Guess who's/what's not dead!
I DO NOT OWN RWBY AND AM IN NO WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM AFFILIATED WITH ROOSTER TEETH. ALL RIGHTS AND OWNERSHIPS OF THE SETTING AND A MAJORITY OF THE CHARACTERS BELONG TO THEM. I ONLY OWN THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS AND OTHER CREATIONS SUCH AS THE GRIMM CONTROL PROGRAM.
VIII
The Program
The room was silent as the ten figures above looked over the images. One leaned forward, his amber eyes gleaming. A gray cat's tail idly waved side to side behind him. "Explain, Administrator."
The man in the center, the Administrator, nodded. He had neatly combed black hair and a set of startlingly gray eyes. Sitting on top of his hair was a dark blue officer's cap with a black brim and a pin of the logo of the Grimm Control Program on the front. He wore a dark blue trench coat with black buttons and a black belt over a white collared shirt with a black tie. Black slacks and shiny black shoes peaked out underneath. "Two months ago, contact with OLYMPUS Station was lost. Minutes later, the Emergency Broadcast System within sent a message to HQ that self-destruct protocols had been initialized. Teams arrived within two hours, but they were too late. The image on the left shows the remains of OLYMPUS Station, after the self-destruct sequence had run its course." More images covered the screen, showing Grimm-shaped masks and battered weaponry. "The following was extricated from the site, leading initial searches to conclude that a raid performed by the White Fang had been responsible." The eleven people in the room chuckled. "I'm sure the teams in the field shot that idea down just as quickly. After the mainframe room was located, all data was found missing, most likely from a purge."
The images of White Fang equipment were replaced by an image of a bright orange box held in the hands of a Faunus woman in a light blue Atlesian uniform, the word 'GCPSEC' stamped on her chest. On her helmet was the image of a pair of gears containing the details found on a Geist's mask. Behind her was a large, orange-colored fox tail. "Due to standard failsafe procedure, a self-destruct request detached the black box from the mainframe, protecting it from the purge performed afterwards.
"The black box's data was copied onto another drive and the teams split into two groups: one made its way to the headquarters here, the other made for YGGDRASIL Station in Anima. Both teams arrived at their destinations safely and the data was investigated. It was through this investigation that we learned a third-party reached the site before we did and performed a quick copy of the data within." The insignia of Atlas covered the screen. "The only organization that we know of capable of reaching the site before us, copying the data on the black box, and retreating without notice is none other than the Atlas Military." The insignia disappeared, a new image showing the same soldier holding up a white disc replacing it. "This tracking device was found and removed from the black box before the teams left the area, further supporting the theory that the Atlas Military performed the copy." The images of the tracking device, black box, and OLYMPUS disappeared, leaving only the image of Arthur Watts. "After careful consideration and repeated dives into the evidence, it is the conclusion of the Security Committee and myself that the perpetrator was none other than Doctor Arthur Watts. As of this moment, all currently active Stations have had alerts sent to their Boards of Directors and Security Coordination Offices to be on the lookout for him, and to detain him alive as soon as possible for questioning."
"Well well, it looks like you've done your homework, Administrator," the cat faunus drawled. "But, something tells me that isn't even the worst of the bad news." He suddenly lost his amused tone. "What are the casualty reports?"
"After a prolonged search, it was determined that everyone in OLYMPUS Station, if they weren't killed by Watts or rampaging Grimm first, died in the ensuing explosion or from overexposure afterwards. As for...nonhuman, personnel…" The image of Watts faded to show five Grimm. The first was of a Deathstalker outfitted with a mechanical stinger, prosthetic legs, cybernetic eyes, and large metal plates on its claws. The second was of a Sabyr with longer spines growing from its back. The third was of a large Ursa Major that had plates and spikes almost completely covering it. The fourth was of a Creep with a larger horn and more plating. The last image looked like it was taken from an observation window overlooking a large, circular room. A man was squaring off against a large Alpha Beowolf. The details on the Grimm were difficult to make out, but a notable feature was the broken faceplate. The Overseers focused on the fifth image, the confusion and tension clear despite the darkness of the room. "All donor Grimm and Candidate patients are presumed dead. At the time, five Subjects were also being kept in OLYMPUS Station: TAU, UPSILON, CHI, PSI, and OMEGA. Currently, we are only able to verify one survivor out of them, which is the main reason for calling this meeting." The first four images disappeared, the fifth one taking the whole screen.
