IS Virus: Episode 2.7 -Contraindication-

Part 1: Midnight Rush

-SETTLERS CABIN PARK, ALLEGHENY COUNTY; 19:33, ELEVEN DAYS TO ELECTION-

Thanks to Sokoto acting as the scapegoat for the rest of the nation, the rest of Phantom Task has been able to sneak away relatively undetected through the state. Once they got into the urban areas, they had to slow down or risk being discovered. Though that was pointless as a random police unit spotted them speeding down a county road, and then all hell broke loose. More pilots came down on their location, forcing Autumn and Madoka to ward them off while Chelsea guided the van out of the chaos. Cecilia was incapable of doing anything, as her mind and heart were at war with each other.

Finally, through the most tense stroke of luck, they made it through the state, and into a park, where the late hours provided perfect cover for the group. Everyone had a breather before stepping out to stretch.

"Yet another sacrifice play that will surely turn this into a cliche," Autumn groaned.

"Thing is, this one could have worked," Madoka griped, "had we had some extra help," glaring at Cecilia.

"I thought you said that I was a ticking time bomb," Cecilia said.

"We could've used an explosion!" Madoka shouted, "You know it's a problem when I'm the one complaining about what you should have done!"

"Since when did you care so much about our roles?!" Chelsea protested.

"Since we both realized what we're actually doing, maybe."

"Realized?!" Chelsea unloaded her feelings on Madoka, "In case you haven't "realize," we got roped up in this!"

"Oh, did you? When you just had to tag along when Cecilia ASKED TO JOIN?!"

"I had to make sure she didn't lose her way!"

"What did you expect would happen on this stupid trip?!"

"That's on you! You're the one who went along with whatever! England was literally a hop and a skip away, but NOOOOO! WE JUST HAD TO CHASE AFTER YOUR LADY FRIEND!"

"Ok, we get it-" Autumn tried to calm them d-

"SHE'S THAT WOMAN'S LADY FRIEND, TOO!" Madoka didn't hear her, "THEY WERE CLASS MATES, HELLO!"

"AND THAT LADY FRIEND COMMITTED A GIGANTIC CRIME!" Neither did Chelsea, "DISGUISED HER BREASTS AS PECS?! SHE'S A CRIMINAL?! WHY DON'T WE LEAVE HER?!"

"Am I just not here?..." Autumn mumbled.

Back to the argument-

"OH, I DON'T KNOW! MAYBE BECAUSE IT'S THREE VERSUS THREE BILLION?! SOME HELP WOULD BE NICE!"

"LIKE YOU HELPED THE RENEGADE?!"

"What'd you say?" Madoka snapped.

Autumn heard that last bit, "Ok. Cecelia, please vent your feelings."

"You haven't been yourself lately," Chelsea continued, "Must be hard being a babysitter!"

"I don't see you babying your bitch there."

"Friends and human vibrators are different."

"I'm gonna peel the cornea right off your-"

Out of nowhere, Madoka and Chelsea were hit with a pair of blue energy shots to the gut. They were brutally slammed against a tree and collapsed on the grass.

"Ahhhh..." Autumn walked over to pick them up, "Bliss..."

Cecilia withdrew her drones, "I'd like to finally get a move on..."

"Will do..." Autumn threw them in the van and drove everybody out. Once they crossed over to the next state, she couldn't help but wonder about Cecilia's mental state, "Just wondering... what do you really feel about Ichika?"

"Hmm? Why do you ask?" Cecilia asked.

"Well, to be honest...it's like you and M switched personalities, and it's getting creepy."

"Huh...that's a fair assessment...pretty simple answer: I dunno what to feel."

Autumn was just a tad bit disturbed, "But why? I thought the renegade helped you take care of that chapter."

"I thought he did, but it wasn't enough. I have let Ichika out, but the renegade...Sokoto...change his hair black and his eyes dark brown, and it's like I'm meeting my ideal version...you have protecting others, and then you have becoming a sacrificial scapegoat because it's not boring...he's both, and I don't know how to feel about that..."

