It had been three weeks since the Kosch Case, as Crux Verdict called it. Arsene had been on call since then, waiting for a job or anything to come up. Most days had been just her, and sometimes Jani, heading to a food place. The drinking didn't lessen any; it was just more at pace. Early in the morning after a night of heavy drinking, her phone began to ring. A sigh echoed as she heard her ringtone go off. Work or someone else was calling.

"Hello?" Arsene spoke loudly after putting it on speaker.

"Garver, come to HQ." The altered voice echoed in her apartment. "We need to talk."

After it hung up, Arsene leaned back against the couch, rubbing her forehead. "Shit."

  It wasn't difficult for her to find the HQ building. She had been there numerous times before. It was a huge church building. The front resembled a spire with carvings going up and around like a spiral. The entrance was halfway encircled by the decorative wall, protecting it and a garden by the entrance. The church was a soft grey blue that lit up at night like a blue beacon. The back of it was a long hall that could sit thousands, if not millions, of people. The view never got old to Arsene. The people, on the other hand, were an entirely different story. She made her way inside, scrunching up her face as she saw people sitting in the pews. She wasn't surprised--it was Sunday. The white-haired woman headed to the confession box and got in.

Once seated, she whispered softly. "Rogo pro introitu ad sanctuarium..."

  A soft click was heard behind her and she slowly turned to the now open wall. Quickly, she walked in and closed the secret door behind her. When she turned back around, there was a figure in white robes staring at her. It bore no face; just a white oval shaped head and the white robes. She felt a cold chilll up her spine. They were known as Sandmen, and they gave her bad vibes. They were guards that made sure no one unauthorized came in or found out their secret. The Sandmen also went in to clean up a huge incident--like the June Possession Incident.

"Hey...Arsene Garver..." She introduced.

The thing just stared at her before starting to walk away, making a soft chime noise in response.

Arsene shivered. "Hate those things..."

  Arsene continued down the hall adjacent to her. The inside was monochrome and seemingly devoide of life. Black carpet softened her heeled steps and the white and grey marbled walls stood tall as she reached a black door. It opened automatically as she approached and replied with a female automated voice welcoming her. Inside was the same monochrome style, only the floor was a black tile instead of being carpeted. The lights above her were glowing brightly, as if there were windows that let in natural light. She shifted, looking around the lobby area to see if anyone was near. A nun nodded her head at Arsene as she walked by and a few moments later...

"Arsene. Just in time." A deep voice spoke just after the nun left her.

"Yeah. Why was my presence needed?"

  The man who had called to her--a black man wearing a priest uniform--walked down to her, smiling wide. Arsene noted that the smile did not meet his eyes. She had never known him, the man she knew as Elijah, to be cross or mad at her. He had always been kind to her. No, something was amiss. But what it was, she had assumed she'd find out. He walked with her up the black tiled steps towards another long hallway. The walk was silent, save for the click-clack of Arsene's wedged boots hitting the tiled floor. They reached a large doorframe with two Sandmen guarding it. The automated doors opened with a soft sound as Arsene and Elijah entered. It was a large meeting room with another small set of steps that led up to a marble circle table with eight other priests. Or rather, the clergy. Arsene was unsure if they were just "priests".

"Whats going on?" Arsene asked quietly.

One of the men stood up slowly. "Ms. Garver. The Clergy would like to know what transpired three weeks ago."

"There's a report--"

"We wish to hear it in your own words." Another answerd.

"Um...okay, I guess. Where do you want me to start?"

"What was the cause of the case? Why did you go there?" The previous man gently prodded, pushing down a long red sash as he sat back down.

"...my handler said there was a surplus amount of livestock being shredded apart. One of the family members thought they were the culprit, being a werewolf and such. However, upon further investigation, the more it proved to be false. The culprit was a creature I had never seen before."

"How did you come to this conclusion?"

"I found a clawed finger that had been torn off at some point during the livestock slaughter. When I compared the creature's and the assumed culprit's hands, I simply put the pieces together. The creature was missing its claw and the so-called accused was not. Plus the shredding didn't match up with a werewolf on a rampage."

