FILE_RECOVERY_COMPLETE

PARTIAL_FILE_RETRIEVED

RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth

Chapter 4: Harvested

The Arc family home wasn't a building that one would attribute to a family of great renown. Arcs of generation's past were worshiped as great heroes. Even in modern times, the family was a family of heroes. Joan Arc, matriarch of the family, was a formidable woman. She had gone through childbirth no less than eight times. It does not matter who you are or your opinions on women, that feat demands respect. On top of that, she was a powerful huntress.

The patriarch of the family, Orion Arc, was a formidable warrior in his own right. He had been a huntsman for as long as he has been able. Much of Remnant regarded him as a hero and they weren't wrong. He had fought against the Grimm for nearly forty years. It was much to his delight to see his oldest daughters following in his footsteps. Don't be mistaken, though, Orion Arc was nowhere near as formidable as his wife, Joan.

Of course, the Arc parents wouldn't be parents without their kids. The oldest two were Amethyst and Sapphire, twins at nineteen that everyone knew as Amy and Fire. They attended Beacon academy together, as partners with Fire leading the team. Much to their father's delight, the Sanguine Pyre had an eye on them. Truth be told, the Pyre had an eye on the whole lot of them.

In the middle, at fourteen, were the triplets. Jaune, Saffron and Aurum. Unlike their older siblings, the triplets all had different plans for life. Saffron had dreams of being a lawyer. The law was just something she liked to study. Aurum was quite unsure. She did like books a lot, so many presumed she would pursue a career that dealt with them. She volunteered at the town library quite often. Jaune, however, wished to follow his sisters and become a Huntsman. His father was trying to train him, but it seemed that Jaune was not cut out for this. However, he kept at it for two reasons. The first was Jaune's pure determination to be a Huntsman. The second was that Jaune's uncle said that he saw great potential in Jaune.

The younger twins, at eight years of age, were two polar opposites. Nox and her sister Lux were still young. Nox was a loud, outgoing extrovert who refused to let anyone say no to her friendship… or anything for that matter. Her sister, Lux was a quiet, soft-spoken introvert who's only real friends were her sisters, brother, and cousin. Her best friend was her cousin. In the Arc family, Lux was a major oddity. An old recessive gene in Orion's family seemed to have made an appearance once again. Unlike most Arcs, who are known for blond hair and blue eyes, Lux had dark, almost black hair and blue eyes. The opposing names for the two girls was the result of a bet that Orion lost.

Finally, the youngest, at a mere three years, was the adorable Clara. She had the brightest smile and the lightest blond hair of anyone in the family. She was also the only person of the Arc siblings to truly be wary of. She had the entire family wrapped around her little finger. Not that it really mattered, as she was one of the sweetest little girls alive.

It was after Clara's birth the Joan decided to have no more children. The Arc household was already a noisy place, on a good day. Jaune, Saffron and Aurum generally helped their mother with whatever she needed done, or they watched over the younger children. Amy and Fire were to return to Beacon soon. Their second year was closing in fast, so the girls wished to spend as much time with the family as they could. The only people missing from the family reunion were Orion's sister, her husband and the grandparents.

Joan's parents had a non-existent relationship with her. Really, the reason lay entirely with her husband. For whatever reason that Joan didn't care to know, her parents didn't like the Arc's. Sure, they weren't the best of parents on a good day, but their seeming hatred of the Arc family baffled her. It was even worse after the births of Amethyst and Sapphire. Joan's parents seemed to have decided that Joan was no longer worthy of being called their daughter. As such, she hadn't seen them in nineteen years.

Seeing Orion's parents was actually harder than seeing Joan's. Orion's mother had died giving birth to his younger sister. His father had died many years later, defending their town from a Grimm attack. He passed the mantle of town protector to Orion and he had upheld the role ever since.

Finally, there was their sister and her husband, Vermillion and Agreus Blackflame. Orion's last living connection to his parents and the EFFING LEADER OF THE SANGUINE PYRE! At first, Orion was unsure which was a harder pill to swallow; Agreus being leader of the Sanguine Pyre, or the fact that he was over one and a half centuries older than Vermillion. Probably him being leader of the Sanguine Pyre. After all, Agreus had said that he was an old mind in a young body. Nonetheless, it was an odd pairing. And yet, in the time they had come to know Agreus, they had welcomed him into the family.

