Back in Japan, Rin was by herself catching the warm greeting of the morning sun. "*YAAWWWNNNN..." she stretched, "Nothing like that cool crisp breeze to wake you up, I say..." She came down to a river to try and relax her mind, but she noticed that there was something else on her mind, something that dominated the looming weight of the rumor. Of her own doing.
("Tch...I shoulda stayed behind. At least Lincoln isn't such a pushover.")
"Ok...weird..." Why did she say that? What in the world compelled her to say that? Was she really that desperate for a man, or was there something about him that she really connected to? Despite the reckless and seemingly shallow nature of her relationship... she thought Ichika was the one she wanted to be with, but now that she's taken a step back from the hectic pace and really thought about it... "Why do I keep chasing after him?..."
"Hallo?"
"AAAAA-" SPLASH! "-GGGGTHGTHGTHHGTGHGTHHG~~~"
"And what might you be doing in the cold?" Laura asked after pulling a fast one on Rin and making her splash in the river to shake the scare off her back.
"Gggggggg..." Rin shivered, "Wwwwhaaat'ssssswrrrooonnggggggwwiiithththththththyyyyyyoouuuuuuuu????..."
Ten minutes later, they warmed up at a bathhouse.
"A simple shout from afar would've been nice," Rin groaned.
"If you had known I was coming," Laura said, "your mental processes would've been interrupted."
"The hell's with that lame-ass excuse?"
"I could see you brooding, which is not normal behavior for you. That must mean that you're thinking about the impact something had on you."
"Well..." Rin scratched her cheek, "Someone...it's Ichika."
"What about him?"
"Well..." Rin sighed and flat out said it, "He's still stupid. He doesn't have a goddamn clue what I'm trying to do! I tried offering him dinner, getting up close and personal, and I even leaned in to kiss him twice while he was out! He woke up and saw me close to his face, and fuse what he said?!"
"I know what he said," Laura nodded, "Why does it mean so much to you?"
"He's my childhood friend. What else could it mean?"
"Shinonono's also a childhood friend of his."
"Has she done anything for him? Or to him?" Rin scoffed, "She can't make a decision on her own without some emotional muddled...thing clouding her mind."
"She is of the same mindset, is she not?" Laura asked, "You are both vying for his attention."
Rin was able to tell where this conversation was going, so she attempted to change the subject, "What about you? I saw that little smooch you planned on Lincoln, so what's your deal with him?"
Laura took a moment, then answered, "Lincoln managed to drill into me a lesson that couldn't be learned in a classroom. Therefore, I believe he is someone I deemed worthy of being my comrade."
"He's waaaaay more than a comrade if he's hanging with you 24/7!"
"And yet, I'm not chasing him. Or Ichika. Unlike several other girls here."
"Guh..." Rin found herself back at the point of the conversation she tried to avoid, "So, what's your deal, anyway?"
"My deal is," Laura reiterated a previous point, "who is Ichika to you?"
"Well, he's..." Rin was abruptly interrupted by a familiar male and female voice:
"Come on, Ichika! Does is have to be now?!"
"It does, Houki. I found something that'll prove the rumors real."
Rin and Laura peeked their heads out the entrance to find Ichika and Houki exploring the nearby attractions and tourist hotspots. Alone. Just the two of them. Without anyone asking.
"Seriously?!" Rin vehemently whispered, "What's he see in her?! She didn't do a single worthwhile thing!"
"Maybe that's the point," Laura surmised, "Maybe he made that very observation and is now trying to get her to do something worthwhile."
"Why, though?!" Rin repeated, "Why's he going out of his way for-" She was immediately halted by a conversation she had with Lincoln a couple days before the trip.
("Mind telling me why you spent all that time with that freak of nature?")
("Which one?")
("That eyepatched one, bozo.")
("Huh...I don't know. I guess I just did.")
("The heck does that mean?")
("No idea. I just didn't want to see her isolate herself from the rest of the class, is all.")
