[10 minutes before Disaster, somewhere in leighburne town]
In a destroyed tomato field, a masked man sat on a beach chair as he read a children's book.
"What stupid pigs... You would think they'd make a house out of bricks the first time right?" the man complained.
He threw the book away before stretching in an overly dramatic way. He then reclined so much into his chair, that his back was touching the seat. He breathed out through his lips before tapping the armrests repeatedly.
"Ugh I'm so bored~! Why hasn't anything fun happened yet? Honestly these investigators suck at their job!" The man whined.
He then looked up at the sky, before getting an idea. He began laughing to himself, before standing up and fixing his mask. He rummaged through the inside of his blazer, pulling out various objects of increasing absurdity until finally pulling out a giant red seed. It resembled a cocoa bean, though more fleshy and gross.
"Well I already planned to use it so... What's the harm in using it a bit early?" The man said to himself, before snapping his fingers.
A creature that was no taller than the man's waist appeared from out of the ground, it's hands clasped together as if making prayer. The most notable thing about the creature's appearance though, were that its eyes were tapped shut using what looked like black electrical tape. The man ripped the tape off, revealing the empty voids that were its eyes. Then man made a peace sign, before stabbing the creature's eyes with his two fingers. The creature's head flipped back as if it was on a trap door, its mouth revealing a bottomless pit with a single neverending ladder. The man entered the creature one foot at a time, before closing the creature's head like a lid.
He climbed down the ladder for a few seconds before hitting a dead end. The ladder extended infinitely, however it was as if there was a barrier between him and the rest of the void. The man sighed before kicking the floor beneath him in frustration. The floor then opened up, revealing cloudy skies.
"Yikes I'm scared of sights! I hope I don't fa-" the man said before jumping down on purpose.
He emerged out of a hole in the ground, landing face first into the ground. The man quickly stood up, before dusting off his clothes. After being cleaned, he placed his hands on his hips before staring at something over in the distance.
"Oh wowwww! They managed to almost beat em! How impressive" the man said, witnessing the battle taking place.
Clashing fists with the fester, Paul grit his teeth. He clenched his fists tightly, before setting them on fire. He struck the Fester with all his might, pushing it back slightly with the force of his flames. The Fester was set ablaze, however, it barely did anything to it. Watching the fester begin to completely heal from his attack, Paul clicked his tongue.
"Damnit, out of all plants, why did it have to be an Agave..." Paul complained, wiping sweat off his forehead.
The staggered Fester soon recovered, before tilting its head slightly. It began growing long, sharp leaves before charging at Paul. The Fester's speed overwhelmed Paul, forcing him to retreat. Using the flames from his attachment unit, he propelled himself backwards, though due to the sudden nature of the blast, he didn't have time to check for obstacles. Hitting his back on a wall, Paul coughed up some blood. He cursed out, before wiping the blood away.
The Fester followed him, not intending to let its prey go. However, its pursuit would be challenged by an annoying challenger. From above, Sebastian thrust his rapier down on the fester, managing to cut off one of its arms. The creature screeched before turning its attention to the blonde Investigator.
"Fool... You shouldn't have faced me!" The fester said before regenerating its arm.
The monster charged at Sebastian with a flurry of slashes, however Sebastian dodged each and every one of its attacks. The Fester grit its teeth, before picking up its speed.
"Stay still!"
Once again, Sebastian dodged the creature's attacks, until eventually he got bored.
"Hmm I wonder... Would I get a better promotion if I kill you now... Or bring you in as an attachment unit?" Sebastian remarked, a grin on his face.
The Fester screamed at his taunt, lunging at him with all its might. Instead of dodging, Sebastian sat completely still. The fester grinned, believing it had won. However, what Sebastian did, was take a gamble.
He completely stopped the Fester's attack, by impaling its chest with his attachment unit. The Fester vomited out blood, its body slowly weakening. Sebastian pulled his weapon out of the creature's body, flicking his wrists to get the blood off of it.
Sebastian turned to the other investigators, who were either injured or hiding, scoffing at their incompetence.
"Worthless cowards. That was too easy..." Sebastian said, turning his attachment unit back into a case.
He walked over to Paul, making sure to step over the Fester's body as he did so. Approaching the injured squad captain, he found the man smoking a cigarette. He grimaced feeling extremely disappointed in the man.
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"What? Can't a man enjoy a break?" Paul said, smirking a bit.
Sebastian rolled his eyes, before putting his hands in his pockets.
"I'm taking all the credit for killing that trashy plant. Remember to put it in your report..." Sebastian said coldly.
Paul sighed as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Yeah yeah whatever... Honestly I thought you were going to help me up. I guess that's expecting too much..." Paul yawned.
Sebastian glared at him, before eventually helping him up. Paul was surprised by his actions, though he didn't hate it either.
"Did I finally become a good role model for someone?" Paul thought to himself, smirking.
Sebastian noticed the smirk on Paul's face before immediately dropping him on his face.
"Yeah no I totally regret doing that now..." Sebastian said, making a disgusted face.
Paul groaned from the pain, before slowly getting himself up. He dusted off his vest before pointing accusingly at Sebastian.
"You're getting nothing from me!" Paul yelled.
Sebastian's eyes widened, regretting his mistake.
"Wait wait no I'm sorry! Please reconsider! I need that promotion!" Sebastian said frantically, shaking the poor man.
Paul gave him a look of disappointment before laughing and patting his shoulder.
"It was a joke geez..." Paul said, taking out another cigarette.
Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief before quickly putting back on his uncaring persona.
"Well whatever. Even if you didn't give it to me I wouldn't care..." Sebastian retorted.
Paul smirked at his comment, telling him that he wouldn't give him his recommendation then.
