A.N. Well hello all you wonderful readers! Sorry that all these chapters take so long to get written, but school has been kicking my ass. And we're barely getting through october, november, December, January. Anyway, read and review.
Michael sipped at a cup of coffee as he read from a textbook in his lap. He idly glanced at the others from RWBY and JNPR, noticing their exhaustion from their late night activities. And they had only just got up anyway. He took another drink and frowned when he finished it. With a sigh, Michael stood up and walked towards the vending machine at the front of the library. He paid for a high caffeinated energy drink and took a swig from it. He had been up much earlier than they, not that they needed to know that. He took another drink as he got an uncomfortable feeling. It was almost like he was forgetting something, but not quite. Whatever the feeling, something was off. He looked around and did a mental check in his head. Homework? Finished. Paycheck? Paid and transferred. A missing library book? Nah, he turned the last one in a few days ago. What was it? He shrugged and walked back to the others. He'd figure it out eventually. No use stressing himself out now.
Roman sat up and stretched, feeling sore from sleeping on the couch. Neo had come back last night in a quite a mood. She'd been silent when she walked in. Well, that part was normal, but the way she was silent, without any expression at all, nothing at all. It was a little scary. But then she'd gone to the freezer and taken his ice cream! His favorite! She took his orange sherbert! And when he'd gone to get some, she swatted him with her spoon! He looked at the table where Neo was slumped forwards, empty tubs of ice cream around her, a spoon in her mouth, and sticky melted ice cream on her face. He sighed and stood up. He looked at the ice cream tubs with wonder. How had she eaten so much? She was tiny, but she'd eaten his orange sherbert, her neapolitan ice cream, and a tub of black forest chocolate ice cream. Where'd she even find that?
He walked over to Neo, and gently lifted her into his arms. She shifted in her sleep and looked up at him with bleary eyes. "Hey Neo," Roman said quietly. "Had enough ice cream?" She gave a slight nod, guiltily looking away. "Why'd you take my sherbert?" He asked. She shrugged. "Well, you've got ice cream all over you," he said, walking towards the bathroom. "And I'm thinking all this down time isn't helpful for us." He stepped into the bathroom and set her down gently. "I'll bring you some clothes. Take a shower." He turned and shut the door gently, and walked to Neo's room to get her a new outfit. What had happened last night?
Neo sat in the shower, letting the warm water run over her. Her ice cream covered clothes sat in a pile in the corner, and her scroll sat on the sink. She wiped her eyes as her eyesight blurred. At least no one would notice her tears among the stream of water. This plan, this idea that had drawn Roman in… why? Why did that bitch come and ask them? Roman wanted revenge. He wanted revenge on the people that had wronged them before. The higher ups that turned a blind eye. The people who did their best to destroy Michael, and succeeded in driving him out. Neo had been on board with the idea that they could repay them for their actions, but after Michael stood up to them, she wasn't so sure. Why? Why did he protect the people that hurt him? That hurt them?! Why? She tucked her knees to her chest. The whole situation was filled with why's. Why did that bitch enlist their help? Why did Michael decide to protect them? Why was it that she wasn't so sure about this plan? Roman was sure this would be the best way. The only way. Was it the only way? As she could see it, there was only one choice to make. Did she stand with the people that hurt them, and forgive, or did she want revenge?
A man chuckled madly as he carefully attached another wire. "Quil!" A shout echoed through the room, startling the man. "Are you finished yet?"
"Shut it you fool!" The man, Quil shouted back. "You may run this place, but one wrong fuse and this could destroy us!"
"It's that strong?" The owner of the voice, a man in a sharp business suit asked.
"Well, it will be," Quil admitted. "Just you watch. This will be so big, that there won't be a brick standing afterwards, or my name isn't Oliver Jon Quil!"
The businessman paused. "Is it?"
"Of course it is!" Quil shouted. "This is ingenious! Several different pyrotechnic cells with different effects when burned. Magnesium, causing a bright flare, limiting their view of what actually happens, nitroglycerin-"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," the businessman said, cutting Quil off. "What happens if someone decides to try to douse it with water? Will that stop it?"
"No!" Quil laughed. "One of the sections is completely composed of rubidium! Once it's activated, the rubidium is released into the open, and if water touches it, it'll explode!"
"So it'll go off either way?" the businessman asked.
"Absolutely," Quil chuckled.
"Good," the businessman said. "This will send quite the message."
