I'm glad it seems the last chapter was a big hit. A lot of stuff is going on so it can be difficult to keep up the balancing act. A lot of people are expecting a lot to happen in Australia. Part of me wants to troll everyone because I don't want to be predictable. Touma will show up, remove a seal, and the magic side will defeat Adam while he heads back to Academy City. Nothing important will happen at all. Australia is a calm, peaceful, place with no dangerous areas at all….hahaha. We all know something will happen. Now, I do have one announcement people may not enjoy. My budget is incredibly low so I am going to have to start having sponsors periodically to make ends meet. So please enjoy our first one.

************************Transmission Interrupted**************************

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Now that our sponsor is done, I can move to the comments.

Brosephg: Come on. Touma Kamijou needs someone to drive him around an unknown country. Who else could it be besides our favorite courier?

general ironox: You have no idea how close a Civil War is coming.

naruhinasakufan1: I could I suppose, but your check still hasn't cleared. One of the main reasons we are having budget issues.

knight6398: It's possible he's an M and likes to be embarrassed.

Handsomistic1: That documentary is going to have far reaching implications. The winner of the raffle is planned, and it will be glorious. I can't give out any info on whom though. Moms won't show up until the weekend and big plans will involve them, including an unlikely girl getting the mothers approval.

Whwsms: The harem plan is becoming more complicated. You have Misaki plotting it, Ruiko and Mikoto kind of making one, and then add the magic side. Touma is oblivious to all of this though. All he needs to do is get a girlfriend before any of them mention the harem to him to ruin everything. Of course, that would never be possible. Right?

Guest: Nope, Thor is definitely a trap. It's how he can transform into a girl without issues. I do have some plans for old characters to return, along with one or two new named individuals.

wildarms13: I've always been hesitant about Saten becoming powerful. Part of her charm is being normal (Academy City normal anyways.) Fukiyose is a wild card, no plans as of yet are set in stone.

Salishious: I would not be surprised if she saw it already. The winner of the raffle is decided and I believe everyone will be satisfied with it. Nah, Touma's a ladies' man. He will put them all in one bed. Hah, your last question helped me decide who today's sponsor was.

Generation Zero: The level 5s make fights to easy. Lower levels make fights more interesting.

Jujudude: 1) Nope, she has resistance. 4) Ha, I read your mind and stole your idea. Don't forget, being spread out around the world would no doubt cause some changes in personality. 5) I'm pretty sure if she was part of a harem, Touma would be added to hers. 6) I suppose I could do that. 8) Someone should trick him into signing the paperwork. 10) That's not a bad guess for one future segment. I'll let you in on a secret, this story changed a lot from my original plans because it writes itself.

Guest00: Raffle winner is already decided, but shall be a closely guarded secret. The video will cause so many problems when it gets spread around. There will also always be more girls joining Touma's harem.

Hilem: Noukan really is devious. Controlling others while at the same time getting benefits. He's definitely my favorite Kihara.

Yakutsu Zaishiro: Would run out of time counting them all, but if we don't count the almost 10k clone girls, there's like 50 named so far, plus 100s of non-named.

RPGPersona: There we go, that's more of what I expected. It seems like you are pretty good at guessing what is going to happen, but I bet that's because you give a summary of the plot for each chapter. Going over each part allows you to piece together the clues.

KaguTsumi: With his luck, that would be the best thing he could hope for.

Agent Nine: I suppose it varies. I can go on car rides for hours with no pain. Besides, Academy City designs those jets to be a super smooth ride. Hahaha. You mean you never went to a hotel, found a porno, turned the volume all the way up, and shut off the TV waiting for the next unsuspecting person to show up?

FrodoFighter: I actually wouldn't put it past Oriana to put that porno on for laughs or to set the mood. She's great like that. The only deadly animals will be the girls who try to sneak into his bed and bump into each other haha. The amount of money Touma's class is going to get is going to be amazing, plus they get to keep it. The biggest question is what will they use that money for? Motoharu is definitely dead.

Disclaimer: Random people do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of the characters. Reading this story may cause you to burst out in laughter or start yelling at fictional characters. This may cause nearby people to assume you have gone crazy. Please read responsibly. Magic Gods own all so they can do what they want.

Touma laid wide awake on one of the hotel beds as the sun began to peak through the window. He glanced at the clock and saw it was about five minutes until their alarm was set to go off. He was exhausted. His mind had been constantly running over everything he was told yesterday, which didn't make it easy to sleep, but this was still only a secondary reason for why he had been up most of the night. The primary reasons were to his right and left. How did it end up like this? Normally, his current predicament would be a dream come true and most guys would kill to be in his position but, if he made the wrong move, it could be life threatening. His thoughts turned back to last night.

Touma was pinned on the floor with Lessar sitting on his back, while Oriana, Leivinia, Ruiko, Frenda, and Imouto all looked down at him. He had no idea what to say and felt like there was no right answer. I was so close to the bathroom too. Now he had to tell a bunch of girls, many who were capable of inflicting intense physical pain, who he wanted to share a bed with. He could hear the voices of his bastard friends yelling at him to say 'all of them', but he didn't want to die at such a young age. His eyes darted to each girl in turn. It didn't look like any of them were going to help, but Ruiko at least appeared to be trying to think of something.

"It doesn't look like he wants to hurt any of your feelings," Oriana noticed and looked at the other girls. "It might be best if it's just me and him tonight. There are many adult matters I would like to discuss with him." She smiled innocently, but no one bought it.

"Over my dead body!" Lessar shouted. "If anyone's going to teach him, it's going to be me."

"Don't delude yourself," Leivinia huffed. "As his master, discipline and training are my responsibility."

"Misaka also does not understand why you should automatically get to make the decision that you get to share the same bed with him, Misaka points out annoyed. This should be decided by the savior, not you."

"She's basically saying," Frenda added. "Don't just go deciding things for yourself."

"Hmm," Oriana said, putting a hand up to her cheek. "It doesn't seem like we are making any headway and I don't think he's going to say anything soon." She looked down at Touma, who had resigned himself to his death and laid, unmoving, face down on the floor. His ears were burning and he was pretending he couldn't hear anything. "There is a reason I suggested he and I bunk together you know. We both are slightly older and take up more room. It would only make sense for us to bunk with only one of you. That way, the four who share will be less cramped since you take up less room." There was a murmur of reluctant agreement to her words. "But you know, there is one person who hasn't given us her thoughts." Her eyes darted to Ruiko. "What do you think?"

"I…err...umm," Ruiko stuttered, as she tried to think of what to say. She could feel many pairs of eyes watching her and her eyes traveled down to Touma. He had glanced up at her and she saw his eyes begging for help. "Well, it's probably not right for a high school boy to sleep with a bunch of girls…"

"Ah!" Oriana squealed and embraced Ruiko in a tight hug before she could react. "She's so innocent and it's adorable when she tries to protect him." Ruiko struggled against her chest and immediately understood what Touma went though. Lessar tilted her head for a moment, before standing up and getting off Touma. She walked over to Leivinia and spoke in a low voice.

"We aren't going to come to an agreement," Lessar asked, "Are we?"

"Doesn't look like it," Leivinia agreed. "You finally decided to go sleep in a corner?"

"As if," Lessar sniffed. "I was thinking we are going to keep fighting if one of us gets into his bed, so we need a different plan."

"I guess if there's no other choice," Frenda interrupted them. "I will volunteer. Basically, I have slept in the same bed as him before so it wouldn't be anything new." Her face turned red when she admitted this but, for some reason, she really wanted to trump Lessar and Leivinia. Mugino would be proud of me. She always said I'm not good at flirting.

"Sure you have," Leivinia replied skeptically.

"No wait," Lessar replied. She remembered something. "I remember one of her friends, I think it was Mugino, mention that." She narrowed her eyes. "That rules you out."

"Misaka will take up the task Misaka volunteers." Imouto had moved silently over to them, but she kept her eyes on Touma as he stood up.

"We know your sister is attracted to him," Leivinia said, crossing her arms. She definitely likes the boy, but she doesn't seem to be all there in the head. At least she's not some slut with useless blobs of fat. "Answer this then: Have you done anything with him that made you feel…?" She stopped. This girl doesn't have any common sense. How do I phrase this? "Uncomfortable, but in a pleasant way."

"Hmm, Misaka reminisces. There was the time he got hurt protecting Misaka. Misaka didn't like the fact he was getting hurt, but at the same time happy he was helping me. There was also the time the savior touched my chest…"

"Huh?" Frenda and Leivinia exclaimed.

"How did you get him to do that?" Lessar demanded.

"Misaka was measuring his vital signs Misaka explains. There was nothing sexual about the contact." No one believed that for a moment, especially when Imouto continued talking. "However, Misaka did not dislike the touch and her own increase in vital signs interfered with the reading Misaka admits."

"So that only leaves one candidate we might be able to agree on," Leivinia stated, her eyes darting to Ruiko. She noticed Touma had disappeared into the bathroom, but that wasn't an issue for her. The door was only made of cheap wood. "She seems like a harmless puppy. What do you think?"

"She won't get the nerve to try anything," Lessar admitted. "She's too pure to take the next step. Almost as pure as Frenda here." She laughed and Frenda's face turned red.

"I could take the next step if I wanted to," Frenda snapped. "But he has to earn that right."

"Sure," Lessar laughed again.

"By next step, what do you mean? Misaka questions. Misaka only knows that if one obtains a ring from a male, that means they are the victor. Is that the next step?"

"Who have you been talking to?" Frenda asked incredulously.

"You seem to be about five steps ahead," Lessar corrected. "Props for planning that far, but there's no way you can beat me."

"You really have no common sense," Leivinia muttered. "It's best I not allow you to bunk with him. You might do something stupid without realizing it."

"I guess we have to let Saten do it then," Lessar sighed. "Unless one of you wants to sleep on a chair or floor." No one volunteered.

"Have you ladies decided yet?" Oriana called over to them. Ruiko was standing stifling next to her. Whatever Oriana had said to her while they were talking, it definitely was embarrassing. Ruiko's face was glowing and she couldn't look anyone in the eyes.

