Fictions Mentioned:
Episode 13 - Over For Now
OP Song:
Tomorrow Never Dies · Sheryl Crow
Location:
Multiverse: KK 2004 Multiverse
Universe: ACMI Universe-Prime
Insert Song: Start
Max Payne - Main Theme
"3. 2. 1. Breach and clear!," exclaimed Lieutenant Echo.
Explosive sounds of a detonated charge rumbled throughout the interior of the control room. The blast doors that were sealing the control room shut have been forcibly opened as they fell to the floor, making a clanking sound due to the metal.
Touma Kamijou, carrying his trusted shield, and the Domino Squad, armed with their respective high-tech weapons on the ready, would charge forward, stepping out of the cloud of smoke that was made by the recent explosion. They begin to look around the control room, only to find it abandoned of any A.I.M. personnel.
"Everyone, search the area for anything that you could trace," Kamijou ordered.
"Yes sir," Commander Fordo responded with a nod, giving hand signals to his fellow Dominoes to check the area for any trace or evidence that they could find.
Kamijou would in turn begin to look around, spotting the abandoned control panels and static holographic projection screens that were displayed from the top. He begins to use the lens of his mask, activating Detective Mode, a advanced forensics examination function that allows him to scan for traces of any person, place, or object. He would find none whatsoever because there appeared to be hidden jamming devices that were protecting the control room.
But Kamijou was prepared. He begins to bring something up from his pockets. An EMP grenade. One that could fit the palm of his hand. And he decided to press the red button that was located at the center, activating it. He then throws it a few meters within the air, automatically creating a shockwave pulse that managed to thoroughly disable any jamming device that was hidden from the control room.
Now all that was left was to do a thorough scan of the area, to which he did so. As Kamijou begins to scan the area, he would notice traces of spatial configuration patterns, implying that the A.I.M. beekeepers have teleported off towards another location. And this location was unknown as it seem quite hidden, picking up many false coordinates that lead to different places in Academy City, or even in some countries from the other side of the world.
As always, A.I.M. was very good at covering their tracks when they felt like it. And it was one of the main reasons as to how this organization of scientists had managed to survived in Academy City for so very long and work their way up the ranks of the Dark Side, becoming weapons contractors and developers that would further advance the goals of science for their benefit and ideal. The overturning of the political order.
He begins to walk a few paces towards Lieutenant Echo who was typing various keywords that were projected on the screen, having attached sophisticated hacking devices towards the console. What appeared on the screen was some kind of binary code of "0" and "1" in short order that represents a lot of valuable information.
"Lieutenant Echo, what did you find out so far?," Kamijou asked, sporting a serious expression.
"Sir, I've managed to hack into their data hardrives and save the recently deleted information that is in connection with A.I.M.'s current operations. Apparently, there seems to be some kind of data file relating to a project called "Clone Dolly" and it seems to be related to the two TOIs: Shokuhou Misaki and Mitsuari Ayu," Lieutenant Echo explained.
"Can you sync in the data and transfer it back to the command center for analysis?," Kamijou asked, sporting a serious expression, taking note of the mention of his two new friends.
"I could do that sir, but there quite a few setbacks for the current moment. Whoever's encrypted this file doesn't want anyone to just know about it. It could be a memetic trap that our enemy would employ; estimated probable risk being at least 75% if I'm being completely honest," Lieutenant Echo explained.
"Well then, I guess we should put the viewing of these files on hold for now, Echo. The risk itself isn't worth taking as far as I'm concerned," Commander Fordo responded, sporting a grim line mouth. "Sending it back to command should be more than enough and let the MTF tech boys do a memetic scan to scrub any unwanted conceptual booby traps."
"There's more that I managed to find besides this, General. Data analysis of the Wyvern a.k.a. the dragon that was already dealt with by General Hamazura and General Haoyi also seems to be here, along with a few other creepy crawlies apparently that are either active or are still in the works. From what I could trace, it would appear that the organization L.S.S. that is already confirmed to have intricate connections with A.I.M. has the latter providing funding for the former in the case of their secret illegal experiments upon animals. This is an educated guess on my part but I believe that these genetically altered animals are being used as possible bioweapons to sell," Lieutenant Echo explained.
