Part 3: Kid Huntsman
"A shocking new medical report that has been confirmed by the Advanced Medical Research Center in Japan and the Upper River Valley Hospital in Canada shows some very peculiar findings on the renegade. A full technical diagnostic scan and blood tests revealed that the renegade has, inside his bloodstream, every single component of an IS core, something that a full medical diagnostic scan could vaguely pick up on. The current IS Representative of Canada has already announced plans to make full use of the blood sample, while Japan will auction off the sample they have. However, the easiest and quickest solution, they claim, is to capture and sedate the renegade."
That was the latest update around the renegade, and it spread fast. Across the country, capture orders were changed to "use of deadly force." Bounties were being set for whoever can capture the renegade, and rewards were being offered to whoever could lead to the capture, with the smallest reward set at $100,000. The mere thought that the renegade would be worth anything would be enough to drive any extremist insane, as they have claimed him to be merely a tool for benefitting the agenda of one side. Now that it's out in the open that he could be worth more than $250 million, neither side was happy. Since they found out he was capable of disciplining men and women, they wanted him gone. They firmly believe that they cannot coexist, as one side must conquer the other in order to lead the world into the next era. Or some shit like that. Police were on high alert for anyone who even remotely resembles the renegade. People were being warned not to engage due to his erratic behavior (Yeah, that's one of his less appealing traits...Kill me.). Planned protests and demonstrations were being cancelled due to the impending war, though many have no trouble vjoicing their dissent for whoever. And anyone and everyone who could fight was getting ready for the hunt.
-ABANDONED APARTMENT COMPLEX, ALLEGHENY COUNTY; 10:44, NINE DAYS TO ELECTION-
Such was the state of the town that Phantom Task was trapped in. Normally it would be cause for concern, but thanks to Sokoto's prior screw ups and misadventures when he was going solo, the women now had absolute cover.
"Alright," Autumn breathed a sigh of relief, "That means we can head out right now and hijack a car without no one noticing."
"I wouldn't be so sure," Cecilia said, "They're still displaying our pictures alongside his. Best to keep a disguise or two."
"I suppose..." Autumn finished packing her suitcase, "Ok, now we just need a getaway car."
"Allow me," Chelsea emerged from the bedroom with her hair completely frazzled.
"I'm not so sure about you going all alone..." Autumn commented.
"I'll be fine," Chelsea ignored them and walked out the door, "I'll just be a few minutes," then she unleashed her Crescendo and took off.
Madoka and Cecilia stared. Chelsea would never act like this. No way she would associate herself with any criminal element, mich less willingly go to steal a car. Something happened to her, no doubt. And the two women have a very good idea what that was. They turned to Autumn with suspicious looks.
"...What?" Autumn said.
They immediately got up close and grilled her.
"What were you doing with her last night?" Madoka spat in her face.
"What do you mean, what did I do?!" Autumn reacted, "I could ask the same of you!"
"We were just living it up in Downtown Hot Springs!" Madoka turned to Cecilia, "Weren't we, Cecilia?!"
"Yeah, unlike her," Cecilia responded, "all cuddled up in bed like you literally gave her your mind!"
"Why does it matter?!" Autumn said, "At least she's not brooding in her own-'AHH I DON'T WANNA LIVE ANYMORE'-type mope thing."
"Oh my god..." Cecilia backed away from her, feigning horror, "You actually did it, didn't you..."
"Did what?" Autumn questioned until she realize what they were on, "...don't...you...dare..."
"Oh," Madoka walked towards the door, "We dare."
"GET OVER HERE!" Autumn chased after Madoka and Cecilia, who were screaming the night of a thousand taboos that solidified her place as the embarrassment generator, much to their delight.
They only stopped when they saw Chelsea drive a limousine to their location.
"Hohohohooooooly moly!" Madoka shouted, "Where'd you find this big boy?!"
Chelsea pulled the window down, "In a poor forgotten parking lot," she responded, "Come on! We're burning daylight!"
Madoka and Cecilia stuffed every bit of luggage they had into the limo and hopped into the luxury seats.
Autumn did not know what to think about everyone' sudden and drastic mood swing. "What is happening to us..." She shook her head and went along with the ride.
