(Alphaxone – Into the Void)
Cardin Winchester was never the same after his encounter with the mysterious being that fell from the sky and into the forest of Forever Fall. He still remembered the entire thing, all the details, stuck in his mind like a scene from a really good movie. But unlike a movie, that was reality. Everything that happened, it happened for real. He was at the core of it all.
"...when do we start?"
"Right now. Come closer."
Cardin inched his left hand close to the small red pool. It visibly vibrated, forming tiny waves at the surface. He was confused for a moment. It resembled a liquid, but no liquid he knew could form a tiny stream that bent slightly above his hand like that.
"I need a wound."
He quickly looked at his surroundings, trying to find something sharp enough to cut his palm. He settled for a piece of space rock. When he put the wounded palm close to the stream, the red liquid immediately dived into the wound, making itself indistinguishable from his blood. In a blink of an eye, the red pool was gone and he felt like his hand was set on fire.
Then came the spasms.
"We are one now. I inhabit every part of your body. Your bloodstream, your nervous system, your lungs, your eyes, your mind. I am everywhere inside you. When you move an arm, you move me as well. When I walk, you walk too."
Cardin felt drained, like he didn't sleep for days.
"I am now going to share my genetic memories with you. Those will be the key to defeating our enemy."
And that was how Cardin suddenly knew everything about Braylon's life, up to the point he and the being parted ways. Also, he knew the being's true nature, as he knew what the Vault Hunter was capable off. In a way, he gained a certain amount of respect for the bastard. He didn't know a person could kill that many people in such creative ways.
But what was even more fascinating was the being's biology. Now, Cardin wasn't a nerd. By no means. The way he understood its existence was, though, something amazing.
"It" was a colony of countless genetically modified organisms that could, at best, be described as a chimera born from a bond between a virus and a bacteria. "It" was something alien in the true sense of the word, not belonging to any ecosystem known to mankind, but rather being a product of the most brilliant mind Braylon's reality ever produced, which also happened to be his greatest enemy, something like heroes in comic books having that one nemesis.
The story starts when a certain "Anshin Corporation" conducted a top secret project known as "Blank Slate" where the goal was to create a microscopic organism that, in itself, had no true purpose for existing, hence the name. It was, by definition, pointless. It did not eat, it did not move. That, however, was entirely intentional, because the organism had a special ability. An ability that allowed it to be "reprogrammed". Just like a blank sheet of paper, which could be used in many ways, so could the organism perform specific functions. A colony of that organism could become an incurable disease that could wipe out everything alive on a planet while another could be used to effectively transport electricity in many devices.
One such colony was taken by that brilliant mind, who created something called "Advanced Genome Modifying Organism" or A.G.M.O. for short, the first form "it" ever had. A.G.M.O. acted like a virus, capable of spreading all over a planet and mutate everything alive within weeks. Some time later, that person managed to create the second form, the current state, called Autonomous Genome Modifying Organism, AGMO for short.
AGMO was first tested on Braylon, with whom "it" formed the very first bond. During that short time, AGMO was able to "learn" everything Braylon knew, from combat to speech, as they both shared the mind and body. Together they slaughtered many people, before his friends broke their bond by blasting them with a highly radioactive energy beam which separated them on a molecular level. A small colony of AGMO managed to survive and escape, first on a space ship and then on one of many rocks that flew in space, where it remained until it crashed to Remnant.
Cardin chuckled to himself. He remembered how awesome he felt ever since AGMO formed a bond with him. That was, until the hunger came. Cardin immediately dropped his smile. He had no clue how to exactly call it, so he named it "hunger". The first time it happened, he felt like he didn't eat for a whole week. It was then that AGMO told him it required things that the food he ate couldn't replenish. Those things could be found in other humans or other beings, like Faunus for example. Yes, he really would miss that rabbit-eared freak and all the ear-pulling. Now he had to find a new toy.
Right after killing Braylon, that is.
If there was one thing he really hated, it was the scum that humiliated him and his stupid team in front of other lowlifes in the academy. Even better, that asshole Sky really had to piss him off one day, had to rub it in. Now his team was one-man-less strong. Well, it did not matter anymore. AGMO was back to its full strength now. Nothing could stop them.
