Note: I don't own any of the characters mentioned, just my own OC. Credit for the GrimmFall Universe goes to Lord Maximus. :3 Enjoy! :)
(A scene of chaos is shown at the famous Navy Pier in Chicago as creatures bearing black skin and white bone plates attack the civilians, but then a youth decides to intervene in the fight, only to get injured severely.)
Start Period - Fullmetal Alchemist OST
(The boy is shown in a hospital, lying on a bed as the camera pans in on the flashing light before it fades to blackness.)
Title: GrimmFall: Dragon's Rising
At last we're here at the half way point (A pair of violet optics flash online as the screen pans out to show a dark blue colored mecha with a pair of draconic wings on the back as he stands atop a building in a city surrounded by mountains.)
In the heart of our endless journey (The mecha flares his wings and takes flight as he draws out a sword from his shield, charging at an imposing black Grimm with large wings and scars across its body.)
At last, while everything still is calm (As the two collide a flash of light is shown to reveal a young woman with brown hair and blue eyes looking at the camera, a rapier in her left hand as she holds a Dust canister in her right.)
Take a deep breath (She swings her sword, only for it to extend into a whip as it swirls with wind around it, curtesy of the wind Dust in the chamber.)
We both have just began to grasp it (The wind engulfs the screen only to vanish as fire surrounds a sword, the camera panning out to show a redheaded woman with a fiery sword in her grasp.)
But it's slipped out of our hands (The woman slashes with her sword as the camera follows the shockwave before it hits a wasp-like Grimm, incinerating it before the camera is engulfed in flames.)
And we will learn from those fragile mistakes (The flames vanish as the camera moves up and out of them, showing a city under siege.)
'til nothing stands in our way (The city defenses struggle to keep the Grimm Horde at bay, only to be aided by two more figures, one of them leaping into the air and firing a Dust-laced rocket from a rocket launcher at the closest Grimm.)
An unbreakable bond will forever link our hearts (The two figures land, one of them being a man wearing a trench coat and behind him appears a buxom woman in shadow as beside him stands a woman with a hammer in one hand, her gaze locked onto the sky above them.)
There's no spell, no hell, that will undo us (The camera pivots to show the two from the side and then from the front, only this time they stand beside the mecha and other two women as they stand in front of a large metallic structure.)
We have made it here at last (The fortress is shown in all its glory, cybernetic organisms lurking around it and several of them aim at the camera as two sinister green optics appear behind the scene, flaring brightly.)
In this never ending dance (The light envelops the camera only for it to vanish as the scene shows a woman with blonde hair and a man with a slightly darker shade of blonde hair standing in front of the mountain city, the others landing beside them.)
And we'll live through us the period of time (The group lunges at the screen, weapons drawn as more Grimm attack.)
GRIMMFALL: DRAGON'S RISING
Opening Files: Team DNJR (Danger)
Team DNJR, more commonly referred to as Team Danger, was a Hunter team formed when Joseph was studying at Laplace Community College. Its members consisted of Danielle "Dan" Willis, Nick Mallory, Joseph Matthews himself, and Rachel Coupe. And surprisingly, despite the unique personalities on the team, they somehow managed to work together to deal damage to any Grimm nearby, although they were considered a danger to themselves and others close by when not fighting Grimm. The members were notorious for getting into arguments and fistfights, usually resulting in either Joseph breaking them up and getting beat up for it, or Nick often trying to insist on settling things with words. But they were not that successful in their endeavors.
Danielle "Dan" Willis is the hothead of the team, possessing a fiery Irish temper , intense pride, and an explosive Semblance to match. As her temper flares, her Semblance grows in explosive power, resulting in a potentially dangerous blast that either kills or maims any Grimm or anyone else close by. It is advised to not piss her off. Her tendency is to favor fire Dust in lieu of her Semblance's power, and she wields a sword she named Fire Twister. Her homemade battle suit is another asset that has led to her rise as a formidable Huntress, although as of right now she is a class IV Huntress. Her hotheadedness often puts her at odds with her fellow teammates, mostly Rachel and Joseph.
Nick Mallory is the shy one, and a pacifist. But that doesn't mean he won't fight back in self-defense if left with no other choice. He prefers to settle things diplomatically, although sometimes it doesn't work out. As befitting a shy individual, his Semblance, Phantasm, allows him to phase into different objects and through people to avoid detection. If done right, he can even possess other people, taking total control of their bodies while their minds are locked away and put into a sleeping state. He prefers to possess buxom women - one in particular named Serena Wilcox - which leads some to speculate that he is transgender. His weapon, a rocket launcher, is capable of firing Dust-laced rockets to allow his allies time to strike. His infiltration skills have led to his rise as a class IV Hunter. His preference for infiltration has led Dan to often call him a coward, but he denies it, saying that every team has to have someone skilled at infiltration and spying.