"We regretfully decided that girl there is the one," Leivinia replied bitterly and pointed to Ruiko. The look on Leivinia's face said she wished the other girls a slow painful death and that if Ruiko tried anything, she would regret it.

"Oh?" Oriana asked surprised and raised an eyebrow. "That was unexpected."

"Me!?" Ruiko asked flabbergasted and pointed to herself. "What…! How…?" This was the last thing she expected and had no idea why they would choose her. It never crossed her mind she would be the one. How could it be me? There's no way I could sleep in the same bed. Not that I would mind… How is this the most important topic of discussion when Adam is attacking Australia?

"She's the only one all of us could agree wouldn't try anything with Lover Boy," Lessar explained.

"Misaka would like the record to show she would not have tried anything but would have been happy Misaka interjects." She sighed at the thought of not being able to share the same bed. Misaka missed her chance Misaka thinks disappointedly.

"Basically," Frenda said with her arms crossed. "It was better than the alternatives." Her eyes darted to Lessar. "He won't be assaulted while he tries to sleep."

"He wouldn't have been assaulted," Lessar said with a pout. "It would have been a pleasant surprise than completely consensual."

"Misaka has a feeling the savior would not consent to whatever you were planning Misaka states suspiciously." She looked at Lessar and Lessar grinned back at her.

"I can understand you reasoning," Oriana said with a nod and then grinned. "Don't worry. I'm sure this young lady here wouldn't try anything." Ruiko smiled, embarrassed, and fidgeted while looking at the ground. "Besides, I will take it upon myself to teach him everything he needs to know about the female body. After everything we are bound to experience tomorrow, he should have one night in pure comfort." She smiled, while everyone else's jaw dropped, and she took her left arm, crossed it under her chest, and leaned forward slightly to emphasize her assets. "I'm sure he will be happy with my tutelage."

"There's no way anyone would be happy with those useless blobs of fat!" Leivinia snapped angrily. That bitch is mocking me. She doesn't understand who she is dealing with. When this is over, she's going to pay for every insult.

"I'm still growing," Lessar said proudly. "While yours are past their prime. They are going to start sagging any day now."

"Misaka does not understand the attraction to large chests, Misaka says confused. They seem to make running difficult and provide unneeded balance and back problems." (Does Misaka 13577 have the information Misaka 10032 requested. Misaka would like to add if large chests are prominent with the definition of porn.)

(Yes and no, Misaka 13577 answers regretfully. Misaka has searched for examples of porn on the internet at Misaka 10032's request Misaka informs. However, there is a problem. All sites require Misaka to be 18 years old or older. Misaka is technically only 1 year old and therefore may not view porn.)

(Even if we are clones, Misaka 18080 adds. Onee-sama has just recently turned 15 so that loophole is also not available to us.)

(So Misaka looked up the definition, Misaka 13577 continues. Porn appears to be individuals engaged in sexual intercourse on video, usually for monetary compensation.)

(People engage in sexual intercourse on camera? For money? Misaka inquires, dumbfounded, and to make sure she heard correctly. Misaka will have to check with the one called Lessar to make sure.)

"Jealousy is not attractive and causes wrinkles," Oriana laughed. "It's how I keep such smooth skin." She put her other arm around Ruiko. "I'm sure she will keep us honest though."

"I don't think…" Ruiko whispered but Oriana interrupted her.

"I'm just playing," she whispered back. "Sorry, you all are so fun to tease."

"I wish my chest would stop growing," Frenda complained. "I have to keep buying new bras and, basically, there are a lot of other things I would like to buy over them." A vein throbbed in Leivinia's head as her arm discreetly covered her chest.

"Hey Lover Boy," Lessar called out and she pounded on the door to the bathroom. "I told you not to hide in the bathroom tonight. You have five seconds to get out. One… two… three…" She paused when she heard the sound of the toilet flushing and then the sound of running water from the sink. A minute later the door opened and Touma appeared.

"What did you need Lessar?" he sighed. Touma had given up on trying to hide. The doors were weak and would not hold up against the determined girls. I have resigned myself to the inevitable. Maybe they won't try anything. "I had to use the bathroom."

"Oh," Lessar said softly, taken aback. I was expecting him to hide. Did he finally accept my advances?

"I hope you didn't stink up the bathroom," Frenda told him. "That's something Hamazura would do and I don't want to sleep with disgusting smells coming out of there."

"Misaka would like to remind everyone the plan was to go to sleep soon since we have to wake up early, Misaka reminds everyone." Everyone turned to Imouto for a brief second before nodding. With all the important conversations and debates going on, they had forgotten why they had them in the first place.

"Excellent point," Oriana agreed and plopped down on the side of one of the beds. "Lights out in five, so you all need to get some sleep."

"Yes mom," Lessar grumbled with a roll of her eyes, before she jumped on the second bed.

"Speaking of which," Touma muttered to Ruiko. "How did sleeping arrangements get decided?"

"It's going to be you, onee-san, and…," Ruiko's voice went soft, "me." Her face went red and she looked away from him. It was incredibly embarrassing to say that out loud. Why did he ask me? Her heart started beating faster while she waited for his response.

"Oh," Touma said and he looked away from her too. He was embarrassed, but, in his mind, he was actually glad. Ruiko's not the type to try anything at night. All I have to do is worry about Lessar trying to sneak into the bed in the middle of the night. Though, with everyone else here, it will be tough for her. "Should we get going then? I'm not really a morning person so I should get as much sleep as I can."

"I'm not either," Ruiko admitted. Kazari always had to drag her out of bed in the morning before school, otherwise Ruiko would just hit the snooze button forever. She watched Touma hesitantly move toward the bed and lay down next to Oriana, careful to keep some distance, but close enough to give Ruiko room. Ruiko laid down next to them and someone turned off the lights. A little light shone into the room from a street lamp outside of the window, but it was now definitely dark in the room. Ruiko glanced over at Touma, who was on his back and stared up at the ceiling. Her heart was pounding madly and she wanted to say something, but no words would come out of her mouth. She kind of wanted this, but was unable to act. She heard the other girls whispering from the other bed, but she couldn't make out their words, and then she heard Oriana.

"You don't need to act so awkward," Oriana whispered to Touma. Ruiko saw her turn onto her side, wrapped her arm around Touma, and pull him close to her. "Let your onee-san make you comfortable."

"Ah!" Touma cried, but tried to keep his voice down as his body got pressed against Oriana's bountiful pillows. "What are you doing?" Ruiko turned her head ever so slightly, so she could watch out of the corner of her eye, while she tried to get the courage to help out.

"Don't talk so loud," Oriana whispered into his ear. He felt a slight shiver run down his spine. "You don't want to disturb the others." Her voice was so soft, even Ruiko had a hard time hearing it. "I wanted to tell you something privately."

"What is it?" Touma muttered back and Ruiko held her breath in anticipation.

"Thanks."

"Huh?" To Ruiko, he sounded just as confused as she felt.

"When we last met," Oriana explained. "I was doing something I wasn't completely proud of. I'm glad you stopped me."

"I had to," Touma admitted and turned his head slightly so he could see her face. He was on his side with her hugging him from behind. Her eyes were open and she looked at him seriously. "But I am surprised the Anglican Church is allowing you to transport us after working for the Roman Catholic Church."

"Just so you know, onee-san is a magical courier," Oriana informed him. "I haven't sworn loyalty to any specific organization, so I'm free to work with or fight against whoever I want. So, as long as you make sure to pay me, I'd even be willing to work up a sweat for you."

"There would be no need for that," Touma replied swiftly, his body stiffening in more ways than one. She blew into his ear again and Touma shivered. She was way more experienced than he was and there was nothing he could do against her teasing. "But I hope you are more selective in who you work for in the future."

"I plan to only work with people I agree with," Oriana told him, and pulled him closer. "Though, if you ever need anything transported, make sure to call me first. I promise you the friends and family discount."

"Err, thanks," Touma replied awkwardly. He noticed Oriana still didn't let him go and he fidgeted to try to slip out of her embrace, but nothing worked. He might have been subconsciously enjoying it and not trying as hard as he could have or he was trying to avoid drawing attention to himself. Ruiko felt the bed move, as he struggled, and then stopped when Touma gave up trying to escape. She turned her head to look at him and she caught his eye. "Sorry about this," he mumbled, embarrassed. "I didn't expect you and Frenda to get involved in this. If I had known what was happening, I would have tried harder to get the plane to stop."

"It's not your fault," Ruiko whispered. "We followed you and snuck onto the plane before it took off." She looked over at the other bed. "Lessar and Misaka's Imouto seem to be talking seriously."

"That's not good," Touma groaned. "We should never leave Lessar alone with anyone susceptible to her words." Ruiko let out an involuntary giggle, because she knew how bold and direct Lessar was. Imouto was nice, but was lacking a little in common sense, so any knowledge Lessar gave her could be dangerous.

It seems like whenever I hang out with Touma, these kinds of things happen. There was the museum, England, and now this. I know it's not his fault, but no wonder he didn't respond to anyone's request to be together. He must be afraid people are going to keep getting roped into these situations. My ability has developed a lot the last few weeks, I went from 0 to 2, but it's not enough to be able to stand against people like Eve or Adam. I… need strength, not only for myself, but to protect my friends. She felt determination well up within her for a moment, before she started to doze off. It had been an exciting day and she was exhausted. She wouldn't have dreamed of being able to fall asleep so easily while sharing a bed with a guy, but Touma always made her feel safe. She knew he would look out for her.

How did it end up like this? Touma thought again, back in the present. While he was asleep, a number of things had happened, which prevented him from escaping his current predicament. He learned something knew about Oriana last night. She was a clinger. Oriana never let go of him all night. It was as if he was a stuffed animal for a little kid. It made it extremely difficult for him to get any sleep. He had least manage to roll on his back to be more comfortable. After Ruiko had finally fallen asleep, she rolled over on his left arm, pinning it under her. He had lost all feeling in it over the night and couldn't move it. Finally, his eyes darted down to the girl lying on top of him and three other girls scattered among the lower half of the bed. He wasn't sure when they got there, but it must have been during the few brief moments of sleep he managed to get last night.

