July 7th
City of Atlas
Atlas
Downtown
9:23 AM
"Consider this," Emmeline said, gesturing to the hologram of Atlesian military deployments towards the south of Mistral, around Menagerie, and near the western coast of Vale. "Strategically, we have a higher chance of identifying the direct threats to the kingdom the more area we can cover. I say we send drones ahead of our naval and airships to scope out what we're going to be dealing with. All and all, it'll at least reduce our chances of being caught unaware."
"True," Blake Adel frowned. "But I doubt my department, let alone the State Department, can justify the use of drones in that region at this time. Especially in the past few years, we've been under quite a bit of scrutiny from the officials in Menagerie over our use of drones in their territory. Chieftain Belladonna even went so far as to call it an act of war."
Emmeline scoffed. "An act of war," She muttered. "Ghira doesn't know a damn thing about security, does he? We gave him every warning this was our new direction. How the hell is that an act of war?"
"It's not exactly diplomatic," Karissa calmly put in, seemingly unperturbed by everything they had been forced to discuss over the past several weeks. "And, generally speaking, he prefers peaceful resolution."
"There's not always a peaceful solution," James irritably countered. "Emmeline is right. Whether or not we acted too quickly with regard to that situation is immaterial because, either way, it was never an act of war against them and Ghira knows that full well."
Blake raised an eyebrow. "You're being too cut and dry with this matter," He said shortly. "It's the message it sends that's troubling, not the actual effect or legality in that particular instance. No, we did not commit an act of war...but we did act quickly and without much care for the impact it would have on those living in the region."
"If it takes out terrorists, I don't give a damn what the cost is," Emmeline coldly replied. "With all due respect, of course, Director Adel."
Blake narrowed his eyes. "There's a thin line between being proactive and being reckless," He said firmly. "I hope you keep that in mind, General Ciel."
Emmeline bristled. "As if I'm unaware of the logistics and scope of the situation."
"You certainly have been before," He angrily replied. "I do not want to be inactive either and would greatly enjoy putting any number of people in their places, but I will not risk being accused of senseless violence!"
"And I will not risk being accused of cowardice!" Emmeline shot back. "None of us, frankly, should! This is a matter of life and death for the entire fucking world! If a couple hundred - even a couple thousand - lives are lost in the process of saving the world from people they uphold than why the fuck do we even care? You and many others in the years since - most especially in the last few months - have accused me of wretched recklessness in the assassination of several terrorist leaders including Sienna Khan and Rosalinde Varna, but allow me to ask you: were either of their deaths a loss? No! The only loss we've had since then was of Ivory Ironwood, and frankly -"
"Leave Ivory out of this," James said, his voice deadly. "I agree with your broader point, Emmeline, but I would appreciate it if you didn't conflate matters."
"Agreed," Karissa said, sending him a look that was both grateful and sympathetic. "Now. I fear we've strayed off course. Shall we return to the matter of investigating the southern regions of the world for our data purposes in the search for Salem?"
"Please," Blake sighed in resignation. "There's quite a bit we still need to decide on that matter."
Karissa nodded. "Good," She said, standing up and turning the hologram. "All things considered, Emmeline's proposed course of action is likely the most effective way to handle the matter...but that of course leaves any semblance of diplomacy well up in the air."
July 16th
Mistral
11:54 PM
Ivy Ironwood was covered in blood, almost none of it her own. Her hair was ripped out in several places, her nails deeply embedded with dirt, and the blood dripped down her face, seeping into every bit of her clothes. All around her, grimm were only growing closer and closer. Her eyes were ablaze, while her veins coursed madly with the intense magic she had gained in taking the mantle of the Summer Maiden. Pulling her guns out of her coat, Ivy began firing wildly. All things considered, she couldn't be called ineffective. There was a storm around her too, one she had summoned of her own volition, and she angrily sliced at the monsters as they continued to be seemingly drawn towards her. She couldn't help but despise it. Sweat and blood clung madly to her, and Ivy licked off the blood that had dripped onto her guns.
