[January 28th]

While Kate had stretched her legal immunity, the Elite Four had gone through a dozen student messages of the monstrous Revenants, the earliest from last January's year. That morning, the police had identified their man.

"Alright. Went through our usual channels for this." said the detective, passing one paper over. "Guy didn't have an ID on him - but we got a few things. Supposedly goes by 'Peter Trumbauer'. Tried to look up what we could - you know, date of birth, parents, stuff like that." His head shook. "Couldn't find anything - but we got a tip saying he lives in an apartment near here."

"Do you have the address?" said Matoi, and he nodded.

"Apartment number, too. There's, ah - there's his Revenant information on there, too. No name, though."

"Of course." said Matoi.

"Still - we got his address for you. Wrote down directions right from here to it - it's an apartment, about - well, me. Me, fifteen minutes."

"Us, five." grinned Marisa, and he laughed.

"Yep. Now - we wanted to search it, just to be extra helpful - but we ran in to a bit of a problem. See - if we did it - searched his apartment - we'd need a warrant to search it." He grinned. "It'd be -illegal- otherwise."

Matoi laughed. "If only there was some group with legal immunity."

"If only." he laughed. "Otherwise, that could take a few days to get. Might not even grant it. Might end up losing the trail."

Mia wondered how he would've handled her father and frowned.

"It'd be terrible." nodded Samuel. "Guess we'll have to check it out on our own. Go snooping around a bit."

"Don't do anything illegal - but it's not like I can stop you." he laughed, and the four stood. "Good luck."

Matoi nodded and the four set out.

◆◆◆

Three minutes later, they stepped in to the apartment's second floor hall -

" - hey! Excuse me!" shouted a voice behind; they turned -

- and saw an unshaven young man; they stepped back as he stomped up to Mia. "Excuse me. You're Urasaria students, aren't you -"

" - get the fuck away from me. Now." she grunted, scarabs readied -

" - I'm the landlord. What are you four doing here?"

"An investigation." droned Matoi, eyes not even turning as she started away again.

"An investigation here?" he said; Mia groaned as he followed the four -

" - get the fuck away from me -"

" - no, I'm asking you -"

" - Worldwide!" she shouted, and in the next instant -

- held her frozen sword at arm's length; the man stepped back from the chill, coughing and wincing -

" - where - where the hell is your warrant, then?"

"We don't have one." chimed Marisa.

Matoi came up to one door, Wedding's veil & eyes readied.

"Then you need - need to go get one!" coughed the man - "I know my rights - my, my rights as a landlord! You can't just barge in wherever you like!"

"I can and will." droned Matoi. "Stand back."

"N-No." he said, taking up to block the door. "No, I'm not going to let you. You want to search this - you're going to have to -"

" - Wedding." she said, and in the next instant -

- Samuel threw him out of the way of Wedding's beams disintegrating the door -

" - you're going to - you're going to fucking pay for that!" he shouted, and Mia laughed as she went in behind Matoi&Marisa.

"Call Urasaria for that!"

A wall of ice burst up in the hall as they went inside the apartment, hall and kitchen first.

"Time to search." laughed Marisa. Matoi waved her & Mia off to the hall left, and Mia took the bathroom door at the left while Marisa took the bedroom at the end. She opened the cabinet -

- and sighed to find nothing inside, but in the next instant -

" - found his phone!" shouted Marisa's voice, and in the next instant -

- Mia heard something taking a gigantic breath outside; with the speed of light she turned -

" - Worldwide!" she shouted, ice scarabs flying forward -

- and freezing the entire apartment's outer walls, barrier of ice already starting to melt as she rushed out to the hall, Marisa left and Matoi&Samuel right -

" - Marisa!" shouted Matoi - " - keep his phone safe!"