Joseph Matthews, otherwise known as Dracon, is a formidable warrior, given his frame and vast firepower. He is known for his famed "Dragon's Breath" Beam Burst Gun, and his fin funnels, which allow him to launch remote attacks on his enemies from hiding. He is also highly intelligent, a result of not just his transfer to the Gundam frame he wears, but also from experience. His impulsiveness often gets him into trouble, but he more than makes up for it with his ability to come up with plans on the fly. His agility and speed make him a hard to hit adversary, and when coupled with his arsenal and his impressive physical strength, he is a force to be reckoned with. He is the highest rank out of the group, being labelled a class V Hunter. He doesn't let his lack of an Aura stop him though, as his durability matches that of someone with a powerful Aura.
Rachel Coupe may be a somewhat laid back individual, but her ability to remain calm in dire circumstances makes her a person to turn to in a crisis. She is very calm and cool headed at times, but she does have an explosive temper as well. Her Semblance, Rock Control, allows her to manipulate the rocks around her to generate heavy armor or defensive barricades to keep her friends safe from harm. She is considered the defensive fighter of the team, preferring to remain on the sidelines rather than get in there like Dan or Joseph. Her weapon, Vulcan Hammer, is perhaps the most devastating as it uses earth Dust to boost its hitting power on impact. Her defensive skills are a mark of her rank as a class IV Huntress, in addition to her experience. As a result of her defensive measures, she and Dan are often at odds, usually butting heads before Joseph has to break it up.
Regardless of their unusual team dynamics, these four are a team that should never be underestimated.
Close File
"Teammates are always important to have, no matter what side of life you come from. Sometimes a teammate can be a bad one, or sometimes they can be a good one. It all depends on the personalities of the people involved. Sometimes they'll mesh and sometimes not. Everyone is unique and different, so a team can be a mishmash or not at all. I guess it's like a puzzle. Get the right pieces and they'll fit. Get the wrong ones and it'll just be a big mess," TOM lectured as he closed up the DNJR file. "But in reality, no matter what reality you're in, a team is a good asset to have. Just make sure that all the pieces of the puzzle fit."
Me, Tina, and Dan set out the next morning, which didn't make much sense given how the sun wasn't even visible. The only real reason I knew it was morning was thanks to my internal clock (which I was immensely grateful to have at this point) which said it was close to 1000 hours. So after we had breakfast - or rather the two women did - we packed up and headed out.
I had to admit, this was turning out to be very intriguing. Primarily because there was a significant lack of Grimm in the Darklands. It actually kind of creeped me out, seeing as how this place was supposed to be infested with them. Instead, I was only picking up electronic signatures from the cyborgs that lingered here. That was enough to make me wary and I gulped nervously as we ventured past the copse of trees we had taken refuge in not that long ago.
As we continued on, my sensors picked up only a few Grimm, mostly smaller Creeps and very few larger ones. It seemed like whatever was happening wasn't letting them spawn as much from the pools. Or at least I hoped so. For all we know the pools had either been sealed off or destroyed. And since no one came here, that led to all kinds of crazy theories, as I stated in the last chapter of this log.
I spotted a Creep wandering past us as we walked, and I shivered at how it seemed to be more shriveled compared to its regular counterparts. But what was going on here to reduce the number of Grimm in this area?
We finally got our answer when we heard gunfire. Gunfire accompanied by shrieks and screams and screeches of Grimm. Except they were not in anger or in attack mode.
It seemed as if they were in...
In pain.
My optics flashed in shock as Tina and Dan looked at me. Our gazes met and that prompted me to charge ahead, leading us up a good sized hill until we came to a stop at the sight in front of us, causing all of us to gasp in shock and downright horror.
In front of us were the Pools of Darkness, yes, but along with them came the numerous forms of cyborgs. And there were not just five thousand. This time the sea of cyborgs seemed endless. They all kept their right arms aimed at the pools, shooting lasers into whatever Grimm came crawling out, exterminating them before they even made it to land. Even airborne Grimm were not immune to this, as overhead hovered an aerial variant of cyborgs, tethered to packs of some kind that utilized wind Dust to remain airborne. And these packs were connected to vast wind Dust deposits positioned closer to the central location of the pools.
A large metallic structure loomed out of the very ground, seeming like it was made of rust in this darkened lighting. It resembled less of a castle and more of a fortress from ancient times, possessing large battlements and towers that stood tall and proud. Cyborgs manned these towers, armed with sniper rifles and machine guns integrated into their very beings. Their eyes swept emotionlessly across the field of Grimm, and some of them even fired at a Grimm who somehow managed to get past the never ending sea of cyborg guards.