"Transfer those files as well, Lieutenant. While the MTFs assigned for the task of scrubbing the data for any traps would be busy, I think I would need to make a follow-up report for Batman-sensei. He's gonna wanna know about how this operation went down since he specifically asked me to keep him updated on what Academy City has been currently doing, especially with regards to it's Dark Side if I as much as ever encountered them," Kamijou said, putting his right hand to his waist.
"Right away, sir," Lieutenant Echo complied, continuing to type quickly and concisely, concentrated on the holographic projection screen.
"...No," both Misaki Shokuhou and Ayu Mitsuari sported shocked expressions on their faces as they softly muttered in a tone of dread, with their eyes widening and mouth trembling.
Clone Dolly.
That was the name of a project that became a grim shadow of the past that serves a reminder as to how did these two Tokiwadai students all ended up as they are now today. All of those memories. Some of them which were precious and irreplaceable. In Shokuhou's case, it was aforementioned Dolly herself, the clone of Mikoto Misaka - the #3 Rank Level 5 Esper of Academy City. In Mitsuari's case, it was the young girls that she had been well aquainted with in Ideal, some of whom were now attending Tokiwadai such as Junko Hokaze who is, as far as she had heard through a few conversations, considered as Misaki Shokuhou's right hand woman and the one who manages her clique in Tokiwadai.
Shokuhou could never forget Dolly even if she tried. She was the first true friend that she ever had. And the damn adults of the self-proclaimed city of science that were involved in the project took that away from her. Not just that, but unfortunate circumstances that were created by the adults had managed to make Shokuhou replace Dolly's only other friend besides her. Recalling their final moments, it would appear that Dolly never really hold that against her, even asking her name and thanking her with a smile. And yet, Shokuhou couldn't even move on from that guilt. Even more so when she found out that she had lost her for good. For no matter how advance science can be, there really hasn't been a method of bringing the dead back as far as she was concerned. What stays dead stays that way. Nothing more, nothing less.
Mitsuari hasn't really seen Hokaze in a very long time and wondered as to how was she doing. She had hoped that she was alright after that fiasco that happened in Ideal. When it came down to it, Mitsuari, Hokaze, and several other girls from Ideal were separated of a very long time. And some part of Mitsuari had hoped that they were doing quite well for themselves. Hokaze was a given considering her status, but the same could not possibly be said for a few other girls. And she had wondered as to where they currently are. She only hoped that some of them weren't involved in the dark underground of the city, one that she had heard of when sometimes gathering information in secret on her own in a subtle but proactive way.
If there was one common thing that these two Tokiwadai students have in common, it's the fact that the Dark Side had taken everything that they had. Everything that would relate to their happiness and dreams of becoming something more than what is laid out to them. Bonds would break. Ideals would shatter. People will die. That was the inevitable fact of life when one is trapped in a cage that was specifically designed for the guinea pigs.
Seria Kumokawa could only narrow her eyes in concern at the grave and dreadful reactions that were being emitted by these two the moment the term "Clone Dolly" was described. Considering her connections as the assistant to one of the Board of Directors, it was quite natural for her to be aware of this kind of project, being in charge somewhat of sorting out the official documents and providing the role of a secretary of sorts and an adviser.
"Ne, Supervisor-san," Kumokawa turned towards the Tokiwadai Dorm Supervisor who was looking at two of her charges with concern. "In your summarized explanation, you once said that A.I.M. seems to be involved in targetting the three of us. I would assume that this "Clone Dolly" had something to do with it?"
"That and many more reasons, Kumokawa-san," the Supervisor said, walking towards both of her charges and gently pat them on the head, much to the surprise of the two young women who were jolted out of their thoughts, looking towards the Supervisor and noting her gentle touch. Something that seem quite the impossibility due to the known personality that the Supervisor usually emulates. "You three are far more important than you could ever realize, and A.I.M. and the masters that they worked for would see the value of such information. Meeting General Kamijou had already painted a mark on you three because of the connection that you three specifically have to the General's timeline, especially in the case of Shokuhou-san," she said, looking sympathetically towards Shokuhou who was looking at the former with attentiveness, taking note of her important role that her Dorm Supervisor was describing.
"Our importance to the timeline? Care to elaborate further?," Kumokawa asked with arms crossed, sporting a concerned expression, especially taking note of the term "timeline".
