FSE

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Location: An abandoned rock quarry, not far from Mana, New Castor

Time: Two night ago

The arena was an absolute bloodbath. Pools of blood, knocked out teeth, and bits and pieces of one of the fighters; only one of them, giving an idea of just how one sided the fight was.

"Holy fuck," one of the observers said, an albatross in a black and white suit, indicating him as one of the lower ranking members of Primal. With him were two other white shirted staff members, all but one of them horrified; the one not reacting, a former mortician, had seen plenty of gore in his life, but for the other two, this was a whole new avenue for them.

While the White Shirts shuddered and cowered, their red shirted comrade, looked on in silence. While not a Redliner, they were a Scarlet, possessing the red shirt that gave them leadership over the White Shirts. Yet, even as a veteran of the company, he was still caught off guard by how violent this particular fighter was. The Scarlet couldn't take his eyes off of the man.

There he sat, on a pile of rubble in the middle of the arena. He was an enormous man, probably about 7 feet tall, maybe an inch or two taller or shorter; hard to tell when he stood with a hunch 90 percent of the time. His body, covered in thick light brown scales, his muscles bulging through his clothes, his lumbering physique, he was a being at the pinnacle of raw brute force. But not only that, but despite how mutilated and dead his opponent was, the reptile was barely injured. Chewing on his opponent's arm, he watched as a Redliner approached him.

"Had fun, Pilotte?" The Redliner said. He was a bespectacled white cat, the same Redliner that gave Pilotte his invitation to Primal, Marylin von Carvana. "Looks like you dearly missed killing, had to let it all out at once." Marylin looked around at the gore surrounding them, smiling, "Almost feel bad for the guy... Almost."

Pilotte didn't say anything, but he did toss the severed arm away, watching it land beside the corpse that was once his opponent.

"Well, I'll see to it that the money is deposited in your Handler's account." Marylin said, "Take care, this'll probably be the last time you see me." He said, walking away, pressing a few buttons on his phone to call two groups.

"No money for me?" Pilotte growled.

"You said it yourself, you don't care about the money," Marylin said, turning his head over, stopping his exit, a smug smile on his face. "Did that electric chair fry your memory."

"Just a joke." Pilotte said, an unamused expression on his face. "How about I tear that smile of yours off?"

"You can't kill me even if you tried." Marylin said, grinning wider, as he walked away. Back turned to Pilotte, not a hint of fear.

Yet, despite this, Pilotte remained where he was, watching as the groups that Marylin called came into the arena. He gently tugged on the large collar around his neck.

One of them was the cleaning crew, coming to wash the place and make it look like a fight never even happened here. The other was a squad of White Shirts and a Scarlet, here to get Pilotte back in his restrains and possibly have to sedate him.

The cleaning crew, always on standby and always within walking distance, were quick to arrive. Cleaning up blood, teeth, clothing fragments, and, rarely, dead bodies, was all part of the job for them. But, each of them all kept their distance away from Pilotte, all of them silently and mutually planning to save cleaning the spot he was in for later.

Cleaning Crew

Irene, Jian, and Dex

"Why do we got to clean a dirt arena? It's dirt," Irene said, as she used a pressure washer on a large splatter of blood. She was an old fox, never too old for this job though. "We're just making bloody mud at a certain point."

"Of all the places to have this much blood too." The deer Jian said, laughing to make light of things. "Feels wrong to say, but this is the only job where you can ask 'who are we cleaning up?' instead of 'what are we cleaning up?' Know who they are?"

"Apparently they were a murderer of sorts. Hardened prisoner, fought a lot in the slammer, completely dominated the place before Primal took them in." Dex said, a chameleon and the youngest of the group, despite being their superior in terms of work. As he picked up something round and squishy from the ground, only to learn that it was an eye, he continued. "Gross... Anyways, I think that's why they paired him against Big Boy here. A criminal vs a criminal sounds like something people would love to see. Plus is guilt free if one of them gets killed." He said, looking over his shoulder at Pilotte. The lizard was eerily still for someone who had just completely mutilated someone. As a matter of fact, he was completely docile, just sitting there, staring out into space.

"Do you know what the deal with that guy is?" Irene asked her superior, continuing to do her best at cleaning up the blood. "All I know is that he was on death row until Primal took him in. Heard a lot of people saying he survived these executions."

"Don't know the full story, but yeah. He killed something like 60 people. Just a routine of murder." The chameleon nodded, talking and cleaning. "Also yes, that part is true, he survived every execution he was put through. The dude is a complete monster." He looked back over to Pilotte, who was now being escorted by the squad of white and red shirts. "I'm sure if it isn't for that collar he has on, he'd kill everyone here."

"Wouldn't be so sure on that," Jian said, "From what I heard, the dude kills, then enters a rest state. It's like a weird cycle."

"Rest state?" The fox asked.