It still took a few years, but Agreus had managed to bring the Arc family around to his side. It took a few years, but his reasoning had managed to get through to them. Like some, they didn't agree with everything that went on in the Pyre. However, unlike most, they appeared to fully accept the Pyre, good and bad dealings. In the end, Agreus was naught but the means to an end. A necessary evil for the peace that allows people to sleep at night.

A necessary evil that just rang the doorbell. Love him or hate him, no one could fault Agreus Blackflame for his manners.

Jaune, being the closest to the door, was the one to answer it. Opening the door, Jaune was greeted with the smiling face of his cousin and his deceptively young uncle. The only one missing was their uncle's much older looked brother. Of course, the Arc children knew Uncle Jeremiah Briarheart. None of them called him that, only the youngest who were too young to know better called him anything but Jeremiah or Briarheart. It was an odd quirk of their uncle's brother, but they were sure to respect it. After all, Jeremiah was one of the most powerful men in the kingdom of Vale.

"Jaune? Who's at the door?" Joan called from the kitchen.

"Uncle Agreus, and Amber." Jaune answered loud enough for his mother to hear.

Of course, if one Arc could hear him, the rest most likely could as well.

"AMBER!" the excited voice of Lux called out as she ran past her brother and pulled her cousin into a tight hug.

A hug which Amber was ready to reciprocate. Amber looked at her father, and with a slight nod from him, went off with her introverted cousin.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the oldest fart in the kingdom." A sarcastic voice spoke up.

"FIRE!" A softer yet stern voice scolded. "You shouldn't disrespect Uncle Agreus. ESPECIALLY if you want to join the Pyre after you graduate!"

"Amethyst, Sapphire, always a pleasure." Agreus greeted his nieces.

"Uncle Agreus." Amethyst greeted her uncles with a hug.

"Agreus, how good it is to see you." Joan greeted as she walked into the entry. "What can we do for you this fine day?"

"I come bearing news. Is Orion here?" Agreus asked.

"Yes. Where's Jeremiah?" Joan asked.

"He said he had business to attend to concerning the Pyre. Now, Orion?" Agreus prodded.

"Right, I'll go get him, why don't you take a seat in the dining room. We'll be down in a moment. Can I interest you in a beverage?" Joan asked.

"No, thank you." Agreus answered as he made his way to the Arc family dining room.

The heads of the Sanguine Pyre sat at the table. Joan and Orion entered the room side by side. Joan was beautiful woman with the traditional Arc eyes and hair, though her hair was a darker blond than the average Arc. If Agreus didn't know any better, he would have assumed that Lux got her hair from Joan's family. Orion was a broad-shouldered man with a chiseled jaw, bright blond hair, and piercing blue eyes. Their wedding rings both contained the same blood gem and black fire design that marked them as members of the Sanguine Pyre.

"Agreus." Orion curtly greeted as he sat himself at the head of the table. "I'm told you come bearing news."

"Indeed." Agreus answered. "Both good news and bad news."

"What's the good news." Joan asked.

"Vermillion is alive." Agreus said.

Joan and Orion focused in on Agreus. Orion raised an eyebrow. His stare turned into a glare.

"Agreus. Please don't joke about this. My sister is dead." Orion stated, looking down in sadness.

"No. She only went missing. Last night, during a meeting with some members of the Pyre, I got an email from a member of the Pyre. It was a single email showing an image of Vermillion, alive. She looked a little worse for wear, but it is her and she lives. The Pyre is searching for her as we speak." Agreus responded.

Agreus pulled out his scroll and pulled up the image that he had been sent. He showed it to Orion and Joan.

"That's my sister all right." Orion said, confused. "Any idea where she is now?"

"Unfortunately, no. Our informant was spotted getting this image and the hideout she was being kept in was abandoned by that night." Agreus answered. "But that isn't the only reason I've come. As joyous as that news is, I must sour it. There's been another round of Harvester murders."

"A fourth Doc Harvester?" Joan asked, horrified.

"Probably not." Agreus answered. "It may seem like another copycat, but that seems unlikely."

"Surely you can't be implying that this is the original Doc Harvester." Orion responded incredulous.

"We should be getting an autopsy later, but I have Bensin working on it. I believe that, and I'm sure that he will agree with me, there has not been three copycats of Doc Harvester." Agreus explained.

"Why?" Joan asked.

"Once is fluke, twice is a coincidence and-"

"Thrice shows that there is something going on. We know." Orion interrupted.

"Exactly. The odds of there being three copycats to the same killer are astronomically small. I believe that at most, we have had two copycats. I'd wager that we haven't had more than one." Agreus explained.

