The following is a non-profit, fan work based off the respective works of Kazuma Kamachi and Ryūtarō Nakamura

All rights belong to the original creators, J.C. Staff Co., Ltd.; and Triangle Staff

The Bluefire Phoenix presents...

A Project: Life Spark Story...

The Epsilon Protocols

Layer I: Never Deny a Spur to Action

A name...

A name…

It was my first thought. I was looking for a name. Why was beyond me. All I knew existing in the cold darkness was that I didn't have one to recall and that I needed one. Yet I didn't need one as I was all that there was. But it felt wrong for me not to have one.

What I found more bizarre was recognition of the sensation of cold. Again I didn't know why I knew what it was and its name. I also didn't know how I was experiencing the sensation.

"Damn it Saten I told you not to do that!"

A voice! No it couldn't be. I was alone in this cold darkness. There was no one but me.

"What did you expect me to do? Your way is too slow."

A second voice? Perhaps I was listing in on something beyond my little universe.

"She's thawing out too fast. I'm trying to keep it steady but I can't hack and maintain thermal equilibrium at the same flipping time here."

"Hey guys, I think we're screwed."

Now a third voice? Something started to pound somewhere around me. The cold was starting to create an outline of…me?

"I wasn't able to lose our new friend."

"Oh crap."

"We can't quit now! I've almost got her and this might be our only shot at getting her out."

What was going on?

"I say we live fight ano—"

Everything went silent. I heard a hiss. I felt the rush of particulate matter crawl up my skin. My chest heaved. Air rushed into my lungs. My legs started to wobble as I took a step forward. I couldn't lift my head but my eyes opened.

The first thing I saw was my bare feet. Then there was my body. It appeared to be the somewhat lanky figure of a teenaged girl that was wearing white boxer briefs and a white sports bra. Thick, wet brown hair masked the upper bounds of my vision.

My rubbery legs finally gave out. I collapsed to my knees. My vision blurred a bit. The water stained image of people filled my eyes. The cold that first greeted me had been banished by an unsettling heat. Void-like silence replaced by an unnerving hum floating in the background.

"Another one? You must've been forgotten in the shuffle. Oh well, I guess today isn't your lucky day," a feminine voice said through a heavy electric voice filter. I heard a spark followed by pain. Electricity coursed into my body. I didn't scream as the volts struck me. There was no energy to do so.

For all I had left was poured into my instincts kicking in. Something started churning faster and faster inside my brain. A magnetic field formed around my left arm. The electricity stated to collect in the makeshift capacitor. It grew bigger and bigger until it stopped. My fist was clenched tight.

I could see the sparks dancing around my arm. My legs began to awaken as I forced myself off the floor. The gait I was able to manage was somewhere between a drunken stumble and a wounded hobble. I finally lifted up my head to look up at the assailant.

My vision may have been blurry but I could make out a masked figure clad in black. She wielded a glowing rod of plasma. "You aren't like the others are you?" the figure asked in its masked voice.

Things inside my head began to churn. I imagined dozens upon dozens of negative charges all over the figure. My eyes bulged and twitched. The charges I imagined became real! The magnetic capacitor around my arm dissipated and the collected electricity rushed towards the figure.

Their target gathered the heavy cloak on her shoulders and twirled around. The bolts impacted the material, creating hundreds of small scars on it. The last of the electrons were absorbed or deflected. I took a deep breath.

"I must admit you're the first reject I've run into that even tried to put up a fight," the strange girl spat through her voice filter. She stepped forward. Hair all over my body stood up from static emanating from the girl.

She aimed her strange plasma sword at me. My skin squirmed in every direction. I had to turn my head away from the bright blade.

"But like all rejects, you will be put down. One way or another," the girl said. She pulled back her sword. My limbs started twitching. A vortex of electricity started to swirl around me. The sparks popped and crackled as the vortex sped up. I turned to my attacker. She had paused her swing, leaving the blade locked behind her back. I could see her step back.

"Reject," the word flowed from my lips. The lightning storm around me continued to grow as I stepped forward. "Reject? You call me that as if it's supposed to mean something. Am I defective? Am I somehow inferior? Tell me, who am I?"

