to argue, Jesse’s body begins to be transformed into solid wood. Lake soon realizes that arguing and fighting is what causes the tree to grow, and is the reason that it has grown so large in the first place: the fighting between the two families. She stops arguing, and the branches recede as well as the wood on Jesse turning back to normal.
Using this realization to their advantage, Lake and Jesse compliment each other as much as possible to easily make it to the bottom of the tree, where they find Alan Dracula walking sideways back up the trunk. Riding back to the surface in his antlers, Jesse concedes that while his number was at 31 when he first got on the train, it has risen to 32. Lake begrudgingly decides that she will travel with him and Alan Dracula in order to help him get his number to zero.
"The Map Car"
As Lake and Jesse reach the Map Car, they are greeted by Marcel, a manifestation of the wind, who guides them on a quest to complete a giant life-size map. Along the way, Lake convinces Jesse to take the hardest routes possible when it comes to gathering pieces of the map in the hope of getting his number down. As they sail across a paper sea, which is thankfully non-reflective, Jesse tells her how he’s on the swim team at his school back home. While he enjoys the freestyle stroke, he was pressured to specialize in the butterfly stroke and was even talked into giving up his spot at a state competition so a senior could complete. Lake, confused at this, asks Jesse if he ever tries to argue for what he wants to do, or if he just allows others to make decisions for him, or use him as a doormat. The revelation causes Jesse’s number to go down.
They soon realize Marcel is moving them in circles to try and keep them in the car forever. When Lake tells him off, Marcel gets mad and creates a storm and blows them off course. Lake has no idea what to do as she's in danger of sinking if she tries to swim, but Jesse realizes they can create their own piece of the map by drawing on a piece of paper and combining it with the unfinished map; Jesse draws a door on a receipt he had in his pocket, creating a small island in the sea containing the door out of the train car. With the map finished, the car then becomes real mountain scenery and Marcel turns into the wind, no longer a threat to the two. However, due to the paper water becoming real and reflective, the Flecs find Lake once more.
"The Toad Car"
As they flee the Flecs, Lake and Jesse, who discovered a wanted poster of her, get into an argument about her hiding her status as a wanted criminal from him. They hide in the Toad Car, which can only be opened by kicking a toad. However, kicking the toad would cause Jesse’s number to go up, as doing so would be allowing himself to be ordered around by Lake rather than following his own interests. As Lake refuses to kick the toad, the two of them and Alan Dracula find themselves at stalemate, locked in the car with the Flecs waiting outside.
That night, Lake overhears Jesse playing a video on his phone; she learns that his friends back home are bullies, and using peer pressure, they had caused Jesse to develop the behaviors of a bully as well. In the video specifically, Jesse pressures his little brother, Nate, to ride a dangerous homemade cart down a hill, what his friends call a “man test”, causing him to break his arm. Jesse, praised by his friends, laughs as his brother runs home. Lake learns that this is how he got on the train, as Jesse is incredibly guilty over being pressured to hurt his brother.
Jesse, moving over to sit by the door, is surprised to her the voice of Agent Sieve telling him to keep his phone out until morning so that the Flecs can jump through the reflective surface to arrest Lake. Jesse considers this, as Sieve promises that they won’t hurt Lake, though it’s clear that Sieve is manipulating Jesse and the Flecs’ plans are to kill her. Before Jesse can make a decision, Lake walks over and smashes his phone. Angry, the two argue, but eventually reach a point where Lake finally explains to Jesse the circumstances of her situation: how she didn’t do anything wrong, and only wants to live her own life away from Tulip. Feeling empathy, Jesse thanks her for being honest, and explains that he wants to right the wrongs that have to do with what he did to his brother. The two begin to trust each other in full, and as the Flecs suddenly begin trying to drill through the door, decide to kick the toad together so Jesse’s number doesn’t go down. In the end, however, Alan Dracula kicks the toad out of surprise, and the doors open. The Flecs rush in as Jesse and Lake run away, and Jesse takes the toad, trapping the Flecs in the car. As the toad hops away, the two apologize, and Jesse, realizing that his number has gone down, hugs Lake in appreciation.
"The Parasite Car"
As Lake and Jesse wander through a car filled with giant flowers, they are startled when Alan Dracula starts to talk until they realize it is caused by a parasite named Perry. At first, Lake is appalled by him, but eases up when she believes he is not hurting the deer. Perry helps Lake and Jesse pass through the Drag Car before they enter the Food Pyramid Car and it becomes clear that Alan Dracula is trying to get rid of Perry. The two help to free their deer from the parasite, and Jesse’s number goes down as he realizes that the two love Alan Dracula not for how well he can help them out, but for simply being himself. They abandon Perry in the car and continue onward.
"The Lucky Cat Car"
As the three enter a car filled with hills, they see a giant lucky cat statue with a door and enter to find a carnival. They are approached by The Cat (Lake knows her since she was still Tulip's reflection when she met her), who tells them they need a combined score of 1,000 points to win the exit to the car, and must beat another player or be stuck in the car for a month.
As they play carnival games, Lake notices Jesse is getting more points then her and she is told by Randall, who is running one of the games, that Passengers take priority over Denizens when it comes to the need for an exit from the car. Angry, Lake storms off. Jesse goes after her and as they are talking, he promises to take her with him when he gets his exit from the train. This takes Lake by surprise, as she had expected he would simply leave her on the train. This causes their companionship to strengthen, and the choice to take Lake with him in the future prompts Jesse‘s number to go down to 3.
With renewed determination, they manage to gain the 1000 points needed, but before they can cash in the prize, Alan Dracula gets himself stuck in a claw game and they rush to get him out. This gives their opponent the chance to cash in her points first, revealing who she is and winning the exit. Instead of simply leaving, she opens the door and allows many passengers to storm the car, all appearing to be a part of the same group as they wear the same symbol on their faces. Their opponent, whose name is revealed to be Grace, then sees Jesse’s number and brings the three back to her headquarters.
