Part. 14, Tintin And The Victory Tour(D3).
Disclaimer: I do not own The Adventures Of Tintin. That's the property of the Hergé Foundation and Moulinsart.
I do not own Kidd Video. That's the property of DIC and Saban Entertainment.
I do not own The World God Only Knows. That's the property of Tamiki Wakaki and Shogakukan.
I do not own the Rapeman. That's the property of Shintaro Miyawaki and LEED Publishing, and they can keep it.
(The Coiled Remains, District 13)
(Standard point of view)
The master Blaster's floating fortress came to a stop above an area just below a hill of bones topped by a great stone dome. A clear tube emerges from the bottom of the jukebox shaped fortress and touches the ground, kicking up dust. Then the Master Blaster, in his favorite hover chair and his three snivering Copy Cats elevate down the tube and emerge from it, leaving the fortress and arriving onto the Coiled Remains, The stronghold of the Tainted Coil, decedents of the hideous demon hordes sent by the gods long ago to crush the ancient rebellions.
"Doesn't look like anyone's home." Fat cat nervously said looking left and right. "Let's go." He turns back towards the elevator, but the Master Blaster retracts it. "NOO!"
"It would be rude of us to leave so soon, you fat idiot..." The Master Blaster leered. "We wait."
"Hey, guys, check this out." She-Lion waved to her companions. They head over to her. "Look what I found on the ground."
Fat-Cat, Kool-Kitty, and eventually the Master Blaster look at what can be described as hieroglyphs depicting what looks like... a car? In several pieces. "Wow, looks like a hot rod." Kool Kitty commented. "... But all separated into several parts."
"Hmmm, this tab..." Fat-cat examines the thorn covered alter behind the hieroglyphs. "Do they look like musical notes to you?"
"Indeed they are." said a deep voice behind him. Fat Cat, Kool-Kitty and She-Lion turn around and turn white with pure terror when they see a group of beings dressed in long red robes, each holding an undulating bladed sword, and although you can't see their upper face, their mouths were full of sharp jagged steel-like teeth. "But no one in this world can play those notes."
"EEEEEK!" The Copy Cats shriek and hide behind the master blaster, shivering like crazy.
Then a taller demon, dressed like a bishop, and whose head looks like a rat minus the skin with bronze tusks/nostrils steps forward to study the new arrivals. Then he looks upwards. "My lord, has the day come at last to serve you, our master?"
"No... Not today." A deep smooth-sounding voice from above replied. The master blaster and the frightened Copy Cats look up to see this pale demon floating above them on wings that looked like they belong on an evil butterfly and welding a double-ended glaive. "Matter of fact, I was expecting some visitors." The demon lands in front of the Master Blaster.
It was clear that this demon was the leader. He stood a good eight feet tall from his head down to his cloven hooves, and that's not counting his four horns. His entire head was covered in a black mask that was so tight, it might as well be his skin, the only opening in that mask was his mouth, showing off his yellowed teeth and tusks. And there were black spikes emerging from his shoulders and criss-crossing his pale, but muscular looking chest.
"Greetings, Master Blaster." The demon leader politely greets, bowing slightly. "Welcome to my humble domain... To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Then he notices the Copy Cats hiding behind the Master Blaster's hover-chair. "Ah, I see that you took the extra measure of bringing me some snacks... Heh heh heh."
"DOUBLE EEEEEK!" The Copy Cats shrieked, hiding behind their master. "Y-Y-You're not planning to feed us to him, your overbearingness." Fat Cat added.
"Can't say the thought has crossed my mind." The Master Blaster pondered for a moment.
"B-B-Boss!" The three terrified Copy Cats whined.
"...But I'm afraid these three aren't going to be your dinner, lord Doviculus." The Master Blaster replied. "They're... still useful to me, For now."
"I see, that's too bad." Doviculus shakes his head in slight disappointment. "So what is the reason for this little visit... Other than having those three scared out of their fu.?"
"It's this." The Master Blaster presses a button on his armrest and a holographic image appears between the evil human and the demon lord. Many of the red-cloaked demons gasp in surprise.
Even Doviculus looks surprised. "Where has this image been taken?" He asks, pointing at the image of Eddie's belt buckle. "That... artifact hasn't been seen in decades."
"According to my contacts..." The master Blaster replied. "This belt buckle is currently worn by a... roadie on the planet called Earth."
"So...That's what became of it." Doviculus scratched his chin. "The previous ruler and my mistress Succoria, led an expedition to that world, taking with her a cadre of human slaves to be used as sacrifices and that artifact to help her return. She was seeking other demons and a way to crack the secrets of the titans, but was never heard from again. It appears that her mission was a failure. I will have to mourn her. She was our bravest and fiercest warrior. Only the human known as Riggnarok could match her, but he was never heard from either. Come to think of it."
"Interesting..." The Master Blaster scratched his fat chin. "I'll need to report this... After I spent a week or two over at Lionwhyte's. Seneca can wait."
"But before you go..." Doviculus said. "I wish to show you four something." He turns to his priest. "War-father, summon the Overblesser.! I wish to visit the temple."
"At once, my lord." The War-father bows and leaves. in moments a large quadrupedal creature walks up and kneels down before Doviculus.
"If would please step aboard." Doviculus gestures towards the kneeling overblesser and its nun-like rider.
"It won't bite. Won't it?" Kool Kitty nervously asks, pointing at the mouth full of large teeth on the beast.
"Hmmmmm, that depends, if we haven't been feeding it recently." Doviculus replied. "You there..." He points at one of the druids. "Check to see if the overblesser has been fed."
"As you wish, my lord." The druid bows. And approaches the front of the beast… And is immediately eaten whole. He was very crunchy, and the overblesser that just ate him let out a loud burp.
All three Copy Cats turn completely white. "TRIPLE EEEEEK!"
"Well, guess it's fed now." Doviculus calmly said. "Come with me." Doviculus climbs aboard first, followed by the Master Blaster and hes three still scared witless Copy Cats. "Take us to the temple, my dear." He orders the battle nun.
"As you command." She starts chanting a hymn that uses the word 'evil' a lot to get the overblesser to clamber up the great hill of bones. It wasn't long before they reach the top, and the entrance to the dome.
"This temple was dedicated to the fire beast that all but wiped us out millennia ago." Doviculus explains. "At first, when we seized this land from the humans, we tried to destroy this temple but it was impervious to our best efforts. So we made it ours, desecrating it as we saw fit. We made many profane sacrifices on it's alter in a ten year celebration of our victory over Riggnarok and his 'Black-Tear Rebellion'. The full body of this beast can be seen here in all its glory, which we hid from the sky with a great dome."
"Do you know the name of this beast?" The Master Blaster asks.
"Ah yes..." Doviculus scratches his chin. "I believe his name was... Ormagöden." He let's the name sink in for a few seconds. "The great fire beast... Destroyer of the ancient world... Cremator of the skies... It is said that he came from another world, no one here knows. Follow me." Doviculus enters the great dome, the Master Blaster and his still nervous lackeys follow.
It takes a few moments for their eyes to adjust to the dimly-lit interior. As their eyes adjust, the first thing they notice id the floor strewn with bones and in the middle stood a large double-bladed battleaxe with flames etched into the blades. "Nice looking axe, huh? It was taken by Succoria herself from the hands of the last human king that once ruled here. It is known as the Separator. Touch it not, or suffer our wrath. But I do believe you're not here to see this weapon."