Leivinia must have been first, because she was the one lying on top of him, sleeping peacefully, but gripping tightly to his shirt. Lessar had somehow slipped under the sheets, because there was a lump under them and her dragon tail accessory sticking out. He could feel her tight grip on his leg but, luckily, she didn't seem to be trying anything. Imouto was sleeping next to the Lessar lump, on top of the sheets, and was resting her head on his other leg. Frenda was the last one to sneak in and Touma actually saw her, but he couldn't make a sound because of the threat the others posed. Frenda slipped in between him and Ruiko on the bottom half of the bed and curled up into a ball. Someone please say I only got hit by the Mark of Sloth again and this is a dream. If they wake up, they are sure to fight again. His eyes darted to the alarm clock, which read 5:59 am. Then the clock betrayed him.

The piercing sound of the alarm Oriana set broke the silence and the last few seconds of peace Touma had.

"Well, time to get up," Oriana yawned. Her eyes had snapped open after the first beep and she finally let go of Touma. She stood up next to the bed and stretched. "I haven't slept that well in ages. It must have been because of a nice pillow." She winked at Touma, who turned red.

"Why is it so early?" Ruiko moaned, opening one eye groggily. She saw Touma's face closer to hers than she remembered from last night. "Ahh!" She rolled away from him and fell off the bed with a thud. She forgot how close she was to the edge. "Ouch," she cried, rubbing her head. "Well, I'm up."

"Why is everyone so loud in the morning?" Leivinia complained and used her arms to prop herself up off Touma.

"I think we have a bigger question," Frenda pointed out. She was used to having to be fully alert when an alarm went off. She had sat up on the edge of the bed almost immediately, but when she turned around her jaw had dropped. "Why are you on top of Kamijou?!"

"The mattresses were lumpy," Leivinia stated simply. "So I had my property take its place. I slept much better that way. Besides," she pointed to the lump that was Lessar, "she's in a more precarious position than I am." The Lessar lump moved and she stuck her head out of the sheets.

"Eh?" Frenda exclaimed and Ruiko stood up quickly.

"I think it's rather comfortable down here," Lessar told them with a huge grin on her face. "He's probably uncomfortable though, with morning wood and all."

"Misaka does not believe he brought any wood with him or managed to obtain some during the night Misaka points out sleepily. Misaka would also like to mention she does not like to get up this early Misaka adds."

"Not literal wood," Lessar sighed exasperatedly. "I meant…"

"We should get going!" Touma interrupted, loudly and clearly. He couldn't get up with Leivinia on top of him, but he used his foot to push Lessar off the bed to stop her talking. She fell off along with the blankets and became tangled in a ball. "Can you please get off me Birdway?" She looked at him for a moment, shrugged, and rolled off him. She jumped lightly off the bed and smoothed her dress down. "Thomson-san…"

"Onee-san."

"… yea," Touma amended. "What all do we have to do today before we leave?"

"This is your last chance to enjoy the basic city utilities," Oriana told them all with a grin. "So if you want a shower, now's the time. The hotel has a free continental breakfast we can enjoy and then we need to leave and purchase you all some new clothes. We are going to be traveling into the Tanami desert, so your city clothes will not cut it. Once we get your clothes, we have to catch a flight to Lajamanu and head out to base camp from there."

"Couldn't we have just flown straight there to save time?" Frenda asked. This seems like a waste of time to me.

"Lajamanu is a very small town," Oriana explained. "There's like, what, 100 or so buildings, with most of them being houses. The reason we couldn't land you there directly with Academy City's planes is because they don't have an airport. They have a small landing strip for small planes. The towns out there are so isolated that if someone has cancer or a serious illness, they need to get flown to a city with a hospital."

"Why not just perform an air drop? Misaka asks. That would save a lot of time while not requiring the aircraft to land."

"We considered that," Oriana confirmed. "But the last scout plane that flew anywhere near the desert center was blown away by an unknown force. There was nothing left of it. We decided to go the slightly longer way to avoid detection. A small plane heading toward an outlying town should not draw attention."

"Oh my," Ruiko muttered. Was anyone hurt on the plane or was it remote controlled? I wish I could tell everyone back home what was going on, but I know we have to stay undercover. She wondered what Kazari was going to tell Mikoto and Kuroko what she was up to if they asked.

"I'm fine with your strategy," Leivinia said, in a tone implying it was her call if they would follow it or not. "Now, I'm going into the bathroom first, before you all soil it." Before any of them could react, she walked into the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

"To save time Lover Boy and I could go together," Lessar offered.

"No!" Touma, Frenda, and Ruiko answered immediately.

"Misaka believes that would result in the savior being mentally scared Misaka points out. Misaka also does not want you to."

"Sparky Junior has jokes now," Lessar laughed.

"Misaka is prepared to shock you with enough volts to render you incapable of moving Misaka warns." Imouto started sparking slightly and Touma immediately saw the resemblance with Mikoto. He took a step over to her and placed his right hand on her shoulder, which caused the electricity to disappear. She looked at him and tilted her head slightly.

"Lessar only calls you Sparky Junior because she thinks it's funny," Touma whispered to her. "She's not one to change her mind easily, so rising to her taunts won't work. Don't let the nickname bother you and she will tire out eventually. She's really just trying to be friendly."

"If you request it Misaka will try Misaka replies hesitantly but determined to follow your advice."

"Thanks."

"She really is Misaka-san's sister," Ruiko whispered to Touma and he grinned.

The rest of the time at the hotel went by normally enough. Touma was the last one to use the bathroom and he made sure the lock was securely in place when he took a quick shower. They even managed to get through breakfast without causing a scene. However, when they were getting ready to leave, a guy walked up and smacked Touma on the back while whispering, "good job." Touma had no idea why he did it, but that guy had been in the room next door and had seen Touma leave with all the girls. Oriana slipped in a couple small boxes under the seats of the jeep, before everyone loaded up, and they headed to a clothing store. They had a lot of selections, but Oriana was actually stern in what they could choose. They couldn't take a lot with them, so she made sure to reiterate, mainly to Leivinia and Lessar, not to go overboard on shopping. Frenda looked disappointed, but everyone else agreed.

The most important clothes for them to have were long pants, long sleeve shirts, boots, and hats. They needed to be protected, not only from the sun, but also from animals and plants. Leivinia wanted to go to several shops, but their time was limited. They managed to find boots for everyone quick enough and then a pair of durable jeans. What confused Touma was Frenda decided to wear a skirt over her pants. When he asked her why, she said it was easier to hide things under a skirt than in pants. He looked at her and then thought a new fashion statement might originate in Australia. Several people staring at her odd choice in clothing only solidified that.

The shirts took a little longer to sort out. Ruiko selected a long sleeve plaid shirt in white, blue and red stripes. It was a little loose, so it could breathe, and she rolled up the sleeves to keep cool. Unlike Oriana, she could button it all the way. Frenda finally settled on a solid blue long sleeve shirt that went well with her white skirt. Both she and Ruiko had the jeans fit their legs well, something Touma kept glancing at. Imouto choose a tan shirt similar to her school uniform because she was more comfortable in that color. Leivinia choose a light white shirt and wore it under a tan long sleeve shirt, which she didn't button the front. She also found a pair of sunglasses to wear. Lessar finally returned with a purple and white shirt.

"They didn't have a lot of choices," Lessar sighed. "But I suppose this is better than nothing. Well, maybe not, it depends what Lover Boy likes."

"He seems to be trying to finish selecting his clothes, Misaka informs." Imouto pointed to the men's clothing section and the girls turned to see Touma walking out of the dressing room with a long sleeve, olive green, Kakadu shirt.

"I suppose we are done here," Leivinia said, flipping her hair back before grabbing a hat off a nearby rack. "I am not looking forward to the desert climate. It's bad for the skin."

"Then let's kick that guys' ass quickly," Frenda told them. "Basically, let's not spend any more time that we have to out there."

"Then afterwards we can all celebrate with him," Lessar laughed, jabbing her thumb at Touma. All the girls turned their eyes to him and a burst of dark auras surrounded most of them. Oriana had walked up to Touma and tossed him a hat. She said something while laughing when he put it on and Touma looked away, obviously embarrassed. Ruiko was the only one who wasn't emitting an aura. She may have been jealous, but she wasn't the type to actually wish harm on others.

Were his friends right about him liking onee-san types? She seems to really appreciate his help. There's so much Touma has done I know nothing about. After we handle everything here, I wonder if I can ask him about it.

"Are we really flying out in that?" Leivinia asked in disgust after they arrived at the airport.

"And here I thought we were going to take first class all the way," Frenda added annoyed and she kicked the ground.

"Misaka would also like to add her doubts of this plane's ability to fulfill its obligation, Misaka concurs with doubt in her voice."

"You kids expect everything to be shiny and new living in Academy City," Oriana reprimanded and rolled her eyes. "The outside world doesn't always have that luxury. You should be aware of that." Her eyes darted to Leivinia. "Not everyone has their own private plane."

"They should work harder for one then," Leivinia huffed back.

"It's a little small," Lessar admitted. "But that will just make it cozy." She jumped on Touma's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. "We can get intimate in such tight quarters."

"I don't know who you are including in 'we' with your imagination," Touma said and shook her off him. His eyes darted to the plane they had approached. When they entered the airport, instead of taking the main entrance, they entered around back. The magic side must have had some influence, because no one questioned them being there. There were only a handful of passenger windows, which showed the plane was probably not designed to carry move than twenty or so passengers. It wasn't as bad as the others made it out to be, but it wasn't in a league anywhere near Academy City's supersonic passenger plane. "If she thinks it will get us there, I believe her." Oriana beamed at him.

"Take her side," Frenda sniffed. She wasn't really mad at him, but she suddenly felt irritated when he complimented her.

"What?" Touma asked confused at her attitude.

"Don't worry about it," Leivinia told him. "Your brain capacity wouldn't be able to understand it. Just do what you're told like usual." This time it was Touma's turn to feel a slight twinge of irritation.

"Hey," Oriana waved to him. "Help me load these boxes so we can leave."

"Sure," Touma replied, glad for an excuse to get away, and hurried over to her. It was still early, but the temperature was rising quickly and he was already sweating.

"I'll help too," Ruiko said quickly and rushed after him. Oriana picked up a box, Touma picked up two, and Ruiko was left with the last one. As she picked it up, she turned to Oriana. "What's in these boxes?"