"Wait no I di- ugh, adults are the worst! Why couldn't I have been put on captain Ren's team?!" Sebastian exclaimed before storming away.
Paul laughed at Sebastian's antics, before looking down at his cigarette. Crushing it, he put back his cigarette box in his pocket.
"It's good when kids get to act like kids..."
Walking away in a hurry, Sebastian accidentally bumped into someone. Clicking his tongue, he turned to face the person he bumped into, finding the masked man standing completely still. Grabbing his shoulder, Sebastian tried to instigate the man, however the man only yawned in response.
"Oh wow the rude and arrogant rookie who thinks he's better than everyone. You're my least favourite type of character you know... So how about you just break a leg..." the man said, before actually breaking Sebastian's leg.
Sebastian fell to the ground, screaming in pain as the man chuckled to himself. The masked man then kicked him far away before rubbing the back of his head.
"Oh wow, seems I've caused some trouble~" he said, noticing all the investigators starring daggers at him.
The first of them to react to the man's assault of Sebastian, was none other than Paul. Throwing a punch at him, Paul was stunned by how easily the man dodged his attack.
"Holy shit! That attachment unit looks awesome. Can I have it?" The masked man said, grabbing the gauntlets.
Paul furrowed his eyebrows before setting the gauntlets on fire, burning the man's hand. The masked man quickly flipped backwards, wafting his hands.
"Ow that hurt you meanie!" The masked man exclaimed.
Paul grinned before getting into a fighting stance.
"Kids these days don't know any respect... Didn't your mom ever tell you not to touch another man's belongings?" Paul said before charging at the man.
He threw punch after punch at the masked man, however none landed on him. The masked man dodged and weaved in a lackadaisical manner, as if he was playing a game. And just like all games, at some point you'll get bored. So you have to find your own way to make things interesting.
Grabbing Paul's face, the masked man made a 90 degree twisting motion. Paul's gravity suddenly changed, finding himself falling sideways.
"Hope you don't get motion sick sir!" The man joked.
The masked man laughed at his own joke, before turning to the crowd of stunned Investigators.
"Oof tough crowd I guess..." the masked man said, scratching his head.
A few investigators tried to run away, however the masked man quickly appeared behind them.
“Hey guys! You thought my joke was funny right? Cause I turned him around and said he had motion- oh come on it's less funny when I explain!” The masked man said, holding his head in disappointment.
The investigators looked at him with terror in their eyes. How could someone act so foolish after just turning a man like a wheel then sending him falling sideways.
“Who are you?” One of them asked.
The masked man turned to them, displaying a happy disposition.
“I'm glad you asked… I'm the 4th actor of the Phantom Night Opera, representing the act of treachery, Arlecchino. A piesure to be your acquaintance.” he bowed.
Lifting his head up, Arlecchino then pulled out a pie from his coat.
"Hey hold this for me would ya?" He said, handing the pie over to an investigator.
The man then walked away nonchalantly, leaving the investigators in a state of shock. Suddenly, the group heard ticking coming from the pie.
The investigator holding it looked around him, before looking back down at the pie.
"Do you guys think it's a bo-" but before he could finish his sentence, a piano fell on him.
Sitting on a bench nearby, arlecchino laughed before looking behind and talking to the air.
"Oooh… That's gonna leave a mark" he said, pointing over to the crushed investigator.
Clenching his fist tightly, an investigator was tired of being treated like a joke by the masked man. He flipped open his attachment unit, before charging at the man.
"We're not a joke, you stupid clown!" The man screamed, charging at the Investigator.
The masked man grimaced before turning over to the man with frustration.
"For the last time I'm not a clown! There's a whole motif I'm going for, and you will not dumb it down to a damn clow-” suddenly arlecchino coughed up blood.
Looking down, he saw that the investigators attachment unit had managed to impale his chest. Falling to his knees, the weapon slid out of the fool's body unceremoniously, before his body collapsed to the ground.
The group was stunned at what they had just seen, especially the investigator that slayed the
man. Looking at his hands, a small smile creeped up on his face.
"I... I killed him? I saved everyone?! I'm the best!" The investigator exclaimed with pure joy and satisfaction.
He then began hearing clapping, before feeling an arm rest on his shoulder. Turning to the person who had just approached him, the colour from the investigators face completely drained.
"I'm glad I'm not that guy," Arlecchino said, pointing at 'his' corpse.
The Investigator he was leaning against fell to his knees, causing Arlecchino to wobble before falling as well. Heading face first into his own corpse, the masked man frustratingly pulled off the mask from it. The face underneath the mask was then revealed to be none other than the investigator who “killed” him.
"What?! Plot twist~" Arlecchino said, a sing song in his voice.
The group entered a state of shock. Their minds couldn't comprehend the series of ludicrous events that had just transpired. It was like watching a Saturday morning cartoon, but somehow even more chaotic and illogical. Many investigators began throwing up from just thinking about the situation, while a none handful completely passed out.
Arlecchino sighed, sniffling a bit as he used the sleeve from the dead investigators corpse to wipe his tears.
"How cruel... I only tried to entertain you lot. Also why the hell am I wiping my face... I'm wearing a mask for goodness sake!" Arlecchino said throwing the arm away.
He bounced up, before pointing at the air and talking to “someone”.
"Well then all of you, I hope you enjoyed my little show. Please like, share and subscribe!" Arlecchino said, lifting his mask a bit to show him sticking his tongue out.
The group only stared in silence, too shocked to even respond. Arlecchino waved goodbye, before heading towards the recently defeated Fester corpse.
Pulling out the cocoa bean looking seed from before, he was about to stuff it inside the Fester's mouth, however it was knocked out of his hand by a rapier. Turning around, he found an injured Sebastian pointing his weapon at him.
"Oho~? Recovered quickly I see?"