Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 or RWBY they are the property of their respective owners, any resemblance to any other Persona 4 or RWBY fan fiction is coincidental and plagiarism is not intended. No flames please constructive criticism only.
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After Yu had finished questioning Weiss he'd escorted her back to her dorm where Ruby was waiting for her outside the door. Team RWBY had been given a pass for Professor Peach's class but they still had to attend History, Grimm studies and Combat Class.
"Hey Weiss, are you…" Weiss said nothing to her partner and simply walked past her sadly into the room "Ok?
Ruby looked after her with worry in her eyes before shutting the door and looking at her teacher.
"Professor, about Weiss, well I…" Ruby stopped stammering and took a deep breath before continuing. "Mr Holmes wanted to talk to me and well, I don't think Weiss did what did she did on her own. I mean, well we saw but I don't think-"
Yu held up a hand to stop her, "It's ok, I understand what you mean and after talking to Weiss I am of the same mind." Ruby's eyes seemed to brighten; she opened her mouth to talk but Yu continued. "Unfortunately, we have no way to prove that what was seen was not real." Ruby's eyes lost their shine. "I will do my best to find the truth of the matter, right now what you can do is help Weiss. She needs a friend no matter how sensitive she might be feeling, being alone is the last thing she needs right now."
"Ok, thank you, professor." Ruby nodded gratefully before taking a deep breath and entering the room, clearly intent on trying to help her partner and friend.
"Man what a pain, another mystery to solve." Cu Chulainn complained.
"Well at least we'll have something to do, teaching was getting kind of boring." Achilles shrugged
"You mean teaching nothing until they're ready?" Mordred sighed. "Great idea by the way Chiron."
"Persona isn't like teaching someone to fight." Chiron defended. "Its power is dependent on the bonds you share with others."
"Adachi would beg to differ."
"Adachi had help from Ameno-Sagiri and Izanami, anyone would be stronger with a god helping them out."
Yu couldn't help but notice as he got closer to the elevator to Ozpins office, the scent of burning tobacco. If Sherlock was smoking his pipe, it was a sign that he was in deep thought. The smell got stronger as Yu stepped into the elevator.
"Did the asshole really have to smoke in such a confined space?" Mordred asked grumpily as Yu pressed the button for Ozpins office.
He was so deep in thought himself that he just barely noticed when the elevator came to a stop and opened up into Ozpins office. There he saw Glynda and Ozpin standing to one side while Sherlock was reading several files on Ozpins computer, occasionally puffing his pipe.
"I finish speaking to Weiss. She says she doesn't remember attacking Whitley, one minute Whitley was talking to her about being a waitress and the next she was being restrained by Yang." Yu reported.
"Well, that's a fairly obvious lie." Glynda scoffed.
"I spoke to her using the Orb of Sight," Yu stated. "As far as it is concerned, she told the truth."
"Maybe it was the truth as she sees it?" Ozpin suggested.
"The Orb isn't fooled by perspectives or bias, it reveals the absolute truth, and the truth is that Weiss Schnee did NOT attack her brother."
Suddenly the consulting detective who scarcely acknowledged his presence, who had been Quickly reading through a file, then closed it and opening another to read. He quickly read through it before whirling around to face the three.
"That information along with my use of the resources available to me puts an important piece of the puzzle in place and so I finally believe I have a theory about all this," Holmes stated. "Thanks to Professor Ozpin making some inquiries to James Ironwood on my behalf, which was delivered most quickly, both a good and a bad thing."
"Bad?" Glynda wondered.
"My fears about the speed of its delivery were confirmed when I read it." Holmes took out his pipe and put it out, before pocketing it and continuing. "There was not much, despite what I'm sure was a thorough investigation on the Generals part into this Doctor Ferdinand. As I said there was little, only that he is apparently from a village outside the walls destroyed by Grimm and no birth records either."
"Not unusual if he's a settle outside a major city." Ozpin pointed out. "Even as 'efficient' as Atlas is they can't take a count of everyone within the borders of their kingdom."
"Indeed, so I tried delving into what we did know, according to a butler named Klein who provided a statement through Ms Schnee's elder sister Winter, this Ferdinand fellow came about a year ago onto the estate with young Whitley."