Neo stepped out of the bathroom, dressed again and clean of the ice cream. Roman was sitting at the table, looking over a ledger. "Hey Neo," Roman said. "Let's get something done. How about we take care of a few clients? Some people here really need to pay up."
Neo didn't answer, but instead waited for Roman's decision. She didn't care what they did right now. There were things that they needed to do, but they weren't ready to happen yet. She simply walked to the fridge and poured herself a glass of orange juice.
"Welp," Roman said as he stood up. "I guess I'll just go by myself if you're not coming." She glared at him. "Right, right, of course you're coming."
Michael walked with the others towards the dorms, they had mostly woken up, after several cups of coffee. Except for Nora. She wasn't allowed to ever have coffee again. Instead she just devoured several packets of sugar. And drank some syrup for some reason.
"Honestly, how can you be so awake?" Ruby asked.
"I'm not really," Michael admitted. "I was only awake because I focused on the textbook I- Shit! I forgot my textbook." He turned back towards the cafeteria. "I'll be back, see you at the dorms." He started walking towards the cafeteria. He still couldn't shake the feeling something was off.
Quil sat on a bench in the middle of the Academy School grounds. It was all too easy to get in and sit in plain sight without anyone noticing due to his semblance. His semblance made him impossible to focus on. The more they tried, the harder it was to see him. He fell into the background. The boss had wanted to send a grunt with the "present" for this kid, but Quil was not about to let some imbecile be trusted with the "present". This was his masterpiece. He was lying just under the surface of reality, almost like a ghost. He could slightly warp space to create pockets he could hide in and protect himself or even could connect two pockets so that he had a backdoor that allowed him to escape.
The target was approaching and Quil smiled. This would be easy. Just activate the present, toss it near the target, make sure it went off, and drop through the space warp to his chosen escape. All too easy. He palmed his masterpiece and grinned maddly. It was time for the fireworks.
Michael walked towards the cafeteria and the feeling that something was wrong was growing. His fingers twitched as he tensed up more and more. His instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong. He stopped and looked around curiously. He couldn't see anything that was out of place and took another few steps forward. A flash of motion from a nearby bench caught his eye and he saw a strange object flying towards him, a few flashing lights and wires seen on it along with a slight beeping sound. Michael's eyes widened as he recognised what it was. Quickly he snagged it and flung it directly at where the motion had come from as he leaped backwards, covering his face with his arms and tucking his legs to his chest. A loud explosion echoed through the courtyard and fire washed over his body as he was propelled by the blast directly backwards and up. He flew back and felt something break on his back. Several somethings. All of them hard and rather sturdy. They slowed him, but not enough to stop him. The next solid thing he hit however did. He heard several cracks from behind him and felt a sharp pain before nothing. He had likely shattered his spine with everything else. He fell forward and to the floor, seeing a massive hole in a wall of a room. His eyes shut tiredly, and he could not gather the strength to scream.
Quil tossed the package and took a few steps back into his backdoor he had created. He would jump through the short distance once the "present" went off. He just needed to see it happen. He needed to see his masterpiece work. What he didn't expect was his masterpiece being returned. It smacked him in the face, and as he stumbled back, he tried to close the passage. It was still inside however, and once it went off, he only had it mostly closed on his end. The explosive force detonated mostly towards the target, but a large blast of fire seared his flesh, burning away his skin and muscle of his arm, the explosive blast destroying his bones before he could seal it entirely. He managed to seal the passage, just barely, and fell to his knees. The fire had completely seared his wound shut, but he was still left with a blackened stump at the shoulder. He was in shock. He acknowledged it. Knew it. Accepted it as he began to walk away. He was in the middle of the slums. No one would notice him. He'd be fine.
Ozpin raced to the window of his office, looking down at the courtyard. A smoking crater resided in the center, easily thirty feet in diameter. But upon closer look, it wasn't circular. It was closer to a quarter circle. Almost as if something redirected the blast. A ringing from his scroll interrupted his musings. He opened the call to hear Glynda. "Ozpin!" She shouted. "Prep the infirmary! A student was caught in the blast!"
"Did someone already call medical personnel?" Ozpin asked.
"We did," Glynda answered. "But they won't get here in time!"
"I'm on my way," Ozpin said. "Who was hurt?"
Glynda took a breath. "Michael," she said.
"Impossible," Ozpin said as he stepped into the elevator. "His semblance protects him as well as heals him. He should be up and walking around by now."
"You tell him that!" Glynda harshly replied. "I'm right next to him and I can tell you right now, he's not healing!"
"How could that be?" Ozpin wondered.
