Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or any of its related franchises, characters and such. This fic contains spoilers from the Light Novels, I advise all readers to finish reading those over at BakaTsuki before reading this fic to maximise your reading experience.

Author's Notes: Just checked, this fic's rating is still 'M'. I normally put my fic's rating at M anyway since I'm not too sure what's over the top or not, but in this case the M is well deserved. Something's going to happen in this chapter that will leave the rating firmly at M (there will be blood, oh yes), so if anyone's not comfortable with that kind of things then you might want to leave now.

For this chapter, I thank Mr. Kyon, Chaos2Frozen and Ashaman of Fire for their support. Without their help I might have taken another month to iron out the details and post this. Having people to ask for assistence and typing summaries out really help the flow of thought.

Chapter 6 – Rage

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"So, back from another incident?" Touko asked pleasantly from the doorway.

A few days after her run-in with Tsuchimikado, Touma had finished destroying the Document of Constantine at Avignon and sent back to Academy City. He might be battered and bruised, but he made it out in one piece.

Touko made a mental note to thank Tschimikado for this later, even if he didn't help Touma because she had asked him to but because it was part of the job; not to mention Touma's his friend. But even so, she's still happy that her 'brother' was alright after facing Terra of the Left.

"Tsuchimikado told me you knew about Terra and Avignon from the start," Touma said in a subdued voice, even as he winced at how parts of his body are still sore.

"I did," Touko didn't deny Touma's words as he went and sat next to his bed on the sofa. "Sorry that I didn't bring a fruit basket or anything like that; all I've got is the handouts from class, considering you've missed a few days of schoolwork by now-"

Stop trying to change the subject. Touma's mental voice through the link surprised Touko, as it had a edge of anger to it Touma wasn't able to suppress completely. If you knew what was going to happen, you could have at least told me about Academy City's attack on Avignon as well. I could have stopped Terra from being burned to death-

Wait a sec, Touko raised one eyebrow. Terra was taken down by Academy City's forces? Just what the heck happened?

Touma gave her a short summary of what had happened in Avignon, culminating in how missiles struck the Papal Palace and how the battlefield was engulfed in flames before he passed out. His gaze was accusatory towards Touko, telling her without words if she had given him foreknowledge then he might have prevented Terra's demise.

Touko's face was an enigma as she processed the information. Academy City's forces back in her world had left the Papal Palace alone, and burned the old city of Avignon to the ground after evacuating all the citizens. A outcome that, though she didn't know it, was the result originally planned by Academy City forces; and if Accelerator hadn't requested, no, demanded, the plans to be changed to prevent unnecessary destruction it would have still happened in Touma's world. Terra had escaped despite being bound up and his 'Execution of Light' destroyed, his situation similar to how Vento's 'Divine Punishment' was destroyed during the 0930 Incident. Touko thus suspected Terra had a few tricks left in his sleeve which enabled his escape – it was not like Acqua was spotted invading the area and retrieving Terra like he did with Vento.

There was nothing you could have done even knowing Academy City was going to attack, Touko sighed and said back through the link. I've seen the footage and the aftermath on TV; over a third of the Papal Palace was destroyed, and the entire place could have been burned down if it was the objective. There was nowhere you could have taken the fight to that Academy City wouldn't have been able to interfere either way.

Besides, Terra's not dead.

"What?" Touma was so surprised that he verbalised his thought.

Terra's not dead, Touko repeated. Considering the attacks were only heat and kinetic impacts on a extreme scale, with Terra's Precedence Spell he's likely to have made it out alive with so few factors to defend against. It's not like Academy City brought Virus Bombs, nukes, or anything like that to kill off Terra, right?

I guess… Touma sighed, leaning back on his bed. He felt like a burden was lifted after knowing Terra wasn't dead. In all his previous battles none of his opponents had lost their lives in the process – unless you count Aureolus Izzard, with his mind erased somehow by his Ars Magna. Stiyl had said without his memories the person that was Aureolus is effectively dead and gone, and a new person have taken his place.

Touma didn't think too deeply about how that same logic could have applied to him. There was no point dwelling on things beyond his control, what mattered most right now is walking forward. People like Index depended on him, and it doesn't matter if Kamijou Touma had his memory erased or not; he's confident both the him before and after that moment would have done the same things, so it wasn't such a big loss like he's no longer the same person.

Thanks, Touko. And I'm sorry for taking it out on you, Touma directed his thought over to his 'sister'.

"Apology accepted," Touko said gracefully. "Besides, I'm not mean enough to hold grudges towards a invalid."

"Does that mean you'll be thinking up ways for revenge once I get better?" Touma felt a sweatdrop form on the back of his head as he began to worry.

"Would I do that, dear brother?" Touko smiled. Touma was in no way assured by that smile.

"Touma!" a voice accompanied the door being opened. "They've run out of lemon soda, so I got you juice instead…"

Index saw Touko in the same room with Touma and froze, her smile began to slide off her face. Both of the Kamijous here remembered how Index doesn't seem to get along with Touko, but they don't really know what to say in this situation either.

The awkward silence continued for a few more seconds, before Touko said: "I've done what Tsukuyomi-sensei asked and brought you the handouts, so try and at least do some of it before coming back to school okay?"

"Eh? Ah, sure," Touma said after he realised Touko is making her excuse to leave to avoid being a bother, or making things difficult for him. Since Touma is in the hospital Index can't really stay at his dormitory alone (the silver-haired nun really didn't know how to use machinery like microwaves, so cooking – even basic recipes – was out of the question), so she tends to come with him and stay at the hospital. Touko doesn't have the heart to force Index to stay away from the one person she knows well in this city, and so she took her leave.

It's not like anything we have to talk about right now is more important than his time with people of his world anyway, Touko sighed. She seemed to be doing that a lot recently. In Touko's mind, she's a trespasser in a foreign world, someone not meant to exist here. She has no right to deprive Touma or anyone around him of their time being together – doubly so when in mere weeks he might never get a chance to be with them ever again.

Things like Avignon's aftermath can wait. What's left of that incident is no longer his concern, or a issue where Imagine Breaker is the solution to problems. Things have once again settled down to where there was no clear cause and effects. The situation right now is back to political wrangling, with deals and counter-deals being made and the circumstances ever in flux; it's no longer a situation where by destroying one item or defeating a certain person with Kamijou Touma's right hand will solve the problem. Talking about anything to do with the Magic Side or the Darkness of the world will only be a burden to him, when he cannot do anything to help at all.

The next time Imagine Breaker will be of use is when Acqua of the Back makes his move, and that isn't something that can be prepared for… A Saint with the additional powers acquired from being a part of God's Right Seat, not to mention the experience from fierce battles that was on a whole different level compared to what she or Touma had been through. Both of the Kamijous have touched the Darkness of the world in only the incidents they were involved in, but Acqua was a man who dedicated his life helping many people to escape the clutches of that Darkness in the best way he thought was possible, never faltering in his ideals.

