"Tami…" A slithering voice rears its head from within the darkness. "It has been ten years since the last time we've met. Initially, I intended that to be the last time we would meet. Do you know why I've deemed it necessary to summon you today?"
「Elexi Purina」- ???
"With all due respect, ma'am, this has been a long time coming." Tami leans back into a plush chair and takes a sip of her tea. "The ICMG has shunned its purpose."
"And what purpose is that?"
"To keep magical girls from abusing their power. The ICMG is bigger now than ever before!" Tami stands up, her temper ablaze. "We have the power to crush the yakuza! So why don't we?!"
"There are things beyond your understanding… What you've done… will have… repercussions …" Something crosses the divide between darkness and light. A human-like effigy made of contoured metal emerges. It has blank purple eyes and straight black hair that goes down to her ankles. Or at least, something resembling hair. It's dressed in what appears to be black metal armor arranged in the vague shape of a dress. "Mother will descend on Ozawa like a vulture because of what you did."
"To hell with the Lady of Tokyo! The results speak for themselves! The yakuza don't make the streets safer, they just make them seem safer! You've let them run amok for too long! And now look, all it takes is one push and they show their true colors. The war between the Kuze Clan and Blackadder proves that!"
"You understand nothing… Your obsession with the yakuza blinds you…"
"It gets the point across, doesn't it?! These people are animals and need to be put down!"
"Are you going to betray the ICMG…?"
"As far as I'm concerned, the ICMG is an accomplice to all crimes the yakuza commit." Tami takes out her wallet, fishes out her badge and throws it onto the table. "I quit."
"What are you planning…?"
"If the ICMG won't step in, then I will."
"Fine…" Elexi sighs. "Do what you wish. But know that there will come a time when your superiors will descend onto this place. And when that happens, you will not be shown the same mercy that I showed to you today. When that day comes, seek refuge here, you will be safe."
Tami whirls around furiously and leaves the room, slamming the door on the way out. The glow of the sunset submerges Elexi's garden in a warm orange bath. Outside, the four I-C's wait for her.
"So…" Isaka has a nonchalant expression on her face. "I take it that things didn't go too well."
"I quit." Tami says in a huff.
"M-miss Tami…" Amanda looks down on the ground, crestfallen.
"What do we do now?" Ryukko asks.
"There is no 'we' anymore. I'm just a vigilante now. From here on out, Amaru will probably be promoted to captain. And the three of you will probably be reassigned under her."
"Are you really okay with this outcome?" Amaru lowers her sunglasses to look Tami in the eye.
"If I have to clean up this city with my own two hands, I will." Tami has a look of sheer determination on her face.
"That's what I was hoping you would say." Amaru pulls out her wallet, takes out her badge, and throws it onto the ground.
"What are you–"
Isaka, Amanda, and Ryukko do the same.
"Listen. It's not entirely as though I really agree with what you're saying, but me and the others have decided that we're not going to just leave you alone." Isaka gives Tami a wide smile.
"Everyone… Are you all really okay with this?"
"Eh, I'm with stupid." Ryukko playfully wraps her arm around Isaka's neck. "Whatever she does, I'm here to support her."
"Ummm…" Amanda stumbles over her words. "Amaru says she's loyal to you, Tami. So I guess I'm loyal to you too."
"I'm loyal to you and you alone, captain." Amaru gives her a salute. "Now, what are your orders?"
"My orders, huh?" Tami pinches her chin. "I'm going to need all four of you to guard me while I'm incubating. You four alone should be enough to fend off the Kuze Clan and then some in case the Awano Family decides to double-cross us."
"Awww." Isaka pouts at Tami. "Can't we take a little break? I was kinda hoping to take Ryukko on a date– ."
Tami pulls a musket out of her sleeve, points it at Isaka's chest, and fires. A hole opens up right where her heart should be.
"Well that was unnecessary." Isaka chuckles to herself as the scraps of her flesh and fragments of her sternum that were splattered from the shot squirm up her body and back into the wound.
"You're lucky I don't just kill you for letting the Blackadder Head and The Batter get away."
"Ah well, y'know how it is." She waves away the problem. "Just think of it as an added layer of challenge."
"I'll never understand what you're thinking, Isaka." Tami sighs.
"Would you have me any other way, though?"
"I suppose not." Tami pats Isaka on the head and smiles. "I won't lie to you all, this is going to be tough. I'm going to need everyone to give their absolute all on this, understood?"
"Yes, captain!" The girls stand at attention.
"Good. Dismissed."
"Wait."
"Hm? What is it, Amaru?"
Amaru adjusts her sunglasses. "Considering Isaka's warning to the Blackadder Head, can we really afford to leave hell undefended?"
"Hmmm…" A look of calculation crosses Tami's face. "I suppose I can send Eeb to guard the spirit realm gates."
"–!" All the four I-C's all look like they've been electrocuted.
"B-but Major Purina said that you could only use Eeb in dire emergencies!" Amanda cowers behind Amaru at just the mention of Eeb.
"We don't follow Major Purina's orders anymore, remember? We're all renegades now."
"I–" Amanda looks at the ground. "I suppose you're right."
"Any other objections?"
"..."
"Good." Tami widens her stance, unfurls a lengthy scroll on the ground, and forms her hands into a sign. "「Reverse Fuinjutsu - Eeb!」"
If Fuinjutsu is the act of sealing, it follows that Reverse Fuinjutsu is the act of unsealing. The wind suddenly reverses direction. The earth beneath their feet begins to rumble. The ink on the scroll begins to slither and pool into a shadow at Tami's feet. Ripples form on its surface before suddenly, a corpulent, serpentine, black body covered in red polka dots surfaces from the puddle of darkness. Its eyes dart around mischievously as it beholds the three I-C's and its master.
「Eeb」- Dessert Spirit
Emu's voice is peppy even through the static of the payphone. "The Awano Family is pulling out of Ozawa city. I'm retiring."
"You knew they were going to double-cross you?" Kiara keeps her posture straight even in the privacy of the payphone booth.
"Of course. Nothing gets past my network." Emu sighs. "I'm going to miss my lovely work of art, but c'est la vie. All good things have to come to an end eventually."
"Can I persuade you to send even just one of your magical girls to the Kuze Clan? For old time's sake?"
"Sorry, Kiara. Not this time."
"I understand. I hope you enjoy your time in Minaminagi. I hear the bath houses are exquisite."
"If you survive Tami, be sure to call."
"I will."
"Oh and one last piece of advice."
"What's that?"
"Tami's going for a hail mary type play. She wants to purge the yakuza in the city all at once so she's using something she calls the 'incubator.'"
"Incubator?"
"Yeah. But by doing so, she's going to be vulnerable for a bit. If you can find her, do it quickly and you might be able to beat her before she can fight back."
"I see... Thank you."
"Goodbye, Kiara."
"Goodbye, Emu."
Kiara solemnly hangs up the phone.
Daisuko taps on the glass of the phone booth. "How did it go?" Her loud voice is audible even from inside.
"The Kuze Clan will have to fight on its own two feet."
"I figured as much. Damn Awano's."
"Don't be too harsh. We would do the same if we were in their position."
Daisuko sighs. "You're right as usual, mom."
"Mhm." Kiara looks off into the distance, her mind elsewhere.
"What's up?"
"We need to find Tami fast. This is an opportunity we can't afford to pass up."
"Got it."
"Also, where's your sister?"
"S-sorry." Oka walks out from a nearby alleyway. "I got held up on the ph-phone."
"It's fine. Round up the troops and organize a city-wide search. We need to find Tami and this… 'incubator.'"