"Yeah, I share a hometown with him, I still live there, the town where the majority of his killings took place, trust me on this. He would kill a bunch of people, then becomes docile. Not killing at all, even living a normal life, before going back to killing in some allotted amount of time." He said, going over to the spot Pilotte was sitting to clean up. "Like look how he's just letting people take him in, even restrain him. Dude is as docile as the day he was hatched from an egg, that's how he was eventually arrested too, he just let them take him in. You'd think seeing the guy who was so infamous in my hometown, I'd be angry at him, but nah... Maybe I'm just desensitized to violence. It's like meeting a really fucked up celebrity."

"You know way too much about this guy," the chameleon said, concerned for his underclassman.

"How can I not? It was all over the local news whenever it happened." He took a deep breath. "Although, not sure what they're gonna do now. There are a lot of fucked up freaks in Primal and eventually they're gonna run out of fucked up freaks to send after Pilotte, if this fight is anything to go by, he ain't sparing no one. Someone innocent and goodhearted is gonna have to take the fall and fight him eventually."

"Now, I'm curious," Irene said, helping Dex take the corpse of the deceased fighter over to a bodybag, "Any other horror stories about him?"

"Well..." Jian hummed, "There is the story of the survivors. A few people did manage to get away from him, either by hiding or running away. No one had ever successfully fought him one on one. But out of the three survivors, all of them had similar stories. About how he was super calm when approaching them. One woman even described him like a curious child, staring at her as he tried to bite her. Another man said he looked offended when he hid from him." Jian finished cleaning his spot, before going back to the others. "But all of them said that Pilotte said weird stuff. Every survivor reported Pilotte would say things like how he was truly the most free man or how it was a shame they were being killed by him. Real crazy stuff."

"What does any of that mean?" Dex asked, looking at a job well done. They were super quick at this. You could barely tell there was a fight here.

"Hell if I know, I learned everything from the local news and crime documentaries on the case." Jian laughed. "But, one thing I do know is that the next person to fight him is really and thoroughly fucked."

---

Now dressed, Ethan and Brook could now talk with their surprise house guest. Brook dressed in the clothes she was wearing before she showered, sort of defeating the purpose of showering in the first place, while Ethan put on some fresh clothes. Kaya, meanwhile, stood in the living room, looking around, inspecting the place with youthful amusement. A rich person treating a poor person's house like it was some sort of side show attraction.

"You sure it's a good idea to, you know, just let her stay unattended?" Brook asked Ethan, as she put her shirt on, band t-shirt for some folk punk band. "I mean, we just met her and she's kind of weird. Not suspicious weird but still weird."

"I know," Ethan nodded, adjusting his hoodie. "But she is with Primal, she at least knows about it, so it isn't like she's just some person walking into our house. But that does make her a colleague and it would look bad on our part to kick her out. As much as I want to do just that and get back in the shower." Primal, despite all the fights and the weirdos within it, was still a business and you had to get along with your co-workers.

"I'm with you there. Plus she smells way too sugary." Brook said, remarking on Kaya's strong, fruity as hell perfume. "But it does look like we have a business deal on our hands, so there is a plus to this. I'm fine with gagging on some airhead's perfume for that."

"I can hear both of you guys, you know! The walls are so thin here!" The serval exclaimed. Those massive ears of hers weren't just for show.

"I know!" Brook shouted back.

"Brook, please," Ethan said, as he walked out, back into the living room. The two were dressed so plain compared to Kaya's own loud fashion sense.

"Well, don't you two look adorable!" Kaya cheered, wagging her hips. "So boring, yet your souls are shown so well in your fashion sense! The clothes are an extension of the self and the self is the soul."

"Uh, thanks," Ethan said, both confused and grateful.

"Thanks, I got it at a thrift store." Brook said, looking at her shirt. "You should listen to these guys sometime."

"Probably won't," She bluntly told Brook, before getting back on topic. "You can wear those clothes for now, but you're going to have to get dressed out in something better later, if you're going out to dinner. I can give you some pointers." Kaya winked. "If you don't mind, would like to join you for that."

She really was trying to worm her way into things, wasn't she? Like some sort of pretty pink parasite. Before Ethan could say anything, Brook took the stage, using a slightly friendlier tone than before, the usual tone Brook would use with people. "Alright," She nodded, "But first, we don't really know you. But you do know Wes, Cutter, and the other guy, right?" She said, having forgot Ravi's name. "I mean, if you know them, I think I can trust you. Ethan and me would just like to learn about you before we have this dinner."

"Aaaah there we go!" Kaya laughed, as she picked up on Brook's sudden change in attitude. "You seem a bit less cranky than you were earlier."

"Guess I was a bit annoyed about our shower being interrupted."

"Fairy fluff." Kaya shrugged, "But, guess I owe you details." She said, standing up. "My name is Kaya and I'm a Handler at Primal, but you already know that much. I am a social media influencer, singer, and fashionista. Currently, I have 3 fighters working under me that I get along quite well with. However, here's the problem, I have another fighter, recently handed off to me, think because I was the only one willing to take him. Thing about him, he's... A bit of a handful. So I, well, I wanted to go and find a playmate for him."

"Define a handful?" Brook said. "We consider Eli to be a handful but I don't think we're talking about the same type of handful here."