Elijah stepped in. "I believe we should show this professional what our research team found."

  The Clergy looked at each other a little unsure before conceding the point. Arsene was a professional and she didn't deserve to be kept in the dark about this; especially for a job well done. One of the Clergy members stood, a pale man with wisened wrinkles and black and silver hair, holding a file in his hand. He walked over to Arsene and set the folder on the table in front of her. She narrowed her eyes, confused, then slowly opened the file and read it. The others began speaking as she read on.

One spoke in an Italian accent, an elderly caucasian man with white hair and green eyes. "The creature you found looks as though it was crafted. As if it was manmade."

"Manmade?"

"Yes," The black and silver haired man replied. "an experiment, perhaps. At the neckline, there's some very careful stitching."

"So...you think someone made this...um"

"We're calling it a Wolhound. Or Volhunde, if you're German."

"So it's pronounced Vul-hund?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Moving on, how exactly was it made?"

A younger man with blonde hair piped in, clearing his throat to speak in his french accent. "Our research team is still working on that. However, Doctor Stefan Bauer is theorizing that they're being sewn from other parts of cryptids. Or they're being sewn together then reproducing."

Arsene scrunched up her face at the thought. "Both theories are disturbing. Who would do such a thing?"

"Good question."

  The room was silent at the thought. Someone had actually taken the time to either create this creature, Wolhound, by hand. And, or, reproduced it biologically. Or perhaps a tube, Arsene thought. It certainly wasn't impossible, given the correct resources. That, however, didn't answer the who or why. That disturbed Arsene the most, she believed.

Elijah broke the silence, clearing his throat a bit. "I say we continue this when we have more evidence. I'll take her to Doctor Bauer."

  No one objected. Elijah bowed his head and lead Arsene out of the meeting room and back down the monochrome hall. She stayed silent until they left the room and were back in the lobby. Stopping abruptly, the white-haired woman caught his arm, giving it a slight tug. Elijah turned, his face confused.

"What the hell was that?"

Elijah lifted his hadn for her to lower her voice. "Arsene, quiet...use your confession voice."

She sighed and quieted. "What's going on?"

"I'm not entirely sure. The Clergy believe this transgression against the natural order of the world is a very serious threat."

"That's fine and all, but why the secrecy?"

"They think it's someone in the organization."

"Oh I highly doubt that. It might be someone we dealt with before, but inside Crux Verdict?"

"I doubt it as well. However, the others are not so convinced. Let's get to Doctor Bauer; he'll explain why."

  They continued down the familiar monochrome halls until they reached another set of automated doors. Inside, the entire room and halls there were a reversed marble--mostly black with white cracks or specks. The floor was still a black tile, though in the middle of that lobby was the Crux Verdict Insignia. The Insignia itself was gold and was a Celtic Cross with a point at the bottom, latin words were written from one end of the cross to the other, and the circle was an oroboros--a snake eating its own tail. The words read "Stare praesidio eternaliter". Arsene half-grinned at this as she thought of it.

""Stand guard eternally"..." She mostly said to herself.

"There will always be something to guard against. Come. Just a little further."

  As they walked, Arsene could see people escorting some compliant cryptids to safe houses, while other more havoc cryptids were being transported to containment cells. She watched and noted some of the cryptids were ones she caught or persuaded. She frowned slightly. Some of them didn't seem too happy to be there. Not that she blamed them--the facility itself looked like cells and that certainly didn't help.

  Nearing the door to the doctor's lab, they heard the faint sound of Mozart playing. Arsene rolled her eyes--she could already tell Doctor Bauer absolutely loved classical music. They stopped in front of a textured glass door. Elijah knocked then waited quietly, giving a genuine smile to the brooding Arsene. It didn't take long until there was a sound of things being crashed into. Metal sheets and smaller equipment could be heard crashing to the ground, German cursing echoed into the hall, and questionable items were being moved. Arsene raised her eyebrows, curious as to what was going on. Then the door opened.