"Oh, that's all?..." Houki sighed in relief before resuming her normal demeanor, "Well, I can't wait to see what lame rust bolt you've uncovered."
Rin sighed, "Ok... I kinda see what you're saying...and kinda not."
"Well, why don't you find out for yourself?" Laura nudged Rin out, "Try having a normal conversation without pining for his heart."
"Yeah," Rin said, "I think I'll do just that," and then sprinted out of the bathhouse to catch-up with Ichika and Houki, "Hey, you two!"
"Huh?" Ichika turned around, "Oh! Rin, hey!"
"Rin?" Houki's mood dampened, "Whaddaya doing here?..."
"I caught wind of a certain someone trying to disprove something," Rin bumped Houki's thigh, "Thought I'd come see the spectacle for myself."
"I'll be fine with my paper," Houki fake gloated, "I don't think he's got anything spectacular to show me."
"You never know when something's going to knock your socks off," Rin winked, "Right, Ichika?"
"Rin," Ichika said, "can you lay off the flirting for just a little bit?"
At first, Rin didn't catch that question, "What, I'm just looking for a good-wait, wuh?..." until her mind did a double take.
"I mean, I'm glad you're tagging along," Ichika elaborated, "but you're getting awfully clingy. Maybe we could take it easy just for today?"
"Take it easy, huh?" Rin interpreted that as a flat-out rejection, "So, you'd rather spend more time with that piece of cardboard with a ribbon?"
"Excuse me?!" Houki stammered.
"Ok, I know for a fact that I didn't say that," Ichika said, "I only said take it easy-"
"In other words, you're gunning after that giant boob woman, right?!" Rin snapped.
Laura heard the shouting and blame-pointing, "That's not what I meant, sporty...huh? What did I just-"
"Look, I don't know what you're shouting over, but this is getting out of hand," Houki stepped in, "Let's just enjoy this walk and not attract any attention-"
"What do you know about attracting?!" Rin snapped, "You haven't done a single thing to attract any attention! Not from me, not from the other girls, and especially not from Ichika!"
Immediately, and instinctively, Ichika reacted, "More meddling? What do I have to d-" He quickly stopped himself before Rin or Houki could catch on to what he said.
"I haven't seen you all year try to join in on our playtime!" Rin continued, "Were you off whining about how Ichika wouldn't make the first move, even though the rest of us figured out that we have to make the first move?!"
Houki quickly spun those words into a viable argument, "At least I know when to back off and give him some breathing room."
Ichika took issue with that statement, "Uh, Houki-"
"What is it?!" Houki demanded, "Can't you see I'm busy?!"
"I still remember the time you pinched my balls and Cecilia twisted my nipple," Ichika flatly said, "while forcing yourselves upon me when I just wanted to grab a bite and go."
"Well, that was..." Houki stammered for an excuse, "That's because I saw you were with Cecilia! What were you doing with her?!"
"Explain that, Ichika!" Rin snapped.
"She wrung her arms around me!" Ichika responded, "I didn't ask for that! Hell, I didn't even want that!"
"How'd you expect me to believe that load of baloney?" Houki asked.
"Uh...because you weren't there to see it happen?" Ichika got her.
"But if you...I didn't...I just wanted to-"
"Then, just ask, Houki..." Ichika sighed, unwittingly forcing Houki to withdraw from the group in defeat.
"Wow," Rin said after Houki left, "I didn't think that could get out of hand-"
But Ichika wasn't finished, "And what were you doing when we got here?" He asked Rin, "Jumping on my back without my awareness? Was that another promise I'm not gonna get an explanation for?"
"Come on, dude!" Rin tapped his rib, "What's a small piggyback ride gonna hurt anyone?"
"It almost hurt me."
"What, you're gonna say I keeled over and kicked you like a big fat soccer ball? Hahahaaa! Ain't that the-"
Ichika stopped her right there, "Actually, you just did."
Rin froze and turned her gaze to his head, "...huh?"
