Path to the Apocalypse

“So let me get this straight.” Tiffany began after Albert and Tori explained the situation to her. Melissa and Vicky had stayed back to talk and to avoid the issue of trying to sneak two Victoria's through the castle. “You want me to let a fucking tri-core go play Hunter, because she cloned herself?” Tiffany shook her head. “Just fucking kill the clone and make it again in a few months! Problem solved!”

Albert gritted his teeth. “We are not killing my daughter, even if we can bring her back!”

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “She's not your daughter, she's a clone of your daughter.”

“A clone of my daughter is still my daughter!” Albert growled. “I will not throw her life away just to make mine more convenient!”

“Tiffany, drop it.” Tori warned. “We are not killing Vicky.”

Tiffany clicked her tongue. “Freaking idealistic- fine. But there's no way we're letting you go out there alone!”

Tori shrugged. “I figured, which is why we're talking. You want to put a team of Hidden Blades around me?”

Tiffany grimaced slightly. “I wish. No, I'm going to have to watch you myself. Hm… we could be a pair of rogue Cultivators, master and apprentice, here to train ourselves in these ‘bountiful’ hunting grounds. Being dual cores will make us stand out more than I would like, but without your Qi core there's not much we can do about that.”

“I can use points to conceal my cores.” Tori offered.

Tiffany blinked, then sighed, clearly not excited about any of this. “Of course you can. Fine, then we will be a pair of Spirit Cultivators.”

Tori paused. “You know… Ursa is a Hunter, on paper at least. We could probably find an excuse to team up with him?”

Tiffany immediately perked up. “Yes! We could form a team with him! Though… Hm, it might be better to be dual-cores then, to match.”

Albert shook his head. “If you're dual-cores, my people will have to approach you.”

Tori cocked her head. “Is that a bad thing? As long as no one suspects who I am, it'd be good to have an excuse to be seen in and around the castle.”

Albert frowned. “I believe a connection with Ursa would be enough to provide that excuse. Two dual-cores arriving unannounced would create more questions than we would like, such as where you came from and why you would come here.”

Tiffany nodded. “Right, I forgot we were in Farova. It's fine, we will do just as well as Spirit Cultivators. I will need some time to craft disguises-” She paused, glancing at Tori. “You're just going to alter our appearances with your system, aren't you?”

“I don't see any reason not to.” Tori shrugged.

“Then all we need to do is prepare some supplies and sneak out of town.” Tiffany muttered.

Albert coughed. “I'm less worried about Tori, and more worried about how we're going to keep people from realizing Vicky isn't Tori. We can explain her change in behavior by explaining that she regained her memories, but we can't explain the sudden loss of cultivation.”

Tiffany waved dismissively. “I will place one of my people beside her. As long as they remain close, they can use their cultivation to mask hers. We'll just replace the maid.”

Tori frowned. “Then what are we going to do with Beatrice?”

Tiffany gave her a weird look. “Who cares?”

Tori scowled. “I do. Beatrice is my maid and I'd like to keep it that way. I don't want her to be given some shit job just because I have to leave for a while.”

Tiffany raised an eyebrow. “If you're that attached to her, why not bring her with us?”

Tori paused. “Is- that an option?”

Tiffany snorted. “Why wouldn't it be? Do you think Cultivators can't have servants or something?”

“No, but… secrecy?” Tori replied vaguely. Not that she was worried about Beatrice saying anything, but she wasn't sure why Tiffany would be okay with her joining them.

Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Who is she going to tell, and who would believe her if she did? No one is going to listen to a random servant girl. No one important, at least.”

Tori frowned, not exactly happy about the explanation, but not about to argue either, particularly since she'd love to bring Beatrice along. “Okay then. Is there anything I need to prepare besides our appearances?”

“No. But-” Tiffany raised a warning finger. “-if you make me ugly, I will make your life hell.”

*

Tiffany told Tori to meet her in her training yard after dark before leaving to get everything ready. Tori then returned to her room to wait, finding Beatrice quietly attending to Vicky and Melissa as they talked, a slight frown on her face as she surreptitiously studied Vicky. “Ah, Tori, you're back.” Melissa greeted her as she arrived, Beatrice freezing, her eyes widening as she looked between her and Vicky. “Is everything in place?”

Tori nodded, glancing at Beatrice apologetically. “I'll be leaving tonight and a Hidden Blade will be accompanying Vicky to hide the fact that she doesn't have any cultivation.”

Melissa grimaced slightly. “I see. How deeply have the Hidden Blades entrenched themselves in our domain if they have a Cultivator in position to accompany Vicky within hours of learning of the situation?”

Tori hesitated. “Well… Let's just say it's at the level where we either work with them, or we die.”