"That's correct, Doviculus." The master Blaster replied.
"Then look up..." Doviculus said, gesturing upwards. "And gaze upon the fire-beasts likeness." The Master blaster and the Copy cats look upwards and cast their eyes upon a massive statue perched upon the great alter, looking as though it would come to life an any instant, and pounce upon those foolish to gaze upon it.
"QUADRUPLE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!" The copy cats scream in purest panic. "RUN AWAY! RUN AAAAWWWWAAAAYYYY!" And they race out of the dome like...scaredy-cats.
"So that's him, Ormagöden. Or rather his likeness." The Master Blaster looked in awe. "Was he really that big?"
"Who really knows." Doviculus replied. "Anyway, I believes this covers everything you need for your report. Let us return you and your minions to your fortress." The master Blaster and Doviculus return to the waiting overblesser to take them back down. The Copy Cats were nowhere in sight. It turns out that, in their complete panic, they managed to run down the hill of bones and were found hiding behind the thorn covered tab-alter, shivering like crazy. Go figure...
(Earth, The Belgium-German border)
(Tintin's Point of View)
"Billions of blue blistering barnacles... Where did I put those passports?" Captain Archibald Haddock, lord of Marlinspike Hall, grumbled as he searched the glove-box for the passports. "I coulda swore that Nestor gave 'em to us." The border guard that asked for said passports looked on impatiently.
"Relax, captain..." I pulled out the passports for the two of them. "I have 'em right here." I handed them to the customs officer.
"Alright, let's see..." The custom official examines the two passports and then stamps them before returning them. "Willkommen in Deutschland, mr Haddock, mr Tintin. Enjoy your stay." The gate raises and Haddock drives on through, leaving behind us Belgium and entering Germany.
"Well that was easy." Captain Haddock commented as they traveled down the highway. "Next stop, Berlin."
"Provided that you don't take a detour that gets us into Bratislava.. Heh heh heh..." I chuckled, recalling an amusing story about a group of American tourists.
"Very funny Tintin." Captain Haddock replied. "This coming from a kid that tried to get us to Spain but got us stuck in the middle of Morocco via that wall of death."
"Touché, captain." I smiled.
Me, captain Haddock and Snowy, have been on many a crazy adventure. From the bottom of the sea to the Moon, And have ran into every sort of criminals and their schemes. But today, me, Captain and Snowy are heading to Berlin to cover the upcoming victory speech for district 3, and the following Kabbage Boy concert. Captain thinks that that music's rubbish and can't understand that kids see in them these days.
"Hopefully, we won't end up running into anyone from our usual rogue's gallery... Like Allen or Rastapopoulus." I commented.
"Thundering typhoons, don't jinx us, Tintin!" Captain Haddock retorted. "I'm still trying to forget that basi-bazook after our last run in back in Syldavia.(See Lake of Sharks for the details, Author)
(Berlin, Germany)
Eventually, me and captain Haddock finally reached Berlin. Soon after, we were able to get to our hotel. we were just getting settled in when they heard a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" I asked.
"Lemme check..." Captain Haddock replied as he looked in the peephole. "Thundering typhoons!" He exclaimed. "You're not gonna believe this..." The opens the door...
...And in enters the two identical looking Interpol detectives, Thompson and Thomson. "Good day, captain Haddock, Tintin." Thompson greeted...
"To be precise, good day, Tintin, captain Haddock." Thomson added as they both try to enter... at the same time... and get themselves temporarily wedged in the doorway. They managed to get themselves unstuck but end up falling on their faces.
"Thompson and Thomson!" I cheerfully greeted gack as the two nearly identical detectives get get back up.
"bark bark." Snowy added.
"... So what brings you two to Berlin?" I asked.
"The same reason you're here, Tintin." Thompson answered first. "The upcoming victory speech and accompanying rock concert."
"To be precise, we're here for the upcoming rock speech and accompanying victory concert." Thomson added. "Huh...? That certainly didn't come out right."
"We're here to make certain nothing bad happens to the visiting chaps from those other worlds, or to Kabbage Boy." Thompson said.
"Well I couldn't care less about what happens to Kabbage Boy." Captain Haddock retorted. "Not exactly a big fan of boy bands anyway."
"Nor am I, mr Haddock." Another voice said just outside the doorway. The owner of that voice then appears in the doorway. "Kon'nichiwa, mr Tintin, long time no see."
"Bunji!" I exclaimed in surprise when I recognized the Japanese detective, Bunji Kuraki standing in the doorway. "...It certainly has." Me and captain Haddock hadn't seen Bunji since the Karaboudjan affair(Read the Crab with the Golden Claws, Author). "So what brings you all the way here?"
"I've been assigned to keep the mentor of District 3 and her son safe during her stay here." Bunji replied. "There are those back home who'd want to cause... Problems with this tour, both here in Berlin, and again in Japan when the tour heads there. Anyway I wish to introduce you two to the mentor. You can come in."
Bunji steps aside and in enters the mentor of District 3. A Japanese woman in her mid-thirties, wearing a jacket over a sweater-shirt combo, a pair of jeans and sneakers. Her hair was dyed an orange-red and done up in a bun, and she wore semi-rectangular glasses. "Hello, I'm Mari Katsuragi, pleased to meet you." She greets, a smile on her beautiful face.
"Likewise, ms. Katsuragi, I'm Tintin." I greeted back
"...Archibald Haddock." Along with captain Haddock.
Mari steps out of view for a second long enough to pull in this teenaged boy about my age(more or less) wearing the same style of glasses, and playing a PSVita. "C'mere, you... and this is my weirdo son, Keima."
Keima looks up for a second... "Charmed, I'm sure." Then goes back to his game... and gets dope-slapped by Mari. "OW! Mom!"
"Honestly, show some manners...sigh... What am I gonna do with you?" Mari shakes her head.
"So how are you liking Berlin, mrs Katsuragi?" I asked.
"I only just got here." Mari replied. "Besides first thing I'm gonna do is check out the nearest Ducati dealership and see if the new models are out yet."
"You're into motorcycles?" Captain Haddock asked.
"Yep... Used to own a Kawasaki GPZ400R back in my youth. Used to be known as the 'Snow Woman of the Mountain Pass'. But that's all behind me now. Nowadays, I make a living running a café in Maijima City. When I'm not being dragged off to the 'Gods Realm' to mentor two kids that ain't gonna make it. I hate that game. First when I had to play it as a tribute when I was only 13... Forced to kill just to survive... that was about 22 years ago. God, that was awful."
"The 1990th annual Galactic Hunger Games." I said.
Mari continued. "And nowadays... As a mentor watching kids die at each others hands, being killed by...worse." Mari shakes her head in dismay, then looks at Keima. "And as much as he drives me nuts at times, I don't want to see him get reaped. That's one game even he can't win. Same goes for you, Tintin."
"I appreciate the concern, mrs Katsuragi." I replied. "I don't like to kill anyone either. Especially not a scared kid. Just what kind of people are they?"
"The worst. Trust me." Mari said.
"That boy of yours really got his face buried in that little contraption." Captain Haddock commented. "Just what is he playing?"
