The Renegades (novel)

Shichi Kitakawa: Putting my destiny in my hand, may God be my judge, your death will be at my hands!

"The Renegades" or simply, Renegade, is a story about a war. Set in the future, after some kind of unforseen apocalypse, it features a fairly devolutionary world with some advanced technology.

It features the "good" side, the humans, and the "bad" side, clones and Synths. It started when Rex Malgram, an English scientist, discovered a way to easily and quickly make synthetic people, but because of the immoral factors associated with cloning and synthesizing humans, Rex was ordered to stop creating these monster men, but he'd already been intoxicated by the chemicals he used to create his "Synths" (Later known as the three generals, Marlin, Elaine and Cygnet) and his physical and mental state was deteriarating.

He created Mechanical implants to use to stop the physical harm of the chemicals, but the mental damage had already crippled the man he used to be, leading him to believe that by killing everyone on earth, he would do the work of God. Shortly after this incident, he set his newly amassed army of clones and Synths on the world, effectively committing near total genocide of the world. After this, only three Japanese cities were left; the new capital, Hymmelyn, where the heroes live, a small village in the mountains "best known for it's 'giant freaking machine-guns" guarding the entrance, Theskya, and the city with the most weapons factories, Amataké.

Around two years after the war started, the army discovered the telekinetic Hyoma Sakai and Gadgeteer Genius Day Makimura and put them into war. Three years after that, Hyoma meets nine-year-old aerokinetic Raine Shirayuki. At around the same time, one Shichi Kitakawa suffers familicide and is left as an orphan, to be found by Raine five years later...

Basically, a short novel featuring wild, madcap action involving a Mecha named Hayato, clones, Synthetic humans and a bunch of shmutzy stuff. Better Than It Sounds, though kind of a mix between Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, WITCH and a bit of Original stuff.

Tropes included in this work:

  • Absurdly Youthful Mother: Shichi's. Justified in that Shichi's mother was shown five years prior to the current events. (Her children were seven and nine respectively).
  • Action Girl: None of the girls in this novel aren't Badass, but Raine is the Action Girl. She seems the only member of RENEGADE competent with a gun and she's also extremly dexteric... Two words; Wind Gun.
  • Action Hero: Shichi sometimes slips into this when there's some major ass-kickin' to be done.
  • Aerith and Bob: To an extent. Shichi, Mizuko, Hyoma, Ryou and Ryoji are Japanese, appropriate to where they are, while Raine, Elaine, Marlin, Day and Vito are odd, not to mention Cygnet. Just... Just what the hell with Cygnet.
  • After the End: The world had been degenerate prior to Rex Malgram's near-genocide, implied to have something to do with 2012.
  • All Bikers Are Hells Angels: Invoked by Raine in the High School AU Renegade: High School.
  • All There in the Manual: The Powerpoint, which features a good amount of info about the characters, world and some pretty big spoilers.
  • Alternate Universe: Renegade: High School is (obviously) set in one, as is the Visual Novel project The Difference and the joking "Genagade."
    • "Genegade" is the Gender Swap of the normal characters, similar in design to Suzumiya Haruhi No Seitenkan, where Shichiko Kitakawa takes shine with her Action Hero sidekick, Rai Shirayuki. Not Raine.
  • Angst Coma: After killing Ryou, Ryoji falls into one of these, though it's much more than just this. He has to have Laser-Guided Amnesia to fix it.
  • Anguished Declaration of Love: Shichi cries this when he learns what she is, and Raine reverses the gender and does this for Hyoma. There were plenty of hints before-hand, however.
  • Antagonist in Mourning: You can just see the Cygnet's worried when Mizuko falls. So much so that Vito has to bail him out.
  • Apathetic Citizens: It's implied that Amataké's are like this. Hymmelyn's are at least concerned about the war, but Ari seems obviously surprised by this.
  • Apocalypse Maiden: Elaine. It's kind of jarring compared to how she was before.
    • Vito is clearly having loyalty difficulties at that point. It's enough to bring tears to the eye.
  • Arc Words: "Love, rock and peace!" Also a Shout-Out to Minna No Peace, from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. (It's the second ending theme).
    • Also "Fourteen" and "Forty-One".
  • Armor-Piercing Question: "Do you really want to kill everyone?"
    • To explain; Vito is leading a sneak attack on Hymmelyn on Cygnet's orders and Captured!Shichi gets on his comlink and reminds him that he'll be killing loads of defenceless children.
      • It's "What's your age?" that gets him, actually.
  • Artifact Title: Its Alternate title, "The Renegades" (Used instead of its regular "Renegade" because of that Renegade) is arguably this since they aren't particularly renegade and they don't cause much trouble.
  • Artificial Human: The "Synths" are this. Main characters; the generals, Vito and Hayato.
  • Authority Equals Asskicking: Marlin almost kills Shichi, Cygnet almost kills everyone, Elaine turns out to be a "final boss" of sorts, having gone completely crazy from her failures and Rex Malgram is 100% personifed Badass
  • Ax Crazy: Going insane really did a number on Elaine. Can't say after everything she did that she didn't deserve it, though.
  • Back from the Dead: Surprisingly averted, though Word of God says that she really regretted killing of Marlin, which is why she allowed Cygnet to live, but She pratically started laughing when she wrote that Elaine was (finally) dead.
  • Badass: Everyone has shades of this. The worst culprit is Shichi Kitakawa.
  • Badass Adorable: Mizuko and Hayato (Would make an awesome Battle Couple) are this; Mizuko is constantly getting simple things wrong and Hayato never realises when he's being insulted.
  • Badass Biker: Hyoma in Renegade: High School.
  • Badass Boast: The page quote is one from Shichi, whereas Hyoma get's a totally awesome one:

