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: The Vist Foundation

Originally starting as a political think tank for advocating Faunus rights, the Vist Foundation has since expanded into a powerful multi-industrial conglomerate. The founder of the group, Syam Vist, started to see the advantages in employing Faunus and Mobians alike in equal conditions to human members, and thus began to bridge the gap in rights. However, the rise of Satyra, the extremist group, has led to the think tank undergoing a shift from political activists to industry to distance themselves from the terrorists. Syam decided to turn his efforts into helping wounded Hunters and Huntresses, mostly in terms of physicsl wounds such as losing limbs.

This led the fledging company to start researching prosthetic limbs, becoming something of an anomaly in that field. Their prosthetics started out rather primitive, but as time passed they got better and better at developing them, even including a small processor unit that, unfortunately, has to be connected into the brain to allow for full use of the limb. Recent advances in technology, coupled with the new nuclear fusion reactor developed by Dr. Minovsky, led to a new proposal that has since been considered controversial by many in the scientific community.

After s meteorite crashed at one of their research facilities, the new head of the Vist Foundation, Cardias Vist, ordered it to be excavated. The meteorite was at first feared to be another Dark Substance, but subsequent testing and analysis debunked that fear, instead discovering it was made of a metal totally unknown to humankind. Testing of this metal led to some surprising results and discoveries, such as that it was incredibly resistant to any Dust-based weaponry, and that the Dark Substance didn't cause it to become corrupted. But it was also surprisingly heavy in a plate form, so there was no way it could be used in standard armor.

Dr. Minovsky provided a solution and a possible project that used the metal as well. Thus, Project GUNDAM was born.

Despite the intense controversy that surrounds the company and their project, they still remain as one of the top prosthetic limb manufacturing companies in the world, as well as advocating for equal Faunus rights through diplomacy and discussion rather than violence.

Close File

"What is activism? Activism can come in many forms, but there is one that can sometimes lead to drastic changes, for good or ill in the world. And that is political activism. Many people throughout history have striven to reach their goals through the use of political activism, and sometimes they've succeeded. That right there is what makes a democracy so powerful, because it's the combined will of the people that makes those laws," TOM explained as he closed the Vist Foundation file. "But there are those who seek to use it to also further their own agenda, usually through people representing their interests. Those people are called lobbyists, and are usually representing industry. That can lead to conflicts of interest at times, but in the end, if things are going against the will of the people, the people will always find a way to overcome it. So, if you have something you're willing to fight for, then get out there and encourage others to take a political stand against those who wish to diverge from the right thing."

I had to admit, it was good to see a friend again, especially Nick. But I still wanted to know one thing.

"So, why are you wearing that body?" I asked her.

Nick snorted. "It was the only one that would attract attention from the males," she remarked dryly. A smirk crossed her face. "You know I prefer the sexy ones. Makes infiltration all the easier for me."

The two of us were now making our way through the corridors of the underground complex, searching out my two companions. After a bit of discussion, we decided to check out the command center - if we could find it - and hopefully try and get the old power system back online; I highly doubted we could though, given the age of the old place.

"And you..." My voice trailed off as Nick's borrowed blue eyes glinted in that smirk only a woman could have.

"Best way to win a man's heart is through his person," she giggled.

Nick's Semblance was a unique one, I remembered. His Semblance, Phantasm, was perhaps the only one that allowed him to phase into objects and linger there as an unseen observer. However, there was an unintended side effect if he stayed in that state for a time: he could possess people and take complete and total control of their body, making it his own. His first possession turned out to be a woman in her late twenties, and I remembered the moment he found out, resulting in a panic attack that caused him to faint. When he came to, at first Nick thought it was only a dream until he heard the voice of the host coming out rather than his own, and well... he wound up groping his new breasts, finding that they were...

I'm not going into detail. It still makes me uneasy. All I'll say is that he had a good time. But that ability let Nick gather information from some very powerful men who loved to bed hot women, especially regarding Satyra's activities.

Anyway, Nick and I wandered through the corridors until we came to a larger intersection. Nick's eyes narrowed as she gripped the rocket launcher in her arms.

"Any sign of them?" she asked.

I shook my head. "No. And nothing on radar, either," I replied.