"You and everyone else," Ichika elaborated, "I don't know why I'm just now realizing it, but...I've been hit by a pretty bad rumor from the other girls, poisoned by Cecilia, physically abused by Houki, and dragged into unnecessary chaos by you. The only people who haven't clocked me upside the head are Charlotte and Laura, but that's only because they aren't gunning for me the way everyone else is. But even then, Charlotte has the habit of calling me a pervert for stuff Inhave no control over, and Laura's...Laura."
"Uh...ok, where's all this coming from?" Rin panicked, "Why are you suddenly unloading everything now?"
"Well, one: because there's no better time to do it. And two: I don't know how else to say it," Ichika turned to face Rin, "The way that this whole school term has been progressing...I don't think I can get comfortable around anyone of you."
Rin didn't bother listening to the rest. Her mind immediately pieced together his overall message of "giving him a little more time to find himself amidst the giant crowd of women", but...
("There was a time when you cared more about your family than our money...Yue.")
"ICHIKA, YOU JERK!" Rin's heart went somewhere else, "YOU BIG MEAN JERK IDIOT!" She immediately ran away, shouting loudly, "I HOPE A HERD OF BULLS STAMPEDE YOU TO DEATH!" And she left the path, leaving behind a trail of uneasy gazes from unnerved students and tourists all aimed at him.
But Ichika didn't care about the leering eyes or the inevitable whispering, because in that one moment of pouring his heart out about how he really felt...a tinge of regret that only lasted for a second was quickly replaced with a surge of relief and satisfaction. The strange sense of voluntary isolation from his friends, from all the hustle and bustle of the daily antics...it felt different from when he was home alone. It felt good. Really good. And he wasn't sure if he should embrace it or fear it.
"Probably could've worded that better but...*SIGH*...Note to self," Ichika scratched his head, "Never eat cornflakes with pixie pee," and just walked in whatever direction he felt like.
Laura wasn't too far behind, watching him from a distance he can't sense her.
"Dangit..." she sighed rather sheepishly, "Charlotte never had trouble with emotions, so why did that conversation devolve so quickly?..." she decided to return to the lookout to ask Charlotte and Cecilia for advice.
While things were emotionally ramping up in the sunlight of Japan, back in the cold night of Royal Woods, things were ramping up physically. Lincoln and Strong Suit have just been caught by Margo and Lynn. Lincoln and Lynn were caught in a whilrpool of emotions, not at all knowing how to greet each other after the smack talk Strong Suit laid down for them.
Not that it mattered to Strong Suit. "He-hey, Margo!" She waved, "We've been looking for ya!"
"Really?" Margo nervously laughed, "We were looking for Lincoln this whole time!"
"Oh? Heh, small world!"
Lynn paid no mind to the sudden breeze between her good friend and her lookalike. All she was concerned with was Lincoln, and his real thoughts about the family. She tried to initiate a conversation with him, "Uh...long time no see-"
But Lincoln cut her off, "I wanna talk to Margo."
Strong Suit and Margo stopped their conversation upon hearing his intentions.
"Me?" Margo raised an eyebrow.
"Well..." Lynn tried again to insert herself into the conversation, "maybe I could find a-"
"Alone." Lincoln wasn't allowing it. He wasn't going to allow his thoughts to muddle his vision of the mission at hand. There was a time and a place for everyone and everything, but he decided that for Lynn, it wasn't then.
Lynn stammered, "But-but I-"
"Lynn," Margo stopped her by patting her shoulder, "I'll find out his mind for you."
"Are you sure?" Lynn asked, worried that Lincoln won't talk.
"It'll be fine," Margo smiled, giving Lynn a sense of assurance and trust. The two nodded at each other and bumped fists.
Strong Suit saw the interaction, "I got a slight inkling that Lynn don't know what's about to go down."
"Then, you'd better keep it that way," Lincoln ordered.
"What?!" Strong Suit complained, "Why me?!"
"Ix-nay on the oud-lay..."
Strong Suit suddenly realized why her, "Oh...oops..." She got rid of her jersey and reassembled her regular attire. Then, she and Margo walked across the bridge, exchanging their first forearm bump before making it all the way across and switching partners.
