Chapter 2: The “Master” Chief

Author: Rubious

Rating: PG-13

Warnings: Humor, violence, AU-OOC

Archive: this story is archived at MediaMiner.org under “Rubious2” and at my home page.

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fanfiction and is intended for entertainment purposes only. Get Backers © Aoki and Ayamine. Halo © Bungie.

Notes: The Get Backers give Paul a modified version of Halo as a partial payment on their tab at the Honky Tonk.

 

This chapter was inspired after playing Halo for the past few weeks. In Get Backers, Paul, the proprietor of the Honky Tonk, is addressed as “Master” by Ban, Ginji, and Natsumi. In the English dub of the anime, they call him “Chief”. Combine the two and Paul becomes known as the “Master Chief”, the main character in Halo.

 

//thoughts//

* * *

 

As a sudden gust of wind almost blew off his hat, Akabane adjusted the rim, cocking it at a jaunty angle when he came within sight of the familiar yellow and black sign marking the location of the Honky Tonk. Smiling, he noted the café was the usual hangout for two of his two favorite adversaries, Ban Mido and Ginji Amano. But his job didn’t entail antagonizing the Get Backers; it was to deliver a disc to the Honky Tonk’s proprietor, Paul Wan.

 

Entering the café, Akabane glimpsed the businessman standing behind the counter, engrossed in the afternoon newspaper. “Good evening, Paul-san,” he greeted, striding towards him. “I see you have the last package I delivered to you on display,” indicating an autographed guitar mounted in a glass frame on the wall behind him.

 

“Yes, I’m very pleased to show it off,” Paul said proudly. “The Honky Tonk is a far cry from the Hard Rock Café though.” He studied Akabane’s expression, trying to discern any hints as to why the dapper Doctor Jackal had appeared in his establishment. “Are you looking for Ban and Ginji?”

 

“Not this time. In fact, I’ve brought a package to you from them. They’re still busy in Mugenjo and asked me to deliver it personally,” Akabane replied, a faint smile flickering on his lips as he spoke the names of the Get Backers. Reaching into the inside pocket of his trench coat, he handed an envelope to Paul.

 

“Thank you,” Paul said, arching an eyebrow and wondering what item could the two teens possibly had wanted him to have that required Akabane to deliver it.

 

His job completed, Akabane bade him farewell and exited into the night.

 

As he watched the visitor depart, Paul paused a moment, staring at the sealed envelope. Several possibilities crossed his mind. It could be a plea for help, but Akabane would’ve mentioned that they were in trouble. Could it be a prank? Had Ban dreamed up another foolhardy get-rich-quick scheme? 

 

His curiosity piqued, the proprietor opened the envelope to find a clamshell with a disk and note inside. He read that the Get Backers had gone to Mugenjo to ask for Makubex’s assistance in designing a special video game that Paul could play to wile away the hours when business was slow at the Honky Tonk.

 

//I bet those two would spend most of their time in front of the tube playing the game and arguing over whom gets the controller. Natsumi would probably play the game on her break.// He chuckled at the thought of the waitress challenging the guys and soundly defeating them.

 

The note concluded with Ginji hoping that Paul would consider the disc as a partial payment towards the Get Backers’ tab and that the businessman would enjoy some particular twists of the game.

* * *

After hanging his apron on a hook and changing into a T-shirt and sweatpants, Paul settled onto the sofa in his upstairs apartment. He grabbed a couple of Asahi from the refrigerator and set them aside on the coffee table. //I’ll need those after I see what kind of craziness those guys put in this game.//

 

The Xbox console was on the floor in front of the television. He got up to place the disk in the console’s drive and turned on the TV. After reading the booklet describing the basic premise of the game, Paul saw that Makubex had engineered a modified version of Halo, a game he had heard about but had never played.

 

The screen instructed him to create a character. Since he was the café’s owner, he dubbed the character the Honky Tonk Man. Paul faintly recalled there was a WWF wrestler who used the persona of an Elvis impersonator. //Could you imagine me dressed in a sequined jumpsuit, my hair slicked back, and wailing “Hound Dog” at a karaoke bar?//

 

That image prompted Paul to take a swig from the beer before he began the first level. The level opened with the Honky Tonk Man being summoned by a technician who looked like Natsumi. “Master, the captain wants to see you on the bridge.”

 

Honky Tonk Man didn’t budge. “Tell him it can wait. Let me finish reading the paper and drinking my coffee.”

 

“Master, it’s very important,” Natsumi added urgently.

 

Eventually, the soldier made his way to the bridge where he was briefed by the captain and the ship’s artificial intelligence hologram. The hologram appeared as a shapely blonde resembling Hevn. At that moment, klaxons sounded, indicating the ship was under attack. “Chief, since she has important information that is vital to our forces, I’m downloading Cortana to your communications system.”

 

Paul grinned as he watched the action unfold. //Would I want Hevn stuck in my head 24/7 with her knowing my every thought?//

 

Back in the game, Honky Tonk Man was able to escape the ship in a shuttle and landed on an island where he was accompanied by two Marines, in the guise of Ban and Ginji. Most of the Marines wore red battle armor while Ban and Ginji donned their usual attire.

As the trio neared a vehicle, Paul pressed a button on the controller to enable his character to enter the driver’s seat of the Subaru. Ban refused to budge. “This is my car. I’m driving!” he stated firmly. “Get in the back, Master.”

 

Honky Tonk Man climbed into the rear, grasping onto the gun turret. “Floor it. It’s show time!” he yelled in a Latin accent.

 

The Subaru sped madly around the island and cleared a deep gulch like a motorcycle daredevil jumping across a row of buses. Short-statured enemy cowered and fled in front of them, crying out in high-pitched voices, “He’s everywhere! Wake up! We’re gonna die!”  Purple blood splattered where they fell as they were gunned down by staccato blasts of gunfire from the turret.

 

“Is that all you got?” the gunner taunted.

 

A short time later, the group reached a building where they engaged in hand-to-hand combat with more enemies, including shield-carrying lupines, blue higher-ranking soldiers, and heavily armored behemoths. While the dwarves proved to be no match for the trio, the others presented more of a challenge. Ginji short-circuited their plasma shields and fried his foes with his electric blasts. Ban’s quickness allowed him to evade the enemies’ weapons fire and apply the Snake Bite on the vulnerable point of the armored enemy.

 

In the midst of the combat, the teens bantered cheerfully as they stood behind pillars, exchanging fire with the enemy. “Nice shot, Ban-chan!” Ginji exclaimed.

 

“Thanks. Hey, nice cover,” his partner acknowledged as the flood of Covenant slowed to a trickle.

 

On another level, Honky Tonk Man took a running leap from a ledge and yelled, “Uh Oh, Chongo!” on his descent. When he landed, he found a weapons cache and made his way through a circuitous path until he reached an elevator that took him to a corridor. A few turns later, he exited a building and stepped outside into a snowy landscape.

 

Watching the game progress, Paul muttered, “Is this the planet Hoth? Hey, are those land speeders I see?”

 

As the character he played was killed by an aircraft on a strafing run, Paul decided that was enough madness for one night. After finishing his beer, he quipped, “The Master Chief has left the building.”

 

The End

 

Author’s Notes

[1] For more information on current and upcoming fanfiction projects, please check out my Live Journal at www.livejournal.com/~weisshund.