"Logical." Orion replied. "Why did you want to tell us that?"

"Because the pattern has finally broken." Agreus answered.

"How so? Are they not killed at the same time? Different methods? What?" Joan asked.

"We have a link." Agreus explained. "We, that is Jeremiah and I, felt it prudent to inform you since this small town is a major ally of the Pyre. Give you advanced warning in case the Harvester comes here."

"What is the link?" Amethyst asked walking in.

"Amy, weren't you supposed to be taking care of the young ones?" Joan asked.

"Jaune, Saffron and Aurum are doing that. Fire is taking a nap. Now what's this I hear about there being another group of harvested?" Amy asked.

"Amethyst." Orion said with warning in his tone.

"Let her be Orion, in fact, it might be best if Fire hears this as well. You are huntresses in training after all." Agreus interrupted.

Amethyst nodded in gratitude.

"Now, as I was saying, there is a link. All seven victims lived in Vale and were members of the Sanguine Pyre." Agreus finished.

"All of them?" Joan asked.

"All of them." Agreus confirmed. "I believe that this Doc Harvester, copycat or no, has some sort of vendetta against the Pyre. Now, this could just be a crazy coincidence, but given the fact that they were openly showing their membership to the Pyre, we find it too unlikely for it to be just random chance."

"Is the Pyre doing anything about it?" Amethyst asked.

"Yes. Like I said, Bensin is looking into the murders. Patrols have increased where the bodies were found. The Pyre is doing what it can given what we know." Agreus answered.

"I suppose that is the best we can ask for at this time." Orion said.

"Do you think we'll have a round of Harvested here?" Joan asked.

"I have no idea." Agreus responded. "We've never had such a solid link between the victims until now. Honestly, we're kinda at a loss on what to do…"

"Until further notice, we'll up patrols. We'll find this killer and my sister." Orion replied with great conviction.

"We will contact you when we learn more." Agreus explained. "Now I must get my daughter."

"Are you leaving already?" Joan asked.

"Yes, my dear, we are." Agreus answered.

"Oh, at least stay for lunch. You know the kids would appreciate it."

Agreus sighed heavily. Of course, Joan would use his daughter as leverage.

"Ok, we'll stay for lunch. But after that, we really must get going." Agreus relented.

Joan smiled and went to the kitchen to make food. Orion just chuckled and went to help his wife. Agreus just sighed and sat back down. Amy got up, presumably to tell her sister of the conversation that had transpired. For the time being Agreus would be content to sit and listen to the joyful laughter of his daughter.

…/…

Amongst the Sanguine Pyre, there were three unspoken rules that everyone followed. No, three unspoken laws that everyone obeyed in spirit and word.

Do not anger Lord Agreus Blackflame.

Do not cross the goals of the Sanguine Pyre.

Finally, DO NOT SAY ANYTHING BAD TO OR ABOUT LADY VERMILLION OR LADY AMBER BLACKFLAME!

The last one was a rule that one person in the Pyre learned the hard way. It only had to be learned by one person, and it only had to be learned once.

The incident happened ten years ago. It had been speculated that the head of the Pyre was seeing someone. A romantic interest of his. This was all but confirmed one fateful day.

A young blond woman with brilliant light blue eyes was seen exiting Lord Blackflame's office. She was quite the sight. Beautiful, armed, intelligent, kind, pregnant and so very out of place. One of the guards, made a comment. A comment that demeaned this woman while also implying that she and him should engage in explicit sexual activities.

The timing Lord Blackflame had at that moment could not have been more perfect… or worse for the guard. He had run out of his office to return the woman's purse… right as the guard made the derogatory and highly inappropriate comment. Lord Briarheart was quick to follow. That day, the Pyre learned that Lady Vermillion Arc had become Lady Vermillion Blackflame and was pregnant with Lord Blackflame's child.

Lord Blackflame handed his wife her handbag and carefully schooled his features. Despite the outward appearance, he was furious, a barely restrained anger that could only be seen if you looked into his crimson eyes. Gazing into the blood red orbs, one would only see pure unbridled fury. Everyone in the room was frozen as Lord Blackflame approached the offending guard. He calmly and quietly asked that the guard, Lord Briarheart and Lady Vermillion follow him to his office.

Only five people know what occurred in that room. Whatever happened scarred the man. He was Lady Vermillion's personal bodyguard for the rest of his life. He was so devoted to them that his last act was taking a bullet for her. Whatever happened in that room made him fiercely loyal to Lord Blackflame's wife.

