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Effle lay face up on his bed in his apartment, the heat relentlessly cooking his body. "Hmmm..." If only he had something to do today, he wouldn't have to slowly roast himself. "Hmmmm." He grunted a little more aggravated this time. He jumped out of bed when he heard the door open. "Zina! Hey, hi, how are you? Lemme help you with those." Effle said quite happily, taking most of the groceries from her hands.
"Hi Effle, what's going on?" She asked, quite surprised he wasn't running off to hide somewhere. Effle quickly strode over to the cabinets and stuffed all the food neatly and tidily into the cupboards all the while looking at Zina.
"Zina... How've you been?" He asked sincerely, while flipping a loaf of bread onto a shelf whilst not looking.
"Um... Good, I guess..." She said, picking what to put in the fridge and what to put on the shelves. "Why the interest?"

"The last time I saw you," Effle said thinking back for a moment and sliding all the empty bags into the garbage with one absent minded hand, "I nearly ran you over trying to escape a monster. How long ago is that now...?"
"A week." She said accusingly, turning away from him and headed for the door.
"A we- a week?!" Effle said completely aghast following her out the door and shutting it behind him. "Zina!" He said, noticing she was ignoring him, "We haven't done anything together!" She still didn't look at him and walked down the hallway of his building. "How can I make it up to you?" He asked, not giving up and trailing close behind. She still said nothing, but he followed her anyway. "Do you wanna fly in the moonlight?" He asked her seductively.
"Can't see anything in the dark." She said flatly without turning around.
"How 'bout in the sun then?"
"I'm afraid of heights."
"You never told me that. We should get to know each other better sometime." He said, following her now down a flight of stairs to the front entrance. "Hey, listen." He said, finally gripping her shoulder and turning her around, "I will make this up to you, I promise." He saw a hint of a smile on her face and let her go. "Tomorrow, save the date!" He called after her as she melded with the crowd. His stomach growled and he absentmindedly grabbed the red apple out from the back of his pouch and munched on it without thinking. He let out a sigh hoping something to do would just pop out of nowhere to-

"Dude! Guess what I'm looking at!"

Elffe said to him through their mental link. "What is it?" Effle asked, sharing his vision. A small flyer was in his hands, with a large picture of a weird machine on the front. There were big words at the top that said 'Vanishing Train in town, limited time only!' He figured the thing he was looking at in the picture was a train and noticed its odd three pairs of metal wheels on some sort of rail and also noticed other 'train' cars attached to the back of it in a line. Its shiny black surface seemed to glint through the image and he blinked once or twice. "What's a train?" He asked anyway as he read the print below the picture, his mind running slower than his mouth in the heat.
"A large rolling box car that..." Elffe cut off for a second. "Huh. It's a Frodenkai."
"Oh!" Effle said remembering the Frodenkai rides in his old city. Then he remembered he didn't remember that at all. "Why didn't they just call it that?" The fine print read 'Fee includes up to 200 gold pieces or 3 chakeelen pieces, or ride free at your own risk.' Effle wondered for a moment what a chakeelen was, and then promptly dropped it out of his mind when he read the next line; 'Perfect for couples and friends'. His eyes lit up and he was back in his apartment in a second, sitting in front of his safe and making a personal withdrawal of 200 gold pieces. "Elffe, I know what we're gonna do today!"
"You mean, tomorrow."
"... Right!"

*  *  *  *  *

"Heeeeeeyyyyy Zina! Ready to go? You ready? Ready to go yet, Zina? You ready yet? You ready to go...?" Effle had been pestering her all morning while Elffe helped her lock down the apartment. He was so excited he could barely contain himself.
"That's about it." Zina said, stepping back an admiring the completely and utterly safe room.
"GREAT!" Effle accidentally shouted, "Let's be on our way then, shall we?" Effle motioned to the door and held it dramatically open for Zina. She walked on through without looking at him or even noticing his movement. "Oh, Elffe, are you living on the edge?" Effle asked him, flashing him the flyer and highlighting the part about 'free at your own risk'.
"No, I got my money right here." Elffe said patting the busting pouch dangling at his side.
"Humph, Then I'm the only one..." Effle said warily, heading out the door. He kept it in mind, but wondered how their money would be spent to keep them safe.
"Effle, keep your wings in, we don't know yet if they accept fairies on the train..." Elffe said absent mindedly through their mind link after walking outside.
"Mmm." He grunted in response. "He didn't like his wings being tied up for so long; he'd have to inquire about it soon.

The Vanishing Train was located just outside Negav, past the Neko village next to the water. It was surprising Effle had never seen the Neko village, it being so close to Negav and all, and he couldn't remember if he had been here before or not; it was quite frustrating. Nearly a hundred nekos were all gathered outside a large wooden hut that stretched left and right for a good 50 yards in either direction. The hut itself backed into what seemed to be the river itself, the very top of the roof not too high from the height of the walls. There were about ten doors under the low, messily shackled roof spread evenly apart and leading to something inside. Outside each door on either side were two booths signing people in or handing out strange green buttons for those who paid money. They were eventually shown through the doors in the end, button or not. Effle, Elffe and Zina all quickly got in line; apparently most of the nekos were just there to watch but still a considerable amount were going to take the train. Effle spotted someone pay the man in the booth with three triangular stone tablets about the size of a book, each with their own color gem in the center. Chakeelens...

A funny looking man with a large hat pulled low over his eyes and a heavy navy blue cloak pulled around his entire body passed the three of them bumping into Elffe by accident. "Hey!" Elffe yelled at the short stout man who didn't give him a second look, "We're in line, no cutting!" The man looked back at Elffe with small yellow round innocent eyes.
"My mistake sir." He said to the three of them as he turned back to the village behind them. His voice was eight octaves too high to be normal, and when he walked to the back of the line, a blue, thick tail dropped out from under his cloak. He bowed deeply to the three of them before turning off and disappearing into the crowd.
"Strange..." Effle and Elffe said at the same time slightly cocking their heads and staring at his tail as he dragged it away.
"Odd, more like it. Move up, we're holding up the line.

"Hello and welcome! Who is joining our lovely tour of *Felarya* today?" Effle walked past the pair of nekos in front of him who in turn walked through the doors to their right and gasped just as the door shut behind them. Elffe was watching the door excitedly, tapping his foot impatiently against the floor. Effle noted the way the person said Felarya like a machine, even though he was completely human.
"I'm Effle, this is Elffe and this is Zina."
"Will any of you be purchasing our 'safety guarantee' this fine day?"
"We'll take two." Effle said putting down his pouch with 200 pieces in it for Zina and Elffe stepping forward. Elffe continuously patted his pockets slowly becoming more and more distressed.
"Where is it?" Elffe said under his breath. Effle stared at the person behind the table and saw it was human... sort of... This person was completely human, there was no doubt about that, it's just... There was something off about him. He had a bald head that gleamed in the sun that peaked over the roof, his eyes were a dull hazel color that seemed not to focus on anything... yea, that was it; his eyes wouldn't attach to any one specific object. Instead he seemed like he was staring out into space everywhere he looked. "I know I have it here somewhere..." He wore a simple blue tunic that read 'Assistance' in big black letters on the front. His bottom torso was hidden behind the desk and Effle's scrutinizing examinations ended there.

"Here is your safety button patch." He said pleasantly while Elffe continued to pat himself down. "When activated, you will automatically teleport back here to this location in the nearest 2 meter wide open area inside safe condition protocols. This is a one time use safety button patch and will vanish upon teleportation. We recommend you place it on your left or right shoulder for easy activation or on your wrist for the watch." The machine said, moving its left hand quickly to its right shoulder in mock imitation. "We warn you that only the original buyer of the safety button patch will be teleported by it; any other beings trying to teleport with the original shall be disappointed." He gave Zina a choice between a watch like device and a larger button with a Velcro bottom, but she chose the watch and took the bag of money back with her.
"It's gone!" Elffe said to Zina and Effle looking aghast and sick. "My money's gone!" An idea passed through his mind.
"Wait a minute!" Elffe said at the same time Effle did.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Effle asked him with that look in his eye.

"That little dragon thing stole it! He bumped into me remember?" He asked Zina, actually wanting to know if Zina remembered. "C'mon Effle, let's go get him."
"That'll take too long, come on guys!" Zina complained. Effle shrugged to Elffe, guess you'll just have to live life on the edge.
"Is there a way for you to get me a free button because of my situation or something?" Elffe said pleadingly, not quite thinking things through.
"I'm Sorry, what you are asking for is outside of my programming. Please contact one of our supervisors for further help on that subject."
"I think that's a no." Effle said, now eyeing the 'human' in front of him. "Are you human?"
"Please insert the coins or chakeelens into the button you have been given to activate it. The money will be safely transported to our intergalactic treasury. After the specific price limit is met, the button will function without error or your full money back guaranteed. You may now pass through the doors on your right; have a nice stay."
"I'll take that as a no, too." They were about to walk away when the machine started talking rapidly, too rapidly for the average person to understand in the slightest, and Effle was only able to make out certain words.