Fucking Monocriffe.
He would crush him like twig.
Right when things couldn't get worse, the Vault Hunter received a message from none other than Cardin Winchester, the jackass of Beacon. The way he wrote wasn't one of the typical dumb bully speak. It was an ultimatum, and one he really wished he got with a warning in anticipation. Basically, Cardin told Braylon to meet him on the roof of the dormitories, where he would have a chat with an old "buddy" from home. Should he refuse to come, he would slit little Ruby's throat.
In any other situation, Braylon would laugh out loud, seeing that the dumbass tried to threaten him by claiming to harm someone who was probably more of a skilled Huntsman (Huntress, in this case) than he would ever be. But when he read the phrase "old buddy from home", all humor was cast aside. Who was this "old buddy from home", exactly? Fearing the worst, he decided to take the challenge and run to the roof of the Beacon dormitories.
Boy, what a sight waited for him there. It was Cardin, with one hand wrapped around Ruby's so tightly that he could snap her in two if he wanted to. The other hand, though. It was a dark red limb with long, thin fingers that ended in sharp red claws that were inches away from the shocked girl.
He knew what that was.
Look at that face. That pretty boy, I-just-had-the-best-sleep-of-my-life fucking face. He wanted to rip it off with his bare hands. Cardin's rage jumped from zero to sixty the moment he saw him. He expected to see a look of pure terror, or maybe rage, or maybe all twisted from hatred because he dared to use a meat shield. But no. What he got was something completely different, something unexpected. It was the face of a man (yes, not a boy, but a man) who had enough confidence to sell it to those that didn't. He was calm, cool and collected, an exact opposite of what Cardin hoped to find. Just who did that bastard think he was? He was holding his friend hostage, for fuck's sake!
"Let her go Cardin. Don't make me repeat myself."
Cardin felt his left eye twitch.
"You've got a lot of fucking nerve to order me around when I have your precious little bunny in my grasp. You know I can slit her throat in one swift motion, yes?"
"If you do that, it would be better for you to tie a stone around your neck and throw yourself into the nearest river."
"Woah, we got ourselves a badass here, don't you think so?"
"Braylon!" Ruby cried out. He could feel her heartbeats. She really didn't like his newest improvements.
"What do you want, Cardin?"
"Don't you mean "what do we want"?"
"Right."
"Heh. We wish nothing more than a simple fight to the death."
Wow. AGMO spoke through his vocal cords. That had to impress Braylon. They didn't do that in such a cool way when they were together. He was probably going to ask why, to which they would reply-
"A week."
"What?"
"Let Ruby go and give me a week to prepare myself."
"And why should we do that when we could kill you right now?"
"One week is all I need to prepare myself. After that, I will kick your ass with ease."
Was he bluffing? That had to be a bluff, right? That stupid motherfucker! AGMO couldn't find a better host for itself! They were much stronger together than him! Braylon could prepare an entire year for all he cared! He would never defeat them! AGMO reassured him that nothing on Remnant could help him win!
"Oh ho! I would like to see that! Alright, you get one week. But Ruby comes with me."
Braylon's fists tightened. That was always a good sign. Cardin turned around and, before he jumped from the roof, added one last thing:
"Your days are numbered, fool! See you in a week!"
"Alright. Let's recap the whole story."
The Vault Hunter went to his room, took a piece of paper and a pen, then sat down. He had to deal with a threat from his past, where he was an active Vault Hunter. That meant Braylon had to go through memory files, which in turn meant that he had to relive all those unpleasant experiences. It would be absolutely worth it, for an innocent life was at stake and he wasn't in the mood to go through all that depressing stuff should he fail. Plus there was her team to make his life an even worse Hell than it already was. He had to be prepared for much bigger threats than that.
"Computer, download memory files from… two years ago."
Accessing memory files. Please wait. Memory files found. Downloading.
"Oh… oh God. Here we go."
He hated going through his memories like that. While they were old, they always felt fresh when downloaded into his mind. It would always be somewhat confusing for the brain to try and assimilate that much memories at once. Nothing he couldn't handle.
