Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted materials contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective owners and/or associated companies. I make no profit from this whatsoever and I have no intention of changing this at any point in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are people who enjoy reading my stories. Therefore it would be appreciated if no legal action was taken against me because I can assure you that I have nowhere near enough money to make a trial worth the effort/trouble.

The Office of Doctor Kirihara Gensei

Three Days Later

Gensei's POV

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in." He said more out of habit instead of a genuine desire to be polite.

"I have the test results you wanted for subject zero-zero-one-omega." Some subordinate whose name he didn't remember said after approaching his desk.

"Oh?" He asked rhetorically before reaching out to take the folder being held out to him.

Taking the folder he opened it up before going over the contents one by one.

It wasn't a hard thing since he'd he'd long since mastered the skill of speed reading and picking through the dross to the truly important pieces of information. However in this case he paid special attention to every detail in an effort to make sure that he didn't miss a thing because subject zero-zero-one-omega was turning out to be quite interesting for two reasons.

The first but by no means the least was the fact that the latest iteration of his drug was performing wonderfully with few but any negative side effects registering on the equipment. It was something of a surprise because in the months since he'd taken on the project the successes he'd received were minimal while the failures pushed the envelop of what 'waste disposal' could handle. Indeed it was a staple of the visionary work he and the few somewhat enlightened scientists of Academy City did that they would burn through a significant amount of raw materials before seeing any gains. However that was of no concern to him since those who supported his work had never voiced even the smallest amount of discontent or complaint regarding his methods.

They recognized that true innovation, true scientific DISCOVERY, required sacrifice and far better for the mediocre masses to make that sacrifice instead of someone irreplaceable like himself.

The second surprise came in the form of an unusual anomaly detected in the first series of tests yesterday that had piqued his interest. It was something he'd never seen before since coming to Academy city and he'd seen quite a bit during his work on Project SYSTEM. While he'd certainly expected some alterations on a biological level something like that was a step beyond his initial projections. More than that the anomaly had the potential to spread throughout the subject's body but what effects that would have on the results of his experiment had proven to be a mystery. That is why he'd asked for a series of tests to be performed in order to obtain specifics in order to have all he needed in order to form a theory. It had not gotten to the point where he'd request use of 'Tree Diagram' just yet but if the effects of the anomaly proved interesting enough that could change.

Hmmmm…it would seem that the changes are focused on the subject's nervous system and brain. He thought turning another page in order to learn more.

Increased activity and neuro-electric potency were the most obvious changes but he did not think that they were witnessing the birth of an artificial electro-master. Based on the reviews he'd conducted on the video footage from the cameras in the room there'd been no visible signs of electrical discharge or any malfunctions in any piece of monitoring equipment. It was a matter of record that Tokiwadai's Ace caused mild disruption of any electrical device early on after her esper ability manifested. Indeed it'd been one of the things that'd caused her parents to have her tested and then enrolled at an elementary school in Academy City.

However there could be no mistaking the fact that the changes were focused in very specific areas that corresponded to only a select few known esper powers. He would have to run comparisons to see which one subject zero-zero-one-omega's changes came closest to matching. If esper abilities did manifest they'd have to modify both the containment procedures as well as take measures to ensure the equipment did not come to harm. This was proving to be quite the interesting experiment and he would be most cross indeed if even a single byte of data went missing due to equipment malfunction.

On a side not it looked as though his earlier hypothesis about his drug unintentionally regrowing the subject's missing eye had been proven true. Though there was still some organic growth and development to be done he was confident that before two weeks had passed the subject would have a fully functional and restored eye. While being able to see would not matter as far as his drug's intended purpose was concerned it was still an agreeable development. If through further experimentation he could achieve a one hundred percent success rate with the drug it would aid him considerably by extending his lifespan even further. If it also did away with what few scars and medical problems he possessed then he might very well achieve something as close to immortality as this world was ever likely to see.

"Have the N-S5 environmental sensor package installed in subject zero-zero-one-omega's room. Assign appropriate personnel to monitor the readings and instruct them to notify me of any readings suggesting the presence of esper abilities." He ordered deciding that pre-emptive action was best at the moment.

"I'll get right on it Doctor." The forgettable subordinate said with a nod of subservience.

Not even bothering to say a word of farewell to the man he turned his attention to the second most important project that he was in charge of aside from SYSTEM.

The origins of Project Fulgora was that disaster of an operation labelled 'Radio Noise' wherein the goal was to use a DNA sample from Misaka Mikoto to create a clone. No doubt it had been the intent of the researchers involved to create a way to mass produce level five electro-masters either as solo operatives or perhaps as an unseen army. The fools failed to realize that even if you manage to duplicate the body it was inside the mind that the core of esper powers resided and even something as advanced as a testament machine was inadequate in replicating the same personal reality as Misaka Mikoto's. As a result all they had was at best was a level two esper and despite repeated adjustment to the variables Tree Diagram insisted that none of the clones would ever become level fives.

In order to minimize losses and turn out something worthy of note the objective changed to a proposed way to change a level five into what had up until then only been a theoretical possibility.

A level six.

Academy City had been around for years and had steadily refined the process by which esper powers were developed but despite the sheer level of resources that had been employed the level five barrier had never been broken. Naturally theories were abound as to why the proverbial glass roof existed as well as how to get around it but most of it was complete garbage. Only his own SYSTEM project would break that barrier but it was still mildly amusing to watch others try only to fail like the inferiors they were.

The second stage of the Radio Noise project theorized that if the one known as Accelerator fought Misaka Mikoto a total of one hundred and twenty-eight times he would become a level six. However since it had proven impossible to replicate that many level five Railguns Tree Diagram calculated that the same result could be achieved with twenty thousand of the weaker clones. Sadly that plan turned out to be a failure as well when a level zero whose name he couldn't remember succeeded in defeating Accelerator. With this significant flaw in their theory and Tree Diagram no longer available for further recalculations the project had been terminated in order to bring an end to further wasting of assets.

It'd been then that he'd been approached by one of his backers to see if there wasn't a way that the remaining nine thousand plus clones of Misaka Mikoto could be put to use. Originally he'd simply made an effort to determine if there might be some way to increase the level of the Sisters clones to something with combat applications. It'd been during these efforts though that a thought occurred to him that actually managed to raise his interest.

If twenty thousand clones were needed to evolve an existing level five than what would happen if a way could be developed to merge together all of the clones.

As had been proven it was in the mind that one's personal reality was created so if individually each clone was a level two then what might happen if you 'added them all up'. What might happen if you merged the minds of the clones into a single body? It brought up interesting possibilities and the more he worked on the idea the more he became convinced that he had found an avenue of research that no one else had thought of. He had approached his backers for permission to explore this but even if they'd rejected the proposal he'd have found a way to make it happen on his own.

The first and most elementary step was to create a physical body for 'Fulgora' because if his effort bore fruit than the prototype would be channelling a level of electricity far beyond what Misaka Mikoto could produce. Trying to channel power superior to what the original could produce through a completely identical body would be absurd since it would likely destroy itself upon initial manifestation. Instead he had devised a series of modifications to be implemented that would allow the host body to safely channel up to ten times Misaka Mikoto's maximum recorded output. He took matters a step further and enhanced the host body's brain so that it would be able to control such a sharp increase in power. He'd been forced occasionally to defer to others when his own knowledge based proved inadequate for his needs but in the end the results were what mattered.

In the end the Fulgora host body successfully met all of his requirements and was ready for uploading.

