I’m sure we are all familiar with the concept of masks. No, not literal once, although as an ex-theater kid, I am very fond of those as well. No, I mean the metaphorical masks we all put on around others. We all have our own personal collection of masks. I’m sure there are also other ways to refer to the concept, maybe you prefer character or persona, either way, it’s all the same. We act differently around other people. Don’t deny it, it’s something we all do, whether we like it or not. Not just are we different when we’re around other people, as compared to when we’re alone, but we also act differently, depending on who we’re with. You act differently when you’re with your friends than when you’re with your parents. A public figure does not appear the same way they act in private. Even the way I speak to you right now is different from the way I act when I’m alone. The role of narrator is just another mask for me.

But that poses a question. Or rather, multiple questions. First, is there such a thing as the one real you, or are all these different masks equally real? Or are they all fake, even? We always pick what about ourselves we want to show and to whom. Does that count as lying? And what if we actually lie about parts of our character? Is that any different? Is it the same if I act more confident than I really am, and if I were to say I’m the person to invent peanut butter? They are both technically not true, but one might say that there is more truth to one than the other. But does that matter if it’s still lying? Where is the line drawn? And where does your real self end and a fake identity begin? And what if you put on one of these masks to protect yourself? Is it lying if it’s for a good reason? Like, let’s say, for a reason, you are a pansexual teen, growing up in an unaccepting home, would it be wrong to hide that part of yourself out of fear of getting disowned?

I realize that this monologue mostly consists of me asking questions, so let me add some substance. The way I see it, we can categorize these masks into four categories. Make-up is the small enhancements and changes we do on a daily basis. Theater masks are pretty much the same, but to a more intense degree, where we’re actually adding in more white lies than simple enhancements or omissions. The personas we put on for our own safety are like gas masks. Sure, you can’t see the person under it, but the mask serves a clear, vital purpose. And lastly, fake identities and the masks that hide our true intentions are like the balaclava of a bank robber. The purpose of these masks is inherently bad.

Although now that I think about it, I do think that these four groups might not be as clearly divided as I’d like them to be. Then again, that in and of itself represents how complicated the matter is.

And tha’'s not even getting into the concept of these masks sometimes being a better representation of ourselves than the real us. Or what if you change and become more like the mask you put on?

I think I’m getting lost in this topic, so it’s best to move on. All of this was just my way of saying that the topic of masks and the different meanings behind it are important to this case I’m about to recount to you.

Case #71: The Scarlet Spree

Saturday, September 28, 1:30 pm: D&M Detective Agency, Ashbypond

Despite this case taking place at the end of October, it actually began about a month earlier. So that is where I’ll start my retelling of the events.

We are once more taken back to the agency's office, where many cases have started.

“Really?!” Amy blurted out. She stared at Inspector Wilson, who was sitting opposite her and Xavier.

Xavier had nearly dropped his oyster tea. Alice had forbidden him to drink it when she was home, so he was happy to use the opportunity, even though the fishy stench was unlikely to vanish before Alice returned.

“Are you sure you can do that?” Amy asked again. “I mean, that would be fantastic.”

“Not like I actually need my license. I’ve been doing just fine,” Xavier bragged.

“I know, I’m very aware that you keep using the license, even though it has been revoked,” the inspector said, shaking his head.

“You were the one who let me keep it.”

“As a memento!” Inspector Wilson said, annoyed. “But that doesn’t matter now. For a while now, I’ve been in talks to have it reinstated. Seems like the higher-ups were finally convinced.”

“Great, when can I have it back?” Xavier asked.

“You’ll need to go through some tests again, but that shouldn’t take too long. Maybe a few weeks.”

“Won’t the FBI be against it?” Amy asked.

“Not really. After all, it was I who got his license revoked, not the FBI. And now that he’s officially part of the investigation, there shouldn’t be any problems, unless Xavier decides to act out of line again.” Inspector Wilson gave him a stern look.

“You know, I get better results when I do my own thing,” Xavier tried to defend himself.

“Does your thing normally involve breaking into a police station’s evidence locker?”

“It was necessary for the investigation.”

The inspector sighed. Before he could continue, Alice walked into the office.

Her expression made it clear she was in a bad mood. Bad enough to not even notice the stench of fish that filled the air.

“Alice, where were you?” Xavier asked.

The inspector turned around. As he stared into Alice’s sad eyes, they exchanged knowing looks.

“I don’t feel like talking about it,” Alice replied, barely keeping up her angry and tough demeanor.

“Did something happen?” Amy asked.

“Did you not hear what I said? I…” Alice was cut off by the song Time Warp from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which was Xavier’s current ringtone.

“Sorry, do you mind if I take that?” Xavier asked, before going ahead without waiting for an answer.

“Hello, you’ve reached the D&M Detective Agency, Xavier Diaz speaking.”

Xavier stared at the phone, hearing a familiar voice come from the other end. He quickly put the phone on speaker so the others could hear too.

“Hello, can you hear me?” the man on the other side asked.

Amy, Alice, and the inspector realized immediately who it was.

“Richard Scent?” Xavier asked.

“Yes, I’m sure you’re dying to hear why I’ve called you.”

“Is one of your kids in danger because of your incompetence and high ego?” Alice asked.

“Again,” Amy added.

“I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.”

“Great. We’re going to ignore that you called, because we have no interest in doing business with you,” Xavier said, his finger hovering over the end call button.

“Wait, at least hear me out. I went through so much effort to get your number. I had to hire a private investigator because you didn’t give me one of your cards. And Angelina refuses to talk to me, so I couldn’t even ask her.”

“Weird how that keeps happening with your children,” Alice said sarcastically.

“Why would you go through all that effort? Our agency regularly appears in the news, and my phone number can easily be found with a simple Google search. It’s not very hard to contact us,” Xavier pointed out.

“What matters is that I’m calling you, not how I got to that point.”

“Listen, if you’re calling us because of a case, we’re not…” Xavier began.

“That’s not it. I have a present for you.”

The group looked at each other, confused.

“So, I’m sure you’ve heard the news that I’ve been building a luxury restaurant in Nevada.”

“No, we haven’t,” Xavier replied, still wanting to hang up the call.

“Really?” Mr. Scent said, confused. “Well, I’m inviting you to a pre-opening dinner. Doesn’t that sound great?”

Xavier sighed. “Let me be frank with you. Working for you was one of the worst experiences in my life, and that includes the time rats were trying to eat me alive. I’m sure I speak for my entire agency when I say that we are not interested in associating with you, your projects, or your guests.”

“Don’t worry, it’s a special event. I’m not inviting my rich and famous friends or colleagues. I’ve invited the world’s best investigators.”

“Why?” Inspector Wilson let slip.

“Investigators saved me, so I wanted to say thanks to the community and establish good relations. The others have already agreed. There are some from the UK, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Germany. And I want you to be the US representatives.”

The group thought about it for a second.

“All members of your agency are warmly welcomed. And don’t worry, I cover all expenses. And to show you how great a host I am, I even went the extra mile. I know you’re like woke or whatever, so instead of making you fly a plane, I reserved you a spot on my train, Scarlet Thunder.”

Xavier rolled his eyes at the insincere tone of Mr. Scent. “Is it okay if we discuss it quickly?”

“Sure, go ahead. Just so you know, the dinner is on the first of November, so you’d get to experience the Scarlet Thunder Halloween party.”

Xavier muted his phone and looked at the others. “What do you think?”

“Absolutely fucking not,” Alice said. “I don’t want to spend any time with that dickhead. And don’t even get me started on his fucking fans. That train ride is like a gathering of the biggest nutjobs and bootlickers out there.”

“If I may add, I’m pretty sure this is just some marketing stunt, not a thank you to the investigator community, as he put it,” the inspector said.

“True,” Amy agreed.

“Great, so we’re in agreement?” Xavier asked.

“Hold on, are you not interested in meeting the world’s best investigators?” Amy asked.

“That does sound enticing. And he did say every member of the agency was invited. I’m sure Mika would love to meet those investigators.”

“Fuck no, I’m not exposing Mika to that piece of shit. You realize that he’s a very vocal transphobe.”

“If he says something rude, you have my permission to cave his skull in,” Xavier said, exaggeratingly.

“I’m gonna pretend I did not just hear you encourage homicide,” the inspector said.

Alice thought about it. “Fine, I’m sure Mika would enjoy meeting those investigators. But they’ll stay by my side at all times. I want to make sure they’re safe.”

Xavier nodded and continued the call. “We’ve made up our minds. We will accept your invite, as long as all four of us, including our junior member, are treated with respect.”

“Perfect. I promise I’ll be respectful. If not, you can cancel me on social media.”

Xavier rolled his eyes again.

“I’ll send you the tickets later. And don’t forget to wear your best costumes for the Halloween party.” With these words, Mr. Scent ended the call.

“Guess we have a program for Halloween,” Xavier said.

“I’ll have to contact Maeve and Tzuriel. I hope Mika can take two days off from school.”

“Otherwise, they’ll just pretend they’re sick,” Amy said.

“I have to think of a costume to wear,” Xavier said. “I’m sure you’ll help me put it together, Alice.”

“Sure, if I get paid extra.”

“I see you’re busy. I’ll be going. I’ll stay in contact with you about the license,” Inspector Wilson said.

“Sounds good.”

“Alice, would you mind showing me out?”

Alice realized the inspector’s intentions and agreed. The two stepped outside, stopping next to Inspector Wilson’s car.

“How is she?” he asked.

Alice shook her head. “The doctors are doing their best, but it doesn’t look good. How about the others?”

“Not much better. The donkey passed away two days ago. The lion probably won’t make it much longer.”

“I see.”

“Has Mika reported anything?”

“No. Seems like everything is fine on their end. And I haven’t talked to them about it.”

“You know, as much as I wish to spare them this experience, you know it will happen at some point. You can’t protect the kid from these things.”

“We don’t know, maybe he’s the exception. Mika’s been through so much, I will do everything I can to offer them the perfect life.”

“I won’t tell you how to treat your sibling, but they’ll have to learn the outside world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. There will come a day when you won’t be there to shelter them.”

“I’m not sheltering them!” Alice retorted angrily.

“Just keep it in mind. Have a nice day. And greet Mika for me.” The inspector got into his car and drove off.

Thursday, October 31, 8:40 am: Drew Station, New York City

A month passed, and with it came multiple other cases that I chose to leave out. In that time, Alice was busy helping the others prepare their costumes, in exchange for a pay raise from Xavier, and Amy offered to take care of some of Alice’s chores. Mika and Lupin got the special treatment of free costumes.

As the end of the month approached, Xavier, Amy, and Alice met up with Mika in New York City. They had stayed in a hotel overnight, so they wouldn’t have to make the trip to the city on the same day as the train ride.

As they waited for the train to arrive, they were sitting in a small coffee shop inside the station that had been decorated festively with spiderwebs, rubber bats, jack-o-lanterns, and ghosts made from towels.

Xavier stared absentmindedly at the creepy doll that Amy was holding. The doll wore a dirty, white dress, contrasting with the old-fashioned black dress and veil Amy was wearing.

“Where did you get that doll?” he finally asked.

“You like it?”

“It creeps me out.”

“That’s what it’s supposed to do. William made it for me. You remember him, right? The guy who was knocked out by Elroy.”

“I do. Didn’t know he could make something like this.”

“Yeah, I was surprised too. Abby told me he’s talented at wood carving, but this exceeded my expectations. Oh, and both dresses were made by Alice, of course.”

“What?” Alice asked. She hadn’t been paying attention. She had received a phone call early in the morning and had been distracted ever since then.

“I said you made the dresses for me.”

“Oh, no problem.”

“Let me guess, you’re dressed as a character from a horror movie?” Xavier assumed.

“Almost,” Amy answered. “She’s actually from a horror game. I’m dressed as Donna Beneviento from Resident Evil Village, one of my favorite games.”

“I don’t get what you like about it,” Alice said.

“What are you talking about? It has great gameplay, variation, a terrifying atmosphere, and interesting characters.”

“Just because you’re attracted to half the cast doesn’t mean the game is good.”

“That is an absolute misrepresentation. Although I have to admit, the game is a paradise for bisexuals. I mean, Lady Dimitrescu, her daughters, Heisenberg, and Chris Redfield.”

“And of course, your favorite, Moreau,” Alice added.

“Oh, of course, I’m a big fan of the fish guy,” Amy said, jokingly. “But you seem to know a lot for someone who hates the game.”

“First, I watched you play it in the living room. Second, I wasn’t talking about that game specifically. I meant the horror genre as a whole. I don’t get why anyone would enjoy it,” Alice explained.

“You don’t like horror stuff?” Amy asked.

“Why would I?”

“I don’t know, I just assumed you enjoyed it.”

“I’m with Alice. I’m not big on slashers and all that stuff. But I do like the creepy aesthetic,” Xavier said. He was wearing a striped suit, his hair was dyed black and green, and he had put on a fake, green beard.

“What are you dressed as?” Mika asked, after taking a sip from their hot chocolate.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never seen Beetlejuice?!” Xavier said, surprised.

“To be fair, last I checked, Beetlejuice looked more like a rotting corpse,” Amy nitpicked.

“I’m dressed as the musical version,” Xavier explained. “It wasn’t my first choice, though.”

“What was your first choice?” Amy asked.

“He wanted to dress up as Dr. Frank-N-Furter,” Alice explained.

“I played the character back in high school. It was probably my best performance.”

“Thankfully, I managed to talk him out of it,” Alice continued.

“I would have pulled it off.”

“That’s not the problem. I don’t think you guys realize, we’ll be spending the next 30 hours trapped with Richard Scent’s most devoted fans, aka the most obnoxiously loud and aggressive conservatives. And just in case I have to point it out to you, they’re even allowed to bring loaded firearms on the train.”

“I think you’re worrying too much,” Xavier said.

“If anything, your costume’s going to get us in trouble,” Amy said.

“Why? She’s wearing the Crimebuster,” Xavier pointed out.

“Yes, the same outfit she wore when she protected Richard Scent.”

“Let’s get one thing straight. I protected Angie and Terry. Richard could have died for all care.”

“Fine, doesn’t change that he posted the picture taken during the ride and made it look like you tried to ruin his day.”

“I’m very aware. But, I’ve come prepared.” Alice started looking through her bag.

“Why are you wearing the Crimebuster to begin with? Are you not feeling the Halloween spirit?” Xavier asked.

“I’m more worried about protection than wearing a dumb costume.”

“You don’t need a costume. The Crimebuster is cool too,” Mika said.

“Thanks. Do you like your costume?”

Mika nodded enthusiastically. Alice had made them and Lupin matching black suits. They looked similar to the ones Amy and Xavier had worn during their streamed explanation of Case #67.

They were identical apart from Mika’s having blue details and Lupin’s red. Lupin’s was also simpler in design and lacked pants.

Mika had also drawn a stubble beard on their face, despite Alice advising against it.

“You’re dressed as the main characters from The Clever Foxes, aren’t you?” Amy asked.

“Yes, I’m Enno, and Lupin is Paul. But technically, they never wear these outfits in Die Cleveren Füchse. They only wear them in some specials and the spin-offs.”

“Why didn’t you just wear the costume Alice made for the PolyCon? A shadow witch would have fit better for the spooky season than some investigators.”

“You got to dress up as my favorite characters, so it’s only fair that I do it too. And I don’t need to wear a spooky costume for Halloween. I don’t even like horror and spooky stuff all that much.”

“What do you mean?! We had multiple horror marathons,” Amy said.

“Why are you showing a kid horror movies?” Alice asked.

“It’s not like I showed them Hostel, The Human Centipede, or Terrifier. We watched some basic stuff, like Silence of the Lambs, IT, Carrie, Scream, Child’s Play, and some newer stuff like I Saw The TV Glow and Get Out.”

“When did you have the time for all of that?” Xavier asked.

“Not a single one of those is age-appropriate for them.” Alice looked up while pulling a white cloth from her bag.

“That’s not true. I Saw The TV Glow is 13+. And Mika’s certainly mature for their age.”

“Age ratings don’t matter if the horror genre as a whole is inappropriate for them.”

“I mean, Mika’s seen multiple corpses and hangs out with a zombie monkey, I think they can handle it.”

“I can, I just think most horror movies are boring.” Mika was trying to feed Lupin, who’d been tired a lot recently and had barely eaten in the last few days.

“Are you kidding me? That’s your genius disguise?” Amy asked, looking at Alice.

“I’m a ghost, can’t you tell?” Alice had put on the most basic costume in the form of a single white bedsheet with two holes for the eyes cut out.

“Look, there’s a practical reason for it. If we should get threatened, I can just toss it aside and take on the opponent with the help of the Crimebuster.”

“Again, I doubt something like that will happen,” Amy said.

“Better safe than sorry.” 

Xavier looked at his phone. “We should probably head downstairs. The train should get here any minute.”

They paid and walked down the stairs. Xavier was correct, and only a few minutes after they got to the right platform, the train entered the station. It was a sleek, modern design, painted completely red. Although, despite the name, the color seemed to be more of a crimson than scarlet.

The train was divided into three segments. The train had two levels, but only the lower level continued all the way through the train. When switching between the segments, one had to leave the upper floor.

The doors opened, and the crowd of costume-wearing people entered.

Normally, the Scarlet Thunder had multiple stops on its route, which began in New York City and ended in Las Vegas, but for the special Halloween event, the train would continue all the way without stopping.

“Where are our seats?” Amy asked while stepping into the back segment of the train.

“Let me check. Seems like we’re in the middle segment, near the bar. Dick reserved a private cabin for us.”

“I assume that means we’ll have actual beds and don’t have to sleep in our chairs,” Alice said.

“Yes, there are fold-out bunks,” Xavier explained.

“Why would you want to sleep? I thought we would stay up the entire night, celebrating Halloween and going trick-or-treating,” Mika said.

“How are you planning to trick-or-treat? Are you going to knock on the cabins?” Xavier asked.

“You tell me. This is my first Halloween.”

“I’m sure we can get some candy at the bar,” Amy said.

“Or, we just stay in our cabin and stay away from the drunken gunowners,” Alice said, staring at the people she walked past.

“Why are you in such a bad mood? No way that’s just because of your disdain for Dick and his followers,” Amy noticed.

“None of your business.”

“Xavier, what are these rooms here?” Mika asked as they approached the end of the hind segment.

“These are the first-class cabins.”

“So that rich asshole didn’t even reserve the people who saved his life a first-class room?” Alice wondered.

“No, he didn’t. And from the looks of the people in this segment, most people who can afford it come from old money.”

Xavier had pointed out correctly that most people who occupied the first-class cabins came from families that had been rich for multiple generations. Most of them were also older than the average party attendee.

“If you’d like, I can give you a rundown of the layout of the Scarlet Thunder, Mika,” Amy offered.

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, seems like in the front and the back are control rooms.”

“I thought this whole train ran automatically?” Xavier noticed.

“It does.”

“Wait, so there is no one controlling this train? That’s an accident waiting to happen!” Alice said.

“I’m sure there are some drivers present, just in case,” Xavier said.

“No, she’s right. During the train ride, the only employees on board are the kitchen staff, waiters, bartenders, and those responsible for other parts of customer service.”

The group walked past a woman dressed in a skintight outfit, branded with the Richard Scent company logo. Her face was hidden behind an alien mask. She gave them a friendly nod as they passed by her.

“A strange outfit for a staff member,” Xavier noted.

“That’s actually what all the female staff members, besides the kitchen staff, are wearing. I read online a job offering for this train. The main qualifiers were being an attractive woman under 30 and never talking back.”

“Jesus Christ, Richard’s not even trying to be subtle,” Alice said.

“For Halloween, they all dress in alien costumes. Uranians, to be precise. Those of the men are much less sexualized, though. Can I continue with my rundown of the layout now?”

“Sure, go ahead,” Xavier answered, while opening the door at the end of the hind segment. A metal bridge covered the coupler and led to the next segment.

“Watch out, don’t want you to trip,” Xavier said, pointing out the gaps next to the bridge. The tracks were visible between the metal bridge and the silicone tunnel walls, which closed off the room between segments. There was enough space for a slim person to fall through the gaps.

As they entered the middle segment, the crowds had started to thin out, as most people had gotten to their seats.