Nick growled to herself as she peeked down another corridor. I had to admit, this was very unnerving, to say the least. My radar was going full power, scanning for any sign of the two Huntresses, as well as that sleaze ball, Katz. At least this way I'd know if he was around.

We continued to venture down the next corridor, this time to the right, and I paused, my radar starting to act up. "Nick... we got trouble," I whispered.

Nick looked up, raising her launcher. She glanced at me. "What's up?" she asked.

"I'm getting something... Something very familiar," I muttered. My optics flared in response. "And I'd betcha anything it's him!"

And boy, was I right.

The first thing I did was avert my gaze as we approached where the signature was coming from. That smooth, almost cultured voice reached out from the darkness, and I tensed.

"So... you two will be the first guests in my new lodge," he was saying. "And I have a good price for you..."

Tina's muffled voice came out from the darkness and I plastered myself against the wall, inching as close as I dared. I slowly stuck a hand into the opened room, but Katz didn't even notice. But I still pulled it back anyway.

"Oh, come now. You truly think I would do something so evil?" Katz purred.

I felt my reactor increase its humming in my chest and I clenched my fists on my beam magnum. I was not going to let that sleaze ball of a cat get away with this... whatever his scheme was!

The muffled voice of Dan was next to emit from the room, and Nick slipped up to my side, holding her launcher at the ready. Her teeth were gritted and I could sense her body was tense for a battle. The two of us however were up against a serial killer, and one who knew how to fight dirty. Especially when it came to psychological warfare. I hissed through my vents as I wracked my processor for a plan of any type. But nothing came to my mind.

"Nick... I'm gonna need some ideas here!" I hissed.

The woman's face frowned, and I knew Nick was trying to come up with a plan. What I didn't expect was to see the woman's body suddenly slump and I reacted, grabbing her and catching the rocket launcher as I saw Nick emerge from her, like he was shedding a suit or clothing. He slowly pulled himself out from her, and then his body became solid.

I looked at his host, noticing how she had passed out. "Don't worry," he told me. "She's fine."

I knew he was right about the issue, but it was still eerie as hell to see him do it.

Nick's real human form was five foot one, the shortest of us all, and he had shaggy black hair that hung over one green eye. His clothing was basically a trench coat with the sleeves below the elbow covering a green T-shirt and blue jeans that were muddy at the bottom. Combat boots adorned his feet. He grabbed the rocket launcher from my hands and his body became transparent as he phased through the wall.

I slowly poked my head in through the doorway, noticing his transparent image slinking closer to Katz. I wondered what he was up to. I knew he was a pacifist, but to see him creeping around with his rocket launcher held at the ready made me wonder if he had become less of a pacifist than he had been when at Laplace. Nick's hand slowly reached out and brushed through Katz, earning a mild shudder from him before his hand reached a nearby speaker, and then Nick's body was... I still can't accurately describe it, aside from that it seemed like he was sucked right in. One minute he was there, next he was gone. I had seen it happen before, but it still gave me the willies.

My frame shuddered and I had to try and keep my armor from clattering and waking up Nick's host, as well as catching Katz's attention.

Katz looked around, his eyes narrowing. "Hmm... Must be the air in this place..." he muttered. A sneer then crept across his features. "Although... this does give me an idea for my lodge..." he purred sinisterly.

Dan and Tina both began to protest and cry out in muffled tones, which made me suspect they were gagged. I slowly inched closer, peeking around the corner as much as I dared.

I gasped to myself in shock.

Tina and Dan were both there, all right. And they were bound and gagged, like I had suspected. But the way they were bound made me sick to my nonexistent stomach.

Dan's legs were more spread than Tina's, but Tina was tied in a spread-eagled fashion, her hands over her head and legs at an angle towards Katz. Dan on the other hand was lashed down on a chair, legs splayed wide open, as if ready for...

Now that was it. My optics dimmed a bit before flaring brightly. "Oh... that's it!" I muttered to myself. "He is going down!"

"Not yet!" Nick's voice hissed from the speaker closest to me. I yelped and almost dropped his host, but caught her in time.

"Shit... Nick! Tell me you at least have a plan!" I growled.

