{AN} Alright, chapter 11. This one has a little bit of gore that may not be suitable for some readers! You have been warned! {End AN}
A few moments after Weiss lost sight of Jace she heard several gunshots ring throughout the building, followed by a lot of screaming. A large group of people ran past Weiss from the direction Jace ran in, presumably to escape the gunfire. A group of guards ran towards the gunfire, completely ignoring Weiss who was now crouching down next to the elevator.
'Why am I just going along with this?' she thought, looking at the knife in her hands. 'I could just leave right now, no one would ask any questions. Jace wouldn't know, would he?' She then heard a ding, followed by a swooshing sound. The elevator had arrived.
Several guards stepped out of the elevator, and once Weiss figured they were all gone she stood up and hopped into the elevator. The door closed, and she let out a sigh of relief. She saw a control panel on the wall next to the door, along with an up button and a down button. She moved towards the panel and entered the code that was on the paper into it, then pressed the down button. The elevator sprung to life, traveling down at a fast pace. After only a few seconds, the elevator stopped and the doors opened.
Weiss was looking down a hallway. She exited the elevator and began walking down the hallway, knife in hand, searching for the room Jace described. Despite the hallway appearing to be bright and full of life, it was eerily silent.
After only a few moments of walking Weiss found a door labeled 'Observation Room RR36'. She turned around and looked at the door that was behind her. It was labeled 'Storage Room E46' and Weiss assumed that these were the rooms Jace was talking about. She turned back around to face the door labeled 'Observation Room RR36' and let out a sigh.
'I can still leave.' Weiss thought to herself 'The suit's just behind me. Hopefully.'
Her hand was hovering over the button to open the door. After a moment she sighed again and pushed it. The door opened, revealing a small room with a chair in the middle. Weiss approached the chair and noticed a control panel of some sort on the left arm. The control panel had several colorful buttons on it along with a joystick. Weiss sat down in the chair, which was surprisingly comfortable despite its metallic appearance. She set her knife down to her right and looked at the wall in front of her.
The wall changed from a deep black color to a blinding white. After her eyes adjusted to the sudden brightness, Weiss noticed that the screen displayed several options. She assumed they were for different areas of the lab, as the titles ranged from 'Research and Development' to 'Full-Scale Testing'. Weiss chose one called 'Living Quarters Observation' first, hoping that it was the least mentally scarring.
After a few seconds, the white screen changed into several smaller screens. Weiss used the joystick to highlight the different camera views. The views were separated into three sections: "Dining Area", "Rooms", and "Yard". Weiss hovered over the rooms section, which were in order from one to twenty in rows of four. All of the numbers were blue, except for the last two rows which were red. Weiss selected the room labeled "Room 1" and pressed the enter button on the arm of the chair. A camera feed instantly appeared showing the room.
Weiss gasped.
The "room" was about the size of a janitor's closet, and looked about the same. There was no distinct bed, only tatters of fabric that seemed to be the remnants of one. A single light hung in the middle of the room but it lit up the space surprisingly well. There was a toilet and a sink in the corner of the room, but both were in a very poor condition. The door to the room was open, but it appeared to be made of a very thick metal. The room currently had no occupant in it.
Weiss exited the camera feed from Room 1, and chose a different room with the hopes that it would look better. She selected one of the last blue rooms on the list, labeled Room 11.
Room 11 was much larger than Room 1, and much cleaner. Room 11 was a pure white room, without any form of dirt or dust visible. The mattress was fully intact and had a set of blue sheets on it. The toilet and sink appeared to be in good working order as well. This room was the exact opposite of Room 1.
Weiss returned to the room selection and set her sights on one of the rooms labeled in red. She selected the fourth red room, Room 16.
The lights in the room were off, and it appeared to be empty. There was no furniture in the room at all, only a sink and a toilet. Weiss then selected the next room, Room 17, and it was in the same state as Room 16. Room 18 and 19 were both empty as well. Weiss thought that Room 20 would be the same, so she didn't see the need to look at it, but she looked at it anyways.
And immediately regretted it.
A face flashed in the camera, causing Weiss to scream. It was there for less than a second before disappearing into static. After a few seconds the static went away, revealing the room behind. After Weiss finished panting to regain her breath and her senses, she looked into the screen.
The room was covered in a deep rust color. There was a mattress, but it too was covered in the rust colored substance. There was a couple of pipes where Weiss assumed a sink and a toilet were supposed to go, but a sink or toilet were not present. Several chunks of an unknown material were scattered throughout the room. Weiss hoped they were just pieces of rock or an unknown kind of dust.
Until she saw the foot.