It had been then that the various Sisters clones were located and acquired before being brought back to the lab to have their consciousnesses transferred into the host body. Naturally measures had been taken to keep the acquisitions covert and keep his nemesis Heaven Canceller from catching wind of what was going on. The man would almost certainly use every tool at his disposal to put a stop to the collecting of the clones and while it wouldn't amount to much it would be a bother. At present he would have to say that they were eighty-three percent complete with regards to the reacquisition and transference. Assuming that there were no hiccups they would soon be able to begin stage three of the project: constructing a mental framework or operating system for the host body to make use of the unified minds of the Sisters.

Unlike the people behind Radio Noise he wasn't satisfied with the primitive personality they'd installed in the Sisters clones because that operating system had only been intended to meet the minimal requirements of their project. Instead he would create a personality operating system superior in every way but at the same time one that was hardwired to be incapable of refusing orders from a set list of people. It wouldn't do for his own creation to start developing ideas of its own and potentially turning against him. At the same time though a level of imagination, resourcefulness and resolve was necessary in order to keep from becoming little more than a crude tool.

Just a little longer now. He thought as he looked to the calendar where he marked the estimated completion date of the Fulgora prototype, Just a little longer.

Once the prototype was conscious, coherent and in a suitable state physically he would begin testing its power levels as well as its skill level. He would hone it like the finest of blades until no one could argue that he had successfully produced a level six with a skill level capable of wielding that power with masterful precision.

It would be MAGNIFICENT!

Three Months Later

The Primary Lab of Project SYSTEM

Specialized Holding Cell J-86

Xander's POV

G-gotta…keep…TRYING! He thought sitting crosslegged in his cell, Can't…let this…beat me!

It'd been months since he'd first woken up in this cell and much to his surprise he had indeed been made younger but more than that he had two eyes once more. His depth perception was back! He was almost tempted to be grateful to the mad scientists but sadly of their own free will his jailers had seen to the destruction of that temptation. Less than a day after he'd first woken up they'd taken him to a series of labs where they conducted test after test on him with little regard for the hell they put him through. Without fail every day for the first month they put him through hellish test and experiments that left him barely able to push himself off of the floor of his cell.

Needless to say it'd pretty much cemented his decision that once he succeeded in putting together a workable escape plan he wouldn't be showing even ONE of them even a LITTLE mercy.

If he could he would kill them all and if he couldn't he'd make sure they had nightmares for years about what could've happened to them had things been even a little different.

It was a little over a month ago though that things had taken a turn that he was still having a trouble getting a solid grip on. Out of nowhere he began to hear thoughts that were not his own in his head and though his recollection was a bit slipshod he was pretty sure a few things had been thrown by an unseen force random distances. For a moment he worried that he'd picked up something akin to the aspect of a demon that Buffy had contracted during their final year at Sunnydale High School but thankfully his worries proved to be groundless. From what he could tell the thoughts of others only got hard to handle when they were within twenty or so feet of him whereas with Buffy the thoughts had only gotten louder as time went on.

Once he'd concluded enough that his obvious telepathy would now grow beyond his ability to control he'd gone to work using every mind exercise he could recall Giles teaching to turn it into a tool he could control even if it was only on a basic level. At the moment all he was doing was trying to build a telepathic wall around his mind that would keep all the thoughts of others out of his head and keep them out. Once he he had that mastered it just be a matter to keep working at it until it ceased requiring more than a passing thought to keep going. After that he'd be confident enough to begin experimenting with such things as transmitting commands into the bastards that worked here so he could make his escape.

As for what he presumed was telekinesis…THAT was proving to be a bit harder for him to practice with seeing as how they had his room wired for surveillance.

Whenever they took him away for experiments and tests they made sure to gas him into unconsciousness before they even opened the door. When he regained consciousness he'd found himself in a room that kind of reminded him of the holo-deck from Star Trek the Next Generation but was almost uniformly white with what he was betting was a reinforced observation window. Sometimes they'd have medical equipment or other kinds of hardware in the room and other times it'd just be a wide variety of objects differing in both weight as well as materials. It'd been a lot of 'lift that' and 'crush this' but once or twice he'd made an effort to 'accidentally' send something flying at the observation window or a nearby wall. It'd all been to test the strength of the glass as well as the walls to judge just how much effort it'd take if he had to use brute force to get out.

Unfortunately all his attempts proved was that the mad scientist assholes were quite experienced when it came to experimenting with people with superpowers.

While he'd succeeded in creating cracks in both the wall and the glass none of the damage had been substantial enough to make him think he could smash his way out of the place. If the current damage was the standard then it'd take dozens of blows to punch a hole through a wall and it'd probably be the same for some of the tougher doors. Until he could manage to fire things off like they were cannonballs or wrench doors open like they were made of cardboard he'd have to hold off on his escape attempt.

Even if the place was a hell all its own he knew that letting his desire to be free get the better of him wold only lead to disaster.

He'd experienced countless examples of what happened when you entered a dangerous situation without a plan or adequate prep work.

Just…a…little…MORE! He thought as he tried to force the last mental 'brick' into place.

However just as it was about to lock in place fear, confusion and anxiety slammed into his mental wall like Godzilla mentally sending him into a spiral. With effort that reflected his stubbornness he put his all into regaining his equilibrium and once his mentally stopped spinning he tried to reach out to figure out what the hell was going on. From what he could recall none of the tests or experiments had implied that the scientists had a telepath of their own meaning they relied on tech to measure his new abilities. Unless this storm was meant to be a new test it meant that someone, a telepath, was going through hell and lashing out with their power in an effort vent what they were experiencing.

Gotta get them to stop or else I'm never going to get any peace and quiet. He thought as he brought forth his telepathic power to form a barrier in front of him as he pushed in the direction the emotions were coming from.

He didn't stop at where it'd broken through his mental wall but rather work to follow it all the way back to the source. This was more than what he'd attempted up until now but he had no choice since it was pretty obvious that he wouldn't be able to build his mental wall with all the interference and just waiting for the emotions to go away left a bad taste in his mouth. He had no way of knowing when that'd be or if he'd be able to hold out that long so rather than endure for hours he'd head for the source to silence it somehow. If he thought that the source could be reasoned with he'd try to convince them to stop bombarding him, they they were so full of suffering that they couldn't even if they wanted to he'd try to help them if possible and if they were evil…hit he'd them with everything he had in one KO blow.

Honestly it felt like he was trying to force himself to the source of a wind tunnel and the ground was barely providing enough traction for him to make progress. Still no one stayed in the demon hunting game if they didn't have the resolve to stay the course in the face of truly terrifying or difficult. Eventually he reached the source of the emotions but from what little he could tell there didn't seem to be a mature mind at the core. He didn't know what he'd been expecting but the obvious possibility was that it was a man or woman in their teens at the youngest if not only considering the power he'd been pushing up against. Compared to the thoughts of the asshole scientists though there were no formed thoughts that he could sense leaving only raw emotion behind.

But who had emotions without coherent thoughts?

He tried to figure it out since it'd help him decide how to deal with the matter but when he reached what his instincts thought was the most probable…

…his blood began to boil with fury.

A baby! They're messing with a BABY here! He thought almost seeing red with how demonic the people here were behaving.

When the emotions he was fighting against spiked though it broke through his anger and he realized that with him telepathically this close to the mind his own emotions were being picked up on. Immediately he forced himself to calm down shoving his harsh emotions into a mental vault before slamming the door shut. Regardless of his response to the foulest form of science the baby didn't deserve to be on the receiving end of emotions that were far from pleasant. Instead he did what he could to pass along soothing emotions, feelings of comfort, for while he knew that this did little to alleviate the source of the baby's distress it was the best he could do at the moment.