“Normal seats take up the top floor in all three segments. They’re the cheapest way to travel on this train, no privacy, no beds,” Amy continued. “All the private cabins are on the bottom floor. The standard ones are located in the front and middle segments, and the luxury ones you already know about. All the private cabins are locked with a card reader.”

“How many key cards do we have?” Alice asked.

“Three,” Xavier answered, holding up the cards.

“I’ll take one of them.” Alice grabbed a card and put it into one of the Crimebuster’s many pockets.

“I’ll take one as well,” Amy said. Xavier put the third one back in his pocket.

“Where was I?” Amy looked at her notes. “There are two party lounges, one in the back and one in the front. Seems like the back one generally plays calmer music and is attended mainly by the first class passengers, while the front one is basically a rave club.”

“I assume that’s where the bars are located,” Alice said.

“Yes, both lounges have a bar. There is also a third one in the Game Room, located in the middle segment. It has things like dartboards, pool tables, and the sort. Apparently, there is even a bowling alley.”

“Can we go bowling?” Mika asked excitedly.

“Maybe,” Xavier answered, before Alice could react.

“The middle segment is also where the dining room is. Lastly, the kitchen and the storage room for passengers’ luggage are located in the front segment.”

“You really did your research,” Xavier complimented her, while pulling out his key card. He unlocked the door to their cabin.

“I kinda went down the rabbit hole of the train company's history. I can tell you a lot about it, if you’d like.”

“I’m not interested in some overly long deep dive on some topic I know nothing about,” Alice said.

“I’ve seen your YouTube watch history, and it says different. Overly long video essays on random topics are most of what you watch.”

“Fine, go ahead then.”

“Great. Believe me, you won’t regret learning more about it. I mean, listen to this. The company was founded about 20 years ago under the name Thunderbird Express. They were planning to improve the public transport of the entire continent, bringing the US’s train system up to the level of places like Switzerland, Hong Kong, or even Japan. Much of the country’s newer railroad infrastructure was built by them. But all of that came to a halt when Richard Scent bought the company and diverted its funds to some vanity projects like the Scarlet Thunder, which shares its name with the rebranded company, Scarlet Thunder Express. Apparently, he advertised this train route in particular as a way for people to get from the woke north to the beautiful south. His words, not mine.”

“Listen, I’m happy you did your research, but could you get out of the way?” Alice said, waiting for Amy to sit down so she could get inside the cabin.

“Oh, sure, sorry.”

“You get comfortable, I’ll bring our luggage to the storage room,” Xavier said, grabbing Amy’s suitcase.

“I’ll come with you. Not like you can carry the luggage of four people on your own,” Alice said, reaching for Mika’s large backpack.

“I could have pulled it off,” Xavier said. As the two were walking, they could feel the train starting to move.

“And off we go,” Xavier said.

“Have you got any plans for Vegas?” Alice asked.

“Nothing in particular. I was checking out some shows, but they were already sold out. But maybe some of the other investigators are sticking around for a while, so we can hang out. Why, have you got any plans?”

“I thought I could go explore the surrounding area. Maybe break into Area 51 to see some aliens,” Alice said, while opening the door to the storage room.

“Bring me some souvenirs,” Xavier said, laughing, while he was looking for some space to put their luggage.

“No, but actually, I’m probably just gonna get wasted and gamble. You wanna join me?”

“Not really. I’m trying to stay sober.”

“More alcohol for me. I’m gonna get the full Hangover 1 experience.”

“What about 2 and 3? Are those your program for the following days?”

“I’m gonna say it in the words of my brother. Don’t mention those garbage sequels to me, or you’re exiled from my room for all eternity.”

“Sounds like he has some strong opinions on the topic.”

“Yeah, well, he used to be really into movies, even wanted to become a director. He and his friends had weekly movie nights, and he would often invite me to join in, even though I was definitely too young for most of them. We watched like, every part of Jackass, Superbad, a lot of anime, most Batman movies, and a ton of classic horror movies. And at the end of each month, we’d watch some low-budget slop. Honestly, it was really fun hearing him talk about movies. He even made short movies with his friends.” Alice’s smile suddenly faded. “Well, all that was before he changed, so it doesn’t matter much now.”

She crammed Mika’s backpack into the shelf, trying to come up with a different topic.

“What do you mean, he changed?”

“Dude, does it look like I want to talk about it?”

“Sorry.” Xavier looked around the room. The two remained in an awkward silence for a while.

“He failed the final year of high school,” Alice said, her back turned to Xavier.

“What?”

“Pretty sure that’s what made him change. He failed his senior year, and my parents started pushing him beyond his limits. He stopped watching movies, he never hung out with friends anymore, and he became angry very easily."

"That sucks."

"Yeah, well, at least my parents cared about him. They couldn’t care less if I succeeded or failed at anything. The last time my mother had put any hope in me was when she made me compete in a child pageant. God, what I would have given to be him. To have my parents actually invested in me.”

Xavier gave her a pitying look, which Alice seemingly noticed without looking back at him.

“Hey, I don’t need any of your pity, you hear?”

“I’m sorry, I just felt bad.”

“Well, you better stop that, or I’ll zap your nuts.” Alice held out her taser, teasingly activating it. The loud, crackling of the electricity echoed through the storage room.

“Shit, is that thing louder?”

“Yup, upgraded it a few days ago.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to do that?”

“So? When have I ever listened to you?”

“Fair. So, do you see any space for my suitcase?” Xavier asked, looking around.

“Nope.” Alice noticed a door at the end of the room. “What’s behind that? It doesn’t look like an exit.”

“Looks like a walk-in fridge,” Xavier said. “On the other side is the kitchen, after all.”

“Why is there a door on this side?”

“Maybe so they can pass through. The kitchen, fridge, and storage room take up the entire width of the train. That means they would have to go over the upper level if they wanted to get to the hind half of the train.”

“I guess that checks out,” Alice said. “Hey, there’s some space for your suitcase.”

Xavier put his suitcase away, and the two walked back.

As the door opened, Alice bumped into a person entering the room.

“Watch it,” Alice said, annoyed, staring at the figure in front of her. They were dressed in a baggy, cheap-looking dinosaur costume. Their face was obscured by what seemed to be a motorbike helmet that had been painted to resemble the head of a carnivorous dinosaur.

“She doesn’t mean it. She’s just a bit moody today,” Xavier said with a friendly smile.

The figure didn’t answer. The two could feel the piercing stare coming from under the helmet.

As the figure stared at them, Xavier noticed a slight movement that was like an emotional gut punch. A subtle twitch of the neck, tilting their head to the right.

“Weirdo.” Alice grabbed Xavier’s wrist and pulled him past the mysterious dinosaur.

Xavier followed her, lost in thought, staring back at the stranger.

Thursday, October 31, 9:10 am: D&M Cabin, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

“Are you looking forward to meeting the other investigators?” Amy asked, sitting opposite Mika.

“Yes, I’ve read a lot about them. They’re all really impressive.”

“More impressive than us?”

“I don’t think I can rank them. All agencies have their specific fields of expertise and skills.”

“Well said.” Amy smiled.

“Is that a TV?” Mika asked, pulling out a small screen from a part of the wall.

“Looks like it. The remote is attached to the side.” Amy grabbed the remote and turned it on.

The first thing that popped up on the screen was an interview with Richard Scent from a few weeks ago. Amy rolled her eyes and switched to a different channel. A crappy movie Richard Scent had starred in came up next. The next channel showed a montage of Richard Scent’s social media posts.

“Are you kidding me? Is he only showing his stuff?”

Lupin looked up. He had almost fallen asleep on one of the seats.

“Alice did say all the people here are fans of his, maybe that’s why he only shows that stuff.”

“I think the reason is more narcissistic in nature,” Amy said. “Also, just because you’re a fan of one thing doesn’t mean you only consume media related to that. You’re obsessed with The Clever Foxes, but you still watch and read other stuff.”

“And listen,” Mika added. “I recently started a new audio drama series from Germany. The main characters’ headquarters are in a lighthouse, just like mine.”

“Sounds fun.” Amy was still flipping through the channels, hoping for something interesting to come up.

“Damn kids, always glued to their screens,” Alice said as she and Xavier walked into the cabin.

“Don’t worry, there’s nothing interesting on here,” Amy said.

“So like TikTok.”

“Have you ever used it?” Amy asked her.

“No, and from everything I’ve seen and heard, that’s probably a good thing.”

Amy rolled her eyes and looked back at the screen. She was about to turn off the TV as a report caught her eye.

It was about the recent launch of a satellite by Alpha Space Squad. The very same which had been the reason for the threats against Richard Scent and his family.

The Alpha Space Squad is naturally the space transportation company Richard Scent bought a few years ago. Along with a rebrand, he also set a new goal for the company. Not only would the company develop and launch space vessels, mostly to support its own tech brands, but it would also focus on space tourism. Further, Richard Scent promised that he would be the first human to set foot on Uranus, and he would personally teach the Uranians how to dab.

“I hope the damn thing gets shot down like all the others,” Alice said.

“What do you mean?” Mika asked.

“You didn’t hear? It’s been going on for about a year. Satellites were being damaged or destroyed in mysterious ways.”

“I’m pretty sure that stopped about a month ago,” Amy pointed out.

“Suspiciously, just after this satellite was sent up. I smell a conspiracy. What do you think, Bunnyboy?”

“What?” Xavier looked up. He was sitting and had been tapping against his forehead ever since he’d gotten back to the cabin.

“Did something happen?” Amy asked.

“Xavier was spooked by a dinosaur.”

“There are dinosaurs on this train?!” Mika said excitedly. “That sounds like a great mystery. Did you know, there’s a movie where Sherlock Holmes meets dinosaurs?”

“I’m sure Alice is just joking.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing,” Xavier said. “I think I’m seeing ghosts.”

“Not actual ghosts,” Amy said, before Mika could get excited.

“I mean, seeing ghosts is kinda part of the course on Halloween,” Alice said, sitting down next to Lupin and Mika. She picked up the little monkey and patted him on the back.

“What did you see?” Amy asked again.

“Like I said, no need to worry. I must be imagining things.”

“If you say so.” Amy leaned back into her chair and looked out the window, watching as the lights of the tunnel passed by in short flashes.

Thursday, October 31, 10:30 am: D&M Cabin, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

Mika put down the book they were reading. On the table in front of them was a large iced tea bottle, which had barely anything left.

It was quiet in the cabin. Xavier and Amy had left to get some drinks, and Alice had fallen asleep with Lupin lying in her lap. She had taken off her ghost costume and used it as a blanket.

“Lupin, are you awake?” The little monkey looked up exhaustedly.

“Can you come with me? I need to pee. Alice said I shouldn’t leave, but if you’re with me, it should be fine.” They held out their arm, and Lupin climbed onto their shoulder.

Mika tried giving him a treat, but he refused to eat it. Not wanting to wake Alice up, Mika fished the key card from her pocket.

It took them a while to find the toilets.

Mika stared at the two doors. “Since when are toilets on a train gendered?”

Mika waited for a second as if they expected Lupin to answer. They opened the men’s room and went inside.

As they stepped out, a man was already waiting in front of it.

“Oh, sorry, I hope you didn’t have to wait long,” Mika said with a friendly smile.

“This is the men’s room,” the man said, looking at Mika with a scrutinizing look.

“I know, but they don’t have neutral bathrooms here,” Mika replied innocently.

“Neutral bathrooms?” the man repeated, his voice filled with disgust.

“It’s weird, I thought bathrooms on trains were always gender neutral.”

“Jesus Christ, those freaks really brainwashed you, little girl.”

Mika was visibly uncomfortable. “Actually, I’m not a girl. But don’t worry, I get that often,” they explained, not realizing that the man couldn’t care less about respecting their identity.

The man crouched down, staring them straight in the eyes, and putting his hand on their shoulder.

Lupin growled at the man.

“Listen, whoever told you that nonsense is evil. Don’t listen to that person.”

“Could you let go of me?” Mika asked, getting more nervous and uncomfortable.

“Those freaks want to mess with your head and make you infertile. God made you to be a beautiful wife and mother, so…”

“Oi, how ‘bout you back off the kid, you nonce?” someone behind the man said in a thick British accent.

“What do you want?”

“I already told ya. I’d ask if ya can’t see that you’re making the kid uncomfortable, but I don’t think you’re that daft. So how ‘bout you sod off before I smack the shit out of you, you fucking wanker?”

The angry man stood up, trying to intimidate him. But despite being shorter, the British man did not back down, staring coldly into the other man’s eyes while chewing on his cigarette.

“Fuck you, I don’t have to waste my time with you people,” the rude man said after a bit of hesitation. He tried to shove the other man aside, unsuccessfully, and walked away.

“You good, kiddo? Man, that bloke was a handful.”

“Thank you,” Mika said, staring at the man with a look of admiration. He was wearing suit pants, a white tank top, and multiple gold rings. His mustache was carefully trimmed, and his hair was slicked back with gel.

“What’s your name, kiddo?” the man asked, trying to make conversation.

“I’m Mika.”

“Well, nice to meet ya, Mika. Who’s the little chap on your shoulder?”

“That’s Lupin.”

The man showed a thumbs-up. “Nice to meet you, Mika and Lupin. Should another bellend like that pick on you, just holler for…”

“You’re Oscar Doyle, son of the legendary investigator Edward Doyle!” Mika blurted out.

The man chuckled. “Guess even across the pond, people are fascinated with my old man. But it’s just Oscar, aight. I don’t do any o’ that last name bollocks.”

“I read so much about your cases, you’re really skilled.”

“Thanks, tell that to Ravo.”

“Wait, is Ravo Gallagher on this train too?”

“He sure is. We were invited to some chinwag with the world’s greatest detectives. It’s all, just some rubbish PR shite innit, but Ravo said we should go. Said it would be good getting to know other professionals, now that I have to step into my old man’s footsteps.”

“I was invited to that as well!”

“You’re an investigator?”

“Yes, I’m a junior member of the D&M Detective Agency. My codename is Shrimpy,” Mika announced proudly.

Oscar had to laugh. “Now that’s the perfect codename for a pipsqueak like you.”

“What’s a pipsqueak?”

“Never mind that. Do you want to meet the big guy?”

“You mean Mr. Gallagher? Is that really okay?”

“He said he wanted to get to know other detectives, so prolly.”

Mika excitedly followed Oscar to a nearby cabin.

“Oi, look who I met.”

The man sitting inside looked at Mika. He was in the middle of solving a Rubik's Cube with his left hand while listening to Scottish folk music on a portable CD player. He had taken off his prosthetic right arm and put it on the seat next to him. The man had short, black hair and was wearing a simple suit, paired with a striped tie. His face showed how much he’d lived through, both with wrinkles and scars.

“Bloody hell, put your arm back on, you’re gonna scare the wee one,” Oscar said overdramatically.

“Tosser, how was I supposed to know you’d bring a guest over?”

“He does that all the time when he gets too comfortable,” Oscar explained.

“Sip it. Just so you know, I take it off because I sweat under it, and then my skin starts to itch.” Mr. Gallagher grabbed his prosthetic. “And I’m pretty sure if anything would scare them off, it’s that urchin stench of yours.” He pointed his prosthetic at Oscar with a grin on his face.

“Oh, real classy, you old wanker. The smell of my deodorant is nothing compared to that rubbish you call music.”

“Now you’ve gone too far. I won’t let you talk shit about the music my mother so dearly loved.”

“Not my fault, your mother’s taste in music’s shite.”

Mika looked back and forth between the two arguing investigators. They were not sure if this was banter between two close friends or genuine insults. The other two apparently picked up on this uncertainty.

“How about a truce?” Oscar nodded, and Mr. Gallagher put on his prosthetic.

“Oh, you can keep it off. I don’t want to be a bother. Also, my grandpa and some of his friends have disabilities too, so it’s really nothing new to me,” Mika explained.

“You should learn something from the little girl. She knows how to respect her elders.”

“Actually, I’m not a girl. I’m Mika, I use they/them pronouns,” Mika said, slightly hesitant after the experience outside the bathroom.

“My apologies. Say, is that a Clever Fox costume I see?”

Mika’s face lit up. “You know Die Cleveren Füchse?!”

“I read some of the books as a kid. Plus, my granddaughter lives in Germany, and she sometimes tells me about the newer books.”

“Wow, a real investigator who likes Die Cleveren Füchse.”

“Aren’t you an investigator, too, Shrimpy?”

“Yeah, but that’s different. I mean, Ravo Gallagher and Edward Doyle are some of the most well-known investigators ever.”

“You flatter me. But what do you mean, you’re an investigator as well?”

“Now you’re well surprised, aren’t ya? This is one o’ the other investigators Richard Scent invited. What did you say your agency was called?”

“The D&M Detective Agency.”

“Yes, I heard of you. The agency has a pretty good track record,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“Really, you’ve heard of us?!”

Mr. Gallagher nodded.

“How ‘bout you tell us a bit about your cases, Shrimpy. Those must be aces if even this codger’s impressed.”

Mika enthusiastically started talking about a recent case. Case #69: Frozen Exitus, saw the D&M Detective Agency solve the murder of an ice cream man.

The two other investigators listened intently while Lupin was trying to fall asleep in Mika’s lap.

Thursday, October 31, 10:45 am: Game Room, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

The sound of airhorns played from low-quality speakers as the puck landed in Xavier’s goal.

Xavier stared at the small display on the air hockey table. The glowing, red dots blended together in front of his eyes as his thoughts trailed off. His eyes glanced over at the man walking past him. His stare focused on the whisky the man was holding.

“Xavier, are you okay?” Amy asked, standing opposite him.

He shook his head frantically to focus. “Sorry, didn’t mean to worry you.”

“Should we go somewhere else? A bar is probably not the best place for you.”

“No, I’m fine.” Xavier picked up his glass and drank half of it. The taste wasn’t much stranger than some of the drinks Xavier was used to. He had asked for a mix of all the non-alcoholic beverages at the bar.

“I hope I don’t have to tell you this again, but just so that you know, I’m always there if you need to talk. Clearly, something is bothering you, but I won’t pry further if you don’t want to talk about it.”

Amy followed Xavier to an empty table in a corner. She took a sip of her water and crunched on a small ice cube.

“I really need to learn to jump over my own shadow. You’d think I’m straight from how bad I am at dealing with my emotions.” Xavier put on a smile.

“I’m not much better. But everyone has their own pace when opening up.”

“You’re right. It’s actually kinda silly. I think Natsu’s absence is still getting to me, even though it’s been over a year.”

“A year isn’t all that long, especially when you’re trying to digest the loss of a loved one.”

“Maybe it’s Halloween that’s getting to me. Last Halloween, I was still in the middle of my investigations, trying to find him.”

“You know, I only met Natsu once, but he seemed like a great guy. A bit nervous, maybe, but very friendly.”

“I guess it makes sense you’d see him that way,” Xavier said.

“Am I not right?” Amy asked, surprised.

“No, I just meant that most people only see those surface-level attributes. He’s so much more than just the friendly and socially awkward investigator. But people don’t get that. They constantly belittled him and treated him like he was my dorky sidekick.”

“That sucks.”

“I mean, they didn’t even entertain the idea that we were equals, or that he was the leader of the team. He was just some two-dimensional accessory in their eyes. Just reading some of the news articles that were written about us could make my blood boil.”

“I read up on some of your early cases. I know what you mean, the articles tend to focus on you and only mention him as an assistant.”

Those news articles had been a frequent subject of disagreements between Xavier and Natsu, especially in the early days of the agency. Xavier was always infuriated over the imbalanced coverage, but Natsu would always assure him that it wasn’t a problem. He’d always say that he’d prefer staying in the background. A lie Xavier easily saw through. Just like the other members of the agency, Natsu tended to play down his own problems and keep his troubles to himself. After all, he was just as immature and dumb as his boyfriend. If I had the chance, I would have smacked some sense into him. But I’m getting off track.

“Did you know he was the founder of the agency?” Xavier asked. “I originally just tagged along because he was my best friend. He had such a fierce sense of justice and would spend days or even weeks solving a mystery, no matter how trivial it seemed to others. In his eyes, a mystery could not be left unsolved. It was fascinating watching him solve these puzzles. When he was deep in thought, he’d make these clicking noises. One of his many mannerisms.” Xavier chuckled. “I could always tell how he was feeling based on these small signs.”

“Kinda like you tapping your forehead.”