Then she knew what everything was, and tore her mask off before puking over the side of the chair. After she felt somewhat stable she got up from the chair and stumbled towards the door.
'What, or who, could have done that?' she thought, stumbling out of the room. The thought of the scene made her dry heave.
Weiss stumbled across the hall and opened the door, which closed behind her after she entered the room. In an attempt to take her mind off Room 20, Weiss concentrated on the task at hand: escaping. She looked around the storage room, but it was completely empty except for a single wooden box covered in some type of runes. The box was approximately six feet tall. Weiss approached it, wondering what kind of suit was inside the box, along with how she was going to open it. She touched the box, which was very smooth despite it's rough appearance. She slid her hand over the surface towards one of the runes. She touched it, and the rune changed from a black to a light blue color. Weiss quickly retracted her hand, and the rune returned to it's original black color.
"Never seen dust like that…" Weiss said softly to herself. She went to touch the rune again, but before she could touch it, she heard the door behind her open. She readied herself for combat, but then looked at her left hand and realized that she had forgotten her knife in the other room. She looked around the room for a place to hide or a different weapon, but stopped her search when she heard a familiar sound. It wasn't a welcoming sound however.
D, D#, G, F#
A man in a white lab coat walked into the room and looked at Weiss. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply and slowly through his nose before opening his eyes again. He looked at Weiss for a few seconds before speaking.
"Why does he have to be this way? Does he really think this will make a difference?"
Weiss just looked at him silently. His voice was eerily reminiscent of her father's. The man continued.
"This won't change anything. I'm sure he knows that. I guess the least I can do is let you go. You're just a bystander in all of this. Why did he have to drag you in?"
The man walked over to the box and pressed a few of the runes on its surface. The sides of the box opened, revealing a suit of armor.
The armor was made out of various parts of the creatures of Grimm, from Beowolf faceplates to Death Stalker tail plates. It reminded Weiss of a smaller version of the Giant Armor she fought.
The man rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Get into it, it will form to your shape. Just get in and go..."
Weiss slowly walked towards the back of the armor, and it automatically opened. She stepped inside the armor and it fit her perfectly. The back of the armor closed after she entered it. She took a step out of the box, and she noted how light the armor was. The scientist began shaking his head.
"Just walk around like normal. You can't get shot anyways. Please just go before I change my mind."
Weiss looked at the man one more time before running out of the room. She ran down the hallway and entered the elevator, which was still open. She pressed the button that lead to the top floor. As she was riding up an explosion rocked the elevator. Weiss grabbed the sides to stabilize herself.
'What is going on up there?' she thought. The elevator stopped and the doors opened, answering Weiss' question.
It was looked like a war zone outside the elevator. Weiss stepped exited the elevator and looked around. Bullet holes and craters littered the once pristine building. A empty black duffel bag sat just to her right. There was a lot of gunfire happening close to Weiss, and it sounded like it was to her left. She didn't trust the stability of the armor, so she ran to her right in search of an exit. She quickly found one in the form of a broken window. She stepped out of the window and was immediately knocked down. It felt like something had pushed her down by her head, something moving really fast. She got up but was knocked back again, this time the push was from her chest. She then realized something.
She wasn't getting pushed down, she was getting shot down.
The armor was holding for now, but Weiss didn't want to trust it anymore than she needed to. She got up and and began running, looking for the shooter as she did. After a few seconds of scanning, she located him. There was a sniper sitting behind an armored car at the entrance to the facility, which she estimated to be about 400 yards away. Weiss changed her course and began running in a zigzag pattern towards the sniper. She heard several shots fly past her, but she eventually reached the sniper's position.
The frightened man drew his handgun and fired several shots at Weiss, all of which met their mark but to no effect. Weiss dove over the car and tackled the man. He struggled, but the combined weight of the armor and Weiss barely held him down.
"Stop fighting, I'm not going to kill you." Weiss said with a false calmness. Internally she was panicking, frantically trying to think about what she was going to do next. After a few seconds the man gave up his struggle and closed his eyes.
"I just want your car." Weiss demanded. "And don't try anything funny."
The man sighed. "The doors are unlocked and the keys are in the ignition. Just don't scratch it."
Weiss got off the man and backed up towards the car. After bumping into it she reached for the door, opened it, and got in. She then turned the car on and drove around the man, who was still laying on the ground. After Weiss lost sight of the facility in her rearview mirror she gunned it towards the city with her mind set on her destination.
[Earlier that day]
Jace ran down the hallway. He remained in the guard suit he was previously wearing, as he knew it wouldn't matter if he changed or not. He only had one goal at the moment.
Take The Creator down.
Jace saw him standing outside the room where Weiss used to be.
