The Echolux Crucible, December 26th, 2025...
Argo might have been one of the least-conventional cities on - and under - the face of the Earth, but the conference room at the heart of The Echolux Crucible was about as mundane and ordinary as a conference room could get. There was a long table lined with chairs, though only five were occupied at the moment, with large monitors at either end so someone could share their computer screen with the rest of the meeting. A waste basket sat in the corner close to the door while a potted plant - likely a fake so it wouldn't need to actually be cared for - sat in the opposite corner to keep an eye on the entire room. The one interesting feature of the room was not actually in it, but instead overlooking the Crucible's primary attraction, the large battle arena that currently was in the process of having what looked to be a wrestling ring torn down after an exciting battle the day before. The Crucible's owners prided themselves on a workplace ethic that exceeded the bare minimum expected of society, and many of its performers and support staff had come to appreciate the holiday. Still, the public expected some kind of event for their Christmas entertainment and there were plenty of staff who didn't celebrate the holiday who appreciated the extra pay, so a new tradition had been born, collaborating with wrestling/combat groups from other parts of the world to host a royal rumble between carefully-vetted hopefuls looking to become full-time combatants at The Echolux Crucible.
Thus had the Ruby Royal Rumble become the latest interation of their tradition, the Echolux partnering with a group from New York City to bring another holiday of combat entertainment.
Several of the attendees in the conference room certainly looked like they had better places to be. The grandfatherly gentleman in the brown suit, the wizened lady in light blue, and the young woman in the fine suit had answered the summons with professional promptness, looking towards the eccentric in purple with the bright red tie.
"Thank you all for coming, my fine associates," the eccentric said, gently clapping his hands together. "I hope your holidays are going well?"
The grandfather in brown nodded, smiling as he folded his hands in his lap. "Just fine, Johan. Though I must confess that I would to get back to it. I had to promise the grandkids I'd teach them how rockets launch to get them to let me go."
The older woman in the room nodded in agreement, feigning grand annoyance. "Indeed. Were it not Board business, I would not have answered my phone. Nobody is sweating or swearing though, so it cannot be a disaster."
"Unlike the esteemed Fred and the well-regarded Charlotte, I was happy to have an excuse to step away for a few hours. Or a day? Please tell me this discussion will keep me away from my father retelling the tale of how the Smith in Smith-Shimano is because of him."
The bowtie-clad Johan shrugged slightly and sat down. "I'm afraid not, fair Annabella. I suspect this will only last long enough for him to get a quarter of the way through."
"Alas," the suited Annabella sighed, taking a seat of her own both respectfully close and far from her colleagues who made up the primary board of directors for The Echolux Crucible, representatives of the four corporations who were the majority owners of the arena. Certainly there were more than a few hands in this pot and all of them had their own say in how affairs were handled, but all of their votes combined could match but a single member of the Crucible's primary board. Pleasanties were brief, expedited so that business could conclude as promptly as possible, everyone seated succintly. Once everyone was seated, Johan wasted no time in speaking.
"I apologize for interrupting your time off," Johan began. "I promise to make it as quick as possible."
"It's not about the Ruby Royal Rumble, is it?" Fred asked, leaning forward. "I watched it myself yesterday. Quite the event, as always."
"As always. No, the Rumble went fine," the eccentric answered, shaking his head. "We have a new member of the board. Not OUR board, but the overall board of investors."
Charlotte pursed her lips. "If I understand the financials, we have several new groups investing in The Echolux. What makes this one special?"
Johan paused, glancing between his fellow board members. "What makes this one special is...they turned down having a representative on OUR board. Despite a substantial investment in the Crucible."
The silence was silent, a brief rustle but nothing oppressive or deafening, just a brief moment of surprise as they glanced at each other, silently pondering the oddity of the announcement. While the Crucible wasn't the most lucrative enterprise in Ulimaroa, it was beloved and well-known across the country. To refuse to be a guiding star to it was...shocking, to say the least.
"It's not the Paradigm Group, is it?" Annabella asked, a hint of trepidation in her voice.
"No. They have...contented themselves with an observing role, not even voting as part of the lower board," Johan answered carefully, as if they were being spied on. "A private investor. You'll likely have heard of him and his...troubles, but he acknowledged that his presence as a decision maker might bring us negative press. His only request is that he be allowed to consult us on a 'matter of great important.' The chairman thought it reasonable, so here we are."
The board members reacted quietly, betraying no thoughts as they nodded in agreement, glancing at the silent chairman as Johan pressed a button on a console built into the table.
"Furina, please bring in our guest."
"At once, Johan."
The doors to the conference room gently opened, going as wide as they could as a young-looking woman in blue entered the room. Blue hair, blue eyes, blue suit...the slight woman, Furina Archon, certainly had a theme in mind as she entered.
"Assembled board members, please welcome our newest investor...
Lord Griff, formerly of Griff Enterprises."
Ducking his head only as much as he needed to to enter the room, the proud griffon proudly stepped into the conference room, which suddenly felt much smaller for having a huge mythical creature in a top hat suddenly filling a significant portion of the room. Fred and Charlotte recoiled slightly with surprise. Annabella quirked an eyebrow, locking her fingers together to keep from showing her own surprise.