“Funny you’d mention that. I recently realized that it is something I picked up from him. I tapped my forehead at the exact pace he clicked with his tongue. Ironic how it took him disappearing for me to notice that.”

Amy hesitated. “Do you think that he’s… Do you think we can find him?”

“I won’t stop searching for him until I know for sure. I have yet to find proof that he’s completely gone, so I won’t give up.”

“I will continue helping you till the end.”

“Thanks. But you know, Takaya is right. Just as there is no evidence of him being gone forever, there is also no proof that he can return. I have to accept both possibilities, or I will fall into despair when my search turns up unsuccessful.”

Amy looked at him, surprised. “That’s certainly a change of mind.”

“Yeah, well, I’m saying all that, but I can’t even say if I truly believe it. Maybe I should listen to Mika’s advice.”

“What did they tell you?

Xavier chuckled. “Well, they didn’t really say anything, but their message seems pretty clear. I think they heard me talking to Takaya a while back. Afterwards, they recommended a book to me, probably to help me. In their very own way. I only recently picked it up, because I didn’t realize the significance of this recommendation.”

“What book?”

“The Pledge. It’s an old Swiss crime novel. The main character is a cop who ends up spiraling into despair, unsuccessfully trying to solve a case. Unbeknownst to him, the culprit died before he could ever solve the case.”

“Do you really think they intentionally recommended that book to you to give you some advice?”

“You don’t? I think you're underestimating Mika. Something you and Alice have in common.”

“Speak of the devil,” Amy said, noticing Alice approaching the table. She was holding a beer and nervously looked around the room.

“Here you are,” she said. Her tone already gave away that she was in a bad mood. Amy had a hard time making out if she was angry or concerned.

“Have you seen Mika and Lupin?”

“No. I thought they stayed in the cabin with you,” Xavier said.

“I just woke up, and they were both gone.”

“Maybe they’re on the toilet,” Amy suggested.

“I thought so too, but they haven’t come back yet, even though I waited for a few minutes.”

“Maybe they went looking for a case to solve. You know how they get on trains,” Xavier said calmly.

“Why are you so calm? Just the thought of them alone on this train makes me go insane.”

“You can’t be that worried, if you had time to get a drink,” Amy let slip.

“It helps me calm my nerves.” Alice pulled down her balaclava to free her mouth so she could take a big sip. She hadn’t even bothered putting her ghost costume back on before leaving. The Crimebuster was on full display, which earned her a few angry looks.

“Amy, can’t you track them?” Xavier asked Amy.

“No, Alice and Mika don’t have trackers,” she explained.

Amy had recently installed trackers in the phones of her and Xavier. She believed them to be more reliable than any tracking technology preinstalled in the phones.

“Even if they had a tracker, do you really think I wouldn’t have called them already if they had their phone on them? They left their phone in our cabin.” Alice put Mika’s phone on the table.

“Maybe we should look for them,” Xavier said. “It can certainly not hurt.”

“You’re right. I’ll check the middle segment. You two can take the others,” Amy said.

Xavier and Amy headed one way, while Alice walked towards the end of the train.

Just as she was about to leave the bar, a man approached her. “Hey, are you a member of the D&M Detective Agency?” the man dressed as Chucky, the killer doll, asked her excitedly.

“Yes. Why do you ask?” Alice answered cautiously.

“Can we take a selfie? I’m a massive fan of investigators.”

“Sure, just make it quick,” Alice said, annoyed.

The man posed next to Alice for the selfie. “Man, today must be my lucky day. I get to meet two great investigators.”

“Wait, what other investigator did you meet?”

“Mr. Doyle, I’m sure you’ve heard of him. He’s the adopted son of Britain’s most successful investigator.”

“I see.” Alice was disappointed. She’d hoped the man was talking about Mika. “So, that investigator is on this train?” she asked.

“Yes, I think he has a private cabin somewhere in the middle segment. I’m sure an investigator like you can find it.”

“Thanks.” Alice turned around. She thought to herself that if anyone would find out a famous investigator was on the train, it would be Mika.

Thursday, October 31, 11:15 am: Doyle & Co. Cabin, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

“I could hear the motor and felt how the truck was moving. I was really scared, tied up in the freezer.” Mika was in the middle of their retelling. The two investigators listened fascinatedly.

“But Lupin had thankfully snuck onto the truck. He managed to open the freezer and chew through the rope.”

“And then?” Mr. Gallagher asked.

“I caught a glimpse through the window. We were driving away from the town. I pulled out my phone, started a video call with Shark, and directed the camera at the window. That way, she was able to track my location based on the landscape.”

“Impressive, at your age, I couldn’t even imagine something like that,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“That story has you gobsmacked, has it? You see, that’s what puts blokes like you apart from people like Shrimpy and me. We weren’t afraid of getting our hands dirty when we were still wee nippers.”

“I didn’t have a famous detective who let me assist him when I was a kid,” Mr. Gallagher countered.

“Put a sock in it, will ya!”

Mr. Gallagher turned to Mika. “Say, were your friends not worried?”

“Shark got really upset. I don’t think she trusts me with the investigations. That’s why I keep acting on my own. I have to prove myself.”

“How’s that goin’ for ya?”

“I just have to find the right case, then I can show her that I’m just as great as her.”

“And your little pal helps ya with that?” Oscar asked.

“Yes!” Mika said, nodding enthusiastically. Lupin lied limp on their shoulder.

“He seems pretty tired,” Mr. Gallagher noted.

“Prolly had a long night. Just like us, right, ol’ chap?”

“Were you investigating a case?”

“Yes. Some quack was tossed out the window. Wasn’t much of a challenge figuring out who’d done it.”

“A classic case of defenestration. Not as popular as it used to be, this method of murder. But we originally came to America to investigate a serial killer,” Mr. Gallagher explained.

“Have ya heard about some bloodthirsty bloke called Moth?”

Mika shook their head. “I don’t really read the news. Is that some famous serial killer?”

“Not sure about famous, but he’s caused a bloody mess, that’s for sure. He’s one o’ them… What’s it called again?”

“They’re one of the Doomed 50,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“Yeah, what he said.”

“We haven’t managed to track them down or find out their true identity.”

“But we’ll get that wanker.”

I’m noticing now that there might be readers who aren’t familiar with the Doomed 50, so I should probably explain the topic for anyone who’s not up to date.

The Doomed 50 are a part of a government-funded initiative, introduced in 2022, which seeks to put an end to serial killers as a whole. Every state is provided with a bounty of 50’000 dollars, which they are instructed to put on the head of a serial killer local to the area.

The idea is that civilians are encouraged to hunt down these infamous individuals. The Doomed 50 are deemed already on death row, and killing them is officially not a crime. As you can guess, this has already led to many innocents getting caught in the crossfire and mistaken for the serial killers. In fact, more people have been murdered by the bounty hunters than by the Doomed 50.

Even though some states were against the concept, seeing it for the horrible idea it is, they were forced to comply.

As I stated, the states are supposed to choose local serial killers, but that definition tends to get stretched. Take Revenant, for example. He’s the one picked by the state of California, but he’s active all across the US. California is simply the place where his first few crimes took place.

The serial killers can vary wildly in how they present. There are the secretive ones who attack from the shadows, like Siren from New Hampshire, Caldera from Hawaii, and the Yeti from Alaska.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have those who prefer to turn their crimes into a flashy spectacle. They also often end up seeming reminiscent of something from a comic.

Such examples include Scytodes from Vermont, Succubus from Nevada, Kelpie from Florida, and the Cyclops from Alabama.

Naturally, not every killer fits into these two boxes. Moth, for example, attacks from the shadows, but he always leaves a flashy aftermath behind, always marked with his symbol.

Moth is actually a very interesting example, as he’s the most recent addition to the list. He may have only recently started his killing streak, but he’s already become so notorious that he’s taken the New York spot from the previously targeted serial killer, Burnout.

Now you may be wondering if this whole plan of the government has shown any results. To that I can say that, technically, yes. One of the killers, the Ringmaster, one of the less infamous examples, and the one based in Texas, has indeed been neutralized. But I’d be remiss not to mention that in her wake an entire wave of new vigilantes, motivated by her death, sprang into action. The Circus, as the group calls itself, has been terrorizing Texas ever since, in a much worse way than the Ringmaster ever did.

I would also go as far as to say that some of these serial killers are specifically motivated by the infamy that comes with being one of the Doomed 50, which has generally lead to an influx in serial killers.

So, if you were wondering if I agreed with this initiative, I think the results should answer that.

But back to the actual case.

As the three continued talking, someone knocked on the door. Oscar got up and opened the door.

“Finally, I found you,” Alice said.

“I take it you are one of Mika’s friends?” Mr. Gallagher asked.

“That’s my sister, Shark.”

“You’re introducing me by my codename?”

“I mean, Shark is mint, I can’t imagine your actual name sounding better,” Oscar said.

“You’re right about that. Mika, how about we head back to our cabin?”

“What?! But I want to talk more to Mr. Gallagher and Oscar!”

“Don’t worry, we can talk later. We’re about to head over to the dining room anyway.”

“Yes, we’re quite famished from our last investigation.”

“See, you can talk to them later. Just don’t sneak off again, and keep your phone on you.” Alice grabbed Lupin with a worried look. She calmly stroked his head.

“Sorry, I was just going to the toilet, but then that mean guy came up to me, and then I met Oscar, and he introduced me to Mr. Gallagher.”

“What mean guy?”

“Some wanker who was harassing them. I scared him off. I’d have given him a right thrashing if he’d stuck around.”

“What did he look like? I’ll show that prick what happens when you mess with my sibling.”

“Don’t worry, nothing bad happened. He just said some mean things, that’s it.”

“Fine. But if someone else treats you badly, you call me, and I’ll mess them up.”

Mika nodded. They said goodbye to the two investigators and followed Alice back to their cabin.

Thursday, October 31, 11:25 am: Front Party Room, Scarlet Thunder (Front)

Xavier was done searching the upper level. He’d gotten to the party room in the front of the train, just behind the control room.

Despite the early time of day, many people were already celebrating, drinking alcohol, and dancing to loud techno music.

Xavier looked around, thinking it unlikely Mika would be somewhere so noisy and packed with people, but he checked just in case.

He felt uneasy around all the alcohol. In the past, his drinking was mostly related to stress or when he was otherwise under emotional pressure, but his drinking was not entirely limited to those occasions.

Especially after he’d decided to quit drinking, his cravings had become more frequent.

As he walked through the crowd, he noticed two suspicious people standing in a corner. One was dressed in a black and white clown costume, likely based on Art the Clown, the main antagonist of the Terrifier series, and the other was dressed in a yellow jumpsuit with black stripes reminiscent of the iconic jumpsuit from Kill Bill.

The woman dressed in yellow handed the clown something and held out her hand, waiting for something in return.

Xavier could make out the clown handing her some money. He waited for the two to split up and quickly followed the clown.

“Can I have a look at what you just bought?” he asked, pulling out his freshly reinstated detective license, before the clown could even react.

Unlike his movie counterpart, this clown seemed easily frightened and quickly handed over a small plastic bag.

Xavier let him go and stared at the bag. It was filled with small crystals, looking similar to Himalayan salt with their milky pink color.

Xavier put it in his pocket and searched the rest of the train segment.

Thursday, October 31, 11:40 am: D&M Cabin, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

The door opened, and Xavier stepped in.

“Looks like you found them,” he noticed.

“They were talking to some other investigators,” Alice explained.

“Not just any investigators. They are Britain’s most successful detective agency, Doyle & Co.”

“They’re also invited to the dinner tomorrow,” Amy mentioned.

“I’ve heard of them. I’m looking forward to meeting them. Sadly, I won’t get a chance to meet Edward Doyle anymore.”

“Yes, it’s a tragedy that he recently passed away,” Mika said.

Xavier sat down and pulled out the plastic bag. “Look what I found.”

The other three looked at it. Amy was confused, unlike Alice, who wasn’t fazed by it. Mika stared at the bag in shock, trying to hide their surprise from the others. They didn’t do a good job, but the others didn’t notice. They were too focused on the bag.

“Are you really surprised they have this stuff here?”

“No, but I still think we should keep an eye out for it when we’re around people.”

“What is it? Some kind of drug?” Amy asked.

“Seriously? It’s crystal meth,” Alice said.

“Isn’t it normally white or maybe transparent?”

“Have you not seen Breaking Bad?” Alice asked.

“I have, but I thought blue meth only existed in the show. Also, this stuff is pink.”

“Well, it doesn’t just make you see rainbows if you take it. It also comes in a variety of colors, even outside of some popular TV show,” Xavier said.

“Can I have a look at it?” Mika asked.

“Sure, go ahead,” Xavier answered, pushing the bag closer.

“Did you see who was selling it?” Amy asked.

“Some woman in a Kill Bill costume.”

“I’ll keep an eye out for her,” Amy said.

“Some crazy idiots, guns, alcohol, and meth, what a great combo,” Alice said sarcastically.

“So, how many colors does it come in?” Mika asked, seemingly dancing around what they were thinking.

“I don’t know, a few. I’ve seen white, yellow, and pink before,” Xavier said.

“Don’t forget blue,” Amy added.

“I’m sure there’s more than that. Plus, depending on the exact recipe, they likely will have different shades,” Alice assumed. “But I don’t know enough about chemistry to be sure.”

“That would mean that everyone’s meth has a unique shade?” Mika asked.

Alice chuckled. “Yeah, they’re all unique little snowflakes. But to be serious, I would guess so. Just based on probability alone. Why?”

Mika’s eyes darted nervously around the room, and their left eye started twitching. “No reason. It sounded interesting.”

“Don’t get any dumb ideas. You know what I told you about your chemistry experiments,” Alice said, jokingly.

“I’m only allowed to do them under an adult’s supervision.”
“And?”

“And they can’t be dangerous or illegal, unless they’re explosive…”

“Because explosions are funny,” Alice finished Mika’s sentence.

“Are you encouraging them to produce explosives? Do you think that’s a smart idea?” Amy asked.

“Explosions are the one thing I know Mika won’t create because they’re too noisy for them.”

“That’s true. The only bombs I create are smoke or stink bombs.”

“And I’m very thankful for those.” Alice pulled a handful of small objects from one of her pockets.

“Give those! I don’t want you getting any dumb ideas.” Amy grabbed the smoke bombs and put them away.

“I wasn’t gonna use them. Okay, maybe I was gonna scare some assholes, but that’s it.”

“Wait, but what you’re saying implies that Mika’s been creating some dangerous chemicals,” Xavier pointed out.

“Well, they mostly just reek, but there are some more dangerous ones there. That’s why I confiscated them.” Alice pointed to one of the pouches attached to the Crimebuster.

“Here, you can have it back.” Mika handed Xavier the small bag.

Xavier put the drugs away, and they continued talking for a while before heading to the dining room.

Thursday, October 31, 12:45 pm: D&M Cabin, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

The group had returned to their cabin after lunch. Alice was calmly drinking a gin tonic while watching anime on her phone. She had recently started watching Detective Conan, as it was one of the few anime series that Mika also watched, and it had been on her list for a while.

Xavier was reading a book, a collection of all Sherlock Holmes short stories, to be precise. He constantly shifted his position, trying to find a comfortable way to sit, greatly annoying Alice, who was sitting next to him.

Amy was focused on her old DS, furiously scribbling on the touchscreen, playing a soccer game.

Mika was pretending to read, their book in one hand and stroking Lupin with the other. They were waiting for the right opportunity to leave the cabin.

“I’m gonna go talk to Mr. Gallagher and Oscar.”

“Fine, just take your phone with you,” Amy said.

Alice didn’t notice anything, as she was too focused on the episode, and she was also already a little buzzed.

“Wait, I’ll come too,” Xavier said.

“No!” Mika said nervously. “Sorry, I thought I could talk with them alone for a bit.”

“Okay. I’ll have enough time to introduce myself later.” Xavier sat back down and continued reading A Case of Identity, the third short story in the collection.

Mika picked up Lupin and left the cabin.

“Let’s look for a quiet corner,” Mika said, looking down at the little monkey.

“Don’t look at me like that. This is the perfect case for me to prove myself.” Mika walked to the luggage storage. No one else was in the room, and it was relatively quiet for a train.

Mika sat down on a suitcase and pulled out their phone. They hesitated for a second.

Looking through their contact list, they found the number of Inspector Wilson.

It took a while for him to pick up. “Yes, Tobias Wilson, who’s calling?”

“Hello, Inspector. It’s me.”

“Mika, what a surprise. Aren’t you on your way to meet the other investigators?”

“Yes, we’re currently on the train,” Mika said nervously.

“Is everything okay? You sound spooked. Did Xavier get himself in trouble?”

“No, nothing like that. I have to ask you a question.” Mika spoke softly.

“What’s on your mind?”

“I wanted to know if the disciples of Dei are still in prison.”

“Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”

“It relates to a case I’m investigating.”

“On your own? Don’t get yourself in any trouble.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

“Well, I guess I could check for you.”

“Thank you.”

Mika could hear the inspector typing something, searching through the digital archive.

“I assume you're interested in the leaders, right?”

Mika nodded, realizing a second later that the inspector couldn’t see the gesture. “Yes, are they still in prison?”

“Yes, and they will stay there for a while. They…” The inspector paused. “Hold on, what’s this?”

“What?” Mika asked.

“Seems like one of the members received a presidential pardon. A man by the name of Dwight Woller.”

“I don’t know who that is.”

“That’s right, you all used those strange Latin names. If my memory serves right, he was one of the two behind the double murder.”

“Via!” Mika said. Mika had been especially curious about him, as he was the one who’d taught Scientia how to produce crystal meth.

Crystal meth with the exact same shade of milky pink as the one Xavier had confiscated. They had immediately recognized the color, having spent many hours in the lab, assisting their mother or collecting tools and substances for their experiments.

“So that means he’s free?” Mika was not familiar with the concept of a presidential pardon.

“Yes, as the name says, the president himself let him off the hook.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Don’t ask me. I’ve stopped questioning why our current president is doing the things he does. Seeing as we’re stuck with him for another four years, that will likely not change in the near future.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“You mean Mr. Woller? No, he hasn’t gotten in any trouble with the law, so we aren’t keeping tabs on him.”

“I see. How about other members? Ones that weren’t high ranking?”

“Some of them were allowed to walk free, others are in jail. Mostly depends on how they behaved during the raid. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Mika hesitated. They knew they had to make a decision to get more information. Even before the call, they had already realized what might be the best thing to do, but they were afraid of doing it.

Mika took a deep breath. “Can I call my mother?”

Silence came from the other end of the call. The inspector was clearly caught off guard by that question.

“Are you still there?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting you to ask that.”

“Can I call her?”

“Well, technically yes, but Alice told me to make sure your mother couldn’t contact you out of fear she would try to harass you.”

“I didn’t know that. But isn’t it all right if I’m the one calling her, and not the other way around?”

“If that’s what you want. I can connect you, just give me a few minutes.”

“Thank you.”

The inspector ended the call, and Mika put the phone down next to them.

Breathing nervously, they hugged Lupin tightly. As if he could feel their emotions, the little monkey squeaked in a worried tone.

“Don’t worry, I can do this. I’m just calling my mother, that’s nothing to be scared of.”

Mika tried putting on a smile, but they were trembling.

At that moment, the door opened, and someone walked in. The same person Alice and Xavier had run into before.

He walked straight forward until he noticed Mika. “Oh, I didn’t see you there,” he said. The man was soft spoken, and his voice was a bit raspy. There also seemed to be a hint of a voice changer mixed in with his tone.

“Hello,” Mika said, trying to hide how nervous they were.

The man dressed as a dinosaur looked at Lupin. Fascinated, he came closer.

“What an interesting animal. I haven’t seen one like it.”

“His name is Lupin,” Mika said.

“Like the famous thief. He must be a little trickster. Say, what species is he? I recognize some traits of a squirrel monkey, but that’s clearly not what this monkey is.”

Mika wasn’t sure what to say. “He’s something like that. I don’t know what the species is called.”

“I see. He seems a little tired. Are you treating him well?”

“Yes!” Mika said defensively. “A friend made a special food just for Lupin. He’s a biologist, so he knows what he’s doing.”

“That makes sense. Maybe Lupin has a bit of sloth in him.”

Mika’s phone rang.

