Happy New Year! New year, new start, new chapter for all of you! Hope you all had a great start to the new year. Just wish we could have gone without that Logan Paul incident. At least we also got Emiya-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan. Just watching the opening of that makes me hungry. And Saber is so cute eating different types of food in the opening! Also, Index III this year!

Quick note, there is a lot of line breaks and perspective jumps. Italics mean that a voice is being said through the communicator. Anyway, let's not waste too much time and get to the Q&A!

MrQuestionMark: Glad you liked the start of the arc. Character accuracy is a must for me when writing. If I even remotely know anything about a character I'm writing about, I want to make I depict them correctly. I needed some way to get them on board, so I thought it was the best course of action.

ALostBlueIdiot: That is certainly a very zany sixth sense. Sphinx is a must when Index around, plus I love cute animals. Sorry to leave the Delta Force out. I wanted to trim the fat and not repeat too many of the original jokes.

Kim454: I'll keep that in mind. Of course, if I do pull in magic side information on poltergeists, I'd have to do my research to make sure I'm not writing anything that conflicts with the canon rules of the universe. There is a confirmed Book of the Dead, after all.

RedSS: Yeah, the differences in canon usually come down to character relations and the execution of events. Not much available to work with in earlier parts of the story, but there will be plenty later down the line, specifically by the Sisters Arc.

Awareness Bringer: Thanks for the encouragement.

Guest (1): Anime. As much as I would like to use the source material, it's not exactly easy to come by with my budget. Sorry to disappoint you.

Guest (2): I'm more of a dog person too, myself. Of course, I love all cute animals. Cats, dogs, penguins, etc. If it has a cute incarnation somewhere in the animation industry, I love it.

Guest (3): Incorporating the girls was one of the main goals of this story. Glad to know I'm doing that right.

Bluejack222: My faith in my ability to debate has been renewed! To be fair in regards to August 31st, Touma put up a good fight before getting restrained long enough for Index to be kidnapped and then distracted by Mikoto.

mohamadstar94: All in good time, good sir, all in good time.

GhostofTime: I was wondering when someone would point out that writing quirk. Go time!

ahsoei: Sorry if it looks rushed. It's probably because I spend a good amount of time trying to trim the fat off the original story. I honestly don't think anyone reading this wants to see me rehash the same scenes with the same jokes happening in the exact same way. I also don't want my story to end up as a wall of constant dialogue, so I condense most of the exposition that holds very little emotional weight and has few opportunities for jokes into narration instead of dialogue. As a result, scenes like Index sneaking home Sphinx and the specifics of the mission are cut down.

Scarletrailgun (Guest): Sorry to disappoint you, but the Sisters Arc will have to wait. The Poltergeist Arc from Railgun comes next, so the Sisters Arc should be coming around in like two or three months, depending on how consistent I can be. Don't worry, once the Sisters Arc comes around, that's when the really heavy changes come in.

Linkstore (Guest): This is a suit of steel, Medieval style armor in the most modernized, scientifically advance, futuristic city in the world. Do you honestly think people in Academy City would expect something made of steel and humanoid in shape to be anything but a robot? I plan to cover all the canon events. The differences lay in the character interactions and exploration and how those events are executed because of addition character.

Now that that's out of the way, disclaimer time because I'm afraid of getting sued despite my small presence and lack of profit!

Disclaimer: All characters and plotlines of the "A Certain" franchise are credited to Kazuma Kamachi.

Chapter 16: Meeting at Twilight

Whatever the girls were expecting when they agreed to help Stiyl with his mission, it certainly was not this. Five seconds after Stiyl and Touma stepped into the building and they already found a corpse. That had to be some kind of record. Based on the style of the armor, Stiyl deduced it was the corpse of a knight of the Roman Catholic Church. He also deduced that many more knights must have been involved as well and that they were all wiped out in their scuffle. The prep school had become a battle field, so dying was natural. However, one thing bothered the girls as they watched Touma's camera feed.

"Kamijou, does anyone else in the building appear to be disturbed by the corpse," Uiharu asked.

"No, not at all," Touma replied over his earpiece, "In fact, I doesn't look like anyone even realizes Stiyl and I are here at all."

"There are two sides, heads and tails, like a coin," Stiyl explained through Touma's wiretap, "Imagine Breaker and I are in the same place as them, but there's a barrier between us. The students are on the heads side. They can't see people on the tails side like Imagine Breaker and myself. And while we can see them, we can't interfere with them in anyway."