"Dating sims." Mari answered. "That's all he likes to play, even at school. And for some odd reason he manages to get perfect scores on all his tests so far. But it still doesn't change the fact I'm worried about him. He has more consoles back home than the Angry Video Game Nerd. Which now that I think about it..."
"Really!" Keima looked up. "So what's wrong with being a nerd? 2D girls are a lot easier than 3D ones anyway... Especially if their names are Ayumi or Chihiro."
"See what I have to put up with?" Mari thumbs at her son. "Anyway, it's nice chatting with you, Tintin... mr Haddock." Mari politely bows and she and Keima exits.
(Berlin Tegel Airport, Terminal C, the next day)
I was seated with quite a few other reporters. Looking over to my right, I could see a large group of tweenage Kabbage Boy fans, kept behind a security barrier. In front of me was the interviewing table with ten chairs, each taped with the name, Erik Faust, Razputin Gregory, Paul Rodgers, Sidney Morris, Reginald Copeland, Seneca Crane, Effie Trinket, Natz Panagakos, Nan Fletcher, and Julia DuBois. I know this will be my second time interviewing those people.
I looked over to my left, and he notices the Katsuragis. Mari was wearing a golden brown 3 piece business suit with a knee length straight skirt. Keima was wearing his school uniform, the red color of his jacket making him stand out. I notices that Keima was fidgeting slightly, probably because he doesn't have a game in his hands. Heh heh...
As much as Keima was sticking out, it was nothing compared to the Thom(p)sons. Both of them were trying to be... inconspicuous. They were both wearing lederhosen costumes... And getting quite a few laughs.
Bunji, however was a lot better at it, He looked like a generic everyday traveler, with his suit and trench-coat, with a hat and umbrella in case it rains. A bit further back from the crowd was Captain Haddock.
I checked my tablet and mic... Good, they're both working. After the interview, I'll have to type it in for the paper, but that's later. Right now I see the massive shape of the tour plane just outside the windows hovering up to the main gangway. I could see that thing was bigger than an Airbus A380.
The gangway extents out to the plane, and the first people to enter the terminal... Was Erik Faust and his band, Kabbage Boy.
"HELLO, BERLIN!" Erik shouted out his introduction. The crowd of groupies squeed and cheered at their arrival, holding up posters of their favorite band member. "Thank you, thank you! I'm like totally happy to see you too!" Erik gives the a wink and flashes a smile, showing off his gleaming white teeth, causing several of the cheering fans to swoon and faint in ecstasy.
As Kabbage Boy took their seats, a small squad of peacekeepers entered led by one of them not wearing his helmet, showing off his red hair. Following them was the two Panem Nobles, Seneca and Effie. As they took their seats, last but not least, the victor party, comprised of Natz, Nan and Julia.
Effie started thing off. "Welcome everyone to our eighth stop on the 2011th Galactic Hunger Games victory tour, visiting the nation of Germany, which represented District 3 for this year. Before we start the interview, I would wish to announce that our selected band, Kabbage Boy will be performing at the Freiluftbühne Waldbühne Amphitheatre. Happy interviewing."
"Let's start with you." Seneca said, pointing at… Me. "Seeing as you were the first one to talk to us back in Seattle... mr..." He check his notepad. "Tintin, Isn't that what you prefer to be called? Please approach the table. I grant you permission to interview us."
I nodded. Then I approached the interview table, mic in hand. And I began the interview. "Considering that it's almost winter here, wouldn't it to be rather cold to be performing your concert in an open air amphitheatre?"
"A valid question, my dear boy." Seneca smiled. "Yes it would be rather...chilly to perform a concert in such a place at this time of year. But do not to be concerned for the comfort of those attending. We'll be using an environmental barrier to keep the amphitheatre at a comfortable room temperature. Anything else you wish to ask."
I asked the visiting delegates on what they'll be doing during their stay, and I told them that I'll be covering the upcoming speech and concert. "And that's all the questions I have for you." I returned to my seat sat back down. "Alright that oughta do." I switched off the tablet I used to record the interview. "Here's hoping I got everything."
XXX
After the interview was concluded. I went back over to the Katsuragis and captain Haddock. "Well that was a waste of time." Captain Haddock commented. "Shoulda headed over to the duty-free and got some whiskey."
"Or for that matter, playing the latest galgame." Keima added.
"Stuff'll melt your brain, kid." Captain Haddock replied.
"I don't think so, captain, Keima." I replied, holding up the tablet. "This interview was pretty interesting. Oh, it looks like that mentor's headed over here."
"HI there, Mari." Julia greeted. "Son still giving you trouble?"
"Hello, Julia... How are you enjoying the tour?" Mari asked. "Yeah, He's still giving me trouble."
"I see..."
"And how is Clara?" Mari asked.
"Working on some new designs back home..." Julia replied. "She's working on a new outfit for the princess."
"Hold on..." Keima interrupted. "Is it just me me... Or do you look a bit like Sayoko Shinozaki from 'Code Geass'?" Keima asked
"Huh?" Julia cocks her head. "Whatever do you mean?"
"I think it's your hair-do, Julia." Mari answered. "Now that I think about it, You do kinda look a bit like that maid from that show... And those glasses remind me a bit of another maid from this manga about a boy and his demon butler."
"Really." Julia replied. "I look a bit like a maid character from one of your... television shows?"
"Sort of." Mari replied. "Perhaps it's easier to show you on my laptop when we get back to our apartment."
"As you wish." Julia nodded.
"Now this I got to see." Captain Haddock said.
"Same here, Captain." I added.
(Standard point of view)
While they were chatting, two sinister looking figures, wearing trench-coats and fedoras were watching them from around the corner. "So which one of 'em 's my target?" The tall one asked in a Japanese accent.
"The one in the light brown suit and the round-rims." The shorter one said, pointing at Julia. "I want her to pay for what she did five years ago... I couldn't get her when she visited Selzberg, but I'm gonna get her this time."
"You mean, I'm gonna get her." The Japanese mas replied. "That's what you hired me for, right?"
"That's right." The shorter man replied. "And I want you to...break her... Just like you how you broke all those other women so that they become subservient stay at home housewives."
"Oh, yeah... That part I just love to do." The Japanese man said. "Righting wrongs through penetration... All in the name of male dominance over the weaker sex." It looks like Julia is going to have...problems here as well.
TARGET-14
Name: JULIA DUBOIS
Occupation: MENTOR
File # 20XX640
Two words: Uh Oh!
(The Hotel, later that evening)
(Tintin's point of view)
After arriving at the hotel, Julia and Nan headed up to the floor that the Katsuragis were staying. It wasn't long before she found their room(seeing as her room was next to where she was staying). She knocks on her door. "Who is it?" Mari's voice called out. "Oh, it's you. And you brought your ward. Come on in... We've been waiting for you." Mari unlocks and opens the door.
Julia and Nan enter. The first thing they see was Mari and Keima sitting down at a table. Also sitting at the table was me, captain Haddock and... "Hey who's this little guy?" Nan asked when she saw Snowy. "He's cute."
"That's snowy." I replied. Snowy walks up to the two ladies and sits up, barking happily, Julia kneels down and Snowy leaps into her arms. " Seems that he taking a liking to you." Tintin commented.
"How old is he?" Julia asks.
