Ask Au Revoir to join you for the interrogation

Vaarvel was the obvious answer, but Au Revoir seemed to have a personal stake in joining you. After all of her help apprehending the world's most wanted terrorist, you couldn't deny her the opportunity to ask the questions that had likely troubled her for her whole career since leaving Adder. It was a score to settle and if Au Revoir never got a chance at the Adjutant, it would probably eat at her for the rest of her life. You apologized to Vaarvel, but told her you needed Au Revoir on this one.

"Hm? Why not take us both?" Vaarvel questioned, grinning and raising one eyebrow. She didn't seem upset, but did seem curious. "In the past, you've proven yourself the type who likes to do things in threes..."

"W-Well, I do need a mission report from somebody," Goodbye offered; it was hard to tell if she really meant that or if she was usefully trying to keep you from being outnumbered by the agents you were still suspicious of. "You stay here and help with that, Vaarvel."

"Very well... Good luck, you two," the woman ended, keeping that cryptic smirk on her face. You got the sense she was skeptical of your ability to extract information from the Adjutant. That was all the more reason to prove her wrong, in your mind.

Au Revoir exited the room with you, suspiciously quiet, then hugged you as soon as the door was closed. As usual, with her huge arms wrapped about you, you were treated to the heaven of her large breasts smashing into your face, coupled with the hell of her muscles trapping you in a perhaps unintentional backbreaker. "Ciaaao! I knew you were my good friend. This bitch has... Escaped me for a long time. I have many questions for her. Give me just a minute and I will join you! I want to dress into something a bit nicer for the interrogation. They'll be recording, you know?" It seemed pretty funny that this was the one time you'd ever seen her worry about what she was wearing, but you did sort of agree... she looked better dressed for a jog around the park up top than she did interrogating the most valuable criminal in the world.

You dismissed her to take care of what she needed to, then went to begin the interrogation yourself. You might benefit from getting a few questions in before Au Revoir showed up, after all.

Finally, the time had come: you arrived first the to interrogation room, finding Adder Adjutant waiting for you there with her hands together, handcuffed to the table in front of you. The interrogation room was a sterile gray color with no features apart from cameras recording in either corner and long, glass windows on either side, obviously advertising the intent to allow observers. You wouldn't be able to get away with a single bit of funny business; it felt as though all of CEDIT was watching this moment. Even Vaarvel would have a hard time pulling off a trick in these conditions.

The sour, Asian woman across from you regarded you with narrow eyes and a tight frown. In the place of her usual uniform, she wore a gray prisoner's garb, high-necked and mostly featureless apart from a row of buttons down the chest. Her features really were pretty boyish-- perfect for deceiving others as to her gender while under the guise of the leader of Adder. You took a certain satisfaction in having her here in front of you, deprived of that persona and as just an ordinary woman... if one highly talented in leading terrorists and practicing martial arts.

"Finally, you've come. You're here to have me spill my secrets, no doubt. I'm the highest value target you could have ever conceived of giving your hands on." She spoke the words evenly, sounding somehow in control of the situation despite the circumstances.

You knew too many women like this now to be thrown off your game by a terrorist who was merely well-spoken. You nodded, then took the seat across from her, straight-backed and official in your suit and tie. It was a blessed relief to be in a situation like this... so often, you found yourself doing insane field work or odd, sexual interrogations at the behest of your boss. Finally, this was a chance to just handle it properly, like an agent of CEDIT.

"The only problem is that I don't intend to answer a single one of your questions," the woman continued, staring blankly at you with her lips in a tight frown. "You're still beneath me."

You told the Adjutant she may be misunderstanding something. Torture was not something you could condone, but CEDIT technology had its ways of extracting answers, just as it had its ways of extracting her from the Palm of Royalty. You told her she should stop being so damn cocky and offer you some tips willingly, if she wanted her accommodations to remain comfortable and with a standard degree of privacy.

"It's hilarious how you still think you have so much time," the woman spoke, tilting her eyebrows up with a clownish smile you'd never seen before. It looked both out of place on her dour face and somehow eerie. "Is anyone else joining us today? Or have they already, in one of the other rooms?"

You didn't want to give in to her tricks, but she did have a point: it might benefit you to learn a thing or two before Au Revoir joined the two of you. You leaned your elbows on the table and crossed your hands, then asked: she already knew who was coming, didn't she? How much did she know about Au Revoir?

"... Oh! The blonde? Her proper name is Brielle Sergeant. In Adder, she had her own code-name: Python! Someone else has since inherited it. Funny how that works," the woman chuckled, seeming strangely unconcerned with the subject matter. "She was always a difficult soldier to handle. When she first defected, I thought we may have lucked out getting rid of her... several hundreds of dead Adder agents later, I see I was in the wrong."

Adder Adjutant was surprisingly forthcoming on this subject. You decided to take the lead and interrogate her further before Au Revoir arrived; you asked to hear more about Au Revoir's time with Adder.

"Piqued your interest, did I? She was a storied Adder agent... I doubt she even remembers how many CEDIT officers she killed. Rather, I'd suspect that her estimate is low. I'd suspect that CEDIT kept track, but also, that they've fudged the number so thoroughly that there isn't a single record left. You'd probably be aghast if you knew the kinds of things she did under my orders..." The woman grinned evilly tilted her sharp chin up in your direction.