"Food, water, some first aid supplies," Oriana told her. "We can't be sure if the water and food near the towns have been tampered with, so I brought extra. You kids probably are not use to Australian heat, so make sure to drink a lot or you will get heat stroke."

"Sounds like you have thought of everything," Touma said impressed. "But if the food and water near the towns are tampered with, what's happening to the civilians living there?"

"The Australian government has been air dropping supplies to the most affected areas," Oriana explained. "But some areas may not get enough aid, so it's important we stop Adam soon." Touma and Ruiko nodded in agreement. They loaded the boxes into the back of the plane and everyone else started to board. When everyone was seated, Oriana had a quick word with the pilot before she sat down in the seat in front of Touma. Leivinia managed to slip into the seat next to him for some reason, leaving Frenda and Ruiko together behind him, and Imouto and Lessar behind them. Touma was worried about Imouto's exposure with Lessar, but there wasn't a lot he could do about it in his current position. "The flight will last a couple hours. The pilot is on our side so we can discuss anything freely if you want to discuss something."

"I was hoping you could tell us more of this plague magic is using," Frenda called out to her.

"That's a good topic," Oriana agreed. "The plagues of Egypt are a pretty common religious tale which originated in Christianity…" They spent a good portion of the flight discussing Adam's magic and what they were going to do once they landed. Touma wanted to sleep, since he didn't get much sleep last night, but the plane would occasionally shudder, jolting his head if he wasn't careful. He also needed to learn as much about Adam as possible, not only for the success of the mission, but to make sure his friends were safe.

Looks like another day with no sleep.

Accelerator was not happy.

Earlier that morning in the classroom, Motoharu and Pierce decided to show off some documentary they filmed and they told him he should watch it. His first mistake was letting his curiosity get the better of him. It started off innocently enough, with Motoharu making fun of Touma's harem. Accelerator had scowled when it arrived to a part with him surrounded by several girls, but nothing to bad happened. It was mostly introductions, Worst being a brat, and Saiai wanting attention. The worst part of it was Motoharu's comments. At least Kagere got some too. He had glanced over at Jason when it got to the point when a drunk Kazari pushed her way onto Jason lap to kiss him. Jason's mouth had fallen open and he looked shocked. So that girl of his actually has a backbone, or was that just the alcohol?

The documentary turned back to Touma for a little bit, before going back to Accelerator and Jason. At this point, everyone was completely smashed. The class was laughing and falling out of their chairs. The girls around Accelerator in the video were saying the stupidest things he had ever heard. Accelerator gritted his teeth when he saw the markings Worst had drawn on his face, the humiliation now fresh in his mind. Many of his classmates looked at him, but a quick glare made them turn back to the video. He glanced at Jason, who had a weird combination of amusement and disbelief on his face when Kuroko and Kazari talked a little before falling asleep. It was obvious the teleporter girl liked him, but now he knows. Heh, I kind of want to see what he does with the information.

A few moments later, the class exploded with laughter and then shouts of death threats against Touma on his return reverberated through the room.

Accelerator couldn't help laughing with a good portion of the class. To him, seeing the level 5s, magicians, and a few other girls in random outfits, trying to get Touma's attention, was hilarious. Motoharu's comments just made it funnier. As the girls were beginning to fall asleep around Touma, the class was still going crazy, the door to the classroom opened and Komoe walked in. She looked surprised to see them all so early and then her face turned to a combination of shock and horror when she saw the TV. She fainted a moment after, which only added to Accelerator's amusement. When the documentary ended, Accelerator was conflicted. I was a little entertained, but I feel I have to kill those two for embarrassing me. It turned out he didn't have to do anything.

Seiri took over.

While Motoharu and Pierce were being mercilessly beaten for their shenanigans, a couple other of Accelerator's classmates hurried over to Komoe's side and woke her up. When she finally regained consciousness, the TV was put away and the class told her what they decided on as their classroom's booth. Komoe was fine with their idea, since the class was unanimous, and wished them luck. The bell rang around a minute later and she started class. Accelerator looked at the beaten remains of his two idiot friends and decided he didn't need to get up and do anything. He changed his mind before lunch. The entire morning he kept being asked about the girls from the video and no matter how much he threatened, glared, or flicked them off, his classmates wouldn't stop asking. He eventually got so annoyed from their questions, he did the only thing that made sense.

He cut class during lunch.

It wasn't like he had any real reason to be there in the first place. The classes were a joke to him and there was nothing for him to learn there. He could study more advanced material on his own. He already knew Touma wasn't going to be there, because Last Order mentioned he was heading to Australia with one of the sisters, Ruiko, Frenda, Lessar, and a girl named Leivinia Birdway. Worst kept laughing about something, but he had ignored her. Accelerator knew the trip had to involve the magic side, but he wasn't about to leave unless Touma asked for help. With him gone, Eve would have one less obstacle, so Accelerator was ready for her to make a move any day now. He started to debate where to go now that he was cutting school.

It's the middle of the day, so the freeloader would normally be there. Yomikawa is teaching and she's going to be upset when she finds out I'm skipping. Last Order should be at the school, having private lessons in the office like normal. That only leaves Worst. There's a fifty-fifty chance she will be home doing nothing or out making trouble for others. If she's not there and the freeloader actually told the truth about looking for a job, the apartment could be empty. A couple hours of uninterrupted peace and quiet would be great. I also might as well stop and pick up some coffee while I'm near the store. His day just got worse.

He found out from one of the workers his particular brand of coffee had been discontinued.

Damn it, Accelerator fumed to himself. He was pissed. Not only was his class bothering him about some stupid drunk antics, which was mostly centered on Touma, but now the one coffee he actually liked was gone. I swear when the hero gets back, I'm taking my frustration out on him, along with those two bastards for showing that video. Jason was free from his wrath because he got a little embarrassment too. Accelerator turned his attention from thoughts of revenge to the rows of canned coffee in front of him. I have to find a new brand now, fuck. He bought an assorted amount of coffee he hadn't tried before, paid, and left the store. He planned on heading back to the apartment and, if anyone was there, immediately leave and find something else to do. He was walking home, two heavy bags in his hand, which he saw something that made him stop.

It can't be, Accelerator thought incredulously to himself, but there was no mistaking the familiar individual. A single girl was sitting on the bench, surrounded by a group of guys, the normal trash that played hooky from school. The girl was around eighteen with silver hair. She wore a white long-sleeved sports shirt with the collar undone, and her cleavage was slightly visible. The portion of her legs sticking out of the blue and red miniskirt had blue leggings on them down to the ankles. Hearing-aid like devices were behind her ears with two vacuum tube-like objects sticking from each one. She wore an expression of distaste from the guys around her, who were too stupid to notice. Accelerator recognized her clearly because he had just seen her from the video this morning.

It was Bayloupe.

What the hell is she doing here? Accelerator thought to himself. The last time he heard from her was she was still in England with the rest of New Light. They occasionally messaged each other, but neither of them had contacted each other for almost a week. They mostly talked about the annoying brats they were forced to babysit, but with Lessar in Academy City, she didn't have as many problems. It had been pretty casual until contact stopped. Heh, that trash doesn't know who they are dealing with. She may not be in my league, but she's no pushover. He was about to go on his way, when he decided to turn toward her instead. Eh, maybe I'll be nice and at least find out why she's here. If it has something to do with Eve, which it probably does, I might have use for her. "Hey," he called out gruffly, as he approached. "What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" The guys asked and turned toward Accelerator. Bayloupe turned her head slightly too, but her eyes widened in recognition.

"Move it bud," one of the guys snapped at Accelerator. He must have been the leader because he was one of the biggest. "We saw her first and were having a nice chat."

"You mean you were stinking up the air with your breath," Bayloupe corrected him. The guy scowled, but everyone else laughed.

"Shut up," the guy growled at his group and they stopped laughing instantly. "If you don't want to get your ass handed to you, I suggest you turn around and leave."

"I thought you were still in England," Accelerator said to Bayloupe. They were completely ignoring the thug boss. "What are you doing here?" he asked again.

"Trying to decide how much damage to apply to these losers to get them to leave," Bayloupe told him curtly.

"Usually a broken arm or two is enough," Accelerator told her. "They usually flee after a couple of them fall."

"Sounds simple enough," she replied and stood up. Neither of them were paying the leader of the group the slightest bit of attention and his face was growing redder by the second.

"You bastard!" he yelled and swung a fist at Accelerator.

This was a mistake.

"Be gone," Accelerator mumbled and reached out a hand. The guy was thrown back easily thirty meters. He landed on the ground with a loud thud and laid there unconscious. "I suggest the rest of you take him and go before I get annoyed." All the other guys took a step back, before one of them recognized him.

"Holy shit," he said, while his trembling hand pointed at Accelerator. "T-that's Accelerator. I'm out of here." He turned and started running. "I didn't know that was his girl."

"Oh crap."

"No wonder the boss was defeated so easily." Standing before such an overwhelming opponent, the thugs had no choice but to flee. Two of them stopped only long enough to pick up their leader, but kept running until they were all out of sight.

"Heh," Accelerator smirked and turned back to Bayloupe. "So enjoying the sights while you are here? Lessar left with the hero last night and flew to Australia."

"You know about that?" Bayloupe asked incredulously. "How…? Never mind, I suppose that saves time. With Lessar and the Imagine Breaker gone, the magic defenses of the city are going to be weaker. We know Eve is here, so the church asked us to help support until they return. I'm not a big fan of fighting well away from England, but if she succeeds, even our home will be in trouble."

"I suppose that's true," Accelerator agreed. "I take it the other two are with you, that girl, Floral and the other one you mentioned once."

"Floris," she corrected him. "She won't be happy you still don't know her name. The other girl is named Lancis. We have stationed ourselves around the city, but can't find any signs of Eve or her group."

"She is skilled in concealing her presence," Accelerator told her. "We won't be able to find her unless she purposely reveals herself."

"We've been trying detection magical all day, but not getting any luck either." She sighed. "We know what she wants, but not how she plans to get it."

"From what the hero told us, she's after a girl, but…" Accelerator stopped, unsure of how to explain Hyouka to her. "She's been unable to capture her due to her unique ability at disappearing."

