Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Toaru Kagaku no Railgun/Toaru Majutsu no Index

The Trinity of Tokiwadai

Chapter Fourteen: Direstrait Sisters

Beta:

Misaka Mikoto, the strongest Electromaster and the Number 5 Esper in Academy City, had been hearing odd rumors lately. Normally she didn't put any stock into gossip, but this struck a little too close for home for her comfort. The talk of the City was that there were clones of her running around doing who knows what at odd hours of the night. These rumors had been circulating for some time apparently, but the Level 5 had only got wind of them when she'd overheard a group of her dorm mates discussing it in whispers behind her back earlier that morning.

Unnerved by the possibility, the chestnut haired girl decided to talk to one of the few people who she knew that would be privy to this type of information.

"Saten!" Mikoto called out as she rang her kohai's doorbell. She was about to ring it once more when a voice from behind her made her jump.

"Hello, Sempai."

"Gah!" Mikoto screamed in surprise and turned around to see Saten dressed in, rather unexpectedly considering the Tokiwadai dress code, a simple tank top and medium length skirt combo.

The brunette cocked her head to the side at her startled appearance and Mikoto's cheeks burned in embarrassment.

"You shouldn't just appear behind people like that. Geez! Give me a heart attack."

The door opened to reveal the owner of the house. No, not her friend Saten, but the girl's mother, Kiyama Harumi.

"Ruiko, stop scaring your friends when they visit." The woman chided without missing a beat, before turning to Mikoto. "Hello, Misaka-san."

"I just wanted to see who it was, Kaa-san." Saten said, trying to pout.

"A likely story." The perpetually tired looking scientist said with a shake of her head. "Now, why don't you be a good hostess and usher your friend inside."

"Please come in, Sempai."

"Sure." Mikoto nodded and slipped off her shoes as she entered the house, "Thank you."

"Would you like some tea?" Kiyama-sensei asked.

"No thank you, I just have a few questions for Saten."

Mikoto noticed that the house was surprisingly plain. It looked like a standard suburban home, it had a nice entryway that led directly into an open plan living room/kitchen combo and on one side there was a staircase that led to the upper floor.

"The labs are in the special underground basement." Saten said shooting Mikoto a smirk.

"Haha, good one." Mikoto playful tapped the girl's shoulder.

"She isn't joking." Kiyama-sensei replied, before she gestured to a nondescript section of wall behind the stairs. "The elevator down is behind a hidden panel over there."

Come on, what are they? Mad scientists?

"We did carry out an illegal experiment earlier this year." Saten reminded her, even as she gestured for Mikoto to follow her upstairs.

[The Railgun] sputtered. Is she somehow reading my mi-

"No, your face is just very expressive." Saten informed the older girl even as her mother nodded in agreement, "How do you think Naru-san teases you so easily?"

"Grr, Baka-Chibi." Mikoto grumbled as the mere mention of the blonde had her thinking back to when she tried to ask her if she had any idea if there really were clones of her walking around.

[The Railgun] had even purchased some high-tier pastries to coax the glutton to talk, but Namikaze had remained tight lipped.

The blonde had even taunted her about it! Mikoto had been heartfelt in her request for help but she'd only replied, "You think cake is enough to bribe me? Ha! Too naive, Sempai."

And those sweets cost me my allowance for the week! I swear I'm going to get her back for that. Stupid little sweets vacuum.

"Honestly though," Saten ranted, apparently oblivious to Mikoto's distraction. "The underground labs were there first. We lived out of there for a while and if it was up to Kaa-san we still would be. I love her, but she's an utter cheapskate for things like this. If I hadn't insisted we at least pretend to be normal, we'd still be cave dwellers."

"Ouch." Mikoto winced, that wasn't ideal for Saten, not when the girl was slowly working to be more social. Thank goodness that Kiyama-sensei had enough sense to listen to her daugher.

"Yup, and then she, of course, decided to take 'pretending to be normal' too far and decided to make us look like mad scientists by putting our house directly on top of the labs and hide the entrance and everything."

"There's more mad scientist nonsense!?"

"You shouldn't scream in someone's home, Sempai. It's considered rude."