All in all, it was a very efficient operation, as well as costly, I guessed.
"Guess that explains the lack of Grimm..." Tina whispered.
I nodded silently.
Dan grunted. "Some operation this is..." she muttered.
In truth, I was not just shocked, but some small part of me found it impressive. I wasn't too surprised, but it was still a bit of a shocker to me to even feel that. Still, the fact that there were so many cyborgs and that they were stopping the Grimm from even leaving the pools was a feat of technological sophistication and logistics I couldn't comprehend at the time. How were they not running low on power? How was it they had such vast Dust deposits for the aerial platforms? What was powering the cyborgs?
A quick glance to Tina and Dan showed they had the same questions on their minds.
It was time to get some answers.
So we retreated to come up with a plan.
"Guys... you saw all those cyborgs, right?" Dan asked.
Tina and I nodded.
"Well... I doubt we'll be able to sneak past them," Dan said seriously.
Tina's eyes went wide and my optics flashed in surprise and shock. "What!? Whaddya mean?" Tina blurted.
"Didn't you see the number?!" Dan hissed. "That's way too many, even for me and Joseph!" Her eyes flashed as she spoke. "We're not about to take that risk."
"Then how do you expect us to get by them?" I growled.
Dan shook her head. "No chance unless we go underground, and I don't wanna risk us getting struck by that Dark Stuff."
I realized she had a point.
In all the times that researchers had studied the Grimm, or even attempted to study them, there was one thing that remained out of reach from all of us: the depths of the pools from which the Grimm spawned. No one had even gotten close to one to try and measure it, at least not without being mutated or changed into a hideous creature. Most scientists and researchers preferred to study Grimm from afar as a result, but on rare occasions some tried to get in close with a probe or other measuring device to try and find out how deep the pools actually went. But most probes were never heard from or even seen again, except for some spindly legged Grimm that seemed to wear metallic plates and cables that snaked around their bodies, a sinister red eye pulsing beneath that black sludge as it dripped from their bodies. Some people have taken to calling these Grimm Spindles, and the name seemed to actually fit.
However, I suspected that the Dark Stuff fused with the probes, turning them into a new kind of Grimm.
But to confirm someone had to try and find one of these Spindles, which was harder than it seemed.
Tina finally brought me back to reality. "So we can't go by air, or by ground, and we can't go underground because we don't know how deep the pools go," she remarked. "Not very conducive to sneaking around."
I nodded. "Yeah. But what else can we do? We need a plan... And I want answers as to what's going on here," I said. We had to kind of shout to be heard over the loud racket that was being made down beyond the hilltop.
The three of us sat there, stumped on what course of action to take. I dimmed my optics until they were barely online and folded my arms across my chest as I bowed my head.
Different scenarios were present in my mind's eye as I imagined them. They ranged from engaging the cyborgs to trying to sneak past them, only each one resulted in immediate failure or death. I shuddered a bit at the thought. But surely there had to be some way to sneak past them, right? It's not like they didn't need maintenance, right? I mean...
I brought my optics back to full brightness, but I was still trying to think. I hated to admit it, but we were at a dead end.
"Looks like we're at a dead end," Tina muttered.
"Tell me about it," Dan grumbled. "We're out of options because there are none."
Tina nodded. "Yeah. So... do we head back or... what?"
For some reason, I wasn't too sure about heading back just yet. My optics roved over the area, seeking any way to slip past those cyborgs and the Grimm. The whole thing seemed to be a bit too convenient to me, especially with the numbers. It was almost like... someone had been preparing this for years and years. Or close to it. Then that meant that there had to initially be human workers... and human workers meant that there had to have been vehicles used to traverse this landscape... which meant that there had to be roads around!
Or at least something akin to a road.
"Hold on," I said, catching their attention. Both women looked at me. "I just realized something."
"What?" Dan asked as she looked back at the hilltop. "Not like we can get past those things without drawing too much attention to ourselves."
"Well, think about it. All those cyborgs? Doesn't it seem a bit too convenient for that many to be around each and every pool here? And on top of that... the Dust stockpiles." My optics bore into Tina's and Dan's eyes as I glanced at them both. "That amount of Dust can only come from years and years of mining and stockpiling. That means that there had to have been human workers at one time, but then as time passed, the cyborgs became more and more prevalent until there were no more workers."
"So? You're trying to say that there could be some old road around or something?" Dan asked sarcastically.
Tina's eyes flew wide at that. "Wait... Dan... I think Joseph might be on to something," she remarked. "It is too convenient for all these cyborgs to be present here. And that means that these numbers were built up over the years. So... there may be an old road somewhere we can use!"
"But will it allow us to sneak past these things?" Dan shot back.
