Infinite Stratos Virus: Episode 10 - Exposure [SEASON 2 FINALE]

Part 1: They Have To Know

-TWO DAYS TO ELECTION-

The entire country was on edge. The presence of the renegade was one thing, but the repeated failure to do so much as a poke to any part of him, or anyone from Phantom Task, was certainly going to weigh in people's minds come Election Night. But it's two days off; anything could happen. And that's exactly the case with Chifuyu, who was originally sent to intercept the renegade, but was unceremoniously (and unofficially) given the ban. She ended up tagging along with Sean just to see how the renegade became the fear-inducing people-eater, and whether or not her vengeance was truly warranted.

-NAVY WELLS PARK, MIAMI-DADE COUNTY; 18:47-

And she just spend a straight twelve hours interviewing various folks and rearranging damming pieces of information to fit the narratives that she felt would fit the message that Sean would try to deliver, "I am so glad my family doesn't do news..."

"Well, anyone who does news knows that you need at least some form of a periodic sleep schedule," the writer commented while scribbling away at his notepad, "You didn't even nap since you ran into us."

"Oh, bugger off..." she rubbed her eyes.

While the script outline was being put together, Sean was rehearsing his final words for the renegade and the nation. In those words, despite all the information he planned to put out, he also planned to call for the election results to be discounted and invalidated due to Phantom Task's ungodly influence on the public minds, "Don't get me wrong. I do see that the truth will get out one way or another. But do you see how they're doing it? Causing protests and counter protests to collide with each other, directly infiltrating political offices-I mean, with the reach of influence Phantom Task has been able to tap into, there's no possible way that this election can be valid, whatever the outcome." The instant he finished that sentence, he had a small laughing fit, "Hahah...oh god, they're gonna dog me for that..."

"Are you worried about everyone at Fox?" The cameraman asked.

"Heh, that's the last thing on my mind right now..." he stretched, "What are the odds I'll get by with just that one line?"

"Dunno..." the cameraman turned off the camera and packed everything into the van, "Let me drive. You need a small break."

Everyone packed inside and left for the target destination. While Chifuyu was napping away, and the editing team was preparing for the show while laughing at the ridiculousness of some of the interview segments to keep themselves awake, Sean made one last call to his wife:

"Hello, honey?"

"Sean! Oh, thank god, you're still safe!"

"Yeah, I'm here. How're the kids?"

"They're fine, just winded from the insanity of school. They got harassed and supported by everyone from teachers to students to faculty. They almost got in a fight, for Christ's sake."

"Huh?! What for?!"

"Avoiding eye contact with another student."

"What th-no. No way that ever happened."

"I'm not sure of anything right now. Everyone is in such a chaotic mood now, gotta be that renegade's fault. Is this renegade nonsense going to end anytime soon?"

"Actually, he told me he'll let me off the hook once I get this one show over with. I'm gonna be home tomorrow afternoon."

"Ok. Ok, I'll be waiting for you."

"Nothing has happened to you, right?"

"No. We're holed up in the police department."

"Good. I'll see you soon. I love you."

"Love you too, Sean."

CLICK*

Sean hung up and leaned back, "Oh, my head..."

"You ok?" The cameraman asked.

"I think so..." he joked, "Hahahaaa, oh, what are we doing?"

"I have no idea..." the cameraman just focused on the road.

Sean suddenly got another call from a familiar friend. He quickly answered, "Tucker? Tucker, is that you?"

"Hey, Sean! Where are you?! What's happened between you and the renegade?!"

"It's all gonna come to an end tonight. As soon as I get this show done, I'll be able to go back home."

"What? That easy? Can you seriously trust him?"

"He's a kid, way more immature than everyone picks him out to be. He only sees black and white, no gray whatsoever."

"And that's how you're gonna go free?"

"He hasn't gone through puberty yet, Tuck. That core inside him stunted his mental maturity."

"That's some wishful thinking, you know that?"

"I know. I just hope I make it out."