"Can you contact her?" Bayloupe asked and Accelerator shook his head. "Ah well, then I guess it becomes a waiting game. At least Lessar isn't here to annoy me, but her battle prowess would be useful if Eve makes a move." Her eyes darted to Accelerator. "Isn't today a school day?" she asked. "What are you doing out?"

"I'm skipping," Accelerator told her with a shrug. "It's not like there's anything to learn right now and there are too many idiots there today."

"Sure," Bayloupe said with a smirk. "It looks like someone's becoming a delinquent."

"Whatever," he replied and rolled his eyes.

"What's with all the coffee cans?" She peered into his bags.

"The bastards decided to discontinue my favorite brand," Accelerator growled, not so much at her, but to vent his frustration. "Now I have to find a new brand I can stomach. I haven't tried these yet, so hopefully there's something drinkable."

"I can understand that," Bayloupe acknowledged. "I hate it when a company gets rid of something I like." She looked down at the bags. "Do you want help carrying them?"

"Huh?"

"I figured it was tough with the crutch," Bayloupe elaborated quickly. "Why do you need that anyways? You didn't need it when facing me. Anyways, think of it as thanks for actually helping." She waved a hand to the surrounding area. "What's wrong with most of the people here? They just ignored an attractive girl like myself who was being bothered by a bunch of losers."

"If you were really in danger," Accelerator sighed. "The cleaning robots would have sent out an alarm. As for this crutch, I made a mistake and let down my guard. When I'm not using my powers, I need it." He glared at her, as if expecting her to make fun of him. When she didn't he continued. "I suppose you can carry one if you want." Carrying both really is a pain. "My apartment's close by." He picked up one of the bags and Bayloupe picked up the other. They didn't talk much, Accelerator preferred the silence, but he was surprised at something she did. She actually offered to help him without any sarcasm or ulterior motives, at least none he could detect. He wasn't use to people being nice to him. Most were scared of or wanted to fight him. "This is it," Accelerator said when they arrived. He unlocked the door and stepped in.

"Nice place," Bayloupe said.

"You don't have to pretend it's fancy," Accelerator sighed and put his bag on the kitchen table. To his relief, the house appeared to be empty.

"I wasn't lying," she told him truthfully and she also set the bag on the table. "I've been in better yes, but this is a palace compared to sleeping in a cramped car when on a mission."

"Huh," Accelerator said and glanced back at her. "I suppose you have a point. I'm just use to a lot of sarcasm." He walked over to the fridge, opened it, and started to forage around.

"I suppose I'll get out of you way then," Bayloupe said slowly, about to turn around.

"Have you eaten yet?" Accelerator asked. He either ignored her words or didn't hear them.

"No, why?"

"I'm making myself lunch and I can make you something too while I'm at it," Accelerator said, as he pulled out some vegetables and meat. He pulled out some rice and started to load the rice cooker.

"You can cook?" Bayloupe asked incredulously.

"What's with that look?" he growled. "Of course I can cook. I can do anything. What makes you think I'm that useless?"

"It's just you don't normally see someone with battle prowess like yours who does things like household chores," she admitted. "They usually just eat out or have people do it for them."

"I use to do that," Accelerator answered, but did not look at her. Before he met Last Order, he would just buy premade meals or eat out. After he met her, he started learning how to cook to impress her. "But I decided I needed to take care of myself after the accident." There was another reason he didn't mention. He was used to eating with Last Order, Worst, Aiho, and Kikyou so much, it felt weird to eat alone. Bayloupe was one of the few people he actually didn't mind as company too.

"Do you need help?"

"I'm fine, go watch TV or something. You look exhausted."

"Heh," Bayloupe laughed slightly. "You noticed I was up all night scouting the city."

"You got dark circles under your eyes. It was pretty obvious." Accelerator started cutting vegetables.

"What?" Bayloupe turned toward a mirror and looked at herself. "Ah, I do. Crap."

"Worried about your looks?" Accelerator laughed.

"All members of New Light aim to be gorgeous girls," Bayloupe snapped at him. "I can't start developing wrinkles because of lack of sleep. Lessar would have a field day and she drives me insane already."

"You're fine," Accelerator said distractedly.

"Was… was that a compliment?" she asked in shock, but then smirked at him.

"Huh?" Accelerator asked, before he realized what he said. Ah shit, what the hell was that? She laughed at his confused expression and he scowled. "I see the resemblance to Lessar now."

"Don't compare me to her!" This time it was Accelerator's turn to laugh. They bickered a little while longer while the food cooked and took the plates to the living room to eat while watching the news. There were no signs of anything unusual and Bayloupe took the opportunity to contact the others. "Floris, Lancis, any luck on your end…? Nothing here either, but I met Accelerator…. The white haired boy from England. Anyways, he suggested we won't find her until she decides to reveal herself. Go and get some rest… Contact me if anything happens." She put away her magical contact rune and sighed.

"I expect to be contacted if you find her," Accelerator told her out of the blue. "I have a grudge against her."

"What did she do?" Bayloupe asked interestedly.

"The shit she pulled Sunday is enough for several death sentences," Accelerator growled, but didn't elaborate.

"Okay," Bayloupe said and raised an eyebrow. "This sounds like a story I want to hear, but I think I'll ask about it much later. I promise I'll contact you, though I think we are supposed to limit science versus magic interaction."

"That ship has set sail a long time ago."

"True." They sat in silence, except for the sound of the television in the background. They kept glancing at each other, but neither caught the other person's eye. Accelerator felt weird, like he had eaten something bad. This was the first time he allowed a girl by herself into his apartment, besides the people who actually lived there, so this was a new experience for him. Before he could say anything, they heard the front door open and then slam shut. The female voice Accelerator heard cause the pit of his stomach to drop.

"Hah, his face was hilarious. Misaka can't stop laughing at how confused he was when all his merchandise kept changing shelves. He probably thought he was being haunted…" Worst walked into the room, saw Accelerator and Bayloupe sitting in the living room, and stopped talking in shock. A wide smile appeared on her face. "Misaka will call you back." Worst put away her phone.

Damn it, Accelerator thought.

"Hi," Bayloupe said and gave Worst a small wave. "If I remember right, your name is Worst, right?" Worst nodded.

"So," Worst said slowly, an evil tone permeating through her voice. She wasn't even trying to hide her intentions. "Tou-san skips out in the middle of school to bring a girl back to his apartment when everyone is out. How bold. Misaka wonders if he was going to take her into his room and go all the way."

"You're misunderstanding everything you damn brat," Accelerator spat out.

"Misaka thinks the control tower needs to learn of this," Worst added, clearly enjoying every moment of this. Accelerator's face went slightly pale.

"I'm going to…" Accelerator started to say furiously and stood up. Bayloupe was confused at why he looked so angry, when something happened that shocked her.

Accelerator's connection to the Misaka Network was suddenly cut off.

"Onee-sama!" Kuroko called out happily. She teleported next to Mikoto and gave her a hug from behind. Mikoto sighed and pushed her friend off of her.

"Hey Kuroko," Mikoto told her. She was use to Kuroko's antics every day after school, but that didn't mean she wouldn't prefer a little less hands on interactions.

"Why were you late?" Kuroko asked, a flicker of worry on her face. "You are normally out right when the bell rings."

"A couple of my classmates had some questions on a new subject we started," Mikoto explained. "I was helping them understand a couple of the more complex parts since the teacher had to leave right after class."

"That's my onee-sama for you," Kuroko replied and looked at her with admiration. "Always helping others, the perfect young lady." As long as those other girls don't try to put their hands on her, there won't be a problem. For some reason, she didn't feel the same type of jealousy she normally felt when other girls tried to get near Mikoto. It was more a twinge rather than a stake within her chest. She also didn't have the urge to feel Mikoto up as much. She still enjoyed skin to skin contact, but usually a hug was more than enough. "Are you free this afternoon?"

"I don't have any plans," Mikoto admitted and glanced at Kuroko's face. She has seemed a little distracted recently and more distance. Something must be bothering her. Let's see, what will make her happy so I can find out? "You know, we haven't hung out, just the two of us, in a while. Why don't you decide something for us to do?" While some of Kuroko's antics annoyed her, she was still Mikoto's best friend.

"Really?" Kuroko asked, amazed. She normally followed Mikoto. "Anything?" There was a gleam in her eye, but she tried to hide it.

"You know the restrictions," Mikoto added quickly. She foresaw the problem and was determined to stop it immediately. "Don't push it."

"Anything is enjoyable if it's with you," Kuroko replied happily. "But I already have an idea. There's a new karaoke place that opened up recently. Several girls in my class mentioned it before. It was really busy this weekend, but it should be less crowded now. It's supposed to be high tech, have thousands of songs available, and even can judge your singing. I haven't heard you sing in forever, so want to go?"

"Sounds fun," Mikoto said, smiling, but was secretly sweating on the inside. I can't let her find out I went there with Touma. I probably won't be recognized, but I definitely shouldn't draw attention to myself after the little accident last time. "Lead the way."

"Yay," Kuroko cheered and grabbed her by the arm. She led them out of the school and to the main gate of the school gardens. Several girls looked at them as they passed, but this was a pretty common occurrence and everyone in Tokiwadai knew about them. Mikoto sighed slightly, a little uncomfortable with the attention, but was putting up with it for Kuroko's sake. When they reached the exit, Kuroko suddenly stopped and looked confused. A large group of girls were standing near the exit and appeared to be waiting for something. "Why aren't they going through the check point?" She frowned. Those girls are interfering with my alone time with onee-sama.

"I don't know," Mikoto admitted. "They aren't even trying to go through." Some of the girls were looking around the corner, but they weren't leaving. "Let's find out." They approached and started to hear the girls whispering.

"It looks like he convinced security."

"Once he leaves, I want to see what he's hanging up."

"Careful, we don't want to act pushy."

"What's going on?" Kuroko asked. "If you are not going through, please move out of the way for others." There was a note of authority in her voice, which caused a lot of girls to start parting to let her through.

"Hello Shirai-san," one girl said. "Hello Misaka-san. Sorry for the delay, but a young gentleman was hanging outside of the entrance. It looked like he wanted to hang some signs up. One of the security officers went out to talk to him, but it appears they gave him permission. We are just waiting for him to leave before we go and see his notice. It would be rude to crowd him."