"About four years old." I replied. "He a wire terrier. That's as big as he'll get. Had him since I found him as a puppy in Paris."
"Really... Hey that tickles!" Julia said as Snowy licked her face. "Well at least he doesn't knock me over like Repede does. First time I met that dog, he was only six months and 75 pounds. Now he about the same age as this guy and weighs 170 pounds, pure muscle. I think the closest equivalent dog here is an American Alsatian." She puts Snowy back down and walks over to the table and sits down. "So about this...Sayoko person."
"Allow me." I opened up my laptop computer, go online and accessed a 'Code Geass' wiki. I typed in the name 'Sayoko' and the image and information of that character appears. "As you can see..." I showed her the image. "...She kinda has the same hair style as you. Although your facial features are slightly different and you have blue eyes."
"I see." Julia look on in fascination. "She kinda looks like a... Yurzorean, um, I mean Japanese version of me."
"Yeah, you mentioned that you now work as a royal housemaid." Mari commented. "Back when you came back to Panem as a Mentor."
"Yes I did. I have a 3d hologram of me in my uniform stored on this tablet." Julia replied, showing us her tablet. "You want to see it?"
"Sure." Mari answered.
"This oughta be interesting." Captain Haddock added.
"I agree, captain." I added.
"She'll probably look like one of those 3D girls at those maid cafés." Keima added.
"Okay, where did I put it..." Julia said as searched through the pictures on her tablet. "Ah, here we go..." She places the tablet on the table, presses a button… And a full-size 3D image of her, wearing her maid uniform, A smile on her face, appears in front of us. "Well, what do you think?" She asked.
"Wow, that's a cute looking outfit." I replied as I examined the outfit.
"The skirt's too long." Was all that Keima said before Mari dope-slapped him. "OW!"
"My mentor's really a MAID!?" Nan gasped. "A HOUSEMAID!?"
"I have mentioned it a few times at the post speech dinners, Nan." Julia replied. "Weren't you listening?
"But I thought it was as a governess, like your fellow noble, Margaret Géroux." Nan said. "Not an actual housemaid that cleans up the castle and... stuff. Oooh... If Clint and Tison learn of this, I'll never hear the end of it."
"That a rather pretty looking uniform." Mari said.
"...Hee hee hee.. Thank you, Mari." Julia giggled. "Clara tailored this when she remolded the royal maid uniforms a few years back shortly after I started working there.
"Not to mention you kinda sounds and talks like Rarity from 'My little Pony: Friendship Is Magic'." Captain Haddock added. We all stared at him. "Okay, so I'm a brony. What of it?" He glares at everyone, hands on hips.
"...Um...Nothing, captain." I hesitantly replied.
"I do suppose we'll be looking that up too." Julia said. "Now this I simply have to see... Or rather hear."
(The Freiluftbühne Waldbühne Amphitheatre, A day or so later)
(Eddie's point of view)
Me and my crew were busy setting up the scaffolding for the stage. Me and Ralph were pulling up a cross-member festooned with floodlights up to them, and when it came within reach, we grabbed it, aligned it with the scaffolding they were on and bolted it in place and secured the cables.
"Okay, let's hook up the floods!" I shouted down to the rest of the crew. "And then we'll grab lunch!"
After the floodlights were wired up, me and Ralph climbed down and joined the other road crew. "Think the new light-bar'll hold?" Jake asked.
"It should." I replied. "Checked the cables and bolts myself... So what's the news back home?"
"Still no word about our missing folks, Eddie." Jake replied as he checked the support cables. "And we let our families know we're okay... Hold on." He notices that one of the cables was slack so he adjusted it. "Ah...that's better. Wouldn't want the stage to come down on top of us."
"Yeah." I stroked my chin. "...Lately, I've peen having dreams of that happening on top of me... Not sure why. Seeing as we make sure everything's good and tight and well secured." Then I noticed some people approaching. "Looks like Julia's here. Let's see who she brought with her this time."
"Good day, Edward." Julia greeted as she came up on the stage. "What do you think of where we're holding the concert?"
"I kinda thought it might be a bit chilly." I replied. "But I guess that the rumor about Seneca having some barrier set up so it won't be cold are true."
"Guess that explains the funny tingling and sudden warmth whenever we come in to work." Marcia commented. "So who're your new friends?" She asks.
"This is my fellow mentor, Mari Katsuragi, of Japan." Julia introduces Mari. "And that's her son, Keima."
"Pleased to meet you." Mari said, bowing slightly. "You must be Edward Riggs."
"The one and only." I replied. "But you can call me Eddie."
"This stage doesn't look like much." Keima commented.
"Well, It's still a work in progress." I replied.
"And this is Tintin, a reporter from Le Petit Vingtieme, here to cover the concert, And the guy in the blue sweater and the beard is his legal guardian, Archibald Haddock." Julia introduced Tintin and Haddock. "And this little fellow's Tintin's dog, Snowy."
"That you, Haddock?" Ralph asked as he approached. "Hadn't seen you in years! How's the Karaboudjan?"
"Ralph Barrie?" Haddock exclaimed when he saw that mustachioed roadie. "Billions of blue blistering barnacles... What are you doing here? I thought you were fishing crab outta Dutch Harbor." Both of then do some sort of greeting dance.
"Still am, Archie." Ralph replied. "I just do roadie work between seasons. Pay's good, but the bosses... Well you know."
"Yeah, you're working for Kabbage Boy huh.?" Haddock said. "Anyway, I've sold the Karaboudjan, ended up re-inheriting Marlinspike Hall. Even went to the moon. But something tells me that's nothing compared to the places you've seen."
"No kidding, Archie." Ralph replied. "Let's head over there and talk about it over a can of beer." Ralph and Haddock grab a couple of sandwiches, a couple of beers and head over to the seats.
"You know, I did a bit of research." Julia said. "I found out that Archibald's ancestor, Francis Haddock participated in and won the 1660th annual Galactic Hunger Games For District 3 and was a mentor for another 10 years."
"Yeah, the captain mentioned that to me a couple of times." Tintin replied.
"Not to mention, I found out that, according to these guys, I have a hairstyle similar to Sayoko from 'Code Geass'. And do I sound and talk like Rarity from 'My little Pony, Friendship is Magic'?"
"Well, you sorta do, Julia." Jake answered. "Not that there's anything wrong with it... You know to be fair, mrs Katsuragi's hairdo kinda looks a bit like Wilma's from 'The Flintstones'."
"Yeah...Now that I think about it." I added looking at Mari's hairdo.
"Really?" Mari asked. "Looks like I'll to look that up... Well, there's a laptop over there." She points at my laptop, resting on a chair at the edge of the stage. "Can we borrow it?"
"Just as long as you return it." Eddie replied.
Julia, Mari, Tintin and snowy head over to my laptop computer. As they were Goggling up 'The Flintstones'. Snowy sniffs the air. Then starts growling at the scaffolding. "...GRRRRRR...bark bark bark...!"
"Snowy, what's the matter?" Tintin asks just as we all heard a metallic groaning sound. He looks towards the scaffolding. "GREAT SNAKES! JULIA! MARI! LOOK OUT!" Half the scaffolding came plummeting down towards the young reporter, the two mentors and the dog. The whole thing crashed down, kicking up a thick cloud of dust and making a horrendous racket of bending metal and snapping cables.
