Hello, feel free to suggest and point out mistakes in the reviews. authors note below. enjoy chapter 2!
Chapter 2
Two days later
Jacques Schnee sat behind a large, pure white desk, his head of research sat just on the other side, clutching papers to his chest. The room held little in the way of decoration and had only one large window behind the head of the Schnee dust company.
"Thank you for accepting my request Mr. Schnee, I assure you this is a matter of the utmost importance" The researcher known as Franklin couldn't keep the excitement from his voice as he stood from his seat and gave Jacques a sheet from his stack.
"It had better be, the White-Fang are getting bold. This recent bombing has many on edge." Jacques spoke up after taking a glance at the files in front of him. He knew one of his "in-house" projects was on the verge of a breakthrough, it was simply a matter counting the days.
Project "Grimm Guardian" was the name of a small group of researchers in his personal lab assigned the task of turning the Grimm into a source of cheap, effective security for his mines. At best Jacques was hoping for an elite strike team that could deploy in even the worst of Grimm infestations but he would settle for some bloodhounds if need be.
"Indeed sir! I believe we are finally on the verge of success!" Franklin flipped through the papers in his hands as if he was incapable of standing still. "It has been some years since you gave us orders to weaponize the Grimm but only recently has it begun bearing fruit." The scientists grin showed no trace of deception.
Jacques kept his face blank of emotions even as his hopes began to rise. "Oh? Did you finally learn how to train us some new attack dogs?" he let doubt creep into his voice but the doctor just shook his head.
"No sir, we have actually found success in a smaller form of Grimm native only to the Grimm-Lands." Franklin flipped the files on Jacques' desk until it was at a image of what looked like black orb with bone white spikes protruding from all sides.
"This is what we believe to be a virus-like Grimm and it is the only known form of Grimm to attack at a cellular level. After injecting a small dose into one of our feline lab animals it experienced a violent transformation." The doctor's voice started to sound a bit like one of their robots.
"Its hair and flesh turned pure white while its veins turned noticeably black. The eyes changed as well, The pupil and sclera turning black with its iris turning bright red." The man turned the page to a picture of a snow white cat with blood red eyes.
"We were forced to put down the subject when it went into a fit of rage, demonstrating vast increases in strength, speed and durability. It took three minutes of continuous flames to terminate the subject." Jacques looked at the final picture of a pile of ashes and a frown appeared on his face.
"Tell me why this is good news exactly? We can't exactly use this to protect our mines if it'll go crazy and attack the workers." His voice was stern but the lack of fear on Franklin's face was an encouraging sign.
"Evidence shows the subject only lost its mind because it lacked any means to resist the Grimm's instincts. We believe if we had a… higher grade subject… than it would most likely succeed." Franklin didn't need to elaborate on what "higher grade" meant.
Jacques had expected something like this to happen; after all he acquired that Arc child in anticipation of such an occasion. "Don't worry about the subject, I have come prepared but tell me." Jacques pulled the picture of the virus itself out of the files.
"How did we acquire this "viral-Grimm"? I don't remember any of the teams we sent to the Grimm-lands coming back alive." He was skeptical of this "virus" that seemingly turned animals into Grimm. "Are we sure it's even a virus?"
Franklin shifted, his excitement wearing off some. "Well… not exactly, you see we're not entirely sure what it is or where it came from. It was inside a corpse we retrieved from the outskirts of the Grimm-lands but the corpse itself was in an advance state of decomposition preventing us from learning anything more." He quickly moves on, not wanting to dwell too heavily on the negatives.
"We know it gives its host the appearance and physical abilities of Grimm but it does not actually turn the host into a Creature of Grimm. The host retains its aura even after transforming! Imagine a hunter with the strength of an Ursa Major, the Speed of a Beowolf and the stamina and endurance of a Boarbatusk!" His previous excitement had returned as he changed the subject but Jacques couldn't blame the man.
The possibilities swam around in Jacques' head; he pictured an army of these hunter-Grimm hybrids protecting his mines, his dust, and his family. "Yes…" He let a smile slip to his lips. "Those mongrels in the White-fang are getting more aggressive, perhaps it's time we did as well… very well; you have my permission to begin testing on the child I will provide you. Begin preparations immediately."
Franklin bowed his head with a smile and rushed out of the room, eager to begin. Jacques was about to stand to leave when he saw a flash of white at the doorway. "What are you doing here Weiss? You know not to disturb me when I'm working" He looked down at his nine-year old daughter, a part of him remarked that the Arc child was probably around the same age if a bit younger.
"Sorry father… I-I just thought I heard crying in the library again." he let out a sigh at his child's fearful words. That's close to where he left the Arc child to mourn, it was good thing he wouldn't be there much longer "Don't worry Weiss, it's just your imagination. Now run along, I have work that needs doing." Weiss looked doubtful but knew better than to disagree with her father.
\-/
Late that night
Jaune flinched as he lay on top of an operating table, the cold metal made him shiver but not as much as the growing sense of unease. "Don't worry Jaune" Mr. Schnee's voice came from a nearby speaker, his person stood behind a thick pane of glass. "This will make you strong, stronger than any hunter before you." Jaune only nodded, his eyes wide and nervous. He didn't know what was going on but he had to trust Mr. Schnee.