Mikoto glared at Saten's back, but continued to follow her after they reached the top of the stairs. The younger girl led her to a room that judging by the bookshelves that lined the walls was a study.

"Kiyama-sensei's?"

Saten just quirked a brow in amusement.

"No, her's is downstairs in the labs. This one is mine. While I have read most of the books here, they're really just for show when a client comes over."

Mikoto frowned at her, "So I'm a client?"

"No, you are a … friend." Saten replied, sounding almost shy. It only lasted a minute though, before a slightly teasing smirk spread across her face. "One who just happens to need my services."

"You are spending way too much time with the Chibi."

The brunette shrugged and moved to take a seat in a wingback chair next to a small coffee table and facing another chair. "I happen to think she's a great influence."

"That's a scary thought, but okay." Mikoto smiled and sat down in the opposing chair.

"So I've gotta ask," The older girl frowned, twiddling her thumbs, "I-Is there an experiment involving clones? Mainly mine? There's been a few rumors lately and I'm worried."

"There was an attempt to clone you, codenamed Project Radio Noise." Saten informed her without so much as freezing to check her database. Apparently she'd known what Mikoto had come to talk to her about and looked up the information beforehand. That thought was overshadowed by Mikoto balking at the idea that Saten already knew about it and never brought it up, but she held her tongue so she could get as much information as possible.

She could settle this score with Saten once she'd gotten all the information she needed.

"You gave the researchers at the 7th Medical Research Center of Higuchi Pharmacies a DNA sample, under assumption that they would use it to help children who are living with muscular dystrophy, correct?"

Mikoto's hands tightened into fists, her arms visibly shaking, "Those bastards! They-They told me they wanted to help people. They showed me how they were going to-!"

"Use your powers to replicate bio-signs. They had you believe they could control the bioelectrical signal of the body and reroute it to a nerve signal network, meaning that children with the disease would be able to gain control of their muscles, thus allowing them to recover from their paralysis."

Saten shot her a look of pride, but it was tinted by a sense of sadness at how Mikoto's naivety had been exploited.

"Sempai, you're a kind and noble person. They simply exploited that to play you against yourself." Saten sighed, "A lot of scientists here have no morals whatsoever. I'm sorry you had to deal with such things as well."

"What were they going to do with my clones?"

"Create an army of Level 5s to sell to the highest bidder."

Mikoto clenched her fists to the point her knuckles turned white. She was starting to get why her friend had not told her any of this earlier. For all her lack of understanding about being a normal person, Saten was an exceptionally good friend and protective to a fault. She would not have wanted to upset her by letting her know this unless absolutely necessary.

I still deserved to know though!

Saten noticed Mikoto's reaction and reached over to give her clenched fists a comforting squeeze. "Thankfully, the Tree Diagram's simulations showed that it was impossible to create a level 5 clone of you despite genetic manipulation and use of the Testament. As a result, the project was shut down."

"So they couldn't make the army they wanted after all." Mikoto said as she felt relief wash over her.

"Yes, the highest they could push the clones were Level 2."

Mikoto bit the bottom of her lip, "Are the clones still alive? I mean, it's not like they would k-kill them right?"

Saten looked away and said, "I'm can't say. There's a lot of details that I don't know yet."

"So we can work together to find out!" Mikoto smiled, if both of them tried to figure things out it would be a snap.

"I can't. I'm sorry, but I have a very important mission at the moment. Another of my friends is in trouble and I need to help him."

The Number 5 had a bewildered look, "Saten, this is a really big deal for me. I need help."

Saten visibly winced, "Accel needs me too."

"He's the Number 1, I think he can handle himself. Saten, please!" Mikoto stood up and made to grab her friend's hand. The girl pulled it away with a frown.

"Sempai, don't go making assumptions. He's powerful, but he can still be stupid. Now please leave. I have work to do and my time is precious."

Mikoto was hurt by that. Here she was, swallowing her pride and practically begging for help. And all Saten could do was say no.

She's not this blunt. Not even when she was [The Robot]. Even if she's really as busy as she says with helping the Number 1, she'd at least have offered some advice on how I can proceed. But this time… Is she hiding something?