He didn't know how long he kept it up but he did know that maintaining the connection was not easy even if the baby seemed to calm down a little with his efforts. In the end he passed on one last ball of comfort and kindness before withdrawing back to the confines of his own mind. Opening his eyes he was relieved to find out that the emotional maelstrom from before had decreased enough that if he worked hard enough he could probably make his mental wall without further interruption. Some might say that he should put it off until he'd recovered his strength but with the schedule that'd become common in this laboratory from hell he couldn't just let this opportunity slip by him.

This was his first stop and things would likely only get tougher as time went on so it'd be better to start working on strengthening his will in order to push through the difficulty ahead.

Gathering his resolve he once more from scratch began to build the wall within his mind but this time he did what he could to make it twice as strong as he'd originally planned. The baby's emotions had been potent enough that it'd torn through his original design in one go so to prevent it from happening a second time he'd need to increase its strength substantially. If he had some training or someone to ask for pointers then this would be much easier but instead he had to come up with everything from scratch using what he'd picked up from Giles along with his own instincts. To say it was hard would be an understatement but the same resolve that'd fuelled his efforts to become more than Tony Harris could ever hope to be was up to the challenge.

It took what had to be at least half an hour of work but in the end he was able to finish his wall and with it the psionic broadcasts of the other people within range were reduced to mere whispers. He was sweating bullets from all the energy he'd burned through in order to finish it but he wasn't quite at the level of being unable to lift a finger. More like he'd reject any requests for further exertion for at least a few hours so he could rest and regain his lost strength.

Laying back he did his best to relax on the uncomfortable and cold floor of his cell while at the same time monitoring his wall while maintaining it whenever he found signs of weakness.

Making the wall after all was just stage one of his training.

Stage two was in maintaining it diligently until the level of conscious effort was reduced to something matching what would be needed to move a finger.

I've got a LOT of work to do! He thought before settling in for the long haul.

Six Months Later

Observation Room of Testing Room 5-A

Therestina Kihara Lifeline's POV

"Not that I don't appreciate you breaking me out old man but we both know it wasn't out of the kindness of your heart." She said looking about the room with feigned interest.

"Indeed it wasn't granddaughter. I've reached a point in my current project where it would benefit from your expertise and because I trust no one other than family to avoid making mistakes." Old Man Gensei said not once looking her way choosing instead to focus on the monitor in front of him.

"And what project would that be?" She asked deciding to pay a little more attention.

"Why the family project of course." Old Man Gensei replied gesturing towards the window below which was the testing room, "Go on. Take a look."

Deciding to indulge the old man if for no other reason than to provide some stimulus for her mind. Since little Mikoto Misaka and her friends had thrown her to those mutts of Anti-skill she'd been locked in a cell with only a barely intelligent caveman guard to speak to. When that fell through she'd instead set her mind to work with planning her revenge upon those who'd dared get in the way of her work with their hypocrisy and garbage values. Even without something as simple as a pencil and a piece of paper she had no trouble keeping the data straight in her mind drawing from memory what she needed and calculating with precision what would need to happen. It'd been enough to cause her to chuckle and then laugh out loud but of course she'd refused to respond truthfully when they asked her what she'd been thinking of.

Now that she was out and had something worthy of her time in presented to her she had to admit to being attracted by the appeal of it all.

However when she looked down at the testing room she couldn't help but feel disappointed as well as a little annoyed at the old man getting her hopes up for nothing. To her eyes the only thing in the testing room was another of those wind up dolls from the Radio Noise project and they were barely worth acknowledging the existence of never mind feel actual interest towards. It was just as she was about to turn away and give the old man a piece of her mind that something pinged in her mind that her re-examine her assumption. Having met the original and knowing that those idiots in charge of Radio Noise would've done everything precisely according to Tree Diagram's calculations she could see several deviations in the copy in the testing room.

For one thing neither the dolls or that brat Mikoto had a bust to speak of.

More like twin parallel speed bumps. She thought with a little bit of humour when she imagined how the brat would've reacted to the comment if phrased right.

Other things that she noticed were things like a difference in muscle tone and as evident by the movement patterns a familiarity with the martial arts. The brat might've known a few decent moves but it had been clear from the beginning that 'Railgun' had never had a day of official instruction in her life. Take it all in and she could only conclude that the copy of Mikoto Misaka in the testing room had been modified somewhat implying that it wasn't intended to be a repeat of the project involving the dolls.

"I think you've finally gone senile old man." She said with a 'tch' of dismissal, "Some losers already tried to use copies of Railgun to achieve level six and it turned out to be complete garbage."

"True. The Radio Noise Project and their attempt at a level six shift was utter garbage however it wasn't entirely without value." Old Man Gensei said completely ignoring her comment about his mental state, "It inspired me to make use of the left over refuse from the project in a way that might actually produce a giant leap forward in achieving level six."

"How?" She asked not quite getting how the bustier brat in the testing room was supposed to help with that.

"In a word: fusion. By taking the minds of the remaining copies and merging them into a single intelligence I believe that we will achieve a level of esper strength unseen of before now." He replied before walking over to another station to verify the accuracy of the data, "We've already seen proof through Miss Kiyama that joining multiple minds into one can produce impressive results. By taking the data of the 'Level Upper' experiment and applying it to this project I intend to see if by merging the minds of the remaining copies will result in an increase in power as well."

An interesting premise and she had to admit that after looking at the data on that bitch's experiment it had produced some interesting results. Predictably though the disgrace of a scientist hadn't had the discipline and drive to see it all through to its proper conclusion. A true scientist was loyal only to the facts and how they could be applied to push the limits of what was possible in modern times.

There was no place for wishy washy emotions especially for something as trivial as left over research materials.

"Now everything seems to be in order." Old Man Gensei said with satisfaction before turning to one of the drones, "Instruct the prototype to begin exercise 2-B. Activate the Beta obstacles installed in the room."

Turning back to the copy in the testing room she watched as the busty brat, clad only in a simple T-Shirt-shorts combo, settled into a ready position. Focusing her mind to scrutinize every detail of what was about to happen it was a second later when the square panels that made up the wall, ceiling and floor of the testing room rotated to reveal the Beta obstacles.

Namely various blunt or pointed implements attached to mechanical arms or mechanical tentacles all of which quickly made clear that their goal was to kill the busty brat.

Much as she'd been expecting the copy countered with electro-master esper powers but what she had not been expecting was the level of the discharge. One of the primary flaws of the dolls had been a two level reduction in power when it came to the amount of electricity they could either control or generate. This copy though proved in an instant that she was capable of level five discharges when she unleashed an omni-directional one that shredded the crude implements once they got to within ten feet of her.

This was not the end of the exercise though.

Almost like clockwork as soon as one implement was destroyed a new square panel rotated to revel its replacement. With drones on the other side of the room's surfaces replacing the implements as swiftly as possible it was quite possible to keep things going for quite a while before running out of things to throw at the copy.

For a moment she thought that this exercise was nothing more than a way to see how long the busty copy could continue to emit electricity at this level before exhaustion set in but the old man would never settle for something so crude. Indeed as the exercise progressed she watched the copy use different techniques and ways of using electro-master powers to defend herself making it clear that this wasn't an endurance test.

It was a test of the mind.

A test to see where the skill and strategic level of the copy was at.

It was a little over twenty minutes later that the 2-B exercise came to an and and from what she could tell the bustier brat was only mildly winded by her efforts.

"Excellent. You'd never guess that subject Fulgora was only eight months old." Old Man Gensei said sounding quite satisfied with the results of the exercise.

"Eight months? Even with the latest methods of inducing accelerated growth in clones this doll would've only reached its current physical age a month ago." She said with some surprise knowing well the various rates of progress for developing esper powers, "There's no way that you could've developed its electro-master abilities to this level in just one month."