"TheVanishingTrainOrganizationisnotliableforanylossofpropertyorbodilyharmtowardstheindividual.BypurchasingthesafetyguaranteebuttonyouagreetoalltherightsandtermsofuseprovidedbytheVanishingTrainCoorperationandareinnolegalpositiontosueunderanycircumstances. Thank you, and come again."

"Uh..." Effle said, in mid step towards the doors. "Thanks." He turned his attention back to the doors and flung them both open at the same time. His eyes took their time adjusting to the odd things he saw next and it wasn't until a minute later until he could start making sense of what he was seeing. From the left to the right, the train laid on metal tracks facing perfectly parallel with each other, holding a most magnificent looking Frodenkai... or... train. It was about the length of a football field, about seven cars making up the entire train. They all looked exactly identical, black shiny metal with a red stripe around the entire thing at waist level. A few near the front looked slightly different, but he was too far away to make out what it was. The roofs were perfectly flat, with a slight overhang to them that gave enough shade to keep the cars from overheating on their own. Effle could see from the side of the train about five windows looking out at them. Effle couldn't see the front car yet, but he had to give it to them; it looked fancy. Directly in front of them, two of the cars connected with a little stairwell on either side of the chain link to allow them to climb aboard. First Effle, then Zina, then Elffe climbed aboard and entered the third to last train car.

As soon as he stepped inside, he was once again mesmerized by its sheer luxury. The train car itself seemed too big on the inside than the outside to be possible, but Effle didn't dwell on it; this was amazing! In between each of the windows on both sides were four large, white covered end tables enough to sit four people around each one, giving the people who sat around the table a good view of the outside through their respective windows. The chairs were almost like lazy boy chairs, but the seated person was further forward so they could reach the table with ease. The roof of each car was about seven feet high, giving plenty of moving space for the tall people. Each train car had two doors leading to the next car in line in the front and back, but on each side of each door were two people dressed obviously as waiters, one male and one female each either a neko or a human. All three of them sat down at the second table to their left from the back door with Zina next to a window seat, Effle next to her, and Elffe across from them both. Before Elffe could get all the way in his seat, a waiter from the door opposite them came over, a male neko.

"Hi, and how are all you folks today?" he said, human like.
"Are you a machine?" Effle asked him abruptly.
"Um... no, but we can get you one if you like?" He said, taken aback by the question.
"Oh no, just wonderin is all..." Effle trailed off and averted his gaze to the window, wishing there was something to look at other than the wooden wall.
"What's on the menu?" Zina asked politely, her eyes alive and vibrant with possibilities.
"Anything any restaurant has ever prepared and made a profit on! Our chefs can teleport recipes from all across six different galaxies, so it shouldn't be hard to find what you're looking for."

"Um..." Zina hesitated, looking around before moving in closer and whispering to the waiter. "I'll have a Taranheji to drink and, um... do you have... Tinies?" She asked timidly.
"Zina!" Effle exclaimed aghast nearly jumping out of his chair. There was too much commotion and talking inside the cart for anyone to notice his shock and disapproval.
"Aware, or unaware?" he said winking back to her.
"What!?" Effle turned to the waiter in disbelief that he was actually serving captive Tinies.
"Sorry...?" She asked the waiter ignoring Effle completely.
"Would you like them to know you'll be eating them, or should we put them under?"
"How many per serving?"
"Between three to five."
"Then let's have... some of them under, but most of them aware."
"Great! And the rest of you...?" He said redirecting his attention to Effle and Elffe.
"Uh..." Effle wondered; most of his appetite left him, but he was still hungry enough to eat. But what should he get?
"I'll have what she's having, all under for me." Elffe said to the waiter.
"Elffe!?!"
"And you sir?" He said, turning his attention finally to Effle.
"... Fine, I'll have one Tiny with a Lucent." He said gloomily. His mind was instantly aware he didn't know what a Lucent was, but his face didn't show it until after the waiter had left. Elffe was thinking the same thing he was and asked the question first.
"What's a Lucent?" Elffe asked excitedly, leaning forward in his chair and crossing his arms on the table.
"I... I don't know." Effle said curiously more to himself than to the others. He didn't know why he said it, but he did on instinct...

Effle saw the door they came in open and a new group of people walked inside, none of them out of the ordinary. His wings ached to be set free, and he waved a waiter over. "Excuse me," He asked a female human, "What kinds of races are allowed on the train?"
"If you're worried about your own personal safety, we can assure you you'll be safe from any other passengers on the train-"
"No, no, I'm quite capable, but my friends here are a little discriminate towards nagas and such." The woman's face hardened.
"We're obliged to accept any and all paying customers, but any individual threatening the rest of our passengers is not welcome."
"How about roof access?" Effle asked, turning the question around.
"Not many favor the roof, but for those with a little adventure in them, the roof is open for all who want to see it. Ladders to the roof can be found at the back and front of each car, and each car is equipped with indirect air flow systems, so you can be on the roof even at our top speeds!" She explained to them, completely clearing her mind of the last question.
"Oh, aright thanks." She walked away and Effle was just about ready to tear off his shirt.
"Wait!" Zina hissed to him, looking over at the people across the aisle from them. "They live near us! If they see your wings, they'll know you don't belong in Negav!" Effle's fingers twitched. He was so close to revealing himself, but he was also so close to thoroughly stretching since forever ago. He didn't know what he wanted more. An intercom went off above their heads but Effle couldn't find its source. He listened intently to its message, hoping there was something in it about fairies.

"The train will leave in 5 minutes. We all recommend to those who bought them to activate your safety button patches now. If you are in need of assistance, our waiters are ready to help." Zina waved over the male neko again, and he demonstrated how to open the button to them and the table next to them. He squeezed the sides of the button and it opened up, revealing a small compartment inside with a green wavy bottom. He took one of the 200 pieces and placed it, a perfect fit, into the watch-like button and the coin dissolved on the green surface, giving no indication that it was there in the first place except for a large white number 1 in its place. When he handed it back to them, Effle, Elffe and Zina all worked to stack the coins on top of each other and fit them into the watch before the take off. They just finished putting the coins into the watch when the intercom went off again. "We are now leaving the station, if you want to leave our services, please do so at this time. The train will ride *alongside the Ascarlain Mountains, past the Lake of Illusions, through the Misty Glade and around the Orelosk Plateau*. From there, we will ride *through the Great Rocky Fields, into the Akaptor Desert, and to the Shimmering Sea*. This is where the train ride will end; all passengers still remaining and the train cars themselves will teleport back into this very location for your convenience. We predict that the trip should take approximately *three hours* and we will be back at sunset. Have a nice ride."

The train jolted gently backwards before moving ahead as the train made its first few squeaks and screeches on the tracks. It glided smoothly from there on afterwards, slowly at first until it started picking up considerable speed. Effle was blinded by the light from the outside world when they finally emerged from the wooden building, but quickly recovered from the suddenness of it all. Effle gazed outside at all the people who stayed behind, waving to people they knew on the train and wondered how much they would miss out on. Effle started to wonder a considerable amount of things that started to bug him. "Hey guys, I'll be back soon, I wanna talk to the pilot about this train... it seems so odd..."
"Suit yourself." Elffe said sitting back in his chair, backing Effle up in his decision. Zina nodded to him as well and Effle made his way to the front of the car. The male neko waiter opened the door for him as he got near and Effle nodded to him kindly.
"Such a nice guy..." A wall of wind hit Effle first in the face, then in the ankles, and finally in his stomach mockingly. It took all he had to pretend like nothing was wrong until the neko closed the door behind him then he collapsed to his knees gulping down massive amounts of air on accident. He stumbled to his feet as he started to adapt to the wind that kept slapping him in the face. Looking around he found everything to be as it should be, nothing out of the ordinary or misplaced.

The two train cars were split, being only held together by two metal poles, one with a round iron ball at the end, and another with a hollowed out semicircle to fit into. They weren't actually touching, and odd purple and black electricity surrounded it holding it together. Effle figured that was reasonable in some world and left it out of further speculation. He was standing on a grated platform that was round near its edges to allow for easy turning; the platform itself was the width of the train car and about a yard out tot the next one. The space between him and the next train car was within easy walking distance, and he easily stepped from one to the other. Satisfied with his easy trip so far, he continued through the next train car, this one the exact same as the last but with different friendly people inside. Again, the air smacked him hard and he hid it until the door shut closed behind him. He recovered quickly this time, now used to the feeling and knew what to expect. He crossed over the platforms again but he stopped midway to opening the door this time. His eyes wandered to his left and they stuck to something most interesting. A ladder...

