The trees in the forest swayed and shook before crashing down one after the other. The cause of this destruction, was none other than an idiot and a bear.
Dodging falling tree trunks, offensive vines coming from the grounds, and thick wall-like roots, Roland desperately tried searching for the elusive blade.
"I know it's here somewhere? Come on just a little more! I know I can find it!" Roland thought to himself, scanning the area whilst simultaneously dodging the bear's attacks.
From the fester's perspective, it seemed that Roland was blessed by luck. No matter what obstacle was thrown his way, he managed to dodge or run away just at the last moment. However, it was anything but luck that made him so unkillable. The reason he could dodge whilst searching for Olivia's sword, was because he wasn't thinking about dodging. Even before he started his job as an investigator, Roland had always gotten into unlucky situations. Be it the time in 7th grade when he almost drowned in the ocean after his slipper was stolen by a seagull, or be it the time he was left in the mountains during a field trip because everyone forgot him, Roland Smith had always been close to death. It was that exact reason, why his body reflexively dodged attacks. He was so used to being hurt, that he didn't even need to think to preserve himself.
The bear Fester began to slow down its chase, upon realising it couldn't catch the man off guard. Instead, it had to make sure he would have no way to escape. Digging its claws deep into the soft forest soil, it erected roots all around Roland. Instinctively, the Investigator dodged the attacks whilst his mind was focused on trying to find the weapon. Unfortunately, his callousness would bring him his downfall. Dodging the final attack, Roland found himself in a dead end. He tried to backtrack, however his path was blocked by roots as well. No matter what direction he went, his path was blocked by strategically placed roots. Suddenly, all the roots pushed together, forming a cage for Roland. He desperately tried to get out, but he was far too weak to even make a dent. Seeing this, the Fester chuckled as it slowly began approaching the investigator.
"What a fitting end... The prey has been caged up... Awaiting its end" the fester chortled.
With the Fester's sharp predatory eyes staring down at him with hunger, Roland couldn't help but tremble. Was he gonna die? Was this his finale? After all he's been through? Is he just gonna let himself die? The answer... Was no.
"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!" Roland whined with a high pitched screech, tears streaming down his face.
Upon seeing this sight, the Fester once again softened its expression, however it just as quickly began growling at the man.
"Your tricks won't fool me anymore! I won't show anymore mercy to you, human!" The fester roared.
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Roland took a step forward, trying to convince the creature, but ended up slipping on the puddle of tears that formed beneath him. With his face planting face first into the ground, the bear immediately shook off its cold demeanor. It nuzzled his head with its nose, finding the man had fallen unconscious from the terror and impact from falling.
"Ah how cruel life is... Do not worry, dying in sleep will be quick and painless" the bear said, opening its maw up wide.
It was then when the creature heard a laugh coming from Roland's body. Startled, it paused for moment, observing the man once more. It then noticed the weapon in his hand. With his eyes opening up slowly, a weary smirk formed on his face.
"Thank goodness you placed those roots so disparately, otherwise this wouldn't be pulled in." Roland sighed with relief, clutching the weapon in his hand.
The bear Fester grit its teeth, before lunging towards Roland.
"HOW DARE YOU TRICK ME AGAIN?!" It roared with hatred and betrayal
In response, Roland chuckled before throwing the weapon at the Fester. It momentarily halted its dash, the ground beneath it imprinting due to its large size.
"You missed..." The fester said with a low grumble.
Roland weakly shook his head, claiming he threw it at the right target. Suddenly, a whirling noise followed up with the sound of metal plates shifting, was heard. The fester turned its head in the direction of the sound, finding Olivia holding the blade triumphantly, with Elizabeth behind her.
"Oh you're sooooo fucked right now" Olivia chuckled.
[A few moments ago]
The two female investigators ran out of the cave as fast as they could. In the distance, they could see the back of the Fester peaking out from the tops of the trees. The two were determined to save Roland, feeling guilty for making him run to his death. Elizabeth especially. She was supposed to be his guard, the person to look after him and protect him, yet she was the reason Roland was being reckless. The guilt physically hurt her. Yet she had nobody else to blame but herself... or so she thought. Gritting her teeth, Elizabeth stopped momentarily, letting Olivia walk ahead of her. She ran a good few meters away, before stopping and turning to the woman.