"The OMEGA Subject. Salvaged medical reports have its donor listed as Oswald Roseus, a former captain of the Atlesian Navy and late grandfather of Symponia Roseus. He is close to three and a half meters tall, weighs one-point-four metric tons, received full doses of the strongest Enhancers yet developed in the Strength, Olfactory, Auditory, and Endurance categories, received full metal coverings for one-hundred percent of the bone spikes on his body, received a venom production and injection system, and received an experimental cross-Subject transplant of the IOTA's mask. An estimated age on the report has the OMEGA as the oldest Grimm ever discovered, at over two thousand years old. Designation: Apollyon."
Another one of the figures spoke, a woman. "The OMEGA Subject? They were supposed to issue a report once they found a suitable Grimm and finished procedures on it."
"We have reason to believe that not only was the procedure never completed, but also that Specialist Serap Verzand, at the time the one in charge of the SCO at that Station, disregarded standard protocol to speed up the process. As such, the OMEGA did not receive a full surgery and did not participate in any obedience and wellness lessons with the psychiatrist stationed there, or even partner with a Handler. This image is a still from security footage captured shortly after we lost contact with the Station. In it, Specialist Verzand is inside the Testing Area in an effort to force cooperation from the OMEGA, despite not being a licensed Handler himself."
"This man doomed the station…" Another male Overseer spoke, almost sounding horrified.
"He has done far more than that, I'm afraid," the Administrator continued. "We only have reason to believe the OMEGA survived because AVALON Station reported anomalous Grimm behavior in the capital region of Sanus." The cat faunus stood up first, the other Overseers quickly joining him. "An Osprey drone on patrol captured footage of a large pack of Beowolves including two Alphas passing through the ruins of Mountain Glenn."
"Show it," the faunus hissed.
The image was replaced by footage of a mass of black passing through the streets. The aerial view zoomed in with a mechanical whirr and the black focused into a pack of Grimm. The view panned to the front, where a pair of Alphas led the pack. It zoomed in further and revealed one of the Alphas not only to be abnormally large for a Beowolf, but to also have a familiar broken mask. "We believe Arthur Watts transported the OMEGA there, but we do not know why or how. Regardless of his reasoning, AVALON Station was unable to mobilize fast enough at the time, and the pack continued marching towards Vale. As of this moment, we have reason to believe the OMEGA is still active somewhere near the capital of the Kingdom."
"By the Gods...he has thrown our entire mission into jeopardy!" The male Overseer from before continued.
"AVALON has been put on high-alert and is routinely sending teams into the surrounding ruins to locate and detain the Subject, should he return to the area." The last still of the video disappeared, leaving the projector blank. "Due to recent events and the oncoming Vytal Festival being hosted in the Kingdom of Vale, I put the Breach Protocol to a vote within the Committee." The Administrator paused, taking notice of the grave faces of the Overseers. "They voted 'Yea' with an eighty-six percent majority. The other half of the Grimm Control Council voted 'Yea' unanimously. I approved their vote. The time has come for you to approve or veto the vote. As is required, I will remind you all that the Breach Protocol calls for an acceleration of action moving from Phase One to Phase Two, lightens our security and discretion policies, and also allows the Grimm Control Program to resort to more questionable Operations without full approval from both halves of the Grimm Control Council should the active Security Administrator deem the risk acceptable and necessary."
"A moment for debate, please," the cat faunus asked, to which the Administrator nodded and pressed a button on his Scroll. Privacy screens rolled down from the ceiling and hissed into locks in the floor of the room. The Administrator could not hear or see anything beyond them. After some minutes, the screens undocked from the locks and slowly rose into the ceiling. All of the Overseers were sitting once more.
Once the screens were lifted, the Administrator addressed the council. "All in support of the Breach Protocol, raise your right hand and confirm your vote with a 'Yea'."