" - got it!" shouted Marisa, and Mia heard her slash her way out of the bedroom as she ran in to the kitchen, Samuel with armor readied & Matoi with veil on. Her ice wall started to melt, and as new scarabs flew in to repair it -

- the entire building started to rumble, floor shifting and screams filling the halls; left & right, they heard something ripping and tearing through the walls outside, and before they could react -

- the three fell horizontally in to the frozen barrier, lower floors starting to crumble below, no sight outside but feeling the building lifted up, roof starting to buckle as enormous teeth peeked in -

" - Wedding!" shouted Matoi; an explosive barrage erupted from her shoulders, hundreds & hundreds of missile flying in to & through the floor, hundreds of explosions erupting where the three couldn't see -

- and the teeth retreated back from the roof; in the next instant, they heard something growl -

- and the three were launched in to the opposite wall, knowing they were flying through the air, grunting & thrashing against another frozen barrier, hearing walls further back smashing as something shattered through them -

- but the next scene was instant. Mia grabbed Matoi & Samuel -

- and an icy prison claimed the three as the entire apartment building smashed against the skyscraper it'd been thrown against; their icy cocoon fell down & down, skyscraper collapsing behind, rubble & screams & smoke shrouding their frozen view, barrier starting to crack underneath the tons of weight bearing down -

" - now!" shouted Samuel; their icy prison melted, and as the rubble fell upon them -

- ghastly hands threw every last wisp of smoke and rubble from their eyes, three rushing as fast as they could as more collapsed behind, telekinesis clearing their path -

" - that's - definitely cultural -" panted Samuel, relevantly -

- to at last see their foe on the horizon and on the path of ten shattered avenues, creature that looked like Godzilla but couldn't be due to international copyright laws -

" - a true kaiju." muttered Matoi, Rin having made her watch the original. Ahead, they saw the creature that looked like Godzilla (but was not, due to international copyright laws) raise its maw towards them, inhaling deeply again, and as its atomic breath shot towards them -

- something yanked its aim up in to the air -

- and the three breathed relieved as they started their rush forward, beast thousands of feet away, Marisa's speck on the horizon, reins they knew were around it somewhere yanking its breath away, path of buildings their own had demolished ahead as they started running through.

Claws sweeping down, it started tearing in to one building's foundation, head thrashing as it ripped it up and threw it towards them -

- and the next scene was instant. Mia swept to the front with burning blue blade, Samuel & Matoi sweeping behind -

- but Mia winced as her blade disintegrated through one civilian with the rest of the building, battle shoving her thoughts out as the three started their run again, knowing they would've been dead anyway as they rushed. The beast's tail started to sweep ahead, smashing through buildings and more screams coming at the end of their hearing, and as one hand shot for Marisa on its head -

- a swift strand yanked its claws down -

- and right through its left eye; it screeched as it staggered back, tail still smashing and pounding the ground, sending fissures shooting through the avenues & towards the three at the ground -

" - Wedding!" shouted Matoi; Mia & Samuel swept beside -

- and three shockwaves blasted the three left&ahead away from the fissure, cars & asphalt swallowed as the three came up to another building. Mia formed a ladder of ice, and up they climbed, coming to the roof quick, street up ahead, beast only five avenues ahead. Its tail smashed again -

- but the next scene was instant. A line of missiles erupted from Wedding's shoulders and flew ahead -

- and a swift set of lasers welded them together as they leaped on to the midair bridge, ghastly hands keeping them from falling as they rushed down -

- and leaped to the next building, Wedding & Outcast working again as they leaped & rushed again. They saw Marisa still slashing on the beast's head again, Boudoir's sword tearing through its scales as it kept trying to smack her away. One flaw shot for her again -

- and dodged her vicious strand, just in time for her to sweep down to its maw -

" - dumbass!" they heard her shout, swift rope tying its mouth shut as they came one avenue away from it, leaping down to the street to meet it three hundred feet ahead -

- and the next scene was instant. Boudoir's rope held tight, Marisa dropped as fast as she could down, spikes growing from her dress as she hit the bottom -

- and the slingshot launched her up with the speed of light in the next -

- and pierced clear through the beast's skull and in to its brain in a shower of gore; they didn't see her come back out as it staggered, but she'd left one rope behind hanging. Mia & Matoi leaped up it, and as it started to yank them up -

"Wedding!" "Worldwide!"