Hyoma: Did you really think that light-show could knock me down? Well you were wrong. And you know what? You've got a noose around your neck now. And I'm your executioner!

  • Badass Longcoat: Cygnet, which doubles as Bare Your Midriff.
  • Badass Nickname: Shichi's "The first death"; an alternate translation of his name and "Captain Renegade", a loving nickname given to him when he becomes leader.
  • Badass Normal: Hyoma and Day. Mostly Day, since Hyoma's telekinetic; Day is always in the background, saving everyone without them ever knowing.
  • Bad Boss: Not Rex, not Marlin, not Cygnet... but is Elaine ever.
  • Bad Future: Arguably this embodied, considering there's been practical genocide, there are kid soldiers so young running around and half the earth has been destroyed... but that's in a thousand, ninehundred something years. It's their problem.
  • Beach Episode: Defeating Elaine for the first time while sailing to England takes place on water, notably since Elaine's fortress is Sea-Q.
  • Beautiful Dreamer: More surprisingly than anyone else in this novel, Vito. Yes. That one. Noted by Mizuko and Cygnet of all people, the night after Mizuko betrays RENEGADE the first time.
  • The Berserker: Arguably, Shichi, especially when angered. Vito, though, is this too, with a Hair-Trigger Temper to match, though this is only caused against his enemies. He's surprisingly calm with his superiors.
  • Beta Couple: One could say Raine and Hyoma are this.
  • BFG: Raine's gun is almost the completely her size.
  • Big Bad: Elaine.
  • Big Brother Instinct: Shichi has one due to the death of his younger sister Miku.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Shichi and pals pull this on Vito... which is the start of a chain of Big Damn Heroes moments.
  • Bilingual Bonus: Shichi's Meaningful Name. It relates to Arc Words and... well. Four Is Death, after all...
  • Bishonen: Hyoma and Shichi. Also Vito, to an extent, though since he has at least two-foot long canines and lupine eyes, this is tarnished a bit.
  • Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: The three good males; Shichi Kitakawa (Brunette), Hyoma Sakai (Blonde) and Hayato's human body (Red).
  • Blonde Guys Are Evil: Or at least antagonistic. The two blonde mains, Vito and Hyoma are both explosive and easily angered as well as Jerkasses. However, Vito values Honour Before Reason and Hyoma is really a Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
  • Book Ends: The first line is "After fourteen years of solid war, the world is desolated." And the final, "After fourteen years of solid war, the reign of peace finally began." Not counting the lines at the bottom; "Shichi Kitakawa, signing out."
  • Boom! Headshot!: Mixed with a type of Book Ends; Shichi makes sure Marlin is dead by shooting his head in, and then, given opportunity by Vito manages to do this to Elaine as well.
  • Break the Cutie: Mizuko's life has been conspiring to kill her.
  • Brother-Sister Team: It's implied that Miku and Shichi had this going on.
  • Cape Swish: Cygnet.
  • Chekhov's Gun: A literal example with Shichi's shotgun.
  • Chosen One: The Elementally powered teens are treated as this by the army. Shichi, of course, lampshades the hell out of this.
  • Cloning Blues: Some clones are horrifically deformed. As are some Synths. (Vito's eyes and canines are considered normal, as are Hayato's body's "Wings".)
  • Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Both played straight and subverted at the same time. Even though Shichi's An Ice Person, his colour is red, which is seen as The Hero's colour. Also, his Lancer, Hyoma's colour is green, befitting his Mind Over Matter and intelligence, but not his role in the team. Day's is yellow-gold, perhaps a little more fitting if she weren't The Smart Guy, Raine's is purple, more fitting of a Chick than The Big Guy and Mizuko's colour is The Lancer's colour- blue- despite her being The Chick.
