Mason panted for breath, eyes searching the pitch blackness. The rubble had almost crushed him, but his armour held up and saved him. He desperately pushed and shoved the slabs of plaster, feeling them slowly give way. He grunted as he tried to lever a smaller piece to move one of the heavier portions of his tomb. He managed to shift it enough to gain proper leverage, groaning as he put as much strength as he could into moving it.
The piece of rubble gave, and he wedged the smaller piece in place to keep it up. Mason pulled himself out, gasping for fresh air. He stood slowly, wheezing as the smaller piece gave out and the pile collapsed in on itself, sending up dust. He shuffled his way back to the hole in the wall to re-join the fight. However, what he saw was Satsuki and Ryuko making a hasty retreat to the garage. With all the other Centurions between him and then, he was cut off.
He calculated that if he could make it to the front door and get out to the front gate they could pick him up from there. Turning away, he made a mad dash through the mansion. He encountered no resistance, figuring that they would have been attracted toward the fight on the terrace. He skidded around the corner, charging the front door as he flung it open and threw himself out.
Mason wasted no time hurtling down the path, ignoring his burning calves. He spotted a pair of fast moving vehicles speeding out of the mansion's garage. The car and bike roared down the road, going up to the front gate and weaving past unmanned APC's as they made their way onto the main road. Mason was no more than five meters from the front gate, hands raised and shouting at the top of his lungs.
"I'm here! Wait for me! I'm right here!"
Neither vehicle stopped, instead picking up speed as they streaked down the street. Mason slowed until he came to a stop, hands on his knees, gasping for breath.
They left me. He felt chills across his body, heartbeat becoming unbearably loud.
They've abandoned me to save themselves. He closed his eyes to stem the tears, but he couldn't hold them back.
Of course they did. What did you expect? Mason slammed a fist against thigh.
Mason gasped as he heard voices coming toward him. He looked to see a group of Enforcers heading his way, alerted by his yelling. He sprinted back to the mansion, diving back inside to break line of sight. He quickly decided that a back entrance would be his best bet of escaping unseen.
Mason didn't know of another exit to the building, but if necessary, he could make one. He started by putting as much distance between himself and those Enforcers. Mason ended up running into the hallway leading to Satsuki's room, stopping in his tracks as he spotted something red on the ground. He made his way over and felt his heart flutter when he spotted Ryuko's scarf.
Mason reached down and bundled the scarf up, taking it with him as he went to the doorway leading to Satsuki's room. On a tabletop to the side of the room, Mason found his hoodie, clean and no longer full of holes. He had an idea, slipping the hoodie on followed by the scarf around his neck. There was a cracked mirror nearby, and upon inspection, he figured he could pass for being a random citizen.
Mason spent another few minutes hunting for an exit, only to end up using one of the windows that some soldier had broken through. He snuck his way around the perimeter of the mansion, using trees for cover as he headed for the street. In the distance he could see a large crowd of civilians several blocks away. Centurions were positioned at blockades that prevented onlookers from coming near the mansion.
There was a low wall that continued on down the street that Mason could use for cover. Creeping up to it, Mason made his way across, peering over to check if he had cleared the restricted area. After a few minutes, he had slipped past the guards unnoticed. He looked over again and saw a group of civilians all clustered next to the wall. He approached and vaulted over the wall, landing behind them.
Digging his hands into his pockets, he pulled his hood over his head and walked as casually as he could manage. Moments passed without anybody taking much notice of him, their attention focused upon the mansion and dealing with unruly bystanders. He continued down the street and took the first turn he could, leaving their sight. He then broke out into a run, distancing himself from the area.
Once he was convinced he had gotten away, and not to mention out of breath, he slumped against a wall. His thoughts raced, immediately jumping to the worst case scenario he could possibly think of. They had abandoned him in the hopes the enemy would deal with him themselves. Perhaps they thought it was easier to let the Centurions kill him and save them the trouble of doing it themselves.
He clenched his fists when he realised it was an act of revenge. He recalled when he almost abandoned Satsuki in the Century Security raid. Now that the same opportunity presented itself, she had chosen to forsake him in a heartbeat. They probably didn't anticipate the uniform they gave him to have helped him escape. If nothing else, he was just a decoy, and the uniform meant he could occupy the enemy for longer, giving them a greater chance of getting away.
Did that mean Ryuko was in on this too?
Of course she was. They're sisters for crying out loud. He reminded himself.
All that transpired yesterday was simply just to get him to lower his guard. That way he wouldn't expect it when they threw him to the wolves.
I should have realised she was too good to be true. He thought bitterly.
