A/N: When I said slowly post it I didn't mean THIS slowly, I just... forgot Fanfiction was a thing lol, all chapters are technically short, Days are divided in parts but in here I'm posting all parts together, which I should have said before.
(This Chapter has been Edited by the Helpful nintendoplayer96v8)
So...
Pizza doesn't exist, that was probably a crippling blow to my mental stability.
But I technically just invented Pizza with the ingredients in the kitchen, much to the chagrin of the Clerks working there and the delight of all people that aren't lactose intolerant.
It was... a weird day getting surrounded by people asking seconds about what was a common meal back home, and the very awkward things Rober and Beth said at that time...
"BEGONE BASTARDS, I FOUND HIM FIRST!"
"HE IS MY HUSBAND MATERIAL!"
I decided to keep Pizza for special occasions for the safety of everyone, never thought I would be in this kind of situation over such simple things, not that I mind really.
Also, I had finally time to see my face on the communal showers... yes showers are communal for some reason, I see that I have short white hair and amber eyes.
And because of reasons unknown to me, I look like a damn anime protagonist or rival.
Not that I really mind, I kinda look hot... TOO hot, probably.
And last of all... my new gear and weapon made from the One Bro. The gear is a brownish suit with armor plates here and there, nothing too crazy. But the weapon is something that you would either see a zealot carrying around or in the front cover of a metal band, a cross with a skull in the middle of it that is basically One Bro plastered there.
Weird how this was handed to me in the middle of the night while they asked for my old suit back, a weird way to do things, but what do I know.
But I can't help but feel... weird, the new suit is very nice, but there is something off about the whole thing.
Like I'm borrowing something without knowing what it does, like asking for a computer without knowing what a mouse is.
Thankfully, the Information Team seems to just let the Rookies have very, VERY long books about what we should expect here and all that, makes me wonder if everyone starting here gets one...
So I skipped most of it until I met this E.G.O stuff, which basically means... Jojo powers with less Bizarre and more horror which is terrifying to think about actually.
Alright so by that logic, Stands are meant to be the physical manifestation of someone's inner self or something like that, and E.G.O seems to be the same thing but not locked for just one person. Anyone can use E.G.O, although it doesn't mention that anyone has used the damn things right...
I do get a vague feeling of how to use this weapon, no more like it wants to do something and I let it do it? So to use it right, I give it direction without hampering the original intent of the weapon, right?
...
I blinked and stumbled forward when the 'Penitence' passed a white wave through my body and I suddenly felt... at ease, like my mental stress simply evaporated without me knowing it.
Not only that, but I kind of feel amazing, like I could bench press a motorcycle with one hand...
If E.G.O is really this easy to use, why would no one use t- oh well, a chance of losing yourself to the intents of the weapon does seem like a pretty big drawback, not that I felt like it when trying this stuff.
Maybe because it's a weak E.G.O? Things for later, I guess.
For now, I have to get ready for work and hope that whatever comes next isn't some kind of eldritch horror with the sole purpose of destroying humanity.
I left my room and came face to face with the most 'I'm done with everyone's bullshit' face I have ever seen, a girl that was probably 16 with purple hair and two small pigtails done with her hair wearing the basic Rookie gear.
...
"Can I help you?" I asked, wondering what she wanted, she sighed and pointed at me, which is not necessary by the way.
"I was asked to stick with your shiny-ass for the first day, something about 'Trigger being built different'." The last part of her sentence was said with a great deal of sarcasm.
Also, this... feels like someone dropping their job on me, "Sounds kind of like 'Not my problem to bother him' but sure, Trigger at your service." I offered a handshake that she took with a raised eyebrow.
"I've met many people like you in the past... whether you are a psychopath waiting to harvest my organs or a rapist into young girls is up in the air." Wow... not the kind of first impression I expected.
Still not the rudest person I met in my life, "The only weird revelation of that kind that I had was about wrestling, not that you would believe me." That got another arched eyebrow from her.
"I'm Dakota, you do your shit and I do mine." This girl must have been living in some rough place.
Thankfully, I know how to communicate with all types of people, "Thank god, I was wondering if you were capable of wiping your own ass." Now that one got a small smile from her.
