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RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth
Chapter 8: Cult
Despite the better judgement of his underlings, Agreus was determined to find his wife. According to Taiyang and Summer, Vermillion had been taken into an old theater in the center of town. A perfect place to hide a kidnapping victim. Summer and Taiyang were tagging along. Qrow was asked to watch over the girls for a few hours. He tried to get out of doing it, but when Summer Rose asks kindly, you don't say no.
The trio headed into town. The town of Patch, not to be confused with the island of Patch, was a rather small place. The traffic was minimal, the economy was booming, humans and faunus walked about their daily lives, and Signal stood proudly near the shore. In the center of the village was what the locals called their entertainment district. Admittedly though, it was a single abandoned theater, a movie theater, a candy store, and the main judicial building. It wasn't much, but it was the village.
The three walked up to the theater. It had been abandoned for decades now. However, it was such a monument that no one had the heart to tear it down. Then again, no one wanted to maintain the place either. There were no valuables, and no reason to break in. As such, the building was unsecured. Agreus, Summer and Taiyang entered with no opposition.
Inside, they immediately knew something was wrong. For a building that had been abandoned for decades, it was remarkably dust free. The old cabinets, tables and chairs around the place were spotless. Off to the side of the ticket booth were two doors. One that went downstairs to the main level of the auditorium, two that went to the balcony seats and the side halls. The three moved quickly and quietly through toward the main auditorium. They entered the room quietly. There was a spotlight on. There were no seats. The auditorium chairs were gone. The room was empty. Empty save for a single person in odd dark robes on the stage. Standing in the spotlight, doing what seemed to be a dance of some sort. Summer, Taiyang and Agreus ducked behind the solid banister of the balcony to hide. Agreus peaked over the top to see what was going on.
A person dressed in a crimson robe walked on stage. They were having a hushed conversation, as such Agreus couldn't hear what was being said. After five minutes, the two left. The dark robed individual exited stage left, while the crimson robe walked down the aisle and exited through the front of the building. When they were gone, Agreus turned to his partners in crime.
"I just saw another robed person. They were wearing crimson. They left through the back of the auditorium. The dancer on stage left backstage." Agreus said. "I'll follow the dancer, see what I can find. You two follow our crimson friend. Don't be found."
Taiyang and Summer nodded before leaving the way they came in. Agreus just looked around the room. Once he confirmed that he was alone, he vaulted over the banister. Agreus landed on the ground, letting his aura take the brunt of the force, and walked onstage. The spotlight had been turned off, so he hurried backstage.
Backstage was full of old props and sets. All faded and pale. They probably hadn't seen the light of day in years. Agreus walked amongst the old stage decor, not a soul in sight. Behind everything was an exit door. Agreus noticed it was slightly ajar. He quickly made his way to the door. He couldn't hear anything from the other side. He pushed open the door, slowly, so as to avoid the risk of the hinges squeaking.
The hall behind the door was silent and empty. No lights were on, so it was dark too. Agreus quietly crept his way through the empty hall. He kept his fingers ready to snap at a moment's notice. The hall turned right at the far end. He found it odd that he hadn't encountered any doors… then again, that might have been due to the darkness and him just not being able to see.
With that thought in mind, Agreus walked back up the hall towards the stage. One hand on the wall to feel for any doors. Along the way, he passed three doors, all of them locked. He did the same for the other side of the hall, three more doors. Two locked, one unlocked. The unlocked door only led to another empty room.
He exited the room and continued down the hallway. At the end, he took the right turn. A short ways down this new hall, was a door with a dim bulb hanging behind it. The light was little, but enough to see that this hall had no doors. Agreus quickly made his way to the lit doorway. He was a bit confused to see a staircase leading down. It made him wonder, how deep underground was this theater built?
Still ready to activate his semblance at a moment's notice, Agreus began descending the steps. Each step he took made him wish that he had The Final Call with him… or a pistol. Thankfully, he was proficient enough in aura and semblance usage that he needn't worry too much about his present lack of lethal force.