"Hey!" He yelled "Give me your money, or die?"
The Creator and the three guards turned around and looked at Jace. The guards raised their weapons, but Jace was too quick. He shot four times, killing the guards and The Creator with a single shot to each of their heads. The shots rang out throughout the building, causing all the workers to run away from the sound and the guards to begin running towards the sounds.
Jace looked down at the bodies "Guess they didn't want to give me their money." He began laughing to himself, but only for a few seconds. He determined he only had a few seconds left before more guards showed up to possibly fight him. Jace checked the now limp body of The Creator, just to be sure he was dead. He knelt down next to the corpse but to his dismay there was no greymatter and blood, only chunks of metal and circuits.
"Damn…" he muttered to himself "I should have known he wouldn't take a risk like that." Jace stood up and sighed, sliding his pistol into the waistband of his pants in the small of his back. He began walking down the hallway, and said aloud "Let's look for a terminal, shall we?"
"Do we have to?" Sashimasu asked "I don't really like doing boring stuff."
Jace's response was laughter as he knelt down again. He removed the bag's strap from his shoulder and unzipped the bag. He reached inside the bag and remove an assault rifle and set it on the floor. He then reached back inside the bag and produced a tactical vest, which he slid over his torso. He picked up the assault rifle and stood up.
"Alright Sashi, R.O.E. is as follows…"
"Roe? Like fish eggs?"
"No. R.O.E. as in rules of engagement. I'm sure you're gunna want to take a few shots right?"
"Well yeah but…"
"Alright well listen then. No civilians. This isn't a shooting gallery. Only shoot at someone or something if you know it's going to shoot you back. Don't shoot people who are surrendering. Robots probably won't surrender, but humans will. Our only true target was The Creator, but he hid so we got to go now. We'll have another chance to get him I'm sure. Just stick to the R.O.E. alright?"
"Got it!"
"Alright, then let's get to it."
Jace began to run around the building towards the front entrance. He figured that was where most of the vehicles that he could easily steal would be located in a few minutes. His current destination was the security terminal that was most likely behind the front desk. After a few more seconds of running, the front desk was within Jace's sight. There were three guards between Jace and the desk but they were quickly dispatched by his rifle, clearing the way to the desk.
Jace quickly searched the guards in hopes of finding any kind of useful equipment such as grenades, med-packs, or even Dust crystals. To his dismay, he only found a smoke grenade but he took it anyways. After clipping the grenade to his belt he made his way over to the desk
"Alright Sashi, keep your eyes open for a terminal or button or something similar." Jace said.
"I can only see as much as you, so I guess I will." Sashimasu replied.
Jace sighed, but continued scanning the desk for anything that could lead him to a computer. After a few seconds he spotted a long, rectangular set of lines in the table. After climbing over the desk he pushed down on it, and the lines depressed a few centimeters. He released his hand and a screen slid up from the table. A holographic keyboard and trackpad appeared below the screen.
"Perfect." Jace said. He looked around the screen and located a type of messaging software. Jace located one, and began typing into the program:
To: (Atlas Biotech Security Forces) (Atlesian Military Lieutenant, District 16) (Atlas Security Conglomerate)
From: (Desk Terminal 7: Jade Greene)
Subject: robbery lmao
Message: ay im out here robbing this place, better send all these army dudes. already killed like a billion guards, im crazy! haha lmao im only gunna take like all the secret formulas and armor and free all the test subjects. Kthxbai
-dude robbing this place, ill shoot ur d1ck off lmao 1337 skillz
Jace reviewed his message.
"You're really going to send that out? There's probably going to be a bunch of people coming anyways. Why try to get more out here?"
"More fun..?" Jace replied hesitantly.
"Good point."
"Let's get back to it."
Jace vaulted over the desk and looked around. He had to get to a more easily defendable position than the one he was currently in. He had a plan in mind, but in order to execute it he had to risk getting shot and dying. It seemed like a valid plan to him, with nothing out of the ordinary. He made his way to a nearby door and entered the room behind it, which was a small broom closet. He took off his tactical vest and sat down, facing the door. He opened one of the pouches on the right side of the vest and produced a beta-magazine for his rifle, which he loaded into it. After picking up the rifle again he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. A few seconds of silence passed.
"You can't seriously be thinking that Jace. Now's not the time. I'll get too… too… ahh!" Sashimasu let out a low moan "Jace, stop! We need to fight!" Jace remained silent. His hair began to grow and change colors, from light brown to a vibrant purple. His limbs and torso began to grow shorter, and he began to grow breasts. His eyes, though closed, changed from emerald to yellow. He was changing into Sashimasu's body, but very slowly.
