Well, I'm back. Just finished my spring semester course. Still have one in the summer, but it's a lot easier than the spring one, so I hope I can start uploading more chapters quickly.

There are about three more chapters planned for the rest of the story. A little short I know, but this was always meant to be a very long one shot. Still, the fact that many of you like this either way is very touching.

Next chapter should be out in 2-3 weeks (Hopefully). I plan on completing this before its one year anniversary.

Disclaimer: The To Aru Series is owned by Kazuma Kamachi.

Eden is not a garden, but a realm of the soul. It exists within us, where the purest innocence of the child meets the boundless possibilities of creation. In this paradise of imagination, we are free to wander, to dream, and to discover the untamed wonders of our own existence.

- Anais Nin

It didn't take long for the esper and the artificial demon to scout out an appropriate stakeout location amidst the vastness of London. The British capital had many towering structures that would have made suitable hiding sports.

Eventually, the esper and the artificial demon settled on top of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. The monument to the famous British Admiral was perfect for their reconnaissance stake out. It was just tall enough to avoid any attention from the incoming patrols but also short enough for the two to make out any movement with perfect clarity.

However, with this early choice, both Accelerator and Qliphah now had a couple hours to spare while they waited for the Knights of England to start their patrols.

Unfortunately for the esper, the potential extra time of much-needed peace and quiet would only result in a mind-numbing hours-long 'interrogation' session. Whatever weird concoctions formed the juice box the esper bought for the artificial demon had evidently resulted in extreme hyperactivity. As such, when the artificial demon wasn't swimming in circles around his head, she would pester Accelerator with some truly baffling questions.

"Surely your name isn't just Accelerator. Can't you just try a little harder and remember it?"

"…"

"Why do you still wear clothes if your ability is able to block out the cold?"

"…"

"Are you only working for my master because you are in love with her?"

At least that question elicited a facepalm from Accelerator. The artificial demon's antics reminded him too much of Last Order whenever the brat had indulged in just one too many desserts at Joseph's.

"Say, why aren't you able to notice anything wrong about me?"

Fucking hell, can you stop asking stupid questions, you brat... Accelerator immediately straightened his back once he finally took in Qliphah's words.

He couldn't notice anything wrong about the artificial demon? What…What the hell was that even supposed to mean?

Tch. With nothing else to do, Accelerator decided he might as well indulge the artificial demon one last time. Really, he should have continued and ignored the artificial demon, but mystified by the question's premise, the esper retracted from his lulled state before staring straight at the artificial demon for the second time that day.

First, and something that the esper scrunched his head in confusion over somehow never recognizing it before, was Qliphah's strange habit of flying upside down. That wasn't particularly odd, given the artificial demon's supernatural origins, but her wings also would not follow along with this flight dynamic- instead, they were flapping upwards- an observation that made no describable sense in terms of physics.

However, the most important difference now noticed by the esper were the emergence of words from the old newspapers that comprised Qliphah's dress. A few prominent words were now appearing in his sight.

However, the esper wasn't visualizing the letters, so much so as if the words were being directly driven into the esper's mind instead.

'Strict,' 'Restricting,' 'Draconian' – Were the negative words that seemed particularly directed at him.

In some ways, Accelerator was now becoming even more confused than before. Qliphah stated that she was a demon of negative emotions and traits. Surely there were more fitting terms to describe his sins... Murderer… Psychopath…

So why those words instead? All they did was make him sound like the run-on-the-mill helicopter parent.

Parent…Father…

"Wasn't Misaka good today?! Says Misaka Misaka as she begs you to get her some frozen treats!"

"It's not even 9 o'clock exclaims Misaka Misaka, as she just wants to stay up just a little longer."

"No, Misaka did not eat the desserts left by Yomi... Hey! Wait! Cries Misaka Misaka as she begs you to not take away the game station!"

