Aldegar invited Fornicus to come along with him, as they made their way to Lukas' office in the Offense Corps building. Their step was heavy and wary, watching eachothers backs for any possible sneak attack. Although both of their minds spun around the idea of a possible betrayal, no one could be certain, since no one of the spectators who viewed their duel knew of the reasoning behind it.
At this late hour, the Oracle headquarters was barren and empty. After the duel's end, all the office workers left their homes in fear, while the ranked officers were ordered to keep their families safe until a conclusion was made. Ranked number one, Fornicus thankfully had the needed clearance to unlock the building outside working hours. They tiptoed across the hallways, trying their best not to make any noise, their senses heightened and a fear of ambush spread throughout their bodies.
"Aldegar, I know you trust Lukas, but, are you certain of this? For what we know, Lukas may be the one at fault here. He may be setting us up." Fornicus gently whispered, although his tone was clearly concerned. "You know we won't be able to fight with full strength here. If we get cornered, it's over."
"I understand that, Fornicus. But, if it's my error which leads to our death, understand it is one out of desperation." They had climbed up to the fifth floor, where the offices of the top three officers were. Fornicus the nearest to the elevator, which they refrained from using, Aldegar's in the middle, and Lukas' in the far end of the hall. "No one can be certain of what happened today. If both Lukas and Agostinho die, we'll never get a conclusion, and we could get destroyed from the inside. It's a risk worth taking."
Aldegar gently placed the key and turned it, walking into the office. It was clean and nicely sorted, as is expected of the higher ranked officers. But, behind the door was something no one else had. A safe. As Fornicus closed the door behind them, Aldegar saw it was locked with a code.
"Fornicus, can you pass me the key?" He brought the key up to his face, reading the sticker on the key's base. 1807.
He typed the code in, and the lock clicked. Pulling the hatch towards himself, Aldegar revealed a densely packed shelf. He and Fornicus pulled everything out, before sitting down at his desk and beginning a rudimentary analysis. But, an analysis wasn't needed. Everything was here, in plain sight.
Photos, audio recordings, investigation logs, maps tracking Agostinho's movements. Everything was as clear as day. Not only was he conspiring with the Cult of Nyra, a cult almost nothing was known of, he was plotting destroying the Oracle from the inside. And as Aldegar read the files and listened to Agostinho's voice, a cold sweat enveloped him. A file marked "04/05/791."
"Yes, soon, everything will be set into motion. All the lower ranked officers will have their offices planted with hidden explosives. Afterwards, I'll capture as many office workers as possible and invoke Cor Clausum on both Tosetti and Silvius. If everything goes according to plan, Hilten will be out of town. With the Offense Corps taken care of, everything else will be easy work."
Aldegar was frozen in place, the words ringing in his mind over and over again.
"Fornicus… Is he talking about?" Aldegar hoarsely managed to say.
"Form 3." Fornicus slammed his fist against the table, nearly missing the laptop. "Damn it! How has this slipped through our fingers!?"
A fiery rage engulfed Fornicus, his fists setting ablaze from just this thought of betrayal. "Aldegar, you stay here and continue looking through the evidence. I'll go handle the traitor while he's still down."
Aldegar quickly grabbed Fornicus by the shoulder, despite the flames raging at his fists almost beginning to burn his clothes. "Calm down. Remember who we are, Fornicus. If we go around pretending to be the judge and juror, we'll lose all the trust and respect we've gained, whether we're right or wrong."
The flames slowly began dying off, and Fornicus stopped. "However much I'm both disgusted and terrified of almost sharing the same fate as Ulrich, we need to stay composed." Aldegar stood up, returning all the evidence in the safe and locking it, placing the key in his pocket. "We'll do this by the book."
The duo calmly returned to the Medical Corps, trying their best to hide their fear over Lukas' injuries. The emergency response unit is a smaller building situated off to the right side of the main one, and unlike the rest of the Oracle facilities, is open 24/7. The automatic doors opened, but, the only noise heard in the ward was nothing more than the gentle hums of all the machines sitting at hand. However, the familiar ticking beep of what Aldegar could only imagine was Lukas' EKG was replaced by a slow, steady tone.
