[an hour later]

The closing ceremony was about to start, and Oliver wasn't happy at all. Not by the fact that he was drop kicked an hour ago, but by the fact that he had to sit beside a nervous wreck for most of it.

"I know that they split up the seating by ranks so that it's more organised, but did they really have to make me sit beside her..." Oliver thought to himself as he looked beside him.

The girl beside him was also a C tier recruit named lily, but unlike Oliver, she was extremely grateful for it. He knew that for certain because she had been telling him that the moment he sat next to her.

"Ah I really can't believe I made it this far! This must be pure luck or something! Omigosh I'm so scared, what if I fail or something? What if I fail or something Oliver?!" Lily said practically shaking Oliver.

"Oh... so this is how Olivia feels... dang I really am the wo- nope stop thinking like that. You promised Mr Sieg you'd change!" Oliver thought to himself.

"O- oh I think the ceremony is starting!" Lily said to Oliver.

"Y- yeah I can see that..." Oliver said, laughing so she doesn't feel bad.

The ceremony began with a nice congratulations from Senior investigator Kiel. He thanked everyone, including those who didn't manage to pass the recruitment exam, for their efforts, but in his own, "unique" way.

"Yes, all you children are so special! Those who survived this exam, I hope you all don't envy the ones who have failed, because from now on... you'll be walking a path straight to hell..." Senior Investigator Kiel said, laughing rather ominously.

"Can this guy not act like a twist villain for once in his life?!" Oliver thought to himself, gripping the hem of his shirt.

Up next for the closing ceremony, was an announcement regarding which cadets would be in which squad. This part of the ceremony was hosted by Penelope, which actually brought some relief to Oliver.

"If senior investigator Kiel did this... " just the thought alone was disheartening.

Penelope got up on stage, and began shuffling through her papers frantically.

"U- um... oh okay! For squadron A, temporarily being led by Investigator Captain Ren, please stand up A tier cadet Olivia Rand and B tier cadet Katherine-" but before Penelope could say Katherine's last name, Katherine stood up and raised her hand.

"I'd like for you to keep that confidential please" Katherine said.

Penelope was confused, but Katherine's confidence and assuredness instilled fear into Penelope.

"O- okay..." Penelope said meekly.

Katherine smiled with satisfaction before turning to Oliver. Oliver's nose scrunched up as he looked at Katherine with an "are you serious right now" look on his face.

"What? I told you it was a secret, didn't I?" Katherine said, laughing mischievously.

Oliver continued to glare at her causing her to pout condescendingly.

"You're no fun..." Katherine said, turning back around.

Lily leaned into Oliver's ear and asked him who she was.

"Just a Psycho..." Oliver whispered.

Katherine threw a pen behind her which perfectly hit Oliver's head.

"Ouch!" Oliver said, rubbing the part of his head where he got hit.

"I heard that you know?" Katherine said, chuckling to herself.

Oliver mumbled to himself before turning his attention back to the announcements.

"... for squadron C, led by General Ying Yue, please stand B tier cadet Sebastian alabaster, and C tier cadet Oliver Rand" Penelope said.

As Oliver stood up, he noticed the disapproving glare coming from Sebastian. Oliver gulped before waving at Sebastian with an awkward expression on his face. Sebastian flipped him off.

"Dang I'm fucked..." Oliver thought to himself, laughing out of fear.

Lily looked up to him, and gave him a wave.

"I'm sad we couldn't be a part of the same group Oliver. But I'm glad you're in the C squadron! Hehehe... this probably means I'm in the lower squads... I knew that it was just a fluke for me'' Lily said, laughing.

Oliver felt bad for lily. Mainly because she reminded him of himself. So as a farewell to his seat partner, he gave her some encouragement.

"I'm sure you'll be able to become someone great. Never stop trying, got that?" Oliver said, giving her a thumbs up.

His encouragement caused her to blush a bit, as she had never gotten encouragement from anyone, let alone one from a boy.

"G- got it! I'll do my best!" Lily said, looking more confident.

Oliver smiled, feeling a bit good for helping someone.

"Heheh maybe I should treat myself since I'm such a good person" the sense of superiority immediately rushed to his brain.

After Penelope had finished reading squad G's members, those who were standing were escorted to sit with their squad leaders.

“Oh wait yeah before I forget! For those in Squad A - D, from now on you will be classified as investigators. Those in E - G meanwhile, are allowed to choose any field other than the previously mentioned… Did I get that right?” Penelope said as she read from a script.

