When Daniel Abaddon was a small child, he dreamt of becoming the next Raziel Solomon. Who is well known in the scientific community for his break-through work with mankind greatest asset against the Grimm; Dust.
Because of Solomon ingenious, new application for Dust were discovered. Advances in the fields of medicine, transportation, and engineering are due to his findings. Bringing in a new golden age for the kingdoms.
Before his unfortunate demise, Solomon was trying to discover the molecular structure of Dust, in hopes that it could be synthesis in a laboratory environment. But sadly Solomon was assassinated during a press conference, his assassin took his own life before he could be arrested and interrogated. Investigations were launched to discover the motive for the assassination. Solomon was buried in his hometown's cemetery.
Months of investigation turned up nothing, the assassin was a simple farmer with no history of mental disorder, or even having previous contact with the deceased Solomon. Though the investigation turned up nothing, it didn't stop people from coming up with their own theories for the assassination. Some believed it to be a government conspiracy, while other believed that the Dust companies wanted to silence Solomon before he can discover how to synthesis Dust which in turn would drive down the prices. The world will never know the motive for the assassination.
...
Years has passed since that fateful day, a young Faunus couples moved to the big city. They used to live in a frontier town mostly populated by Faunus, but due to recent Grimm attacks they decided to move to Vale; where they believed would be safe to raise their children.
When they arrived at Vale, they had only a few hundred Lien to their names. The only house they could afford was a small, one story house in the slums. The house was in disrepair, the roof would leak when it rained, the front door was a slab of scrap metal they found on the street, and all the windows were either cracked or broken.
Even though most people won't want to live in such conditions, the couple made the best out of their situation. They patched up the roof the best they can, though it will still leak but not as much as it did before. They left the cracked windows alone and covered the broken ones with cardboard.
Once everything was unpacked and they were settled in, the husband went to go apply for a job at the docks. Though it barely paid enough to support his family, he wouldn't dare complain as the supervisor was known to fire people for asking for a raise.
A month later his wife went into labor, and his son was born. They would name him Daniel Abaddon after his great grandfather.
...
Daniel would spend most of his childhood indoors as his mother didn't want him wandering around the slums. So at an early age Daniel began to read, he mostly read fantasy books that he checked out at his school's library. But over the years his interest swayed. One day he decided to read something else, he read his textbooks from school. He read each textbook from cover to cover, absorbing the knowledge they contained. His interest in the world of science was peaked.
He was determine to learn about the workings of the world. He returned his fantasy books and checked out Understanding of Dust and its Properties by Raziel Solomon, The Origin of Life by Michael Sur, The Great Unknown by Marcus Thomas, and many others.
...
Daniel graduated from high school two years earlier than his classmates. He was accepted to Vale University of Technology and Science at the age of eighteen with a full-tuition scholarship. In under four years he managed to earn multiple master degrees in science such as Bioinformatics, Medical science in Neurology, and science of Dust.
When he was studying to earn his science of Dust degree, he planned to follow in his idol's footsteps. He was determine to be the one to complete Solomon's work on the molecular structure of Dust.
As the days passed by, Daniel remember the book he once read as a child; The Great Unknown. Where it discussed the biggest mysteries yet to be solved, such as the origin of Dust, the origin of Grimm, the universe, and finally the brain. While many of the properties of Dust were discovered, no one knows where it came from or how it was formed. Information on the Grimm is scarce, we barely know about their life cycle. We have no clues why they are attracted by negative emotions, why they seek to destroy us and our creations, why they evaporate upon death, and we definitely have no idea where they came from.
Our knowledge of the universe is even scarcer than our knowledge of Grimm. We tried to launch satellites to space, but the Dust propelled rockets fail when they leave the atmosphere. Few observatories were built, but over the years they were destroyed by the Grimm. Seeing that they had to be built away from the city to avoid light population, and they have to be at high altitudes in order to avoid distortion of the starlight. Which meant they were built on mountaintops.
