Anything that Miyuki had been expecting Blaine the Monorail to be like - perhaps based on the public transportation back home - turned out to be entirely wrong.

The interior looked rather comfortable. The seats weren't hard plastic benches, but soft-seated swivel chairs and modern stylized sofas along the sides. A high-quality looking bar was towards the back, along with some sort of instrument with a keyboard, also very high-class. The lighting was hidden in the ceiling, except for a small chandelier in the center. That was perhaps the most unexpected feature of the decor. Unless you counted the total lack of windows.

"No time to stop and stare. We need to get going," Spike said, urging everyone into the cabin.

"PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS. WE WILL BE LEAVING SHORTLY."

Miyuki took one of the sofas along the wall, finding it amazingly comfortable. Maybe that was just the fact that she'd been either standing, walking... occasionally running... for the past couple of hours. If she wasn't careful she'd go right to sleep. There was a slight lurch as Blaine rolled out of the station and started to accelerate.

She turned to Alucard, standing erect in the center of the cabin. He didn't shake when it started moving. "Um, Alucard... Thank you for... For protecting me back there. I was scared when you raised your gun like that, but... Thank you."

He gave one of those disturbing grins, the ones that revealed his fangs. "Of course. Although, I always could have arranged the same thing for you that the police girl did for that friend of yours, the Izumi girl... I'm sure she told you."

Miyuki did remember. She remembered going to visit Konata when they thought she'd come down with a case of the flu. Back when they'd thought she was just as normal as they were. It had been quite an unusual illness, indeed... She shuddered. It was good that Alucard had such accuracy.

She noticed the drums fading away as they pulled out, and within a few seconds they couldn't even be heard anymore. Blaine ran smoothly over the tracks despite how old the entire system must be.

The front wall darkened, turning into a screen. A crooked line like a stock graph appeared, except each point was labelled. A flashing green light appeared at Lud, moving down the line towards Candleton. Then they'd go on to Rilea, someplace called "The Falls of The Hounds," Dasherville, and end in Topeka. Of all of those, only the last one sounded vaguely familiar. She thought maybe it was American, though she couldn't place it.

Alucard was still standing, remaining steady despite the ever-increasing speed. He read the map for a moment, then said, "Where do you suppose we get off?"

"I'M AFRAID WE WILL NOT BE COMING TO A STOP. THIS RIDE IS ONE WAY AND ONE WAY ONLY. ONCE THE TRACK ENDS, IT'S SEE YOU LATER, ALLIGATOR. IN A WHILE, CROCODILE. DON'T FORGET TO WRITE." Blaine's voice took on an odd quality, just barely detectable.

"What do you mean...?" Spike said.

"Your track... Is all of it still standing?" Miyuki hadn't been able to forget the other train. The blue one. It had been called Patricia, and it was now lying in the bottom of the river, underneath a long-collapsed stretch of metal railing.

"I CAN'T BE SURE. THOSE CIRCUITS SEEM TO BE MISSING. I WONDER WHAT COULD HAVE HAPPENED TO THEM."

"No, that's insane. You can't just take us off and not know if it's even going to be safe..." Spike argued.

The fastest trains in Japan would usually travel at about 260 kilometers per hour, although Miyuki knew there were some in China that could go even faster. But Blaine was still speeding up, or at least it felt as if he was. Ever since he'd started talking, making these sarcastic comments, it was difficult to think of him as an "it."

"Excuse me, but... How fast exactly are we going?" Miyuki asked.

"WE WILL SOON REACH TOP SPEEDS OF APPROXIMATELY THIRTEEN HUNDRED KILOMETERS PER HOUR. FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS."

Of course, she was pretty sure Blaine knew perfectly well that they didn't have any. It was his sense of humor, apparently.

Chapter 33

Final Ride

Tsukasa didn't like the idea of sleeping in a public park each night. She especially did not want to get used to it - she felt so vulnerable out there, and might have even been breaking the law. It had just been last night, and nobody had caught them. The hotels in this city were all crammed with people, it seemed, and even if they hadn't been nobody had any money to pay for a room.

Out there somewhere, in a completely different universe, Kagami and Miyuki were both out there. Konata, too. Konata was still alive, as hard as that was to believe even now. It may be the middle of the day in this world, but for the others it could be anything. Three in the morning, five in the afternoon, who knew? She wondered what places they had found to stay.

