Part 4: Old Frenemies
-MOUNT ROYAL PARK, QUÉBEC PROVINCE-
"Absolutely not!" Cecilia screamed over the phone, "I will not be indebted to an indentured servant, much less a former woman dust cleaner!"
"Good to hear you're doing quite well for yourself," Chelsea sarcastically commented.
"Why's it so hard for you to do this one simple thing that even a grunt can do faster?!"
"Because we go way back, past preschool even, and that's the hardest pill to swallow. Had you been a complete stranger, I would've easily requisitioned the committee to send a unit over, but you're not a stranger. So, I won't."
"How dare you! Shall I fly back home and demand the IS in your father's face?"
"I already warned him. You are a no go, and you will stay that way. Goodbye, Mastard."
"Don't you turn your back to me-"
She hung up.
Yes. They've kept that up for four hour bursts. Tatenashi coaxed her into calling Chelsea to fulfill her brash promise, the first genuine promise made without anyone's consent. Without anyone's consent. That made everything worse. And now, with Tatenashi on an errand, she found herself alone again, left to vent her frustrations on an innocent oak tree.
"Can't I get one thing done?!" She screamed, scaring some admirers away. She broke the tree in half before slumping her face to the ground, "Oh...why'd I let myself get carried away by these heathens..." She got so carried away, she didn't notice the ant queen on top of her neck, alerting her troops to the invasion.
-NEXT MORNING, RITZ-CARLTON MONTREAL-
A maid walked to the door of a luxury suite and knocked, "Hello? Room service."
The door opened, and something of a pale apparition emerged from the door sideways. The maid shrieked, alerting the entire top floor of a ghastly presence.
"You...may leave it..." the apparition voiced with a deathly rattle. The maid fled in terror. Once she was gone, the apparition-I mean, Cecilia wiped her eyes and mouth, and grabbed the hidden camera outside her door. "And one for the duffer." She locked the door shut and stretched her way to the living area, "HOOOOOOO, baby! What am I going to say today?" She grabbed a remote and activated the MP3 stereo. The pulsating intro of Lights echoed its way throughout the suite. "My favorite song too, huh? Not a bad start to a rough day..." Once the verse began, she danced her way around the kitchen, flipping a coffee cup behind her back, rear ending the coffee machine to espresso, and cleaning up not only the makeup cupboard, but also her own body, brushing up her hair to sleek bed head levels, and unwrapping her robe to reveal a tank top and mini jeans combo. Clearly, she's gone off the deep end. She twirled around for a bit, showing off her ballet skills while setting up the room for a nice lounge, until-
"'Cause they're calling, calling, calling me home, calling, calling, calling, ho-" *CLICK!*
She shut it off. She liked that bit...when she actually was home. Now, not a chance. She tried another song.
"He'll never love you like I can, can, ca-"
Nope, not that one. Next!
"If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends (gotta get with-)-"
Oh, hell no! Anything else?!
"So, make the best of this test, and don't ask why-"
Cecilia took her phone off the Bluetooth. These songs, and by extension her playlist, were not helping her get her mind off the double whammy. She gave up and sat down to eat with the morning headlines.
"This morning, we're learning that the Empress and Prime Minister of Japan were planning to ramp up their gender rules, to the level of apartheid currently seen in Eastern Africa and Australia. The rules were jointly developed and ingrained by the United States President and the Prime Minister, but they clearly believe they're not being held by the highest standards-"
"Oh, why do I even bother?" She said as she was munching on a Belgian waffle, when she heard a knock on her door. She went out and opened, "Can I help you two?"
"Uh, yeah," one of the two delivery men blushed, "We came to give you a package from Nottingham."
"Huh...I didn't order anything but...fine," she took the package and the clipboard.
The delivery men were actually on a mission to kidnap Cecilia, but damn it all if they weren't distracted by her slender, well-endowed body.
"May I ask who originally sent this?" Cecilia asked as she smelled something that smells like her own cooking coming from the package.
One of the men pretended to check his phone, "It was from one Chelsea Blackett-"
She threw the package at his face and slammed the door locked, "TELL THAT SLAG TO GIVE IT TO ME IN PERSON!"
They gave up on their pursuit. An angry woman does not make an easy target. All they could do was leave and alert their superiors to her current location.
She walked back in and slammed her head on the cushions. She noticed that they were suspicious alright, but she would gladly let herself get kidnapped if it meant she didn't have to deal with Chelsea. The only problem was that there was a chance that the renegade could happen upon her and-control thyself, woman-TOO LATE!
Her fantasies fully developed when she saw the tabloid news. The renegade had a...moment with a loner in Fort Nelson. And a picture taken by one of Phantom Task showed them de-clothing-
"OK, ANYTHING ELSE?!" She quickly changed the channel to a more haunting story. Ever since the renegade's rampage on Mt. Fuji, the region has been haunted by a metallic girlish voice: "Onii-chan...onee-chan...keep fighting..." But there was nothing to prove it was a voice recording. Fuji-san had been...awakened, some say.
