Saturday, April 10th*
4:00 pm Remnant Time
Merlot Island
Sanus
Remnant
3rd Person POV:
Cold. Desolate. A perfect shelter from the rest of the world.
These are the observations Sander Blanco makes as he stares at the rocky beaches of the island he had just recently landed on. His search started when he could remember his mother's past, and he had become obsessed with learning more about his whole family. While he can remember some things about who his grandparents are, it's not enough.
Sander does not usually obsess about many things, but at least knowing what happened to the last members of his family is something worth knowing about. And right now, the last man who would know the fate of his grandparents is the man they trusted more than anyone else in his life; Dr. Merlot, founder of the late Merlot Industries. Once that revelation was reached, Sander spent weeks searching through all the databanks on anything regarding the works of Merlot Industries. The company, with its focus on "building a better tomorrow," was able to discover more about genetics and advance the creation of artificial intelligence than any other corporation in Remnant's history… but their reputation went downhill after the notorious Mt. Glenn disaster. Most of the chief staff died in the massacre, resulting in the entire company to shut their doors permanently.
But Sander has come to believe that Dr. Merlot didn't die in the tragedy. If there's good one the young Jedi Knight has to say about the obsessive scientist, it's that he is a man who always prepares for when his ideas go sideways. Once Sander came to that conclusion, he spent weeks reaching out through the Force to try and find him. While the search has become tiresome, he did manage to feel a weakening presence on a distant island outside Sanus.
Of course, his secrecy didn't last. During his first year as a Huntsman-in-Training at Beacon Academy, he became one of the most popular boys in the whole academy and made many friends; the closest being his team, Team SPAM, along with Teams JNPR and RWBY. Of course, people were shocked when it became common knowledge that he and Yang Xiao Long, who is considered one of the hottest girls, were close friends, but then many of those same people became (and still are) outraged when they found out the duo started their own relationship. What those people didn't realize was that like Sander, Yang is strong with the Force and it was only with her support that he survived the many challenges that arose during their time at Beacon, such as the day that his mother died; hard to believe that it was only eight months since that fateful day. After being constantly grilled by said friends for a week, he caved and told them his idea.
All of his friends, especially Yang, became suspicious and concerned, but they eventually decided to let him go. Then, after days of gathering the needed food for what could be a prolonged trip and wearing the same attire he wore during the infamous last stand of the White Fang, with some minor changes, Sander rented a speed boat and spent the last few hours riding to the very island he is at now.
As Sander gets off his speed-boat, which he docks at a shabby wooden dock that looks like it was built centuries ago, with a large, tattered wooden gate on his left. Sander shakes his head, amazed that the gate is even holding up, before walking to the right, towards a narrow opening that leads further into the island. Suddenly, he stops in place and closes his eyes, listening intently for any disturbance. At first, nothing. Then his eyes snap open and pulls his most trusted lightsaber, which he named Star Blaster, off his new black leather belt and activates it. The white lightsaber activates and he lifts it up to block the incoming strike.
The lightsaber clashes with the center of a red bo-staff with dangerously sharp blades on each end that have glowing blue tips. Holding the weapon is a red robot a whole head taller than Sander, with thick red armor plating, black under-armor plating, and blue stripes running across his body. But the most notable aspect of the android is that in the center of its thick chestplate is a familiar symbol; the symbol of Merlot Industries. "Where the hell did you come from exactly?" Sander asks, confused. Never once in his search did he come across any evidence that Merlot owned any factories that mass-produced robots.
The robot doesn't speak, just pushes with all its might against Sander. The young Jedi then hears the sound of another approaching robot right behind him, and he smirks. He jumps upward with all his might, spinning backwards and narrowly avoiding a wide sweep by the second android that tried to ambush Sander. The attack leaves a deep gash in the first robot's armor. It recovers from the strike and after they turn towards Sander, they charge forward. Smirking, Sander de-activates the lightsaber and uses his thumb and index finger on his right hand to twist the nob at the bottom of the weapon. He lifts his other arm, his cybernetic arm, to block another slash from the nearest robot before lifting Star Blaster up to its face, in shotgun mode. He fires instantly, and the Dust bullets cause the robot's head to be severely damaged and recoil. The Jedi then leaps into the air, changing the weapon once more. When he is falling back to the ground, he swipes his double-edged dark gold sword and cuts the damaged robot's head off. The body falls to the ground, sparking. As Sander stands up again, he notices the other robot fast approaching. It gets into a solid stance and jabs its spear at Sander, only for him to dodge the attack and stab the sword through its head. The machine whirs in protest before finally shutting down.