'Wah! You are too harsh…!', 'Meanie…!', 'Tyrant…!' All of these were similar words that had been thrown at the esper whenever he put his foot down on Last Order's mischiefs.

Accelerator blinked himself awake once again; his mind had instantly wandered to his moments spent with Last Order- a habit the esper now noticed occurred whenever he thought about Qliphah.

There was a meaning between these connections, but what? Certainly nothing between Last Order and Qliphah…

"You will know when we meet again soon. Father. Bye!"

Father…Voice…Last Order…Father…Voice…Qliphah…

!

So that's how it is.

The relationship between him and Qliphah mimicked that of a parent and a child. It was the same between him and Last Order as well.

Which was why the esper never noticed Qliphah impossible existence; because, like a parent, he would seemingly have a perfect understanding of the artificial demon, regardless of her irrationality.

To the loving parent, these were things to be cherished when finally observed, not picked apart and shunned.

"In fact, how long did it take me to notice the brat's strange way of speaking?" Accelerator mentally asked himself.

Still, there were significant flaws to this theory. First, Qliphah didn't know anything about the voice that had once invaded his mind. Moreover, the artificial demon was also solely created by Coronzon- likely many years before he was even born. What role would he have played in the artificial demon's creation, or even in her very existence? How could he even begin to understand their innate connection to each other?

This wasn't something that the esper could just ignore. Surely this contrary evidence dispelled any notion of a parent-child relationship between the two of them.

No…Accelerator was almost sure that was the reason why he didn't notice or seem to understand Qliphah's illogical existence. A parent would always understand.

He just needed more time to solve the hypothesis.

The words that engraved in his mind were now starting to disappear without a negative notion in mind. At most, the words were an annoyance… a funny annoyance, one could even say, a feeling that Accelerator was once again somehow familiar with.

"I can see your illogicalness now, but that's about it." The esper finally replied to the artificial demon. "Although, I'm not sure how we can interact with each other. Don't you demons need a body to reach the physical world?"

Now it was Qliphah's turn to be confused. The only other being that was showed no affliction to the artificial demon was her creator – Coronzon – the most powerful demon in existence. Even the great Aleister Crowley was forced to deal with the artificial demon when regarding her presence.

Was this 'Accelerator' on her level? How?

"Don't worry about that mister. I have always been able to talk with you humans. Not entirely sure how though, even my master never explained it to me."

The artificial demon continued. "But you also don't ever seem bother by me…hmm… I guess you aren't as weak as I originally thought."

"What's that supposed to mean, brat?!" Accelerator retorted in offense, causing Qliphah to playfully laugh.

The two could have continued to argue, but just then, the lights in the city had dimmed, and the distinct noise of metal sabatons could be heard clicking on the ground below them.

Curfew was now in effect, and the Knights of England were now starting their patrols.

Click, Click, Click…Shuffle… Click, Click, Click…

And just like that, another group of knights had finished their patrol.

"Psst, mister, we've been sitting here since forever. Do you actually have a specific target? Qliphah whispered directly into Accelerator's ear.

"Tch," The esper clicked his tongue in annoyance at the artificial demon's quip. "Be quiet."

So far, the duo's stakeout spot was working wonders. Not one of the patrolling knights had noticed them on top of the column.

But as the hours passed and the night deepened, it appeared this concealment was becoming a two-way street. The 'something' that Accelerator predicted to appear was just about mounting to nothing.

Of course, there were still the standard patrolling knights that could be isolated and interrogated for potential answers, but it was unlikely that they would have the exact information that the duo wanted.

CLICK

Suddenly, a lone, more decorated knight took a peculiarly heavy left turn that placed themself directly underneath the column. An action that caught the eye of both Accelerator and Qliphah.

"That's the target," Qliphah whispered softly, confirming what was both on their minds.

The esper only silently nodded in agreement.

To the normal viewer, the duo seemed fixated on two rather odd differences. After all, aside from just being a bit on the heavier side and having a cleaner glint of armor steel, was there supposed to be anything special about this one?