She had totally forgotten about this part of the script, which brought upon a lot of embarrassment for her.

Luckily for Penelope, everyone was too busy moving to their squads to care about her mishap. One of these people was Olivia. She rushed to Ren, immediately cupping his hands together.

"Omigosh it's really you!!! I'm such a big fan! Can I get your autograph! No better yet, can I get your hair?!" Olivia said, sounding quite insane.

"U-um... I don't think that's appropriate to ask..." Ren said, trying to not upset her.

In contrast, to Olivia, Katherine stood further away from Ren, and didn't even look at him. It's as if she was disgusted to be in his presence entirely.

Meanwhile for Oliver, he made it to where squad c was supposed to be, only to find a piece of paper reading:

"Squadron C is busy on an expedition in Germany as of the moment, so we are unable to attend. Please forgive us for the trouble we have caused.

-Signed, Squadron C"

"Not only do I have to be in a squad with you... but our entire fucking squad are a no show? This is the fucking worst" Sebastian said, putting his hands in his pockets.

Oliver was getting tired of Sebastian's narcissistic personality, but in an attempt to be the bigger man, he put his hand out for a hand shake.

"Let's get along, okay?" Oliver said, forcing a smile.

Sebastian looked at Oliver's hand, then proceeded to spit on it. Oliver expected this outcome, but he was still pissed.

"I'll kill him, I swear!" Oliver thought, wiping the spit away.

Sebastian took his seat before glaring at Oliver. Oliver sighed, wondering what he wanted now.

"Are you just going to stand there? You look like an idiot...." Sebastian said.

Realising that everyone has already sat down, Oliver felt a bit embarrassed. He took his seat, mumbling profanities, trying his best to keep quiet so as to not get caught.

"Huh what was that?" Sebastian said, raising his eyebrows.

"Focus on the ceremony!" Oliver shouted, sounding frustrated.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

Sebastian was startled by Oliver's aggressiveness, causing him to unconsciously heed his words.

The final part of the closing ceremony was a short speech from General Sieg. Before speaking he cleared his throat, as if he was pushing out his nasty personality.

"New recruits, this is a turning point in your lives. From now on, all of you will become guardians of humanity who will protect it from the threat of Festers. These creatures have brought despair and hardship for millennia, so it's our job to stop them, so that the children of tomorrow may live in a world without suffering..." Sieg said.

Oliver was completely taken aback by Sieg's gentle tone. From his short interaction with him, Oliver had thought Sieg was a cold hearted bastard who found pleasure in making fun of people. Well, that was an exaggeration, since Sieg was quite kind to him, but the complete change in the way he spoke weirded Oliver out. What was more creepy, was that Sieg didn't seem to be faking it. Nothing about his body posture seemed fake, in fact his body posture was the exact same as before. However, Oliver couldn't help but feel creeped out.

"... I hope that you all don't regret your choice in joining F.A.T.E... because at the end of the day, you're sacrificing your precious time for the future of people who'll barely remember you in 50 years. However, I believe the satisfaction you'll get from helping people will make up for it. But that's just me!" Sieg chuckled.

Ren watched from below, finding the speech a bit repulsive. Not because it was bad or anything, nor did it come from his frustration with his father. However, the reason he felt so disgusted was because he had heard this same script over and over again. No matter how good Sieg could sell it, it was still just the same empty words each host had spoken before him. They were like words from a siren, leading foolish sailors to doom.

"... I think that's all I have to say... oh, one other thing. If you ever get injured please come to the medical department! It's twice the hassle for us when you ignore your injuries and let it get worse..." Sieg said, sighing.

Sieg cleared his throat once more before smiling.

"Since everything's out of the way... welcome new recruits, to your F.A.T.E!"

The ceremony hall filled up with the sounds of clapping as the ceremony concluded. Some of the recruits rushed back home immediately after the ceremony concluded, while most stayed back for a bit to get to know their new squad members. Oliver tried to escape the venue as well, but unfortunately Olivia dragged him back in.

"Why do I have to stay? My squad isn't even here, excluding him..." Oliver said, looking over at Sebastian.

"Because it's not just your squad members you need to get to know. An important aspect of being an investigator is to be able to work with other fellow operators, regardless of if they're a part of your own squad or not" Olivia explained.

Oliver paused, looking dumbfounded.

"Who are you and what did you do to my sister?" Oliver asked, looking suspiciously at Olivia.

"Nothing happened to me you idiot!" Olivia said, sounding frustrated.

