Hello everyone! How are you doing? I hope you are all doing well.
Chapter 70 is here, marking the beginning of the 3rd Arc of the series. As always, I hope you enjoy it.
Again, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who has followed/ favored/ simply read the story.
You are all awesome. Have fun until next week!
March 13th, 86
"This is amazing, Jaune!" Ruby's chipper yet skeptical voice filled the small and cozy apartment as the brunette stared at the two charcoaled pieces of toast in front of her "they are even worse than mine!"
Visibly exhausted, but equally happy, Jaune turned around to stare at his girlfriend. Ruby was in her huntress outfit while he sported a white shirt and a pair of blue jeans with a black belt.
His hair was let down like a wolf tail and- thankfully- he had shaved the atrocious beard quite a few weeks ago. His everyday training seemed to be doing well, as his atrophied muscles had started regaining shape.
And, most of all, his vibrant, gentle blue eyes were still fondly looking at her, despite the humongous black circles surrounding them.
"Just to be clear; I haven't had a good night's sleep for quite a long time" he said while trying to reach for the jam "so you can hardly blame me for that- I think."
Ruby stood up, her hunger not big enough to consume these charred atrocities. She tiptoed around the table towards Jaune and grabbed the jar out of his hands as soon as he turned, putting in down on the bench.
"Well that means you have to make it up to me somehow" Ruby started unbutton his shirt, the bad attempt in sounding sultry not diminishing the wonderful feeling of her dexterous fingers trailing on his chest.
Jaune grabbed her chin and kissed her "I missed you…" he whispered. "Me too" Ruby bit his lower lip and jumped on him, wrapping her legs around his waist, making them fall on the floor "I want you- nOW!"
"And what may you two be doing?" The voice was serious yet caring, combining warmth and professionalism altogether. It belonged to a tall woman standing in front of the now open door, staring at them.
She wore a long pair of brown trousers with a white shirt and a brown vest on top, along with a creamy jacket. Short chestnut hair reached barely down her neck, two bunny ears standing on top of her head.
She held a pair of weathered shades and a camera hung from her neck. Separated by a huge diagonal scar marring her pretty face, her dark brown eyes looked at the two huntsmen in merry frustration.
"Hey Velvet!" Ruby gulped, not getting off Jaune. "How long have you been standing there?" "Thankfully not enough to see you two make out more than necessary" she replied.
"I am sorry for doing this, but" she pointed at her wristwatch "we have to be going in five minutes if we want to be there on time. Everyone else will be waiting!"
"Oh come on now Velveeeet!" the brunette whined. "Can you go ahead and tell the others we will catch up?" Jaune asked her. "I could…" she narrowed her eyes "but Yang won't like it at all."
"Weiss and Yang are here?" Ruby asked; fear evident in her voice. "No, just Yang. Weiss is picking up Blake since Neptune's car broke down and Sun went to pick him in her bike without informing her."
So, it was only Yang- no, this was bad. If Weiss wasn't here, calming her sister down if she found them like this was impossible. The pair shared a decisive gaze "we will be down in seven!" Jaune assured Velvet.
Outside the apartment, dressed in an orange T-shirt and black vest with a black pair of pants sporting a Chinese orange dragon, Yang was enjoying the cold wind, appreciating the lack of snow in spring Vale.
Her happy lilac eyes, covered under her cowboy hat, slightly narrowed when they saw Velvet coming out of the Rose-Arc apartment alone. "Please tell me you didn't interrupt something compromising."
The bunny faunus sighed "I gave them seven minutes. We should be there on time. Otherwise I am leaving them behind" she replied and crossed her arms under her chest, as she saw Yang staring at her.
"What's the matter?" she asked. "Nothing; I just thought that a couple years ago you would have told me 'I am sorry! Can we give them some time?' or something along those lines" the honest yet blunt reply came.
Velvet closed her eyes and nodded, perfectly aware what Yang tried to say. "Do you want to join Weiss and me for lunch after the meeting? She knows a nice vegetarian diner near to your home" the girl smiled.