"I do. But I need you to stay put a bit longer!" he whispered.

I huffed, but did as he asked. However, I leaned in again, this time observing Katz to see what Nick was up to.

For a long while, or in reality only thirty seconds, there was nothing but silence, and Katz's eerie chuckling. "So, my dears... which one of you shall be the first to experience our... luxury rooms?" he sneered.

Then, I heard it.

Static. Static coming from the speaker in the room. Katz turned and narrowed his eyes. He walked over to it and tapped it with a finger. "What is this? I thought this place was abandoned."

"You... who dare... to disturb my tomb..." an eerie voice whispered, issuing from the speaker. "You... who dare... to disturb... my rest... You shall... suffer... the consequences..."

Some small part of me shuddered at the very realistic way Nick was manipulating the speaker to distort his own voice. And the rest of me... was just very creeped out. I forced myself to focus though as I laid Nick's host down on the ground and started to creep in, my reactor whirring loudly in my audios. My wings twitched as I slowly inched my way into the room, my optics locked onto Tina's and Dan's locations. My frame was tense as Nick's voice continued to emit from the speaker, keeping Katz distracted.

Time was the only thing we needed. I wasn't sure how long Nick could keep up the act.

But it was just long enough for me to get the job done. I swiftly ignited one of my beam tonfas and went to work on cutting the restraints on Tina and Dan. I had to move somewhat slowly, but efficiently. And during that time I was scared that Katz would catch on. But thankfully that wasn't an issue.

I finally finished cutting their bonds and was helping them to their feet when Katz finally decided to ignore the continued moaning and groaning from Nick's distorted voice. And that was when he spotted me.

"You!" he snarled, his black Aura flaring.

I reacted by lowering my head and charging at him, using my helmet to head-butt him full force in the face. His Aura did shield him, but his focus was disrupted so he couldn't use his Semblance. And that was just what I needed. I smirked to myself in my thoughts as he looked up, his eyes somewhat glazed from my hit. I grabbed his head in one of my massive hands, and I whipped my frame around, throwing him clear across the room. He went rolling and came to a stop, his Aura slightly weaker than before.

I stood there as he staggered to his feet, one eye squinted shut. I noticed this, and I began to wonder if his Semblance needed both eyes to make eye contact with his adversary. The longer he gazed at me, the more I began to feel I was right. I mentally sneered at him. But since my facial features couldn't allow for expressions physically, I flashed my optics instead. Some small part of me wished I was human still, but for the most part I was fully adjusted to my circumstances. I chuckled a little though.

Katz narrowed his one good eye. "What's so funny?" he asked in a snarl.

"Just that you're so foolish," I bluffed, "to take on one such as myself."

A slight shimmering from behind indicated that Nick was emerging from the speaker, and I needed to buy some time. But one thing I wanted to know was... what was this guy doing down here? I mean, sure I knew he was a serial killer and always seeking to make a business venture, even if it was to cause suffering on others, but this was not what I had expected. It was... so weird to see him down here. Maybe he was collecting Grimm for one of his ventures? That did seem possible, given he was a notorious killer and criminal.

Katz was unaware of Nick as his body solidified behind him. "So you say..." he sneered, his left eye starting to pry itself open and I braced for the first signs of his Semblance.

Only he never got a chance to use it.

The sound of metal hitting flesh reached my audios and then he landed on the ground, his eyes closed and blood oozing from his head injury. I snorted as I stood up. "Good thinking," I muttered as I nudged the killer with a foot. "About time you did that."

"That creep is not going to be getting away with whatever he was planning for long," Nick mused as he became tangible long enough for him to help me get the two women out of this room and into the hallway.

Tina and Dan were just overjoyed to see me. Nick by that time had phased out of sight and vanished. I guessed he must've been heading back to his host.

I didn't even bother to ask as I led the two women to a safer place.

"About time you showed up!" Dan grumbled.

"Yeah, well, I ran into an old friend," I remarked with a light chuckle.

"Who?" Tina asked.

Dan's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess. Buxom woman, rocket launcher?" she inquired.

I was surprised at her guesses. "H-How'd you...?" My voice trailed off as Dan snorted.

