Hello Readers, bit of news; Updates may slow some with school picking up but I plan on having up at least once a week at minimum. Hope you enjoy the third chapter of Grimm choices.

Chapter 3

Fire everywhere, the smell of charred flesh thick in his nose.

The cold fear gripped him even as the fire burned him.

He wanted to cry out for his parents but smoked clogged his airway.

"For the White-Fang" The voice spoke again and again.

He was afraid; the words sent chills up his spine.

His father gripped him weakly, ignoring the pain to help his son.

"We love you Jaune… Be strong." He spoke despite the fire burning him.

Jaune's eyes snapped open and he began coughing heavily, trying to expel the smoke from his lungs. It took him a few moments to realize there was no smoke. He found himself lying in a small bed pushed into the corner of a white, metallic room. The wall he was facing had a large black window he couldn't see through. A door lacking any handle was on the wall next to it but, besides the toilet opposite the bed, the room was completely bare.

He moved to rub his eyes only to flinch in surprise. His hands were so pale! And he could see his veins clearly? Why were they black?! "What…?" he was confused for only a second before a familiar feeling gripped his stomach. What was happening to him? His memories were fuzzy at best.

Calm down Jaune, now isn't the time to panic. Despite the voice's advice Jaune did not calm down. he could feel something in his head, as if an insect had climbed into his ear while he slept and burrowed into his brain.

"What? What does that even mean!? I think it's the perfect time to panic!" Jaune yelled back into the air, shivering heavily at the blatantly creepy feeling the voice brought. Absently he remarked that his own voice sounded just like it.

"W-what did you do to me?" he touched his throat, then his head, his fear starting to get the better of him. his head was pounding, why couldn't he remember? he knew his name was Jaune. but the voice said that already… What was his last name…?

I made you strong; So much stronger than you were. Isn't that what you wanted Jaune? Don't you want to be strong enough to hunt down the White-Fang? To make them pay for what they did to you. What they did to us. The voice said something that made his skull ache. The White-fang? They hurt him didn't they? They stole his family? No, that isn't right. they weren't taken, they were killed...

"No! I-I don't want to hurt people…" even to himself the words sounded unsure, hollow. he could feel anger and rage boil over at the mention of the "White-Fang" and he felt justified in wanting them gone but dead? Why did that feel so wrong? "How do you even know about that?" his voice came out barely above a whisper. "I can barely remember…"

I can see your memories Jaune, I can see you life as if I lived it myself, it's how I learned to speak… You humans are truly an odd type, it's almost like your parents encouraged weakness. The voice continued as if he was talking about the weather being a bit worse than expected. You might still be a little frail but I suppose that can be changed easily enough. At least your aura is of superior quality.

" My aura?what d- wait you remember?! why don't I?" envy laced Jaunes voice, why couldn't he remember? why did his ears ring whenever he tried to remember his family? He could remember crying for countless hours because they were gone. Anything before then felt fuzzy and unclear, whenever he tried to focus on it his ears would start ringing to the point where he was sure they would explode.

You seem confused, I suppose this is a bit... well, confusing. I wish i could explain it better but I'm afraid I only know what you know. or knew I suppose, what were you saying about not remembering? The voice seemed almost as muddled as Jaune felt.

Jaune let out a groan that sounded more like a growl with his changed voice. "It's not important…" of course it was important but it hurt so much to think about… Jaune couldn't help but feel that maybe he didn't need to remember.

"What should I call you anyway? Do you have a name? do you know where we are?" Jaune asked curiously, firing off questions whenever the voice hesitated to speak. Sure it seemed a bit mean but at least it was someone to talk to, something to distract him. With nothing else in the blank, white room Jaune was having a hard time keeping calm himself, this place made his stomach flip.

Well I was born yesterday with your memories so… You're with some guy named Jacque, he said he would make you stronger but you already remember that much. I don't know much else about what's happening now. the words made Jaune feel a bit stupid but at least the voice didn't sound angry or sarcastic, just… confused? Jaune wasn't sure why that made him feel better.

Maybe you should ask the two people behind that glass, they seem pretty calm. The voice brought Jaune's attention back again and the boy looked up at the glass suddenly.

"I-I can't see them." his voice quivered slightly. who was watching him? why weren't they telling him anything? questions swirled around his mind and a sick feeling twisted in his gut. Was it their fault he couldn't remember?

Right, you're still mostly human. here let me see if i can… it trailed off in his head as if distracted. A tingling sensation spreading in his ears almost made him giggle with how it tickled but it was gone a moment later. That was easy… I wonder what else I can do up here..?

He was about to ask what it was talking about when a new voice drew his attention. "-our presence, possibly due to the Grimm's uncanny ability to sense humans. I believe this is evidence tha-"

The man was cut off by something." He's reacting to us… Can you hear me Jaune?" A second voice made itself known and Jaune nodded slightly, staring wide eyed at the glass. He didn't understand how he could suddenly hear them through the glass or why they were behind the window to begin with.

"Who are you?" Jaune asked steadily, a sudden calm coming over himself. He couldn't understand what was happening. his heart was hammering away a second ago, why did it stop suddenly? It appears I have a bit more influence than I first thought. the voice sounded pleased with itself. I can slow your heart and keep you calm, I imagine it's a limited effect but could be useful.

"huh…?" Jaune said intelligently, what did it mean "influence"? wasn't that control? could it control him? Don't let it bother you Jaune, you'll know if I do anything. I believe that man is trying to get your attention though. Oh ya, he should probably pay a bit more attention.

"-could hear me a moment ago, why is he refusing to respond?" The man sounded confused which was understandable, Jaune thought, considering he probably couldn't hear the voice in Jaune's head.