  • Combining Mecha: Notably averted; Cygnet's Rikushi Mecha and Hayato never combine. Ever.
  • Coming of Age Story: Shichi's, and arguably, everyone else's too.
  • Commedia Dell Arte Troupe: A High School AU... which will be a future novel. As in, a whole High School AU... Novel. But it works splendidly.
  • Contrived Coincidence: "All of the stars intertwine to form this... Our destinies decide our fates, but our paths are our own!"
  • Cool Big Sis: Day. That's her role in the novel other than "Gadgeteer Genius".
  • Cooldown Hug: Attempted on Shichi after he freaks out, but it doesn't work.
  • Corporal Punishment: Elaine, to all of her soldiers. Poor Ryoji.
  • Cute Bruiser: The very cute Raine. Also a girl with a gun.
  • Cute Little Fangs: In more light-hearted scenes, Vito's canines, though the way Elaine bitches on him about them and the way they're constantly made mention to as "Deformities" they're not really 'cute' anymore.
  • Darker and Edgier: The latter half of the book that deals with the more horrifying parts of war and the scars left on the characters.
    • It's implied that a sequel would be this.
  • Deadpan Snarker: The whole cast, especially Shichi. Case in point:

Shichi: (Diary) We let Mizuko name it. She chose Hayato. Yes, Falcon Person you are, giant tank mecha.

  • Death Is a Sad Thing: Dear Shichi's familicide is the cause of his Angst.
  • Death Is Dramatic: Marlin's turns out to be, as does Ryou's.
  • Death Seeker: Shichi was this before Raine intervened and after he learnt who killed Miku and his mom.
  • Determinator: Every. One.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Notably averted; Vito can't stand losing to Renegade which is the reason he doesn't join them.
  • Despair Event Horizon: Mizuko crosses it after Ryou is murdered by Ryoji, attempting to commit suicide.
  • Disk One Final Boss: Rex Malgram.
  • Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Vito, who is tetchy about it, but maybe this is just pity from Humans...
  • Doom Magnet: Shichi feels he is this to other people. Paralleling to Vito, who thinks the same.
  • Driven to Suicide: Mizuko after Ryou's death. It doesn't happen. Shichi's almost there after he discovers the truth about Vito. Strangely, Vito is never anywhere close to this, despite the abuse he received from Elaine after Marlin's death.
  • Dying Moment of Awesome: Ryou. As he is about to be killed by what/who he now recognises as himself, he looks to the sky and asks Mizuko, his lover, to forgive him for realising who Ryoji was and not telling her, before looking back to Ryoji- his very own clone- and facing his death in the eyes, telling him to "look after [Mizuko] for [him]." After this, and his subsequent death, his own murderer procedes to have a Villainous BSOD and have an Angst Coma about the whole event.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Word of God claimed that she doesn't like Happy Endings. So everyone has to work like animals to earn themselves the ending that they deserve.
  • Energy Being: Hayato in data form.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Vito, Hyoma and arguably Shichi.
  • Everyone Loves Blondes: Averted; the only two blonde mains, Vito and Hyoma, almost everyone hates.
  • Everything's Better With Princes: The handsome prince of Amataké, Ari, becomes a major character towards the end.
  • Evil Brit: Rex Malgram, though this is only implied, Word of God says this is true, though she doesn't like the trope much.