"Me too. Hey, I gotta get ready for my show now. I'll send a special shoutout to you."

"Thanks. I gotta go."

"Alright, we'll be waiting for you, man."

Sean hung up and smiled at the fact that he still had people that genuinely cared about him, unlike most other people that mentioned him in the media. But as he was reflecting, he noticed a strange app he never installed. Its icon was yellow. He knew exactly was that was, and he sought to extract it by attempting to delete that app. When he was about to confirm-

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" That yellow sprite flung out of the phone and right into Chifuyu's lap.

"Wha-huh..." Chifuyu was startled awake by a zapping sound, "What was..." she looked down and saw Silvia, peeking from her shoes.

"Please don't kill me..." Silvia whimpered.

"Had fun? Find anything interesting?" Sean demanded.

"I was out of it until I recharged!" Silvia stammered, "I don't know where anything is anymore! Where are we going?!"

"We're going near the No Name Key," Chifuyu interrupted, "That's where we should find some answers."

"Ok...where's onii-chan?"

"Who?"

"Sokoto? The renegade?"

"Lost him over in Tallahassee," Sean said, "After you yelled out some code, he stayed behind and shook as many people as he could off our trail."

"Oh no..." Silvia muttered. She went back into his cellphone to try and track Sokoto's location, then popped out after five minutes, "I can't find him! I've been inactivated until Streamline has been recharged!"

"Great," Chifuyu muttered, "What do we do now?"

"We'll just have to trust he'll be there," Silvia slumped.

"Ok...nobody panic..." Sean assured, "We'll just have to improvise. Luck out until he shows."

"That's exactly how Phantom Task has been operating until now!" Silvia screamed, "Do you think this will turn out any different?!"

Everyone pondered the meaning of that question. How were they going to make it work when their only secure point of contact was gone? This guy was the one thing keeping this operation alive. Who else has the guts to expose a dangerous cancer in today's society?

-HIDDEN HARBOR ROAD, FRANKLIN COUNTY; 18:55-

Believe it or not, Daryl. After their initial departure, she and Sokoto had one hell of a time gathering supplies needed for the recon mission. While he would lead on as a distraction for most, she would slip past the cracks in their surveillance and steal everything needed to not only bring the Streamline back to full function, but also to maintain communication with the reception van. It was a game of bob-and-weave for 13 hours straight. And throughout all that, Sokoto somehow convinced her to help him out, at least until he could get Charlotte out. Of course, she wasn't satisfied with that flimsy condition and demanded a spot in Phantom Task after they escape.

Sokoto, being the world's most dangerous idiot, happily accepted the counteroffer, without questioning the true meaning behind it.

Nor did he question what exactly was in the backpack he was carrying on the way over to the port, "HAARGH...what the hell did you put in this thing..."

"Oh, just something to help recharge your IS," Daryl said.

"Anything to recharge my deflated ass?..." Sokoto collapsed, "And...what about Tabane when she shows up?..."

"Just leave her to me," Daryl winked as she stole someone's boat and rewired it to turn on with the touch of a finger, "Ok! Get on!"

"FMMMMKHYMMMMM! (FUCK YOU!)" Sokoto was exhausted, but he had enough strength to reactivate his wings and flutter to Daryl.

They quickly left for the No Name Key before the boat's owner had a chance to stop them.

-20:03-

On the way over, Sokoto was...there's no way around it, subjecting Daryl to an immeasurable degree of pleasure.

"Uh...why am I doing this again?..." Sokoto cringed.

"Ah...simple," Daryl recovered, "That compound is still active...we have to sneak ourselves in and look the part..."

"Can't we do that without doing...this?..."

"Nah, this is necessary...there's nothing electronic or electric, except walkie-talkies...I'll need the endurance to pilfer them after we break in...Ooooh~"

"I may vomit..." Sokoto muttered before hearing his bracelet beep for the first time in days. He quickly linked with the connector and open a channel, "Hello? Anyone there?"