"Whitley brought him to the Schnee estate?" Yu asked. "So why hadn't Weiss met him?"
"Apparently the family has a strained relationship, according to Mr Klein she was practising her combat skills on the other side of the manor, alone," Holmes responded idly fiddling with his pipe inside his pocket. "It was then Mr Schnee took Ferdinand to see his father and somehow convinced him to hire him on the spot. Despite having no qualifications or degrees from any notable educational institute nor any achievements to his name. Yet he hired this man to create these Mannequin Warriors for greater security and to hire out for a profit."
"Impossible." Glynda scoffed with disbelief. "Jacques Schnee is a notoriously careful miser. He'd never leave such a project in the hands of an unknown, even one brought in by his own family."
"Exactly, and we know that these Mannequin Warriors are not genetically engineered lifeforms but proto-homunculi." Holmes pulled a pair of images side by side, one was clearly a human figure but the other looks more like the mannequin warrior, bulky and humanoid, "Paracelsus explained that true homunculi can easily pass as humans as long as they aren't examined too closely, proto-homunculi look like the soldier that tried to kill Ms Schnee. Bulky, not very human at all, and at its core it requires an incomplete Philosophers stone to give it life. Complete or incomplete only an alchemist could create one. This has lead me to two theories, one Ferdinand is from Earth, or two he has somehow received this knowledge from Earth."
"But how is that possible?" Glynda asked.
"Klein did say that Ferdinand appeared first about a year ago correct?" Ozpin inquired.
"Indeed," Holmes confirmed.
"So we reliably know he's been on Remnant about a year, or decided to make his move a year ago, perhaps needing the time to study this knowledge?" Ozpin said rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
"Could we get James to help?" Glynda asked. "Surely he could detain this man and interrogate him."
"I think you overestimate James's power," Ozpin answered smoothly. "Atlas isn't a military dictatorship, even though he has two seats on their council thanks to his position as Headmaster as well as General, even James must answer to the Council and you can bet that the other Councillors are firmly in Jacques pocket. You can bet they would stop James in his tracks."
"I would soon wager an announcement from the SDC of Weiss 'stepping aside' so that her brother Whitley might become the heir." Holmes piped up, taking out his pipe and relighting to take a puff. "Then possibly, Jacques retirement shortly thereafter."
"Which would put this Ferdinand in defacto control of one of the most powerful companies on the planet." Glynda realised with shock. "Is there nothing we can do?"
"We don't even know what this villain intends to do with the SDC once he controls it, never mind the fact that all of this is conjecture and circumstantial evidence at best," Holmes stated, puffing his pipe casually. "All we can do now is wait for developments, with luck some important clue will reveal itself, or perhaps this fellow will slip up somehow."
"Should we tell James?"
"I'll talk to him when he arrives for the festival."
Yu decided to leave and get ready, Glynda's combat class was starting soon and he needed to think about what he'd do for the fights she planned.
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Ruby Rose couldn't help but be worried. She'd done everything she could to make sure Weiss didn't feel alone. But she hadn't gotten the response she expected. Weiss hadn't snapped or lashed out at her like she'd expected, no she hadn't really done anything but clearly restrain her tears and remain silent. Not fighting off the hugs Ruby gave but not really embracing them either.
As they made their way to combat class Weiss's eyes remained hidden behind her bangs. Neither Yang nor Blake really said anything leaving Ruby to try and help her partner on her own. But it seemed that no matter what she tried Weiss remained depressed.
When they got to combat class and took their seats near team JNPR, Weiss's expression became one of focus, as if trying not to think about her current situation.
"Today our combat class will be different, each of you will take turns having a one on one battle with Professor Narukami."
The few members of the class who had been talking fell silent. Disbelief, fear and surprise were the motions on peoples faces. The second decorating the faces of RWBY and JNPR as they were more privy to just what their teacher was truly capable of.
"This is your fault Xiao Long." Weiss whispered with annoyance, coming out of her shell temporarily, which Ruby was happy about.
"What why me?" yang whispered back incredulously.
