Author's Notes:
-Hey everyone! Normally, I wouldn't do an early update, but since I got done with this chapter early, and since it's a festive day, I decided to post this chapter early. To those of you who are celebrating it, Happy 4th of July! Hope you have a good time with family and/or friends!
Now then, let's get rolling!
A large paw emerged from the pool of black slime and Beowolf gradually crawled out it. Slime coated the Beowolf before it slid off and fell onto the ground in the purple and dark red land. Several more Beowolves emerged as Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai watched on down below from the inside of a high building. Emerald had her hand to her mouth while Mercury was slightly disgusted. A gloved hand, belonging to Cinder, appeared between two purple crystal formations and snapped its fingers.
Emerald and Mercury moved away from the window towards crystal table with the other members of Salem's function, save for the leader herself- Arthur Watts, who was looking at his Scroll, Tyrian Callows, resting his arms on his knees, and Hazel Rainart with his arms crossed. After moving to Cinder's side, Emerald nudged Mercury out of her way so that she could be directly next to Cinder.
"Yes, yes, keep your posse in check." Mercury grunted and walked towards Watts angrily, but Emerald held him back. "You hear that? Silence." Hazel gave Watts an unimpressed sideways glance. "I've half a mind to thank the little girl that bested you."
"If I were you, I'd hunt her down." Tyrian snickered. "Find her and, well, she took your eye, didn't she?"
The fall maiden stared at Tyrian as he cackled at her. Cinder tried to speak but only managed to make quiet exhaling noises as she did earlier. Emerald leaned in to hear her.
"Pathetic." Watts turned to Cinder. "Why did you even bother to come here?"
The sound of a heavy metal door being unlatched was heard as the doors opened. Everyone stood before Salem as she entered the meeting hall. Gliding alongside the table with soft footsteps before reaching the head of it, she stopped, facing away from them and toward a candle and crystal display.
"Arthur Watts." Salem turned to them. "Do you find such malignance necessary?"
She gestured for all members present to sit down as Watts answered, "My apologies, your grace. I'm not particularly fond of failure."
The two took their seats at the table. "Then I do not see why you are being so uncouth to young Cinder." Salem scolded him. "She has completely assumed the mantle of Fall Maiden, destroyed the tower of Beacon, and above all, killed dear Ozpin. So I must ask- what failures are you referring to?"
"Well, the girl with the Silver Eyes." Watts began.
"Yes. We've dealt with their kind before." Hazel added. "How is it that a novice, a mere child, was able to best one of us?"
"My thoughts exactly. Even without her new power, it should have been effortless."
"It is because of the Maiden's power that she is injured. Make no mistake, Cinder, you hold the key to our victory. But your newfound strength brings with it a crippling weakness. Which is why you will remain by my side as we continue your treatment." Cinder sadly lowered her head. Emerald looked at her in worried sympathy. "Dr. Watts, you are to take her place and meet with our informant in Mistral."
"Of course."
Salem turned to Tyrian. "Tyrian, I want you to continue your hunt for the Spring Maiden."
Tyrian laughed insanely. "Gladly."
"Hazel. I have received a report that Cinder's ally, Adam Taurus, has disappeared from his hiding place in Mountain Glenn. I need you to find him and uncover his intentions."
"As you wish."
Cinder raised her finger, which Emerald failed to notice for a moment. Emerald leaned in to hear her as Cinder quietly rasped into her ear. Emerald straightened herself thereafter.
"Speak, child." Salem gestured her.
"She wants to know..." Emerald hesitated. "What about the girl?"
Dr. Watts scoffed. "What about her? This is Cinder's problem, not ours."
Cinder slammed her fist onto the table and glared at Watts, giving her a grin.
"That's enough." Salem ordered. "Tyrian?"
"Yes, my lady?"
"Spring can wait. Find Ruby Rose..." Tyrian giggled elatedly and clapped. "And bring her to me." Tyrian froze, groaning in disappointment, then pouted for a second, and finally gave her an acquiescent shrug. Salem turned to Cinder. "Because of your efforts, Beacon has fallen. And Haven will be next."
Everyone rose from their chairs and began to depart. Tyrian snickered at the new fall maiden, pointed to his left eye. He laughed wickedly. "Eye for an eye."
He went into an uncontrollable fit of manic laughter as Cinder gritted her teeth. "Tyrian, I would like to speak you privately." Salem spoke to him.
"Certainly, my lady."
Cinder rose from her chair and left him behind, shutting the door behind her.