"HOLY SHIT!" I called out, running towards the fallen scaffolding.
"MOM!" Followed by Keima.
"THUNDERING TYPHOONS! TINTIN! SNOWY!" And Haddock as both he and Ralph ran towards the stage.
Then I heard some strange voices;
Strange Voice 1: "I got her, let's go... Huh? This isn't her!"
Strange Voice 2: "Shit! We chloroformed a female roadie! Drop her! Let's get outta here before the dust clears!"
"Huh?" I said before he heard more familiar voices.
"...cough cough...We're okay... cough cough..." Tintin voice called out from the dust cloud as he, Julia, Mari, and snowy emerged, coughing and covered in dust.
"...cough cough... Good grief...cough cough... I knew something like this was going to happen to me...cough cough..." Julia coughed, trying to get the dust off her suit.
"...cough cough... Jeez that was too close... cough cough..." Tintin coughed.
Mari immediately hugged her son. "... Oh Keima, I was so scared! I thought my ticket was about to get punched just like Kyoko's was last year... WAAAAAAH!" She cried, tears squirting out fountain style. "...WAAAAAAH! I wanna go home already!"
"AAH! MOM! Don't touch me!" Keima yelped. Eventually Mari released her son, but it was clear that she was still quite shaken up. "Take it easy, Mom. It's over." Keima reassured Mari.
"I heard some weird voices mentioning K. one of the girls." I said as I did a quick head-count of the road-crew, and noticed one of 'em was absent. "Okay, where's Melissa?" After a quick search we found Melissa lying unconscious some ways from the accident. "Melissa, you okay?" I asked as Melissa came to...
"Uuugh... I don't know, Eddie." Melissa answered. "One moment, I was following those three out of the dust cloud, next thing I know, someone grabbed me from behind and covered my face with some kind of wet cloth... My head got all fuzzy... and that's all I remember."
"Okay... Sound like you've been chloroformed. Buy why?" I asked. "Alright, who rigged those cables?"
"I did, Eddie." Marcia answered. "But I made sure they were good and tight. They shouldn't have fallen over like that."
"I wonder." Tintin said to himself as he examined the ruined structure.
"Hey, careful, kid!" I cautioned. "The whole structure's pretty messed up now... So what are you looking for?"
"Just a minute... Aha! I knew it! This." Tintin answered, holding up a line of cable. "This line didn't come loose or snapped... it was cut!"
"Cut?" I looked at the cable myself. "Well I'll be... Some joker did cut those cables. I don't like this." I turned to the other roadies. "Guys, check the other cables!"
After a few minutes, Ralph approaches. "Well, Eddie, all the other cables are okay. The only ones that were sabotaged."
"Were the ones near the scaffolding where me, Julia and Mari were." Tintin finished.
"...bark bark..."
"...And Snowy." Tintin added. "Whoever did this waited until you were out of the scaffolding and cut the cables in order to get us... I don't like this."
"Me neither, Tintin." Haddock added. "And those confounded basi-bazooks slipped away in all the confusion. I've already called the cops."
"Good idea, captain." Tintin said. "Looks like we got ourselves a mystery on our hands; Sabotaging the stage. And knocking out a roadie... very mysterious."
XXX
The police, along with the Thom(p)sons and Kuraki interviewed me and the crew, the mentors and Tintin and Haddock. They cordoned off the stage, to investigate the wreckage... Much to the chagrin of Erik Faust.
"Like how much longer is this investigation gonna take?" Erik asked the two identical detectives. "Were like one a totally tight schedule you know."
"Until we thoroughly investigate this stage, I'm afraid we cannot allow anyone else to get near it." Thompson replied. "It is a crime scene after all."
"To be precise..." Thomson added "No unauthorized personnel is allowed near it because the stage is now a crime scene." Then they notice Tintin and Bunji approach.
" Especially when you consider that three people and a dog were almost crushed by the falling scaffolding..." Bunji said. "And one of your roadies was mysteriously knocked out."
"Like whatever, who cares about 'em." Erik vapidly hand-waved.
"I do!" Tintin objected. "I happen to be one of those people that almost got flattened earlier!"
"Like I said, whatever. This whole thing is like totally delaying us." Erik replied. "Hurry up and get this finished. Sooner it's done sooner we can perform. Time's money, you know." And he heads back to the hover limo.
"Really... Well, inspector Kuraki, Have any luck?" Thomson asked as Eddie walked up.
"In a manner of speaking." Bunji replied. "You're all aware that the cables in one section were cut."
The Thom(p)sons nodded.
"And I just finished my interviews with those involved in the accident... It's quite clear that this was all part of an attempted kidnapping on one or both mentors. As, according to both mr Riggs, who heard some strange voices during the incident, and Miss China, who was knocked out with chloroform and left behind."
"Not to mention I checked the security cameras." Tintin added. "I was able to find two men sneaking around backstage, spying on the mentors, and later when they were by themselves with me and Snowy, cut several support cables and unbolted the scaffolding in a way that it separate us from the other roadies when it all came down. I saw them push it down and what happened next was all obscured by the dust. But we found some other footage of them fleeing the scene in what looked like an early model green Toyota Previa."
He gives the Thom(p)sons the corresponding tapes. "Hopefully you can find something on that van."
"Thank you, Tintin, we'll look into it right away." Thompson accepted the cassettes.
"Precisely..." Thomson added. "We'll look into it immediately."
"What is it, Bunji?" Tintin asked when he noticed Bunji pondering.
"A woman getting chloroformed." Bunji scratched his chin. "I can't help but think that it looks like the modus operandi of a certain despicable vigilante back home."
"A vigilante, Bunji?" Thompson asked.
"Yes, mr Thompson... He calls himself, the 'Rapeman'." Bunji replied.
"I've started investigating him following the 'Red Cat' case. It seems that he's a rapist for hire. Doing the deeds for certain men to keep women in line as it were. The clientele he works for are often jilted boyfriends, fathers, and businessmen who want their girlfriends, daughters and female co-workers more docile and subservient. His motto is 'Righting wrongs through penetration'. He... corrects these unfortunate women by... raping them to force them to change their ways."
"Great snakes... That's just...evil." Tintin replied.
"I agree, mr Tintin." Bunji replied. "I've been trying to put a stop to this for quite a while... Even came close to catching this chikan on several occasions. This person is putting my country in a very dim light, making the rest of the world think that we're nothing more than women oppressing misogynists... with big buck teeth no less."
He shakes his head. "Why do some of us insist on acting the stereotype? It's almost as if they want Japan to be seen badly."
"I wonder." Tintin replied.
(A few days later)
(Julia's point of view)
Things over the next day or so went without incident. Edward and his roadies resumed work on the stage, much of it was cleaning up and replacing the ruined scaffolding, electricals and cabling.
The victory tour speech was held at the Reichstag building. The president and the chancellor of Germany introduces the victor party as we emerged from the building.
"Big smiles, everyone." Effie said as we walked through the entrance to the waiting crowd of locals, Kabbage Boy groupies and reporters and paparazzi, held well back by the squads of peacekeepers and the local military and police. The VIPs were standing at the top of the stairs beneath the partly cloudy sky. They could see that the building on either side, and the square before them was festooned with banners bearing the symbol of the gods. Not to mention that the square was packed with the afore mentioned crowd of locals, Kabbage Boy groupies and reporters and paparazzi. Somewhere in that thong of reporters was Tintin.