That guard only ever told one person what had happened. No one spoke of him, or the incident. However, since then, there has been nothing said against Ladies Vermillion or Amber Blackflame.

Adrian Ravencroft shuddered as the memories of what the guard had told him went through his mind. Lord Blackflame was brutal in his punishment of the guard. If he could, Adrian would erase the memories of what he had been told. And while he was an excellent chemist, versed in all manners of chemical substances, drugs, venoms and poisons, he wasn't that good. The best he could do was a chemical concoction that would halt all electrical signals in the brains, thus rendering the victim braindead. He tried to avoid such outcomes if he could.

Right now, he couldn't worry about his traumatic memories. He had a mission from Lord Blackflame himself. One of the assassins was in need of a rather potent poison, and the antivenom he had produced nearly seven years ago needed to be replicated. Apparently, the creature that had stung Huntress Rose had reappeared.

Lord Briarheart had given him another, lesser mission. Assist Detective Bensin if necessary. A fourth round of the Harvested had been discovered. It was a most unusual killing. Eight victims. All killed the same way. All except one. Victim number 4 was killed by lethal injection. All other victims by blood loss, or organ removal. Whatever Doc Harvester did to them, he did it while they were still alive. The fourth victim though, he was a startling departure from the norm.

Lethal injection. At Bensin's request, it was currently Adrian's job to determine what comprised the injection. Whatever the fourth victim had been injected with was composed of three primary ingredients. Two of which were easily identified, them being arsenic and cyanide. The third was proving to be a bit more… interesting. Adrian had never seen anything like it. It was a venom of some kind, but it matched very few records the Pyre had.

The door to his lab flew open with a slam. Jeremiah Briarheart strode into the room.

"Mr. Ravencroft." Briarheart greeted. "How is your work coming along?"

"Excellent, Lord Briarheart. Just having some issues with the analysis of the substance that killed our odd fourth victim." Adrian replied.

"Don't call me Lord." Jeremiah responded automatically. "How about the antivenom and poison my brother requested?"

"Well, I hope this pleases Lord Blackflame, but since the antivenom is relatively simple to produce I sent it to the techs to be mass produced." Adrian answered with a grin handing a vial of clear liquid to him.

"And the poison?" Jeremiah prodded.

"Well, another money-making opportunity for the Pyre." Adrian answered as he handed Jeremiah a second vial filled with a deep crimson liquid. "I calls it Pyre's Blood. A pure dose of 3 milligrams is enough to kill a full grown Alpha Beowolf. 1 milligram should be more than enough for the average human. Diluting this with three-parts water, one-part sugar, one milligram Pyre's Blood, and four-parts whiskey will get you super drunk with one shot. I already sent it and the recipe to our favorite bar owner in Vale."

I do believe Agreus will be most pleased with you results, as always, Mr. Ravencroft." Jeremiah replied.

"You flatter me, Lord Briarheart." Adrian thanked Jeremiah with a cheeky smile.

"Don't call me Lord." Jeremiah answered automatically. "Anyway, I brought the venom samples you requested."

"Thank you, sir." Adrian said as he took the vials that Jeremiah produced. "These should be most helpful with the case."

Adrian turned to one of the machines and inserted each of the vials for analysis. It was his hope that one of these vials would indicate what the particular venom used in number four's injection. Jeremiah waited while the machine did its work. Five minutes passed and the results showed up on the computer.

"Hmm." Adrian was confused. "None of these venoms match our mysterious third compound used in the lethal injection of our fourth victim."

"And that's a problem?" Jeremiah asked.

"Very much so. Since receiving the injection, I was able to easily identify the first two compounds, which are lethal enough on their own. It's this third compound that simultaneously infuriates and intrigues me. I have tested nearly two hundred known venoms, poisons, and drugs to find a match. These five I asked be retrieved are incredibly rare and are not in the Pyre's records… until today. But they still aren't a match." Adrian explained as he removed the vials from the analyzer.

"If I may, what are these vials?" Jeremiah asked as he inspected one of the liquids.

"We have Taijitu venom, Deathstalker venom, a sample of venom from a spider faunus, an incredibly rare plutonium poison, and the highly illegal, nearly unfindable poison dust." Adrian listed.

"Poison dust?" Jeremiah asked.