Light snow fell down as James Ironwood stood outside a building in the city of Atlas. This building, the Atlesian Council meeting hall, was a white stone building with a small staircase leading up the doors, surrounded with white marble columns opposite on each side of the entrance. The building itself was constructed in the style of a three story house with a portico at the entrance. The entrance was a dark blue double door with a white lining around it.
Not only was it one of the oldest buildings in Atlas, it was also where the Atlesian Council was meeting to discuss post-fall-of-Beacon measures to take in order to prevent war. The headmaster of Atlas Academy looked at his scroll for the date and time.
16:30
December 29th
He also had a message on his scroll that he didn't notice until now.
Admiral Sidon- General Ironwood, where are you? (30 m ago)
The general pocketed his scroll and entered the building. He entered a medium sized room lined with dark blue carpet, continuing throughout most of the building. The walls in the building were pale blue, contrasting the white ceiling above him. To his immediate left, above a grand fireplace, adjacent to a white sofa, fur rug and dark wooden table, was a framed portrait of Atlas's last king. To his right, above a thin dark wooden table, hung picture of Atlas Academy in its present day.
Adjacent to that said table was a clipboard with a paper form, a pen, a few pens in a black cup and some post-it notes. Ironwood took one of those notes, a pen and wrote down, Get Yang a robotic arm to replace the one she lost!
He folded the note in half horizontally, put it in his shirt pocket and proceeded to go down the hall, lined with dark blue banners of Atlas's symbol about thirty feet apart from each other. Eventually he came to a much wider room with a long white carpet in the middle of the room and huge double doors to his right. To his left were two large square windows, one on the left side and one in front of him. He turned to his right and saw an employee working here staring at him.
"Ah, General Ironwood." He folded his arms. "You're late."
"I'm aware, and I apologize for my tardiness. Has everyone else arrived?"
"Everyone else has already checked in."
He sighed. "I should have known."
Ever since the fall of Beacon's CCT tower, and the entire CCT network being down as well, the Atlesian Council meeting hall had done some renovation to allow council members to stay overnight while waiting for other attendees to arrive. Everyone else had arrived before him.
"Do I have to summon everyone to the meeting hall?" Ironwood asked.
"No need. They're already waiting for you. This is the third day you've kept them waiting."
"In that case, I better get in there."
General Ironwood opened the doors to the meeting hall. The room was about half the size of a tennis court, with navy blue walls lined with a column of a fleur-de-lis pattern every ten feet apart and a snow pale ceiling. The wooden floor was mostly bare, save for the rectangular table and its chairs. The chairs were upholstered with blue fabric and decorated in a repeated pattern of the symbol of Atlas. At the front end of the table was an empty chair, the head of the table where Ironwood sat during these meetings.
The general looked at the council members sitting at the table- On the left side, closest to him, was a middle aged man with black hair and ocean blue eyes wearing an Atlas military uniform with small badges and a bigger badge on his right side. This was Admiral Sidon. To his left was Jacques Schnee, head of the Schnee Dust Company.
On the right side, closest to Ironwood was an older man in his mid 50's, his grey hair thinning, leaving him partially bald. He wore black dress shoes and a black business suit with a white necktie. The necktie had a few green lines going upward in a spiral pattern.
And finally, beside the old man was a younger woman, in her late 20's or early 30's, with short black hair and green eyes. She wore black eyeliner and green eyeshadow along with big green tinted metal hoop earrings. She wore a black, long-sleeve dress that reached to her knees paired with black heels.
A cool yet not bone-chilling air felt throughout the room was made even colder by the silence. No one said a word as the headmaster of Atlas Academy entered the room. Did they not notice? Or were they angry with him? He reached the table and stood next to his seat. "I apologize for my tardiness and for keeping you all waiting on me." Ironwood addressed the council members. "Now, shall we begin the meeting?"
"Uh, Mr. Ironwood? Aren't you going to address the elephant in the room?" the councilwoman asked, motioning her arm over to Jacques.
"What do you mean by..." He looked closer and saw who she was talking about. "Oh."
"Is there a problem?" the head of the SDC asked.
He gestured to the young man standing by Jacques's side. "Mr. Schnee, who is that young man and why is he here?"
"This is my son, Whitley. I brought him here for a business trip that he may learn what it's like to be part of a business meeting."
The old man looked at Jacques, very clearly annoyed. "Couldn't you just take him to a Schnee Dust Company Executive Board meeting?"