"Y'know what?" Cecilia propped up, "I think I need to lay off the carbs for today." She grabbed her purse and escaped the hotel.
So, how is a member of one of most popular families to spend her time away from home? Doing anything and everything in the name of fun, and spreading the word about the "ultimate test of Maple!" She even dragged some poor random bystanders into her antics, blatantly letting them know what she's on about. Which only served to heighten the anticipation, driving Québec wild. But she had an ulterior motive: guilt.
For all the rants she gave Chelsea, the promise she mindlessly gave a couple days ago reminded her of a promise easily broken by unrequited love. She promised to remain friends with her companions after graduation, but she couldn't stand the idea of Ichika not marrying her, much like everyone else in her clique. So, she and Laura hatched the idea to separate the couple. And when that didn't work out, they resorted to sheer violence, not much different from the end of year one, except Lingyin got too ino her jealousy and assaulted Houki. A minor flesh wound. When she and Laura were about to deal the final blow, Ichika slammed his feet into their heads and shattered their shields with his IB stomp. And it escalated quickly.
The same thing happened with her and Chelsea, for the exact same reason, except instead of one measly theme park, it was an entire prefecture. Thank goodness they covered it up as a hunt for the renegade accomplice, but the top officials knew the truth. As if she didn't strain relations already, she caused the UK to separate from the worldwide program. At least with this stunt, she could have a solid first step in repairing her relationship with her own people. But that won't fix the issues with Chelsea, or Rachel for that matter.
-MOUNT ROYAL PARK-
After her fun-filled day, she retired to the park, where she spread out her body on the grass. She still had her phone music going to distract herself from the crowding insanity of the daily gossip, but she noticed something about her surroundings. There's a more prominent male presence here, still less than the female presence, but more than what she saw in London and Tokyo. And what's more, hands in hands, shoulder to shoulder, actually having a good time. Nothing like what her mother showed in England.
Boy, was it painful. She missed the off-the-wall interactions with her friends, the crazy antics they got into with Ichika, and especially the bittersweet moments of the graduation party. What she wouldn't give to go back in time to stop herself from turning to her yandere...
"Is something wrong, miss?"
Yeah, there's one thing she'll never give anyone: her dignity. Especially not to the numbskulls who thought they could get away with posing as delivery people.
"Uh...yeah," she said, "Haven't I seen you two before?"
"No, not to my knowledge," one of the men said.
"No. No, no, no, no," she rolled over, "I recognize you yahoos. You tried to give me that hag's package."
The men didn't even bother trying to hide their intentions and whipped out their guns. She deployed her drones and leaped onto one of them to flip overhead. The drones shot and exploded the guns. She landed behind them in a crouching tiger stance. The entire park saw what happened and rushed over to pin the men down.
"Next time," she said, "actually try a little bit."
The men panicked and ran, but she easily caught up with them with her drones, even riding one like a hover board. It took thirty seconds to pin them down and bring the park into a whooping party station.
"Wow, you were so cool!" Fan girl.
"Well, what can I say? They were no match for my natural abilities," you can practically see her nose elongating with every praise.
"I wish I could move like that," fan boy.
"Get real! You'll never be that good!" And his little chum.
"Not IS-wise," she winked, "but I wouldn't mind someone with a little power and flexibility."
And then everyone freaked out. She was fuming at the forehead at her first non-Ichika flirting moment, but she never let it show. She spent the whole day hyping up the crowd with her flashy attitude and her IS prowess. And the social media lit. She kept urging the people to call up the IS development teams across the world and get a unit to Montreal. They stormed the cyber front, demanding an end to the drought. And once word spread that the renegade had entered Vancouver, and exchanged the word of Cecilia's presence, it would be a couple days before the flames joyous revolution engulfed the nation, but thanks to the combined efforts of...ahem... the skank and the asshole...there was no point in waiting around, especially since Cecilia had it in mind to manipulate this to her advantage.
Most notably, back in her room...
"Thanks for everything! We'll see you tomorrow, eh!" The girls waved.
"I'll be expecting you as well," Cecilia waved, "Ta-ta!" She closed the door and waltzed to the fridge. She opened the door expecting a nice cold bottle of water waiting for her. Well, yes she got that- "Ugh!" And 27 extras. "Who would ever-" She peered into the rear and found a note stuck to the light bulb:
Right on time, girl! But Chel...
