"No, you are not. You're not Tachyon. I don't know what kind of being you are, but you're not that freak!"
"That sounds like a compliment to me… Anyway, hand him over and you'll no longer have to run."
"That's another piece of evidence! The black-hearted Tachyon would never give me mercy, no matter how hard I beg."
"Oookaaaayyy…? You know what? I changed my mind. I'm now Agnes Darkyon."
"See. You are not Tachyon! Tachyon would lie even if it would cost her the entire world."
"...I'm starting to think it's a good thing I'm taking over. Are you sure you want her back? I promise you, I will use this gift for the betterment of the world."
"You're tripping over yourself again. The selfish Tachyon would never waste her time serving anyone except herself."
"Okay. I understand. I'm not the dark side. I'm the good side. I will keep the evil Tachyon inside of me. How about that? Do we have a deal?"
"Bargaining! Another thing Tachyon wouldn't do. She is greedy! She'll take anything she wants by force."
"...Give me the man. I promise to spend only one night with him. I'll jump off a bridge the next day since this body seems to belong to Satan."
"Over my dead body."
"Sigh… Are you sure? Can you really win against me, Cafe? How many times have you beaten me in a race? Hmm? That's right. Never. So what makes you so confident you can defeat me while carrying a man?"
"Kuh!"
"YOUR OPPONENT WILL BE ME, EVIL DOER!!"
"What the!?"
"Huh?"
From the top of the building, a loud yet childish voice screams out to the field below. Everyone can see a silhouette of a small girl posing with the sun behind her book. The little girl then jumped off and landed between Darkyon and Cafe with a superhero landing.
"The heroic Carrot Ranger is here!"
"Oh, hi, Pegasus."
"HI Tachyon! No wait! You're evil!! I will not fall for your trick."
The girl who landed was Biko Pegasus. An Uma Musume with small stature compared to most. She has short and spiky brown hair with a winged-star accessory on her right ear. Her sky blue eyes reflect a hint of purity that both Darkyon and Cafe lack.
"Go now, Cafe!! I will handle her!!"
"Aaawww~~ You're adorable. Now go on and play with Sweep Tosho or whoever. We adults have some business we need to finish."
"I will not fall for your bait!! Evil!! Now prepare yourself!!"
Pegasus brought out a belt buckle and put it on her waist. She then brings out a carrot. It was clear that it wasn't an actual carrot, but rather a toy with a lock-like arch on the head of the carrot.
Cute. I'll let this go on since she is so adorable.
"HAAAAAAH!!! FFUUUUUUHH!!! HAAAAA!! HENSHIN!!!!"
Pegasus strikes several poses with the carrot in her hand before she stops and clicks the head of the carrot. The arc pops out, similar to how a padlock looks when it is opened.
"CA–CA–CARROT!!!"
Just like how a toy would, the carrot let out a robotic voice.
"HAAAAAAH!!"
Pegasus put the carrot on her waist and pushed the arc in, locking it.
"LOCK ON!!!"
She then pushed down the toy knife that was attached to the belt buckle, slicing the carrot. The next moment, a hole opened above Pegasus's head, and a ridiculously large carrot came down from it.
"CARROT!! I SEE YOUR DEFEAT!!!"
The carrot lands on Pegasus's head, and it opens in four directions. The four sections tilt down onto Pegasus's body, and they cover Pegasus's body like armor. The transformation also gives Pegasus a pair of orange gauntlets and greaves.
*Clap* *Clap* *Clap*
"That's wonderful. Now, if you excuse me, I have a baby to make."
Darkyon moved to the side with full power, and as she was about to burst forward toward Cafe, she was stopped by the Pegasus. To the surprise of Darkyon, the cute Pegasos can keep up with her for one simple reason. She is a sprinter, and Tachyon is a marathon runner. As long as it comes down to pure speed, she is at a massive disadvantage. Pegasus's legs are trained to gain and maintain her top speed and do nothing to conserve stamina, the opposite of Tachyon's. In short, Darkyon could only hope to outlast Pegasus if she ever wanted to get her hands on the young man. But during that time, who knows where Cafe would bring him.