Effle quickly scrambled up the ladder and to his pleasant surprise found the wind died down up here. There was still a considerable draft, enough to blow a hat away in the wind, but he could stand up straight without worry of being knocked over. The scenery finally caught his eye and he was surprised he didn't see it earlier. The sun's light had been chopped up into little rays that barely glinted through the trees above; flying by so fast, his eye could barely keep up. There were massive trees on both sides of the train, and continued that way for as far ahead as Effle could see. He could see a mountain coming up on his left just over the trees, meaning it must have been massive. He turned his attention back to the train, him being the only one on the roof at this point, and started running to the next train car. Effle paused before the roof ended and judged the gap between the two cars. It was a reasonably long jump, but not impossible. He took three steps back and charged to the edge. He hurtled himself over the space, landing a good yard on top of the next car, seriously overestimating the gap itself. He decided to climb down to the back and see why this car seemed different from the rest. The roof was a navy blue instead of black and when he stood in front of the door, he noticed that it too was of a more bluish color than the others. He put his hand on the lever doorknob and realized it was colder than average. Now thoroughly curious, he pushed down and moved inside, not even bothering to see where he was headed.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Effle's eyes adjusted to the lack of light in the room. There were no windows to the outside here, only a hanging lamp every few feet or so. To his immediate left was another door, this one with a little glass window in it. Peeking through, he saw shelves of meats and other meals stacked to the ceiling, icicles hanging off everything and frost covering the walls and floor. He didn't bothering opening it, and looked ahead; he could hear talking. Effle completely disregarded the two people standing there staring back at him until he was satisfied with his inspection. The freezer on his left was small, and when it ended, Effle saw a little area with a few more chairs and unclothed wooden tables, each with its own little oil lamp. On the right side of the room was a second room that extended to the other side of the car with one steel window; a metal sheet had been pulled upwards revealing what lay inside. He could smell several different wonderful and horrible smells, either wafting or emanating from the window beyond. He saw several complex machines inside, and assumed this would be the staff recreational room as well as the cook's kitchen. He immediately took in the two people staring back at him trying not to look foolish.

One; male, orange haired with large sideburns and a slight goatee of the same color, massive eyebrows, light brown eyes that stared into him with a contemplative wonder probably doing the exact same thing he was doing now, strange green overalls covering a thick tan sweater rolled back to his elbows, tall brown heavy boots, broad mouth and a stern expression, wearing an odd brown top hat cocked to one side, hairy arms and a warm aura about him. He seemed like a nice guy. "Hi!" Effle said giving a small wave so as to stall for time as he absorbed the next person when he shifted his gaze to her. Two; female, dark colored skin, brown curly hair stuffed under a torn hairnet, very stout, maybe half his size, quite large in the waist, large brown eyes that looked him up and down once, judging him harshly (he could feel it!), a large curled lower lip and thick arms, wearing a white apron and an aura of... hard work? She seemed like the hard working person all of society was based around. "I'm Effle, who're you?"

"Well, well!" The orange haired man said standing up straight from his lean-to position against the wall. "We don't shtart getting visitors till an hour into the trip, much lessh the firsht fifteen minutesh! Welcome aboard lad, I be the engineer 'round these partsh. The name's Charles, Mr. Charles. Pleashure to meet ja Effle." He gruffly shook his hand all the while he was talking. He carried about him a heavy Irish accent that quickly reminded him of a more extreme version of Norbert.
"I'm Jan, Hun. Need something to eat?" She said in a rather shrill voice, one that demanded respect.
"Oh! Where are m' manners? Are ya hungry?"
"Oh, no I'm, fine, just had a few questions about the train." Effle said; he liked these people. "I've just been wondering... has this train ever been to Felarya before?"
"Probably, but we wouldn't remember." Jan said from the back, disappearing from the window off some sort of pedestal to work on something in the back.
"The back is sho lonely shometimesh," Mr. Charles began, "though I don't remember this place from the glimpshes I got when I had m' firsht break."
"Have you dealt with dangerous places before?" Effle said, taking a few more steps into the room and gazing up at the quaint light fixtures above.
"O'coursh we 'av! That'sh why the cap'n inshtalled the shaftey button. We've even losht - half the bloody train once, but that's another story!" Effle was completely taken aback by his sudden accent change from Irish to British, but dared not say anything about it lest it be insulting.
"What's in the car beyond this one?" Effle asked curiously, peeking around Mr. Charles to see the door standing unchallenged against the forces amidst it.
"That's the pilot's car, he loves visitors." Jan said half heartedly from behind her window.
"I'd go see him if I were you, mate." Charles said with an Australian accent turning back to Jan and striking up a conversation in a completely different language. They were weird people...

He pulled the door open and closed it quickly behind him, worried that the wind might bother the two of them. He turned to see the last car was completely different from the rest. First thing, there were no walls, just machinery on three sides, ahead, left and right also meaning the wind was intensified. There was a smoke stack looking thing near the front of this car that poked about his height above the rest of the roofs, and the grated platform went all the way around the sides of this car. He stepped over to the other car and walked around the edge, uneasily holding onto the metal bars and pipes behind him. He could see the front of the train had some sort of triangular grate on it to protect itself from things that might harm the bottom of it. He also saw that the train was just being outrun by its metal tracks that appeared about a foot in front of it, making its path completely unpredictable. Effle stared at the odd sight, and then edged his way back to the entrance of the car.

A little chair with no back or arm rests sat in the middle of the smaller than average train car. All around the chair were levers, buttons, and Effle even thought he saw a raging furnace in front of it. But the most interesting thing in the room was the enormous man on the chair blocking most of his view. He was bald, shirtless probably because there were no shirts to fit his disproportionate body, thick arms, stubby legs, and a waist so large, Effle doubted he'd be able to reach around him had he tried. He wore an odd white cap on his head and white sweatpants that seemed stretched to their limit. He wasn't facing him and when Effle made a slight coughing noise to give away his presence, he swiveled around on the poor squeaky chair to see him. As soon as the pilot saw him, Effle knew right away he would like the man. His face lit up when he saw Effle and he hoisted himself up from the chair, leaving the train to run itself. His face was pudgy; he had rosy cheeks and a small mouth, brown eyes like Mr. Charles and an aura about him of just pure jolliness. No one would ever be able to mistake him for a mean person, ever.

"Hello!" He said in a low booming voice, "How are ya? I'm the pilot Mr. Tubnus, pleasure to meet you!" He stuck out a hand and Effle gladly shook it.
"Hi Mr. Tubnus, I'm Effle!" He shouted over the howling wind.
"What can I do for you?!" he asked, wiping away an immense amount of sweat from his forehead and leaning forward further to hear him better over the wind.
"I was just wondering how this train worked!" Effle said, curious to know about the tracks in the front.
"Technological advances in our home world developed the vanishing tracks, and were the basis to our entire corporation! They vanish from behind the train to be replaced in the front so that the train itself can adapt to all terrain! They're much better than wheels cause they make for a much smoother ride, and that's why more people prefer us to cars or trucks given the choice!" he yelled, pulling several levers without looking at them and moving the train neatly under an incoming root. The enormous trees were gliding by now, the wind howling through the front car.

"What about dangerous predators attacking your train? What do you do to defend yourself?!" Effle hollered to him, his attention now getting caught by the scenery. It was magnificent; he'd never moved so fast in his life before.
"All I can do in the end is try and steer clear of trouble, but no obstacle is too big to turn this train around! We face any incoming threat like they were just another hill to drive over! That and we installed the safety button patches so that we no longer have to worry about the majority of the tourists, not to mention the weapons they bring themselves!"
"I don't think this world is like anything you've ever seen, Mr. Tubnus!" Effle yelled back to him, again finding himself staring at the trees gliding past.
"I'm sure it can't be as bad as some of the other worlds I've been to! But like Mr. Charles always says, that's another story!"
"Thanks Mr. Tubnus, I think I've learned everything I need to know!" Effle shouted.
"Take care, and come back when you're bored!" They shook hands again, and Effle jumped back to the previous car, taking the ladder to the top of the train and once more surveying the landscape.

There was now a river located on the train's right that he hadn't seen before except at the station itself a little distance away and the mountain from before was now visible behind the enormous trees to his left. He couldn't see any clouds above the closely knit branches of the canopy above him, but he figured, rain or no rain it would be a nice ride. He hopped from the top of the cars towards the third to last train car and stopped short when he saw a figure coming up one of the ladders. It was a male neko wearing a strange baggy outfit all the same shiny white color. He smiled and waved to Effle who in turn waved back. He was wearing a large straw hat tied around his neck, and the white clothes he was wearing reflected what little sun landed on him making it seem like he was glowing. Effle didn't know why the man seemed so out of place on the roof but, he thought to himself smiling, he was too. He climbed down the back ladder, the wind picking up again and he quickly slipped into the train car. He took his seat next to Zina again like he'd never left and flattened his untidy hair. "Hey, learn anything new?" Zina asked him, curious to know what he'd been doing.
"I met a few people, actually." Effle said, starting to pour out his mini adventure from both his mouth and mind, Elffe picking up the small little details he couldn't express in words.