Something told you she might be correct... but Au Revoir was a different woman now. It was no secret that she loved violence and reveled in it, nor that she used to be a member of Adder. She'd changed, though. You'd been on many missions with her now and seen her comradery with her friends and her passion for counter-terrorism. It was hard to picture her now as somebody who used to serve the worst terrorist organization in the world. You didn't tell the Adjutant all of that, but you did tell the woman that Au Revoir had grown.

"Ha ha ha ha! She has, has she? She used to be even bigger, when she left us!" the Adjutant cackled. "We pumped her full of so many serums and experimental drugs, training her until she saw hallucinations... The woman you think of as a friend is so messed up in the head and body, she's a ticking time bomb. You know about Bound Blood 1000 now, right? I managed to learn from Nora that you were infected with it. You got the antidote, of course. But have you ever heard of Bound Blood 10?"

You didn't answer, playing it cool instead.

"Bound Blood 10... The prototype, limited to just ten subjects, of which Au Revoir is now the only survivor. It tortured its test subjects from the inside and out, but it made her so strong... and so loyal. She'll never escape Adder's coils. Never..." The woman's smile twisted, turning up at the corners. "She's my slave until either she dies or I do, even if she doesn't realize it."

Just as you were about to stand up and rebuke her, Au Revoir entered in a sweat; you could tell she'd probably been watching from one of the side rooms, for whatever reason. It was possible her relationship with the woman was so intense, she'd been struggling to hide it. She was dressed in mannish black slacks and a white, tight-fitting button-up, including a black tie. It was an interesting and official look for her, marred by the terrible look of rage painted upon her reddened face. She looked rather obviously as though she was about to do something drastic. Fearing the worst, you sprung to your feet and ran to her, placing two hands on her massive bicep. You warned her this wasn't the time or place to start something.

The prisoner's face twisted even more sadistically. "Would you like me to prove it? I'll fulfill my role and bow off the stage, just to torture this woman. It matters not. Adder continues with or without me, regrowing its heads like a hydra." You moved from Au Revoir, now running to the table to slam your hands down and force her to stop. "Brielle... Do it. Show Ciao what you want to do to me."

You didn't want to believe it. Your Bound Blood 1000 had finally been cured, only to be replaced with a new specter, Bound Blood 10, of which Au Revoir was the only remaining victim. As you twisted your neck to look over your shoulder, you already knew what you'd find: Au Revoir, leaping across the room like the Incredible Hulk towards her target. You moved to step in her way, only to be brushed out of the side and mashed gracelessly against the wall, as though you'd tried to impede the path of a stampeding wild animal. The scene proceeded in horrific fashion as Au Revoir grabbed both hands to the neck of the captured leader of Adder.

So many questions now flooded into your mind.

Why hadn't the Adjutant used Bound Blood 1000 or Bound Blood 10 to put a stop to this?

Was this just Au Revoir flying off the handle, or was she really under the Adjutant's control?

Was Au Revoir ignorant about how deep her own brainwashing by Bound Blood 10 went?

Lastly: was there anything you could do to stop it?

You placed both hands around Au Revoir's arms and tugged, trying desperately to release her grip on the valuable interrogation target who was now being strangled to death, a gross breach of CEDIT protocols. Once an international terrorist was apprehended, they were international business. By doing this, Au Revoir could be triggering an international incident!

Then again... would anyone object to seeing this woman dead?

As if that doubt had turned some sort of key and unlocked the last clasp holding the situation to the bounds of proper agent protocols, a sickening snap rang out through the room. Au Revoir had permanently silenced the leader of Adder, by that same leader's own instructions. With that last act, the Adjutant may have also shattered your ability to ever trust your partner in the same way again. "Whyyyy?! Why would you order me to do that?! What the fuck is Bound Blood 10?! Who else is controlling me?!" Au Revoir roared, now battering the lifeless body of the criminal with her fists, as strings of saliva flew from her mouth and tears streamed down her face. "Answer me, God damn you!"

You watched the horrific scene play out, unable to intercede. The killing intent and bloodlust was just too high; you couldn't risk being pulled in. Agents began to run inside, each working together to restrain Au Revoir.

Suddenly losing her energy for defiance, Au Revoir slumped her shoulders and allowed herself to be taken. She looked to you with worry upon her face and tears still staining her light make-up. "Who... Am I? That isn't my name, is it? I am Au Revoir... oui? I am not Brielle. I am not Python. I am... a Goodbye Girl. I am an agent of CEDIT. I am..." Her voice droned off as the agents escorted her from the room.

The dead, pounded body of Adder Adjutant upon the floor offered no answers. You and Au Revoir both had learned something about your fellow agent today that may have been best hidden forever.

To your surprise, the next one in the room was Vaarvel. The woman, with a rare non-grin smile, placed one hand upon your arm and helped you up. "Do not fear... I know how to handle Au Revoir when she's in a state like this. I've known her a long time..." Her voice was soothingly restrained and calm, after the terrible roaring you'd just witnessed. "The next time you see her, she'll be as you remember. Just treat her the same as always and you'll find, our happy, smiling Au Revoir will be back."

You told Vaarvel straight up: that fact worried you more than anything. If Au Revoir could delude herself and become that person, how were you supposed to know when Python would show herself again at Adder's behest?

"I'll talk to Nora. Even if the Adjutant was a sadist, she was foolish to tip her hand. Don't worry... I'm certain it can be cured."

Hoping you could believe in Vaarvel for once, you allowed her to help you out of the room and left cleaning up the remains of the Adjutant for someone else.