"Well," he says, brushing some dirt off his thick black jacket, "I guess this won't be a quiet trip after all. Suckers." As he proceeds towards the passageway, he finally notices the great number of crates lying around, all of them bearing the mark of the Schnee Dust Company. "I should have known that Jacques was a supplier of Merlot. That stuck-up bastard certainly has a way of finding the shadiest partners. Weiss, you really a long way to go to fix everything he's screwed up." He mutters with sadness, then walks through the small tunnel to the other side, where a metal gate is blocking the way to a giant warehouse with a water route.
"This is too easy." Sander states, then walks towards the pad-locked gate. Using his cybernetic arm, he crushes the aging metal chains and proceeds to pull the gate open. Walking through the gateway, he walks to the shut metal gate. "Curious. Where are you hiding, Merlot?" He asks as he holds his human hand and lifts it up. The gate immediately responds, lifting up until it reaches the top. Casually, Sander strolls through the aged entryway to the warehouse, which has a connection to the ocean.
All around him are crates that contain various symbols and crests, such as Beacon Academy, Schnee Dust Company, and… Sander looks on with sadness when he notices a wooden crate in the corner bearing red lightning in the middle of a black circle; the symbol of Blanco Energy Company's famous engines. It is truly sad that the pioneers of engine-building died along-side Merlot Industries in the Mountain Glenn tragedy. Sander walks to the other side of the warehouse, then uses the Force to pull the door open once more.
But this time, when he does that, a band of eight Beowulves charge forward, led by an Alpha Beowulf. "Whoa!" He shouts in shock, jumping backwards and somersaulting before landing on his feet. "Fuck, that was close. Looks like you boys need a fight." He then twists the nob at the bottom once more, and the movable parts start shifting into place, changing into his lightsaber. He activates it and stabs it into the nearest Beowulf's head, making it disintegrate into black smoke. He then swings the saber in a 360 motion in a mere second, cutting in half four more Beowulves. Another three charge at Sander, but he uses the Force to hold them in place, allowing him to throw the lightsaber like a boomerang, cutting off their head before turning to face the Alpha. It roars in fury, before charging forward. Sander also charges forward, holding his lightsaber blade out in front of him. The elder Grimm lets out a battle cry and slashes to the left, but Sander knew about the attack. He ducks under the slash and slashes at its stomach. It lets out a cry of pain before slashing at him once more, only for Sander to jump over the arm and lunge past its head. Star Blaster cuts the Grimm's head off and the corpse falls to the ground, its corpse turning to smoke.
"Nailed it." Sander says, keeping Star Blaster activated in case more Grimm decide to show up. "Next time, keep in mind that I know every attack you make before you make it." He adds, tapping his head before moving on. In addition to learning about how to be a proper Huntsman through fighting and studying, he also learned that through his mother, Salem, he has access to several abilities, such as feeling every impulse the Grimm has; whether it is charging, lunging, tunneling under the ground, or even slashing at opponents, Sander can feel it all.
The Huntsman-in-training walks along the rocky pathway before arriving at a run-down tower, with massive green pipes on either side, along with a yellow crate bearing Beacon's crest. Suddenly, Sander stops when he feels a light vibration in the top pocket of his khaki pants. "What the hell? I thought I'd be way too far out to be getting any good reception." Sander says before pulling out his Scroll. The caller ID is listed as 'Unknown.' "Huh. Well, here goes nothing." Sander then pushes the 'Call' button and puts it on speaker.
"Ah, nice to finally talk to you. You are my first guests since… well, you are my first guest." The caller on the other line says with a casual air about him.
Sander stares at his Scroll in shock before laughing slightly. "Well, well, well. I finally get to take to the great Dr. Merlot."
"So, you know who I am." He asks, a hint of surprise in his voice.