The staircase was forty steps in a spiral to the bottom. Agreus presumed this subbasement to be about twenty-five to thirty feet below the auditorium. It was probably not included in the original plans. Not that he would know. He wasn't there when this theater was built. Perhaps he could have Jeremiah investigate an archive to find this building's original blueprints.
At the base of the staircase was a door. Not an old door, it looked relatively new. Agreus pressed an ear to the door to see if he could hear anything on the other side. He didn't, so he slowly opened the door. It led to another hallway that quickly intersected to a T at the end. Agreus shut the door and stole towards the intersection. The place was oddly devoid of life. At least this time, the hallways were lit.
Both directions the hall split off led to a corner. Agreus chose the left hall and prowled toward the corner. He could faintly hear some voices. He reached the corner and peaked around it. He could see the hall opened into a larger room with… cells? Agreus would have crept closer if he hadn't seen the glint of a weapon just beyond the doorway. Finally, some guards. Agreus heard them speaking.
"-left behind." The guard on the left grumbled.
"Better than Magpie. Heard he was on cleaning duty." The guard on the right answered.
"True, but at least he's doing something productive. We've only got two people down here to guard. Both of them are too weak to actually do anything." Left complained. "We can't even take them, if you catch my drift."
"Yeah. But Jackdaw said they had to be kept in "pristine condition" … whatever that means." Right responded.
"You think it might have something to do with the new Harvester that showed up in Vale?" Left asked.
"Possibly. Who do you want to bet they sent to silence the blasphemer?" Right asked.
"Raven. Definitely Raven." Left answered.
"Nah, it wouldn't have been Raven. He's too noticeable. I'd hedge my bets on Vulture." Right said.
"Five lien says you're wrong." Left responded.
Agreus quickly backed away. He fished out his scroll to send a message to Taiyang and Summer. Unfortunately, he was too far underground to get a good signal. Quietly, Agreus made his way back to the stairs and climbed them. Back at ground level a signal got through.
Agreus: Found something interesting. A single open door backstage, follow the dark hall to the end. Descend the stairs. No signal below ground. The hall Ts at the end, turn right to find a prison. 2 guards, 2 prisoners. Get them out.
Taiyang: Roger that sir. We'll get them out.
Agreus: Do it silently. I don't want them to know we're here.
Agreus pocketed his scroll and quietly made his way back down the dimly lit hallway. He turned right and padded along. The hall led to a large underground chamber. The walls were nothing but rock now. Small openings in the walls signified exits. The room was circular, and like the path he was on spiraled downward. Agreus would have attempted to explore the place, but the sound of voices from the center of the massive room drew his attention. Agreus stepped closer to the ledge and peered down into the room.
Upon doing so, he realized a few things. 1) This cave was incredibly wet. The walls shone from the lights down below. He figured this was probably a sea cove. Sea water had weathered away much of the rock over the years. It would make sense, considering the fact that Patch had many such caves. What was odd though was the fact that this one looked more planned than natural… and inhabited. 2) This was likely the headquarters for the secret organization in Patch. If he had to take a guess, Agreus would say they were a cult. Then again, that could just be due to stereotypes. 3) These people were indeed the ones to kidnap his wife. Looking down in the center of the room, Agreus could see the emaciated blond-haired form of Vermillion. She was tied to a slab in the center of the room.
There were only seven robed people around her with one next to the slab. Agreus could tell that she was still conscious. The man next to what he assumed to be an altar, held a blade of some sort. The group below them were bickering.
"And I'm telling you that we need not wait for Jackdaw to return." The guy on the altar said.
"Yes, we do. None of us have the necessary skills for this." A guy in the crowd said.
Agreus began to quietly creep his way down to the bottom of the room. If he could create a big enough distraction, he could get Vermillion out of here.
"I can do it just fine, besides what's the worst that could happen?" Altar person said.
"You could call down the wrath of the Harvester." One of the robed acolytes suggested.