Even with help, this will be a tough battle. Touko just hoped the tragedy that happened in her world won't repeat itself here.

"'Why can't I take a side trip before I go back?' Misaka says as Misaka pouts and tries to put up a cute exterior," A child's voice whined somewhere close by.

"Yomikawa's worried about you," The Frog-faced Doctor's voice answered in response, shaking Touko out of her thoughts. "Shouldn't you at least go back and see her first before heading out again?"

"'She knows I'm alright, she has been visiting recently anyway', Misaka says as Misaka refutes the flawed reasoning," the voice, which now Touko identified as a little girl's and sounds familiar for some reason, said back to the doctor. "'Misaka #19090 has read there's some sort of special event at the amusement park in the Sixth District that will end today from her magazine, so this Misaka is anxious to go there!' Misaka says as Misaka tries to use crocodile tears as a means to her end."

"'Misaka'?" Touko wondered as she turned the corner to the hospital's main entrance/exit . That way of speaking sounded like what one of the Sisters would say-

-So cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!

Touko suddenly brought her hands up to her nose, with only sheer willpower preventing what might have led to possible haemorrhage via nosebleeding. There, next to the Frog-faced Doctor, was the splitting image of Misaka Mikoto when she was younger in a one-piece blue dress that has white polka-dot pattern on it, and over that was a white overcoat not buttoned up. That ahoge, along with those dimples was a devastating combo just in the photos she was shown, but seeing them in the flesh was almost too much for Touko.

Calm down, Touko, she mentally slapped herself as she forced herself to breathe evenly, not hyperventilate in such a way they can probably hear her on the other side of the hospital. If this was a different time and place, Touko would have said something borderline incomprehensible like 'omgomgomg SQUEEEEEE!' and then proceeded to tackle-glomp the mini-Mikoto while rubbing her face in the adorableness.

The fact this isn't Touko's world that had kept Touko relatively less eager to put her instinct to action and act upon her desire. But even not taking circumstances into account, there's something inherently wrong with what amounted to a total stranger come flying in with a tackle and then refuse to let go of you – a fact that Touko is trying very hard to not forget right now. But the temptation just won't stop nagging at her conscience, whispering how it's not wrong to indulge once in a while…

"Kamijou-kun?" the Frog-faced Doctor inquired upon seeing Touko who was leaning weakly on a wall, breathing heavily and her face looked flushed; signs similar to that of illness and fever. "Are you unwell? Did you overwork yourself recently?"

"I'm fine," Touko answered as she took a few deep breaths. "It's nothing to worry about – and really, the cause of this right now is probably more embarrassing than harmful."

Heaven Canceller looked dubiously at Touko who gave a dry laugh as she steadied herself.

"Well, try not to push yourself too hard," the Frog-faced Doctor sighed. "Your brother does that enough for more than one person already. I do hope you won't end up like him, winding up here at the hospital on a weekly basis."

"I'll try," Touko gave a noncommittal response, like she doesn't plan on putting much effort into that attempt. Or just didn't care what happens to her.

"'Are you really alright?' Misaka asks as Misaka indicate she's worried."

Both the old doctor and Touko looked down at the mini-Mikoto who looked curiously at the older girl, with a tinge of worry in her expression.

"I'm fine," Touko repeated, this time with a small smile. "Thanks for your concern, little one."

"'This Misaka's name is not 'little one'', Misaka says as Misaka puffs up her cheeks in discontent," Last Order pouted. While 'that person' calls her a brat, it was just a result of him being verbally hostile to everyone. Not even someone like him is mean enough to make fun of her flat figure like the tall girl in front of her might be doing, even if it is unconsciously implied.

And no, if anyone asks Last Order would deny she's channelling the Original's deep-seated worries about how her body grows.

"My apologies, then," Touko bowed her head slightly to show she's chastised, then knelt down to bring herself to look face to face with the small child. "May I ask for your name, dear?"

"'Last Order', Misaka Misaka replies," Last Order told Touko.

'Last Order'? Definitely one of the Sisters then, it doesn't sound like a normal name. Touko thought. Aloud, she said "I'm Kamijou Touko. Pleased to meet you."

"'Kamijou'?" Last Order tilted her head. The administrator of the Misaka Network silently sent a request for information to the various other Misakas connected, and it confirmed what she had thought moments later:

Their saviour, that spiky-haired boy who stopped the Experiment, doesn't have a sister. Judging from what the Frog-faced Doctor had mentioned earlier, her brother ends up in the hospital on a weekly basis, and the only one that fits that criterion from this hospital is Kamijou Touma.

Yes, the Sisters as a whole had been digging for info on Touma. It's only natural they want to know more about their saviour after all. They haven't gotten as much as they had liked from the accessible files though.

Something here isn't right, and Last Order wants to find out just what exactly is going on. She's suspicious about 'Sisters' that come out of nowhere, fearing that unlikely as it is, something similar to the Radio Noise project has happened again.

"Yes, Kamijou. Is there something wrong with my name?" Touko asked, not knowing the exchanges Last Order had been carrying out with the other clones.

"'Ah, no', Misaka says as Misaka tries hard not to show surprise," Last Order hastily said. "'Though this Misaka would like to ask if Touko-san is related to our savio- someone named Kamijou Touma?'"

"He's my brother," Touko confirmed Last Order's suspicions. "You're talking about a guy with black, spiky hair, and have a tendency to help others if they just ask, right?"

"'Yeah, that's him', Misaka says as Misaka nods her head furiously," Last Order said while in thought. She can use this. Last Order sent a message to the network to drop anything not critical and focus on finding out about Touko, or any experiment about their saviour in the Dark Side. It might be a futile effort as everything related could be encrypted at even beyond a Director's level and above their ability to hack, but they need to check regardless. They want to return the favour to the teenager who stood up and fought for them despite the odds stacked against him, and if they can stop a experiment based on him then they will definitely do so.

Meanwhile, she'll dig for things personally.

"'If you have time, can you talk with me for a bit? This Misaka wants to know a bit more about him', Misaka says as Misaka conveys her request."

"Well…" Touko does have time to spare. And spending it with a mini-Mikoto is definitely not a bad way to do so.

Though judging from how Last Order is talking, it appears Touma has got himself another admirer in one of those incidents that went differently to her world. First Index, and now Last Order… is the version of herself in this world really a lolicon that needs to have these impure tendencies brutally removed? She could go back to his room right now and…

"'Alright!'" Last Order smiled beatifically, grabbed one of Touko's hands and started to drag her towards the door. "'Then let's go, Touko-nee!'"