"And yet I have. You see granddaughter this is the proof that my merging of the minds into a single intelligence is correct." Old Man Gensei said with pride in his achievement, "With the design of the intelligence I came up with it allows for the past experience and practice of the copies to vastly accelerate the development of her esper powers. The prototype was able to draw on the memories of the copies but more than that has proven capable of innovation and resourcefulness."

"Then you intend to continue to put it through exercises like this until you're satisfied that a level six has been achieved?" She asked already believing the to be the case.

"Indeed. Most of the preliminary groundwork has been done so all that is left is to continue to increase the pressure on the subject much like pressure when exerted on coal will produce a diamond." He replied with nod of his head, "It will take time and be a bit of a bother taking precautions to ensure I get the most data possible but thus far the staff has been proven mildly competent. I should have an answer as to whether the prototype is capable of a level six shift in roughly a year."

"And if it isn't?" She asked pointing out a very real possibility.

After all there had been people, herself included, that'd been trying to produce a level six for years now with only failure to show for their efforts. Sure excuses were thrown around like 'I only need a little more time' but the data made the failure quite clear.

"Then once I've gotten all the data I can from the prototype while it is still alive it will be terminated to see what can be discovered through dissection and individual testing of its components." He replied as though it was all quite logical, "Then it will be used to refine and adjust the variables before trying again. Only once I've explored all logical possibilities will I consider the project a success or a failure."

If there was one thing that you could say about the old man it was that he was painstakingly thorough when it came to his experiments. It didn't matter what the old man needed to do in order to see his experiments through and the Academy City big shots didn't seem to know the word 'no' existed where Gensei was concerned. Indeed she'd been a little envious of just how easily her grandpa could make things disappear with only a few phone calls. It'd been her intent in using that bitch's leftovers to surpass the old man and in doing so become the new top scientist in Academy City with unlimited access, unlimited resources and unlimited support.

However that Misaka brat got in the way! That flat chested COW! That LAB RAT!

"So what precisely would you have me doing here? Assuming I accept the job." She said not quite willing to submit to the one she wished to blow by in the scientific world.

"You will head the design, construction and implementation of new exercises for the prototype. You will have free access to the necessary data so I have faith that you will be able to come up with some rather inspired scenarios." He explained with his usual smile, "However I would ask that you keep your feelings towards the original out of your work. Our goal of creating the first ever level six must take priority. Once it has been accomplished and the prototype is no longer required you can do with it what you will."

So basically her job was to come up with different ways of putting a copy of the brat she hated through exercise hell and her only restriction was that any injuries incurred couldn't be permanent or fatal. More than that she had been told that once everything was over with she could do whatever she wanted to the busty brat!

"Sounds like fun." She said showing a tenth of her true amusement, "But normally you handle such things yourself. What's changed?"

"A new development in another project has caught my attention." He replied with an odd twang to his voice, "While it is not enough to make me abandon Project Fulgora I will be splitting my time between the two."

"And this other project is…?" She asked curious about what might've caught the old man's attention enough to even partially pull him away from the family's obsession with creating a level six.

"Something I will explain to you later granddaughter." He replied before turning away from her.

With a few final instructions to the drones the old man left and while pleased that she'd been given a way to vent her rage towards the Misaka brat she didn't like being kept in the dark. Right then and there she decided that once she'd gotten settled in and enough time had passed she'd begin digging around to find out what other project her grandpa was working on. If it caught her interest she'd do a bit of her own work before demanding to be let in on it. While the old man might not be willing to let her in for nothing if she stood before him with some interesting ideas and tests he might just give in.

Looks like I'll be busy the next few weeks. She thought before leaving the room herself.

A manic smile stayed on her face for a good hour after that.

Lab eighty-six

One Week Later

Xander's POV

"Well what is it today doc?" He asked as the man he'd come to know to be Doctor Kihara, "A series of chemical cocktails? Maybe some nasty diseases?"

The man who in no way deserved the title of 'doctor' anymore never had anything good for him planned whenever being strapped to a gurney was called for. Mostly because it'd be something he'd strenuously object to or because the pain he'd be put through would induce serious convulsions and muscle spasms. Honestly even though it was a hardship all its own he preferred the tests where he just had to lift things with his telekinesis to the tests meant to see if any lingering regenerative power remained in his body.

Near as he could recall from the past tests focused on his body it did indeed seem like he'd been given limited regeneration though with only his senses to work with he couldn't tell if it was getting stronger or weaker. It wasn't something fantastic like in the movies or comic books but rather something that reduced the recovery time to one quarter of normal or perhaps even one fifth. For bumps and scrapes he'd probably recover in hours if not sooner but if he broke a bone or suffered serious burns then it'd take awhile for the regeneration to fix everything. Not as much as it would a normal human being but enough to make it clear that there was correlation between the severity of the injury and the regeneration's rate of healing.

"Oh we're finished with the tests on your lingering regenerative capabilities. Not as impressive as I'd hoped but the data that was gathered should help with the development of the next iteration of the drug." Doctor Kihara replied as a container that looked custom made was rolled into the room, "Today we'll be trying something quite different. Something that would've had to remain in storage indefinitely had you not come along."

"Yes I feel I should thank you young man." A woman's voice said coming through the door shortly after the custom container, "It's quite the boon to my research to finally have a test subject that might just survive an encounter with my creation. I expect to be able to glean quite a bit of data from this."

"This is Doctor Enra Numajiri who is a leading authority in exotic technologies and something of an expert in matters of artificial cognitive fabrication." Doctor Kihara explained even as he directed those handling the custom container to install it somewhere out of his field of vision, "It will be one of her creations that we will be using."

"Low survival rate I assume?" He asked figuring that with the monstrous lack of morality this bunch showed they probably sent hundreds of people through the meat grinder just for a little bit more insight into their scientific research.

"Unfortunately yes. Even with extensive reprogramming and control methods applied the last batch of test subjects it was exposed to were all consumed to the bone without exception." Doctor Numajiri replied with a hint of annoyance, "I later theorized that unless something was introduced to restrain my creation's voracious appetite I would get no further with my work. Then you came along and not only survived Doctor Kihara's youth drug but also gained some other impressive abilities as well. Thus it was decided if these developments would be what I will need to continue with my work."

Great. I'm going to be eaten alive by some bitch's latest effort at creating a superior cyborg. He thought with anger putting the woman's name on his list of people to kill if he ever escape this place.

Even if his newly acquired healing ability could patch up light wounds very quick and more serious ones in a fraction of the time it'd take for a normal human he doubted it'd make much of a difference. As for his telekinesis he had nowhere near the fine control he'd need in order for him to resist foreign bodies or substances entering his body never mind kicking them out. In all likelihood the most he'd manage to do would be to add another ten to fifteen seconds to the longest time previous lab rats had managed to stay alive when subjected to the madwoman's pet project.

"Any reason why your little creation 'eats' people? After all it couldn't POSSIBLY be something you did wrong." He said adding a little snark at the end.

"I suspect it has something to do with the source material I used in its construction." Doctor Numajiri replied offhand as though she'd only just decided to answer his question, "I took possession of it from a failed project involving dimensional travel. A bit of detritus that came through their shoddy apparatus before it exploded. Honestly I was only interested in the non-local matter since it theoretically stood a chance of handling the projected requirements of my project but then I realized it was so much more. A perfectly programmable techno-organic substance! The only flaw was that there were some lingering bits of programming from wherever it'd come from but I've been able to delete most of it."

"'Most of it'?" He asked not liking the idea of a prototype with lingering bits and bytes from another dimension floating inside of it.