"Oh, you poor soul," Autumn said with a hint of sarcasm, "Let's find a place to stay the night. We have a lot to talk about." However, on the inside, she was livid, "YOU ONLY CLEANED UP HALF THE MESS?! Damn you, you owe me BIG TIME!" She had to figure out how to set Cecilia straight without delving too much into her own psyche, otherwise she could jeopardize the mission, and her own life if she pushes the wrong buttons. She racked her mind with possible ways to make Cecilia adjust to the current world. The closest thing she could think of was that time she and Squall were in IS Subspace, but she was dragged into it. How does one access the subspace willingly? Does it require a personal connection with the target? If so, she's screwed. She'll have to talk it out with her...

-STARBUCKS, MAHONING COUNTY; 18:17-

"So, level with me, blondie," Autumn said while sipping a drink that has way too many words it's borderline illegal, "What is so complicated about seeing someone in someone else?"

"It's the same thing as when you saw Squall in him," Cecilia said, "There's something you never got to say that he'll never get to hear."

"Touché..." Autumn could not fathom why she was even having this conversation with her, "And how does it feel to have been with him?"

"Oh, it's a relief, to be honest. More peace and quiet than when I was trapped in the palace."

"You call constantly exploding things peace and quiet?"

"Better than constant bickering."

"I'll agree to that. But, again, I thought you calmed it away back in Canada."

"Me too. I guess by casting him aside, I became lost. I know where to go. It's just that...everything became dark."

"So, that's it? You need to manufacture your own light?"

"Uh...I think so..."

"Well," Autumn wiped her forehead, "At least we have a first step..."

"First step to?..."

"Ok, think about it like this," Autumn tried her best to explain without sounding too cheesy, "The light he gave to you, he didn't give you because he loaned it to you. He wanted to see if you could make your own, without being too dependent on his light. But since you're involved with your friends because of your own feelings towards him, that right there, causes your light to start dimming. Outward, yeah, your light shines with everyone else's, but inside, something's messed up. Your fuel for your light is becoming rotten, and when that got exposed, he decided to take it all away. I mean all of it, since you built everything on him. You have to learn how to emit your own light. And, well, that showdown with Sokoto gave you a good foundation."

"How do you so much about light?" Cecilia asked.

Autumn was caught spewing cheese. She cringed and pinched her nose, then growled, "Because I'm in your boat...Someone I cared about, shocker I know, died... and I'm still trying to find a way to make my own light..." She was this close to puking.

Cecilia was stunned to hear that. Phantom Task from before had some love within? She thought they were cold blooded only. She was curious, "Who was it?"

"Squall..."

"Was it a one-sided relationship?"

And from there, it devolved into a time of unrequited love and frightening revelations. Cecilia was born into a family with power and privilege, while Autumn was born into a lower-class family. And yet, they both lost their parents in a freak accident, had to find their own way to survive, and yet ended up on radically different routes. Guess too much privilege is just a bad as too little privilege.

Especially considering that they encounter Sokoto two years apart from each other. The difference was with Cecilia, her parents were already doomed when he arrived. With Autumn, they both tried to save her parents, but failed.

-20:33-

"HAH! 'Main character, despite one-to-a-trillion odds, has past connection with every supporting character' cliche!" Autumn slurred, to which Cecilia provided the obligatory ding...by throwing a nickel at an empty glass.

"Oh, this was something I needed in a long time..." Cecilia rolled over on the carpet floor, "I could get used to this..."

"Don't," Autumn threw her tush on a loveseat and her feet on a coffee table, "Look above you..."

They looked above, and witnessed the most abnormal thing in the history of everything:

"You're telling me that we should restrict our First Amendment rights?!"

"For men, yes! They spread their lies and seeped them into society!"

A man and a woman arguing about words, on Fox News. OH THE HORROR!