Touko-nee…

Touko-nee…

Touko's mind came to an abrupt halt after hearing the little girl calling her that, the words echoing inside of her. Last Order only called Touko that as part of her strategy to play being a 'younger sister' since some of the other Misaka's have read that's really effective at times – it worked beyond what Last Order has thought. She had considered calling Touko 'Onee-sama', but to the clones the Original is the only one they'll ever say that too. Nobody else deserves that title of respect.

Though in reality, being called 'Onee-sama' might have done less damage to Touko's thinking abilities…

Heaven Canceller merely told Last Order not to stay out too late, and returned to his work. He feels he can trust Touko to not let anything happen to Last Order, and will protect her if anything happens.

Thus, he wasn't around to see Touko suddenly stumbled into the ground outside the hospital, with a pool of blood forming despite no obvious wounds. That had scared Last Order quite a bit.

-][-

"Siiiigh," Touko huffed out exhaustedly as she flopped down onto her seat at an open-air café. Next to her, Last Order did the same and then slumped lifelessly face down onto the table.

Throughout this afternoon, Touko had been on a wild goose chase of sorts when Last Order decided at the last minute to change her plans of going to the amusement park to finding a 'lost child', someone who from Last Order's words is very important to her. Despite the ahoge antenna showing the person was close by several times, it appeared they had just missed that person.

Still, it wasn't a complete waste of time, Touko thought. Not counting in the frantic running around at times it was almost like a girl's day out together, shopping for souvenirs and visiting cafés and other such things. During this time Touko had tried to get some information out of Last Order, but pieces of information were few and far between. She herself gave the standard cover-story of being Touma's sister she gave everyone else, though Touko can tell Last Order was only half convinced. Last Order right now seemed tired and a bit down for still not finding her target, but she had smiled a lot during this afternoon.

That alone made it all worth Touko's efforts, even if she'd never admit that. She's not a creepy stalker lolicon like Touma, damn it!

"You want a cold drink?" Touko asked, and from how Last Order murmured indistinctively with her face still covered by her arms it appeared Last Order had agreed. "Alright then. We'll take a rest here before continuing our search-"

"Excuse me, ladies," a voice interrupted Touko. "May I have a moment of your time?"

Touko glanced at the source of the voice, and Last Order also turned her head around wearily from where her position on the table. A few metres away was a teenager who's about Touko's age with sandy hair in a maroon suit that's not buttoned up. If the warm smile that looked decidedly wrong on his face didn't warn Touko something is not right with the situation, then the claw-like contraption he has on his right hand did. A normal civilian won't have that kind of accessory, the kind that looked to be more than just a fancy fashion statement.

"And you are?" Touko asked tersely, tensing and preparing for a fight.

"Kakine Teitoku," the teenager replied pleasantly – or as pleasantly as he could make it sound, his tone of voice unable to mask the potential of trouble he could bring. "I believe at least one of you have heard of me?"

The name sounded familiar, but Touko couldn't quite place her finger on it.

"'Ranked Number 2 of the Seven Level 5s of Academy City, Kakine Teitoku,'" Last Order recited, all traces of tiredness gone from her. In its place was caution, telling her to start running even though it might be futile by this point. "'He possesses the ability of-'"

"Dark Matter," Touko finished the sentence, finally connected the dots between the teenager in front of her and the documents she had read on the night she stopped the Level 6 Shift experiment. "And a member of the Dark Side of Academy City, if I'm not mistaken."

"Yeah, that's me," Kakine casually responded. "I would like to extend my invitation to #20001 here to come with me for the time being. I'm going to meet up soon with the guy you're searching for anyway, so it's not out of your way to accompany me."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Touko said bluntly as she stood up, placing herself between Kakine and Last Order. "I'd have to be crazy to let someone like you getting their claws onto Last Order."

"Hey now, you make it sound like I'm the lolicon here and not that white-haired bastard," Kakine said mockingly. "And you're saying it like you truly believe you stand a chance against me. You're just a clone of that no-name Level 0 who somehow beat the Number One with a fluke."

Last Order took a sudden breath, her gaze darting between Touko and Kakine. Touko didn't deny Kakine's claims. He shrugged, then continued: "Don't think that I'd fall into the trap of being too prideful, and be stupid enough to leave openings for weaker opponents to take advantage of. I'd take you seriously and grind you into the dirt like the fake you are-"

SLAP!

Touko backhanded Kakine, leaving a mark on his face – from where she is standing a few metres away. The telekinetic force of that blow was supposed to be strong enough to knock Kakine airborne, out of the café and onto the road; but Touko didn't account for white, glowing feathers appearing out of nowhere and dampening the force.

The fact Touko made a mark at all even with a Dark Matter shield indicated if she had tried this on a normal human she might have taken their head off; meaning either Touko is smart enough to go for overkill when facing Level 5s, or just wasn't thinking straight when it comes to protecting Mikoto look-a-likes.

"I don't give a damn if you're the Number Two, a Level 5, a genius or whatever," Touko stated coldly. "If you mess with Last Order while I'm around, I'm going to kick your ass."

"You bitch," Kakine snarled, not even fazed by the blow and gave off a murderous aura that matched Touko's own as she stared at him. "Fine. I show no mercy to those that stand in my way, so if you want to die so badly I'll oblige your death wish, then take that brat away from what's left of your cooling corpse-"

A twister descended from the sky, and gale force winds blown any bystanders that hadn't sought refuge from this fight off their feet and away. Debris was dug up from the ground and surroundings, which proceeded to batter away at the teenager who was trapped inside.

Touko shielded Last Order with her body even as she jumped back from the sudden attack, taking the smaller girl with her. While she did intend to use some more exotic tricks she had in response to Kakine's boasting, she wasn't the one that called down the tornado. The person responsible was someone else.

"Shut the fuck up, scumbag," a voice called out from above. "Let's just skip the trash-talk and go straight to killing one another, shall we?"

Like a angel of death, Accelerator in a white version of his trademark shirt floated down with four twisters on his back that allowed him to fly. His red eyes seemed almost to be glowing with the rage he's feeling towards someone that would try and use Last Order against him, and his arms held to the side like he's ready to rip someone apart with his bare hands.

The Number One of Academy City wasn't anything like what Touko remembered the one in her world to be like, in both personality and appearance. Accelerator here has a choker on his neck, wearing white instead of black; but what set him apart from his counterpart in Touko's world was the confidence in his ability and willingness to kill. He was nothing like the girl who was forced into the Level 6 Shift experiment by manipulative bastards who almost succeeded in breaking her mind when they could not break her body. Touko has trouble equating the seemingly psychotic killer here with the tormented and timid girl who shed tears of agony even as she slaughtered the Misaka clones.