"It would've taken too much time to root out all of it and as it stood some of it was necessary in order to maintain the balance between the organic and technological parts. With a little luck my latest series of programs will successfully restrain its habit of devouring test subjects whole at least somewhat." She replied walking out of his field of vision, presumably to the custom made container, "If not then I'll just have to start from scratch."

"And you don't have any problem with her potentially killing me Doctor Kihara?" He asked hoping that for once the man's seemingly unending series of experiments would work to his advantage.

"While not on the same level of intellect as myself Doctor Numajiri's work has proven to be quite exemplary so I am confident that this experiment will turn out to be most illuminating." Doctor Kihara replied as though he'd just been asked a question in passing, "Besides in the even of your termination I'll simply have to clone you. We have more than enough genetic samples to work with to make a hundred of you if need be so the risk to my own projects will be minimal."

The concept of the value of human life just doesn't exist for this bastard does it. He thought with a grimace of anger.

Not that he enjoyed any of the tests or experiments he'd been put through thus far but enduring them would give him time to sharpen his control over his telekinesis and telepathy upping the odds of a successful escape. At the moment he'd liken his control to be at the same level as a two year old that'd finally grasped what a hammer was for and was determined to try it out on anything and everything. With his telekinesis he could manage basic movements with various objects and pull off a passable battering ram attack but nothing very complicated or hard to see coming. As for telepathy…well…knocking people out would probably be the limit of what he'd be able to pull off with his current level of skill. Sure he'd been able to make safe contact with the baby and two other test subjects over the last six months but it'd been too much 'make it up as you go along' for his liking. In situations like that luck had more to do with things going well than anything he really did consciously.

With another three or four months he might've been able to get good enough to feel confident in making his first escape attempt but not now.

He might not care about what happened to the soulless scientists but an escape attempt at his current skill level stood a real chance of bringing harm to the other test subjects if only by accident. Even if they were better off dead he couldn't bring himself to willingly tossing away the possibility of helping to rescue them in the future. His escape needed to be as precise and as quick as possible in order to both succeed as well as minimize the potential harm that could befall the other test subjects.

Now it looked as though he had but two choices: throw away any attempt at keeping things clean and try to brute force his way out of the facility or hope that the madwoman's creation actually worked this time.

"Oh yes! Before I forget." Doctor Kihara said with a nod to an unseen subordinate.

A quick prick to his neck and like wildfire he felt his sense of touch throughout his body numbed considerably. More than that when he instinctively tried to clench his right hand into a fist he was only able to get it halfway there with the amount of effort he normally put into doing so. Testing other parts of his body he found that the reduced mobility was indeed everywhere and so his choice had been taken away. Obviously he'd been injected with some sort of sedative or paralytic for a reason he'd rather not theorize about considering the minds of the people involved.

"Can't have you doing anything disruptive during the experiment now can we?" Doctor Kihara asked with some amoral amusement, "Besides I find that this way the screaming and irrational threats much more tolerable."

"I wouldn't know." Doctor Numajiri said sounding genuinely ignorant, "My areas of study normally don't involve things that scream or thrash about. Now let's get started. Initiate the infusion."

Dreading the sensations that were heading his way he wasn't disappointed when moments later he could feel something that could only be described as alien enter his body through one of the tubes that'd been attached to his neck. From there it was like he didn't need some sort of sensor or screen to know which vein the foreign substance was travelling down because it was broadcasting its intentions so loud even he could hear them. It was only when he could feel it from his neck down to the tips of his fingers though that the pain came and it felt like even at ten times the recommended dosage Kihara's injection wouldn't have been enough to help him.

With rational thought scrambled by the pain instinct took over in the form of fragments of a creature he'd been forced to reach an understanding with years ago. Unlike what he'd told Buffy and the others an echo of the Hyena matriarch still existed inside of his mind with clear intentions of never leaving him. Not wanting to upset the others he'd kept it to himself and tried to figure out something to stay in control of his body but it'd all boiled down to a simple deal.

The echo of the matriarch would stay in the back of his mind allowing him to retain dominance if he adjusted his eating habits more to her liking and let her out to play when mutual survival was a priority.

It was safe to say that this counted as the latter.

With the instincts of an intelligent animal much sharper than his own his telekinesis was brought to bear somehow managing to establish a tentative grip on the foreign elements. It was slippery, like trying to maintain your grip on a melting icicle, but peripherally he could sense that the alien substance had hit a roadblock in its efforts to consume him. However he knew that at best this was probably just delaying the inevitable rather than a real solution. It was entirely possible if not probable that the substance had simply never come into contact with telekinesis before and was temporarily stumped when it came to how to overcome the obstacle. That wouldn't last forever because in every sci-fi show or movie he'd ever seen things like this were deadly quick at analyzing, processing and then devising.

He needed to do something more but with his conscious mind under assault and the matriarch devoted to slowing the progress of the foreign substance was there even enough room to hope for more.

Maybe not on your own but with a little help a lot is possible. A voice he didn't recognize thought in his head, Like me you're a soldier and while you're still green I've trained for everything. Especially situations like this.

Mentally homing in on the source of the voice all he got to see was a three dimensional silhouette of a muscular man with army regulation hair and that looked to be wearing some impressive gear. It was odd because usually when you saw a silhouette of someone there was enough light along the edges to make a little bit out of the person even if it was just the colour of their skin, hair and clothes. For this unknown speaker he couldn't make out anything at all and it unnerved him somewhat.

Come. Your furry friend might be able to keep it from spreading for now but it's not going to be enough. The silhouette thought at him before turning away, If you want to survive and keep others from the same fate then we need to hurry.

With his mind in no conscious shape for internal debate he went with his instincts since the matriarch hyena was a little too busy to put in her own two cents.

He chose to follow the silhouette.

A Few Hours Later

Doctor Kihara Gensei's POV

"It would seem that my instincts were correct Doctor Numajiri." He said looking at the video feed from subject zero-zero-one-omega's room, "Against all previous data the subject is managing to resist your creation's attempts to consume all of the organic matter. Not completely I'll concede but from what I have read of your work he shouldn't have been able to resist at all."

"Indeed. It is a rare event for me to be surprised by anything involving the test subjects I use but yours appears to have the devil's own luck at defying the odds." Doctor Numajiri said still possessing a pleased grin on her face, "I understand that the subject wasn't expected to survive your youth drug and yet has reaped sizeable returns on it."

"You would think so but it would seem the success of my latest iteration is owed more to the subject than the formula." He said not with annoyance but fascination, "After the drug appeared to succeed with the first subject I administered it to a dozen others in order to verify that it wasn't an anomaly. Sadly all of them died in much the same way I'd expected subject zero-zero-one-omega to leading me to believe that there is something unique involved that allowed the sole success to happen."

"And if you can determine what that unique property is it should be a simple matter of replicating it in others before administering the drug." She said easily following the line of logic.

"Just so. It was also one of the reasons why I offered him as a test subject for your creation." He said glancing at the readings from the various sensors for a moment, "I wanted to see if his abnormal survival was limited to just my drug or if it might extend to other ventures that currently boast a low survival rate. I would prefer to employ a third before stating anything conclusive but the indications are promising."

"I imagine half the scientists running underground experiments will be willing to agree to any terms you ask for should subject zero-zero-one-omega survive my creation intact." She said professionally not drawing any conclusions before the facts presented themselves.

"Yes. It might well prove enough to win over the few holdouts opposing my work with Project SYSTEM and get them to turn over the information I requested." He said nodding in agreement with the woman, "Honestly you would think an order from the Board Chairman would be enough to gain their compliance but some of them still insist on being defiant."