A tall caucasian man with blonde hair, grey eyes, and an average build smiled at them. "Guten Tag! How can I help you?"

"Doctor Bauer," Elijah started, "this is Arsene Garver, the agent that brought in the Wolhound."

Bauer grinned wider. "Hello! My name is Stefan Bauer! I am the new lead in cryptozoology research!" Bauer took her hand and shook it.

"Nice to meet you..." Arsene said a little uncomfortably. "So...about the Wolhound..."

"Ah yes! Come in, come in."

  Stefan lead the two inside the lab. The noise from objects being knocked over? They were all boxes full of test tubes, clamps, scalpels, beakers, metal trays, screws, medical hammers, long-nosed tweezers--things that would be used in science labs or medical labs. Arsene slowly nodded as she realized it and moved to the table where Stefan and Elijah were. She scrunched up her nose in disgust--the smell of charred flesh was still in the surrounding air of the Wolhound.

"The stench is...is um..." Elijah stopped, speechless.

"Disgusting. Which is what makes this magnificent! The stench reveals that the creature's main weakness is fire. Look here, the skin is all knit together."

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"Like, what, armor?" Elijah asked.

Arsene nodded. "That's exactly what it was like. It was difficult for me to injure him with the bolts."

"And, as you had seen, Fraulen Arsene, the Volhunde had a vile reaction. The fire ate away the knitted leather-like flesh to reveal a softer skin underneath. I can safely speculate that the body parts were taken from other cryptids, animals, possibly even humans. The creatures were then reinforced with some sort of mutagen."

Elijah slowly nodded in understanding. "Some sort of mutation after it was made."

"Most likely after it became alive. I suspect the mutagen wouldn't have worked on a dead subject." Stefan reaffirmed.

Arsene took a deep breath. "That means someone is playing God."

  In another part of the continent, somewhere in North Dakota, the sound of screaming echoed in the forests near the Bois de Sioux River. A group of teenagers were running for their lives that night, not stopping for anything. They were breaking curfew and rules, but none of that mattered. Four creatures making clicking and tree-branch breaking noises were chasing them. A girl from the group tripped and started sobbing, crawling towards a hole in a tree.

  She sobbed quietly, whimpering as she prayed those things wouldn't find her. When she felt a mossy wooded hand clasp her ankle, she screamed. The creature clicked furiously and pulled her out from the hiding spot. It was humanoid in form--hell, it looked human. It was made of wood with moss covering most of its body. The creature had a human-like face, but with no eyes. Its moss was like hair and its fingers gripped tightly around the girl's ankle. She screamed louder.

Just as she closed her eyes, the creature's clicking stopped suddenly and a voice yelled. "Run!"

  She booked it as soon as she got to her feet. The terrified teenage girl took off down the hill and didn't stop. She didn't stop until she reached her friends' car and got in, seeing her friends mostly unharmed. There was a black motorcycle that she swore wasn't there before. The girl didn't stop to ask either. Her friends started the car and left as quick as they could.

As they left, a six-foot-three blonde tan male walked out of the woods, pressing the button on his ear piece and dragging one of the wooded creatures. "HQ, this is Carpelle calling in. Have a specimen of unknown for pick up. Also requesting back up."

The altered voice answered once again. "Pick up will be twenty minutes out. Anyone particular for backup?"

"Yeah. Requesting Arsene Garver and Jani Hether. They're the only competent ones at their jobs."

After a moment of silence, the voice finally replied. "Request accepted. Expect in twenty-four hours."

"Explain to me why we're going to North Dakota?" Arsene inquired before biting into a cheeseburger.

Jani shook her head. "Because Carpelle requested backup."

"But...North Dakota?"

"I can't read minds Arseene, only data."

The white-haired woman sighed. "Thanks for the insight."

  They arrived at eight p.m. in a small town not far from the forest. The sign they passed had said Delont and the motel they were going to was right next to it. It was a rundown motel in an old looking town. Arsene guessed it was mostly people moving in that were here. The two grabbed their bags and headed to the motel, room number three-oh-four. They didn't even knock; the door opened and Jason stood there grinning.