"That hurt, punk."

With a BOOM, the barrier of wind was shattered. Six incandescent wings glowed with white light and broke apart the force of nature Accelerator manipulated like the proverbial hot knife through butter. Fluttering feathers of unknown energy formed around Kakine, forming a loose spherical barrier around him as he levitated up to eye level with Accelerator.

"No wonder you're the Number One, to be able to attack like that," Kakine said conversationally, like he wasn't threatening to kill another person mere seconds ago. Touko's existence no longer mattered to him now that his real target had shown up. "It's a novelty to have to struggle to win for once."

"For someone that has to take a hostage before coming to a fight, you sure talk big," Accelerator sneered. "If you needed to go after a brat to feel confident about yourself I don't have to tear you apart to prove I'm obviously better than you."

"Are you stupid? A fair fight is a fight where you die. Taking a bit of insurance is something that's expected in this line of work," Kakine scoffed. He then looked down towards Last Order, who was still protectively held in Touko's embrace, before turning his eyes back onto Accelerator.

"Now that you're here, I suppose I can leave the kid alone. If I eliminate you then there's really no more need to harm a brat for insurance-"

With a blast of wind, Accelerator shot forward faster than a bullet and tried to tear Kakine apart with his hands. Kakine soared up above with a similar speed, with Accelerator's response said louder with his actions than he could with words:

The time for talking is over, and you can save it after I turn you into a mangled piece of flesh.

-][-

"'Let me go!' Misaka says as Misaka-!"

"No way," Touko replied as she hauled Last Order over her shoulder like a sack of rice, and ran as fast as it is possible under the situation away from the fight between two Level 5s. She wove in and out of the crowd, the sounds of clashing can be heard even now. The airborne battle was a sight to behold, beams of light rained down from the heavens while storms brewed to counter them. Streetlights were torn off to become projectiles, and glass shards fell down from broken windows that were the result of shockwaves. And among all that, the shining wings and feathers were dominantly visible.

Intellectually, Touko knew Last Order isn't Mikoto. She also knew full well that she's just projecting her guilt onto the current situation, that if she can protect Last Order she would have in some way made up a tiny bit for what she did to Mikoto back in her world. Nonetheless, she can't stop feeling those things.

She have no idea why a Misaka clone is worried about the Number One esper of Academy City, after what he did to them in the Experiment, but judging from Last Order's reaction that feeling was obvious. The emotional attachment between them seems to go both ways, if Kakine's plan of using Last Order as a hostage against Accelerator is any indication. Touko shook her head at how this turned out, the killer and victim caring for one another – if was the female version of Accelerator she fought, she can understand, but the albino male who looked like death incarnate was far from the type of person that seemed to care about Last Order.

Touko considered going back like Last Order suggested and help Accelerator, but decided against it. While Kamijou Touma had been someone that acted first with his gut feeling and thought about things later, Kamijou Touko was different. Born knowing she cannot afford mistakes and in a sense the world's safety is depending on her, instead of having the attitude of 'I'll worry about it when it comes, thinking too much don't solve anything' that Touma possessed, she chose to be careful in all her choices. She also acted on her feelings like her counterpart, but rarely without thought or disregarding the consequences.

To put it into perspective, Touma charged in to save Orsola Aquinas because it's unthinkable to do anything else, his morality refusing to accept anything else when there's even a tiny possibility he can change things. He knew that if Stiyl and others didn't show up, he would have been in deep trouble and yet still chose to challenge 250 battle nuns without knowing he had backup.

Touko, on the other hand, had a plan beyond that of a berserker's. Run in, grab Orsola, take down Anieze or whoever was in charge of guarding Orsola, then run away like the legions of hell are after you. Fight when you're sure you can win, run when you can't. The 250 battle nuns can't exactly openly give chase onto the streets of Tokyo, not without the police thinking there's been a riot of some sort by religious fanatics wielding archaic and bizarre weapons like swords and carriage wheels. Having less physical strength than her male counterpart, she relied more on quick thinking than brute strength, and used Imagine Breaker as a versatile lancet hitting crucial areas rather than just a shield or a bludgeon. That she had access to a way to negate attacks from a distance also helped, too.

The outcome might be the same, but the paths the two Kamijou travelled were different. Touko thought about things more, despite being as 'book dumb' in academics as Touma. She was more conflicted in reaching her decisions, but did so anyway and took the burden upon herself, even knowing this is a foolish thing to do consider what is at stake. That 'foolishness' came back to haunt her, after she bit off more than she can chew and thought she had enough power to do more than just her part.

She doesn't want to make the mistake of getting into fights she might not win again. Inevitably, someone always pays the price for her when that happens.

"We can't help Accelerator even if we go back," Touko told Last Order. "Believe in him."

Touko wasn't lying about not being able to help. Granted, she does have access to more esoteric attacks than just telekinesis, such as being able to rain fire down from the heavens or bend the world to her will and make her target endure the destructive forces of nature. Gale force winds of 200km/hr and thunder strikes almost on par with that of Mikoto's is nothing to scoff at.

But they always come with a price. Like the 'MP' system that you might see in games, she can't just throw out attacks like it costs nothing. Sooner or later she will tire out and unable to attack. What she's worried about most of all however, is that thing which is inside her. The one that was responsible for bring her here to begin with. It has been looking for a different power to not just match the one who defeated It, but one that can overthrow even the being that sat on the throne which the one who sealed It served. Every time she used that ability which should have been natural to humans, she faced an intense effort from It that sought to master the same ability through her and her Right Hand that lacked Imagine Breaker.

The price here doesn't refer to just the exhaustion, but corruption. A better description here might be 'consumed'. Faced with that, whether her ability will even be effective against Dark Matter and a personal reality that taints the world into arguably a different one is an inconsequential issue. Touko again felt the anger and worthlessness she has towards herself, that she can't do anything helpful without Imagine Breaker.

Sure, she can fight Kakine… but that's ultimately a victory in name only, one that leads to a battle in her favour at the cost of the war being lost. Last Order's goal of 'saving Accelerator' won't be achieved with Touko's aid, merely changing Accelerator's enemy from Kakine to another entity.

On Touko's shoulder, Last Order gritted her teeth. She knew that Touko does have a point – as far as she knows neither of them is likely to be able to defeat the Second Strongest esper in the city. Even if Touko might be a clone of Touma, there's no guarantee a repeat victory where a Level 0 can defeat a Level 5 will happen.

But that wasn't the point Last Order was trying to convey to Touko to begin with. Last Order knew Accelerator will win; she had no doubt about that. Her issue here is Accelerator will fall deeper into the Darkness as he tries to keep her in the Light. After finally finding him, she won't let him disappear from her life like this! He doesn't deserve this life of fighting for others and letting himself be devoured by the Darkness of the world!

