Chapter 1: Broken Beginnings

Vocal Log #14 | Date: March 15, XXXX, 2:15 PM

Today is the day. Today is the day that we finally see the fruits of our labor come to fruition. It's been roughly three years since we came to Proverbs. I and the rest of the crew were practically slaving away to ensure that Dr. Grysmalk's ambitions were made a reality. Though I'll admit, Proverbs got it real bad when the Grimm came along and wrecked the town. I'm surprised that its even got people still living there since that moment. I've been thinking… about the boy that we picked up. No normal human being should have been able to survive being maimed like that. Add onto the fact that the dog-type Grimm we designated as Hellhounds, have neurotoxic saliva in their fangs, the extra painful variety. Either this kid's aura is extremely powerful, or his will to live and survive are damn near supernatural. Well, I'm not gonna fret too much about it. Though I will ask him when he wakes up from his slumber. This is Dr. Yzoc Ban signing off."

Another log out of the way. More logs than I thought I would make than when we tagged along with Virgo. Grys was very adamant about having the protection of Virgo on our side, especially since what we do is technically illegal if we turned to Atlas or Beacon. Unlike androids, what we do may very well be considered black magic, playing God; turning humans into living machines. I'll be honest, I was unsure about reaching out for help, both physically and financially, but we were lacking options at the time. But now my conviction is steadfast, and I am ready for what the future, my future, our future, holds for us.

Yzoc walks through the double doors of the research and development team of Virgo's base camp. He rubs his rugged face and yawns as he enters a room lit with nothing but the glow of computer monitors and a large coffin containing a teenage boy hooked up with wires and a rebreather tube. The coffin was filled with a gelatinous green liquid, and was outfitted with an overlay of various medical information including his heart rate, blood pressure levels, brainwave patterns and more.

"How's he holding up, Blair?" said Yzoc as he turns his sleepless eyes towards one of the young scientists near the coffin.

Blair turned to Yzoc with sharp, amber eyes that could kill if they were daggers.

"So far, his vitals are reading properly," she replied. "It's been stable thanks to the bio-gel that we've been using. So far me, Tanner, Obex, and Criss have been carefully documenting his records in case there were extreme incidents."

"Were there any?"

"Other than a few psych spikes in the brainwave patterns, he's been fine."

"Well, it seems like our nameless patient has been dreaming. Though I would assume if he's been having any nightmares, the anesthetic properties of the gel would remedy that, right?"

"Beats me…"

Yzoc lets out a long sigh.

"You are the lab techs here. You should know what everything does before we commit to these kinds of experiments. The last thing I want is Dr. Grysmalak to get on our asses for nearly killing this kid."

Everyone in the lab took a quick glance at Yzoc, only to hang their heads in guilt towards their keyboards and monitors.

"Tell ya what," said Yzoc. "I'll treat all of you guys to some coffee once are done here. And don't worry, I'm paying for it just so as long you don't make any ridiculously long orders. I know we're a skeleton crew, but we are all the best around here and should strive to be the best. Got it?"

"Yeah!"

The entire lab team cheered in unison.

"But what if we drink tea?" said the smirking Obex.

"… Shut up, Obi," said Yzoc with a sharp glare.

While all the fanfare was happening, the young boy's eyes were flickering open from his long slumber. Julia, one of the other lab techs took notice of the boy's awakening and started to hail Yzoc for his attention.

"It's time!" Julia shouted.

"I guess so," said Yzoc. "Can't believe that Grys is gonna miss this opportunity. Old codger probably overslept again…"

"Isn't he roughly the same age as you?"

"Yeah, but his personality makes him out to be an old man with a young body; very mature."

"Ah."

Yzoc stood in front of the coffin, practically staring at the boy as he was waking up.

"Drain it," he commanded.

"Draining the coffin," said Blair.

The coffin was starting to drain the fluid that was preserving the boy in stasis. The klaxon of the alarm sounded throughout the R&D department of the base. In the midst of the draining process, a small group of people start filling into the lab, one of them being Tobel Grysmalak. Tobel hurriedly sprinted to the lab, dressed only with his shoes, pants, and his lab coat. He rushed through the double doors of the lab where everyone was crowding around the coffin. Yzoc, wryly smirking, turned to Tobel's exhausted expression. He knew that Tobel was up all-night finalizing the plans for his cyborg project. However, it didn't stop him from cracking a few jokes at Tobel.

"Well then, the man who would be late to his own child's birth finally arrives," said Yzoc.

"Oh can it, you wouldn't be there at all if you cared that much," said Tobel. "So, I take it that he's finally waking up after all these years?

"Yeah. It's about time that we see the culmination of our efforts coming to fruition. All while saving a life in the process."

"I know it will be tough for all of us, but for the sake of Trismagia, we cannot afford to lose anything. Not now, not ever. And if we can succeed in liberating Proverbs and other locations neighboring it, Virgo will officially add us to their R&D Department.

"You just wanna get close to Commander Starkheim, don't you?"

"…I-If that's how you want to put it…"

Tobel struggled to answer Yzoc's observation out of fear for admitting his intentions.

"You have only talked to her through audio communications since our partnership with Virgo," said Yzoc. "One of these days, you will have to see her face-to-face and not rely on me as the messenger of joy and good tidings. If you don't take that step, then someone else will."

"I know… but what if I screw it up with Illya?" said Tobel. "I dunno what I would do with myself if I do something wrong. I'm a faunus, so that's one mark on the 'scale of rejection,' I'm not as experienced with women like you, Yzi [pronounced similar to Izzie], and above all else, I only have smarts and conviction."

"You'll cross that bridge when you get there, Grys. No need to get worked up about what-ifs. And the reason why I have experience with women is because I got rejected and learned how to move on."

The coffin drained completely. The alarms murmured as it started to unlock and unhinge. It slowly opened, revealing the boy's polymerized body in stark nakedness. Though Obex had some concerns of his own, cutting into Yzoc and Tobel's conversation.

"I'd hate to break up your lover's hotline chat, guys, but what happens if he freaks out?" said Obex. "You think that being asleep for three years only to wake up with a robot body wouldn't make him mark out, but when he sees for himself…"

Yzoc, Tobel and the rest of the lab techs in the room stare at each other in bewilderment. It was at their realization that they would have to come up with a sound explanation as to how he got this way in the first place; a situation of luck and finesse that would truly test the Science Team: Trismagia. They suddenly looked at Obex, then at the drained coffin. They all responded with a collective thought:

"Oh shit..."

The boy opened his eyes, scanning his entire surroundings to notice a wealth of unfamiliar faces and setting. It was when his eyes trailed downward that evoked a quiet, yet tense reaction from the entire lab. He looked at his hands and noticed his body was connected with metal joints and various interconnecting parts. For a moment, he took in a deep breath until…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

His scream bellowed throughout the lab, letting the acoustics intensify his reaction fivefold.

"What… what the hell happened to me?" the boy said with tears streaming down his face. The entire lab went silent.