A Certain Magical Sunset

by Babroniedad

A Certain Magical Sunset - Act 1 - 14 - Twilight - The Day After Mars Edition

Twilight - The Day After (Mars Edition)

Tuesday, August 19 - No idea the local time, 11:00 AM Canterlot time

Twilight smiled. Dash still hugged her tightly. Celestia and Luna smiled with them watching from the couch.

“Okay, Dashie! Okay! Any more hugging and I may implode!” She laughed. Dash gave her one more squeeze then pulled away grinning madly.

“So what’s up next?” Dash asked excitedly. The sisters looked to Twilight expectantly as well.

Twilight thought for a moment. “Well, after we finish cleaning up, we can maybe explore the area a bit? We can look around and see if there is anything interesting. Besides all the rusty rocks.” She smiled.

“That sounds like fun to me! We’re in,” agreed Luna with a nod from her sister.

“Awesome!” Rainbow fist-pumped. “Let’s do this!”

“Okay! I’m going to finish cleaning up from breakfast. You may want to take a few moments to get ready,” suggested Twilight. “Oh Dash? You should pony up before we go. Not that I expect anything to happen. I will have my shield up the whole time but it’s better to be safe, right?”

“Got it!” agreed Dash before heading back to her room. “I’ll be ready,” she promised along her way out.

Twilight walked back out to the kitchen and resumed her breakfast cleanup. She smiled to herself as she thought over the last few days.

“Sunset Shimmer, you are the best thing that has ever happened in my life!” Twilight said to herself quietly.

She quickly finished the cleaning, then went to the bathroom to clean up for the day. Afterward, she went to her room and changed into tan shorts and a khaki short-sleeved button-up shirt. She completed her outfit with hiking boots and soft leather gloves. Looking at herself in the bedroom mirror, she thought, “That looks like a good outfit for exploring! But it seems to be missing something…”

Closing her eyes, she thought for a moment. With a magenta flash, a pith helmet appeared before her. She caught it as it dropped towards the floor and placed it on her head. “Perfect!” she thought then headed back out to the common area.

Twilight went into the storage room and returned with four canteens. She filled them up from the sink. Dash came out of her bedroom dressed almost identically to Twilight.

“Ah, awesome! You had the same idea! Daring Doo here we come!” laughed Dash as she joined Twilight by the sink, dressed in the same tan shorts and khaki short-sleeved button-up shirt.

Looking over to her friend, Twilight snort-giggled. “Caught! Figures a fellow fan would have the same thought.”

“You know it!” exclaimed Rainbow as she gave Twilight a high five. “This is going to be so epic!”

“Yes it is!” agreed Twilight as she finished the last of the canteens. She conjured a pith helmet for Dash as well.

“Ah Yeah! Now that’s what I’m talking about!” Dash enthused as she placed it on her head.

Luna and Celestia came from their bedroom. Both were also dressed in shorts and casual shirts. Both wore sun shades.

“Are we ready?” smiled Luna happily.

“You look ready to me!” grinned Twilight as she handed two of the canteens to the sisters, then one to Rainbow. Twilight kept the last one for herself. “Okay! Some basic safety tips...“ Twilight raised a finger. “One, stay close to me at all times. You really don’t want to be out there without my shield. Besides the radiation, there is the obvious issue of no breathable atmosphere. As a result, I will be keeping a bubble of air around us at all times.”

Rainbow and the sisters smiled and nodded.

“Also, and this is obvious I guess. There are no places for rest stops or bathroom breaks. There are also no emergency services if something happens to us. We are on our own with what we have. So, if you think you might need a snack or something to keep your energy up while we are out, pack it with you. We also have electrolyte flavor packets if you would like to put something into your water. They’re in the storeroom so help yourself. Take a daypack to carry your things also.” Twilight continued.“Lastly, we leave only footprints! This is especially true here in a new world. Any trash we bring with us we bring back with us. We don't want to mess up a wonderful new planet with our old bad habits. Any questions?” she checked.

“Nope!” They happily agreed. The sisters and Dash disappeared into the storeroom for a few moments. They each returned wearing a daypack.

“Okay. All set?” Twilight called out.

“All set!” they agreed. Twilight ponied up with Dash joining her. Together they passed through the magical seal on the entryway surrounded by the glow of Twilight’s magic and traveled up the ramp and out to their Martian adventure.

---

They explored the area around the bunker first. Twilight checked over the solar arrays and antennas while the sisters and Dash looked at the rocks and felt the martian soil in their hands.