As usual with most tours, there was a special platform at the bottom of the stairs for the families of the fallen tributes of district 3, and the current mentor for that district, Mari Katsuragi who...won the games for D3 twenty-two years earlier.
The applause, and the flashing cameras soon die down and the president gives the speech in Nan's honor. A boy and a girl in traditional German clothing approach the victor and her retinue with large bouquets of flowers.
Nan starts her speech. "People of District 3 in general and the Federal Republic of Germany in particular, I congratulate you on the noble efforts of your tributes sacrifice in the glorious name of the benevolent, merciful gods that watch over us year in and year out. I especially congratulate the two tributes of district 3, Theodor Eberhardt(M), and Hilde Becker(F). Be proud of their valiant efforts." The president and the chancellor steps forward and presents Nan with another Plaque. "I humbly accept this plaque on behalf of district 3." Nan said as she accepted the plaque. The cameras start flashing again as we re-entered the building...
(Later that Evening)
"I understand that they're still looking into who tried to...get one of you two the other day." Seneca commented as he enjoyed his roast boar.
"Yeah, lord Crane. Inspector Kuraki thinks that it's some costumed vigilante from Japan calling himself the Rapeman." I replied. "Though with a name and M.O. Like that, I would considering him as nothing more than a...villain. And an absolutely revolting one at that. I absolutely despise rapists." I shuddered in revulsion.
"I see." Seneca said. "I can understand why you hate rapists." He takes a sip of his wine. "Considering that you had some...bad experiences with such people in the past."
"Yes... Rapists when I was in the Royal Guard three years ago. Ruined my career as a knight as a result." I replied.
"Is that so." Seneca stroked his beard.
"Changing the subject." Mari interrupted. "If it's that creep, then he's probably after me."
We all looked at Mari.
"I mean let's face it, I'm a Japanese housewife, but I also run a café and I like motorbikes and I'm a mentor. Someone out there probably doesn't approve of this, or I got their son killed in those games despite my best efforts to get good sponsors, so he hired that dirtbag to...convert me via... sexual violation... It better not be my husband."
"I thought we already covered that, Mom." Keima said.
"Oh yeah, we did." Mari remembers.
"And you almost tried to file for a divorce, before I had to talk you down." I said. "I talked to him some time later and it seems like he's telling the truth. Are you always this paranoid about him?"
"Sometimes...sigh... I love that guy. Enough that we(looks at Keima).produced Keima here." Mari answered.
"What am I? A model kit?" Keima objected, eliciting a chuckle from the rest of us. Hee hee hee...
Mari continued. "But given that he's often away on business traveling the globe, I often think he's having affairs with other women. And I fear that one day, one of his...other children is going to show up at my doorstep(Foreshadowing...?, Author). Ho, brother...sigh..."
(The hotel parking lot, sometime after sunset)
As we entered the Foyer a porter runs up to them. "I have a message for Julia DuBois!" He said, holding a silver plate with a folded piece of paper on it.
"A message for me?" I asked, pointing at myself. The porter walks over and gave me the paper.
I opened up the letter. "Please meet me outside the front of the hotel, urgent. Signed, inspector Kuraki... And that's all there is. Here you go." I payed the porter a few silver coins.
"So, why does inspector Kuraki want to see you?" Seneca asks.
"I honestly don't know, lord Crane." I pondered. "Guess I'll have to find out."
(Eddie's point of view)
Me and the guys had just parked our rented Harleys and were about to head on in it grab supper and some shut-eye. I noticed the hover-limo nearby, indicating that Julia's little group had returned from the Reichstag.
As we walked to the front entrance, we notice Julia and Mari standing out on the sidewalk. "Hey, Julia... Why are you standing out here.?" I asked.
"I'm waiting for mr Kuraki to show up, Edward." Julia replied. "...He left a message at the front desk earlier and wishes to talk to me about something rather important."
"And I'm out here keeping her company." Mari added. A gust of wind wafts by, causing both mentors to clutch their arms and shiver from the cold. "Brrrrrrr...that's c-c-cold!" Mari shivered. " I'm going in and get us some hot coffees, okay, Julia."
"Go right ahead, Mari." Julia replied. "I'll be waiting out here."
Me, the guys and Mari enter the foyer. Mari mixes two cups of coffee from the coffee machine and goes back out. I notices Tintin, Haddock and Snowy. "Yo Tintin!" I called, getting his attention.
"Oh, Eddie Riggs." Tintin turned around. "What's up? We're just waiting for the valet to bring the car around."
"We're headed out to see a movie." Haddock added.
"Oh not much. Got a bit more work done on the stage." I said. "...I was wondering, was that Japanese detective here, earlier?"
"You mean Bunji... We haven't seen him all day." Tintin replied. "Why do you ask?"
"Oh, Julia told me that she got a message from that guy to meet her outside the hotel, that's all." I replied.
"Really... I better check." Tintin heads up to the front desk. "Excuse me." He addresses the concierge. "Has this man been here earlier?" He uses his tablet to bring up a picture of Bunji and show it to him.
"No, he hasn't, sir." The concierge replied.
"Has he called.?" Haddock also inquired. "He goes by the name of Bunji Kuraki."
"Well we had a mister Kuraki here earlier this evening." The concierge replied. "But he didn't look like this fellow... he was...much older and had white hair... He even showed me his driver's license, but it was in Japanese and I can't read it... Oh dear... Don't tell me I've been pranked?"
"..Great snakes!" Tintin gasped, realizing that Bunji didn't sent the message. "Julia's been set up! We gotta get her back inside!" We turn and rush for the door, but...
… "KYAAAAAAAAH!" A scream from just outside tells us it's a bit too late. Mari rushes in, a look of panic on her face. "...KIDNAPPING! THEY'RE KIDNAPPING JULIA! DO SOMETHING! DO ANYTHING!" Mari shouted, waving her arms up and down.
Me, Mari, Haddock, Tintin and Snowy dash outside only to see two guys stuff an unconscious Julia into a green Toyota Previa, then get in and pull away, tires screeching in the cold late autumn night.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU THIEVES! KIDNAPPERS! JELLYFISH! BASI-BAZOOKS! BIRD BRAINS! CATERPILLARS! CREODONTS! FATHEADS!" Haddock shouted. Just then, as luck would have it, the valet just brought up Haddock's car.
"Here's your car, sir." The Valet said, just as Tintin, Snowy, Haddock, me and Mari piled in and took off down the street after that van. "HEY! WHAT ABOUT MY TIP!"
XXX
After a while of fast, and near reckless driving, the green van soon came into sight. "That's it! That's the van!" Mari exclaimed, pointing at the kidnappers vehicle as it drove rather fast, weaving in and out of traffic. "What are we waiting for? Let's get 'em!"
"Much as I like to run 'em down and beat 'em up too Mari." I said. "...Not sure that's a good idea right about now... Might cause 'em to crash, or we'll lose 'em completely... And that won't do Julia any good."