She calmed down a bit before continuing to speak.

"Captain Ren told me I need to be more calm, so as his subordinate I wish to heed his words" Olivia said.

Oliver paused once again, looking even more displeased. Olivia was getting frustrated at this point, and was about to yell obscenities at Oliver, but Ren arrived in time to stopped her.

"Investigator... at ease" Ren said, in a commanding tone.

"Y- yes sir..." Olivia said, sighing.

Oliver looked at Ren, then gave him a thumbs up.

"Whatever you're doing… keep it up! This is the first time Olivia has ever backed down" Oliver said, sounding extremely enthusiastic.

Olivia was about to lose it, but was stopped once again by Ren.

"I know you don't mean it in a bad way, but please treat your sister with kindness. Not only because she's family, but also because you'll be working as fellow soldiers in this war against Festers. The last thing we want on a battlefield is a battle amongst ourselves" Ren advised Oliver.

Hearing him say that caused Katherine to scoff. Ren noticed this, but didn't say a word, only turning his attention back to Oliver.

Oliver couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed; but if he wanted to change for real, he'd need to take criticism whether or not he likes it.

"I'm sorry... I'll do better!" Oliver said.

Olivia was surprised by Oliver's maturity, but didn't show it since she was still mad at him.

"Very good. I'm happy to see your progress in the future..." Ren said, smiling.

Ren was about to say more, but he was interrupted by a call from General Sieg.

“Renny come ere! The new recruits are fighting!” Sieg yelled from across the hall.

Ren rolled his eyes before bowing.

"My apologies, let's talk again some time..." Ren said.

He then turned to both Katherine and Olivia, with a serious expression on his face.

"Training will start at 7am to 4pm tomorrow. So you two better not come in late, got that?" Ren instructed.

"Yes, sir!" Olivia said enthusiastically, even saluting.

"Yeah yeah whatever..." Katherine said apathetically.

Ren sighed at Katherine's reaction, but at the end of the day, he can't force her to change. Though it still stung. Ren walked away, feeling a bit disheartened.

Once Ren was far enough away, Olivia turned to Katherine, looking at her disappointedly.

"What's your problem actually? Captain Ren has been nothing but nice to us since we met him. Sure it's only been an hour or so, but you don't have to be an ass to him..." Olivia said, her hands on her hips.

Katherine narrowed her eyes onto Olivia. She looked at Olivia as if she was an insect you'd find in your home. She felt hatred, disgust and vitriol. In other words, the feeling of seeing someone talk about something that they know nothing about. However, to avoid making unwanted enemies, Katherine smiled and tilted her head.

"Well I just hate doing work early in the morning... is that so wrong~?" Katherine said.

Olivia glared at her before sighing. She didn't want to deal with Katherine's behaviour any longer, so she turned around and left.

"I need to wake up early... I'm going back home" Olivia said, sounding pissed off.

Oliver had already planned to go back, but seeing how things were left off, he felt concerned. In the past 17 years that he had been alive, Oliver had never seen Olivia end an argument abruptly, and was scared that she might do something stupid. He followed her back home, constantly trying to get her attention.

"Hey wait! Are you okay? Please say something!" Oliver said, following her.

Olivia ignored him, continuing her walk back home.

"I said wait! What's up with you?!" Oliver asked, sounding concerned.

"Just leave me alone okay! Let me handle things on my own!" Olivia shouted, her voice shaking.

Oliver was startled by her anger, causing him to freeze in place. He wanted to say something, but it was obvious that she didn't want to listen. Olivia clenched her fist, before slowly letting it go.

"You don't need to worry about me... this is my test, and I'll solve it on my own. Captain Ren sees potential in me, and I don't want to disappoint him..." Olivia said, sighing.

After saying those words, she immediately began squatting and holding her hand.

"Argh this is the worst! But I need to be better! Everyone is expecting great things from me..." Olivia said, sounding rather sad.

Olivia was silent for a moment, before speaking.

"Don't... don't go overboard... okay?" Oliver said, standing awkwardly.

Olivia became silent as well, before standing up.

"Yeah... I won't.... thanks." Olivia said, turning to face Oliver.

She smiled a bit before stretching.

"Dang! I'm hungry! It's like... 8 already? Do you think the shops are still open?" Olivia asked, talking as if she wasn't stressed out just a moment ago.

Oliver was taken aback by this, however he was very relieved she was back to normal. Oliver crossed his arms as he began to think.

"I think that mexican restaurant near the apartment is still open..." Oliver said.