"Let's see… Star Child, space pirates, Plutonia Station, a… a…. AGMO! Found it!"
He wrote down "AGMO" in a circle. He then wrote "Blank Slate", "Hellingen", "bond" and connected them to the circle with a line. The next hour was spent replaying over and over again his entire experience with AGMO, writing down every detail he found important.
"Hm… I remember I got blasted with this beam which separated us..."
Of course, his mind had to remind him about the months that followed after that incident, which he spent in a hospital bed because he received almost-fatal burns all over the body. If it weren't for the best doctors money could buy and for the massive amount of medicine and painkillers he took on a daily basis, he would have been either dead or very dead. Not really something worth remembering.
"Wait a minute."
The Biopedia was a virtual library inside the PDA where information about each life form and artifact, known or newly-discovered, was described in detail and stored should the user need it. Whenever something new would be discovered about a life form, be it technological advancements and other important things, the PDA would automatically update the Biopedia with fresh information. Due to the nature of Braylon's job as a Vault Hunter, and due to humanity's vast knowledge, the Biopedia contained information about bacteria, flora and fauna, alien technology, many living and extinct xenos races, the recent supernatural additions and, of course, genetic experiments, such as AGMO. Because AGMO was easily one of the most dangerous things Braylon and his companions ever faced, it would only be logical to have as much information on the little lab-grown wonder as possible. It took patience to search through all the files, but he found what he needed.
He tapped the screen. It displayed an image of an individual AGMO microbe along with a wall of text next to it.
Loading file.
Object #377-14: Autonomous Genome Modifying Organism.
Category: Genetic Experiment (object not found in any known flora or fauna).
Type: Microscopic Organism (see project Blank Slate for further information).
Status: Alive (updated)
Weakness(es): high temperatures, acidic substances
[Load genetic map? Yes No]
The weakness to acidic substances was easily exploitable, as Braylon had the perfect tool for it: the grenade mod he recently acquired. After doing a short study on its capabilities, he found out that it was capable of transforming explosive grenades into corrosive ones. All its user had to do was to throw a grenade and let it explode, after which it would spawn three homing grenades, also corrosive. The grenade mod had a fitting name; Pandemic.
But would that be enough?
Braylon started thinking about possible strategies. What he needed was a way to neutralize the organism without it, or the host, being aware. Once he saw the genetic map, which displayed the entire genetic code, an idea began to form into his mind. He saw a possible outcome, a situation where everything would go as smoothly as he wanted, if the criteria were met. All of them. No exceptions. Should it be a success, he would get rid of AGMO for good. But should it fail… he hoped it wouldn't.
"Computer. Open the BioLab. We have work to do."
One week came and went rather quickly. The two sides met again on the same spot at the same time. They both knew only one of them would come out alive, with a victory under their belt. There was no more room for any kind of games.
"Where is Ruby?" Braylon asked with the same tone and expression as he wore one week ago.
"Right here." Cardin lifted the little Huntress-in-training by her cape. She wasn't moving. "Relax, I know what you're thinking. She is perfectly fine, if a little… bruised. Hehehe."
"Cardin..."
"It's your fault, really. Instead of waiting, you should have fought me one week ago and none of this would have happened, dumbass. Besides,", he threw her on the ground to his right, "I couldn't let her wander around after she saw my little secret. Bad things could have happened to her, if you catch my drift."
Little Ruby moaned softly as she opened her eyes. Slowly, she raised her head and looked at Braylon with teary eyes.
"Braylon… help me..."
"Cardin, I swear to God, once I'm done with both of you, they will need a spoon to pick you up."
"Oooh, scary. By the way, why don't you say hello to you… acquaintance?"
Cardin's voice mutated, though he didn't show any external changes to his body. Braylon knew who spoke there.
"I thought I got rid of you from my life."
"You can't do that to me. I am your son."
"No, you are not. Just because some nutcase used me as a living terrarium for you to grow doesn't make you my offspring."
"I would be touched, if I didn't want revenge for what you did to me."
