Know the enemy of thy enemy

Leo and I have been texting a bit lately. He said I could publish the results for posterity.

- Me: So, I've been wondering about ARC...

- Leo: Okay

- Me: So, first of all, why didn't they pay more attention when they thought I had one of those monsters in my watch?

- Leo: You mean the Manufactured Newborn? Newborn larvae usually leave for the Towering Realm after they absorb some materials

- Me: What does that even mean?

- Leo: What that means is, the hive mind that controls your watch usually has its larvae leave for the home dimension, where its true form is

Basically, if ARC thinks you might possibly have one of them in its larval form, and you don't give it to them right away, they can just consider it a messy situation in the making

- Me: "A messy situation?" Isn't this "Newborn" supposed to be really brutal?

- Leo: Ordinarily yes, although for some reason your watch didn't seem to get the memo

- Me: But they didn't care about the possibility that it really would be part of the Newborn?

- Leo: They were busy, and like I said it would usually just suck some stuff up and return to its own world

That's why I don't really like ARC

They *prioritize.*

- Me: So you're saying they were willing to have an unknown amount of my neighborhood get totally demolished by a monster because they were busy?

- Leo: Pretty much

Here's the real kicker, you know what they were busy with?

- Me: Do I want to?

- Leo: I can tell you if you do

- Me: Okay, I'll bite... what is it?

- Leo: They think AMU is a front for another cult

The Archive, they're called

They obsessively collect materials related to the Fears

- Me: The Fears? That sounds... ominous.

- Leo: I keep forgetting how little I've told you yet >_>

Those are monsters, like the Manufactured Newborn, that some people think are embodiments of fear itself

- Me: …

- Leo: The Newborn is the Fear of the Future

- Me: That makes a lot of sense, actually...

So wait, why did you say ARC was trustworthy if they'd let me die because they were busy investigating some cult?

- Leo: Well, once you're in with them, you're in, right?

So, if you're just going to go over and give them this watch, they don't mind, they may as well take it and see what they can do to get rid of it

But if you don't give them the watch, no point in trying to pry it from you, right?

- Me: ...Oh.

- Leo: Anyway it's not like the government is funding ARC very much, like that agent guy said
They already have STAB, after all
- Me: STAB?
- Leo: Yeah, the Supernatural Threat Analysis Bureau
Anyways, this is also the deal with my relationship with Robin
We used to be dating until she joined ARC a few years ago
- Me: Oh, she's that Robin? Huh... that makes a lot of sense, actually.
- Leo: Yeah, I never told you why we broke up because it's so Fear-related
- Me: Yeah... hm.
What do you think KRAKEN want with the watch, anyways?
- Leo: I don't know
And that's what scares me.

I need sleep

So at this point, I've gone back to my apartment. I'm currently trying to figure out what KRAKEN might have wanted the watch for, since ARC wasn't informed enough on them to be very useful when I asked them. As near as we can tell, the most likely scenario is that they want to use the watch as a sort of icon of worship, since they worship monsters like it. Still, I'm worried they might also have other goals, like using it to attack people, or that there's some sort of deeper plan to it all.

...I need sleep. Maybe I'll take some melatonin and read what I can of my Shelley collection before I fall asleep, or something.

KRAKEN

The other night, I asked Leo for more information regarding ARC before we met up with them. He'd already told me a bit more than I've posted on here, but I'll just summarize all of it right here. Essentially, ARC is a group which deals with the paranormal (or the "anomalous," as they call it). They generally do so through being very secretive, while simultaneously trying to help people with supernatural problems by telling them what's going on and dealing with threats as directly as they can. I imagine it's a tricky balancing act, and one that explains why they were willing to contact me (albeit under a pseudonym, of which they apparently have many) rather than just leaving me be.

According to Leo, ARC is basically trustworthy, and will dispose of the watch as safely and completely as possible. I am going to take Leo's word for it, given how much more experience with them he's had than I have.

After that, we went to the meeting spot we'd arranged with Robin, taking the box with us. It was hefty, but I didn't mind, since we were taking it there to rid ourselves of that watch, and Leo helped carry it. 

"Hey, Leo," Robin said. She was short and chubby, with red hair in a messy ponytail and three black huggie earrings in each ear, and dressed in a Duran Duran T-shirt, jean shorts, and sneakers. She turned to me. "So. You're Addie, then, yeah?"

I nodded.

"Sick."

With that, she took us to ARC headquarters and showed us to the meeting room.

"There aren't as many higher-ups as advertised, unfortunately," Robin said when we got there. "Sorry about that. We're really busy investigating something right now, and this is more of a side project, really..."
The agent, a very tall, somewhat broadly built woman in a suit, with long, dark brown hair tied back into a high ponytail, cleared her throat and turned to me. "Hey, kid. I'm Daisy Krenson. I wish I could pay you for the box, but I can't confirm that it contains what you say it does. That said, if you don't mind, we could always take it off your hands for free." 

Leo and I handed it over. I would have paid her to take the thing that impersonated my great-grandpa's watch, if I were more certain ARC could deal with it properly.

Then Daisy heard a knock at the door. She went over and asked who it was, but rather than answering, the person at the door just opened it with a crowbar.