"Sate-" The older Tokiwadai student began trying to make her underclassman see reason, only to be interrupted by feeling her entire body shift, like she was being teleported by Kuroko. A moment later, she found herself outside Saten's house.

"-n. I-Hey!" Mikoto scowled, glaring at the front door. Fuming, [The Railgun] stomped her foot, "Fine! I'll do this myself then!"

Just then her shoes materialized in front of her. Growling at the very obvious sign that Saten wanted her gone, she hastily put on her shoes and stalked away. All the while, Mikoto rubbed her eye as she tried to bury how hurt she felt.

She'd get to the bottom of this, Mikoto swore it.

A few hours later found Mikoto randomly prowling the streets searching for any and all clues as to her clones. With no leads whatsoever, she'd gotten nowhere fast.

It came to the point that the Electromaster began hacking into the traffic cameras around the area in a bid to spot any lookalikes that might be in the area. Even this illegal move, something that she'd normally never do, unfortunately yielded nothing.

Damn it! If only one of the gang was free to help me.

Unfortunately, everyone was busy.

Uiharu-san and Kuroko were busy with their Judgment duties. The Chibi? She's off doing some photo shoot for the School Garden Chamber of Commerce. And I doubt Saten is going to lend a hand anytime soon. She's virtually become a recluse lately, only keeping in touch by still regularly calling Uiharu and the occasional hang out..

Before this morning, Mikoto had honestly been starting to worry about her.

I shouldn't have. She was probably just busy 'helping' the Number 1. Like he needs it!

Though whatever he's involved in and has got her so worried is definitely something big on - what did Namikaze and Saten, call it? Ah! Right. - the Dark Side, this realization had Mikoto worrying all over again. I really hope she knows what she's doing. She better call for help if she needs it. Even if she pissed me off earlier, there's no way I'm letting her get in over her head and not help out.

Then again even if an Incident occurs, I'm sure Saten, or the Chibi if she was involved in something like that, probably won't even need my help. Whenever I do help, I always end up feeling like I'm a deadweight or relegated to the bench while they do the heavy lifting.

Feeling her frustration at the situation rise, she kicked a nearby can. Normally, there wouldn't be any litter in the City but the Level 5 had by now wandered into one of the few areas that dotted the City that served as the homes to the delinquent Skill-Outs. Here, the cleaner robots that usually kept the streets immaculate were a rare sight. In the no go zones such as this one, they and their security type brethren were liable to be damaged beyond repair at first sight and so the City's authorities rarely sent them there. Hence, contributing to the area's decline.

If I'm lucky, maybe some stupid Skill-Outs will try and pick a fight. Mikoto fumed. She needed some means to vent.

Was it a barbaric idea? Sure, but what else could Mikoto do?

She was just contemplating perhaps actively hunting down some of the punks, when an odd sensation tickled at the Electromaster's electromagnetic senses. There was a nearby EM signature that was resonating oddly with her. It was almost a perfect duplicate of her own.

Mikoto was a total idiot.

Of course! If they're clones of me then they're Electromasters too! Meaning they have an EM signature and since their powers are based on my own, it's going be similar to mine. The girl smiled and followed the sensation. I've got a built in a radar to detect my own clones. Ha! Looks like I didn't need Saten after all.

Zeroing in on the signature, Mikoto quickly found an out of the way alleyway where a group of the area's many Skill-Outs were clustered around a girl in a Tokiwadai uniform.

"What's a lil thing like you doin' all the way out here by yourself, huh?" A sleazy voice asked.

Mikoto frowned, well there were the Skill-Outs she had been hoping for earlier.

A group of three delinquents had surrounded a girl that was identical to the Level 5 in nearly every way save for the odd looking goggles she wore atop her head.

"You should reconsider such actions before Misaka is forced to do harm upon you, Misaka implores." The clone told the Skill-Outs in an oddly emotionally muted tone that Mikoto never thought to hear from her own voice.

That sounds as almost as bad as Saten at her worst. Mikoto noted with a slight shiver.

"Haha! Look at this guys, we've got a feisty one. Leave it to Tokiwadai to pump out these dumb lil Ojou-samas."