-APPLE BLOSSOM MALL, FREDERICK COUNTY; 13:33-
Sokoto, Silvia, and Akari were running nonstop since the release of the bombshell report. They were quick to grab some light clothing and isolate themselves away from concrete and hide in the greenery, but they realized that it was only a matter of time before they were recognized by a maniacal woman. So, they had no choice but to sneak into a mall and man some clothes if they were to go all the way. They bunkers down right at the edge of the mall and gathered round the bush for the rundown.
"Ok, so this is where we are right now," Silvia pulled up a 3D projection of the mall, with their locations marked, "I've already done a test of their cameras. They pretty low-tech, so I can disable them, but that won't stop the people from recognizing us. But we have an advantage," she turned to Akari, "You."
"M-me?" Akari said.
"You got no ID, no name," Silvia explained, "You have the perfect cover. You can walk in, and you will be able to walk out undetected. Unlike some people."
"Well, excuse me!" Sokoto griped.
"So," Akari recited, "All I have to do is grab some clothes?"
"And scissors," Sokoto said, "I need to butcher my hair once more."
"The hair," Silvia reminded, "Not the skin, especially not your skin."
Akari nodded, but she desperately wanted to swallow the scissors.
"Onii-chan will be the decoy should things get heated," Silvia shrunk and fizzled to Akari's pocket, which contained a backup phone, "And I'll watch you so you don't get into trouble."
"Uh...ok?" Akari muttered.
"Ok...Onii-chan," Silvia said, "Hide out here until it's time to come get us."
"Gotcha," Sokoto napped in the grass beside the parking lot, "Y'know, some people will already be on my tail before you even find a store, right?!"
"We'll just be a minute!" Silvia shouted, then fizzled to Akari's shoulder, "C'mon. First store's thataway."
"Said every girl ever," Sokoto said as he lulled himself to sleep.
Inside the mall, there was a very thin veil of fake calmness blanketing over a madhouse. There wasn't a woman in that giant building who was not on edge. They all had their eyes peeled for any short person with blonde hair and blue eyes, but really they were using that as an excuse to get the men there to do their bidding. A threat to turn them to the police on suspicion of harboring of, or even association with, the renegade made it easy for the women to manipulate the massive amount of shoppers, when they weren't demanding the election be automatically given to democratic candidate Leonie. That nasty atmosphere was why Sokoto had to stay away, because the overwhelming aura was like a fly that just wouldn't leave him the fuck alone.
One step past the front door and Silvia confirmed her horror story, "Ewww...One look in their eyes and you ain't never coming back..."
Akari wished to never come back, "Let's just go...where to?"
"Just follow the arrow," Silvia projected a pointer leading to a...cosplay store HELLO?!
"*GULP*" Akari grimaced, but pressed forward regardless.
Throughout the ten minute trek, they saw everything. Men being used as packing mules wasn't so bad. Men being haggled to make ludicrous deals, then throwing back the clothes because of their "inferior quality" had to be the low point of the day. But it could get lower. Some female teens could be seen sexually harassing the males, and attempting to obliterate those who try to fight back and those who came to the mall with a friend. Akari tried not to pay any mind to the spectacle, but the mere sight of them brought back terrible memories of her time as a captive. She collapsed on her knees 500 feet from the destination.
"Whoa, hey!" Silvia felt the ground hit her, "What happened?!"
"I can't do it..." Akari muttered, "It's too much..."
"Ok, clearly we've hit a roadblock," Silvia fizzled in full size right next to Akari and tried to comfort her, "Hey, you're gonna be fine. It's totally different from before. They won't come for you."
"They're everywhere..." Akari panted, "Waiting to drag me down again..."
"It's not like that," Silvia said, "Things a different here-" too soon. As two men who confused Akari for someone who's actually cosplaying came around.
"Hey, is that you?"
"EEP!" Silvia slowly turned around, "What brings you here..."
"Sekai! I thought you died!"
"Who's Sekai?" Akari asked.
"Like you don't know?!" The cosplayer said, "You manipulated Makoto into cheating on everyone!"
"Ok, we're on completely different wavelengths here!" Silvia tried to get their attention, but she did nothing to sway the conversation.
"What are you talking about?" Akari got frightened, "I didn't do anything!"
"YOU WENT ALONG WITH IT, IS WHAT YOU DID!" Silvia snapped.
"Now, everyone will know your dirty little secret," one of the cosplayers grabbed Akari by the neck and hoisted her up.
"No! Help me!" Akari shouted.