"Only he'd use such tactics," the redhead muttered. "Nick Mallory. A good kid, but a bit of a coward."

"Hey!" I growled. "He's not a coward!"

The two of us glared at each other for a moment before Tina piped up. "Okay...?"

I sighed, running a hand down my faceplate. "Okay. Tina, Nick is one of our teammates, and well... he has this preference for using the bodies of busty women to gain information on enemy activities from men who worked with them or know of them. He's skilled in infiltration, which makes him a coward in Dan's eyes," I briefly explained. "His Semblance allows him to possess the women, as well as linger inside objects to gain intelligence by being a silent observer."

Tina's eyes went wide. "Okay... That's just plain creepy..." she muttered.

"Trust me, that's exactly how I felt," I remarked.

Dan snorted. "Now that we have that out of the way, let's find the guy and meet up."

I nodded. "Right."

I waited a little bit, allowing the two women to finally regain their strength and then we got up and left, leaving the unconscious Katz behind. I paused for a moment, however. "Hold on."

I didn't want to leave this killer to roam freely in this place, so I hunted around for some cable or something and was rewarded when I came across a bunch of wires that lay on the floor. I grabbed them and made my way back to the serial killer Mobian. I knelt and proceeded to truss his arms and legs up good so he wouldn't bother us while we hunted for a way out of this creep house.

Once that was done, I stood and gave him a kick with my metal foot for good measure. "That'll keep him in place," I muttered as I left.

Some part of me felt disgusted and I felt an urge to wash my foot, but I ignored it. I could always clean up later. Once we got back to Denver, that is.

Anyway, we made our way back to the hall where Nick was getting reacquainted with his host body, and he.. or rather, she... was already flexing her arms and running her hands down her body, as if feeling the flesh and muscle of a female form for the first time. She looked up, and at once she squeaked and stopped her fondling.

I just shook my helm. 'Just forget it,' I thought to myself. 'We got other things to worry about.'

The four of us continued on the hunt for a way out. Nick led us through the tunnels, but I still was getting the feeling of being watched. My optics flicked left and right, my vision keen enough to pick out anything out of the ordinary, but nothing was visible. Even to my sensors. So then why was this feeling persisting?

I was so busy thinking I didn't even notice I was lost.

At least until I smacked into a wall. I fell back, my forehead searing with pain as I grasped it with a hand. "Owwww!" I muttered. "Note to self: watch where you're going."

I got to my feet, rubbing my helm with one hand before I looked around, realizing that I wasn't picking up my friends or Tina anywhere on my radar. "Dammit... I just had to get lost!" I muttered, grumbling under my breath as I started to walk. I wasn't even sure if I could find my way out without my friends or whatnot. I began to wonder if I would be stuck down here, forever.

That thought sent shivers down my back struts. "Oh... shit..." I muttered. "I... I gotta find a way outta here!"

I turned and started to run as fast as I could. I pushed the hydraulics in my legs to the limit, weaving, dodging, and running around corridors, up and down staircases, past Grimm as they started to linger in the area, no doubt feeding off of Katz' hostile emotions. I either cut through them with my beam tonfas or avoided them like the plague. The more I ran, the more panicked I became.

I ran and ran and ran.

The walls were beginning to close in on me.

I felt my reactor racing in my chest double time.

My vision was beginning to darken as shock and panic started to overtake me.

I felt my frame shaking as I practically flew down the hallways.

My wings were twitching like crazy.

And then I slammed full force into a door.

That was the last thing I recalled before I blacked out.

'Ugh...'

I groaned as I slowly came to.

My vision was filled with static as I felt my systems coming online slowly.

'What...happened? Last thing I remember was... slamming into a door full force...'

I adjusted my optics, trying to clear the static from my vision. I shook my helmet, feeling the static dissipating to expose familiar shapes and colors. I managed to sit up, raising a hand to rub at my helm.

Only to feel a bandage around my head.

Confusion flooded my frame as I brought my optics online fully and glanced down at myself, checking for anything wrong with me.