Mason took a few minutes more to recover and calm himself. There was little point in thinking about the past, he reasoned. He needed to think about his next step. He considered heading back home, as he had nowhere else to go. He was thankful now that they hadn't let him pick up his things before coming to the city. He didn't have to worry about them knowing where he might be headed.
It would be a long walk, and he would have to avoid Century Security at every turn if they decided to come looking for him. But he didn't have a lot of choices right now. Without wasting another moment, he began heading toward Konru.
Ryuko's eyes slowly peeped open. Her vision was a blur, and she felt incredibly sluggish. She was trying to remember what had happened, but she couldn't think straight. There were footsteps approaching, sounding distant despite being right next to her. She looked up to see Satsuki, concern on her face, her mouth moving but the words weren't discernible.
Ryuko felt her head being tilted up, a glass of water at her lips. She drank slowly, the liquid slaking her thirst. Satsuki laid her head back down, waiting patiently for the drug to wear off. Before long, Ryuko's vision was clearing and she could start thinking clearly. The mansion was overwhelmed, Century Security had driven them away, Mason was gone…
Mason…! Ryuko hissed as she tried to push herself up.
She was in bed, and her surroundings looked familiar. Satsuki held both her shoulders, preventing her from standing.
"You're not fully recovered yet. Give it a minute." She said soothingly.
Ryuko shook her head. "Where is he? Did we find him?"
Satsuki's face fell. "It was too close of a call, Ryuko."
"You didn't even try, did you?" Ryuko glared.
"We barely got out ourselves. They sent several of these attack bikes to hound us all the way to Konru. We intend on going back for Mason, but not in our current condition. Nobody is in good enough shape to take Century Security head on at the moment."
"He could be dead by then." Ryuko sulked.
"Have a little faith in him. He's stronger than you might think." Satsuki offered a reassuring smile.
Ryuko glanced down at the floor, surprised that Satsuki had something nice to say about him for once. Then again, Senketsu had explained that she tended to act harshly with good intentions. That much was obvious from their time at Honnouji Academy. Ryuko then clutched at where Senketsu should've been on her body, but he wasn't there.
Ryuko gasped as she finally noticed she had been undressed, looking around panicked in search of Senketsu.
"In case you're wondering, I undressed you with the help of Mrs. Mankanshoku."
Ryuko suddenly recognised the room as Mako's. "Where's Senketsu?"
"He's in your room. Along with the others, Barazo is tending to the wounded."
The door opened behind them, catching their attention. "Ryuko!"
Ryuko gasped nervously as Mako launched herself across the room with open arms straight for her. She grunted when Mako landed, pushing her back down on the bed. She began to uselessly hit Ryuko's shoulders, eyes scrunched up and whining.
"We were so worried! You just left us without telling anyone! Then you showed up all unconscious and hurt!" Mako cried.
Ryuko patted her back and gave a weak smile. "I'm fine, Mako. Really."
"I'll leave you two alone." Satsuki stood and left the room, closing the door behind her.
She crossed the hall and entered Ryuko's room. On the floor were makeshift bedrolls where the Elite Four were all sprawled. Barazo was busy wrapping more bandages around Uzu, who had sustained the worst injuries. Gamagori was relatively unharmed, followed by Nonon, while Inumuta was looking only slightly better than Uzu.
Soroi was making himself useful in the kitchen, helping Sukuyo to prepare dinner. Meanwhile Shiro was tending to the Elite Four's uniforms, performing patchwork where necessary. The enemy's blades had done some significant damage to them, and were strong enough to counter both Bakuzan and Ryuko's scissor blade.
Satsuki leaned up against the wall where Senketsu hung, the uniform's eye looking in her direction.
"Is she…?"
"Mako's keeping her mind occupied for the moment. No doubt once she's had time to think, she'll be furious again." Satsuki spoke deadpanned.
"I see. It's best then she doesn't wear me while in this state of mind."
"Are you suggesting I hide you?" Satsuki gave him a ghost of a smile.
"I'll offer Ryuko whatever comfort I can. But we were just seconds from losing control. Again."
Barazo wiped the sweat off his forehead as he stood up, leaving Uzu to rest. "All done Miss Kiryuin."
"Thank you, Mr. Mankanshoku. I don't know how to repay you."
"Well a bit of money always shows gratitude," He hinted none too subtly.
"If the situation were different, I would gladly do so. Maybe another time."
Ryuko and Mako entered the room, with the latter rushing up to her dad and inspecting the injured.
"Nothing my back alley doctor of a dad can't fix!" Mako chirped.
Barazo laughed and fondled her hair, "Come along Mako. Let's leave them to rest. We should check if your mom needs our help."