"So what do we have? Tons of people who are going to be killed... when, exactly?" Kyon said.

Tsukasa glanced up at the people around them. A family walking past, two children and the parents, all had one day left. She saw a few men walk by alone, each with one day. A few people had two days still, and some didn't even have numbers at all. She hated what the COMP let her do. Her eyes fell to the sidewalk again, and she examined her shoes.

"Most of them... tomorrow," Tsukasa said quietly.

"We know what this is all about. It's that announcement their princess is going to make," Kamina said. "It's going to happen there, I know it is."

"More likely there's going to be riots or something. I don't know," Dante said. "Besides, not all of them are dying on the day of the announcement."

The worst part, Tsukasa had to agree, was not knowing what was going to happen. Still, they didn't have numbers, and there were a few other people walking around who were going to be okay. Or at least not dead. If they kept going on as they were, nothing would change, right? The numbers didn't guarantee anyone was going to die; they'd found that out when they'd escaped the last world. But you still had to know what to do to change your fate.

"Here's the plan. We get as far away from here as possible, since that princess is coming here to make the announcement. And then we just go along on our way, doing our best not to offend anyone. Sooner or later we'll find a way out of this world and we'll be off to the next thing that's going to try to kill us," Kyon said.

"Works for me." Dante shrugged.

"Come on..." Kamina muttered. "There has to be some reason why Konata would make us come here. You're sure you just want to run away, tail between your legs, like some kind of worthless coward?"

"It's not like there's a reason we went to the last world. She's one of those obsessive otaku types. This is probably some video game she played once, something like that," Kyon said. "I just hope somebody else figured out where Haruhi is. I don't like to think what she might be getting into."

"No reason? What about the COMP?" Kamina said.

"No, that's..." Tsukasa said. "I don't like having it..."

"But thanks to that, we know that people are going to die here, and we just might be able to stop it. You're going to give up that opportunity?"

"Would you just let it go already?" Dante said. "They're not cut out for that kind of thing. And I just don't really care. We're letting it go. End of story."

As much as she wanted to forget about it, the numbers never went away. Tsukasa wondered if they would ever go away, or if she'd live with them for the rest of her life... No. As soon as she got home, she'd get rid of this thing, and if it was gone it couldn't affect her anymore. But so many people were going to die, she didn't like that either, and ignoring it wouldn't change anything.

"Let's... just get out of here, please?" she said.

"Sure. We'll just find the quickest way out of the city, and we'll be gone," Kyon said. "I'd prefer to go somewhere that people aren't going to die in large numbers."

"Listen, Blaine, or whatever your goddamn name is. This is insane. You're going to kill us all. That goes for yourself, too, doesn't it?" Spike tried to stand up to speak, couldn't get his balance, and fell back down shakily.

"I AM INSANE. CRAZY. A FEW SCREWS LOOSE. OFF MY ROCKER. DERAILED, EVEN. METAPHORICALLY SPEAKING... FOR NOW."

Miyuki watched the chandelier swaying. At any moment, they might come to a place in the tracks where a section had fallen out, perhaps a long stretch, maybe even just a couple meters, but it would be enough that Blaine would go right off and they'd all...

No, Konata said she wouldn't let anything happen to them. There was no way she could really die, was there? Not here, not like this. A monorail going insane? The concept was ridiculous.

But Nagato had also said that Haruhi wasn't supposed to be able to control things in other universes with her normal ability, and if Konata still just had her normal ability, then she couldn't change a thing from wherever she was right now. She couldn't just depend on Konata to fix this.

"Nagato, I don't suppose you have any way to stop this?" Spike said.

Nagato. Earlier she'd told Blaine a riddle, and he'd enjoyed it. But now she just shook her head.

"Excuse me, but... is there anything we could do for you, Blaine? You don't have to do this. We could... I'm sure Nagato knows more riddles, if you want..."

"Correct," Nagato said.

"HMM... AN INTERESTING BARGAIN, MIYUKI OF TOKYO. I WILL CONSIDER IT."

Spike was directly across from where Miyuki was sitting, with Nagato seated next to him. To judge by her facial expression, this might as well be the morning commute to school. Miyuki tried to think of it that way, remembering how she used to get off at her stop and then meet Kagami at the school... Konata as well, at least until a year ago.

"Nagato, I don't know, but... Isn't there anything else you can do? It seems a little risky to just try to..."