"I don't know," Glynda stated. "I need to give him as much assistance as I can, not get the infirmary ready!"
"I'm one my way," Ozpin said before hanging up. He continued to think as the elevator continued down. "Strange."
Roman and Neo walked down the street, both carefully hidden behind one of Neo's illusions. They turned down an alleyway and walked into the maze of alleys that was part of the city itself. As they turned a corner, Roman bumped into a man with a crazed look in his eyes. "Watch it buddy," Roman muttered. The man didn't answer but instead laughed before gasping and grabbing at his shoulder. Roman's attention was drawn to his arm. Or lack thereof. The stump was blackened and charred. "What happened to you?" Roman asked.
"I did it," the man chuckled. "He couldn't of survived." He gazed at the pair unseeing. "Just need to tell the boss. Tell the boss! His present arrived! Wheeee!" He spun about and began to walk the other way.
"The hell…?" Roman muttered before turning to Neo. "Should we follow him?" Neo nodded and the two followed the man with one arm. He stumbled down alleyways and chuckled madly as he muttered to himself. They followed him all the way to the docks where he ducked inside one of the warehouses. "What's he doing here?" Roman wondered.
Glynda Goodwitch had fought Grimm and had seen plenty of gruesome injuries. She had seen people lose their limbs, be torn limb from limb, or even impaled. This however… was beyond anything she had seen. She glanced at the hole in the wall and back at the destroyed figure. It was missing both legs from the top of the thighs down and the arms were missing as well from mid bicep down. The skin was blackened and charred at the stumps and most of the body, the only parts not destroyed completely being the face, which was still had third degree burns covering it, and the torso, which had blackened patches among the third degree burns. The figure was Michael. At least, that's what bio scans said.
"Glynda," Professor Oobleck said as he sped into the room. "Ozpin has the medical bay ready." He looked at Michael's prone figure. "Dear God," he muttered. "Is he alive?"
"Barely," Glynda said as a drop of sweat fell from her brow. Professor Oobleck then noticed the small glowing purple ring under her fingers. "I'm having to keep his ribs from impaling his internal organs, as well as periodic CPR without touching him directly." Glynda said.
"That's an astounding use of control," Oobleck said with awe. "The question is if you can move him as well."
"I have to," Glynda said as she raised her riding crop. Michael's burned and broken body rose in the air as well. "What's the ETA on medical personnel?" She asked.
"They won't be here in time," Oobleck stated. "They needed to commander a bullhead, and Ironwood's made that hard with all the security checks over vehicles and weapons now."
"Dammit," Glynda cursed, startling Oobleck. "Anyone who has a semblance that helps to heal, get them to the infirmary."
"What the hell was that?!" Yang shouted as the teams stumbled to their feet after having been knocked down by a shockwave.
"I'd guess some kind of explosion," Blake said.
"Where did it come from though?" Ruby asked.
"I'd say from that direction," Ren answered. "Judging by the fact that we were propelled in this direction, and the amount of distance we were propelled, I'd say that was a very large explosion." The others stared at him. "What?"
"Ren, you hardly speak at all," Nora said. "They'll take notice when you talk." The others nodded.
"So you're saying that the blast was from over there?" Ruby asked, pointing towards the courtyard.
"Wait," Weiss said suddenly. "Wasn't that the direction Michael went?"
Roman kicked the door open with a flourish before stepping through. "Hello in there!" He shouted. "Anyone home?"
"Who the hell are you?" A voice shouted from above. Roman looked up to see a man in a business suit with two armed guards on either side, weapons pointed at Roman. A quick glance showed that other guards were all around the room.
"Neo," Roman said. "If you would." Neo stealthily dropped the current illusion and replaced it with one of her and Roman. Roman then stood to the side and behind so that they couldn't tell where he was. Neo then began to snoop around the rooms, there was something off about the place.
Meanwhile, Roman pulled out a cigar and lit it with a lighter. He was stalling for Neo, and he knew it. That was their plan. After all, once things fell to shit, he wanted to live. "So, what's this place?" He asked. "I mean, a man with a missing arm is one thing. Having it completely burned off is another. Having him stumble into a shady warehouse with the two previous statements being true? Very suspicious." Roman continued to talk to distract the men while Neo looked around.
Neo looked inside one of the side rooms and saw a young girl chained to the wall, bound and gagged. She quickly went to another room and saw two more girls. The third room was empty, but the fourth held another girl. Neo began to shake with rage. These were kidnapped girls, now enslaved. She walked into the next room and found a desk. On top was a ledger. It held names, profits, prices, targets, everything that could incriminate them was on here. She walked out the door and stepped walked to the far guard on the catwalk. Time for some true extermination.