"It's not just anyone," another girl spoke up. "I recognized him from Anti-Crime game. It's one of Kami's friends."

"What?!" Kuroko and Mikoto asked in shock.

"Shirai-san," a girl in the back of the group called. "I think you should go out and meet him. I believe you know him." She and three other girls near her giggled. "I'm pretty sure he's the one who picked you up at the dorm that one time."

"Oh no," Kuroko said, her face showing stunned disbelief. She immediately teleported past the group of girls, to show her pass to the guard at the check point. Mikoto sighed, but couldn't stop a smile from forming on her face. She followed Kuroko, aware the other girls were beginning to follow her, but stayed back to not invade her personal space. They exited the school ground and met the person they both knew had to be there.

Jason was standing near the wall next to the school ground entrance and was pulling a large poster out of a bag.

"What are you doing here?" Kuroko demanded, as she teleported next to him. Mikoto stopped, aware the other girls were listening intently from behind her.

"Oh," Jason said, a look of surprise on his face. "Hey Kuroko, I didn't expect to see you here."

"He called her by her first name," a girl behind Mikoto squealed. "It has to be true."

"I know," another girl said. "She's so far ahead of us, but what else could you expect from Misaka-san's right hand girl." Mikoto felt her face flush, but she tried to ignore them.

"Sure," Kuroko continued, oblivious to the girls whispering behind Mikoto. Her attention was focused solely on Jason. "Whatever you are planning has to do with these posters," she pointed to the bag in his hand. "What is it? You wouldn't have gotten permission to hang it up here without reason."

"You caught me," Jason laughed and unrolled the poster so only Kuroko could see. "It's our class stall for the festival Saturday. Want to see?" Kuroko read the poster and her eyes went wide.

"You can't be serious?" she gasped, her tone shaking with suppressed anger. "The city would never approve of this."

"They already have," Jason told her, his voice gleeful. "Aogami and Tsuchimikado received all the approval for this. Any student can win this prize." He looked up and over at Mikoto. "Hi Misaka-san, you might be interested in this."

"I'm going to regret this," Mikoto mumbled under her breath, while the girls behind her started whispering again. "Hello Kagere-san. What is your class doing for the festival?" Jason passed her the poster and she got one more glimpse of Kuroko's face. It was the combination of shock and disbelief, but also an expression like she wanted to stop Mikoto from viewing the poster. Mikoto's eyes darted down to the poster in her hand and she gasped. Win a day with Kami? He will even go with the winner to their school? How did they manage to get this approved? "If this is true, you thought it was a good idea to hang the posters here?"

"This was my assigned area," Jason told them, as he hung up another one of his posters on the wall. "We are putting these up all over the city. I'm glad I got permission, or someone…" his eyes darted to Kuroko, "… might have torn them down."

"I still might," Kuroko said to confirm his beliefs.

"But that would be rude to our guest Shirai-san," came a sweet voice laced with honey. All three of them turned and saw Misaki. She had snuck up on them while Mikoto was reading the poster. Her eyes darted down to it and her smile widened. "I heard there was a high school male loitering outside the school grounds. To my surprise, it was someone I knew." Mikoto glanced past Misaki and noticed a few of the Misaki's clique was waiting back with the other girls. "How are you Kagere-san?"

"I am doing well," Jason replied. "Thank you. Sorry for any trouble I may have caused, but I need to hang these up and get going."

"When did you two become so friendly?" Mikoto asked and turned her attention away from the other girls.

"Huh?" Jason asked, a look of confusion appeared on his face. "Here I thought I was always nice and friendly to everyone."

"When have you been nice and friendly to me?" Kuroko demanded.

"But you're special," Jason replied, emphasizing the word. "I can't treat you like the others."

"You…" Kuroko started to say, but stopped. Not only was she distracted by all the girls in the distance squealing, but something in her stomach dropped at his words. I know what he means, but I can't help feeling like this.

"I'm actually on the fence about this," Misaki said softly. "I don't really want everyone to know about your raffle but, at the same time, it would be childish for me to have people tear them down." Since we are fated to be together, there is no doubt I will win.

"But you wouldn't do it yourself," Mikoto pointed out and then turned back to Jason. "So are you just putting these posters up around the school ground?"

"That and…" Jason answered, before he rubbed the back of his head.

"Were… were you seriously thinking of sneaking into the school grounds?" Kuroko demanded. Jason only shrugged, but a smile appeared on his face. "Are you stupid? You would get into so much trouble."

"Nice of you to care, but I could probably escape with minimum punishment."

"I wasn't trying to be caring!"

"So I need to continue my mission," Jason interrupted, while he pretended to ignore Kuroko's complaints. "Unless one of you is willing to hang these up in there?"

"No," Kuroko said instantly. "Onee-sama and I have plans." Mikoto didn't say anything, but she didn't want to hang them up either. Not only would it be embarrassing, she wanted less people to know about it to make it easier for her to win.

"I'm afraid I can't either," Misaki added and put a hand on her cheek. The look in her eyes said she wasn't sorry at all. "I actually have plans too." I won't directly sabotage Touma's classrooms stand, but I don't have to actively spread the information about it. Besides, I just need to buy enough for me to win. At only 500 yen a ticket, I could easily overwhelm everyone else.

"Dang," Jason said depressed, and rubbed the side of his head. "This is going to take too long." He glanced over at the other girls and an idea came to him. "I suppose I could try that," he muttered.

"Try what?" Kuroko demanded, but Jason turned and walked right past her.

"Excuse me ladies," Jason said as he approached the onlookers. Kuroko immediately noticed his tone and demeanor changed. He sounded kinder and more refined. She glanced at Mikoto and Misaki, both of who were watching with raised eyebrows.

So I'm not the only one who noticed.

"Yes?" one of the girls asked. She was around Mikoto's age with short black hair. She looked at him, slightly suspiciously, but the other girls were staring at him because he seemed to be friends of both of Tokiwadai's level 5s. Jason wasn't as legendary as Kami or Accelerator, but he was a prominent figure of the Tokiwadai High School invasion.

"I was hoping I could ask for your help," Jason said, his tone unchanging. He sounded older and more mature than when Kuroko and the others hung out with him. "You see, my class is participating in the festival this Saturday and we are holding a raffle." He unrolled one of the posters and most of the girls gasped. "The winner receives the company of the Level 5 Kami all day Monday. This has already been cleared with the city." The girls started to whisper excitedly among themselves.

"So what help do you need?" the black hair girl asked curiously.

"As a male," Jason explained. "I am forbidden from entering the school grounds, so I received permission to hang these posters around the entrances. However, it would be doing Kami a great disservice if we didn't try to reach as many people as possible. I was hoping someone might be willing to hang posters up in the school grounds around the schools. Misaka-san and Shokuhou-san are both busy and do not have the time. I also could never ask Kuroko to do it." Kuroko snorted back by Mikoto, but it was overshadowed by the girls whispering excitedly again.

"I don't know," the girl said and she looked around at the others.

"It's okay," another girl spoke up. "We will do it." A cluster of four girls moved to the front of the group and accepted the bag of posters.

"Thank you," Jason told them sincerely.

"It's no problem," she said, but the whispered. "Could you put in a good word for me with Kami?"

"Sure." She giggled and then she and her friends entered the school grounds to hang up the posters. Jason stretched and walked back over to Mikoto, Misaki, and Kuroko. "Well, that went easier than I thought. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to find someone willing."

"What was that about?" Kuroko demanded. "You didn't talk to them like you always talk to us."

"Oh," Jason shrugged. "That was my work mode. Did I change that much?" Kuroko nodded.

"I'm surprised at the prize for this raffle," Misaki commented, as she looked at the poster Jason hung up. "But with your friends, I think this was to be expected."

"Speaking of which," Mikoto interrupted. "How did you convince Touma to participate in this?"

"He hasn't exactly agreed to it," Jason laughed.

"What do you mean?" Misaki asked quickly. "Are you guys forcing him?"

"He didn't show up for school today," Jason elaborated. "When he returns, we plan to let him know. Though, I don't think he will get a say in this because of this morning's…" He got a curious look on his face as he reached into his school bag and pulled out two DVDs. "I shouldn't do this, because it actually is embarrassing me and Accelerator, not just Touma, but you two will need to see this." He gave one to Mikoto and Misaki. "I would only watch that in private. It's something Tsuchimikado put together from the trip to England." He looked at the ground. "I have one more for Mugino, but I don't want to die when she finds out what it is."

"I'll watch it later," promised Mikoto and put it in her school bag. "But that's not important. Why didn't Touma go to school?"

"He probably got roped into some life or death magic side event and is currently halfway across the world," Jason said with a laugh.

"Very funny," Misaki said with a scowl. "Is he sick?" Jason shrugged.

"Don't know. He just didn't come to class. I'm sure he's fine. I heard his attendance has always been sketchy and the rest of his class isn't worried. I'll let you know if he doesn't come back to class, but he would contact us if he really is in trouble."

He wouldn't normally, Mikoto thought. But he promised he would. She sighed. "I suppose you're right."

"I have to go," Jason told them, his shadow extended from his back into wings. "I have to meet with Kazari before her meeting as support. Have fun and good luck everyone." He jumped up onto a nearby building and glided off into the distance.

"Arg," Kuroko grumbled. "I can't believe his class came up with an idea like that. It's going to cause a riot if someone from our school actually wins."

"Don't worry Shirai-san," Misaki told her and put a hand reassuringly on her shoulder. "When I win, I'll make sure to keep everything organized."

"When you win?" Mikoto asked incredulously. "It's a raffle. You don't know if you will win."

"I simply have to buy enough tickets to guarantee my victory," Misaki pointed out.

"I won't let things go your way so easily," Mikoto challenged.

"I suppose I should wish you luck then," Misaki replied. I'm going to win, regardless of what you do. My back up plan is coming along nicely. I only need to get a few more people in the city on my side and I can start planning discussions with the magic side individuals he knows. Hmm, I should probably get Saten-san on my side. She's not a threat, but has something Touma enjoys having around.