"What? Freed myself from you?"
"We had an unbreakable bond, you and I. We could have achieved great things together."
"Spare me. You are just another bad thing from my past. After today, you will return to being a bad memory and nothing more."
"Rrraaargh!" Cardin grit his teeth, trying to imitate the facial expression of an animal when it's angry. They both quietly stared at each other before they heard footsteps.
"Huh?", Braylon was confused, "Somebody's coming?" Cardin, however, showed no signs of surprise.
One member of team CRDL, the blond one, appeared on the roof, exhausted and wide-eyed.
"You…?" Braylon had no time to finish his sentence when the newest character spoke up.
"Cardin? What's going on man?!"
"Moron! Can't you see for yourself?"
"Braylon? Ruby?"
"Look out!"
Braylon's warning came too late. Before the rather-confused Dove Bronzewing perceived any words that came from the Vault Hunter's mouth, a writhing red mass slithered out from the nearby shadows and enveloped him completely. The screams that came were muffled, no matter what Dove did.
"Let him go!"
"I don't think so."
The mass began shrinking in size.
"Motherfucker, what are you doing to him?!"
"You will see soon. Now come to me!"
Once the mass folded on itself, all screaming stopped. It jumped back to Cardin, wrapping itself all over his body. When that happened, Braylon and Ruby could see Cardin's frame changing shape like clay in the hands of a professional. A single bead of sweat fell from Braylon's cheek as the shape once again changed back to a humanoid form. Arms, legs and head were beginning to form, quite different from what they were. The whole body was painted in blood red, with each hand ending in five long fingers with sharp red claws, legs sprouted toeless feet and the head had a wide mouth with two rows of short and sharp teeth. The orange-colored eyes resembled a drawn, cartoonish fire. Cardin's entire body sported muscles and tiny red tendrils randomly scattered all over its surface. *
"Ah, Much better. You have to excuse me, I had to break down my ex-teammate and use him to recreate the perfect bond you two had. It feels good."
"He recreated the bond?!"
"We had to lay low until it restored its energies back. Had to go back in great shape, you know? So I thought we should go all out, since one of us is definitely going to die and we both know it. Pro tip: it's not going to be me."
"Hmph. Fine... I wasn't planning on saving you anyways..." The last bits of hope to save the bully had now been erased. Once the bond completes, separating the host from AGMO was impossible because it required technology that Remnant did not have. At least, that was the theory. Everything would change soon.
"Before we start, I have to warn you two about something.", Braylon said, "See, I'm not the same kid you knew years ago, AGMO. I fought. I changed. This time, I won't need help from others. And this time...", he cracked his knuckles, "...this time I will make sure you are gone for good."
(Spider-Man 3 (PS2) – Main Fight Boss Theme)
"Aaargh! I will kill you!"
"You wish!" Braylon shouted as he materialized a Pandemic-modified grenade and threw it at Cardin, who in turn fired tiny red spikes from the right arm to destroy it. He never expected to see three homing grenades coming out from the green cloud and flying towards him. While Cardin tried desperately to swat them away, shrieking as acid formed holes in his AGMO-enhanced body, Braylon lunged forward and delivered a powerful punch to his face, which sent him flying.
"Not so fast!"
Cardin turned one of his arms into a whip that coiled itself around Braylon's throat, dragging them both down from the roof. Braylon wanted to punch Cardin again, but he kicked the Vault Hunter away, who crashed through a window into a room of an all-female team. Their screams did nothing to stop him from standing up and reaching the window. Before he could look down, two red feet kicked him in the head, throwing him to the other side of the room. Screaming intensified when the red monster appeared. If he had any wounds before, now they were gone.
"I know you better than you know yourself, Monocriffe! Try something I don't expect!"
Braylon seethed and jumped forward. Cardin grabbed the fist with his own hands and kicked Braylon's chest with enough force to throw him in the hallway through the door. The Shield was close to being depleted, so the Vault Hunter decided to take few more hits before responding with an uppercut that knocked out a bunch of Cardin's teeth, amplified by the Bumblebee's special effect.
"My turn."