Ruby raced towards the epicenter of the explosion and saw several students looking at the crater. "What happened?" She asked. "Does anyone know?"
"There was some kind of explosion," one student said. "Something was caught in the explosion. It probably was what caused that." He pointed towards one of the dorms and Ruby turned to see it. She was greeted by the sight of a huge hole in the side where one of the windows used to be. The hole was easily eight feet in diameter. Without another word, she raced towards the dorm.
At the top, she saw several more walls with holes in them, and then one that was only cracked. There was one large pool and several drops leading away. Where would they have gone? "The infirmary," Ruby breathed. She quickly sent a message to Yang and then sped off towards the infirmary.
Neo stabbed her hidden blade through the guards neck, severing his spine quickly and quietly, and let him slump to the floor unnoticed. She then moved around the perimeter, killing the guards that were out of the direct line of sight. Soon, there was just the business man and two guards next to him. She quietly stepped up behind one and looked to Roman. He'd been stalling for time, blathering on about nothing. He was waiting for her. She nodded and he smirked. She stabbed the guard through the neck and when he crumpled, the other guard turned to look. Roman quick as a flash, brought Melodic Cudgel up and fired, destroying the other guard's head. Neo placed the hidden blade at the business man's neck and glared at him coolly. Roman strolled forward and tapped his cigar over the floor. "Let's talk."
Ruby raced to the infirmary and skidded to a stop in front of the door. She opened it without knocking to see all of the teachers standing over Michael while he was on a bed. Several small purple circles that signified Professor Goodwitch's semblance were apparent. "Michael!" She called as she ran forwards only to be stopped by Professor Port. "Let me go!" Ruby called.
"Miss Rose!" The professor stated. "You must remain calm! We are doing all that we can!" A monitor beside the bed showed Michael's heartbeat and it was very slow.
"Michael!" Yang's voice rang out. The rest of the team had gotten there as well, and all of them tried to get in, only to be pushed out by the teacher.
"You don't understand!" Weiss cried.
"His semblance isn't working!" Blake called.
"We need to help him!" Yang shouted. Other teachers began to assist the professor in keeping them out, leaving Ozpin and Goodwitch at the bed. Ozpin was preparing medical equipment and Goodwitch was using her semblance to keep Michael alive. The whole while, the heart rate monitor began to slow.
Roman smacked the businessman in the head with his cane. He was bound to the chair in his office, and all the girls had been released. They all were in the same room, and with some research, Roman quickly found that they were all foster children that had been gone for so long they were assumed dead. He'd send them through the tunnel if he could, but first, there was some information to learn.
"Now let's try that again," he said. "What did you do?"
"Go fuck yourself," the businessman spat. Another, harsher, smack from the cane sent his head reeling from the blow.
"Now now," Roman scolded. "Language." Neo tapped Roman's arm before gently pushing him out of the way. She then revealed her hidden blade and expertly sliced the buttons off his very expensive dress shirt. Roman raised his eyebrows before gesturing to Neo to go ahead. Neo gave a grim smile and almost gently pulled open the businessman's shirt. She then began to run her blade over his skin. She then began to work with her semblance, getting an illusion ready.
The businessman's face was paling, and he was sweating, but he still held a determined gleam in his eye, determined not to say anything. Neo then activated the illusion and the businessman's eyes widened. Here eyes were glowing a deep pink, and an image of Michael's grimm form was standing behind her. As she cut slightly into the skin with her blade, the grimm image mimicked her actions. All in all, it was an impressive illusion that was quickly causing the businessman to break his determination. She pushed the blade deeper and continued to cut into his chest.
"I'll talk!" He cried out finally. Neo pulled the blade out and stepped back, allowing Roman to resume his interrogation.
Team JNPR had now joined team RWBY in trying to get in to help Michael, but the teachers held them back, ignoring their pleas as Ozpin and Goodwitch carefully prepared medical equipment. The heart rate continued to slow, which only caused the two teams to be much more vocal about the dangers. Finally, Nora shoved through, getting two steps in before Professor Goodwitch raised her other hand and tossed her back out, bowling over the other students, and a teacher or two.
The heart rate monitor continued to slow, barely going once every few seconds. Pyrrha then saw a flash of metal in the light. That was right! She could pull it out with her semblance! She reached out and activated her semblance.