The faunus didn't open her eyes, nor did she reply. "When was the last time you ever had a proper meal, Velvet? I won't even ask about your sleeping habits" the blonde removed her hat, still staring at the brunette.
"I appreciate the concern, Yang. I really do. But I am not in the mood-" "Velv" the expression on the brawler's face was dead serious. "I- we worry about you. It's not I don't understand how you feel, you know."
Velvet opened her shades and put them on, not averting the girl's gaze. "But- and I am really sorry I tell you this- working to the point of losing yourself under files and night shifts isn't bringing them back."
"You think I don't know it?" her voice was flat, emotionless and calm. The same one that had been for the last two years since the rest of team CVFY lost their lives defending civilians against the rampaging Summer Maiden before Blake, Yang, Lumia and Erik took her down.
"It's just… I can't…" the faunus cleared her throat "I am still trying to figure how to deal with it, Yang. I am sorry for worrying you all, but I am not good company for anyone. I don't know how Erik puts up with me."
"You know I am telling this to Weiss" Yang flashed a genuine smile "and that she is going to drag you along with us." "Heh. You are so persistent I swear" she tried to smile. "Be my guests then. But Erik's coming too."
"Well, of course he-" "WE are here! On time!" Ruby and Jaune literally jumped next to the two women, crashing all tension with a hammer.
"Ok then, time to go" Velvet pointed towards the small red car that was parked behind them "Let's not keep Goodwitch and the Council wait for us any longer."
-o—
Ozpin Academy's conference room was a large, monotonous-looking rectangle with polished grey walls and a few potted plants decorating the interior.
A long, oval-shaped table with numerous chairs was in the middle and five monitors, one for each Vale Council member, stood on the wall in front of it. An additional one had been added, the serious face of Ren and the pleasant face of Nora currently displayed on it.
Lumia, Alex, Erik, Albus, Dr. Oobleck, Sun, Neptune, Ms. Goodwitch, Blake, Weissy… good. It seems everyone's already here Ruby thought as she hastily got seated between her sister and her partner who shot them a quick nod of approval. "Good morning!" she merrily announced.
"Good morning to you as well, Ms. Rose" a bald man with thick brows and mustache glared at her through a monitor "I am glad to see you were able to attend the meeting on time" he stressed the last word.
"Now, Mr. Alloy" the warm voice of Isaac Pale replied. "There is no need to bring that up again. What's happened has happened."
"That is your opinion, understandable as it might be, Mr. Pale" a woman with dark purple hair tied in a bun and a thin face with sharp nose and chin replied. "I, for once disagree; our time is precious."
Glynda stood up and coughed to break the tension "this is one of the reasons I would like us to start at once instead of digging up past events Councilor Satin" she addressed her fellow woman who nodded.
"Then let's begin at once" the youngest among the Councilors, a thin young man with a well-shaved jaw and long, black hair responded from another monitor, staring at a parch of paper in his hands.
"For those of you who don't know me, I am Councilor Dawson Flax. I work as head director of Vale's National Bank. It is a pleasure to meet you all" he flashed a well-practiced smile.
"Now, let's begin" he continued, without even waiting for a response. "Ms. Rose, why don't you tell us from the beginning what exactly is the reason we are all gathered here? Spare no details, please."
Ruby exhaled deeply and sent her partner- who usually was the one to deal with this stuff- a quick stare. Weiss nodded at her and she stood up. "Well, it all started a few months ago, with Mr. Pale's request…"
-o—
Ruby's retelling of the missions that had brought them face to face with the Eldergrimm and their servants was lengthy, but Weiss was pleased to see she didn't stumble of falter even half the times she usually did.
Judging from the serious expressions, the looks of disbelief and the not so rare snarky remarks from most of the Councilors, she would have to give her partner some serious credit for this.
"Thank you Ms. Rose" another member of the council, a plump man with short, sleek black hair and a thin mustache, exclaimed. He ran his fingers on his desk, as the brunette sat down, her sister patting her shoulder to assure her.