The day had been a long one. Raven, of course, for her part had known how drawn thin she had become at the camp. Sending her out had been a kindness, something, in the past few weeks, Ivy had come to associate closely with Raven. No matter what she had heard from everyone, Raven was a kind person that was nothing short of generous. Of that, Ivy was absolutely certain. As she was now, however, Ivy was unsure she would feel much better when she returned. At any rate, she was certain her appearance would shock even the most seasoned members of the tribe, people who had killed far more frequency and ferocity than she ever had. Ivy believed she had only ever acted in a justified nature. That was something, too, that Raven had only reinforced.
The world around her was spinning, now, and Ivy could barely comprehend anything around her. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, a beowolf almost larger than life charged on her. Dropping her guns and fully activating her powers as the Summer Maiden, Ivy grabbed the beast and threw it into a nearby tree. She then tackled it and dug her teeth into its side. It was then she began to tear it apart with her teeth. She trashed, digging her nails into its flesh, and kept ripping it open deeper and deeper until almost all of its innards were exposed. She swallowed back any blood that flew into her mouth, and she did not care much about her appearance. Ivy didn't give a damn about looking crazed. Right now, destroying this last beast was all she cared about. By the time the deed was done, however, she began to stand up, if exhausted. However, it was not long before she collapsed into the dirt unconscious. She hadn't known it, but her physical exhaustion was beyond question.
"Damn her…"
Raven, who had been in a tree above, flew down and shifted back into her human form. Sighing heavily, genuine pity rising in her chest, Raven picked up the young woman's guns, pocketed them, and then briefly knelt down beside her.
"You're going to get yourself killed if you aren't careful," Raven muttered, examining the blood that covered the young woman. Her rough hands brushed over her, and then she stopped. "Damn it, Ivy," She swore under her breath. "You're going to need to be more careful. She'll find you almost laughably easy if you don't take precautions. Honestly….what are you doing?"
Nevertheless, the woman picked up the Summer Maiden and slung her over her shoulder. It was only a few miles back to the camp, and Raven was well aware that no one would dare question her. She was their leader, the person they trusted the most, and, conveniently, afraid of her. Raven did not care; her people were reasonable and understood the situation and, frankly, most of them seemed rather sympathetic to Ivy. Raven herself couldn't explain why she felt such sympathy for the woman. She certainly hadn't done much to make herself likable. Still….Raven believed she had potential. For what, of course, would remain ignored.
"I can't keep saving you," Raven told the unconscious woman as she walked with her in her arms. "Three times already….I'm worried about you. You are too strong to let that go to waste. I don't understand it...why are you doing this? How are you so able to keep throwing everything away? It can't be simply bad luck or sheer impulse...can it?"
July 23rd
Beacon Academy CCTS Tower
Beacon Academy
City of Vale
Vale
Downtown
1:03 PM
"You know, hell might be preferable to this," Elizabeth Morell scowled at everyone present and haughtily crossed her arms. "If nothing is going to get done, that is."
"Since when have any of us ever gotten anything done?" Caitlin scoffed. "Not to throw gasoline on the fire we might as well call Atlesian politics at the moment, but I seriously doubt most of us are well equipped to address the diplomatic issues at play here except for you and Ozpin. I sure as hell don't want much to do with it."
Samara took her hand. "I can't blame you…" She whispered.
Caitlin turned to her wife in surprise and, without warning, pulled her in close, affectionately stroking her hair. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced to Emmeline who, despite everything, looked suddenly rather guilty.
"I'm surprised no one's more concerned about what the hell is going to happen when we find Atlas' latest unhinged maniac," Qrow darkly put in. "I know all of you would rather not talk about it, but it ain't going away. Also," He sent Caitlin and Samara a pointed look. "The two of you are wrong. This has nothing to do with diplomacy, it has to do with people like her."
Samara and Caitlin both immediately scowled at him the second he gestured towards Emmeline, which, admittedly, was a much lesser reaction than he elicited from Emmett.
"You sure you want to go there?" Emmett hissed. "Because I have nothing against kicking your ass right now if you take that a step further."
Qrow rolled his eyes. "Like it or not, your wife is the main reason we can never agree. She acts and we all have to follow her down."
