Scarcely had Qrow ever met such stubborn opposition in his entire career. Every corridor was littered with enemies attempting to stop him in his path. At first encounter they were unpredictable opponents: easily capable of transforming into beasts on a whim, yet they seem to remarkably carry over their intelligence as well. Even so, it did little more than serve as hindrances for the seasoned veteran, who was quick to adapt to the new foes ; carving them up left and right, whether they turned to beasts or not.

"Dammit! These guys are slowing me down!" Qrow quirked, simultaneously dodging and slashing his way through the facility.

"Almost there!" .Qrow quickly slid under an assailant who was about to decapitate him; slicing his legs in between, before running against the wall and decapitating another with one swing. Landing on his feet, he took a few moments to catch his breath; for what laid before him was a locked door.

"Ironwood, I'm in the entrance of the RnD section. Get the door open."

After a few seconds of silence, the light on top of door lit from red to green.

"Done. Be careful out there"

Qrow sheathed his sword as he entered the area ...; ready for whatever challenge it would bring forth.

The RnD section; desolated and destroyed, seemed an almost uninteresting sight in Qrow's eyes. He carried a blank expression on his face, with an air of almost normalcy in it. It was however, not of boredom or laziness; it was more an expression of disinterest regarding the surrounding chaos and confusion, instead one which puts the objective into utmost priority before all else. With a mental attitude befitting a veteran huntsman, Qrow marched forward without any fear or hesitation.

As he stepped in further inwards, towards the heart of the beast, he was treated to a sight of destroyed knights everywhere. Using the trail of robotic corpses as breadcrumbs he followed it until the crumbs finally led him to person he was looking...or what was left of a person.

Before him, lay the beast that Lucien had become; a massive beowolf –like creature, ripping through an Atlesian knight, fierce in its exposition. Any normal man would have trembled in fear of such monsters; even most Huntsmen would flinch...but not Qrow. Suddenly the creature turned around, growling menacingly at having seen Qrow. With a foaming mouth, it stood up, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Qrow simply smiled at the creature's threatening growls as he readied the syringe in his hand. Switching to all four, the Grimm let out a deafening roar as it lunged forward. In response, the seasoned Huntsman dashed forward, vaulting over the barricade and delivering a massive vault kick to the monster's face. The Grimm crashed forward in lieu of the sheer momentum of the lunge and the force of the kick. Crashing into the barricades, it stood up readying to strike again. As the Huntsman charged forward with the syringe in hand, the Grimm delivered a backhand, knocking the syringe out of Qrow's hand in the process. "Dammit "he muttered to himself as he dodged a series of slashes from the massive hands and sharp claws of the Grimm. As he dodged on overhand swipe, he delivered a kick to the monster's chest, pushing himself against it until he finally reached a safe distance.

Reaching a stalemate again, the two squared off one another, sizing each other up. As Qrow stared at the monster straight n the face, he noticed something: The eye on the right side its face was kept shut. It seems he had found a definitive advantage, one which he was not going to hesitate to use. Turning round for a quick glance, he spotted the syringe at the corner of is eye. "Looks like it's gonna be harder than I thought" Qrow said, as he readied his sword in hand. "Sorry kid, I'm gonna help you...but...this might hurt a little". With a smirk, Qrow quickly darted towards the beast with sword in hand. Rolling over to avoid the incoming claws of the beast, he reached for the syringe and grabbed it with one hand. Quickly turning around, he saw the beast charging at him with claws swinging. Parrying the volley of attacks, the veteran Huntsman retaliated with attacks of his own: while also avoiding to not harm him too much. After a few minutes, the enraged beast raised its hands and struck it down beneath the Huntsman. But Qrow had anticipated the attack and struck an upward slash through the chest. The Grimm roared in pain, swinging wildly. Taking advantage of this and its blind right side, Qrow rushed towards the monster, delivering a spinning back kick to the Grimm's head, knocking it back. Landing on his feet, the veteran Huntsman could see that the creature had been stunned. With a narrow window of opportunity, he sprang into action, and jumped at the creature, with the syringe in hand ready to strike. But before he could even do that, The Grimm intercepted his move, caught him midair and quickly grabbed him by the neck .slamming him into a nearby wall and pinning him to it. Qrow struggled to free himself from the iron grip of the monster as it tightened its hold on him, slowly squeezing the air out of his lungs. As Qrow started choking on its grip, the Grimm readied its other hand, with sharpened claws poised to rip its foe to pieces. As it tightened its hold, it struck... as fast as lighting it was over in a flash...the sound of flesh being struck by a sharp object was made...