Of course, there was. The artificial demon could smell the reek of sin on the man. At the same time, Accelerator was also quite familiar with the knight's characteristics. Vastly overweight compared to the other knights? A highly decorated 'knight' despite their green armor contradicting otherwise? All of these were features developed from greed, sloth, and corruption. The esper was all too familiar with similar signs on the high-ranking bastards of Academy City.

Like a hawk swooping down on its prey, Accelerator activated his choker before quickly leaping directly at the overweight man.

Startled, the overweight man attempted to shout for help, but the plea was abruptly cut short by an uppercut that sent the man flying straight into the night sky.

However, as the overweight knight was about to lose his momentum and crash back onto the London streets, Accelerator quickly reappeared on the column before grabbing one of the knight's greaves with one hand.

This "save" wasn't noticed by the man, however. "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM!" The overweight man in the suit of armor shouted indigently at the esper.

"I am Sir Holegres Mirates, and I have been specifically selected by the royal family to keep London safe!"

The knight, known as Holegres, continued with his tirade, "UNHAND ME THIS INSTANT!"

The overweight man's shouting would have likely been noticed by the rest of the knights, but a quick calculation of specific sound vectors that had been done beforehand meant that Holegres' curses were but quiet whispers in the wind.

"Oh, and would you rather I drop you from here?" Accelerator responded rhetorically with a curt smile.

Taking a quick glance down, the overweight man suddenly realized that he was upside down and staring down at the streets of London below, with the only thing keeping him afloat being the esper's grip.

"Now, Now, my friends! No need to get hasty!" Holegres finally stammered.

Despite being upside now, the overweight knight's face was still covered by his visor. Still, it was clear to both Accelerator and Qliphah that Holegres was sweating buckets. Holegres would crack soon.

"Perhaps we can come to an agreement! Just place me somewhere safer, and we can talk about it. I can assure you that we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement."

"Oh, negotiations, huh?" The esper started to form his trademark smirk. How about this contract, you tell me what I want to know, and in return, I won't drop you dead."

"Information?!" The overweight man stammered before suddenly nodding vigorously, the words spewing like a waterfall. "YES! YES! I have plenty of information that can be useful to you; what is it that you want to know exactly, my friend?!"

Well, that was quick. Accelerator even felt slightly disappointed that it took so little for the overweight knight to crack.

Still, with the way that Holegres seemed determined to save his bacon, he couldn't be too displeased about the situation. After all, it wasn't likely that anything else moving forward would be this easy for the esper.

"Perhaps, that would be acceptable, but if you give me a hint of bullshit, I'm dropping you before you can even scream."

Accelerator lightly kicked the overweight knight to further his point.

"No, my friend, I would never lie to you! That is a knight's promise!" Holegres cried out. The overweight knight looked like he was just one scare away from pissing his pants.

"Alright then, first question, what exactly happened during the battle for the city?"

"Oh…well…um…" The overweight man sweatdropped. "I didn't actually take part in any actual fighting. I only oversaw the planning stage."

"Right, and I'm supposed to believe that an esteemed Knight of England would only be tasked with just that?"

The esper kicked the man a little bit harder this time. "You ran away during the fighting, didn't you?"

"OK! OK!" Holegres admitted. "I ran away during the fighting between Crowley's gang of hooligans and the city's defense."

"It wasn't like I had a choice" The overweight knight meekly tried to defend his actions.

Qliphah only sneered at the pathetic excuse. "Coward,"

"Hmm, I guess that means you can't hold your end of the bargain." The esper stated as a matter of fact. "Shame, really; you know what this means, right?" Accelerator asked as he demonstrated an unclenching motion with his free hand.

"WAIT! WAIT!" The overweight man pleaded. "I still read the aftermath reports! I can tell you the details of those!"

The esper stared straight at Holegres for a few brief moments. "Continue."