"Onii-chaaaaaan!" It was Silvia, "It's been forever!"

"Hehehey, Silvia!" Sokoto was elated, "Long time no chat!" He heard cheering from the other end, "Oh? Is that the news crew?"

"Yeah! We were worried sick!"

"I wasn't," that one voice which filled Sokoto with dread.

"Uh...who is that?" Sokoto grew tense.

"Chifuyu Orimura, I am," she said, "and join your mission, I have."

"Your Yoda joke ain't helping me at all, lady..."

Suddenly, Sean came on the line, "What she means is, she'll be helping us get the message across, as well as decipher your true motives."

"Hey! Sean! It's you!"

"Yeah, I'm here. But where are you?"

"Uh, we left the Panhandle some time ago and-"

"Wait, hold up," Daryl interrupted, "Sean? Which Sean?"

"Uh...H?" Sokoto sheepishly answered.

Daryl suddenly got disgusted, "Why the hell did you ask for his help?"

"That's what I said!" Silvia screamed, "Why him?!"

"Wait, Daryl?!" Chifuyu butt in, "I thought you were prison feed-"

"OKOFFTOPICPOINTIS!" Sokoto screamed, "Me and Daryl, we're gonna sneak our way in and send a live feed to the van! Have you secured the right equipment?!"

"Yes, they have!" Silvia answered, "They combined a bunch of old rickety junk to create an impenetrable signal!"

"Oh, good! I'll keep my channel active so you can recognize my broadcast signal! Sean, how long are your opening monologues, usually?"

"Around fifteen minutes, why?" Sean asked.

"Should be plenty of time, but you'll still have to stall until I get my live feed up!"

"Any word on Madoka?" Silvia wondered.

"No, she shut off her communications..."

"How come?"

"I don't know..." Sokoto's mind ran wild with any possible thing that the others have said, or anything he neglected to say, to Madoka to cause her to run off from the group. But he had to stop thinking about others and focus on himself, because a small, sparsely lit island came into view, "Daryl, is that it?"

"Solar panels and has generators, that's it alright!" Daryl reached into the bag and pulled out a fake collar, "Got your wig on?"

"Yeah," Sokoto double-checked his gear and clothes, "Streamline is at full capacity."

"Good," Daryl prepped herself for landing, "The others will have to stall on before we can show them off."

"The hell does that mean?..." Chifuyu didn't follow any of what they said.

"Sean! Chifuyu!" The cameraman said, "Gear up! We're here!"

"Where?"

"Hey, renegade! We'll reconnect later!" Sean rapidly blurted out, "Just get as deep as you can!"

Communication terminated; standby connection running.

"Oh, crapsicles..." Sokoto groaned, "Can we even pull this off?"

"Well, place your bets now, hun," Daryl said, "They can see you."

The boat veered past the island's west coast. The No Name Key. It was indeed sparsely populated by regular residents, and much of the southern end was seemingly nothing but plant life. But Daryl's intuition told her that the compound is in that area, "Go deep into the Refuge Bay."

"Huh?"

"Round the southernmost tip, go in through the inlet," Daryl explained, "That's the Refuge Bay, where no doubt you'll be watched. Just act like you're a greedy person, and let me handle the rest."

"Ok...but after that, you have to tell me what is it with you and the Squall inside me."

"I'll keep it in mind," Daryl nodded, "Now, about that pink thing over there..."

Sokoto saw the weird utility she motioned towards, "Uh...what's that for..."

"Butt plug," Daryl answered...with no remorse, "and it has to go in all the way."

"Oh, god..." Sokoto retched, preparing to plunge the utility into its intended spot, "I'm sorry...I'm sorry, mom!" He kept his petrified eyes open and plunged it in.