"Maybe Imagine Breaker can bring that barrier down," Mikoto suggested.

"Don't bother," Stiyl interrupted as Touma reached for the floor, "The barrier is sustained by a core that is probably located elsewhere. There's a reason you can hide behind this barrier as well. Regardless, the death of this knight gives use one more reason to fight."

The girls silently watched the video feed as Stiyl walked off with Touma following closely behind. The whole situation was rather hard to believe, all things considered. Accepting the existence of magic was already a difficult task at first, but most, if not all, doubts were dealt with the night Touma lost his memories. Even with coming to terms with this, seeing the things magic was capable of was still a unique experience. Both Esper abilities and magic could bend reality, but many Esper powers will still bound to certain rules and required some base in logic for them to be possible. On the other hand, more complex magic seemed to completely disregard the laws of physics and reality in general, like imbuing life into inanimate objects or creating with only a couple of runes. To see that magic could create a sort of dimensional barrier was quite extraordinary.

Then, there was the matter of the killed knight. The girls expected this to be a simple reconnaissance mission, but the stakes were much higher than they originally thought. This alchemist didn't appear to have any qualms out killing those that interfered with whatever plans he had. If he would do that to a knight in full body steel armor, what could he do to Touma, a regular high school boy armed with nothing but his supernatural right hand? The girls didn't even want to think about who badly his body could be mangled by this alchemist, yet they had just let him walk straight into the dragon's den. Their friend already lost his memories to his last magical encounter. They didn't want him to lose everything else as well.

Regardless, Touma had already been in the building, so the time to run had passed. It's not like he was going to walk away from this anyway, that's just how he is. The girls knew this very well and accepted it, albeit begrudgingly. They continued to observe and guide Touma from Uiharu's computer, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst.

The girls continued to watch the laptop screen as it tracked Touma's movements throughout the building. There wasn't much going on, just Touma and Stiyl walking up a couple of flights of stairs. In fact, that was all that the camera was picking up for the last couple of minutes. There wasn't much in terms of conversation either, so all that the wiretap picked up for a while was radio noise and the footsteps of the two infiltrators as they climbed up a seemingly never-ending flight of stairs. It got to the point where the girls had ended up buying a couple cups of coffee from a nearby coffee shop just to not fall asleep watching the same video feed.

"Hey, Kamijou, mind asking Stiyl why exactly you're taking the stairs?" Kuroko asked out of boredom.

Kamijou complied and was given the same explanation as before with the unaware students; the barrier. Since they were on the tails side, they couldn't interact with anything that existed solely on the heads side. That included the elevator buttons. Even if they followed the students into the elevators, they would have to take a chance with the floors they would be heading to. With Touma's luck, they probably never get to the right floor using that method.

"This is Misfortune to Headband. Come in Headband," Touma said over his earpiece, "Any alternate routes we can take besides the elevator or the stairs. Like escalators?"

"No, sorry," the resident 'girl in the chair' replied, "I'm looking at the floor plan right now. No indication of any other way up."

"Rotten luck," Touma whined.

"Man, this barrier thing can be a real pain, can't it?" Mikoto mused, "Seem to be rather picky with what gets through."

"I have to wonder if cell phone calls can get across," Touma wondered aloud, "If the radio signals for my equipment are getting through, why not cell phone signals."

"Why don't you give it a try?" Stiyl suggested, his voice oozing with sarcasm.

"Okay then, I will," Touma replied, disregarding the sarcasm.

Touma quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Satan's landline. After a few dial tones, Touma was surprised when Index was the picked up the line, even more so by her apparent lack of understanding in how to use a phone. After a little bit of teasing, Touma asked of Index to hand the phone over to Saten. However, Index revealed that Saten had to leave for a little bit since Index ended up emptying the fridge again.

Of course, Touma was rather furious at Index's lack of restraint when it came to food, reminding her that while Mikoto may provide the funds that feed her, those funds were still limited. However, in quickly calmed down an apologized for yelling. He had more important things to worry about than Index's lack or restraint. After explaining that he was check cell reception and telling Index one last myth about the dangers of phones, Touma put away his cell phone, only to be met with a skeptical look from Stiyl.

"What? Is there something wrong?" Touma asked.