"I agree, mr Riggs." Tintin replied, punching in a number on his cell-phone. "Best thing right now is to follow 'em... see where they're going. Hello...? Is this Interpol...? Get me Bunji Kuraki...! It's urgent...! Hello, Bunji...? Yes it's me, Tintin. Listen; Julia DuBois had just been kidnapped by some people driving a green early model Toyota Previa. We just saw it happen... Someone impersonating you left a message for Julia to wait outside... An elderly Japanese man that's all we know... Okay right now we're following the van in captain Haddock's car... Maroon red Jaguar, registration, 3-GPR-972... The van's license plate...? Captain can you get us closer?"
"I'll try, Tintin." Haddock pushed down on the accelerator, increasing the car's speed, closing the gap between them and the speeding van. "Can you make it out?"
"I think so, captain." Tintin replied as he quickly jotted down the license plate number. "Okay, ease back a bit." He gets back on the cell-phone "Hello, Bunji...? I think the license plate is B-RV-1613. Can you get a track on it...? Okay, thanks, We'll keep tracking them and tell you where they're at right now." After following the van for several minutes, and giving constant updates. "The license plate number...? Okay thanks... Listen up, According to both Bunji and the Thom(p)sons, that van we're following is a rental that was leased out to one Dale Hotdick, Of Selzberg, U.S.A, Visiting here as a tourist."
"So why the fuck does he want Julia for?" I asked. "By the way, that van's pulling into that no-tell-motel there. Looks like whatever they got planned for Julia is gonna happen there. And something tells me it ain't good."
Go around to the back, captain." Tintin suggested. "I don't want to alarm them...yet."
Haddock parks the car at the back lot of that motel as Tintin informs the police of their whereabouts. They go around to the front.
"Wait here... Just in case." Tintin tells us to hang back as me and him went out first to examines the kidnapper's van with a flashlight he got from the car. "Doesn't look like she's in here." He said as he checked the sliding door... unlocked, so he slides it open and shines the flashlight in the interior. "Hey, there a couple of walkie-talkies and a CB radio set in here."
"Guess the CB's for listening in on police communications so to keep 'em from getting caught." I commented. "Good thing we used your cell-phone."
"Huh? What's this?" Tintin notices a syringe in the van's cargo area. He gets out a plastic baggie from his hoodie and carefully places the syringe in it. "Might be important... Okay let's head in and find Julia before it's too late." He turns to go in but...
"Hey, what are you doing to my van, you punks?" An old Oriental dude asked as he came out. "Beat it, or I'll shoot!" He threatened, pointing a gun at Tintin and me.
We both raised our hands. "Relax, sir... Put the gun down... We was just leaving." Then suddenly, the old man is tackled from behind by Haddock.
"Good thing you told the rest of us to stay back, Tintin." Haddock said as he pinned the old man down, pulling the gun out of his hand. "All right, you old coot, this your van? And answer in English!"
"Don't even try to talk in Japanese." Mari added, letting her hair down. "I can speak it too... Not to mention, I saw you when those two apes chloroformed Julia and stuffed her in that jalopy! Now where's Julia!?"
"I'll have you arrested for elder abuse for this!" the old man threatened.
"Before or after we charge you for impersonating an officer of the law." I replied. "We followed your van from the hotel earlier. Now like she asked."
"She's in room 12." The old man replied. "Getting her deserved raping as we speak. We'll teach that four-eyed bitch to..." And then Haddock K.O.s him with the pistol.
"Oh, shut your yap, you yellow-skinned gherkin! Well...why are we standing around here for? Let's go!" And we headed inside.
As we approached the door in question we saw an American in his mid-twenties exiting. "Hands up!" Haddock exclaimed, pointing the borrowed pistol at him. He tries to draws his pistol...
But Tintin tackles him, punches him out, and takes the pistol away. I pinned him down. "Is he Dale Hotdick?" I asked as Tintin frisks him and gets his wallet.
"He is." Tintin replied. "Dale Hotdick, Selzberg, U.S.A. The guy who rented that van out there. Eddie, Check that room!"
"Don't have to tell me twice!" I tried to open the door. "Locked... No prob... Got me a key for this." And I kicked down the door... And what I saw next... Made me real mad.
There was this Japanese dude, almost a big and as well built as me wearing a blue mask and scarf and blue tights. He almost looks like some kinda luchador. Speaking of tights, he had his pulled down to his knees. I'm guessing that's the Rapeman Tintin and Bunji were talking about the other day.
Beneath him, on that bed, was Julia, completely naked, handcuffed to the iron bed post, her mouth gagged with duct-tape.
That masked dude had his dick erect and aimed right as Julia's pussy! He was going to fuck her!
NOT ON MY FUCKING WATCH!
"Da fuq?" The Rapeman looks at a very angry me standing in the doorway. "Where's Dale?"
Julia at looks at me, an expression of pure fear on her gagged, crying face. "...muffle! muffle muffle! Muffle!...(Edward! Help me! Please!)" She begged.
Well I didn't waste a second. I charged into the room, and grabbed that asshole by his scarf. "GET THE FUCK OFFA HER, YOU MASKED MOTHERFUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!" I shouted as I pulled that creep off of Julia and flung him across the room and into the wall.
"OOF…!" He grunted as he slammed into the wall. "Oh so ya wanna a piece of this, biker boy?" The Rapeman pulls up his tights, dodges a punch I threw and replies with a jumping kick that sends me sprawling. Man that dude can hit "You can't have it, greaser, I prefer girls!" I got back up. "What!? No flippin' way! Ya want more?"
"I don't want a piece of you..." I sneered as I approached. "I want the whole fucking thing!" The Rapeman throws a karate chop at my neck, but I blocked it and gave him a punch to the stomach, doubling the Rapeman over, and followed up with a right hook, sending that piece of crap into the air. "That's For Julia!" I flipped him the middle finger with my right hand as the Rapeman manages to land on his feet.
"Oh jeez, what is she to ya, yo girlfriend or something?" The Rapeman asked, as he swung at me with a couple of punches. "Take this, greaser boy!" And connects with a roundhouse kick, but I just block it. "DA FUQ!?"
"My turn, Viagra-breath!" I growled, grabbing the Rapeman by the shoulders and stunning him with a headbutt, then I slammed him to the floor with a hip-toss followed with an elbow-drop. "That was for Melissa!" I flipped Rapeman the middle finger with my left hand.
"Day-am! What the fuck is up with this greaser?" The Rapeman attacked me again with a barrage of punches, chops and kicks, staggering me back towards the door. "No way anyone could stand up to that!"
I grabbed one of his punches before it connects. "That's because I ain't just anyone!" I replied, punching that bastard in the gut.
"I ain't no helpless chick, I ain't no doughnut eatin' cop.!" I punched the Rapeman in the face. "I Am Eddie Riggs... And I...AM...A...FUCKING ROADIE!" I punched him three more times and kicked him hard in the chest. Said kick explodes in a flash of light and flame, causing the Rapeman to go flying.
"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The Rapeman screams as he goes sailing through the window.
"Woah... Didn't know I could do that." I said to himself as I approached the broken window. I looked out and see that asshole lying flat on his back in the middle of the parking lot, looking totally beaten. "... And that's for my stage!" I shouted, flipping two middle fingers.
***BRÜTAL VICTORY***
"Great snakes!" Tintin said as him and the others entered. "What kind of a kick was that.?"