-DUNKIN' DONUTS, MONROE COUNTY; 20:24-

Shortly after the renegade disconnected chat, the rest of the crew had entered the Middle Keys. Silvia kept the van at the speed limit until she found the optimal hotspot to broadcast the signal. She then swerved the van into the parking spot right next to the sign, and threw every piece of equipment into overdrive, "Ok, we can set up a connection without getting caught here, thanks to the WiFi. Anyone that's not tech-savvy can take a ten minute break. The rest of you will help me link up with Fox News...H...Q...ugh, can't believe I'm saying that..." she couldn't help it.

"You know he's gonna flip out if you let that interfere with the broadcast..." a crewman muttered.

"I know..." Silvia whimpered, "That's what makes it so painful..."

Chifuyu approached the little sprite, still in awe at how an IS could produce a literal extension of itself. She caught her trying to tune frequencies with FNC and the SS simultaneously, "Uh, Silvia?"

"EEP!" Silvia tensed up, "Here's my data, my security codes, my diary, battle specs, core specs, renegade blood composition-JUST PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"

"Relax, I won't do that," Chifuyu knelt down beside her, "I just...How did you come to life? No one, not even my own class, has ever been able to...do what you do."

"Uuu...you wanna do that now?"

"Well...yeah."

"*SIGH*...To be honest, I never gave it a thought. I'm just glad to be alive."

"Never once thought about that..."

"Nope, probably because he talks to me like I'm an actual human being...which I am sorely missing because my clothes no doubt got destroyed..."

"Wait...you went shopping?!"

"Yeah...really like those clothes, too..."

Chifuyu just dropped her head and went back into the van. She honestly thought she would get a firsthand account of how the Streamline came to exhibit an AI avatar with human-like qualities, but all she got was mountains upon mountains of data that would no doubt take weeks, if not months, to properly sort out. She didn't want to even touch it without Tabane's help, which was a walking brain tumor for her.

Inside the store, Sean was soaking his face with cold water to freshen up for his show. He had just come up with a plan to bring the renegade into his reaction segment, which to him would be the most effective method of changing people's minds about the usual renegade conspiracies, but that required the renegade to maintain his composure, which was next to impossible. He shrugged it off and walked out of the bathroom, when he was immediately recognized by-

"That's him! That's the backstabbing shitbag that's frolicking with the renegade!"

"Hey, it's you, from that one station!" Sean saw one face he recognized, and one he didn't, and feigned surprise, "And you have that one outcast!"

"Enough prancing around," Xingjia growled, "You and your crew are coming with me." She was about to charge her blade at him when-

"The hell is taking you so long, man?! I wanna get this over with!" Chifuyu barged in and basically halted time in that store. She was initially miffed at Sean for not getting ready, but then she looked around and recognized Xingjia, who was still in her female-dominance ways, "Oh, you again."

Xingjia trembled, "Please tell me you were dragged into his mess-"

"No, I forced him to take me along," Chifuyu stopped her dead cold, "and if you wanna say that he kidnapped, which I don't know how he can, then you can say it over your dead body!" She then turned to the other woman, "And who the fuck are you?"

The woman attempted to answer, "Uh...just a woman who thought that he was-"

"Yeah, a woman who thought wrong!" Chifuyu stopped concealing her irritation, "So, maybe take some time to shut your yap, get the wax outta your stank-ass ear holes and those moldy filters outta your looksees, and LISTEN TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE A TUMBLR!" She managed to shunt Xingjia again, but devastate the other woman. She was glad that her rant was live-streamed on social media, because that way everyone who looked up to her knows that they've annoyed her with their talk of male subjugation. She didn't care about the resultant backlash she would receive; actually, she was looking forward to it, "Hannity! Stop flirting with them and get moving!"

Sean shrugged, "And away we go..."

"Everyone else is ready!" Chifuyu nagged, "Tucker messaged you! Hurry up and answer!"

"You realize I'm gonna have more people than before, right?!" Sean stammered.

-REFUGE BAY, 20:42-

Sokoto pulled the boat up to the inlet and drove closer to the entry point. He saw several men out on patrol motion him closer. He could feel their gaze burning his soul as he clenched the wheel tightly, preparing his mind for the inevitable encounter with the bowels of humanity.