Neo plunged her blade through the businessman's throat. Roman shoved the cigar but the corpse's mouth as he sneered in disgust. "I hate these kind of people." Roman looked at the ledger. "Michael's been busy. What do you say we help him clear out the rest?" Neo gave a harsh smile and nodded. Roman walked to the back of the room, pulled aside a painting revealing a safe, and spun the dial. With a dramatic flair, he stopped it with his cane, and promptly fired, blasting open the safe. The two pulled out stacks of cash and walked back to those they had released. They split the cash among them and helped lead them outside. A new home in Tartarus would be perfect for them
The metal that had melted and fused with Michael's flesh tore out of his chest, rocketing away. The body lurched forward before falling heavily back into the bed just as they heard the heart monitor flatline. Everyone froze at the sound, gasps could be heard and many began to tear up.
"Michael!" Nora cried as she pushed through. The others followed suit, each racing to the bed, several crying as his body lay unmoving.
General Ironwood was frustrated. That blasted grimm was back, and he had somehow gotten everyone on his side. Add that to the fact that Winter had been captured by the White Fang in a show of power, and some… bounty hunter, had rescued her quietly instead of allowing for them to destroy the horrible group. The paladins had been stolen, and now he was under political pressure to do something about it. They wanted him to track down how they had been stolen, and many other governments had lost a large amount of their trust in him because of the incident. Things were spiralling out of control.
Michael's body lay silent as soft sobs echoed through the room. But then another noise joined them. A small beep. Barely anything. Ruby, who was closest to the monitor looked over, but was still greeted with the single line on the monitor. She turned back to the body that was so heavily mutilated by the explosion that she wondered if he would have survived even without the inhibitor. Another beep, but this time she ignored it, passing it off as her imagination. But then a few seconds later, there was another. And then a third. The beeping began to increase in tempo, and this time, when Ruby looked, she could see the monitor show an increasing heartbeat. "Michael!" She cried. "He's alive!" The others looked up and took notice of the monitor. Suddenly he lurched as his caved in chest snapped back out, ribs fusing back together as his internal organs began to repair themselves. The spine moved back into alignment, the nervous system repairing itself.
"Astounding," Ozpin breathed. A dull hum began to become noticeable to them as well. It was increasing in pitch and volume as Michael's eyes opened. But they were not the usual coloring. The pupils were entirely golden, shining against the blood red iris and black sclera. The glass window began to crack and the monitor with it's now rapid beeping was silenced as it seemingly began to melt. It then stretched long tendrils of metal towards Michael's body, lifting him off the bed as he arched his back and the burned flesh began to slough off, much like that of a snake or an insect.
The walls then began to bubble, tendrils of the material inflating before deflating while the floor seemed to shift beneath their feet. The window shattered, glass falling to the floor before it shifted into a solid piece of glass. The burned flesh began to fall off as well. Everything that was burned simply fell off, revealing what was underneath. This revealed the flesh and bone of Michael's body. A sharp pop started the group as they turned to the wall to see flowers blooming. Deep purple petals blended into blue and met with orange in the center, the stems with sharp thorns, and black leaves that held a metallic tone to them. The vines grew from the wall, buds on the ends where they'd stretch until they stopped and bloomed. Looking back at Michael, they saw skin start covering his face and chest again. His stomach and shoulders soon followed and they saw healed stumps form where his arms and legs used to be. As the metal tendrils carefully set him back on the bed before freezing entirely, the hum that had resonated through the room quieted and Michael closed his eyes..
The group looked at Michael in amazement. They watched as his chest slowly rose and fell with his breathing and several began to cry again, this time with a mixture of joy and relief. Ruby hugged Weiss tightly with a huge smile and Weiss didn't scold her. Yang slung her arm around Blake's shoulder and wasn't glared at. Nora bounced in place while the other three smiled. Ozpin had a soft smile and walked out, content to let them enjoy Michael's safety. Glynda Goodwitch smiled, but she, along with all the other professors were astounded by what had happened. They all saw that Michael now looked underfed, malnourished and was missing his limbs, but they didn't care. He was alive. He had survived an event that would destroy entire city blocks. He would live.
After all, who could possibly truly harm Michael Angelo Grimm?
A.N. Wow! That took way too long to finish. I've actually had this chapter in mind for a long time, but writing it… well, I just couldn't get it on paper. Now, don't worry, this is not the last chapter to the story. Not even close. I'm so sorry that this chapter took so long to write and that it's a little shorter than usual. Please don't kill me. Anyway, have a great day, please read and review. And please don't yell at me for taking so long to update.