Tina fell silent at that.
I snorted. "Not likely," I said. "But it does mean that there could also be underground tunnels."
"Oh, hell no! We are not going underground!" Dan growled at me. "We don't know-"
I cut her off. "I know that! But what choice do we have?!" I yelled at her.
Dan's eyes narrowed, and for a moment I wondered if she was going to attack me like she used to back at Laplace, but then she sighed and rubbed her face with an armored hand. "Dammit... You're right. We don't have a choice," she muttered.
Had I been able to, I would've blinked in shock. Instead my optics flashed in surprise. "Okay...? That's new," I muttered.
"What? I've matured a bit!" Dan snapped.
I chuckled a little at her remark. She hadn't changed very much after all.
I finally stood up. "Let's go. I don't wanna be here when those cyborgs get wind of our presence here."
Tina and Dan nodded, getting up to follow me. The three of us began the hunt for any secret underground roads that could lead us past the horde of cyborgs. It took us some time, but we eventually came upon a barely used path that crept past one of the pools. I studied it, taking note of the depressions that indicated a truck or large vehicle passed by some time ago. They were weathered, but still in decent enough shape for me to make out. We proceeded to follow the tracks until we came to what looked like an ancient rock structure, but further examination revealed it was more than that. It was an old underground parking entrance. And it looked like no one had bothered to maintain it since it was heavily rusted and weathered... or at the most just heavily corroded. The Dark Stuff no doubt had corroded and warped its features so it resembled a rock rather than a modern entrance to a parking garage.
A bit of fiddling around and some grunting and prying later, we managed to open the doors and slip inside undetected. That was a boon for us as it meant now we could try and find a way past the horde. My optics drifted up to the ceiling and I shuddered as I remembered the horde of cyborgs.
"Better hope they can't find us..." I muttered to myself. My voice echoed in the empty cavernous space, and I couldn't help but shudder. Truthfully I hadn't even thought about what my voice sounded like in such a space.
I brushed the thoughts aside though as Dan began looking around, using a fire Dust crystal to light up the area. She swept the light around as I flicked on my helm-mounted lights and Tina drew out her flashlight.
The three of us provided enough illumination to reveal the cracked and decaying pavement and structure around us. There were a few cars that remained, but they were no longer in use, and most of them were rotted or some were covered in that Dark Stuff, looking like monsters from an old horror film. I shuddered and inched back from them.
"Let's see... Is there any sign of a map anywhere?" Tina asked.
"I doubt that," Dan muttered. "This place is so old I doubt anything like that remains."
I had to agree with her on that one. "Yeah. So it looks like we'll have to do some exploring to try and get an idea for this place," I said seriously.
The two women nodded and we began to explore.
His lone eye roved over the monitors showing the exterior of his fortress and the pools. He had to admit those three were proving to be a rather interesting trio, especially as they had found one of the old entrances to the long abandoned underground parking garage. Oh yes, he knew they were in there. He had seen it through one of the shells when it came time to change positions.
He didn't want to disrupt their plans though, feeling that it would be a benefit to both him and his project if they were to make it to his fortress's interior. Yes. He was cunning, and he was patient. Much like Sammael, the fool. But he was not a Fallen, let alone a Grimm. He was a better organism than that.
His powerful central processing unit was more than capable of maintaining total control of his shells, so he was able to perform multiple tasks at once, especially as he now had full access to his full brain power and computer at once. One of the benefits to being a cyborg, he knew. And he enjoyed it. But he wanted to become more than a mere integrated being of flesh and metal. He wanted to be a perfect blend of organic material and technological systems.
But for now, he had other things to focus on, such as getting those three to his fortress and observing them.
The mecha was a smart one for sure, he knew. But he was still a human, even in a mechanical body. And humans made foolish mistakes.
Mistakes such as assuming he was not observing them.
One of the other advantages he had with the parking garage was that he had sensors installed all throughout it once his primary project was completed. And now... he had all eyes and ears fixed on the fools as they snuck through the abandoned tunnels.
Yes. It was all going according to plan...
I had to admit it.
I was terrified.
Not because of the fact we were beneath the Pools of Darkness, but... Okay. That was one of the reasons why I was scared shitless.
The other fact was that we came across skeletons. Loads and loads of them littering the floor of the underground parking garage. Or rather a few clusters of them. Yet some small part of my logic circuits told me it was just the darkness of the place that made it seem like there were more skeletons than there actually were. That did seem to make sense, as the darkness was still thick enough to smother our lights a good distance from us. Even my helmet lights couldn't really penetrate some ways beyond.
The darkness seemed to be suffocating the light, much like the Dark Stuff did in some ways.
I forced myself to focus on the matter at hand though, banishing the thoughts of monsters back to the depths of my processor. I was too old for that kind of stuff, anyway.