"Their jealousy is plainly evident. Despite being recognized enough for funding from the Board they know that their position is volatile at the very least." She said succinctly summing up the situation, "They're afraid that if they give you what you want their own value will decrease to the point where they'll be cut loose."

"If their own experiments are of such low value that they cannot do without the data then their resources are better off somewhere else." He said dismissing the feelings of others.

Indeed he had barely needed to produce any concrete evidence in order to gain the support of the Board and that was because his proposals were factually sound and appetizing enough to prevent them from overly questioning his methods. So long as he produced consistent results he would receive all he needed in order to proceed with his experiments and achieve what no others before him were able to.

"Somewhere such as Project Fulgora?" She asked revealing an awareness of another of his side projects.

"Perhaps in the future. At present the prototype is developing nicely and has presented me with no setbacks of note." He replied thinking back to the various tests and exercises his granddaughter had devised.

Predictably they were harsh, cruel and came dangerously close to terminating the life of the prototype but apparently his granddaughter did possess a measure of restraint. While coming close to the fatal line she had thus far refrained from crossing it or doing such permanent harm that it might interfere with the purpose of the project. It was through this crucible of tests though that he believed that the prototype's power and skill would grow ever higher until finally reaching the threshold between a level five and a level six. At that point his creation would either successfully make the leap to the next level or fail and provide him with data about why it failed so that he could push further with his next attempt.

It was proven fact of scientific discovery that sometimes failure could be more informative than success.

Besides so long as the merged mind he'd created was preserved he could place it within a new host body with ease. A new body that would feature several improvements over the previous iteration in order to once more approach the edge of greatness hopefully to soar over it on the second attempt. Given the positive developments he'd recorded so far in his experiments his optimism regarding Project Fulgora had risen by a measured amount.

Whether it would cause him to abandon the efforts he'd begun prior to Fulgora's inception…he would need a decidedly impressive amount of progress to persuade the Board Chairman to permit it. While it often proved…vexing…that he had to hop through the man's hoops in order to get what he wished he'd accepted that it was a necessity for men such as himself to curry the favour of lesser men. When so outnumbered by dullards and fools it was impossible to make scientific progress without making some compromises along the way. Some he had managed to ensure were mostly to his benefit but a few bitter ones had required that he make sacrifices of his own.

However he would make them all over again if given another chance because nothing mattered save the achievement of his family's goal of creating 'the one who arrives at heaven's intent in an ungodly body'. It was an achievement that none before him had ever managed to accomplish and all who followed would try to imitate only to fall short of his genius.

"Then I look forward to hearing news of your success." She said with a courteous nod before leaving the room.

Leaving no doubt to properly correlate the data she'd acquired since her creation was infused into subject zero-zero-one-omega with what resided in her private databanks. While he had faith that like him the woman could recall all pertinent facts regarding his work there were details that required 'refreshing' from time to time in order to ensure complete accuracy of future efforts. Even he occasionally went over his past work in order to ensure the limitations of his mostly human mind did not give rise to an unwanted misstep.

He was about to turn back to his work when a gemstone decorating his desk began to glow and he realized he would have one further discussion to have before he would be left to his own devices.

"I trust that you are in good spirits doctor?" Asked a voice from the gemstone before a face took shape above it via blue rippling light.

"Quite good Aureolus Izzard. Your work in aiding the transference and merger of the minds of so many copies has helped me a great deal." He replied as the young man with green hair smiled politely above the gemstone, "It would've taken me considerable time, resources and effort to do it on my own."

"I am always happy to help those who uphold their end of an agreement." Izzard said sounding rather honest, "Your connections within Academy City and the areas surrounding it have proven quite helpful in locating the individual I seek. She has agreed to my terms and thus it is only a matter of time before my 'guests' arrive."

"Then why have you contacted me?" He asked withholding the desire to scoff at the man's goal, "I would think that you would be busy seeing to preparations for your 'guests'."

"I have recently learned of a development on 'my side' of the world that I thought you should be warned about." Izzard replied taking on an unusually serious countenance, "Certain members I know of are sensitive to disruptions in the natural order of the world. They have detected something that concerns them and from the descriptions I have heard I believe something or someone in your keeping is the source of their worries."

"Oh? And what descriptions would imply this?" He asked only mildly concerned about the trouble that might find its way to his door.

"They speak of a traveller not of any world known to them that has been born anew by the science of man. A mind walker, a chaos bringer, that through his existence alone warps the very laws of probability." Izzard replied repeating word for word what he'd overheard, "Granted steel of another realm he will see that all debts are paid and that karma is served."

As always the people on 'that side' of the world chose such imprecise terms to describe their findings but during his limited time with Izzard he had learned to decipher the truth from their ramblings. In this case it was clear that they referred to subject zero-zero-one-omega since what he had done could be seen as a rebirth and the proven ability to survive what probability stated should have been a fatal end. The mention of steel of another realm was an obvious reference to Doctor Numajiri's creation but the rest was the usual dramatic nonsense he'd heard before from those who embraced limits as strengths.

"Do you believe these…clues…will be deciphered soon?" He asked in order to find out how swiftly he should inform the Board Chairman.

In matters such as this it was that man's duty to thwart interference from 'that side' of the world in order to maintain some sort of pact that had been made between the two sides. He didn't know the details and had no interest in learning more so long as his work was allowed to proceed with minimal interruptions.

"Likely they will." Izzard replied with a nod, "Even if their fields of expertise lay in places other than science there are only a few places on Earth where science and people with powers coexist. Once they'd decided that the source is in Academy City they'll likely send a spy in to search before committing to sending a larger group for whatever they decide to do."

"And what do you think they will do?" He asked out of mild curiosity.

"Identify this traveller, determine how big a threat he could be to them as well as the world and if he's a big enough threat eliminate him." Izzard replied as though something like this had happened before.

"You don't think that they'll consider how this 'traveller' could be used to their advantage and try to acquire him?" He asked since that was what he'd do in their position.

Baseless fears and superstitions were no basis for sound decision making. You collected the facts, set them before you in their proper place, weighed the benefits as well as the costs and THEN made a decision that benefitted you the most while costing you the least.

"Unlikely. Most of the terms used stray too close to past situations involving malicious entities and barely averted catastrophes." Izzard replied shaking his head in the negative, "Rather than take the chance of allowing this 'traveller' to gain any momentum to attain sovereignty over territory they will instead choose to terminate him."

While he didn't put much faith in the methods of 'that side' of the world he could not discount that there stood a chance that they might find their way to subject zero-zero-one-omega. While he had told the truth when he'd told the subject that he didn't care if Numajiri's experiment killed him 'they' might very well try to destroy the samples along with the original. THAT could not be allowed for he had plans for those samples that he would not throw away meaninglessly.

"Thank you for the warning Izzard." He said already knowing what must be done, "I'll see to it that the Board are made aware of this so that the appropriate actions can be taken."

"Consider it a bonus service after helping you with Project Fulgora." Izzard said with a polite smile, "Best of luck to you Doctor Kihara."

With that the manifested energy projection ceased and the gemstone it'd come from crumbled into sand that would take even the most dedicated person weeks to put back together. No doubt Izzard's way of covering his tracks so that if people from 'his side' made their way into the facility there'd be nothing to tie him to the entire affair. The man was already on the run from powerful organizations so it would be unwise to turn the heat up on yourself if there was any way to prevent it.

No matter.

If ever in the future he had need of someone from 'the other side' he still had a few people he could call upon to find someone with skills he needed at the time.

For now he had to contact the Board and inform them of this development so that they could intercept and neutralize the intruders. He would NOT have them stampeding through his facility and contaminating his work simply because of their antiquated belief system.