-KTS
"Chel...oh no..." she quickly scanned her phone for anything regarding her-oh, fucking hell. There it is. She locked her phone in airplane mode, not for unwanted calls, but for her. Oh, boy. Tensions soured during the last couple months when they haven't spoken to each other, with that little morning outburst being their only comforting solace. But can one day undo that much damage? She thought about al the times she recklessly opened her mouth to say something, but was either brushed aside for comedic effect, or downplayed, even outright denied. And quickly dusted it off like it was nothing. She opened her mouth many times. This was no different. She would act like the usual dead beat that won her so many hearts so far.
"Ok..." she mentally prepared herself, "Phase 1 was completed on time...now for Phase 2..." she thought as she played the most recent voice mail and braced herself.
"Hello...Cecilia..." it was Chelsea, "I caught wind of what a ruckus you made in Canada...well, you and the renegade...and well, so did all of us across the pond. I can't believe I let you alone for a minute, because I knew you would get us into more trouble than necessary, but at the same time... I know I can't leave things between us as is, and neither can you. Therefore, I, along with Rachel, will hand deliver the Dream Duster from our motherland to Montreal City Hall, where we will expect to meet you with the Maple Slinger. Only then will I listen to...whatever you have to say. We will keep to your deadline of one week, so I imagine you only have five days eight hours to get your shit together."
"Well...ok, then..." Cecilia expected the worst, but this was the best case scenario possible. She smiled. She felt like she hadn't done anything on her own since being accepted into the Academy. This was a major accomplishment for her. No outside influences, no premeditated notions, she actually did it solely from the spur of the moment. And it prompted an appropriate response from the right person. Who would've thought? She ordered another round of room meals, of which she got at no cost due to her little stunt.
After dinner, she reflected on her actions in the bath. She spent a longer time than usual lathering her face. She couldn't even get herself to stop because of this exchange at the hotel mall:
Cecilia: "And that's why it's best to apply a light layer of red lipstick. Don't overdo it, ever."
Woman 1: "So, that's why my husband feels disgusted whenever we kiss."
Man: "Why's he freaking out about that? Personally, I prefer no makeup at all."
Cecilia: "Well, that's news to me."
Woman 2: "Yeah, why'd you prefer nothing on the face?"
Woman 1: "I thought you'd be captivated by our beauty?"
Man: "Well, makeup is great and all, but what's the point if it only hides your cheeks? Women look just as good naturally as they do with the stuff, hell, better even."
Woman 2: "Aww! We got us a hopeless romantic!"
Man: "Lay off, will ya?! You dragged me all the way out here!"
Woman 2: "And now you know whyyyyyyy~"
Man: "What-No! Get off!"
Woman 1: "Do you think the renegade would like a woman with natural charm?"
Cecilia: "Blech...why are you asking me?"
Woman 1: "Just curious..."
Cecilia: "He wouldn't appreciate any woman, period!"
Woman 2: "Not to mention he made out with a guy."
Cecilia: "OH GOD! BAD IMAGES IN MY BRAIN!"
But was it really a bad image? When they bore all for the world to see, feeling no shame, no remorse, when the heat of the moment was all that mattered, could one consider it bad? For some god forsaken reason, she found comparing herself to the renegade similar to comparing a zebra with white stripes to a white tiger with black stripes. One is elegant, stout, always leading a pack. The other is a fiery, fearsome loner. One blends in with friends in times of struggle. The other sticks his tongue out in the face of trouble. One tries to mask shortcomings and points to others. The other hides nothing, even forces the punishment on himself-
"Motherf-BLABBLUBBUBB-ugh! Hah...hah...hah..." ok, that last one was random. She slapped herself twice and left the bathroom.
But that random moment carried over to the makeup table, where she stared at the mirror for an hour trying to decode the sudden mind garbage. She used to be a duchess, she used to have to put up a front, and she used to hide her emotions behind a stalwart charade of a guardian. And now, here she was, cleared of all masks, robbed of everything except her money and her only remaining connection to Ichika. What was she thinking, letting him influence her thoughts? She tried in vain to get him to recognize her. Not even her most alluring looks could sway his heart.
Now here comes a ruffian maggot with his exact power, higher density. A prepubescent little harg with the sensibility of a dog and an ego the size of an elephant. Possibly going through puberty, doesn't know about, or couldn't care one bit about, looks and charms.
In other words...the perfect test subject.
As much as she hated to admit it, and she gagged over the thought, the renegade was her ticket back to her luxury titles home. She could see it all. She would hold the test pilot event. He would come to try and disrupt it. She would utterly pound him into the dust, while her lackeys defeated his lackeys. The UK would recognize her authority and welcome her back home. And Ichika would finally recognize her dominant womanhood and her natural beauty. Laura would be demonized due to her revenge plot, Chelsea would offer to make amends with her, Houki would offer her service to the world alliance, and all would be right in her world once more.
The what even this blahs. Oh, well. Fantasy was how she was able to pull off her most amazing feats. It's not a good reason to stop now. But that would mean...
