CH. 30 - The Mob and The Cult

Next up… 

Dante straps on big boots under his baggy pants held up by belts and suspenders wrapped around his shoulders. He then slides a large coat on with reflectors around his arms and a beanie on his head, putting on his leather gloves last.

Nobody "Vanguard Dante Oort and your partner…

Tadashi straps on his tall boots around his baggy pants as well. A large leather strap going across his waist and over his sleeveless turtleneck shirt. He slides his arm into the coat that covers his right arm like a glove while his left arm is left open like a normal coat sleeve. Finally he straps a white shoulder pad on his right shoulder with two straps going across his chest to his left waist and pushing up his glasses. 

Nobody "Hunter Tadashi Gin. You two are going in to stop a particular mob boss from taking control over District 13. Due to a lack of presence in that section, Don Pichanko has slowly grown in power and is beginning to think highly of himself as our intel provides. Put a stop to him by any means necessary."

He explains as the dark night sky sits overhead as Dante and Tadashi sit on a rooftop. Tadashi stares through the roof window closely as he sees multiple gang members preparing something beneath them.

Tadashi "Looks like they're getting ready for something."

Dante "When do you think Pichanko's gonna show?"

Tadashi "Not sure but soon."

He says before turning around and looking at Dante. Dante's busy looking over at the park nearby with a cute pond and right vibes.

Dante "Why can't we just go for a nice walk instead? It looks so peaceful down there.."

He mopes a bit.

Tadashi "Okay, here's the plan. When he arrives, we'll jump in from the window and surprise him, demanding he turn himself in."

Dante stares at him kind of blankly.

Dante "Pretty straight forward, don't ya think?"

Tadashi shrugs as they hear a slight commotion going on in the building. They look down and see the boss entering the room and taking a seat at the head of the table and a couple gang members standing by the walls.

Don "We did it boys! Tonight's deal was a big success! With Martial's numbers under our belt, we just may have enough to control the entire District! This calls for celebration! Tell chef to bring out the good stuff, won't ya?"

He says as one of the guards steps by the door and opens it allowing a chef to bring in a tray of food. Spaghetti and meatballs. 

Chef "Only the finest for our big boss."

He says with a smirk as Don starts drooling.

Don "You treat me too good."

He ties a bib around his neck as the chef leaves. He picks up his fork and knife but before he can take a bite… 

Tadashi "Okay, now's our chance. We go on!"

He says before jumping down, crashing through the window and slamming onto the long table with a thud. He quickly draws his sword and points it at Don.

Tadashi "Don Pichanko! The Academy of Superior Abilities has caught wind of your criminal activities and demands you turn yourself in! Otherwise you will face swift punishment by my partner and I!"

He shouts with a serious look as the boss stares at him blankly.

Don "Partner? I don't see no partner."

Tadashi looks surprised before turning around and realizing Dante is nowhere to be seen. He looks up to the window and sees Dante peeking his head over the edge with a wave.

Dante "Sorry! I thought you were gonna say 'We go on three!'"

Tadashi sighs and droops a bit.

Tadashi "Damnit…"

Don "Shoot this academy clown!"

He shouts as the four guards pull out their tommy guns and start blasting. Tadashi freaks out and quickly slashes the table in half and kicks it up as cover. The other half also falls over causing the boss to fall backwards in his chair and his food to be spilt all over him. 

Tadashi "Dante! Get down here!"

He shouts from the cover as gunshots ring out.

Dante "What's up?"

He says softly right next to Tadashi who freaks out at him suddenly being next to him before focusing up.

Tadashi "Can you deal with the guards? I'll grab Pichanko and we'll get out of here!"

Dante "Sureee no problem!"

He smirks before blasting out from behind the cover with a green epiphany color trailing behind him. As the bullets fly at him, they all begin to slow down as everything shifts to a slightly green epiphany hue. Dante casually walks by the bullets before slamming one of the guards into the wall. The hue disappears in an instant as the mob member is smashed through the wall. They are all shocked before turning and shooting at him. Dante then dashes over and jumps into the air forming the same colored energy balls that look like they're made of multiple rapidly fluctuating strings and he throws them at the two other guards causing them to blow up upon impact. Tadashi takes this opportunity to rush over to the boss. He gets up with a grunt as he is disgusted at the mess of food all over himself.