"Crowley and his gang of hooligans were able to overcome the city's defenses, and they managed to escape London."

"They have split up, but they all appear to be going straight north to Edinburgh."

"Oh, and how do you know this?"

"The knights have an inkling about a certain training heading north. One of the hooligans, for an unknown reason, is traveling alone, but we are sure that he is affiliated with Crowley."

Accelerator paused to assess the information. Was it Touma?

The esper stared even more intensely at the overweight knight, causing even more sweat to roll down the fatness of his skin. "Describe what you know about the person on the train. Now."

"Err, a teenager like you! Male, blonde hair, brown eyes…."

The esper became puzzled by physical traits listed by Holegres. The description certainly didn't match Touma. In that case, who…

Spontaneously, Accelerator suddenly realized who it was. The other Level 0 he had once been entangled with.

Hamazura Shiage.

He had been so caught up in thinking about facing Aleister and Touma that he didn't even think about the other band members and how they could play a role…or an obstacle in his task.

"Eh heh heh!" The esper's thoughts were suddenly broken apart by Holegres' laughter.

"You are also hunting them down, aren't you!? Wonderful!" The overweight knight now had a jovial attitude, a direct contract to his previous state of fear.

"Perhaps the two of us can come to another agreement." Holegres offered.

"You are a powerful boy, aren't you? With Great Britain's resources at your side, we can surely get hunt down the hooligans to completion! You will be of much greater help than those parasite nuns."

The esper was about to shut down Holegres and his half-witted offer, but the overweight knight's last few words had caught his attention.

Weren't the nuns Coronzon's disciples? No, wait, they were Laura Stuart's subordinates. Certainly, they wouldn't have known about the archbishop's identity, and it wasn't likely that the great demon had any familial relationship with them.

If anything, they were puppets, an implication that produced a heavyweight in his stomach.

However, when Coronzon confided her feelings to him, the demon did say that Laura Stuart was one of the possible identities that she would have settle on. Likely, this would have meant that she would have returned to being England's head archbishop if she had succeeded in completing Mather's task. Given that information, it was possible that the great demon cared for her church members in some way.

…

The esper swore at himself, an entire train of thought all from a single sentence? He really needed to stop thinking about Coronzon. They were quickly becoming an active detriment towards the completion of his promise.

"Finish your promise, and then think about your stupid emotions and hormones later." Accelerator mentally rebuked himself.

Turning his attention fully back towards Holegres, the esper put a stop towards whatever the overweight knight would blab about next.

"Oh, so they were incompetent in completing their task, is that right? Incredibly audacious to hear those words from you, especially since all you did was run and hide."

The overweight knight was about to get another word in but was stopped by the esper.

"In any case, I work alone. Your help won't be needed or wanted. I got what I needed to know, and as per our agreement, I won't drop you."

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU!" The overweight man quickly expressed his gratitude with a pitiful display of brown-nosing.

Accelerator's smirk suddenly twisted into his infamous sadistic smile. "But I didn't say anything about how I would get you down, you fat piece of shit."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The night silence in the English capital was broken by the screams of Holegres…

SMASH

Before being instantly replaced by the sound of crushing metal, wood, and bone.

Accelerator had thrown the overweight knight into Big Ben, breaking the top of the clock tower.

Qliphah blinked as she stared at the wreckage scene. Placing a finger in her mouth she asked the esper, "Is… is he dead?"

Accelerator shrugged. "That magic armor he's wearing is strong. Perhaps even better than any of the Academy's power suits."

"He'll be fine…probably."

"Anyways," The esper further added as he turned north, facing where Edinburgh would be.

"We have a train to catch."

About 3000 words.

This and the next chapter were meant to be one, but again, they kinda got too big for me to handle. So, I divided them into two, and decided to add a lot more detail to them.

Not a lot of action aside from Accelerator's interrogation. Don't worry tho, if you already read NT20 - 22, you kinda know where this is going.