She shook her head, and spoke calmly back. "This world's data is corrupted."

"Right..." Miyuki said weakly. "Like you said before..."

"I do know a considerable amount of riddles, however. I've read them."

"I WOULD BE GLAD TO ENGAGE YOU IN A CONTEST... WHAT SHALL THE PRIZES BE?" Blaine paused for a moment, for dramatic effect more than anything, it seemed. "IF YOU CAN ASK ME A QUESTION THAT I CAN'T ANSWER, ALTHOUGH I KNOW EVERYTHING, I WILL TAKE YOU SAFELY TO THE NEXT STOP. IF NOT, WE WILL CONTINUE AS USUAL. AND THEN IT'S SEE YOU LATER, ALLIGATOR. IN A WHILE, CROCODILE. DON'T FORGET TO WRITE."

"Very well," Nagato replied.

Spike's head snapped around at her. "What? You're actually going to - "

Alucard cut him off. "It is the only idea he's agreed to. Do you think you can do this, Nagato?"

"Chances of success cannot be calculated." Nagato's words almost sounded like a quieter version of Blaine. It was the kind of thing that he might say.

Miyuki thought again of how fast they were travelling. He'd probably need time to even come to a stop, though she was doubtful there was even a single question he wouldn't answer in seconds. Had taking the train been her idea? Not entirely, but... She'd been so desperate to get out of the town, she'd completely given in to it. She'd activated Blaine after all those years. Nobody should have ever activated him.

"I LOOK FORWARD TO THIS VERY MUCH. LET US BEGIN."

Andy had strolled off towards the center of town, which was all well and good as far as Kagami cared. The house they'd been left at stood waiting for them. The name had been... Jaffords, that was it.

"So let's go ahead, then," Joshua said. He walked up to the door and raised his hand to knock a few times, a few brief taps.

"I don't know what we should say... What if they don't want us here?" Mikuru asked.

"Sure they'll take us," Joshua replied, stepping back to wait. "That metal guy, Andy or whatever, he seemed friendly enough. Less human than I prefer, but friendly all the same."

The door creaked open, and a man was standing there with a tired look in his eyes. He was probably about the same age as Kagami's father. Dull surprise came across his face, and he said, "Oh. I don't think I recognize you..."

"Andy said you could find us a place to stay," Rei said quickly. "You're Jaffords, right? We're passing through, we're from out of town."

"Hm. A place to stay, he says. That worthless old hunk of steel..." Jaffords let out a sigh, tensing for a moment. "Ah, well. You can't be blamed for it. I'd recommend you get out of here before too long. And call me Tian, there's no need for that kind of formality."

"We weren't planning to stay for long. It's no problem," Kagami said. "We just need to rest for the night. And something to eat probably wouldn't hurt either..."

He nodded, smiling grimly. "Well. Come on in, I suppose."

They came into the main room of the house, a sparsely decorated place. Kagami couldn't be sure if this would be considered maybe a middle-class, perhaps upper-class, residence out here. It all looked old-fashioned. That is, except for the robot, which Jaffords seemed used to. There were no electrical appliances in the house, not even lightbulbs, but there had been Andy. They probably weren't in that post-apocalyptic America anymore. But she was also pretty sure they had never entered a different universe since Topeka, either.

"I'll be taking you down to Traveler's Rest. Closest thing we got to an inn here," Jaffords said. "You're welcome to stay there for a day or two. After that..."

"Do you mind if I ask why you want us out of here so quick?" Joshua said.

"It was almost a month ago now, Andy said the Wolves were coming back... Now we've only got a few days before they come. There's nothing to be done, it would be pointless to try to..." He shook his head.

A large woman lumbered into the room, who almost looked like Jaffords but was much larger. She looked at the four of them strangely, then said, "They?" It came out awkwardly, as if she had a mental deficiency of some sort. Kagami felt sorry for her.

"Visitors, Tia," Jaffords said. "I'll be taking them down to the inn." Tia left, satisfied with the simple response, and Jaffords turned back to them. "I apologize, that's Tia - my twin sister. Taken by the Wolves many years back..."

"What do you mean by that?" Rei said. "What are the Wolves?"

He sighed, not wanting to go through with an explanation. "They've been coming for many generations now," he started hesitantly. "I can't remember exactly..."