Definitely cultists of a sort. Not very competent ones by the looks of it. Still, they had managed to remain a secret for a good long time. He needed to focus on creating a distraction. He needed a good way to draw the attention of the acolytes away from his wife. A show of power could do the trick, but he couldn't just rush in guns blazing. The fallback might harm Vermillion.
The sound of gunshots caught his attention. It echoed through the corridors. The acolytes below him must have heard it too. A word from the leader of the group sent half of them to inspect the noise. Agreus ducked into one of the alcoves in the side of the cave walls as they rushed past. None of them saw him. He smirked.
When he emerged, the group below consisted of three people. One still holding a blade next to his wife, and two below him. Now would be as good a time as any to emerge. Agreus raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Black flames roared to life around his hands. The sound of the snap echoed through the chamber.
Agreus willed the fire down into the chamber. A large ball of fire settled into the air next to the man on the altar. Agreus could see Vermillion breathe a sigh of relief.
The fires surrounded the three acolytes as Agreus descended into the room. Agreus said nothing as he walked up behind the two below the altar and slammed their heads together. The two cultists fell to the ground, unconscious.
"You dare defile the sacred ritual?!" The cultist on the altar exclaimed.
"Yes." Agreus snapped darkly as the fires coalesced around his hands.
Agreus swung his arm forward. The flames leapt at the cultist. The fires engulfed him in seconds. He screeched in agony as he could feel his soul burning away. He sent more fire at the cultists still in the room, mercilessly ending their miserable existences. When the screaming stopped, Agreus called the fire back to himself. Vermillion was breathing heavily from her place on the altar. Agreus stepped up and willed the fire to burn through the shackles.
It was difficult to burn through the shackles. Black fire was more suited to burning the life force of living beings. That had never deterred Agreus before. It had taken much practice in his younger years, but he had trained his semblance to give him the ability to burn through the material as equally as the immaterial.
The shackles fell away and Agreus lifted Vermillion into his arms. Vermillion wrapped her arms around Agreus and wept. With a snap of his fingers, the black fires dissipated, and he began the walk back to the surface. The sounds of fighting had stopped. Vermillion curled into Agreus's arms and soon fell asleep. Agreus met Summer and Taiyang at the stairwell. They looked tired, but nothing seemed wrong.
"You got her?" Summer asked.
"Yep. How about the other prisoners?" Agreus asked.
"Freed." Taiyang said. "We also took care of the robed guys."
"Excellent. I want one of you to lead an expedition from the Pyre. Scour the caves and route out any in hiding. I want this cleared by the end of the week." Agreus commanded.
"Of course, sir." Summer said.
The trio ascended the spiral staircase. Summer and Taiyang kept constant watch for their attackers. Agreus paid them no heed, he was only focused on the woman in his arms. When they reached the surface. Agreus called for a bullhead. He needed to return to Vale. Vermillion needed a hospital and Jeremiah needed to know about the existence of this cult.
It was going to be a long few days.
…/…
Staying in one place had never really been Doc Harvester's style. Seeing as he had been hunted for his less than ethical experiments for the longest of times, no one could really blame him. Hence why it was such a surprise that night when he entered the warehouse.
Standing in the center of the room, by the operating table for his latest experiment was a man in a dark grey robe. The light was quite illuminating. Harvester glanced at the robed man, before walking straight up to him and slamming his next victim on the table.
"You really go all out with this, don't you?" The robed figure asked as the doctor restrained the unconscious man.
"All out with what?" Harvester asked as he grabbed his bag of tools.
"These copycat killings." Robe guy responded.
"Copycat killings?" Harvester glanced up at the robed man. "These are no copycat killings. You can't really be a copycat if you are the originator."
"How dare you compare yourself to Saint Harvester!" The robed man snapped.
Harvester responded by throwing a handful of small dust crystals, followed by launching one of his scalpels at the robed figure. Doc raised an eyebrow as the robed figure brought both his hands in front of him and the scalpel stopped in midair. The positioning of his hands made it appear as if he were crushing something. The man dropped his hands and the scalpel fell to the floor.