An explosive barrage erupted from Wedding's shoulders -

- and a cloud of scarabs turned them blue as they rode up between the beast's legs, thousands of hellfire missiles screaming and tearing through the beast's legs, hundreds of holes disintegrated and not a single tear of blood left as they came up to its belly -

- and one megamissile tore clear through its stomach; Mia's eyes clenched -

- and the enormous explosion ripped the creature apart from the inside-out in the next, launching the two up high and in to the crimson rain, gore and entrails splattering in to the streets below as they fell for hundreds of feet down -

- and right on to a Boudoir trampoline, bouncing for another minute until they finally landed in one standing avenue. Marisa came up grinning.

"Another one down." she chimed, and Matoi nodded as she stood.

"Did - did you - still keep the phone safe?" panted Mia, standing, and Marisa nodded as Samuel came up.

"Wasn't so bad." he chimed, and the four laughed as Matoi took the phone from Marisa.

"…unlocked, fortunately." she muttered, tapping it on.

"Probably check his texts." said Samuel, and Matoi nodded, only one contact, pages of texts starting from the recent end.

(Peter) "4:30PM. 3." [Sent on December 29th.]

(Peter) "6:30PM. 2." [Sent on January 5th.]

(Peter) "8:40AM. 2." [Sent on January 11th.]

(???) "Tamer is recharging. A week."

(Peter) "7:30PM. 1." [Sent on January 27th.]

(Peter) "nvm"

(???) "Can't now, regardless."

"…the dates these were sent." muttered Matoi. "They're - days when students died."

"…shit." said Marisa. "Wait - did someone die, uh - yesterday?"

"Not that I know of." said Matoi's shaking head.

"It - does say nevermind." nodded Mia.

"Regardless - it's clear Tamer is the Revenant we're looking for. Their Revenants were likely converted."

"And the part about having to recharge." nodded Samuel.

"Would - Renault know about Tamer?"

"Only if they were planning to attend Urasaria - though I'll call him."

"Yeah." nodded Marisa. "Uh, what about that number, too? On the contact?"

"Could look it up in the phone book." said Samuel.

"Uh, do they even still make those?"

"It's worth a try." said Matoi. "Regardless - if we bring it to the police, they'll find something - or direct us where if they need a warrant."

"Time to skip due process again." chimed Samuel, and the four laughed fascistically.

Marisa set out to find a phone book, and Matoi called Renault to ask about Tamer once they got back to their room.

"…ah. Here." he said. Mia stayed silent to avoid a hiss. "Tamer - last seen May 9th, 2005. Once a week, Tamer allows its host to convert an out-of-body Revenant to a much stronger ability. Correspondingly, this causes the converted Revenant to change its host's appearance."

"Clearly what we're searching for, then." muttered Matoi. "Who hosted it?"

"A… at the time - 16 year old male named Leon Kasner. He ran away from home before attending Urasaria." he said. "There's supplemental information, if you need it, President Rain-On-A-Wedding." (Mia frowned at his courtesy.)

"Relay it."

"…let's see." He paused. "… I'll give you the summary. It was a natural Revenant - it awoke when he was fourteen. They had tested it by - giving him some Revenant that was about to decay, regardless. It doesn't appear to extend the lifespan of it. Past one month. It reverts back to normal once the host dies."

"Any information on the - dinosaur Revenant?"

"I - can look that up for you, but - it'll take some time. Sifting through abilities and all."

"Call back when you do. As far as we can tell, it had the ability to breathe a scorching ray - though it's likely converted."

The sound of typing. "…right. I'll call back when I finish searching, then."

She hung up.

"…you know." said Samuel. "Just thought about something. We're assuming 'Peter's a fake identity, correct?"

"Presumably."

"Why would he need that?" The three frowned. "Unless he was, well - hiding from somebody."

"Or - trying to prevent us from looking him up." nodded Mia. "Could we - does Renault's, er, database include pictures?"

Matoi's head shook. "It might - though I doubt he hasn't changed his appearance."

"Well, it was fourteen years ago, too." said Samuel, relevantly; the three laughed.

"Still." laughed Matoi. "Keep the theorizing for after he calls back."

The two nodded and kept their theorizing until he called back. Mia texted Marisa, who was searching local antique stores for the yellow pages.

"What did you find?" said Matoi, and Renault sighed.