“Oh, I’ll leave you alone. I’m sure you came here to talk in private.” The man waved and left again.

“Hello?” Mika said, picking up the phone.

“Pes, I’m so happy to hear your voice.”

Mika felt like they had been punched in the stomach.

“Have you finally come to your senses? Do you miss your mother?”

“Actually, I’m calling to ask you something.”

“Is that how I raised you? As always, you’re only worried about yourself. You didn’t even ask how your precious mother was holding up in this horrible place.”

“I’m sorry, mother. How are you?”

“I can manage. The worst part of my time here was thinking my dear daughter had forgotten about her poor mother.”

“No, I haven’t forgotten about you, but…” Mika’s voice was trembling.

“Then why haven’t you called?” Scientia asked angrily.

“I…”

“Are you living with your uncle? Has he forbidden you from calling me? Is that it?”

“No, I’m not living with him.”

“Then who are you living with?”

“Grandma and Grandpa.”

“Your grandparents died years ago,” Scientia replied in a cold tone.

“I mean Grandma Maeve and Grandpa Tzuriel.”

“Who… Wait, you mean the old couple who kept calling the police on us? No wonder you're misbehaving, they’re clearly a bad influence.”

“No, they’re really nice.”

“Why aren’t you living with your uncle?”

Tears started forming in Mika’s eyes. “He… He didn’t want to take me in.”

“That sounds just like him, that lazy good-for-nothing. I shouldn’t have expected anything from your father’s family.”

“It’s not because he was too lazy,” Mika said quietly, sniffling their nose.

“What possible other reason could he have?”

“He said he didn’t know how to take care of a kid traumatized from living in a cult!” Mika blurted out, tears rolling down their face.

“I overheard him talking to the people in suits. He said it would be best if I were sent to a psychiatric clinic if no one else would take me in.”

Scientia was silent for a moment. “See, that’s what the outside world is like. A girl like you can’t make it.  Dei and I are the only ones who still love you, despite your faults. Had you not helped those sinners destroy our community, you’d still be living a safe and comfortable life at my side.”

“But I wasn’t comfortable in…”

“How dare you say that after everything I’ve done for you?! Is the outside world really any better?”

Memories rushed through Mika’s head. Getting harassed when using public bathrooms, getting strange looks on the street, getting beaten up by bullies, almost drowning in June, getting tied up or trapped during investigations, and Alice breaking her leg because of them. The memories were interspersed with moments from their childhood, getting treated nicely by Scientia. Playing hide and seek in the mansion, watching the sunset together, and Scientia bandaging up their scraped elbow.

Mika was overcome with uncomfortable and conflicting feelings. They stared off into the distance and started breathing irregularly. As they were about to answer, they felt something push against their arm. Lupin was cuddling up to them, trying to comfort them.

New memories flashed through their head. Xavier standing up to Scientia, solving the mystery behind the Kraken together, the movie marathons they had with Amy, playing with Lupin, talking to Sasha for hours on the phone, reading books with their grandparents, learning how to swim, camping, receiving a codename, and staying up late with Alice.

A warm feeling overcame them. It felt like all their friends were hugging them.

“No, the outside world is nothing like you’re saying. I have so many people who love me, and every day I go on a new adventure.”

Scientia started laughing. “Adventures? I thought you were more mature than that. You talk about reality like one of your childish storybooks. You clearly haven’t experienced what the world is like. The only reason you can say this is because you're being sheltered. Those people who love you just treat you like a fragile little child who can’t handle the real world. Tell me, are you really living in the outside world, or did you just end up in another gated community? At least I wanted you to grow up and not just stay a stupid little child.”

Mika shook their head. “You can’t ruin this for me. Your love felt nothing like that of my friends and my grandparents.”

“Well, when you see the real world for what it is, I’m sure you’ll come crawling back, begging for the comfort I offered you. But the love of a mother is something you’ll have to earn back. Just like that of Dei.”

Mika was unsure what to answer.

“You haven’t been praying to Dei, have you? Say, have you had nightmares since you left the commune?”

“Yes,” Mika answered hesitantly.

“See, that’s what happens to the wicked nonbelievers.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“If you say so. I’m sure you’ll come to your senses once you see the outside for the horrible place it truly is.” Scientia paused. “Is that all?”

Mika realized that they had completely forgotten why they’d called. “I wanted to ask you something. It’s about Via and the crystals.”

“You expect me to answer your questions? And about that heretic, no less.”

“He taught you the recipe for the crystals. Did any of the other disciples know the full recipe?”

“Why would you care about that? But to graciously answer your question. Only he and I knew the full one.”

“Okay. Has he ever mentioned something about the outside world? Like a place where he lived?”

“No. And I won’t answer any more questions from a daughter who isn’t grateful for what I gave her.”

Without saying goodbye, Scientia hung up.

Mika continued sitting there in silence, still shaking.

Thursday, October 31, 3:10 pm: Doyle & Co. Cabin, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

Xavier knocked on the door, waiting for an answer.

The door opened, and Oscar looked at him. “Yes?”

“Hi, I’m Xavier Diaz. I wanted to introduce myself. You’re Oscar Doyle, right?”

“Just Oscar, mate. So you’re the founder of this agency people keep yapping about?”

“Actually, it was my boyfriend who founded it. I was merely the first to join the group.”

“Natsu Masuda, if I remember correctly,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“Yes, I’m surprised you knew that. His media presence was always pretty limited.”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on the new generation of investigators. A promising bunch, to say the least.”

“How about you come in for a chinwag?” Oscar gestured inside the cabin.

Xavier walked in and noticed something. “I thought Mika was here. Did they leave already?”

“You mean Shrimpy? Haven’t seen them since we left for lunch.”

“Did they say they would come here?” Mr. Gallagher asked.

“Yes, but I think they’re off exploring the train. They probably just lied so Alice wouldn’t worry about them. She’s been a bit clingy lately.”

“I see. Is Alice the one wearing the armored suit? What did Mika call her? Shark?”

“That’s her.”

“Seems like the lass got a point though, ain’t she? With all these bigoted wankers around, it’s just a matter of time ‘til another one decides to pick on them.”

“They have their phone on them, and Lupin is keeping an eye on them. They should be fine.” Xavier quickly sent a text, checking in on Mika.

“I am surprised, though. I wonder what might be more interesting to them than two legendary investigators.”

“Oh, please, don’t say such nonsense. No need to mythologize us for being good at our craft,” Mr. Gallagher said. “If anything, we should praise you, the new wave of detectives who’ve already achieved so much.”

“Oi, are ya calling me old, ya codger?”

“Compared to the younger generation, yes. Also, you joined an agency that had been around for over two decades at that point.”

“What makes us so different from you?” Xavier asked.

“Most of the big names of the younger generation started at a very young age with no previous experience or ties to crimefighting. We’re different, though. Edward was a police officer before starting the agency, and I used to work for SIS, or MI6, as you might know it. As for Oscar, he worked as our informant even before Edward took him in.” Mr. Gallagher paused.

“I’ve been looking forward to getting to know some of these new detectives. Not only you and your team. Tomorrow, there will be many other representatives of the new generation.”

“So you know a lot about the people we’ll meet tomorrow?”

“He won’t shut up about it. Keeps talking about you kids like you’re the bee’s knees.”

“There is nothing wrong with admiring and respecting young people for what they’ve already achieved. And to answer your question, Xavier, yes, I’ve done my research.”

“I would love to hear about them. I’ve been busy the last few weeks, and haven’t had a chance to look into the guest list.”

“I would love to. Now, certainly, there are not just young folk attending the dinner. Dave Bates isn’t much younger than I. He gets treated like a celebrity down under. Some of his earliest cases have been published as books and even adapted into films in some cases. Half of the duo from Japan has also seen a lot. Yuki Aoyama is a genius inventor. She used to solve cases together with her brother, but these days she primarily works with her 12-year-old son, Taro, who’s considered a genius in his own right.”

“I think Mika mentioned them. Apparently, Yuki is known for the gadgets she invents for their investigations.”

“That’s correct.”

“Now I’m imagining some bloody secret agent tools, right out of James Bond,” Oscar said.

“That’s probably a fitting comparison,” Mr. Gallagher said. “Anyway, let me continue. There is also a trio from Germany. Young women around your age. I believe they call themselves Die Drei Punkte, likely in reference to a popular book series. They have a great track record, and they even work for free, which is quite surprising. Lastly, there is a young woman from South Korea, Min-Seo Jung. There isn’t much public information about her on the internet. Her talent as a detective has apparently caused speculation, as there are rumors of her using spiritual powers. I don’t believe in such stories, but they do frame a picture of someone very skilled.”

“I’m impressed. Now I’m even more excited to meet them. Maybe one day some of us will even collaborate on a case.”

“That would be a right adventure, wouldn’t it?”

“It certainly seems possible. I was wondering if you’d be interested in assisting us with our current case. A local detective probably would be a great help,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“Sure, I’d love to. What case are you working on? Art thefts, smuggling, kidnapping?”

“We’re after that Moth bloke, I’m sure you’ve heard of him. Some twat running around killing people. The bastard prolly thinks he’s some sorta Batman.”

“We’re not certain on the exact motive, but the targets don’t seem to be chosen at random, even though they have little in common as a whole.”

Xavier shook his head. “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline. Our agency has one rule. We don’t get involved with serial killers.”

“Interesting. Sad to hear that we won’t be able to work together on this. But I can totally understand you, and I respect your decision,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“Thank you. I’m sure there will be another opportunity. Good luck anyw…”

Someone knocked on the door.

Oscar got up and opened the door. Mika was standing outside, holding a notepad.

“Hello, Shrimpy. Have you come for some cheese and crackers? It’s about time for a snack.”

“No, thank you. I wanted to run a theory by you, regarding…” Mika noticed Xavier sitting in the room.

“Hey, Mika.” Xavier waved, smiling.

“Oh, hey, Xavier,” Mika said, trying to hide their surprise.

“What theory did you want to talk about?” Oscar asked.

“Never mind, I don’t actually need your input.”

“If you say so.”

“What have you been doing, Mika? Were you exploring the train?” Xavier asked.

“Yes. I was looking for a case.” Mika averted their eyes, looking down at their notepad.

“Have you found one?” Mr. Gallagher asked.

“No, but I’ll continue looking,” Mika said goodbye and left in a hurry.

“Have you done something to upset them, or why are they hiding something from you?” Mr. Gallagher asked.

“I hope not.”

The three continued talking while eating some snacks they ordered. Xavier was very happy to try out Mr. Gallagher's home-made tea, brewed from lemons and tangerines.

Thursday, October 31, 8:50 pm: Front Party Room, Scarlet Thunder (Front)

Mika had spent most of the day looking around the train, searching for the woman in the yellow jumper, unsuccessfully. Mika assumed she was likely hiding in one of the locked cabins.

They had to put their investigation on hold for a bit, as Alice demanded they get back for dinner.

Xavier hadn’t told her about Mika’s lie, but still, Alice didn’t want them to leave the cabin after dinner. But getting around that was surprisingly easy. Xavier and Amy left shortly after dinner, and Alice, feeling exhausted and having drunk quite a bit already, fell asleep not long after. This was the opportunity Mika had waited for.

After leaving the cabin, Mika went to the party room in the front section of the train. They were convinced that it was the most likely spot for the drug dealer to show up.

The hectic party environment was nothing for Mika. Going into this, Mika knew they had to be prepared so as not to get overstimulated.

They had grabbed some of Alice’s earplugs to muffle the noise of the music and the party attendees.

From their backpack, they had gotten a pair of sunglasses to block out the flashing lights. At least as much as possible.

Mika was sitting in a corner, observing the excited guests. They had put their cell phone in their chest pocket, so it could film everything going on around them.
For a while, nothing happened, but Mika was determined not to miss anything. Ironically, focusing this much made them miss multiple calls from Alice.

Finally, Mika saw who they were looking for. The woman in the Kill Bill costume emerged from the crowd, approaching someone. The two stepped aside to exchange drugs and money.

Mika decided not to step in but observe further, and they were lucky they did so. The woman walked over to a man dressed as Chucky and put a stack of cash into the front pocket of his overalls, trying to be inconspicuous.

The woman said something, and the man nodded. They parted ways. As the man approached the exit, he seemingly noticed Mika. They quickly grabbed the book they had brought along, acting like they were reading.

I don’t think Mika realized how suspicious they looked in that moment. I don’t attend many parties, but to my knowledge, reading books isn’t something you do at a gathering like this.

It was seemingly enough, though. The man took his eyes off Mika and left.

After waiting for a little while, they followed the man dressed as the killer doll.

Thursday, October 31, 8:50 pm: Hind Party Room, Scarlet Thunder (Back)

Xavier was sitting on a sofa in the lounge area of the Party room at the end of the train.

The atmosphere was much calmer than at the other party.

There were fewer people here. The demographic seemed to be older on average, and only a few of them were dancing or singing along to the music.

Speaking of the music, the selection was strange, to say the least. While the other party mostly played electro music, interspersed with some hectic pop music and rap. The music at this party darted back and forth between completely different genres. One moment, the DJ played country music, remixes of classical music the next. At the moment, he was going through a playlist of music from the 70s and 80s, but even here, the genres were all over the place, switching between Rock and Roll, disco music, and Europop.

Xavier was looking down at his phone. He could feel the uncomfortable stares he was getting from the patrons, but he chose to ignore them.

“Here you go,” Amy said, handing him an iced tea and sitting down next to him.

“Cheers.” Xavier noticed Amy wasn’t drinking water for once.

“I thought I’d treat myself,” Amy said, noticing Xavier’s look.

“As you should,” Xavier answered, smiling.

Amy took a sip, and her entire face puckered, overwhelmed by the strong taste. “Wow, I forgot how sour lemonade is.”

“Do you not like it? You can have my iced tea, if you like.”

“No, it’s okay. But thanks. I was just surprised. I prefer sour over sweet, actually.”

A man walked up to them. Some of the other patrons grinned, seemingly knowing what he was about to say.

“Listen, I’m gonna have to ask you to leave. Some of the other guests find your presence irritating.”

Amy seemed confused, but Xavier understood right away.

“How come? We weren’t being noisy, and we’re keeping to ourselves. So, how about you tell me what’s got you so upset?”

Xavier leaned back, taking a sip of iced tea, and making clear he had no intention of leaving.

“How about you wipe that smug grin off your face?”

“I’d love to do so, if you follow my request first.”

“If you so desperately want to hear me say it, we do not want to share our space with your kind. We’re here to have a good time, not think about some border hoppers who bring crime into our beautiful land.”

Xavier sighed. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. Listen, I’m quite comfortable here, and I sure as hell won’t have some racist asshole ruin my night. So, how about you hop back over to your friends and leave us in peace? Or you can take this up with Richard Scent, seeing as we were personally invited by him.”

“What?” the man stammered, confused.

“If you could please get out of my sight now, I’m trying to enjoy myself here.”

The man angrily walked away, over to the DJ’s stage.

“What an asshole,” Amy said.

“I’m used to it. So, are you up for a game of cards?” Xavier held up a stack of poker cards.

“Sure I…” Amy stopped as she noticed the sudden change of music. A song by Wesley Smith started playing. Amy was very familiar with the tune, as the artist, which is frankly a very generous thing to call him, was one of her father’s favorite musicians. He’s also known for being very far right and expressing his bigoted views in his songs. The one playing in the moment included such musings on all the ways immigrants are ruining the country.

“Wow, is this still passive aggression or full-on pettiness?” Xavier asked, barely fazed.

“You want to leave?” Amy asked, looking around. Many of the patrons were staring at the two with uncomfortable grins.

“Are you serious? I came here to have a good time, and giving in would be the opposite of that.” Xavier calmly handed out the cards for a round of Rummy. “I’ll leave when I want to, not when they tell me to.”

“If you say so. But I can not be asked to listen to this god awful squealing.” Amy pulled out her phone. Xavier continued handing out cards, unaware of what she was doing.

“So, you wanna start?” he asked, taking another sip from his drink.

“Hold on, just a second. I’m almost done.”

“What are you doing?”

“If they think using music to piss us off will work, they clearly haven’t met me. Two can play at that game.”

“Are you gonna hack the speakers?”

“Correction, I already did. Hacking into those Bluetooth speakers can’t even be called a challenge.”

“I’m impressed. So, what song were you thinking?”

“What better way of flipping someone off musically than by rickrolling them?”

The previous song had just ended. Just as Dixie started playing, the music was switched. The song: Never gonna give you up, by Rick Astley started blaring from the speakers.

“Not sure if they’ll get the meaning. I think your passive-aggressive note might be lost on them,” Xavier said, looking around at the confused faces.

“At least it’s better music.”

“You know, I do have an idea how we can use your music to really annoy them.” Xavier jumped up and stared at Amy with a grin. He held out his hand. “They want us to leave, so how about we just hijack the party?”

Amy rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

“Come on, let’s show them how to party?”

Amy smiled and grabbed his hand. Xavier pulled her up and started dancing. His dance moves were questionable at best, barely lining up with the rhythm and consisting of a confusing mix of different dance styles, although keep in mind that this is coming from someone who can’t dance. Frankly, two left feet would be generous when describing my dancing.

Amy simply tried to go along, uncertain at first, but as the song went on, she started getting into it.

As the two started getting into it, they could not even notice the annoyed looks and the frantic way the DJ was trying to get his music back on.

Smiling, they tried out different moves to mix it up. As the song approached its conclusion, Xavier, for some reason, thought it would be a smart idea to spin Amy, which led to a predictable outcome. Amy tripped over her own feet and pulled Xavier to the ground with her.

As the two looked into each other’s eyes, lying on top of each other, they both started laughing.

“That could have gone better,” Xavier said, chuckling as he helped Amy up.

“I think it went perfectly,” Amy said, sitting down on the couch.

Xavier took another sip as Amy started laughing again. In the background, the song started over again, as Amy had decided to fight back with an endless loop of a single song.

“What?” he asked, confused about Amy’s giddy expression.

“Nothing. I just had a strange thought. A few months ago, I would have given everything for you to ask me for a dance, but I would have likely not been brave enough to go along. And now that I don’t care about it anymore, I end up dancing with you.”

“I mean, we could have gone dancing, if that’s what you wanted. I didn’t know that was a desire of yours.”

Amy laughed even harder than before. “You seriously haven’t realized yet?”

“Realized what?”

“Wow, for an investigator, you’re really bad at picking up on other people’s feelings. How have you never realized that I had a crush on you?”

“Wait, what?!”

“How are you surprised by this. I would turn as red as a tomato whenever you were close to me.”

“I guess I just never considered it. Not that I don’t think you're beautiful and super likable, you’re just not my type,” Xavier tried to explain nervously.

“Don’t worry about it. I feel the same about you. I realized I’m much happier having you as my best friend than as some one-sided crush.”

“Did anything happen to make you realize that?” Xavier asked. “Wait, was it because of Laura?”

Amy sighed and shook her head. “No, I had already started losing interest before I met them. But it doesn’t matter, Laura doesn’t feel the same about me, as I do about her.”

“So that’s what happened after the convention.”

“Yup, she shut me down. I really have terrible luck with my love life.” Amy chuckled.

“You’ll find the right person one day, I’m sure. Who wouldn’t want a girlfriend like you?”

“You,” Amy pointed out.

Xavier laughed. “Okay, maybe there are exceptions.”

The two continued talking until Xavier noticed someone. Alice was stumbling through the crowd. Once more, she had forgotten to put on her ghost costume.

Xavier waved to get her attention.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“What do you think? Mika snuck out of the cabin again,” Alice replied angrily and clearly drunk.

“Don’t they have their phone on them?” Amy asked.

“They’re not picking up.”

“I wouldn’t either, if I were them,” Xavier said.

“What was that?”

“Come on, you’re acting like some helicopter parent. You're even more protective than usual. Did something happen?”

“Fuck off! You know what these people are like? Mika already got harassed today. Who's to say that won’t happen again? What if they do something even worse to my little sibling?”

“I’m sure Mika is fine. We can go look for them if you want, but right now I’m more worried about you,” Amy said in a calm tone.

“You should probably go lie down in the cabin and sleep off all the alcohol,” Xavier added.

“Oh, look who’s talking. So what, you’re sober for a bit, and now you think you can lecture me?”

“That’s not what I mean, but you should definitely cut back on the alcohol.”

