Hello everyone, I am back to uploading! Today's chapter is the first out of four that will serve as the medium between the first and second arc, so it is kind of a small one. I still hope it is enjoyable.
I would also like to request one thing for today's chapter. I am a little worried, since the most of it is a dialogue between more than two people, if it is easy and fun to read for you all or I have failed to properly deliver it. So, if there is anything that seems confusing or needlessly complicated, please tell me in the comments; I will try my best to improve on it!
December 3rd, 85
Carmel Communication Company, City of Atlas
For the employees of Carmel Communications or CC for shorts, it was a typical day at work. The tall, glass-covered company building was bustling with activity, something totally expected for the headquarters of Atlas' main communication provider.
For 30-year-old Sophia Carmel, owner and CEO of the company however, that was not the case.
She had an urgent meeting in less than fifteen minutes and right now she was stuck striding through the beige-colored halls with a mostly unpleasant and irritating businessman.
"I still don't understand your refusal Ms. Carmel" the man, Mr. Clear was his name, said. He was significantly taller than her, with a shaven head and black, intelligent eyes. He was wearing an expensive-looking suit with the Schnee Dust Company logo on it.
The woman stood next to the elevator, turning around to look at him. Sophia was of medium build, with caramel-colored hair forming long curls that fell down her shoulders. She wore a creamy business suit with a red tie, matching her painted nails.
He continued, barely noticing her distress "the deal that Mr. Schnee proposes will be highly beneficial for both companies; you have to give me something to explain to him when I return empty-handed."
She let out a deep sigh, narrowing a pair of almond-shaped brown eyes at the man. "I am deeply sorry, Mr. Clear, you are right." She flashed him a fake smile. "Tell Mr. Schnee then, that I have two issues with his proposal."
"First" she held out one finger "unlike the other high-society people of Atlas, I actually have pride. Offering me an engagement to his son as part of a deal is an insult to me and everything my company stands for."
"But Ms-" he tried to reply before she raised another finger. "Second, I would never do business with someone who can't even arrange to meet me in person."
"Mr. Schnee is a very busy person, Ms. Carmel." She rolled her eyes, not even bothering to hide her irritation. "So am I. And I always meet my partners and potential investors in person."
Before he could reply she turned around. "In about two months, Carmel Communications will host a ball for our five successful years in business."
"What does that have to-""Tell Mr. Schnee that if he truly values a potential co-operation, he ought to grace us with his presence. Have a nice day, Mr. Clear."
Ignoring the man's protests, she stepped into the elevator and pushed the button to her personal quarters at the top of the building. She stepped out, moved to the single door and entered her code, triple-checking before closing it behind her.
The room was spacious, with an extended bar and a fantastic view of the city. She often came here to chill with a glass of alcohol and a cigar; now was not the time however.
She opened her PC and inputted a few commands, securing the line before she opened her personal communication channel.
Checking once more her line was clear she pressed the call command, allowing six monitors to lower down from the ceiling. The call connected in five of them, images of her comrades appearing on the screens.
On her left, a tall, yellow-eyed man was standing. He was wearing a yellow desert outfit, covering most of his body, letting only his tanned face and muscular arms to be shown. His black hair was long and he was sporting a long beard as well.
Next to him, was Bistre Woodrock, having finally let go of his innkeeper clothes and wearing a long ceremonial robe. He had the same solemn face as any time before, despite his recent shortcoming.
Opposing her, a short man with turquoise long hair and sparkling blue eyes was looking at her. He was wearing a pair of tattered brown clothes and glasses were hung from his neck.
The two monitors at the right were occupied by the youngest members of the group; a medium sized boy no older than his early 20s, with long scarlet red hair and piercing amber eyes was the first one. He was wearing a casual red blouse and blue jeans, an overcoat resting on his hands.
The final one was a faunus with cherry-colored hair, a pair of fluffy-looking fox ears and a long, flower-patterned kimono. Despite her elegant appearance, she had deep green eyes that were looking cautiously at everyone attending the meeting.
Sophia smiled widely- the first real emotion she had shown today. "It's good to see you all here." The faunus scoffed and pointed to the one empty monitor between Bistre and the blue-eyed man "it's not all of us; Dahlias is missing again."
"That simply adds one more issue to the things we wanted to discuss then" the tanned man replied in a stern voice. "I don't think we need to discuss anything, Maize" the faunus exclaimed.
The redhead boy chuckled "I am with Cherry on that. The rules of our coven say that if you fail to attend two consecutive meetings, you are either dead or compromised." He grinned wider "in which case you have to be dealt with."
"Ok, let's get this resolved quickly" the blue-haired man said. "Last time we contacted Dahlias, he was moving to southern Atlas. Sophia, are you up to the task of locating and dealing with him?"
"You are putting another issue to my back, Azure." She immediately nodded "however it is an important thing that must be resolved; consider it done."
"You were surprisingly easy to comply" Cherry raised a pink eyebrow. "Some of us are mature; I know it's hard for you to understand it, little fox" Sophia grinned. Cherry opened her mouth to retort, but she was cut off by the blue-haired man again.