When Margo approached Lincoln, she acted friendly around him, "Been a while, Linc. Things going ok for you?"
"Not really," Lincoln immediately grabbed her hand, "Let's go somewhere private," and led her out of the park.
Lynn could only look on as Lincoln slowly left her field of vision, leaving her with more questions than she wanted, "Geez...what the heck am I supposed to say about that?..."
"Nothing," Strong Suit joined her side, "It's out of our hands, now. Whatever happens happens."
"Are you sure it's ok to leave it up to..." Lynn was instantly reminded of the very concept which started this landslide of dramatic events in the first place, "...you know..."
"Huh?" Strong Suit blinked, "What do I know again?"
"Well, that..." Lynn forced the words out of her mouth, "...Are we gonna leave it up to luck?..."
"Pretty much..." Strong Suit nodded right before putting her forehead against Lynn's, "And funny you mentioned luck."
"Dangit..." Lynn hissed.
Night Club and High Card spent their evening on a tour of the town still in their disguises which, threw off several people because of their one-to-one resemblance of their Loud counterparts. They didn't mind the comments about confusing them for someone else, though they did chat a little with the townsfolk, but only to try and land a possible hit with Lynn and Margo. So far, they've had nothing.
It wasn't long before High Card came close to giving up, "What's the point of all this running around and junk?..." she plopped down on a fast food drive-thru, "Literally no such luck in this small town-" exasperatedly loud shout "-WHICH IS NOT VERY SMALL!"
"My thoughts, exactly, bruh," Night Club drooped, "though I can't help but feel like something's gonna drop on us heavy metal."
"Night, we've been through this," High Card got slightly irritated, "No amount of hoping and aimlessly walking around is gonna change anything. Is luck suddenly gonna plop those two yahoos at our feet?"
Right when she said that, she heard-
"Haha, come on, Lincoln! I appreciate the impromptu date, but don't you already have a girlfriend?"
-and-
"Thanks for making it weird for me, Margo. Now, Whaddaya wanna eat?"
They saw Lincoln and Margo enter the very restaurant that Night Club and High Card were lounging around by...which just so happened to be Burpin' Burger.
High Card sighed, "...Really?..."
Night Club smirked, "I wanna thank me for never quitting."
"Shut it," High Card rolled herself into the grass and activated her tablet's audio surveillance app, "I'm gonna let Suit know where we are."
"Better hurry," Night Club sat beside High Card, "This is starting to feel like I'm watching one of those overly dramatic slice-of-life shows."
"Friggin...ugh, forget it..."
Inside, Lincoln and Margo were sharing a burger and a hearty laugh.
"And then," Margo said, "that soccer ball just THWACKed my head and bounced off Paula's leg! And waltzed right into the goal!"
"Really? And no one noticed?" Lincoln asked.
"Heck, no! They were too busy gunning after me! Just more salt in the wound I was more than happy to rub."
"My thoughts and prayers go out to the visiting team from Glenlawn. I hope they recover from their self-inflicted humiliation," Lincoln pretended to hold up peace signs, which got a laugh out of Margo.
"Hahahaha...wow, it's been a long while, huh?" Margo said.
"Too long," Lincoln nodded, "I haven't been able to relax like this in months."
"Which is surprising, because aren't you used to putting up with a room full of girls?"
"Not like this. My sisters are going to handle puberty way better than the IS Academy girls. They already have their preset mental stereotypes in mind. And when I wouldn't stick to them, holy freaking crap!"
"Oh yeah, it's all over the news."
"Dunno if they're gonna care or not..."
"I think they will, if they're anything like you," Margo munched her burger.
"Whaddaya mean?"
"I mean, the secret menu special, the...rich people mustard," Margo commented, "What's your play here?"
Lincoln looked around in case anyone could be listening for his words. Then, when he was absolutely sure he would be unnoticed, he leaned in to Margo's personal space and whispered, "I'm on a mission to save you."