They were not animals, as he explained. Nor were they people, not in the regular sense. They came every generation or so (Tian had seen them on several occasions), riding horseback, carrying strange weapons, to take away roughly half of the Calla's children. Only one was taken from each set of twins, never any singletons. That word, "singleton," was unfamiliar, like many words he was using, but its meaning was clear enough.

"So they just kill the twins? How many are there, anyway?" Rei said.

Tian shook his head. "They don't kill 'em. It's much worse - they bring 'em back. And when all is done, about half our children are gone..."

"Bring them... back?" Mikuru said, quietly. "I don't understand what you..."

"Tia - the woman who was here just before - she's my sister. The Wolves took her at a young age. Before that, she was just like you or me, but now... She's a huge lumbering idiot, not fit for anything but menial chores out in the fields. Roont."

"That's a little harsh to say about your own sister," Kagami said.

"So it is," Tian agreed. "But it's the truth. She probably won't live much longer, they usually die after some years, screaming in agony..."

"Whoa," Rei said breathlessly. "What exactly do these guys do to them?"

"We're not sure. Take them back to Thunderclap - out in the wastes, far outside of the Calla - and then take something out of their brains, I figure."

That was an awful thought. Kagami stared out the window at the deep navy blue night sky, noting how many stars were out there. It was better than looking at Tian as he told them this story. It sounded like something out of a fantasy novel. Maybe more science fiction, based on what he said about their weaponry. But out in this world, it was probably truth.

And... everyone in the town had a twin, it sounded like. "Singletons" were rare.

What had it been? Almost... two days since she'd last seen Tsukasa. It felt like a lot longer. They'd never been separated for very long before. Kagami wondered if Tsukasa was doing okay... and couldn't help but wonder if she still had a twin sister left. If she'd gone anywhere like Silent Hill...

"So... You just let them come in?" Joshua said. "You know exactly when they're coming - "

"Andy tells us. He sets out for days at a time, always comes back with bad news - "

"Yes, but hear me out. You know exactly when they're coming, and you don't do anything about it. You could get ready for it, take all your children somewhere safe and fight them off. Surely you must have someone strong enough to take these guys down, just a few able-bodied men to challenge these guys."

"It only takes one Wolf to take down a few able-bodied men. True, some Calla-folken did kill one of them once..." Tian's voice trailed off. He sat in silence for a few moments. "We'll never try it again. If we let them go about their damned business they'll let the rest of us be."

"I believe we may be able to help you," Rei said. "We're actually quite experienced fighters. Better than what you have here, I'd be willing to bet."

"Wait, stop. You just mean the two of you," Kagami said, gesturing at her and Joshua. "I'm really not - "

"Hey, you've still got those guns, don't you? You were pretty good with those. I'm sure you'd be good at it."

"You're... gunslingers?" Tian said, putting strange emphasis on the word.

Rei nodded. "Exactly."

Kagami sat forward. "No, we don't have time to - "

Rei cut her off again. "Who else is going to help these people? It's just like me and Konata used to do out on missions together. And besides, you've got a twin sister, don't you? You should know exactly what it would be like if she was in danger. "

Kagami fell silent. Rei must have known that was on her mind. Tsukasa had nothing to do with this town, she was off in some other universe. But, then again, she could very well be in danger right now. If Kagami could do anything to help her, wouldn't she want to do it? And all these people in the town must feel just as helpless...

"Well? Me and Joshua can take most of them, but if you help cover us it would be great."

"Think this out. Are you willing to take this risk?" Tian said. "And if you must do it, stay far away from the town. If you fail, we don't want any trouble."

"I'm not sure exactly what how powerful we're talking, but I've fought inhuman enemies on multiple occasions. I'm become skilled at it. Maybe a touch of luck has something to do with it, but Rei and I should be just fine," Joshua said. "I'm not too worried about failure."

Kagami didn't say anything. Now she would feel guilty if she backed out. Tian just looked so hopeful at the prospect. Back in Silent Hill, when she'd first used those guns, it had been much easier than she thought it would be. The kickback and the power was greater than she'd expected, but every shot had made its mark. And they'd seemed to call to her somehow, like...

Saying Konata had somehow willed her to become a capable fighter seemed crazy, but it also seemed like the most likely explanation. Hell, maybe she was one of those 'gunslingers' Tian was talking about. She had to hold back the half-crazed laughter at the thought.

