Checking through files was never an easy thing. Be it the monotonous compiling of records to ensure the identities of those found in Cult holdouts, or the mundane act of ensuring taxes were done properly.
Hey, they still had to pay taxes.
Even Cultist still had to pay their taxes if they don't want to attract the wrong kind of attention.
But that was the life of an Arcadian agent. You get trained to fight against mind rending horrors and ceaseless cults who want nothing more than the damnation of Remnant. You quickly find out how best to do it, you do it a lot while also growing to dread paperwork. Soon you realize that the lucky ones are the ones who are ignorant to the truth of the world. If you're lucky you get a paid vacation or you live to see your hair go white.
Where was she going with this again?
Oh right, they brought down another active Cultist holdout and now have to file in paper work for moving two injured Cave Crawlers too a new suitable home. Why bother moving them you might ask? Cave Crawlers have a lot of nasty things dweling in their body, and a lot of those things flee when the Cave Crawler dies. Intestinal worms as thick as your arm and longer than your body. Horrid diseases that are found in the brain and stomachs which can infect humans and faunus, leading too a slow and painful death.
Not even getting into the fact that Cave Crawlers don't like messing with people in the first place.
It's far easier and less dangerous to just move them to some Cave system in the frontier far away from any kingdom's center.
Still, the paper work...
If she had any say then they would just send them there, but no. Veterinarians had to be paid to keep the Cave Crawlers from dying, Movers had to be paid for both equipment and man power, Containment units and disposal of lost blood were costs in of themselves. Every action with the Movers was another cost from her budget, even with how necessary it may be.
At least with Evac all the bureaucracy and payment was handled by them.
Still, with Arcadian having enough wealth to buy the whole of the SDC and its subsidies several times over, that made it a bit easier.
At least her younger brother and his team got to enjoy the success from last nights raid.
Jaune watched from the living room as Pyrrha finished packing her new axe into the mail. Another trophy, another means to calm the Huntsmen. He passed the tape too her as she sealed the box and picked it up. She already had her disguise on, a classic glasses and hat alongside more casual clothes and some makeup to cover her more recognizable features. As she picked the box up and rested it over her shoulder Jaune heard shuffling from the hallway.
Tony and Tompson stood at the doorway, leashes in their mouths. Jaune just took the leashes in his hand as Pyrrha giggled at their unspoken request. "We'll be back in a bit, taking the boys for a walk, sending out a package." he half shouted. "Ok!" he heard Charlie shout back. Jaune approached the front door and opened it, stepping out while holding it open for Pyrrha.
Blake couldn't help but be filled with a sense of foreboding. Ever since she had that weird feeling at initiation everything felt off. Her plan to get through Beacon without anyone finding out she was a faunus was demolished due to her partner finding it out in less than ten minutes. Tukson hadn't sent her a message in months, not a single update on White Fang Activity in Vale's territory. Worse of all, she keeps getting this feeling, a feeling that screams at her to get the hell away from things. Whenever she goes by Professor (Doctor) Oobleck's office, or travels down one of Beacon's elevators, hell she had that feeling while walking through the library.
So now she was going to solve at least one of these problems.
"I still don't get why it's so important Blakey. If he's an old friend why not just call him? Why do you have to drag all us to Vale then leave Rubes and Weisscream alone? They still don't fully get along you know." her partner said with half hidden judgement. "Because... look, it's a necessary secret Ok." She replied while trying to think how to best explain it without rousing suspicion. As much of a muscle head as Yang can be, she isn't exactly stupid.
"A necessary secret. Oh, we will get that secret." Yang replied. 'Drat, already suspicious, great going Blake.' she lamented. "Look, you know I'm hiding this." She gestured to the bow on top of her head to emphasize her point. "About as well as can be Blakey." Yang shot back. "Well, my past is one of mixed morals. I've done things I regret and I want to right my wrongs. Part of that involves meeting with Tukson, but he hasn't replied to my messages in two months and I'm worried for his safety." she answered. "Oh, shoot." was all Yang said.