"Oh no. I was just thinking that you seem to be awfully relaxed," Stiyl claimed, "I mean, here in enemy territory and almost the first thing you do is start chatting up a girl. I don't really care if that ego ends up being the death of you. You can get yourself killed for all I care."

"You do realize that there are three girls on the other end of this wiretap that can hear everything you're saying, right?" Touma asked, gesturing to said device.

"Nice to know we were not forgotten," Uiharu said, "I'd hate to be the character in a story that the author decided to just push to the side."

"You're a really jerk, you know that, sorcerer!" Mikoto yelled.

"Come on, Zapper," Touma replied, "Don't insult a guy when he can't even hear you to defend himself."

"Regardless, I don't want you dragging me down with you. Got it?" Stiyl clarified.

"Jealous, are we?" Touma mused.

"He's definitely jealous," the girls agreed, having heard everything.

"Don't be ridiculous. I already explained to you my relationship with Index. That goes for you girls on the other end of the wiretap as well," Stiyl defended calmly, "I think you of all people would understand. Just think about it. She's lived for years in a body that would be destroyed without regular memory erasure. There were a number of people in her life that have been in the same place as you. Over the years, these people have tried to play various roles for her: father, brother, friend, teacher. I tried once and failed, then you tried and ended up saving her. That's all. That's the only difference between you and me."

Without another word, Stiyl continued to climb the stairs. Touma followed suit, but seemed to lag behind. He was quiet, lost in thought, something that didn't go unnoticed by the girls.

"Hey, are you okay?" Kuroko asked over the communication link.

"Sorry, I'm just thinking," Touma replied quietly as to not let Stiyl hear.

"It's about your memories again, isn't it?" Mikoto deduced, "I thought you were past that. You said you found your answer and know who you are."

"I know what I said," Touma answered back, "I know I said that the me before and the me now are both part of who I am since the feelings that connect both of them to the people I care about still exist, but it's hard sometimes. Every so often it feels like the current me is severally disconnected from the past me, like some feelings that connect the past me to people don't apply to the current me."

"Okay, you're starting to lose me," Uiharu admitted.

"Take Index for example. She feels a lot of gratitude to the past me for saving her," Touma explained, "But now that he's gone and the current me is in his place, I feel like I'm receiving unwarranted thanks for saving her."

"I get it. You feel like that gratitude is something that is exclusive to the past you, before you lost your memories," Kuroko deduced.

"But that's not true," Mikoto argued, "Index is grateful for you saving her, but that's not all. Ever since then, you've been looking out for her, making sure she is safe and cared for. We may cover most of the costs and provide the shelter, but that's only because we know you would have done so yourself and put yourself at risk if we didn't step up. You care for her like an older brother and she thanks you as such. The past you may have saved her, but the current you keeps her safe now."

Touma stopped in his tracks for a moment and thought about what Mikoto had said. Did he really deserve the thanks Index gave? Mikoto sure seemed to think so. If he really thought about it, she was right. He was being stupid. Index was thankful that the past him saved her, but she was also thankful that the current him stayed by her side, looking out for her. Those feelings of graditude applied as much to the current him as the did to the past him.

"Thanks, Misaka," Touma replied, "I needed that."

"Don't mention it," Mikoto replied sweetly, noticing he had used her real name again, something Touma only did when he was genuinely thankful.

"Hey! Imagine Breaker!" Stiyl yelled, "Pick up the pace or I'll leave you behind!"

It was twilight now. Still watching the video feed, the girls looked on as Touma and Stiyl walked into an active cafeteria. Everything seemed normal enough. Students from various schools were sitting around, talking, and eating various school quality meals. However, everything went to hell when the students suddenly stopped what they were doing. They started acting in sync and began to chant something, like some sort of prayer, and seemed to be aware of Touma and Stiyl's presence. Orbs of light then began to form in their foreheads and emerge, drawing closer towards the two infultrators.

"Okay, Imagine Breaker, looks like you're up!" Stiyl yelled as he ran off, leaving Touma behind.

The girls were rather surprised at the video feed of Stiyl running away. Rather, they would be if it wasn't completely in character for him to leave Touma to deal with something that could potentially kill him.

The video feed then turned away from Stiyl towards the orbs of light, still approaching closer.

"Idiot! Run!" Mikoto yelled.

"Right!" Touma screamed as he ran after Stiyl before overtaking him.

