ARC and the Archive

Being hounded by an organization that specializes in secrecy and anonymity is difficult even when you're familiar with them. ARC has switched things up a bit since we went rogue- updated passwords, decommissioned old pseudonyms, the works. 

Strange, isn't it? ARC is so much more mundane than many other groups that deal with the Fears. They don't seem to have any occult rituals, any hidden ties to the Fears, any real investment in the paranormal beyond making sure it doesn't hurt anyone. In a way, it makes sense. Deal with beings made of fear by refusing to show emotion.

But hiding your fear isn't the same thing as overcoming it. ARC knows that, even if they don't advertise it. They're all terrified. And who can blame them? We're in a game of cat and mouse where nobody knows which is which.

Magnus

Working as an Archivist has been a peculiar experience.

Leo, Robin, Jenn, Samuel, and I were introduced to the job by a man named Jonathan Magnus who wore glasses and a tweed suit, which, to be honest, conjured some unpleasant memories of the KRAKEN agent ARC has had in security for some time now thanks to Robin.

Magnus says he had been Gifted someone else's memories after the Blind Man stole his. The memories he has now are those of the person originally called Jonathan Magnus- he doesn't know the name he was given at birth, so he uses the one the Blind Man gave him.

He seemed less concerned about this than he might be.

As Magnus told me and the other new Archivists, being Gifted has its benefits, namely that other Archivists treat them with respect. I wondered if this was a hint to myself and my companions, but I didn't voice the question.

To summarize the explanation Magnus gave of AMU and the Archive, AMU is a branch of the Archive- not so much a front, since that implies an attempt at secrecy. The Archive as a whole is devoted to the Blind Man, a Fear who walks libraries and collects the memories of those within. Those memories are stored in the books in his Catacombs. I already knew all this, as it's relatively basic information on the group, but I think it's important to refresh the memories of anyone who might have forgotten over the duration of my hiatus. (Sorry about that.)

I haven't seen Magnus much since then. He's high in the ranks of the Archivists, so the circles he runs in rarely overlap with mine. From what I gather, he chooses to introduce people to the group because he genuinely enjoys it, not because he's a no-name tasked to do so by the powers that be.

Speaking of ghosts, Robin hasn't been around lately. I think the Archivists are trying to use her for something, but she's cagey about what.

Leo and I did so much to get her back, and she's gone again.

Still better than her being imprisoned. From her perspective, this is certainly an improvement.

It still hurts, though. Is that selfish?

The Catacombs

Avie and Tviblindi accompanied our group to the AMU campus after our meeting at Murphy's. Once we got there, Tviblindi whispered something to Avie, and Avie said their goodbyes, that creepy smile still on their face.

Courtesy of Tviblindi, we were supplied with additional firepower and had escape vehicles set up outside of ARC headquarters. We were also accompanied by several Martyrs, the Archive equivalent to soldiers. Frankly, I was starting to get paranoid that the whole thing was a setup and they'd turn on us, given that there were a few more of them than there were of us.
 
I won't describe the person who opened the door to the Catacombs for us, as per her request.

Other than the possibility of betrayal and death, our group entered without issue.

The Catacombs are difficult to describe. They're not really supposed to be... seen, I don't think, at least not by humans. It makes me think of the Newborn's true form back at Seattle. It was impossible to really parse.

(Maybe that was just me, though. Nobody else seems to have said anything like that, including the other members of our group.)

The closest my brain could really figure out to a descriptor for the Catacombs is that they looked like a seemingly-infinite maze of tunnels, bookshelves lining the walls. Given how cold and damp it was in there, I assumed the fact that I didn't see any books that were even slightly damaged was a result of the Catacombs' true nature, i.e., hellish and wrong.

There were... spiders there. Not quite spiders, really. They had too many legs even for spiders, and their many eyes were placed irregularly around their heads. They were white as bone, and they covered nearly everything that wasn't being walked on, crawling about on their too-many legs.

In short, they looked like what I imagine arachnophobes see when they think about spiders.

They all moved in one direction. According to the Martyrs accompanying us, that was the Archive's patron Fear the Blind Man guiding our way. We followed the bone spiders, and we made it through the Catacombs.

Eventually, we came to a massive door made of dark wood. The doorway was made of bone, or at least, I thought so at first. As I moved closer, I realized that it was actually made of countless bone spiders pressed tight against one another. I couldn't say whether they were dead or just very still, if concepts like death even apply to them.

I moved past the rest of the group to open the door. With that, we stepped out of the Catacombs and into Robin's cell.

Most of what happened immediately after that was a blur, if I'm being honest, but I remember bits and pieces: Robin hugging me, me having to pull away from her and try to explain what was going on, Jameson cutting through several of the bars with a circular saw, Samuel shooting several guards' legs out to incapacitate them, Jameson picking the lock from the inside and opening the door, all of us leaving the cell with a now-terrified Robin in tow.

We fled the cell block, but there were a number of guards stationed at different points. We tried not to hurt any of them and focus on just getting out before we were trapped, but there were points where we had to.

The problem with not killing the people who want to kill you is that they can still try to kill you.

As we ran out of the cellblock and into the meeting room, we were followed by two guards we hadn't already injured or... neutralized. One named Ivan- nice guy, brought in doughnuts once- shot Jameson in the chest twice. A Martyr named Merel shot Ivan in the head. He collapsed to the ground, blood flowing from his temple. Ivan's partner George knelt down beside him, about to... I don't know, check his vitals or something, but Merel shot him too.