"What the hell are you stopping? He's gonna die!" Olivia yelled at Elizabeth.
Clenching her fist, Elizabeth punched Olivia knocking her to the floor.
"He's gonna die because of you! It's all your fault!" Elizabeth said whilst crying.
Her punches became childish slaps, until eventually de-escalating to a punch to the ground. Olivia was still in shock after being punched, however she could tell the pain in Elizabeth's eyes. A familiar pain she had felt before. The pain of failing someone.
"Olivia, you got straight A's? How wonderful!" Susan exclaimed, placing her hand gently on the top of Olivia's head.
Looking up at her aunt, the young child smiled with a toothy grin. Once again, she had met the expectations she put on herself. It was a wonderful feeling. The praises of the adults around her, the envious looks of her peers and the pleasure of fulfilment. It was a high that Olivia had constantly achieved. It was as if success was a given right to her.
Placing her report card on the fridge, she put her hands to her side while proudly puffing her chest. Turning to her younger brother she began bragging about her grades.
"Cool right? I'm so smart!" Olivia said, placing her hand to her chest.
Oliver looked at Olivia with beady eyes, nodding vigorously. Smirking, she noticed the report card he was holding close to his chest - which piqued her interest.
"Hey what did you get?" She asked, curiously.
Oliver's expression turned blue for a moment, before smiling and shaking his head.
"No it's nothing sis! Auntie already saw it so I can just put it in my file..." Oliver said, swaying a bit.
Olivia pouted at his answer, however surprisingly she didn't force him to show it to her. Oliver was a bit confused, as usually Olivia would annoy him until he showed it to her - however he wasn't displeased. He was actually really happy, thanking her kindness with a hug. Olivia smiled, but behind his back, a devious smirk formed on her lips.
That night - while Oliver was asleep - Olivia climbed down their shared bunk bed and began rummaging through Oliver's file. There were many worksheets inside the file - most of them having average scores - which she found annoying to sift through. Eventually, she finally found Oliver's report card hidden inside one of the worksheets.
"Why would Olie hide it? It must be really bad" Olivia snickered.
Taking the report card out, Olivia's eyes widened. Oliver too had straight A's, but he didn't tell her. He wanted her to savour her achievement herself, instead of having to share it with him. Realising her brother's action, she felt extremely guilty. She quickly put the report card back in its place, before stuffing the file in his cabinet. She sighed, before turning around, only to face her disappointed little brother.
"Olivia... What were you doing?" Oliver asked, an annoyed, but mostly disappointed expression on his face.
Olivia perked up, before fidgeting with her fingers.
"Well you see there was actually a Fester inside there and as your super cool older sister I was trying to protect-" but after seeing the look on his face, she stopped herself.
Looking down at the ground, she held the hem of her dress and admitted to looking through his stuff.
"I just wanted to know... Why did you tell me you got good grades too... I- it's your fault too!" She exclaimed, looking up at him.
She thought saying that would make her feel better. However the betrayal in his eyes, made her feel any worse than any failure she had experienced before this. For the first time in her life, Olivia had disappointed someone. A person that loved and trusted her at that. It was horrifying.
Olivia hugged Elizabeth, a shock to the cold hearted investigator. Why was she hugging her? The whole day, she was insulting, mocking, and even assaulted her... But right now, she was hugging her? It felt strange.
"Stop being weird!" Elizabeth said, pushing Olivia off.
Olivia grimaced at her reaction, since she thought she was being pretty nice. Sighing, she stood up, dusting off her uniform.
"I was just comforting you!" Olivia yelled, massaging the bridge of her nose.
Elizabeth turned away, clearly embarrassed by the situation. With a heavy heart, she asked her why she did that.
"I've been a... B- bitch to you... So why are you being nice to me" Elizabeth said, rubbing the back of her head.
The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Olivia tried to say something witty, but she couldn't come up with anything. So the best thing she could do, was telling the truth.
"I knew the pain you were feeling... It was just an involuntary action..." Olivia said, crossing her arms and pouting.
Elizabeth stared at Olivia for a moment, in disbelief at her words. Feeling uncomfortable with her staring, Olivia questioned what she was doing, getting a very expected response.
"You look stupid right now so I just wanna savour it in" Elizabeth retorted.