"So let's check out this inn you were talking about," Joshua said. "Thanks for the hospitality."

"In a tunnel of darkness lies a beast of iron. It can only attack when pulled back. What is it?"

"A BULLET."

"What goes up and never comes down?"

"A SIMPLE QUESTION. IT IS THE AGE OF A MAN."

"What lives in winter, dies in summer, and grows with its roots upward?"

"AN ICICLE. NEXT QUESTION, PLEASE."

Nagato spoke in rapid fire, and Blaine's responses came just as quickly. He seemed to be enjoying himself, but not a single question could even cause him to stop to think. They were evenly matched, computer against computer, neither one's logic would ever outdo the other.

Spike made an effort to stand up, and stumbled across the cabin to Miyuki's side. He collapsed on the sofa next to her, and turned himself around. "It's no good. You had a great idea, but it's just no good."

"I'm terribly sorry..." she replied.

The rail map said they were just nearly at Rilea. Not quite half of the way to Topeka yet, and that was where the track would definitely end. Of course, there was a good chance that the track would be broken much earlier than that. They could crash at any moment, the force of the sudden stop would send them all flying towards the front of Blaine's cabin at about thirteen hundred kilometers per hour, and Miyuki didn't want to imagine exactly how that would look.

"It goes on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening. What is it?"

"AH, THE RIDDLE OF THE SPHINX, FROM ONE OF YOUR WORLD'S OLDEST LEGENDS... THE ANSWER IS A MAN."

As soon as Blaine leisurely stated the answer, Nagato was already asking another question without any sense of urgency in her voice. Surely she was aware of what the most likely outcome would be... Could she do anything else about this?

Miyuki tried to think if she could remember anything. She'd read a few books of riddles as a child, the exercise in logic was good exercise for her mind. She'd done nothing like that recently, and trying to recall anything during the current situation was nothing short of impossible. She certainly couldn't remember any time in her life that she'd been this scared.

Logic. No human could really hope to beat a computer at a game of logic, could they? Logic was all a computer had.

All Blaine had... Because he had no emotion, no ability to truly think like a human.

"What work can a man never finish?"

"AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY. NO HUMAN WOULD BE ABLE TO WRITE ABOUT THEIR OWN DEATH."

Miyuki shuddered. Their own deaths would probably be soon, seeing as they were now approaching the next stop, the Falls of the Hounds. Why couldn't she think of anything? Usually recalling some fact, some story that she'd read, anything at all, it all came to her at a moment's notice. But now all she could think of was...

Konata. If Konata were here, she'd be able to stop this.

No, it was useless wishing that Konata could solve everything for her. That was impossible now. She'd already considered it.

Konata had always seemed so normal, never once suggesting that she was anything out of the ordinary. A dimensional traveler, or a godlike being, nothing like that. It had really been going on for two years? Miyuki remembered the conversations they used to have, back when things were normal. They just talked about nothing at all. You really didn't need to say anything important or meaningful with friends like that. People who could feel were so much better than these computers, weren't they?

And that one time, the end of their first year together, Konata had been talking about...

Miyuki realized how it sounded. It seemed so pointless to try. But as far as she knew, there was no answer...

Would it really work...?

"What is broken every time it is spoken?" Nagato said.

"IF YOU SPEAK THE WORD 'SILENCE,' IT WOULD FOLLOW THAT IT IS NO LONGER SILENT. YOUR QUESTIONS FAIL TO IMPRESS ME," Blaine replied. No hesitation. He seemed to be taunting them, having fun with his guests.

Nagato was about to ask yet another riddle when Miyuki, not entirely sure what she was doing, interrupted in what was the loudest voice she could manage.

"Which end of a chocolate cornet is the head?"

Edward Elric was in shock. The library, burned down the night before they'd arrived back in Central City. It couldn't be a coincidence. And that girl, who'd been caught as the place was going up in flames, then ran away and vanished into thin air? The whole thing was strange.

But more importantly, that one single book. Nobody could possibly understand what it was like... To be wandering around aimlessly for so long, then when they finally get a clue the thing's taken right out from under them? Unbelievable.

A few books had been recovered. Just a few boxes, not more than twenty books total. Few of them were interesting, and none of them were important. It was insane to think that the book they wanted would be safe, but it had been worth a shot to look through them. And, of course, nothing.