"Please you two don't start fighting again." The faunus looked at him and humphed "nobody is fighting; you give me too little credit Azure." The man didn't reply; instead he turned to the rest of them.
"Now, about the main reason we are here…Bistre you have an explanation to give us about why you messed up so bad in Yugure." For the first time in the meeting, Bistre talked "It was the best that I could do, considering the circumstances."
The tanned man, Maize narrowed his eyes "your mission was to preserve Nyctos and help it slowly build us its strength until Azure finishes his project; not making such a crude and forced awakening" he reprimanded the fellow man, disappointment evident in his voice.
"I understand I messed up and for that, my brothers and sisters, I apologize" he solemnly bowed. "However, my mistake was not in what happened in regards to the awakening, but in underestimating everything that forced me to perform the deed."
"Ehm, care to elaborate?" the red-haired boy raised an eyebrow. "To make it simpler, I underestimated Nyctos' power and Melia Pale's tenacity." When he saw that everyone was looking at him in anticipation, he continued.
"Even sealed, Nyctos' ability to corrupt the mind was immense, especially after Salem's magic went off. After I offered it the first few sacrifices, it managed to project itself on the fog surrounding the Altar, hoping to attract more prey."
Sophia clicked her tongue "and one of the potential victims was Melia Pale." Bistre acknowledged the comment "despite succumbing to the effect, she found enough mental strength to fight back. When she realized she couldn't win, she preferred to take her own life than letting it control her."
He stopped for a second, checking around before he continued "from there, things went downhill with her family enlisting the aid of the renowned team RWBY."
"To make matters worse, Nyctos managed to drag towards it no one else than Ruby Rose herself, allowing her team to discover the hidden passage the very first hour they arrived at the village."
He stopped, looking at his comrades. Maize and Azure were looking at him with calculating eyes, while Sophia had a gentler visage. Cherry seemed more annoyed at their bad luck than at him, while Alizar…
Bistre looked at the boy, whose eyes had narrowed at the mention of Ruby Rose, a raging fury burning inside them. "At this point, I had to choose; either to force its awakening or let team RWBY find it in its sealed state."
"Or, you could actually kill team RWBY" Cherry replied, making everyone look at her. "Are you stupid?" Alizar told her, his voice writhing with anger.
"They are the people who killed Cinder; what makes you think Bistre would stand a chance against them?"
"I agree with him- and no, it's not just to anger Cherry" Sophia added. "If what Bistre said is true, then I believe he took the best course of action."
After four nods of agreement, albeit one being considerably reluctant, Sophia turned to Azure "speaking of things, how long do you think it will take for you to finally complete the formula?"
The man tapped his fingers on his desk. "It will take a decent amount of time- merging these ancient formulas with modern science is no easy feat and you know it."
Cherry scoffed "your predecessor was far more effective- and he was a wanted man."
"My predecessor had an entire life of work to support him and tons of experimental material. I have to run simulations that are not only time consumable, but also less reliable."
"This is a serious problem, Azure" Maize said. "Why didn't you mention it earlier? Our entire operation is based on whether you can finish the formulas or not."
"Oh, excuse me" he replied in irritation. "I thought it was pretty obvious that I don't have an island filled in Eldergrimm to make some serious field tests."
"Irony is no way to talk to a comrade, Dr. Glaucous" Bistre's eyes fell on him. "Spare me the pep talk, Bistre. I don't want to repeat myself- I need time to carry out experiments."
He paused for another second. "And I definitely need team RWBY off my back- last thing I need now is them snooping around my workplace."
"Which brings us to the last issue of our meeting- since they came across an Eldergrimm they are most likely to start delving. Not that I expect them to be able to find anything of importance, to begin with" Maize announced flatly.
"I disagree- underestimating your enemy is not a valid option. Cinder did it and they killed her. Salem did it and they killed her" Sophia's voice rose.
"If team RWBY is still ignorant and beating around the bush, then it's the best moment to strike at them. Take them down before they grow to be a threat" she continued.
"I hate myself for saying that, but I agree with the Atlesian Bitch" Cherry added. "I agree as well" Azure said. "Same here" Bistre announced. "Then let me do it."
Everyone's head turned to Alizar who was now standing up, wicked excitement written all over his face. "Let me take them down. They are the main reason Cinder is not here with us. I wish to take them down- painfully."
"And how exactly are you planning to do that?" Maize narrowed his eyes in a judgmental manner. "If it were that easy, Bistre would have dealt with them already."
"I vote against sending that revenge-obsessed freak in such a serious mission that-" the fox-girl flatly expressed her feelings, before he cut her off. "I have a plan."
"If you cut me off again, I will come to Vale and reap off your tongue, you pompous asshole." Cherry announced flatly, without even straining her voice, but Alizar merely continued.
"I have a plan that not only will get rid of team RWBY; it will also provide us enough experimental data for Azure to speed up his project. I only want Cherry's help and one of your prototypes, Doctor."
"I refuse." The cherry-haired woman replied, but Sophia looked at him in interest. "What sort of plan is it that it requires Cherry to be removed from her post?"
Alizar rubbed his left arm, rubbing his huntsman emblem "I will sacrifice team RWBY to awaken Avyssos."