"You, that muscle brain Cardin and those other morons who got cocky and started saying that you were all so good you didn't need her instruction anymore." Weiss glared daggers at Yang. "This payback and we're all going to suffer."
"Anyone who can successfully defeat Professor Narukami will get a passing grade for this year's Combat Class." Professor Goodwitch Announced.
"We're doomed." Weiss groaned.
Ruby agreed with her sentiment and could only shake her head as some students suddenly sat up straight upon hearing this, seemingly forgetting that Narukami had killed the King of the Emerald forest and was a headmaster class huntsmen. They'd risen for the bait. Judging by Professor Narukami's nonchalant expression as he flicked through the Arcana which were orbiting him, this wasn't going to end well for anyone.
Suddenly he looked up to Ruby and gave her a smile. It wasn't a nice smile. It was a smile similar to the one Yang had on her face that one time Ruby had framed her for stealing some cookies out of the jar. The young reaper couldn't restrain the shiver that went down her spine, even as some of the other teams were stating what they'd do with their free time once they won.
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Ruby had been correct, several teams later and Izanagi floated next to Yu undefeated. The prime persona had pretty much defeated most challengers in one blow. Those that lasted longer were defeated with a cross slash. While guys had taken blunt blows to the crotch and sent out of the ring, girls had been punted into the shield wall which protected the audience from stray attacks. To make things more humiliating not a single attack had even touched Narukami, nor had any come close.
When it came to team CRDL's turn he changed things up. For each one he called one of four Oni; Kin-Ki, Fuu-Ki, Ongyo-Ki and Sui-Ki for each one respectively. Cardin arguably had it the worst, as Kin-Ki a large persona the size of an Ursa stood there in all his golden glory and didn't move or flinch as Cardin attacked him over and over, his blows doing absolutely nothing. Eventually, the oni got bored and backhanded Cardin out of the arena.
Russel was blown away by a Garula Fuu-Ki before he even got close. Ongyo-Ki had concealed himself, gotten close and given Dove Bronzewing a taser level shock after tripped him up when he charged at Yu. Last but not least was Sky Lark who had his legs frozen by Sui-ki. It was only his legs due to the fact that he had given up before the ice could get any higher.
With team CRDL out of the way, Ruby flinched as Yu's eyes fell upon her. She nearly jumped when Professor Goodwitch called out her name.
"Ruby Rose."
Upon the calling of her name, Ruby stood up and ran to the locker room and changed from her school uniform into her combat outfit. Finally, she withdrew Crescent Rose and made her way to the arena.
Yu stood on the opposite side of the arena, the Arcana still orbiting him. Finally, when she stepped into the ring he gave her a smile. When Goodwitch gave the signal to begin, Ruby quickly shifted her weapon into its sniper mode. But Yu had already crushed an Arcana. She pulled the trigger which flew towards him as blue flames coalesced into a solid form. The sniper round impacted on a furry pillar which blocked her view of the young teacher.
Ruby heard a low growl and looked up to see Fenrir, only he was much bigger than the last time she had seen him. Shifting back into scythe mode, she began thinking fast.
'Ok, he's way bigger than last time, I saw him.' Ruby thought fast trying to think of a strategy. 'So he's really big, so that means he won't be too fast-' she ducked and ran as a massive wall of razor-sharp teeth suddenly snapped at where she had just been. 'OH, MY OUM HE'S REALLY FAST!'
From up in the audience Yang would have been worried if the sight wasn't so comical. The sight reminded of a cartoon, her sister ran in circles around the arena from the gigantic wolf who snapped just behind her. Fenrir stopped only when she tried to charge for Yu, at which point the wolf blocked her path, either with a paw or a solid wall of ice created by a Bufudyne.
Yang suddenly was on her feet as massive jaws enveloped Ruby. Crescent Rose clattering to the ground away from the great wolf's teeth. There was silence for a moment before a bulge quickly appeared on his cheek. It returned to normal before another appeared on the other side. This kept going over and over until finally the great narrowed his eyes in thoughtfully, he shook his head a moment and the bulging stopped.
Fenrir methodically plodded over to the side of the arena and lowered his head, he promptly spat Ruby out.
