Avie

So, Avie has a blog here and recapped their end of things here, and since they seem to have a better memory than I do... well, it's not plagiarism if it's just repeating things people said in the first place.

Now, onto the meeting itself.

 Leo, Jenn, and I were at a shady bar called Murphy's, accompanied by Samuel and Jameson, from what had once been Locke's team. Avie didn't show up somewhere from five to ten minutes past the time we'd set. I was starting to get a little bored, just staring at this weird poster of an orange toad that was hanging up. It was just about the only thing that was actually well-lit, and I sure as hell hadn't brought a phone to occupy myself in the meantime- Jenn's instilled far too much paranoia in me for that.

"Apologies for being late! I forgot how long the forest path gets sometimes," Avie said as they finally entered. I wasn't sure what I envisioned Leo's AMU contact as looking like, but "short, smiling person in a button-up shirt and nail polish" wasn't it.

"Yeah, you really need the patience of a saint around here," Leo said, nodding and motioning to a vacant chair. "So, uh..." He nervously drank some of his root beer. "So, what exactly were you thinking as to the deal? On either end, I mean."

"Well, I was thinking we could give you some Martyr backup and some guns." They called over the barkeep to order something, then went on, "In return, you give us some information about the inner workings of ARC. How does that sound?"

Jenn laughed.

Leo glanced at her, then looked back at Avie. "Works for me. I mean, they're the ones keeping Robin captive, and I only joined them in the first place because I thought they could help me. Obviously they didn't."

He looked over at me. I nodded.

He shrugged. "Guess that's a yes. Anything in particular you're wondering about?"

"There is one thing I was curious about: do you have a plan to pull this off?"

"Eh... sort of. Thing is, the people who designed ARC headquarters made sure to put the highest-security cells in the corner."

Jenn nodded. "Time-out."

Leo ignored this comment. "Point is, they're harder to reach and harder to get out of. Jenn," he said, nodding in her direction, "is bringing Samuel and Jameson. They're good fighters." He suddenly went pale. "...They may or may not have been involved in the ARC raid on Solville where we took those AMU books, actually... anyways, we're thinking between them and whoever you can provide, we should be able to fight our way there. If we can clear things out on the way to the cell, we won't need to do any more work once we've broken out Robin. As to actually getting the cell open, we're thinking of using a cordless circular saw, but that might take a while."

Avie nodded along, listening quietly. When Leo finished explaining, they took a few seconds before responding. "That sounds like a dangerous plan. Maybe talking it over with our Martyrs would be a good idea, and together you could form a plan with fewer... risks?"

Leo glanced at Jenn.

She sighed. "Yes, the fighting was mostly my idea. Yes, it was probably a bad idea."

Leo nodded. "So, the Martyrs would be at AMU, right?"

"Yes, we still have a few Martyr squads currently stationed at our campus," Avie said, nodding.

"It would seem that's the best place to head from here, in that case," I said. "Remind me, is that also where you have the gate to the anomalous location that Stetson fellow mentioned on his blog? The... Catacombs, I think it was called?"

Avie was visibly surprised that I'd finally spoken up, as well as at what I'd said. "The Catacombs? To be honest, I am not sure. I myself have not had the honor of passing through them. Were you planning on using them to reach the ARC prison?"

I shrugged. "I didn't think that would necessarily be the case, but if we are already working with the Archive, it may not be a bad idea." I paused. "I suppose you would want extra payment of some sort. I don't know what these four think of the idea, but I suppose it depends on the price you name, assuming it would even be viable."

"I see. I would have to ask around. Hopefully there's someone on campus that can help you with that."

"There most certainly is." A man in sunglasses stepped out of the shadows and tipped his hat at the five of us.

"Who the fuck-" Jenn began, startled by his sudden appearance. She cleared her throat awkwardly as she noticed the rest of us looking at her.

"...Cimbrius Tviblindi," I said. "You are, aren't you?"

Cimbrius Tviblindi, for background, is the unofficial head of AMU staff. Officially speaking, he's a member of the board of directors, but when he speaks, the rest of them listen. I don't know if he's pulled strings to get to that point, or if it's just because of his air of importance, or what, but whatever it is, it works for him.

Avie stood up and bowed, saying, "Mr. Tviblindi. I wasn't aware you were here."

Tviblindi nodded at Avie and motioned for them to sit back down. "You are correct, Addison, I am he." He smirked. "I didn't intend to eavesdrop. However, when I heard the Catacombs being mentioned, I could not resist."

I nodded slowly. "I see. You have some sort of connection to the Catacombs, then? Not surprising, I suppose, given your involvement with Subject 16- I mean, the Blind Man."

He shook his head softly. "Not really. I merely have what some would call an unhealthy interest in the place. I do, however, know of someone who can guide you there."

"Is that so? Well, then, I suppose our next move should be contacting them." I paused. "If you don't mind my asking, what interest do you have in this? I always thought you had people like them-" I nodded at Avie- "collect information while you managed things behind the scenes. I assumed as much, at least."

"You assumed correctly. I prefer staying in the background. However, sometimes things need a... push in the right direction." He smirked again. "As for my interest in this particular thing, well, I believe Robin has some critical information we need to stop that forest. It'd be quite a shame if her rescue attempt went badly."

"That's a fair enough goal, but... I honestly assumed it was the dagger. I don't remember Seattle that clearly, everything is honestly kind of a blur, but weren't the Martyrs trying to get it to the Newborn when Robin picked it up and used it?"

"Correct. Robin was the one who struck the killing blow, however. She could know some small details everyone else overlooked. Even just the feeling she felt when the dagger went into the tower could be helpful for us to analyze."

"...I see." I wasn't convinced, but I wasn't about to push it. "Now, the person you were talking about who could give us access to the Catacombs, are they on the AMU campus, or...?"

He nodded. "They happen to be on campus right now. Would you like to go see them now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Ah, before I forget. You did mention the possibility of extra payment. I can confirm that usage of the Catacombs will require that."

I glanced at Leo and Jenn.

"I've got nothing better to do," Jenn said, shrugging. "I'm just curious what you're asking in return."

Tviblindi grinned when he heard this. "All I ask in return is that you join our university as official staff. This might be a steep price at first glance. On the other hand, where else would you go after saving Robin?"

 

We were all silent for several moments.

Leo was the one to speak up first. "Really? I won't complain if it pays well, I suppose, but... I wasn't even a particularly good student. I tried, but I just could not get through Wordsworth." He paused. "Joking."

I muttered something under my breath at the Wordsworth comment, then said aloud, "I'm afraid I don't understand either. I understand we have inside information on ARC and on ARC findings, but is there any particular reason we couldn't do that as free agents? ...Our own safety aside, anyways..."

"You see, our university is very busy at the moment, with the world ending and all that." Tviblindi paused as he sipped from a dark glass he definitely hadn't been holding a second before. "We really need all the extra hands we can get. While we get many applicants, it's hard finding anyone with a proper understanding of our real work. Your experience at ARC gives you knowledge that is hard to find. Everyone else with your knowledge is already working for someone else or... dead." He smirked and set down his glass on a nearby table.

"Understandable," I said, feeling slightly shaken by the reminder that we were only there in the first place because of the apocalypse. "So, you give us supplies and take us to whoever it is that can access the Catacombs, and in exchange, we join you and give you whatever information you might need."

"Exactly. Don't forget we're also sending some Martyrs along with you for the extra firepower." He paused and gave Avie a nod.

Avie nodded back and stood up. "Shall we get going, then?" they asked, their smile never having left their face.

I'll recap the rest when I'm up for it. Right now, I think I'm going to have a drink. Whether Leo and Jenn join me is up to them.