"Oh, yes I do. In fact, I came here to talk to you in person." Sander replies crisply, noticing the setting sun. He wants to return to Beacon as soon as possible; this island is starting to give him the creeps.
"Have you, now? Well, I will answer anything you wish to know about, my mysterious guest. But not here. Make it to my base in the center of the island, and assuming you survive the Grimm and my own army of androids, I shall reward you with knowledge. See you then, chum." The call then cuts off and like that, Merlot is gone.
"Shit." Sander mutters, putting the Scroll back in his pocket. He then looks straight ahead, to a massive field where large pillars of steam are rising in the air. Before the Jedi can proceed onward, he feels a slight tremor in the ground. "Oh, boy. Only Creeps can do this." He then somersaults backwards, avoiding getting eaten by an Alpha Creep as it burrows out of the ground, slamming its mouth shut. The lizard-like Grimm then turns towards Sander and growling. Seconds later, another two dozen Grimm, led by another Alpha Creep, come running towards him, all of them roaring with blood lust.
The young Jedi sighs before lifting up his hands and concentrating on the Force. At first, he feels his connection to the Force deepen, until he feels that boiling of energy inside him. Sander concentrates heavily to repress that power once more since he has no true knowledge on its limits, until he hears a small voice speaking in his head. It's almost impossible to tell, but the voice seems feminine and vaguely familiar.
"Aren't you curious as to what you can achieve with your gifts? For one moment, let go and reap the rewards."
To Sander's surprise, he feels himself loosen his ever-present grip on the mysterious power. Once the army of Creeps passes through the shadow of the cliff-side on the right due to the setting sun, a thick black mist forms along the ground, within the massive shadow. The Creeps begun sinking into the shadowy ground. The Grimm screech in pain as they dissolve into the black mist and disappear without a trace. Slowly, Sander looks down at his hands in shock. "What in the world?" He mutters shakily, before clenching his fists. "No. I will worry about it later; my mission comes first." He then walks towards the narrow path that the Creeps came from, following the long pipes until he reaches the other side.
"Whoa." Sander mutters, staring out at the barren, rocky fields. The pipes continue to travel down the narrow pathway along with numerous processing tanks and crates bearing the Merlot Industries logo are lying on their side, but lying on the ground, their glow visible even in the setting sun, are puddles of a strange green fluid. "Okay, it's official. This place smells worse than our toilet after Taco Tuesday, and I didn't think it was possible. Penny Goodwitch, why didn't you tell us that Alec has an addiction for tacos… with extra helpings of beans, no less? Gods, we had to vacate our dorm until the stench went away. Best stay away from those pools." He then starts running towards the massive mountain looming in front of him, through the narrow pathway and scooting around the pools, even using the Force to jump over a busted pipe letting out steam, until he reaches a massive distillery planet, with dozens of tanks filled with the same green fluid and three more pools on the ground. But this time, the path is hampered by more steam.
"Oh, great. Here I go." Sander mutters, then notices a valve on the far right. Deciding that it would be worth a shot, Sander walks towards the valve. But before he can turn it, he feels a monstrous presence behind him and he whirls around. His eyes widen in horror when he witnesses a Beowulf crawling out of the pool, but instead of a normal Alpha Beowulf, it has dozens of spikes on its back and they are all glowing the same neon green as the liquid. It roars before charging forward. While Sander was able to act on instinct and roll under the mutant Beowulf's legs before it could slash, he is still disturbed by how he couldn't feel anything from the Grimm. Luckily, Sander was able to jump as high as he can and after whirling around to face the Grimm's back, points his cybernetic hand at the Grimm's back and a spear of bright yellow fire shoots forward and impales the Grimm through the back. He then manipulates the fire to wrap around the Grimm's neck, making it shriek in pain as Sander pulls out Star Blaster still in sword-mode and stabs it in the Grimm.
It lets out a final whimper of pain before falling to the ground, dead. Sander has no time to celebrate his victory before he notices a dozen Mutant Creeps drinking from the substance at the base of the cliff he's on, scraps of more red androids, along with a few white androids, lying on the ground. "Heh. They won't see this coming." Sander says, then conjures a five-feet long spear made of glowing yellow fire and thrusts it at the closest. The Mutant Creep shrieks in pain from getting stabbed before shaking violently. Seconds later, it explodes and sets off a chain reaction with its comrades, who also explode and cause small green and black mushroom clouds to rise into the air. "That was fucking spectacular**. Though it may have been unnecessary." Sander rubs his chin in thought before shrugging and returning to the valve.