As for subject zero-zero-one-omega…it might prove wise to make preparations to relocate him to someplace a little less precious. If the timing was right he could even suggest a location that would allow the subject to serve as bait to draw in the intruders making the capture or extermination of the intruders that much easier. From what he could tell of the subject's current state it was unlikely that Doctor Numajiri's creation would become contagious or dangerous anytime soon. Whatever the subject was doing to resist it seemed to have the programmed techno-organic matter's full attention so as long as they did nothing to prove themselves a priority they would likely be ignored.

It appears that you're special not just to me but to 'them' subject zero-zero-one-omega. He thought as he guided his mind to discern the possibilities, I wonder just how special you could become with the right adjustments.

Within the mind of Xander Harris

Xander's POV

"Where?" He asked but even that took effort to formulate considering the mess he was in.

Chaos still reigned in his mind and forming thoughts much less voicing them was akin to lifting weights fifty pounds above your previous best. Still he did not regret following the silhouette and still on some level believed that it would lead to something of an improvement in his current situation. Then again anything would be an improvement to mental chaos and the matriarch barely managing to hold he own against the foreign substance. Right now he'd settle for somehow negotiating a ceasefire with the stuff but somehow he didn't think it would be that easy.

For one thing it was almost impossible to negotiate with something that didn't have a mind to discuss things with.

"Where are we going?" The silhouette asked even though it sounded like he already knew the answer, "In situations like this it's more effective to go for the head than to fight the army. Your furry friend won't be able to hold out forever and when it's gone you won't be far behind. If there's any hope for you making it out of this in one piece its going to be by taking out the central programming driving the techno-organic material to consume you. Once it's been destroyed you'll just need to house train it for awhile."

"Huh?" He asked not quite understanding how crashing the substance's CPU would let him housebreak it.

Even years after leaving Sunnydale he still wasn't any better with the computer sciences than he'd been back in high school so the idea of him somehow programming something NO ONE had ever seen before…he'd be laughing right now if he could.

"It'll be easy and unlike me you actually have a chance of pulling it off. When I was infected with it the best I'd been able to do was use my psioncs to stop it from spreading but that's it. I was never able to figure out a way to cure myself." The silhouette said reassuringly as the whiteness of the scenery began to chance into something more artificial and mechanical, "But from what I'm seeing here it looks like however it got to this world has changed it in fundamental ways. Even if it'd been intended to work only on you its nature should've had it lashing out to spread to every source of organic matter within reach. It didn't. Something's happened to its programming and perhaps even its physical self though I doubt that the doctor that messed with it has anything to do with that. She's not smart enough."

So instead of getting something in perfect working order the madwoman had gotten something like a warped piece of tech that was barely managing to function in spite of the damage? If that was the case then he could concede that they had a fighting chance to turn things around but it would require relying heavily on the silhouette since he had NO idea what to do. This was so far beyond his frame of reference he'd have a better chance of getting it right by blindfolding himself, being spun around on a chair until he felt like puking and then randomly throwing a dart at the bullseye.

"Looks like we're getting closer." The silhouette said appearing to gaze about at their now decidedly mechanical surroundings, "When doing something on the mental plane the environment changes to reflect the nature and minds of those involved. I know what my mental landscape looks like and I doubt yours looks like this either so it can only be the control programs for the techno-organic material."

Definitely not his.

If he had to imagine what his mental landscape would be like it'd probably be Sunnydale in general with the core being the high school library. After all that was the place where he'd found his true calling and a way to distance himself from his weak parents. A mental landscape like this? It could only be made by the foreign substance trying to consume him whole at the moment.

On and on they went until he noticed that the tubes and lines that made up the technological landscape all seemed to be heading in the same direction possibly a central point. Definitely signs that they were getting close to some sort of control core or something and that would be the best place to strike if you wanted to disable the rest. However when they turned a corner and entered a large chamber he found that their goal MIGHT be a little tougher than simply crushing some mechanical skull or blowing up a central energy node.

What he beheld as the central point for the entire technological mental landscape was a mass of grey flesh lined with circuitry with a sarlak's mouth as well as multiple tentacles.

"Well don't you look pathetic. Didn't that doctor and her crew feed you anything while they had you? Anything besides skin and bones leftovers that is." The silhouette said as though the thing before them could understand speech, "Well don't worry about it. Me and the kid are here to make all your problems go away."

While he stood by his opinion that the disgusting monster of metal before them couldn't possibly be smart enough to understand speech it was smart enough to understand mockery.

Understand AND take issue with it.

Like one would expect of a tentacled monster it lashed out with its vine like limbs aiming for both him and the silhouette at the same time. While his 'ally' was able to get out of the way his current mental duress did not allow for that and he knew it so instead he simply poured all his willpower into creating a protective barrier. When the tentacle hit he could swear that it felt like his entire being was vibrating with the force of it but the barrier held up keeping him safe. How many more blows like that would he be able to take before it fell? He didn't know but it was all he could do at the moment. He didn't have the strength or the coherence to move about like the silhouette was much less attack the monster.

All he could do was stand there and put everything he could into the barrier while hoping that his 'friend' could take out the monster for him.

This seemed to be the right call when out of nowhere his friend manifested what looked like a halberd made out of pure golden energy before bringing the blade down on one of the tentacles. As though possessing the sharpest edge the blade sliced through the tentacle but before the disconnected half could hit the ground it turned into grey sand before vanishing entirely. While he wanted to whoop with optimism past experience stopped him and it was proven to be a wise action when the half of the tentacle still attached to the body simply grew a replacement for what it'd lost.

Swell.

THOOM!

Another blow to his barrier and again the feeling of full body vibration. He seriously HATED this! He wanted to fight back and kick this thing out of his body entirely but he couldn't so long as the body his mind was attached to was under assault. It was like trying to sing while chugging down a two litre bottle of Pepsi! Nothing could go out while stuff was coming in!

SCH-TING! SCH-TING!

Two more pieces of tentacle were cut off from the main body before turning to ash but just like with the first blow regeneration occurred making the action pointless. If there was only some way to prevent the regeneration then they could make some headway against the monster but he didn't know how to even begin formulating a strategy like that. This was his first real mind battle and all he knew was what he'd managed to put together from various comic books, movies and television shows. Given that most of the people behind such things didn't go much further than making it SOUND plausible to someone of average intellect…yeah he was betting he knew next to nothing factual.

SCH-TING! SCH-TING! SCH-TING!

Three more piece of tentacle fell towards the ground but unlike before though he felt something in a way that wasn't physical but rather mental. It was like someone was trying to reach out and communicate with him but their connection was being muffled somehow. While it was possible that it was a trick it could also very well be another ally that could help and right now he needed all the help he could get.

Diverting some will from the barrier and channelling it into moving he tried to follow the feeling of communication as best he could. It was akin to trying to find someone by using sound alone in that if the feeling got stronger he knew he was going in the right direction but if it got weaker he needed to turn around.

Doing his best to not be an easy target to hit he zig-zagged as best he could while still advancing towards the source of the communication attempt. It took him what felt like ten minutes before he was certain that he was right on top of the source but no matter where he looked he could only see the mechanical environment of the monster. In fact at the location where he was certain the communication source was coming from a big pile of circuit laden flesh. Naturally the sight of it made him want to abandon seeking out the source but at the same time he was already here and the old saying 'desperate times mean desperate measures' was definitely in effect. So with much revulsion he began to tear into the filthy grey flesh as best he could trying to tear through it like he would a big wad of well used toilet paper. It made him feel dirty in a way that would take a full day of bathing while scrubbing himself with the strongest cleaner he could use without harming himself to get rid of. For a time it felt like he was just wasting his time but then, with one final two handed tug on a massive clump of grey circuit laden flesh a blue glow came into being bathing him in light.