"Don't know, kid." I replied. "First time this has happened... Um... who's watching Dale?" We turn to see that Dale had got up and ran out. Then they hear the sound of screeching tires, and we looked outside to see the van pull up alongside the still prone Rapeman dude, who gets up and, along with Dale, pile into the van and peel away into the night.
"Thundering typhoons, I knew we shoulda tied 'em up for the police!" Haddock shook his head. Then he notices the still naked and restrained Julia. "Billions of blue blistering barnacles! Tintin don't look at her! She's naked!" He tries to cover Tintin's eyes.
"Captain, get a grip, will you?" Tintin replied, dodging Haddock's clumsy attempt to keep Tintin from seeing something that he thought Tintin was still too young to see. Can't really blame him. "But you're right, I'm a bit too young to be seeing this. We should get her outta those cuffs and into some clothes... Mari, could I borrow one of your hairpins?"
"Whatever for?" Mari asked, giving Tintin her hairpin.
"Thanks... Need this to pick her handcuffs." Tintin used the hairpin to jimmy the handcuffs, unlocking them and freeing Julia. "Hold still, please, this might sting a bit." He warned just as he pulls off her gag.
"YEOW!" Julia yelps.
"You okay, Julia? I asks.
Julia looks up at me, Her eyes wide and tears going down her face... Then she suddenly hugged me. "WAAAAAAAAAH! EDWARD! YOU CAME AND SAVED MEEE!" She cried.
"Hey whoa! Just a minute!" I yelped in surprise. "You're naked remember?"
But Julia wasn't exactly listening, and continued to hug me with all her might...such as it was... "I...I was so scared, Edward!... BWAAAAH HOO HOO HOO HOOOO!... I thought I was going to relive that absolutely horrid ten-month painful nightmare all over again!...SOB SOB!... I want to go home already!... sniffle... Not to mention, I want to hurt them, Edward! I want to hurt them real bad!"
"Okay okay... It's all right, Julia." I reassured. "But first, let's get your clothes back on."
Mari gathered up Julia's clothes, and helped her to get dressed. "You feeling any better, Julia?" Mari asks as Julia finishes buttoning up her shirt.
"I still feel rather shaken up, Mari." Julia replied, still sitting on the bed. "And now I feel angry at myself for getting into that situation where you all saw me...naked." She blushed and trembled
"I'm rather upset that you all saw me like...that. But I'm really angry at Dale and that...revolting fiend for what they almost did to me... How dare they they trick me... And chloroform me... If that's what chloroform smells like, I'll never forget that smell! As far as I'm concerned, it's the smell of evil! Grrr..." She shakes her fist in anger.
"And not to mention, how dare they strip me naked! How dare that...monster rub his...thing… on my privates!" She shuddered with both revulsion and anger. "And terrify me so... I simply swear, next time I see them... Their manhoods are coming off, and their screams will be like music to me... Before I simply slit their throats... Or maybe I should eviscerate them!" Julia declared, fire in her eyes.
"You're... scaring me, Julia!" Mari commented, slowly backing up.
Then Julia notices something...amiss with her clothes. "Huh? My pin! Where is it!?"
It was at that point the police showed up, Tintin explained to Bunji and the Thom(p)sons what happened and gave them the syringe, explaining to them that he thinks that it contained some sort of muscle relaxant. They searched the room for evidence, but found nothing... Not even Julia's pin.
"I fear that your pin was no doubt stolen by the Rapeman, miss DuBois." Bunji said. "Was it important to you?"
"As if I need another reason to make that asshole suffer." Julia replied as they took her a waiting ambulance to take to the hospital for observation. "Yes inspector Kuraki, the pin was VERY important to me. I wore it as a good luck charm when I participated in the Hunger Games."
(Standard Point of View)
Julia makes a full recovery and is released the following morning.
The van was later found abandoned in a seedier part of Berlin. No sign of its occupants were found. The Rapeman, Dale and the old Japanese man managed to get to the airport and got out of Berlin on a flight bound for Egypt and then to Japan... Let's see what they're saying as their plane carries them over the Mediterranean Sea...
"Well, Dale, I guess you'll be wanting a refund, huh?" The Rapeman... or rather his real name, Keisuke Uwasaki, commented.
"Oh no, I'm still gonna have her punished." Dale replied, examining the stolen pin. "Ugly looking thing... It's nothing like Kantmiss's totally awesome chicken pin... Those district 8 folk sure have some weird tastes... Thinking of using this as bait. And when we're done, I'll give it to you as a trophy."
"... Um...Thanks... Well, as long as I don't have to run into that roadie again." Keisuke said. "That guy was every bit as good as me... and that freaky kick... My sternum's still aching... So we're going with our next attempt at her... when she returns to earth for the District 1 visit."
"That's right, Keisuke." Dale nodded. "I trust you're making the arrangements?"
"Already on it, Dale." Uncle Shotoku answered, typing away on his laptop. "... And...We're in... I got you a job at that academy as...you guessed it, a phys-ed instructor."
"Thanks, Uncle." Keisuke nodded. "Next time we meet, Julia... it's gonna be... dangalang time... and this time... that roadie ain't gonna save you!"
TARGET-14
Name: JULIA DUBOIS
Occupation: MENTOR
File # 20XX640
Status: STILL IN PROGRESS
(Meanwhile back at the hotel)
(Eddie's point of view)
Julia finally emerges from her room after a couple of days of wallowing in...whatever it is that humiliated chickified noblewomen are supposed to be wallowing in, and suddenly sneezes. "HAH-CHOO!" then shudders.
"Catching a cold, Julia?" I asked.
"I don't think so, Edward." Julia replied.
"Maybe someone's talking about you." Mari commented.
"If that's the case, Mari... the chill I just felt down my spine after I sneezed means I have a bad feeling about this."
(A few days later, following the concert)
"So how was the concert?" I asks Tintin.
"It was so-so." Tintin replied. "There were sure an awful lot of peacekeepers."
"Yeah... Considering what happened to me the other day. Curse that masked asshole!" Julia said angrily slamming her fist into a wall. "Touching my body! Stealing my pin! I have a feeling I'm gonna have another run-in with that revolting bastard! And as Zaude is my witness, I'll never let him catch me off guard again!"
"Not to mention, you're gonna hurt that son of a bitch something fierce." I added.
"That too, Edward...That too." Julia turns to Tintin and Snowy. "So what will you do?"
"Well, I'm going to Japan with the Katsuragis, and me, Snowy and the Captain are gonna stay with them until you guys return for the District 1 concert. Heard it's going to be at some prestigious academy."
"Yes." Julia said, pondering. "The very academy that sent two of its students to my games nearly six years ago."
"But right now, we're heading off-world again to come world called Shining Blue." Eddie said. "Hear they got some good beaches. Can't wait to see Marcia, Melissa and Leslie in swimsuits."
(End Part 14)
Author's Notes:
And that covers District 3 of my series, Eight chapters down, four more to go.
I have to admit, this is one of the more...mature chapters I've written for 'Victory Tour'.
I should mention that this series takes place some tome before the events of 'The World God Only Knows', So no, Elsea or Haqua. Sorry Elsea and Haqua fans.
For now, that's all there is to say. Next time, we pay a visit to the town of Werites Beacon on the good island, Legacy... And check out the eye candy on the beach and look for that lost shaker of salt.