Melissa froze for a moment. “I see.” She stood. “I believe it is time I had a rather frank discussion with my husband.” She stated in a tone that seemed calm, but carried an edge that had Tori wishing Albert luck in his next life. “Stay safe. Both of you.” Melissa added as she left.

Vicky gulped. “I think Dad is in trouble.”

Tori nodded. “Big trouble. This is why you don't keep secrets in a relationship. It never ends well.” She glanced at Beatrice, then at Vicky, not sure how to talk to Beatrice without letting Vicky know there was something going on between the two of them. She paused. Did she need to hide her relationship with Beatrice from Vicky? If anyone would understand, it would be her, right? “So Vicky- uh, Beatrice- shit, I don't know where to start…”

Vicky frowned, glancing at Beatrice. “I- think we can just tell her? Beatrice is like family, I'd trust her with anything.”

Tori paused. “That- isn't exactly the issue. Beatrice already knows about the system, and-” She glanced at Beatrice, who was now staring at her, eyebrow raised. “Did- you already figured it out, didn't you?”

An amused twitch tugged at Beatrice's lips. “I- think I've put together the pieces, yes.”

Vicky blinked. “Then… What is the issue?”

Tori coughed awkwardly. “It's- Well… Beatrice is sort of- my girlfriend?”

Vicky looked confused. “The issue is that you and Beatrice are friends?”

“Victoria, are you sure?” Beatrice asked hesitantly, glancing at Vicky.

Tori shook her head, her confidence growing. “No, but if we can't tell her then who can we tell? We can't keep this a secret forever. Why not start here?” Beatrice looked stunned for a moment before a warm smile spread across her face.

“Tori, I don't- What are you two talking about?” Vicky looked between the two, growing even more confused.

“Beatrice and I are together. Dating. Courting. Whatever you want to call it.” Tori explained.

Vicky froze, her eyes widening. “You- you're both- but- how?”

“That- is a bit complicated.” Tori replied hesitantly, glancing at Beatrice. “And not really my story to tell.”

Beatrice's expression twisted. “It's- fine. I don't mind if she knows. AJ caught me peeking at Victoria- Tori? It was after you took the potion. After, he forced me to- do things for him, threatening to tell the Marquis if I didn't. He used me to- to-” She cut off, curling in on herself.

Tori quickly moved to her side, putting an arm around her. “It's okay, you don't have to say it.” She assured her, Beatrice letting out a shuddering sob as she latched onto Tori, squeezing her tight. Tori glanced at Vicky. “Basically AJ did bad things, I found out, dealt with it, and learned about Beatrice. From there we got to know each other and things just sort of happened.”

Vicky's expression twisted as various different emotions conflicted within her. A part of her was happy for the two of them, another envious, a third frustrated that she never learned of Beatrice's orientation, and the last wondered if she would ever find someone, despairing at her lack of options. She took a deep breath. “I'm- happy for the two of you.” She finally replied, forcing a smile.

Tori smiled back. “Sorry, I know this has to be awkward for you. But I need to talk to Beatrice about how we're going to handle things, and it was going to get pretty obvious we were together.”

Beatrice sniffed. “We could have talked through the system.”

Tori froze. “Fuck!”

Beatrice couldn't help but laugh as she pulled away, wiping her eyes. “Alright, what did you need to talk about?”

Tori sighed. “In order to keep people from getting ideas due to the fact that there are two of us now, I'm going to be hiding in town and acting as a Hunter. We're also replacing you with a Hidden Blade to hide the fact that Vicky doesn't have any cultivation. I know you have your brother to think about, but I don't know where they'd put you after they replace you, and I don't want you to end up in some shitty job, so… if you want, you could come with me. And- I would like it if you came with me. I'm not sure how well I'd handle spending that much time away from you…”

Beatrice frowned as she considered the offer, before letting out a breath. “I’ll go with you. Of course I'll go with you. But… I need to talk to my brother before we go, and- I- I'd like to give him the system.”

Tori hesitated. “Do you think he can keep it a secret? You know kids like to brag…”

Beatrice's expression twisted. “I'm not sure, but I need to be able to talk to him, to know he's safe. Especially with everything going on right now…”

Tori nodded. “I understand, you're right. Just- make sure he knows, okay?”

Beatrice smiled. “Thank you. I'll be back as quick as I can.”

Tori shook her head. “No, take your time. Just make sure to be at my training yard by dark.”

Beatrice's smile widened. “I will, thank you.” She gave Tori a quick kiss before leaving to find her brother.

Vicky sighed. “I kind of hate you right now.”

Tori grinned. “I get that. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.”