"Ok, hold on! What about the allegations of Kentermine Productions that were proven false?! Don't they hold some weight against your argument?!"

"That was a faulty verdict! The jury deliberately omitted a huge chunk of presented evidence!"

"Those women said that the evidence wouldn't impact the verdict!"

"Doesn't change the fact that they were threatened! They were blackmailed! Would you like me to show you the emails?!"

"You've been threatening those for four weeks now! Where are the emails?! When are you gonna show them?!"

"I'll show them when the time is right-"

"Are they going to answer why you want to restrict our First Amendment rights?!"

"Because everyone like you, including you, have abused those rights, just like you've abuse the Second Amendment-"

"Ok, how have I abused my rights? I did no such thing-"

"Oh, this is rich," Autumn smiled, "Just like a cat fight, only with lions."

You wanna see a cat fight?" Cecilia pointed to the TV opposite them, "Look over at Peacock News Live."

"I don't understand," Autumn rambled, "Fox News is a sly fox. MSNBC's a giant peacock. What the hell is CNN's spirit animal?!"

"Shh!" Cecilia shushed, "It's starting!"

The broadcast began with a more recent footage showing several flashes of the renegade committing petty crimes and playing pranks and practical jokes, all while effortlessly...effortlessly dodging the police, without the use of his IS. But that's just the context. The actual discussion was-

"I simply don't understand why the renegade continues this tirade."

"Well, it's because he has supporters who don't understand that women now hold the majority of public and private office, and still they live in the world of twenty years ago."

-THAT.

"I think it's crazy how much they refuse to accept that women are now in power. It's only a matter of time before the first woman president is finally elected."

"Given that all the candidates are women, I think it's inevitable, especially since one of those candidates is going to amend an amendment."

"Amen to that-"

"BOOOOOOOOO!" Cecilia shouted, "Where's the political infighting?! Gimme something to gawk about!"

Autumn changed the channel, and gave Cecilia what she wanted. She felt kind of relieved that she was suddenly playing the camp nanny. If only she could get the other two to stop bickering for a few seconds, that would be a blessing to her. And she figured out what Squall meant by they're in your hands now.

And something else...

"Everything I couldn't do with you, I'll do with them..."

Promises can be kept. Promises can be broken.

But can promises be transferred?

It was Sokoto who made that promise. And they did get to do two things: bond together, and have a mountain hiking trip.

And he's too busy being the punching bag of the world to do much of anything.

"Eh...fuck it..." Autumn accepted the responsibility of leading the group into Kingdom Come. There was nothing better to do since all they will be doing is recon and rescue. She looked over at Cecilia, who seemed to be truly content with what's happening now. That's a sign that the heart is adjusting, but it still has to be able to stand on its own.

Autumn looked over the window to find the van. Gone, "*SIGH*... They beat each other to death, didn't they?..."

Sort of? Eeueeheeuehuee?

Madoka and Chelsea did wake up, only to beat each other to sleep. They didn't notice three men hijack to van and drive off to parts unknown. The men tied them up and...continually had their way with them.

Chelsea was awake since the first touch. But it wasn't until they ran over a huge speed bump that Madoka came out of her slumber.

"Mmm...mmm?"

"Hey! She ain't a virgin!"

When she finally came too, she was more annoyed than terrified. These three men kidnapped her and raped her nonstop... and she felt NOTHING. That's a problem.

"Oh, yeah," one of the men said, "she's a class A whore."

"Yeah! Fuck her up real good!" The driver shouted, to which the man very happily obliged.

Again. She felt nothing.

"You're terrible at this, aren't you?" Madoka blurted.

"Huh?!" The driver heard that.

"What'dya say, bitch?" The man growled.

"Well, you got me on this awkward pose," Madoka elaborated, "Your wieners are all bent outta shape, and I could hear you moaning like you got an injection in the wrong-"

"Shut up, bitch!" The other man slapped her, "You say one more word, you're dead."

