I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that the original chapter 0 left a lot to be desired. Not much detail. That's what I'm talking about. In light of this, I have rewritten some of it to be more to my liking. You don't have to read this if you've already read the original, but I think newcomers might find this one better. Who knows, maybe I'll rerelease the original after the story's ended as a little look back to how it all started. Till then, enjoy Chapter 0 (2.0).

Chapter 0: Gnarled Beauty

"Everything has to be perfect."

A older man sat mumbling to himself in the small aircraft barren of other occupants beside the pilot. They zoomed through the air alongside four larger transports, two of which were filled with his associates. He instinctually reached over to press a button on his right to bring up a display of their progress before stopping it centimeters above. He almost let out at a laugh. He hadn't had a prosthetic in over 3 years. He flexed his right arm, showing himself the palm of his onyx hand.

This renewed his excitement once more. His progress was finally going to be recognized. The people of Remnant would now see the results of his experiments. Words failed to describe the joy coursing through him. and that's why he would except nothing but a perfect debut.

"Sir"

The man glanced up at the pilot who had turned his head to see him before returning to his vision to the sky.

"We are approaching the target, T-minus 2 minutes."

"Good," the man said more to himself then in reply. "Almost time."

The man once more reached to press his right arm and stopped again. This time he did let his laughter out. A long cackling echoed through the machine, echoing and compounding off the walls. The pilot didn't even flinch. This was just how the doctor was. It was a big day. After all…

Happiness is to be expected when your changing the world

..

Boom!

Security began rushing down the many bare hallways of the facility towards the noise, shouting through their radios for confirmation on the exact location of the explosion. Directing the forces, those in the main security office told them that armed forces were moving in from 2 gaps in the south walls of cell blocks F and G from previously cloaked airships. The security stationed there were being easily overwhelmed from the unexpected attack, needing back-up immediately.

Warden Garon Sterling burst into the office, a serious and angry expression on his face.

He wasn't a very tall man. Measuring in at 4'10", most people would definitely describe him as stout. Not in the fat sense though. The muscles filling out his blue suit jacket were proof enough of that fact. His brown combed back hair had begun adding gray to the picture, making them the only feature showing his age.

"How did this happen?" he yelled while sweeping his eyes across the room, searching for someone to direct his ire to.

The room was filled with men and woman at desk speaking into headsets trying to get a read on the situation from the multiple reports coming in. Beside the large monitor on the far center wall of the room, not a computer was unused at the moment. The chatter didn't end when the warden appeared, but the security chief moved away from talking to one of the desk jockeys to meet the warden at the door.

"I don't know sir," the chief of security says, attempting not to wilt under the warden's gaze. The man may have been a good foot taller than his superior, but the authority the man exuded was enough to make a grimm whimper in fear. "Our sensors should have picked them up before they ever got close. It should be impossible for this to have happened."

"I know that!" Sterling declares making an exasperated motion with his hands. "Tell me something I don't! Who are they!? How'd they get through our sensors undetected?! And who do we have stored in those areas?"

Directing these questions to the room rather then any individual, his eyes roved the office waiting for someone to answer him.

After an eternity passed in ten seconds, one man waved his hand to get the warden's attention. A few quick strides and Sterling was at his desk. The man didn't wait for the warden to ask questions. He'd worked here long enough to know Sterling expected efficiency above all else. Wasting time waiting for a request that would never come was ill-advised, so he began laying out the details.

"In order of request, forces indicate the attackers are wearing strange masks but are still discernibly Faunus. They also where a symbol of an animalistic head with claw marks through it similar to, if not exactly like, the White Fang symbol. From what we can tell, there's no issue with the sensors themselves, so they somehow must have cloaking that makes our sensors useless. And finally, reports show no criminals of particular interest held in those blocks. However, we found that they both have the largest concentration of our faunus inmates then anywhere else in the facility. Approximately 50 faunus were recorded being held in them, but that report comes from 2 month ago."

He looked up from the screen to find the warden's already angry expression had turned sourer than before. Sterling turned his view toward the center monitor.

"Bring up security feeds on cell block F now!"

The man needed no further directions. He immediately went to work bringing up a live feed from one of the remaining cameras and putting it on the big screen. The monitor flicked to life and showed them a high view of the block, angled down from one of the walkways.

It was chaos. Rubble was scattered everywhere in various shape and sizes, bodies both friend and foe littered the floor perforated with wounds, fires had broken out at seemingly random areas along the ground and atop fallen cement, and the enemy was slowly cutting a swath through the now minimal defenders. Sterling watched this unfold passively, his mind working to find solutions to the problem that lay before him. those thoughts were stolen away from him when he appeared.

A single man had just strolled casually through the great hole in the wall. He was a lanky older man with white hair growing in strange tufts on his head, a white lab coat buttoned across his form and emblazoned with a M on its left breast, and a proud expression on his face. he stood tall, surveying the seen with disgusting satisfaction. However, the most distinguishing feature he had were two pure golden eyes that seemed to burn in their sockets. Those eyes enlisted a disturbing feeling of familiarity within the warden, but he couldn't figure out why.