"I thank this august body for taking their valuable time to meet with a
humble investor," Griff said, words oozing out of his beak like fresh honey. "And thank you, Ms. Archon, for entertaining me whilst I waited for my new peers to arrive."
The griffon spread his wings and bowed...slightly.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, but I felt it necessary to speak with you all as soon as possible, to head off an urgent matter before it could bring ruin to this hollowed establishment."
The board members exchanged glances before Annabella, chomping down on her own trepidation, looked up at their visitor with a crafted look of coolness. "I assume you mean the Kobber group coming to our fair city next year?"
"The very same!" Griff squawked. "Indeed, the Kobbers are coming to Argo in but a few months. I understand that some of their membership are likely already here, helping to prepare their latest establishment for their collective's arrival."
"Indeed they are!" Fred spoke up, finding his courage. "Personally I can't wait to meet them. I hear they are fantastic fighters! Why, the chairman even invited-"
The others nodded in agreement. Even Griff acknowledged the truth of the comment with a condescending nod. "Indeed. That is what I came to warn you about, their violent excitement and tendency towards damage."
"But...they would be fantastic participants in the Crucible, would they not?" Charlotte asked. "They lack their own facility for bloodsports most of the year. Some of them would flock to participate, I'm sure."
Griff nodded again, slowly turning towards the old woman. "That is indeed correct. Kobbers are known for their love of combat and their eagerness to engage in it. In fact, that is why I have come to make a...controversial recommendation.
They must not be allowed to participate!"
If the idea that someone would invest enough in the Crucible to be offered a voting seat only to refuse it was shocking, then the thought of NOT inviting a group of eager warriors to join in their arena was enough to at least get a rise out of the board.
"Yes, they would put on a magnificent performance. Emphasis on the singular, however!"
Griff looked back and forth before glancing at Furina. The beauty in blue nodded back and plugged a laptop into the table, bringing up a series of videos onto the screens. Videos of battles within the Underdome of Olympia, shaky home videos of Eidolon battles in Agama, and even official Brawl footage of several 'crowd invasion' incidents.
"The Kobbers bring chaos and destruction wherever they go with no regard for the venue! Even disregarding that their yearly Brawl site is left in ruins every year, they battle with little regard for who or what dares to get in their way. No, not just malcontents or rebels, but innocent battlers who expect to adhere to a set of rules only for a KOBBER to nearly kill someone. The Underdome from Olympia was left in ruins after Kobbers were allowed to participate."
The board members stirred, trepidation starting to creep into their minds as the footage - real or not - was strongly convincing.
"They would need sponsors like anyone else to participate," Johan said, seemingly unphased by the giant lion-bird and his doomsaying. "If nothing else, Zoofights Corps would likely foot the bill for their insurance. The company is rich enough."
Griff nodded. "Yes, Zoofights Corporation, Hoshii Holdings, Shinigami Solutions, Par Seas...there's no shortage of wealthy backers who could cover their insurance. They could easily foot the bill when the Crucible gets destroyed in a Hot Drugs-fueled orgy of combat and destruction that would make for your best ratings ever!
...but then what do you do until the Crucible is rebuilt? Because what good is insurance when you have nowhere to hold your other battles? Can The Echolux survive on months of reruns and the occasional robot battle? Or do you make your robots fight to fill in the timeslots? Having to foot so, so many expensive, time-consuming repair bills?
Oh, certainly the Kobbers will bring you an AMAZING show, but it will be the death of this establishment, mark my words! Unless..."
Griff silently looked around the room again.
"You stop the Kobbers from competing."
The room went quiet again as the board processed the business griffon's words. Even the chairman seemed slightly perturbed at the Doomsday Scenario presented to them.
"Begging your pardon, Lord Griff, but..." Furina stood from the laptop, addressing the room. "While we can find excuses not to let most of them participate, as The Echolux Crucible's chief legal officer, I would be remiss not to mention that we have already signed ONE Kobber onto our roster."
"Oh?" Griff's gaze turned dangerously towards the woman in blue, who either didn't notice or didn't care.
"Mhm. You see, our holiday tradition is a battle between amateur fighters and hopefuls, the winner of which is offered a contract to be one of our fighters officially. The Ruby Royal Rumble, we call it, and our champion just happens to be a Kobber."
Griff scowled, his feathers rustling for a moment as he forced his composure back in place. "Well, we must honor our contracts, of course. May I ask WHICH Kobber you have signed up though?"
At that, the chairman of the board began to laugh, the first sound he had made since the meeting began, since anyone had seen him in the building. Even Griff turned towards the sudden, booming laughter as the man stood up.
"Oh, I was quite surprised to hear she even entered our little rumble," the chairman said, arms clasped behind his back. "I invited her to participate in our local Pokemon League while she was here to do some work for me, but she must have misunderstood me and joined in the fighting league for people!"
Chairman Rose Wyndon, owner of The Echolux Crucible and its primary sponsor Macro Cosmos, looked out the window and down at the nearly-disassembled ring, fondly remembering the young woman who had come to Argo to study Pokemon and stumbled her way into a 40-person battle against Argo's best potential talent.
"Yes, maybe someday you'll get to meet our newest battler, Mister Griff. I'm sure even you would get along well with her.
Ms. Margit Rosenqvist."
