Hope you like it.

\~/

Two days later

Jacques Schnee sat behind a large, pure white desk with his head of research standing just opposite of him, clutching a stack of papers. The room held little in the way of decoration, the spartan design specifically designed to make visitors feel uncomfortable. It helped keep fools from wasting his time.

"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, giving Jacques a page from the stack in his hands.

"It had better be, the White-Fang are getting bold. This recent bombing has the Board on edge." Jacques spoke up after taking a glance at the files in front of him. He recognized the files from one of his "in-house" projects, one that was coming close to being scrapped for a lack of success.

Project "Grimm Guardian" was the name of a small group of researchers he personally employed within his private facilities. They had been tasked with 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 was willing to settle for some simple bloodhounds if need be. The White-Fang were founded upon negativity after all, the Grimm would be perfect for hunting down those animals.

"Indeed sir! I believe we are finally on the verge of success!" Franklin flipped through the papers, 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 scientist's 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, hoping to see if pressure would reveal some hidden or half truth. The doctor just shook his head.

"No sir, we have actually found success in a smaller form of Grimm we acquired from the outskirts of the Grimm-Lands." Franklin flipped through a multitude of pages before setting one down on the desk. The image on the paper looked like to be of a black orb with spiky protrusions completely surrounding it.

"This is what we believe to be some form of viral or parasitic 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 subjects, it experienced a violent transformation." The doctor's voice took on an analytical tone as he began describing the changes.

"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 showed 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 another picture placed in front of him, this one of a pile of ashes. A frown appeared on his face.

"Explain to me how this is good news? 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.

"Before its fit of rage, the subject exhibited behaviour in line with that of a regular house cat, proving the host has some kind of influence. We believe if we had… higher grade subjects… then we could learn to enhance the beneficial effects while preventing the negatives." 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 went back to the image of the Grimm itself, "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 finally showing signs of wavering. "Well… not exactly. You see, we're not entirely sure what it is or where it came from. It was inside a corpse one of our drones retrieved from the outskirts of the Grimm-lands, but the corpse itself was in an advanced state of decomposition. It prevented us from learning anything more about who the deceased might have been or why they were within the Grimm-lands." He quickly moved on, clearly not wanting to dwell on the drawbacks.

"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 endurance of a Boarbatusk!" His previous excitement had returned as he changed the subject, and Jacques found couldn't blame the man. His own thoughts of the future were washing away his own worries.

He could picture it now; 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 an almost childlike smile before rushing out of the room, eager to begin. Jacques was about to stand to leave when he saw a flash of white at the now open doorway.

"What are you doing here Weiss? You know you're 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.

"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 a 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."

\-/

Later that night

Jaune flinched as he lay on top of an operating table. The cold metal made him shiver but not as much as his growing sense of unease, it was like the entire room was made to be scary. It was completely white with no discernable features, other than the terrifying machines that wouldn't stop blinking and beeping.

"Don't worry, Jaune" Mr. Schnee's voice came from a nearby speaker, while his person stood behind a thick pane of glass. "This will make you strong, strong enough to stop any White-Fang you'll ever come across." At the mention of those monsters, Jaune felt his fear go numb even as his body began shaking all the worse.

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 just felt so tired. So weak. When Jacques finally came back, offering a way to ease the pain, Jaune didn't know what to think.

"You can stop those beasts." Jacques had encouraged. "You can fight them, keep them from hurting anyone else. Would that not ease the pain you feel?" In the end, Jaune agreed. He would agree to anything, if it would just help the wrenching in his stomach and swelling in his throat.

"Restraining. Subject." A robotic voice echoed through the sterilized room a moment before metal restraints wrapped around Jaune's wrists and ankles. He felt his heart pounding in his chest as new fear gripped him. 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, 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 could stop all this from happening… maybe he wouldn't feel so utterly broken.

At some unknown command, a robotic limb with a thin needle at its end reached down from the ceiling and approached Jaune's arm slowly.

"Commencing. Injection." The robotic voice announced.

Why did it have to warn him it was coming? He didn't think that was entirely called for. He couldn't think much of anything a second later as the mechanical arm jerked forward.

He yelped as the needle sank into the soft flesh of his arm, the reinforced steel punching clean through his skin. His pitiful grasp of Aura manipulation providing no defense against the invasive metal.

Burning Agony suddenly gripped his arm and he let out a screech that would put his little sister to shame. It was like liquid fire burning through him, steadily moving towards his heart, tearing screams of pain from him all the while.