But it still didn't ease the sense of dread I was getting from this place.
I swept my gaze around us as we slowly made our way through the layer of bones, trying to avoid crunching any of them underfoot. And believe me, it was harder than it seemed as they were everywhere. I inched away from a grinning skull as it rolled my way. "Okay... this place is starting to give me the creeps," I muttered as I backed up a bit further. I finally made it past another cluster of skeletons and spotted my two teammates ahead of me. "Hey! Wait up!" I called.
Tina looked back as did Dan. "Well, then hurry!" Dan snapped.
"It's not easy to try and avoid a bunch of skeletons!" I shot back.
Dan merely rolled her eyes as she turned and started to walk on. "Whatever, metalhead."
I grumbled a bit as I jogged after.
We kept walking until we came to a door that looked like it had been forced open some time ago, which was probably years, if the amount of dust here was any indication. The door was hanging halfway from its hinges, and the entryway beyond looked like a dark gaping mouth, if the shards of ceiling were any indication to go by. The similarity made me shudder against my will, and my armor rattled against my metallic hide.
"Okay. That is just plain creepy," Tina muttered.
"Tell me about it!" I squeaked.
Dan looked back at me with an incredulous expression on her face, as if she hadn't seen me be terrified before. "You're a six-foot mech, and you're scared of something insignificant like this?" she asked.
"N-No!" I stammered. "It's just... it resembles too much of a mouth!"
Dan snorted. "Sure... whatever..." She turned and wandered into the gaping blackness beyond, her fire Dust crystal starting to fade in the inky blackness. Tina and I ran after her. As we ran deeper into the darkness of the tunnel we were in, I began to get a strange feeling, almost like something was... I couldn't quite explain it then, but it felt like someone had their eyes on us. It was like a sensation that didn't exist, or something akin to it. It's still hard to describe, even today. But one thing that was clear was that I felt like we were being observed. My sensors didn't detect anything that could be observing us, which made me wonder if I was having a malfunction. But a quick scan confirmed my sensors were working properly.
I figured it had to be paranoia, as being in darkness like this was enough to drive anyone a bit batty.
So then why was I getting this feeling?
I tried to ignore it as best I could, but when we got to an intersection of sorts, the feeling got stronger. Tina's eyes flicked around, and she narrowed them, which made me think that she was also getting the same feeling. Dan, on the other hand, was either completely ignorant to the feeling or she didn't care. I later learned that she had gotten the same feeling, but she just hid it better than me and Tina.
"Great... now which way?" I grumbled.
Tina looked left and then straight ahead. "I dunno, Joseph," she said. "I mean, we could split up, but..."
"Then we risk getting lost," Dan muttered. "It's not a good idea to split up, especially given where we are."
The two of us nodded. "I agree," Tina remarked.
We proceeded to head down the passage straight ahead of us, only to come to a dead end filled with debris from the ground above. That seemed to confirm a theory that the Pools of Darkness didn't extend as far as some researchers theorized. My sensors weren't able to get an exact reading on how far belowground we were, but rough estimates did put us at least five hundred to a thousand feet below the surface of the earth. That was a good enough excuse to put a garage and tunnel network under here.
If anything, now that I looked closer at the walls, they seemed to be that of a Dust mine of sorts... or at least a transit passage of sorts.
Tina walked a bit further, only for her foot to trip on something and she collapsed. "Ow...!" she mumbled as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "That hurt..."
"What'd you trip on?" I asked as I walked over to help her to her feet.
"I dunno. But whatever it was, it hurt." Tina held up her flashlight and shone it down at the ground, only for her eyes to widen in shock at the shape of the rails beneath her feet. "Holy...!"
I was also shocked, as my optics flashed in surprise at the sight. "Holy crap...!" I turned to look at Dan. "Hey! Dan! Get a load of this!"
The redhead ran over as fast as she could, her eyes widening at the sight of the rails. They were covered in dust and looked kind of corroded, but they were still in decent shape. "What the hell?" she blurted.
"I think we came across a transit tunnel," I mused, looking around at the walls. A glance up at the ceiling confirmed my suspicions as I saw old lights that looked like they were coming apart. But some of them still looked as if they'd function as well. Or at least that's how it seemed at first glance.
A sudden skittering echoing across the old linoleum flooring caught my audio and I whirled around, my lights just barely illuminating a spindly leg followed by another as it seemed to scuttle past me. I yelped and leapt back a bit as Tina grabbed her rapier and Dan drew her sword. The creature emerged fully into our combined lights, and I gasped at the sight.