"Great idea dad!" The two of them scuttled off, leaving Ryuko and Satsuki together.
Ryuko walked up, draped in a sheet as she stared grimly. "They'll be searching for him."
"I know. The minute we're back to full strength, we'll look for him. You have my word."
"He might not have that long." Ryuko said stubbornly.
"And how do you plan on dealing with Century Security alone if they catch you?" Satsuki challenged. Ryuko gritted her teeth.
"I have Senketsu. We'll deal with them no problem." She looked at the uniform with confidence.
There was an awkward pause.
"Sorry, Ryuko. But I can't go with you. Not right now."
"What do you mean?! Why not?" Ryuko stared dumbfounded.
"Your state of mind is too unstable. If you wear me, we may very well go berserk and wreak havoc across the city. That will only cause more problems for everyone."
"I will not! We're just going out there to find him!"
"And what happens if you find he's been taken prisoner. Or worse." Satsuki stated evenly.
"What are you saying? You think he's dead? You're only just thinking about this now?! It's your fault for leaving him in the first place!"
"You're letting your emotions get the better of you. If you went out there and something has happened to him, then we won't be able to support you."
"I don't need your help. Either of you." Ryuko glared.
"Don't be stupid."
"She's right, Ryuko. Your blood is going rampant at just the idea that something horrible has happened to him. You need a moment to calm down and think clearly."
Ryuko hated to admit that they were right. She hated feeling helpless. Satsuki reached out to grab her by the shoulder.
"We need you, Matoi." She said softly. "And you need us. Whether you like it or not."
Ryuko closed her eyes and exhaled sharply. "Fine. We'll do it your way." She turned on her heel and stormed out.
The Centurions were recalled back to headquarters after having thoroughly searched the building and confirming that it was cleared. With nothing of value to be found and all data pulled from any device they could find, they deserted the mansion. They left only a small detachment of guards to patrol the demolished building and deter looters.
Janus was walking down the hall toward her office, with Jarret just behind her. She felt odd, like some unknown concern was nagging at her, making her irritated and confused. She replayed the memory of herself beating Mason over and over again. She was certainly upset with him for what had happened with Jarret, but it was unlike her to retaliate the way she had.
Jarret noticed her silence, her movements were stiff and her face looked like she was in deep concentration.
"Is everything alright, ma'am?" He asked.
"I'm fine." She said crisply.
Now that she looked back on the entire event, she began to question why she even took Jarret up on his offer to release the Bloodhounds. As a result, two of the bikes were badly damaged and their riders were lucky to leave unscathed. Yet, when Jarret mentioned them, her thoughts strayed to how the Bloodhounds missiles would turn the meddling teenagers into messy stains on the tarmac. These ideas were contrary to the entire point of the siege, which was to capture them alive.
Jarret could feel the air grow thick with unease, and it was emanating directly from her. "Is something on your mind?"
"Do you think we should have just killed them?" Janus said ominously. Jarret stared at her in shock.
"Killed them? To what end?"
Janus suddenly spun around on him. "End the threat once and for all. As it stands, they could be recovering and preparing to move against us a second time."
"We know they headed to Konru, ma'am. We already dispatched several squads to scour the area for them." Jarret watched her expression change from anger to confusion.
"We did?" Janus whispered. "We did. You're right. I'm sorry."
Janus placed a hand on her forehead, eyes closed. Jarret was still stunned by the sudden shift in personality.
"No need to apologise, ma'am. I'm sure you're just stressed that things didn't go to plan. Come on, I'll make you a nice cold coffee."
"No. Really, Jarret. I'm sorry I snapped like that. I don't know what came over me." Janus shook her head and turned away to continue walking.
Jarret had the sudden inclination that maybe it would be unwise to follow. He cleared his throat loudly. "I'll get your coffee prepared in a moment."
"You do that." Janus replied nonchalantly.
Without another word he turned and hurried back the way he had come. Something was definitely wrong, although he couldn't discern a reason why. He hoped by the time she had her coffee she would be back to normal. Instead, she was silent the entire time she had her drink, which she practically sculled. After a beat she stood and dismissed him while he was mid-sentence, leaving before he could say anything further.
Janus stepped into her room, standing in the middle of it, wondering why she had come here. She didn't remember. It was just sort of impulse, or some strange feeling that she needed rest. She went to take her uniform off, but hesitated, her fingers on the zipper.
I can probably sleep in this, right? She shook her head and pulled the zipper down. She hadn't slept in uniform before, there was no reason for her to start now.