As he felt it settle under his left breast, the pain stopped just as suddenly as it started. He greedily gasped for air during the respite, hoping and praying to whoever might listen that the pain was done.

"i-is it ov-hnng!" He was cut off by a violent spasm. There was a sickening crunch, the taste of copper soon followed. Had he bit his tongue? Or was that his wrists? He couldn't tell where the pain came from, everything hurt so much. It was like molten lava shooting through his chest, up his back, and straight to his head.

"Ahhg- Please…" He could barely grit it out, his teeth grinding together and stained red. "It hurts! Make it stop!" He couldn't stand the pain, it hurt too much. Was he sobbing? No, that suggested he stopped begging for an end.

"Makeit stop, stop, makeit stop… pleeease!" he took a ragged breath, the air feeling like shards of glass in his throat. It might have been better to stop screaming his throat raw.

He didn't.

"IT'S BUURNIING!" he dragged the word out, spitting up blood as black as Grimm.

...

He wasn't sure when the pain had stopped, only that he now lay atop the table, slick with sweat, trembling and gasping for air. When something warm grasped his heart, spine and mind, he had no idea what to think.

Was something inside him? What had Jacques done? Neither question was asked. He didn't really care, all he cared about was that the pain had finally eased.

More than that, the places that were burning moments earlier now felt kind of… good.

Hello, Jaune. A deep, almost animal-like voice echoed between his ears, sending a wave of gooseflesh down his body. I'm sorry about all that but, It continued heedless of the panic it caused within him. you know what dad used to say; whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right?

\-/

Moments earlier

Jacques and Franklin watched as the boy squirmed like he was trying to get away from his own arm. Neither were particularly surprised that the injection caused more pain than first predicted, the only other subject they tested on was sedated. Not this time, the intel could prove far too valuable.

Jacques looked between the glass window and a screen showing a clearer video that sat between the pair. Franklin toyed with the interface and the camera zoomed in on the boy's arm.

"Subject appears to be experiencing intense pain originating from the injection site." 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. "Additionally, there appears to be a visible darkening of the subject's cardiovascular system, spreading noticeably slower than the feline subject."

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. There doesn't appear to be any external bleeding but the material injected may be damaging blood cells from within. A biopsy may be required to confirm."

"Subject is attempting to speak, adjusting volume." Franklin touched the interface again.

"I-is it ov-hnng!" The screen gave the pair a top-down view of Jaune's violent seizure. Neither flinched when they heard bones snap loudly. It wasn't the first time experiments caused harm to themselves, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

"Subject has most likely fractured small bones in both his wrists and ankles. I wonder if he'll gain the grimm's ability to regenerate?" Franklin sounded hopeful, the excitement breaking through his robotic tone for a moment.

"Jacques look at its eyes!" Franklin almost hissed as he focused the screen on Jaune's pale face. Neither of them paid any attention to the boys rambling about stopping, it was far too late for that.

"Subject's irises are turning red and the sclera are darkening to a pitch black. These changes are consistent with the previous subject. Notice the cardiovascular system has fully darkened while its hair became white as snow. 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 tests to run.

Jaune seemed conscious but barely so. His eyes widened suddenly, staring into nothing, his mouth opened and Franklin turned up the volume once more.

"Who… are you…?" A voice that could never come from a child sent a chill down Jacques spine. He squashed the feeling immediately, not willing to show an ounce of weakness.

"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 Grimm able to speak. 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."

"End of preliminary notes."

\~/

And there we have it! Jaune's introduction into illegal experimentation is complete. Not much to say about this chapter, it was originally written in 2019ish? but I'm much happier with my recent rewrite, feels like the reactions are a bit more realistic, at least to me but lemme know what you think! I don't really have a plan or schedule for releasing chapters. Of the 37 chapters I had posted of the original, I'm closing in on the halfway point for my rewrite, early chapters shouldn't be too long of a wait. Once I catch up to where my editing is, posting will slow some, but once i catch up to the point where i dont have anything written, I' ve got no idea how often I'll post. Guess we'll findout in time. Anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter and I wish you all a wonderful morning/evening!

Alno

Side note about reviews: I've started using the built in reply function instead of writing the reply in the authors note. I'll probably still write a reply here if it's something I feel other's might end up curious about but otherwise I think I'll stick to that reply button (unless I'm convinced otherwise)