[Half an hour before disaster, the outskirts of Nightingale City]
The scene was horrific. Bodies of Festers and cadets alike, scattered like garbage to be tossed in the wind. The stench was revolting, but most were too busy being carted away on stretchers or being stitched back limbs to care. While it was a victory for the cadets, those who had survived were left with a bitter taste in their mouths. One of these people was Olivia.
"Why couldn't we have killed that guy?!" Olivia shouted, visibly frustrated.
The group fell silent, looking down at their feet with dissatisfaction. Most of her squad agreed with her, believing that the fight should have ended with his death - not his capture. However Katherine reminded them of the consequences of killing the man behind the attack.
"If we killed him, we would be no better than him..." Katherine said, crossing her arms.
Clenching her fist she looked at Katherine with rage.
"Who cares?! That guy's the reason why those bodies won't go back home today! Those are people, Katherine… innocent people… Our people!" Olivia shouted back.
Katherine sighed as she began to massage her temples.
"Believe me, I'm not happy with the outcome. But those are the rules stated in the investigator log book. Article 15, subsection 5, if an investigator were to encounter and battle against a 'Contract holder', killing of said contract holder is impermissible. The course of action in this situation is immediate capture...." Katherine retorted.
Unhappy with her argument, Olivia reminded Katherine of a clause to that ruling.
"... however if a contract holder is deemed a threat, eliminate them. What can you say against that?" Olivia said smugly.
Glaring at her, Katherine put one hand in her pocket - using the other to gesture smugly back at her.
"This clause only applies if the contract holder is deemed impossible to capture. Next time read the full ruling before speaking" Katherine said smirking.
"Y- you... Argh! You're... You're... You're a dummy!" Olivia said it was obvious she had lost the argument.
Finding the face she was making amusing, Katherine looked at her with almost pity.
"You know you can just admit that you're wrong. It'll save you the embarrassment... but I doubt a child could understand that" Katherine said, chuckling to herself.
Olivia gripped her attachment unit tightly as she looked at Katherine with murderous intent.
"What did you say?" Olivia said, very pissed that she was called a child.
Katherine smugly laughed before glaring at Olivia.
"Please... Even if you're a rank higher than me, you wield that sword like a toddler" Katherine said, continuing to egg her on.
Before the two could kill each other, a third party stepped in to break up the two.
"Article 12, subsection 2, in the case that two investigators who are from the same squad are caught bickering, fighting or bullying, their squad leader or anyone of suitable authority, has the right to punish them by any means they deem necessary" Ren said, his tone was serious.
He was clearly disappointed at their behavior, which made Olivia feel guilty.
"I'm sorry, captain..." Olivia said, bowing a bit.
As usual, Katherine was on the opposite side of the spectrum. She clicked her tongue before walking away from him, giving Ren a nasty look as she did. Ren felt annoyed and frustrated by Katherine's response, but there were more important things he had to deal with.
"Investigator Vi, any reports I should know?" Ren asked.
The operator sitting curled up in the corner with his laptop stood up and saluted Ren.
"Not as of the moment. I'll report any news if I get any" he said, still holding up the salute.
Ren gestured for him to sit back down, feeling a bit embarrassed as he did it.
"I already told you, Investigator. There's no need for saluting or any over the top gestures. Just cause I'm an A tier and your squad captain, doesn't mean you need to treat me any differently. You should save that courtesy for our actual squad leader. Although... I do ask you to show me at least a bit of respect..." Ren said, moving his eyes to Katherine.
Katherine rolled her eyes before leaving the group entirely. In response, Olivia showed her tongue at Katherine, but made sure she or Ren didn't see it.
Sighing, Ren rubbed his face solemnly.
"Well... I was hoping that I could've told this to you all as a group... But someone please relay this information to Katherine. It's important..." Ren said.
Ren's face showed more seriousness than usual as he said that, which caught the group's attention. They all turned to face Ren as he began to relay the information given to him by Squad B.
"During the interrogation of the contract holder, he said something off-putting... ‘Never put all your eggs in one basket. Because then you'll forget all about your chickens’..." Ren explained. "He's clearly talking about the operation, but what exactly he meant is up to interpretation. Squad B thinks he's mocking us for sending so many Investigators to fight him off, but I think there's something even more malicious behind those words" He continued, massaging his temples.
