Chapter 25…

The security guard watching the express elevator to Ironwood's office stiffened when a trio of strangers approached him. They contrasted greatly in characteristics and clothing, ranging from an athletic faunus girl, a tanned boy with a thick head of hair and quite possibly the tallest person the guard had ever seen.

There was something they all had in common though, a burning look of determination in their eyes; there might have been worry there too… but it was a little hard to tell.

"We need to speak to Ironwood, now," the faunus girl spoke in an authoritative tone, getting far closer to the guard than he was comfortable with; she regarded with piercing eyes

"I'm afraid he's busy right now…" The guard answered. "Would you like to schedule an appointment?"

"We don't have fucking time for an appointment," the faunus girl snarled. Behind her, the tanned boy and his gargantuan companion crossed their arms and straightened their backs. "Contact him now… tell him it's Team MARS and very important…"

The security guard sighed and turned around to his companion, who was flanking the other side of the elevator. His companion shrugged and jerked his thumb over to the intercom.

One quick button press later and a secure line to General Ironwood was created. The guard picked up the receiver and pressed it against his ear.

"Yes?" Came the General's booming voice from the speaker.

"Sorry to disturb you sir," the guard muttered. "There's a 'Team MARS' here that wants to talk to you… they say it's urgent."

There was a long, silent pause from the intercom.

"Send them up immediately…"

"Sir?"

"You heard me, soldier... dismissed…" The line cut off afterwards.

The security guard shook his head and sighed, pressing his gloved finger against the "up" key and watching the doors slide open. "Pile in you three…"

The trio of strangers piled in silently and stood against the interior walls of the elevator car. The tallest among them turned his head to shoot the guards an appreciative nod before the doors closed and they were cut off from view.

"Did they say they were named 'MARS' a few seconds ago?" The guard's companion muttered in the first guard's direction.

"They might have been a Beacon team… I think they based their names on initials…"

"What a dumb system…"

"I agree, ID numbers are so much better…"

Elsewhere…

General Ironwood laid his elbows against his desk and adopted an impassive gaze as the Beacon students he had become familiar with exited the elevator. Mauve was leading them, her face twisted into a troubled look as she approached the desk, her teammates flanking her.

Sage was absent… which Ironwood found to be a little strange. He had been hoping to speak to the young man soon, hopefully to go over a plan that would force his uncle out into the open. He had been diligent in dispatching his Ace Operatives out to the village that Sage had named. Although he preferred to keep them close to home, they were the only team that could be scrambled across Remnant in a matter of hours.

"Team MARS… minus the 'S' of course," Ironwood spoke as they neared the center of the room. "Is there something you three require?"

"We require you to look at this!" Mauve Tempesta snarled. She withdrew her scroll from her jacket and roughly slapped it onto the desk, the blue screen alight with a message from the missing member of MARS.

Ironwood's eyes scanned the message, his blood running cold for a moment.

-tell Ironwood that I'm done with him.

I have realized that family is the most important thing of all and I am eager to reconnect with the family business.

"I see," Ironwood sighed, leaning back into his chair and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "And you received this message this morning?"

"Yes…" Rust Zephyr spoke flatly, his brawny arms crossed across his chest.

"This isn't good," Ironwood muttered.

"You know what's not good?" Mauve Tempesta growled, her teeth bared and lynx ears flattened down to her head. "Dragging us to Atlas, keeping us in the dark for a week and a half, sending us on a phony mission and then involving us in a conflict with Sage's relative… only to keep us in the dark again!"

"And speaking of Sage," Rust grumbled. "You made him go undercover… didn't you? That's why the three of us haven't seen action for a while… you just wanted him as a double agent…"

Ironwood said nothing, flicking his eyes to the only member of Team MARS who had stayed silent. Asher Russet's dark grey eyes had a very cold quality to them, but were also detached, as if he was looking at something far away.

"You three are correct in your assumptions," Ironwood nodded. "Sage was the only one I ever truly needed… I sent him a letter to try and prime him for this situation but he informed me that he never received it."

"Letter…?" Mauve Tempesta blinked in realization before slapping her forehead. "Oh… oh fuck!"

Ironwood sighed and rubbed his nose again. "So he was telling the truth about never receiving it…"

"I forgot!" Mauve exclaimed, her amber eyes wild. "Asher had just received the news about… well… and I wanted to take his mind off of it. I'm honestly not sure what happened to it…"

"I would have preferred it if that letter had not been lost…" Ironwood grumbled. "I'll just have to hope it was thrown in a garbage bin… but back to the matter at hand. Yes, Sage has been working to get close to his uncle the past few weeks, trying to regain his trust so that I could pull him out into the open."