These observatories were perfect targets for the avian species of the Grimm such as Nevermore. After the destruction of the observatories, the kingdoms refused to build anymore; seeing them as a waste of resources and manpower. Thus ended Remnant space exploration, snuffed out in its infancy.
The final mystery explained in the book was the brain. We only had a basic concept of its functions and how it look like. Throughout history Man and Faunus work diligently to uncover the mysteries that surrounded the mind. But little progress was made.
He originally planned to devout his time to studying Dust, and hopefully discover the molecular structure of Dust. But now he plans to discover the inner working of the brain. The other two mysteries were unattainable at the moment, seeing as space exploration was no longer being pursed and studying of Grimm had a high mortality rate. He signed up for more classes that he felt will help him in his research. And through hard work and lots of sleepless nights Daniel managed to attain those degrees in under four years.
At his graduation, he heard from his fellow graduates that Atlas was recruiting people to work on a project that dealt with unlocking the secrets of the mind. Seeing a rare opportunity to completing one of his life goals, Daniel booked a flight to Atlas. After saying goodbyes to his parents and promising to keep in touch with them, Daniel left to Atlas.
...
The flight to Atlas from Vale took about six hours. The airbus was escorted by two heavily armed bullhead throughout the trip. Occasionally dealing with a few Nevermores or other avian Grimm.
Once the airbus landed at Atlas International Airport, Daniel hailed a cab after he retrieved his luggage. The cab dropped him off at the Seven Sanctum Corporation, a leading company in the medical industries and also the company in charge of the recruitment for the project. The Seven Sanctum Corporation headquarters was located in the business sector of Atlas, and lucky for Daniel there was a small motel across the street from the company.
After renting a room and dropping off his luggage, he took a quick shower and donned his best suit. He left the motel room with a briefcase in his right hand, which contain his resume and multiple degrees, and crossed the street. He enter the building and immediately headed to the receptionist.
"Excuse me Miss, I am here to apply for the program."
A frown grew on the receptionist face when she saw the man extra appendage on his head. "I am sorry sir, but Seven Sanctum Corporation has already recruited personnel required for the project."
"That must be a mistake, I called before I left and they told me that they were still recruiting and I could apply here." Daniel replied slightly agitated at the woman attitude and facial expression. The receptionist was quick to reply.
"I am sorry sir, but we are no longer recruiting and I must ask you to leave."
"Is there someone I can speak to?"
"Sir, I will not ask you again. If you refuse to leave I will be forced to call security." Seeing that he will get nowhere with her, he left the building. As he was exiting the building he heard the receptionist murmured," Good riddance filthy animal."
Well that was a waste of time, lucky he had a backup plan. The Schnee Dust Company was currently hiring researchers, and with their equipment Daniel was sure he can discover the molecular structure of Dust. With that in mind, he hailed another cab and asked the cab driver to drop him off at the Schnee Dust Company headquarter. The cab driver, a bear Faunus, warned him that the Schnee's private security force will not let him in.
He ignored the cab driver warning. As they arrived at the destination, the streets were clogged with protesters. Majority of the protestor were Faunus with a few humans among them. They carried picket signs with phrases such as "STOP THE DISCRIMINATION", "BETTER WAGES", and "WE ARE NOT SLAVES!"
Standing in front of the protestor in a straight line to block entrance to the property was the Schnee private security force. They were equipped with Kevlar armor, a gas mask, a metal helmet, and each of them carried a riot shield with a baton in their other hand. In the middle of the heavily armor group of men, was what Daniel believe to be the head of security.
Instead of carrying a baton and riot shield in his hands, he had a microphone. The closer they got to the site, Daniel was able to hear what the man was saying. "You are trespassing on private property, disband and leave at once!" The response from the protestor was more chanting for better wages.
Seeing the barely control chaos happening with eyes, Daniel asked the cab driver if the protestors were workers of the company. "Some of them are, but most of the protestors are from the White Fang. They set up protest and boycotts against companies and businesses that are known to discriminate against Faunus. A waste of time if you ask me, nothing will change."