Much to my surprise, my armor now shimmered with a glossy sheen, and whatever dents and nicks I had sustained so far over my career as a Huntsman were repaired, save for some of them which was a surprise. I had not expected to see some of the damage I sustained retained. And actually, now that I thought about it, it kind of fit me, seeing as how some Hunters and Huntresses bore the scars of their careers proudly. Some of my damages were covered with bandages, which was a surprise given how I was no longer flesh and blood. But maybe there was a reason for that. I decided to ignore it for now and I decided to try and figure out where the hell I was.

My optics roved around the area I was in, and I was shocked, to say the least, to find out that I was no longer in the underground complex, but in a small hut that was just on the outskirts of the entrance - I later learned - I had slammed into full force, leaving a nice Gundam-shaped indent in the metal doors.

The hut wasn't very big, but the one who was living there was obviously skilled in repairs and maintenance of robotics.

My gaze landed on my cloak, which hung over a chair, all the tears and gashes neatly sewn shut - a much better job than I could've done, at any rate. That actually surprised me.

Obviously whomever lived here was a survivalist of some kind. Or maybe a class V Hunter, which proved that they could survive in a place like this. Not just anyone had the experience to live in the Darklands for very long as it was, and still is, incredibly dangerous to do so. I looked around the hut, taking in the appearance of the stuff inside and of the contents. I was even more surprised to find that I still retained my weapons, especially my beam magnum which was lying right beside me. Clearly whoever had repaired and cleaned my armor was trusting enough to give me the run of the place while leaving me armed.

Either that or they were plain crazy.

Either way, I got to my feet and shook my helm to lessen the pounding of my processor. My vision swam briefly but then it stabilized and I looked around the room.

I could see a table with some chairs around it that looked as if they had been there for some time. The place was bare, no decorative interior furnishings, nothing of that nature to make the place a home. Only a small table, a fire pit, some earthen pots and pans, and a small cot furnished the interior. The place was truly bland and bare.

I wandered over to the door and peered outside, my optics landing on the exit I had just slammed into... how long had I been out for?

I checked my internal clock and was surprised to see that it had been a few days. Had I really hit the door that hard?! And... wait... what about my friends and Tina?! Panic raced through my frame as I bolted out of the shack, only to feel dizziness swamp over me. I collapsed onto my chest, panting as I felt a sensation of nausea surging through me. I made a gagging sound from my vocalizer, but I couldn't throw up. Nor could I gag. Not since I had been transferred into this frame. I shuddered from the feeling of nausea and I groaned.

"Oh, my! This simply will not do!" a voice called out.

The next thing I knew a hand was slipping itself under my chest and someone was hauling me to my feet. "You should know better than to be out and about in your condition!"

I could only groan weakly as I was helped back into the shack. For some reason my head was starting to ache, and my frame felt warm. I wondered if my reactor was starting to overheat, but then I dismissed it. There would be readouts that showed how high my reactor's temperature was getting, and so far it was still within normal operational levels. But then why was my frame feeling so warm? Was I sick?

The thought made me laugh. Was I sick? No! I was a Gundam, not a human. And yet, the feverish ache building within my processor seemed to say otherwise. Maybe I was just suffering an overheating issue. Sometimes it happened. But it never persisted as long as this one did. I groaned again and this time I swore something was twisting in my lower torso. Or akin to it, since my psychoframe usually simulated feeling rather well.

The female speaker ushered me back into the hut and lay me down on the cot, reaching for some bandages that lay beside it.

She - yes, she - started to remove the bandages on my frame, but I couldn't even protest I was so weak from...whatever was wrong with me. It was so weird, to be feeling so strong and yet unable to do much as you felt you couldn't lift a finger or whatever. I was definitely starting to suffer from overheating at this point as steam was starting to emit from the cooling vents on my frame. I was starting to lose consciousness as my vision swam in and out of focus. Readouts popped up in my vision, warning me of issues I couldn't comprehend at the time since I was so dizzy and out of it.

The last thing I felt when I blacked out was a cool cloth on my forehead, to try and ease my headache.

I had no idea how long I was in that state.

Visions swam before me, urging me to wake up, but I couldn't. I was too feverish.

The hallucinations were too vivid.

My mind wasn't able to separate fact from fiction at the moment.

I didn't know what was wrong with me.

A few times I apparently woke up, but then fell back into an offline state, unable to remain awake any longer than a few moments at a time.