"Mansplain," Madoka said.

"Oh, you better know your place girl," The driver said, "We don't need her!"

"You should've just stayed a slave," the man got his knife out and tried to jam it down her throat.

Instead, it bounced off an invisible barrier.

"The hell?!" He said.

"What is the bitch?!" The other man screamed.

"A pilot," Madoka slowly deployed her arms, legs, and armor, ripping her restraints into pieces, "This bitch is a pilot."

"What about that aphrodisiac?!" The man panicked.

"I put it in her!" The other man said.

Madoka suddenly grabbed their heads, "Oh, it worked. But I'm not horny for sex," and repeatedly smushed their heads together.

"What's going on?!" The driver turned around, but he found a giant purple sword in his face, blasting the van to smithereens in a gloriously fiery explosive blaze. The explosion engulfed a bridge over a freeway, for all to see. The knight in haunting armor walked away from the burning wreckage, dragging the traumatized maid and the wicked man out and throwing them against the guardrail.

The man was shocked to know that he picked up the worst possible woman. He saw the maid beside him, too scared to even blink. He tried to shoot her head, but the dark knight blocked the shot and yanked the gun away, crushing his hand in the process.

-ABANDONED APARTMENT COMPLEX; 20:52-

Meanwhile, Autumn and Cecilia stumbled upon a safe haven for the night. It was a run-down apartment with just a couch and a bed.

"Not as advertised at all," Cecilia groaned.

"Better than sleeping in the forest," Autumn settled herself down.

"I think I'd prefer sleeping in the for-"

"CECELIAAAAAAAAAAA!" Chelsea suddenly came bursting in and planting herself in her chest, "It-it was horrible! They-they kept doing it and-and putting something inside me-and-and-aaannndiiaaAAAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!"

"Uh..." Cecilia was shocked. This was the first time she ever saw Chelsea broke down, "It's ok...everything will be ok-"

"No, it won't!" Chelsea looked up with those sorrowful eyes, "They took my virginity! They went all the way with me! I'm to young to be a mother! I'll have to get an abortion! Put her up for adoption! Go against my religion! WHAT DONI DOOOHOHOHOHOO?!"

"Well, for starters," Madoka suddenly kicked the door off its rusty hinges, "you could take it out on this loser." She threw the driver in the center of the living area, tied up like a pig sent to roast alive.

The amazing thing was that he could still keep shouting, "Cunt! All of you cunts! You should be paralyzed by now! You're all freaks!" But he stopped when Autumn kicked his throat. He reeled backwards and jacked up a mouthful in order to ease the pain. He was about to say something back, when he saw Autumn's lifeless pupils.

"So," Autumn snarled, "This is the nasty little sneak who raped my girls."

"Yes!" Chelsea frantically jumped, "He forced himself on me and made me a skank!"

"Not me," Madoka said, "I didn't feel a thing."

"Lies!" The man countered, "You felt our pleasure running down your-GHHCKCK..."

Madoka plowed her fist into his stomach and planted herself onto him, "I only got the rush when I splattered your men's blood all over the walls."

"You are sick in head, you know tha-AAAGH..."

"Hey, M," Autumn squatted beside him, "This guy ain't gonna talk."

"You mean the why and the who else?" Madoka said.

"Exactly."

"I say we skip the chatter," Cecilia planted her foot on his wrist, "and go straight to the main event."

"What are you gonna do?" The man suddenly got nervous, "What are you gonna do?!"

"Give you a hint," Madoka whispered in his ear, "All that aphrodisiac is gonna come out as pee."

And the man screamed as the women tested his mettle, while Chelsea cowered in a forgotten corner of the room.