The two of them continued down the streets of Vale on foot in silence for a moment.
"So, you know I have a motorcycle right. you could have sold this to Rubes as a partner bonding day rather than a team bonding day and I could have driven us there much quicker." Yang said, breaking the silence. Blake froze for a second before narrowing her eyes. "This is the first time I'm hearing about a motorcycle." she replied. "BLAKE, I was talking about it when I was talking about Bumblebee, that's my bike." Yang replied with a raised voice. "I thought Bumblebee was the name of your family dog." she shot back. "No, thats Zwei, were you even listening during that team bonding night Rubes set up in the first week?" Yang questioned. "Yes... Maybe, we were all half asleep when she sprung it on us, we talked until five am on the weekendrather than sleeping." she shot back.
Yang didn't reply, and the two of them returned to their silence.
Then they reached Tukson's Book Trade, or rather what had once been Tukson's Book Trade.
The building was surrounded in construction signs. Windows were covered in thin translucent plastic. The sign was covered and the scent of drying paint lingered in the air. Blake felt her shoulders sag while Yang just looked at her incredulously. "So?..." Yang inquired. Blake didn't answer, only looking over the building with a blank expression.
Then her eyes caught something.
A plate stood next to the door, on it was the symbol of a large tree with bright lights growing from its branches. A sword crossed under a shield with two arcing lines over top the shield stood between the branches of roots of the tree.
The sigal of Arcadia.
Below it was the words; "Under Construction, under new ownership."
Blake just pointed at the sign. Yang gave it a glance before turning back to her. "So, some big corporation bought the building, what about it?" She inquired. "That Sigal, is the sigal of Arcadia. The home kingdom of the Arcadian Historical Society. One of the most prominent organizations in all of Remnant." Blake rattled on. "And they bought his book store, maybe he sold it to them and moved to another kingdom." Yang shot out the idea. "No, you don't understand. The AHS has existed for longer than any of the current kingdoms. They are old and have a heavy hand in both historical and literary matters all over the four main kingdoms. You'll see that shield on practically any history textbook." Blake explained.
"So what, do they manipulate our understanding of history into a unified story that they see fit?" Yang inquired. "That's the thing, they don't. They may have their own publishers but they don't control our history, if you pick up five of their history textbooks from each kingdom, there will be contradictions based on who else prints it. I just don't understand why such an organization would buy a small bookstore in Vale." Blake explained. "Maybe Tukson sold it too them?" Yang said.
"No, he would have told me... What did they do to him?" Blake murmured the last part under her breath. She could feel Yang's gaze on her, so she shot one back. "I'm not crazy Yang, I know they're involved in this." She replied. Yang didn't say anything, only looking at her with concern. "The AHS has a building in Vale, it's just a few blocks from here." She said, snapping Yang out of her silence. Blake could hardly react before Yang's hand grabbed her collar.
"No, we are going back to Rubes and Weisscream, if we hurry they won't bring this up again." Yang said while dragging her away. "No Yang, this is serious." she argued while trying to free herself. She tried to use her Semblance only for Yang to grab her by her midsection and hoist her off the ground before she could flee. "No." was all Yang said before she turned back and began walking. Blake just stewed, before she remembered something, they had pasted the AHS building while walking too Tukson's Book Trade.
She said nothing, only keeping her eyes out for the building in question. She had one chance, one chance to get away and get some answers. If her partner won't help here, then she'll do it herself.
"Hey, there you guys are!" She heard Weiss shout. 'Damnit.' Blake cursed.
Earlier.
Ruby huffed as she and Weiss followed their teammates trail. Did they really think they could slip away that quickly with by pointing at a bakery. Even with their respective sweet toothes, that wouldn't keep their attention for long. "Come on, just a bit quicker." Ruby said as she took Weiss' hand and began dragging her along. "Ruby, slow down, I'm sure whatever Yang and Blake are doing won't take long." she tried to reason. "But it's a team bonding day, both of them pushed for it. Why would they just leave in the middle of it." Ruby counter argued. Weiss opened her mouth to speak, only to close it with a scowl.
