I don't own RWBY. I do however own the original characters.
I AM SOOOOO SORRY ABOUT THE WAIT GUYS! My computer was in the shop and I couldn't get it back before I had to leave for school, so I wasn't able to work on either of my stories for about six weeks.
Also, I know I said was going to work on Papa's Snowflake 2, (WHICH I STILL AM!), and update that story before this one, but I've hit partial-writer's block with it. I want to keep writing it, but right now my heart's not in it. I'm still working on it, but it will take more time than I originally thought. Thank you all who suggested plot ideas for me in the reviews for PS 2, you'll all be thanked again when I finally update it, (along with a special little scene to show my appreciation which will then be put on my main page).
On a similar note, I will be posting status updates on my account page in case something like this happens again. Story ideas I have been thinking about will be on there too. Check them out. If you find a story idea interesting, or think you or someone you know might be interested in writing it yourself/themselves, please PM me.
On to the answers for the reviews!
Guest: you are persistent, I'll give you that. No, Silver will not meet a kid her age and turn him/her into a Grimm hybrid like herself. That's been done too many times, and always in the stories where writers are constantly trying to curve ball the readers to the point you don't remember the actual plot. On that note: Many of you will say I did that with Pup. I respond with saying that Pup will play a very important role in the future of the story, I didn't throw him in there to show Silver having some "human" moment, he has a role.
TehUnoman:
Hmmmm… it might be possible, if the victim has a strong enough will. But that wouldn't result in the victim gaining some Grimm power. If anything, it would make them terrified of masks! XD
For Flinch getting a control mask, I don't see that happening. The mark on her dress is the mark of the Overlord, any Grimm would see her as a fellow servant of the Overlord and would listen to her orders as a result. (On that note: you've all probably been thinking, if the normal Grimm don't like the Grimm masks, why do they follow Flinch's orders? It's because the mark tells them she is the Ovelord's servant, and therefore, must be treated with obedience and tolerance.)
Yes, someone does need to do that. (To everyone reading this, I made a reference to Michael Jones, the voice of Sun from RWBY, who shares the Overlord's hatred for spelling. Didn't even know I did till this guy pointed it out.)
Guest:
The Thrall scene is happening somewhere to the west of the Gulch, about an eight hour flight away. Not good with the time comparison thing, but if anyone knows how many miles that would be, please say so in a review.
Not many villages are left, the few that haven't been wiped out yet are either traveling cavern groups or too small for the Overlord to view as a threat.
You'll find out in this chapter.
Guest: Thank you, I've put a lot of effort into this story.
Guest: Thank you for clarifying that. I've been thinking over a few more ideas for Grimm species while I was at school, I'm rather happy with one type in particular.
Quebecprim:
They never say if scrolls use batteries or if they use cord chargers… or if they even have battery life. I'm not sure how to answer this question yet, sorry.
I did do a rough sketch of the Grimm masks during my time at school, but I don't really know how to upload the picture of it since I took it on my phone. Sorry. Will try to do it later.
GrimKid98: Yes, yes they are. :)
Guest: I will!
Dragon Blitz 85: I am!
Now, I have a few more things to say before you get onto read this chapter.
First: I'm sorry to admit that I have no idea what Rojo Toro's semblance should be. If you guys have any ideas, please PM me or leave your suggestion in a review. I'm serious, I have no idea what I'm going to give him. (And no I'm not giving him a speed semblance like Silver's, that'd be downright lazy.)
Second: This is something I keep forgetting to tell you guys. Something that I'm surprised no one has asked yet. The size of the Gulch caverns…
Any of you guys played Skyrim? It's the size of Blackreach.
On to the chapter!
THIS IS HAS BEEN EDITTED AND REWRITTEN FROM THE ORIGINAL DRAFT!
Grimm Heir
Chapter Six: Cutting Strings
Two Months Later…
It didn't make sense…
For almost two years, the continent of Vytal had been plagued by a significant increase in Grimm attacks. Villages razed and caravans ransacked, those few (un)lucky enough to survive were driven insane from a mixture of shock, terror, and guilt.
And then… the attacks just ceased.
The kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo had seen the increase as something unimportant and trivial. None of the attacks had been close enough to their borders to warrant any concern from them. It was a time of peace, after all. Why scare the public with reports of screaming Sirens and slaughtered villages?
This was the problem with civilian leadership. They never took anything seriously until it was right in their face.