"You've got my attention." Harvester said after a minute. "What are you here for?"
"Well, it is the duty of my organization to stop the activities of any person that might try to defile the good work of Saint Harvester. Either by persuasion or force." The robed man answered.
"Why do you keep calling me a saint?" Harvester asked as he picked up his scalpel and turned back to his victim.
The victim in question had woken up and was trying to struggle free of his bonds.
"None of that now." Harvester whispered as he stabbed the sharp blade into the man's jugular. "I'll return to you in a bit, this might be a bit more important."
"You sir are not a saint; you are just defiling the work of the great Doc Harvester." The robed man said.
"You say that as if I'm not he. But I don't know what to call you either, so the feeling is probably mutual." Harvester said as he leaned against his operating table.
"Ah, you can call me Jackdaw." The now named Jackdaw said.
"Ok, and your name?" Harvester asked.
"How do you know that's not my name?" Jackdaw inquired.
"It is a name, but I want your name. Jackdaw is a type of bird. No one on Remnant names their children after birds." Harvester explained.
"How would you know that?" Jackdaw asked.
"Well, it helps if you know how to quickly navigate medical records." Harvester said. "But, let me introduce myself to you. I am known as Doc Harvester, the one and only."
"Yeah, and I'm headmaster Ozpin. How about your real name?" Jackdaw asked.
"After you." Harvester prompted.
Jackdaw sharply inhaled. "Touché, sir. Touché."
Harvester smiled. Jackdaw sighed.
"If you can prove the impossible, prove that you are truly the original Doc Harvester. I will tell you my name." Jackdaw spoke.
"What would it take?" Harvester asked.
"Something only the real Doc Harvester would know." Jackdaw said.
"Not sure you'd be the best judge seeing as we've never met before, but fair enough." Harvester answered. "Now, as I'm sure you know, people started calling me Doc Harvester, the Organ Bandit after a disgraced medical doctor who began dust experimentation on unwilling and still living participants."
"A quick internet search could tell you that." Jackdaw stated, unimpressed.
"A quick internet search would also tell you that the disgraced doctor's name was Julius Morbosus Harvester. However, no amount of search would be able to tell you that he was the one who actually created gravity Dust." Harvester said.
"Now you're giving me information on the wrong person." Jackdaw said.
"It wouldn't be the wrong person if Doc Harvester and Dr. Julius were the same man." Harvester said, nonchalantly.
"Julius Harvester died in prison three months after being sentenced." Jackdaw stated.
"Wrong. I faked my death in prison three months after it happened. I was in high security cell 15-42A. My ability to manipulate dust crystals allowed me to make it seem as if my heart had stopped. They declared me dead and I was thrown in a mass grave. They never count bodies in those, so it made for an easy escape. I made my way to Vale and started making a name for myself. My first harvest consisted of 2 victims. A young couple who were wandering down the wrong street. I pulled them into an alley, harvested their kidneys, blood, hearts and lungs before dumping their bodies in a nearby sewer. The first and only time I hid their bodies." Harvester explained.
Harvester raised and clenched his fist. The dust crystals he threw on the ground responded to his command, growing and restraining Jackdaw in a second.
"The next harvest was a cat faunus with a penchant for mania. She was such a find. From her I took only her blood and spleen. Her blood though, it gave the best results. RH null, rarest blood type in Remnant. My first two victims had AB+ and B- blood types. Is that specific enough for you?" Harvester spat.
A new crystal formed a chain around his neck and landed on the floor. Harvester whistled and Augustus appeared. Jackdaw was greatly surprised at the appearance of the crystal construct. The crystal bird's movements were very stilted, but the cultist didn't doubt for a second that the thing was alive. Augustus took one end of the chain in its talon and flew to the rafters of the warehouse. Jackdaw had to stand on his toes so as to not be choked out.
"A fact that only my victims and unwitting slaves know is that Doc Harvester has an aura and semblance that allows him to control Dust crystals, not just the power within. All it would take is a whistle and Augustus, a Dust crystal construct I created will fly away, taking you with him. You would never be seen again. So, I suggest you start talking. Who are you, really? What do you want? Who do you work with? And Why do you call me saint?" Harvester asked.