Emmett, Glynda, James, Samara, Caitlin, and Lysithea all began to irritably contest his words but Elizabeth cut across them all.
"That's not fair, Qrow, and you know it," She said, deftly silencing them all. "Among other things, Emmeline generally has good intentions -"
"She picks fights -"
"So do you -"
"Oh, for fuck's sake, that's not fair to me, let alone -"
"Qrow, honestly, you are being completely -"
"You're grating on my nerves, Eliza" Qrow shook his head. "And I doubt you would understand why."
Elizabeth raised an eyebrow but refused to dignify his words with a response. Glynda, however, did.
"Do you have the faintest idea -"
"I'm not in the mood, Glynda," Qrow snapped. "We all put too much faith in people like Eliza, and I'm starting to wonder if we only made things worse by telling the whole damn world the truth about the world they live in. I get that the kingdoms -"
"Atlas is different," Caitlin sharply cut across him. "For the thousandth time, everything centers around the fact that our council is careful about preserving the livelihoods of the citizens while also -"
"If you give me one more lecture about 'interests' then I'm going to kill you," Qrow shook his head. "Because you, just like your wife, are constantly distracting us from the actual problems we ought to be dealing with and I think it's because the two of you are cowards, just like her father."
Samara frowned. "As if you have any room to talk, after all the things you've run away from," Sharing a knowing look with her wife, Samara continued. "Your own damn semblance, for one."
The room fell dead silent. Apart from her wife, who tightly squeezed her hand, all of them were shocked she had gone so far. Unapologetic, Samara stood her ground and glared at him, waiting for him to say anything.
"This isn't the time to lecture each other on morality," Ozpin cut in. Cristal, beside him, breathed a faint sigh of relief.
"Fine," Caitlin shortly agreed. "Then let's return to the more important issue of where the hell Salem is."
Qrow snorted. "I'm shocked that's coming from you of all people, given that you generally claim to want nothing to do with any of this...not that I can blame you for being curious."
"With any luck, our scouts should narrow down the possibilities," James ignored the man's words and pressed on. "Which, all things considered, is certainly a step in the right direction."
"Yes, it is," Ozpin paused for a moment, deep in thought, and then shook his head. "I sincerely hope the end is nigh. This has caused us all enough suffering for far too long."
"Well," Elizabeth said tersely. "Hopefully that means, with all the precautions we are able to reasonably take with these missions, it won't be long before we have enough evidence to formulate a plan to destroy Her."
"Reasonable as ever," Cristal said, nervously tapping her foot against the floor. "I just want to put an end to this bullshit."
"We all do," Caitlin reminded her. "It's done enough damage as it is….and I just hope that ending this will let us all right our own wrongs…" She looked down at her feet, resisting the urge to cry. "I know I need this chance to turn all of my mistakes...all my wrongs into rights."
Samara looked at her worriedly. "You're only human," She murmured. "Neither of us are perfect."
"Perfection is unattainable," Ozpin looked at all of them and then sighed heavily. "I am so sorry for having led you all down this path. I know how much damage it has caused you all….and I'm sorry for tearing your lives apart."
"Took you long enough to finally say it," Elizabeth remarked dryly.
"We all chose to be here," Glynda countered, much to the woman's surprise. "Whether or not we can claim the high ground isn't important anymore. What matters more is that we don't let her win….and that's what I'm afraid you'll do most. Give up and let her win."
Elizabeth turned to her in shock. "And who's to say I think we should give up? I may doubt we can win, but I sure as hell am not going to go down without a fight."
"None of us will," Cristal swallowed hard. "Certainly not in my family, at any rate."
Emmett shook his head. "You're probably right," He said shortly. "We're all in too deep."
"Who's understating now?" Qrow swore under his breath. "I just hope we didn't make a mistake sending Team RWBY down south with the deployment….after what they saw in Vacuo a few weeks ago, I'm not sure if having them follow Ivy is a good idea."
"They're not following her," Glynda snapped, though she couldn't hide the hint of desperation in her voice. "If anything, I hope they don't run into her….it wouldn't end well for anyone. As for Ivy herself...I actually have a few guesses for where she may be...and none of them are really in the path of the deployment."