"Glad to see you aren't a hardass like that Rober guy." Ah... great, my teammates are already clashing.
"Hey Trigger, seems you met the little ass." Speak of the devil, and he shall appear, Rober was also wearing the One Bro set but without the weapon. He was also glaring daggers at Dakota, who just simply rolled her very tired eyes.
"I don't like whining shit stains like you, all complaining, but you do nothing about the problem you complain about." I swear to god if Dakota wasn't a head smaller than Rober she would be butting heads with the guy.
"All Agents Prepare for Work"
Dakota and Rober were still glaring at each other, seemingly ignoring the order given to everyone... I glanced at my weapon. Welp time for a test run, then I'm the one that gets consumed if I fuck up anyway.
The "Penitence" Hammer thingy flashed white, and both Dakota and Rober were affected by the same wave I had felt when I used this thing. Both of them suddenly looking more relaxed, "Heads in the game guys, work first, kissing later." They both gave me unamused stares.
"Orders from the top Trigger! You will be performing Instinct work with the new Abnormality O-02-56"
Well, that's interesting, "Time to work on the new Abnormality, try to not kill each other while I'm gone." I waved goodbye at them...
"He is weird." Oh Dakota, you have no idea...
(This Chapter has been Edited by the Helpful nintendoplayer96v8)
So the Information Team goes off and shows me that they can make anything longer than necessary, pretty sure that using three whole pages to just tell me 'Trust your Instincts to find its Instincts' is a waste of paper and time.
I entered the room... and there's a small, white bird with a fleshy belly that just didn't seem right, said bird was resting on a black perch. It tilted its head to the side while its doted eyes landed on my normal eyes, then the bird proceeded to tilt its head to the left and flap its wings.
...
Ok, better start doing something I guess, "Hey there little guy, you seem lively" It flew on my shoulder, and started rubbing its head with passion against my neck.
Now that I have a closer look at what I'm going to assume is a he, that belly kinda looks like an alien mouth, a very cartoony alien mouth. I bet this boy could eat an elephant in a blink of an eye.
Alright time to see what makes this little bird tick, "Seems you like me, any particular reason for that?" I asked, not really expecting an answer, but the bird flew right in front of me and started trying REALLY hard to communicate through body language.
So it is imitating what seems like violence, to pointed at me with one of his wings while then shaking his head, he repeated these actions various times with slightly different movements, "I'm... not Violent?" I threw in a guess just for the bird to shake his head hard.
Humm...
"I'm not... Bad?" This guess was met with an earnest nod and the bird to fly on my shoulder again while rubbing his head against my neck with affection, well it seems that Instinct works every well.
I extended my right arm and saw the bird flying on the back of my hand, "So little guy, I still need to do more work to figure out what you do, but I feel like it's easier to ask since you seem to be cooperating with me, so you dislike bad people?" I asked, and the bird nodded with narrowed eyes.
Humming to myself, I started my next question, "So what would you do if you were to meet a bad person?" I asked making the bird and started... viciously pecking at the air, kinda like a hummingbird or woodpecker trying to get food.
"And if they defended themselves?" I asked again, and I SWEAR his belly moved ominously.
Alright... taking note of that on the folder, we are instructed to write anything found about the abnormality, also HIGHLIGHTING the hell out of the belly part, "Neat, you are a pretty understanding bird, so what exactly is bad for you?" The bird straight up froze for a moment and almost fell from the air.
Then flew towards his perch that... how did they get that branch here? The door is too small for it to fit, putting that aside, the bird stared at the wall like his whole world was turned upside down.
Well... I just made a bird question his moral compass within moments of meeting him, I just have a way with words, I guess.
The room was flashing green while the Bird was busy contemplating the meaning of morality and its diverging paths, "See ya around, little guy." I waved at the bird, that gave me a resolute nod in return and went back to his pondering.
I glanced at the door while I left, perfect work yet again, "Ok... so where the hell is everybody else?" I wondered out loud.
And that's when Dakota approached me with a frown, "Goddamn piece of... stupid Skull..." and she is pissed because of course, she would be.