He then twists it to the right, with some resistance since it is extremely old, though Sander has no difficulty. After a long moment, the steam that hindered his progression was gone. Smirking at his progression, Sander runs along the pipes, taking the left path. Once he reaches the other side, he notices three Mutant Beowulves charging towards him. "Didn't I just leave this party?" Sander asks before switching Star Blaster over to its lightsaber form and activating it, allowing him to slash at the Beowulves. He cuts one of the Beowulves' legs off then proceed to stab it in the back of the head, before swinging it around and cutting off the head of the second. The third one manages to slash at Sander's back, but he channels his Aura into the Dust-infused blue bandana on his right arm and creates a brief force field around himself, stopping any harm. As the monstrosity of a Grimm is dazed, Sander lunges forward and thrusts the lightsaber into the Mutant's chest. The two topple backward and the Grimm anchors itself into the ground as it begins dissolving into nothing, the green liquid starting to separate from the black smoke.
To the Jedi's horror, his dark golden Aura flares up upon contact with the liquid as it seeps into the crevices of the rocky ground. "Okay, seriously. What even is this stuff?" Sander asks, incredulous.
Sander continues running down the narrow rocky path until he reaches a boxed-in area, with metal plates lying on the ground and forming a square shape, with the path being blocked by more steam. Before Sander can find the valves, he watches as six glowing-blue orbs appear in the air before they disappear and are replaced by three red androids wielding their bo-staffs and three white androids, which are much bulkier and wielding miniguns. "That's it. You're not going to stop me from doing what I came here to do." Sander shouts before using every ounce of his physical training to run towards the steam, barely dodging the androids as the red androids try to slash at him and the white androids lob grenades at him. Then, in one fluid motion, the Jedi leaps towards the left cliff-side and using the cliff as a springboard, leaps to the pathway on the other side of the steam barricade, leaving a band of angry androids on the other side.
Smirking in triumph, Sander starts running down the metal bridge that is suspended over the largest pool of the green substance yet. After a long minute, he reaches the end of the pathway and jumps into the air, spinning three times, before landing at the bottom. He then stands up and looks at the massive gates that lead into the looming mountain, which is glowing with the sun as it finishes setting. As Sander makes his way towards the massive gate, it suddenly starts lifting up. The Jedi Huntsman-in-training stops in place and pulls out his sword, ready for what else is to come. Sure enough, as the door finishes lifting up, the largest Deathstalker Sander has ever seen in his life, even bigger than the ones he met during his journey to Mistral over a decade ago, crawls out. As if that wasn't enough, it bears the green highlights of a Grimm who was infected by the same green substance that is abundant on the island, topped up with a glowing green stinger. "Well, I'm looking forward to this." Sander says, already formulating a plan on how to dispose of the enemy in front of him as he transforms Star Blaster into lightsaber form. The mutant roars in challenge but simply remains where it is, its pincers snapping violently and what seems to be a glowing green foam forming in its mouth. Sander gets into a fighting stance and makes the 'your move' gesture. Angered at the taunt, the Grimm charges forward at the fastest speed it can go, smashing through metal pipes filled with the green substance as it goes. But Sander simply stands there, waiting. When the Deathstalker is just about on top of him, Sander slashes upward and cuts off before slashing downward. The mutant Grimm screeches in pain as both pincers are sliced off in one swing. In an effort to take down Sander, several large green spikes fly out from the stinger and try to kill the Jedi. Sander dodges all but one of the spikes, but his Aura manages to stop any severe damage from happening. He then runs at the Grimm and uses its head as a springboard to leap higher into the air. In mid-air, he swings the lightsaber around and severs the stinger from the tail.