"Does anyone misunderstand what's going on?!" Silvia couldn't take it and fizzled to the nearest woman's phone to alert them of the impending attack.
"No! Let me go!" Akari flailed.
"Shut up, bitch!" The cosplayer covered Akari's mouth-
"What the hell are you doing?!" Several women rushed to the group fight.
The cosplayers finally snapped out of their cosplay mode and realized the situation.
"Shit! What do we do?!" He said.
"Hey, it's just a good game, right!" The man tried to reason with them, "We were just acting-"
"Was not!" Silvia appeared behind and showed everyone the video, with a few changes to the audio to make it look like they really did try to assault her, "They literally shoved me aside and demanded that she be their punching bag! For 'cosplay' purposes!"
"Oh, that tears it," the women surrounded the two cosplay men, who tried the hostage maneuver.
"Hold it!" The man said, "No one move, or she gets it!" To which Akari freaked out.
"Ok, I'm done," Silvia had enough, "Time to bring you back to Winchester." She waited until all eyes were off her to manipulate a woman's cellphone out of her pocket, into midair...
"Stay back! You don't want to see her-KCHBKCLGKLHGKKCLGLKBCK~~~"
...and chucked it into his mouth. During that brief moment Akari was released from his grasp, Silvia sensed the cellphone in Akari's pocket and dragged her out of the mob. The other cosplayer tried to escape, but the women throttled him down. The man that had Akari in his arms spit out the phone, broke free of the women's fight and ran after Akari, but Silvia yanked the phone just under his foot, causing him to trip and fall over the rail, and dunk himself in the aquarium below. Of course the mothers and children got onto him in hilarious fashion.
Silvia peeked over the rail to laugh, "YEAH! You ain't got NOTHING on the real world!"
Akari was plain shocked. She thought that they were still after her, even though she was off their radar. Not even the people who broke her free could keep her safe.
But that's why there's using the surroundings to your advantage. One of the women who rescued her said, "Are you ok-"
"GOD!" Akari jolted, "I...uh...thank you..."
"Hey, don't mention it," the woman said, "It's always a traumatic experience."
"Yeah..."
"Y'know, it was a good thing you were able to get those weeaboo creeps away from my cosplay store. How bout I treat you to whatever you and your friend delight? It's the least I can do."
"Really?!" Akari blushed, "Well, I dunno-"
"Of course, we'd be delighted!" Silvia tried to shove Akari aside, but because she's merely a five-foot sprite, who can only manipulate electronics, she only ended up shoving the cellphone in Akari's pocket, and by extension Akari herself, a few inches forward, "We'd love to spread the word about your lovely shop!"
"Well, ok then!" The woman stood up and let the way, "Follow me!"
Five minutes later...
"Well, I'm glad you found everything you needed," the woman said, "but, uh...is your friend ok?"
She pointed to Silvia, who was mumbling some voodoo gibberish while zapping the cellphone with a thousand glowing reviews.
"She's fine..." Akari was stuck with two outfits, two electronic gauntlets and shin guards, and a light up choker, "Well, we must be going..."
"Not yet!" Silvia ran up to them, "Photo op!"
-SNAP!-
Thus was the very first human experience that Silvia and Akari had in a long time, one they would never forget.
Certainly not Sokoto, "You wasted fifteen minutes on this?..."
"It's a good photo!" Silvia said.
"Hoyyyyy..." he sighed. The only thing that was keeping him from going ballistic was Akari's aura. It wasn't as gloomy as before. He could sense a tinge of hope. Just a tinge. "Well, you got what you needed, so I'll let it slide." He suddenly turned to Akari, "But just so you know, that was only the Pre-K version of the shit we have to deal with. There's even stinkier shit along the way. You still want to come along?"
Silvia looked back at Akari, who actually gave next to no thought of her answer,
"Yes. I want to come along."
Silvia whistled. Sokoto gave the "Really?" eyes.
Akari just spoke her mind, "I mean, I know it's scary... but I can't help myself... I want to get away, but I realize that I can never get away. Ever. I need to know how to...live with it...how to move on...how to deal with the nightmares, and how to confront people just like him..."
"Well, let me give you a hint," Sokoto walked up to her and pointed at her, "Don't fall behind."
And he turned his back to her, staring out to the sun, donning his new white shirt, black jacket and pants and shoes, but ditched the forehead protector (causing an accident) and shoved his face in Silvia's, "And DON'T dress me up like some next gen leftovers!"