-COVE CREEK OUTFITTERS, BEDFORD COUNTY; 10:33, TEN DAYS TO ELECTION-

Believe it or not, Sokoto and Silvia were living it up. They were able to sneak into some homes and walk away with literally more than a thousand dollars in women's clothing, actually and virtual. But knowing their faces are everywhere, Sokoto reluctantly nabbed a super strong hair gel to make his hair look less wild and more like a model. Silvia had loads of fun with her new updates and upgrades, but found that it came with a big stipulation: if they ever go full deployment, then Tabane will know exactly where they are. That didn't mean that she couldn't make holograms of her own, or be 20x faster than 4G LTE, or go full size and color, or finally master that vanishing move without the use of a hundred mirrors.

"And here's where I pulled the bathroom switcheroo," Sokoto pointed inside the store.

"Did they freak out?" Silvia asked, now just as tall as Sokoto, and in full color.

"Of course, of course!" Sokoto wagged his hands, "When you see a guy in your toilet, what do you usually do?"

Silvia pretended to think on that, then responded, "Tickle torture."

"Eww!" Sokoto cringed, "Whyyy!"

"Well, maybe because..." Silvia bounced off a car, some electrical wires, a traffic light, a TV, and right back to Sokoto's side, "...I'm not bound by any restraints!"

"Lucky you," Sokoto said, "You know, I still can't believe that Eyes Woman would give us this much of a head start."

"And this many upgrades!" Silvia fizzled to an electric pole and swung up and down around its wires, "I can't believe I have this much walk around!"

"Me neither," Sokoto decided to embrace the insane advancement of his IS/AI/partner/sister. Literally just yesterday, she was just a small sprite, like a butterfly on his shoulder. Mere hours later, she's become his twin sister, mobility and perkiness, plus her special abilities. It's almost surreal.

Silvia flung herself off the wire, did some gymnastics thing, and landed on her tippy toes with the perfect pose and fart face. On instinct, Sokoto help up an imaginary sign that read 10. He looked up and back at Silvia.

"Lemme guess," Silvia said, "This is the first time you've had a real interaction with me."

"Ah, yeah," Sokoto scratched his head, "I'm still trying to get used to it-"

"You're so mean!" Silvia repeatedly banged on his shoulders, "Even though you have risen meeeee!"

"Hey, take it easy!" Sokoto screamed, "The Feels are still active!"

Just then, an oddly familiar face showed up in the parking lot. She saw the two "twins" tickle-fighting and decided to interact with them, "Excuse me!"

"Hello," Silvia said while she was on top of Sokoto.

"O hai Mark..." Sokoto slurred.

"What are you two doing?" The woman asked.

"Just doin' some calisthenics, is all," Silvia said.

"Yor just chicken," Sokoto pretended to lose it, "Cheep cheep cheep cheeeeeep cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep..."

"Huuuuhh..." The woman blankly stared, "Well, I am on an unyielding search for the renegade. You wouldn't have any information regarding him, would you?"

"Uh, well-" Silvia got cut off by Sokoto.

"I don't know if this'll help, but I saw somebody tampering with the bathroom signs," Sokoto said in his disguised voice.

Then, they heard screaming and saw pants flying.

"Oh no!" The woman ran inside to try and de-escalate the situation.

Silvia and Sokoto were in shock of who they just talked to.

"Xingjia!" Silvia shouted.

"Sing-Sing's squad!" Sokoto screamed.

"Hide!" Silvia fizzled to her tiny size and latched herself onto Sokoto's shoulder as he ran away from the store.

Sokoto dashed along the sidewalk, "Ok, there has to be somewhere we can hide for the time being..."

"This neighborhood seems nice enough to let us crash," Silvia surveyed her immediate surroundings.

"Blech...too fancy for my tastes," Sokoto snapped, "Something with less gates, more spaces-"

Before the discussion could go any further, they were interrupted by an aura similar to the one they felt in Lake Mastissinni. They froze in terror, wondering what kind of horror has befallen the house that has been possessed by the aura. Fortunately, there was a window that allowed them to see the source.

Unfortunately, it was even worse than Mastissinni.