Daniel paid the cab driver and thanked him for the ride. As he got out of the vehicle, the head security once again announce to the crowd that they were trespassing and must leave the private property. He walked passed the protestor, the private security tense up at his approach. "Sir, I need you to leave this is private property."
"I am here to apply for a job."
"I will not ask you again" as he said that one of the heavily armor men step forward. Daniel turned around and left. He didn't want the confrontation to turn ugly. Seeing the security force turn away a fellow Faunus, the protestors began more loudly in their protest. He walked down the sidewalk, no direction in mind as the Schnee Dust Company was his only backup plan.
After a while mindless wondering around, he decided to return at a later time when the protestors are gone. Hopefully then he will be allowed entrance. Instead of hailing another cab, he choose to walk back to the motel.
...
No luck today as the protestors were stay there. As they were there on the next day and the day after that. Knowing that there was a high possibility that the protestors will still be there today, he decided to call the Schnee Dust Company headquarters to get an appointment and hopefully they will tell the security to let him in.
He spent ten minutes waiting on call hold before he was finally transfer to the receptionist. "Hello this is Kelly, and you have reached the Schnee Dust Company. How should I place this call?"
"Hello, I am Daniel Abaddon and I was wondering if I could set up an appointment to go apply for a job"
"You don't need to set up an appointment. Just come on over to the Schnee Dust Company and apply."
"I tried to do that, but the security won't let me through."
"I see. Tell me what position are you applying for?"
"I heard you were hiring people for research and development."
"Okay, tell me something sir. Are you a Faunus or human?"
"What?"
"I said are you a Faunus or a human?"
"Why you must know this?"
"Just answer the question sir."
"Faunus" he answered and right away he was greeted by silence as the receptionist hung up the phone. He stared at the scroll in disbelief, then in a brief fit of rage he fling his scroll across the room where it bounce off the wall and bounce one more time on the floor before it came to a rest at the corner of the room. Taking a moment to calm down, Daniel began to rethinks his options. The Schnee Dust Company was a no go, bunch of racist pricks, where else can he go apply that will help him achieve his goals.
There was the Photon Group Inc., they are a medical equipment manufacturer and developer. While they weren't doing any studies about the brain, they certainly had the equipment which if he was lucky he could use for his own research. Then there was the MTC Corp., they are a small Dust company that hasn't been bought out by the Schnee yet. If the first option doesn't work out hopefully they will be hiring personnel.
...
He was deny entrance at the Photon Group Inc. and the MTC Corp. was just bought out by the Schnee. Coming to Atlas was a mistake, but he couldn't afford to head back to Vale and his meager amount of Lien was slowly running out. Unless he wanted to leave in the streets, he had to find employment somewhere.
The only places that were willing to hire a Faunus was at a diner owned by another Faunus, the mine quarry, or the sanitation department aka garbage collector. He decided to work at the diner, which so happens to be nearby the mines.
Most of their clientele were the miners that came to the diner after work for a quick meal. While he was serving their meals, he heard them complain about the low pay, and the long hours and unsafe working conditions.
Each day the miners will vocally paint a picture of their suffering. Maybe he should join the White Fang, and protest against all the injustice. As he was pondering this, the T.V which was normally on sports, was now on the news. Someone must have change the channel when he wasn't paying attention.
"We just received word that Mountain Glenn was overrun. The huntsmen and huntresses assigned there were overwhelmed and Vale councilmen decided to collapse the tunnels to prevent the Grimm from reaching Vale. Death tolls are unknown but they are estimated to be in the hundreds. We will bring you more coverage when more information comes up."
Silence was what greeted everyone, hearing the death of so many people was enough silence a packed diner. The silence lasted a few minutes before it was finally broken by someone." Hey Jerry isn't your brother a worker at that place." Jerry didn't respond as he quickly left the establishment.
...
News coverage of Mountain Glenn lasted for weeks. The official death counts was at two hundred and thirty six. An investigation was underway, and during that time Daniel decided to join the White Fang. And he stayed with them for forty years. Even when the White Fang decided to follow the path of violence, he stayed. Because of his old age he couldn't be used as a combatant. While he couldn't fight doesn't mean he was useless, because of his education and intellect he was given the position of weapon manufacturer.