"I'd prefer that General Kamijou would be here for the explanation as well since he is as much involved in this as the rest of you three, if not more so, considering the fact that he is one of the penulitmate reasons as to why Academy City even existed as such," the Supervisor explained, speaking in a saddened tone, recalling the information that was once shown to her quite long ago back during her recruitment days.
Even now, the Supervisor never imagined something like this. A plan that stretches since the 20th century. A plan that involved a conflict that was started by none other than the one who founded the city itself. She wasn't told all of it specifically, but she was told more than enough. And she could still recall the proof that was staring at her right in front of her eyes. And there was a cruel inside joke to this, the fact that she wanted to join the law enforcement of this very city that wanted nothing more than results instead of dreams, even if it meant the corpses of innocent children.
"Wait what?!," Kumokawa, Shokuhou, and Mitsuari exclaimed in shock at the information.
"The point is that you three, especially Shokuhou-san, are vital to the life of General Kamijou in a way that may prove to be decisive enough that it concerns the safety of not just Academy City, but the rest of the world. And in case that you and my two charges would realize by now, I am not who I appear to be. For I worked for an organization that is as old, if not even older than our known universe, having fought the darkness in it's many shapes and forms. And this organization is called the SCP Foundation," the Supervisor explained further.
"SCP Foundation?," Kumokawa sported a curious expression, never having heard of the organization, which was quite the surprise for her in particular as she is one of the few who knows more about Academy City and it's the Dark Side than anyone.
"SCP stands for Secure Containment Procedures or Secure, Contain, Protect. We as an organization have long since infiltrated Academy City for reasons that would ensure that our world get's to live long and aspire for a probable tomorrow, for there are many things that lay hidden in the world you three, and what lay hidden is part of our job description. I wish I could say more, but this is the best that I could say for now as like I once said, General Kamijou would definitely need to be here in order for the debriefing to commence just as scheduled," the Supervisor explained, sporting a grim expression as she looks back towards the holographic projection screen that was showing Kamijou and the gathered Domino Squad on the screen, sporting similar grim expressions. "Also, I would believe that one of my superiors would like to have a word with you three."
It was a sudden transportation from one place to another.
Touma Kamijou and the Domino Squad were able to return back to the command center that was located deep beneath the entirety of School Garden, built for the purpose of monitoring every single student associated with the schools located within, especially those related to Tokiwadai Middle School.
They were standing nearby when they noticed Seria Kumokawa, Misaki Shokuhou, and Ayu Mitsuari standing just a few meters ahead of them, sporting pondering, concerned, and subtle expressions. And these expressions were directed towards Kamijou who took notice of them.
If Kamijou were to take an educated guess, it would appear that the three young women to whom Kamijou would consider to be friends had been told of a few things while he and his men were busy dealing with A.I.M.. Whatever the case, he would walk forward, with Domino Squad walking beside him, sporting his own concerned expression as he would like to speak to them.
"Girls, is something the matter?," asked Kamijou, sporting a concerned expression.
The three young women would take a glance towards one another out of concern, then they look back towards Kamijou.
"You could say that, kouhai," Kumokawa nodded, sporting a concerned expression. "In fact, from what the Supervisor told us," she said, glancing towards the Supervisor who was nearby, speaking to a few technicians. "It would appear that A.I.M. seems to be after us because of our connection with you specifically, with the rest being more or less side quests that would prove to add an icing on the cake. I believe that the term that she used was "timeline" in order to describe this connection."
"Timeline?!," Kamijou sported a surprised expression, before eventually turning grim. "I see... No wonder A.I.M. is after you three... In the end, I'm basically their target of interest, and you three would be taken advantage by them because of it."
"And that's the thing that would bother me, kouhai. The Supervisor also told us something that might seem outlandish and hard to believe. Apparently, you are one of the penultimate reasons as to why Academy City even existed. Can you care to elaborate on that?," Kumokawa said, sporting a grim expression.
"I... I haven't exactly been told much, mostly because of the "timeline" term that you used, but I've been told a summarized version of it in a way and it specifically goes like this. Apparently, the Board Chairman of Academy City seems to have certain plans for the world, and I seem to make up more than 95% of it. What those plans are, I don't know and I'm not really suppose to know, not just because of the "timeline" but because of the fact that I might tip the Board Chairman off. As far as I can tell, he's pratically one of the most dangerous humans of our world and it would be a terrible idea to go against him without some sort of plan that involved numerous contingencies," Kamijou sported a serious expression.
