◆Question 16: Before we get to the last few questions. Is there anything you want to ask us?◆
Since the candidates had mostly been asked questions at this point, the Fiends figured it was a good idea to include this near the end so the applicants could have an open invitation. However, the more honest reason was that they just included it since most other job interviews also included it.
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{No. 66; Itsy Humdiddy (The Wrecking Ball) - Fiend | Heavy-Duty / Loving Family / One Man's Trash... / Robo-Joints Curse Mark / Killed Scummy Business Partner, Brutally / I Swear to Cosmos if we don't accept her... / Walking Collateral Damage / Content To Be Ignorant / Strong is Enough for Her / Seriously, like picks up her truck, and just, whamo? I Gotta See This / Likes Monster Trucks and Rocks / Mechanic | Ahvra's Notes: If Joins, Make Sure all Allocated Supplies and Furniture are Reinforced / Too Strong / Big Woman}
“Uhh not particularly, but I guess I am a bit curious what it feels like tuh use a Curse,” Itsy corrected herself. “Is it more like ‘Woosh!’ like magic in the stories, or more of a tingle in your dingle type uh thing?”
“For me, it’s more like a radiate type thing,” Kada answered first with no hesitation. “Like my body suddenly turns into a heater and is warming up the world around it.”
“Kind of like an aching circulation for me,” Xard added. “Like boiling blood that just wants to get out of my body.”
“Nausea,” was all Drim said.
“Feels like I’m damn powerful.” Humility wasn’t Phon’s strong suit.
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{No. 118; Gatrim Foilepe (The Memory [TBD]) - Lesser Fiend | Train Him To Death, Nachi! / We're Going to Be Invaded by Angry Women? Oh no... (Stop Putting Stupid Things Here Kada) / Just a Dumb Ass Sheltered Noble / Sparkly Rapier Curse Mark / Messed Up Family Tradition / Family Issues / Thinks Highly of What We Can Offer / Actually Lives Up to His Boasting / Uses Rapier / A Lot of Pride / Lives Fancily / Oddly Pure / In Training | Ahvra's Notes: Nerves May be a Problem / Secret Power? / Full of Himself. Stop Shaking}
“Yes, on a scale of 1-10, how would you rate my elegance?!” Gatrim posed the question seriously as they stood up to pose themself. “Please be aware that if I get anything less than an 8, I will cry.”
“Heh, in that case a t—” Before Phon could give her eager score, Kada clapped a hand over Phon’s mouth.
“Looking good, definitely a 10, my guy,” Kada answered with clear exasperation and insincerity. However, the lip service didn’t seem to phase Gatrim, and he flicked his luscious locks with his free hand to show off his elegance once more.
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{No. 121; Niloy 'Nini' Spatzel (The Flesh-Eater) - Fiend | I Don't Envy Mallea / Loves Her Parents / Shameless / Nom Nom Flesh Curse Mark / Killed Boyfriend Who Scammed Her Parents / Actually Likes Helping People. Didn't Expect That / Aww, She Called Us Popular / No / Wacky Water (I Hate Whoever Wrote This. Guessing Kada. -Phon) / Uses Waterguns? How does that work? / Happy With Life / Spends All Day on Her Phone / Seeks Affirmation from Others / Freelancer / Bad at Customer Service | Ahvra's Notes: Many Innuendos / Vain / Trying to flirt?}
“You guys are thinking about pairing me off as like The Mermaid's sidekick or something, aren’t you?” Niloy suddenly accused them.
“Well your powers would compliment each other quite nicely…” Xard shared his musings.
“Cosdammit, I knew it. I refuse to work under her!” Niloy showed some hostility for the first time. “You might think it’s because I don’t get along with other women, and while a lot of girls hate me, that’s not it. You may think it’s because as a person with colored skin, I’m annoyed that people think she represents us even though her tan is fake. But no it’s not that either, even if it does look sprayed on!”
Kada looked to complain, but didn’t get the chance as Niloy continued her rant. “No! It’s because of how she melts things. Her melting is just so inferior to mine! Everything she melts just goes back to normal. Where’s the permanence, the stakes, the intrigue?! Everything I melt is changed forever, given a new look that can never recover. It takes melting to a whole new level. Yet she’s the one called The Melting Mermaid?! It’s unfair and not cute at all!”