It was indeed a Spindle. The metallic plating seemed to become more bonelike and the cables that snaked out from several points to its leg hydraulics seemed to pulse and writhe a bit with life. No black sludge oozed from it, but it was covered in a sort of metallic organic skin, and its single red eye pulsed as it skittered into the darkness again. "Shit...!" I muttered. "Spindles..."
The Spindle didn't even hesitate as it leapt onto the ceiling and started to... gnaw... at one of the cables suspending the lights. I gasped as I saw that it was going to crush Tina, and I found myself moving on instinct - or programming - whichever one it was, my flight pack roaring in my audios as I grabbed onto Tina and pulled her close to my frame as the light crashed down behind us. I twisted my frame and landed on my back, feeling the impact on my flight pack before I came to a stop. Tina had buried her face in my chest, and I had her wrapped in my cloaked arms.
She slowly lifted her head, her eyes landing on my optics. Her hands were on my chest, and in the light from my helm-mounted lights, she seemed to take on an angelic glow. It was sort of an intimate and awkward moment at the same time, but then it was gone as she scrambled off of me and snapped her rapier into whip form. I got to my feet and pulled my beam magnum loose from my flight pack and aimed it at the Grimm above us.
Dan's sword was already wreathed in fire as she swung, Tina slashing with her whip and sending ice Dust right for it. I fired my gun, sending a charged shot right for the Spindle. Our combined attacks struck it, but they only dislodged it from the ceiling and it landed on its back. Its spindly legs wriggled like an insect's before it scrambled to its feet and skittered away into the blackness of the corridor. "Shit..." I muttered. "It got away."
"Yeah. But at least we know that those things exist," Dan remarked as she sheathed her blade.
"So now what?" Tina asked. "Do we go after it?"
I shook my helm. "No." Now I had an idea as to what was watching us. Or so I thought at the time. "We keep exploring."
"Fine. But..." Tina's stomach growled. "Could we take a rest?"
I wasn't too keen on spending the night in a dark place like this, but we had no other choice as it was getting late. (My internal clock read 2200 hours, which meant it was getting late up on the surface in Denver.) I nodded. "All right. But we're taking watches."
The two women nodded in agreement. A bit of discussion later and we decided that I would take the first watch, followed by Tina, then Dan.
When I finally fell into recharge, I couldn't help but shiver at the thought of those things watching us as we slept.
I had nightmares after that one.
Of course, things were only bound to get even more interesting, or worse in my optics.
When we got up and headed out again, this time we were on high alert for any sign of Spindles or other Grimm in the underground tunnels. The beams from my lights, Tina's flashlight, and a shard of fire Dust from Dan's stash were barely able to penetrate the darkness of the tunnels, which only made things seem even gloomier.
Frankly I was surprised none of us had gone insane or was starting to crack from the pressure and the atmosphere of terror and hopelessness we got from being down there. I later chalked it up to how our minds adapted to the weirdness surrounding our world, given that we lived with Faunus, and Mobians to boot. That was perhaps the only reason we hadn't lost it. Any other normal person would've lost it down there.
We finally came upon another intersection, this time with two passages branching left and right, and a staircase leading upwards. I dimmed my optics as I studied it with a serious gaze. There was no way of telling if this staircase was below a Pool of Darkness or what, let alone if it was even structurally sound. My sensors could get a basic idea, but we needed a trained structural engineer to give us a firm idea of how well this place seemed to be holding up.
And I was still getting that feeling of being watched.
I looked around the area, my optics dimmed a shade as I gripped my beam magnum in my hands. My psychoframe was by now exposed as I had slid my armor back sometime during the night, preferring to be prepared in case we came across another Spindle. My wings twitched as we slowly began to make our way up the stairs, Tina going in front and me bringing up the rear. I would've gone first, but I elected to stay behind to cover them because of my extra firepower and greater strength and agility.
Tina's body was ahead of Dan, and I watched as her flashlight vanished around a corner. Dan followed shortly after, and it was then that both their lights suddenly went dark. I was slowly backing up the stairs, so I guessed it had to be because of a door closing or something. But it was far from it. By the time I reached the next floor of the underground complex, I was the only one there.
I was shocked.
My optics flashed in worry as I turned around on the spot, my wings spreading a bit. "Hello? Tina? Dan?" I called. "Where are you guys?!"
I wasn't sure if it was some kind of a sick joke Dan was pulling or what, but something was screaming at me that something was terribly wrong here. There was no way two trained Huntresses could suddenly vanish like that. It just didn't seem right...
At all.
My entire frame was tense, my hydraulics and systems poised for a possible attack, or something else. My arms shook a bit as I aimed my rifle into the depths of the darkness. That same feeling of being watched was even stronger now. I began to creep forward, my reactor now humming loudly in my chest and audios. I swept my gun around, pointing the barrel in any direction I could think of, whether it be at the ceiling or into a narrow crack in the floor. I was completely terrified, and it takes a lot to get me that scared.