"You made it! Perfect!" He exclaimed while hugging them both.

Arsene felt like she was being crushed by a bear. "L-let go, you fucking behemoth."

He laughed and let them go. "So did they brief you on what the mission is?"

"Nope." Jani answered. "They just told us we were needed."

"Good. Come inside and I'll explain."

  Arsene blinked as Jason explained what was happening. According to the townsfolk, there had been reports of odd wooded-moss-covered creatures attacking the townsfolk at night. Everything, however, was peaceful in the nearby woods during the day. Jani narrowed her eyes, taking in the information. When Jason stopped, they began asking questions.

"So have they classified or named them yet?" Jani started.

"No, but I'm taking the liberty to calling them Spriggans."

Arsene raised an eyebrow. "Spriggans?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jason said, grinning widely, "that is what I said."

Jani stared at him, confused. "Why Spriggans?"

"Didn't I explain why?"

"No. No, you didn't." Arsene opened her mouth before Jani could reply.

"Ah...well. I call them Spriggans because they're wooded creatures that are usually around water. They only come out at night, which is odd."

"Perhaps it's a time clock thing?" Jani asked, making it sound like it was a natural occurence.

Jason only shrugged. "Maybe. I've just never dealth with Spriggans before."

"You think they'll call them that?"

Arsene snorted. "I highly doubt they'll use a Skyrim reference for naming a newly-found cryptid."

"It would be cool though." Jason smirked.

Arsene could only roll her eyes.

  The three packed their equipment and headed towards the old Delont Camp Grounds. Jason explained that the area seemed to be infested with Spriggans and they needed to find out why. The plan was simple enough; Jani would stay in the cabin to use as a makeshift HQ and listen in to any radio frequencies. Jason would search the north side of the camp grounds and Arsene would search the south side. They would all communicate on their headsets and Jani would inform them of new intel.

"Simple...nothing is ever simple with you, Carpelle." Arsene said over her comms, looking around carefully.

"Sure it is!" Jason cheerfully retorted. "I'm a man of simple tastes--food, hunting, and a warm bed."

"But not a loving wife?"

"Don't bring Alana in this--"

"Focus guys. You two can argue about that later." Jani put a stop to the beginning conflict, and they went on in silence.

  Before long, clicking noises could be heard. They weren't close by, but Arsene assumed it was the Spriggans. She heard them over the comms and immediately went to turn around, only to be met with a terrified woman's face. The white-haired woman backed away. All that was there of the said woman was her head--cleanly chopped.

"Have a dead woman here. Or...her head, rather."

"I have four bodies here, one with no head. Female, by the looks of what's left." Jason commented quickly.

"Colored?"

"Yep."

"Well, I found her head then. Going to investigate the clicking. Any info, Jani?" Arsene questioned as she looked in the direction the clicking noise was coming from.

She took a moment to respond. "Hardened skin that's just literally wood. The inside is all...weird. Words I don't know how to pronounce. Uhh...Weaknesses; recommend a sharp blade in the heart. Doesn't have to be a special blade, it could even be blunt."

"Noted. Thanks Jani."

"Yep. That's why I'm here. Report says don't use fire."

Jason replied quickly. "Yes, ma'am."

  Once she got closer to the river, Arsene looked around. She grumbled slightly to herself--she left her night vision goggles at the cabin. Leaning back, Arsene held her hand at a distance from her body and spoke softly. It was soft and consisted of two words; "Chorum Luminaria". From her hand flew out hundreds of tiny white lights that lit up the area as if there was bountiful moonlight. She looked around as she saw wooded figures headed somewhere away from the river. The white-haired woman followed.

  Arsene kept her distance as she followed the wooded creatures. They looked similar to the picture Jason had shown them, so she assumed they were the Spriggans. It wasn't until she heard clicking nosies that she confirmed her assumption. The white-haired woman watched the Spriggans communicate with each other. Their chins were split, she noted, and tapping together. Once the noises stopped, they stopped moving. One of them stood and Arsene's eyes nearly shot out of their sockets. The damned thing was maybe nine feet tall--a hell of a lot taller than the Wolhound.