"Sorry, I was a little distracted." He sounded so much older, it almost made him giddy to sound so old but the feeling was quickly squashed and replaced with a quiet peace. He wasn't sure how he felt about something controlling his emotions but he at least it kept him from being too scared to speak.

"Where am I?" he was nervous again, what if he asked the wrong question and angered him? And again the feeling was torn away. The question made sense, he had every right to know where he was.

\-/

Even Jacques Schnee, head of the SDC and the Schnee family, couldn't hide his shock and stared slack jawed at the boy. Jaune's question was simple enough but that wasn't what blindsided both men. Only a blind man would miss how Jaune's expression would rapidly change, as if something was trying to block out his emotions. One moment he would start to smile then it would suddenly disappear, replaced with a neutral, almost surreal calm. His deep voice only further disturbed the already tainted scene.

Jacques cleared his throat, reining in the unease he felt, hoping the Grimm inside wouldn't sense it. "You are in my home" A vague answer was always good "I brought you here to make you strong, just like you asked." He couldn't have the blame fall on him in case the child lost control, the glass would protect them but he didn't get to where he was relying on a single plan.

"Do you remember?" He asked cautiously and for a moment the boy frowned, looking like he might cry out but that expression fell away just like the others.

"I don't. What did you put inside me?" to Jacques' surprise Jaune didn't sound angry or upset, just curious. interesting.

Jacques turned to Franklin but the man seemed unwilling to speak while his subject could hear him, was he afraid? Neither of them were strangers to what human experimentation could create but all their research pointed to the same thing. Grimm did not have true sentience, they could be intelligent sure, but in the end they were driven wholly by instinct.

But this, this was solid evidence of an unknown form of Grimm actively controlling a human child. Was it possible that the Grimm has taken full control of the boy? if that were the case than the sudden changes in expression and presumably emotion are signs of the boy resisting. That was only if the Grimm was in control, a fact Jacques was unsure how to prove.

"It was a special type of chemical meant to bond with you, it was meant to make you stronger." A simple story, one close enough to the truth. "Are you stronger?" A question for a question seemed fair, considering he was telling the boy nothing of any real substance.

Jaune looked thoughtful, staring off into nothing before suddenly raising his hand and looking at it with a curious expression that didn't fade like before. Jacques stared in silence, willing himself not to react when a bone white liquid began pooling in Jaunes uplifted hand. slowly at first, the liquid spread and eventually covered the boys entire arm.

"Hmm…" Jaune hummed thoughtfully "I don't know… maybe sharp?" He mumbled and the bone like liquid immediately sharpened at the tips of the boys fingers. Jacques, much as he would deny it, nearly jumped when Franklin stumbled off his seat, his features looked to be paling by the second. Franklin never had a subject unnerve him to this extent but he couldn't stop, the subject had a weapon of unknown strength they didn't predict. The risk of a security breach was clearly rising out of control.

Jacques scowled at the frightened researcher before turning his attention back to the boy. He nearly followed Franklin's example when he saw the child's hands pressed against the glass while he sniffed at it gingerly. "I smell something…" He paused, a guttural growl escaping his throat "good…" Jacques reacted immediately, grabbing the man roughly by the arm and dragging him towards the exit. Upon the door opening he all but threw the man out of the observation room. "Don't come back until you can get ahold of yourself." Jacques voice held contempt, looking down at the man as he would a whimpering child.

When he turned back around Jaune was tapping at the glass with his clawed hand, though it didn't look like he was putting any effort into it. "Mr. Schnee. Can you let me out...?" Despite his disgust with Franklin, and possibly even fear of Jaune, he kept his voice steady as he answered. "I don't think that is a good idea Jaune, you need to rest" and I need to get more security, Jacque thought to himself. He was no fool, but even he didn't expect the "Virus" to be this effective, he needed time to prepare, to readjust.

Jaune frowned at his statement but didn't say anything, only stepping back from the glass. A second later the bone like material covering his arm liquified again and retreated back into his palm. Silently he trudged to the bed, looking every part the grounded child, and with a dramatic sigh, he flopped into bed.

Jacque felt a sense of dejavu coming over him, Jaune looked almost like young Whitley from behind, white haired and upset when denied. though Whitley would have put up a much larger fight, maybe Weiss… he shrugged and walked out of the room, trusting the monitoring equipment to warn him if anything happened while he was busy preparing for the experiments that would need to be run. He would need to find more people to test on soon, they still had plenty of material to work with and one child does not make a very "Elite Force".

As he walked he let his mind wander around the possibilities this new creation brought. Even with the Grimm inside him, showing an obvious influence, the boy still acted like a child with seemingly no effort. He felt that was good evidence showing humans can control the viral-grimm. A full grown man might show better results, being fully matured should make it easier for the person to remain in control. He should be able to negate the effect Franklin's fear had on Jaune with some conditioning. It made sense Jaune got so riled up, Grimm were always drawn to the negativity in people.

Did that make Jaune part Grimm now or was it just living inside him? Jacques wondered if he was the first person to make a hybrid of human and Grimm. The thought almost made him laugh, if this was successful it would be another trophy to show the world. Another accomplishment for the glorious Schnee name. Perfect.

Thank you all for the favorites, follows and reviews, they keep me motivated like you wouldn't believe. roger9481, I plan on keeping personalities as close as possible to the real thing, excluding Jaune of course. I only hope that my idea of the people in rwby is at least somewhat accurate, I apologies if not and hope I can at least remain consistent.

This chapter was a bit difficult to write as I don't have any friend's or family that enjoy's reading fanfiction. This prevented me from getting different opinions and insures I will remain my own "pre-reader" for some time. I hope you all are enjoying this and i wish you a good morning/evening.

Alno