Wow, I can't believe it's taken me this long to finish chapter two...well, maybe I can... Anyway, here it is, and since it's already August, I hope I'll be able to finish in time!

Chapter 2: Strike!

The two boats pulled into the darkness of the building, and the group started hearing strange music. The boats rocked back and forth a little bit, and they suddenly saw light around a bend. Kotone was the first one to see where the light was coming from. "Eww! That's so scary!" She hid her face in Alex's chest. This happened throughout the ride, and amazingly enough (or, not so much), Kotone wasn't the only one to have this reaction...

"I don't want to go on that ride ever again," Kotone whimpered.

Player squeezed her shoulders. "Don't say that so quickly. You never know what will happen as your programming matures." Suddenly, the background behind him went dark, and a bolt of lightning shot across it. 'Maybe that's why Professor's doing this – to get me to agree to let him change Kotone's body to match her programming!'

His background went back to normal, but he didn't have time to contemplate the idea any longer because he had spaced out again, and everyone else had started walking to the next ride.

"Wow! Look at all the stuffed animals," Alex and Kotone exclaimed in unison as they walked by one of the game booths.

'Maybe I worry too much... she still acts like a child,' Player reminded himself. "Would you rather do that now, and have to carry it around for the rest of the day? Or, would you rather wait until later?"

"Ha, ha! My Brother is always the voice of reason!" Kontstantin hugged Player's shoulders and looked around. "Maybe we should go on that one next."

Haruna followed the direction his finger pointed. {A roller coaster,} she asked timidly.

Konstantin proceeded to explain, "Not just any roller coaster – this is THE RACER! It runs on a wooden track, and from what I understand, it's a single continuous loop. It's called the Racer because it's like a race – one car always gets back to the station right before the other one!"

Alex contemplated the description. "Hmmm... I'm up for something a little different."

"I want to be on the one that comes back first," Kotone interjected.

Player looked around at everyone. "I guess it's decided, then..."

"We should have girls versus boys," Lisa suggested.

Kotone did the calculation in less than a second. "But, there's five girls, and only three boys..."

"That's okay, we don't mind."

It ended up that the train the girls were on was in fact the one to return to the station first. Laika looked at her watch as they stepped off the ride. "We should start heading over towards the carousel – it's almost lunch time."

"It's still a little early, maybe we could have a ride on it first," Alex asked

"Meow, I want to go on one that goes up and down!"

"Onii-chan, are you okay?"

"Yeah Kotone, I'm just a little dizzy. I'll be fine in a couple minutes... Whoa!" Player fell forward into the arms of yet another cute girl. "Heh, heh... a little too much going around in circles, I think."

Konstantin smacked his own forehead. {LSS... again,} Haruna commented while she prepared to draw her naginata from the weapon storage area known fondly to anime fans as hammer-space. Laika got to him first, though. Nothing had actually changed about her appearance this time, and she held nothing back when she pushed him down to the ground.

The other girl knelt to help him back up. "Oh my G-d! Are you okay?" After a minute or two, Player responded in the affirmative.

Haruna bowed. "Sorry. We go now."

Konstantin followed suit. "Please excuse us miss, My Brother should have been watching where he was going."

Player waved goodbye, a silly-looking smile plastered across his face. The girl was speechless at the spectacle, and simply let them walk away.

Laika glanced around until she found the rest of the group. "Look over there, they've already found the Professor and Tsunami. Come on, let's go. I'm starting to get hungry."

"So, Professor, what's this for," Player asked privately, after everyone got their food.

"What's what for?"

"This – this... treating us to such a fun day..."

Professor got a semi-evil look in his eye. "I haven't really decided yet, but I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out once I have."

Player displayed an oversized sweat-drop. "I should have known. You always fly by the seat of your pants, don't you?"

Professor raised a finger into the air. "That is correct!"

"Hey, what are you guys talking about," Lisa asked out of the blue.

"Oh, nothing earth-shattering..."

End Chapter 2

A/N: Yes, Kotone is an android. Player, Professor, and Tsunami are the only ones who know that. Everyone else thinks she's really Player's little sister.

Um... surprisingly, I think that's all I have to say this time around.

Next time: the Whip, the Turtle, and games!