"I see," Kumokawa said, putting her right hand to her chin, sporting a pondering expression. "In any case, I suppose further explanations would be elaborated upon due to the meeting that would no doubt take place."
"Meeting?," Kamijou asked, sporting a curious expression.
"Apparently, the Dorm Manager said something about meeting one of her bosses. From what I've heard, she's supposedly much worst than the Dorm Manager in terms of being strict and has a sense of professionalism that would take no nonsense at all, and now I'm not really sure that I would like to meet with her because of these reasons," Mitsuari explained, sporting a hesitant expression, putting her left hand towards her left elbow.
"Being strict and has a sense of professionalism that would take no nonsense at all," Kamijou pondered.
Normally when Kamijou were to hear the word "boss" when it comes to the Foundation, it would usually mean two things.
The Adminsitrator and the O5 Council.
The Adminsitrator is the founder of the SCP Foundation while the O5 Council act as the Prime Overseers, being the ruling body of the Foundation, consisting of 13 individuals who are widely regarded, and rightfully so, as among the most powerful and influential individuals on the Multiverse to the point where they could outright alter history itself if they so wished. They keep watch over everything and everyone that has a certain experience and history dealing with anomalous entities and objects.
Out of the 13, there was one of them, a woman in particular that would practically make almost everyone either of the following: Respect, Admiration, and Fear. For she is the type of O5 who walks into a room, and everyone pisses their pants. And even before she was an O5, she had quite the famous reputation with the United States Government, being put in charge to handle things through whatever method she deems fit.
And at that moment, Kamijou would begin to have an epiphany as he asked for clarification. "...Has the Supervisor described anything else when it comes to one of her bosses?"
"I believe that she has been referred as to as "The Wall", Kamijou-san," Shokuhou answered, sporting an attentive expression.
"...Oh," Kamijou slightly widens his eyes, recognizing the O5 Council member that was described by that term. "I think I know just who she is referring to now, and yeah, she really does make the Dorm Manager look much more preferable in comparison so I would highly advise that you three be on your best behavior when it comes to her in particular."
"And I would listen to what he says if I were you three..."
Kamijou and the three young girls would take notice of a female voice, spotting the woman the voice belonged too.
This woman appeared to be quite tall and has a slender figure, wearing a violet dress with shorts, along with black thigh high socks and white boots. She was accompanied with three other girls: One of them being a young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes, with a black sailor top, a pleated skirt, a pair of pumps, and dark-colored pantyhose; another young girl wearing an orange hoodie and hot pants; and another young girl wearing track pants with a white shirt.
These women were accompanied by two young men to whom Kamijou is well aquainted with. The blonde hair with brown eyes being Agent Shiage Hamazura and the black hair and blue eyes being Agent Jiang Haoyi.
"...Cause that mean lady can really pack a glare like it means it," the woman, Shizuri Mugino, explained, sporting a smirk as she stops a few meters, putting her left hand to the side of her waist.
"Hm? Meltdowner?," Kumokawa muttered, sporting a surprised expression, recognizing the #4 Rank Level 5 Esper of Academy City alongside her fellow members of Team ITEM.
"Meltdowner?!," Shokuhou exclaimed in surprise, looking at Kumokawa, before looking at Mugino once again who was directing an amused smirk towards her.
"And you must be Mental Out. I have to say that you're a lot shorter than I expected," Mugino said, jesting while smirking.
"Wh-What is that suppose to mean?!," Shokuhou sported an annoyed expression, putting both hands to her waist, not liking this person already, especially when making fun of her height.
"Oh who can say? Maybe I'm just rambling on things that I shouldn't? But enough about that," Mugino looked towards Kamijou with a sense of interest. "You're the guy right? Kamijou Touma?"
"That's right," Kamijou nodded, not surprised that she knew his name, figuring that either Agent Hamazura, Agent Haoyi, or some other member of the Foundation had told her about him. He would eventually put his trusted shield to his right side and offered his left hand to be shaken by Mugino.