"You put him in danger…" Rust grumbled, his arms still crossed.

"He's a huntsman in training, danger comes with the lifestyle," Ironwood argued. "I persuaded him to take the job and he accepted it. It's for that reason why I don't fully believe this message is real."

Silence reigned amongst the four for a moment. Ironwood could hear the gears turning in the heads of the members of MARS.

"Are you suggesting that he was threatened? That this was written under duress?" Asher asked, finally breaking his silence.

"Possibly," Ironwood nodded. "But it's also possible that it wasn't and that he is just trying to protect you three."

"By pushing us away?" Rust questioned.

"When I first called Sage here for a face-to-face meeting, he told me that he wanted you three kept here as backup for him; he also requested safe passage for you four out of Atlas when the time was right." Ironwood explained. "It wouldn't make sense for him to suddenly want to be rid of you three… unless..."

"What!?" Mauve snapped.

Ironwood's steely blue gaze flicked down towards his feet for a moment. "To gain his uncle's trust, Sage had to steal a piece of Penny Polendina's body to be sold on the black market. I had Professor Polendina create a replica so that valuable technology wouldn't be lost to us… but Verdant had an appraiser determine the arm was fake…" Ironwood flicked his gaze back up. "Sage was threatened… a person he cared about has been placed at risk… perhaps he worried you three would be next on the list..."

Three sets of eyes flicked between each other for a moment. Ironwood paused and waited for a response from Team MARS.

"I think we know who you're talking about," Mauve answered with a nod, her face twisting into a worried look.

"Honey," Rust whispered, his brawny arms uncrossing slowly. "Was it a girl named Honey?"

"Yes," Ironwood nodded in affirmation. He stood up quickly when the three members of Team MARS visibly tensed. "I've already sent a team to her location… they will safeguard her for the time being."

"Is it enough?" Asher spoke through gritted teeth. "Will she be alright?"

"I have instructed the team to watch her at all times… they will keep her safe."

"But what about Sage!?" Rust demanded. "What do we do about him? Is he alright? Is he in danger?"

"It's difficult to say," Ironwood rumbled, collapsing back into his seat. "Assuming that message was just a farce, he's probably in deep cover by now."

"And what are you going to do to help him?" Mauve asked, an accusatory tone seeping into her voice.

Ironwood stayed silent for a long moment. "I will find him and monitor him… but I cannot reach out directly."

"BULLSHIT!" Mauve roared. "You said that he was threatened! What will happen if Sage's life is put in danger!? What can any of us do!?"

"Nothing!" Ironwood huffed back. "I will do everything in my power to try and help Sage, but interfering now may put him in even greater danger than ever!"

The three faces of the members of Team MARS were now identical, each set in a look of disgust.

"So that's it then?" Asher spoke coldly. "You send him off into a dangerous situation without even bothering to include us… that's your plan?"

"I am going to say this in the nicest and most respectful way I can," Ironwood muttered lowly. "Sage is a pawn, he has been a pawn since stepping foot back in Mantle… you three have seen less use by comparison, but you are also pieces on a wide reaching chessboard that has been an active battlefield for years."

"You can't just treat people like chess pieces," Rust snarled. "Sage is a person!"

"A person who is in a difficult situation… one that he doesn't deserve to be in," Ironwood grumbled. "But this is bigger than you, bigger than me and certainly bigger than him… the future of Atlas is at stake if Verdant Bulwark is not apprehended!"

"Why? Isn't he just a criminal?" Asher asked, receiving nods of support from his teammates.

Ironwood's eyes were cold and unreadable. "I'm afraid that's sensitive information…"

Mauve's Tempesta's nostrils flared at Ironwood's response, Rust and Asher didn't look happy either.

"So what do we do?" Mauve snarled, her gloved hand gesturing to herself and her teammates. "Do you want us to just sit around and wait? Stick to the status quo?"

"Yes," Ironwood nodded. "Like I mentioned earlier… Sage wanted you three as backup and I hope that you will stick around for him. If there is even a single sign of trouble your three will be dispatched at a moment's notice… is that sufficient?"

"You're awful," Mauve spat, her eyes glowing like hot coals.

"I'm necessary," Ironwood coldly replied. "You three are dismissed… stay up in Atlas, I'll send any developments to your scrolls; do not act of your own accord on this..."

And with that the three members of Team MARS stomped away and piled into the elevator. Three matching glares of pure disgust burrowed into Ironwood before the doors closed.

General Ironwood sighed and reached under his desk to extract a hidden bottle of whiskey. He wanted to believe that Sage was indeed playing the part to help Ironwood in the long run…

But still…

The crown had already been moved around in secret… and he would be placing more security around the labs.