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{No. 100; Rezin Anish - Fiend | This Boy Gonna Hog So Much Bandwidth / Loner / Can't Even Crime Right / I'm Going To Gouge Out My Eyes After That / Oops, Accidental Fiend / You Can Do It, Rezin! / Here's Hoping We Don't Corrupt Him / Actually Fun to Play Games With / Hallucinations, yet not quite? Hard to Explain / Pure / Made a Friend / Unemployed / Their Life is Sad | Ahvra's Notes: My Head Hurts / Eyes Playing Tricks / Hard to Pin Down}
“Uhh, I guess then… What are your favorite games?!” Rezin asked with genuine intrigue.
Kada perked up and earnestly prepared to answer. However, she never got the chance as an exercise ball whammed into her head from the side of the room. As the ball sadly bounced away, Kada glanced over to Rusa, her face betrayed.
“If we let this one talk about games we will be here forever. She is too inefficient,” Rusa claimed as she walked over to Rezin and put a hand on his shoulder. “I promise new-friend, we will talk more about games soon after. That one can come too, we just don’t have the time for it now.”
“Uhhh, alright then,” Rezin accepted this answer, not that he had much choice otherwise.
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{No. 65; Jaid Sparka (The Warrior) - Fiend | All Work and No Play / Well That's Depressing / Embarrassing Crimes / Need A Hand? Curse Mark / Revenge for Mother / Looking to 'Find Herself' / Sentimental / Multi-Jaid / Carries a Big Sword / Wants To Follow Mother's Dream / Likes Alone Time and Outdoors / Made Drim Annoyed at Us :c / Ex-Merc | Ahvra's Notes: Weird About Her Arms / Capable Despite Appearance / Formerly Injured. Fiend Anomaly}
“Uhh, two things I suppose,” Jaid was more inquisitive than the others. “The 1000 point criminal score for being a member is pretty much unavoidable, I’m guessing?”
“Yes, as far as we’re aware,” Drim unfortunately didn’t have a better answer. “We don’t even know who applies it; whether it’s some law enforcement agency or the CP doing it. We’re also not sure if just being interested in us at all will get someone an offense. For all we know, anyone who tried out today may have some Criminal Score tomorrow, even if they’re not accepted.”
“Guess becoming a criminal is unavoidable then,” Jaid sighed. “But that leads me into my next question. What are your individual thoughts on the Central Peace? I’m genuinely curious.”
“Scuuuuuuuum!” Phon didn’t refrain for letting her opinion be heard.
“Eh, I don’t really think about them much, honestly,” Kada didn’t have much to offer.
“It’s run by politicians who are manipulated by greed, so it’ll never be perfect,” Xard went a bit more in detail. “I won’t say they don’t do anything good, but there will always be underlying selfish reasoning that isn’t seen at the surface.”
“I’m honestly impressed with what they’ve done in the past decade,” Drim was the first and only to give them genuine praise. “I think their hearts are in the right place, I really do. I also understand why they don’t like us and want to see us gone. That said, I think their size and scale hinders them to a degree. With every level of bureaucracy and differing opinions, that’s another person left waiting for help.”
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
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{No. 144; (The Beacon) - Fiend | Has Sorted Out Her Priorities / So Alone / Didn't Specify Wrongdoings / Religious Tramp Stamp / Ambiguous How They Became a Fiend / Seems To Basically Worship Us / Holds Us in High Regard / Purification! / Behold, The Bauble! / Doesn't Impose Beliefs / Get This Woman Her Own Bath / Monster Hunter | Ahvra's Notes: Unsure if Prayer is part of Curse / Religion is Powerful? / Very Religious. Bad sense of age.}
“How did it feel?! The Cosmic Boon! How did it feel to be enveloped in Cosmos’ light?!” The Beacon was practically frothing at the mouth to get the answer to this question.
“Umm, bright I guess,” Drim was struggling to answer.