But alas, the claws had struck nothing but the wall as its targets head was in the other direction. The beast's eye widened as it felt a painful sharp sensation on its neck. It roared in pain as it released its grip on Qrow who dropped to the floor. The veteran Huntsman stood up dusted himself and watched as the creature moved around frantically struggling to get the lodged syringe out of its neck. When it finally did, it dropped the syringe as its body started convoluting violently while it roared in pain ; coiled up on the floor as its body started changing. The body started becoming smaller, the furs diminishing, the bones retracting as the roar slowly turned to scream as it finally transformed back to the boy it once was with clothes ripped and torn, panting heavily.

"Wow, you really were a handful" Qrow said, slowly walking towards him. "At least you're alright." Lucien struggled to come to his senses but finally managed to get up to his knees with one eye missing. "I've seen some freaky stuff over a lifetime but this has gotta be one of the weirdest, "Qrow continued. " So...care to explain how it all happened" the Huntsman questioned.

Lucien looked over his hand; a sense of guilt had taken over him: guilt that he let it take control of him. "I don't know. It's like, I could see, feel and think while I was becoming that thing...but...I just couldn't help it. I just couldn't control it. I felt like I had to hurt somebody. It almost felt like I needed to" the boy answered.

"Well, no use constipating life here kid. Let's get outta here. It's not safe."

Suddenly the ground started shaking as the ceiling crashed as rubbles fell from the top. The two quickly 'ducked out of the way as more robed assailants and their beastly companion landed in its wake. Upon landing they all turned towards Qrow, staring at him with the intent of blocking him from reaching the boy. They immediately rushed down on him, attempting to gang up and dog pile on him. The Huntsman respond by valiantly as the enemies kept on coming. "Dammit, there's too many of them! Run kid, run!" Qrow barked as he fought valiantly against the continuous wave of foes.

Lucien didn't need to hear twice. He made a break for it, running frantically; terrified at the sight of threats in his vulnerable human form. He ran and ran and ran; not knowing where to go or which direction to take for all the corridors looked to same to him. In his five year here he had never been able to move freely in the facility, rendering him helpless and lost in such a situation. Seeing the chaos and destruction unfold before him only made it feel worse for him. As he struggled to run, he felt a sharp sensation of immense pain and agony coursing throughout his entire body. Unable to bear the pain any longer, he stopped running , leaned against the wall and sat down as he held his hands to his chest tightly as it had a mass massive slash wound in it. There were also the multiple cuts and bruises along his body and the painful sensation of his missing right eye still lingering. Exhausted and weary, he desperately struggled to get up on his feet, knowing the dangers of standing still in such a place like this. Gathering his remaining strength he pressed on his way.

As he continued on his path limping along the way; out of nowhere a hand came in, grabbed him by his torn collar and tossed him across to a wall as he slammed against it with much force.

" Whaaaattt!...you gotta be kidding me. This is it. This is him?" The man in the serpent masked said as he burst out laughing. "Hahahahahha ...hahahah. ...Oh! So the Artificial strain that we've all been so worried for is nothing more than a kid" the man continued cackling.

"Hmmph, it certainly is a disappointment. We thought they were experimenting on some enhanced Grimm. To see it all be naught but a mere adolescent is certainly something they should be ashamed of" The larger man in the lion mask replied.

"Still no matter, we have a job to do" the serpent masked man continued." Hmmm, what's this? One of eye is missing. Well...that certainly is disturbing."

Already badly injured form the prior battles and exhausted beyond recovery, all that Lucien could do was struggle to muster up a few words and watch helplessly as the fate of his life laid in the palm of these two figures.

"W-who are you...W-What do you want?" Lucien said weakly.