It was just one of the reasons James Ironwood was glad he lived in a kingdom that knew the importance of being prepared.
In correspondence with assisting in the investigations of the attacks, the general had sent several Huntsmen accompanied student teams to search for any information the local investigators missed. They were to report anything they found directly to him.
It didn't take long for the teams to discover a vital piece of information that had been completely overlooked by the local investigators.
The attacks were happening in sequence, not all at once. One village would be destroyed, then a week or two later, another was found leveled.
This led the General to believe that this was the work of a single Grimm pack. Sadly, this led to more questions than answers.
There were multiple species of Grimm involved in the attacks according to the diversity of tracks left in the villages. While different Grimm species attacking a similar target was extremely common, it was bizarre for them to travel together when out of a fight.
What was even more concerning than this, however, was the state in which most of the villages were found.
In each town, the Dust storage building was a smoldering crater filled with the charred husks of the townspeople.
The local investigators chalked it up as mass suicide on the villagers' part; spare themselves a painful death at the fangs of the Grimm by vaporizing themselves in a Dust explosion.
But Ironwood knew that couldn't be the case.
The Outliers were a proud and resilient folk; many of his best soldiers (and even some of his students) had been recruited from the satellite towns bordering Atlas. They'd never take the coward's way out when faced with defeat. They'd spit in its face before submitting to it.
He wasn't sure if the Vytal Outliers were on par with those of Mantle in terms of tenacity, but he knew that to live outside the kingdoms on any continent required grit and a strong will to live.
And he'd never met an Outlier who'd take the easy way out over a heroic last stand defending his home.
For months he mulled over the data about the attacks, trying to make sense of why such a stubborn people would take their own lives over fighting to their last breath. He was researching information on the Vytal Outliers in the academy library one day, when he overheard a group of students playing a role playing game together.
Ordinarily, he would have ignored them, but an interesting piece of dialogue caught his attention.
The students' party had stumbled upon a village burned to the ground. The boy in charge went on to describe the state of the charred town, saying the ground was blacken ash and the townspeople had been burnt beyond recognition.
Burnt beyond recognition…
It hit him like a freight train. The villagers didn't commit suicide, their bodies had been destroyed to remove evidence!
The Grimm were hiding something, and considering the survivors of the attacks kept screaming about the Siren, it didn't take long for the general to figure out what it was.
He brought this revelation to the council, who in turn contacted the Vacuo and Vale councils to suggest a joint investigation/hunt for the elusive Grimm pack and its Siren leader.
They just scoffed and told the Atlesian council they were being paranoid. They were confident that the attacks, despite the evidence, were simple Grimm raids and nothing more. They even dismissed the rumors about the Siren, calling them stress-induced delusions thought up by the broken minds of the survivors.
When the frequency and consistency of the attacks abruptly decreased, the Atlas council almost felt as foolish as the other kingdoms claimed they were. That is until a sudden string of murders in Vale claimed every one of the Siren 'witnesses' and the Outlier settlement of Grimmsbane was found razed to the ground two months later.
Ironwood saw the connection immediately. The Grimm responsible for the attacks in Vytal had somehow migrated to Mantle.
And they showed their true strength by destroying Grimmsbane.
The council couldn't risk the danger of revealing that it was the Grimm who destroyed the fifty-year-fortress, however. So they covered it up, said White Fang saboteurs blew the walls, letting Grimm inside.
They had to lie. It would cause too much panic if the people learned it was the Grimm, and the Grimm alone, who breached Grimmsbane. It would show that the Grimm weren't the far away nuisance the masses of the kingdoms viewed them as.
They were evolving: growing stronger, faster, smarter.
And something was leading them… Something that was suppose to be a myth.
~o0o~
Yesterday…
"How is he?" The general asked the doctor as they walked down the hospital hallway.
Three days ago, two crashed bullhead transports were found, along with one survivor. They were on a special training run when the bullheads crashed. By the time the response team arrived the local Grimm had killed all but one man.
A man who could provide a much-needed piece to Ironwood's puzzle.
The doctor looked at her scroll, and with a sigh said. "One broken arm, three cracked ribs, a concussion, both legs broken, severe internal and external bruising, abnormally low weight, and burns over his face and scalp. He's stable now, but it's a miracle he's alive at all after what he went through. His body's healing, but for some reason his aura…" She trailed off, unwilling to finish.