"Those Dolts, they wanted to do a partner day but didn't think that would work." Weiss said with a frown. "Why not, I would have let them." Ruby commented. "Why doesn't matter, when we see them again they are getting a lecture." Weiss said. "Let me do it, you can write it but I'm saying it." Ruby said, taking control. "Fine, but you owe me dog pictures." Weiss replied. "Will do." Ruby replied back as she pulled out her scroll.
Then she bumped into someone.
She fell back, colliding with Weiss and sending both toppling to the ground. "Hey, sorry about that you guys alright?" The person they had bumped into asked. Ruby looked up, seeing a tall blonde guy with cerulean eyes wearing a plain black shirt and a brown jacket over top. "We're fine." Ruby replied as she took his outstretched hand. Weiss took his other one and pulled herself up, before breaking into a glare at the guy.
"ARC!!" She almost snarled. "Oh, hey Snow Angel, long time no see." Arc replied. "Uh, Weiss, who is he and how do you know him?" Ruby asked. "We've met before, the name's Jaune Arc." Jaune said while holding out his hand in a greeting. "Ah, Ruby Rose, nice to meet you." Ruby said, eagerly shaking it. She turned back just to see Weiss still glaring at him.
"Ruby, let us leave. This ruffian is- OMG ARE THOSE THE LITTLE BABIES." Weiss said, personality doing a 180 as a pair of Golden Retrievers stepped forward. The heiress ignoring the others as she began rabidly petting the two dogs. "Hello." A red haired woman with glasses and a long ponytail said. "Uh... Hi." Ruby just said awkwardly. "Sorry, I might as well tell you how Weiss and I met while she's gushing over Tony and Tompson." Jaune said as the woman with him just held their leashes.
"Oh don't worry. I know Weiss just needs to warm up to people some times." Ruby said with an apologetic tone in her voice. "Yeah, well for some reason Snow Angel doesn't like me, or my sisters, or my dad, or my uncles... All I ever did was call her Snow Angel and she acts like that." Jaune said. "Maybe she doesn't like the name?" Ruby replied. "No, a lot of people have called her Snow Angel, it's just me that she seemed to hate out of that group." Jaune replied. Ruby shook her head before looking back at Weiss in confusion.
Weiss was still in Goldie heaven, happily soaking up their attention.
"Hey Snow Angel." Ruby called out to her. "Yes my Dolt of a leader." Weiss replied with her usual polite tone. "Did Jaune's family do something to yours?" Ruby asked. "Yes, His "Kingdom's" so called Historical Society has butted head with the SDC for years, his Great Grandfather even went so far as to humiliate my Grandfather Nicholas Schnee in a duel." Weiss said with a stern gaze. "Ah come on Weiss, there's reason for the debates." Jaune said in a flimsy attempt to de-escalate the argument. Weiss just grew red in the face and stepped forward.
"If I may interject." The red hair woman spoke up, stepping between Weiss and Jaune. "Jaune doesn't wish to commit to the Arc/Schnee "Rivalry". You yourself have performed at two separate Arcadian galas without your family knowing about it, so you have no room to argue on such matters." The red haired woman said. Weiss stopped, before narrowing her eyes at the woman. "And who might you be?" She inquired. The woman smiled; "Kyni Megalos." Kyni said while holding out her hand too Ruby. Ruby just awkwardly shook it as Weiss just narrowed her eyes at her.
"Come on Weiss, they're just trying to be nice." Ruby said. Weiss took a moment, her gaze lingering on the pair before she let out a sigh. "Fine, just stop calling me Snow Angel, Arc." Weiss said. "Just as long as you call me by my name Weiss." Jaune replied. "Fine Jaune... You have a lovely pair of dogs by the way." Weiss said as her gaze turned back too the pair of Goldies. Ruby let out a sigh of relief as Kyni smiled with half smug satisfaction.
