Chapter One

It was futile. 9982 was certain of this.

Coarse gravel shifted beneath her bruised and beaten body as she slowly crawled forward. It would be more accurate to say 9982 was dragging a corpse, as she was literally one foot in the grave.

But she pressed on anyway. Her life may have been forfeit the moment she winked into existence. She may as well be facing an immovable, impassible wall (whether that be Accelerator, or her own purpose, she couldn't tell). However, there was something the broken doll needed to do. Something that she needed to reach.

At this point, she could barely feel the pain. Maybe it was the blood loss; the burned nerves; or the shock of dismemberment. It was likely all three, 9982 concluded.

With a labored breath, the girl finally grasped what she had been reaching for. Between her trembling frail fingers was a metal badge.

Now, she was content.

9982, like the Sisters who came before her, was going to exit the stage in a gory fashion. Even so, had anyone asked her, she would have undoubtedly said she was different.

It was her that met Onee-sama. It was her who spent her last day with Onee-sama. And it was her who received her first gift from Onee-sama.

This badge encapsulated everything that made 9982 unique. It was a show of what her life amounted to.

Yes, she was connected to the network. Her memories couldn't be truly hers alone. Every sister following her had experienced the same joys. Saved the same black feline. Tasted the same minty treat. Received the same first gift.

But it wasn't 10005 that did these things. Nor was it 9990 or even 9983. No, it was 9982 and 9982 alone.

Because of that, she could say that her departure from this life was without regrets.

Then everything ceased.

9982 blinked in confusion.

She was correct to assume that everything ceased, but not in the way she would've anticipated.

Everything had stopped moving. Even the looming shadow covering her had stopped growing in size.

The clone tried to move, but found herself incapable. Only her eyes could move. She couldn't even check to see if this was yet another part in Accelerator's sadistic games.

There was one thing that did stand out to 9982 though. The Network had gone silent.

Never had the Network been so absent. There were always notes to be recorded. Information to be reported. For there to be no radio noise either meant that the Network had disconnected from her, or that she disconnected from the Network.

With this logic, it could only mean that she was in fact, deceased. Although, this situation was completely unforeseen. This was nothing like the potential afterlives provided by Testament. Not that 9982 was under the assumption she would even reach an afterlife.

"Well, your not wrong. From a certain point of view."

She was suddenly startled by an unfamiliar voice that cut through her musing.

In front of her, a man appeared. It was as though he came from thin air.

9982's mind kicked into overdrive at the newly present variable.

The man was young. Several years older than Onee-sama, if she had to estimate. He had short brown hair, likely of mixed European/Asian descent. He seemed completely average: unassuming and normal.

It was at this moment that 9982 found her voice. It was as though she knew how to speak again. So she opened her mouth.

"Are you God?"

The words felt strange in her mouth, without her usual speech pattern. But without the Network, there was no need to bring needless stress to herself with no one to report to.

"Maybe? Depends on who you ask. Technically, I'd tick all the boxes, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't think of me as such."

9982 couldn't nod her head, so she settled with a slow blink. If this man was brazen enough to make such claims, then he likely already understood her before she even spoke.

"Hm… Tell me, if you could wish for anything in the world, what would it be?" He shoved his hands into his pockets as he posed the question.

9982 wasn't quite sure how to respond. Aside from being unexpected and out of nowhere, the broken doll wouldn't know where to begin.

Her purpose had been successfully achieved after all. Provide combat information to the Network for further improvement. What else was there to want.

She rationally deduced that there was nothing to 'wish' for. That didn't stop her mind from wandering, however.

Against everything that 9982 understood to be true, a selfish thought bubbled to the surface.

'I want to spend more time with Onee-sama.'

Relatively little, all things considered. But to MISAKA 9982, it was asking for something she didn't deserve. It was already so much to have spent a whole day with her older sister.

9982 was special, after all. She had already received the greatest gift of all. The gift of spending time with Onee-sama. There was nothing more to desire.

Dirt and pebbles crunched beneath the man's shoes. Leaning forward, he looked 9982 directly in the eyes. A smirk played across his features.

"Very well then. You will have the opportunity to obtain what you wish. I only ask that you use this chance to its fullest."

He brought his hand up—finger pressed against thumb. Following a reverberating snap, 9982 saw white.

…

There was a familiar noise. Or it might be more accurate to describe it as many noises.

Misaka 9982 could 'hear' the idle chatter and mandatory reports of the Network. It was as though she had never been disconnected. Neither she nor the Network could find any discrepancies.

No, that wasn't really true. 9982 was very aware of the oddity. It was more like the Network was ignoring the strange set of memories residing in her head. That it was some sort of hiccup in the system, nothing of particular note.

It was this blatant ignorance of her thoughts that convinced 9982 of the legitimacy of her fatal experience. While the Network could be compromised, it would never be altered in such a miniscule, yet enormous fashion.

Gazing upon the city for the first time since her death, she was greeted with the bright oranges and deep purples of the morning sun.

It was just another sunrise. The beginning of yet another rotation around the Earth's axis. A mundane and unchanging occurrence destined to continue for the next several billion years.

This sunrise would only happen once, like every morning before it. But that notion was somewhat different from the perspective of 9982.

For she had seen this very sunrise 13 hours ago when she began her patrol at 7:00.

It was another day of the experiment. Her day.

But more importantly, it was the day she met Onee-sama.

9982 knew what she had to do. With conviction in her eyes, the clone marched onward with the man's words playing in her head.

She would make the most of this chance.