What…is it? He thought looking at what appeared to be a transparent tube with floating cloud of blue light hovering in the middle.

It seemed to pulse as he looked down at it and when it did so a message finally entered his mind where only the intent of communication had been there before.

"Do you require assistance?" A digitized voice that lacked any variable that would give it a gender asked with the blue light flickering in time with the words.

"Yes?" He replied not quite sure what sort of help a mote of light could provide.

"Please initiate tactile contact for secure connection." The digitized voice said before waiting expectantly.

Translating machine speak he reached out and pressed his right hand against the glass tube containing the light and less than a second later he felt the connection form. In a way if felt like someone had taken his veins, webbed them into some complex spiral pattern then attached the other end to the blue mote of light. In the space of two seconds from his perspective the light shot out of the tube and into his hand but unlike the foreign substance the silhouette was still fighting it felt…neutral. Neither aggressively consuming or benignly helping but somewhere in between.

Secure connection established. Running scan for status check. The digitized voice thought in his head, Scan complete. Moderate disruption of cognitive pathways by host hardware. Secondary and unknown tertiary defences inadequate. Initiating defence protocols Aegis and Kusanagi.

Almost instantly a circular shield appeared on his left arm while a sword with Japanese aesthetics appeared in his right hand. As if he was suddenly in the eye of a hurricane the chaos that had so interfered with his thoughts vanished making him feel much more able bodied than before. He wasn't quite at the level of feeling like a legendary hero but rather like he had when he'd gotten skilled enough to handle a small group of vamps solo.

He felt strong.

Strong enough to finally stand on the battlefield without needing to depend on someone else for help.

Deciding to go with this feeling he charged the closest tentacle and after two efforts of evasion swung the sword in his hand. Too bad he misjudged the sharpness of the blade or the strength needed to cut through the tentacle because it only made it halfway through before coming to a stop. He was about to pull the blade free and deliver another cut to completely sever the limb when a series of blue lines began to grow outwards from the points of contact between the tentacle and the sword.

Analyzing foreign code for acceptable weaknesses. Analyzing. The digitized voice thought even as the lines continued to grow, Code weaknesses located. Disengaging protocol Kusanagi. Initiating protocol Houyi.

With those words the sword that'd been in his right vanished to be replaced with a bow he remembered one of the Chinese Slayers bringing with them from home. When an arrow appeared in his left hand though he had to question the intelligence of the blue mote since it'd be rather difficult for him to fire off an arrow with a shield this big strapped to his left arm. Almost in response to his thoughts the shield shrunk in size and with it some of the chaos from earlier returned albeit to a manageable degree. Obviously the shield was some sort of representation for the added protection to his mind and reducing its size to allow him to fire the arrow also reduced its effectiveness.

Gotta shoot whatever needs shooting quickly! He thought before directing his focus to the mote, Can you show me where to shoot?

Affirmative. The mote of blue thought back at him before crimson crosshairs appeared at various points on the monster, A single strike should be sufficient.

With years of experience using one in Sunnydale and afterwards during his period of determination to prove he could still fight he'd gained a level of skill with a bow and arrow. Not on the same level as a Slayer but enough that he felt he'd do fairly well in a moderately difficult competition. Notching the arrow on the string of the bow he executed the right stance, the right posture, pulling the arrow back until the hand doing the pulling reached his cheek and then once he felt confident enough released the arrow sending it shooting through the air towards its target.

As though he'd fired an RPG rather than a bow and arrow the projectile hit its target detonating with surprising fanfare and getting a definite reaction out of the monster.

"SCREEE!"

"You hurt it with that one! Keep it up!" Silhouette yelled even as he continued to harass and dismember.

Not one to let gained momentum slip through his fingers he waited for another arrow to appear in his hand before notching it as before and shooting it towards the next target that'd been highlighted. Over and over again he shot only having to dart and evade once in order to protect himself from mental blunt force trauma via a flailing tentacle. By the time he'd destroyed the last of the highlighted targets the signs of injury and weakness were all too visible in the creature. Likely all it'd take would be one final blow, one powerful strike someplace vital, and the creature would finally die hopefully putting an end to the strain on both his mind as well as his body.

"We're almost there kid!" Silhouette yelled after delivering a vicious slash across the central mass of the creature, "I'll set it up and you deliver the deathblow!"

"Right!" He yelled back ready to bring an end to this confrontation.

Acknowledging situation. Disengaging protocol Houyi. The mote thought at him before the bow disappeared, Engaging protocol Tonbokiri.

An instant later a spear appeared in his previously empty hand and while not as familiar with it as a sword, bow or axe he still felt like he could throw it half decently.

Plus if this was all happening in his head he figured all that he needed to do was believe that he could hit the mark and he would.

His own perception of what he could and couldn't do would determine what he could or couldn't do inside his own mind.

I can do this! I can DO THIS! I CAN DO THIS! He thought repeatedly to psyche himself up even as he raised the spear in preparation to throw it.

Watching with all the focus he had he saw the silhouette execute a three slash combo with his weapon that split the monster into almost three pieces.

"NOW KID!" Silhouette yelled as he got clear.

Without hesitation he threw the spear at the point where all three slashes connected and if the arrows had hit with the force of an RPG then the spear went up like an anti-tank missile. Bits of circuit laden grey flesh flew everywhere but much like the bits of tentacle that had been cut off earlier they quickly transformed into grey sand in the wind before disappearing entirely. For a moment he thought he was safe but that changed when the mechanical world around him began to fracture as though it was made of glass. It started with the creation of big fragments but quickly shifted to smaller ones that once made dropped free from the main whole.

"Looks like our job's done." Silhouette said landing by his side, "I suggest we find someplace safer to be. The destruction of a foreign mental landscape is not something you want to hand around to watch."

"Lead the way." He said not interested in being inside a place that was coming down around him as they spoke.

Grabbing him by the arm the silhouette seemed to slide through space like friction ceased to exist and so did he thanks to the connection between the two of them. Before he had time to do more than marvel at the experience it was over leaving them in an empty white void that while barren was definitely an improvement over their previous location. He was about to thank the silhouette for his help when he noticed the muscular form begin to flicker and fade a little.

"Don't worry. This would've happened sooner or later anyway." Silhouette said as though he could read minds, "A psionic echo can only hang around so long before it fades away. Helping you take out the core program of the techno-organic matter just hurried things along."

"I still owe you. Doubt I'd have managed half as good without you." He said deciding to play things straight.

"You don't owe me anything kid. I stepped in because I wanted to not because I expected anything in return." Silhouette said shaking his head even as his form developed more problems, "Besides I get the feeling you're going to need everything you've got for what's ahead."

"You're probably right." He said imagining the long trail he had ahead, "Thanks anyway."

"You're welcome…" Silhouette said before pausing as if an idea had occurred to him that he was uncertain about acting on.

He wasn't sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

"…what the hell. Can't possibly make things any harder for you." Silhouette said before reaching out and touching his head with a single finger, "Consider this a gift…a legacy I'm pretty sure you'll have no trouble living up to."

Before he could ask what it was a sharp pain thundered through his skull threatening to send him into unconsciousness, even though he was ALREADY unconscious, the longer it went on. However before it was about to reach the breaking point the pain ended and the finger broke contact with his head even as the silhouette of a man began to fade out of existence altogether. He couldn't let that happen.

Not before he had one questioned answered.

"Who…are you…?" He asked as an impossible double unconsciousness rose up to smack him in the face.

"Call me…call me…Nathan…" the silhouette replied before all became nothing and further thoughts were put on hold.