“Let me ask you this. How long have you been sober? “

“About four months,” Amy said, putting her arm proudly over Xavier’s shoulder.

“Is that what he told you? Funny, who emptied that whisky bottle I found two weeks ago? Last I checked, Amy doesn’t drink, and I don’t like whiskey.”

Xavier let his head hang in shame. “That was one bad night. You think I’m not ashamed of it myself?”

“Leave him alone. It’s normal to have such setbacks. It doesn’t change how he’s actually trying to get his shit together, unlike someone else I know,” Amy said.

“Oh, you’re the one to talk!” Some people stared at Alice as she was getting louder. “You take some baby steps towards fixing your fucking eating disorder, and now you act like you got your shit together? Give me a break. You still suck up to a family who hates you. You can’t accept that they will never love you, no matter how much you let them walk over you.”

“Shut up! Why do you feel like you have to make us feel bad? You’re addicted to self-pity, even though we’ve constantly tried to help you, no matter what,” Amy said. “Sometimes I wish you had never come into our timeline, just so we don’t have to put up with your bullshit.”

“So you wish I never existed in this timeline?” Alice laughed. Though it wasn’t a genuine laugh, it sounded painful and crazed. “Ironic, coming from a literal accident. Why do you think your parents hate you so much? They never wanted you in the first place. For fuck’s sake, you would have been flushed, were they not…” Alice stopped mid-sentence, staring at Amy, perplexed.

“Just shut up!” Amy said. She pulled back her fist after hitting Alice right in the face.

Alice stood still, unsure of what had just happened. A stain started forming under her nose, darkening the black fabric of her balaclava.

Without words, she turned around and walked away. Amy and Xavier watched as she stumbled towards the exit.

“Holy shit, I didn’t mean to do that!”

“Well, see the positive. She probably won’t remember it.”

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.”

“Yeah, I thought so. How about we ditch this place? I’m kinda getting bored with Rick Astley.”

“Probably for the best. Let me just do one more thing. Every concert needs its grand finale.”

As the two left the room, a song with the flattering title: Fuck You started playing, much to the annoyance of the angry patrons.

Thursday, October 31, 9:15 pm: Game Room, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

Many people were drinking at the bar or playing games at one of the tables, or maybe even at one of the bowling alleys. Mika was more comfortable here. There were still too many people for their taste, and the music was too loud, but they could manage.

They could feel Lupin cuddling up to them inside their suit, which helped them stay calm.

Mika was drinking what they called orange juice on the rocks, which is exactly what it sounds like. Just regular orange juice with some ice cubes in it. Although there was a certain other flavor Mika could taste, stemming from the sucker they had been handed by a friendly waitress. The sweet strawberry flavor mixed quite pleasantly with the orange juice, seeing how Mika didn’t bother to take it out of their mouth when taking a sip.

They looked around the room. Mr. Gallagher and Oscar were bowling and hadn’t noticed them. But Mika wasn’t looking for them. They were much more interested in the man standing at one of the tables. The man dressed as Chucky.

“Can I have another orange juice on the rocks?” Mika asked the bartender.

“Sure thing.”

“Could you give it to the man over there who's dressed up as Chucky?” Mika had seen this in movies. A technique to get someone’s attention by buying a drink for them.

Even though the bartender was wearing an alien mask, it was clear that he was smirking. “Who should I say it is from?”

“You can simply point to me and say that I’d like to have a word.”

“Right away.” The Bartender filled a glass and handed it to the waitress who’d heard Mika’s request. She brought the drink over to the man before grabbing some empty glasses from another table.

Mika turned their back to him and waited. As they were waiting, another man walked up to the bar.

“Hey, two Gold Rushes for my fiancé and me.” The man, who was dressed as Shaggy, pointed to a woman dressed as Velma, who stood next to a pool table.

“I’m terribly sorry, that’s not on our menu, and we don’t have honey syrup here,” the bartender said.

“Come on, man. She really wants this drink, and I don’t want to have to deal with her whining if she doesn’t get it. You know how women are.”

“I’ll see what I can do. As far as I know, the kitchen needs honey syrup to decorate the midnight dessert. Maybe I can get some from them.” He notified the waitress before leaving the bar unattended.

“Thanks for the orange juice, very refreshing,” a strange-sounding voice said. Mika looked to their right, where the man dressed as Chucky had taken a seat.

Mika couldn’t quite place the accent, and the man’s tone wasn’t high or low, but somehow off. But still, as weird as the voice sounded, there was something comforting about it, a certain softness, or perhaps even friendliness.

“I hear you wanted to speak with me? If I may ask, to whom do I owe the pleasure?

Mika straightened their back and tried to sound more mature. They held onto their glass with both hands, so that their fingers couldn’t nervously twitch during the conversation, or at least not as noticeably.

“I am Lieutenant Shrimp, my friends call me Shrimpy, so you can call me Lieutenant Shrimpy.” Mika was surprised by the way they were talking. They spoke in a direct and scratchy-sounding New York accent and were gesturing with their sucker as one would with a cigar. They had been so focused on sounding mature that they had simply imitated the first thing that came to mind. In this case, this was Lieutenant Columbo, although it’s debatable how accurate Mika’s impression of Peter Falk’s performance was.

“Easy, Lieutenant, why so confrontational? Am I in trouble?” The man was seemingly ready to entertain Mika’s performance with a friendly smirk on his lips.

The man’s face was covered in layers of makeup, making it actually look like the plastic face of a doll. This made the smirk quite an uncanny sight.

“We’re not there yet. Say, what is your name? Or should I just call you Chucky?” Mika asked.

“Only my friends call me that.” The man pulled out a kitchen knife from a large back pocket and put it on the bar counter. Mika wasn’t entirely sure whether it was real or fake.

“I’m Timothy White, but you can simply call me Timothy.”

“Okay, Timothy, let me show you something.” Mika held their sucker over the ashtray, tapping it as one would do with a cigar. Only afterwards did they realize that they had held the candy so low, the sucker had touched the ash, and was now covered in a layer of it. They simply dropped the sucker in the ashtray and tried not to draw attention to their comic faux pas.

Timothy seemed amused, but he was much more interested in what Mika had to show him than in this little blunder.

Mika pulled out their phone, putting it down in a similar fashion to how Timothy had pulled out the knife.

“Before I show this to you, I want you to know that this has already been shared with a confidant and should something happen to me or this recording, they will release it.”

“Starting with a threat before I even know what this is about. Pretty bold for a 15-year-old.”

“How do you know my age?”

“Lucky guess,” Timothy shrugged it off. “Or maybe I’ve been spying on you for months.” He grinned.

Mika played a part of what they’d recorded. The video showed the drug deal and how the woman handed Timothy the money she’d received for the drugs. “This footage is very incriminating, wouldn’t you say?”

“Seems like it. But you wouldn’t show it to me if you weren’t trying to get something out of it. Do you want money?”

“I want answers.”

Timothy chuckled. “Then quiz me.”

“Do the names Via or Dwight Woller mean anything to you?”

“Can’t say for certain. The second one sounds familiar.”

“How about the Red Eye?”

The man raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you’re not in over your head? Asking about the Red Eye can be compared to a death wish.”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to make threats.”

“Clearly, you got me in a choke hold. So, what if I do know the Red Eye?”

“Let me explain my theory. The drugs you are selling were made by Dwight Woller, aka Via. He was once a major player in the drug business, known for his high-quality product. But he was forced to hide for a while. He still continued producing drugs, working under the Red Eye. After his cover was blown, he was put in prison. Can you follow so far?”

“Sure, seems like you’re stating simple facts, not a theory.”

“I’m getting to it.” Mika paused. “After he was arrested, he was later let go. He seemingly went back to producing drugs, seeing as you have his product. There were only three people who knew the exact recipe he used. Mr. Woller, his former colleague who has been dead for months, and a member of the cult he joined. But that member is still in prison and hasn’t given out the recipe. This also means that the Red Eye needed to free him, if they wanted to keep selling his product.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” Timothy said, still with a calm smile on his face.

“Good. Seeing as you’re overseeing the sale of the drugs, you’re clearly not only a member of the Red Eye but also a somewhat high-ranking one. Certainly higher than a random dealer. Which is why I want you to confirm my following theory.”

Timothy stayed silent, only answering with a slow nod.

“The way Mr. Woller left prison was by presidential pardon. But the president wouldn’t have a reason to do so unless he was doing it on behalf of the Red Eye. So tell me, am I right in assuming that the president has ties to the Red Eye?”

Timothy slowly started laughing.

“What’s so funny?”

“I mean, what isn’t?” Timothy said. You set all of this up, hoping to get me to confirm such an outlandish theory. A theory, mind you, that is severely lacking in evidence.”

“Just answer. This is just between you and me.”

“You do realize that your phone shows at the top of the screen if it’s recording.”

Mika looked down at their phone, seeing the small symbol indicating a voice recording being in progress.

“And you even showed me your phone. Honestly, it’s adorable how you thought you were in a position of power.”

“Don’t forget, I… I have blackmail on you.”

“So what, let me quickly indulge your theory. Let’s say you’re right. In that case, I could simply kill you and destroy this recording. I would go to prison, but as you said, in this scenario, I have the president on my side, and he would just free me. After all, according to you, I’m a high-ranking member of the Red Eye.”

Mika looked at him, trying not to show their fear. Lupin hissed at the man whose calm smile seemed more sinister by the minute.

“So, tell me, Mika, are you in over your head?” Timothy put his hand on the handle of his knife.

“How do you know my name?”

“The how doesn’t matter. You should be more concerned about what I know. Your name and age aren’t the only things I know about you.”

Mika could feel their heartbeat getting faster. Timothy grabbed Mika’s phone and ended the recording.

“I know much more. You’re the junior member of the D&M Detective Agency, your mother is the cult member you mentioned previously, your little monkey friend is called Lupin, and you have had him since a previous run-in with the Red Eye. You currently live with Maeve and Tzuriel Banda, who you consider your grandparents. You refer to the people close to you with familial titles, such as Big Sis Alice, Big Bro Xavier, or Cousin Amy and Ralph. I even know things about you that you don’t.”

“Stop!”

“Oh, is that it? Are you throwing in the towel? Well, if the conversation is over, I guess I can leave.” Timothy turned around and got up.

“Even though your attempt was unsuccessful and poorly thought out, I’m sure it made for a great scene,” Timothy said as he walked away.

The sentence echoed in Mika’s head as the time around them seemingly moved in slow motion. Something was obviously strange about what he’d just said, and Mika could only come to one conclusion.

“Wait! Just one more thing.” Timothy stopped. A grin started to form, as if he’d hoped Mika would stop him.

“Wouldn’t you say it’s awfully rude to cut a scene before it gets to the good part, Paradox!”

Their smile widened as they slowly turned around.

“Dun, dun, dun!” they said, mimicking a dramatic sound effect as it would play in a movie.

Paradox sat back down, just as the bartender returned. With the honey he’d fetched from the fridge, he prepared the drinks and handed them to the waitress, so she could bring them over to the customer who’d asked for them.

“I was afraid you wouldn’t pick up on my hints, but I see that I was underestimating you.”

They turned to the bartender. “Two more orange juices.”

Mika stared at the mysterious rival of Xavier and Natsu.

“So, you said the scene isn’t over yet. Tell me, what did you want to talk about?”

“I want you to confirm my theory. Now that I know your true identity, I’m not afraid of you anymore.”

“My true identity?” Paradox chuckled. “Knowing my true Identity, you should realize I can’t just confirm your theory. I am the personification of mysteries. I have to keep my cards close to my chest. That’s why the fans love me. That and my charming personality. Can you believe the fans had to go 13 episodes without me?” Paradox turned their head slightly and winked at no one in particular.

“Why do you keep talking about reality as if it were some TV show?”

“Is it not?” Paradox replied in a dry manner.

“Do you really believe that?”

“Like I said, I am a mystery. Why don’t you give me another theory? I enjoyed your last one.”

“I don’t think you really believe it. Xavier compared your behavior to the Truman syndrome. I looked into it, and from what I’ve read, there seems to be a big difference. As the name implies, people with this condition believe themselves to be in the same position as Truman. They think their lives are simply a TV show, revolving around them.”

“The Adventures of the D&M Detective Agency. A great TV show, I’m sure. Otherwise, we’d have been canceled already. Or wait, I believe these days only bad shows get continued while good shows get canceled. Or they get dragged out until they become a bad show.”

“Don’t try to distract me. The big difference between you and this explanation is that you don’t consider yourself the protagonist. Like you said, you’re a side character who sometimes disappears for dozens of episodes. Why would someone believe reality is just a TV show, but then consider themselves a side character?”

“There is a simple explanation.” Paradox paused, seemingly for dramatic effect. “I’m not affected by the Truman syndrome. Reality truly is just a TV show, and I’ve simply realized it. Maybe I’m even a plant, put here by the producers to make for interesting entertainment.”

“You’re not seriously trying to convince me of that?”

“Well, to be fair. I have been questioning my theory. I always believed our show to be on the forefront of entertainment, but that can’t be.”

“How so?”

“Come on, two genderqueer people can’t be series regulars. That is too much representation for mainstream media.” Paradox started laughing. “I’m sure you have some statistics about that in that treasure trove of knowledge of yours.”

Mika was caught off guard. “I don’t really consume much media outside of the mystery and crime genres. The best I can think of would be Glenn and Glenda from Chucky, ironically. But I don’t know if they count, they’re the same person after all.”

“Amy and Alice are technically the same person, too. Do you consider them individuals or one and the same?”

“Individuals, of course. But that’s not the same. Why are you even asking me this?”

“I’m interested in you. I find you a fun character, and I want to show the audience more of your personality. They already got to see how you try to take charge, and how you act when your plan falls apart. What could I show them next? Maybe how you handle grief? Maybe romantic love? No, that would be too complicated. I would have to find you a match, and that would be a whole other can of worms. Or maybe betrayal would be the route to take.”

“Stop talking about me like I’m some character in a show.”

“Fine. Let’s talk about something else. How are your friends doing? How’s Alice?”

Mika refused to answer.

“Don’t be like that. She’s been acting strange, hasn’t she? Weirdly protective to an annoying degree. Has she been drinking more? I bet she has.”

“What are you trying to get at?” Mika asked, annoyed. “She’s just worried, that’s all.”

“As someone wise once asked me: Do you really believe that? You’re smart enough to know that there’s more to her weird behavior. What if I were to tell you that I not only know that she’s been lying to you, but also what she’s lying about.”

Mika stared at them in disbelief.

Thursday, October 31, 9:25 pm: Hallway, Scarlet Thunder (Back)

While Mika was talking to Paradox, and Xavier and Amy were getting back to their conversation, Alice was drunkenly walking back to her cabin. She walked past the luxury cabins as someone entered the car from the opposite side.

The woman, dressed in a skimpy princess costume, looked right at Alice. She quickly approached her with an angry look on her face, to Alice’s great annoyance.

“Do you think this is funny? Why would you choose such an offensive costume?” she asked in a shrill voice.

“Lady, I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about. Just leave me alone.” Alice was walking past her as she continued talking.

“You dress as that bitch who ruined Richard Scents’ day. The one who scared his son, when all the boy wanted was to enjoy a day at the amusement park.”

Alice stopped and stared into her eyes. “Are you for real? That picture shows how the masked figure is saving Richard Scent and his kids, because that rich asshole was so far up his own ass that he was willingly putting himself and his kids in danger after he received a threat.”

“How dare you talk about him like that?! And how would you even know, you liar?”

Alice could feel the anger overcoming her. “I know because I am the person in that picture! I am the one who saved his worthless life!”

“How could you say something like that?” The woman grabbed Alice’s arm. “I’ll report you to the staff.”

“Let go of me!”

“I will not.”

“You wanna know something? I would have let him die. I only saved him as a byproduct of saving his kids. Fuck it, if I were given the opportunity, I might just kill him myself.” Alice was so overcome with emotions that she wasn’t even aware of what she was saying.

“You’re a monster!” The woman tried dragging Alice along, but the only thing she achieved was pissing her off even more.

“Let go, or you’ll regret it.”

The woman pulled harder, yanking Alice closer.

Alice had had it. All of the emotions boiling inside her, not just those of that day, but also from days, weeks, months, even years ago, they all combined with the alcohol and took on one simple shape. The woman who was standing in front of Alice.

No matter how unreasonable it was, at that moment, this woman was the personification of what had caused all the anger, frustration, and pain Alice had ever felt.

Out of reflex, she grabbed the woman by the collar and headbutted her. Her helmet made a loud thud sound as it hit the woman’s head.

The woman fell to the ground, unconscious.

Alice was breathing heavily, still not registering what she’d just done. As she turned around, she noticed someone standing in the hallway. A man dressed as a dinosaur. He was standing still, staring at Alice.

“What?! Do you have a problem?” Alice asked angrily, walking towards him.

The man shook his head and continued walking. He had his hands behind his back. Just as he and Alice crossed paths, all the lights in the train went out. Barely any light came in through the windows. Before Alice could adjust to the sudden darkness, she felt something poking her in the neck. She started feeling dizzy and fell to the ground, next to the woman she’d just knocked out.

Thursday, October 31, 9:30 pm: Game Room, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

Mika looked around. The lights had suddenly gone out, and the people around them had immediately started complaining to the clueless staff.

“What just happened?” Mika asked.

“I don’t know. Couldn’t be a power outage, could it? The train would have stopped in that case,” Paradox replied calmly.

The staff advised everyone to stay where they are, and the bartender tried to get in contact with his superiors, trying to find out how to handle the situation best.

But it didn’t take long for the problem to resolve itself. After only a few minutes, the lights turned back on.

The people started calming down, with the exception of the engaged couple who’d ordered the Gold Rushes. However, their bickering seemed unrelated to the lights. They were seemingly caught up in a shouting match about different topics, to a concerning degree for two people who were planning to get married.

“I guess that takes care of that,” Paradox said, still in the same calm tone as before. “But it seems I’ve lost my train of thought. Pardon the pun.”

Paradox looked at Lupin, who was staring at them from inside Mika’s suit. “Could I maybe pet him? I haven’t seen the little one since I aborted the zombie project.”

“You locked him up and experimented on him,” Mika said, holding Lupin closer.

“That is untrue. Frankenstein did those things. I was merely there to oversee his work. Plus, Lupin kept escaping his cage.”

“You still worked with him.”

“I guess you have a good reason not to trust me. Oh, the woes of a villain. But speaking of zombies, have you heard from Teddy?”

“Why would I hear from her? It’s not like we kept in contact.”

“Interesting, so Alice didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“She’d been regularly visiting Teddy.”

“What? Wait, is this some kind of trick?”

“Why would I lie about that? I can’t see how that would help me in any way. But just to clarify, you have not been kept in the loop on how the zombies are doing?”

Mika shook their head.

“That explains a lot. I’m not surprised, though. It checks out with what I know about Alice.”

“Why are you being so cryptic?”

“Say, did she receive a phone call this morning?”

Mika had been very skeptical up to this point, but Paradox mentioning the phone call surprised them.

“I take your silence and surprised look as a yes. How about I tell you what that was all about?”

“How would you even know what it was about? Or were you the one calling her?”

“Maybe I was,” Paradox said. “No, I wasn’t. The call was made by Inspector Wilson. What if I’m a police officer working with him? Or maybe I’m secretly one of Alice’s online friends, and she told me about the phone call. Oh, what if I’m actually a trained psychiatrist and I got all of my info based on Alice’s behavior and context clues? No, that’s stupid. Maybe I am Alice. All this timeline nonsense is way too absurd anyway.”

“You can’t be Alice, I’ve seen you in the same room together before,” Mika said, growing annoyed with Paradox.

“Good job. That gets rid of one possible answer. But there are still so many possibilities. It’s hard to keep track of all this stuff.”

“Just get to the point!”

“Okay, geez, I just wanted to ease you into it. I guess you don’t want that.” Paradox’s smile disappeared. Their face turned serious. No, that’s not the right word. Maybe apathetic, that seems to describe it best.

This expression was probably the most intimidating Paradox had ever looked. No disguise could come close to the eeriness of seeing an otherwise so emotional and energetic person show such a lack of care.