Hitting the head, chest and stomach, our Vault Hunter dished out an unstoppable combo that threw Cardin off guard. With a speed that matched his physical strength, Braylon became a beast that unleashed its full combat potential. AGMO and Cardin took it all, whether they liked it or not.
"Hit him! Hit him with everything you got! Like this!"
Other students, who heard the sounds of combat, rage and unwillingness to give up, peeked out from the doorways of their respective teams only to see a brutal fight between two larger-than-life individuals, both of whom emitted this strange aura of death, as if they tried to kill each other. Some were stupid enough to take pictures while the wise ones ran for their lives as the red monster was sent flying with a kick.
"Like looking in the mirror, ain't it? Only I'm bigger… and better!"
Cardin's hands morphed into spiked maces. He lifted them above his head, attempting to hit Braylon. The latter, thanks to his amplified speed, jumped backwards into safety. The maces struck the ground with the force of a wrecking ball, shattering it into pieces. They both fell one level below. Naturally, that drew more unhealthy attention. Some students began calling for help.
The Bumblebee's effect wore off and its battery recharged itself completely. The dust cloud that filled the hallway made it hard to see. There was no way to avoid a mace that sent him through a wall and into an empty room. Cardin tried to jump on top of Braylon, but he used his legs to throw them behind him, destroying another wall. When he stood up, he noticed several soldiers aiming their guns at him, some of them belonging to Dahl.
"Get down on the ground!" One of them yelled.
"What? No, I-"
"Shut up and get down! Now!"
The floor suddenly erupted as Cardin reappeared, catching Braylon by the throat and lifting him up, much to the horror of all present soldiers.
"What the fuck?! Shoot! Shoot!"
If the soldiers knew what they were dealing with, they would never waste their bullets like that, because any creature that is bonded with AGMO becomes immune to conventional weapons. None of them realized that the bullets simply flew through the body or were digested by the colony of tiny red organisms. Cardin's body shook with each hit as his grip loosened enough for Braylon to fall down and kick him away.
"Fools! You haven't seen nothing yet!"
"Likewise! Bring it!
"I said stand down!"
Team RWBY had a rather rough existence lately. The disappearance of Ruby Rose, the leader, caused a lot of problems during the week. The remaining three members thought she wandered off somewhere in Beacon, maybe lost herself somewhere and now they needed to find her. She was younger than them by two years, after all. For some, like Weiss Schnee, she could be that one brat that knew how to get under your skin, yet still irritate you just by looking at them. That didn't mean she wasn't worried, no matter how much people liked to label her as "ice queen".
Yang, Ruby's half sister, was the first to go ballistic when they failed to find her. She went around Beacon, interrogating (most of the times it began with a threat) everyone she knew, like team JNPR and that Braylon jerk. Nobody had pissed her off like the latter when she had "the talk" with him. Her threat about crushing his testicles like a tin can made him laugh of all things. She had to thank her teammates later for not strangling him right on the spot. He was unusually calm when she asked him all those questions, even the ones that might have painted him in a different light, making her instantly suspicious. And not just her, but Weiss and Blake too. But without evidence, they couldn't do a thing.
Blake sighed as she stopped another argument between Weiss and Yang. Unlike the two, Blake tried to think rationally. Sometimes they would accuse her of being cold, to which she would reply that she was also worried about Ruby, but being hysterical wouldn't change the fact that she was still missing. After they all calmed down, the trio took a walk together in silence, each contemplating about the fate of the little girl with the red cape. None dared even thinking about the possibility of her being injured in any way or, worse, ending up drained like all those poor victims.
"I swear, if I find the bastard responsible for this..."
Yang didn't end her threat. She let her clenched fist do it for her. Her eyes rarely turned to their natural color.
"Ruby is a capable Huntress. I doubt she could..."
Yang's hair turned to fire. "Nobody heard anything about her for a whole damn week, Blake!" She turned around, eyes red and brimming with tears. Yang Xiao Long was an emotional wreck. "She is somewhere out there and needs our help! And I can't help her!"
"Yang..."