Effle finally exhausted his story and leaned back again in his chair, satisfied with the looks on their faces. "Vanishing tracks, you say?" Elffe said speculatively, more to himself than anyone in particular.
"I want to meet this Mr. Charles character." Zina said, moving closer to the table in interest.
"And of course, we must meet Mr. Tubnus!" Elffe said excitedly; he liked the guy just from the memories and was eager to meet him in person. No one quite mentioned Jan; the way he told it, she was an odd spectacle. Before Effle knew it the male neko was at their side, a platter full of drinks in his hand.
"Two Taranhejis and one Lucent." He said, mixing up Effle and Elffe because of their identicalness. They didn't bother correcting him and switched the drinks back after he'd left. Effle stared at his Lucent and looked right through it. The drink itself was completely clear, almost like there was nothing in the glass at all. The only way he could tell there was liquid in his cup was the super thin, yet utterly black layer on the very top of the drink. It absorbed the light that landed on it and made no reflection what so ever. He picked it up and it sloshed around like average water but when he took a sip, he felt a feeling he had felt a long time ago. His tongue prickled on contact, his entire body shivered with delight, his eyes refocused on everything in his view. The oddest feeling was the gears in his brain kicking up a notch and Effle became very aware of everything in the car.
"Whoa." Effle breathed.

Elffe was having an altogether different experience on his end. The drink in front of him was pink and fizzy, bubbles constantly emerging from the bottom up. It gave him the impression the surface was boiling, but without heat. Elffe looked up to see Zina take a large swig and roughly set her glass back down, nearly emptying its contents on the floor. Elffe decided to do the same and when he took his swig, he was definitely surprised. The surprisingly good tasting liquid seemed to come to life in his mouth and explode, quickly flying down his throat. His ears popped, his nostrils flared, and he blinked furiously from the sudden effect. "Gah!" He couldn't help exclaiming, lifting his head back in surprise. After the effects quickly wore off, he was left with a wonderful happiness in the depths of his stomach. "That... was... awesome!" Elffe said happily, preparing himself to take another mouthful. Exchanging the feelings between both him and Effle was like a maddening dance that filled him with excitement and delight. He felt like it could move out of hand rapidly, and quickly put an end to it. The feeling of happiness died away after a moment or two and Elffe took another swig this time the feelings not as surprising, but definitely just as enjoyable as the last.

Effle took another sip, his brain working faster and faster; the liquid tasted good and familiar. He only thought like this under extreme stress or while being pressured but this time it was a sort of safe, frenzied thinking. He had this drink before, yes... He must've ordered it a lot when he was back on his home world to react quickly enough to order it without even knowing its name before hand. The black surface swirled around in his glass, slowly coming to a halt. He had to have gone out a lot, maybe with his parents, maybe Elffe, but he felt like there had to have been someone else to share this with. He wouldn't have gone out that many times unless there was someone to split the drink with. His mind suddenly changed direction; I had trouble thinking straight ever since I was... me, which means I must've picked this drink myself because it gave me FOUCS! His mind began to slow down again; Effle saw the danger in having too much for fear of intense mind rambling, but he liked the drink and continued to sip on it.

"Well I feel better!" Zina said falling back in her chair and giving out a long sigh.
"I agree!" Elffe said as well, giving off the same reaction.
"Their drinks must cause a feeling of happiness to make them feel better after a few sips, it couldn't last forever or everyone would be happy all the time-" Effle couldn't help but vent his focus out into words under his breath and was glad no one could hear his rambling. He gradually slowed down to his normal self again and he looked at his drink in amusement. He liked his choice of drink and needed to bring this stuff along with him as it might help in his travels. Effle glanced outside again; this time the mountain was all he could see behind the giant trees in his way. "Ascarlain Mountains... Ah!" Effle jumped when he realized the neko waiter was right next to him holding three trays above his head.
"Three specials enjoy!" He said, sliding the three trays in front of each of them. This time he had their orders right and again, Effle lost his appetite. Zina had five Tinies on her plate; three males, two awake and two females, one under, all with clothes on. His eyes quickly darted to Elffe's plate and saw he had four; two males and two females all under. They exchanged their Tinies until Elffe had only females and Zina only males. They each picked up their first victim and Effle turned away, he couldn't watch. He rested his cheek in his left palm and stared down at the lone Tiny on his plate. It must've been the drink, but he couldn't help but analyze her; maybe because she was his and no one else's.

She sat cross legged on the plain white tray avoiding his gaze. She wore a red veil on the bridge of her nose and a thick red collar around her neck. With droopy brown eyes and hands tied behind her back, she tried to remain motionless and stare at the floor. She had medium length red hair and was wearing a skimpy costume equipped with cat ears to make her seem more appealing. Effle had to admit, she did seem more appetizing than average, but he couldn't get it out of his mind that this was a being with thoughts and feelings. An entire life of potential and possibilities was sitting right in front of him and her destiny was to be eaten alive by whoever ordered her. Effle saw her bottom lip quiver, and he sighed, wondering if he had it in him to eat her. He took another sip of his Lucent and his mind began to wander, but he forcefully turned it back to the Tiny in front of him. His mind worked on the situation, rolling thoughts through his mind and trying to think through what each one would turn out to be until he figured nothing he could think of would be as real as action.

He poked her with his right hand, knocking her over gently while wondering what she was thinking. He picked her up with two fingers by her waist and held her in front of his face. Would he, could he, should he... do it...? Her gaze still refused to meet his and he wondered what it was like being this close to death, unable to do anything to save herself now. He continued to stare, he couldn't decide. He looked over to Elffe and Zina and quickly looked away, disgusted at the things they were doing. He put the Tiny in his left palm, still staring intently, waiting for the answer to appear on her face. He moved her toward his mouth, but then hesitated. He moved her a little farther, and then hesitated again. "Just do it!" She shrieked behind a choked sob. He couldn't look away now, he felt like he was going to be sick. Her face broke to tears and she openly sobbed in his hand. Effle felt more conflicted than he had ever felt in his entire life. "I..." He mumbled under his breath. She looked him in the eye and he saw fear, helplessness, distress, anguish, he saw memories that weren't his, he saw experiences that made her who she was, he saw... he saw life. "I can't do this..." Effle stood up abruptly from his seat and pocketed the Tiny in his satchel heading for the back of the car to the roof. He could think there...

*  *  *  *  *

Elffe wasn't having a hard time deciding on his end. The Tinies were great, but he had to remind himself he couldn't make this a habit. Tinies here he convinced him self were ok through no rational stream of logic, but he saw the Tinies out in the wild differently. Bah! He was thinking too much! He was on a much needed vacation and dropped all the thoughts over right or wrong when he tasted the first female Tiny. God, it was amazing... This one unconscious, she just tasted good, there was no better way to put it. She accidentally slid own his throat before he had a chance to fully enjoy the sensation and was disappointed in his poor eating habits. He glimpsed Zina having a ball and decided to take lessons from her later. She had taken the first unconscious Tiny and showed the other aware ones what she was going to do to them, quite diabolical, he thought. She slowly lowered the sleeping Tiny down her throat with another conscious Tiny in her hand, forcing him to watch her every move.

Elffe picked up a conscious girl by both feet this time as she tried to skirt away from his fingers, giving a quick yelp of fear. Her hands and feet were bound behind her back as he held her directly over his mouth and she squirmed fiercely unable to take her eyes off his tongue. Her face gently landed on his tongue and he slowly leveled his head until she was completely inside. He closed his lips around her ankles and savored the taste. Her bands tying her up must've dissolved as he felt her hammer away at everything within reach, frantically trying to get out. Every time she thought she could squeeze herself back out his jaws, his tongue would shift and she would slide back to where she started again. He finally let go of her ankles and tilted his head back, the tasty treat sliding faster and faster down his gullet. As soon as the feelings were gone, he directed his attention back down to his plate, the meal more satisfying than he thought. Three left to go... He wished he had ordered more awake, it seemed more enjoyable. Elffe glanced up at Zina's plate and saw she still had four, two still awake, and she was sucking on the lower half of one of them. He tried as hard as he could to get himself out by placing both hands on Zina's lips and heaving with all his might, but he didn't make any progress. Elffe blinked once and he was gone, now probably half way down her esophagus.

Elffe picked up the next one and held her in his fingers for a moment; long blond hair, wearing a purple bikini, and as lifeless as being dead herself. He noticed a small little blue collar around her neck and he skillfully tore it off without hurting the Tiny. She instantly started to stir and Elffe figured that the collar was what had been keeping them under. He jumped with joy inside himself and quickly tore off the other collars for later. He put this Tiny in his mouth feet first and closed his lips around her waist like Zina. The Tiny was almost fully conscious and just started piecing together her situation. Elffe waited patiently until she started frantically clawing at anything she could reach in a desperate attempt to escape. He waited a few more seconds until she calmed down a little, realizing she wasn't going anywhere, before she started to suck her backwards softly at first. She started to panic again, and Elffe started pulling her backwards with a little more force than the last. The bottom bikini piece quickly slid off her legs and down his throat; she kicked wildly for a foot hold but found none. Elffe was trying to swallow her with his full force and was amazed she was still hanging on until the evil side of his brain had an idea. He stuck his tongue in between her thighs, relishing in the sheer taste of it all. She squeaked in surprise, loosing her grip, and was gone in a second. He looked up embarrassed at what he did, but saw that no one noticed and went back to his contemplating. That was a good one, he had to admit, but they are only ok to eat here! Elffe saw Zina was already swallowing her last one, tracing the bulge in her neck down to her stomach. Elffe greedily turned his attention back to his plate. Now...