Then, out of the corner of my optic, I saw them.
Two eyes in the darkness.
I whipped my frame around and aimed my rifle before I pulled the trigger, sending a charged beam shot right for the eyes with a panicked yelp. The eyes darted off, and a sleek, catlike shape leapt out of the shadows, landing on the ground and prowling away with uncanny speed and agility.
"W-What was that?" I stammered.
I continued creeping along, my optics scanning around me as I expanded my sensors' range to maximum.
The last thing I expected was to see a sinister shape emerging from the shadows, its eyes glinting as it leapt towards me. I screamed in terror as the eyes grew larger and larger...
And then I was falling as I backed up. I screamed as I fell through the air, my wings spreading as I tried to activate my thruster pack. It sputtered and flickered, but it wasn't turning on. That sent panic surging through me and I braced myself for impact against the ground below me. But I didn't slam into it.
Instead, I landed in something soft and rather squishy. My optics were now wide as I squirmed and tried to claw my way out of the sticky substance as it began to crawl up my frame. I gasped as I watched it slither up to my chest, and then my right arm began to...
I didn't expect to see what I saw, but it seemed like my arm was rusting away in front of me. I screamed loudly as the substance finally coated me from head to foot...
Only for a scream to cut through the air and I gasped as my optics flashed online.
I glanced down at myself as I jolted upright, my hands flying over my frame to check for any sign of rusting or decay. I felt from my face down to my feet, and then I was checking my wings and weaponry, followed up by three entire systems scans. I glanced at my shaking hands, noticing how they shook in the glow from my psychoframe; my helmet lights had apparently shut off when I fell backwards.
I didn't know what happened at the time, but to me at that moment, it seemed like I had just... blacked out... and had a nightmare or something. I wondered if it was because of my lack of proper recharge.
I lifted my gaze from my hands and scanned around me, my optics finally landing on something that looked like a...
Wait...
Was that a flash bang grenade?
I scrambled to my feet, making my way towards it...
Only to stop at the culprit of whatever had been done to me.
The figure in question was a cat Mobian, without a doubt. His fur was entirely red with purplish markings on his body, and his eyes were a sinister yellow-green color, and his face was very angular compared to mine. His ears twitched as he got to his paws, rubbing at his eyes with one paw. "Dammit...!" he muttered. "Of all things to happen..."
"Who are you?!" I snarled, startling him with my voice. My wings were flared menacingly and my optics were pulsing with a bright violet light, and coupled with the bright greenish-white light of my psychoframe, I guess I looked more like an avenging draconic angel in his eyes.
The Mobian didn't flinch or even display any form of terror. He merely narrowed his eyes as he studied me. "Hmm... Well... this is something new," he mused. "Then again, I'm not too surprised, given the kind of world we live in."
My wings arched as I crouched a bit, my optics flashing angrily. "Just who are you?!" I growled again.
"Do forgive me. I'm not in the mood for questions at the moment," he sneered, his yellowish-green eyes flashing. I averted my gaze this time as his Aura, which was black in color, began to seethe. I wasn't able to fully avert my gaze, however, so I was starting to see things that would've terrified me had I been a little kid. But I ignored them. "Especially as I'm still looking for something for a little business venture of mine..." he purred, his voice seeming to become distorted and more evil sounding.
I ignored it as best I could. "Yeah? Well, try looking elsewhere, buster!" I hissed. "And you never answered my question! Who are you?!"
The cat Mobian snarled, but he didn't relent. Realizing I was in a tight spot, and with that Aura and Semblance of his, I needed to figure out a way to avoid him or at least get some distance so I could fight him. Bad news: I had no idea on how to fight someone like this.
So I did the first thing that came to my mind: I turned and bolted as fast as I could. I was so tempted to fly, but in the dark catacombs of this underground base, and given the rather close quarters, I wasn't about to risk it. Especially since I could wind up damaging a wing or something. So I just ran. And behind me I heard the cat Mobian chuckling as he followed after me, trying to break me and get me to surrender or worse.
I vaulted over a collapsed steel beam and skidded around a corner before coming upon an old doorway that led into some kind of a communications room. I ducked behind an old console, plastering myself against it as tightly as I could. My psychoframe was still shining brightly, so I drew my cloak around my frame to try and dim its light, which was a godsend in this case. I even threw up my hood to keep myself hidden more effectively.
The cat Mobian's footsteps echoed as he approached the corridor I had vanished from.
Everything seemed to slow down for me at that moment. My optics were wide in terror and my reactor was racing within my chest and I swore I was going to hyperventilate. I was also shaking considerably, so it's a wonder he didn't hear my armor clattering against the metal of the console. Maybe he did, but I had no idea. Regardless, he wasn't interested in searching me out, as he continued on with whatever he was up to.