He deserved better than that!

That thought in Last Order's mind was broken by a loud roar of rushing wind, and Touko instantly brought Last Order down from her back next to a building and shielded her from the blast of air that buffeted them both. The two Level 5s fighting flew down the road, wreaking havoc wherever they went. Falling debris from broken buildings, shattered glass, and blown off billboards littered in the area signalled their passing.

As those two landed in the middle of a four-lane crossroad further down, Last Order made up her mind.

"'I'm sorry, Touko-nee.'"

ZAP!

Touko gasped and collapsed onto the ground, feeling like she had been tasered.

"'This isn't about helping him survive. This is about freeing him from the Darkness, both the ones surrounding him and the ones in his heart.' Misaka says as Misaka conveys this is something she has to do."

Touko struggled to push herself back up, her limbs trembling as she did so. Even if she wasn't knocked unconscious, the paralysis would be more than enough to keep Touko from stopping Last Order.

"'I'm sorry.'"

With those words, Last Order ran towards the fight between Kakine and Accelerator.

-][-

"I'm sorry, Touko."

Ignoring Touko who's battered, bruised and coughing up blood on the floor after being knocked flying half way across a bridge, the Railgun stepped forward and barred the path of her opponent that tried to finish Touko off.

Tea-coloured hair, a statue-esque face, and wearing something like a blue polo shirt. He gave a presence of a soldier that has gone through many bloody battles. In one of his hands are a five metre long steel weapon that looked something like a hybrid between a lance and a mace, which given his muscular form it doesn't look too much out of place.

Acqua of the Back. A member of God's Right Seat and also a Saint. Possibly the most formidable opponent Touko had ever fought up to that point in her life.

"I know you told me to stay away, that this is your fight… but after seeing what he's done, I can't just let it go like that…!"

Misaka Mikoto spread out her palms, and two swords of iron sand taller and wider than she was appeared in each hand as the material was drawn to her by magnetism. She was enveloped by her power, electricity running over her like a suit of armour. Acqua's stoic face didn't change a in the slightest, even when facing the 3rd Level 5 of Academy City.

With a fierce battlecry, Mikoto charged.

-][-

For but a brief instant, Touko saw Last Order's back as she ran away superimposed with Mikoto's image on that horrific night when her lover charged at a opponent she cannot defeat. That shocked instant was enough For Last Order to disappear into the crowd before the thought of telekinetically restrain Last Order to even occur to Touko. And now that the small electromaster is running through lingering people that was still shocked by what happened, Touko can't get a lock onto her as she needs line of sight. These people don't know where to go for safety, and when buildings could collapse on top of them but staying out here is inviting to have debris rained down on you, it's understandable that everyone don't know what to do.

With clenched teeth, Touko went to work on restoring her muscles from its paralysed state. Being with Mikoto so long means she had ways to get around that inconvenience with her ability; even if she normally used it on people other than herself, and it was when she can use that ability freely without worrying about that thing at all.

Well to Hell with that! Touko thought bitterly. No bloody way is she going to let another girl run towards her death like that. She knows she's biting off more than she can chew – again – but it's unbearable to let Last Order to just die like that. Postponing It gaining more power versus the life of another person, there's no contest on what she would choose.

Touko hated herself for refusing to do the best thing in the long-term, that she's unable to sacrifice one to save countless others from a worse fate - but she knows she'll probably hate herself even more if she chose otherwise. Right now she only hoped she can make it in time.

She has a really bad premonition about this.

-][-

Last Order burst onto the scene as the battle reached the end. Kakine Teitoku was in the middle of the road, his wings ripped off and stabbed through his body. Even after the Number Two got around Accelerator's reflect to deal damage to him, after Accelerator changed his calculations Kakine did not stand a chance. Even his own power was used against him, their vectors manipulated to direct it against himself.

The difference between the Number One and Number Two might as well be a impassable wall. Accelerator was victorious even as he protected people he deemed not relevant to his battle from the effects.

As for Accelerator, he pointed a gun down towards Kakine's still form as he leaned on a walking stick he picked up among the debris. With a single movement, he will end the battle here as befitting of a Villain.

"Farewell, scumbag-"

"'Stop!' Misaka says while Misaka is out of breath from running over here."

Accelerator turned one red eye turned to watch Last Order as she approached, as opposed to using both eyes like many bystanders are doing. There was something about the abnormal events that draws people to it, anything from a car accident to a murder crime scene. People congregate at such places even if it might be safer to turn and walk away.

"Get out of here, brat. This doesn't concern you anymore," Accelerator spat out while still keeping one eye on Kakine. "This isn't something you need to see."

"'I'm not leaving without you,' Misaka says as Misaka firmly announces her intention."

Accelerator finally brought both eyes onto Last Order, though he still kept his gun pointed at Kakine.

"'This Misaka refuses to walk away and leave you in the Darkness. You shouldn't be denied a place in the Light, not when you have done so much to protect others. Please, let it end with just this.'"

"That's not how a Villain does things," Accelerator growled. He still hasn't paid Kakine back for daring to bring Last Order into this mess. In addition, it's much safer to eliminate Dark Matter right here to prevent future complications. Pulling the safety back, he took aim to finish what Kakine started.

Last Order ran between him and Kakine, arms held to the side like she's shielding the person that tried to use her as a hostage.

"… Move out of the way," Accelerator ordered. Last Order only shook her head, staring back at him with determined eyes.

"'Misaka knows you're not a bad person. You don't have to do what you did in the Experiment.' Misaka says as Misaka-"

"There's a big difference between you lot and a guy that tries his hardest to kill you through any means possible," Accelerator cuts Last Order off.

"'But'-"

BANG!

A gunshot echoed out, making everyone flinch. Accelerator shot next to Last Order, missing her by maybe a few metres. The small girl was surprised, but stood her ground.

"I won't say it again. Leave, or I'll shoot you."

Accelerator had resolved to protect those close to him. For example, Yomikawa Aiho, the SISTERs, and Last Order who was standing in front of him right now. Even if he has to fight against the whole world, and even against those he must protect, he will protect those people from the darkness.

Even if he has to be cruel as he is doing so. With his skills, he can easily make a wound that's not life-threatening with his gun. Accelerator already planned out a way to finish off Kakine – shoot Last Order's leg, she drops down and then he can use the unobstructed view to pump the rest of the bullets he had into Kakine's skull. Heaven Canceller can patch the brat up afterwards, he once said he can save her no matter what as long as Last Order is brought to him alive.

And maybe, even if unlikely, Last Order won't ever look for Accelerator after this. That would make things even better for him, cutting her off from yet another part of the Darkness of Academy City. He won't ever have to worry about this happening again, at least.