"BACK I SAY, EVIL!"
*Bump*
"Kuh!"
Pegasus punches Darkyon to keep her away from Cafe.
"Fine. I, alone, will play along. As for my friends, though… Go. Bring him to me."
*Snap*
"Grrraaahhh!!!" "Gggrrrrhhhh!!!" "Grrraaaahhh!!!" "Gggrrrr!!"
"I leave Tachyon to you, Pegasus!"
"Don't worry!! There's no way a ranger can be defeated by a non-ranger!!"
"Ooohh~~? Non-ranger, yes?"
"!!!"
Pegasus feels an eerie vibe from Darkyon's smile. The Carrot Ranger put up her arms on guard as Darkyon brought out a familiar belt buckle. The familiar feeling gets even stronger once Darkyon puts the belt buckle in front of her waist, and it grows belt that wraps around Darkyon's waist.
"That!? You can't be!!!"
"Kukuku~~ So, shall we begin the experiment?"
"RABBIT!! TANK!! BEST MATCH!!! ARE YOU READY??!?!!"
"Henshin."
"STEEL MOONSAULT!!! RABBIT!! TANK!!!"
"Last chance, Pegasus. Back down."
"Kuh…!! Carrot Ranger doesn't know retreat!! HAAAAAH!!!"
"Kukukuku~~ Then let me teach you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Pant… Pant…"
*Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble*
Cafe is running for the young man's life with hundreds of Umas chasing after her. Lucky for Cafe, the Umas are tripping and bumping into each other, which slows them down, but unlucky for her, she had been running for a lot longer than the new zombies. She is running on pure motivation at this point.
Where are the teachers and administrative staff?! Why haven't they moved the PMC yet!?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble*
"Oooh~~? Something interesting is happening outside. Can you see it, Tazuna?"
"Hmm~~ Ah! It seems that a bunch of the girls are chasing someone. Should we do something, chairwoman?"
"Is this one of those new training methods that I've heard so much about? What is it called again? 'Friendship Training'?? Mmh!! It must be that!"
"Ah! I see!! So they're training, yes? Then the person being chased must be their instructor."
"Indeed! That's why she is faster than everyone!! Mmh!! We shouldn't stop the students who are putting their everything into being better, Tazuna!!"
"As you wish, chairwoman."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Pant…. Pant..... Pant…. Someone…"
Someone please save him…I don't care about me… As long as he is safe… That is enough…
"Pant.... Pant….. Pant...."
Cafe was begging to the sky above, hoping that goddesses would come down and bring the young man into their arms. Cafe doesn't care if she got torn to shreds. She also felt somewhat guilty for enabling Tachyon's stupidity, which caused this entire debacle. But the young man had nothing to do with it. He is as pure as a newborn baby. That's what Cafe thought.
Student Council!! Please!! Anyone!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hmm…"
"What's wrong, Rudolph?"
"It's nothing, Air Groove."
"It's awfully loud outside."
"It's just a normal day for Tracen, Brian."
The President of the Student Council is watching the entire disaster movie from her comfy seat. In her hand is a device with a red button. A red button that would put Tracen into Defcon 0. A button that would solve Cafe's problem. She was about to press it, until she caught a glimpse of the man on Cafe's arms. It was the bastard who stole Teio from her. And the same bastard who lit up the long-dead dream of being a Dream Series runner inside Rudolph's heart.
"..."
I should press the danger button.
Being the President of the Student Council, Rudolph is given several of the chairwoman's authorities, one of them being to declare a state of emergency. Pressing the button would solve all the trouble that is currently developing in front of her. Saving Cafe and the man.
But should I?
As the President, I should carefully weigh all the pros and cons before making my decision. Declaring a state of emergency without an actual emergency could cost me everything.
If the young man were to be devoured by the group of Umas, then his trainees would surely lose hope in him. He'll get ostracized, and everyone will leave him, freeing Teio from his evil grasp. And when he has nothing, when he is at the bottom, when he is depressed, I can come into his life as the only light that would accept him, making him completely obsessed and dependent on me.