"The Mall Car"
The three are taken to the Mall Car and introduced to The Apex, a group of passengers lead by Grace who try and get their numbers up as high as possible. The Apex believe that One-One is a false conductor and that Amelia, whose number was incredibly high, was the true conductor. They believe that One-One wants passengers to get their numbers to zero so that the train can be rid of humans, and that passengers should keep their numbers high because humans are the rightful owners of the train. They also reveal that they believe that denizens, or those who don’t have numbers (including Lake) are “Nulls”, thoughtless and feeling-less. When Jesse goes with Grace and other members of the Apex to inspect a new car, Lake sees two children harassing Alan Dracula and pulls them off. Simon, the lieutenant of the Apex, comes over and asks what is wrong. When she tells him, he simply says she is nothing because she does not have a number, and orders the others restrain her and Alan Dracula.
In the Cube Car, Grace leads an Apex raid and they discover a harmless denizen. The Apex begin smashing the car and subsequently harming the denizen, and Jesse’s number begins to rise, as he is beginning to give into peer pressure once again. However, he decides not to actively partake in the raid and instead waits in conflicted silence, watching the actions of the Apex. When Jesse returns, he sees how they’re treating Lake he calls them off and refuses to abide by the Apex’s rules. As he does, Grace pulls out a mirror to reflect Lake and the Mirror Police show up. In the process of fleeing, Jesse’s declaration against peer pressure causes his number to reach zero and he tries to take Lake with him through his exit. However, she is unable to leave due to her lack of a number, and he is forced to leave her behind. As she collapses on the ground after the exit closes, the Flecs get ready to finish her off.
"The Wasteland"
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I don’t care what the train’s been doing or why. I know who I am, and Jesse didn’t want to leave me. We’re friends, and that’s real! And I’ll get off the train and find him! |
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| —Lake, confronting Mace in “The Wasteland” | ||
Escaping the Mall Car, Lake evades Mace and Sieve for a while before Mace catches her and handcuffs her wrist to his. However, she and Mace are separated from Sieve when a car moves across the roof they are on. While she gets away unscathed, Mace’s lower half is crushed. They are met by Alan Dracula on the ground next to the still-moving train, and the three wander away from the Infinity Train and into the surrounding Wasteland. As they walk, Mace mocks her for wanting to leave the train and says it is impossible as she does not have a number, and makes her doubt she can even blend in with humans if she ever does leave. In return, she calls him a coward for not wanting to have his memories wiped, as is standard practice for reflections when their Prime dies. This goes on until they cannot go any further from the train and are attacked by Ghoms. Alan Dracula shields them for a while with his antlers, and Lake and Mace continue arguing. Lake eventually comes to the conclusion that she’ll find a way to get a number and therefore leave the train and find Jesse again. Using the strong, almost gravitational force of the train, she finds a way to push against it and manipulate it so that her and Mace go hurtling back towards the train.
As they are near safety, Mace tries to take the both of them out by dragging them to the wheels. However, Lake turns the attack in her favor and grinds him to death on a wheel. She makes it to the roof of a train car and then starts to cry over her totally brutal actions but is comforted by Alan Dracula and is determined to get a number and leave.
"The Tape Car"
Lake waits for a Passenger Transportation Pod to pass by and then throws the passenger out of the pod and takes his place. The pod senses something is wrong and takes her to the Passenger Preparation Car to fix it. She falls asleep watching One-One’s welcome video and wakes up in the car. She makes her way to a room with film coming up from the floor and finds that they are Memory Tapes being made. She follows the passengers to a machine that gives them their numbers and tries to steal a girl’s number. To her horror, the laser just passes through her hand as if she wasn’t there. After destroying the robots in a fit of rage, the Steward arrives, piloted by One-One.
"The Number Car"
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I’m not Tulip! I’m not a foil, I’m not a reflection, I’m not a sliver, I’m not a ‘Null’, I’m not any of the hundreds of names that everyone wants to give me! I’m my own person who is getting off this train! |
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| —Lake, to One-One in “The Number Car” | ||
One-One recognizes her as Tulip’s reflection, and she retorts that she is her own person and deserves an exit. One-One points out that she, as a denizen, is designed to help passengers grow and get their numbers to zero. As One-One looks at the monitor to show her Jesse’s progress and how well Lake did to help him, it reveals that he is at zero but being processed. She is equally surprised as that means he managed to get back on the train, they find him in the “passenger farm” and a porter finishes his second memory tape. She watches the tape with One-One and realizes how scared he was when he first got on, seeing their time together and what happened after his exit. After she wakes Jesse up, he is given another number, this time shifting between different irrational numbers and mathematical symbols, as his problem is that he wants to take a denizen from the train, something that is impossible. The train starts to collapse from the paradoxical nature of the problem.
Soon, Sieve arrives and tries desperately to kill her for killing Mace. After seeing Jesse’s number reflect on a nearby screen, she holds his hand up to hers to reflect it, giving herself a number, and One-One agrees to let her leave. As they go through the exit, Sieve grabs her leg and tries to pull her back into the train. However, she throws some grass at Alan Dracula, who vaporizes Sieve, and escapes. She is happy to be out of the train and is introduced to Jesse’s brother Nate. As she looks at her reflection in a nearby lake (which is safe now that both the Flecs are dead), she chooses the name Lake rather than MT, the alias she had been going by.
Book Three - Cult of the Conductor
"The New Apex"
Although she does not make a physical appearance, Lake and Jesse can be seen among Grace's memories of her past as she is thrust out of her Memory Tapes.