Word of God: I'm English myself, and while one could call me evil for what I do to my characters, I'm not a fan of the Brits are evil stereotype, but "Malgram Rex" doesn't sound right and I didn't want him to be American... So... Brit.

  • Evil Counterpart: Vito to Shichi, Elaine to Mizuko/Raine, Cygnet to Hyoma (Arguably)
  • Face Heel Turn: Mizuko when she heals Cygnet before he dies.
  • Fangs Are Evil: The only character to sport them, Vito, is a firm villain. If not a great one.
  • Five-Bad Band:
  • Five-Man Band:
  • Foreshadowing: Mizuko's calling Vito "Vituru", the Held Gaze between Mizuko and Ryoji and Cygnet's comments on deputies.
  • Four Is Death: Shichi embodies this. His name is a nod towards it, as well as his Awesome Nickname, Captain RENEGADE/Renegade.
  • Four-Philosophy Ensemble: Mizuko and Shichi as Optimist (Though strangely, Shichi is also slightly cynical), Hyoma as Cynic, Raine as Realist and Vito as Apathetic in the mainest mains.
  • Get a Hold of Yourself, Man!: Unintentionally, Mizuko does this to Shichi. Shichi also later does the same to Vito.
  • Gone Horribly Wrong: Some of the clones are very deformed. Hayato's body even has the shoulder blades growing out into the skin.
  • Gratuitous Japanese: "Ichishi" or "Fourteen".
  • Heel Face Turn: Vito's, though this should be no surprise to everyone by now, Mizuko's five years prior to the novel and Cygnet's Last-Minute Reprieve.
  • Heroic BSOD: Upon Shichi's realisation that it was Vito who killed his mother and sister. During this he attempts to kill said person and has to be held down and slapped to sense by Hyoma.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Cygnet. You can't help but feel bad for him as he tells Mizuko he's sorry...
  • Hidden Depths: Hyoma, most definitely. Vito too, but mostly Hyoma; he's got abandonment issues and yet he physically prefers to be alone. Also there's that tention with Raine...
  • Honour Before Reason: Vito... Which is why Elaine hates him.
  • Hot-Blooded: Everyone, Vito mostly, but Shichi is a contender for this also.
  • Humongous Mecha: Hayato. When Shichi hijacked him, he didn't know this and until Day proved it no-one believed her... But man is Hayato big. (In both Tank and Robot mode).
  • Hypocrite: Elaine. She hates humans and is fighting a war against them, but comments at how she hates the inhuman way some of them look.
    • Hypocritical Humour: "We may be fighting humans, but by God do I hate the ones of us that don't look like them.
  • I Am Not Pretty: An offhand comment made by Hyoma causes Raine to react this way. To her dismay, he isn't insistent on the matter.
  • "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Shichi is forced to have one against Evil!Mizuko.
  • Impossibly Cool Clothes: Arguably, the Renegade!Jackets, but this is perhaps Justified due to the fact that The year is 3941.
  • Improbable Hairstyle: considering the realism elements, some of the hairstyles and colours are a little jarring. Particularly Mizuko and Raine, who stand with the rest of the mains with blue and purple hair respectively.
    • Justified in Mizuko's case. She's actually a clone of a woman with blonde hair, so it can be assumed that Rex simply changed her hair colour. Raine, however, has absolutely no excuse.
  • Improbable Weapon User: At one point, Shichi makes an ice baseball bat.
  • Interrupted Suicide: Mizuko is about to do this when Prince Ari, who is hunting, comes across her and stops her, instead shooting her himself, which wipes her memory.
  • It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY": Vito's name is actually fairly hard. No, it is not "Vie-to". (It's pronounced "Vee-Toh", by the way. Not that Bi the Way!)
  • Kick the Dog: While not cute, Elaine loves doing this to the main soldier villains; Vito seems to be her favourite punch bag: she kicks the living shit out of him whenever she feels like it, then Ryoji, her own personal slave near enough, who she does hit a lot, and she also knocks Aru about a bit too (probably for the sake of being a bitch)... It's implied that she does this with all of her soldiers.