Olivia didn't really know what she was expecting, but she couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Standing up, Elizabeth walked past Olivia. Seeing nothing had changed, Olivia was about to sigh, however stopped herself when she realised Elizabeth was speaking.
"You weren't the person I expected you to be... I'm sorry for punching you and yelling at you" Elizabeth said, as quietly as possible.
Olivia smirked before skipping happily ahead of her.
"So its my win huh?" Olivia said happily.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, exclaiming that she still believed she was a fraud for not unlocking her descent energy normally.
"At least I can use it..." Olivia said, upset.
"How'd you even unlock it anyway? From last I heard it was a very complicated process, even if you had the right qualifications to use it" Elizabeth asked walking beside her.
Olivia perked up a bit before putting a finger on her chin.
"Right that... Well..."
[Current time]
Pointing her blade at the beast, Olivia smiled. Standing beside her, Elizabeth looked on with slight worry.
"Are you sure this will work?" Elizabeth asked.
Olivia hummed a bit before looking enthusiastically at her.
"I know it will!" Olivia said, smiling very widely.
Elizabeth grimaced, which then turned into a smile. She decided to put her faith in Olivia this time around, since she really didn't have anything else to bet on.
"You better kill it, or I'll kill you instead" Elizabeth said, taking a step back.
Olivia glared at her before looking back at the beast. She could see the terror in its eyes. The perfect motivator for her. Pointing her blade at the ground, Olivia rushed towards the creature as fast as she could. With each step she took, she kept telling herself she could do it. She had to do it.
[A few weeks prior]
Sitting in the medical room for her monthly checkup with Sieg, he told her something absolutely baffling.
"Olivia... You know you have the ability to use descent energy right?" Sieg retorted, spinning in his chair.
Olivia raised an eyebrow at his statement.
"What the hell do you mean I can use descent energy? Don't you have to unlock that?" Olivia asked, resting her chin on the medical ward table.
Sieg stopped spinning before smiling innocently.
"That would be the case... If you weren't born with an A type resonance gene" sieg said proudly.
He expected her sing his praises and finally start treating him as her superior, however that future was too much of a pipe dream. Even for him.
"The hell you yapping about?" Olivia said, looking at him like he was an idiot.
Sieg wasn't too surprised by her reaction, although he was still extremely disappointed. Curling up into a ball as he twirled his hair, he began explaining what resonance genes were
"There's two types of resonance genes. An A type and a B type. B types are what most people have. They let people use descent energy, however they'll first have to gain a miracle and title first... I guess..." Sieg said, softly. He was obviously still upset.
Olivia sighed, realising she wasn't gonna get any proper information.
"Well if you're gonna be like that I guess I'll just leave..." Olivia said, opening the sliding door.
Sieg immediately perked up, reaching out to stop her.
"Ok I'm sorry I'm sorry!" Sieg said. He clearly wanted to tell her.
Smirking, Olivia sat down all prim and proper before gesturing him to continue. Sieg glared at her before mumbling.
"I don't see what Renny sees in you..."
"Hmm what was that?" Olivia put her hand to her ear.
"Nothing!"
Sieg sighed, before sitting back in his chair.
"Like I was saying... Those with the B genes have conditions before gaining 'resonance' - the ability to use descent energy. However, for the A gene, the people who have it are able to use descent energy at birth" Sieg explained.
Olivia nodded, before asking why she couldn't use it.
"Shouldn't I have at least accidentally used it before?" Olivia asked.
Sieg gaze hardened before pushing his chair to the computer. He opened a file, before projecting Olivia's status scan as a hologram. Observe the scan, Olivia couldn't see anything wrong with it.
"Why are you showing me this? I know you're old, but I didn't expect you to be senile..." Olivia retorted.
Sieg grimaced, before threatening to not show her.
"Okay okay...." Olivia mumbled.
Smirking at his successful revenge, Sieg then used his miracle on the hologram. The hologram then changed, now showing vitals for descent energy related data. The most obvious thing that Olivia could see, was the dark purple mist covering her entire body.
"What's that?" She asked, gulping.
Crossing his arms, Sieg explained that it was a blockage.
"Just like how blood clots can stop blood from flowing, sometimes descent energy can be blocked too." Sieg explained, pointing to the mist with a long metal rod.