"What do we do next?" Alphonse asked him. They were walking away from headquarters, going nowhere in particular. Where could they start looking again, anyway?

He didn't want to look at Alphonse right now. Seeing the suit of armor that his soul was bound to just reminded him of the Philosopher's Stone. Right now it seemed like they'd never be able to create it, and that would mean that Al would never be human again.

"We'll think of some - " Edward stopped, and heard Al's clanking metal body come to sudden halt behind him. "That isn't the girl they were talking about, is it?"

Major Hughes had told them everything the state military knew about last night, and the most important detail of the account was that there had been a short girl with long dark hair seen exiting the library after the fires had been set. She'd stolen a book, and evaded arrest. She'd been lost after that, vanished into the night. And now someone matching the description he'd heard was walking briskly around, turning her head from side to side as if looking for someone.

And then she saw him.

She broke into a run, coming right up to him with a satisfied grin on her face. Her pace slowed as she approached and stopped right in front of him. The dark-haired girl stared at him for a while, taking in all the details. Her expression changed, but he couldn't begin to guess what she was thinking. Edward looked back at her, not saying a word. Finally, she spoke.

"You're taller than me..." Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm... sorry?" The statement caught him off guard.

"I don't believe it. You're actually taller than me," she repeated. "Just a couple centimeters, maybe, but still..."

It wasn't a greeting he was familiar with. Usually people were saying just the opposite. He couldn't even count the number of times Al, with his seven-foot-tall suit of armor he had for a body, had been mistaken for the "Fullmetal Alchemist," since everyone seemed to believe it was impossible for the famous Fullmetal to be someone so young and... and short, yes. They had a way of emphasizing how short he was.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl said. "It's just I'm kind of a fan of yours, I guess you could say. Anyway, I have something for you."

She held out a book towards him, a thick leather volume. Strange, he could have sworn she approached them empty-handed. Edward actually thought it looked significant until he saw what the title was.

"1000 Recipes For Making Magic In The Kitchen...?" he read, his mind going utterly blank. It seemed like a joke. "Oh, it is by Marcoh..."

"Wait. How did you know we were looking for a book by Dr. Marcoh?" Al said.

The girl's eyes darted nervously. "Well, I... Look, it doesn't matter. Actually, this is the one you're looking for. I know what it looks like, but you'll figure it out. You're smart about these kinds of things. Everything you need to know should be in there."

Edward took the book from her, surprised by its weight. If she'd been carrying this when she'd approached them, he definitely would have seen it. But ignoring that, he opened it up. Just a bunch of recipes... Not alchemical formulas, just fancy dishes and quick, easy-to-prepare desserts. She had to be messing with them. Why did she even bother giving them a fake?

"You must have been at the library to find this..." he said, not looking up. "Are you sure there wasn't another book by Marcoh? A research journal, something like that?"

She shook her head, and pointed at the book he was holding. "That's it. I don't know exactly what it means, but you're smart. You'll figure it out, it's all in a code."

"Huh?" Ed went back to the recipes, picking out one at random. It looked normal enough, but maybe... He couldn't be sure of the exact meaning yet, but it did look suspicious. "Yeah, I think I see why... Of course he'd do something like this. It's really about - "

"The Philosopher's Stone. Yes."

Ed's mouth dropped open. How did this girl know so much? About them, about the Stone... she even knew what this book really was. Most people didn't even know who Marcoh was.

"Just one thing... I had to meet you in person, because I wanted to ask you..." she said suddenly. "After you've got the Stone, and you have all that power... What are you planning to do? Once you've got everything... what's next?"

"You mean..." Edward paused. Now that someone was asking him, what could he say? He suspected it might be a trick question or something, but she honestly seemed curious. "I guess... We just want things to go back to normal. First we'll get Al's body back, then my arm and leg... I guess that's all we really want to do."

"Just put everything back the way it was, and live a normal life. Fix your past mistakes. That's all you want with nearly unlimited power." She seemed to consider it for a moment. "You wouldn't do anything else with it? The Stone's incredibly difficult to make, and you could pretty much do whatever you wanted with it. That's really all?"

"That's really all we want," Al said. True enough, Edward thought he might be able to live with two automail limbs, but Al wasn't even human anymore. They were doing this for him more than anything. "There's nothing wrong with that."

