Continued from here
@cryptidsncurios
At first he just froze, wide eyed. Disappointed? No progress? Russell had never seen Kimbley looking at him like that before, like he was completely worthless, a waste of time, disposable. Someone who could just be dismissed after so much time pouring over notes, researching late into the night, and countless experiments that he was certain would bring them closer toward their goal.
But as the papers scattered to the floor, that stunned silence shifted to tightly gritted teeth and a sharp glare as a mixture of panic and a heated rejection of Kimbley's harsh words set in. He wasn't a failure, and he'd prove it. He needed this! There was no one else who'd seen his father's notes and knew the material like Kimbley did. He may not enjoy this man's company, but Russell respected his knowledge and abilities, and if he was completely honest with himself, he knew he needed him.
Never letting his tempestuous scowl falter, he automatically gathered up the closest of the fallen papers and slapped them onto the desk with a resounding thump. Pointing an accusatory finger at Kimbley, he retorted, "If you don't see it, then you're not looking! I've found ways to crystalize the red water faster, more safely, and in larger stones! They're more powerful than when we started and there hasn't been a single rebound!"
But the increase in power was minimal, and there was very little progress on increasing the stones' stability. And if he couldn't improve that, the red water stones were still unreliable over extended periods of time. That wasn't enough, and he knew it. There had to be more, something he was missing. Something that Nash hadn't written down and that he and Fletcher hadn't uncovered back in Xenotime. But he had no idea what it was or where to look for the answer. Even so, no amount of throwing that back in his face would stand in his way of finding out, and he wasn't taking a single step out of the Devil's Nest unless it would lead him closer to that discovery. For Fletcher's sake.
"I just need more time," he huffed. But he refused to beg. Kimbley may be cold, but that didn't mean he couldn't be reasoned with. "If I can find that one missing ingredient, and we'll have a stone equivalent to the real thing. And when I find it," with a heavy, determined emphasis on the word, "we won't need to track down a philosopher's stone to have the same level of alchemical power. It's just not in the notes, but I'll find it!" Without knowing how a philosopher's stone was created, he had little that he could compare their current process with, but that didn't mean it was impossible. It just meant more sleepless nights, more experiments, and taking risks he hadn't considered before. But he'd do it if he had to.