*  *  *  *  *

Description
Effle lay face up on his bed in his apartment, the heat relentlessly cooking his body. "Hmmm..." If only he had something to do today, he wouldn't have to slowly roast himself. "Hmmmm." He grunted a little more aggravated this time. He jumped out of bed when he heard the door open. "Zina! Hey, hi, how are you? Lemme help you with those." Effle said quite happily, taking most of the groceries from her hands.
"Hi Effle, what's going on?" She asked, quite surprised he wasn't running off to hide somewhere. Effle quickly strode over to the cabinets and stuffed all the food neatly and tidily into the cupboards all the while looking at Zina.
"Zina... How've you been?" He asked sincerely, while flipping a loaf of bread onto a shelf whilst not looking.
"Um... Good, I guess..." She said, picking what to put in the fridge and what to put on the shelves. "Why the interest?"

"The last time I saw you," Effle said thinking back for a moment and sliding all the empty bags into the garbage with one absent minded hand, "I nearly ran you over trying to escape a monster. How long ago is that now...?"
"A week." She said accusingly, turning away from him and headed for the door.
"A we- a week?!" Effle said completely aghast following her out the door and shutting it behind him. "Zina!" He said, noticing she was ignoring him, "We haven't done anything together!" She still didn't look at him and walked down the hallway of his building. "How can I make it up to you?" He asked, not giving up and trailing close behind. She still said nothing, but he followed her anyway. "Do you wanna fly in the moonlight?" He asked her seductively.
"Can't see anything in the dark." She said flatly without turning around.
"How 'bout in the sun then?"
"I'm afraid of heights."
"You never told me that. We should get to know each other better sometime." He said, following her now down a flight of stairs to the front entrance. "Hey, listen." He said, finally gripping her shoulder and turning her around, "I will make this up to you, I promise." He saw a hint of a smile on her face and let her go. "Tomorrow, save the date!" He called after her as she melded with the crowd. His stomach growled and he absentmindedly grabbed the red apple out from the back of his pouch and munched on it without thinking. He let out a sigh hoping something to do would just pop out of nowhere to-

"Dude! Guess what I'm looking at!"

Elffe said to him through their mental link. "What is it?" Effle asked, sharing his vision. A small flyer was in his hands, with a large picture of a weird machine on the front. There were big words at the top that said 'Vanishing Train in town, limited time only!' He figured the thing he was looking at in the picture was a train and noticed its odd three pairs of metal wheels on some sort of rail and also noticed other 'train' cars attached to the back of it in a line. Its shiny black surface seemed to glint through the image and he blinked once or twice. "What's a train?" He asked anyway as he read the print below the picture, his mind running slower than his mouth in the heat.
"A large rolling box car that..." Elffe cut off for a second. "Huh. It's a Frodenkai."
"Oh!" Effle said remembering the Frodenkai rides in his old city. Then he remembered he didn't remember that at all. "Why didn't they just call it that?" The fine print read 'Fee includes up to 200 gold pieces or 3 chakeelen pieces, or ride free at your own risk.' Effle wondered for a moment what a chakeelen was, and then promptly dropped it out of his mind when he read the next line; 'Perfect for couples and friends'. His eyes lit up and he was back in his apartment in a second, sitting in front of his safe and making a personal withdrawal of 200 gold pieces. "Elffe, I know what we're gonna do today!"
"You mean, tomorrow."
"... Right!"

*  *  *  *  *

"Heeeeeeyyyyy Zina! Ready to go? You ready? Ready to go yet, Zina? You ready yet? You ready to go...?" Effle had been pestering her all morning while Elffe helped her lock down the apartment. He was so excited he could barely contain himself.
"That's about it." Zina said, stepping back an admiring the completely and utterly safe room.
"GREAT!" Effle accidentally shouted, "Let's be on our way then, shall we?" Effle motioned to the door and held it dramatically open for Zina. She walked on through without looking at him or even noticing his movement. "Oh, Elffe, are you living on the edge?" Effle asked him, flashing him the flyer and highlighting the part about 'free at your own risk'.
"No, I got my money right here." Elffe said patting the busting pouch dangling at his side.
"Humph, Then I'm the only one..." Effle said warily, heading out the door. He kept it in mind, but wondered how their money would be spent to keep them safe.
"Effle, keep your wings in, we don't know yet if they accept fairies on the train..." Elffe said absent mindedly through their mind link after walking outside.
"Mmm." He grunted in response. "He didn't like his wings being tied up for so long; he'd have to inquire about it soon.

The Vanishing Train was located just outside Negav, past the Neko village next to the water. It was surprising Effle had never seen the Neko village, it being so close to Negav and all, and he couldn't remember if he had been here before or not; it was quite frustrating. Nearly a hundred nekos were all gathered outside a large wooden hut that stretched left and right for a good 50 yards in either direction. The hut itself backed into what seemed to be the river itself, the very top of the roof not too high from the height of the walls. There were about ten doors under the low, messily shackled roof spread evenly apart and leading to something inside. Outside each door on either side were two booths signing people in or handing out strange green buttons for those who paid money. They were eventually shown through the doors in the end, button or not. Effle, Elffe and Zina all quickly got in line; apparently most of the nekos were just there to watch but still a considerable amount were going to take the train. Effle spotted someone pay the man in the booth with three triangular stone tablets about the size of a book, each with their own color gem in the center. Chakeelens...

A funny looking man with a large hat pulled low over his eyes and a heavy navy blue cloak pulled around his entire body passed the three of them bumping into Elffe by accident. "Hey!" Elffe yelled at the short stout man who didn't give him a second look, "We're in line, no cutting!" The man looked back at Elffe with small yellow round innocent eyes.
"My mistake sir." He said to the three of them as he turned back to the village behind them. His voice was eight octaves too high to be normal, and when he walked to the back of the line, a blue, thick tail dropped out from under his cloak. He bowed deeply to the three of them before turning off and disappearing into the crowd.
"Strange..." Effle and Elffe said at the same time slightly cocking their heads and staring at his tail as he dragged it away.
"Odd, more like it. Move up, we're holding up the line.

"Hello and welcome! Who is joining our lovely tour of *Felarya* today?" Effle walked past the pair of nekos in front of him who in turn walked through the doors to their right and gasped just as the door shut behind them. Elffe was watching the door excitedly, tapping his foot impatiently against the floor. Effle noted the way the person said Felarya like a machine, even though he was completely human.
"I'm Effle, this is Elffe and this is Zina."
"Will any of you be purchasing our 'safety guarantee' this fine day?"
"We'll take two." Effle said putting down his pouch with 200 pieces in it for Zina and Elffe stepping forward. Elffe continuously patted his pockets slowly becoming more and more distressed.
"Where is it?" Elffe said under his breath. Effle stared at the person behind the table and saw it was human... sort of... This person was completely human, there was no doubt about that, it's just... There was something off about him. He had a bald head that gleamed in the sun that peaked over the roof, his eyes were a dull hazel color that seemed not to focus on anything... yea, that was it; his eyes wouldn't attach to any one specific object. Instead he seemed like he was staring out into space everywhere he looked. "I know I have it here somewhere..." He wore a simple blue tunic that read 'Assistance' in big black letters on the front. His bottom torso was hidden behind the desk and Effle's scrutinizing examinations ended there.

"Here is your safety button patch." He said pleasantly while Elffe continued to pat himself down. "When activated, you will automatically teleport back here to this location in the nearest 2 meter wide open area inside safe condition protocols. This is a one time use safety button patch and will vanish upon teleportation. We recommend you place it on your left or right shoulder for easy activation or on your wrist for the watch." The machine said, moving its left hand quickly to its right shoulder in mock imitation. "We warn you that only the original buyer of the safety button patch will be teleported by it; any other beings trying to teleport with the original shall be disappointed." He gave Zina a choice between a watch like device and a larger button with a Velcro bottom, but she chose the watch and took the bag of money back with her.
"It's gone!" Elffe said to Zina and Effle looking aghast and sick. "My money's gone!" An idea passed through his mind.
"Wait a minute!" Elffe said at the same time Effle did.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Effle asked him with that look in his eye.

"That little dragon thing stole it! He bumped into me remember?" He asked Zina, actually wanting to know if Zina remembered. "C'mon Effle, let's go get him."
"That'll take too long, come on guys!" Zina complained. Effle shrugged to Elffe, guess you'll just have to live life on the edge.
"Is there a way for you to get me a free button because of my situation or something?" Elffe said pleadingly, not quite thinking things through.
"I'm Sorry, what you are asking for is outside of my programming. Please contact one of our supervisors for further help on that subject."
"I think that's a no." Effle said, now eyeing the 'human' in front of him. "Are you human?"
"Please insert the coins or chakeelens into the button you have been given to activate it. The money will be safely transported to our intergalactic treasury. After the specific price limit is met, the button will function without error or your full money back guaranteed. You may now pass through the doors on your right; have a nice stay."
"I'll take that as a no, too." They were about to walk away when the machine started talking rapidly, too rapidly for the average person to understand in the slightest, and Effle was only able to make out certain words.