"Thanks, Tony and Tompson were part of a big litter of pups. Dad let me raise them on the condition that I handle some of their training." Jaune said, tilting the conversation. Weiss paused for a moment; "Do you have a picture of the litter when they were pups?" She asked in a quiet voice. Ruby felt herself sweatdrop as Kyni just laughed. "Maybe, I think I heard you guys talking about dogs as well." Jaune said. "Oh yeah, we were talking about my family's dog Zwei." Ruby interjected while pulling out her scroll.
Jaune and Kyni leaned in to watch as Ruby showed off some photos of Zwei. "Nice Corgi, he a herding dog?" Jaune asked. "Nope, Huntsmen dog. He even has his aura unlocked and everything." Ruby said with a prideful tone. "Nice, so do Tony and Tompson." Jaune replied as the two Goldies stood at attention, their gazes demanding more pets. Weiss happily gave them more pets while Kyni just loosened her hold on their leashes. "Ooh, are they for hunting Grimm as well?" Ruby inquired. "Kind of, Kyni and I, as well as the rest of our team, work as protection for Arcadian Expeditions. You never know what can happen out in the frontier after all." Jaune replied.
"Ooh, have you guys even taken an an artifact from a temple, only for it to activate a booby trap and set loose a giant bolder?" Ruby asked. "Not yet, there may be a temple like that one day." Jaune replied with a joking tone. Ruby and Kyni laughed as well before Weiss stood back up. "Well Jaune, we saw you and your partner. Now we have to go find the rest of our team." Weiss said before she took Ruby's wrist. "Alright, see yah around Weiss." Jaune said as the two began walking away.
Then they saw Blake and Yang approaching them, Yang carrying Blake over her shoulder. "Hey, there you guys are!" Weiss shouted as she doubled her pace. Yang waved them over as Blake groaned. "How could you two leave us?" Ruby asked in annoyance. "Sorry, Blake wanted to show me this bookstore she liked to frequent. She got kind of impatient." Yang apologized while holding Blake up. "Yang let me down, he's right there." Blake said while gesturing behind them.
Ruby and Weiss shared a look before glancing to where Blake had gestured, only seeing Jaune and Kyni walking away. "Sorry, the store was bought by this publishing company called Arcadia." Yang said. Ruby just let out an awkward cough while Weiss' brows furrowed. "Arcadia isn't a company, it's the kingdom the company originated from." Weiss said with clear annoyance. "Well, what's so special about that guy any way?" Yang countered. "That man is Jaune Arc, he works heavily with both his kingdom's issues and for the Arcadian Historical Society." Weiss explained.
Yang seemed to blank for a second, allowing Blake to free herself from the taller girl's hold. "The AHS bought the place, I happened to know the previous owner and he seemed to just disappear off the surface of Remnant." Blake chimed in. "They do that sometimes. Arcadians will purchase buildings, let the prior owners leave without causing any fuss, and set up book stores or other such places." Weiss countered. "But..." "But nothing, you two still left us during a team bonding day. We will discuss this all later." Ruby interjected, grabbing Blake by her shoulder and Weiss hy her collar.
The two girls could do little as Yang joined in, helping drag them away from the Vale Branch of the AHS.
Arcadian Bestiary Entry: $@?
Warlocks.
-Warlocks were once human or faunus, however they had gained a form of boon with some other power and became permanently altered by it. Their bodies will still resemble their prior forms, but with particular alterations. These alterations vary depending on the boon granted by a specific being. They will always be found inter mingling with other members of their respective Cults.
Warlocks altered by the Preacher will often speak in a manner near impossible to actually understand, with the ability to warp and dominate the minds of less intelligent and strong willed beings. Those altered by the Egg will often show signs of enhanced aggression and endurance, along with the seeming ability to teleport. Those altered by the Sleeper will possess the ability to warp flesh and organic matter in ways far beyond understanding, even to the point of possessing potent regeneration abilities. Regardless Warlocks are a kill on sight type of being, never to be underestimated or given mercy.