Mikoto's eye twitched, oh they were just asking for a beat down now.

"Oi! What do you jerks think you're doing?" [The Railgun] shouted as she entered the alleyway.

"Huh?" "Hey, it's a twin?" "Hehe, man we got all the luck!"

Electricity danced along Mikoto's forehead as one of the punks advanced on her.

"Why don't all of us-"

He never got a chance to continue as Mikoto fried him with a blast of electricity.

She was about to do the same to the other two, but they were already twitching on the ground. Victims of electric shocks as well.

"This was what Misaka warned you about, Misaka says with a sad sigh." The clone said, electricity dancing between her fingers and with not a sign of the aforementioned sigh.

"Greetings Onee-sama, Misaka says respectfully."

Mikoto frowned, unsure what to do now that she had actually managed to run into one of her clones.

"Eh, hello?"

A few minutes later, Mikoto and her clone were hanging out outside a convenience store. The Level 5 had no idea what to do now that she was confronted with her clone - did anyone when faced with such a situation? - so had fallen back on what she'd normally do if she met a new friend while she explored the City's no-go zones: invite them to some drinks at the nearest store.

"Many thanks, Misaka says." The clone told her as she took the offered can of soft drink.

Mikoto resisted the urge to flinch. Can't let her see how the whole 'Misaka says' thing is really weirding me out. Can't show weakness, not until I have firmer idea on whether I can trust her.

The Level 5 already felt a knot in her stomach at how the clones were created, she just hoped they were living with some sense of normalcy.

"So, uh, what are you doing in this part of town?" Mikoto asked uneasily, trying her best to word her questions in such a way that would not scare the clone off or make it seem like she was interrogating her.

Even if that's exactly what I want to do.

"Misaka was on her way to the venue for an experiment, Misaka explains. Going through this area is the fastest way to reach where Misaka needed to go, Misaka offered with a sagely nod." The clone replied while staring at Mikoto with her characteristic detached expression.

"Um, right." Mikoto frowned, the knot in her gut twisted even more, "What experiment?"

"Classified, Misaka says with a secretive wink. By the way, Misaka asks curiously, did Onee-sama track me down by sensing Misaka's EM signature?"

Frowning at not being able to get the intel she wanted, Mikoto nevertheless nodded. "It was similar enough to my own that I just had to investigate. Now are you totally sure you can't tell me about this experiment you're involved in?"

"If Onee-sama is determined to know then she must first provide the necessary passphrase, Misaka informs. Onee-sama, what would you say in reply to 443679351261683? Misaka asks."

"Uh, random number generator?" Mikoto said, rubbing the back of her neck in thought.

The clone shook her head sadly. "It appears that Onee-sama does not possess the necessary clearance to access data on the experiment, Misaka informs Onee-sama sadly."

Is it related to the Dark Side? That means I've definitely got to figure out what's going on! Who knows what terrible things they are doing to the clones.

"Nothing? You can't tell me anything at all." [The Railgun] pressed, desperate for some clue.

"I cannot, Misaka says apologetically."

Mikoto frowned. "If you're not going to tell me then I guess I'll just need to figure things out on my own."

The blank faced clone showed a miniscule frown.

"Misaka cannot sway Onee-sama, Misaka sighs at her Onee-sama's rambunctious nature, but Misaka will warn Onee-sama that investigating the experiment is very dangerous."

"Yeah, yeah." Mikoto said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I'm a Level 5 though, so I think I can handle it."

The clone's frown just grew more pronounced. "Misaka thinks Onee-sama is underestimating the danger, Misaka insists."

Mikoto bristled, she wasn't some weakling. I'm not second-rate. Saten just has a crazy ability.

She pushed her anger aside for the moment, the clone probably just didn't know how awesome she was. To distract herself, Misaka decided she needed to change the topic. Looking around, she found just the thing.

"Hey, you want to play some Gashapon?" Mikoto asked, gesturing to the coin-operated toy vending machines outside the store.

The clone just shrugged and Mikoto walked over to the nearest machine. Putting in some spare change she dug out of her pocket, she spun the knob and out popped a Gekota mascot badge.

"Wow! It must be my lucky day."