"TheVanishingTrainOrganizationisnotliableforanylossofpropertyorbodilyharmtowardstheindividual.BypurchasingthesafetyguaranteebuttonyouagreetoalltherightsandtermsofuseprovidedbytheVanishingTrainCoorperationandareinnolegalpositiontosueunderanycircumstances. Thank you, and come again."

"Uh..." Effle said, in mid step towards the doors. "Thanks." He turned his attention back to the doors and flung them both open at the same time. His eyes took their time adjusting to the odd things he saw next and it wasn't until a minute later until he could start making sense of what he was seeing. From the left to the right, the train laid on metal tracks facing perfectly parallel with each other, holding a most magnificent looking Frodenkai... or... train. It was about the length of a football field, about seven cars making up the entire train. They all looked exactly identical, black shiny metal with a red stripe around the entire thing at waist level. A few near the front looked slightly different, but he was too far away to make out what it was. The roofs were perfectly flat, with a slight overhang to them that gave enough shade to keep the cars from overheating on their own. Effle could see from the side of the train about five windows looking out at them. Effle couldn't see the front car yet, but he had to give it to them; it looked fancy. Directly in front of them, two of the cars connected with a little stairwell on either side of the chain link to allow them to climb aboard. First Effle, then Zina, then Elffe climbed aboard and entered the third to last train car.

As soon as he stepped inside, he was once again mesmerized by its sheer luxury. The train car itself seemed too big on the inside than the outside to be possible, but Effle didn't dwell on it; this was amazing! In between each of the windows on both sides were four large, white covered end tables enough to sit four people around each one, giving the people who sat around the table a good view of the outside through their respective windows. The chairs were almost like lazy boy chairs, but the seated person was further forward so they could reach the table with ease. The roof of each car was about seven feet high, giving plenty of moving space for the tall people. Each train car had two doors leading to the next car in line in the front and back, but on each side of each door were two people dressed obviously as waiters, one male and one female each either a neko or a human. All three of them sat down at the second table to their left from the back door with Zina next to a window seat, Effle next to her, and Elffe across from them both. Before Elffe could get all the way in his seat, a waiter from the door opposite them came over, a male neko.

"Hi, and how are all you folks today?" he said, human like.
"Are you a machine?" Effle asked him abruptly.
"Um... no, but we can get you one if you like?" He said, taken aback by the question.
"Oh no, just wonderin is all..." Effle trailed off and averted his gaze to the window, wishing there was something to look at other than the wooden wall.
"What's on the menu?" Zina asked politely, her eyes alive and vibrant with possibilities.
"Anything any restaurant has ever prepared and made a profit on! Our chefs can teleport recipes from all across six different galaxies, so it shouldn't be hard to find what you're looking for."

"Um..." Zina hesitated, looking around before moving in closer and whispering to the waiter. "I'll have a Taranheji to drink and, um... do you have... Tinies?" She asked timidly.
"Zina!" Effle exclaimed aghast nearly jumping out of his chair. There was too much commotion and talking inside the cart for anyone to notice his shock and disapproval.
"Aware, or unaware?" he said winking back to her.
"What!?" Effle turned to the waiter in disbelief that he was actually serving captive Tinies.
"Sorry...?" She asked the waiter ignoring Effle completely.
"Would you like them to know you'll be eating them, or should we put them under?"
"How many per serving?"
"Between three to five."
"Then let's have... some of them under, but most of them aware."
"Great! And the rest of you...?" He said redirecting his attention to Effle and Elffe.
"Uh..." Effle wondered; most of his appetite left him, but he was still hungry enough to eat. But what should he get?
"I'll have what she's having, all under for me." Elffe said to the waiter.
"Elffe!?!"
"And you sir?" He said, turning his attention finally to Effle.
"... Fine, I'll have one Tiny with a Lucent." He said gloomily. His mind was instantly aware he didn't know what a Lucent was, but his face didn't show it until after the waiter had left. Elffe was thinking the same thing he was and asked the question first.
"What's a Lucent?" Elffe asked excitedly, leaning forward in his chair and crossing his arms on the table.
"I... I don't know." Effle said curiously more to himself than to the others. He didn't know why he said it, but he did on instinct...

Effle saw the door they came in open and a new group of people walked inside, none of them out of the ordinary. His wings ached to be set free, and he waved a waiter over. "Excuse me," He asked a female human, "What kinds of races are allowed on the train?"
"If you're worried about your own personal safety, we can assure you you'll be safe from any other passengers on the train-"
"No, no, I'm quite capable, but my friends here are a little discriminate towards nagas and such." The woman's face hardened.
"We're obliged to accept any and all paying customers, but any individual threatening the rest of our passengers is not welcome."
"How about roof access?" Effle asked, turning the question around.
"Not many favor the roof, but for those with a little adventure in them, the roof is open for all who want to see it. Ladders to the roof can be found at the back and front of each car, and each car is equipped with indirect air flow systems, so you can be on the roof even at our top speeds!" She explained to them, completely clearing her mind of the last question.
"Oh, aright thanks." She walked away and Effle was just about ready to tear off his shirt.
"Wait!" Zina hissed to him, looking over at the people across the aisle from them. "They live near us! If they see your wings, they'll know you don't belong in Negav!" Effle's fingers twitched. He was so close to revealing himself, but he was also so close to thoroughly stretching since forever ago. He didn't know what he wanted more. An intercom went off above their heads but Effle couldn't find its source. He listened intently to its message, hoping there was something in it about fairies.

"The train will leave in 5 minutes. We all recommend to those who bought them to activate your safety button patches now. If you are in need of assistance, our waiters are ready to help." Zina waved over the male neko again, and he demonstrated how to open the button to them and the table next to them. He squeezed the sides of the button and it opened up, revealing a small compartment inside with a green wavy bottom. He took one of the 200 pieces and placed it, a perfect fit, into the watch-like button and the coin dissolved on the green surface, giving no indication that it was there in the first place except for a large white number 1 in its place. When he handed it back to them, Effle, Elffe and Zina all worked to stack the coins on top of each other and fit them into the watch before the take off. They just finished putting the coins into the watch when the intercom went off again. "We are now leaving the station, if you want to leave our services, please do so at this time. The train will ride *alongside the Ascarlain Mountains, past the Lake of Illusions, through the Misty Glade and around the Orelosk Plateau*. From there, we will ride *through the Great Rocky Fields, into the Akaptor Desert, and to the Shimmering Sea*. This is where the train ride will end; all passengers still remaining and the train cars themselves will teleport back into this very location for your convenience. We predict that the trip should take approximately *three hours* and we will be back at sunset. Have a nice ride."

The train jolted gently backwards before moving ahead as the train made its first few squeaks and screeches on the tracks. It glided smoothly from there on afterwards, slowly at first until it started picking up considerable speed. Effle was blinded by the light from the outside world when they finally emerged from the wooden building, but quickly recovered from the suddenness of it all. Effle gazed outside at all the people who stayed behind, waving to people they knew on the train and wondered how much they would miss out on. Effle started to wonder a considerable amount of things that started to bug him. "Hey guys, I'll be back soon, I wanna talk to the pilot about this train... it seems so odd..."
"Suit yourself." Elffe said sitting back in his chair, backing Effle up in his decision. Zina nodded to him as well and Effle made his way to the front of the car. The male neko waiter opened the door for him as he got near and Effle nodded to him kindly.
"Such a nice guy..." A wall of wind hit Effle first in the face, then in the ankles, and finally in his stomach mockingly. It took all he had to pretend like nothing was wrong until the neko closed the door behind him then he collapsed to his knees gulping down massive amounts of air on accident. He stumbled to his feet as he started to adapt to the wind that kept slapping him in the face. Looking around he found everything to be as it should be, nothing out of the ordinary or misplaced.

The two train cars were split, being only held together by two metal poles, one with a round iron ball at the end, and another with a hollowed out semicircle to fit into. They weren't actually touching, and odd purple and black electricity surrounded it holding it together. Effle figured that was reasonable in some world and left it out of further speculation. He was standing on a grated platform that was round near its edges to allow for easy turning; the platform itself was the width of the train car and about a yard out tot the next one. The space between him and the next train car was within easy walking distance, and he easily stepped from one to the other. Satisfied with his easy trip so far, he continued through the next train car, this one the exact same as the last but with different friendly people inside. Again, the air smacked him hard and he hid it until the door shut closed behind him. He recovered quickly this time, now used to the feeling and knew what to expect. He crossed over the platforms again but he stopped midway to opening the door this time. His eyes wandered to his left and they stuck to something most interesting. A ladder...