Don "These little pricks! Look what they did to my suit! My dinner!"

Tadashi lifts the tip of his blade to his neck as he grunts at Tadashi.

Tadashi "It's over. You're coming with us."

Suddenly, the big doors open up before Tadashi and Dante as many more guards rush in.

Guards "Boss, what's wrong!"

Don "Shoot! Shoot them!"

At their command, the guards open fire at them. Dante quickly dashes in the way with another energy ball but once it's shot in his hand it explodes sending them both flying back, smashing into the table and debris. They get up with a cough as the smoke clears. One of the guards then rushes into the room and pulls the pin on a grenade. The boss sees this and freaks out.

Don "Wait you idiot! Remember what's beneath us!"

But his words don't reach the guard before the grenade is thrown. Dante quickly gets up and forms another energy ball in his hand.

Dante "I got this!"

Tadashi "Wait, don't!"

But he throws it too. The two collide in the air creating an even larger explosion sending everyone flying back against the walls and creating a massive hole in the center of the room. Soon, a fire from the explosion begins to burn bright as smoke blows everywhere. The guard gets up as Pichanko grabs him by the collar with a worried and angry look.

Don "You damn fool! The ammunition bunker is right below!"

Tadashi gets up and looks shocked hearing that. He looks down in the hole and sees crates full of weapons, bullets and bombs. He then realizes the fire is falling down into the room, igniting the fuse on one of the dynamite sticks.

Tadashi "Oh no."

Dante rubs his head as he gets up.

Dante "Okay, my bad."

Tadashi "Come on!"

He quickly dashes over and tackles Dante through the window as the fuse of the bomb burns down and explodes. The explosion is much bigger due to the combination of all the bombs in the room. The two of them are sent flying from the building at the top of it burns down with a boom. They fall through the air before splashing down into the pond in the park nearby. They both sit up, coughing and now soaking wet. Dante looks around a bit before smiling at Tadashi.

Dante "Hey, what do you know? We made it to the park anyway!"

Tadashi looks at him with a blank stare before splashing pond water in his face. 

Eventually, they make it back to the ASA covered in explosion smoke and still a little wet. They walk down the hall to the South Range as Southpaw meets them by his desk.

Southpaw "Good to see you made it back in one piece! How did it go?"

Tadashi "It could've gone better.."

Dante "But Don Pichanko is dealt with. I don't think he'll be a problem anymore."

Tadashi "Might have some noise complaints though."

Southpaw "Noise complaints?"

He asks, tilting his head to the side. Tadashi glares at Dante as he laughs nervously.

Tadashi "Thanks to my Vanguard's actions, we ended up blowing the place up.."

He admits as Southpaw stares at them for a moment only to start laughing. They stare at him confused until he soon stops.

Southpaw "I suppose that's one way to get rid of a mob, isn't it?"

Dante "See? I knew he wouldn't be mad!"

They laugh together for a moment as Tadashi takes his glasses and cleans them, a slightly irritated look on his face.

Southpaw "Nope, not mad at all! I am going to have to fail you though, yeah."

Tadashi and Dante look shocked.

Tadashi/Dante "What?!"

Southpaw "Well you did blow up a public building in the middle of the city with civilians present all around. That's not the kind of work we want around here, sorry."

He gives them two thumbs up and a smile in return. They lower their heads disappointedly as they leave the South Range. Tadashi elbows Dante hard on the arm.

Dante "Ow! Yeah, sorry, that one's on me."

He says as they leave down the hall.

Next up…

Alston pulls up some knee high striped socks then buckles her shorts before sliding on a leather jacket and putting her hair up in a ponytail. 

Nobody "Vanguard Alston Lexare and your partner…" 

Cole then zips up his black pants with red zippers going across his legs a few times each before sliding on a bright red with white vertical arm stripes over his tight black tshirt. And for good measure, he adjusts his glasses very carefully. 