It screeches in pain as the stinger punches through its bone armor, severely damaging its main body. Concentrating heavily, Sander charges forward and stabs the blade into its mouth while it is flailing around. The mutant lets out a fainter screech before collapsing to the ground and dissolving into black smoke. Sander lets out a smile of triumph before falling to one knee, panting heavily. He hears a whooshing around them and as he looks around him, the world transforms. Instead of just being a barren island with the sun setting, he sees the barren fields, strange purple crystals sitting on the ground and glowing. The sky above him is dark and overcast, with ashes colored like blood raining from the clouds above. "What in the…" He asks, before feeling a new presence. He turns toward the entrance where the mutant Deathstalker came from, and sees the silhouette of three human-shaped people walking towards him. While two of them are tall and clearly men wearing loose-fitting clothes, one of their group looks more feminine and is wearing some kind of battle armor. He glares up at the man in the middle who is slowly approaching; he can't explain why, but Sander feels nothing but pure rage burning inside of him upon laying eyes on the approaching person. But as the shadowed person continues walking towards him, Sander drops to all fours and surprises himself by letting out a growl of anger. "Get out. Of my head." His voice is chillingly calm, but he holds out his hand. But something is wrong; the flame that dances on his palm is pitch black. The person stops walking, staring at Sander intently. "Get out!" He then shouts, glaring up at the man who takes a step back.
Sander then feels a strange prickling all over his body as he looks down at his natural hand, which is a deathly white color rather than his normally pale skin. The tiny flame erupts into a pillar of fire and rockets towards the trio. That is, until the world starts spinning around him and he falls to the side, the fire dying out before it can reach the strangers. When he pushes himself up onto one knee again, everything is normal again, and the trio are gone. "What is going on with me?" He asks as he looks down at his hands, still feeling that fury in him. He then closes his eyes and takes deep breaths, his mind drifting off to remember the best days as a student at Beacon Academy and especially the time he spent with his new girlfriend, Yang. Steadily, the rage goes away and dissipates altogether, but instead of relief, Sander feels absolutely confused. For the first time in years, he feels truly worried at why he felt such malice towards one person.
Unless it is… no, Sander swore to himself over a decade ago that he would never mention or even think about him again. The Jedi is broken from his thoughts when he hears lots of loud stomping behind him, and he turns around to see dozens of Merlot's androids of both red and white model charging towards him. Sander lets out a long groan of pain before pulling himself to his feet and running to the open entryway. He continues running through the doorway, past long catwalks until he reaches a set of crates that sit near the ceiling. Sander takes advantage of the idea that forms in his head and jumps on top of one of the crates. He then uses the lightsaber to cut a hole in the ceiling and after the circle is cut out, Sander jumps into the ventilation shaft. He then follows the Force's guidance and travels down the ventilation shaft. But after a minute, he hears the voice of the man he is looking for.
"Where did he go?" Dr. Merlot asks, more than a little anger in his voice. Sander crawls towards the ventilation shaft with filters on it, allowing him to look down upon the base. Sure enough, Dr. Merlot himself, wearing a grey jacket with pressed pants, a red shirt underneath the jacket, and a very noticeable replacement arm, is standing in front of a formation of his androids awaiting his command. Sander's natural hand starts shaking violently, but he places his other hand on it. After taking a deep breath, he crawls over the filter. It gives under Sander's weight and he falls to the ground. Before the androids could react, he grabs Dr. Merlot and holds him in front of the troops. "Don't fire!" He states, looking down at the ground in defeat.
Sander smirks as the androids follow their maker's orders, and walk away without speaking a word. When it is safe, Sander lets go of Merlot. The scientist turns around to face the Jedi. What surprises Sander slightly is how quickly Merlot's facial expression changes from anger at being corned to abject shock. "Sander Blanco. Well, I knew that some nosy Huntsman found my island, but I never realized it was you."
"And how do you know who I am exactly?" Sander asks, putting the de-activated lightsaber on his belt and crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well, I saw your performance at the Vytal Festival. Though connection to the CCT systems are horrible often, I wasn't going to miss such a big event. That, and you look so much like your… mother, it's almost scary."
Sander stares at Merlot, very interested in what he said and especially the tone he used. But that was beside the point. "That's actually why I'm here. I know that you have had contact with my grandparents, Jules and Elizabeth, years ago."
"Let's say, hypothetically, that you are correct. What exactly are you getting at?"