"His aura is what?" He asked cautiously. "What's wrong with him?"
"I don't know, general." She admitted. "I've never seen anything like this before in all my years as a doctor, and I'm certain my colleagues will tell you the same thing." They walked in silence after that before arriving at the survivor's door. "Please keep this brief. He's been awake for a few hours now, but he still needs rest." Ironwood nods and enters the room.
The room was nothing remarkable, sharing the same look as the rest in the hospital; it was the room's occupant that stood out in the white of the room.
He was staring out the window, either not noticing or not caring that he had a visitor. His skinny body was covered in bandages and bruises, making him look more like a prison camp inmate than a VTOL crash survivor. His head was the only part of him not encased in bandages. Ironwood saw a pile of gauze and bandages on the floor, he must have taken them off when he woke up.
The general walked towards the bed.
"Corporal Aden Lasky." He said, finally earning the man's attention, who turned to face him.
General James Ironwood stopped dead in his tracks for a split second before resuming his stride.
The corporal's face was charred coal black with five long lines branching across the top and sides of his scalp, like dark trenches running across a brown hill. What's more, the man looked like he hadn't eaten in years. There wasn't an inch of muscle or fat on him. How the hell was he still alive?
But what truly gave the general pause were Lasky's eyes. They were empty. Barren. Devoid of any life or emotion.
It was like staring into the eyes of a corpse.
"Yes?" He said in an emotionless, gravely voice. Ironwood was shocked the man could speak as well as he could with those burns. But as he drew closer, the general saw that despite its charred appearance Lasky's skin was completely fine.
"Do you know who I am?" He said once he reached the side of the corporal's bed. The man nodded his head. "Then you know why I'm here." Ironwood pulled up a nearby chair and sat down.
"What happened during the crash, soldier?"
"We were ambushed, sir." He answered. "Two nevermores dove out of the clouds above us and took us down."
"How did you survive?" Ironwood asked, wanting to hear the whole story.
"I was in the cockpit. I was the gunner and my partner Demsy was the pilot." He said. "He steered our bird away from the trees, softened the landing. Still wrecked our bird good, jammed the cockpit door shut. Demsy didn't make it though, broke his neck on impact, died quick.
"Both my legs were broken, watched from the cockpit as the Grimm swarmed the others." He paused for a moment. "I remember feeling… angry? Yes, angry. I felt angry. I wanted to help fight them off but I couldn't."
The way he spoke about his anger in the past tense, like it was just a memory, unnerved the general. He gestured for him to continue nonetheless.
"When the gunshots and screaming stopped, I thought it was over. But then this weird beowolf showed up out of nowhere, and broke into the cockpit through the window. I tried to fight back, but it was too quick. It clammed down on my arm and pulled me outside."
"What was strange about the beowolf, Lasky?" Ironwood interrupted. "Was it larger than the others? Colored differently?"
Lasky shook his head. "No sir, nothing like that. It… it didn't walk on two legs. Walked on all fours, like a real wolf, was about the size of one too. Didn't have the same markings either, but I couldn't get a good look at them."
A fully quadrupedal beowolf? Interesting. "I see, please continue."
"Like I said, it pulled me out of the cockpit by my arm. I tried to get free, but it had a solid grip on me, crushed the bone." He rubbed his cast-covered limb as he spoke. "It dragged me over to the other bullhead. Thing had been torn apart. Cockpit was gone, so was the tail. Blood was everywhere, so much blood. It turned the ground to gory mud."
"Then I noticed the petals."
Ironwood raised an eyebrow at that bit. "Petals?" The corporal nodded.
"Yes sir, flower petals. Red and black. Floating down to the drenched earth like leaves in fall." He stopped for a moment, then resumed. "The beowolf let go of me then. But before I could do anything, it pinned me down and tore off my helmet."
"Then I saw it."
"Saw what?" The man didn't answer, he just turned to look out the window again.
"It was only for a moment." He responded, still gazing out the window. "Less than half a second, and only a little bit, but I saw it. Now I can't get it out of my head. It's haunting me."
"What did you see?" Ironwood asked again, only to be ignored as the man continued ranting.
"I wasn't supposed to survive." Lasky droned emotionlessly. "I was supposed to die there, at its hand. Now I see it every time I close my eyes, its coming for me. But I'm not afraid."
"What did you see?" Ironwood said a third time, beginning to lose his patience with the man, but was again ignored.