“It’s so dry!” observed Celestia.

“Yes. All the water has been either locked up in the permafrost at the poles, soaked into the ground and bound to the minerals in the soil or evaporated into space,” observed Twilight as she checked the calibration on the controllers for the solar arrays that kept them optimally pointed towards the sun. “Hmm… the electrostatic repulsion doesn’t seem to be working as well as I hoped,” she observed as she lightly dusted off some of the panels. “I’ll need to clean these off manually more often it seems.”

“That’s what she said!” grinned Rainbow, earning her a smack upside the head from Luna.

“None of that, Ms. Dash,” Luna reprimanded.

“Sorry, Ms. Luna!” Dash answered sheepishly.

Turning back to the girls, Twilight smiled. “Okay! That’s settled. Shall we try somewhere further afield?” she asked.

“Heck yeah! Let’s go climb that mountain!” grinned Dash pointing to Olympus Mons.

“Ah... how about no Dash. That’s Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system. It’s over 16 miles tall. Also, it’s way too far away anyway. It only looks close because it’s so massive. Did you know it’s almost the same size as the entire state of Arizona?” asked Twilight.

Rainbow's eyes lit up. “That is so awesome! We so have to go there!” she squeed.

Luna lifted an eyebrow and glared at Rainbow. “Some other time perhaps, Ms. Dash. Recall we are supposed to be staying close to the bunker on this outing,” she reminded.

“Ah man!” groaned Dash as she kicked up dust in frustration and slumped in defeat.

Twilight smiled. “I’m sure we will make an excursion to it someday. I can’t imagine Sunset passing up a challenge like that for very long.” She grinned. Celestia nodded and smiled.

“Yes!” exclaimed Dash excitedly. “I am so in! Let me know when you do because I so want to be a part of that!”

“We will. I promise,” swore Twilight with a smile. “Okay. Let's go check out the landscape. Onward!” She waved her hand forward. Smiling, the sisters and Dash followed her over the landscape towards Olympus Mons.

---

A while later Dash was noticeably slowing down.

“What’s wrong, Dash? You look tired. That’s not like you,” observed Twilight as she sat on one of the large rocks while they took a quick break for Rainbow to get her breath back.

“I don’t know! For some reason, I am starting to feel weak. It’s like I just ran a marathon except worse because resting doesn't seem to help much!” exclaimed Dash. “I don’t get it!”

At that moment Dash flashed and her wings and ears disappeared. She slumped over on the rock and was sound asleep.

“Dash! Dash, are you okay?” Twilight ran over to her friend and pulled her up into her arms. “Talk to me Dash! What just happened?”

Rainbow looked up at Twilight. Her eyes were barely open. Celestia sat down next to her and pulled her into a hug for support. “I have her, Twilight. Do whatever you need to do,” she instructed.

Twilight nodded then pulled off her daypack. Rummaging around in it, she pulled out a duplicate of the magic detector she made for the Friendship Games. She turned it on and started scanning the surrounding area.

“Oh! That’s not good. No no no! Not good at all!” she exclaimed worriedly. “We’re low on magic!”

“What does that mean?” asked Luna. “Are we in any danger?”

“No! Not really. I don’t think so. But it’s not good.” She continued to sweep the detector around. With it, she took measurements at different points. “Ugh! I should have expected this. Okay! No need to panic, everyone but I think we should head back to the bunker for now.” Twilight suggested.

“Sounds good to me…” Rainbow mumbled trying to stay awake.

“Agreed, that does sound prudent. I will help with Ms. Dash,” agreed Luna. Taking an arm, she and her sister lifted the semi-conscious girl between them. They headed back to the bunker.

---

Back in the bunker, Twilight was busy scanning the rooms and checking on her measurements. She made some notes on the laptop then sent Sunset a quick text.

Dash was sleeping comfortably on her bed seemingly none the worse for her misadventure aside from her complete exhaustion.

The sisters sat down beside Twilight while she looked at the graphs displayed on her laptop. The light of her laptop reflected off of her glasses with a bright shine.

“So Twilight … can you please explain what happened out there?” asked Celestia while placing her hand on Twilight’s shoulder and smiling. “Have you figured it out?”

“I think so. It wasn’t something I was expecting but it makes sense at least.” She turned to face the sisters. “Basically, Mars has little to no magic aside from the magic present in the bunker. This makes a certain kind of sense really,” she explained.