Or so I thought.
I slowly poked my head out from hiding, unaware of the figure hiding behind another console. I sighed in relief and slowly crawled out from my hiding spot, keeping my cloak around my frame this time so as to hide myself more effectively. My optics slowly roved around the area, scanning for any sign of that cat Mobian's Aura signature. And boy, was it a unique one. Pure black with nothing but utter malice that caused it to be very erratic. So that meant he would be easy to detect on sensors.
I was so busy focusing on my scanners and radar that I failed to notice the figure behind the console getting to their feet and shaking their head.
At least until a female voice reached out to me.
"Wait... Joseph?"
I yelped and whirled around, aiming my Beam Burst Gun at the figure, only for them to raise two hands in surrender. "Wait! It's me!"
I studied the figure critically, noting at once that she was a woman in her early thirties, with red hair and bright blue eyes. She possessed a very curvaceous body, and she looked rather toned and athletic. At once I felt my optics drifting to her chest, which was bustier than that of either Dan or Tina, and her midriff was exposed, showing a very developed six pack for a woman. Her tank top and shorts clung to her curves nicely, and I felt that lump-like sensation forming in my throat before I gulped and shook my helm to remove those dirty thoughts from my processor.
"Sorry. I don't recognize you," I said seriously as I kept my gun aimed at her.
The woman scowled a bit before she ran a hand down her face. "For the love of..." She sighed. "Okay. Answer this then. What was the name of the airship we fought to protect from the Lancer swarm that day?"
I gaped in shock as the memory came back to me. Only my teammates had known what it was, and one of them had been...
"Nick?!" I gasped, stunned at seeing him after all this time, even if he was wearing the body of a buxom and very attractive woman.
She nodded. "Yes. But remember, as a woman, I tend to go by the feminine pronouns."
I nodded back. "Right. Sorry. But..." I folded my Beam Burst Gun back against my right arm in storage. "What are you doing down here? And why are you wearing that body?"
Nick sighed. "To put it simply, Dan wasn't the only one Minovsky called upon," she said seriously, her borrowed blue eyes hardening into shards of glacial ice. "Especially given that sneaky Mobian around here."
"Wait... that cat Mobian?" I asked.
Nick nodded. Her borrowed face was etched in a serious look that only Nick could do, and I found it a bit unnerving. "Okay...? Just who is that freak?" I asked. "And... was it you that threw that flash bang grenade?"
My friend nodded. "It was me," she replied. "And as for your second question... his name is Katz."
Katz... why did that name sound familiar to me? I dimmed my optics until they were barely online and bowed my head, wracking my processors for any information I could recall. The only real person with that name was a cat Mobian... A cat Mobian like the one I had barely escaped from! My optics flashed back to full brightness at the realization. "You mean... that serial killer?!" I blurted.
Nick nodded grimly. "Yes," she said. "I was ordered to follow him here by Minovsky as well as Sebben."
"Sebben?!" I breathed, shock nearly flooring me.
The woman's head nodded. "Yes. But don't ask why. Just know that he sent me and Dan here to try and bail you two out. Only now it seems like we have to try and bail them out as well."
I nodded. "Right. Only question now is... where do we begin looking?"
New Grimm Sighted
Name: Spindle
Classification: Insectoid
Appearance: Metallic organic skin that is black in color, metal bonelike plates on upper body, and single red eye. Walks on several spindly legs, cables that writhe and pulse with life connected to hydraulics to provide movement for the legs.
Abilities: Can gnaw through cables or ropes with a hidden 'mouth' on their front. Able to climb anything due to their legs and their appearance. Other abilities unknown.
Origin: Some speculate that this Grimm came from Sammael, but recent evidence seems to suggest that these Grimm were formed when probes were lowered into the Pools of Darkness to try and measure their depths, only for the Dark Substance to corrupt them and turn them into a new kind of Grimm. Numbers are a threat, but individually can be taken down by even a team of trainee Huntsmen or Huntresses.
Name: Katz
Species: Mobian
Aura: Black
Semblance: Terror Infusion
Description: His Semblance allows him to project images of terrifying images directly into his opponents' vision. It is high effective in getting them to surrender or succumb to his will. However, it can be countered by throwing a flash bang grenade or disrupting his concentration with a loud racket.
Weapon: N/A
Note: Katz is a very notorious villain, being a serial killer with very sadistic tendencies. His crimes are listed in the Hunters database and include the following offenses: illegal breeding of flesh-eating spiders, sabotage of a United States naval submarine, and illegal fights pitting innocent civilians against hostile Grimm.