It was about a month later I woke up for what appeared to be the fifteenth time in just as many days, or so it seemed. My vision swam back into view, the familiar readouts fading back into the corners of my sight.

I let out a weak groan as I turned my head, feeling the cool fabric of a damp cloth against my forehead. The overheating sensation that had plagued me for the last few weeks was gone, and I was shivering from the lack of that heat. A warm blanket was over my shaking frame, and I could hear voices.

I slowly turned my head in the direction of the voices, only to stare in shock at the sight of my friends, Nick, Dan, and Tina sitting around the table with the woman who rescued me. I tried to turn up my audio receptors so I could hear better, but the effort took a toll on me and I nearly passed out again. It was only due to sheer willpower I refused to black out. Especially as I needed to know what was going on.

"...he even get a fever?!" Tina was demanding.

Dan's voice was next. "You gotta remember, Katz' Semblance is his means of convincing people to surrender or bend to his will. So there is that effect. If his concentration is broken, then there will be fever-like symptoms," she was explaining. "So it makes sense that he'd be suffering from that for a while."

"But a whole month?!" a familiar masculine voice shouted.

That was what got me to snap awake fully. My optics flashed in recognition at the voice of Hunter Jenkins. But what in the world was he doing here!? Did that mean others were there, too?

"Sometimes if you get hit with a particularly bad terror vision, it can last for a while," Dan remarked.

"But that still doesn't explain the fact that he was able to even get a fever, given his condition," the cool voice of Martha Preston stated. "He's not even human like us anymore, remember?"

Rachel Coupe's voice snorted. "Don't think we've forgotten that."

Wait... what were my best friends and old teammates doing here?

I managed to shift on the bed, lifting myself up onto my elbows, despite the fact my arms were shaking at the effort of supporting my full weight. The woman was next, and she didn't really resemble so much a woman as a Mobian. She was in actuality a Faunus, a coyote Faunus, to boot since she possessed the tail and ears of one. But she looked kind of portly, but something told me to not disregard her as a weakling. If anyone could survive this long, it was a seasoned Hunter. And she even looked the part, with a saber laced with Dust secured against her waist, despite the old, but well-kept apron, pants and shirt. Her feet were heavily calloused and bare, which surprised me, but I ignored it. She was the next one to speak.

"Well, it's clear his fever's broken," she said. "So he'll be good to go in a few days."

Tina shot a glance back over her shoulder at my bed just as my arms gave way, letting me fall backwards onto my back again. My wings thankfully were splayed out to either side of me, so they weren't uncomfortable.

I didn't feel so good again as I felt that churning in my lower torso, like my stomach was twisting itself in knots had I been human. A groan escaped my vocalizer.

Tina was on her feet in a flash as the others whipped their gazes over to look in my direction.

She was the first one by my side. "Joseph?" Her voice was tinged with worry as she sat down on the floor. I managed to look into her blue eyes with my violet optics, but then my vision swam and I just flopped back on the bed. "Ugh... I... I don't feel good..." I whined.

"That's to be expected, since Nick here interrupted Katz' terror vision," Dan grunted as she smacked her companion. Nick grunted as she rubbed her head.

I managed to squash the queasiness as best I could, but it still didn't feel good. "H-How...?" My voice trailed off as Hunter approached, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Long story short, Seph," he remarked, using my old nickname out of habit, "when you guys didn't come out after a few days, Sebben and ol' Minovsky sent out a call for us, and well... we went in after you. It was by pure luck we found your other teammates, and Rachel was scouting out near the border to the Darklands of GrimmFall when she got the call. It didn't take her long to get here. As for us, we were out doing an escort mission when we got the word."

"We didn't expect to find you in this house though," Martha added. "If it wasn't for Valoria here, we'd've assumed you were dead."

A pang of guilt surged through my chest and I grimaced in my thoughts. "Sorry..." I rasped.