She took off her glasses and cleaned them with the corner of her shirt. Taking a calming breath, she put them back on and continued.

“We know that magic is derived from life, from all living things. So it would make sense that a planet that is dead, or almost completely dead like Mars, would have little to no magic. It would have dissipated over time when life faded from the environment.”

Looking up to the corner of the room, she hummed. “Hmm. In fact, I am surprised that there is even any ambient magic left considering how long this planet has been dead. That’s something I intend to investigate. Later! Investigate later.”

Turning back to the sisters, she continued. “So basically the only real source of magic on Mars at this point is this bunker. More specifically, two points in this bunker. The TACIT receiver and the TACIT network hub are in the control room. All the magic in the bunker seems to be leaking out of those two devices.”

“So the magic is actually coming from Earth through the transporters?” asked Luna.

“That’s correct. It would seem that the quantum entanglement in both devices is enough to portal through the magic from the other side. Our Earth, or more specifically my lab and bedroom, is supplying magic to this side, Mars. That’s good to know and I intend to fully explore that, but for now, we can use that to our advantage,” explains Twilight.

“How is that an advantage?” asked Celestia.

“The advantage is now that we know magic can be transferred easily through the entanglement, I can make some duplicate devices. We will carry them with us when we make any excursions from this bunker. That will allow us to safely travel at will without suffering from magical fade-out, as Dash did.” she answered. “I will start on those as soon as we get back. I’ll make a half dozen and keep the matching transceivers in my room with the existing hub. That way we just need to grab one whenever we are heading out.”

“That sounds like an excellent plan,” agreed Luna. “So how soon until you start and how long will it take to make these?”

“Let’s let Dash rest a bit more. We can have a quick lunch in a bit. After that, we can all return. I’ll start on them then. I fully expect to have all six sets finished before our fun on Saturday. No need to call that off,” replied Twilight.

“Sounds good. Well done, Twilight!” smiled Celestia. “I’ll go check on Dash. Let me know if you need any help with lunch,” she called out as she went to Dash’s room to check on the sleeping girl.

“Agreed,” said Luna. She gave Twilight’s shoulder a comforting squeeze. “I am going to check my messages. Let me know if you need anything,” requested Luna as she headed for the game room.

Twilight continued to examine the data on the laptop screen then sent another text message to Sunset.

---

Everything in our lives exists to further our spiritual growth - The Celestial Teachings

---

Mikoto - Academy City

Mikoto crouched down on the floor, confused.

“They've stopped attacking. But I doubt they are letting me go. Are they waiting for my next move or something?”

If they can pinpoint my location, hiding would only backfire on me. But…” Mikoto played with one of her game tokens nervously. “I don’t have the energy to fight them head on anymore.

She looked down, seeing more of the taped explosive fuse used by Frenda. “This is the tape that blonde girl uses.” She reached out and felt it. “It looks weird, like plain old tape, but it’s a form of explosive that can be set off by an electrical igniter.

“I saw this stuff was powerful enough on its own to slice through iron plating, but she was using it to set off other explosives, too. If she has this stuff all over the darn place, this is gonna suck.

“Wait a second…

She followed the tape to another one of the infernal rag dolls. “Maybe I can use this,” Mikoto thought.

---

Frenda handed her exhausted friend over to one of the client's assistants. They placed a coat over her shoulders and helped her take a seat. “You guys hold position until Mugino comes out. We’re gonna meet up with Kinuhta. Head for the S-Processor Company,” instructed Frenda, sitting in the van with Takitsubo.

In the van, Takitsubo turned to her. “If it was just you and Mugino, you could’ve stayed.”

“Don’t worry,” comforted Frenda, “Mugino can handle. It. Besides, in the end, you helped us corner that girl. But more importantly, are you really okay tearing along with that power draining you? It scares me sometimes.”

“I’m fine,” her friend replied. “The only place I belong is here, after all.”

“I guess,” accepted Frenda, “But someday, Takitsubo, I hope you find somewhere else to belong.”

Takitsubo looked at her confused.

“Ah crap!” yelled Frenda, throwing her hands up. “I forgot to collect my explosives!”

---

Mikoto stepped out of the doorway. Mugino was standing there, waiting for her with a smirk.

“And here you are! You sure took your sweet time,” she winked.

Mikoto, battered and bruised, just glared at her, both hands full of infernal rag dolls.

The smirk immediately left Mugino’s face. “Frenda!! That little idiot left without cleaning up after herself!” she thought.

Mikoto looked around. “So, where are your friends?” she asked.