"Wuh?..." Margo didn't buy it, "Save me from what?"
"I didn't wanna say this, but... I think you're being hunted by very nasty people."
"Whoa, back it up there, sleeknozzle!" Margo chuckled, "Are you sure those IS fumes haven't gotten to your head?"
"Oh, I'm mighty sure," Lincoln said, "I hear you found yourself in a tight spot with some shady people who want to do something bad to you, and I aim to rescue you."
"Hahahahahahaaa!" Margo laughed, "Clearly, this is all for the manga club!"
"Oh, no! It's for every club in the world!"
Margo finished her burger, "Alright, I'll bite." Then she asked rather sarcastically, "Who's this big bad group that I should be rescued from?"
Lincoln looked Margo in the pupils and stated with dead seriousness, "I don't know their individual names, but they all belong to a group called..." he changed chairs and sat right next to her, "...Phantom Task."
Margo's face went from jovial to stunned in an instant, "What...what're you..."
"I know, it's nigh impossible to believe," Lincoln rambled on, "but trust me. I know you were in contact with some bad people, and I don't know what they're planning, but it's gonna wreck the world, and they're gonna make you the fall girl if things go south."
"Wreck the world?" Margo turned her gaze to his, "They're gonna make it better. Well, mine, at least."
"Yes, they'll wreck so much historrrawwwuuuuuuuuuhhhh..." Lincoln only caught wind of what she fully said mid rant.
"Oh...right," Margo said, "I was gonna mention to you at a later time, but since you already know about Phantom Task..."
"Huh?" Lincoln finally processed her words, "What? What're-what're you saying?..."
"Phantom Task isn't as bad as most people think," Margo said, "They're people who come from horrible upbringings and are looking to make a mark on the world," she turned an innocent grin to him, "and I should know. I'm one of those horrible upbringing people."
All sorts of red alerts were blaring in Lincoln's mind, "What? Huh? But...where's all this coming from?"
"A place of roughing it up and incinerating hearts to blobs," Margo said, "I had the usual...borderline stereotypical upbringing. Dad was a soldier who died in Iraq when I was very...very young, and my mom was the only person left to defend me from the thugs of Hazeltucky. It was bad. Really bad. Mom got involved with the wrong people. It got to the point where we had to move to a small town like Royal Woods to rebuild our lives, toughening ourselves up to a ridiculous degree."
"Yeah? How'd you figure that?" Lincoln was right. This went where he thought it would, and he wanted to go back into IS subspace just to cleanse himself of whatever this was.
"It's my face," Margo pointed to her nose, freckles, and buck teeth, "People think I look like a donkey and ran with it. No matter where I went, I was always the quiet sponge, always taking in punishment, until I got into sports, and then no one messed with me."
"Uh..." Lincoln interrupted, "Was that the only thing keeping you sane?"
"Pretty crude question, but...yeah, it was," Margo nodded, "I thought I could really flourish in sports. I felt like nothing could take that away..." She winced somewhat when saying her next line, "...until Lynn came around and...put on a bigger impression than I thought."
"Ok, I'll admit," Lincoln put his hands up, "Lynn can be very abrasive with her sport-going, but she's not that bad a person."
"I know, Lynn's a good friend, but..." Margo rubbed her chest, "...it wasn't enough. You ever get that one feeling when you do the one thing you're good at and then someone else comes in and steals the spotlight? Like, you devoted your life to that one thing, and then...poof. Just gone in a heartbeat."
"Yeah, I've been getting that feeling lately, like you've lost all uniqueness," Lincoln said, "but what does that have to..." Then, his mind started playing the connections game again, "Wait...you went to Phantom Task willingly?!"
"Yeah," Margo said, only divulging to Lincoln a part of the truth to why she joined, "Just like you sought to escape your sisters' shadows in the IS Academy, I went to Phantom Task to escape Lynn's shadow."
"To them?" Lincoln was bewildered, "But, why? Do you even know what they're capable of? What kind of people they are?!"