Once it was off, she hung it up and sat down on her bed. Janus felt a sudden pang of guilt. Why had she snapped at Jarret like that? She couldn't remember. She didn't remember their conversation, or even walking to her room once she left her office. She looked over to her uniform and had the urge to put it back on. She scowled and lay down, closing her eyes, trying to ignore the incessant temptation to wear it.
Mason had spent the day walking around, slowly navigating toward Konru. He knew food and water would be an issue, and without money he was forced to simply endure without. By nightfall, he had ended up in an alleyway where he was at relative peace, away from view. He figured it was wise to hide in case any Centurions were on patrol.
Despite how hard he tried to forget them, he clutched Ryuko's scarf around his neck. The smallest ember of hope burning. His fitful sleep was disturbed by the sound of footsteps. He narrowed his eyes at who he saw. It was the three punks that he had thrashed from the ice-cream store. They looked pleased, walking up to him armed with a bat, a knife and a crowbar.
"Look at what we got here." One of them said gleefully.
"Been following your punk ass for some time."
"Aw look. No girlfriend to back you up? What, she dump you after she realised what a freak you are?" Said the very thug Mason had used his Pain Surge on.
Mason sighed, standing up and approaching them. "I don't have time for this. If you want to beat me up, just get on with it."
"You heard him. He asked for it." The thug with the baseball bat encouraged his friends.
He made to swing at Mason, but it went overhead as he ducked and closed in, punching him in the gut. The thug was pushed back, but Mason grunted as the crowbar came down on his head. He staggered forward and the crowbar was put around his neck, holding him in a lock. The knife wielding thug approached, making fake jabbing motions in an attempt to frighten Mason.
Practise. Agony Strike. Mason frowned as he heard the voice whisper in his head. He couldn't tell if it was just him recalling the words, or if it had actually spoken to him.
Noticing the lack of reaction from Mason, the knife wielding thug lunged at him. Mason gripped his captor's arms and hauled himself up, kicking the knife wielding teen in the stomach to send him back. Mason then elbowed the boy holding him in his side. The boy let out a short cry and his grip on Mason faltered. Shortly after, he slumped onto the floor, motionless.
The baseball bat thug wound back his weapon and made for an upward strike, but it went past Mason as he side-stepped. He grabbed the punk by the shirt, pulling him in and punching him in the face, sending him sprawling. The attack didn't register the same effect as it had on the boy holding him, however. The knifeman charged at him, Mason let the knife slide past and then shoved the teen backwards with a strike to the face using his palm. The thug let out a strained cry and fell to the floor, unmoving like his friend.
Mason had the sudden inclination of how to use it now. The bat wielder returned, swinging while howling furiously. The bat flew over his head and Mason gripped the thug's wrists, pulling him forward. While he struggled to regain his balance, Mason slammed his palm up into the punk's jaw. The effect was instant, a short gasp followed by him keeling over, unmoving.
When Mason rolled him over, however, he could see the thug staring at him in horror. Mason raised a finger before his eyes and waved it about, watching as the thug followed it with his eyes. It seemed he was only unable to move his body, though he was still conscious, unlike Pain Surge victims.
Mason looked around at the three limp bodies, then remembered how the Enforcer got back up. Realising that the teens would eventually recover, he left the alley as fast as he could. He ran a significant distance, losing his own sense of direction in the process. He found somewhere safe to hide, uncaring that it was a cramped corner between a bin and the wall.
The next morning, Mason groaned as he sat up, his body stiff as a result from sleeping in the discomfort of the confined space. He spent a while ascertaining where he had ended up last night. He cursed when he realised that he had backtracked by quite a distance. The day went by with his stomach unnecessarily reminding him how hungry he was every few minutes. Luckily, he found some water fountains to quench his thirst.
He had no idea how it happened, but somehow he ended up at the exact park that he and Ryuko had come to. When he consulted a map, he groaned in frustration after realising he had been heading in the opposite direction he thought he was going the entire time. He sighed in resignation and sat down on a random bench. He leaned forward and buried his face in his hands.
The scarf around his neck slipped and hung loosely, threatening to fall off. He caught it, stroking it softly. It suddenly reminded him of the time he spent with Ryuko. His face darkened and he took the scarf off, holding it out in front him. He contested the idea of getting rid of it, but couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he folded it up and stuffed it inside his hoodie where he didn't have to look at it anymore.
He leaned back, staring off into the distance. He tried to remember why he even accepted Satsuki's offer to come to the city. It was a rash move on his part, one that had ultimately led him back to being alone, with the addition of an entire paramilitary organisation hunting for him.