"Why are you running?" Stiyl asked as Touma ran past him, "Your right hand was strong enough to protect you from Dragon's Breath but instead of using it to defend yourself, you're showing them your back?"

"You don't really have room to talk here! Anyway did you see how many of them there are? I can't fight that many with just one hand!" Touma argued, "Uiharu, we need an escape route! Cross-reference my current position with security camera feeds and find us any hallways not flooded with the orbs of light!"

"Already on it!"

Uiharu typed away on her laptop as fast as she could. Tensions were high as she easily hacked her way into the building's security system and brought up the camera feeds for all the cameras on the floor Touma and Stiyl were on, as well as the floors above and below them. She compared the camera numbers to their locations on the map with Touma's tracking device. Most of the cameras brought up images of hallways filled with orbs of light and students chanting. However, a select few were clear of any obstacles. Uiharu kept an eye on the cameras and the screen, trusting Touma to make the necessary turns when needed.

"Care to explain what this thing is?" Touma asked Stiyl as they ran.

"It appears to be a Gregorian Chior," Stiyl replied, as if expecting Touma to know what it was.

"And that would be?" Touma asked again, clearly annoyed.

"Take the next hallway on your right!" Uiharu ordered.

The camera feed from Touma's wiretap displayed an approaching wall of orbs of light before suddenly panning to the right and displaying the shaking image of another, empty hallway.

"I'll summarize," Stiyl said, indicating he had made the turn as well and still running along with Touma, "Essentially, it's a big spell formed by the voices of 3,333 monks in a holy shrine."

"Can a bunch of people chanting nonsense do anything to hurt us?"

"Left turn in five meters!" Uiharu ordered again.

Like before, the camera suddenly panned away from the approaching wall of magic light orbs to an empty hallway.

"It sure can, but it doesn't work unless every person is saying the exact same words at the exact same time," Stiyl answered, not skipping a beat from the constant turning, "We have to find whatever it is that keeps them all synchronized."

"Take the next stairwell and head down two floors!"

Touma did as he was told and Stiyl followed suit. However, it appeared that the two of them were too slow. Before they could go down the second flight of stairs, Touma's camera feed presented images of a wave of magic orbs starting to flood the next floor down.

"Uiharu, we need a new escape route!" Touma begged over his earpiece.

"Working on it!" Uiharu cried desperately as she searched the security camera network for some other path they could take.

However, those plans were interrupted when Touma's camera feed suddenly began to shake and stumble down the stairs.

"Did that jerk just push him down the stair!" Mikoto yelled in outrage.

"What was that for?!" Touma asked, swinging his ear mounted camera in Stiyl's direction.

"Sorry, you drew the short straw," Stiyl said with a wave, not really sounding sorry.

"Kamijou, next time you see him, punch him in the face and make it entertaining," Kuroko suggested.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Touma replied as he ran down the next flight of stairs.

He attempted to get away, but stopped when he saw what exactly was in front of him. On the girl's end, Touma's camera feed presented a single girl. She was chanting, just light everyone else in the building, and was surrounded by magical light orbs. As she chanted, another orb of light formed from her head and she began to be covered in cuts. Touma desperately begged for her to stop, but it was no use. This girl was not chanting by her own free will and would be unable to stop, even if she wanted to.

However, by some miracle, the girl stopped chanting and started to fall over. That was the last thing Touma's camera was able to pick up before going to static.

"What just happened?" Mikoto asked in concern.

"Sorry, I managed to catch this girl and my camera came loose," Touma explained over his communicator, "Just my luck, it broke on impact with the floor."

"Don't worry, I still have the security camera feed running," Uiharu said as she expanded the camera feed for the area Touma was in.

On the camera, the girls saw the hallway flooded with orbs of light, with Touma and the now unconscious girl sitting helplessly on the floor. The orbs then began to gather in one spot, spirally around each other before rushing at Touma at full speed.

"Kamijou!" the girls cried as they watched from the sidelines.

However, much to their relief and confusion, the orbs stopped in their tracks just before hitting Touma. The floated in place for a moment, surrounding him, before slowing drifting to the ground and disappearing on contact.

"What just happened?" Mikoto asked.

"Guess Stiyl was able to disable the spell synchronizing everyone," Kuroko deduced.

Uiharu noticed Touma look behind him and up the stairwell. She manipulated the camera and tilted it up.