"Friends," came a surprisingly smooth voice from the man. "I… am Doctor Merlot. I have come to bring good tidings of great joy and scientific revelation to you on this day, our debut appearance."

As he spoke, two masked faunus joined him moving to either side. They were somehow different from the other currently pushing back the institution's defenses even though their uniforms were the same. They seemed to give off a distressing, almost withering aura. The man continued speaking, now smiling, and apparently blissfully unaware of the presence those beside him presented.

"Rejoice! For, after years of research, I am merely steps away from attaining the goal of a perfect world. A world where man, woman, and faunus have reached the pinnacle of evolution! A world where discrimination is meaningless, and all are equal! But words are cheap. Allow me to present the truth!"

With that, the two men beside him stepped forward and changed. Black ooze flooded out of seemingly every orifice, congealing and forming around the men. As it solidified, chunks of white and red bone seeped out or pierced the skin, covering the body in a horrifically familiar way.

Where two faunus stood were now to large grimm, but something was wrong. Their forms were misshapen. One's entire lower body was underdeveloped along with the right arm. The upper body sans right arm was bulging with muscle with the left arm somehow holding up the entire form surprisingly straight. The face was akin to a silverback, but the features were so warped in comparison one might've wished the connection was never made.

The other was a completely different case. Its body had the appearance of a sickly beowolf. The black 'skin' clung to whatever thin form was beneath it tightly. Long, sharp ribs, shoulder spikes, knee spikes, and claws protruded from its body in what had to be a painful manner. It was hunched over with claws lightly scraping the floor as is gazed hungrily around the room. Its long bony snout that look like the ooze forgot to cover lolled out a long tongue, drool dripping to the ground.

Sterling realized in horror why the mans eyes bothered him so. They were the eyes of a grimm. Pure gold with a shred of any other color. The revelation didn't comfort him, nor was he glad he made the connection.

The man known as Merlot looked upon the gnarled, disgusting bastardizations of grimm with the pride of a parent. Wearing his widest smile yet, the man spoke loudly once more.

"Now, my compatriots," he said addressing his forces." Make way for your brothers to free your lost allies. Let us together show the world the perfection it spurned so long ago!"

They didn't need any more warning. As they stopped firing, the two things rushed forward far faster than they had any right to. The wolf creature dashed through the facilities remaining defenses, cleaving a bloody and gore filled wave wherever it went. The gorilla put itself down on its miniscule legs and used its massive arm to hurl the larger pieces of rubble at the officers on the catwalk. One of the shattering rocks launched a chunk into the camera they were observing the situation from and the screen went snowy.

Silence filled the room as every man and woman was frozen in shock at what they had just witnessed. The warden slowly brought himself to his senses and looked at the man at the desk he'd talked to earlier.

"Get me that feed back right now! I don't care how!"

This snapped the man out of his stupor, and he accessed the main monitor once more. He quickly shifted to one of the functioning cameras. It had barely been half a minute, but the scene that greeted them was different.

The room was caked in blood. Stone was imbedded in stone and mush that was almost certainly once a living being. Cell doors were either open or ripped off their hinges, and faunus in prison jumpsuits were making their way to the opening in the wall along with those in uniform. The creatures had shifted back to their previous forms, but the carnage they inflicted was a hideous reminder of what lurked beneath said forms. This was only more apparent by the fact their bodies were dyed crimson in the blood of others.

As the last few faunus exited the area, Merlot looked at the space, a dark destroyed reflection of a once pristine cell block, and bowed.

"You have been a wonderful audience," he stated. "Keep your eyes toward the future, else you'll miss the signs that perfection is nigh."

With that, he turned and once more strolled through the hole, disappearing.

Garon didn't ask about cell block G. He already knew what had taken place there. Instead, he made his way back to his office, picked up his phone, and made a call. The line rang only once before a feminine voice came through.

"Atlas Military Intelligence," she stated simply.

"This is Warden Garon Sterling of the Atlas Central Criminal Istitute. I need to speak with General Ironwood immediately. It is a matter of the utmost importance."

There was a pause, a click, and a new voice emanated from the speaker.

"This is General James Ironwood," the voice said in a neutral tone.

"General," Garon said forcing himself to keep his composure. "There's been an attack on the institute. It was made by the White Fang who released approximately 50 faunus prisoners, though that number has yet to be confirmed. Casualties on our side have yet to be determined, but I know they were far too many."

There was a long silence on the other end before the general spoke.

"How?"

The warden inhaled and prepared to retell the events of the last ten minutes to the general. This was going to take a while, and Garon was not looking forward to it.

Well I like this one a lot better. You can also read Chapter 1 now. Halfway through writing it and 2 I decided to do this. Little strange but hey, let it never be said I claimed to be a sane person. Have fun.