"EW! gross, gross, gross!" She complained utterly drenched in Fenrir's saliva, she squeezed her cloak trying to get as much out of it as possible before glaring at the wolf. "That was gross, now I need a really long bath."
"Hmph," Fenrir snorted indignantly "You taste like flowers, it is disgusting."
"Oh yeah, well you-"
"Ruby Rose loses by ring out." Glynda suddenly cut in.
Ruby looked around, saw where she was and groaned before picked herself up, grabbing crescent rose and slinking back to the locker room. As this happened the ice created by Fenrir crumbled to pieces and simply faded away.
"Weiss Schnee."
Weiss dutifully stood up and headed down to the locker room passing Ruby on her way. She gave a small acknowledgement of her partner which cheered Ruby up a bit. Eventually, she stepped out of the locker room and into the arena, Myrtenaster in hand. Got into a stance, ready for battle.
Yu crushed an Arcana, and out it appeared a woman in a plain white kimono which obscured her feet. Her skin was as pale as the snow, and her eyes and hair were a very pale blue colour.
"Well, well, I'm called to battle, yet you have such a pretty face." Yuki-onna giggled, her tone soft like snow. "I'll try not to damage it too much; you'd make such a nice sculpture for my collection!"
"Begin!"
Yuki-Onna began the fight by sending icicles at Weiss with bufu, but she easily shattered them all and moved to strike. The snow woman was not done yet however and started using Bufala to send large blocks, all about the size of a football in Weiss's direction. She dodged and weaved around them, deciding to keep her momentum going, avoiding each every single one.
The gap between Weiss and Yuki-Onna began to close, then a large block of ice the size of an Ursa forced her to stop as it dropped in front of her. Fortunately, she didn't lose all of her momentum and quickly froze the ground and skated around it. More of these large blocks, created by Bufudyne began to fall.
As one of them began to fall a Glyph appear on it. Weiss jumped and used the glyph to jump at the next one, a waiting Glyph sent her a bit quicker this time. Yuki-Onna sent icicles at her, but they were too slow, impacting the large blocks of ice just after Weiss had already used the Glyph to leap to the next.
Then she was in range, and using dust sent a wave of fire at Yuki-Onna causing her to flinch cry out in pain, a pain Yu shared causing him to pay a bit more attention to the battle. He'd gotten cocky, and that mistake had allowed Weiss to surprise him. She was past yuki-Onna and approaching him, made to stab him when at the last second a large ice block smashed into her and sent out of the arena.
"Weiss Schnee loses by ring out," Glynda announced.
Yu dismissed Yuki-Onna, the ice vanishing with her as she returned to the Sea of Souls. He walked over to Weiss who held her side painfully and helped her to her feet.
"That was impressive, you almost had me," Yu told her.
"Did you go easy on me?" Weiss asked quietly, looking at him with unsure eyes.
"No, I just got cocky after how easy all the other battles against the class were so far," Yu admitted with a shrug. "But you were impatient. Fire is Yuki-Onna's weakness, she is a spirit of ice and snow after all if you'd followed up with a second fire attack on her you could have defeated her and I would have been in trouble. When fighting them, you should aim to defeat them, damaging them isn't enough, pain for them is temporary, far more than it is for humans."
Weiss nodded before returning to the locker room. She was less subdued than before but still not entirely back to normal.
'I think she's gonna need a bit more help.' Chiron commented 'I think perhaps some extra-curricular activity is order.'
Yu agreed, and he also knew thanks to Horus who had been flying around outside of the Academy, just the place that might help.
'Allow me to take care of this one.' Chiron materialised as Blake Belladonna was now in her combat outfit standing opposite him, gambol Shroud at the ready. Strange, he hadn't even heard Glynda call her name.
"You were rather deep in thought, you may want to be careful of that. Overthinking things can lead to as much trouble as underthinking them." Chiron advised him as he walked and placed him firmly opposite of Blake whose Bow twitched.
'Does she seriously think she's fooling anyone with that bow?' Cu Cuhallian wondered.
'Her team evidently, maybe they haven't noticed yet, the twitching isn't too obvious.' Raum commented.