"They're a band of misfits, to put it very nicely," Margo said, "Just like me, they're victims of a world that does not want them to have a place in it."
"Is that what they told you?..."
"Hey, I didn't buy it at first," Margo said, "but Jesus, their upbringings...they made an organization all their own, just the three of them. How amazing it that?"
"And...you're part of it?"
"I asked them to join," Margo nodded, "and they simply said-"
("I don't see why not.")
("Usually, we have to go find them. It's unheard of for someone to actually seek us out.")
"-and after that, it was just smooth sailing."
"Uh...ok?..." Lincoln grew more concerned, "Define smooth sailing..."
"Sure, ok!" Margo seemed almost too happy for his liking, but nevertheless, Lincoln had to follow through with the conversation in order to determine Margo's true alignment. She motioned him to come in close to whispering range, "Let me clue you in on a little secret."
"Uh... ok?" Lincoln leaned in and put his ear against her mouth.
Margo then whispered into his ear, "...Phantom Task hijacked the Golem and sent it off."
Lincoln went pale. So many questions filled his mind. The Golem has an unregistered IS core, meaning that only Tabane Shinonono could've made that core, and maybe the IS. If that's the case, how did Phantom Task manage to safely secure that IS and core without any consequences to them? How did they reprogram that IS to move on its own? How did they hijack an IS that had a relatively brand new core? Was Tabane in cahoots with Phantom Task? Did Tabane allow it to happen, or worse yet, order it to happen? And why would the Golem attack the IS Academy, and aim a giant F—K YOU laser right at Houki, younger sister of the very person who made the Golem's core? Was all that a lie, and a third party was involved?
"Phantom Task did that..." Lincoln murmured.
"Yeah, not exactly," Margo scratched her neck, "I just put that idea to them, and then...well, it took off and did its thing. I didn't mean for you to get caught in that scuffle."
Back outside, Night Club and High Card were appalled by what they just heard.
"Dude! Dude dude dude dude dude dude!" Night Club was freaking out, "She was in on it the whole time?!"
"Welp..." High Card shook her head, "Is this major plot twist somewhat alright, or downright stupid..." she closed the app and went back to her communication app, "Suit, change of plans. Keep Lynn away from Burpin' Burger."
Strong Suit and Lynn were still in park trying to talk the night away, right beside yet another IS demonstration, when Strong Suit got the message to keep out of the burger joint. On speakerphone, "Huh? Why what happened?"
"Phantom Task has assimilated Margo into their mindset," High Card responded, "She's one of them."
Strong Suit dropped her dumbbells, "...you're kidding..."
"What?" Lynn asked, "What's happening?"
Strong Suit grabbed Lynn's shoulders, "Listen to me. Whatever you do, you cannot go downtown."
"Huh? Why not?"
"Things are gonna heat up, and not in a good way."
Lynn raised an eyebrow, "You mean...he's in trouble?!"
"High and Night are on the scene," Strong Suit said, "We can take them."
"Are you kidding?!" Lynn shouted, "You just got done telling me that the heat's rising!" She started to run, "No way, I gotta-AAAAGH!" But three stomps on the ground was enough to ignite the pain in her legs.
"See what I mean?" Strong Suit said, "Your lightning rod's crumbled from overuse. You're in no condition to fight."
"But..." Lynn was wincing from the pain, "We have to do something..."
"Yeah, you do. You need to keep away from them."
"And why, may I ask?"
"Because if those bad people see you, they'll use you to get to Lincoln," Strong Suit picked her up, "No, you need to stay hidden and not let anyone see you," and carried her out of the park, in the direction of Clyde's house.
"I can't hide forever, you know," Lynn said, "Sooner or later, it'll get out of hand, and-"
"And we'll let everyone in sight know what's up."
"Dangit, why are you doing this? If you're gonna smack talk me for all my luck crud, why are you making me hide?"
"Umm..." Strong Suit thought for a moment and said, "...maybe because Ace can't stop thinking about you?"