"So you're telling me that if I wanna use descent energy… I got to get unclogged?" Olivia asked, scratching her cheek.
Sieg smiled proudly before adjusting his glasses and pointing the rod at Olivia now.
"Very good, 100 points!"
Olivia grimaced slightly, confused as to where the glasses came from.
"O- okay... So how do I get rid of it?" Olivia asked.
Taking off his glasses, Sieg then put it on Olivia.
"Focus. Right now, your eyesight is super focused because you aren't used to using glasses. It's the same with descent energy. This "blockage" acts as the glasses. It's condensed energy that has been built up so much that it makes you feel disorientated because everything else is hyper focused. Instead, focus on just one point." Sieg said, pointing one finger at her.
Nodding, Olivia closed her eyes, attempting to focus. She began focusing intensely on nothing but releasing her descent energy... though nothing came from her venture. She sighed before crossing her arms and pouting.
"See! It didn't work!" She said, frustration in her voice.
Sieg tapped his chin before a darker expression fell on his face. He wondered if he should tell her... But considering the circumstances.
"Usually just intense focus would be enough to release your descent energy… However this blockage is super nasty… Say, do you have a painful memory?" He asked, leaning back into his seat.
Olivia obviously was put off guard by his question, putting up a defensive front. Noticing her reaction, Sieg nodded before putting his hand on her shoulders.
"You have to focus on that bad memory. Immerse yourself in it..." He said, trying to be as gentle as he possibly could.
"And don't stop even if the world shatters beneath you"
Seeing the threat rapidly approaching it, the Fester instinctively entered a defensive position. It crouched down slightly as it raised its arms in a cross pattern to guard its face. However, Olivia wasn't bothered by this. Instead, it gave her even more motivation to defeat it, now that she had a challenge. Taking a deep breath, she began running as fast as possible. She needed momentum for the stunt she was about to pull, and if she missed even a single step; she would die. The two investigators in the distance watched in awe, as Olivia began scaling up the beast. It was as if she was walking on stairs, using the slight folds on the creature's skin as steps.
"Crazy bitch" Elizabeth thought to herself, completely dumbfounded.
Feeling the Investigator crawl up its skin, the Fester began writhing and squirming, as if she was a bug. This didn't deter Olivia, who was in a sort of flow state. Nothing could stop her. Nothing could bother her. She believed herself completely.
Reaching the Fester's shoulder, she jumped off, aiming towards the Fester's head. The fester lowered its guard slightly, surprised at her recklessness. As if to punish her, it struck Olivia just before she could land on its head. Like a fly, she was swatted away; bringing relief for the Fester. Resting its arms to the side, it grinned.
"Humans are truly creatures of hubris...." It growled.
Suddenly, it felt a sharp pain on its arm.
Lifting its gargantuan arm up, it saw Olivia holding her sword - which was stuck in the creature's arm. It swung its arm frantically, trying to shoo Olivia away, however she didn't budge an inch.
Taking one hand off her blade's handle, Olivia gripped tightly on the Festers arm to balance herself. Then, in an unprecedented turn of events, Olivia bit the fester. Roland and Elizabeth's eyes widened as they saw the completely deranged act Olivia just committed. Bearing her teeth deeper into its flesh, Olivia pulled her head back, ripping a chuck of the creature's flesh. The Fester screamed in pain, it was unbearable. Seeing the opportunity in front of her, Olivia took it with honour. Lifting herself up and onto its arm, she kicked her sword out; grabbing it with her right hand. She ran up the creature's arm, stopping right at its shoulder. Taking a few steps back, Olivia closed her eyes as she held her blade tightly. She began ignoring everything except that bad memory. The memory of the first time she disappointed someone. The look of betrayal on her brother's face. The tightness in her chest when she realised she messed up. She repeated the moment over and over again.
The small movements of scurrying woodland creatures, the air brushing against her skin, the Fester's pained breath... She ignored it all. Any fear, any sadness, any rage, any happiness, any anxiety. She felt none of those emotions. All she could feel was the pain that had haunted her for years. Olivia became a shell. A shell that was created to hold destruction.