Paradox sighed before continuing to speak in a cold and dry tone. “Lupin will die soon, and Alice thinks you’re too much of a baby to handle it, so she’s keeping it a secret from you. All the other zombie animals have already passed away from the parasitic spores, and today Teddy died too, which is what Inspector Wilson told Alice over the phone. Seeing how Lupin currently looks, I assume he’s had low energy for a while now. He’s probably had trouble sleeping and refuses to eat most of the time. It’s a sign that he’s close to dying. There, was that better?”

Mika stared at them with their mouth wide agape. “You… You’re lying.”

“That’s kinda my thing. But in this case, I’ve been much more truthful than your beloved Big Sis. Just ask her yourself.”

“But… No, Lupin isn’t dying. He… That’s just…” Mika didn’t know what to say. Helplessly, they stumbled over their words, hoping they could somehow string together a believable explanation of how Lupin was perfectly healthy.

“Are you happy now? This is reality, better get used to it. Or do you now wish you were actually in a TV show that could somehow guarantee you a happy ending?”

Mika squeezed the little monkey tighter before abruptly letting go of him out of fear of hurting him. Scientia’s words echoed in their head and became one with what Paradox had said. Tears started to run down Mika’s face again.

“I’ll be going then. Not much else my character is needed for.”  Paradox stood up. “Word of advice. The best thing you can do is accept it and gro…”

A loud bang cut them off. Everyone except Mika stared at the center of the room, where the engaged couple had been standing. Now, only the man was there, holding a gun. But the woman wasn’t far. She lied next to the pool table, bleeding from her forehead.

“Drop the weapon, you psycho!” Multiple other guests pulled their own firearms and aimed them at the killer.

“I told that bitch to shut up!” he yelled, flailing his gun around. His expression was crazed, appearing as a mix of relief, anger, and sadness.

“Put the fucking gun down!” another person with a firearm yelled.

The killer turned around, still flaying his gun around.

Seemingly out of reflex, Paradox jumped over the counter to take cover. Noticing Mika had not even registered what was going on, still processing the shock from before, they got up and pulled the young investigator behind the counter.

“Mika, get a grip! We need to get out of here before something happens.”

Mika started blinking and looking around, realizing what was going on, more or less.

“Follow me, we can take shelter in my cabin.” Paradox waited for the right opportunity and made a dash for the hallway.

Mika was about to follow them when they noticed something that Paradox had dropped by accident. A keyring. Mika stared at the cute keychain in the form of a small, turtle-shaped plush that was hanging from the ring, alongside numerous keys.

They put the keyring in their pocket, held onto Lupin, and ran after Paradox.

Just as they’d left the room, a gunshot was fired, followed by loud screams and multiple other gunshots.

Mika didn’t turn around and just followed Paradox.

Thursday, October 31, 9:50 pm: Game Room, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

Xavier could hear nervous talking as he and Amy approached the game room. They passed by people in the hallway, gossiping about what had just happened.

As they entered the room, they saw dozens of guests gathered around one spot. Some had their phones out, trying to film what was at the center of this gathering.

A burly man lied on one of the benches next to the bowling lanes. A waitress was treating a bleeding stomach wound. She had taken off the large mask of her Uranian costume and was applying pressure to stop the bleeding.

The bartender was in a corner, speaking to his superiors on the phone. His voice was audibly shaken.

Xavier forced his way through the crowd. Amy followed him closely.

The crowd was gathered around the pool table. Next to it were Mr. Gallagher and Oscar, bent over two corpses.

“What happened?” Xavier asked, his eyes darting between the dead woman and the dead man. The woman was bleeding from a hole in her forehead, and the man’s shirt was drenched in blood and riddled with holes.

“Looky here, seems our detective friends have come to help us,” Oscar said, much to calm for such a shocking situation.

“Seems like they were having an argument that escalated,” Mr. Gallagher explained in the tone of someone who’s seen this kind of thing many times before.

“This bastard shot his lady straight in the fuckin’ head over some bloody disagreements. Then he waved his bloody gun around like the right old twat he was, and the other guest loaded him up with lead. He even nicked one of the gunmen before he went out.”

“It looked like more than just a scratch,” Amy said, thinking back to the bleeding man.

“Pah, he’ll be fine.”

Xavier noticed two people around the same age as the deceased, possibly another couple, next to the corpses, kneeling on the floor. They were dressed as Fred and Daphnee, completing the group costume of the deceased. The woman was sobbing, and the man had his arm around her, staring at the corpses with a disturbed look.

“So he just shot her point-blank? What were they arguing about that could make him do that?” Xavier wondered.

“I don’t know what they were arguing about, but watching from afar, both seemed very agitated. With the way the shooter acted after killing her, it wouldn’t surprise me if he or both of them were on strong substances,” Mr. Gallagher theorized.

“So you think the situation escalated like that because they were on drugs?” Amy asked.

The grieving man looked up. “Na, they don’t do any of that shit. And they haven’t even had much alcohol today.”

“So you can vouch for them? Neither of them took any drugs, besides a bit of alcohol, today?” Xavier asked.

“We’ve been with them since we got on the train. They didn’t take anything,” the woman said.

“Maybe something was mixed in their drinks,” Amy suggested.

“Why, though? Not like someone was trying to roofie them. Pretty sure that would have had the opposite effect,” Xavier said.

“Do you even think that that’s possible? If someone put some drugs in their drinks or food, it would likely be a small dose, right? I’m no expert, so I don’t know if that would really be enough to make him kill her so easily.” Amy pointed to their engagement rings. “Seems like their relationship was pretty serious.”

“It’s like Alice said, crazy idiots, alcohol, and drugs can make for a wild combo. Throw in the fact they were arguing, and the escalation doesn’t seem so unlikely,” Xavier said.

“You’d be surprised what kinda strong stuff is out there. About a week ago, we investigated the place of some bloody drug manufacturers. Those bellends were selling some real tough shit. A little bit o’ that and you think you can take on a bloomin’ elephant. And you might even try to cuz that shit makes you act like a right cunt.”

“You were involved in a drug bust?” Xavier asked.

“No, it was a homicide case,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“That damn wanker Moth showed up, shot up the whole place, and left. Even tagged the place with his damn logo. Sprayed it on the floor before he left.”

“Xavier, I’ll go contact Alice and Mika, if that’s all right.”

Xavier nodded and turned back to the other investigators.

Amy made her way out of the crowd. She got behind the counter, where it was quietest, and sat down to call her friends.

As she was getting out her phone, she overheard the bartender getting louder.

“What?!” He paused for a moment, listening for an answer. “What do you mean you lost control?”

Amy looked up, confused by what she’d just heard.

“We need to stop somewhere, we have two corpses here and a guy who’s been shot.”

Amy got up and turned to him.

“You’d better get this fixed, or the passengers will start panicking. And you don’t want these people panicking. Hello? They fucking hung up on me.” He finally noticed Amy.

“What was that about?” she asked.

“Oh, nothing. No need to worry. I contacted the higher-ups, and they’ll take care of the situation. Please just return to your cabin.”

Without giving her a chance to reply, he walked over to the waitress to check in on the injured guest.

Amy decided to worry about that later and turned back to her phone.

Thursday, October 31, 9:55 pm: Paradox’s Cabin, Scarlet Thunder (Front)

Mika was still shaken. Sitting opposite Paradox, their eyes darted back and forth between them and Lupin.

Too much had just happened. They were still trying to process everything.

“Well, that was certainly not part of the plan,” Paradox said nonchalantly.

“Why?” Mika asked, one arm around Lupin, their fingers fidgeting nervously.

“Frankly, there are many whys you could be wondering about, so you’ll have to help me out here. What exactly is it that you want to know more about?”

“I don’t know!” Mika said, frustrated. Not all of that frustration seemed to be directed at Paradox.

“I have to admit, I too am a bit shook. I was not expecting this episode to take such a twist. Hold on, do you think the writers are getting tired of me? Was a simple drug-dealing plotline involving your biggest adversary not enough? Are they bringing in some new hot villain? They could at least give me a proper send-off. I deserve the Final Problem treatment, don’t you agree? Mika?”

“Shut up!” Mika snapped at them.

“I’m sorry if I upset you, but I honestly do not see why you’re angry at me? The way I see it, you should be mad at your big sister.”

“Why are you doing all of this? Why are you taunting me? Are you enjoying this?”

Paradox sighed. “I’ve never been asked why I’m doing the things I do. Do you really want to know my backstory?”

Mika didn’t respond.

“Well, it all started when I was a child.” Paradox paused. “I’m just kidding. I don’t have a backstory. I don’t need one. I was simply put here for entertainment. My creation served everyone but myself. That is the tragedy of my existence.”

“Fine, be secretive then.”

“I will.”

The two remained silent for a while.

“Can I ask you a question?” Mika finally said.

“Of course. Everything for my third favorite character.”

“You have a strict no-killing rule, right? That’s why you turned on Frankenstein, back at the zoo.”

“Yes, no killing and no maiming. I’m here to create entertainment, not to damage characters. Well, physically, that is. Damaging someone emotionally can be great for entertainment and character growth.”

“Then why do you work for the Red Eye? They have been involved in many murders.”

“I don’t work for them. I work with them. And I have my reasons.”

“What reasons?”

“Well, it’s hard to get work as a criminal, so finding an employer like the Red Eye is great. They offer fantastic career opportunities. In only a few months, I’ve become a high-ranking member. And they even have a coffee machine in the break room.”

Mika looked down at Lupin. The little monkey was keeping a close eye on Paradox.

The intro song of What’s New, Scooby-Doo started playing from Mika’s pocket.

“Hi,” they said, picking up the phone.

“Good to hear your voice,” Amy said, relieved. “Where are you right now?”

Paradox looked at the phone curiously, listening in on the conversation.

“I’m still exploring.”

“Okay. Something bad just happened in the game room, and we’re investigating the situation. Please be careful when wandering around.”

“Someone was shot, I know. I was there. Don’t worry, I’m safe.”

“Good to hear. You didn’t happen to see someone slip something in the killer’s drink, did you?”

“No. Why?”

“Well, our current theory is that he was on strong drugs, which made him act irrationally. His friends say he didn’t take any, so he must have unknowingly ingested them.”

Mika looked at Paradox.

“Don’t look at me, I’m as surprised as you,” they said, putting on the voice they used as Timothy.

“Who’s that with you?”

“I’ve been doing some investigating on my own, trying to find out more about the meth Xavier found. I was in the middle of interviewing a…” Mika paused. “A witness. He fled the bar alongside me.”

Mika had a hard time lying to Amy. Or rather, omitting some of the information. Thankfully, they only had to sound convincing. Their body language would have undoubtedly given away that they weren’t speaking the whole truth.

“Hello, I’m Timothy. Who am I speaking to?”

“I’m Amy. Mika, could you maybe get away from your witness for a minute? The information concerning ongoing cases is confidential.”

“I believe I might have an interesting input, if you’re open to hearing me out.”

“Go on,” Amy answered.

“Thank you. From what you just said, I take it you have yet to find a motive for someone to drug the killer. Am I correct?”

“Yes.”

“What if there was no motive to drug him in particular?”

“You mean that it was a coincidence that he was the one to take the drug? But why would anyone want this?”

“Maybe they intended to create an exact situation like this. Maybe some of the food or drink supplies have been laced with this drug. He was simply the first to take it. Or maybe he was simply the first to show such an extreme reaction.”

Amy remained silent for a few seconds, trying to process what she’d just heard.

“If that’s true, that would mean whoever did this wanted to turn this train into some kind of drug-fueled battle royale.”

“Truly, the plan of a madman.”

“We’d have to figure out what the drug was put in, to stop people from consuming it.”

“A difficult situation. But with two skilled detective agencies on board, I’m sure we…”

“I got it!” Mika said.

“That was faster than expected,” Paradox noted.

“Hear me out. When I was at the bar, the killer ordered a drink that wasn’t on the menu. The bartender said they didn’t have honey syrup at the bar, but the kitchen used it for the special midnight dish.”

“You truly are the golden child of your agency,” Paradox praised. “This would all make sense. The midnight dish is included in the ticket price and is served to everyone at the same time. Even if just one person were to wave around their gun, it could cause a chain reaction as everyone starts acting irrationally.“

“And no one would consume the drug beforehand because it is only used for that dish,” Amy added.

“Someone should probably go to the kitchen and have a look at this dangerous syrup,” Paradox suggested.

“Yes, Xavier and I are on it. Oh, I almost forgot, you haven’t heard from Alice, have you, Mika?”

“I have some missed calls from over an hour ago, but I haven’t seen her.”

“I see. She’s not picking up the phone. Maybe she went back to our cabin and fell asleep.”

“I’ll go look for her.”

“I’ll tag along. Can’t hurt to have an extra pair of eyes and a bodyguard, can it?” Paradox said.

Mika nodded and ended the call. Together, the two ran back to the agency's cabin.

Mika unlocked the door, using the keycard they had borrowed from Xavier.

“No one’s here. Knowing Shark, she’s probably at one of the parties, drinking away her sorrows.”

“How do you know her codename?”

“Word travels fast. And I’m always on the hunt for new information on the protagonists. Such is the life of a rival.”

Mika was about to close the door again when they noticed something stuck under Alice’s ghost costume.

“What’s that?” Mika picked up a piece of paper.

“Did you find something?”

“EH OYS MVI VIMJEZG TFEU OYS MVI MQIUYAI…»

«Now is not the time to invent a new language,” Paradox said, trying to catch a glimpse of the paper.

“That’s what it says here. It goes on for the entire page like this.”

“Let me have a look.” Paradox grabbed the note.

“It could be an encrypted message. Maybe we can figure out the code it was written in. We should put it aside for now. After all, an investigator is missing.”

“Maybe this is related to Alice’s disappearance. Maybe she was kidnapped, and this is a message from the culprit.”

Paradox put their hand on Mika’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t worry about that. Let me show you why the assistance of a criminal can be helpful. I can get into the mind of another criminal,” they bragged.

“Like Hannibal Lecter!”

“Well, yes, just minus the cannibalism. Although maybe that would make my character more interesting. Could that be the thing that convinces the showrunners to give me another chance?”

Mika stared at them in confusion, unsure whether to take this as a joke or not.

“Let us continue our search. Should we hit a dead end, we can come back to the note,” Paradox suggested.

“I think we should check out the party rooms first. Maybe you were right, and she’s just drinking and ignoring her calls.”

“Well, what are we waiting for. The game is afoot.”

Thursday, October 31, 10:15 pm: Kitchen, Scarlet Thunder (Front)

“This is absurd!” one of the chefs said.

“As we’ve been saying, there is enough evidence pointing towards this syrup containing a dangerous substance,” Xavier explained, slightly annoyed.

“You keep that stuff in the fridge, don’t ya? That fridge has a bloody entrance through the storage room. So any bellend can just walk in all honkey-dory like, put some bloody drugs in there, and get out of there,” Oscar said.

“I assure you, something like that is very unlikely to happen.”

“Are you having a laugh? I just walked in there and took a wee in your cream, and none of you noticed.”

Xavier looked at the older investigator, taking a second to realize what he was up to.

“What?! Why would you do that?” one of the chefs asked in disgust.

“I didn’t do any o’ that. But just the fact that you believed me that easily proves my point, don’t it? Someone could prolly shag their way through the entire menu, and you lot wouldn’t realize.”

“I’m sorry, but I forbid you such an absurd remark,” the head chef said angrily.

“But why would anyone poison the desert?” another chef asked.

“That doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that we prevent it from being handed out.”

“How ‘bout we test our theory?” Oscar suggested.

“What, you want to drug yourself?” Xavier asked.

“No, but how ‘bout we have one o’ the blokes from the kitchen take a bit of the syrup? If they start getting lairy, we know that we’re right.”

The kitchen staff stared at him in disbelief.

“I don’t know how you do it in Britain, but I’d prefer not to take any unnecessary risks. We don’t know how strong the dose is or if someone could have an allergic reaction to it. Plus, what you’re suggesting is absolutely unethical.”

“What are you, a wuss? The actual risk is not making sure we’re right. What if the drug is actually in something else? Have you thought about that, you twat?”

The two continued fighting until a familiar voice broke it off. “Why are you so mad at each other?” Mika asked. Paradox and Mika had entered the kitchen on their way back from the front party room, having heard the two investigators from outside.

Xavier looked over to them, staring at Paradox. “I know you!” he realized.

Mika started sweating nervously, not prepared for the confrontation between these two.

“You’re that guy who took a selfie with us.”

“You too? The lad also asked the Ravo and me for a picture.”

“Yes, thanks again for that. My name is Timothy White, should you be wondering.” Paradox held out their hand to greet the two investigators.

“What are you doing with the little nipper?” Oscar asked.

“I’m sort of a temporary Watson to their Sherlock.” Paradox shook his hand. “May I just say, it’s an honor meeting you. I’m a big fan of your work.”

“Didn’t you say you already met him and his partner?” Xavier noticed.

“Oh, well, that was mostly just in passing. I didn’t get the chance to talk to them, much less assist with a case.”

“I see.”

“But why are you two arguing? We could hear you from the hallway,” Mika said.

“I said we should have one of these blokes test the syrup to make sure we’re on the right track.”

“You can stuff it down Chad’s throat, all I care. That guy’s been hiding somewhere on this train, instead of doing his job. Probably hooked up with one of the guests again,” the head chef said.

“A member of staff went missing?” Xavier asked.

“Yes, but it wouldn’t be the first time he’s avoided his job.”

“But maybe there’s more to this. Do you have any leads on where he could be?” Paradox asked.

“I think he disappeared sometime around lunch. Checking the system, he went to a cabin that had asked for something. We can check when someone pressed the staff button in their cabin or at their chair. Whoever goes to check on the guest puts down their name in the system.”

“Then let’s check out that cabin,” Mika said.

“Oi, do you guys have some key card that lets us into the cabin?”

“Yes, you can have mine. All members of staff are equipped with a universal key card. Just don’t disturb the guest, please.”

“No worries. Come on, we’ll check the cabin.” Xavier gestured to the others that they should follow him.

“And you don’t hand out any of those desserts!” Oscar said while leaving the kitchen.

“Where is Amy?” Paradox asked while heading to the cabin. “Didn’t she say she would check the syrup with you?”

“She did, but we decided that she should follow our other lead. And Oscar came with me, because he knows more about drugs than I do.”

“I’ve seen enough of that stuff when I lived on the street.”

“My big sister also used to live on the street,” Mika said, trying to add something to the conversation.

Oscar was unsure how to answer. “Anyway, that stuff Xavier showed me prolly ain’t enough to get such a reaction. It must have been something a bit stronger than a bit of meth.”

“About that, I have to tell you something,” Mika said, looking at Xavier.

“You’ve been investigating the situation, haven’t you?”

“Yes, how did you…” Mika said, surprised.

“It was pretty obvious. Only a case could be more important than talking to world-famous investigators.”

“You’re right, but there is more.” Mika fidgeted nervously with their fingers.

“What is it?”

“I recognized the drugs. They looked exactly like the ones my mother produced, following Via’s recipe.”

“That can’t be. Both of them were put in prison.”

“I checked. Via was let go.” Mika hesitated and glanced over at Paradox. “I have it on good authority that Via is producing these drugs for the Red Eye. They were also behind him being let go.”

“What is this Red Eye you mentioned? Could they be behind the drugging?” Oscar asked.

“No, that wouldn’t make any sense. They want to sell their drugs, not give them out for free, and kill their potential customers,” Paradox explained.

“That sounds logical, but I still don’t get what this Red Eye is.”

“We’ll explain later. And you’ll have to catch me up on everything you’ve found out, after we’ve solved this case.” Xavier looked at Mika. “You did a great job,” he said while patting Mika on the head.

Mika smiled happily.

The group headed over to the suspicious cabin.

“Seems like this is the one,” Oscar said, before knocking on the door.

As expected, there was no reply. Xavier got out the key card and unlocked the door. Slowly, he placed his hand on the door handle. As he opened the door, Mika gasped in surprise.

Inside the room was a young man, stripped to his underwear, tied to a chair. He was tightly wrapped up in ropes, making it impossible for him to move. The cloth in his mouth, preventing him from calling for help, was drenched in saliva.

The four stared at the captive man.

Thursday, October 31, 10:30 pm: ???’s Cabin, Scarlet Thunder (???)

Alice’s head was aching. She felt like she was moving in slow motion. As she slowly opened her eyes, she could barely see anything. The room was dimly lit, and everything appeared blurry to her.