All ten Overseers raised their right hands. "Yea," they all spoke at once in neutral tones.
"The Breach Protocol is effective immediately. The Board of Directors located in each Station will be notified of the change."
"I call for Operation Changing of the Guard to start immediately, and for construction of a new Station in Solitas to enter the planning phase," the cat faunus suggested. "I'd prefer the other Council not stop us, either."
"All in favor?" The Administrator asked.
Once again, all ten hands rose and they all affirmed, "Yea."
The Administrator nodded. "I'll notify the Security Committee. Will that be all, Overseers?"
The Overseers looked among themselves before the cat faunus spoke. "Unless you have something else to add, this meeting may adjourn."
"I have said all that I came to."
"Then this meeting is adjourned. Thank you for bringing this to our attention, Administrator." The Administrator nodded and strode out of the room.
/ / /
A lone Ursa prowled the forest. It had been surrounded by trees and shrubs for as long as its unreliable memory could remember. It knew nothing else. It found a familiar crag in the earth, stretching in either direction for what felt like infinity. It was too wide to jump across, too deep to cross by foot. It was a barrier that prevented it from marching closer to its destination, a human city. It sniffed the edge, eventually detecting something strangely familiar. It smelled its Mother, but that should have been impossible. It had never seen its Mother. She could not have been in the forest; it was not Her home. A black paw reached over the lip and slammed its long claws into the earth. The Ursa did not flinch. Smoke caught up with the paw as, with a growl, the stump of another leg reached over and tried grasping at anything. It kept slipping off the grass and retreating closer to the pit it had just gotten out of. A howl came out from below, asking for help. The Ursa marched over and bit into the stump, strong enough to get a grip but soft enough to not cause much pain.
It did not have the developed paws of a Beowolf or the hands of an Apathy, but its jaw was powerful enough to help. It struggled somewhat with the immense weight of the Grimm it was helping, but managed to pull it up. The large Alpha Beowolf before it shook on the ground as smoke belched out of its stump right arm and occasionally puffed out of its nose. Several spots on its back also spewed out smoke, and the Ursa could see that several of its spikes were bent, broken, or missing. All of its limbs continued to tense and twitch for several minutes before it finally attempted to stand up. It tried to get up using its stump, but whimpered in pain. It had most likely forgotten the limb was gone. The Ursa stood up and grabbed its underarms, lifting it onto its hind legs. The Beowolf stumbled in place before steadying itself. The Beowolf towering over the Ursa smelled of so many familiar and unfamiliar things, it simply did not make sense to it. The Beowolf shook its head and blinked several times with its lone right eye before looking down at the Ursa. The Alpha huffed and nodded its head, a gesture of thanks and a wish to travel alone, before moving deeper into the forest.
/ / /
Apollyon staggered through the forest, smoke occasionally leaking out of his nose. That had started part way during his journey out of the canyon, though he had not the faintest idea why. He had found a path chiseled into the rock and traveled it up as far as he could, but several sections were damaged or missing, with the final stretch gone completely. He had been forced to climb the remaining distance from there, and likely would have been stuck or even fallen back down had that Ursa not been there. He felt a pain in his chest and looked down, smoke puffing out of his nose again. The eye glow of the mask blinked rapidly, dimming ever so slightly, before steadying once more. The fall. It seemed that he had pushed his ability too far in that one moment out of desperation, and his body had difficulty coping. He looked at the rest of his body and saw faint wisps of smoke floating off as well. His eyes landed on his stump again and he grunted, choosing to ignore it and continue forward. He did not know exactly where he was going, only that it led him further away from the city. It had been a lost cause, and cost him dearly. Grimm had strong regeneration factors, but replacing a lost limb as drastic as his arm was out of the question.
He had to hide.
He pressed on, feeling the faint tickles of negativity in the back of his mind guiding him closer to the source. Somewhere in the far distance, he could feel the edges of an ocean, the swelling waves made of pure negativity. He had been there before, on his journey to the city and the tower. That was likely to be his new home for the foreseeable future, at least until he could adapt to the loss of his arm. He would not be able to take revenge on the men responsible, but he could bide his time until the rest of humanity could pay.