"We were always together. Ever since we were little. I had to be her mother and her sister, you know? Our father… he couldn't be really there for us. We… I remember that one time when me and Ruby left the house and we got attacked by the Grimm. If it weren't for… My stubbornness should have gotten us killed then."
That was the point when they heard something crashing down. It was loud enough that caught the attention of everyone in vicinity. Seconds later, another sound was heard, even louder than before, as if a building was collapsing.
"What's happening?!" Weiss shrieked.
"It's coming from there!" Blake pointed at a building.
"Let's go!"
"Yang, wait!"
"Maybe it's Ruby!"
It was only after they reached the place that they heard the entire symphony of destruction that was going on. As many people fled from the building, with some professors running towards it, the sounds of battle became increasingly brutal. Yang, Weiss and Blake heard firearms, alien screams, something collapsing, an explosion.
"That's professor Oobleck!"
"We need to get the students out of her, quickly!"
Oobleck brought the students of Beacon to safety while Glynda used her powers to block any debris that could harm someone. Atlas and those other soldiers swarmed the place. No matter how much they tried, they failed to get any answers.
"We need to go inside." Yang concluded.
"Are you insane?!"
"Ruby may be in there, Weiss!"
Multiple explosions.
"Stop being so obsessed with her! You are only hurting yourself that way!"
"Weiss!"
"I'm not saying I won't go! But… what would Ruby think if we end up hurt while looking for her?"
That calmed Yang's anger a little bit. She took a deep breath while Weiss placed a hand on her shoulder.
"We will find her, Yang. That's a promise. But we also need to be careful."
Yang looked at Blake, who nodded silently. She frowned, nodded back and all of them went closer. Using the chaos as a cover, the golden-haired member of team RWBY used her strength to punch a hole for them to sneak inside while another nightmarish scream occurred.
The hallway was covered in dust and detritus that fell from the walls and ceiling. Some of the lights had gone out, leaving the place into utter darkness in some occasions. What grabbed their attention was the chaos that was being unleashed very close to them. Someone was fighting a very brutal battle and it didn't look like it would end soon.
They sneaked around the corner when something came crashing down from the ceiling twenty meters away from them. The cloud of dust forced the three girls to hide behind the corner, though it didn't stop them from peeking.
"What the…? I'm seeing someone." Yang whispered.
"Sssh! Look!"
(Jojo's Bizzare Adventure: Golden Wind – Giorno's Theme)
Indeed, someone was there with them. When the dust settled, they saw a creature resembling a flayed human, but way more monstrous. There was also a person there. A person they never thought they would see in such circumstances.
"Braylon?!"
"What's he doing here?!"
"Quiet! Both of you!"
The creature said something as its right hand morphed into an axe.
"Time to die, "Eviscerator"."
Its voice shocked them. It belonged to Cardin Winchester! The bully who hated Faunus! Their sights set on Braylon, who was seriously injured. Never before had they seen such injuries, not even during their many fights with Grimm. His face was covered in blood as was one of his arms and chest. A hole on the wall behind Braylon, large enough for them to see the outside world, let the sunlight shine down on his body. It was sunset.
"I told you, Monocriffe. You cannot win against me. Look at you! All fucked up and shit, you are a sorry sight! And me? I'm good! As pristine as when I was born! Once I'm done with you, I'll drain you and dump your body into the dirt. It's over!"
"Then you will have to try harder than that."
"Huh?!"
The monster with Cardin's voice walked closer to the fallen Vault Hunter, stopping only when he stood up far more easily than someone with those wounds could. Even the girls watched, surprised at the sudden turn of events.
(Jojo's Bizzare Adventure: Golden Wind – Giorno's Theme)
"I already told you. I'm not the same person I was years ago. If you want to bring me down, tough shit, because I am stronger than death!"
"Hrng! That attitude,", it raised the hand-axe, "pisses me off!"
No matter how the monster tried to attack, Braylon would always be one step ahead, always ready to counter, until it roundhouse-kicked him into the head, punched two times and buried its hand-axe into his shoulder, blood gushing from the wound. Braylon seethed in pain.
"Funny how I always knew I'm better than you. Now I will prove it!"
"Then do it! Come on!"