"Guessing work with One Bro didn't go as expected?" I asked while hearing the distant sound of laughter, most likely coming from Rober, I can already tell this will be a frenemies situation.
Dakota growled, "I did AS I WAS TOLD, BUT THATSAJASHDGASDH!" This... was that even any human language being used?.
"Calm down, Dakota, what did you do when talking with the Skull?" I asked while... wait, have I been here before?
She sighed and scratched furiously the back of her head, "I fucking told him that I rape children or some shit, I ain't telling a floating piece of calcium what I did in my life." Oh god, I have been here before.
I sighed to myself and bopped her on the head with 'Penitence' while a white wave washed over her, "Chill girl, One Bro only listens to the real deal, it should be on the folders... you grabbed the folder right?" I asked at the end, while Dakota decided that the roof looked very nice.
Rolling my eyes at that, I smiled, "Just keep at it, you did better than Rober, that guy went out of that room crying like a bitch." I ignored the 'HEY!' in the background while Dakota snickered.
"Always knew he was a pansy, what about the new abnormality?" I thought about an answer for a moment.
May as well tell it how it is, "Small bird that probably has a mouth in his stomach, also wondering about the point of morality and what being bad entails... kinda smart for something so small." I replied.
Rober came running and pointed at me, "First fuck you, second Dakota it's your turn with One Br- AND YOU GOT A PERFECT WORK AGAIN, WHAT!?" He exclaimed at the end while looking at the door of the bird, while I simply shrugged.
"I'm good at this stuff, unlike my... 'senior'." I said sarcastically, making Rober roll his eyes and flip me the bird.
Dakota waved at me, "Later Trigger, fuck you too Rober... I have a score to settle." I'm going to find chill pills and give them all to her.
Rober flipped her the bird too and suddenly perked up, "Huh... I'm working with the new Abnormality, any tips?".
"Do you consider yourself a bad person?" I asked him, making Rober arc an eyebrow.
"Probably?" I nodded at his answer.
"Then you'll probably be fine." He gave me a deadpan stare and walked inside the bird's chamber... welp time to chill on the main room.
Or I would have done that if at the other end of the room I didn't see a familiar face.
When I saw Beth with... a haunted expression on her face, along with her, another two clerks that didn't look any better leaving the main room towards somewhere.
And now I'm curious.
This Chapter has been Edited by the Helpful nintendoplayer96v8)
I trailed Beth and her coworkers while hoping to god that the manager didn't ask for me to do some work, of course, the smell hit me when I least expected it to.
Something I was familiar with when just walking around the streets, dogs or cats can get run over from time to time, that's nothing new and the smell that comes from their corpses is nothing short of gross.
IT'S that same smell but amplified by a big magnitude, the logical part of my brain that I usually ignore because I'm hopelessly optimistic told me to walk away and never pry again.
Sadly, my bleeding heart didn't agree and, I pressed on following behind with careful steps until they reached a bloodstained door that wasn't fully close because of a body that was cut in half organs spewing out like a badly done pasta and the blank expression of a man that simply accepted his fate.
...
"There is no way out, huh..." I'm not sure who said that, but I had my eyes fixated on the door that opened revealing even more bodies, but if there was one thing that all of them shared the most was the M armband that I wear too.
...
Someone sighed, "It's what it is, expendable is the keyword of every employee here... even that new guy won't be peppy forever." Hopeless would be a nice way to put the sound of that.
"The incinerator again... right?" That unsure and scared voice, Bethany, is unsure of what they are doing.
One of them scoffed, "You still not accepting it? Just do and be done with it, caring about this kind of stuff is useless anyway." No.
No it isn't.
I walked up and spoke up, "That's her decision to make, don't drag her down along with you." they all turned to me, Beth expression was the one I was focused on.
The same person scoffed again, original, "You can see this and still say that? That requires a special kind of stupid." I didn't even turn to her, I'm used to people telling things like that.
But I don't take the easy way out, I just don't 'stop' letting this bother me "Then I'll stay stupid rather than a spineless bastard that can't even bother to show how they feel".
It's so easy to stop caring, to look the other way, and accept things as they are.