Suddenly hit by a moment of inspiration, Mikoto called out to the clone. "Hey, come over for a bit."

"What is it, Onee-sama? Misaka asks curiously."

Mikoto didn't reply, she just took the badge out of its capsule, threw it into the bin provided next to the machine and pinned the badge onto the clone.

"Help me model that." Mikoto explained, smiling at her own genius idea. "I want to see how it would look."

"It looks good, Misaka offers uncertainly." The clone replied, before pausing and continuing a second later. "Misaka just wishes it was not so lame, Misaka wishes to say but instead just sighs."

"Hey! If you don't like it then give it back!" Mikoto reached for it, but her hand was swatted away.

"Wha?" The Level 5 went to grab the badge once more, but her hand was again slapped away.

"No, Misaka earnestly refuses. The moment you attached it, ownership of this badge was transferred to Misaka, she insists. Oneesama's behaviour is robbery, Misaka complains. But nevertheless this is...this is the first present Misaka ever got from Onee-sama."

Mikoto was stunned by this. Was that genuine happiness she'd heard in the otherwise unemotional clone's voice? Over a simple mascot badge? All because it was something she gave her? Really?

Mikoto's heart melted at that and she scratched her top of her head shyly, "If you want it so much, I guess that's okay."

"Thank you Onee-sama, Misaka says with a broad smile." The clone replied, smiling tentatively.

"Alright, it's getting late," Mikoto said, observing that it was already dark outside, "I have to get back to my dorm. I, just be careful."

The clone said nothing, but offered a wave goodbye.

Walking away Mikoto couldn't help but be annoyed that she'd gotten so little out of the meeting but she couldn't do anything about it for now.

Well, at least I found out that the clones are good people.

As Mikoto walked back towards her dorm, she found herself glaring at her Gekota cellphone.

Just call her. I'm sure she's gotten over what happened this morning. Saten's too efficient to hold a petty grudge. Right?

Swallowing her nerves, she dialed the info broker.

As it rang, the wait was almost agonizing.

"Hello, Sempai." Saten answered, sounding mechanical in a way she rarely did nowadays.

Ok, so she might still be a little pissed.

"Saten!" Mikoto smiled with relief, "Hey, I um, I'm sorry about earlier. I was upset, and I can't stand what those guys did. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

There was a short pause on the line, as if Saten was considering whether to accept the apology.

Please do. I would really like your help right now. That and I hate the idea that we're fighting.

At long last, Saten replied. "Apology accepted. Now, I know you didn't call me just to apologize. What is it that you want?"

Efficient, much? Mikoto mused with a shake of her head at her friend's ability to switch gears so quickly.

"Alright, here goes. I need intel on a Dark Side experiment. I met a clone earlier and it's just a gut feeling, but they need my help. Please, Saten, can you help me?"

"Sempai, you really shouldn't get involved with the Sisters. It's not something that you can handle."

Mikoto gripped her phone tightly, "Sisters? Saten, h-how many of them are there? No, it doesn't matter. If they're involved with something, then that means I'm already involved. So tell me, what's going on?"

"I will not." Saten insisted. "I will not let you just become another statistic."

"S-Statistic?" Mikoto asked in a shaky breath. "Are you suggesting the clones are getting killed?"

Saten's lack of a reply was answer enough.

"Damn it, Saten! Tell me what's going on! I can save them!"

The knot was no longer in her stomach, instead the feeling had changed. It was now as if a giant hole had taken it's place.

"Stay safe, Sempai." Saten said as she ended the call.

Mikoto gripped her phone so tightly that its frame creaked, but she didn't care, instead she hastily stuffed it into her pocket and turned around to dash after the clone.

Please, please let me find you! It's going to be alright, you're not going to be a statistic!

Tracking down the clone a second time proved far easier than the hours long search she'd undertaken the first time. Honing in on the clone's EM signature, Mikoto made a beeline towards her. Pushing through the modest night crowds, the Tokiwadai Second Year was making good progress.

Just a few minutes into the hunt, she spotted the clone on the other side of a traffic crossing.

Lucky! The light is still green.

Breaking out into a sprint, Mikoto was determined to make it across before the light changed. She was part way across the street when the light changed without any warning.