"Bah! If only little Red was here to see you die!"
Weiss and Blake had to restrain Yang when they realized it was talking about Ruby. Braylon, however, remained impassive as ever, even more so when it punched him through the wall and into the open field for everyone to see. They followed the unsuspecting monster outside, with Yang catching its attention.
"Where's Ruby you piece of shit?!"
"Ah, here comes the cavalry, I see.", it glanced in their direction, "I'll deal with you after I'm done with Monocriffe over there.", it turned back to Braylon, pointing with the hand-axe and laughing, "Come on, tough guy! At least make a fight out of it!"
"Hmph. Not bad. I almost… felt that."
"Big talk coming from you-… huh?!"
Something was wrong. They all could see it, especially the red-skinned monster. Tiny blue dots sprouted on the hand-axe, spreading all over its surface until it turned entirely blue. It then solidified like mud and crumbled, revealing a human hand. It looked down and, behold, the body began developing blue dots too!
"What is this!? What's going on?! What have you done to me?!"
"I thought you have figured it out by now. You are better than me, aren't you?"
It looked up and saw the Vault Hunter on his feet, with the sun shining behind him. Even the girls watched the scene in utter surprise, shock or awe. He almost resembled a superhero. Almost.
"You poor, stupid fuck."
"No, no! You can't-!"
"But I can. And I did. I neutralized AGMO with a special serum that was coursing through my blood and sweat. Blood and sweat that you, Cardin Winchester, came in contact with without even suspecting a thing."
"S-stay away from me!"
Braylon cracked his knuckles as he walked forward and said: "Now, I believe I also told you that people would need a spoon to pick up your remains. Time for you to meet the one, and only, Braylon Monocriffe! This is for all those you've killed!"
"P-please! It… it was just a prank! Please-aaaaaaaahhhh!"
With inhumane savagery, and a battle cry that would scare even the fiercest of warriors, the Vault Hunter began venting all the fury he collected during the mockery of a fight in the form of fists that were as fast as bullets. Not only did each hit struck like a cannonball, tearing away pieces of skin that turned blue, it also heavily damaged the body of the human beneath the monster, Cardin Winchester. Truly, so powerful were the attacks, that they all could hear the sound of bones breaking, snapping like mere twigs. The rampage went one for solid two minutes, before ending with an uppercut that sent Cardin on the floor like a rug. Everything that remained of AGMO were the useless blue remains. The organism was effectively neutralized.
Another victory for the Vault Hunter.
The battle took so much focus and concentration, that only now could Braylon truly notice the members of team RWBY, who stood frozen like statues at the sight. Not for long, though, because one of them, Yang Xiao Long, walked up to him, grabbed him by his shirt and yelled into his face.
"Where's Ruby?!"
"Up… up there.", he pointed at the rooftops, feeling awkward because no one yet acknowledged what he did there by beating AGMO. Obviously he wouldn't have the privilege to savor the victory. When Weiss, Blake and Yang ran away, to find their leader, Braylon ordered the PDA to heal his wounds. He looked at the body of Cardin Winchester and what remained of AGMO. The beating he got was probably going to tie him to a bed for the rest of his life. As for the Frankenstein of genetics, the serum would make sure it would never be a threat again. Only now did he allow himself to mentally freak out at the whole situation.
"I can't fucking believe this! How in the fuck did this happen?! Why did this happen?! Why was he here?!"
He began seeing a pattern. First, there was Odatron, now it was AGMO. Both of them were creations of a man he hated more than anything else. Sure, correlation does not imply causation, but it was way too convenient for both of them to appear in the same reality. He had to scoff mentally, because he made sure that their creator was dead. Seriously dead, not "dead-but-ha-ha-I-will-be-back" dead.
"Could he really be alive? Once again? Because if so, I swear to God..."
Hearing footsteps, Braylon decided it would be best for him to escape. But when he turned around, he found out it was too late to do anything. The soldiers and professors already spotted him, with the former pointing their guns at him. He could have kill them all and run away, though he concluded he really didn't need to dive deeper into the shit he had gotten himself into. The situation was more troublesome than he thought it would be. Two Dahl soldiers walked up to him, guns never leaving their target. If they recognized or knew him, they didn't show it, which made Braylon feel uncomfortable.