"Oh, hell no!" Silvia got up in his grill, "You did not just call him a leftover!"
And the two got in a heated argument with Akari still wondering what just happened. And why they're making so much noise that they attracted some unwanted attention.
-PRAIRIE TRACE GOLF CLUB, MONTGOMERY COUNTY; 16:11-
Autumn had her hands full just watching over the three stooges...stoogettes? Something...
Chelsea would have momentary panic attacks, and it would fall to Autumn to calm her down. Cecilia would need someone to fix her emotional spine every now and then, and it would be Autumn who had to repair it. Whenever Madoka was feeling low, it was up to Autumn to lift her high, without even knowing how that happened. But whenever Autumn was feeling stressed, all three of them jumped in to make her feel better.
All this, in the span of a few hours.
"What in...I don't...UGH!" Autumn's mind outright refund to process any of that information.
"Are you ok?" Chelsea brought her a coke.
"I don't know..." Autumn grabbed it and drank.
"What do you mean?"
"Heh...this wasn't the direction I thought Phantom Task would take," Autumn elaborated, "We're supposed to be an escort to the one idiot that could screw the world in the ass. And yet..." she saw Madoka and Cecilia using the golf carts as jousting horses and the golf clubs as lances, "...here we are."
Chelsea couldn't say anything. She just sat down next to Autumn and rested her head under her neck.
Autumn felt the maid's head slip below her neck, "GGGGBGGGBGKGKGGBB..." cringe "Could this day get any more pretentious?"
Much more, as she just got a notification on her IS's communication tab. She opened it up and saw a selfie seemingly taken by a full size Silvia, with Sokoto wearing a goofy face while dragging a frightened Akari by the leg through the streets, while running away from the cops. It had the caption,
"NEW ALLY! Akari Somestupidlastname has joined the team!"
At first, Autumn's reaction was to slam her head on the table, "Fucking...fuckity...He better not come back, or I'm gonna...go...wild?"
That face! It looks just like her brother's! But where has she seen it before?! Autumn closed her eyes and tried to imagine the face...all wretched and twisted...madness lost in despair...enclosed in a silly looking box...
...the same box she saw last night. A foul odor emitting from it. She took one look inside. There was no mistake. Takashi, the man Autumn got arrested for physical assault three months after the failed attack on the Third Mondo Grosso. Everyone said that he got life in prison, but she knew better. The yakuza never forgive or forget. Her best guess was that his family was targeted because funds were running low, and so they coerced them into doing their bidding. Takashi was broken out and taken to their hideout to be shown god only knows what. He was the final straw for his family's complete meltdown. It was an absolute miracle no one else picked up on that. An even bigger miracle that the renegade took Takashi's sister away from him.
Autumn had to make sure they went no where near that place, so she sent Sokoto a text, "Keep running, little hero! We need all the help we can get!"
Autumn also had to make sure that there was no chance of her own group discovering that body. At least not now. Deep down, she wanted to go full psycho again and wreak absolute havoc upon the masses. But, given how paper thin the nation's political tolerance was, it would be a very empty satisfaction. Then, she had an idea.
"Ok! Everyone in the limo!" Autumn called, "We're going to California!"
"Aww!" Cecilia whined, "Just ten more minutes!"
"You'll get plenty of play time in SoCal," Autumn nagged, "Now everyone inside!"
"Ugh...fine," Cecilia groaned, "Hey, M! We gotta go!"
"Race you to the bathroom!" Madoka sped off in a cart.
"Hey! No fair!" Cecilia chased after her.
"Seriously..." Autumn shook her head seeing an IS Representative and a ruthless killer being reduced to kids, and swallowed her pride for the umpteenth time, "Well, at least this way I can rebuild them from scratch...Ok, come on..." She had to carry a sleeping Chelsea on her back, "The sooner we empty our asses, the better..."
"Really?..." Chelsea sleep-moaned, "What's our next move?..."
"Oh, you're gonna love it in the Sunshine State," Autumn cooed, "There's real beaches, sunsets, wine-"
-CRASH!-
Madoka: "Missed!"
Cecilia: "You're mine!"
-CRASH!-
Autumn: "People with bleeding hearts to make you feel superior to those who annoy you..."
Madoka: "You're gonna give even more us bad luck!"
Cecilia: "I LIVE ON BAD LUCK!"
Autumn: "Fucking...ugh..."