The blare of a truck horn alerted the Electromaster of a possible collision. Reacting quickly, she called on her electromagnetism to pull herself across the crosswalk. Mikoto landed atop a street lamp. Below her, the truck sped by and the chestnut haired girl glared at the reckless driver.

"Geez! You could have killed me, you jerk! At least look out for pedestrians still crossing before hitting the accelerator."

Done venting, she took a moment to calm down and assess what just happened.

"That wasn't normal. Someone made that light change on me like that." She concluded with a frown. "Did the clone do it?"

Even if the clone's powers were a downgraded version of her own like Saten said it was, Mikoto knew they could probably still hack into a system as simple as that of the traffic light.

Jumping off the street light, Mikoto continued her search for the clone. Sadly, she was just drawing a bead on the clone's EM signature when another strange thing happened.

The beeps, whirrs and the grinding of wheels were the only warning that [The Railgun] got as she was suddenly surrounded by a large group of security robots.

"Hey, what? I didn't do anything wrong! The light changed on me!"

The security bots didn't seem to be acting like they should. Sure, she had technically broken the City's rule about the use of powers in public spaces but that so many of the robots would respond was bizarre.

"Grr, get off me!" She shouted as the machines started to crowd her and forcibly push her in the opposite direction of the clone. Pissed, she released a electroshock wave that pushed them all away from her and shorted them out.

"The traffic light and now security robots? Both electronic systems… And there's only one person in the City famous for electronic manipulation on this scale besides myself." Mikoto reasoned with an angry glint in her eye. "Saten! Show yourself!"

The shuffling of items in a nearby alleyway had Mikoto turning towards it. Saten walked out, a mix of a frown and an angry expression on her face.

"Sempai, I keep telling you to let this matter go. If you don't, you're going to get hurt."

Mikoto shifted her body, tensing for a possible fight. Saten seemed to preparing for the same. The few people around them clearing as if under some kind of compulsion, almost certainly the [AIM Sovereign]'s doing,

"Is that a threat, Saten?"

The Number 3 shook her head, "No, but if I stop you it would be far better than the alternative."

"If this is such a big thing then help me stop it. Don't stop me instead!" Mikoto shouted at her. "And another thing, where do you get off making that decision for me?"

"Just like you stopped me, I'll stop you. The Dark Side is more dangerous than you can ever imagine, Sempai. I lost too much to it as is. I cannot in good conscience let you become a part of it. You shouldn't become like Naru-san and I. Please?"

"...I can't do that." Mikoto shook her head, "Not if I can do something to stop this. Now get out of my way!"

The Number 3 simply responded by raising a wall of barriers in what was fast becoming her trademark move in front of her, barring Mikoto's way.

"Saten, drop that right now." Mikoto hissed in warning, electricity arcing across her body.

The brunette just crossed her arms defiantly.

Growling in angry frustration, Mikoto sent a massive bolt of lightning streaking at the barriers. The roar of the electrical surge shattered windows all along the street and sent sparks flying everywhere, but the wall and Saten stood unfazed.

"Sempai, stop resisting and let me help you."

"Confining me isn't helping the situation!"

The Electromaster continued to fire her lightning bolts at the barrier even as she stealthily collected a sizable mass of iron sand on the other side. When she was confident that she'd gathered enough she shaped it into a whip and lashed out at Saten's unprotected back.

Or supposedly unprotected back. As moments before the whip would have struck, the metallic filings that made up her whip promptly transmuted into gas.

Saten just quirked an eyebrow at having seemingly effortlessly thwarted Mikoto's sneak attack.

Gritting her teeth, Mikoto realised that there was only one option left.

Fishing out one of her arcade tokens, she got into the iconic pose she adopted whenever she used the technique that had engendered her moniker.

"Step aside, Saten, or I'll really use it."

Her underclassman just shook her head, and doubled the thickness of her barrier.

The Number 3's resolve just hardened Mikoto's own. Sweeping aside the small amount of worry and hesitation that she was feeling, she flipped the arcade token into the air. As it came down, she flicked it with her thumb.