The door to his room was left wide open, and the few nurses who were still present at this late hour all gathered to look inside. Aldegar calmly approached, placing a hand on one of the nurses' shoulders, and calmly asking them to allow them in.
As they entered, they were greeted by a few familiar faces. Dr. Gabriel Silva, number five. Dr. Lucia Carruso, number three. And the head of the Medical Corps, Dr. Amelia Arroyo.
Dr. Arroyo had noticed the two visitors, but her face was painted with a clear sadness. The fact no one was able to even say a word in this situation said enough, both of them already knew what happened.
"Lukas… is he?" Aldegar dared to break the silence, fearing no one else would.
"Sadly, yes." Dr. Arroyo began speaking, taking off her gloves. She turned to Dr. Carruso, before looking at her watch. "Lucia, note it down. Lukas Hilten. Time of death, 00:02."
Dr. Carruso nodded in approval, before jotting it down in a book, what seemed like a death log. Now turning back to Aldegar and Fornicus, she slowly began. "As much as it pains me to say this, we were unable to save Officer Hilten. He lost too much blood, and was weak. We couldn't stabilize his Essence production, and he had wounds which too severe to normally treat. We believe the likely cause of death was asphyxiation."
In this moment, the words of Aldegar's promise to Lukas had sunk in fully. He was the one to break the news to his pregnant wife. But, he was a man of his word, and he wouldn't break it. "What about Agostinho?" he implored.
"He is alright. Lukas' Electropulse hurt him, but he stabilized quickly and is naturally healing with his own Essence." She looked over to the bed where Agostinho was laying, and Dr. Gabriel was standing over his bed, watching him like a hawk.
"Amelia, we'll need to break this news to you before anyone else, since you'll be our first line of defense." said Fornicus, intending on explaining Agostinho's position. "Lukas sent us to check the locker of his office, and, in there, we found everything… Agostinho was plotting on destroying the Oracle."
And as he said this, Dr. Gabriel's eyes instantly darted in Fornicus' direction. He seemed almost offended. Pushing his glasses back into place, he ignored it, and continued tending to the traitor.
"I will present all this information to Ingrid tomorrow, to make sure all Corps heads know the situation. When Agostinho is healed enough to leave, he'll be placed in solitary confinement until interrogation, after which he'll be moved to the central prison." Fornicus now began leaving the room. "Aldegar, since we'll be going our separate ways for a little while, I'm heading home. I need some sleep, you can finish explaining everything."
"Yeah, sure…" Aldegar was surprised that he could just up and leave so easily, despite losing a comrade. But, then he realized, he was probably trying to get out as soon as possible to avoid breaking into tears in front of the lower ranks. He needs to keep up a good image, since he's the Offense Corps head after all. "We'll need you to keep Agostinho under constant surveillance, Dr. Arroyo. In case of any sudden change in his status, please let both me and Fornicus know."
"Of course, I'll see to it personally." Dr. Arroyo now carefully approached Aldegar, before whispering in his ear. "From what I've heard, Lukas' wife is pregnant. Who will break the news to her?"
"I'll be the one to do it." Aldegar placed his hand on his chest. "I promised."
He headed back to his apartment, where he spent the night restlessly. He awoke with just a few hours of sleep, drenched in sweat. Trying to make it to Sylvanwood as soon as possible, before he gets cold feet, he boarded the first morning train to Emberfell, before taking a bus. After a short stop at the Manor, he was in Sylvanwood around noon. The quaint village had a calm nature to it, one he felt he was disturbing by bringing such heavy news. Alas, he kept going. He was a man of his word.
He had now arrived in front of Hisako's doorstep, slowly knocking at the door. His fist felt like it was out of iron, so heavy and unable to move. And his heart was even heavier. Hisako opened the door, a wide smile covering her face, as joyful as ever.
"Aldegar! Lukas didn't tell me you were coming, what a pleasant surprise." She took a step back from the door, telling Aldegar to come in. He took one wide step inside, and immediately, his feet felt like they were stuck to the floor. Each step was like walking across molten lava, how much it pained him to be the one to ruin such a beautiful thing as marriage.
"Hisako… I…"