"Us? Boohoo... Nothing really. We couldn't care less" The serpent masked man said, as he grabbed Lucien by the throat and lifted him up. "But the one above us wants something from you. "

Pressing his index finger against Lucien's head while still pinning him to the wall he continued "And all of that is in that rattling head of yours. And of course, she also wants you dead. So, please, don't take it personally. Wait! It doesn't really matter, you're gonna be dead soon anyway, hahahahahah!" he burst out cackling.

"Astarot, stop fooling around! We've wasted enough time with these weaklings!" the larger man replied.

"Awwwww but where's the fun in that!...fine!" the man in the serpent mask, now known as Astarot sarcastically replied. In all of this, Lucien could do nothing but watch helplessly.

Astarot took out from his robe what appeared to be an electronic device with a large needle at its front. Without missing a beat, he put his entire hand on Lucien's face with the thumb and index finger nearing the left eye, as it slowly tried to open it. Lucien struggled desperately but it was to no avail.

"Alright kiddo, this might sting a bit...meh..Who am I kidding, IT GONNA HURT A LOT!" Astarot laughed maniacally as he continued opening Lucien's remaining eye. "Now open wiiiiiddddeeee".

As the eyes firmly widened, the needle slowly jabbed its way through the pupils as it pushed in deeper and deeper. Lucien kicked and swung at his captor's hands but to no avail did it flinch. As it finally stopped breaching, Astarot pulled the trigger as it fire up. It made mechanical screeching noises as it started extracting something from Lucien's insides. Lucien let out choking gurgles as his body tensed up as the burning sensation of pain got lit up even more.

It seemed like an eternity of pain but it finally stopped after a while as Astarot slowly removed the machine from his eye. Putting the device back into his robe, he noticed that Lucien had already passed out. As he let go of Lucien, he dropped to ground; his body lying still with blood flowing like river from his other eye as well.

"Hmm? Looks like you've given up on me already" Astarot said with an apathetical smirk on his face." Well, at least your eyes are the same now. You're not just blind on one side only eh kid?". The serpent masked man reached out into his robes and pulled out a knife, ready to finish the job. With a quick jab, the knife went straight through the stomach as Lucien's body remained still.

"It seems we're done here. Let's go" the lion masked man said.

Seemingly satisfied with their mission objective, the two men readied themselves to leave...until...

*Shwing!*

Astarot could barely react as a sword came out of nowhere. As he struggled to block, the mysterious man kicked him straight in the stomach, sending him flying backwards. The serpent masked man immediately got up from the kick and gave out a little chuckle under his mask. "So you must one of those Huntsman that's been slaughtering through my boys. Not bad."

The man did not reply as he simply looked at the prone body of the boy. "So you're the ones who did this to him. The ones behind all of this... Hmmmph..., sick bastards. I'm gonna end you both" he said as he readied his sword.

Hearing this, the larger man stepped forward and spoke "So you're a Huntsman eh? Well this should be interesting."

" Astarot, how much time can we spare ?" he asked.

" Five minutes and no more. Make it fast Leandros " Astarot replied.

Leandros simply put his fists together, cracking his knuckles and neck." Your fellow humans and their mechanical allies were hardly able to satisfy my thirst for blood. Perhaps a Huntsman like you can satisfy these craving fangs. SO COME! COME TO ME AND I"LL RIP YOU FROM FLESH TO BONE!" he screamed.

Qrow simply pointed his sword towards the man." Bring it."

With a battling roar, Leandros dashed forward, while Qrow did the same. As they reached in closer, the hulking man slammed his fists onto the ground, ready to pound his opponent into a pulp. Qrow intercepted the attack and flew over the beast's shoulder and slashed his back. The Lion masked man attempted a backhand but the veteran Huntsman dodged the swipe and kicked him squarely in the chin making him take a few step backwards. Rubbing his chin, Leandros gave out a menacing smile.

"Yes! It seems you're more of a warrior than I thought. It looks like I can finally hold back a little less. GET READY!" he screamed again.

With the sword on his shoulder, Qrow simply turned around and gave him a smirk; daring him to come get him"

With a beastly roar, Leandros charged forward and slammed his hands onto the ground. Qrow quickly dodged it, but it had left a crater in its wake. Damn gotta end this guy fast Qrow thought to himself.