"Nothing I can see, unfortunately. It…" He sighed again. "…obviously, Revenant abilities are - difficult to look up. There's an algorithm I developed to make it easier, but…"

"A program?" said Samuel.

"...well, more like a flowchart." he said. "Regardless - I see no Revenant with that ability. There's a few you might've misinterpreted as it - but they're all current Urasaria students, and nowhere near Rockfield."

◆◆◆

The four hadn't found anything in the phone books, though the police had directed them to the local TELCO. Their records had shown most texts from the unknown number had come from a park bench on the north end of town, and Marisa&Matoi had set to watch there while Mia&Samuel researched the man's apartment.

Marisa swung them up to one tree's branch and the two sat waiting. They didn't speak for thirty minutes and ten people.

"…whoever it is - they're aware we know by now." sighed Matoi, whispering.

"Mia sent them a text, right?" whispered Marisa.

Matoi nodded. "Unfortunately, we might have to actually investigate further."

The two tried not to laugh. "Yeah." grinned Marisa. "I mean, it's kinda exciting, but - I dunno."

"At least we can skip due process." smirked Matoi, metafictionally.

"Yeah. Maybe that's why they, like - give us legal immunity. So we can do stuff like this."

"Or to save money on legal fees." Matoi tried not to laugh.

"And just $3,000 a month." The two smirked knowingly.

"Speaking of - Rin told me this morning that one of Tokyo's removal surgeons quit, recently - after demanding a payraise."

"What'd he make?" said Marisa.

"A million dollars a year -"

" - shit." winced Marisa -

" - she said I should have another session with staff." laughed Matoi, and Marisa with her.

"Yeah, that way - spider!" she shouted; Matoi's eyes turned -

- and there stood their eight-legged foe, gigantic spider on the other end of the park; its spinneret shot a strand towards their tree -

- but the next scene was instant. A dozen Boudoir strands burst out of Marisa's gloves to meet it -

- and a swift yank coiled the other sticky rope in midair as the two leaped out of the tree, tethering it to the ground, spider trapped by its own sticky strand as they started their rush forward, six hundred feet separating them and it. An explosive barrage erupted from Wedding's shoulders and flew towards the strand -

- and a swift flash of lasers welded poles in to the ground to keep it trapped, two passing by trees as they ran, more Boudoir strands ripping them out of the ground; strength in her grip, Marisa threw them towards the beast -

" - here!" she shouted as her barked projectiles flew -

- and the keen end of one smashed the creature's head in a burst of blood -

- but the two sighed as the second cleaved right through its spinneret's tip & through the trapping strand, freeing it as it started thrashing again. Eight legs started digging down, and as the park started to collapse below, tons & tons of dirt being sucked in towards it -

"Wedding!" "Boudoir!"

A single missile flew up -

- and a single strand brought the two up, Marisa grabbing Matoi as they flew, missile&strand jig again with new practice as the entire park kept collapsing below, more and more dirt rushing to the spider's burrow -

- and the two winced as they saw its entire web peeking out underneath, eight-legged beast rushing to the center and still visible as they flew higher. They saw its legs tense & crouch -

- and leap straight towards them, making for a belly-on collision as it flew -

- but the next scene was instant.

"Wedding!" "Boudoir!"

- a shockwave blasted Marisa forward, Matoi falling beside to dodge the leaping beast, spikes forming on Marisa's entire body as she cut through the air -

- and burst through the creature's chest & out its back, webs disappearing & spider fading before it even hit the ground. Below, Matoi landed safe, shockwaves diluting her fall again.

The two met up after Marisa landed.

"…shit." winced Marisa, relevantly. She set Boudoir to heal their wounds.

"…clearly in the right direction, at least." said Matoi. "Mia only sent a time and one. Tamer's host is the only person who could have known we were here."

"Yeah. And that, uh - probably wasn't him, so..." Marisa frowned. "…uh. What do we do now? Just wait for another one to show up?"

"No." Matoi's head shook. "I realized while we were waiting - there's another way to find Tamer's host."

"What's up?"

"If he was concealing his identity, I doubt Peter would have bought the phone himself."