"It's you," Touma said to no one in particular.

Standing at the top of the stairs was Deep Blood herself, Aisa Himegami.

Back at Saten's dorm, Index was playing with Sphinx, stroking the kitten's fur as she spoke with him, as if he could answer back.

"Where do you think everybody went today, Sphinx?" Index asked.

She thought back to her conversation with Touma over the phone. She couldn't help but feel like he was a bit too calm about the situation. Normally, when she was wasteful of the resources that the girls had so generously provided her with, Touma would give her a lecture about the value of money and other people's generosity like he was her father or older brother. A lecture, mind you, that Index usually chose to ignore since the girls always said it was fine. It wasn't like Touma to just drop the subject of her apparent wastefulness without putting up an argument.

"Something's wrong," Index concluded, "Touma reacted way too calmly. He would never be alright with me forcing Ruiko to go shopping again because I ate all the food."

Resolving to figure out what Touma and the others were hiding, Index grabbed Sphinx and left Saten's dorm. However, she stopped in her tracks for a second when she saw the outside of the dorm covered with runes. To Index, something was most definitely wrong.

"We're all done for now, at least," Himegami said as she closed her first-aid kit.

"You did a pretty incredible job with her," Touma complimented, examining the passed-out victim, "Are you sure you've never had any medical training before?"

"It's not about training," Himegami answered plainly.

"Then how?" Touma asked again.

"I told you before, I'm a magician."

"You never said anything about her being a magician," Kuroko noted.

"Sorry, it didn't seem important at the time," Touma shrugged.

"HOW IS THAT NOT IMPORTANT?!" Mikoto yelled, causing Touma to flinch.

She couldn't believe how much of an idiot he could be. In what context was this girl being a magician not be important information, especially knowing that magic was real.

"Sorry! Not so load! I never actually saw her do any magic, so I couldn't be sure," Touma defended, rubbing his ear.

"You of all people should know to hope for the best and plan for the worst!" Mikoto argued back.

"What if I showed you something to prove it," Himegami interrupted, noticing Touma was talking to someone over a radio communication.

She reached into her robes, attempting to pull something out from the folds of her top.

"Hey idiot! Look away, you pervert!" Mikoto yelled.

The yelling was quickly replaced by the sounds of Kuroko's screams, must likely from her trying to keep Mikoto from frying the laptop in her anger.

"Seriously thought, Kamijou, we can still see you through the security cameras," Uiharu said calmly.

Not feeling like arguing, Touma turned his head away. He only looked at Himegami again after she pulled out what she was looking for.

"Here," Himegami said, presenting her retrieved tool, "This is my magic wand."

"Um, that's a police baton!" Touma replied, mildly shocked.

"The latest model," Himegami added, swinging it forward and letting it spark with electricity.

"Put it away!" Touma demanded.

"What is up with this girl!" the girls yelled, completely confused by the Himegami's calmness.

After getting Himegami to put away the baton, Touma said that he had come to break her out of the prep school. However, Himegami explained that she needed to stay, and she intended to do so. Specifically, she needed to stay under the care of Aureolus Izzard, and that required her to stay within the confines of the school he had taken over. Apparently, Aureolus's takeover allowed for the elimination of the science cult originally in charge of the school. However, Touma and the girls were still confused as to why she would let herself stay cooped up.

"Tell me something. Do you know what vampires are like?" Himegami asked, "They are no different. Vampires are no different from normal people. They laugh, they sing, they love. They make sacrifices for the good of others. My blood is unusual, it has a sweet aroma that attracts vampires. It rounds them up, draws them in, and it kills them. It's the same every time. It kills everyone, always, without exception.

"Academy City is a hub of supernatural activity. I thought I could find someone here to understand my power. And then, once it was understood, I hoped it could be taken from me. But in the end, the solution that I sought wasn't here. I don't want to cause any more death. If it comes down to it, I decided I would kill myself before taking another life."

Touma and the girls could hardly believe what Himegami was saying. Had her power really caused so much death and destruction? Not only that, but her claims suggested that it was physically impossible to tell the difference between a vampire and another human. People they met every day could have been vampires the entire time and they wouldn't have been aware. If what she was saying was true, them she had been forced to watch hundreds of normal looking people die at her feet. The girls could only hope to never see that many dead bodies, the thought was too painful to imagine.