But I care, I'll speak up, because no matter how hard life hits me I'll stand back up with my head held high, knowing that I at least TRIED where others couldn't even bother to think about it.
I'm not a religious person, but I still offered a quick prayer, I wanted to say this was an accident, but the number of bodies made it clear this was routine, change won't come with tears or righteous rage but with decisive actions.
I can mourn for them, even if they don't want me to.
Does it sound selfish to be Good because you feel like it? Probably.
Those that can use their Selfishness to do good can only be called Human, after all.
"And now you are praying? Man, you're hopeless..." A voice full of mirth, but I for once threw whoever talked a look that could only be described as 'plain'.
"Trigger! You shouldn't be bothering with side-jobs while on work hours, do Attachment work with One-Sin!"
Malkuth... she did seem a little off when I met her, I glanced at the room full of bodies and realized that while a lot of people there had the M armband there were many others, but there were obviously more M's than any other.
I patted Beth on the shoulder "Care, because when you stop caring you'll stop trying" I threw one look at the woman that was talking a minute ago, she just was fuming.
"You care too, you wouldn't be fighting me so much on it if you didn't" I took one good look at the black-haired woman with long hair and red eyes, she had a permanent scowl on her face that became more prominent after I said those words and an X shaped scar on her right cheek.
Wish I could do more, but I'm not a miracle maker.
I kept walking with one thought in my mind, 'do better'.
And I will.
When I got back to the hallways containing the Abnormalities chambers, I saw Dakota leaving One Bro's room with a big smile on her face, "I'll admit... I do feel a little bit better, Trigger?" she saw me and stopped while pointing at the room she just came out off.
"Dakota, seems you actually said the truth and got a crown too." I pointed out while wondering if only Rober would never get one.
She nodded but frowned, "You seem less lively than usual, what's up?" I didn't really want to say, mainly because I feel this is normal for this place in general, Dakota herself has that air to her that just people that have killed have.
What a world to live in... "Remembering why I act this way, self-reflection and all that." Dakota nodded at that with an understanding look on her face.
"Yeah, it's always good to remember your roots, why you do the things you do and all that." Seems like she gets it, even if her way of doing things is a lot more crass than normal.
I gave her a thumbs up, "Yeah, never let others drag you down, that just means they are jealous." Dakota grinned at that.
"Guess we both hate Half-Asses." She nodded while giving me a couple of slaps on the back.
Guess we do, "It's my turn with the Skull, give Rober my regards... also don't brag too much about the crown to him".
"No promises."
I snorted, should have seen that one coming, I entered the chamber and took a deep breath, "I don't have any kind of sad backstory or horrible fate that made me act the way I do, I just remember looking at the world and realize how easy it was to ignore problems... so because of a pure stubborn desire to prove people wrong I started to care, until it became my new normal, so I could shout out 'if I can, why can't you?'" I started pouring my heart out.
Maybe my desire to help people isn't selfless, but that's fine, Humans are selfish by nature.
And there is nothing wrong with that.
"So I put an example, do good not because others are telling you to, not because it's the right thing, not because you want the moral high ground, but because you feel like it".
"Doing good has no higher purpose, it's just another normal action of the day."
"It doesn't make you special, and that's fine."
I took a slow deep breath with a small smile on my face and then released it.
Time to keep going then!
(This Chapter has been Edited by the Helpful nintendoplayer96v8)
You know... when the day ended I didn't think I'd be talking with my boss again, "You wanted to talk with me, Miss Malkuth?" I asked already knowing the answer, her single mechanical and glowing eyes stared at me with intensity.
The main room was empty due to lunchtime, Rober and Dakota wanted to eat with me but as it can be seen, Malkuth has a very different plan in mind "Trigger, your job may have been exceptional so far, but that gives you no right to do what you want when you feel like it, much less on work hours." Interesting way to say 'listen to me' miss...
...
"Feels like you had this kind of conversation before." I couldn't help but voice out, not that she seemed to mind.
She nodded... I think? Her body isn't exactly built with a head, "Of course! Many other Employees have felt with the necessity to try and say they know better, as you can see, they didn't." Because they are dead, Rober owes me his life apparently... not that he needs to know that.