I was starting to feel sick to my stomach.

But there was no time to grieve. We kept running even as we were being shot at, even as more guards were called in from other rooms, even as they killed all but four of the Martyrs. We kept running even as we fired back at the people who had once been my friends, who probably would have agreed that Robin didn't deserve to be imprisoned but just couldn't be trusted to keep a secret and had to die for it.

If you couldn't tell, I'm still processing what happened that day.

We ran out of the meeting room and into the hallway. There was a staircase leading up to a door I knew said "Staff Only" on the other side. I pushed the door open and held it as Leo, Jenn, Samuel, Merel, and the surviving Martyrs ran through.

Robin looked into my eyes as she saw what I was doing. For some reason, I thought for half a second that she would refuse to go through, but just like the rest of us, she entered the door to the upstairs hallway. Just like the rest of us, she shot and killed the guards stationed there as we made our way to the office, and from there to the reception room, even though she didn't really know why any of this was happening. Just like the rest of us, she left the building and got in one of the escape vehicles Tviblindi and his people had provided us, even though she didn't recognize anyone there but us.

What kind of person am I that Robin didn't question any of this from me? Or does that say more about what being imprisoned for so long has done for her?

It doesn't matter. All of us are either free or dead. I didn't even know the ones who died that well.

That probably sounds cynical. I don't really care. Robin is safe, and she's with us.

She's just such a different person than she used to be. She's like us now: scared, exhausted, and ashamed. Or maybe she was always like that, and she's just lost practice at hiding it. It's hard to say.

I'll update more later. For now, I just want to get some rest.

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.

A friend of Leo's

Jenn and I were having another meeting in her office, this one a good deal more recent than the last, when there was a knock at the door. Jenn answered it. It was Leo.

"Volkov," Jenn said as she closed the door behind him. "You're late."
"Sorry," he said. "I was arranging a meeting."
"That so?" Jenn said, pouring him a drink.
He took off his coat and sat down across from myself.
"Yeah. An acquaintance of mine from a while back named Avie."
Jenn set her glass down and stared right into his soul. "You don't mean the AMU employee."
Leo nodded.
Jenn shook her head. "Oh, this just keeps getting better. You know, kid, sometimes I think you've got secrets where your brains should be."

I'll post when we meet up with them.

(Singular them. Avie's coming alone- apparently Leo managed to instill a lot of trust in them whenever it was he knew them, considering that makes it myself, Jenn, Leo, Samuel, and Jameson meeting up with them at a shady bar called Murphy's. Just seems like kind of a dangerous situation to put yourself in, if you ask me.

 

 Whatever. Not my business anyways.)

Jenn

"So... you wanted to talk to me?" said Jenn. She and I were sitting in her office. She'd poured us both drinks. She'd already had a few, albeit not before double- and triple-checking for bugs hidden in the office.
I nodded. "I'm getting worried about you. You've been really hard on yourself lately. You've been so busy working that we haven't gotten the chance to speak to you about anything else in... weeks at least."
She looked up from her drink. "My friend got killed by a robot monster and yours got put in jail. I'd say it's reasonable to become a bit of a workaholic."
"Actually... that's what I wanted to talk about," I said. "Leo and I don't think it's right that Robin was placed in ARC custody."
Jenn rolled her eyes. "You think I don't know that? ARC hasn't done anything 'right' since we started. The A section of a list of things we've done wrong in the past few months would be a hundred pages long. Hell, the apostrophe section is probably a couple pages too." She took another drink, then finally spoke. "So... what, we're gonna do something about it?"
"That's why we came here," I said.
"Your reasons just keep getting better and better." She noticed me glaring at her. "Sorry. Go on."
"Well," I continued, "we had... something of an idea. We think we could find a way to get her out. Either we make a deal with some outside organization, or we do it ourselves. We haven't exactly had much luck asking the higher-ups nicely."
Jenn considered. "Outside involvement means less loyalty, but also less chance of a personal vendetta. Might sell our information to the highest bidder, but might not be as likely to stab us in the back for stealing a stapler. It's a toss-up, as far as I'm concerned. Of course, either way, we need to figure out who we're dealing with exactly. Anyone in mind?"
"If we're exclusively working with insiders, we'll want your team to be involved. You're trained in combat and stealth."
Jenn nodded. "Me, I'm more of a researcher, but I can still hold my own in a scrap. Damn shame about that fight with the KRAKEN assholes, with Daisy getting an eye clawed out and her face scratched up." She sighed. "Yeah. Damn shame about Daisy."

I backdated this post to about when it would've happened- sometime in December 2019. Hard to say when, exactly. Time's hard nowadays, and it's not because I'm having fun.

Robin encaged

Leo and I visited Robin at lunch yesterday. We brought her some food. The guards felt the need to look through it before they let me give it to her, like I was going to hide a lockpick in her mashed potatoes or something. Christ almighty.

The conversation that came after was awkward, like most of my chats with Robin these days. She used to be so carefree. Now... well, now she's got the end of the world to think about, and the thought's been drilled into her head that it's her fault.

I can't say I blame her for feeling unhappy.

On an unrelated note, nobody at ARC reads this blog. They don't know it exists, actually.

I'm starting to get a bit of an idea.