This sent the metallic coin into the powerful electromagnetic fields she'd crafted into a barrel around her, which in turn sent it hurtling through the air at thousands of miles per hour. As the token screeched through the air, its passage superheated the air around it and created a visible streak of plasma as it flew unerringly towards its target. This was her dreaded Railgun.

The sound of the irresistible force of Mikoto's technique hitting the immovable defense that Saten had set up was like a large bomb going off. All around them, things shattered just from the furious noise. Others were thrown into the air by the winds created by the explosive collision between the two forces.

It was punctuated however by the sound of shattering glass, as the imposing barrier shattered under the Number 5's powerful onslaught.

Saten staggered back from the shattering of her barrier. Barely allowing her the time to shake her head, Mikoto used her powers to enhance her stride - using electromagnetism to make each step she took into a leap - and rushed at her fellow Level 5.

"Sorry." Mikoto told her friend sincerely as she raised a fist coated in electricity to the brunette's temple.

The electricity jolted and sent Saten to the ground in a graceless heap, thankfully knocking her out.

Panting, Mikoto gained her second wind quickly and winced at what she had done to the girl. She quickly quashed her regrets. She had a job to do.

Saten would understand, Mikoto was certain of that.

Finally, Mikoto arrived in an empty railyard.

A distance away from her was the clone on the ground. She was missing her entire left leg from below her mid-thigh and blood dripped down her face and across her body from countless wounds. Despite that, she was dragging herself along the ground with a pained expression.

There a few feet away from her was the Gekota badge that Mikoto had given to the clone not even an hour ago.

Stalking behind her, with his hands in his pockets and giving off an air of boredom was a skinny teen with pale skin, moppy white hair and red eyes.

Even though she was too far away to be heard, Mikoto screamed with her all even as she sprinted towards the fi- no, execution, "Stay away from her!"

The clone reached for the badge.

The albino casually pulled a hand out of his pockets and touched a railcar as he passed.

Grasping the badge tightly, the clone held it to her chest as if it would offer some kind of protection. Or perhaps just solace in her final moments.

A second later, Mikoto could only look on helplessly as the railcar the boy had touched shot into the air and came crashing back down on the clone, crushing her.

Numbness washed over the Original as the albino scoffed.

"Ma, talk about pathetic. I thought this game was supposed to get harder?" He scratched his head and turned to see Mikoto, "What? Oh, two for one appointment this time?"

Game. Harder. Appointment. The words circled around in Mikoto's head but she couldn't puzzle out any meaning from them. Her mind was too consumed by one emotion that drowned everything else out.

Utter and complete rage.

"RARRRRR!" She roared to the heavens as a lightning bolt came down from the sky to strike the murderer.

Done and done! Thanks to the team of Nameless as always!

Wow, talk about a thrilling chapter. Sure, some of the things were a rehash of canon, but I hope we put our own spin on it. It was enjoyable to write.

Nameless: So begins the Sisters arc. We're trying to make it as original as possible, but since canon was so good in terms of Character Development for Mikoto we intend to borrow a lot of it. We'll still try to keep things interesting though with new twists on it, hopefully you won't be disappointed.

Mikoto, my fav, you are going to be hurt. A lot in this arc. The mindset of being a second-rate Level 5 is going to settle into her head. Because Accel be fucking scary! Even as a cripple he has that same presence.

Nameless: Oh, and some of you might be wondering what was Saten's deal with fighting Mikoto. As she said, she's trying to stop Mikoto from getting caught up in the Dark Side which is what will happen if she gets involved with the Level 6 Shift Project. Is she being overprotective and dismissing Mikoto's right to a choice? Hell, yeah. But she's really just returning the favour. Mikoto did the same to her during the Level Upper arc. Sometimes, friends have to butt their heads into their friend's business to keep them from doing stupid shit. At least good friends do.

So… We had feedback that we need to tone it down with the CD (yes, we're sticking to this abbreviation. It's a pain to type out "character development" every damn time!). And we'll try. We honestly wrote this chapter and most of the next one before that feedback came in. As such, if it's too heavy handed still in these two chapters, please understand that it's from before we implemented the changes in line with the valid criticism.

E4E: Well, you know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you loved! No flames and peace off my peeps!