"I saw what you did to those scrap heaps back at that A.I.M. compound. I gotta say, when I first heard about you, I didn't know what to think at the time, even more so when I and my girls found out that you just so happened to be a Level 0 whose quite important to the higher ups. The fact that you managed to kick ass back there shows that Hamazura wasn't really bullshiting me and the girls with false information regarding you," Mugino explained, letting her hand go from Kamijou's, taking note of the firm handshake to which she would respect too.
"And I see that Hamazura has told you all some stories about me," Kamijou glances towards Hamazura who gave a cheeky expression.
"Yeah well, it was under the orders of Councilwoman Waller after all, so you can't really blame me for explaining everything about you, Boss," Agent Hamazura explained.
"Heeeh," the blonde girl, Frenda Seivelun, sported an amused expression, walking a few paces towards Kamijou in order to get a good look at him. "Looking at it now from this angle, you're not that quite bad of a looker. Now I wonder how the ladies would think about this," she said, looking towards Kumokawa who was sporting a raised eyebrow; and looking towards both Shokuhou and Mitsuari who were blushing in embarassment and understanding of the implications.
"But for real, you were quite super awesome back there, kicking those beekeepers and robots and handling all of that like some expert martial artist in a Hong Kong B-Movie," the hoodie girl, Saiai Kinuhata, sported an impressed expression on her face.
"Well in my defense, I had a great teacher," Kamijou replied, once more indirectly referring to a "bat" by any other name. "Speaking of which, I didn't catch the names of you four..."
"Mugino Shizuri," the woman introduced herself with a smirk. "And like what your girlfriend here said," she glances at Kumokawa. "I'm known as the Meltdowner."
"And I'm Frenda Seivelun," she introduced herself.
"And I'm Kinuhata Saiai," she introduced herself.
"And I'm Takitsubo Rikou," the young girl in a tracksuit introduced herself.
"And we're from ITEM, once a Dark Side organization, but now some part of black ops or something that the mean lady had managed to cook up on her ass," Mugino said, sporting a slightly annoyed and respectful expression when describing Councilwoman Waller.
"Yeah, that definitely sounds like the Councilwoman that I know of," Kamijou nodded in agreement. "And speaking of which," he glances towards Agent Hamazura and Agent Haoyi. "How's the containment of the Wyvern being carried out?"
"Maz Hatters seem to be having that one in the bag, Kamijou. Last I saw, they were moving that giant lizard to a sub-zero containment cell in case of further study. The files that one of the Dominoes managed to send would prove to be quite useful for figuring out just what is up with this operation," Agent Haoyi explained.
"And speaking of said operation, considering the fact that L.S.S. are involved in this, I'd figure that Academy City isn't quite the safe place as it is due to their connection with A.I.M. and these types of experiments," Kamijou explained.
"And I would have to agree with you there, Boss. And not just them either. I also heard that Deadlock seems to be quite intent on targetting all of the Level 5s throughout the city. As of this point, me and my partner had managed to cripple their operations for the past few months, making them into a much smaller and tighter group by the time we busted their last gig which was a weapons exchange between them and A.I.M.. Apparently, from what I'd gather, they seem to be after one of your girls, Boss, and that would have to be Shokuhou Misaki given that the Queen Drivers, ones based after her, were being offered in the highest bidder," Agent Hamazura explained.
"How much are we talking here?," Kamijou asked.
"Estimated to be about ¥11,915,700,000.00 in total. As to how they even got their hands on that kind of money, they had connections with other organizations that they tended to bribe too, kinda like an exchange of interests so to speak," Agent Haoyi continued his explanation.
"I see," Kamijou simply said, sporting a serious expression.
"Everyone!," the Tokiwadai Dorm Supervisor called out to Kamijou and the rest who were currently having a conversation, noticing her walk towards them. "I just receive word that Councilwoman Waller would be on her way for the debriefing. I believe that everyone of you would have to be included as part of her official orders, and thus we have prepared a transport that would send you to the next coordinates away."
"Alright," Kamijou nodded, looking towards everyone. "Well everyone, I believe that we should get going, but before that...," he glances towards Kumokawa, Shokuhou, and Mitsuari. "Girls, what do you know about the multiverse theory?"
"...Eh?," the three young girls sported surprised expressions.
Insert Song: End
ED Song:
Betcha Never from Cherie (2004)