He spent the last two days inside a small room with nothing but a bed and his thoughts of his mother, his father and his many sisters. He had no idea how long had passed, his sense of time warped from the constant grief plaguing his mind. Until Mr. Schnee came into the room saying he was going to make good on his promise. He was going to make Jaune strong.
"Restraining. Subject." A robotic voice echoed through the room a moment before metal restraints wrapped around his wrists and ankles. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as fear gripped his heart. What was he doing here? This isn't what he wanted! He wanted to go home! He wanted to get away from all these machines! He wanted… his parents… his sisters…
"Do… Do it." his voice broke only slightly, he was trying his best not to think about what the machines surrounding him would do. He told himself it didn't matter how much it would hurt, that if he could be strong like his father maybe… maybe he wouldn't feel so defenseless… maybe he wouldn't feel so utterly useless.
Jacques pressed a button on his side of the glass and a robotic limb with a thin needle at its end reached down from the ceiling and approached Jaune's arm slowly. "Commencing. Injection."
Why did it have to warn him it was coming? He didn't think that was entirely called for but his thoughts were halted a second later by the mechanical arm jerking suddenly. He yelped as the needle sank into the soft flesh of his arm, the reinforced steel punching clean through what little aura he had.
Burning Agony suddenly gripped his arm and he let out a screech that would put Willow to shame. The liquid fire that burned through his arm began moving steadily towards his heart, tearing screams of pain from the poor boy all the while.
As it touched his heart the pain stopped just as suddenly as it started. He gasped for air during the respite "i-is it ov-" He was cut off by a violent spasm, causing him to bite his tongue with a sickening crunch and break bones in his wrist and ankle. The liquid fire shot straight from his heart up his spine to his brain.
"Oh gods please make it stop! Makeit stop pleasestop pleasestop…" he took a ragged breath "its burning meee!" he dragged the word out, coughing up blood as black as Grimm.
Then it was over.
He lay there, trembling and gasping for air, when something warm grasped his heart, spine and mind. The places that were burning moments earlier now felt… good.
Hello Jaune. I'm sorry about all that but you know what dad used to say. A deep, almost animal-like voice echoed between his ears. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. right?
\-/
Moments earlier
Jacques and Franklin watched as the boy squirmed as if to get away from his own arm, neither particularly surprised that the injection caused more pain than first predicted. Jacques looked between the glass window and the screen showing a clearer video that sat between the pair. Franklin toyed with the interface just below and camera zoomed in on the boys arm.
"Subject appears to be experiencing intense pain at the injection sight." Franklin spoke into a microphone attached to his coat collar, recording his voice over the video feed that was focused on the boy's arm. "There appears to be a noticeable darkening of skin around the injection sight."
Franklin was obsessed with recording any serious endeavors in hopes of minimizing what one might miss after the initial viewing. Jacques found it mildly annoying but didn't push the matter so long as it offered something useful to the company.
The boy's skin color was paling rapidly but oddly enough he stopped squirming. "Subject has paled significantly; it's unclear if this is caused by blood loss of some kind or the loss of pigment. Subject is attempting to speak, adjusting volume." Franklin touched the interface again.
"I-is it ov-" the screen next to the glass gave the pair a top-down view of Jaune's violent seizure. Neither flinched when they heard his bones crack loudly, it wasn't the first time experiments caused harm to themselves and it certainly wouldn't be the last.
"Subject's veins are visibly darkening and has most likely fractured small bones in both his wrist and ankles. further study will show if he gains the Grimm's ability to regenerate." Franklin sounded hopeful. "Jacques look at its eyes!" Franklin almost hissed as he focused the screen on Jaune's paled face, neither of them paid any attention to the boys rambling about stopping.
"Just like the test animals the subject's irises are turning red and the sclera are darkening to a pitch black. Notice the veins around its face and eyes are now noticeably black and its hair now a snow white. This transformation matches the animal subjects perfectly, this is a good sign!"
Jacques had to agree with Franklin's assessment; If he ended up as something different they would have a lot more test to run. Jaune seemed conscious but barely so. His eyes widened suddenly, staring at nothing his mouth opened and Franklin turned up the volume again.
"Who… are you…?" his voice sent a chill down Jacques spine, but he squashed the feeling immediately. "Who is he talking to? No one else is in that room." Jacques kept the fear from his voice through sheer willpower but Franklin had more trouble.
"I-I don't know sir… maybe the Grimm?" The man gave an involuntary shudder at the thought of a sapient Grimm. He turned back to the screen and touched the microphone on his lab-coat as if to make sure it was still there "s-subject has experienced deep vocal changes and may be experiencing hallucinations. Further study is required to understand the extent of the subject's transformation."
hey everyone, just wanted to make something clear, I have not watch much past the fall of beacon and I have only just started rewatching it again. As such i apologize in advance for any mistakes i make with the lore, but i plan on playing it a bit loose anyway (though only if it makes sense and can be consistent). to be honest i plan on letting the story go wherever makes sense while using the show as guidelines.
I also wanna let everyone know some inspiration is in fact from white sheep by Coeur Al'Aran, love that story. that being said i wouldn't say I'll be copying it, i got inspiration from white sheep as much as i have from prototype (love them mechanics), and rwby itself. thanks for reading and have a good day/night.
Alno