Grimm, creatures of infinite life, were creatures of infinite patience.
/ / /
Sia Argent sighed as she looked over another report from a search team that had found nothing in Mountain Glenn or the surrounding area. She had shoulder-length platinum-blonde hair and soft green eyes. She still wore her Specialist's uniform from her career in the Special Operatives Unit, though it was modified somewhat to avoid confusion in the field. Her collared white shirt and slacks had light blue trims as opposed to the grays found in the military proper, though her combat boots remained untouched. The officer's cap that normally came with the outfit was replaced with the pilot's cap of a Solitas Ranger. On her cap was a pin shaped in the symbol of the Program. Her right shoulder bore a badge of the symbol of Atlas while the left bore a pair of patches. The top patch read 'GCPSEC/GSF' and the bottom read 'HANDLER.' At this rate, we'll have to cross the mountains into the heartland. Bit too close for comfort to Vale, but we really don't have a choice at this point. She realized that was unfortunately the case as she picked up the next report. One of their agents in the city heard on the news that it had come to light that a pair of students had died in the Beacon initiation test, the first in decades.
The timing was unfortunate at best and downright threatening at worst.
She placed the report to the side with a mental note to send it to the Board so SecCom could have a look. She saw it was the last report and leaned back in her chair, glad the next few hours could be spent performing in-person tests with the Subjects stationed at AVALON. She had received word from the Board that Candidate trials were underway as of some days ago, meaning she'd likely get paired with one soon enough. There was a knock on her door, causing her to look up. "Come in."
The door opened after a moment and a GCPSEC soldier walked in, saluting her. "Ma'am," he greeted.
She waved him down. "At ease. Have a seat."
"Can't ma'am. Urgent message for you."
"No rest for the wicked…" She muttered. "Alright, what's the report?"
"An Osprey drone caught sight of the OMEGA Subject just outside Mountain Glenn. You've been selected to lead a team to detain him and bring him here for treatment and obedience training."
She got out of her chair and picked her weapon up as she did, a bardiche-rifle combination she named Preserver. "We're certain it's the OMEGA?" She slung it over her back.
"Analysts confirmed it just a few minutes ago."
"What am I allowed?" She asked as she marched towards the door, the soldier stepping out of the way before trailing her.
"SCO's cleared you two H-GCVs, one with standard complement and the other reserved for transporting the VIP, and the first batch of Candidates."
"Where are they?"
"Currently being assembled in S-and-D. They haven't been briefed on the situation yet."
"I suppose I'll need to be quick with it, then." They reached Storage and Distribution within a few minutes and saw it was bustling with more activity than usual. Crews were moving equipment and vehicles out of the way and clearing a wide space. In the center of it all was a squad of soldiers with a trio of AK-135 drones and a trio of Creeps. They stood in front of a pair of H-GCVs, the bulky Heavy Grimm Capture Vehicles specially designed for capturing and transporting larger and more dangerous Grimm. They sat on six wheels and had just as many attachable VTOL engines sitting inside under the floor in case it needed some lift. Its large, swivel-mounted tri-barrel autocannon made sure it was well-defended at all times, and its eight tranquilizer emplacements kept even the largest of Grimm down. The Creeps squatting next to them wore light blue ballistics vests with the familiar 'GCPSEC/GSF' patches on the sides. The cosmetic surgery was still being fine-tuned, so none of the Grimm looked different yet.
The soldiers turned to her and stood at attention. Three of them wore the double-breasted coats and pilot's caps of the Solitas Rangers rather than the body armor of soldiers. Their chests had the phrases 'GCPSEC/GSF' and 'HANDLER' sewn into them. Two were male and the third was female, and they each stood behind a different Creep. The soldier with her marched into the line and joined the other soldiers. She looked over the line again and noticed one of the soldiers had a large backpack of communications equipment instead of the rifle typically found there.