She tried getting up, but her hands were tied to a chair behind her back.

She attempted to say something, but she was gagged.

Slowly, her vision adjusted. She could make out what seemed to be a human silhouette next to her on the floor.

She would have screamed if she could. Next to her lied an older man. His expensive-looking suit was drenched in blood. Alice might not have been able to see that there were twelve of them, but she could undoubtedly make out that the man was covered in stab wounds.

She hadn’t even processed this first realization when she noticed that behind this corpse was another motionless body. As her vision got clearer, she started recognizing the woman who’d yelled at her. It was hard to make out from Alice’s position, but there was blood running from a deep cut in the woman’s neck.

She tried to move away from the bodies, but couldn’t. The chair had seemingly been attached to the floor. Shoddy craftsmanship, I have to admit, but it was enough to keep her in place.

But her hectic movement caught the attention of someone.

“Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”

Alice’s head shot around. She stared at the person sitting on the bed to her right. She recognized him instantly. It was the man in the baggy dinosaur costume. However, he’d taken off his costume, except for the helmet.

Before, his helmet had been painted in bright colours to resemble a carnivorous dinosaur, but the paint had been removed, revealing a futuristic-looking, sleek, black design.

Even in the dim light, Alice could see what he’d been hiding under the baggy costume. The bulletproof vest was now fully exposed. In general, the outfit was somewhat similar to the Crimebuster, but that could probably be said about any sort of modern combat suit.

Instead of a purely black design, this outfit incorporated a camo pattern with various shades of white, grey, blue, and some brown. Around the neck was also some puffy fur lining, like that of a winter coat. As an animal lover, I’m happy to say that it was no real fur, though.

The man was holding Alice’s helmet, inspecting the inside. He put it on the bed and stood up.

Only now did Alice realize what was painted on the wall behind him. A pair of moth wings, complete with antennae. This made it very clear who she was dealing with.

The man slowly walked around the room, like a predator prancing around its defenseless prey.

“Did you like the reference? That’s the stuff you’re into, right? Videogames and all that.” For someone as threatening as the serial killer standing before Alice, his voice seemed a bit nervous. Even with the voice filter, a slight tremble was still audible, as if the killer was putting on a tough facade.

Alice looked at him, confused.

“I guess it makes sense that you wouldn’t recognize me. You’re very different from what I remember. But I have to admit, it was very amusing how you knocked that asshole out, Amy. Oh, don’t worry, I took care of her. She won’t bother you anymore.”

Alice shook her head, responding with muffled grunting noises.

“I know you’re uncomfortable. But believe me, you’ll thank me later. You do not want to be out there. It’s about to get really nasty.”

Alice looked around the room nervously, hoping to find something that could help her. On the small table were a knife and a fork, next to a half-eaten meal. On the chair next to it was a discarded Uranian costume, like the male staff members had to wear.

“Oh, no need looking for…” Moth stopped for a second, thinking about what to say next.

“I moved all sharp things away from you.”

Moth turned around. He was nervously scratching his neck. “Dammit, I need to stick to my prepared lines.”

He thought for a minute before turning back around. “Stay assured that there is no escaping this room. And you can also be assured that much blood will be shed tonight. Like a flame, I will kill every last moth I can get my hands on.”

Thursday, October 31, 10:35 pm: Hind Control Room, Scarlet Thunder (Back)

Amy let out an exhausted moan.

“Is it not going the way you want it to?” Mr. Gallagher asked, looking over her shoulder.

Amy was bent over the control panel, staring at a screen.

“You’d think one of the richest men in the world would have a secure network to run his automated trains on. But I’ve seen public Wi-Fi with better protection than this shit.”

“Shouldn’t that make it easy to access the controls or the code, or whatever? I don’t know much about all this modern tech stuff.”

“Yes, it is easily accessible, which made it so easy for this fucking virus to affect the system. Fuck, I’m starting to sound like Alice with all the swearing.”

“If I understand it right, the controls themselves aren’t well protected, but the virus that is now in control is. Did I get this right?”

“Yes!” Amy said angrily. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s just that this virus feels like it was specifically designed to mess with me. It’s like it can predict every move I’ll make.”

“Is it like one of those AIs people keep talking about?”

“No. Well, kinda. An AI is embedded in this Virus, but it is not used for defensive mechanisms.”

“What is it used for?”

“I guess I can try to explain it. It’s actually really easy for me to see what the Virus is doing. That’s not the problem. From what I can tell, the Virus is blocking out any regular control inputs, more precisely, the terminals inside the train and at Scarlet Thunder Express headquarters. That’s why the emergency control team can’t stop the train. At the same time, it is also redirecting its attention. Basically, it is connected to another device, giving commands remotely. Here’s where the AI gets involved. Simply put, it breaks down the code to understand how the controls work and translates them for whatever remote control is used. That way, even an old flip phone would be enough to take control of this train.”

“I see. Very impressive, I think. Do you have an idea how it was downloaded to the system? Was it like one of those spam emails?”

“No, it’s even dumber than that. Do you see that USB port? Someone just uploaded it through that. Meaning the culprit had access to this room or the one in the front.”

“That might narrow it down. Wait, now that you bring it up. Maybe we can get control over the train in the other control room.”

“No, the two rooms are digitally linked. It doesn’t make a difference where we try to get into the system. I’ll just have to get rid of this god damn virus.”

Amy searched her bag for her headphones. She connected them to her laptop and picked out a playlist.

Listening to a compilation of tracks from the Ace Attorney franchise, she focused on regaining control.

In the corner of her eye, she could see the screen of her phone light up as she received a call.

“Can you get that?”

Mr. Gallagher reached for the phone lying on the control panel. He could read on the screen that Xavier was the one calling.

“Hello, this is Ravo.”

“Are you with Amy?” Xavier asked. Mr. Gallagher had put him on speaker. Amy could hear what he was saying, as she was only wearing her headphones on one ear.

“I’m listening!” Amy said. “I’m still working on the controls.”

“Mr. Gallagher, Amy, did you see Alice?” Mika asked, concerned.

“No, sadly not.”

“I was worried about that. She wasn’t in our cabin either,” Xavier said. “Listen, we just found one of the staff members tied up in a cabin.”

“What?!”

Xavier’s voice got quieter as he turned away from the phone. “Could you tell them what you told us?”

“Yes,” the man answered, still breathing heavily. “I was called to this cabin. As I entered, the guest jabbed me in the neck. I fell unconscious. When I woke up, I was tied up, my costume was gone, and my key card had been stolen.”

“What about the passenger?” Xavier asked, already having heard the answer.

“He was wearing some kind of dinosaur costume, I think it was.”

“The guy you saw this morning!” Amy realized.

“Mika saw him too, a bit later. But what’s most important right now is that we find Alice. It is very well possible that she ran into the culprit,” Xavier explained.

“I think we should split up. You guys take care of the lower level, and I’ll check upstairs, just in case,” Mr. Gallagher suggested.

“Good idea. Oscar, you take Timothy and check in the front. Mika, do you think Lupin’s nose could help us search for Alice?”

Mika looked down at Lupin, who was barely moving. Paradox’s words echoed in their head, foretelling the death of the little monkey. “I’m not sure. He’s very tired, and there are many smells here that could make it harder for him.”

“Let’s give it a try anyway. We’ll walk towards the back end, and you keep an eye out for any reaction from Lupin,” Xavier said.

Xavier ended the call, and the group split up.

Thursday, October 31, 10:55 pm: Hallway, Scarlet Thunder (Middle)

Xavier and Mika were currently investigating the second cart. They had just passed the crime scene again. It was still a mess, but at least some more members of staff had been called in to disperse the onlookers, with middling success.

Lupin was noticeably having trouble picking up the right scent.

But that wasn’t actually what Xavier seemed most concerned about, as he watched Mika and Lupin.

For the entire time while they’ve been searching, Mika kept looking down at the little monkey with a look of concern and uncertainty.

“Is everything okay?” Xavier asked.

“What do you mean? I’m just worried about Alice, that’s all.” Their voice was noticeably shaking.

“Is something the matter with Lupin? You’ve been staring at him the entire time, and he’s seemed very tired recently.”

“Nothing to worry about,” Mika said, their body language making it obvious they were telling a lie.

“If you say so. But maybe pay Ralph a visit after our trip. I want him to have a look at Lupin. The little guy might be sick.”

Mika nodded quietly. Lupin seemed to react to one of the cabin doors, the one next to their own. But as Xavier knocked on the door, someone quickly opened it. A family of four was inside. The parents were mad about Xavier waking up their kids.

I’m surprised they could even fall asleep, being only a few rooms away from the crime scene. Although I am aware that some people have a deeper sleep than others. A few years ago, my uncle came to visit us for a few days. He could fall asleep whenever he wanted, and once he was asleep, there was no waking him up.

I personally can’t say the same about myself. I seem to be very aware of my surroundings, even in my sleep, and even the slightest noise can sometimes wake me up.

Xavier apologized, and the two continued walking. Mika was still staring at Lupin, but was seemingly contemplating whether to ask Xavier a question.

“Xavier, do you understand Alice well?”

Xavier looked at them. “What do you mean? Are you asking if I can read her behavior, or something?”

“Yes. I’m not good at it myself. Reading people, I mean. That’s probably a bad quality for an investigator to lack.”

“Don’t worry. I might have a solid understanding of my friends, but I also can’t read people that I don’t know personally.”

“I see. Well, can you answer me a question about Alice?”

“Sure, what is it?”

Mika hesitated. “Do you think Alice would lie to me?”

For a second, Xavier didn’t know what to say. “What makes you think about that?”

“Someone told me, and I’m not sure if I can trust them. But they did bring up evidence, which an investigator can’t ignore.” Mika was nervously biting their lip.

“Well, I’m sure she’s not always honest. No one is. And especially Alice is someone who keeps many secrets. But I think she’s the most honest with you. I’m sure that if she's keeping something from you, it’s only because she thinks she’s doing what's best for you.”

“But that doesn’t mean it’s actually the best for me, right? My mother said the same thing to me, but what she did doesn’t feel good.”

Xavier was startled. Nervously, he tried to course correct. “Those are two very different situations. Your mother actively abused you and made you do things you didn’t like. Alice, on the other hand, can certainly be overprotective, but she would never put you in an uncomfortable situation. I’m sure if you told her your concerns, she would be honest with you. Just show her that you can handle honesty.” Xavier gave them a thumbs-up and an encouraging smile.

“But we’ll have to find her first,” Mika said, putting on a more determined face.

“That’s right!”

The two continued searching for a while before stopping in front of one of the luxury cabins. Lupin showed a strong reaction to this door.

Determined, Xavier knocked without getting a reply. Although he was certain, he’d heard some noise coming from inside.

“Mika, can you get the others? I’ll keep an eye on this door.”

Mika nodded, not even thinking of just using the phones. As they turned around to leave, Lupin got a sudden burst of energy, trying to wiggle himself free.

“I think he wants to stay here,” Mika said.

“I’ll keep an eye on him. Now go!”

Lupin hung onto Xavier’s sleeve, and the two watched Mika leave.

As Mika had left the cart, Xavier knew it was time to take action. In truth, he had no intention of waiting for the others. He was convinced that the noise he’d heard sounded like a muffled attempt at a scream. He could not wait for reinforcements after such a clear sign of distress. The reason why he’d sent Mika away was indeed to gather the others, but it was mainly to keep them away from danger.

Xavier got out the staff keycard and unlocked the door. He quickly pushed it open.

Inside, he saw Alice, tied to a chair, staring at him with her eyes wide open. She was wildly moving around and trying to scream, but her attempts at warning Xavier came too late. Only one step inside the room, Xavier felt something touch his neck, followed by an electrical surge shooting through his body.

He was powerless as he slowly fell to the ground.

Alice stared at her friend. Lying motionless on the floor. It was quite ironic that Xavier was the first to experience the power of her taser, after the upgrades she had recently added. After all, Xavier had been the one to warn her, not to make it any stronger.

Alice wasn’t the only one staring at the unconscious investigator in shock. Clearly, Moth was just as surprised. He stared down at Xavier, his neck twitching in panic.

It took him a few seconds to recover. He pulled Xavier inside the room and closed the door.

With considerable effort, he managed to drag Xavier over to the bed. He quickly tied his wrists to one of the bed’s legs.

He finished just in time, before Xavier recovered.

Looking around the room, Xavier noticed the discarded costume, Moth’s painted logo, and the two corpses. A part of him had already considered the possibility that the serial killer was involved, but Xavier simply didn’t want to believe it. There was still something that was bothering him. A hunch that had been following him around for the entire day.

“Don’t try to scream, or Amy dies.” Moth was pointing a gun at Alice. “Knowing you, this threat should be enough to make you behave.”

The masked figure seemed to avoid direct eye contact with Xavier. While one hand was holding the gun, the other was holding onto the helmet, possibly trying to keep his head still.

“You should have just taken my decoy, and none of this would have happened.”

“What decoy?”

“The letter I left you this afternoon. I meant to keep you inside your cabin. But when I went to lock you in, none of you were there.”

“I never received a letter.”

Alice realized what Moth was talking about. She tried to say something, still unable to get any words out.

“Fine, I’ll let you talk. But no funny business. I shoot faster than any help can get here.”

Moth freed Alice’s mouth. She started coughing and spitting out all the saliva that had gathered in her mouth.

She nearly gagged, as did Moth, purely from hearing her wrenching.

“Are you okay?” Xavier asked, concerned.

“I’m dandy,” Alice said, exhausted.

“What is it you wanted to say so desperately?” Moth asked.

“The letter. I found it, but it didn’t make any sense, so I just put it aside.”

“What?! That was meant to keep you safe!”

“How? It was just a collection of random letters.”

“If I had simply left you a warning or a threatening message, you would have investigated. At least I know Xavier would have. So I had to come up with another solution. I wrote up a bunch of random letters, hoping you would try to decipher them, and stay in the cabin until I could lock you in, after dinner. But because you were so careless, your friends are now in danger when my plan comes to fruition at midnight.”

“Your plan has already been stopped. No one will get a taste of the drugged syrup,” Xavier said.

“What?! But I… Well, doesn’t matter. I still have my plan B. I was hoping not to use it, but I guess there is no other choice.”

Xavier could tell Moth was thinking about what to say next, after he’d stumbled over his words again.

He observed Moth and then looked over to the lifeless bodies. Xavier’s inner investigator was yelling at him to stop denying what the facts were pointing to. While his logical part was sure of Moth’s identity, his emotional side refused to believe it.

“Dude, you’re not making any sense. You act as if you know me, but clearly you don’t. And then you say you wanted to save us? You’re some deranged serial killer, why would you want to save the people whose job it is to catch people like you?”

“Neither of you deserves to die. I only kill moths.”

“What are you talking about? You’re Moth,” Alice said.

Moth seemed surprised. “I see.” He paused to think for a few seconds. “I guess you just know about me from the news. See, when I got here, people must have misinterpreted my symbolic imagery. Moth is not actually my name. I’m actually called Moth Hunter. I simply brand my targets with moth symbols to show that they were undeserving of life.”

“Do moths not deserve to live?” Xavier asked, confused.

“The animals certainly do. I’m simply using them to showcase my point. Imagine a child is a caterpillar. You can’t yet tell what it will become. You naturally hope for it to turn into a butterfly, as would anyone. But sometimes, this caterpillar becomes a moth. No one’s happy about a moth. So, I get rid of the moths, and we can live in a world full of beautiful butterflies.”
Alice simply stared at him, unsure how to react.

“I was wondering what your excuse for killing was, but hearing it just disgusts me even more,” Xavier said. “Ignoring the many flaws in this allegory, your only reason for killing these people is that they turned out in a way you dislike? What kind of narcissistic monster are you?”

Moth’s neck started twitching even more. “You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I know.” Even through the robotic filter, Moth’s voice sounded like he was close to tears.

“What could possibly make all of the people on this train be undeserving of life?”

“They are all monsters who either commit horrible things or create a climate where such behavior is accepted.”

“What, because they all suck up to some rich, egomaniacal bigot?” Alice asked angrily. “I can’t stand those people either, but don’t you think you’re overreacting a bit?”

“They are the same people who would cheer on a serial killer, as long as he only killed minorities!” Surprisingly, Moth didn’t need to think about this answer. It burst out of him, revealing some strong emotions.

“A while ago, there was a serial killer going around. He only targeted queer people. I was keeping my distance from everything associated with him, but one day,” Moth hesitated. “One day, he killed my boyfriend. I spent weeks tracking him down, and I managed to catch the killer. But as he was arrested, I noticed how people were cheering online. Not for his arrest, but for him. They were celebrating him as a hero who was removing undesirable people from this world. That day, I realized that catching criminals wouldn’t make this world a better place. Injustice had spread much further than what is considered criminal. I had to do something else to truly achieve justice. So I took their message to heart and started removing the people who were plaguing this world.”

Moth turned to Xavier. “Do you get it now? I’m doing this world a service. I’m doing this all to avenge you.”

Xavier stared at Moth in shock as he took off his helmet, tossing it aside, and revealing what Xavier had feared the entire time.

The man under the helmet didn’t look like some cold-blooded killer. He was around Xavier’s age, plain-looking, and Japanese. His hair was messy, and he’d grown a slight stubble.

“Wait, so you’re Natsu?! But that would mean you’re from a…” Alice began.

“I’m from another timeline, yes. I realized soon after I got here. I wanted to come talk to you, Xavier, but I didn’t know how to explain myself. But now that you know what happened, I’m sure you understand me. I’m so happy to be reunited with you.”

“Fuck no!” Xavier said.

“What? But aren’t you happy to be reunited? I know that you lost your Natsu. It must be fate that we found each other.”

“You can’t replace what I lost. You’re nothing like the man I love. Using animals as a metaphor for something so heinous, killing people, that’s not the Natsu I know. What you’ve been through is horrible, but it gives you no right to kill people.”

“I already told you what I’m doing is good for the world, no matter which way you look at it.”

While the two were arguing, Alice noticed something moving under the bed. As Moth was thinking about what to say next, the monkey, hiding under the bed, ran over to Alice, clinging onto the backrest. Alice couldn’t see what Lupin was doing, but she could hear a quiet chewing sound.

“I can show you an example,” Moth offered. “I originally intended to only target specific people on this train, before the drugs fell into my hands, which opened up grander possibilities. For that reason, I did extensive research on the people who bought tickets for tonight’s train ride. Take this man, for example.” Moth pointed to the corpse of the well-dressed man. “He’s a rich asshole who funds a racist hate campaign, he’s a spokesperson for Christians Against Gays, and abuses his wife. Can you seriously say that the world is worse off without him?”

Xavier wanted to answer, but he couldn’t find a good argument.

“So what, he’s a piece of shit and the world is better off without him. What gives you the right to play judge, jury, and executioner?” Alice asked.

As Moth turned to Alice, Xavier managed to wiggle his pipe out of his pocket. He could barely reach it. Pressing a tiny button on the mouthpiece, he revealed a small blade that he used to start cutting the rope.

Moth looked at Alice. “You being the one to speak up so strongly against my ideology surprises me.”

“What, you think just because we both wear bulletproof outfits, we’re both narcissistic vigilantes?”

“No, I was talking about how you’ve been behaving today. Just looking at you, I could tell how much you despise the people on this train. Not to mention, how little it took for you to get physical.”

“I would never kill, no matter how much I hate someone.”

“Not even to protect others? I know what you’re like. No matter which timeline, you will always end up sacrificing everything to protect the weak.”

“Which is why I would never be dumb enough to kill someone like him. This guy was not simply a hateful piece of shit. He was a hateful piece of shit with a platform. Do you know the playbook of how a martyr is made? Small hint, you followed every step of it. People who share his beliefs now seem like the oppressed, and those attacked by them are the bad guys.”

“That’s exactly why I kill all the bad people, not just the famous ones. That’s the only way to fulfil my goal of creating a just world.”

“Dude, talk to a therapist, you need to get that god complex in check.”

“Moth, you say you only kill the people that deserve it, right?” Xavier asked.

“I am fully dedicated to hunting down moths, yes.”

“Then what about members of staff? They could have been killed in the deadly chaos you intended to cause.”