Last Order walked towards him, ignoring his threat from before. Accelerator narrowed his eyes, and began to take aim. With barely ten metres between him and Last Order, it's practically impossible to miss at this distance. The brat will go down, and everything will end like he wanted it to.

Eight metres.

Six metres.

... What's going on? Accelerator thought. Why can't I shoot?

Last Order didn't waver from her path. As things are, even if Accelerator was blind he can probably had made the shot. Just pull the trigger, and it will all be done. But try as he might, his hand refused to squeeze the trigger.

"'Misaka is glad,' Misaka says as she finally reached you." Last Order placed a hand on the gun, and gently pried it out of Accelerator's hands. Even with a loli body, she's still part of the Misaka Network and how to handle guns is already part of the knowledge Testament machines downloaded into them. With no unnecessary movements, Last Order took out the bullets and rendered the firearm nothing more than a bludgeoning weapon at most.

"'You're not a Villain, this Misaka declares. You're a Hero, even if it's a different kind from him – the only difference between you two is the methods used and where you can influence.'

'So please, don't think that your light is fully erased by the Darkness.'"

Last Order beamed up at Accelerator, while the white-haired esper only stared back in shock at the girl that seemed to trust him more than he ever did in himself. This was a experience that he had felt once before, on August 31st when she had picked apart his behaviour during the Experiment, how he had some decency left in him and showed it in a way that even he didn't know.

Last Order held out a hand towards Accelerator, like an angel offering salvation towards one of its fallen kin. Hesitantly, or perhaps subconsciously, Accelerator's hand slowly reached out in acceptance.

Their hands never reached one another.

-][-

Touko finally reached the scene that showed the aftermath of the fight between Level 5s, pushing aside anyone in her way roughly and without a single word of apology. The premonition she had only intensified as she ran, the few minutes between Last Order's departure and now was a confusing maelstrom of emotions where worry, hope and despair warred with one another.

And upon Touko's arrival, her worst nightmares was once again given form.

A shining wing that wouldn't have been out of place upon Archangel Misha's form stretched across the clearing, and embedded itself into the small girl Touko was after. Drops of blood that flew out of the wound went up high in an arc, and barely began their descent when Touko stepped out of the circle of bystanders. Accelerator in front of Last Order stood, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, with one hand outstretched like he cannot comprehend what had just happened.

The droplets of blood landed onto the cracked concrete, with more of that red liquid flowing down Last Order's side and staining her clothes crimson. With a sickening *crunch*, the wing exited the wound and retracted back to its owner's side.

"Haha… HAHAHAHAHA!" Kakine Teitoku laughed, his voice loud and tinged with madness as he got back up on his feet. "What is this? The brat came into the scene to help me of her own will? Ha, only if all of my 'Insurances' worked as well as this one!"

No…

The six white wings Kakine had spread out wide behind him, the one at his upper left still have its tip stained with blood. The Number Two himself is still wounded too, but he seems to no longer care.

"A 'Hero', she called you? Oh the irony. I don't know whether to be disgusted that the Villain I wanted to kill ended up being a sham, making me even more of a mockery that lost to someone like you… Or consider this par for the course: the Hero saves the day, defeats the Villain and forces of Evil… but can never protect the one thing most important to him."

NO…

"HAH! You spout all that crap about being a true Villain, but in the end you're one of those fucking Heroes? All that bullshit about having standards and what being Evil truly means, at the end that's nothing but lies! Salvation, forgiveness, the smiles of loved ones and the Light beyond the Darkness – those are unnecessary! Those of us who has fallen into the other side of this world don't need that at all!"

Last Order tried to speak, but no sound came out of her. Her efforts gave her nothing except more of her life being used up, more blood seeping out of her now as it flowed from her mouth and slowly moved down her chin.

With one last shudder, Last Order fell.

NOOOOO…!
"AAAAARRGH!"

Accelerator howled, bring his hands up to cradle his face. Two black streams of energy shot out of his back, destroying more of the surrounding buildings. The pair of wings that can be described as darkness given corporeal form gave a single flap, blowing up dust and sending many of the onlookers flying. The rest of them scattered, desperate to be away from danger. From Accelerator emotions flowed; anger, hatred, self-loathing – emotions so intense that you don't even need to be a telepath to be able to feel it.

And it was such a familiar feeling to Touko.

In the distance, sounds of helicopter blades can be heard approaching. To people in the know, those are 'Six Wings', unmanned aircrafts that Academy City have designed and can be lethally effective if necessary. BLOCK's mercenaries already found that out the hard way earlier today. Wheels screeched, and over a loudspeaker Anti-Skill forces ordered everyone to evacuate.

None of that registered to Touko. Not the sound of frantic movements by civilians doing as they are told, the armoured forms of Anti-Skills surrounding the area, or Kakine's own glorified monologue even as the three pairs of wings he controls spread out to dozens of metres long as he matched Accelerator in the murderous aura they both gave off.

All that was left in Touko's mind was Last Order's unmoving form, and a memory of the event that was the harbinger of the End of her world.

A memory of Misaka Mikoto, with her broken and unmoving body lying in the centre of a large crater. Above the crater looking down at her, Acqua of the Back raised his mace with a bored expression and was about to swing it down to put a end to what he called a minor annoyance.

As the mace swung down, Touko lost herself.

To whom or what, she doesn't know. Nor did she care.

-][-

-][-

Without regard to his surroundings, Kakine gathered his Dark Matter to him. A sphere of brilliantly white energy appeared above him, blinding the Anti-Skill as they cringed from the light. Kakine planned to destroy Accelerator with a single attack; he can play around with the finer points of this new level of power he possessed later.

"DIE, ACCELERAT-"

Splat.

The sphere of energy wavered, and then disappeared. Kakine stared disbelieving down at a spike that sprouted out of his chest. Someone pierced through his heart from behind, and did so by parrying two of his wings which would target anything that approached him and ploughing through a thin barrier of energy he had over himself as a last defence. The skill and power behind such a attack probably can't be replicated by many, even among the Level 5s of Academy City.

So who…?

Kakine's thoughts were cut down midsentence, as Accelerator's black wings came down on him like a guillotine. All six of his own white wings are shattered upon contact as he tried to shield himself, snapped like a dry twig which then faded away. It's a miracle the black wings doesn't then proceed to crush him into pulp with the force behind its blows, and only sliced away his arms and legs in two swift movements.

"G,GAH!"

For the first time since the fight has started, Kakine Teitoku felt fear. Unreasonably, the fear is not from the white-haired esper in front of him, but originated from behind him.

Kakine strained his neck to look behind him, his torso still not falling onto the ground for some reason despite he no longer have limbs to keep standing. There, he saw the reason for the fear he now felt.