There were two intruders. One of them was a large, scarred man who wore a dirty brown coat, while the other, much skinnier than his partner, wore glasses and a tan jacket.
 
The man in the coat drew a knife and made a cut on his arm. A bird crawled out, which I... definitely wouldn't have expected before the past few months, and flew towards Robin. She threw a knife at it, piercing it and knocking it out of the air.

"Who the hell are you, anyways?" the big guy demanded.
Robin laughed. "I'm an intern."

Meanwhile, the skinny guy was wrestling unsuccessfully with Daisy, but the big guy shoved the skinny guy away to personally slam Daisy's head into the wall. Daisy retaliated by kicking his legs out from under him.

I glanced at Leo. His eyes were wide, and he was still.

Seeing how overwhelmed Leo was, I finally asked, "What's going on here?"
"Well," Daisy said before punching the skinny guy, "We're under attack."
I looked around frantically. I had no idea what to do. I did, however, notice that the intruders had been moving towards the box, or at least trying to. At about that same time, the skinny guy recovered and dove towards the box. I tried to stop him, but once he had gotten his hands on it, he opened some sort of portal and walked through, taking the box with him. His muscular friend scrambled away from the commotion and went in behind him, adding, "KRAKEN is victorious!"

The four of us were now in varying stages of recuperation from what had just happened. Sourly, Robin said, "For once, he's right."
"...KRAKEN?" I asked.
"Yeah, they're this group of nobodies. They're basically demon-worshiping fascists with superpowers."
"Officially speaking, they're a group of servants to various anomalies who share an unknown goal and work together to accomplish it. But, uh, Robin's explanation works just as well," Daisy said. "I'm surprised they were able to either evade or incapacitate our security well enough to get in. Though we do suffer from a lack of funding, more than our Midwest pals..."
"Well," Leo said, "either way, we got totally screwed over by KRAKEN, they took the box and headed off for the Screaming Tower... what the hell just happened?"
Robin replied, "We don't know much about KRAKEN, but we know they're very bad at their job. Not anymore, it would seem."
"And now we're trying to stop them?" Leo asked.
"And they're trying to stop us."

I still have no idea what's happening, but suffice it to say that I'm as confused and horrified as you might expect from an ordinary person after that series of events. Worst of all, I have no idea what KRAKEN could possibly want with that watch.

Robin

Robin texted Leo back. Here's how the conversation went:
- Leo: Hey, just wanted to check if this phone number is still in use by Robin Bayle. If not, no worries.

About a day later... evidently either Robin doesn't check her phone much or she gets a lot of notifications:

- Robin: leo??
- Leo: Yep

- Robin: heard about your friend addie, she ok?
- Leo: For now, yeah
So you know what's going on with her? Could you get in contact with your higher-ups or something?
- Robin: prolly
idk if they'll pay any attention to me but they already had some guys talk to her so ig they actually care about that case, lol
oh btw do you still hate me?
- Leo: Can this wait, please?
- Robin: ok sorry
anyway yeah i'll see what i can do

A few hours later...
- Robin: yo
so i got you guys a meeting with the big guys at 7 pm today
- Leo: Thanks
- Robin: np

After that, she told us where to meet her so she could take us to headquarters. For now, we wait.

The watch

I had Leo over earlier today to tell him what's going on.

"I stepped on the watch, but it fused back together. It crawled back into the box, almost like it was scared, so I shut it and locked it. I'm just... not sure what's going on. Ever."
"You broke it, huh? Good on you. But if it didn't stay broken... well, did ARC tell you how to contact them?"
"No."
"Figures. They show up at your apartment without providing any concrete evidence that the watch is dangerous, but that's your one chance to chat, and if you don't believe them at first, that's your only opportunity to pawn this thing off on them, sorry, no refunds... wait." His eyes widened. "I do have one friend in ARC. She's an intern named Robin, I knew her before she joined. Maybe I can get you two in contact. Although... I haven't seen her since she joined, and we kinda left off on a bad note..." He scratched his chin. "Well, I can brave that particular nightmare scenario if it means the two of us don't get torn apart by a monster living in your watch."
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."

He texted Robin's number to see if it was still hers, or if ARC had her change her contact information. Now we're just waiting for a response.

I finally did it

I finally took the watch out of the box. I took some photos of it for the sake of the memories. I set it gently on the ground. Then I stepped on it, hard.

Except when it broke, it just fused back together, grew several tiny mechanical legs, and crawled back into the box.

I shut the lid on the box and chained it back up. No point letting it get out again.

I should talk to Leo.

The Greatest Generation

My great-grandpa served in the Navy in World War 2. He got captured and killed by members of the Japanese Navy. It was a respectable way to go, even if it was tragic. They were one of the most powerful navies in the world back then- in fact, aside from Britain, the only other navy that good was our own.

They killed him even though he had a wife at home. He didn't even know she was pregnant yet.

The idea that the watch could be some sort of monster just waiting to break out is honestly sickening. I don't want to destroy it, though. It's one of the only things he left behind. It's the only one we still have around.

I don't know what I'm waiting for. For Leo and those suited guys to come out and say "surprise, it was all one big joke, and you're an idiot for believing us for one second?" I guess it has to be something like that.