"Oh I'd love some tacos!" Olivia said, practically drooling.

The two began walking together, sharing some quality sibling bonding. They talked about various topics from weird dreams they've had, the contents of the new episode of their favourite daytime drama, and even the types of animals they would like to be.

"I wanna be... a fish" Olivia said.

"A fish? Why a fish?" Oliver said, laughing.

"Hey don't diss fish! First of all they're very tasty!" Olivia said, defensively.

"That's exactly why it's weird! Who'd wanna be something that's tasty? Isn't that bad for your own survival?" Oliver said, teasing her.

"W- well... Well, that's not the only reason!" Olivia says, sounding a bit upset.

"Oh yeah? And what's this amazing reason?" Oliver said, smirking.

Olivia stopped in her tracks, the abruptness causing Oliver to not even notice that she had stopped.

"Because fish are always free. Even trapped inside a fish bowl, they still live life as if they don't have care in the world. I wanna live like that" Olivia said.

Oliver stopped as well, before looking up at the sky.

"In that case, I wanna be a bird... because I want to be able to fly anywhere I want, with not even the world being able to hold me down..." Oliver said.

The two became silent, before being startled by the sound of dogs barking. Realising they both became startled, the two began laughing. A simple few seconds of laughter, but the joy obtained from it was paramount. As their laughter died down, the two looked at each other.

"Hey, promise me that no matter what, we'll never be separated okay?" Olivia said.

Oliver chuckled as he smiled.

"Of course, not. We're twins, we were born inseparable" Oliver responded.

Olivia paused for a moment, before laughing at Oliver.

"That was so corny!" Olivia said, laughing hysterically.

"W- what? Hey I was just trying to be nice! Don't make fun of me!" Oliver said, his face turning red.

Olivia began running ahead of him as she giggled and continued to make fun of him. Oliver became frustrated, so she began chasing after her.

"Come here you little brat!" Oliver said, sounding frustrated.

Olivia stuck her tongue out as she began running even faster. She was a decent 2 meters ahead of him, and Oliver started to feel tired. It got so bad that he couldn't even see the person in front of him. The two crashed into each other, both falling on their backs.

"Oh, it seems I've been bumped into..." the man said.

Realising his mistake, Oliver quickly stood up so he could help the other guy.

"I'm sorry! Here let me help you up, it's the least I can do" Oliver said, reaching his hand out.

The man grabbed onto Oliver's hand, Oliver lifting him up. The man dusted the dust and dirt from his clothes before smiling.

"Wow you're a really nice person! Even if you were the one who bumped into me!" The man said.

Oliver was relieved that he wasn't mad, but the way was acting, creeped Oliver out. A normal person would be upset, even a kind person would at least sound a bit annoyed. But this person, he didn't have any malice in their voice. It was as if he didn't even mind it. It's as if he didn't even understand the meaning of being upset.

"Well then... I must be going. There's a lot of things I need to do! Oh yes! So many things! So many wonderful things! Hey? Do you enjoy wonderful things?" The man asked.

"W- what? What do you mean?" Oliver asked, taking a step back.

"I just love wonderful things... things that will make so many people... erm... oh yes... very very very very very excited. They'll be screaming and laughing, it'll be so fun!" The man said, sounding out of it.

Oliver was getting scared. He didn't know if the man was secretly some supervillain, or just some loon. Still, he wouldn't take any chances.

"I'm sorry I need to g-" he tried to say, but was stopped by the man.

He stared Oliver down with empty eyes, and a smile so wide, it was inhuman. But his appearance wasn't what scared Oliver. It was the amount of malice he had behind his eyes, it caused him to feel sick. The man looked Oliver dead in the eyes, and said.

"Are you one of those people who want to stop? To stop me from doing something so wonderful...?" The man smiled even wider.

The man gripped onto Oliver's shoulder tightly; so tightly it started to hurt Oliver. At that point, Oliver felt completely hopeless. He didn't expect to die this way, but if it was meant to be, what could he do?

However he didn't want to die. Not yet at least.

"Let go..." Oliver said, staring back at him.

The man's expression turned grim, as if he saw something very, very scary. However, his terrified look turned back into a smile as he let go of Oliver.

"You're a very funny person. I hope we can meet again soon, mister Oliver Rand" the man said walking away.

Many questions raced through Oliver's mind as the man walked away. Just who was he? How did he know his name? What was the "wonderful" thing he wanted so badly to do? Although, all these thoughts were drowned out by the sense of relief he felt after sur