“Oh, I sent them home,” answered Mugino, smirk returning. “I wanted to fight you one-on-one, Railgun.”

Mikoto’s eyes widened. “I was right! They knew who I was!” she thought.

She nodded. “All right. Going one-on-one works for me.” She tossed one of the dolls towards Mugino. “Just fine!”

“Hmph. I see,” mused Mugino as the doll sailed towards her.

With a flash, Mikoto sent an arc of electricity through the doll, exploding it right before Mugino.

Mugino used her power to shield her from the attack. “She’s using Frenda’s explosives to make up for her exhausted ability. But that’s like admitting that…” she thought. “You can’t defeat me with your strength alone,” she finished out loud.

Mikoto swung, hurling another doll at her. “So, she can use her power to block explosive blasts too. In that case…” thought Mikoto. The doll flew high over Mugino.

“Ha! No matter how many times you… huh?” paused Mugino as she watched the doll arc over her head. “Wait!” she thought, “Is she cornering me with the explosion, then circling around while there’s an opening? She could completely ignore me and just charge straight into the nerve center of the facility. It doesn’t really matter though, if I just shoot down that doll right now.” She shot, and missed as the doll dodged her attack. “What the…” called out Mugino in confusion. “How can… She rigged the doll with something!”

“Yup, surprise! I stuffed it with metal so I could control the thing,” smirked Mikoto.

“How incredibly annoying,” scowled Mugino, still trying to shoot the doll down.

“I figured you’d have no problem shooting down a couple of them,” Mikoto admitted as Mugino finally scored a hit on the doll, blowing it up. “So, I made more!” A cloud of dolls rose from behind Mikoto, randomly weaving and swarming towards her.

Mugino fired four beams at once trying to take down all the dolls before they reached her.

Mikoto raced along the wall surrounding the room. “It doesn’t seem her ability type can take a long term barrage. If I’m right…”

“You seriously thought numbers could overwhelm me!” called out Mugino as several of the dolls exploded simultaneously.

Mikoto ducked. “Wha?” she cried out.

Mugino tossed another silicon card into the air, firing her beam at it, where it was split into dozens of beams, taking out another swath of the dolls.

“Silicon Burn. One must take measures to make up for one’s own weaknesses,” admitted Mugino as she readied another salvo. “That will teach you not to take ITEM lightly, you little brat. Thanks to Frenda’s stupidity, I’ve had to do a little extra work. But in the end, I’m not surprised this sorry plan is all a middle schooler could come up with.”

She launched another card, taking down more of the dolls. “Rank three? Whatever. Rankings are based purely on how much profit can be generated from ability research. When your sorry hide is third, and I’m ranked fourth, I can just kill her here, and prove that rank means nothing.” Another salvo, taking out almost all the rest of the dolls.

“Only three dolls left. I guess I don’t need this!” Mugino dropped the final card to the floor.

“Hm? What’s the matter, little spider? Don’t tell me that was it,” taunted Mugino.

Mikoto sighed in relief. She hurled a final doll straight at Mugino, charging at her with all she had.

“So, that’s it then. Now it’s a suicide attack from a kid that can’t take the pressuure,” she thought to herself. She launched an attack, blowing up the doll in front of Mikoto.

As the smoke cleared, Mugino laughed. “Ah, come on now, such a lame attack and you’ve already climaxed?! You really should try to last a bit longer.”

A doll zipped out of the smoke, weaving towards her. “What the… another one?! But from where?! That brat must have hidden the last one behind her back.”

The doll dove in on her. “Damn it! I’m in its blast radius! Even if I make a shield, she’ll be able to circle around behind me. Damn it all to hell!!”

Mikoto launched an arc to ignite the doll.

“Just kidding!” sany out Mugino, deflecting the arc away from the doll so it sailed by her without igniting. “Did you forget? I can bend your electricity too! I hope you weren’t too busy congratulating yourself yet. This fight was over before it started, little rail…”

“...gun.” Thunk. The doll had spun back around, and slammed into the side of Mugino’s head, knocking her out cold.

“Aw, did you forget I stuffed those dolls with nuts and bolts? They pack a mean punch, even when they’re not detonated.” Mikoto walked around the fallen ITEM leader and into the nerve center of the facility, the doll levitating by her side. “So, this is it…” she launched the doll off, igniting it next to some critical equipment, destroying it in the shrapnel-filled explosion.

Racing though the facility, she destroyed everything, arcing electricity lighting equipment on fire all over the center. Looking around as she finished, she sighed.

