Hello everyone, this chapter was a bit difficult to write so i hope I wrote things clearly. Let me know if not please.
Chapter 4
Come on Jaune, you said you wanted to be let out right? The viral-grimm didn't waste time after Jacques had left, Its voice taking a more energetic tone. Jaune didn't blame it, despite Jacques suggestion he didn't feel even slightly tired. In fact he could quite stop fidgeting about, his own energy seemingly increasing to match the voice in his head.
"Well..." He hesitated, Mr. Schnee didn't sound like he wanted to let him out. "You don't think he'll get angry?" Jaune Asked quietly. He said that you needed rest. now that I've regenerated your stamina, you are rested. The voice stated matter-of-factly, reminding Jaune of Jacques exact words. "I guess…" He trailed off, sounding as unsure as he felt inside, he didn't want to get in trouble.
Would it help if I held your hand? The grimm spoke, remembering how Jaunes mother would hold his hand when he was scared. Jaune raised an eyebrow, confused how the voice thought it could manage that.
As if in response, the white liquid from earlier started dripping from his palm to the floor at a steady pace. Unlike before, Jaune noted, There also looked to be trace amount of black goo mixing in. It took the better part of two minutes for the liquid to stop flowing and solidify in a proper shape. What stood in front of Jaune then brought a joy-filled smile to his face.
The "doll", for lack of a better word, looked exactly like him, but less than half his weight and height. The grimm even copied the black veins and eyes, though they were much more noticeable on the doll and seemed to spread further then jaune's did.
"That is so cool! You look just like me!" He failed to keep the excitement from his voice, a thought coming into his mind suddenly. "We should play something! what can we play… arrg!" Exclaimed Jaune with irritation. His memories were still so fuzzy, it frustrated him that he couldn't even remember what he used to play with his friends. Jaune pause, He had friends at some point… right?
Don't get ahead of yourself Jaune. The voice responded inside Jaune's head while the doll placed a hand on his shoulder, the grimm inside slowing his heartbeat and calming his mind. It could sense unknown humans nearby and wasn't sure which, if any, were friendly, It didn't want Jaune to draw attention. You wanted to be let out right? Jaune gave a nod, following the doll to the door.
"How do you think we open it?" Jaune asked while sliding a hand over the flat surface of the door, the only sign that it was even there was the slim grooves in the wall in the shape of a rectangle.
The voice didn't respond, focusing its attention on the doll to make its fingers so flat you could lose sight of them at the wrong angle. It proceeded to slip it's fingers into the crack and started pushing its way through slowly. Jaune couldn't see what was happening but the dolls fingers had slipped clean through to the other side and were now groping around for anything that might open the door.
A minute later Jaune heard a buzz and the door slid open with a loud hissing noise. Jaune clapped his hands excitedly but the doll stopped him, placing a hand over his gently and pulling its other hand to its lips in a "shushing" gesture. Try to be quieter Jaune, I can sense people around. The voiced warned jaune "But Jacque said this was his house, they must be his friends right?" The voice didn't respond right away, unable to fault the logic he let go of Jaunes hand, letting him stick his head out of the room.
Jaune found himself at the end of a hallway, doorways like his own lined the walls, each door having one of two words on it. "Observation" was written on half of them, including the door closest to his which he assumed lead behind the glass in his room. "Danger" was written on every other door in bold black letters, assuming the pattern held, his own door would have that written on it. He also noticed an odd door closer to the start of the hall that was out of place, it didn't have a pair like the others. It was marked "Storage" and had a keypad to get in rather than a single button.
This looks nothing like what you used to call home. Jaune nodded to the voice absentmindedly "Doesn't feel very safe either…" He muttered, slowly approaching the closest door that read danger. Next to it was a button covered by a glass cube, Jaune assumed that is what is used to open the doors. Every room had one, though only the "danger" rooms had the glass box over them, so it made sense pushing one would open the door closest.
"Whitley?" A confused voiced made Jaune whirl around, his heart in his throat while the doll jumped in front of him. Maybe it was how the pure white doll blended in so well with the white hallway but the man who spoke didn't see it right away. All he saw from his distance was pale skin, white hair and black marks on the wall.
"Who are you?" Jaune spoke as the man started approaching, his voice causing The man to freeze and raised a familiar looking hunk of metal in his hands. What's in his han- The grimm paused at the same time Jaune did and instinctively withdrew the doll back into Jaune at a rate that may have hurt, had he been able to notice anything.