The group was a bit shaken by such ominous words, but it wasn't like the contract holder could do anything, right? At most it was the desperate last bite of a wounded dog - as the Investigators were positive that he had used up all his contracted Festers. However, something still felt off to Olivia. The others were too injured and tired to care about something that had already long passed, but Olivia's mind was still fresh and energised from arguing.
Stolen story; please report.
"Because then you'll forget about your chickens..." that part was what was bothering Olivia. What would be the chicken in this context?
“Chickens are where the eggs come from. So it's like the source. So if the chickens were to be stolen then there would be no more eggs… that means” then it hit her.
"Captain Ren, who's left at the HQ?" Olivia asked, a bit shaken.
"Um… I believe all who are left are researchers, jailers and a few investigators who were unable to fight... I think your brother was one of them. Why?" Ren responded.
Hearing Oliver being mentioned caused her to get even more antsy.
"Is there anyone guarding HQ?" Olivia asked again, even more shaken.
"Well it's usually squad B. Are you feeling okay, Investigator?" Ren responded again, starting to worry about Olivia.
"So HQ is left unattended..." Olivia mumbled to herself as she began pacing back and forth.
Ren overheard her mumbling, and assured her that there were guards in place of squad B.
"Besides, the F.A.T.E headquarters are heavily secured. It would take a hyper class Fester to break it down. Please calm down..." Ren said, worried for her.
The words "hyper class Fester" gave Olivia an idea.
"Vi, how many contracts did that bastard have?" Olivia asked, practically shaking him.
"H- hey stop shaking me!" Vi responded.
Olivia put him down, but asked her question again.
"I- I believe about... A thousand?" Vi responded.
"And how many of which were hyper class?" Olivia asked.
Vi searched through the data he got from the battle, which led to a disturbing revelation.
"Two... One of which was the Bee fester you guys fought... And something called a treasure Fester" Vi responded.
Hearing this put Olivia into action. She grabbed her attachment unit and began making her way back to F.A.T.E headquarters.
"Investigator, what is the meaning of this?!" Ren shouted, surprised by her out of pocket behavior.
"I'm really sorry, Captain! But everyone is in trouble! I think that bastard sent a Fester to HQ! Please send everyone still able to fight back there!" Olivia said.
Ren was shocked by her words, and a little bit agitated by her insubordination, but considering that Olivia wasn't the type to do things without purpose, he trusted her judgment.
"Attention! Any Investigators that are still able to fight, relocate to the Headquarters! A Fester has invaded!" Ren said over his intercom.
After receiving the news, swarms of investigators began rushing back to the headquarters, the sight was quite hilarious. Well, hilarious to one person that is. Two figures watch from a high vantage point, looking down at the Investigators like ants.
"How fun, how fun! Mister Gyle got locked up, but we can take him out... Hehehe, take him out. Isn't that such a funny word? It could mean to free someone.... or to kill them! What a great juxtaposition..." A deranged looking man said, kicking his feet up as he laid on stomach.
The figure standing sighed before shaking his head.
"How inelegant... I know you're not human, but at least try to act civilised..." he said, readjusting his mask.
"But why though? I wanna have fun! This is so fun right? Unless... You don't want to have fun?" The tone of the man became darker.
He stood up, slowly walking towards the other person.
"I hate when people try to stop me from having fun... It makes me so... Furious..." the deranged man said.
The other figure wasn't scared whatsoever, despite the murderous intent slipping out from the man. He lunged at the masked man, but was interrupted by a snake. A very large snake. His arm was torn off, but the man didn't really seem to care. Despite the blood flowing out like tap water, he was upset at being interrupted.
"You're no fun, Pulcinella!" He said.
"No fighting, dog. Or would you rather be eaten? My snakes are really hungry you know? Well, more accurately, I'm hungry..." A hooded woman wearing a snake-like mask said, emerging from the dark.
The man became silent before kicking a rock in frustration.
"Now you two... Don't fight. Our Queen wouldn't want that..." the masked man said.
The deranged man stopped immediately at the mention of this Queen, while the hooded woman shrugged apathetically.
"I don't really care what she thinks... All I want is to eat. And if everything goes to plan, we'll have a buffet" the woman said, petting one of the snakes beside her.