"The heck?"
"Hello? Japan? Body doubles? Near perfect mirror personality match? Every day, he's gotta stare at what could've been, and what has been."
Lynn pondered at the thought. She wondered whether or not Lincoln saw her in someone else, or whether or not he put only her best qualities into Strong Suit and disregarded her worst qualities...thereby creating the perfect version of her.
Back at Burpin' Burger, Lincoln's brain was in shambles due to the revelation, "You really sent that Golem?"
"It was supposed to be mine, but I got a different one," Margo said, "But that's the power of Phantom Task, dude. They can do stuff no one else can do. And they want you to be a part of it."
"Me?" Lincoln asked, "Partner with Phantom Task? No, no, that's not happening."
"Come on, Lincoln," Margo leaned in, "Don't you feel stifled under the pressure of IS Academy? Not with what happened a month after you moved in?"
"Well," Lincoln was reminded of the photo disaster that befell him and his friends, "It was bad..."
"Don't you want to escape from that?" Margo said, "I already found my escape, and I couldn't be any happier. I just wanted to do the same for you."
"Really?" Lincoln questioned her motives, "What can you do for me that the IS Academy hasn't done?"
Margo pondered for a moment, "How about..." and then attempted to bait him, "...a way to destroy the cycle?"
Lincoln flinched, "How?! H-how did..."
"Well..." Margo murmured, "Lynn and I talked about a lot of things ~~~"
Lincoln had enough. His mind was able to piece everything together, solely based on what Margo said. She was too far gone. She went to Phantom Task for a release from something very very real to him, and she got a different kind of treatment from them. She's driven by the wrong drive, and she was coping with it the wrong way; heck she might be trying to get him in on her shpeal by peering into his personal life, through Lynn. He knew all this, but he couldn't fully diagnose the cause of her staying with Phantom Task, and in his mind, there was only one way to know exactly what drove her to join:
Complete escalation.
"I appreciate the sentiment...but no," he scooted away from her, "I'm not Phantom Task material."
"What're you talking about?" Margo nudged him, "You got the rugged look, the eyes, the hair-"
"That's not what I mean," Lincoln said, "I meant the friends. I know these Phantom Task guys had a rough go from the start, but... I just can't. Something about them rubs me the wrong way."
"Like..."
Lincoln had to keep pushing her, so he did the easy thing and just went vague, "I don't know. It just doesn't feel right."
"Don't you want to get away from it all?" Margo pressed him, "Isn't that why you went to the IS Academy in the first place, to get away from it all?"
"Yeah, but...it's not like I didn't think about them when I made my choice."
"And yet, it followed you. There's no running from it, that much I know. It won't let you go until you choose to fight it, to tear it all down with all your might."
"Are you saying that I have to...tear down everything, including my friends?"
"No," Margo leaned against him, "I'm saying let go of them. That's the only way you'll be able to escape the cycle. To drop them off the ends of existence and never look back."
Lincoln shivered, "Wait...run that last one by me again..."
"Hmm?" Margo looked at him, "Drop them off the ends of existence and never look back?"
("I can't find the ends of existence either.")
Then, it clicked. All those times he tried to find the ends of existence to drop his emotional baggage, all those times he spent brooding about his past life, and all those times he couldn't find the them as he was forced to continue walking his path with the baggage still on his back...it's like Strong Suit said; it's wasn't actually baggage. It's actually a very heavy training garb designed to make him stronger. Sure, he can dump it off now, but not only will he be completely exposed to the outside forces without having properly trained himself...but he could lose a vital part of his identity. Sure, that notion was entirely contradictory to that earlier suit he tried to removed due to it carrying a legacy of humiliation. Yes, it's annoying, but it's a small price to pay, as long as he can make it his.
The cycle will end soon for him, and he will be able to remove all that baggage. Just not now. It's not time yet.
"Y'know," Lincoln said, "as much as I want to lose this whole entire emotional baggage, I just realized something."
"What's that?" Margo raised an eyebrow.