"Indeed." Kaya said, "I think it would be better to explain this over the dinner then? If you don't want to fight him, well, that'll be all and we can find someone else for him to fight, nothing ventured nothing gained. Either way, you'll be having dinner with me, which is an absolute win." She lowerd, her sunglasses, a coy expression on her face, "There you go, you know me and what I want, all my cards on the table."

Brook looked to Ethan, pulling him aside, whispering to him; even though, thanks to the serval's large ears and the small size of the apartment, Kaya could still hear them. "See that? Am I good at this or what? But what do you say? You're the Handler, Mr. Brains."

"I think she seems trustworthy enough. Hallmark said that things like this were normal. Handler is a super social job." Ethan said, "Just think of it as dinner with your coworkers, you've done that plenty of times. Plus it'd good look good on our part."

Brook nodded, "Well those are my bros, of course I'm gonna have dinner with them from time to time. But I think I'm with you on this; even if this Kaya girl is a bit of a bimbo." She grinned, winking to him. "But if this is a scheme and we end up dead in a ditch somewhere at the end of the day, I'm kicking your ass in the afterlife."

"I take bimbo as a compliment," Kaya said, eavesdropping on their conversation. "But have you guys come to a conclusion? Time is short."

"Alright," Ethan said, as he and Brook turned to her. "We'll do it."

"Oh goody!" Kaya shouted, practically jumping up and down. "I'll set up the reservations for the both of you, don't even have to worry."

"Oh? Thanks," Ethan said.

"Don't mention it." She nodded, "You know, how about an apology gift? For me barging in and interrupting your shower. I'll foot the bill, completely."

"Where did this generosity come from?" Brook asked, taken aback.

"I have more money than I know what to do with, once you become knee deep in Primal and know the right people, maybe you'll be in the same position." She giggled. "However, I won't be deciding, providing, or paying for your outfits, but I recommend you come well dressed." She ran her hands down her torso, "Why don't you take a look at mine for some inspiration and a hint on how to dress." Admittedly, it was a nice outfit that matched her personality completely.

"Alright, I probably won't, but thanks for the offer." Brook snickered. Now how did it feel to have your suggestions rejected.

"Alright, I'll figure something out." Ethan nodded, being nicer. "After we pick our outfits, what then?"

"I'll be back here in, uh, let's say two hours? Actually 3 hours might be better. How's that sound. Dinner will start just as the sun is setting."

"Sounds good to me." Ethan nodded, Brook gave a thumbs up, giving her own affirmation. But, looked like the meeting was set!

Kaya, now on her way out, waved to the two, "Knew you guys couldn't resist my charms! Til then, toodles~"

Then, finally, Ethan and Brook were left alone, finally feeling like they could breath with the serval's intoxicating presence gone. Simultaneously, they flopped down on their respective couches, breathing a synchronized sigh of relief. "Well... She was..." Brook started saying.

"Crazy? Par for the course with what we've seen with Primal." Ethan laughed, "Sort of reminded me of a sugary version of-"

"Don't say it!" Brook interrupted him, knowing completely that he was going to compare her to Kaya. She was nothing like that serval! Of course, that offense was all in jest, neither party meant any harm. "Anyways, subject change. What are we gonna wear to this? I don't have a clue how to dress for this and I know how indecisive you can be!"

"I mean, there are a few places that I can think of." Ethan nodded, "I'm probably gonna just pick out a tuxedo and call it a day."

"Like hell you're going to just be wearing a tuxedo. I want you to look eye catching as fuck! You better pick something out that will make all the girls, or guys, want to take you out. A tux is just plain boring."

Ethan laughed, the hyena always managing to get a laugh out of him, thanks to her elegant way of speaking. "Alright, alright, I'll find something similar to what Hallmark was wearing when I last met him. Some patterned suit."

"There we go! Much better." Brook nodded.

"What about you?"

"How am I going to dress, you mean?" She said, puzzling over it. "I mean, I would love to wear a dress, but at the same time, that kind of fashion isn't for me."

"Yeah, I can't really imagine you in a dress."

"I do love the aesthetic of a dress. I just want something that has the vibe of a dress that isn't a dress. Does that make sense?"

"Nope, doesn't make sense at all. You can go for what I planned to wear. A patterned suit, something frilly and fancy that isn't a dress."

Brook nodded, still thinking about it. She was forever a butch tomboy. Dresses weren't for her. She did like skirts, but they were hit or miss, and she would only wear when the mood struck. For her, it was shorts, jeans, or nothing at all. "You know what, I'll take your patterned suit and I'll raise you one of my own."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Ethan said, going to the bedroom, to get his stuff. The countdown was started. In 3 hours was their first proper meeting as members of Primal.

---

Here we have our next opponent, the Death Row inmate, Pilotte.

Kaya is a fun character to write, she really is a mirror of Brook.

Sort of had Viscera Cleanup Detail on my mind when I wrote that cleanup scene.

I do sorta regret not having this whole thing be part of the last chapter, but I like to get chapters out in a timely manner.