*

Beatrice, Tiffany, and Tori met up in Victoria's practice yard before sneaking out of the castle and making their way to a Hidden Blades safe house on the outskirts of town. There they adjusted their appearances until they were sufficiently unrecognizable by Tiffany's standards and put together their new identities. As they discussed, Tiffany and Tori would be master and apprentice, while Beatrice would be their servant. What surprised Tori was that they weren't changing their names. According to Tiffany, their names were common enough that they'd attract more attention fumbling with new ones than they would simply keeping their names as they were. What Tiffany did insist on was getting down the bare facts of backstory, such as the fact that Tori had been her apprentice for six months now, and Beatrice had been Tiffany's servant for two years. Tiffany spent hours drilling them on where their previous hunting ground was, how they'd met, the strongest Rune Beast they'd faced, their previous team, and so on, all the facts that would come up in casual conversation, until she was satisfied they had it down.

The next day Tiffany led them into town, heading straight to the Hunters Guild. “I need to register a sixth stage Core Strengthening Spirit Cultivator and a peak Energy Gathering Spirit Cultivator.” She announced as they reached the attendant. “I would also like to rent accommodations for two plus a servant for four months.”

The attendant nodded. “Residence or rooms?”

“Residence.” Tiffany replied. “As close as possible to the guild, the price is irrelevant.”

The attendant brought out a binder, quickly flipping through it before pulling out a key with an attached tag, placing it on the counter. “Two main bedrooms with attached servant quarters, a fully functional bath, daily chamberpot service, weekly laundry service, and a private training yard. The price is sixty silver per month, but for four months we will discount the total to two gold. Is that acceptable?”

Tiffany smiled. “Perfectly.” She materialized two gold out of seemingly nowhere and placed them on the counter before taking the key.

“For your registration, would you like to wait for the next available evaluator, or would you prefer to schedule an appointment?” The attendant continued as he swept away the gold.

“We will wait for the next available.” Tiffany replied, turning to hand the key to Beatrice. “Beatrice, take our bags to the residence.” She paused, glancing at the attendant. “I assume I don't need to worry for my servant’s safety in this, yes?”

“No, ma'am. Your servant will be perfectly safe.” The attendant assured her.

“Excellent.” Tiffany grinned, before flipping a silver coin to the attendant. “For your service.” She added with a wink, before sashaying to the nearby lounge to wait, Tori following while Beatrice left for their new residence with their bags.

“So, what does this examination look like?” Tori asked as they sat down.

Tiffany waved dismissively. “It's a simple evaluation to make sure you have the cultivation you claim to have. Of course, this will only qualify you for basic bounties, but you need to have a track record before you can be promoted. Not that we're pursuing such things. Promotion is for those who wish to tie themselves to the Hunters Guild, which we do not.”

“Hm.” Tori grunted. “I would have thought the process would be more involved. Shouldn't they at least test us to make sure we're capable of being Hunters?”

Tiffany raised an eyebrow at her. “Now why in the world would they do that? Whether or not you can handle the dangers you may face in the wilderness is on you and you alone. The guild isn't your babysitter.”

Tori frowned. “Then why register us at all? Why not just let anyone take any bounty they want?”

Tiffany shrugged. “To keep track of all, or at least most, of the Cultivators in the area. Part of the guild’s writ requires them to inform the local lord of their membership.”

“So… it's like a census for Cultivators?” Tori muttered.

“Essentially.” Tiffany agreed.

“And the Cultivators just go along with that?” Tori asked skeptically.

“If they want to benefit from the guild's services, they do.” Tiffany grinned. “Our residence, discounts with various vendors, guaranteed prices for any parts we return with, and the bounties themselves are more than worth letting the guild record our cultivation.”

Tori nodded, unable to disagree on that point. The benefits the guild provided were definitely worth letting them take a peek at her cultivation. “Then why limit bounties to those with a certain level of cultivation?”

“To encourage regular reporting.” Tiffany replied simply. “If a better cultivation grants you access to better bounties, you are incentivized to keep your cultivation up to date, rather than simply registering once and never again.”

Tori cocked her head. “But if you're on a team, don't you only need one person registered? How does the guild handle that?”

“The number of Hunters and their cultivation level affect the quality of your bounties as well.” Tiffany rolled her eyes. “Do you need me to explain the entire guild system to you?”

Tori paused. “I mean… Are you doing anything else while we wait?”

Tiffany scowled at her. “How about you go check out the available bounties?”

Tori considered it for a moment, before shrugging. “Sure. Should I be looking for anything in particular?”

“Look for the regions the bounties are located in.” Tiffany replied. “Find one with a decent amount of targets at a suitable level to head to. Then check what resources are in demand so we know what to harvest while we're out there.”

Tori frowned. “Can we take multiple bounties at once?”

Tiffany grinned. “No, but there's no harm in heading to a particular region and seeing if we get lucky, now is there?”