“Don’t pity her with a zjik answer, Drim,” Phon chastised him, a rare sight to behold. “You know how it felt, we both do. It was terrifying. The most terrifying experience of our lives. We weren’t thinking about the light, or whatever religious implications or cosmic nonsense was causing it. All we cared about was that we were being torn from each other.”
“We had just killed our parents, and we were losing the only other source of love we had in this world. On top of that, we were going through the transition of being Fiends. It’s quite painful if you remember, especially as children who had very low pain tolerances. Then after all that, we were separated and flung across the world, not knowing when or even if we’d land.”
“Even after somehow surviving the impact, we were all alone. I was lucky enough to be found pretty fast, but Drim wasn’t. He was… it’s not my place to tell. The point is, while the rest of the world was cheering, while everyone was praying to Cosmos, all we experienced was suffering we couldn’t even understand.”
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{No. 50; Tize Scound (The Refuge) - Lesser Fiend | Refuses To Be Old / Do You Think Tize Would Get Mad If We Funded Them Behind His Back? / Bully Beatdown / Boring Shield Curse Mark / Killed Bad Guy in Military / Determined To Prove He's Still Useful / He's Like a Dad / Good at Being Good / Has a Full Arsenal and a Honking Big Shield / Standard Dreams / Too Good of a Person / Ex-Military | Ahvra's Notes: Historically Mistreated / Humble / Stiff Ex-Soldier}
“What inspired you to make this group?” Tize took a more formal approach than the others. “With your powers and talents, you could have been at the top of any military in the world, one with a lot more influence. Neither of you seem to have much family pride, so with a bit of effort, you could have easily hidden your identities without the masks.”
“Even if that wasn’t your thing, you both were doing great as the top monster hunter and bounty hunter. In fact, I’d even go far to say you’ve both been less active in those regards since starting the Fiends For Hire. I guess what I’m trying to say is… The fact that this organization exists at all is strange to me.”
“I’ll answer that,” Drim jumped in. “We considered a lot of different options before landing on this one. Joining a military and even teaming up with the CP were both considered at one point. However, in the end, we didn’t want to hide who we are. We’re not proud to be Drazahs, but we’re also not ashamed to be ourselves. Our parents don’t define us. We wanted the world to see that.”
“As for why changing course at all… Well, even though we were certainly helping a lot of people with our respective cullings, it wasn’t enough. Neither path would lead to permanent change, just cleaning up messes that should have never existed in the first place. This organization may not be at the point of a world power just yet where it can be the force for good that we want it to be. But that will change, I swear it.”
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{No. 29; Asset 29 - Lesser Fiend | Would He Even Be Joining At That Point? / At Least Get This Guy a Pet or Something / Only Commits Crimes During Work Hours / Tally Curse Marks / Gives Little Info Per Usual / Doesn't Mince Words / And People Say No One Wants to Work Anymore / Needs To Attend a Comedy Course / Wants Purpose / Good With Any Weapon or Tool / Doesn't Dream / Doesn't Understand the Concept of Hobbies / Specialized Contractor | Ahvra's Notes: Too Compliant / Needs Annoyingly Specific Instruction / Dead inside?}
“How long until we can start working after being accepted?” They say men only want one thing, and Asset was destroying that stereotype with his lust for labor.
“Hmm, I’d say about a week,” Phon broke the news as the person who’d spent the most time developing the business side of things. “We’ll have the orientation tomorrow, then evaluations for members the following day. After that it’ll be up to our trainer, Nachi, to sign off on you being ready for action. Guessing the average will be about a week, but could be sooner if you can convince her otherwise. Though, I think she’s planning some joint training missions as the first ones.”