From the tips of her fingers, a dark blue energy flowed into the handle of her weapon, slowly creeping and crawling up the hilt and stopping at the blade. From Roland and Elizabeth's perspective, it was as if Olivia was holding a ray of light. Such brightness blinded the Fester, forcing it to close its eyes. However it would never open it ever again. Making a simple, clean slashing motion with her arm, the Fester's head was completely obliterated. Its body was still for a moment, before collapsing forward. The impact covered the scene in dust, inhibiting Roland and Elizabeth's vision. However even if their vision was clouded by a thick layer of dust, the two investigators could see a bright light glowing in the distance. As the debris and dust cleared up, they found Olivia sitting on top of the slowly disintegrating Fester's corpse. Noticing their dumfounded expression, she grined from ear to ear.
"See.... I'm pretty cool aren't I?" Olivia said proudly.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the comment, but Roland applauded her. Olivia shrugged, happy that she managed to at least convince one person of her greatness.
Sliding down the Fester's body, Olivia stretched her limbs, before dusting off her skirt. As she did that, she felt something squishy on the cloth. Grabbing the object, she found it was a small blob creature with one giant eye making up it's entire mass.
"Ew what's this...?" Olivia asked, showing the creature to the two.
Elizabeth shuddered at the sight, however Roland was intrigued by it. Examining it closer, he began explaining that it was a bio tracker.
"Sometimes Festers rip parts of themselves off and use their natural ability to sense their descent energy to act as trackers. This seems to be a more complex one though, as it even has a image relay system" Roland said, referring to the eye.
Olivia was grossed out that it stuck on her of all people, though she had an idea how it got stuck there.
"The bastard who caused all this must've had a reason why he specifically sent a Fester to me personally and stuck this on me. I'm guessing it has to do with the bear from before too..." Olivia said, before crushing the biotracker.
Elizabeth nodded, informing her that the bear Fester she hunted was running wildly, as if it was following a predetermined route.
"So they targeted us huh..." Olivia said, clenching her fist.
Roland and Elizabeth looked away, clearly disturbed by the situation.
Looking up at the two, Olivia had a determined look in her eyes. The two looked back at her with a knowing look, nodding in agreement, even though she didn't say a word.
"Let's get revenge on that bastard; and show them we aren't just some side characters" Olivia exclaimed.
The two investigators looked at each other, before smiling and nodding. Seeing their cooperation, Olivia was filled with giddy.
"I've never played captain before! This is so cool!" Olivia said, jumping up and down in place.
Roland laughed awkwardly, whilst Elizabeth crossed her arms and shot a sharp glare at Olivia.
"Who says you're the captain?" Elizabeth retorted.
With a smug look on her face, she pointed out that she was the one that defeated the semi hyper class Fester all by herself. In response, Elizabeth shot Olivia the middle finger, as she didn't know how to respond.
"Why you-" Olivia attempted to say, but was stopped by Roland's intervention.
"A- alright let's not fight... I thought you two were friends now..." Roland said, sounding disappointed.
The two looked away from each other, mumbling something about how the other would never be their friend. Roland couldn't help but sigh.
"Anyways... What's our plan of action?" Roland asked, rubbing the back of his head.
Olivia closed her eyes as she crossed her arms. The two looked at Olivia as she was thinking, before being scared by her suddenly shouting eureka.
"Don't just scare us like that!" Elizabeth yelled whilst Roland was crying on the ground.
Olivia rubbed the back of his head as she began laughing awkwardly.
"Sorry..."
After the two had calmed down, Olivia began explaining the genius plan she came up with.
"First, we go to the communications tent. We tell them what we saw, get the help of super strong investigators, then celebrate with ice cream!" Olivia said, proudly with her hands on her hips.
Roland gave her applause while Elizabeth sat in the back looking on with judgement.
"Right and what makes you think they'll up us? If they didn't help us before, you think they'll help now?" Elizabeth retorted
Olivia opened up her index finger and her thumb, resting her chin in the crook that formed between them.
"Because we'll force them to," Olivia said.
She then began to explain exactly how they'll be forced to help. Roland was a bit concerned by her plan, whilst Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised.
"Didn't know you were that evil... Aight I'm in" Elizabeth said, standing up.
Roland was slightly fidgety, on the account that he felt wrong for agreeing with the plan, but nonetheless, he stood up and agr
eed as well. Putting their hands together, they all started counting down.
"3..."
"2..."
"1.."
"Let's go!”