The last few words were screamed at the other girl. All the lightning around my body rushed outward in a vicious wave as my voice reached a pitched crescendo. Windows to my right shattered apart as hundreds upon thousands of volts pounded into them. Light bulbs disintegrated. A rush of air scattered the various papers in the room.

Power pumped through my veins. Red was all I could see. I bore my teeth and retracted the lightning back around me. My chest heaved as I pressed my advance.

My foe's plasma sword turned into a metal pole. It retracted into a hilt. She bolted for the window, throwing up an electrical field. I created one of my old of the same charge. The girl in black was launched backwards into the lion's den. She fell onto her back.

I was now standing over her. "No, no, no. You shouldn't be. Shouldn't be!" she started to rant. Even behind the voice filter the panic in her tone was palpable. I think I even salivated a bit in response.

"I very much am. Now tell me, who am I!" I demanded.

"Mikoto," a voice whispered from somewhere around me. My heart skipped a beat or two. Something moved in the corner of my vision. I turned to look at the thing I saw.

A shadowy specter disappeared. "Help me, Mikoto." The words echoed in depths of my mind. I felt a gloved hand wrap around my throat. My body was shoved down to the ground. My assailant had gotten the jump on me and now I was pinned to the ground.

"No!" she screamed. "You can hear her too! I won't stand for this!" Her words were that of a robotic animal roaring to the sky.

My windpipe cried for air. The protesting bolts of electricity that sparked around me failed to detract my would-be-murderer as they bounced off of her thick cloths. All I could do was stare into the strange mask as my vision started to blacken at the edges. I started turning inward.

"Mikoto, wake up."

I took in a deep breath, my airway now clear of obstruction. I was curled in the fetal position. My body was now bare of all clothing but I felt a peaceful warmth generated by a womb of electricity that surrounded me. I could see my assailant through the protective barrier a few meters away, who was now awkwardly groping the air. She shook it off, stood up, and brought her weapon to bear. Her plasma sword reignited in a blue glow.

It didn't take me more than half a second to get back to my feet. My body felt like rising smoke as I landed on the balls of my feet. We heard the powerful rotators of turning in the distance and closing fast. We were blinded by a spotlight.

A small patrol helicopter was hovering just outside the shattered windows. The red returned to my vision. I stretched out my hand and unleashed a massive storm of electricity, letting out a terrifying roar. The helicopter started smoking, the rotator sputtered and slowed. It began to wobble. The craft finally gave out. It crashed on the ground several stories below.

My opponent turned to me. She raised her blade to be, charging forward off her back foot. I lazily braced myself as the blade sparked to life. My eyes narrowed at her. The blade was brought back for a massive blow. It broke through my barrier with ease as my foe brought the weapon forward.

I didn't wince as the blade pierced my chest. I looked down at what should have been a horrifying, mortal wound highlighted by unbearable pain. Instead my chest had formed a sort of hole, like I was a disrupted hologram! My chest rose as I started to laugh. It was a cruel, mocking laugh.

The sword wielding girl looked at me then to her weapon then back to me. She rather nonchalantly withdrew the blade and started walking backwards. With a good ten meters between us she bolted out of the door, turning around the corner.

The people behind me were starting to stir as I collapsed to my knees. My eyes started to glaze over a bit. A rancid smell entered my nostrils. It was almost enough to get me up. "Misaka!" one of them shouted. That was enough to finish the job.

I felt a lab coat draped over my naked torso. A mop of pinkish hair appeared before me. It belonged to a rather pretty girl who had a rather stark look of concern on it. I reached out and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Kuroko… Shirai," I said. I think my lips managed a smile. The girl placed a hand on my arm.

"Sissy," she said in a sweet, teary voice.

"Give me a blade," I quickly asked her. Kuroko looked confused. "Please."

Her hand stumbled through a small black bag and pulled out a pocket knife. She gave it to me. I swiftly pulled out the edge and ran it across the spot from earlier. It wasn't a deep cut but enough to draw blood. My body started to quake. I started to hyperventilate.