Strike after strike, blow after blow, the Huntsman nimbly dodged them as it left the areas destroyed in the process. This was clearly a demonstration of raw strength, one that could not be match blow for blow. As they reached a stalemate, the two looked at each other dead in the eye.

"YES! FINALLY, SOMEONE WORTHY OF FULLFILLING MY BLOODLUST!" Leandros roared, becoming more and more crazed by the minute. "Hmmph, fine lets end this," Qrow replied.

With blazing speed, Qrow darted across the room ready to strike down his foe. Leandros blocked his hands in anticipation of the direction of the incoming attack. The Attack neared and neared, Qrow suddenly switched his footing and poster as he spun to the other direction with his sword morphing. In the blink of an eye it was all over...

Or so it seemed. Leandros had blocked the now transformed scythe with his right hand which was engulfed by an aura of black and gold. But that was not the end of it as the two continued in their tug of ar. "Dammit! Hahaha... you actually forced me to use my aura. Not bad" Complimented Leandros.

"Okay, times up Leandros. We gotta go!"

Receiving the message, Leandros pushed himself and Qrow back to a relatively safe distance between them.

"In all my centuries of fighting, you've made an impression. So tell me, what is your name?" Leandros asked, with a much more calmer and polite tone.

"Qrow," the Huntsman replied.

"Well Qrow, the honour's certainly mine. I'm Leandros. It's a shame to leave like this but I have my orders. I pray that we cross paths on the battlefield on day. We shall be taking our leave for now" Leandros replied.

"Then you certainly know how to back off" Qrow said, with disinterested smirk as he watched the two leave with their minions in tow. Those two could wait, there were other, more important priorities right now.

Walking back to the previous spot, Qrow spotted the prone body of Lucien. It seems that the Council had gotten their wish after all. As he walked over to his 'corpse' however, he noticed something else. As he leaned in closer, he realised the there were still signs of life in Lucien, for even in this lifeless state, he was still breathing. Checking on his pulse confirmed Qrow that was the boy was still alive, although not for long. Reaching out for his scroll he radioed in. "This is Qrow. Ozpin, Ironwood, get over here fast ASAP."

It was over. After what seemed like an eternity of endless slaughter, the battle was over: the defenders had won. But it was not a victory worth celebrating however; it was a pyrrhic victory at best. The Loss of men had been astronomical, while the surviving men had to deal with the loss of their comrades, colleagues and brothers in arms. Corpses on both sides spread out like sea as the cries on men and screams of agony echoed through the now empty corridors with rivers of blood flowing through every corner and painting every wall while bullets riddled the floors and made walking impossible... They had been on the fight for their lives ; against an enemy they had never seen before. One that could transform in the same hideous monsters that they were meant to protect remnant against. These mysterious foes had breached and crippled one of the most secure military sites in all of Atlas and Remnant.

"So the council got what they wanted after all" Ozpin commented. "How convenient " Ironwood replied as he tended to Lucien, doing what he could to keep him alive at the moment.

"Qrow, did you get any information on the assailants "Ozpin asked.

"Crazy bastards they were to do shit like this to the kid. The big guy called himself Leandros and I heard him call the skinny little weasel Astarot. They're crazy tough that's for sure." Qrow answered.

"Anything else?" Ironwood pried.

"Hmmm, their Auras looked strange as hell and it was strong too."

"They're certainly not like Lucien it seems, with his weak aura yet all so similar as well. Astarot and Leandros, is it? ...it seems we have our hands full" Ozpin murmured to himself.

"Oz, we can't just rule the White Fang out either, even if they seem to share nothing in common with them" Ironwood said as he continued to tend to Lucien.

"Regardless, the council got what they wanted. Lucien is dead in their eyes. Right now, we need to get him out of here and give him proper medical attention. James, can you convince the council of his 'demise'?" Ozpin asked.

"I can dub this as a White Fang attack and the witnesses can probably attest to Lucien's death" Ironwood answered.

"Good. We'll need to take to your ship for an emergency medical treatment."

"And where are we gonna take him?" Qrow asked.

"The one place we can keep him safe for now...Beacon."