"Yep. One of the huntsmen… uh, what's his name?" Adrian closed his eyes and muttered to himself to remember. "blond guy, tattooed arm…"

"Taiyang." Jeremiah filled in.

"Yes, Taiyang. He knows a rather accomplished dust alchemist that created it a couple decades ago." Adrian explained. "I figured our mysterious odd victim out might have been killed by that. But he wasn't. I've kinda hit a wall here. The only thing left that I can possibly think of is…"

"Mr. Ravencroft?" Briarheart inquired.

"It could be… if such a thing exists…" Adrian mumbled to himself as he began rapidly typing on his computer.

"Mr. Ravencroft?" Briarheart repeated.

"Lord Briarheart, in your many years, have you or Lord Blackflame ever met a person with a semblance that gave them the ability to produce poisons or venoms?" Adrian asked.

Jeremiah hesitated and thought about it. Adrian waited for an answered. After a few minutes of thought, Jeremiah answered.

"Possibly. It was relatively recent, about twenty years ago now. A young woman, she wanted to join the Pyre. Wanted to be an assassin. She claimed her semblance was the ability to create any venom or poison she so wished. Neither of us really believed her." Jeremiah answered.

"Why not?" Adrian asked.

"She didn't have her aura unlocked. But we haven't seen her since my brother rejected her." Jeremiah finished explaining.

"If it's not too much to ask, why was she rejected?" Adrian asked.

"She was too… chaotic. That's how Agreus put it. She wished to be an assassin but had none of the subtlety necessary for such a mission. She just seemed too wild, too… broken. We had a psyche analysis performed on her and her mental state was particularly fragile. She stormed out of the building when she was rejected, have neither seen nor heard from her since." Jeremiah answered.

"Do you remember her name?" Adrian asked.

"Yes, she called herself Eris. No last name." Jeremiah answered.

"Eris?" Adrian pondered. "I've heard that name before."

"You have?" Jeremiah asked.

"Yeah. I'll have to get back to you on that one though, I have an old friend who might help me remember. We used to do everything together." Adrian trailed off again.

"Well, I must be off. Inform us when you have a lead." Jeremiah said as he turned to the door.

"Lord Briarheart, before you go, I do have one more thing to tell you." Adrian called after him.

Jeremiah paused and turned around. A single eyebrow raised in question.

"Concerning the autopsy on our mismatched victim. There are some rather interesting differences between him and the rest. Detective Bensin asked me to inform you." Adrian answered.

"Other than the lethal injection?" Jeremiah asked.

"Yes. His organs were removed by a very imprecise hand." Adrian said.

"Explain." Jeremiah responded.

"All Harvested in the past have been killed by blood loss or organ removal. The only thing we were able to conclude was that the killed must be surgically trained as the organs removed were all cut with a trained eye. And the blood was strategically leaked from the victim through major arteries and veins. Our fourth victim's organ were removed, yes but they look to be quite amateurly removed. And the cuts for blood loss are more random than in past victims." Adrian explained.

"Odd…" Jeremiah answered.

"There is one more thing. Our fourth victim was killed at the exact same time as victim three." Adrian continued.

"Aren't they all killed at the same time?" Jeremiah asked.

"Well, technically no. There is usually a few minutes between deaths. With the technology we have, we can narrow time of death down to a range of a few minutes. Victim three and victim four were both determined to have been killed between 3:35 and 3:40 am last Tuesday." Adrian said.

"Ok…" Jeremiah gestured for Adrian to continued.

"It's not possible for that to happen since both bodies were found at the same time, on opposite ends of the city. Victim three was found by the airfield, victim four was found at the docks." Adrian finished.

"Could they not have been dragged or placed there?" Briarheart asked.

"It is a possibility, as victim three had rather scuffed heals on his shoes, indicating he had been dragged. Victim four didn't. Victim four was larger than victim three and it appeared as if the operation occurred in the warehouse victim four was found in." Adrian explained.

"And that means?" Jeremiah prodded.

"According to Detective Bensin, we have at least two active Doc Harvesters. A professional and an amateur."

ERROR-DATA_CORRUPTION-BEGIN_FILE_RECOVERY.../...

Data Log AFT004

Information – Feel free to leave comments, reviews, ideas, and constructive criticism. Updates to the archives take it into account, and it is greatly appreciated.

Input command - express_gratitude - Thank you to all who read this, your feedback is much appreciated as are your views. Input command-tip_hat...Command accepted; hat tipped. Input command-Close

Goodbye viewer; Fare thee well.

End Log S.T.K.