The spike which impaled him was the tip of a long, sinuous tail, which gradually grew thicker as it approached its base. The black-haired girl that was with Last Order when he first found her was responsible for the attack, the tail that somehow grew out of her is keeping what's left of him at eye level despite no longer having legs.

Along with the tail, she had sharp scaly claws replacing her hands and feet – all of them the colour of old, dried blood, a deep crimson that suggested death and destruction rather than the vibrant hue of life fresh blood might give. Her eyes however were lighted up brightly, a malevolent scarlet glow which spoke of cruelty and revenge. Even as he stared, the scales around her limbs encroached over her like a living, second skin. When only her head is left uncovered, wings like that of a bat unfurled from her back.

With a flick of her tail, Kakine was slammed down onto the road. Moments before his end, Kakine did not even get the chance to witness the completion of Touko's metamorphosis. The Number Two of Academy City was then ripped to shreds by two predators, both fighting over his remains.

Accompanying the sound of claws tearing flesh apart and muscle crushed by fists that could shatter mountains, anguished and tearful screams echoed throughout the district.

-][-

-][-

"Don't shoot! I repeat, don't shoot!" Yomikawa Aiho, in full Anti-Skill riot gear, roared into her headset. "They're just kids!"

The PE teacher was around the scene of carnage when Accelerator fought another esper, and she was going to step in and stop Accelerator from executing his opponent before Last Order stopped him. She regretted, even as Anti-Skill arrived and she geared herself up, that she did not intervene herself – maybe Accelerator won't be this afflicted if she was the one hurt and not Last Order. And most importantly, the little girl wouldn't have ended up in this state.

Despite how things have turned out, Yomikawa still refused to go against her principle of never pointing weapons at people, especially children, they as Anti-Skill are meant to protect.

"We don't have anything that can do enough damage to them anyway," one of her colleagues yelled back, narrowing avoiding a piece of debris that flew past which would have taken his head off. He agreed with Yomikawa's conclusion, though for different reasons. "Even if we had an anti-tank round we probably can't even scratch them. Let alone the guns we're issued."

The 'them' he was talking about is the Level 5 with ominous wings the size of a small building, and the dragon he fought.

Yes, a DRAGON. The girl that interrupted a fight between two Level 5s and ignored Anti-Skill's orders to evacuate suddenly grew claws and a tail, then proceed to perform cold-blooded murder. If they didn't see the transformation with their own eyes, they would have never believed something you'd only see in a fantasy RPG game is right here in front of them.

Upon her transformation, the dragon swelled in size. The tail that was three times the girl's height no longer looked disproportionally long, now only about a third of the entire body length. Thin human limbs grown to be as thick as one of the windmills nearby, and the neck elongated to allow the head free movement to bite down upon enemies. The humanoid shape with dragon parts now instead looked fully dragon in proportion, further reinforcing the aura of terror and despair the head alone emanated.

Even with Accelerator's two black wings behind him, the dragon towered high above him. Those wings however is the only thing he had that's even larger than the dragon, each over twenty metres long, which the dragon's wings was only half of that length.

After the two of them worked together to carry out a gruesome end to their prey, they directed their full attention to each other. Screams of grief and anger from before that they emitted now turned into solely hatred, and they both went at each other with the fury that many here thought can't possibly be something humans are capable of.

Black wings cut wide gashes into the road and knocked down buildings, while red claws and tail did no less damage. Anti-Skill members in their navy-blue armour tried to hold a perimeter and contain the source of the disaster, but they were tossed aside in the midst of the battle and regarded as insignificant by both of the combatants; each blow they dealt towards one another created shockwaves, and the resulting gust alone was enough to keep others approaching them. Vehicles was overturned, and the Six Wings that attacked did no damage to the combatants; the bullets bounced off the red dragon's hide like it meant nothing, and those that impacted onto Accelerator was reflected back to shoot down the aircrafts. The back-ups that arrived in HsPS-15 powered suits did even less damage, as while having enough mass to not get blown away by the wind they possessed even less firepower than the Six Wings – and with but a swipe of the dragon's tail and Accelerator's wings, they're knocked flying into the air or driven into the ground like one would absentmindedly chase away insects.

When monsters fought, mere mortals can only run away or be caught up in the destruction. Such is the harsh truth of the world - those with power shake and move the fates themselves while those with none or lesser influence can do nothing against such brutality.

With both claws that served as hands grabbed onto the black wings to hold them in place, the head of the dragon swept down to devour the white-haired esper with jaws wide open. With a single fist Accelerator struck upwards, the uppercut carrying a invisible force knocking the head back and away. The wings ripped themselves off of the claws' grasp, then battered at the dragon like whips.

The red dragon snarled, and pounded both its claws at the ground. The earth shook, making Accelerator stumble and everyone else knocked off their feet. The red wings then fanned out and flapped, creating gale force winds that blown everyone away now that they couldn't stand their ground.

Last Order's still form was also blown upwards into the air, and she slammed right into Accelerator. Even in his berserker state, the albino had enough sense of mind to catch the little girl he cared about. His gigantic black wings folded around himself, as if to preserve the memory of the child in his arms while the winds buffeted uselessly against it.

"-wfInramdqzrtsorrypvrm…"

Tears went down Accelerator's cheek as he held Last Order close to him, whispering a apology he knows that solved nothing. He apologised for not being able to protect her, despite that being the driving motivation behind his actions in the Dark Side of Academy City. He had lashed out against Kakine and against that teenage girl who was with Last Order, the former for hurting someone he cared about while the latter for not able to keep Last Order away.

Fury built up inside Accelerator once more. In his enraged mind his hatred shifted from Kakine, who's no longer in any condition to take the blame, towards himself and that black-haired girl. Coherent thoughts are beyond his ability right now, but the sentiment is still there inside of him:

Why didn't you protect her? She was safe, but due to your failure now she's not.

You will PAY for that transgression.

Accelerator roared, his black wings spread out wide suddenly and stretched to their fullest. The wind that buffeted against him was forcibly taken over, and the air currents now converged at a point high above Accelerator. Buildings close to him was knocked down, and many more in the area crumbled with the winds violently gathering.

A blue glow began to form, which then instantly swelled in size until a sphere of plasma twenty metres wide appeared. Unlike that night in the industrial area however, the heat of 10,000 degrees Celsius was controlled and heat loss did not occur. This attack that can even rip through a nuclear shelter was given form once more, and this time on a target that deserved overkill just as the last person this was used against.

The red dragon was unfazed by the show of light and potentially destructive power, and opened its jaws wide. Light of a different kind to that of Accelerator's plasma began to glow from its mouth.