Sia cleared her throat before addressing them. "Listen up. I was told none of you received a briefing, but considering the volatile nature of the situation, that's understandable. Also because of that, the briefing will be kept...brief." She paused. "An Osprey drone just detected what the Research Group believes is the OMEGA Subject, who went rogue following the destruction of OLYMPUS Station up in Solitas. He is responsible for the destruction of eleven villages and the deaths of hundreds of civilians and five fully-trained huntsmen. And now, he's on our doorstep." She scanned the assembled men and women as she continued. "It's our mission to locate, detain, and return him to this Station as quickly and safely as possible for obedience training with a professional. We don't split up, we check our corners, and we communicate. You see or hear anything suspicious out there, you let everyone else know immediately. Am I understood?"
"Yes ma'am!" Everyone minus the androids barked out.
"Load up, we're leaving!" One soldier moved towards the driver's seat as everyone else filed into the back. Sia walked around and sat in the passenger seat. She had barely closed the door before the vehicle started and made its way out, the second following not far behind it. Sia looked back and through the pane of glass at the other soldiers, gripping the knob on it and opening it slightly. "We're catching a Subject today!"
/ / /
Several minutes after leaving the base, Sia heard a knock on the glass. She looked at the pane and saw a soldier tapping on it, the one with the backpack. She cracked it open and the soldier spoke. "Ma'am, we're closing in on the VIP. An Osprey above is gonna lead us to the AO, but we're advised to disembark now."
Sia turned to the driver. "You heard him. Stop the GCV, we're moving out on foot."
"Yas ma'am." The vehicle slowed to a halt as the soldier sat down and Sia closed the pane.
Once it stopped, the doors at the back unlocked and were pushed open, the soldiers flooding out. Sia stepped out of the passenger seat and pulled out Preserver, giving it a quick spin before walking over to them. They were scanning the surroundings, the 135s in front and the Handlers in the middle with their Candidates.
Sia marched to the Handlers. "So, who am I working with?"
The female Handler spoke, pointing at the Creeps as she did. "That one's Ace, there's Queenie, and that's King."
"Thanks." Sia cleared her throat and addressed the rest of the detachment. "We're moving out! Follow the Osprey and keep an eye on your surroundings!"
The Knights took the lead and kept their shields up, followed by Sia and the soldiers. The Handlers and their Candidates were kept in the middle of the formation. The soldier with a backpack stayed close to her and pulled a tablet out of it, watching the video feed of the Osprey.
"Target's currently advancing towards an entrance to the underground. If it gets down there, we'll be at its mercy."
"The underground has more negativity, so it makes sense. That's where a majority of the casualties were," Sia explained. "That just means we need to move faster." She turned to the rest of them. "Pick up the pace, we're about to lose visual of the target!"
As they all sped up, Sia glanced up at the Osprey. It was faint in the distance, but still visible. It looked like it was several blocks down and some streets to the right.
The soldier with the tablet grabbed her attention. "It's seen the Osprey!"
"What?" Sia looked back up at the Osprey and something flew up and missed it. It swerved left and right to dodge incoming chunks of concrete, but a rod suddenly flew up and impaled it, causing it to spiral out of control and hit the ground.
"Feed lost. We're-" A roar broke out in the quiet, bouncing off of the buildings and echoing down the streets. The soldier lost his train of thought as Sia could almost feel the dread in the air.
"Stay focused! We can't back out now!" Sia tried to rally the troops. "We know the last place it was!" She turned to the one with a backpack. "Pull out the spare Osprey and get it up there! We need eyes!"
"Y-yes ma'am!" As they started running again, he folded the tablet and put it in his pocket before opening the backpack. He fumbled around inside before pulling out a small white drone. It had four propellers and stood on four stilts, a camera mounted in the center of its underside. He pressed a button on its top and held it for some moments as it beeped. A tone signaled before the propellers spun. "Station's got control!" He tossed it up and the Osprey took to the skies, buzzing towards the previous one's last known location.
The soldier pulled out his tablet again and watched the feed once more. Sia kept glancing from the city around them to the Osprey. She had to double-take when the Osprey started coming back towards them. "Eyes up, everyone! The OMEGA's closing in!"