However, one thing didn't add up to Touma.

"That so? Then explain something," Touma mused, "If you're so worried about the effects of your power, then why did you go out to eat earlier?"

"Simple. The reason Aureolus needs me is because he wants to attract vampires," Himegami answered easily, "And if I remain inside the barrier he created, I cannont draw them out as he wishes me to."

"Okay, but doesn't doing that for him go completely against your objective in all this?" Touma pushed.

"Aureolus maind a promise to me," Himegami explained, "He said he wouldn't harm any vampires that came to me. He said he didn't need too. He said he only needed the vampire's power because there was somebody he needed to help. That's why I'm working with him. Instead of kill, my power will be helping. That's how I want it to be."

"Someone he needed to help?" Mikoto mused.

"It's never going to work," Touma said sadly, "Even if he's the kind of person you say he is, this a mistake that has gone way too far. If things keep going on like this, there will be no turning back."

"You can't fault the man for wanting to help someone," Kuroko agreed, "but I agree, his methods are more than questionable."

"Hang on," Uiharu interrupted, "Kamijou, the cameras are picking up someone approaching behind you!"

Touma quickly turned around and saw a man in a white suit with green, slicked back hair calmly approaching him.

"Perhaps, but why would I wish to turn back from the path I have chosen," the man said.

"Has he been listening?" Touma asked.

Himegami replied with a slight nod.

"I've been here longer than you think and I'm nearer than you imagine," the man said.

Once the words were out of his mouth, he suddenly appeared directly in front of Touma, much to his shock. On impulse, Touma attempted his famous right hook, but the man simply stated that the attack would miss, and the outcome was as he commanded. The following left hook was the same, as if the man's words held power over what Touma was capable of.

"What happened? How did you do that?" Touma asked in a growing panic.

"This doesn't make sense," Uiharu cried over the communicator, "He's one place one second and another place in the next! It's like he's teleporting!"

"Except that's not teleportation," Kuroko corrected, "I've seen how things look when I teleport them, and that looks nothing like what I do."

"Now, I find your company lacking," the man said, "Time to go!"

"No!" Himegami yelled, jumping in front of Touma.

"When push comes to shove, you rely on the power of your Deep Blood, which implies you do not wish to give it up," the man smirked, "If you cling to it, how does that make you any different from me?"

"I'm not a killer," Himegami replied easily, "This boy didn't even know what Deep Blood meant. He isn't here because of that. He only came today to rescue a stranger he met over lunch. Tell me, Aureolus, what is your true goal!"

"This is the alchemist?" Mikoto mused outloud.

"Do you intend to take an innocent person's life because he inconvenienced you?" Himegami continued, "If you are the type of man who would do something like that, our arrangement ends here and now. I already made it clear I'm not afraid to die if necessary."

"Very well," Aureolus conceded, "I can not afford to more of my time anyway."

Aureolus quickly glared at Touma, earning him a defensive glare back.

"Don't worry," the alchemist said as he pulled out a large needle, "I don't intend to kill you."

He stabbed himself in the side of his neck before pulling it out again.

"You will forget everything that has transpired here."

"What just happened?!" Mikoto yelled in a panic.

"I don't know," Uiharu replied, staring at the camera feed Touma was on just a few seconds ago, "He just up and disappeared!"

"What about his tracker? Can you get a read on it?" Kuroko suggested.

"Not inside the building, no," Uiharu replied.

"What about outside the building?" Mikoto added.

"Hang on," Uiharu said as she typed away, expanding the search area for the tracking device.

"Found him!" Uiharu cheered, much to the girls' relief, "He's in a park just a few blocks from here."

"Okay," Kuroko said, grabbing on to her two friends, "We'll be there in a flash."

After a few teleportation hops, the girls found Touma and Stiyl sitting on a swing set, looking completely lost. The sun had gone down, and streetlights were starting to turn one.

"Kamijou!" the girls cried in relief.

"Hey, girls," Touma greeted, sounding like he wasn't entirely sure what to say.

"Are you okay?" Uiharu asked.

"Yeah, peachy," Touma replied, "Although, Stiyl and I feel like we were doing something important just now."

"Wait, you seriously don't remember?" Mikoto asked, growing concerned again.

"Can't say I do," Touma admitted, rubbing his head with his right hand.