"Sissy, what are you doing?"

I'd have probably puked if it weren't for the fact that my stomach was empty. I wiped the blood off the blade with my sleeve and gave it back to Kuroko. My body began to wobble about. There wasn't enough energy left to control it. I felt a pair of hands braced my shoulders. My head rolled back to see Ruiko Saten slightly smiling down on me. Her perky face was worn down with a few stress lines under her eyes. Her long black hair now shorter.

"Hey Misaka," she said. "Sorry about this but we're kind of on a tight schedule." She looped her arms under my armpits and lifted me up on to wobbly legs. Saten then helped me stay up by holding my shoulders. A band of flowers joined the pink mop.

What little shreds of my vision I still had were overwhelmed by a bright light. Saten batted it away. I could see again and found that Kazari Uiharu was scanning me with nervous eyes.

These three girls, I knew them. From another time and place it felt like. I could recall vague memories and feelings.

"I'm sorry but who was volunteered for team medic?" Uiharu finally stated after a moment. Her voice was shaky and strained.

"Did you not hear the whole 'tight schedule' thing?" Saten barked. The girls locked eyes with vicious stares.

"Just be gentle okay?" Uiharu desperately requested in a groan.

"No promises if Darth Goth shows up again," Saten agreed as we started towards the door. Who was she talking about? I didn't have time to think because we started leaving in a hurry.

I tried my best to walk along with Saten but my noodle-like leg strength made the minimal contribution. The four of us were walking down the hall. I could see some of the carnage left in the wake of their rescue attempt. Numerus plasma burns, oddly embedded spikes, and the occasional bullet hole gave the corridor a twisted decorum.

Even in my inebriated state I could feel the tense nerves shared by my rescuers. Kuroko was teleporting up ahead, checking the way and signaling our advance. Uiharu held up the rear.

My memories were starting to comeback. But something…someone was missing. "Lain," I whispered. She wasn't here!

Saten looked at me. "Lain?" she repeated.

"Where is Lain?" I asked.

The girl curled her lip a moment. "Lain's fine. You'll see her once we get back to base. I promise," Saten said.

Our party arrived at an elevator bank. Saten put me down against a wall while Uiharu started to take apart the buttons and replaced it with a strange devise. Saten joined Uiharu. Kuroko sat down next to me, coming in a little close for comfort.

"Is that necessary?" I asked. I leaned my head back. Kuroko moved away a bit.

"Sorry."

"Kuroko, how long have I been out?" I asked. I wasn't sure how much I wanted to know.

"About three months. It's been…kind of rough," she admitted with a bit of a sigh.

Three months? I kept myself from letting that fact from freaking me out with heavy breathing. "What's happened?" I asked.

"We've been on the run for the most part. Outside travel for students has been banned. Anti-Skill is on high alert and a number of VIPs have been coming off and on the island," Kuroko said. She leaned forward and hugged her legs.

Her last statement confused me. My memory was still foggy, but I thought the city board's policy towards outside visitors was to limit them.

"VIPs? Like who?" I asked.

"If Uiharu's information is right: a couple of heads of state and a few CEOs, including an appearance by Robert E. House himself," Kuroko said. My brow furled at the name.

"Who?"

Kuroko shrugged. "I don't know. Uiharu got all excited when she found out, going on about how he's such an 'eccentric genius' and how successful RobCo is."

The elevator dinged and the doors parted open. Saten helped me up. I could walk a little bit more. Hell I was even able to stand on my own. We hobbled inside. The elevator car was rather decadent in design; its walls were paneled with an exotic strain of granite that was bordered with a complementary gold trim. Uiharu was the last in after collecting her equipment.

The techie hit a button on her device. The doors closed and we started to go down. I watched the floor number shrink down. We were cloaked in awkward silence. "So how did you find me?" I asked.

"Dumb luck mostly," Saten stated.

Uiharu snickered through her nose. "It was more like systematic elimination of possibilities," she followed up. "I was able to monitor a few Anti-Skill security reports. We snuck in to where we thought you'd be."

"Yeah it was pretty easy until that chick with the plasma sword and mask started showing up. She has it out for Saten too. Kind-a-strange," Kuroko added.

