The Knights of Grimm - Act 4 - Whispers of Arkhonex

Chapter 71 - Arcturus Base - Pt. 1

Whitley

Moments before the explosion...

Inside of the Arcturus Base H.Q Building, Whitley was stood inside with his robotic arms crossed. It was still strange for him, seeing the world this way, coding appeared in different places as he scanned the things that surrounded him. He looked at the Coffee Cup and it scanned the fluid inside, correctly identifying the solution as Granulated Coffee and Water, at room temperature at this point from how long the poor thing had been sitting there.

Whitley was not alone inside of the Office, sat in the chair that overlooked the entire facility was Kelham, holding a pistol in his hand as he spun back and forth in the chair. His Crimson Dawn Forged Blood Claws were sat on his desk as well, always near him in case he needed to use it – to open Crimson's Portals that he bestowed into the magical blades. Blood Blades were always very unique, and even a novice could tell the difference between a fake and the real thing.

Donovan was inside as well, stood against the wall with a glass of whiskey in his hand, whilst Kelham watched his forces working hard outside, completely unaware of the breakout that was under way inside of his own base for some reason. And finally, was the holographic projection fed live from Atlas – Jacques Schnee.

They were in the middle of a meeting, one that was summing up their efforts over the past two weeks – and Jacques had more on his plate than they realised. "What do you mean the Huntsmen and Huntresses in Atlas turned against you?"

"They follow a Huntress, called Robyn Hill, and they have joined together as their Happy Huntresses, down in Mantle. They are working together to try and over throw me and the Acolytes of Lien, luckily though our forces are holding them back for now. Unless they get reinforcements, Atlas is in the clear. But Mantle? Well that's a different story." Jacques sighed as he took a sip from his glass.

"Seems a lot has been going down all around us, hasn't it?" Kelham scoffed.

"Indeed – but when the Shivering Dominion begins, Mantle will be the first to be destroyed by the Grimm, so the plan is still a go." Jacques casually said, showing no remorse for the innocents down in Mantle who have no idea about the threat that is coming in the next four days.

"So, your plan is working back home then, brother? Project Ascension is green?" Donovan inquired.

"It is – Vir Nominis Umbra will think twice before he tries to take the Relic of Destruction from us when the Moon Shatters in the next four days." Jacques assured as he smirked behind that thick white moustache other his mouth.

"That's good to hear, we have Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, Oscar Pine and Pyrrha Nikos in custody too. We can hand them over to Umbra when he comes, wouldn't be surprised if he has killed them already." Kelham scoffed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Unlikely." Whitley responded.

"How so?" Donovan inquired.

"My father and I have been working with him for quite a while now, rarely spoke to him in person... but he never does things that simply." Whitley explained, and they sighed.

"Nothing is ever simple." Kelham sighed, shaking his head.

Jacques continued as he stood up from his chair and his desk, holding his tie pompously, which made Donovan scoff. His brother always hated how his brother was, he was always the one that dressed the best. But even here, Donovan did not wear a suit, he wore a normal jacket and some jeans. He did not care for appearances, unlike his brother – who spent all his life in the Higher Society of Atlas – not in a cell.

Jacques continued to speak as he walked around the room, the holographic camera allowing his image to act as if it was in the room with them. "It is not just Project Ascension that has gone according to plan. Many of my other precautions have added a certain level of... protection... for when Umbra tries to take the Relic from us. We will find the Relic of Choice and use it against him, if we can control him, none would ever rival us again. But if he does try? We will use it against him, such a weapon must be able to kill him, of course." Jacques explained as he walked around.