"Jace!" Sashimasu said "Stop! Please!" She let out another low moan "You remember…remember what happened last time!"
Jace smiled "I know, now take control." he whispered, now fully changed into her body.
Sahimasu dropped the rifle and moved her hands to her groin. She let out a loud moan and fell to her side. "Jace~ stop!"
Sashimasu inhaled deeply, and began fumbling with the button on her pants. However, she stopped after hearing something. She sat up and grabbed the rifle, pointing it at the door. Without hesitating she unloaded the entire magazine into various parts of the door and walls surrounding it. She stood up and exited the closet through the remnants of the door. A few bodies lay outside, each shot several times in various parts of the body. Sashimasu looked around her. Down each side of the hallway was a large group of soldiers, composed of robots and humans alike. They all had their weapons trained on Sashimasu.
"Drop the gun!" someone shouted from one of the groups. Sashimasu compiled and dropped the gun to her feet.
"Get on the ground and keep your hands in front of you!"
Slowly, Sashimasu moved her hands down her sides. She hooked her thumbs on the sides of her pants and pulled them down to her ankles before laying down on the ground. The pistol that was in her waistband clattered to the floor, along with the smoke grenade that was on her belt. There was a small ping sound as she laid down on the floor, her hands in front of her. She began twirling something around her right index finger. It was circular and had a straight part sticking out of one end.
One if the soldiers noticed it."Grenade!"
Several of the guards dove down to avoid the suspected blast. The grenade made a pop, and the hallway began to fill with a thick grey smoke. Sashimasu used this distraction to her advantage. She jumped up and transformed her arms into a deep black set of Beowolf claws. She quickly cut her pants off so they would not slow her down. She inhaled deeply and tilted her head back, letting out a ear-splitting screech. The majority of the soldiers ripped off headsets or covered their now-ringing ears while falling to the ground. The robots, however, were unaffected. They began firing at Sashimasu, who quickly reacted to the shots. She ran towards the group of soldiers to her left, dismantling the robots with ease. She then turned to the other group of robots. Sashimasu ran towards them, but before she could reach them she caught a bullet in her left shoulder.
She toppled to the ground and lay motionless, her claws disappearing. She was lying outside the closet she had recently exited from. After a few seconds the robots advanced, standing over her limp body. Their guns were all trained on different parts of her to ensure maximum coverage in case she tried to do anything dangerous. The human soldiers regained their hearing and advanced upon her too, until she was surrounded with approximately ten robots and fifteen humans. After a moment of silence, one of the humans spoke to Sashimasu.
"Hey! Get up! Don't try anything!"
Sashimasu slid her right hand slowly under her chin and then down towards her stomach, stopping at her waist.
"Hey! Show me your hands! Do it now!"
Sashimasu moved her right hand down a little more, and it was how just under her right thigh. Several soldiers noticed a hint of black appear shortly on her thigh before disappearing.
"One last chance! Show me your hands or we will shoot you!" the soldiers all readied their weapons.
Sashimasu let out a light laugh. The soldiers looked at each other in confusion.
"What's so funny?" One of them asked "We really will shoot you. Now get up slowly."
"Alright, I'm getting up." Sashimasu replied. "Just don't look at me too much, I'm only eighteen."
She stood up, and caught several of the soldiers off guard. Her shirt and underwear had been mysteriously torn off.
She stood in front of the soldiers fully nude.
A few looked away, others ogled at the sight of her body. The robots did nothing. Sashimasu acted quickly, lunging at the soldier in front of her. She grabbed him, using his body as a shield from the robots and other soldiers. She held the dazed soldier in a headlock with her left arm, putting as much of her body behind his as she could. She knew she had to act quickly as her back was now against a window and she was holding the soldier with her weakened arm.
Sashimasu grabbed his sidearm with her right hand and shot out the window. She dropped the gun and looked at the soldier's gear, locating a few breaching charges on his left hip. She activated one and then pushed the guard away from her. He began struggling to remove the charges from his body, and several of the other soldiers began to ran away after noticing the primed explosives. Sashimasu followed their lead and ran out of the broken window across the lawn. She ran for a few yards before hearing an explosion which shook the ground beneath her. She reached the fence and assessed her current situation.
Sashimasu was about 300 yards from the main entrance. There was a forest in front of her on the other side of the fence. She could see several vehicles in the entrance area, along with several people. She couldn't tell if they were all soldiers, but she wasn't going to find out. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, thinking of her options. She opened her eyes and looked ahead of her. She changed her arms and legs into those of a Beowolf and slashed a hole in the fence, then she ran into the woods in front of her.