The sound of shattering glass rang out. Touma looked like he just had an epiphany. He looked up and past the girls, straight at the building of Misawa Prep School not too far away.

"I want to show you something," Touma said to Stiyl, getting off the swing, "It's a little trick I know that will make you feel better in no time."

"Kamijou?" Kuroko asked in confusion.

"Home remedies are Kanzaki's specialty," Stiyl explained, "I think I'll just ask her about it later on."

"Just close your eyes and stick out your tongue," Touma insisted.

"What?" everyone else asked, utterly confused.

Touma closed his eyes and stuck out his tongue as an example.

"See?"

Not entirely understanding what Touma was trying to accomplish, Stiyl decided to just humor the boy for the sake of it. He removed his cigarette and followed Touma's instructions, completely oblivious to what Touma had planned.

"This is for using me as a decoy so your cowardly butt could run away!" Touma yelled.

Touma ran up to Stiyl at top speed, delivering a powerful right uppercut that forced Stiyl to bite his tongue and launched him off the ground a couple of centimeters. The sound of shattering glass was heard upon impact, releasing Stiyl from whatever supernatural power was affecting him up until then. When he hit the ground, Stiyl attempted to argue with Touma over the punch, but stopped when the memories started rushing in.

"You remember now?" Touma asked.

"Yeah," Stiyl replied as he picked himself off the ground, "Come on, we have to move!"

Stiyl and Touma immediately began running towards the school, but stopped when they noticed the girls had yet to moved. They just stood there, quietly laughing among themselves.

"Something wrong," Stiyl asked, confused.

"It's nothing," Uiharu said through her giggles.

"We were just thinking that Kamijou got you really good," Kuroko explained.

"Middle schoolers," Stiyl huffed.

The group made a mad dash to Misawa Prep School. When they finally arrived, they found a group of seven men wearing suits of armor and armed with swords lined up in front of the building.

"Hey, those look like the corpse form earlier," Touma observed.

"The surviving knights of the Roman Catholic Church," Stiyl deduced.

The knights all raised their swords skywards, as per the command given by the one in the center of the group. A bright, red light shone at the tip of each of their blades.

"A Gregorian Choir," Stiyl noted, "A real Gregorian Choir, not like the alchemist's replica."

"Didn't you say it took 3,333 people for those things to work?" Kuroko asked.

"Right now, there are probably that many congregants offering up prayer in the Vatican," Stiyl explained, "It's a Holy Hex Bombardment."

"And that would be?" Mikoto asked.

"That," Stiyl said, pointing up.

Above them, the clouds began to swirl and serge with red lightening. It appeared to be a small thunderstorm with the strength of a hurricane condensed into a localized area.

"But Himegami is still in there! Not to mention the other students!" Touma cried desperately as he watched the knights attack.

The storm above struck the building with a giant bolt of red lightening, one that rivaled the kind of storms Mikoto formed on a bad day. The building began to collapse. The windows shattered, and the two main towers began to fall apart and away from one another. However, the damage began to be undone almost immediately. Rubble reassembled itself into the shape of the building while the towers realigned themselves. It was as if time was turning backwards.

"It's going back up," Touma observed.

"Ars Magna," Stiyl explained, "it's the true power of Aureolus Izzard. And that's what we're ultimately going up against."

Soon enough, the building was in it's original condition, like nothing ever happened.

"Guys!" a familiar voice called out.

The group turned to the sound of the voice to find Saten running up to them with a grocery bag in one hand and Sphinx in another.

"Saten?" Uiharu asked in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" Mikoto questioned.

"I'm sorry," Saten said, out of breath, "I was going home after doing some grocery shopping after Index cleaned out the fridge when I found Sphinx on the road in the area with this!"

She reached into her grocery bag and pulled out a very familiar white and gold hood.

"Don't tell me…" Touma said as he took the hood, "Damn! Thought so. This is part of Index's robes."

All eyes were drawn away from the hood towards the building in front of them. With Index's hood and Sphinx being in the area, it did not take a genius to figure out where Index was, especially with an alchemist in that building. The stakes just got much higher.

Well, that was the chapter. I'll admit, I don't think it was one of my better works. Still, happy I went through with it. You see what I did with the title there? Hopefully, my romantic subplots will be much better than those of the work I was referencing in the title.

Dragon Head in the next chapter. Let's see how the girls take it.

Leave a review if you like! See you all next time!

Yo, best guys out there!