"I should be afraid, shouldn't I?" Lasky said, turning to face the general. "But I'm not. I'm not afraid, I'm not angry, I'm not sad, I'm not happy… I don't feel anything anymore. It took them. Took them away when I received this mark."
"I'm hollow now…"
"Soldier!" The general's snapping tone snapped the corporal out his mantra. "What. Did. You. See?" He asked for the fourth and final time.
Lasky looked Ironwood in the eye, and said only two words. "The Phantom."
~o0o~
Present…
The Phantom…
The monster of monsters. The shadow-clad demon of Grimm. Darkness incarnate. Shadowmoore. Bane of the Before Kingdoms. Hundreds more names have been given to this beast of myth. A Grimm of unknowable power.
It wasn't supposed to be real…
Ironwood didn't want to believe it. Who would? Who in their right mind would want to believe a monster of legend was real and stalking the lands? No one. They'd label the corporal insane and throw him in an asylum before believing that the Phantom was real.
His description of it didn't help his claim either. The Phantom of legend was said to be a giant cloaked in the blackest of shadows that drained all light around it. Lasky said it was clad in a tattered red cloak, like the one that fairy tale girl wore. Not exactly a fearsome image.
But that mark on his face… the look in his eyes…
The corporal had seen something that day, no doubt about it. Whether it was the Phantom or a new Grimm species didn't matter. It was a threat to Atlas and would be dealt with accordingly.
Still, he would need to be cautious. Phantom or not, if this Grimm was the creature behind the destruction of Grimmsbane and the Outlier villages of Vytal it was not to be taken lightly. Especially after what it did to the corporal…
"I'm hollow now…" The words echoed in his mind.
As a veteran Hunstman, Ironwood was well versed in the use of aura. He had both his students and his soldiers trained in its use to further their combat efficiency and survival rates.
After the interview, he checked Lasky's aura levels to see what was preventing them from healing his wounds.
Only to discover that his aura was gone.
Not sealed away, not depleted, gone. Like it was never even there to begin with.
The Grimm had somehow drained Lasky of all his aura…
Essentially… it took his soul.
Ironwood needed to verify if this monster was real or not, and if there were more of them, immediately.
But he knew the council wouldn't let him waste kingdom resources on what might just be a wild goose chase. He'd need a good cover for sending Atlas military assets after the Phantom. The general couldn't risk more soldiers ending up like the corporal, however either. He would need to use androids.
Time to see if the doctor's prototypes were ready for action.
~o0o~
One Week Later…
'Fetch!' Silver said, throwing a Dustling bone across a thawing field. Pup shot after the bone with all his speed.
The young hound jumped up into the air and clamped his strong jaws down on the bone with a loud snap. Prize in mouth, Pup trotted back to Silver where he placed it back in her waiting claw.
She ruffled her hound's head affectionately, praising him for his good catch. He was just a few months old and already the size of a full-grown wolf. His shoulder spikes were the size of Silver's own arm quills, and his fangs were sharp and strong. If Pup kept growing like this he'd be the size of a bear before the year's end.
The year's end…
Silver's mood faltered a bit at the thought. Her time in the North was close to its halfway mark, yet she felt like it had been much longer than it was since she first set foot in northern snow.
It was spring now. The sun was warm, and the winds calm. She no longer needed to wear the white cloak her father had woven for her.
The winter snow was finally thawing, providing water for the plants sleeping in the soil. The flora and fauna of the land was waking up from hibernation, and the forests and fields were filled with the symphonies of their voices.
They were something Silver had deeply missed during the winter. In the main continent, the animals of the south and southwestern regions never migrated or went to sleep during the cold months. She'd spent many a night falling asleep to the soothing symphonies of crickets, owls, and frogs.
The cold restricted the singers of the north to perform for only a few warm months before the shrieking winter winds returned and drowned the voices out with their shrill wails.
But it was the beginning of the warm months now, and the singers were already filling the air with their songs. However, the beasts of the north were not the only creatures emerging from the snows.
The change in temperature also brought about an increase in Dustling activity.
Silver had been careful with her targets since the destruction of the fortress nest. Soon after its fall, metal birds arrived carrying Hunters and other Dustlings to investigate the carnage. They left after a few weeks, but Silver knew she had dodged a Dust pellet with them.
The northern Dustlings weren't like those of the main continent. She had watched their investigation of the destroyed nest through the eyes of a small raven. They were very thorough.