"It's on me for a reason, and I can't take it off. Not until I grow strong enough to accept it as a part of me and welcome it with open arms."
"Whoa...we're just throwing around philosophical crap, aren't we?" Margo chuckled.
"It's my way of saying..." Lincoln came out with it, "... Phantom Task did you wrong. And I'm not gonna go down the same path." He immediately scooted away from her and stood up, "I'm sorry... but I can't go along with this. I need to bring you in."
"Huh," Margo laid back on the seat, "So...nothing I say will draw you away from IS Academy?"
Lincoln shook his head.
"Shame..." Margo sighed, "you would've made a killer addition to the team...but, oh well."
Lincoln was right. Margo was fully encased in whatever Phantom Task told her, so she couldn't be reasoned with. That he expected.
What he didn't expect was to be swiftly knocked across the restaurant, crashed against a brick wall, and brought on the floor to his knees, "OW! Agh...wh...what the-ack-" He was grabbed by the neck and thrown through a window, rolling over onto the street, into the path of an oil truck.
"Ace!" Night Club and High Card ran out to save him, but they were knocked away by several green energy balls.
Lincoln saw the oncoming truck and was forced to fully deploy his IS to evade collision. He didn't notice a whitish metallic claw wrap its fingers around his neck and carry him upward. He chucked several card bombs and the hand, but they did nothing. Once he was high in the nighttime sky, he was thrown upward and suddenly pelted with numerous energy balls, which didn't do very much damage, but felt like they did. The impact was so long and so great that when the balls stopped, he momentarily lost consciousness and went into free fall before getting caught five feet from the ground.
High Card and Night Club emerged from the nearby pawn shop, from which everyone saw them blasting into the windows.
"Oh, crud," High Card shook herself off, "First that stupid confession, and now this..." as she looked around and saw many people coming to their aid.
"Never mind that!" Night Club pointed up to the sky, "Look who caught him!"
High Card's eyes widened with horror, "Th...that's the-"
High in the night sky, was the Silverio Gospel, the all-powerful Gen 3.5 model. In its cockpit was none other than Margo.
"Whoa..." Margo whispered, "This thing is amazing...I feel like I can do anything..." Then, she saw an arrow on her far right side of her HUD, and thanks to that, she was able to catch a 45-lb free weight. But in that moment of distraction-
"*GASP* GET AWAY!" Lincoln woke up and hit her with the 52-Card Pickup. Halfway through the combo, he could see exactly what he was up against. Right when he was about to finish the combo, his enemy quickly broke away from him and countered his entire card flurry with a flurry of energy balls.
Once that brief exchange was over, Lincoln fully absorbed his surroundings. He saw Margo in the very same angelic IS he was sent to retrieve, "Margo? Those wings? Where did they come from?"
"I thought you would know by now, Linky-dink," Margo said as she charged at him.
Lincoln tried to block her punch, but he ended up getting pushed all the way across the town. Margo grappled his forearms and flipped under, kicking his legs and breaking his guard. Then, she spun around, allowing her wings to slam into him and knock him into a forest. He broke several trees and plowed into the ground, digging up a huge trench as he slid to a halt.
"Agh...ow..." Lincoln groaned as he pulled himself out of the dirt, "Clarissa, come in...we have a problem..."
"What's wrong, Loud?" Clarissa commed back.
"It's Margo...she currently pilots the Silverio Gospel..."
"...what?..."
"Our intel was wrong..." Lincoln panted into the communication channel, "Margo sought out Phantom Task of her own volition...She willingly accepted the Silverio Gospel as her own..."
"Understood!" Clarissa shouted, "I have your location! I'll be there in five minutes!"
Just then, the trees surrounding him were instantly blasted away by the Gospel's spray attack.
"Hurry..." Lincoln disconnected as he readied two full hands, preparing to do battle with Margo and the Gospel.
Margo slowly floated down to Lincoln's level, an intense aura emitting from her, "You know, this thing was supposed to do a test run. Feel like helping me put it through the ringer?"