She stared at her makeup kit. Over 1000 USD of disguises and boy toy charms, reduced to naught. She face palmed herself for wasting such a huge amount of money on a kit barely bigger than a car dashboard. "Oh...why did I bother..." Her mother's words were true to an extent. For a gala. Everywhere else, there was literally no need to spend 90 minutes on a pointless face battle. She decided to keep the small pink handbag, light pink lipstick, and lightweight mascara. Everything else went to the trash heap. She then sent a text to Chelsea:
With Rachel? Get a clue, woman.
She cracked. She never stood a friend up like that ever. This...was a breath of fresh air. A much needed one. She turned everything off and retired to bed, more determined than ever to run her mouth until her adversaries can't take it anymore.
-POLICE DEPARTMENT OF THE CITY OF MONTREAL: STATION 13-
The two men who tried to gun down Cecilia were in a cell, when their door opened by an officer.
"Well, I don't know how," he said, "but he paid your bail in full. Get out and don't leave your homes again."
At their home...one of the men's homes, anyway...
"I know I told you to test her abilities, but yikes... she kicked both your asses, eh?"
"Yeah, we know...we honestly thought she lost her touch..."
"She has. If she hadn't, she would've beaten us much sooner."
"Now now, let's not lose sight of our goal. We cannot have any pilots in Canada."
"I know. Since that Squall escaped..."
"Well, she was killed off anyway, so that's good."
"But how do you know the renegade will join us?"
"Trust me. He will join, one way or another."
Oh...I am not sure that'll even cross his mind...
-LA BOTTEGA CAFE, BRITISH COLUMBIA PROVINCE-
"She won't know what hit her after I land my 42-punch combo!" Sokoto declared to the crowd in true showoff fashion, "She still owes me after infecting me with the incurable cootie attack!"
"I knew it!" A boy screamed, then pointed to a girl, "You do have cooties!" The girl kissed him, and he shrieked in faux terror.
"Relax," Sokoto smugly said, "You can only get them from a rotten person with a cranky stanky heart." He patted the girl's head and she giggled, "And she's alright by me!"
"Well, if you say so..." the boy said distrustful.
"Oh! Have you ever given anyone else the same smooch and fluff?" A teenager asked.
"How was it when you did it with that guy?!" Another one asked, clearly a yaoi...obsessed fanatic...
"It felt good," Sokoto reflected, "We both needed some closure after Squall passed away, so we said our goodbyes and got the through it together."
Between the absolute flattery and wondrous noises that Sokoto didn't know he caused, nobody saw or heard Madoka and Autumn slam their heads down, breaking the table in three. Did he seriously not realize what he just said?
"Oh, you little minx!" A woman snuck up behind him, "I bet you think you're the bee's knees, aren't ya?"
"Naw, more like a cat, eh?" Another woman, "He's even got the cute little hair ear thing, look!"
Their auras got him flustered, so he shoved them aside to get some elbow room, "Personal space crowded please hold!"
"Ahh!"
Autumn jerked forward, "I know that moan."
"Wow...quite bold of you..." the women in the store gasped. The men whistled.
"What?" And here's where his true weakness is exposed! "Bold of what? What am I doing?"
"You mean...you don't know what you're grabbing?"
"No, what's so important about it?"
"AHHHHHHHHHH!" The whole store erupted, "HE'S A PURE HEARTED VIRGIN!"
"Yaagh..." Sokoto flinched as he sensed a sudden pinkness of the entire block.
"Oh, honey," Autumn creeped up and bear hugged him, "Don't tell me Squall didn't teach you about the tenderness of a man's touch..."
"Leggoame! What are you on about, woman?!" Sokoto flailed.
"Attention, everyone!" Autumn announced, "Phantom Task will hold a sex ed lesson in five minutes at that hostel, at no cost to you! Who wants to join, follow me!"
The entire shop was abandoned, save for Madoka.
"Please tell me he gets castrated by some UN asshole..." she groaned.
She took a chance glance out the window and saw the renegade being reduced to a rag doll as he was forcibly shoved into the small lodging apartment complex.
And right above them, a familiar blue haired fan woman who wasn't even trying to be subtle because no one can see her for some reason.
At this point, Madoka didn't care. She's been through so many emotional whiplashes in the last two days that she gave up. She motioned an imaginary airplane to take off, "GO, UN ASSHOLE."
"And the signal is received," Tatenashi winked and sent the footage of the cafe spectacle to her sister and her superiors in Russia, "Wait'll they see what a dunce the renegade actually is!"
She leaned back against the roof and fanned herself. For some reason, her fan lit up the kanji for...traitor. She cocked her head sideways. True, she has to manage three missions, one of which was completely bogus. But she never thought of betraying her friends. Oh, wait. That could be the problem. But not now.
She put away her fan and slept to the sweet soothing sound of the renegade's cries of agony, "PAGANS! COOTIE PAGANS! ALL OF YOU PAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~~~"