"The board has very few members. We're short several members due to White Fang attacks for the years. There's only two other members that live in Atlas, and there's no guarantee that the other remaining three would be able to safely make it to the Schnee Dust Company Headquarters. Besides, Whitley won't interrupt the meeting. You won't even know he's there!"
General Ironwood gave Whitley a skeptical, questioning look. "And how do I know that you won't reveal confidential information by being here?"
He maintained his usual smile. "You have my word. Anything that is said here will stay here. My lips are sealed, General." After he said that, he took his left hand, pinched his thumb and index finger together and ran them over his lips.
"If you don't believe his word, perhaps he can sign some sort of confidentiality agreement?" Jacques suggested.
Ironwood sighed. "Unfortunately, we don't have any documents for that purpose. I'll just have to take his word that he'll be silent." He turned to the council members. "Let's get on with this."
"But..." the councilwoman began, only to be ignored.
"I officially call this meeting to order." Ironwood sat down. "As you are all aware, Atlas is being blamed for the fall of Beacon Academy. This is mainly because the robots that were supposed to protect everyone were hacked by an unknown infiltrator. Despite my attempts to get with the councils of Vale, Vacuo and Mistral- which if I be honest, have gotten me nowhere- the kingdom's councils, as well as most of the world, see us as responsible. No one has declared war yet, but if we want to have any chance of maintaining peace, we have to find a way to show the world that we do not wish to start a conflict."
"Why don't you just send a group of technicians over to Vale to repair Beacon's CCT tower?" Sidon suggested. "Then once that's done, we can reassure the world via a live broadcast from Atlas Academy that you mean no harm."
"Unfortunately, that is easier said than done. After the top of the tower fell down, a Wyvern, a species of Grimm previously thought to be extinct, was petrified on the top of the tower. Unless that dragon is dealt with, no one can work on repairing the tower. Not only that, the Grimm dragon attracts other Grimm to the remains of Beacon Academy. Glydna Goodwitch, along with most if not all of Beacon Academy's staff, are currently trying to solve this problem as well as repair the city. Because of these circumstances, I can not foresee the CCT being restored any time in the near future."
The admiral frowned. "Well that throws a wrench into my idea."
The old man turned to Ironwood. "You mentioned an unknown infiltrator who hacked the androids. Were you able to discover any clue as to who was responsible for the hacking into them?"
"Nothing with any solid proof." he answered. "I did discover the same person who hijacked the broadcast also rigged some of the Vytal Festival tournament matches, but whether or not they shoulder the entire blame for what happened is another story. Even then, whoever that woman is, she could be anywhere by now."
"That woman mentioned that she was from Mistral. Do you believe it is possible that she fled back to her home?"
Ironwood answered, "Not likely, especially considering everything that is happening in the kingdom right now."
"But do you actually believe that she's from a Mistral?" the councilwoman asked.
"What do you mean by that?" the old man inquired.
"She could have just been lying about her nationality to create more fear. She already lied about Atlas military presence being used for malevolent purposes." she elaborated.
"I don't think she's entirely a liar." Admiral Sidon suggested. "I mean, she was right about General Ironwood keeping the existence of Penny Polendina as a robot with an aura secret from the world, from the entire council and even me."
The old man asked him, "You didn't know?"
"No, I didn't." he answered, glaring angrily at Ironwood. Whitley tensed up as Sidon screamed, "Why would you keep something this important from me?! From the council?! From the world?!"
Ironwood sighed. "Poe, I know you're angry with me, and you have every right to be. I did not mean to keep the truth hidden forever. Penny was not just an experiment. She was a person, with a heart and soul. To be honest, when she was first being created, I didn't even believe that it would work, but it did."
Poe Sidon looked at his fellow military officer with a raised eyebrow. "So why did you create her? Or rather, what was her purpose?"
"She was supposed to become a protector of the world, to take on missions that no android or human could. Unfortunately, due to the chaos of the Vytal Festival, she was unintentionally destroyed."
"How can you be sure that it was unintentional?" the old man questioned. "First we saw Yang Xiao-Long, another Beacon student, attack an innocent victim after the match ended. Then we saw Pyrrha Nikos tear the girl apart."
"First off, I saw first hand how horrified Pyrrha was after using her semblance to deflect Penny's swords. Second, after the ashes settled, I found Pyrrha herself in the Amity Colosseum and briefly heard her apologizing to the remains of Penny. Some things aren't entirely what they seem."
Whitley's mouth hung slightly open before he began musing to himself. Jacques stammered, "S.. she's alive?"