"I don't work for anyone, but I head the Council of the Midnight Harvest! My name is actually Janus Dullahan. I only wanted for the copycat to stop defiling the good doctor's work. But I now see that I was in the wrong. Please forgive me." Jackdaw begged.
"Maybe. Two more questions. Why do you call me saint and what is the Council of the Midnight Harvest?" Harvester interrogated.
"We call Doc Harvester saint because he is the patron saint of the council. We are an organization set up to emulate, idolize and continue the good doctor's work." Janus gasped.
Harvester whistled to Augustus and the crystal chain dropped. It landed in a heap next to Janus and began to shrink.
"Of all the things, a cult is the last thing I thought I would inspire." Harvester muttered.
"We aren't a cult." Janus wheezed.
Julius paused to think. He looked down at the sniveling man. His power was strong, but his base was weak. This council clearly idolized him, but they appeared quite ineffective. Perhaps, though, they could do some good. Remnant was sick, suffering from multiple ailments. A cancer called the Sanguine Pyre, a virus called the Grimm, and a parasite called humanity. What good doctor wouldn't try anything to save their patient?
"One more question, what do you know of The Sanguine Pyre?" Harvester asked, after a minute.
"Who?" Janus looked up, confused.
"Nothing. Then the Council has clearly failed." Harvester stated. "My work to cure Remnant of the disease known as the Sanguine Pyre has clearly not been continued. However, you could provide some use to me…"
"What?" Janus asked.
"Janus Jackdaw Dullahan, from this day forward, you will address me as Sir, Doctor, or Harvester." Harvester said. "We're going to have to do away with the robes. Set up base in a different kingdom and begin recruiting."
"What?" Janus repeated.
"Do I need to spell it out for you or are you too thick to understand even that?" Harvester asked condescendingly. "I'm taking over the council and we're moving out of Vale."
"Uh… why?" Janus asked. "Sir."
"The Sanguine Pyre is too entrenched in this kingdom and I am but one being." Harvester answered. "Fortunately, the Pyre is only in this kingdom. As soon as we set up a new power base, begin recruitment."
"How, sir?" Janus asked. "In the many years of the Council, we've never been much good at recruiting."
"You are the most ineffective cult in history." Harvester muttered.
"We aren't a cult." Janus muttered.
"You are now." Harvester responded, turning back to his victim. "As for recruitment, ever hear of brainwashing?"
"Brainwashing?" Janus asked.
"Clearly not." Harvester deadpanned. "It is essentially a form of mind control. Through emotional, physical, and mental manipulations, you can pressure them into adopting a radically different set of beliefs, such as the mission of the Council. I'm sure you can find someone with the abilities. The black market specializes in less than legal businesses like that. I'd suggest Vacuo. They tend to have more… mental semblances than the other kingdoms."
"Uh..." Janus said dumbly.
"Or you could stay here and become my next harvest after this lovely member of the Sanguine Pyre." Harvester said nonchalantly as he made an incision along his victim's sternum.
"No, no. I'll get right on that, sir." Janus quickly complied.
The cultist fled from the warehouse as Julius began harvesting blood from his victim. He performed a quick blood test on the victim. Twenty minutes later, Harvester smiled.
"Looks like we have an O-, Augustus." Harvester stated as the construct landed on the bag. "Unfortunately, after tonight, it is time to move again."
Augustus tilted its head.
"Don't give me that look." Harvester snapped. "You and I both know it's necessary."
Augustus looked at the scalpel still in the victim's neck.
"Oh, thank you for the reminder." Harvester stated as he plucked the blade from the man's jugular.
Augustus looked back at Harvester, then the door, before flying back to the rafters.
"Oh, you mean the council." Harvester rambled to himself, not even pausing his work. "They are weak and foolish, but even fools have their uses. Don't worry Augustus. Give me a few months, maybe a year, and they'll be useful."
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