In the midst of this stand-off, Yomikawa shakily got back up from her position on the ground and limped towards Accelerator. Whatever she wanted to say and yelled on her way to him, none of it could be heard over the wind howling as more energy went towards the ball of plasma high above them. In the end, Yomikawa stood face to face against Accelerator, and hostility rolled in waves off of the white-haired esper. It's only due to an inkling of recognition and the fact Yomikawa came without showing any sign of aggression Accelerator allowed her to come so close, as in his awakened state throwing a attack that can fatally kill a normal human even as he holds the plasma in place is no problem.

"Damn it, what is it with boys that they never listen," Yomikawa sighed once within hearing distance. Despite certain death in maybe less than half a minute she still had a half-smile on her face. She pointed at Last Order held in his arms, and said: "Keep holding onto her this tightly and she'll suffocate. If you had paid attention to her instead of letting your temper run wild, you'd have noticed she's still alive."

The wind faltered, and Accelerator looked down. Bloodied and in tears, Last Order have been weakly trying to ask beg both him and Touko to stop their attacks. She didn't have any strength left in her to try and embrace Accelerator with her arms, so she settled for just leaning into him.

The Radio Noise clones aren't made to break this easily.

Watery, trustful eyes looked back up into Accelerator's own eyes that were clouded by rage. Relief flooded Accelerator's body, all thoughts of conflict overwhelmed as he suddenly collapsed onto his knees. Something that sounded between a sob and choking escaped his mouth, as the fact Last Order is still alive finally reached him. Above them, the sphere of plasma disappeared now that Accelerator didn't keep his mind focused on controlling it. The black wings, symbol of his madness, also disappeared.

Satisfied one of the aggressors has ceased hostility, Yomikawa turned and glared at the crimson dragon.

"I'll say it again: SHE'S STILL ALIVE!" Yomikawa yelled upwards, uncaring that the one she's trying to calm down is probably at least twenty times her size. The steadily increasing glow of light from its reptilian mouth faltered, and judging from how the dragon's eyes narrowed It did not plan for that to happen. "I know you're still in there, Kamijou Touko! There's no point continuing this fight anymore! Calm down already!"

The dragon roared back in response, the wind forcing Yomikawa to step back once to avoid being blown off her feet. Despite being the focus of the death glare the dragon is now sending at her, Yomikawa didn't even flinch. All that hatred and anger focused in those eyes, yet there's some spark in them that's like a cry for help, a wail of sadness.

It's not the first time Yomikawa has seen that kind of eyes – she's came across kids that was the victims of some experiment or another, when she was tasked to shut down labs of those morally corrupt scientists Anti-Skill discovered. Granted, none of the previous cases involved the eyes being framed by a draconic visage that can't be described by anything else other than 'terrifying'.

Some of the other Anti-Skill members considering stepping in to intervene, but was held back by others. Yomikawa's principles of nor attacking kids with weapons might be called naïve and unrealistic by some, but her records was something that spoke for itself; she possessed one of the highest rates of success when it came to getting espers stop fighting each other or against Anti-Skill intervention. There's a reason when the 3rd and 7th Level 5s fought the first person Anti-Skill headquarters thought of to resolve the problem was Yomikawa Aiho.

"I know Komoe-sensei's kids are troublemakers, but I definitely didn't see this coming…" Yomikawa muttered, before saying in a louder voice: "It's alright now. Last Order will get out of this perfectly fine. I've called that Frog-faced Doctor to get over here as soon as I saw what happened.

"Let's go back. Back to Komoe-sensei's class, where you can mess around with those other kids like none of this ever happened. I'm sure your brother would be worried about you too."

The dragon flinched involuntarily at the mention of Touma – whether it was from fear or shame, Yomikawa can't tell.

"'Please…'"

Both the dragon and Yomikawa turned around to look at the source of the voice. Last Order feebly turned her head to face the red dragon, one hand slowly reached out. The small girl tried to repeat what she did before that would have brought Accelerator back into the Light if there had been no interruptions.

"'Please… Touko-nee…'" Last Order said in a whisper that probably wasn't even loud enough to reach who she wanted to reach. However, that was the best she can do at this point.

"'Stop…'"

The dragon snarled. Bestial, uncontrolled anger took over, and the dragon's head lunged towards Last Order, jaws open wide and a hundred times more horrifying than a shark's charge.

No more would It be restrained by petty bonds of Its current host. After coming this far, It refused to be brought low again by its host and her willpower.

"Kamijou!" Yomikawa shouted, as the head flew above her and snaked towards its target. She tried to run back towards Last Order and somehow get her out of the way, despite knowing she won't make it. Accelerator glanced up, but his movements were sluggish and it looked like he was too drained after his previous efforts to do anything in response.

Everyone present was certain this would end as a tragedy, as nobody is left to stop the assured deaths.

Fortunately, they were wrong.

At the last second, the right claw of the dragon forcibly moved, charged with energy and ripped her/Its own elongated neck apart. With a shriek of agony the severed head flew off course, its fangs gouging a path next to its intended target, dust billowing in its wake.

Everyone present didn't even get a chance to gasp at the event or recover from the shock when the main body of the crimson dragon writhed until finally it burst into black flames. With a shriek, the severed head of the dragon also began to burn, leaving only a wail that made everyone who heard it uneasy. The fire raged for a few minutes, the gigantic form of what used to be a dragon slowly diminishing. The smell of burned flesh did not accompany the burning, but that in no way lessened the impression of how the immediate area of District 7 currently looked like a post-apocalyptic world. Buildings were knocked down, roads were filled with cracks, and the various wind-powered turbines and streetlights are no longer left standing.

As the unnatural flames subsided, the black-haired girl who transformed into that large form emerged. She stood shakily, unaffected by the fire but looked both mentally and physically so exhausted it won't be surprising if she fell unconscious at any second.

She glanced around slowly, looking at the state of the city around her before finally resting her eyes on Last Order. The smaller girl tried to mouth something, but she obviously didn't have the strength to speak anymore. Nonetheless, the child smiled in such a way nobody could have mistaken it for anything else other than relief the black-haired teenager is back to her normal self.

Kamijou Touko then collapsed down onto her knees, tears of self-loathing and shame running down her cheeks.

The understanding that she had failed not just herself, but many others, again, was so heavy in her she did not even notice the Frog-faced Doctor who was finally allowed onto the scene.

-][-

-][-

*End Chapter 6*

Author's Notes: Yeah, Touko didn't meet Last Order in her world. Just thought I'd make it clear. Last Order didn't show up during the date, and since Touko and Imagine Breaker at full power didn't give Aleister any need to launch Artificial Heaven. The Hound Dogs never was sent out and Last Order wasn't forced to go to Touko for help.

I've removed Yomikawa's verbal tick here, since I thought they might detract the scene from its seriousness.

Next chapter will be somewhat of a breather. No intense emotions (not to the extent of this chapter anyway).