"Because I've seen your records. You're not the type of person who lets go of the past so readily. Because of that, I would like to know where I can find my grandparents." To prevent Merlot from getting any funny ideas, Sander lays a hand on his lightsaber.
The scientist notices the gesture, and his expression turns fearful and solemn. "I'm… sorry, but they're dead."
"What?"
"They died many years ago. I was with the family that day, helping them adjust to their new life after the incident at Mt. Glenn. Then they arrived; men in black robes wearing some skull-shaped necklace around their neck that was probably important to some superstitious nonsense they believed in. I tried to help them, but I was knocked out. When I came to, my arm was gone." He then looks down at his robotic arm with red highlights, similar to his cybernetic eye. "And your mother, Salem, was gone."
Sander listens to the story and extends his senses through the Force to penetrate the man's mind. Pain is the foremost emotion in the man's mind, as well as flashes of the fire and the black-robed men play in his mind. Not wanting to watch any more, Sander pulls out instantly and lets out a long sigh. While he was half-expecting this, the feeling of being truly alone slams into him like a monster truck traveling at 200 miles an hour. "I see. I suppose I was expecting that answer deep down. Was there… anything else that I need to be aware of?"
Merlot scratches his chin, a pensive expression on his face. But Sander can feel the amount of thought rolling around the man's mind; he's hiding something, and the Jedi will find out what. Subtly, he uses the Force to tilt the elderly man towards trusting Sander. "Yes. But if I do tell you, will you promise to leave me here on this island, in isolation?"
Sander lets out a forced smile. "Of course."
Merlot sighs, letting his hands fall to his sides before putting them behind his back. "Your grandfather was nothing short of a genius. He taught me everything I knew about technology, how to run a corporation, he even taught me how to think outside the box when my competition gains an advantage. But he had one secret that he never told anyone else in his entire life. The ability to create power cells that do not rely on any form of Dust and be much cleaner on the environment."
"I'm aware of their existence. So why are you…" Sander stops talking as he looks up at the glowing bulbs on the ceiling. "He did. Holy shit, he actually figured out how to make those energy cells. And you use them to power your facility day after day, don't you?"
Merlot just shrugs, though a small smile forms on his face. "Well, he did have a little help from yours truly, but yes. He did complete those cells. And I have the blueprints on my Scroll."
"Great. Could you send every file you have on the energy cells?" Sander asks, pulling out his Scroll. Merlot looks angry at being ordered to do these things, but he just sighs in defeat and pulls out his own Scroll. He types on it for several moments, with Sander watching the scientists warily to make sure he doesn't pull any funny moves. When he's done, a ding can be heard on Sander's Scroll and he opens the files that are now his. Even the Jedi has to admit; the designs of these energy cells are quite impressive; they could even get so powerful, just one would be able to sustain every system on an Atlesian airship for a certain period of time. "Thank you. While I didn't find what I was looking for, I found something to truly compensate for it." And it was true; the Jedi could feel the Force telling him to take the designs since the start of that part of the conversation started. "Don't worry, you won't be seeing me again."
But as Sander begins leaving the base and makes his return to the speed boat, Merlot runs out of the base. "Wait." Sander turns around, wariness on his face. "There's one last thing that I think you should know. It's about your mother. Even from a young age, I could tell there was something wrong with her. She looked and acted nothing like her parents, and I've heard that she took pleasure in turning friends against each other. She bore the traits of a brilliant CEO… of a psychopath**."
AN: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the prologue of Remnant's Rebels! For clarity, this story is the official sequel to 'Rise of the Jedi' and to 'Heart of Death' and those stories will be given their due respect. Whatever you do, please don't expect a structured update session for this story. I had just finished the prologue and decided to publish it now.
*I have no idea how time and dates are recorded on Remnant. But since Nora canonized the fact that days are structured the same way in RWBY as in real life (in Volume 5, which was an awesome volume), I decided to wing it and assume that the weeks and months are structured the same way. Even though we have no idea what year it is on Remnant when RWBY is taking place (maybe Miles will record it like 0 AFB [After the Fall of Beacon]).
**I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself with the Kingsman references.
I will see you all next time when things start getting more… intense.