"There are many things we all would like to ask you in regards to what you just told us" the man, Ferdinand Grullo, added.
Every huntsman in the room nodded, all of them receiving the quite displeased faces of most Council Members in varying degrees of unrest and dissatisfaction.
"However, I think we should first listen to the other people who have been included in this story" he noted. "First of all, Detective Scarlatina" he said, making Velvet stand up.
"You have been working with Mr. Arc for the last two months on the grave robber case. As his close supervisor, are there any comments on his condition?" he asked, making everyone tense, especially Jaune.
"Nothing extreme Sir" Velvet answered curtly. "Mr. Arc seems to be in an excellent physical and mental condition and there are no worrying anomalies on his behavior. The only things I noticed are an ongoing case of insomnia and a decrease in his appetite" she summarized.
"With all due respect" Jaune replied before anyone could comment. "I have woken up from a coma and am now pulling one all-nighter after another; it is not weird to have a few issues with my sleep."
"I agree with Mr. Arc" Dr. Oobleck interjected. "And having sleep problems affects one's appetite quite a lot, ladies and gentlemen."
"I see… thanks for the information, Ms. Scarlatina and Mr. Arc. Doctor Oobleck; since you started already, why don't you provide us with your own input in the case?" Satin asked.
All eyes turned at the doctor, who stood up and coughed before he started. "Ok, for startersallowmetotellyouthat-"
"Will all due respect, Dear Doctor" Flax smiled, interrupting him. "We are not your students and we can't follow your normal pace so could you speak a little slower if you would be so kind?"
The green-haired man coughed again; Alex could swear she heard him mumble something under his breath. "As you wish" he replied, in the most convoluted way his students had even heard him speak.
"What I was trying to tell before I was interrupted is that at this point we have succeeded in translating no more than roughly 56% of Red's book, so I can only give you a few pieces of information, gentlemen."
Without giving them any chance to comment and totally disregarding the unhappy expression on the monitors, the man continued.
"So far, it seems to be nothing more than an advanced Grimm manual. In fact, it is so advanced I have the suspicion the one who wrote it was a lot more knowledgeable about Grimm than anyone in Remnant.
The details in Grimm habits, anatomy, capacity and response to human emotions are incredibly in depth and well-detailed. Despite it being of no great use to our current predicament, I personally believe it should be used as a basis to rewrite the Grimm studies' books in Remnant."
"I see…" Alloy commented. "Any additional information?" "None at all, save for the fact we have so far failed to identify the actual language the writer used.
Our process has been going slowly exactly for that matter; it seems it is a combination of the lost language of ancient Vale along with suffixes and prefixes found in South Mistral and Menagerie, but this is just a hypothesis we have been using to help us translate it."
Blake and Sun exchanged a quick look, narrowing their brows. "Thank you Dr. Oobleck; please be sure to inform us on any progress on your part" Flax's merry voice said, as his eyes fell on the blonde faunus boy.
"Speaking of Menagerie, Mr. Wukong; according to the reports, you are the one tasked with finding information about that girl who not only abducted Mr. Arc, but also killed six officers in the middle of Vale! I believe she introduced herself as Cherry Itazura?" he asked, checking his notes.
"That's right Sir" Sun proudly stood up with a little comical motion. "A team under my supervision, team SNBR, visited Menagerie and worked with Ghira- I mean Chieftain Belladonna- to find info on her."
Sun paused dramatically, all people staring at him with many different expressions. "And?" Alloy urged him to continue. "We failed to find any information about her or her lineage" he replied, making Alloy frown.
"More specifically" now feeling the pressure, Sun elaborated "there are no records in Menagerie registry office about any Itazura family or any girl named Cherry. Also, nobody in the island seemed to know of her."
Seeing Grullo and Satin's eyebrows narrow in disappointment, the man decided to skip the theatrics "however, we were able to track down her weapon- that Naginata she used against the police and RWBY."