"Begin!"
Blake drew Gambol Shroud in its pistol mode but was forced to move back as an arrow embedded itself into the floor where her left foot had been seconds before. Another arrow was quickly on its way, forcing her to keep moving.
'Sheesh, he's using the same tactic he used to train me.' Achilles said with a noticeable shudder in his voice.
'He trained you this way?' Heracles inquired.
'Yeah, how do you think I got so fast? I had to because he kept trying to shoot my legs.' Achilles shuddered again. 'But he's taking it easy on her if he was training her like me for real her legs be swiss cheese by now.'
'Chiron's always been the sink or swim type.'
Blake did get a few shots off aiming for Yu, however, Chiron intercepted them and deflected the shots with his bracers. However, the trainer of heroes did not stay still as he did so, opting to dash closer to Blake until he was up close to her. She promptly leapt back creating a shadow clone as she did so, but Chiron was not fooled and went through the clone and drove his fist into her gut. She was quickly sent out of the arena.
"Blake Belladonna loses by ring out."
"You're agile and stealthy I imagine. But you're also the lone wolf type prone to doing things by yourself, that's a weakness as part of a team, especially seeing as you have a partner." Chiron said as Blake stood back up. "I recommend working with your partner on your teamwork, maybe develop some combination moves?"
Blake merely nodded and went back to the locker room passing Yang who walked past her and gave her an encouraging shoulder pat as she walked into the arena. Chiron summoned his bow and had an arrow ready.
"Begin!"
Yang started off by firing a pair of shots of Ember Cecilia. A pair of arrows intercepted both shots causing them to explode and kicking up a large smoke screen. Yang charged into it hoping to catch Chiron off guard. However, when she came out the other side she felt something whiz past her ear. She looked and a lone strand of blond hair float by itself to the ground.
Yang felt her temper flare as her precious hair had been damaged. Her hair became a like a red flame and she rushed at Chiron fully intended to smash his face to bits. However instead of making contact with his face, her outstretched fist was pushed aside at the wrist, then she felt his free hand be driven into her stomach. Then she was spun around and tossed back to the other side of the ring.
She rolled and skidded but was able to stop herself from going out of the ring. Only to receive a kick to the face which finished the job and ended the fight.
"Yang Xiao Long loses by ring out."
"It seems we'll to have to do more work on that temper of yours," Chiron commented. "Though your tactic was sound, it was ruined when I was able to make you angry. Don't worry, you'll learn and in time be a great warrior. Strong as he was, even Heracles learnt that brute force can't solve everything."
Yang nodded and sighed as she stood up to go back to the locker room.
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The final match after a few more teams was against team JNPR. Lie Ren went first, he was met by Li Shuwen, who quickly met him in close quarters combat and defeated him. But not before offering the boy pointers and offering to give him some instruction. Nora Valkyrie had faced off against Thor, who gave her a quick jolt from a Zionga purely to make the fight more interesting.
This, in turn, activated her semblance which increased her strength which was exactly what Thor had wanted. The son of Odin had done his best to enjoy the fight with the girl. He actually quite liked her claiming she reminded him of an actual Valkyrie. The fight ended with Thor knocking her unconscious much like Li Shuwen had done to Lie Ren rather than sending her out of the ring.
Next up had been Pyrrha Nikos. Achilles had been all too eager to fight the so-called Invincible girl. Coincidently her name was the same as the alias Achilles himself had taken when he had to go into hiding disguised, at the insistence of his mother Thetis amongst the daughters of King Lycomedes of Scyros after she had foreseen his death in the Trojan war, only to be uncovered by Agamemnon with the help of Odysseus.
Initially when the fight began Achilles had been excited to fight someone who was supposedly invincible when even he had only been invulnerable and even then not completely. But as the fight went on and he realised her trick, he became disappointed. Her semblance which she had opted not to put on her Beacon admission form, (which was fine it was optional to do so) was polarity. He noted the slight black aura which seemed to influence her weapons and his, as well as his armour and weapon.