Nobody "Hunter Cole Jigoku. Your mission is to go find a rising cult in the Froni Forest of District 7. We have heard reports of missing people in nearby cities and rumors of a flesh worshiping cult forming in the area. Find them and disband them."

He says as the partners wander through the forest side by side.

Alston "Who knew we would've been set together?"

Cole "Complaining already?"

Alston "Am not! I'm just saying how funny it would've been if Wolf and I got partnered together. I saw how upset you were getting at the idea."

Cole clicks his tongue frustratedly as Alston laughs at him.

Cole "Whatever. Let us just find this temple."

Alston "Oh, right right, I forgot why we were here. Should I try out my Spirit Perception? Maybe I'd feel it around here somewhere."

She asks excitedly.

Cole "No, I see it."

Alston pouts as Cole steps ahead towards a large stone wall with doors covered in overgrowth and ground, looking like a small hill. Cole activates his Soul Shell as the black markings appear on his mouth again. He snaps them onto the huge handles and slowly pries the doors open. Alston peeks in as Cole stands tall in the doorway.

Alston "Woah. Spooky and dark. Nice."

She turns and looks at Cole.

Alston "Should I use my glowy energy to light the place up?"

Cole "No, I got it."

He says stepping forward as Alston stares at him.

Alston "You're not gonna let me do anything, are you?"

Cole "No."

Alston "Why not? We're partners now."

Cole "I personally find the partner notion pointless. If a hero was truly powerful, they would do it by themself just like Southpaw does."

He says with his back turned towards Alston as he walks in.

Alston "Look, I admire Southpaw as much as you do but you don't have to do it alone. Pointless or not, I'm here for you."

She says softly as Cole looks over his shoulder at her with a slightly surprised and regretful look realizing what he said.

Cole "...I didn't-"

Suddenly, the torches on the walls ignite, illuminating the large halls of the temple. Cole stops speaking and looks down a bit.

Cole "Come on. We have to find the cult."

He says before walking off. Alston sighs and shakes her head as she follows. Elsewhere in the temple, in a huge room, a group of people in tattered red robes chant and bow before a table that holds a damaged, broken lifeless body. One man in particular stands before the body and the group. 

Cult Leader "Today my siblings, we bring back our eldest. The one who brought us the power of the Book of Bishop. Using his teachings and using his contempt, we will raise his body and raise ourselves back into the light. Soon, by his guiding hand, we will be reborn and take our rightful place amongst the animal kingdom of humankind."

He says as the group continues to chant. He then opens an old book and begins to read a passage from it.

Cult Leader "By thine hand, I shall bend this body. With the power of a trusting god, I command thine flesh to rip and tear from grasps of death and become whole. Should thine for once whimper, shall all break."

He says boldly. As he speaks, a force begins to emanate from the body and himself. His hands glow as the flesh of the body begins to rise. The corpse lifts off the table slowly as the cultists watch with amazement. The corpse raises completely and seemingly stands before them on the table as it glows. The cult leader then smirks as he shoves his hand into the back of the corpse. A small shockwave bursts out as the flesh then begins to fuse into the leader's body through his hands first. He screams as the flesh mends onto his own, deforming his body and making him grow into a grotesque monster. After a moment, the screaming stops as the large creature stands before the cultists covered in a torn robe, deformed and appalling. The cultists stop chanting and watch the creature before them. 

Cultist "My Elder… Is it truly you? Have we risen you from the dead?"

The creature turns around with a rotten face and looks at the cultists and smirking. Suddenly, a long sharp bone covered in flesh pierces through their chest. One cultist screams as the others watch in horror.

Leader "No, no elder. Only I remain. Pure and Honored."

He says as he raises the cultist. As if made of clay, the flesh of the cultist is then absorbed, torn and manipulated into the body of the leader as the cultist's screams or horror and agony ring throughout the room. 

Leader "And I alone will rise to my rightful place."

He says before the cultists begin to run and scream in terror. Locked within the room, blood curdling screams are muffled by walls of stone as the sound of tearing flesh and spilling blood plays like a symphony, only stopped when no life remains.