Arsene tapped her earpiece. "Found a nest. There's a small creek leading to a pond. They seem to be making themselves at home here."

"On my way over." Jason replied quickly.

"Go quietly. I'm not too close and--"

  They were all disturbed by yelling. Someone ran in with a torch and a gun, trying to attack the Spriggans. Arsene cursed under her breath, watching. She couldn't tell if the man was drunk or not, but she was very agitated. The more she watched, the more angered she got. The man had started attacking them out of nowhere and they were clicking angrily. She flinced as he was attacked and Jason bumped her gently.

"No compassion for the guy?"

Arsene narrowed her eyes. "He attacked them first."

"Ah.."

"I don't understand. How we can stand up for idiots like these and call those creatures the monsters?"

Jason only shrugged. "Not everything is black and white, Garver. I don't think it ever will be."

"Well...it's stupid, that's all I'm saying."

He only chuckled.

"...how do we get rid of the nest?"

"Well," Jason started, "I was thinking kill the matriarch."

"Matriarch?"

"Yeah, I noticed that there's a bigger Spriggan around. I'm pretty sure that's their leader. So. If we kill the Matriarch, maybe they'll scatter?"

"Possibly. Or they'll attack the nearby settlement."

Jason shrugged. "Well...Decisions need to be made then."

  Arsene sighed softly as she watched the man basically get ripped to shreds. She was trying to reason it--the man attacked the Spriggans. However, Jason had explained that they attacked a group of teenagers. She narrowed her eyes slightly. Why had they attacked the teenagers? The white-haired woman nudged the blonde man's shoulder.

"Sup?"

Arsene narrowed her eyes again. "Why were the teens in the camp grounds?"

"Drinking, if I recall the story. Why?"

"What all were they doing?"

"Um..." Jason had to think for a moment before nodding. "A couple of the boys made a bet to catch a bunny. Or was it a squirrel? Either way, they caught an animal and killed it."

"For food?"

"No, for sport. Just to see if they could do it."

  Arsene quickly got up and started walking down the pond bed. The Spriggans, now peaceful once again, looked up at her. Jason went to chase after her, only to stop after a huge Spriggan began to stand up and watch her carefully. Arsene had waved Jason away and slowly knelt down in front of what she assumed was the Matriarch.

  The Matriarch, the giant Spriggan that had stood up, lowered itself back down and inspected her. It clicked softly and, after a moment, it backed away. Arsene looked up at it before slowly standing. Once she did, the Spriggans clicked louder and began to leave, following the Matriarch. She sighed softly and rubbed the top of her head before blinking in confusion. Arsene felt a mossy patch on her head and she took it off, inspecting it. The Matriarch must have put it on her head.

"What the heck?"

Jason only shrugged and handed her a small bag.

  Back at the makeshift HQ cabin, Jani was typing away at the computer, copying everything Arsene and Jason were telling her. The white-haired woman was silently amazed. It didn't matter how fast her or Jason had spoken, Jani was still able to get the important parts typed up. Once she finished, the pink-haired girl nodded and stretched.

"So. They attacked the teens because everyone was attacking the Spriggans' nest?"

"Well, they attacked the teens because the boys needlessly killed an animal then threw it at one of the Spriggans. I suppose you could call that an attack." Jason replied.

Arsene nodded, rubbing her shoulder. "The area is apparently the perfect camping spot, as well as nesting. I simply told the Matriarch the area was no longer safe and she should find new nesting grounds."

"Which is ridiculous. We should have just killed them all." Jason thought to input.

"And that's why you aren't the head of your own team."

Jani stepped in to stop the incoming fight. "Okay kids. Why don't we talk about something else. Like the fact that Crux Verdict called before your return?"

Both of them erupted. "What?"

"The fathers called before your return. There's a new partner waiting for you, Arsene."

Arsene could feel her blood boiling slightly. "I don't work with others besides you. Not anymore."

Jani frowned and sighed. "They said you don't have a choice this time."