He made explosives, ammunitions, and maintain the weapons of the White Fang. Their old base was an abandoned warehouse till it was compromised by a mole. Their new base was located in the wilderness. Then suddenly out of the blue, Adam made an alliance with a group of humans and ordered that we move our base to the old mines of Mountain Glenn.
Once it was cleared, Daniel began to set up shop and he was almost done when a low level grunt burst through the door. "Sir, Adam is assembling a task force. I was ordered to gather our best minds in the White Fang. Please report to the briefing room." As quick as the grunt delivered the message, he was gone, probably to tell more people about the meeting. He did noticed one thing as the grunt left and that was that he had something in his hand. He couldn't tell what the grunt had because it was covered in a red rag. Well he should head to the meeting, to see what the fess is about.
When he got to the briefing room, there was four other people there. One of them was Adam, and the other three were various members he saw around the base. He sat down on the nearest open seat as Adam began to discuss what the meeting is about. "Today the group I sent to map out the mines discovered something. A sealed room and inside that room was a peculiar object; a book. This book is the reason why you four have been summoned here. I need to analyze this book and it effects"
"What are these effects you spoke of sir?" person sitting next to him asked.
"This book seems to affect electronics, causing them to fail. They also seem to cause auditory and visional hallucination. I want you four to discover why, and I want you four to figure out how to reproduce these effects. One more thing, be sure to study this book in short durations as this book seems to have a psychological effect and I don't want any of my men to be driven insane. Understand your mission." After receiving multiple nods Adam continued," Good then you are dismissed."
...
They decided to set up shop at his workplace. The Dusts, ammunitions, and other miscellaneous where removed from the room. Before any work was done the men took turns saying their names, there field of studies, skills, and previous employment. Daniel was the first to go," My name is Daniel Abaddon, I have degrees in bioinformatics, medical science of neurology, and science of Dust. I know how to properly handle all Dust types and I am in charge of the White Fang weapon manufacturing and maintenance."
The Faunus to the right of Daniel was next to go," I am Wayne Michael, I have a master in psychology, and my previous employment was at Vale Asylum of the Criminally Insane as a Doctor's assistant."
The next guy's name is Dean Wick. He was a historian and an archaeologist, he spent most of his time studying fallen kingdoms. The last member of the group was a fox Faunus named Freeman Isaac, he was also a historian and he spent most his life translating documents that were written in dead languages.
With that out of the way, they immediately began working. They first removed the rag from the book to see firsthand the effects. As soon as the book was uncovered all the lights in the room went out. Indistinguishable whispers were heard by everyone in the room, they saw movement from the corner of their eyes. The whispers got louder and louder, they were almost deafening.
Wayne tried to cover the book, but Daniel stop him. He wanted to see what would happen next. Shadows began to accumulate at different points of the room. They were forming a vaguely human shape. Dean had his hands on his ears as the whispers which now became shouting grew to be too loud for him.
The breaking point was when eyes started forming on the book, Wayne quickly covered the book with the rag. The shadows creatures disappeared and the shouting voices went silent. The lights came back on after a moment. Dean left as soon as the lights came back on, his face was drain of color. The others were equally shaken, the only one who seemed unaffected was Daniel. He was beyond fascinated, never before had he ever encounter something this unnatural. Even the Grimm pale in comparison.
This book was the biggest discoverer to be ever made. If he can uncover all its secret, he will be forever remember in the pages of history. He moved forward to remove the rag, but he was stopped when Wayne's hand tightly gripped his wrist; stopping him from reaching the rag. "I believe this is enough for today, and remember Adam's order. We are not allow to study the book for prolong periods of time."
Daniel open his mouth to protest, but hesitated. Maybe he was right, he and the others should compare notes on what they experience to make sure they experienced the same phenomena. Yes that was a sound plan, he could always study the book in secret when the others have left. Now where did Dean left to? Judging by his facial expression he seen something that they haven't.