It was only due to her lack of direct involvement that her existence was still unknown to them.
She would now only attack Dustlings that strayed too far from their nests or caravans, and only when they had no chance for escape would she personally deal with them.
There were the occasional search packs that went out to find the missing ones, but they were rarely a challenge for her Grimm. And if they were, it wasn't for very long.
It was when she was dealing with one of these search packs that Silver discovered she possessed a very interesting ability.
She'd been toying with the last member of the pack, the rest were all dead, and the amount of fear flowing from it was too good to pass up. Silver had broken its bones and flayed off bits of its skin, relishing in its suffering.
After a time, Silver grew bored and decided to end the creature's misery by crushing its skull. She grasped the Dustling's head with her left claw, ready to end its life, when a strange phenomenon occurred.
The Dustling's head glowed red under her grip, and its limp broken body suddenly went tense.
Then Silver felt a strange energy entering her.
It was… difficult to understand or explain, and it lasted only for a moment. By the time it ended, the Dustling was a skeleton with skin, sporting the black imprint of her claw on its face.
The experience left Silver feeling… invigorated. It was more intense than any negative emotions she'd ever tasted before, more… filling.
She wanted more.
Silver wanted, needed more of this energy. It was so delicious, so intoxicating, and so easy to acquire. All she needed was to find a Dustling nest and she could drain every single Dustling in it!
Looking back, she was very thankful Pup was there to snap her out of her little… episode.
Though his method of doing so was less appreciated.
The rush she felt from the draining nearly made her forget why her father had sent her to the north in the first place.
Silver couldn't go off destroying nests left and right, as she'd done in the main continent. Anything that might alert the Dustlings to her presence was strictly forbidden. And a bunch of skeletal corpses with black marks on their faces would raise a great deal of suspicion.
Still, she did indulge herself in this unexplainable pleasure when she could. She'd drained about half-a-dozen now, the latest being from the ambush she launched on the two metal birds over a week ago a few miles outside her territory.
Each time Silver drained a Dustling she could feel herself growing more powerful. She was stronger now, swifter too, the world itself seemed slower in her eyes… and an inch or two shorter.
She wondered if father knew she had this ability.
AAAARRRRRROOOOOOO!
The two hybrids tensed at the howl. It was the alert signal she'd taught the hounds to use when they spotted a metal bird invading her territory.
Silver shot into the cover of the forest a second later, Pup right on her heels. Not a moment after, the roar of the bird reached her ears. As the roaring grew rapidly louder, the duo dove into a thicket of bushes just before the bird flew over them.
Silver watched as it soared over their hiding place, its strange, powerful wings pushed down hot wind, battering the blossoming branches of the trees.
Silver noticed it wasn't one of the regular metal birds, though. Its shape was different, more angular and sleek, and its hide was colored white rather than the normal gray.
She remembered it from her father's teachings. An attack bird, is what it was. Used for swift aerial strikes against foes both in the sky and on the ground. Fast but frail, it was armed with two powerful Dust-shooters to compensate its lack of durability, and was even capable of birthing golems to assist it in battle.
What was one doing here? A scout, maybe? The vanguard for a larger force?
Silver narrowed her eyes in the direction it flew. She wasn't supposed to make her presence known, but her instincts screamed at her not to ignore this.
It was mocking her. Flying over her lands like had nothing to fear.
She'd show it how much it had to fear…
~o0o~
"We're approaching the target zone now! Get ready to disembark!" The pilot said through her communication earpiece.
This was exciting! When her father told her she was to perform a very important task for Mr. Ironwood she assumed it was going to be more performance tests in the training room, or another lecture about her 'mission to save the world'.
Imagine her surprise when he told her he wanted to prove her combat skills in a real-world scenario of hunting Grimm!
And not just any Grimm. The Grimm… the Phantom Grimm.
Her father uploaded what little was known about the creature into her data banks soon after the meeting. Once she finished going through the data, she was beyond overjoyed that the general trusted her to find and destroy this legendary being.
And not just the general. Even her father said she was more than capable of finding and defeating this beast. No Grimm could stand a chance against her combat prowess, be it beowolf or Phantom, her blades would end it.
Still, her father didn't want her going it alone on this mission. Nine of the prototype knight models were to accompany her on this adventure, along with air support from the gunship.
"We're entering the Grimmsbane ruins now." The pilot announced. "Prepare to disembark in ten seconds."