He lost track of how long he had been sitting there doing nothing. When he did return to the present moment, he realised that it was fairly dark. He looked up to see dark grey clouds culminating. He would need to find shelter if possible, otherwise he might be sleeping in the rain.
"There he is!" Mason' attention snapped toward the familiar voice. He spotted the three teens again.
Do these guys ever give up? Mason grumbled.
Behind them were even more thugs, all part of one big posse. They began heading his way, breaking out into a sprint. Mason leapt off the bench and hurtled down the street, taking random turns down alleys and side passages in an attempt to lose them. Mason gasped for breath as he ran into the nearest alley, having run for several blocks until his legs couldn't keep going. He leaned against the wall, trying to calm his racing heart.
There were voices shouting out not far from behind him. Mason cringed as his legs cramped painfully when he tried to take a step.
"He went this way!" One of them cried out from just around the corner.
How can they possibly keep this up? They must really hold a grudge. Mason groaned as he managed to pry himself off the wall and weakly jog to another side passage.
Mason rounded the corner and immediately stopped in his tracks. It was a dead end. The passage opened up to a back alley with only a door at the far end. He ran up and tried it, but he only confirmed his suspicion that it would be locked. He turned in time to see the thugs running down the passage into the alley, most with crooked smiles and wielding some sort of weapon.
The three teens he knew all too well were ahead of the others, ten of them altogether. It seemed like they were all part of a gang. Mason assumed the older teen that stepped forward was their leader.
"Nowhere to run now little boy. I heard you messed with some of my guys. Twice."
"It's called self-defense." Mason spat.
"May as well call it suicide, 'cause we're going to make you regret ever being born!"
"Yeah! Let's get him!" Another cried out. They all began to advance on him, brandishing objects from knives to tire irons.
"Not quite a fair fight, don't you think?" They all whirled around to a voice calling out from the passageway.
A man stepped out of the shadows, a large smirk on his face. He wore a black leather jacket over a white T-shirt, slightly baggy jeans and sneakers. Mason recognised the voice and gritted his teeth.
It was the Champion himself.
"This is none of your business, chum. Beat it if you don't want to end up in a coffin."
Jarret scoffed. "I'm not going anywhere."
"You blind? There are ten of us, and one of you."
"Then I'd say you're at a severe disadvantage." Jarret grinned smugly.
Some of the thugs looked at each other with mocking looks.
"You know what punk?" The leader strutted toward him. "You just earned yourself a free ticket to the hospital. Get him!"
The punks advanced on him, snickering and smiling cruelly. Jarret casually reached into his jacket and produced his Fork Knife. The teens paused momentarily, eyeing the intricate looking weapon. They then gasped and recoiled in surprise as the weapon ignited and sizzled, shimmering with a red glow.
"Let's dance." Jarret grinned ear to ear.
One of them swung his tire iron, only to see it cut in two. Another thrust his knife, crying out as it got caught between the Fork Knife's blades and tossed aside. One by one, each of their weapons were sundered by the vicious knife. Once Jarret finished showing off, he began slamming the pommel into heads and breaking noses with haymakers. Some of the thugs even lost their lunch when he slammed his knee or fist into their guts. By the end of it, only the leader stood defiantly.
"Who the hell do you think you are? You got no chance against me!" The leader's voice shook as he tried to intimidate Jarret.
Jarret looked at him unamused. The thug charged him, drawing a switchblade and screaming in fury, only to gasp as the metal blade was sheared off the handle. He gagged as he was grabbed by the throat then slammed into the wall. Raising his Fork Knife, Jarret drove it into the wall just above the thug's arm. The boy struggled in Jarret's grip as the heated blade hissed just barely above his arm. He could feel the hairs there searing.
Jarret looked him dead in the eyes. "I'm Jarret Galda."
The name registered immediately with the thug as his eyes went wide and began tearing up. "Oh god! I'm so sorry! Please don't hurt me! I didn't mean it! I didn't know who you were! I swear!"
Jarret leaned closer, speaking in a whisper. "I'm going to let you and your friends go. But, should you try and seek out that boy over there again. Well…"
Jarret dragged the knife down so that the thug could feel the blade cooking his flesh. "I won't be so merciful."
Jarret abruptly backed off, flicking the knife around the thug in a wide arc over his head. The leader fell flat on his face, along with several bricks toppling on top of him, carved out from the wall by the wicked knife. The boy dug himself out of the rubble and hastily scrambled away, followed by the rest of the battered gang members.
Mason stared in awe. He could see where the knife had sliced through the bricks, as it left behind an orange glow. Jarret then turned his attention toward him, a large grin on his features.
"Hello, Mason."