"Yes, as far as I can see." He gave Jacques a look of leeriness. "What made you think she was dead?"
"Well..." His mind quickly trailed back to him dragging Weiss away from Everbright Hospital while waiting for Pyrrha to recover. He truthfully stated, "There have been several news sources in Atlas, as well as some in other kingdoms, that say Pyrrha is dead. They all claimed her body was never found, which also sparks debate on what happened to her."
"Hmm... Most unusual." Admiral Sidon noted.
"You know, a thought just occurred to me." Jacques said. "Perhaps what we could do is crack down on stopping the White Fang. After all, they are the ones at fault for the Fall of Beacon."
"It may be true that they were present, they were not the only ones at fault." Ironwood responded. "No one knows entirely who is at fault. And since we can't determine who's at fault, there's no easy way of trying to prevent war. So we must find ways to minimize the damage if a war were to start. I purpose the solution of forbidding Schnee Dust Company exports to other kingdoms until tensions die down."
"If anyone even thinks about trying to declare war on us, they will be at disadvantage and that would, hopefully, allow them to think twice before making a rash decision." the councilwoman said.
"Hmm... Not the best solution, but it might be the only way to stop a war from breaking out." the old man added.
"But..." Jacques tried to protest.
James raised his left hand. "All in favor?"
The councilwoman raised her hand, followed by the the old man. It was 3-2. And since Ironwood held two seats on the council, it was actually 4-2. Either way, Jacques was going to lose a lot of money.
"Then it is settled." Ironwood declared. "The Schnee Dust Company will be forbidden to export dust to the other kingdoms." Whitley frowned at this mention. "This embargo takes effect immediately. All of the ships and bullheads that have already departed this morning will be allowed to continue, but any other shipments sent from Atlas to the other kingdoms will be found and confiscated. And Jacques-" Jacques looked at an angry Ironwood with his eyebrows raised in fear. "if you try to ship it illegally, you will be fined 100,000 Lien for every instance this occurs."
Whitley silently looked on in fear, although no one noticed his worried expression. Jacques asked, "Don't you think this is a little much?"
"We're just making sure you'll comply with this new ordinance. You've bent the rules before." Ironwood rose from his chair. "This meeting is now adjourned."
General Ironwood was the first to leave, and most of the council members followed thereafter. Except for one. The head of the SDC clinched his fist and his son turned to him, concerned. Jacques looked at Whitley. "You may speak. The meeting is over."
He breathed in to steady himself. Two seconds later, he gave his response. "Well... That went less than well."
"I will admit it did not go as I had hoped, but there is little we can do at this time."
"How do you believe Weiss and mother will react to hearing of these events?"
"Willow probably won't take it very well. As for Weiss, she won't be happy about it either, but I would think that after the Fall of Beacon, that she would quickly bounce back from hearing the news."
"I sure hope so."
The head of the Schnee Dust Company stood up. "Don't underestimate her. The future head of the SDC is stronger than you realize, Whitley."
The father and son duo began to exit the room. As they exited the meeting hall, Whitley began musing to himself.
He should have made me the heir when Weiss chose to go to Beacon Academy and leave her family behind. He internally sighed. Then again, you know the rules of inheritance- the oldest is always first in line, and the youngest has little to no chance of getting the throne. The longer the line, the less chance the youngest has to inherit anything. What chance do I have of becoming the heir to the Schnee Dust Company? At this present time, none. None at all! Weiss doesn't deserve to be next in line for the SDC. I do!
As they walked through the hallway, his natural expression never once revealed the emotions hidden within. He got out a paper notebook, a pen and began quickly writing.
"Trying to quickly write down what you've learned, are you?" Jacques asked.
"Indeed I am." Whitley answered.
"You're really smart, aren't you?"
"Yes, yes I am." He smiled. "But thanks for telling me."
"You're welcome. It's a shame that Weiss didn't come."
He gave a small frown in response to Jacques's statement. "Yes... it is..."
The scene transitioned to the two standing outside the building with the luggage on a golden platform behind them, being pushed by a servant from the Schnee family manor. They walked forward into the snow, making their way towards the airship they used to get there. With a neutral expression, Whitley held his pen in his left hand and notepad in the right as he finished writing. Holding his arms down, he got onto the plane and took his seat, his father not too far from him, the servant straining to get the luggage cart aboard the ship. As Jacques spoke to the servants and workers aboard the private jet, Whitley smirked as he looked at the top line, written in beautiful cursive print-
Pyrrha Nikos is alive.