Effle quickly scrambled up the ladder and to his pleasant surprise found the wind died down up here. There was still a considerable draft, enough to blow a hat away in the wind, but he could stand up straight without worry of being knocked over. The scenery finally caught his eye and he was surprised he didn't see it earlier. The sun's light had been chopped up into little rays that barely glinted through the trees above; flying by so fast, his eye could barely keep up. There were massive trees on both sides of the train, and continued that way for as far ahead as Effle could see. He could see a mountain coming up on his left just over the trees, meaning it must have been massive. He turned his attention back to the train, him being the only one on the roof at this point, and started running to the next train car. Effle paused before the roof ended and judged the gap between the two cars. It was a reasonably long jump, but not impossible. He took three steps back and charged to the edge. He hurtled himself over the space, landing a good yard on top of the next car, seriously overestimating the gap itself. He decided to climb down to the back and see why this car seemed different from the rest. The roof was a navy blue instead of black and when he stood in front of the door, he noticed that it too was of a more bluish color than the others. He put his hand on the lever doorknob and realized it was colder than average. Now thoroughly curious, he pushed down and moved inside, not even bothering to see where he was headed.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Effle's eyes adjusted to the lack of light in the room. There were no windows to the outside here, only a hanging lamp every few feet or so. To his immediate left was another door, this one with a little glass window in it. Peeking through, he saw shelves of meats and other meals stacked to the ceiling, icicles hanging off everything and frost covering the walls and floor. He didn't bothering opening it, and looked ahead; he could hear talking. Effle completely disregarded the two people standing there staring back at him until he was satisfied with his inspection. The freezer on his left was small, and when it ended, Effle saw a little area with a few more chairs and unclothed wooden tables, each with its own little oil lamp. On the right side of the room was a second room that extended to the other side of the car with one steel window; a metal sheet had been pulled upwards revealing what lay inside. He could smell several different wonderful and horrible smells, either wafting or emanating from the window beyond. He saw several complex machines inside, and assumed this would be the staff recreational room as well as the cook's kitchen. He immediately took in the two people staring back at him trying not to look foolish.

One; male, orange haired with large sideburns and a slight goatee of the same color, massive eyebrows, light brown eyes that stared into him with a contemplative wonder probably doing the exact same thing he was doing now, strange green overalls covering a thick tan sweater rolled back to his elbows, tall brown heavy boots, broad mouth and a stern expression, wearing an odd brown top hat cocked to one side, hairy arms and a warm aura about him. He seemed like a nice guy. "Hi!" Effle said giving a small wave so as to stall for time as he absorbed the next person when he shifted his gaze to her. Two; female, dark colored skin, brown curly hair stuffed under a torn hairnet, very stout, maybe half his size, quite large in the waist, large brown eyes that looked him up and down once, judging him harshly (he could feel it!), a large curled lower lip and thick arms, wearing a white apron and an aura of... hard work? She seemed like the hard working person all of society was based around. "I'm Effle, who're you?"

"Well, well!" The orange haired man said standing up straight from his lean-to position against the wall. "We don't shtart getting visitors till an hour into the trip, much lessh the firsht fifteen minutesh! Welcome aboard lad, I be the engineer 'round these partsh. The name's Charles, Mr. Charles. Pleashure to meet ja Effle." He gruffly shook his hand all the while he was talking. He carried about him a heavy Irish accent that quickly reminded him of a more extreme version of Norbert.
"I'm Jan, Hun. Need something to eat?" She said in a rather shrill voice, one that demanded respect.
"Oh! Where are m' manners? Are ya hungry?"
"Oh, no I'm, fine, just had a few questions about the train." Effle said; he liked these people. "I've just been wondering... has this train ever been to Felarya before?"
"Probably, but we wouldn't remember." Jan said from the back, disappearing from the window off some sort of pedestal to work on something in the back.
"The back is sho lonely shometimesh," Mr. Charles began, "though I don't remember this place from the glimpshes I got when I had m' firsht break."
"Have you dealt with dangerous places before?" Effle said, taking a few more steps into the room and gazing up at the quaint light fixtures above.
"O'coursh we 'av! That'sh why the cap'n inshtalled the shaftey button. We've even losht - half the bloody train once, but that's another story!" Effle was completely taken aback by his sudden accent change from Irish to British, but dared not say anything about it lest it be insulting.
"What's in the car beyond this one?" Effle asked curiously, peeking around Mr. Charles to see the door standing unchallenged against the forces amidst it.
"That's the pilot's car, he loves visitors." Jan said half heartedly from behind her window.
"I'd go see him if I were you, mate." Charles said with an Australian accent turning back to Jan and striking up a conversation in a completely different language. They were weird people...

He pulled the door open and closed it quickly behind him, worried that the wind might bother the two of them. He turned to see the last car was completely different from the rest. First thing, there were no walls, just machinery on three sides, ahead, left and right also meaning the wind was intensified. There was a smoke stack looking thing near the front of this car that poked about his height above the rest of the roofs, and the grated platform went all the way around the sides of this car. He stepped over to the other car and walked around the edge, uneasily holding onto the metal bars and pipes behind him. He could see the front of the train had some sort of triangular grate on it to protect itself from things that might harm the bottom of it. He also saw that the train was just being outrun by its metal tracks that appeared about a foot in front of it, making its path completely unpredictable. Effle stared at the odd sight, and then edged his way back to the entrance of the car.

A little chair with no back or arm rests sat in the middle of the smaller than average train car. All around the chair were levers, buttons, and Effle even thought he saw a raging furnace in front of it. But the most interesting thing in the room was the enormous man on the chair blocking most of his view. He was bald, shirtless probably because there were no shirts to fit his disproportionate body, thick arms, stubby legs, and a waist so large, Effle doubted he'd be able to reach around him had he tried. He wore an odd white cap on his head and white sweatpants that seemed stretched to their limit. He wasn't facing him and when Effle made a slight coughing noise to give away his presence, he swiveled around on the poor squeaky chair to see him. As soon as the pilot saw him, Effle knew right away he would like the man. His face lit up when he saw Effle and he hoisted himself up from the chair, leaving the train to run itself. His face was pudgy; he had rosy cheeks and a small mouth, brown eyes like Mr. Charles and an aura about him of just pure jolliness. No one would ever be able to mistake him for a mean person, ever.

"Hello!" He said in a low booming voice, "How are ya? I'm the pilot Mr. Tubnus, pleasure to meet you!" He stuck out a hand and Effle gladly shook it.
"Hi Mr. Tubnus, I'm Effle!" He shouted over the howling wind.
"What can I do for you?!" he asked, wiping away an immense amount of sweat from his forehead and leaning forward further to hear him better over the wind.
"I was just wondering how this train worked!" Effle said, curious to know about the tracks in the front.
"Technological advances in our home world developed the vanishing tracks, and were the basis to our entire corporation! They vanish from behind the train to be replaced in the front so that the train itself can adapt to all terrain! They're much better than wheels cause they make for a much smoother ride, and that's why more people prefer us to cars or trucks given the choice!" he yelled, pulling several levers without looking at them and moving the train neatly under an incoming root. The enormous trees were gliding by now, the wind howling through the front car.

"What about dangerous predators attacking your train? What do you do to defend yourself?!" Effle hollered to him, his attention now getting caught by the scenery. It was magnificent; he'd never moved so fast in his life before.
"All I can do in the end is try and steer clear of trouble, but no obstacle is too big to turn this train around! We face any incoming threat like they were just another hill to drive over! That and we installed the safety button patches so that we no longer have to worry about the majority of the tourists, not to mention the weapons they bring themselves!"
"I don't think this world is like anything you've ever seen, Mr. Tubnus!" Effle yelled back to him, again finding himself staring at the trees gliding past.
"I'm sure it can't be as bad as some of the other worlds I've been to! But like Mr. Charles always says, that's another story!"
"Thanks Mr. Tubnus, I think I've learned everything I need to know!" Effle shouted.
"Take care, and come back when you're bored!" They shook hands again, and Effle jumped back to the previous car, taking the ladder to the top of the train and once more surveying the landscape.

There was now a river located on the train's right that he hadn't seen before except at the station itself a little distance away and the mountain from before was now visible behind the enormous trees to his left. He couldn't see any clouds above the closely knit branches of the canopy above him, but he figured, rain or no rain it would be a nice ride. He hopped from the top of the cars towards the third to last train car and stopped short when he saw a figure coming up one of the ladders. It was a male neko wearing a strange baggy outfit all the same shiny white color. He smiled and waved to Effle who in turn waved back. He was wearing a large straw hat tied around his neck, and the white clothes he was wearing reflected what little sun landed on him making it seem like he was glowing. Effle didn't know why the man seemed so out of place on the roof but, he thought to himself smiling, he was too. He climbed down the back ladder, the wind picking up again and he quickly slipped into the train car. He took his seat next to Zina again like he'd never left and flattened his untidy hair. "Hey, learn anything new?" Zina asked him, curious to know what he'd been doing.
"I met a few people, actually." Effle said, starting to pour out his mini adventure from both his mouth and mind, Elffe picking up the small little details he couldn't express in words.