"That smell again..." It sent shivers down their spine, neither could resist it, that sickeningly sweet smell that made the world fall away. "Where..." They dragged the word out, sniffing at the air.
The guard that spoke to them now stood frozen in place, that was obviously not Whitley. Even if he wasn't close enough to see the boy clearly, the voices in his headpiece made it clear what was happening and when he caught sight of the "black marks" getting sucked into the child, his finger was pressed against the trigger. The only thing keeping the man from shooting was the order to hold-fire that kept reaching his earpiece.
"L-listen kid" The man failed to sound commanding "J-just get back into your cage and I'll pretend I didn't see anything" He didn't know what Jacques was working on down here but the higher ups kept yelling in his ear to "contain" not "destroy". He figured at this point if he shot, having a job at the end of the day would be the least of his worries.
Jaune ignored the man, not being able to hear over the blood pounding in his ears. White liquid started dribbling down his arms and forming around his palms almost unconsciously. The guard took a step back and felt his trigger finger twitch when the liquid hardened into claws around the boys fingertips.
"I'm warning you! This is your last chance!" The guard yelled, hoping desperately the boy, the demon, would understand and back off.
"Where is it coming from..." Jaune fell to his hands and knees, looking like a bloodhound with a scent, he breathed in deeply through his nose. His eyes locked onto the man suddenly "you!"
The sound of metal grinding echoed through the halls as Jaune's claws tore into the floor for leverage. Then he lunged, pulling himself forward with his clawed fingers, he flew at the man like a torpedo, claws outstretched, ready to rip and tear.
BOOM
A gunshot tore through the air, faster than Jaune could ever hope to be, punching through his flesh and bone and planting itself firmly in his heart. The force stopped Jaune midair, causing him to land on the steel floor with a loud thud.
"It hurts…" The words slip from Jaune as the cold began creeping up his limbs, even in his frenzied state he could feel death coming closer. "I-I don't... want to die."
I won't let you. There was no malice, anger or even doubt in its voice, it was only stating a fact.
\-/
Jacques hadn't even had the chance to sit when the sensors in the Arc child's cell sent its signal, setting lights off on Jacques's desk as well as the security room, alerting the research facility of the containment breach.
Inside the security room four guards tended to the large security console, observing the rows of monitors diligently. The changed several of the screens to show the camera inside the hallway, showing one of their own attempt to convince the abomination to go back into its cell. Behind the four stood another pair, coordinating with Jacques via scroll and relaying orders to the security force spread throughout the facility.
"Don't you fools damage my property! Firing is to be a last resort, I want it alive!" Jacques yelled into his scroll while running towards the security room, he wanted to save his investment but running directly to the danger was out of the question. The boy showed no signs of rebellion and yet a minutes in captivity was all it took to attempt an escape? The grimm must want out, that was the only explanation that made any sense.
Inside the security room the order to hold-fire was received and given to the man currently speaking with the escapee. The man didn't respond, leaving them unsure if the order was received or not. It didn't matter a second later when a gunshot rang throughout the facility just as Jacques barged into the security room to witness his prize experiment put down like a rabid dog.
The men inside the room expected an explosion of anger, threats and promises of reprisal, but were surprised to see him take a breathe and exhale slowly. "Did the rooms around him get breached?" He asked, sounding more annoyed than actually angry. "Uh- no sir!" an "observer" responded after recovering his composure.
"Then we start with a new subject. At least it was only a few days of time lost." he wanted to be angry with his men but he knew the fault was his own. He underestimated the microscopic grimm and failed to prepare an adequate containment unit. "Uh sir...?" another guard spoke up motioning towards the monitors.
The same white material that made up the grimm's claws now covered the boy's chest wound, stopping any bleeding while remaining in its liquid form. It seemed to be helping Jaune if his fingers twitching and chest rising were anything to go by.
The guard standing in front of Jaune felt sweat begin building on his forehead again, he wondered if he should shoot again and risk Jacques's ire. To his relief he heard the sound of rushing boots heading towards him from up the stairs, his backup was just about there. He turned back to see the guards rushing down the stairs when a sickening squelch was heard, giving the armed assault force pause.
A needle thin tendril, white with black membranes, puncture through his chest. Without aura protecting the soft flesh the grimm's razor sharp tendril carved it's way into the meatsacks back, through the heart and out the other side. The entire security force that had been ordered to respond, starred in shock as the man was impaled by something so small.
