Chapter IV: Fear

Not long after being seperated with Mash and Godric, Faust found himself nearing the village. He did not want to alarm the villagers so he fashioned a white cloak from his clothes and covered the rest of his uniform.

As he made his way through the thick bushes he caught a glimpse of the villagers going about their daily lives. It was a small village, a couple dozen houses around the clearing made from wood and stone, some huts could be found on tall and strong trees, it was a simple village and the people liked their peaceful way of life. The villagers took only what they needed from fishing, gathering and hunting. It was a very self-sufficient village, the residents were mostly farmers and their families who wanted to get away from the war and moved to this island, far away from the fighting.

Once every month, a squad would be dispatched to the village to make sure everything was alright, some villagers appreciated it while some could not help but fear that the island would become a part of the war. A squad had already visited them this month, so of course the villagers would be alarmed.

As he stepped out of the forest, the villagers all stopped at what they were doing and stared at him.

"Hello, my name is Faust, Captain of the 13th elite squad. I am here on official duty. May I please speak with the Chief of the village?" He spoke softly but commanded authority.

An old man came out from one of the houses and ushered for him to follow inside. He walked towards the house in the middle of the village, the people made glances at him but quickly turned their heads when he looked in their direction. He could feel the confusion in the air as the villagers huddled away together and began whispering. He wanted to finish this job and leave right away, he did not like being in the presence of civilians and it has always made him anxious.

He made his way into the house and what welcomed him were furnitures made from wood, rocks, leaves and animal fur. The villagers took pride in only using what is provided by the land itself and did not care for technology. It only so happened that the village was in Nano territory but their way of life would fit right in with the Bios.

The chief was sitting on a table on the north end of the house and signaled for the captain to join him. He sat down on the other end of the table, facing the chief. Hot tea and some bread were already served in front of him.

"My name is Qoras and I am the representative of our village, to what do I owe the pleasure, captain?"

"We apologize if we have come at a bad time. We are under orders to scout the island, one of our drones was shot down near here and we just wanted to make sure you were safe."

"I think you mean you just wanted to check if we have become your enemy."

Faust could feel the animosity from Qoras. It is true that when squads visit villages it is to show their power and to quell any and all uprisings or rebellions. It was also true that they had been given orders to kill everyone if they found that the village was in any way helping the enemy. This was especially true for his squad.

The 13th squad, also known as the Zero Squad a nickname they got when rumors spread that every job they got would always lead to zero survivors, used to be a two-man team with just him and Godric. They had been joined by Mash not too long ago. Everyone cowered in fear whenever they were under investigation by this squad, including other squads.

"This doesn't have to end in bloodshed." Faust spoke staring at the chief. "We just want to know if there is anything peculiar going on around the island."

The chief looked at him with cold, strong eyes. "No. I have nothing to report to you. If that is all, please leave the village immediately."

The captain sighed "Let me just finish my tea then." he said as reached out both hands towards the cup, pushing back his cloak over his shoulders.

The chief could now see his uniform and his insignia. Qoras' eyes widened and he began to sweat profusely.

"Is something wrong? You seem flustered, Chief Qoras."

"Y-y-you're Faust Thorne, the Prince of Death." he stuttered under his breath. "P-p-please, spare us."

"I thought you said there was nothing going on around here?"

"Y-you have to understand, sh-she's just a little girl." The chief continued, glancing towards the closet to his left.

The captain stood up and slowly walked towards the closet. He carefully opened the closet doors and inside was a girl around maybe nine or ten years of age. She was bundled in a blanket and was tightly holding on to a poorly made teddy bear. She was shaking and had her eyes closed.

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." said Faust, slowly reaching out a hand towards her. She slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was his insignia. She knew what it was, what it meant for her. Everyone knew that the insignia was a sentence of death for her kind, she was a Bio who fled with her family to avoid the war. She had been seperated and found herself on this island along with one of her fathers elementals. The villagers welcomed her, fed her, took care of her and even let the elemental live outside the village but now she faces her end. She thought it was over for her and it would be her fault the villagers would die too. She closed her eyes tightly again,tears streaming down her cheeks, waiting. Suddenly she felt his soft palms brushing her cheeks and wiping her tears.

"Don't cry. It's gonna be okay." The man smiled at her. Was all the rumors about the insignia a lie, was this man really here to help her? She thought to herself and as she was about to give in to hope she felt the spirit of the elemental vanish, the only thing she had left of her family, gone. Suddenly her sight was splattered red and she could feel the warm blood on her face.