Achilles disappointed and slightly angry opted to use his legendary speed to his advantage. Quickly moving behind Pyrrha and sweeping her legs from under her. She, however, performed a handstand to regain her balance but was met with a kick to the stomach as Achilles dashed to her front and sent her out of the arena.
When the match ended he went back to the Sea of Souls without a word, most likely in Chiron's words, to sulk.
"Jaune Arc."
The scraggly blond made his way to the arena after getting his gear from the locker room. Before Yu could make a choice a Persona came to the fore.
'I shall deal with this one.' A stern cold voice stated as he materialised before Yu.
He was a knight, wearing deep black armour, a black mantle draped around his shoulders, black hair and steely grey eyes.
"I am Sir Agravaine, Knight of the Round Table and I shall keep the unworthy away from the king."
Jaune noticeably flinched and took a step back under the gaze of the stern knight. To his credit, however, he managed to draw his sword and unfold his shield.
"Begin."
Jaune charged and slashed at Agravaine who easily deflected the sloppy attack with his own longsword. This caused Jaune to stumbled before he regained his balanced and tried again, and again Agravaine deflected the blow and knocked him off balance. However this time he pressed and wrenched the shield out of Jaunes grasp and flung it away.
"Your stance is so poor it'd be insulting to call it sloppy," Agravaine criticised harshly, pressing his attack which force Jaune to keep back up even as his aura began to be depleted in chunks. "Not to mention you swordsmanship, either you're a slacker who just decided to pick up that weapon one day with dreams of being a hero or this really is the limit of what you can do."
With that Agravaine grabbed Jaune's sword arm and held it tight, and promptly sliced at his armour until his Aura hit the red zone. He then promptly shoved the blond onto his backside.
"Jaune Arc's Aura is in the red, the fight is over."
"For your sake, I sincerely hope it's the former, at least then you aren't completely hopeless," Agravaine stated before turning his back and vanishing back into the Sea of Souls.
To his credit, Jaune didn't look too unhappy, at least not more than usual when he'd lost a match in combat class. Agravaine was a harsh taskmaster. He'd tested everyone who came to Camelot seeking to become a squire, making sure to only allow the cream of the crop regardless of their titles or family name.
After several more teams, all of which Yu defeated, Combat Class ended. Glynda seemed rather pleased that her class had been humbled. Yu, however, looked at Weiss with concern and made a decision. She needed some time away and he'd help her with that.
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In his office, atop the tower, Ozpin was sipping his coffee when a call came through. He put the mug down on his desk and accepted the call. On the screen appeared James Ironwood his friend and headmaster of Atlas Academy as well as general of its military.
"Hello James, can I do something for you?"
"I need to ask you something, has Salem ever used criminal organisations to try and achieve her goals"
"She has, but only to hire them for jobs to sabotage my work or kingdom defences. Although there was one time she created her own criminal organisation, tell what do you know of the League of Grimm?"
"They were a massive crime syndicate that conspired to bring the kingdoms to their knees about a hundred years before the great war. They nearly succeeded but were exposed and crushed by a famous Valesian detective named Ozymandias…Pinocchious." James's eyes widened as realisation painted itself across his face. "No, that was you?!"
"She had me assassinated, the next thing I knew I reincarnated into Ozymandias and together we exposed her conspiracy and crushed it," Ozpin replied sipped his coffee once more. "It took a lot of detective work, some close calls and many frustrating interrogations, to sum it up. Is there a reason you ask?"
"To be blunt, the criminal underworld in the kingdom of Atlas has become extremely well organised, from what we can tell major crime organisations and families who were once rivals have all banded together, for a common cause which I don't know. Hell, I barely have evidence that they even exist, whoever leads them is a mastermind, leaving no traces of or evidence in the crimes committed." Ironwood explained. "So do you think Salem is behind it?"
"Have any of the crimes you know of, in any way impacted the academy or the defences or military of the kingdom?" Ozpin inquired thoughtfully.
"No, most crimes have been one about accumulating wealth, or robbery of certain valuables of a personal nature."
"Blackmail then."
"Yes, but the victims have refused to talk, and their friends higher up have forced me not to press the issue," James grunted with annoyance.