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{No. 152; Chorus Mistrion (The Quick Changer) - Fiend | How Long Until Chorus Asks For A Live Studio Audience? / Toxic Relationships / Childhood Deceased / Everchanging Mask Curse Mark / Killed Corrupt Talent Agent / Is Our New PR Person, I Guess? / Already Suckered Kada / Wants Us To Be Stars? / My Childhood is Being Ruined / Quickly Changes. Spot on Name / Shackled Suitcase / Something About Stars IDK / Looking For Passion / Former Actor/Actress | Ahvra's Notes: My Body is Confused / Smile Haunts Me / Don’t Like. Causes Stress}
“This might seem random and obscure, but how do you all feel about romance rumors?” It certainly was the oddest question presented to them in this section. “Nothing drums up gossip and attention like a juicy romance. It doesn’t have to have a shred of truth, but by this time next week, The Slayer could be off vacationing with the child of a CP Representative. The Mermaid and The Artillery could be fighting over the same pop idol.”
“And The Vixen… Oh The Vixen would be the silver ticket only whipped out on special occasions. Someone so disinterested in romance, and with such a sadistic personality to boot. The masses would literally be clawing at the articles to find out who could win her heart.”
The others seem quite perplexed on how to reply to this quandary, so Xard took it upon himself. “I think I speak for all of us when I say that we politely but sternly… absolutely refuse.”
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{No. 89; Roque Personson (The Swindler) - Fiend | Mr. Moneybags Doesn't Want Our Help / Can't Tell If Great or Terrible Boss / Hard To Tell If He's a Good Person or Not / Disgusting Curse Mark / Ruined Ex-Wife's Life For Revenge / A Surprisingly Good Guy in the Weirdest Way / Seems to Hate The Rich. Isn't He Rich? / Secret Market Connections / Legal Thievery? / Takes A Lot of Stock in Capitalism / Sorry We Ruined Your Dream! / Follows Trends / Sketchy Businesses | Ahvra's Notes: Sold Blood for Cheap. See if you can Buy More / Shifty. Thief?}
“So, what are you guys going to do with all that money?” Roque looked at them with greed sparkling in his eyes. “Oh come now, don’t be coy. I know how much that Common Card stunt made you, and how much you’ll make on average over time, since I had some of the best financial analysts in the business run the numbers. That’s what really got me interested in joining this group.”
“Now I have no interest in your fortune, I’ll grow my own. But you’ve got me curious. What are a bunch of young adults who have probably never even looked at the stock market going to do with a fortune that eclipses some nations.”
“We’re going to open Kada’s Private Resort and Water Park!” Kada boasted proudly.
Drim immediately turned to her, a dour look on his face, “That is something Kada will be building with her own fortune after years of hard work, right?”
“Right…” Kada slumped sadly in her chair.
“Well, we do have some ideas for the money,” Drim added, “but nothing is concrete as of yet. Maybe a savvy businessman such as yourself could provide us some investment insights.”
“Oh, look at that. The kid is a bit of a salesman himself,” Roque smirked with intrigue.
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{No. 44; Kaizu Izuzu - Lesser Fiend | Mostly Reasonable Requests / Even She Has an Innocent Side / She Should Run For Office / All Her Curse Marks Is Why She's In This Mess / Killed Coworker / Forcefully Accepted / Serial Killer / Condescending / Why is She Here, Exactly? / Professional Hobbyist Serial Killer / Haunted By The Dead / Mass Murderer / Clearly Something Going On / Uhh ??? / Corporate Drone | Hard Worker | Ahvra's Notes: Unnoteworthy}
“Do…” Kaizu paused for a moment, her Marks spazzing a bit in anger. Perhaps they could read her mind to an extent and knew what she was going to ask. “Do you really think you can change me?”
“I’ll answer that one,” Phon grabbed on before anyone else could get a chance. “The short answer is ‘No’. The others may give you some leeway by attributing your desire to kill on your Curse Marks or an insatiable addiction. While that may be partially true now, it isn’t what set you on this path. That was all you. I’ve met several Lesser bounty hunters with multiple Curse Marks, and none of them have the same afflictions.”
“So, unless your core being is changed, it won’t matter if we can stop your Marks from driving you insane. You’ll just end up right back here again. And people don’t change easily. Especially not a conceited asshole who is already looking down on the people trying to help her. So no, I don’t think you’ll change. Better people than you have tried and failed.”
Any hope Kaizu had seemed to fade from her eyes.
“But that doesn’t mean we’ll give up on you.”
Only to be rekindled a moment later.
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