All That You Fear (Part 1) [Mission] (Finished)

Jeffrey Anton stood before Eve, his eye scanning her physical structure and even her very soul. Or, at least, she felt than way. Why am I being analyzed? She shivered, awaiting him to stop staring at her like that.

(Will finish later~ /shifty)

Jeffrey Anton stood before Eve, his eye scanning her physical structure and even her very soul. Or, at least, she felt than way. Why am I being analyzed? She shivered and waiting for him to stop staring at her like that. It only took a moment, and the man backed away.

Eve had found him in his office. On the outside the building looked normal - it fit in with the rest of Hargeon town. On the inside... It was a different story. Machines littered the walls and floor, and there were lacrima connected to each and every one. In the middle of the room (and these machines) was a single, wooden chair. Eve looked curiously around the room when Mr. Anton began inspecting her, but after 2 minutes she began to feel thoroughly creeped out.

When he stopped his intense gazing, though, he began to question her.
"What is your worst fear?"
"Why is this so?"
"How intense is this fear?"
And on the interrogation went, making Eve feel as though she was meant to be the bad cop and interrogate the man back.

She answered every question, though, and when she was finished the man pulled out a crinkled slip of paper. "This is a waver," he said simply, handing it to Eve. "I need you to sign this if we're to continue." Eve hesitated momentarily, but in the end she gave in and signed her little name away, leaving her faith in whatever deities were watching the event.

Mr Anton nodded to himself and took the slip of paper from Eve, tacking it onto a bulletin board. "Now, sit down in that chair over there. Don't worry, even for your size it'll hold."

Eve glared at the man's backside, refusing to comment on his statement about her weight. Damned old man...

[303]

After sitting, she waited for something miraculous to happen. Nothing came. Jeff came by and moved the weird bowl shaped object over your head, and he scurried over to the many machines lining the walls. "Brace yourself," he called, flipping a switch and pushing a button.

Lights flashed a multitude of colors, little beeps sounded from every area of the room, echoing off of the objects littering the place, and some of the lacrima, after activating, detonated with a loud BOOM.

Eve's ears were ringing and she shut her eyes, blocking out the smoke now pouring into the room. Mr. Anton's coughs could be faintly heard through the ringing, and Eve peeked open one eye to find the smoke slowly clearing. She waved her right hand in the air to move the gray cloud away from her face. "Mr. Anton, what happened?" she asked, pulling her hat down a few more inches onto her head.

Instead of a response, as the smoke cleared, she saw Mr Anton frozen in place, a look of pure horror on his face. "Sir?" Eve blinked and turned to look in the direction he was facing, since it wasn't her way. A clown stood there, and it had a purple spade tattoo over its left eye. Eve herself found the creature semi-attractive, but Mr. Hord seemed paralyzed.

"G-get rid of it," Mr. Anton croaked out.

Eve, realizing this was Jeffrey's worst fear come to life, moved her hand to rest on her card holster. "Hey, clownie! Get away from him!"

[255]

The clown didn't even look Eve's direction. She continued calling out to it, but the clown wasn't interested in her. It only had eyes for Mr. Anton. Letting out a huff, Eve pulled out a card and held it in front of her. "Water Slicer!" A slice of clear water shot out from the card, nailing the clown in the back. It slowly, creepily turned its head and looked at Eve over its shoulder, a grin plastered onto its face.

Eve shuddered and replaced the card with another one. "Diamond Slicer!" Her card began to glow and its edges sharpened. six more cards poofed into existence, and each of their edges sharpened, creating slicing cards that could really do some damage. She threw the card at the clown, and the others followed their master. All of them hit their intended object, and the clown finally turned its body to face Eve.

"Nice clown," she muttered, reaching down to her card holster again. What to use... she thought, biting her bottom lip. With a flourish of the hand, she raised yet another card. "Lightning Shot!"

Her card glowed once more, and a bolt of white hot lighting roared as it exited Eve's magic circle and charged towards the clown. It hit him dead in the chest (seemed that the clown wasn't too agile, despite being a really creepy thing) and he toppled over. Eve waited a few moments before slowly making her way towards it.

"Is it dead?" Mr. Anton whispered, peering over an overturned cardboard box. Eve kicked the creature lightly, waiting for it to move. It didn't.

"T-thank you so much!" Mr. Anton jumped up and practically tackled Eve in his enthusiasm. "Thank you! How could I ever repay you!"

"You could pay me my jewels..." Eve's body went stiff as Jeffrey took her hand and shook it repeatedly. "Yes, yes," he muttered, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the money. "Next time I do something like this, I'll be sure to call upon Lamia Scale!"

Eve patted the elder man on the back and left the building, glad to be out of the confined space. Remember to never go back there...

As she walked back to her guild, she clenched her fists. I was hoping to rid of my fear... A fear of fire. She could almost feel hot flame's licking her skin, and her blood ran cold at the thought. "Don't let it get to you," she breathed, shaking her head. She went home, pushing the memory or fire and burnt flesh to the far recesses of her mind, where she prayed it would stay for all eternity. But deep down she knew that it would return, as it did every night on that day... The day her world changed.

Spoiler:

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