The impaled man then heard a voice inside his head, a sick twisted voice that could make ironwood shiver. I need your flesh. I need your blood.
Do not fear, you will live on. the man opened his mouth to scream, only silenced escaped.
As material for our body. He could not scream, could not cry, couldn't even whimper. He could only succumb to the grimm.
Jacques looked upon his creation and for the first time since in years, he felt true fear as ice gripped his heart. "...Fire" Jacques looked to the pair manning communications, uncaring if they saw the fear in his eyes, for he knew they held the same in their hearts. That thing… ate that man. literally digested him in front of everyone before sipping him up like a soup. "I said fire. Tell the men to fire!".
The order was given and every soldier in the hall pointed their dust powered firearms at the growing mass of white that covered Jaune's body. The impromptu firing squad all pulled the trigger with every intention of preventing a repeat of the horror they just witnessed. The fraction of a second it took for the ammunition to ignite was just enough time for the viral-grimm to react.
Swirling into a massive ball in front of Jaune and hardening proved effective against small arms fire, blocking and deflecting the hail of bullets while preserving Jaune's aura. Two more needle thin tendrils shot out causing most of the guards to turn in an attempt to avoid the fate of their late comrade.
Most escaped unscathed but the grimm wasn't aiming for "most". Having snagged two more bodies it quickly digested them, turning them into more material to use. With the added mass the Virus made the makeshift shield grow until it covered the entire hallway, blocking the security guards from being able to even see Jaune.
Inside the security room Jacques was trying to adjust the camera to observe what was happening behind the white wall of hardened organic material. The camera's movement drew the grimm's attention, prompting its sudden destruction via grimm tendril.
Once again, silence reigned in the room, until after several seconds one of the guards scraped together enough courage to ask "What now?". Jacques starred at the man, pinning him to the spot with wide eyes.
"Give me your scroll." Jacques ordered numbly, he had lost control of the situation so quickly he still had trouble believing it. He couldn't believe the venerable Jacques Schnee, head of SDC, The largest dust mining company on remnant, was going to call for help.
The scroll was picked up on the first ring, the secretary answering was shocked to see who was calling and immediately put his call through. It took only a second for a new face to show up on the screen.
"I didn't expect to hear from you Mr. Sc-" General ironwood cut off when he noticed the look on Jacques's face, a look that reminded him of shell shocked soldiers. "What happened Jacques? What's going on?" He took on a serious tone, never having seen Jacques quite so pale before.
"We have a containment breach. Code black." Jacques spoke with a surreal calm, using the code they reserved for a grimm outbreak. "I'm at the facility just underneath my manor, bring everyone you can as fast as you can. Time is running out Ironwood, I'm sending you files." He paused, took a purposeful breath in, and continued "More will be sent if things get worse." he sat at a console and began tapping away vigorously, sending Ironwood the files pertaining to Jaune.
"I'm on my way Jacques, I'll be there in twenty. You better survive, I'll need far more than your usual BS explanation for this." Ironwood stated and hung up, already sensing that Jacques wasn't listening. He would get his answers, something that could scare the head of the SDC wasn't going to slide under the Atlas military radar!
Jacques took another ten seconds to finish locking down the area around Jaune before turning and running out the door, yelling an order to the four man security detail to defend as he ran.
At this point he wasn't sure if they would follow the order, they saw the same thing he did, any sane man would flee from it. He knew it wouldn't matter, he didn't have any doubt that only an experienced hunter or huntress could hope to take down that monster. It's movements were to fast and its armor too hard for normal soldiers to handle.
He knew he wouldn't die there, oh no that wasn't what drove so much fear into his step. What he witnessed was unlike anything he had seen before, the grimm hadn't just killed his men, He would argue that it didn't even eat them.
That grimm absorbed them, broke them down and brought the remains into itself, getting several times bigger in the process. If that process is allowed to be repeated another hundred times would the grimm just keep getting bigger? Or would it stop after a certain size and start getting stronger?
He shook the thoughts from his mind, he had to focus on finding his children and getting to the bullhead on the roof.
He paused as a scream echoed through the halls, they must be attempting another assault, or perhaps some suicidal idiot tried to play hero. The morbid thought almost made him chuckle, hopefully a real hero could slay this monster before it consumed them all
I wanna thank all of the people who favorited and followed, I am so happy to have support building for my story. Hope you all have a good day/evening.
Thank you Sm0keyPanda! I'll do my best!
Alno