"Kukukuku~~"
And when he is all mine, he'll be my key to enter the Dream Series.
Everything is perfect. Not only will I save Teio, but I will also secure the most precious factor to my improvement. His eyes will only be glued to me. Eventually, all of my children will have his eyes too.
"Kukukuku~~ You will be mine, Igo Heita."
"You seem to be in a good mood, prez."
"I, very much, am, Air Groove."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Pant… Pant.... Pant… Pant….. Huh…"
After running for what seemed like ages, Cafe finally found the light at the end of the tunnel. The trainer's dormitory. The one place where the man in her arms will be safe.
"I'm here… I finally made it!"
The end of her long and painful journey is finally in sight, giving Cafe a little bit of motivation to fight a little bit more. Her tired feet dig into the ground and give her more traction. Her pained legs burst with energy once more, propelling her faster and faster toward the end.
"I'm here!!"
"HALT!!"
What greeted her wasn't a grand celebration, but people in full SWAT armor pointing their guns at her. Cafe knows that they're using rubber bullets, but those still hurt like hell.
"Wait… Pant… You don't understand! I'm—"
"SHE HAS A HOSTAGE!!"
"DROP THE MAN, NOW!!"
"WE'RE NOT ASKING TWICE!!"
"I'm not–"
"SHE IS RESISTING!!!"
"SAFETY OFF!! PREPARE TO SHOOT!!"
"!!!"
Cafe couldn't believe her eyes. She could never imagine in a million years that she would be at the receiving end of multiple guns. She has always tried to be a proper student who follows the rules, so why? Why did this happen to her?
Tachyon… I will never forgive. But trainer Igo… He is safer with these people…
"..."
Cafe silently put down the young man in front of her.
"HANDS UP WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!!"
"I promise I won't—"
"I SAID HANDS UP!!!"
"..."
Cafe reluctantly put both of her hands above her head. The SWATs carefully move around her while approaching her at the same time. Being gazed at with full malicious intent wasn't something that Cafe was used to, so her body appropriately responded by quivering in place.
"Hands behind your back."
*Click* *Clack*
The guards cuff Cafe's wrists behind her back. They then scoop up the unconscious man with extreme care.
"Bring him in. Immediately put him under our medical care."
*Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble*
"What the hell is that?!"
"SIR!! IT'S A TS-UMA-MI!!!"
"So this is her real plan!! She must've planted some sort of beacon in the young man to bait them here!!"
"What do we do, sir?!"
"We can't hold them off on our own!! And even if we call for backup, they will take time to arrive."
"Should we… leave the trainer outside, sir?"
"What are you talking about?! Do you forget what we are?! WE ARE THE TRAINERS GUARDS!!! HOW CAN WE PROUDLY CALL OURSELVES GUARDS WHEN WE CAN'T EVEN GUARD A SINGLE MAN!?!?! WHAT HAVE ALL OUR TRAININGS BEEN FOR!?!? TO COWER AWAY AND FEAR!?!? TO RUN AWAY AND HIDE!!! DID I TEACH YOU THAT?!?!"
""NO SIR!!!""
"THEN GET THAT MAN INSIDE THE WALL!! WE'LL GUARD THESE WALLS UNTIL OUR LAST BREATH!!!"
""YES, SIR!!!""
"How about her, sir?"
"Leave her outside. No Umas shall touch the trainers' dormitory's ground. I'll inform Akikawa that she is the cause of all of this."
"Wa—"
Cafe was about to protest for her own sake, but decided against it when she saw the young man being carried inside. The longer she keeps them outside, the longer the gate will be open and the higher the likelihood of an Uma entering. So she bites her lower lip and bends her body until her forehead touches the ground.
Go… Please…
Cafe hears the gates' joints creaking as it draws to a close. She breathed out a sigh of relief once she heard the loud locking sound of the gates. She then stands up and turns around. She saw what can only be described as a horde of zombies. A wall of mindless Ts-uma-mi is moving toward her with incredible speed.
*Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble* *Rumble*
I'm sorry, trainer Igo… I'm going first…