"It's not...my... fault! They should feel sorry...for me! I'm...the victim!"

"Me too..."

"And me."

"I'm the victim too! Feel sorry for me!"

"Me too! Me too!"

"Wow...all those miserable whores who are crying together..."

"It's not my fault either! It's not my fault!"

"...That gets me hard."

"Somebody help me!"

"No more dick!"

"Cry more! Scream more! You disgusting sex slaves!"

"No more! Help me!"

"You're gonna spend your whole lives here as sex slaves! You'll never leave!"

The men inside have finished with more women than they could count. After that, they left them both in the basement and proceeded to prepare for a football watch party.

"This..." Silvia was speechless.

"A happy abattoir family..." Sokoto whispered.

"A what?!"

"It's what that guy in Canada called it. This has to be one of those too."

A good minutes of silence went by before Silvia made a final decision,

"Y'know...Staying out of the public eye...ain't worth this..."

"Agreed," Sokoto deployed everything except the armor and wings.

"I'll open a live stream," Silvia fizzled to a pole and broadcast the ensuing chaos from Sokoto's POV.

Sokoto took one deep breath and closed his eyes, "Thy hands be stained with the blood of thine own kin. And now, thou shalt know the wrath of the human life." Then he yanked the hook off his arm and threw it inside. It stuck to the basement door and propelled him to it. He gained enough force to knock it down and see for himself the horror he felt earlier.

It couldn't be called a basement. It was more like a sow factory, with a concrete floor stained with "sour vanilla" and blood. Well over three dozen women of disturbingly varying age were paralyzed from the waist down, all with collars and leashes, some with blindfolds and painful piercings, none with clothes.

"Rabbit girl..." Sokoto whispered, "Do you not see what you've caused..."

Just then, a middle-aged man came down there with a gun, "Leave now!"

"SHUT UP!" Sokoto chucked the hook to the man's neck and grappled the head off. Then, he proceeded to kill the rest of the men in the same quick fashion.

All except one, who was caught crawling backwards up on the window.

"Dude...you're nuts...have you lost your mind?!..."

"If I wasn't, I wouldn't have, now would I?" Sokoto said as he inches his way towards the man.

"Just...look..." the man stammered, "We have to work some kind of deal out...this isn't right..."

Sokoto stopped and gave those words a quick think, "Fine."

"Haha...hahahahah..." the man laughed, "You...what deal...were you thinking-" The hilt of a knife tapped his head, then bounced into his hand. He was confused until Sokoto clarified his intentions.

"I'll let you choose how you die," Sokoto stated, "You kill you, or I kill you! Hurry up and decide!"

The man only had a limited amount of time to process everything that just happened. A good chunk of his gang had been wiped out. By the renegade, that's a surprise. The one person he thought would allow his way of thinking to flourish is instead doing the opposite. His mind wasn't fearful, as originally predicted. It was angry. How could he do this? The man had to stall for time somehow.

"Ok...just...give me a few seconds, ok?..."

"Heh..." Sokoto scoffed, "Very well..."

Just the break the man needed. He quickly reached for his gun-

•CHNK•

-but he couldn't feel it. Because it fell to the floor, along with his arm. It was the hook. It severed the arm, then pulled Sokoto in fast.

Sokoto withdrew everything, put his feet to the man's knee and chest, and jammed his hand into the man's mouth,

"Cold bloody massacre, it is,"

and beat the man with his own jaw.

For ten straight minutes.

Once it was over, Silvia phased through the front door and "picked" up a cellphone. Sparks peppered out of the phone, until she let go fifteen seconds later.

Sokoto was paint a message across the wall when he heard a thud and a fizzle. "What'd you find?" He asked.

"The nameless key...We must go to Florida," Silvia said.

"Did you call the cops?"

"Yep. Five minutes."

"Then, we're done here," Sokoto did a quick wardrobe change before hopping out the window and over the fence. He and Silvia went on their merry way, with a brand new target.