She gave up to easily, Mikoto thought and then felt Kuroko grab her wrist. She better not be trying to do something to Touma.

"We should get going too onee-sama," Kuroko's said, her words cut into Mikoto's thoughts. Onee-sama promised to spend the day with me. I can worry about what I felt from Jason later. I know why they did this raffle. The ape's friends plan to use rivalry to maximize profits. Bunch of jerks, all of them. How that ape is friends with them, I can't understand.

"Sure Kuroko," Mikoto said with a smile. "It will be fun to do something normal like karaoke."

"If we didn't arrive here on Academy City's jet," Frenda complained. "I would say that was the worst ride of my life."

"You still fell asleep," Ruiko pointed out.

"We had some down time," Frenda replied hastily. "Basically, you learn to sleep when you can, regardless of the place."

"I hate sitting cramped for so long if it's not with Lover Boy," Lessar said, while she stretched her arms out. "Even with the heat, it's nice to be out in the open."

"Misaka doesn't like the heat either Misaka complains." She pulled her hat down to cover her face better. "We just exited the plane and Misaka feels soaked already."

"I slept pretty well," Leivinia exclaimed and smiled broadly at Lessar.

"That's because you kept leaning on him," Lessar interjected and pointed into the distance at Touma. He was currently helping Oriana unload the supplies from the plane into the new vehicle which had been stationed at Lajamanu Airport. Though, it wasn't really an airport, there was a small radio station with an airstrip for small planes. It was obvious to all of them now why they took such a small airplane. "He was keeping your head stable so you could sleep. He didn't get any sleep because of that."

"It's only natural for a servant to make sure their master is comfortable," Leivinia laughed. "Maybe if you ask nicely, I'll lend him to you for a bit."

"He's not your servant!" Frenda protested. "If anything, he's Mugino's. He's also a newer member of her group, so I get to boss him around too."

"You can pretend all you want," Leivinia huffed. "But facts remain facts."

"Please," Lessar replied, grinning mischievously. "Like he wants to be owned by a flat girl. He's into large ones like mine." She leaned slightly to emphasize herself.

"Who would want to have blobs of useless fat?!" Leivinia snapped angrily.

"Besides," Frenda added. "You aren't that big either. Basically, yours are about the same size of mine." She puffed out her chest and a vein throbbed in Leivinia's head. This started an extended argument between the three about chest sizes and their usefulness. Ruiko sighed and turned to Imouto.

"Do you want to go and help Touma and onee-san?" she asked Imouto.

"Misaka thinks that will be a better use of our time Misaka agrees quickly." They started to head over to Oriana and Touma's location. "Misaka has a question Misaka says hesitantly. Does the hero really desire girls with a larger chest?"

"Err," Ruiko replied hesitantly. How do I reply to that? His friends kept joking about that during England, but I don't think he's the kind of person to get hung up on looks like that. He thoughts turned to how easily Oriana embraced him and how powerless Touma was to her teasing. Maybe he is weak against them… "I'm sure he doesn't care about that."

"Misaka thinks so too Misaka concurs. The savior wouldn't care about physical aspects over the individual. Those other girls should realize this Misaka adds." Ruiko snickered slightly, but felt a little jealous of Imouto's confidence. What she didn't know of was the conversation Imouto was having over the Misaka Network. (Misaka 10032 reporting in. New information about the savior has surfaced. There is a possibility the savior prefers girls with large chests. Misaka will try to confirm this rumor, but any information on how to grow would be beneficial Misaka 10032 reports.)

(Huh, the savior likes chests like Misaka's then. If only Tou-san had those interests, but he's currently incapacitated at the moment for bringing his own girl back to the apartment.)

(Misaka actually has information on how to enlarge chests, Misaka 19002 answers while ignoring the vile one. The internet has informed Misaka that if your chest is rubbed by a member of the opposite sex you have feelings for, it will help your chest grow.)

(Misaka will attempt to verify these rumors if the situation occurs Misaka 10032 replies. Misaka would also like to report she is feeling incredible hot. The temperature in Australia is much more uncomfortable than she is accustomed to.)

(It takes some getting used to Misaka 18997 acknowledged.)

(Misaka would prefer Misaka 10032 waits to attempt testing the rumor until the savior returns to Academy City, Misaka 19090 interjects quickly. It might also be better for a different Misaka to attempt it too.)

(Misaka heard your suggestion, but Misaka will choose to ignore it Misaka 10032 says venomously, still remembering the situation with her cat. Misaka is signing off and will report when the situation requires.) She disconnected and sighed, but felt kind of happy she got her revenge on Misaka 19090.

"Hey you two," Oriana waved as they approached. "Can you two take this box while I make a quick stop at that general store? I recommend you and the others," she pointed back to the three arguing girls, "finish any business in the city. We aren't going to make a lot of stops to minimize time." Ruiko and Imouto nodded. After they loaded the last box into their new larger vehicle, which actually had three rows of seats and a trunk, but still had an opened top, Ruiko and Imouto notified the other girls about Oriana's recommendation and they all headed into the store, leaving Touma outside alone.

It's quiet when they aren't here, Touma admitted to himself, stretching his legs and walking away from the general store and airfield. He was stiff from sitting in the airplane for so long and now they were going to drive for countless more hours in this heat. There were some small houses in the distance and a few people outside. Touma could just make out a larger building past them, and figured that was one of the main buildings of the city center. If you can even call this a city, it's really an outlying town at the most. He continued walking down the street, but made sure he was still in line of sight of the store. A car drove past him and he noticed the people inside looked at him strangely. I guess they aren't use to Japanese. A brother and sister were walking on the other side of the street from him, both were maybe around eight or nine, when Touma noticed the girl suddenly collapse for no apparent reason.

"Sis?" the boy cried when he heard her collapse onto the ground. "What happened? Are you all right?" The girl laid on the ground and only cried out in pain. This was more than enough for Touma to rush across the street to see if he could help.

"What's wrong?" Touma asked, noticing the girl was thrashing weakly.

"My sister suddenly collapsed," the boy cried, his words being hard to hear between his sobs. "I think she got that disease my parents keep talking about!"

"Let me see," Touma said, squatting down near the kids. He wasn't a doctor, but at the very least he could help get her to one. The girl was in a lot worst shape than he realized. Her face was red, almost like she was having a heat stroke, but then he saw something that made his heart stop for a moment. Boils were springing up on her arms and the side of her head at an alarming rate. He felt nauseous at the sight. This has to be one of the plagues. Damn him, how could Adam let children suffer like this? "Is there a medical facility nearby?" he asked the boy, who nodded.

"But I heard there's no cure for this," he wailed. "She's going to die!"

"Don't think that way," Touma told him sternly, but tried to also reassure him. "It's going to be better for her than laying out here." He reached down to pick her up, when his right hand made contact. The sound of breaking glass echoed across the field for a moment. All the boils disappeared and the girl's face turned back to its normal tan color. Her eyes snapped open, she sat up, and rubbed her head. When her brother embraced her, she looked confused.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Who's he?" She pointed to Touma.

"You suddenly collapsed," the boy told her. "This guy healed you, like magic!"

"I'm glad you are okay," Touma said. He stood up and took a step back.

"Thank you," the boy said to him, tears still in his eyes.

"It wasn't any trouble."

"Come on," the girl said nervously and she tugged on the boy's sleeve. They started running away in the direction of one of the houses. Touma thought everything was going to be fine, but then he heard the girl yell. "MOOOOOOOMMMM!"

That can't be good, Touma thought and immediately turned around. He walked briskly back to the store, where the others were waiting.

"Where did you go?" Ruiko asked.

"Just stretching my legs," Touma told her. "We should probably get going now. Don't we have a long way to go?"

"We do," Oriana agreed. "Once we get away from the town, there are no speed limits, well, at least none that we need to observe." She laughed. "The others don't expect us there until this evening."

"We better not keep them waiting," Touma invented wildly. "With my luck, a lot of the people on the magic side hate it when I don't show up when I'm supposed to." Their group was beginning to head toward their vehicle, but Frenda and Leivinia didn't budge.

"What did you do?" Leivinia demanded, which caused Touma to turn around.

"Huh?" Touma asked and tried to look confused. She's too perceptive. "What do you mean?"

"What did you do?" Frenda repeated Leivinia's words. "Basically, you have the same expression on your face that Hamazura has when he messes up. You did something on your little excursion."

"I saw a kid collapse and went over to help," Touma admitted. "She seemed to have been effected by one of Adam's plagues. I was going to help the girl's brother carry her to a doctor, when my hand touched her. My hand negated the disease on her instantly and she went back to full health." There was a short pause as the girls took his words in.

"You freaking idiot!" Leivinia yelled at him and smacked him upside the head. "Do you know what you just did?!"

"No," Touma admitted. "I just had a feeling we needed to get out of here fast." Before Leivinia could berate him more, Oriana stepped in between them.

"Now, now," she said mildly. "We can't expect him to know everything about magic, but he is right about one thing. We need to get going before things get messy."

"I don't understand," Ruiko said confused, but followed the rest of the girls into the vehicle. They sat in the same seating arrangements as they did leaving the airport back in Darwin, but Frenda and Imouto were able to sit facing forward this time. Oriana started the car and they set off to the south, toward the desert. "So why would Touma helping someone be a problem? Ruiko asked, once things had calmed down slightly.

"It wasn't him helping that was the problem," Oriana explained. "It was how he helped the kid."

"You see," Lessar elaborated. "When Lover Boy negated the plague on them, he created a small void in the spell. We don't understand how exactly Adam is casting the spell, so we can't tell if he would realize a small piece of his spell was negated or if it would be overlooked. If he can tell, our cover is blown and we needed to get to base camp as fast as possible. If he doesn't, then no harm done, so we are treating it as if he could tell."

"Precautions for the worst case scenario would be the better choice Misaka agrees. We should have seen this coming though, as the savior likes to get involved anytime someone appears to be in trouble."

"He sure does," Frenda muttered, which caused everyone except Touma and Leivinia to laugh.

"…but Misaka does not believe that to be a bad thing Misaka admits."

"At least someone's on my side," Touma sighed and Ruiko patted him on the shoulder from behind him.