Effle finally exhausted his story and leaned back again in his chair, satisfied with the looks on their faces. "Vanishing tracks, you say?" Elffe said speculatively, more to himself than anyone in particular.
"I want to meet this Mr. Charles character." Zina said, moving closer to the table in interest.
"And of course, we must meet Mr. Tubnus!" Elffe said excitedly; he liked the guy just from the memories and was eager to meet him in person. No one quite mentioned Jan; the way he told it, she was an odd spectacle. Before Effle knew it the male neko was at their side, a platter full of drinks in his hand.
"Two Taranhejis and one Lucent." He said, mixing up Effle and Elffe because of their identicalness. They didn't bother correcting him and switched the drinks back after he'd left. Effle stared at his Lucent and looked right through it. The drink itself was completely clear, almost like there was nothing in the glass at all. The only way he could tell there was liquid in his cup was the super thin, yet utterly black layer on the very top of the drink. It absorbed the light that landed on it and made no reflection what so ever. He picked it up and it sloshed around like average water but when he took a sip, he felt a feeling he had felt a long time ago. His tongue prickled on contact, his entire body shivered with delight, his eyes refocused on everything in his view. The oddest feeling was the gears in his brain kicking up a notch and Effle became very aware of everything in the car.
"Whoa." Effle breathed.

Elffe was having an altogether different experience on his end. The drink in front of him was pink and fizzy, bubbles constantly emerging from the bottom up. It gave him the impression the surface was boiling, but without heat. Elffe looked up to see Zina take a large swig and roughly set her glass back down, nearly emptying its contents on the floor. Elffe decided to do the same and when he took his swig, he was definitely surprised. The surprisingly good tasting liquid seemed to come to life in his mouth and explode, quickly flying down his throat. His ears popped, his nostrils flared, and he blinked furiously from the sudden effect. "Gah!" He couldn't help exclaiming, lifting his head back in surprise. After the effects quickly wore off, he was left with a wonderful happiness in the depths of his stomach. "That... was... awesome!" Elffe said happily, preparing himself to take another mouthful. Exchanging the feelings between both him and Effle was like a maddening dance that filled him with excitement and delight. He felt like it could move out of hand rapidly, and quickly put an end to it. The feeling of happiness died away after a moment or two and Elffe took another swig this time the feelings not as surprising, but definitely just as enjoyable as the last.

Effle took another sip, his brain working faster and faster; the liquid tasted good and familiar. He only thought like this under extreme stress or while being pressured but this time it was a sort of safe, frenzied thinking. He had this drink before, yes... He must've ordered it a lot when he was back on his home world to react quickly enough to order it without even knowing its name before hand. The black surface swirled around in his glass, slowly coming to a halt. He had to have gone out a lot, maybe with his parents, maybe Elffe, but he felt like there had to have been someone else to share this with. He wouldn't have gone out that many times unless there was someone to split the drink with. His mind suddenly changed direction; I had trouble thinking straight ever since I was... me, which means I must've picked this drink myself because it gave me FOUCS! His mind began to slow down again; Effle saw the danger in having too much for fear of intense mind rambling, but he liked the drink and continued to sip on it.

"Well I feel better!" Zina said falling back in her chair and giving out a long sigh.
"I agree!" Elffe said as well, giving off the same reaction.
"Their drinks must cause a feeling of happiness to make them feel better after a few sips, it couldn't last forever or everyone would be happy all the time-" Effle couldn't help but vent his focus out into words under his breath and was glad no one could hear his rambling. He gradually slowed down to his normal self again and he looked at his drink in amusement. He liked his choice of drink and needed to bring this stuff along with him as it might help in his travels. Effle glanced outside again; this time the mountain was all he could see behind the giant trees in his way. "Ascarlain Mountains... Ah!" Effle jumped when he realized the neko waiter was right next to him holding three trays above his head.
"Three specials enjoy!" He said, sliding the three trays in front of each of them. This time he had their orders right and again, Effle lost his appetite. Zina had five Tinies on her plate; three males, two awake and two females, one under, all with clothes on. His eyes quickly darted to Elffe's plate and saw he had four; two males and two females all under. They exchanged their Tinies until Elffe had only females and Zina only males. They each picked up their first victim and Effle turned away, he couldn't watch. He rested his cheek in his left palm and stared down at the lone Tiny on his plate. It must've been the drink, but he couldn't help but analyze her; maybe because she was his and no one else's.

She sat cross legged on the plain white tray avoiding his gaze. She wore a red veil on the bridge of her nose and a thick red collar around her neck. With droopy brown eyes and hands tied behind her back, she tried to remain motionless and stare at the floor. She had medium length red hair and was wearing a skimpy costume equipped with cat ears to make her seem more appealing. Effle had to admit, she did seem more appetizing than average, but he couldn't get it out of his mind that this was a being with thoughts and feelings. An entire life of potential and possibilities was sitting right in front of him and her destiny was to be eaten alive by whoever ordered her. Effle saw her bottom lip quiver, and he sighed, wondering if he had it in him to eat her. He took another sip of his Lucent and his mind began to wander, but he forcefully turned it back to the Tiny in front of him. His mind worked on the situation, rolling thoughts through his mind and trying to think through what each one would turn out to be until he figured nothing he could think of would be as real as action.

He poked her with his right hand, knocking her over gently while wondering what she was thinking. He picked her up with two fingers by her waist and held her in front of his face. Would he, could he, should he... do it...? Her gaze still refused to meet his and he wondered what it was like being this close to death, unable to do anything to save herself now. He continued to stare, he couldn't decide. He looked over to Elffe and Zina and quickly looked away, disgusted at the things they were doing. He put the Tiny in his left palm, still staring intently, waiting for the answer to appear on her face. He moved her toward his mouth, but then hesitated. He moved her a little farther, and then hesitated again. "Just do it!" She shrieked behind a choked sob. He couldn't look away now, he felt like he was going to be sick. Her face broke to tears and she openly sobbed in his hand. Effle felt more conflicted than he had ever felt in his entire life. "I..." He mumbled under his breath. She looked him in the eye and he saw fear, helplessness, distress, anguish, he saw memories that weren't his, he saw experiences that made her who she was, he saw... he saw life. "I can't do this..." Effle stood up abruptly from his seat and pocketed the Tiny in his satchel heading for the back of the car to the roof. He could think there...

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Elffe wasn't having a hard time deciding on his end. The Tinies were great, but he had to remind himself he couldn't make this a habit. Tinies here he convinced him self were ok through no rational stream of logic, but he saw the Tinies out in the wild differently. Bah! He was thinking too much! He was on a much needed vacation and dropped all the thoughts over right or wrong when he tasted the first female Tiny. God, it was amazing... This one unconscious, she just tasted good, there was no better way to put it. She accidentally slid own his throat before he had a chance to fully enjoy the sensation and was disappointed in his poor eating habits. He glimpsed Zina having a ball and decided to take lessons from her later. She had taken the first unconscious Tiny and showed the other aware ones what she was going to do to them, quite diabolical, he thought. She slowly lowered the sleeping Tiny down her throat with another conscious Tiny in her hand, forcing him to watch her every move.

Elffe picked up a conscious girl by both feet this time as she tried to skirt away from his fingers, giving a quick yelp of fear. Her hands and feet were bound behind her back as he held her directly over his mouth and she squirmed fiercely unable to take her eyes off his tongue. Her face gently landed on his tongue and he slowly leveled his head until she was completely inside. He closed his lips around her ankles and savored the taste. Her bands tying her up must've dissolved as he felt her hammer away at everything within reach, frantically trying to get out. Every time she thought she could squeeze herself back out his jaws, his tongue would shift and she would slide back to where she started again. He finally let go of her ankles and tilted his head back, the tasty treat sliding faster and faster down his gullet. As soon as the feelings were gone, he directed his attention back down to his plate, the meal more satisfying than he thought. Three left to go... He wished he had ordered more awake, it seemed more enjoyable. Elffe glanced up at Zina's plate and saw she still had four, two still awake, and she was sucking on the lower half of one of them. He tried as hard as he could to get himself out by placing both hands on Zina's lips and heaving with all his might, but he didn't make any progress. Elffe blinked once and he was gone, now probably half way down her esophagus.

Elffe picked up the next one and held her in his fingers for a moment; long blond hair, wearing a purple bikini, and as lifeless as being dead herself. He noticed a small little blue collar around her neck and he skillfully tore it off without hurting the Tiny. She instantly started to stir and Elffe figured that the collar was what had been keeping them under. He jumped with joy inside himself and quickly tore off the other collars for later. He put this Tiny in his mouth feet first and closed his lips around her waist like Zina. The Tiny was almost fully conscious and just started piecing together her situation. Elffe waited patiently until she started frantically clawing at anything she could reach in a desperate attempt to escape. He waited a few more seconds until she calmed down a little, realizing she wasn't going anywhere, before she started to suck her backwards softly at first. She started to panic again, and Elffe started pulling her backwards with a little more force than the last. The bottom bikini piece quickly slid off her legs and down his throat; she kicked wildly for a foot hold but found none. Elffe was trying to swallow her with his full force and was amazed she was still hanging on until the evil side of his brain had an idea. He stuck his tongue in between her thighs, relishing in the sheer taste of it all. She squeaked in surprise, loosing her grip, and was gone in a second. He looked up embarrassed at what he did, but saw that no one noticed and went back to his contemplating. That was a good one, he had to admit, but they are only ok to eat here! Elffe saw Zina was already swallowing her last one, tracing the bulge in her neck down to her stomach. Elffe greedily turned his attention back to his plate. Now...

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