Once he touched sand, several men came out from an underground staircase to greet him. He blurted out something to immediately get their attention, "Got a real good one here, fellas! Had to train her on the way over here, but...y'know."

"Who sent you?" A Hispanic Middle Ages demanded.

Sokoto quickly racked up a name, "One of Hernandez's men. He never says who."

"Yeah?" The man inspected the boat, and found a quaking and leaking Daryl, "And, uh...who's the brood?"

"Daryl Cayce, aka Rain Meusell," Sokoto said, "her niece."

"Meusell?..." That caught the man's interest, "And how did you get her?"

"She lost her IS while she was hiding. I went in, and her friends left her for dead."

"And, uh, you expect me to believe that load of shit?" The man walked towards Sokoto.

"I thought you would like to see it instead of hear it..." he said.

The man looked at Daryl. She did look like she was going through an educational experience. Unfortunately, for her, she needed more education, "Yeah...you got the basics, but you still didn't slut this whore. You fucking using her as a pole?"

"C'mon, boss! Let me have her!" One of the guards shouted.

"Fine," The man said, "Alright, kid. Follow them, and make sure you get it right this time."

"Works for me," Sokoto walked right in while the other dragged Daryl inside.

And boy, was it a sight, and scent, to behold. From the moment they stepped inside the stairwell, they could hear screams of anguish and ecstasy, no doubt from women begging for the uncontrollable waves of pleasure to erase the pain of remembering their lives before they came into slavery. Sokoto felt the bad vibes long before he touched the island, so he knew it would be very bad. He wasn't prepared for what lay beyond the stairs, in the main meeting area.

The aura here was like the compound in Canada, if that compound was duplicated 500 times over, then condensed into one tiny island. Hundreds of women, pilot or not, had been kidnapped and trained here for one purpose, and any deviation, however minuscule, was met with severe punishment, for both the woman who tried to think differently and the person who was not in enough control of that woman. As Sokoto kept walking, he could see a training room where new women were subject to brutal torture, a factory where little children were kidnapped or sold into making control collars for their owners, another meeting room where women were sold to the highest bidder, and another where they were...fed.

"Ain't it beautiful?" The man on Sokoto's left said, "Just imagine the looks on their faces when they get a load of this..."

"Theirs, or the world's?" Sokoto asked.

"I'm talking about theirs," the man on his right responded, "The world ain't gonna care, because what does the world do when they realize one of their fucking asshit pilots goes missing? They cover it up! Classic."

"Is power really that fucked?" Sokoto wondered.

"Well, yeah... I mean, I would exploit that shit when I hear someone else's pilots went missing, or "dropped out" as they say it."

"Dude, enough!" The other man said, "We gotta get those other whores into their cells~"

Apparently, none of them noticed that Sokoto was gone. He found an empty cell to hide in, until he was able to catch his breath. "Holy mother of mercy...what did I just step in?!" He had trouble holding it inside. The creepy sensations, the sight of women being tortured...this was on a different level. He was going in blind. He never saw the live feed from the Aokigahara prison camp, and yet he had to adjust quickly. "Alright...that was...ok, Daryl...where are you..." He tuned his IS's communication link to a very small frequency and wandered about the compound trying to find anything that resembled punk hair. He snuck past people in five corridors, hoping to link up with anyone who might be listening in on the signal.

-DUNKIN' DONUTS; 20:56-

Lord knows that the Brunhilde and the Sprite would love to hear some form of explanation as to how exactly he recruited Daryl of all people.

Mostly Chifuyu, "Rain?! Really?! REALLY?! What does she have that none of the other bimbos have?!"

"Brunhilde...I'm trying to connect to him..." Silvia found herself multitasking with the show, the connections, and the management of availabile Human Resources, "Guys?! Any word on the TCT?!"

"Yes, he's wrapping up his final segment!" A crewman shouted, "Ok, everyone in position!"