"Couldn't you say that sooner, Mr. Wukong?" "Sorry about that. I was getting warmed up" he laughed weakly. Sensing a lack of approval from the council, he pulled himself together and continued.
"The weapon is a special order. It is called Mandragora and was custom made about fifty years ago for a Menagerie huntsman called Sevier Silk. But the last time he was seen in the island was about then."
"I see… anything else on that?" Flax asked. "Well, I was asked to look for this man's traces around Remnant on Sun's behalf" Neptune stood up next to his buddy.
"Could you just compile your information in a more professional way so we won't have to stop and start every few minutes, Mr. Vasilas?" the only Councilwoman raised her voice, making them flinch.
"Ahm, yes. The only thing we found about him is that he had some ties to Yugure village and for a few years worked as a huntsman along Mr. Octavios Red himself" he informed them.
"That connects him with two places the cult had been operating so far" Goodwitch summarized. "And makes him a potential member" Ren's voice added.
"Continue your search, Mr. Wukong and Mr. Vasilas. Find anything you can about the man's whereabouts" Flax said. The men nodded and sat back, allowing the young Councilman to call the next one.
"Ms. Schnee" he said, letting the woman gracefully rise up. "You are the head of Vale's Special Huntsmen Unit's Technological Research Institute, am I right?"
"Precisely Sir" she replied, with an air of authority and an aura of power everyone before her lacked save for Glynda. Yang winked at her and was pleasantly surprised to see her return the gesture.
"My subordinates have been relentlessly trying to examine our findings from Harrow Village and Grimmwater; specifically, the strange talisman Carmel wore, the small idol Yang found in the underground village and the weird liquid that seems to be strongly associated with our case."
Feeling everyone's attention at her, the pale girl opened an envelope "the idol is carved of wood and stone and save for the religious value it once held it is only an item of significant historical value at this point."
She passed the notes to Glynda who scanned them for the people in the monitors. "As for Sophia Carmel's talisman, it is an ornament of exquisite craftsmanship, made by gold and silver."
"Is it magical?" Flax asked. "I don't think so. The only thing of notice is that dried and well-preserved rosemary leaves were encased inside it. There are a few legends in Atlas that it repels Grimm, you see."
"That goes up towards the alley of superstition, Ms. Schnee" Alloy, eyes narrowed, commented. "Don't tell me you believe such things" his stare fell on everyone, but the pale girl just shrugged her shoulders.
"There is a possibility, yes, but let me remind you esteemed gentlemen and ladies that up until recently the whole concept of magic and the four maidens was thought to be a fairy tale" she stated.
"That is reasonable; please continue" the reply came from Grullo. "Ok, for the major issue the lab had to check" Weiss pulled out another file "a black, weird substance used by the cult in all three cases."
She bit her lip "We have managed to analyze almost all components the liquid is consisted of; it is a combination of artificially created blood and a series of different organic substances, especially rosemary extract."
"This thing again…" Blake whispered, earning a nod from Sun. "Can you reproduce it, Ms. Schnee?" Flax asked, making Weiss sigh.
"Not yet, I am afraid. There is one substance we failed to identify and is the most abundant one; it consists almost 13% of the formula. And, to make things even worse, we can't trace its basic components too."
Seeing almost everyone, save for Yang who already knew, look at her in confusion, Weiss cleared her throat. "What I mean is this substance is so foreign to us that there are no samples in our database- or in any place in Remnant's official databases at all. It is new and unregistered."
"And highly important to be identified, Ms. Schnee" Satin exclaimed. "Is there any other info we have on this thing's origins?" "Ms. Xiao Long and Ms. Belladonna have a few more, yes" Weiss said before she bowed and returned to her seat.
Blake and Yang stood up and the cat girl curtly bowed "We were tasked with analyzing Sophia Carmel's files" Blake said, her eyes narrowing at the sight of Alloy glaring at her- no, at her ears- with disgust.
She controlled her breath and licked her lips. One out of five is not that bad; focus Blake! Don't let him get under your skin that easily!