  • Killed Off for Real: Word of God says that this could have happened to all of the characters, since she doesn't like Happy Endings.
  • Kill the Ones You Love: Mizuko was afraid she'd have to do this with Ryou, and later Shichi worries about the same when Mizuko switches sides the first time.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: When Ryoji murders Ryou, he fell into an Angst Coma of sorts and couldn't fix himself despite knowing that Ryou wasn't the first person that he killed. Epileptic Trees suggest that he either: felt so bad about killing Mizuko's lover that he couldn't stand to be him anymore, or the more likely, Canon-suggested he saw that the boy he just murdered was actually the person he was cloned from and that he just essentially murdered himself.
    • One could say that Ari's shooting Mizuko in the head was this as well.
  • Letting Her Hair Down: When Raine takes down her Girlish Pigtails, revealing her very long hair, everyone is amazed. Even then she gives her first and last dances to her date, Hyoma.
  • Limited Wardrobe: Everyone, though this is a Justified Trope because the RENEGADE kids don't have anything else and the enemy soldiers, well, that's all they're given. There is no reason, however, for Cygnet and Elaine. (Marlin dies too early on with so little "screen time" that it's hard to judge.)
  • Lotus Eater Machine: Rex puts the heroes through this, and it's revealed the drugs that intoxicated his mind effect him so badly that he thinks he's really making Utopia... by killing everyone, giving him a sense of this all the time.
  • Love Makes You Good: Mizuko falls in love with the human, Ryou, and wants to be a good guy with him.
  • Made of Iron: Vito can be knocked off of Sky-Q, thrown up and down with by a mecha, dropped onto rations, have his open cuts fall into mud shortly after the cuts were made and he still rivals Shichi's strength. Again. And again. And again.
  • Magic Skirt: Averted. Shichi wishes it were so, however, so he could skip the Panty Shot with Mizuko.
  • Man in White: Aru, who is often seen as Angelic.
  • Manipulative Bastard: Elaine. Oh so much.
  • Meaningful Echo: Ryou/Ryoji's "Just find new things to make you happy."
  • Meaningful Name: Shichi's is (Fourteen/Forty-One) and so is Ryoji's once you're in the know. Vito's is purposely made this way by Marlin. (Life)
    • Each name is this in essence.
  • Musical Episode: The fun, spare chapter; "Let's all get Karaoké!" which is ultimately about a firmly non-canon get-together of all the characters to sing. Shichi sings "Stars In Their Eyes", Raine sings "Baby Got Back", Ryoji sings "Burn My Dread" and Vito sings "Going Digital". It Makes Sense in Context. Apparently.
  • Serial Escalation: Ryoji notes this about all of Shichi's achievements while Shichi himself notes that the entire team's success is ultimately this as well.
  • War Is Hell: Often driven, but not Anviliciously so. Surprisingly for a novel touching on such sensitive issues, it's not mentioned much how terrible it is; Raine's character song is called "Making Me Numb" (from the horrors of war) and Mizuko is horrified by it, but not so much more of that.
  • World of Badass
  • You Are Not Alone: In a particularly Heartwarming example, during Shichi's final and most intense Heroic BSOD, he mentions how he thinks he's failed Miku because he couldn't kill Vito, however the dark, showy seven-year-old version of her is eclipsed by an eleven year old version of herself, her current age, who reminds Shichi that even though he doesn't have her and his family anymore, they'll always be in his heart before she goes on to "More importantly..."

Miku: We're not gone, Onii-Chan. We'll never be gone. We're in your very soul, your heart and your mind. Forget her, the monster, and look at me. I've been there all this time, yelling the right decisions. You knucklehead, you never listen. But... There's always them. We're there... But more importantly...
(Shichi's black and white barrier breaks) Shichi: Eh...?
RENEGADE: Shichi Kitakawa! You Are Not Alone. You'll never, ever be alone as long as you live.
 

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