"There is also the fact the plague Adam released doesn't have a cure yet," Leivinia added. "We don't know how many more people were afflicted in their medical center. It probably isn't a hospital in such a small town. Most likely it is only a physician working out of his home. Anyway, if the news got out that you could heal them, we might get swamped from a mob trying to get you to save everyone."

"I wish we could have taken a minute to make sure," Touma admitted. "If Adam knew we were there already, helping a few more people wouldn't hurt."

"A nice sentiment," Oriana told him with a smile. She put her hand on his leg, which caused him to jump slightly in his seat. "But it wouldn't have helped in the long run. Negating the magic on them would only temporarily stop the plague. Once you let go, they could contract it again at any time. By coming with us to strike at Adam directly, we can save everyone. Isn't that what you always say? Or have I hear wrong?"

"I…" Touma started to say.

"Nope," Lessar interrupted him with a laugh. "He says that."

"Always," Frenda said with a sigh.

"Yep," Ruiko added with a giggle.

"Misaka can concur."

"An idiot to the end," Leivinia finished.

"So rather than taking out the fringe effects," Oriana continued. "We are striking the source. This doesn't mean we have time to relax, as a lot of people are sick and more are being affected as we speak. You just observed that. Is there anything else troubling you Kamijou? You can tell your onee-san anything and I'll help in any way I can."

"I would prefer you not flirt with him while I'm stuck back here," Lessar said with a pout. "Otherwise, I'm coming up there and sitting in his lap."

Touma sighed and leaned back in his seat, while he tried to ignore his face and ears burning. He was worried about everyone, but had to admit Oriana and the others had a point. He could use his time temporarily helping people, or could save them all at once by stopping Adam. The choice was clear, but that didn't mean he had to like the fact others were suffering. He could feel several eyes on him, even if he couldn't see them. The others are watching to see how I'm going to act. I need to stay calm. His head started pounding. The lack of sleep and the arid heat was getting to him. He took a swig of his canteen. Oriana had given each one of them one to keep hydrated. What a day to get sick.

The ride was hot, dry, unpleasant, but not entirely downright boring.

When Touma was told the area they were going to travel to would be a desert, he pictured a sandy dune area with no signs of life in all directions, except for an occasional cactus or something similar. In truth, the Tanami Desert had a lot more life. It was more like very sandy plains. There was a lot of spindly grass, small flowering shrubs, and scattered trees. There was also a lot of wild life, birds, small mammals, and, even once, a small group of kangaroos. They weren't as large as Touma envisioned they would be, that could have been the distance they were from him, but several of the girls enjoyed them. Ruiko, Frenda, and Imouto had been cooped up in Academy City most of their life, so they really enjoyed watching the kangaroos.

The sun continued to beat down on their heads all day. The hats helped, but the temperature only continued to rise. The worst part was Touma couldn't get any sleep again. Oriana was driving easily over 100km per hour and a small bump would cause them to bounce in their seat. The only good thing was the breeze felt nice, even being completely dry. The only time they stopped was to fill the tank from extra gas canisters in the trunk and when someone's biological functions said they had to. Touma has the best, or worst based on the point of view, story during the trip. He went behind a rock to relieve himself when he encountered a large snake, which did not appreciate being soaked. He had run out trying to pull up his pants while the other girls, except Ruiko and Imouto, laughed.

They ate while they drove, from a cooler under Frenda's feet in the back seat. It was only sandwiches and a couple pieces of fruit. Lessar, naturally, made a comment about bananas, but everyone ignored it. They were too use to her antics. One sandwich had a dark brown food paste that no one liked. Oriana said it was called vegemite, but Touma couldn't understand how people enjoyed eating it. Sure, Index would have eaten it, but she ate a lot of things unfit for human consumption. It must be an acquired taste or maybe I'm just not use to eating it. I've had a lot of food worse than that. Hours passed and they had finished eating dinner, before Oriana checked her map one last time. She slowed down, and suddenly drove off the main road and across the plains.

"What are you doing?" Touma asked, his voiced bouncing around, along with his body, as they drove over rough terrain.

"You didn't think base camp would be right off the road?" Oriana asked with a laugh, as she swerved around a large rock. "It has to be out of sight."

"Couldn't they have chosen an easier way to reach the camp?" demanded Frenda. "Basically, did you just turn off the first chance you got?"

"I might have," Oriana laughed, which caused a sinking sensation in everyone's stomachs. "The actual entrance would require circling around, but that's going to take forever. Time is of the essence so full speed straight ahead."

"Yes!" Lessar cheered. "It's just like an amusement park ride!"

"If you keep this up Misaka might show everyone her dinner Misaka says, her face green with nausea."

"Do it out the window!" Frenda cried, as she scooted over in her seat. "None of us want to see it!"

"How long till we get there?" Ruiko asked. She was also bouncing around in her seat.

"Twenty minutes," Oriana said with a shrug. "More or less."

"Unless you get us killed us in the process," Leivinia muttered, as Oriana swerved around a tree. "The best courier huh, I think they mean the most reckless."

"We will get there," Oriana reassured her. Sure enough, they eventually saw some lights in the distance, now that the sun began to set. "There it is," she declared. "Almost there."

"About time…" Leivinia said, but she was interrupted by the sound of several vehicles closing in on them and a familiar female voice shouting through a megaphone.

"Halt unauthorized vehicle. You are entering a restricted area. Either turn around or stop and present yourself for clearance!"

"Is that," Touma asked in shock. "Agnese?"

"Really?" Ruiko and Frenda asked.

"So she's part of the church group that's here," Lessar remarked. "She's the one who helped you tie me up the first time, wasn't she?"

"Don't make it sound like something it wasn't," Touma told her. Oriana reached under her seat and pulled out her own megaphone. She flipped a switch on it as she slowed the vehicle down.

"This is Oriana Thomson," she said through the megaphone. "I brought the package."

"Why didn't you take the main entrance?" Agnese demanded. "Besides, you're running late. We thought something happened to you."

"It took a little longer than expected, so I took a short cut to get here as quickly as possible."

"Fine," Agnese sighed. "Pull up." Oriana set down her megaphone and drove up into the campsite. There were rows of tents in all directions, with several larger ones set up in the middle. Lamps were set up periodically and powered by gas canisters. Larger lights were placed near the main tents connected to a portable generator. As they got out of the car, Agnese counted them. "Glad you made it here okay boy, but I didn't think you would bring Saten, Frenda, and Misaka."

"It was kind of an accident," Touma admitted. "There was no time to turn around."

"We snuck aboard," Frenda explained and gave Agnese a victory sign.

"Misaka is actually not her onee-sama, Misaka clarifies. This is our first real meeting."

"This is Mikoto's younger sister," Touma explained quickly to Agnese. Agnese had opened her mouth to ask something, probably about her way of talking, but Touma wanted to cut her off.

"I didn't know you would be here," Ruiko said in shock. "No one told us much."

"Communication had to be limited," Agnese told them, before she turned to Leivinia and Lessar. "How much did they tell you? Do you know who is leading this operation?"

"Nope," Lessar said and shook her head.

"I had a couple guesses," Leivinia replied and looked around. There was a lot of movement. It seems a good portion of Agnese's forces were here, clearly visible in their nun outfits. There were also men who could have been part of a military, but Touma didn't know who they belonged to. "But I think I have an idea now since this is an Anglican Church Operation."

"Then most of you are in for a surprise," Agnese said and a slight grin appeared on her face. "Try not to overreact."

"So if you aren't leading this operation," Touma asked. "Who is?"

"I'm about to introduce you to them," Agnese said.

"I'll just wait here," Oriana told them and gave them a short wave. Touma looked back at her and she gave him a big wink. Agnese lead them to one of the larger tents in the middle of the camp. It was flanked by two large men, who parted to let them pass.

"Agnese Sanctis entering with Touma Kamijou and his companions," she declared, stepping through the entrance.

"Who's a companion?" muttered Leivinia. "She will regret not announcing me properly."

"Suck it up sourpuss," Lessar muttered back.

Touma sighed and tried to ignore their bickering. He glanced at the others before he entered the tent. Ruiko looked nervous and he didn't blame her. Meeting someone in charge of an assault operation meant that person couldn't be normal. Frenda looked a little apprehensive, probably because she wanted to know who it was. Imouto's face was passive as always, but her hands were gripping her bag closely. Lessar and Leivinia didn't look nervous at all, they were simply arguing. He stepped through the tent flaps and looked around. It was obviously a strategy room, with a large table set up in the middle and smaller desks and file cabinets on the edges. Six people were standing around the center table, looking at a map with markers and figurines on it. Touma was going to see who they were, but the first person he saw caused his body to freeze.

A woman in her upper 20s with long blonde hair tied in the back seemed to be leading the others in a discussion. She wore a red top composed of bright red leather, which gives off an impression of bondage-related clothing. However, instead of a skirt like last time, she was wearing red form fitting pants. Her ensemble also had red gloves that nearly reached up to her shoulders. Touma's mouth fell open. She was the last person he expected to see, but he now knew who the male soldiers belonged to.

"C-Carissa?" he spluttered.

"You better address me with respect boy if you don't want a lashing," Carissa replied, as she turned around slowly. Her eyes were hawk-like and seemed to pierce right through him. He gulped and she continued. "I told you we would meet again when I was out." Touma didn't know why he did what happened next. It could have been lack of sleep, heat stroke, dehydration, pure shock, or any combination of the four.

Everything went dark as he passed out.

Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish I ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.

I sort of skipped over the explanation of Moses and the plagues of Egypt because it's such a common story and I haven't made any big changes to it. If people want it, I can always insert an explanation. I am also looking for sponsors to solve the budget fiasco.

Carissa: I told you all I would be back.

Leivinia: Who cares? It's not like you have a chance.

Carissa: I believe if I desired him, I could easily bring him to my side. It's not like I would give him a choice.

Lessar: Hah, after he experiences my skills, he wouldn't even remember you.

Mikoto: I'm missing everything. You better not fall for any of their tricks Touma!

Misaki: I would be most upset.

Shizuri: If Frenda tells me you did anything without my permission, there will be consequences.

Worst: Hah, his position is even worse than Tou-san's.

Touma: I have the feeling I can't go back to Academy City.

Lessar: Then you can come live with me in England!