Tina finally looked at the Faunus. "I know you're confused, but here's the rundown. After you slammed into that door and knocked yourself out, Valoria found you inside the underground complex. She took you back to her home and healed what injuries you managed to inflict on yourself with that impact. You had a dislocated shoulder joint and one of your wings was limp, not to mention the fact one of your ankle joints was broken. That... and the potential for a damaged processor," she explained. "Thankfully you didn't have that, so that's one worry we don't have to be concerned over. But the damage to your frame was kind of bad. So when we got here, you were in a half-conscious state, passing in and out of consciousness due to the fever. So it was kind of touch and go for a few weeks."

"Touch and go...?" I was confused.

"In short, we weren't sure your fever was gonna break," Rachel admitted. "But it did."

Some small part of me was relieved that they had been there, but the rest of me was still concerned about what was going to happen next.

Rachel seemed to sense my confusion and sighed. "Once you're healed and recovered, our mission is to get out of here... once we finish the job that Sebben had for us."

"Huh?" I managed to push myself into somewhat of a sitting position, feeling my strength starting to return. "Whaddya mean?" I asked.

She simply held out a note. "Sebben wrote this out, but it came from Minovsky himself, the old geezer." A smirk was on her face. I took it in one hand and examined it. The note was simple, but it laid out our mission objective.

To Joseph Matthews.

I've heard of the news from Sebben and your old teammates. This is indeed worrisome, as it proves that someone is manipulating the City Guard of Denver. I fear that someone may be in cahoots with the Fallen. I can't say much on this matter as this letter could be intercepted. But to be clear, and to get to the issue, your mission is simple: rather than just wander the Darklands, your objective is to find my old 'friend' Ionesco. If what I heard is true, then he may be up to something. Your task is to find him and stop him, no matter what it takes.

We will be expecting a full report once you get out.

Dr. Torenov Y. Minovsky.
Nuclear Physicist, Vist Foundation

Dr. Cardias Vist.
Chief Executive Officer, Vist Foundation

I was surprised, but at the same time relieved that we actually had a mission objective now.

I looked up. "So that's it, huh?" I asked.

Rachel nodded as she plucked the letter from my grasp. "Yep. The old guy may be a bit out there sometimes, but he's usually right in regards to his former colleague."

We spent a few more days at Valoria's house, allowing me to rest and recover more of my strength. By the fourth day, I was fully healed and my strength had fully returned. We thanked the Faunus woman and she nodded back before telling us to be careful.

Now we had to find a way into the fortress ahead of us.

But that was going to be a lot easier said than done at this point.

And boy, was I right.

I watched from a distance as the fortress hummed with activity. Beside me Nick had her rocket launcher resting on the rocks we were huddled behind. Dan was busy checking her sword over and the rest of the group sat around the campfire Tina had set up a few hours ago.

It had been a full week after I had fully recovered from my ordeal at the hands of Katz and his Semblance when we headed out. The seven of us managed to find a sheltered spot from which we could observe the fortress and try to get a layout of the land so as to try and sneak inside. Getting past the cyborgs guarding the Pools was one thing, but to sneak inside was another. My optics dimmed a shade as I watched a few cyborgs change guard shifts.

"Man... these things are never ending..." I muttered under my figurative breath.

Nick nodded. "Yeah. It's like they're constantly spawning or something."

"I doubt that," Dan grumbled from behind us. "These things are not Grimm by any means. They have very real limits, but we don't know what those limits are... yet."

I had to admit, my old teammate had a point. There was no way to be sure we could even get past these things without knowing how long they could fight, and we had no idea if they had any other Dust weapons on them. This was an issue that had to be corrected.

I prepared to stand up, only for Nick's hand to fly out and grab me by my arm, pulling me back down. I glanced at her in surprise. "What's the big deal?!" I hissed.

Nick shook her head. "You wanna get blasted to bits?!" she growled.

I paused, realizing she was right. If I even dared to set foot out there, I was sure to get blasted to bits.

I pulled back as I scanned the area with my radar and optics. The cyborgs patrolling the perimeter of the fortress were well armed, but they only followed a preset patrol route. And there was always a cyborg at least five feet behind the first, so it was a never ending cycle of cyborgs wandering around the perimeter. "Shit..." I muttered. "There's no way to get past those things."

Hunter grunted from his spot. "Just forget it for now," he said. His eyes flicked over to me as I scurried back down the hillside to join my friends and old teammates around the fire, Nick joining me a short while later. I sat down on one of the rocks around the fire.