-KING ESTATES PARK, ALAMEDA COUNTY; 16:45-
Normally a calm place where business of any kind was forbidden, here two groups of businessman have gathered under the guise of a picnic to discuss matters that pertained to a very specific area of interest.
One man, in particular, had a very, very special interest. He was holding a crumpled up picture of his brother, or rather, what he looked like before the renegade intercepted him and beat him to death. The message above him was still fresh.
"The right to life, huh?" He muttered, then spit his cigarette out, "What is a right when it's easily threatened..."
"Hey, boss," the man's henchmen came up to him, "You might wanna see this..."
They showed him a recent news story of the renegade being separated from Phantom Task and fleeing the cops, dragging a very familiar looking woman along the way. The man widened his eyes. He got a flashback of how he told her that she had to please his brother if she ever wanted to see her own brother again. He got a major kick out of seeing despair take over her life.
How he wanted to see it again.
A nasty grin crawled its way across his cheeks, "Well, well, well...we got ourselves a stolen commodity..."
"What should we do?"
"Now, that's actually a good question. But let's put it like this: the renegade, who we thought would be on our side, has become a traitor, by not only stealing our things, but also killing my brother."
"Not to mention, he's in the most powerful weapon in the world..."
"Normally, that would be cause for concern. But...we now know two things: he has no one looking out for him anymore, and he is emotionally unstable."
"Do we know where he's going?"
"He's going in the direction of the pilot conversion center."
"Oh no..."
"Alert the center. Tell them the renegade is coming to them. And lure him into our hands."
"And what about Phantom Task?"
"Let me worry about them. I have a feeling they're coming to us as well."
The henchmen left the boss alone, all gleefully taunting the renegade,
"Heeheeheee! That bastard's done for!"
"I can't wait to see him break for the first time ever!"
"That fucker deserves it! He ruined our whole operation in Canada!"
The man just looked up towards the sky, then back down at the sinking sun. He thought about how he would grow the most powerful yakuza to ever walk the earth in the most prolific slap in society's face. He dropped the picture and smiled,
"We take what we want. We get what we want. We let no one have it. Everything belongs to us. Surely, you remember what I taught you all those years ago, or have you forgotten, Sokoto? You belong to me as well, and I will not let you escape. You stole a commodity from us. You killed my brother during a business deal. You let those pigs go free. You're a traitor to us all. Not even your death would satisfy me."
He had it in mind to break him by turning Phantom Task against him. To that end, he realized that he would need a different approach to do exactly what he did to Akari. And speaking of...
"Akari...you were better off staying a pig slut. I shall remind you of your place..."
Sure...
-JACKSON SQUARE, ORLEANS PARISH; 17:11-
(Cause is me, you, you, me, me, you...)
Daryl was in the park with her earbuds and music, meditating on how her encounter with Sokoto would go. What to say, what to wear...what to do to get him on her good side...her fancies were interrupted by a familiar voice,
"Daryl! Fancy seeing you here!"
"Hm?" Daryl looked to where the voice was coming from, "Who would-Forte!" They hugged each other, "It's been a long while, huh?"
"Too long," Forte sat down with her, "I was worried when you wouldn't say anything after the you know..."
"I know, but I'm fine now."
Daryl and Forte talked for a little bit about small stuff before Daryl said the beloved.
"So, he wouldn't throw the others away, huh?"
"Nope. No matter what I say, he wouldn't budge."
"I see," Daryl stood up and dusted herself off, "Well, I'm sure with the right approach, we can sway him."
"Are you sure?" Forte asked.
"I got a good idea what to do. Come on, the renegade's gonna be by soon!"
"Really?" Forte walked with, "Where's he headed?"
"I'm guessing Florida."
"Cool! My favorite beach!"
(Turn me on, my baby don't you
Cut me outTake my order cause your body like a
Carry out
Let me walk into your body until this
Light's out
Turn me on, my baby don't you
Cut me out)
And the two walked off towards the city. Forte recovered from the major battle in Canada and snuck down here, while Daryl took her leisure in enjoying the view. The two have gathered enough information on the current political situation to initiate some uprisings in the hopes of causing enough chaos to attract the renegade. They still haven't let up on their plans to turn him over to their side. Little do they know the true impact of the renegade, as they have yet to witness what happens when they are brought over to him, and not the other way around, especially when he's playing for much bigger stakes than mere love.