Song: Steins;Gate VN insert song - Technovision by Kanako Itou

Sometime in the afternoon, there was a young girl with pigtails appearing and disappearing, from one location to another. It was like she was hopping from one direction to the next in the blink of an eye. She had a Tokiwadai middle school uniform and a green-colored armband with white stripes and a shield logo.

Her name was Kuroko Shirai.

And right now, she was heading towards the place that her Onee-sama (*1) had asked for her to go to.

Then, she landed somewhere around the corner and hid behind the shadows as she noticed two Anti-Skill officers.

"...No sir, we haven't found the Time Lord, his companion, or the Railgun," One of the officers spoke from their comms, which perked Kuroko's interest as she listened with attentive ears. "...Yes, sir, we'll keep searching for them. Let's go."

Both of them would leave the premises, leaving the young woman sporting a suspicious look as she slowly stepped out from the shadows.

"...So Onee-sama was right," Kuroko spoke gravely, eyes narrowing. "Something is very wrong with Anti-Skill."

Before she came here, Kuroko had been informed by her onee-sama of the 'strangeness' that's happening on her end, on how she, Saten, and some other person with them are being currently pursued and hunted down by Anti-Skill. That was serious, hence she asked Misaka for clarification.

...

...

"...You wouldn't really believe me if I don't show it to you, Kuroko. Heck, I don't think I believe it myself, but Saten-san seems to believe it though, so I'll just have to take her word on that."

"Onee-sama, that doesn't really help me to understand what's going on over there!"

"Look, just... get over here. I'll explain what I can then."

...

...

Kuroko would sprint and hide in the alleyways. Using her teleportation ability, she managed to slip from the Anti-Skill officers who were running in various directions. A few directions later, she eventually finds the place where Onee-sama wanted her to go where they could meet up.

"...Uggh. Onee-sama, please don't tell me you and Saten-san are hiding in there..."

She said while putting her hand to her nose and instinctively felt disgusted by the scenery of the dumpster. Steeling herself, she would walk towards the dumpster pile and knock on the edges of the greenish dumpster bin

"Onee-sama, it's Kuroko, are you there?"

In response, the handle would open, revealing...

"...Took you long enough," The recognizable Ace of Tokiwadai (*2) would say with an irritated expression as she and another familiar face would lift their heads out of the container.

"Blimey, was it really that long?" Kuroko noted the inquiring tone of a strange foreigner who lifted the roof of the container. "It felt like almost fifteen minutes on my count."

"Yeah, well, forgive me if I'm not exactly keen on wanting to spend another minute hiding underneath all of this stench," Misaka remarked with disgust. "Uggh... I really need a shower after this."

"Well, you're in luck, since my ship has a shower room for you both to get cleaned up," The foreigner smiled.

"Hai, hai, I'm sure," Misaka casually said while waving her right hand.

"...Um, who are you?" Kuroko looked confused, wondering who was this man. Was he the stranger that her Onee-sama had been talking about?

"He's the Doctor," Misaka spoke while getting herself out of the bin. "That's his actual name. Don't ask me why, it just is, now, Kuroko, I've gotta ask, were you followed here?"

"No," Kuroko shakes her head. "I came here alone, while making sure to cover my tracks and hide from any Anti-Skill personnel in the area. Just," Kuroko knitted her eyebrows while putting her hands to her waist. "Just what is going on here, onee-sama? Why are you two," She looks at this mysterious foreigner who lifts himself out of the trash bin. "And this man being pursued by Anti-Skill?"

"Technically, I believe they're after me," The stranger spoke with a concerned tone. "And since from what I've heard, you're a Level 4 Teleporter from Judgment, I figured that you could at least get these two out of this place." He indicated to the two middle schoolers present.

"Wait, but what about you?" Saten looked concerned. "We can't just leave you here while those... things are hunting you down."

"Oh, don't worry about me," The Doctor reassured. "I'll just stay inside this dump and wait for this young officer to fetch me. Now, run along you three, allons-y. (*3)"

Then he closes the dump, leaving the dumbfounded middle school students.

Kuroko sighed while looking at Misaka. "Onee-sama, can you at least tell me what's going on now?"

"Later," Misaka replied before looking at Saten. "So you know where Hakase's... spaceship is?"

"Spaceship?" Kuroko raised an eyebrow. What nonsense is her onee-sama talking about?

"Hmm," Saten nodded. "Though... I'd probably warn you, it's not exactly... what you'd expect."

Trivia For Chapter:

(*1) - An honorific term that Kuroko uses for Misaka specifically.

(*2) - Also phrased as Tokiwadai's Ace. One of Mikoto Misaka's epithets.

(*3) - French for 'Let's go'. A catchphrase of the Tenth Doctor.