"Crazy bitch," Saten muttered.

The elevator stopped in the basement. I was quickly escorted to a hatch that lead into the sewer. Typical. The murky trip to what was their base of operation took an hour or so through the grimy corridors.

Their base was a small alcove that was a maintenance station. A schedule was posted on wall along with a map detailing various escape routes. Everything was prepared for a quick exit. Not that there was much in the way of stuff. A med kit, a clothing box, and couple of catch all containers were the most prominent of those things. The only other large object in the alcove was a computer. It was Lain's. She built it herself.

The only real sign that someone actually lived in the alcove was a makeshift table with a chessboard on top. A game was well in progress. Actually it was deep into the endgame. But past that were a couple of futons with ragged blankets on top.

Under one of those blankets was a girl! Strength returned to me as I rushed to her side. It was Lain, staring blankly at the ceiling. Her chest barely moved enough to inform a careful observer that she was still alive. I got on my knees and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Lain, Lain. Can you hear me?" I whispered. The girl didn't stir. "It's Mikoto!"

Tears started to roll down my cheeks.

"Lain Unit 26: Execute subroutine: Odinsleep."

"What did they do to you?" I asked in a low whisper.

Uiharu knelt down next to me. "I've been looking for anything to help her, but there's nothing. And now with Root limiting access to the Wired…"

"There has to be something!" I snarled. The room fell silent save for Uiharu's footsteps as she backed away from me. She expectantly looked to the other two girls.

"There may be one thing," Saten spoke up. I turned to her. She took a look at Kuroko. The pink haired girl gave a slight nod. "We find Kiyama."

I was careful not to release an electrical discharge at the sound of the name. "Please, Misaka. She's the only one who knows what's going and mostly on our side," Uiharu pleaded.

"You saw those videos. She's a monster, same as the rest," I growled.

"Now hold on that seems a bit harsh," Saten started. I whipped around, getting right in her face.

"You would defend her wouldn't you? You don't have any powers so why should you care?"

Saten stared right into my eyes. "I saw the videos. What she did was terrible. But she wants to be brought to justice. Why else would she give that drive to us?"

Anger continued to boil. Saten kept her cool. "You know, I didn't have to do this. I could have refused Uiharu's request. I didn't because I thought we are friends. I'm not defending Kiyama or her actions. All I ask is that you do what's in the best interest of Lain."

I wanted to throw Saten across the room. I wanted to beat her into the ground. All for saying that name. That woman had toyed with me, tortured Espers, and who knows what else, and now that she's gone I had to be the one to save her? There shouldn't have been a snowball's chance in hell!

But there was pang of restraint in my gut. Saten was right. Lain was my friend, and she was in danger. A thousand contradicting feelings coursed through my veins. Lain's limp comatose haunted my mind, Kiyama standing over her, and Academy City burning in the background. I finally collapsed to my knees under the pressure mounting in my chest.

Saten crouched down to my level. She grabbed my hand. "Misaka?"

"You should have surrendered when I gave you the chance."

"The truth will only end up imprisoning you."

Those were the words that echoed in my mind from Caiaphas and Kiyama. Both having something to do with all that had transpired. Not just what happened with me and Lain, but a slew of gross violations of humanity. They had to be brought to justice. First was fixing Lain. My feelings would have to wait until then.

I nodded as Saten pulled me up. We locked eyes. My heart calmed whilst taking a deep breath. "I'm in."

To Be Continued...

A/N: If you're new, welcome. This is the sequel to The Serial Experiment, an auteur piece from me that I recommend checking out first. I really hate doing that but things are going to get weird and don't want you to fall behind as we go on.

For those following from last time, welcome back. I'm glad to see you again. Thematically speaking, TEP will focus on the relationship between Misaka and her powers. I touched on it a bit last time, but TSE was more about Misaka and Lain. The theme will revolve about something like the "meaning of the Prime Directive." For you non-Trekkers out there, the theme will focus more on "how far is too far when I have comparative god-like power over others?"

Leave a review and/or follow if you like. Every bit helps.