She nodded. "No, you're right. After all you're going to have to do for this, I can understand why you'd just want to settle down. It makes sense, I guess I'd already thought of that... Uh... thanks." She turned around, and started walking quickly down the street away from them.

"Wait, who are you?" Ed called after her, but she just quickened her pace. Soon enough she was lost, they'd probably never see her again.

"That's really the book?" Al said, looking down at it.

"I... think so. I don't see why she'd give us a fake one," Edward replied. Usually when you met someone that strange, they knew exactly what they were doing.

Miyuki had tensed up, and she could feel her heart pounding. If the train wasn't moving so fast, she would barely be able to sit down. Surprisingly, Blaine had remained quiet since she asked her question. It seemed so foolish now. He wasn't going to respond. But nobody was talking, they all just seemed to be watching her...

"It's your own rules. She asked you the question. Now you have to answer it," Alucard said. "Unless you forfeit the competition to us."

"THE QUESTION WAS NOT WORTHY OF OUR COMPETITION. NEXT QUESTION, PLEASE," Blaine insisted.

Nagato was about to comply and come back with another riddle, but Alucard interrupted her. "No. I believe you were asked a question, and you have to answer that one first. Unless you are choosing to give up?"

"NO!" The word boomed out even louder than Blaine's usual volume. "THE QUESTION WAS NOT FAIR, YOU MUST ASK ME - "

"Why do people who dislike horror movies seem to watch so many of them?" Blaine didn't understand these questions, if she asked enough of them, then... "Why do restaurants always place the restrooms near the smoking section?" Miyuki no longer cared if she sounded ridiculous. It actually seemed like Blaine was hurt by these questions, for some reason he just couldn't handle them. The last time she'd felt so determined on something like this was when Konata had let her borrow that brain-training video game...

"THESE QUESTIONS ARE MEANINGLESS, DATA IS INSUFFICIENT - "

"Why am I too scared to go to the dentist even when my teeth are hurting?" Bits and pieces of old conversations with Konata were coming back. Things that she'd said, a few things that Kagami or Tsukasa had talked about as well... "Why are people with lower intelligence thought to be less susceptible to colds?"

Blaine's voice began rattling off words, phrases, some of them mathematical formulas, others sounded like simple poems and rhymes. As it went on, it lapsed into multiple languages, then into an unintelligible screaming.

And that was when the route map - which had been showing a small green dot coming towards the end of the line into the Topeka station - exploded. Miyuki flinched, but nothing came towards her. Shards of glass littered the floor, sliding backwards down the floor to collect at the back of the cabin. Blinking lights flashed on and off in random patterns on an exposed transistor board.

"The engine's still - " Miyuki was about to warn them that although Blaine seemed to be dying, committing suicide, maybe, the engines were still rolling and they were headed for the end of the line.

Alucard had already taken out his revolver to fire a few quick shots into the window where the map had been. The rounds were explosive; Blaine's inner workings were ripped apart. A burning smell filled the cabin, something that reminded Miyuki somehow of cold days in autumn. Maybe she'd live to see another day like that -

"I HATE YOU!" Blaine's voice cried out one last time. It became a childish repetition. "I HATE YOU!"

"I think we all feel the same way," Spike said, trying to be calm but with a strong hint of fear in his voice. He glanced around nervously as the train began to shake.

Grinding sounds started coming up from beneath them, and Miyuki felt herself fall over towards her right. They were slowing down. The engines must have given out, they were just sliding along the track now. Probably still very fast, but the friction was setting in and they might stop soon. As long as the remaining track could take that force. How close were they to the station?

"Now, Miyuki, I have no idea why you decided to start talking about those things, but thanks. Let's just agree never to talk about this - " Spike couldn't finish his sentence before they were all thrown violently forward.

The chandelier fell from the ceiling, and the other lights flickered off leaving the cabin almost completely dark. They stayed low for a moment, not sure what would happen next.

"Trip's over," Alucard said calmly.

A reverberating bang came next, a flash of light shining down from overhead like a spotlight. And in that light, they could see a ladder that fell out and dangled there.

"The emergency exit, I suppose," Spike said. He stood up, legs wobbling from the shock. Miyuki didn't think she could stand at all. "How nice of North Central Positronics to give this godforsaken death trap safety measures like that."

"We're... This is Topeka?" Miyuki said.

"I think we made it all the way there, yeah," Spike replied. "Are you coming out?"

"Y-yes... I'll be right there."