The knights hummed to life in their magnetic harnesses, running system diagnostics and warm-up protocols. Her built-in head's up display showed each one of her squad mate's status. All green.
"Disembark in five seconds."
The aft door opened to reveal the destroyed settlement of Grimmsbane below them. The harnesses began moving the synthetic soldiers closer to the edge.
"Three… two… one… Disembark!"
Two by two, the androids were released from their harnesses. When it was her turn to disembark, she spread her arms wide as she plummeted towards the ground with a big smile on her face.
"THIS IS EXTRODANARY!" She screamed happily, before adjusting her body so she'd land in crouched stance.
Plumes of dust shot out around her body as she hit the ground. No damage from the impact, she got up and surveyed the area. The knights had already established a perimeter around the drop zone, rifles drawn and ready.
She put her hand against the ear piece. "We're on the ground."
"Acknowledged. Orders are to proceed through the ruins, then into the forest." The pilot answered. "Radio in if you find something. We'll provid-"
SCCCRRREEEECCHHH!
Without warning, a nevermore Grimm of immense size came down from the clouds and grabbed the gunship in its massive talons. She could hear the metal bending beneath the force of its terrible grip before it flung the gunship towards the southern portion of the forest.
"MAYDAY, MAYDAY! WE ARE GOING DOWN! REPEAT: GOING DOWN!" The pilot screamed as the VTOL spun uncontrollably to the ground where its crash was hidden behind the trees.
The nevermore gave a final screech of victory, then flew back into the clouds.
"Eagle-1 do you copy!?" She asked through her communicator, but received nothing but static. "Repeat: do you copy!?"
"Ugh… I copy… cough, cough!" Responded the pilot after half-a-minute of static. "My copilot's… cough, he's dead. I'm stuck in the cockpit… Grimm… Grimm approaching my-"
It cut off before he could finish.
She motioned the knights to follow her and the squad swiftly set off towards the crash site. It was a certainty the man was dead now, but she still hoped that he'd somehow survived.
As they drew closer, the growling snarls of Grimm entered her ears. She readied her swords for combat, spinning them behind her back with the use of her semblance.
A human scream spurred her to quicken her already considerable pace. But it was for not.
The crash site was swarming with Grimm. They were crawling over the destroyed VTOL, fighting over the broken bodies of the pilots they had pulled from the cockpit.
Anger filled her body, and dictated her next actions. "Open fire!" The androids aimed their EML rifles at the horde and unloaded. The Grimm stood no chance and were torn to ribbons by the powerful firearms. She then added her own firepower to the slaughter, firing her energy cannon and obliterating everything in front of them.
The androids ceased their volley, sensing no enemy signatures remaining in front of them, but kept their rifles ready.
CLANK!
Her eyes turned from the destroyed clearing to see one of the knights topple over with a gaping hole through its head unit. She calculated the direction the robot was facing and diameter of the hole to determine the point of origin and made ready to unleash another blast.
RAAWWWRR!
But before the charge was complete, a wave of Grimm burst from their flanks and fell upon them. The knights were faster and smarter than the older models, but they had to give up durability as a result.
They fought valiantly, but the Grimm's superior numbers overwhelmed them within moments of the attack.
Likelihood of mission success now 4%. Survival chances now 13.4%. Advised strategy: retreat.
Despite the importance of the objective, both her father and the general had told her that if the situation was too much, she was to abort the mission and return to HQ.
So she ran.
Her superior agility, strength, and spatial awareness allowed her to maneuver through the sea of beasts. Those she didn't dodge were cut down by the ring of blades orbiting her body, killing any bold enough to harm their wielder.
Once she was made it through the horde, she headed straight for Grimmsbane. The open streets of the ruins would provide a better space for her to use her swords, increasing her survival chances long enough to radio for extraction.
The Grimm were right behind her though, and showed no intention of giving up. She twirled around and directed her blades to slash through the front row of Grimm before returning to her.
That was a mistake.
It left her vulnerable for three seconds. Enough time for an unseen Grimm to shoot out from the bushes and tackle her into the ground, breaking her focus and sending her swords clattering to the earth.
Before she could properly respond, a massive, clawed hand shot out from above her head and sank its sharp nails into her face. The metal beneath her skin held against the blow, but her eyes weren't so lucky.