"You heard him!" Sean clapped his hands and rallied more than TEN PEOPLE by the van, "We gotta get this ball rolling! The sooner we get it off our chests, the sooner we can all go home!"

"Oh, thank god..." Chifuyu sarcastically blurted, "I thought I wouldn't get to cheese this lousy ass into bleeding again..."

"I still don't understand why you haven't fled the country, yet!" Xingjia griped, "You know the consequences of showing your face nationwide!"

"Hey, if the renegade can be internet-famous with little effort, so can I," Chifuyu quipped.

"That's not why you should be fighting!" A woman complained to her, "I thought you stood for all that a woman believes in!"

"Oh, honey..." and laugh, "I have so much to teach you..."

"Tucker's about to send it over to us!" A crewman said.

"Alright, no more shouting!" Silvia screamed, "Everyone freeze!"

Everyone froze. The TelePrompTer was up and running, the lights were at optimal settings, the guests were standing right beside the van, the camera was focused on Sean, the computers in the van were running full capacity ready to merge and switch screens at a moment's notice, the van's signal was fully linked with the proper satellites, and everyone was on edge, because they knew that the instant Sean uttered his first word of the hour, there was no turning back. Whatever they say and or do will be out there for the world to see.

Sean knew that all too well, and he's already prepared for the utterly insane backlash he anticipated he would face. He cleared his throat and straightened himself out, ready to take the baton of the nighttime news relay. He knew that more than three million people around the nation would be watching him on TV, and even more would be watching around the world through some other means. But he was prepared, because in the little tone he was given to prepare a presentation, he had planned every possible scenario and every single sentence, argument, and counter to respond to. He felt like he had lead lungs and jelly legs. But none of that mattered. He just had to let it come.

"Well, that does it for us tonight. Tune in at 8 o'clock to the show that's the sworn enemy of lying, pomposity, self-righteousness, and groupthink. But right now, breaking news: Sean Hannity is still alive! Haha, Sean! He survived!"

"In the flesh, Tucker, as you can clearly see!"

"What happened, man?! Last I heard, you had a run-in with you-know-who!"

"I did, and I almost had him, too!"

"Whoa, now that's something I gotta hear about when you get back."

"Oh, you don't have to wait that long, because this...Hohohoo, boy..."

"Oh, I know that face! We're all ears, trust me!"

"Alright, great show as always, Tucker. I'll see you and Jeanine in a couple days. And welcome to a very special edition, no commercial interruption episode of Hannity...um...To everyone who is watching tonight, and everyone who has offered support throughout this absolutely incoherent weekend, I am grateful to you all. I have nothing but respect and appreciation for you all, but I have gotten some very damming information, all of it from firsthand experience with, of course, the renegade. What I'm about to show you is so unbelievable, so abnormal, that many of you will call me out for being an outright liar, that my ratings will plummet, and they should, honestly. Because, again, what I'm about to reveal is so unheard of...that I have to ask you to stop watching, for two reasons. Number one: What all this is, I don't wanna say it's breaking news, but it has not only afflicted our way of thinking, it's been the symptom of a nasty virus that has been sunken in since the signing of the Alaska Treaty. Yeah, I didn't believe it at first, until the renegade showed me exactly what he and Phantom Task had uncovered, albeit using methods that will no doubt have consequences on them, and on us. By the way, the renegade is reason number two. He's agreed to bring us live footage from one of the compounds where the effects of the virus have fully blossomed. And well, let's just say, it's not pleasant. This goes into black market, international trafficking, political sabotage, all that not-safe-for-anyone stuff. If you're not comfortable with seeing that, it's fine. Turn off the TV, we'll catch you back up without the viewer-discretion image warning. We'll post an article on our website where images will only contain documents, no people. For everyone else that decided to continue watching and see exactly what I'm talking about, brace yourself. Everything will be explained in tonight's...well, actually let's call it my final Opening Monologue."