"That's to say if it goes to plan... That monster still lurks inside..." the masked man said, placing his hands behind his back.
Looking back at the crowd of cadets, the deranged man seemed to get upset.
“Where's Oliver? I wanted to see him. After our last encounter, I can't help but want to see him suffer a bit. He just makes the most pathetic faces” the deranged man said, a wide smirk forming on his face.
Another figure emerged out of the shadows. He walked rather nonchalantly as he scratched his smiley face mask.
“Don't worry Pierro, you'll see him soon enough. We'll all get a chance to see him suffer” the smiley faced man said, stretching a bit.
Once the Investigators had arrived, all they saw was chaos and destruction. The building was in shambles with the manufacturing ward being the worst of them all. Miraculously, there were very few casualties. Most of the cadets and workers inside the building left with only a few minor injuries and bruises. At the entrance, was a familiar looking woman desperately trying to get back in despite being held back by multiple people. Ren recognised her as Rank B Researcher, Cecilia Witherspoon. He was confused why she, of all people, was trying to get back inside.
"He's still inside! An investigator is still inside!" Cecilia shouted, pushing herself against the crowd of people.
"Ma'am we can't let you go back inside! It's far too dangerous!" One of the people stopping her said.
"But he's inside.... He's still inside... He saved me, by sacrificing himself... That idiot... I hate you, Oliver Rand" Cecilia said, dropping to her knees.
Hearing her brother's name, it was as if every single cell in Olivia's body was burning red. Without hesitation she rushed inside the building. Ren attempted to stop her, however she was too fast, even for him. Besides, the look on her face. It was like looking at a beast with no thought other than to kill.
Inside, Olivia desperately searched for Oliver, but no matter where she looked, no matter how loud she called out to him, she couldn't find him. He couldn't have died, could he?
"No, don't think like that! He wouldn't die... He's an idiot, but he knows how to keep himself alive. But that woman at the entrance... She said he sacrificed himself for her... No! She was probably exaggerating... If he really did die... I'd... I'd..." Olivia paused on that thought.
Making her way to the manufacturing department, she was a silhouette standing amongst the rubble. The figure had the same height as Oliver, and from the looks of it, it was holding a coat. That must be him! She could sense it a mile away! This person, this person must be Oliver! It must be-
"Oh... It seems you were a bit too late. I already killed him" the creature said, its voice distorted.
Now it was clear to her, this thing wasn't her brother. Its entire body was covered in black armour. The only thing setting it apart from a shadow, was the shade of dark turquoise that lined the crevasses in the armour. Its fingers and collar were sharp and angular, but the rest of its body had sleek and uniformed plating. Its head, or more accurately its helmet, resembled the vistage of a crow. The upper half of the helmet protruded out like the beak of a crow while the bottom mouth plate made it look like a monster. However the most eye-catching part was the single white scarf wrapped around the figure's neck, nestling itself inside the collar and out to his back. It's form and posture made it look human, but everything about it said otherwise. Despite no hostility being shown to her, Olivia couldn't help but feel terrified. It was as if just being in this thing's presence caused her to lose any confidence she once had.
"W- what do you mean kill...?" Olivia asked, gripping her attachment unit tightly to show some sort of control.
The creature tilted its head a bit.
"Killed? I think it's pretty obvious, I killed that idiot. He was stupid to think that it could kill me, so I taught him a lesson" the creature laughed, almost mocking its victim.
From the information she gathered from its speech, one truth made itself clear to her. It killed Oliver. Not only that, it mocked his life as if he were an insect. A piece of worthless trash.
"I'll never forgive you... I'll never forgive you for killing him! I'll kill you, I'll destroy every part of you, till you're nothing but chunks of meat! I'll never forgive you for killing my brother!" Olivia shouted, her confidence coming back to her.
Those words confused and shocked the creature.
"Huh are you daft, I'm-" but before it could respond, Olivia swung her attachment unit at it.
It instinctively dodged the attack, but it's tilted head indicated that it was confused as to why Olivia would attack it. Olivia pressed the communication device in her ear, which directly sent her words to her squad.
"A new hyper class fester has been born. It killed the C tier investigator, Oliver Rand.... Permission to annihilate...."