Her pain receptors blared as two of the claws skewered her optical sensors. She screamed in agony as they were then ripped from their sockets, but it was only for a temporary moment.
Her systems overrode the pain receptors in her body, shutting them down to prevent them from diminishing her dwindling survival odds.
Free from the pain, she dislodged her assailant with a well-placed elbow. No longer restrained, she made to call back her blades, when a vice-like jaw clamped down on her right arm and pulled her back to the ground.
The teeth were strong, as strong as an ursa's but in the shape of a beowolf's.
She was very glad the pain receptors had been disabled, because when she felt her arm being ripped off, she knew she was done for…
EMERGENCY SYSTEM SHUT DOWN.
~o0o~
The Next Day…
"I TOLD YOU SHE WASN'T READY, JAMES!" Doctor Polendina screamed at the headmaster. "SHE WASN'T READY FOR FIELD TESTING, I TOLD YOU AND YOU DIDN'T LISTEN!"
"If I recall, doctor, you had agreed with me on this mission." Ironwood responded from behind his desk. "You were giving her just as much encouragement to partake in it as I was."
"That's because I didn't think you'd send her that far outside the kingdom! You said she'd be investigating close to the kingdom, a five minute flight! You never told me she was going to Grimmsbane, Goddamnit!" The older man slammed his fist angrily against the desk, spilling the general's whiskey glass.
Ironwood looked him in the eye with a stern glare. "I said she'd be investigating where the Phantom was most likely to be. You simply assumed I meant the area where the bullheads crashed."
"YOU THINK THAT CHANGES ANYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED!?" Polendina shot back, angry tears in his eyes. "MY DAUGHTER WAS TORN APART BY THOSE MONSTERS! THAT SHE'S STILL FUNCTIONING AFTER ALL THAT IS A MIRACLE IN ITSELF!"
"The fact that a nevermore delivered her body to the kingdom gates is a miracle, Nikola." Ironwood responded coolly. "That it simply dropped her at the front gate then left without attacking the guards is a miracle. That only a platoon's worth of soldiers saw this happen is a miracle."
The general and the doctor kept their eyes locked for a long time before the general relented with a sigh. "I'm sorry, Nikola." He said, rising from his seat. "I didn't want any of this to turn out the way it did. I thought she was ready, we both did." He rested a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Can we repair her?" He asked after a moment.
"Yes…" The doctor answered. "But most of her systems were destroyed by… whatever did this. It'd be months, maybe years before she's back to full strength."
"I'll provide all the funds you need, just get it done."
"You're not sending her out to find that thing again, James." The doctor said, his bloodshot eyes set and determined. "She wasn't built to fight legends."
"She was built to save the world." The general answered simply.
Nikola Polendina shook his head at him. "She was built to be my daughter."
With that, the inventor of the first artificial aura-user left to rebuild his child.
~o0o~
Seven Months Later…
The Overlord gazed into the night sky.
It was time…
Author's Note: HOLY SHIT! This was a bitch to write! You all probably have a shit ton of questions now, don't ya? Well that's what the review tab is for, right!
I originally was going to have it be Qrow who Ironwood sends to investigate, but I thought it wouldn't work out very well for me in the wrong run to do that. With this, however, I get to put my own reason for why Penny's father is so protective of her.
Yes, Penny survived. She's a robot, so her body put her into a kind of emergency standby until she could be repaired. Silver having very little experience with machines besides destroying them, thought Penny died after she… played with her for a bit. In case you're wondering, she peeled off all the fake skin and ripped off her legs before sending her back via nevermore.
Yes, it's sadistic and Ruby would never do that! SHE FEEDS OF NEGATIVE EMOTIONS PEOPLE! OF COURSE SHE'S GONNA BE SADISTIC! Also, this is an AU story, which means a different upbringing, and a different personality.
Why did she use the nevermore to return Penny to Atlas? She wanted to send a message telling them to stay out of her territory, and this way was the most fear inspiring and mysterious way I could think up that didn't result in MORE Dustlings showing up in her turf.
Also, before you ask, they never specified how long the Knight 200s were in development before being announced to the public.
Until a proper name is provided by Rooster Teeth, (hopefully in season 3), I will be naming Penny's father Nikola Polendina. This chapter will undergo minor changes when his real name and personality are revealed.
I hope you all liked the chapter! Sorry if might feel forced.
As always: Please Fav, Follow, and Review! Thank You!
DeadRich18 Out!