Ignoring the comments, the looks, the sounds of Scrolls taking pictures as other students gathered in groups to see him being handcuffed by Dahl soldiers, Braylon finally admitted defeat. It was pointless to resist the arrest. He would have enough time to explain everything during the interrogation, if they don't throw him behind bars and bury the key… or if Dahl decides to kill him and make it look like an accident. Well, he thought, at least he got rid of a problem. One down, thirty million to go.
Every now and then Braylon would raise his head to look at the surroundings only to notice a black bird staring at him, always from a high position. Although he was unsure whether or not it was the same bird, the fact that he always saw one, with black feathers and red eyes, made him think it really was just one bird, or something that tried to pretend to be one. Why it was there was something he had yet to understand, as was the presence of the two buffoons he did not like one bit, the mint-haired girl and her sidekick. Did both sides watch his fight with him unaware?
With the two mentioned troublemakers, the Vault Hunter also saw a woman with black hair and very beautiful eyes, the eyes of a snake, that told him she wasn't the person she pretended to be. Oh, she knew he saw her, which is why she made this very strange smile, as if she was happy that he would disappear from her sight, but also wanted to carve his heart out with her own bare hands right there and then. Her mere presence, her mannerisms, told him she was the one in charge and that the two were just dogs that obeyed her orders. Very loyal dogs at that. He definitely had to keep an eye on her in the future.
But first… the interrogation.
If this chapter felt weird to read, it is because I tried to test out some new writing styles, though I have no idea if it is visible or not. But yes, AGMO made a comeback in this story, though a shorter one than in the first version. I should mention this for the "older" readers and for the fans of the first story that we are reaching the point where the two stories are coming in contact as far as the plot is concerned. After the next short arc, which will act as a 2-3 chapter introduction to the big-ass arc, everything you read is actually adapted from the first story, more or less, including the giant arc I wrote about. Though here will make a bit more sense and will actually follow a story. But yes, everything that comes is directly taken from the "A Chance to Live", adapted to fit in this one.
If you are wondering how Braylon got the grenade mod, it is the one he took in the arena fight with demons from few chapters earlier.
And now, better prepare your ass, because, from the next chapter on, things are about to get ugly.
PDA Biopedia:
Entry #110: AGMO - Perfect Form
Type: Genetic Experiment
Faction: None
Description: "Once again, science will require a sacrifice of the insignificant. I can't remember who said that, but the words are stuck in my head to this very day. In the 20th century, there was a pact made for the greater good; that no sides would use weapons deemed too dangerous and destructive, no matter the circumstances, including chemical weapons. Everyone respected that pact, even the Germans, who had enough of those to kill the entire Europe several times over. Everyone knew what would happen if all sides suddenly unleashed those everywhere. After all, they had the first World War as a textbook example of that. Decades later, few more things were added to that list, like the misuse of radars and laser, who could fry and/or blind hundreds, if used correctly. But nothing, not even the nuclear weaponry, could compare to what came next: genetic engineering. The amount of damage that could do in wrong hands was, and still is, unthinkable. People made precautions for that shit, you know? Like, crazily-prepared does not even begin to describe it. And then, then one man comes, all of a sudden, centuries later, and fucks it all up. That's where AGMO comes from. Only few people in the entire galaxy understood what Dr. Hellingen did that day; he opened the Pandora's box."
New item acquired!
- Pandemic (Legendary grenade mod)
Arsenal:
1) HWM: Holo Sabre, Holo Ripper, Holo Claw
2) Pistol: Unforgiven
3) Shotgun: Striker, Orphan Maker
4) Assault Rifle: Ajax's Spear, Coffin Seller
5) Sniper Rifle: Omni-Cannon
6) Rocket Launcher: Nukem, Leviathan
7) Energy Weapon: Excalibastard, Vulcan, Fornax
8) Remnant-only: Vulcan
9) Grenade Mod: Pandemic
10) Shield: Bumblebee