"So, what's the plan then?" I asked Dan, who seemed to have more of a grasp on things regarding the mission.

Dan rolled her eyes. "Not sure yet. But we need more data on what weapons they possess, as I said. And unfortunately, due to our circumstances right now, we're stuck without that information."

The rest of us all nodded. Tina shifted as she reached into the pack that Hunter and Martha had brought with when they came looking for us, only to pull out some instant ramen not even a moment later.

"I think what we really need to know is if these things have a scheduled patrol shift," she mused, prying open the container. "I mean...surely they can't patrol indefinitely."

I hummed to myself at that thought. That did seem to make sense. If they did need to change shifts for maintenance or recharging of their power supply... Then that could be our chance to sneak past. "That may be the case, but that means we'd need to observe and watch them for a few days," I mused.

Dan frowned as she glanced at us. "You honestly think ol' cyberface is gonna just sit around on his aft while we wait for a change of shifts?" she asked. "For all we know he-"

"No," Martha replied, cutting her off. "But if you think about it, this could be our only means of sneaking inside. We exactly didn't find a way inside the place from underground, now did we?" She shot a glance at me and I flinched in my thoughts.

That was all that we needed. We agreed to observe for the next few days and see if there was indeed a change of shifts.

But it wasn't even fifteen hours in when we spotted the first changing of the cyborg guard. The patrolling cyborgs stopped their route and began marching in the direction of the main fortress gate, which was by now sliding wide open and more cyborgs were lining up in rows - from where we were we had a decent view of the courtyard - to head out and begin a new patrol cycle.

We watched for a moment before Dan suddenly charged out, and I cried out as I reached for her. "Wait!" I hissed. "Not yet!"

But by then the others were already en route. Grumbling to myself, I scrambled to my feet and followed after, my cloak fluttering around my frame as I ran. My wings were folded flat against my back as I ran, but some small part of me was encouraging me to take flight. I wasn't about to risk getting shot down though, so I squashed that urge and kept on running.

We finally approached the main gate, plastering ourselves to the exterior wall behind some rocks as the second shift of cyborg guards began to march out. The first shift was heading inside, no doubt for maintenance or recharging of their weapons, I noticed. That meant that the guards here were in two shifts, and they changed whenever the guards needed to be reequipped or something more mundane. The interior of the courtyard was otherwise empty.

That gave me an idea. "Guys... follow me!" I whispered.

Hunter whirled around to look at me like I was nuts. "You can't be serious!" he hissed. "We're not going in there right now!"

I didn't even reply back. Instead, I prepared to run as fast as I could. I had to admit, it was foolish now that I think about it years later, but then again, what other choice did I have at the time? It was our one way in, and I was not about to waste it.

I just ran for it.

Everyone else was stunned and rather worried, but they followed my lead regardless. I was so grateful to have such friends and teammates at that moment. By the time we were inside, the guards had been changed and the first patrol group had vanished into the depths of the fortress's corridors.

We were alone in the courtyard.

Hunter came over to me, his eyes hardening. "Way to go, Seph! Now we're stuck here!"

"Not exactly," I pointed out. "Being stuck here would be that we can't get out. We can, but we need to get inside and find out who or what lives here first. Then we can leave."

"And if it's Ionesco, we finish him," Rachel said seriously. Her hands clenched around her hammer's handle as it rested on her back.

Hunter grunted. "Okay. I get it. But you still act recklessly!" he said, directing the statement at me. "And this had better not be one of your more stupid decisions."

I nodded. "Yeah... I hope so, too..." I murmured as he walked off a bit.

My mind though drifted back to Minovsky and Dr. Vist. What had those two known about this...?

Name: Katz

Species: Mobian

Aura: Black

Semblance: Terror Infusion

Description: (Updated) His Semblance allows him to project images of terrifying images directly into his opponents' vision. It is highly 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. If his concentration on his opponent is broken, the victim will usually suffer a fever or fever-like symptoms for about a month until they recover.

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: illegal breeding of flesh-eating spiders, sabotage of a United States naval submarine, and illegal fights pitting innocent civilians against hostile Grimm.