Everyone slowed to a stop and formed a loose circle, keeping Sia and the Handlers in the center. The Osprey continued to draw closer until it was just around the corner. Something cracked and crumbled before the soldier turned to Sia. "Ma'am...it's gone into a building. Visual lost."
Sia cursed under her breath. "He'll have to come out eventually. He wouldn't have come all this way to back out now." At least, I hope he hasn't. They waited with baited breath as the Grimm refused to show himself. Eventually, Sia spoke again. "Send the Knights in and get the OMEGA's GCV over here."
"Yes ma'am." The soldier pulled down an earpiece and retrieved a tablet as he spoke. "Unit, pull into our current grid, marked D-fifteen." The Knight-135s on the outer edge of the circle readied their shields and swords before marching towards the building.
The moment the first Knight reached the corner, a massive black paw crushed its torso and pulled it out of view. Metal groaned and tore as the other two Knights braced before charging in. The OMEGA roared and they heard more sounds of metal clashing with bone and metal. The fight ended almost as soon as it had began, and the OMEGA growled before something was launched out from around the corner. It slammed into the wall of another building across the street and caused the soldiers to flinch. Sia looked closer and took a deep breath. Embedded in the wall was the head of one of the Knights, part of it missing and the remainder having the blade and forearm section of another Knight stabbed in it. The arm dangled uselessly. Sia looked at the soldiers and could tell they were deathly afraid already, and none of them had even seen the Grimm. Fighting him is a death sentence. For them, at least. The H-GCV pulled in, the Knight driving it remaining quiet inside. The back door unlocked and swung open, a ramp sliding out of the back and touching the ground.
"Capture vehicle's here, ma'am," the soldier next to her stated. "...Orders?" He asked hesitantly.
Sia looked at the soldiers and saw their grips were starting to waver. "I'm going in."
"M-ma'am?" The other soldiers looked over as well, surprised.
"You heard me. Have the harness ready and make sure those tranquilizers are aimed at the corner. I'll draw him out."
"I'd hate to argue with you, ma'am, but-"
"You have your orders," she coldly stopped him.
"...Yes ma'am. We'll hold here."
She nodded and marched out of the circle, carefully approaching the street corner. She crouched against the wall and took a calming breath. She heard a grumble inside and stood up. Well, here goes nothing. She rolled around the corner and aimed the rifle portion of Preserver into the hole, ready to draw their target out.
The OMEGA Subject stood just inside, close enough for her to stab him, staring down at her with one cold, hate-filled eye.
Well, this chapter has been a long time coming. Sorry for the wait. It only took me...
A little over five months.
Damn. Time flies when life sucks and you do nothing but stare at a computer screen all day to do schoolwork.
That aside, I want to say I'm incredibly sorry for keeping all of you waiting. I never wanted to take five months for a single chapter, but life proved to be constantly trying to thwart me. The story's not dead, I've just been working on fleshing out things in both the timeline and the world.
On a side note, I want to say that this was not planned, and never am I ever going to say I'm going on hiatus. If I ever do that, I'm afraid that I'll use it as an excuse to just never pick this up again. I love TOS, and I don't want it to remain unfinished. It's going to be a bumpy road, that much I'm certain on, but in the end, I want to have an end.
So, onto some changes from the original:
First, some fleshing out of the Grimm Control Program. In the last story, I didn't really build on the GCP's structure or the like outside of the intermissions that had little lore bits. I want to change that with the rewrite, and give you guys some more clues to the inner workings.
Second, Sia Argent. The previous draft ended shortly after her introduction. I wanted a better introduction for her in this draft, even though she is still doing paperwork behind a desk. This time, though, the chase and capture sequence is a bit more in-depth. Well, will be more in-depth.
I'm working on being more confident in my writing. A lot of the delay between chapter seven and now was due to school, but a not-insignificant portion was me being nervous about the quality and reception. Above all else, I want to write a story other people enjoy. It's all fine and dandy if I like it, but if no one else does...is there a point?
With all of that out of the way, I want to give a huge thanks to all of you who have stuck around, and to everyone responsible for the 19 Reviews, 43 Follows, 23 Favorites, and 2,306 Views! I hope you guys and gals stick around for Chapter Nine!
Valete!