"Most of them were additional notes about the mysterious liquid. We gave them to the TRI as per protocol" she continued, fighting back the lump in her throat.
"There was, however, an important name included among those files; a man called Glaucous Azure who seemed to be supplying Carmel with the liquid in question" she finished.
"Azure?" Alloy's eyes narrowed. "I have never heard of a man with that name before" he said, rather coldly. "If I may sir" Lumia raised her hand as she spoke to draw his attention.
"Ms. Starlight" Flax acknowledged her. "You are the one who tried to find information about the Merlot Industries and their connections to our enemies aren't you?" he asked.
"Exactly" she replied, still not standing up. "I have already discussed it with team RWBY, but it is important for everyone to know it; Glaucous Azure is a name I came across while combing Merlot Industries' files."
A few sets of eyes opened wide at her words. "According to the data I managed to scour from the company servers, he was a young, skilled doctor and chemist who worked as Dr. Merlot's right hand man."
"Which means he had access to all experimental data Merlot had" Erik commented, earning a nod of approval from Lumia. "According to his file, he was fired six months prior to the Mt. Glenn incident" she said.
"That is the most important thing we have heard so far" Grullo growled. "Do we have any lead to his whereabouts?" Glynda asked the tall girl in a serious manner.
"I tried to hack his personal account, but found almost nothing of worth save for old files. Which means he is using it as a decoy one" the black-haired huntress explained.
"So, he knows you tried to hack him?" Jaune asked. "No, but he knows someone did" she replied. "I don't think he could somehow trace me, unless he is aware of my skills. Which is why I also cracked his bank account" she solemnly scratched the back of her neck.
"MS. STARLIGHT!" Satin's voice rose. "Cracking a person's bank account is a serious crime Miss" Flax exclaimed, his eyes narrowed. "I am sure that under the circumstances, it is acceptable, but I wish you would ask for permission first" Isaac Pale added, a little uncomfortable.
"She got permission- from me" Goodwitch glared at the council. "With all due respect, Headmistress, I don't think you have the authority to give such an order" the banker's voice lowered.
"I beg to differ" the blonde woman replied, not breaking her gaze. "We have a cult of unknown origin and sinister intentions, working towards awakening monsters of immense power" she continued.
"Their existence threatens not only Vale, but the entire Remnant if left to their own devices, Councilmen. We know few things about them and should never pass the opportunity to learn more before it is too late."
Every person in the room, plus Ren and Nora from the monitors, held their breath at Glynda's words. The councilmen kept silent for a few seconds, adding to the tension even more before Flax spoke again.
"Let's discuss this at another time. Did you manage find anything of note, Ms. Starlight?" he asked Lumia who was still seated. "Yes Sir. I managed to find a few recent transactions of his in South Vale."
"Where?" he asked, noting that not even one of the people in the room seemed to be surprised by that. So, you have already had a discussion among yourselves about these, haven't you?
"The area is called Lakkard Valley and the specific place is an old town called Cornfield- it is a rather isolated place quite far from the closest city of Lakkard."
"Sir!" Ruby, silent up until this point, shot up. "We have discussed this among us and we wanted to ask you; please give us permission to go to Cornfield and find Azure!" she pleaded.
Flax sat back on his chair, rubbing his forehead. "Mr. Ren, Ms. Valkyrie" he addressed the pair on the last monitor. "Is Nyctos still unaccounted for?" he asked them.
"Yes Sir" Ren nodded. "It is like it vanished into thin air!" Nora shouted, making a 'poof' motion with her arms to put emphasis in her words.
"I see…" Flax sighed. He then stared at all other council members through their monitors and exchanged a few messages with them, asking the huntsmen to wait for a few minutes.
After a while, all of them returned back facing the room's participants. "It seems we have a unanimous decision" he turned his gaze at Ruby, who was smiling in anticipation. "Your request is denied."
P.S. I hope the whole chapter was not boring or too cheesy; I admit I suck at politics and I am not so positive that I handled the council well.