“That should do it, I guess. I wish I could stay to make sure it burns to the ground, but I’m so weak that I’d probably get caught up in the blast.” She wobbled out of the center as the blasts continued behind her. “The real problem is going to be the last facility. If it’s as secure as this one…”

Coming out from the center, she noticed Mugino was no longer on the ground where she left her. “She’s gone!” she thought in surprise. “There’s now way she’d be able to move again so..”

Voom! A massive arc slammed into her. Mikoto staggered back, just as Mugino whipped her leg around for a brutal kick to her gut, folding her over and sending her flying back across the room. She slid several meters across the floor, then rolled and sputtered, trying to get back up.

“It’s not nap time yet, kid,” raged Mugino, stomping towards her. “I need to repay what you did to me! A trillion fold!!!” Mugino kicked her again, so hard she flew into the air and rolled again on the floor several meters away.

“Urk!” thought Mikoto. “I am so glad I haven’t had much to eat the last few days.” She sprang up towards the nearest wall.

“Don’t you DARE skip out on me, you little brat!! I see how you are! The minute you run out of bullets, you try to run!! Where’s your PRIDE as rank three!” she bellowed, launching attack after attack at the ducking and dodging Mikoto.

“It can go to hell, for all I care!” thought Mikoto as she sprang from wall to pipe while avoiding Mugino’s attacks. “I’m finished here, I just need to get out! With the electrical systems gone, there are only three routes I can take. The emergency stares, or I could take a second to shake her off while going through the transport tunnel,” she thought, still dodging the crazed attacks.

“No! She can easily take the staircase out with her ability. Not to mention there’s not much room to maneuver there. As for the transport tunnel, I’d be a caged rat if even one spot got blocked. Which leaves…”

Below her, Mugino cackled madly. “Are you really out of tricks? You’re scurrying all over the place. You’re not a spider, you’re a dirty little cockroach! And I am going to crush you like the…” Brrring. Brrring. Brrrring.

She stopped to answer her phone. “What?! I’m a little busy right now, make it quick!”

“It’s me, Kinuhata. We’ve super completed our prep for the transfer. Takitsubo-san and the others just arrived. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to super escort them.”

“Argh! No point in destroying her footing, I see,” thought Mugino.

---

“How are things going on your end?” asked Kinuhata.

“Then I’ll just smash her directly!”” yelled Mugino into the phone.

“Mugino?” responded Kinuhata in confusion. She listened for a moment, then responded. “Okay, super roger.”

“Huh?” Kinuhata responded again. She nodded, listening, then replied. “Okay. I’ll relay that to her, super word for word. Hanging up now.” She turned to Frenda. “She said it was super okay for us to go on without her.”

“Um, so like..” started Frenda. “Did she seem upset to you at all? Say, over some explosives?” Frenda fidgeted.

“Not really,” noted Kinuhata. “She seemed super pumped, if anything.”

“Thank goodness,” sighed Frenda.

“But, she did have a message for you, Frenda…

“Punishment is imminent. That’s exactly what she said.”

Frenda looked sick.

---

Mikoto powerslid down one of the conduits towards the walkway crossing over the top of the room, Mugino’s attacks ricocheting behind her.

“Am I actually going to make it out?” thought Mikoto. Behind her, she heard a sound. ‘Flick’.

A torrent of beams slammed down around her, completely desimiating the conduct and sending her tumbling off into the abyss of the room. She barely managed to catch onto the side of the walkway, hanging there for a moment before pulling herself over and landing on the walkway itself…

Only to be launched head over heels down the walkway as Mugino came up to her and kicked her with all she had.

“Heads up, you little snot!” she barked at her, chasing after her as she tumbled, then stood to take flight again. Mugino launched a flurry of attacks at her, bowling her over again as she deflected and blocked them. Mugino raged. “Are you parrying?! Seriously?! Don’t make me laugh!! Do you really think you can do anything against the darkness in this city with your kiddie tactics?!!” she screamed.

“Gahh… aahh!” Mikoto cried out, pushing away her attacks as she was pushed back.

“You’re so pathetic, I’m actually starting to enjoy this! Maybe I’ll make you a funny little piece of modern art!!” yelled Mugino. With another flurry of attacks, she bowled Mikoto over, leaving her once again sprawled out on the walkway. She pushed herself to her knees, breathing heavily.