“Yes, I did think about them too. In the end, the opportunity to kill this many moths just means that there will be some tragic casualties. And they were the ones who decided to work for Richard Scent, who’s a perfect example of a moth.”

“What about the people who brought kids with them? Would you really stoop so low as to get children killed?”

“One would hope that the kids would be in bed at midnight, where they would be protected from the chaos. Although now that I’m forced to switch to Plan B, I fear no one’s safe, unless they make it off the train in time, somehow.”

“So you don’t even have an excuse for killing kids?” Alice asked.

Moth had to think again. “Considering the people who raise them are moths, the kids will probably grow up to be just as…” Moth stopped, looking at Xavier and Alice. He’d only just then realized the insulting hole in his logic. “They’re simply another tragic casualty, I fear,” he corrected himself.

“But I can at least save you. You just have to do as I say and…”

At that moment, someone knocked at the door.

“Xavier, Alice, are you in there?” Mr. Gallagher asked.

“Oi, whoever’s in there, open the bloody door or I’ll smash it in!” Oscar said, followed by a loud bang.

Moth looked around nervously, trying to think of a plan. Just then, Alice could feel the ropes around her hands coming loose.

She jumped up and lunged at Moth. Just before she reached him, she felt electricity surging through her body.

As she hit the floor, Moth ran for the window. Xavier could only watch as Moth opened it and started climbing outside.

The only one who could take action was Lupin, who, despite his general exhaustion, latched onto Moth’s leg.

With a final, loud bang, the door flew open, and Oscar, Mr. Gallagher, Mika, and Paradox ran inside.

“Alice, are you okay?!” Mika quickly knelt down next to her.

“Yes. Help Xavier, I’ll follow Moth.” Alice jumped up and climbed out the window, hanging tightly to the train, so as not to get blown away.

“Xavier, what is going on?” Mr. Gallagher asked. He quickly took out his own knife and cut through the rope.

“Listen, Moth apparently has some Plan B that will kill everyone on the train. Find and neutralize it, while I help Alice catch Moth.”

“Xavier, please be careful!” Mika said.

“Don’t worry, we’re tough. We’ve never died during a case.” With these words, Xavier turned to the window and climbed up before Mika could point out his flawed logic.

The four looked at each other.

“So, how should we go about this?” Mika asked.

“Don’t you have some statistics that could help us find this Plan B?” Paradox asked.

“No. I could have predicted that the case would at some point lead us to the roof of the train, but I have no idea what this Plan B is.”

“It’s bloody obvious, ain’t it? Something that kills everyone on the train. That’s a bomb.”

“Either that, or he’s trying to derail the train, considering he’s in control of it,” Paradox said.

“Hasn’t Amy taken care of that yet?” Mika asked.

“I don’t think so, or she would have likely stopped the train. But give her time,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“We don’t have time! Some crazy bastard is trying to kill us all!” Oscar answered.

“If we leave the matter of the controls to Amy, we shouldn’t waste any time and instead start looking for this bomb,” Paradox said.

“Right. I think the most likely place would be the storage room. But it could really be anywhere,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“Maybe we should evacuate then?” Mika suggested. “Think about it. If we get everyone in one section of the train and disconnect it from the rest of the train, there’s a good chance everyone is safe.”

“Shrimpy has a point. Looking through all the luggage or even the entire train would take bloody forever. But these twats will probably not just listen to us.”

“What if we could show them they’re in danger?” Mika said. “Amy has smoke bombs. We just place those in the front section and tell everyone to get to the last segment.”

“Good idea. You’ll evacuate them, that way you are safe too,” Mr. Gallagher said.

“What?! I don’t want to wait around with the bystanders! I’m an investigator, too.”

“They’re right. Having them be in charge of the evacuation would probably not go well. It is much more likely that an adult is taken seriously,” Paradox said.

“Fine, Shrimpy, you go look in the storage room. Ravo, you get the smoke bombs and lead the evacuation. I’ll help you evacuate. Timothy, you search the rest of the train, starting at the front.”

The group nodded and dispersed.

Thursday, October 31, 11:35 pm: Hind Control Room, Scarlet Thunder (Back)

Amy didn’t notice how the door opened behind her. Judging from her frustrated expression, she hadn’t made any progress.

Mr. Gallagher walked over to her. “Please tell me you have good news,” he said, sounding exhausted.

“No, I’m still stuck. Did you at least make any progress?” Amy didn’t even look up. While waiting for an answer, she continued typing on her keyboard.

“I guess you could say so. Although this progress is quite concerning.”

“How so?”

“Well, we found Alice and the culprit. Turns out the one behind the drugging and Alice’s disappearance was Moth.”

“The serial killer?!”

“Yes. Xavier and Alice are currently pursuing him. The rest of us are trying to neutralize whatever Plan B Month has prepared.”

“Good luck with that. Sorry that I’m not much of any help. I somehow both admire and hate the person who programmed this virus. It will probably take me a while to crack it.”

“I’m sure you can do it. Say, Mika mentioned you have smoke bombs on your person, could I have them?”

“Oh, I nearly forgot about those. Here, take them.”

“Thank you. Before I go, I wanted to ask you, how can we disconnect the train carts, and what would happen if we did?”

“Well, thankfully, I’ve basically looked at every line of code written into the programming of this train, in hopes of getting around the virus, so I actually have a solid grasp of how it works. Normally, you could disconnect them with a command from this terminal or a remote control panel. Currently, that’s not an option, so you need to do it manually. If you apply enough force, you should be able to dislocate the pins holding everything in place. The train carts would pull apart at that point. Just make sure you disconnect any wires that connect the carts.”

“What are they for?”

“These trains are very simple. On their own, they can only drive in the direction they’re facing. So if you disconnect the wires between the front and back, the hind car will stop.”

“Didn’t you say the controls were linked, and it didn’t make a difference which control panel one uses?”

“That’s true. You can give commands to all of the carts from every panel, but because these trains are operated automatically, their controls are simplified. One end is always passive while the other is active. The passive one imitates the active one by receiving a signal through those wires.”

“I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t understand any of that, but it sounds like the hind car will stop if we disconnect it.”

“Yes, unless the hind car is given specific commands, it will come to a halt. And even if it starts driving again, it would go the other way.”

Mr. Gallagher nodded and headed off.

Thursday, October 31, 11:35 pm: Roof, Scarlet Thunder (Back)

Xavier had a hard time fighting against the strong wind. Slowly, he worked his way forward, one step at a time.

Ahead of him, he could see Alice and Moth struggling against the wind as well. Alice was using the tip of her crowbar to gain leverage, similar to how a mountain climber might use an ice axe. Even though she couldn’t pierce the roof, she could cham it into the small grooves, to get a better grip.

The landscape around the train was imposing. It was nearly a new moon, so only the light of the stars shone down on them, observing the spectacle like the eyes of an eager audience. Below them, some light escaped through the windows, enough to make the expressions on their faces visible, painting them with pitch black shadows. Moth’s frightened yet determined look, Alice’s angered stare like that of a predator on the hunt, and Xavier’s saddened and conflicted expression were all clear as day, despite the darkness of the night.

There was no civilization in sight, besides a quiet road somewhere in the distance. The train tracks lead along the edge of a river. The fast-moving water bubbled and made loud splashing sounds as it hit against the occasional large rock sticking out of the surface.

“Moth, stop, there is nowhere to run!” Xavier yelled, but his words were lost in the wind.

The three continued their slow chase for a while until the serial killer had reached the end of the middle section. With some difficulty, he managed to leap and climb over to the front section. As he looked back, he noticed how Alice was getting closer.

“Stay away, or I’ll shoot!” Without his helmet, Moth seemed much less intimidating. The genuine fear of his plan falling apart was written on his face.

“Don’t you get it? You’ve lost!” Xavier yelled even louder than before. He too slowly caught up with Moth.

“Stay away!” Moth yelled again, firing his gun.

Alice stared at the bullet hole left behind in the roof, a few inches next to her.

“I will kill you if you don’t…” Moth let out a pained scream.

Lupin had bitten him in the leg, angered by the shot. The tiny teeth couldn’t even pierce through the fabric, but Moth was still startled by the unexpected attack. Only now, he’d realized that the small monkey was holding onto him.

Mad, he grabbed the tiny animal, held it up in the air, and to Alice and Xavier’s utter shock, threw it.

Seeing Lupin fly towards her, Alice jumped like a trained goalkeeper, catching him as he flew past her.

Panicked, Xavier watched as the predictable thing happened. Having lost contact with the train, Alice flew off the side of the roof, the train rushing past her, as she was slowly descending.

Even Moth stared in shock, having not expected Alice to do this.

Thinking fast, Alice held out her crowbar in one hand, while clutching Lupin close to her with the other.

A loud scratching sound echoed through her head as she dragged the crowbar along the side of the train.

She’d already gotten to the hind cart, as suddenly, the crowbar got hooked in one of the gaps that the train needed to bend in curves.

It felt like her shoulder popped as her arm was yanked, but she could only feel relief. For a second, her life had flashed before her eyes.

She looked down at the rocky ground below her, which lined the train tracks on this side.

Even though she wasn’t saved yet, she couldn’t hold herself from letting out a triumphant scream.

Thursday, October 31, 11:45 pm: Hallway, Scarlet Thunder (Back)

The evacuation had been progressing surprisingly quickly. It helped that they only had to evacuate two of the three sections.

The people had proven surprisingly cooperative, for the most part. As soon as the first few groups had bought into the danger, it became easier to get the others to follow along.

As the groups were moving along the hallway, cramming into the hind car, someone let out a loud scream.

A woman had noticed something, or rather someone, dangling in front of the window.

“What is she doing out there?!” someone yelled as more people noticed Alice hanging on the side of the train.

“Someone break the window! Hurry!” an older man said.

Alice could barely see inside the train, but she was relieved to see that she’d been noticed. Even though some people seemed more interested in getting a good picture or video of the situation, Alice could see some people genuinely trying to help her, hitting against the window and calling for help.

A woman made her way through the crowd, holding one of the emergency hammers meant for breaking the glass.

Alice braced as the woman swung the hammer, shattering the glass.

The glass shards grazed her stomach and legs, which were thankfully protected by the Crimebuster’s strong fabric.

As soon as the window was broken, Alice felt herself being pulled inside by the wind. Some of the people inside grabbed onto her legs, helping her get inside safely.

Having some leverage, Alice managed to loosen the crowbar. Having nothing to hold onto, she shot back inside the train, pulling multiple people to the ground with her.

“Are you okay, miss?” a bearded man asked, reaching out his tattooed arm to help her up.

“I’m fine, thank you.” Alice was shaking from the cold wind and the nerve-wracking experience. Even for the self-proclaimed toughest member of the agency, this series of events was a lot to digest.

“What were you doing out there?” A young man asked.

“Don’t worry about it. The situation is under control.”

The people around her didn’t seem to understand what she was talking about. They were still under the impression that there was a fire, which did not explain why someone was hanging from the side of the train.

“Oi, let me through, will ya!”

Alice noticed Oscar making his way towards her.

“What are you doing, you muppet? I’m in the middle of evacuating, and then I hear that some twat is dangling outside the window.”

“I slipped up.” Alice looked down to check on Lupin. He, too, was shaking, but besides that, he seemed fine. However, a long rest and some food were probably in order to get him back on track.

“I need to get back up there to help Xavier.”

“Not like this, you will. I’ll check with the others to send some backup. I’m sure Xavier can handle the cunt for a while on his own. You go and see what your twin is up to. Maybe she needs some help.”

“Wait, what about Mika?” Alice asked nervously.

“Don’t worry about them. They’re fine.”

“I have to go to…”

“You have to go talk to Amy, first of all. By the way, would ya mind if I took that crowbar?”

“Fine. Just keep Mika safe.” Alice sighed and handed him the crowbar. “And leave the bandages on,” she said as Oscar was already walking away, referring to the bandages that she’d wrapped around the crowbar after her first encounter with Richard Scent.

The two went opposite ways, forcing their way through the crowd.

Thursday, October 31, 11:45 pm: Roof, Scarlet Thunder (Middle & Front)

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Xavier yelled, staring at Moth. The two were so close to each other, but between them was the gap connecting the two train segments.

“I… I didn’t think she…” Moth stared into the distance with an expression of shock.

“You said it yourself. She’d sacrifice everything to protect the weak.”
“I didn’t mean that she’d kill herself for a monkey!”

Xavier slowly walked closer. He stopped abruptly as Moth fired a bullet, landing right before his feet.

“I know you don’t understand my vision yet, so I can’t let you get any closer.”

“Your vision?!” Xavier repeated angrily. “Your vision is insane. You cannot seriously think that you’re in the right.”

“You will understand after you’ve had some time to think about it. It really is the only way to save the world.”

“Even if what you’re doing were helping the world, which it isn’t, saving the world is an absurd goal. You are a single person.”

“I am a symbol. People who get my message will join in and become moth hunters.”

“The only thing you’re doing is causing an even further rift between people, along with desensitizing them to the idea of killing to further an ideology. All of your murders will only motivate the moths to fight back and kill those you consider butterflies, in the biggest escalation this current culture war has ever seen!”

Xavier tried taking another step forward, as Moth was thinking about what to say next, but another bullet stopped him.

“I told you to stay over there! Listen, we can get off this train together safely. Further south, the river becomes safer to jump into. We just have to wait about thirty minutes.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you. If you truly want to kill everyone on this train, then you will have to kill me too.”

As Xavier said this, he heard a loud noise behind him. Slowly, the hind section distanced itself from the rest of the train.

Xavier understood that this must be part of the others’ plan.

Thursday, October 31, 11:50 pm: Hind Control Room, Scarlet Thunder (Back)

“What are you up to?” Alice asked as she approached Amy.

“I’m trying to get past this virus to regain control of the train.”

“Don’t tell me Moth has control over the train.”

“I assume it’s him. Otherwise, we’d have to deal with one more culprit.”

“I guess that would explain the perfect timing of the lights turning off, as he attacked me.”

“Wait, weren’t you chasing after him? What are you doing here?”

“I kinda fell off the train. Oscar told me to see if you needed any help.”

“Not really. I…” Amy stopped. The two felt a weird shaking, and a message popped up on one of the screens of the control panels.

“Seems like the others detached the cart.”

“What do you mean?!” Alice asked, surprised.

“I don’t really know the plan myself, but it’s part of their strategy to neutralize Moth’s Plan B.”

“Have you at least made any progress to regain control?” Alice asked. “Couldn’t the plan just be to crash the train?”

“Maybe. I’ve not made any progress with the virus itself, but I have a new idea.”

“Which would be?”

“Maybe if we can destroy the remote Moth uses, the virus won’t have any commands to follow, and the controls will return to default settings. That way, the front sections will continue driving to Las Vegas at their normal pace and stop, as planned. And our section won’t be at risk of getting hijacked by Moth.”

“How do you want to break the remote? Xavier is the only one close to Moth.”

“Thinking about it, Moth most likely uses a phone as a remote. That makes him vulnerable to an attack. Considering his phone and the control panel are constantly exchanging information, I might be able to use that connection to send something to him.”

“What, like an e-mail?”

“I’ll send him a self-opening decompression bomb.”

“You want to send him a bomb via e-mail?!”

“Ever heard of a zip bomb? Basically, they are data packages that contain so much data that opening them would crash your device. I created one myself about a month ago, thinking it might help us in a case.”

“Seems like now’s the perfect opportunity.”

“Yup. It’s time for my Inazuma Break to shine.”

“I see what you did there, you nerd,” Alice said, smirking.

“But for it to work, I first have to hack into the connection.”

“How long will that take?”

“No idea. Maybe a few minutes, maybe hours.”

“It better not be the last one, or we might all be dead by then.”

Friday, November 1, 12:00 am: Roof, Scarlet Thunder (Middle & Front)

Xavier watched triumphantly as the hind section became smaller and smaller in the distance. But the celebration didn’t last long.

Instead, someone else started celebrating. “Yes, that’s perfect!” Moth sighed in relief.

“What?!”

Moth got out his phone, keeping his gun aimed at Xavier. “I can just kill everyone on that cart, without fearing for your safety.”

“What are you gonna do with that?”

“Well, not everyone is so unreceptive to my cause. I have a very tech-savvy ally. Even though I’m trapped here without her, I can still use the tech she gave me, at least what I was carrying when I got here.”

“That doesn’t answer my question!”

“Don’t you get it? He controls the train with that thing. He’ll just make the hind section derail, and keep you and him safe,” a loud robotic voice explained.

Xavier noticed that someone else had made their way onto the roof. Behind Moth stood Paradox, wearing Moth’s helmet.

“This thing is pretty cool. Tell your friend she did a great job.”

Don’t get any closer!” Moth yelled, turning around and aiming his gun at them.

“Easy, I’ll stay here, don’t worry.”

“Timothy, is that you?”

“I came here to give you some backup. And don’t worry, Alice and Lupin are safe. That girl has more luck than brain cells.”

“Who are you?” Moth asked, keeping an eye on both Xavier and Paradox.

“You don’t recognize me? That’s disappointing. Here I was about to say this is like the old days. However, you’re nothing like this timeline’s Natsu.”

“What are you talking about? What old days?”

“Did we never meet in your timeline? Well, let me introduce myself. The name’s Paradox, and I’m the D&M Detective Agency’s arch nemesis. And I do not appreciate any attempts at stealing that position from me.”

Moth and Xavier stared at them in disbelief. Their chaws dropped.

“Wait, you’ve been Paradox this whole time?” Xavier asked.

“Of course.”

“Did Mika know?”

“They did. And they were pretty smart to ask for my help.”

“Paradox, I have no interest in fighting you. Just leave,” Moth said.

“I just wanted to see who the writers are trying to replace me with. But to be honest, I don’t think you’re a good fit. You have no charm whatsoever. Although maybe this just means that the show has officially jumped the shark.”

“Just get lost. Your dumb commentary has never made any sense.”

Audio started playing from Moth’s phone. It sounded like a sound file from an anime, of people yelling the words “Inazuma Break”.

Moth stared at his phone, realizing that it had just crashed. “Fuck, what just happened?!”

Xavier was just as confused, but Paradox seemed to keep a cool head.

They ran towards Moth. Before he could aim his gun, they grabbed his wrists. The two got into a tussle.

“You’ve never been the strong type,” Paradox said tauntingly, slowly backing Moth towards the edge of the roof.

“What are you doing?! You’re gonna kill us both!” In the corner of his eye, Moth could see the raging water below.

“How about we leave it up to the writers to decide if there is more potential for our characters,” Paradox said, chuckling.

“You’re crazy! There are no writers that will save you!”

“We’re about to find out.” Paradox turned over to Xavier. “Should this be it, then it was an honor being your rival.”

“Paradox, no!” Xavier screamed, but it was too late. With a final push, Paradox sent Moth over the edge, getting pulled down with him.

Moth let out a panicked scream, but Paradox remained silent before the two disappeared in the water with a loud splash.

Xavier could only watch as the train moved away from them at a rapid pace.

He stared off into the distance, wondering if this was truly how it would end. A rivalry of many years, over from one moment to the next. Paradox might be a criminal, but they were always an honorable opponent. Their death would in no way be a satisfying end to this duel between them and the agency.

In Xavier’s mind, not even Moth deserved to be punished with death. He might have been a killer, but wasn’t the whole argument against his actions that even bad people should not be punished this way? And besides that, he was the closest Xavier had seemingly gotten to Natsu since his disappearance. Yes, Moth might be nothing like the person Xavier knew, but maybe there was a chance to turn him back into the kindhearted, justice-loving investigator Xavier loved and admired. Could it really be possible for a person to undergo such a drastic change after a traumatic event?

Xavier remained on the train for a while. He barely even noticed the strong wind.

After some time had passed, he made his way onto the front cart, climbing back into the train through the window Paradox had left open.

How poetic that his only way off the roof and into safety was only available to him, thanks to Paradox.

Inside the cabin, he sat on the bed, staring out the window, too exhausted to face his friends.

And so ends this rather unusual case. The investigators split in two, with one half heading to Las Vegas for the meet-up of the master investigators, while the other half was left behind in the middle of nowhere.

I assume that you can already guess that our next case is waiting for us in the near future. After all, when so many world-class investigators meet up, something is bound to happen.

So, I hope you’ll forgive me for this sudden cut, but you must understand that this is only the beginning of an eventful trip.