"People usually like to think that way, you do too and so do I." I shrugged while wondering how exactly to bring up the topic of a room full of dead bodies when the culprit is technically the whole company.
Malkuth reacted oddly to my words, the light of her eye just turned off for a moment, so probably a blink. "Well, I do follow all the guidelines and codes of conduct along with a 100% suppression rate." Along with the highest mortality rate if what I saw in that room is any indication.
But why? Now that's an answer I would like, "I can tell, you must have them written on your... now that I take a look at it, you should probably get a new notepad." That poor thing looks like it saw hell.
Malkuth perked up, "Indeed, I need it to keep myself on track and for Lady Angela's own peace of mind, I always forget things too easily, so I use it quite often." I don't think you should sound so proud...
Lady Angela? Sounds like a name to remember.
"I'll try to follow your example considering how proud you sound, it should be an attitude to try and replicate." I do mean it, too, I feel like I'll need something to keep track of things here.
I do not know how she did it without a face, but I could tell Malkuth was beaming, "Excellent! Many employees would show weakness and cave in, maybe even try to 'resign', but you are proof that they just didn't have what it takes to be in the control team!" I... there is a lot to unpack just from those words alone.
I'm really going to need that notepad...
Hearing the metallic sound of the door opening, I turned around an-
Our eyes meet even though the ringing on my head wouldn't go away, to be honest, it felt bizarrely nostalgic staring at the woman with sky-blue hair and eyes just like mine and I could tell she was just as confused as I was about what we were feeling.
A disgusting feeling of nostalgia, that felt as nonsensical as a role reversal, people that act in ways they shouldn't.
She confused me and I confused her, my mind could only tell me that her expression looked wrong on her, and she must be thinking the same.
I shouldn't be smiling, and she shouldn't be frowning.
"Oh! Miss Angela, sorry I was about halfway with my report, but I had to let Trigger know about a couple of my complaints." As if completely obvious to whatever the FUCK that was, Malkuth broke the ice with her upbeat attitude.
Angela... closed her eyes again and shut off, emotions that I could see were now numbed, "Indeed, please do finish them before trying to do anything else Malkuth." She shouldn't sound like that.
"Right away, Miss Angela! Remember to keep doing good work, Trigger!" she said, and I threw her an earnest smile and nodded at her retreating figure.
I could feel Angela's eyes on the back of my head when I smiled with only confusion evident on them, I shouldn't look like this.
...
My body moved on its own, turning around to meet her eyes, "You are Miss Angela then, I'm Trigger nice to meet you." I offered my hand to which she stared for a second before careful taking it, on her eyes I shouldn't be possible.
"I'm Angela as you have heard, AI and right hand of the manager of this Branch of Lobotomy Corporation." The way she introduced herself was wrong, but I took it in stride.
I feel like we met before on different sides... "Must be a pain to deal with a newbie, I heard it's hard to be a senior and see your juniors prance around like headless chickens." I commented with a small smile, it felt pained.
Angela's expression didn't change, but her eyes held a small amount of amusement and... Fatigue, "I have seen it way too many times, now it's frankly annoying to deal with." The longer the conversation kept going.
The more I felt like falling apart.
And so does she, "I have many activities to take care of, if you'll excuse me." A sudden way to end a conversation that both of us DIDN'T know how to handle.
"Have a nice day, Miss Angela." I responded with a nod and a smile, it didn't seem like it, but I could tell she hurried away.
I stared at her back and the moment she left through the door I had to grab one of the walls to not fall on my knees, my right hand gripped my chest harshly and...
I don't know, for some reason, I have an image of her, that's just the opposite of what she's like and...
Okay... deep breaths...
...
Maybe I should look for a notepad already, seems like my appearance here wasn't a mere coincidence...
.
.
.
.
Young Saint, you've met the fake angel with clipped wings.
The mirror of the past, now distorted.
Will you break or find the light that is I?
A/N: If you like it then that's great, I have like... another 200k words left to put in here, I'll say that looking back at the early chapters it didn't make me want to explode on sight of it, so maybe I'm not that bad at writting.
Anyway, go buy PM games because they are amazing and I love them.