Mugino walked over to her, staring down at her with an evil grin. “I know you’re in dire straits, but running into this place just screams Kill Me!” she gloated. “Rank three, ha! You’re nothing but a brat who just graduated from diapers! At least have some guts and use a Railgun attack or something!!”

On her knees, facing away from Mugino, Mikoto started laughing. “Hahaha!”

“Hey, now, it’s no fun if you go crazy before I kill you,” snarked Mugino.

Mikoto stopped laughing. “You’re right,” she said tiredly. “I’m too exhausted to use my railgun, let alone dodge your attacks,” she sighed. “And that..

“That’s why, I bet on this route.”

Mugino looked confused.

“Your blonde friend,” Mikoto continued. “She was a real handful. Blowing me up with bombs, tricking me, beating on me.

“She even took the footing out from under me.

“That’s why I gambled on it. If she put traps throughout the entire facility…

“Then she definitely rigged an obvious spot like this one, right?

Mikoto pointed down to the taped fuses all along the walkway. “I may be exhausted, but I can still make an electrical arc.

As she reached down and sparked the tape, she turned and smiled. “Welcome to kiddie tactics 101, you tired old hag!”

Mugino looked on in horror. “What?! But… FRENDAAA!!!” she screamed as the tape exploded, blowing the walkway apart.

Mikoto levitated, magnetically holding on to the ruins of the ramp. She shot out a cable towards Mugino, calling out. “Here!”

Mugino just looked as the cable flew by, refusing to reach out and take it.

“Grab on, damn you!” yelled Mikoto.

Falling, Mugino instead blasted the cable into dust with her attack. Eyes crazed with hate, she glared at Mikoto as she fell into the darkness below.

Now hanging on to the edge of the ramp, Mikoto looked down into the abyss of the room. “No way!” she gasped, pulling herself up onto the remainder of the ramp. “Did she just…”

Beamed attacks pierced the walkway around her as she raced for the entryway. “Nope! Not dead! She’s a tough one, I’ll give her that,” she commented as she ran. “Whatever. I’m done here. But the last facility…”

“Get down here! I’ll kill you good!” screamed out Mugino’s voice from the darkness.

---

Mugino looked up from the floor below. “Damn it!” she swore. “The little brat! She got away! Grrrr!” she ground her teeth in rage. Her knee was torn and bleeding, her stockings shredded, and face twisted in rage. She shook her hand, then opened her fist, waving her off. “Whatever.”

She looked around at the destruction around her. “I slowed my fall by shooting a meltdowner, but it wasn’t a pretty landing.” She limped forward slowly. “I’d better work on that.”

“Mmh,” she thought, heading toward the entrance at the far side of the room. “I should recall Takitsubo.. No, wait. That brat was from Tokiwadai. Why would she even be here in the first place?”

From the entrance, two figures appeared, calling out to each other. “Hey, you! Get a move on!” She looked over. “The fire’s spreading upstairs! Hurry up!” called out a researcher to an overpacked fellow, struggling to keep up.

“Bah! Just leave him behind!” called out another, pulling the first one along. “Let’s just get out of here. Damn! Didn’t they hire a bunch of underworld thugs to protect us?!” Their voices faded in the distance, their panting colleague left on his own. Reaching the hall, Mugino grabbed the researcher, flipping him back down the hall and head over heels onto his backside.

“What the..” cried out the researcher, looking up as Mugino stode up to him.

She held out her hand. “I’m suddenly very interested in why the railgun wanted to shut this project down.”

“Gah!” flinched the researcher, backing away from her. “I can’t do that! If I tell you, if they found out, they’d kill.. Urk!” he choked on his words as Mugino grabbed him by the neck.

“Why wait? I can turn you into a greasy lump of meat right here and now! Or, you can live, and take your chances with your boss. Pick your poison.” She lifted him slowly toward her.

“Ga ha hack…” the researcher nodded fervently.

---

Mugino read the report on the researcher's laptop, sitting on a desk laughing while the researcher sat dejected at her feet. “What the hell is this crap?! They’ve been having the mighty rank one doing this? Popping 20,000 zits to level up!!” She cackled.

“Why would the board of directors…?

“Wait,” she grinned madly. “I see. That’s why they chose ITEM…

“Well, if that’s the case, things might get much more entertaining if I let the brat be for now. She’ll struggle painfully while she sinks…

“To the dank, dirty bottom of Academy City’s Darkness.” She grinned happily.

---

Author's Note:

Events in A Certain Magical Index during this time:

• The Sisters Arc (Railgun)