"It's possible Salem is pulling the strings but unlikely, she would most certainly target you or the academy to try and get at the relic." Ozpin sighed. "I think James you might be dealing with a very clever individual, to put it mildly."
"I was afraid of that, this isn't going to be easy, I have to increase security around high-class individuals forcing me to neglect the less fortunate." Ironwood shook his head before straightening up. "That reminds me, the butler Klein got me one last piece of information for you. Apparently, in addition to this Ferdinand fellow, a new butler was hired about nine months ago. He was hired as Whitley Schnee's personal butler."
"A personal butler he did not bring to Beacon with him," Ozpin noted.
"His name is Jim Mycroft."
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Far away at the Schnee manor, two men met in a private room securely locked. Both sat before a light fireplace. Each on a chair of their own. The man who had just entered the room was Professor Ferdinand and the other who sat down on the chair nearby was an elderly gentleman, wearing a crimson coloured butler uniform not dissimilar from Klein's, and a pair of glasses upon his face.
"You're finally back Ferdinand did you have a nice trip."
"Indeed, did you have any trouble, Jim?" Ferdinand asked taking the free seat
"None, these people, despite claiming to be the most advanced nation on the planet are simpletons just like any other, cementing control over the underworld was all too easy," Jim answered closing the book he had been reading and setting it aside.
"Very good, our plans are in motion, with your control over the underworld and my plan to have Whitley take his place as CEO of the SDC we will soon have complete control over the Atlas Council." Ferdinand chuckled.
"The only problem is James Ironwood," Jim stated shaking his head. "As headmaster and General he has two seats on the council, that combined with the fact that he can't be bought or blackmailed and has strong moral fibre makes him a major impediment."
"Hmmm…. We will need to have him removed, one way or another, but for now, I suggest we be patient perhaps an opportunity will present itself." Ferdinand said beginning to relax. "By the way, how is the construction of the rocket?"
"The rocket itself is nearly complete. Rebuilding a rocket from Atlas's abandoned space program was child's play as was adapting an internal combustion engine to replace the useless dust engine. The actual difficult part was how slowly we had to buy the parts and creating the various shell companies to keep suspicion away." Jim answered rubbing his temple. "The only snag is that we have no way to create rocket fuel, and my expeditions have turned up empty for oil."
"Which means we have no choice but to acquire the Relic of Creation in the Atlas Vault," Ferdinand said with a grin. "You still have eyes on the Winter Maiden?"
"Naturally, but acquiring her will be difficult, getting her to co-operate even more so, especially as Ironwood doesn't let her go anywhere unsecured. I don't blame him, he can't know or would even believe that all of Salem's agents within Atlas are currently lying freezing in the icefields." Jim shrugged before stretching, causing his bones to pop as he stood up.
"Has Salem made any more attempts to infiltrate the kingdom?"
"Yes, but I've rebuffed them all, I even spoke with her, the only way to your desires is through me." He mocked "For a woman who's so ancient, you'd wouldn't think she wouldn't be so exceptionally arrogant."
"Well, she is immortal after all." Ferdinand pointed out. "From her perspective, she remains unchallenged and has no reason to fear you."
"Hmm, you might be right. Foolish old fossil." Jim shook his head took off his glasses to rub his eyes. "Well, I need to rest, the rocket is central to the final phase of our plans, we'll need that rocket fuel if we are to get anywhere. A strategy will be needed to get a hold of the relic of creation if I can't synthesis any appropriate fuel."
"To think, we will have to thank James Ironwood for providing us with such information, even if he doesn't know it. Perhaps we should thank him just after we destroy him and leave him with nothing." Ferdinand suggested with a chuckle.
"Indeed, I quite like that idea," Jim said standing up and heading for the door. "I do hope something can be done about Klein, that old fool hasn't let me out of his sight if he can help it."
"That poor fool has no idea that you are here because of him does he?" Ferdinand chuckled again. "Well no matter, just try to bear it a bit longer, getting rid of him too early could cause complications."
"I suppose you are right, well goodnight Ferdinand." With that Jim opened the door and left the room, leaving Ferdinand alone to stare into the crackling fire his grin never leaving his face.