Jaune felt like he was floating in a sea of jelly, unable to move but warm all around. His eyelids felt so heavy, keeping him blind to the world around. What happened? Was he trapped? He tried to move his body but it wouldn't respond.

Jaune? Can you hear me? The voice prodded, I've repaired the damage done to our body. You can open your eyes now. At its words, the floating, jelly-like feeling disappeared and he could feel the weight lift from his eyelids.

What he saw had his jaw unable to clamp shut.

"Are we… still at Jacques's?" He looked around, trying to understand what he was seeing.

The hallway was almost completely covered in the same hardened, white substance Whitback's "doll" had been made of. The blackened veins were there too, but not nearly as numerous as what the "doll" had.

The other rooms looked to have been breached as well, the material caving inwards at several spots where Jaune was sure doors used to be. Only a single light was still showing through the material that covered everything, allowing him to see clearly.

We are, It answered.

I made some necessary adjustments to our surroundings in order to ensure our survival. That is probably why you don't recognize it. The voice explained. So it had completely covered the walls in order to protect them? Wasn't that a bit much?

A dull ache deep in his chest reminded him of the hole that had only recently been closed.

Maybe so much protection wasn't such a bad idea...

Jaune walked over to a wall and placed his hand on it, causing goosebumps to crawl up his arm on contact. The black material that snaked through the white was much softer than he expected, radiating its own warmth while feeling almost... alive.

The subtle movements he felt while brushing over the veins made him shiver. Not "almost", he thought to himself, definitely alive.

The white material, conversely, felt as hard as the steel walls it covered. How could Whitback make something so strong? It was amazing.

"What are you…?" He wasn't sure if he should have felt so awestruck at what he saw. His first thought was that he should have felt afraid or even grossed out by the material. But none of that negativity assaulted him. Was that the voice's influence calming him down again? He shrugged, not like he would complain about a lack of fear.

Those humans I broke down thought of me as a "creature of Grimm" or just grimm. I believe your dad used to tell you stories about them. But I don't match your dad's description of "Grimm bigger than a mountain". It paused, as if thinking. The humans I consumed seemed to think of us as an experiment or weapon.

Jaune sat on the ground, an uncomfortably sick feeling welling up inside his stomach. His heart began to hammer, but he knew the voice, the grimm, wouldn't let it last.

What's wrong Jaune? I can feel that you're getting upset, did I say something wrong?

"Why don't I remember you… "breaking down" those people?" He thought he knew what that meant. Thought he knew, but hoped he was wrong. The grimm's silence was enough to send his minding racing in circles while twisting his stomach into knots.

...I believe something may be wrong with us. It said instead of answering. I don't remember everything, but I do remember smelling something... Sweet. Sickeningly sweet. I'm not sure how, but that scent robbed us of our senses. I am not positive yet, as I have only tasted that scent twice, but I believe other humans to be the source.

Though, technically you don't remember because you were shot, the shock of which knocked you unconscious.

That only confused him more. How could the way someone smells make him forget stuff? Why had he been shot? Did Jacques know? Why would they shoot someone that Jacques knew about? He had a million questions running through his mind, but one stuck out.

"Why did you... kill those people?" A feeling that was becoming increasingly familiar swirled in his guts. It was that unbearably sick feeling combined with the numbing sensation that tingled at his fingertips. He had no idea such a feeling existed until a few days ago. And now? He couldn't seem to escape it for long...

One of them shot you Jaune, and neither of us can remember exactly why. Even if it was a mistake, those people still tried to kill you. I had no choice. It paused and Jaune could swear he felt the grimm sigh.

I needed fresh material to repair the damage done to your body. In my haste, I failed to notice several approaching humans with weapons. They witnessed me taking the material from the one who shot you and they... did not respond positively.

I reacted fast enough to stop any more metal from entering your body, but I couldn't do it for long. As a result, I chose to break down two more humans in order to make a barricade between us. Jaune raised an eyebrow and looked around. The entire hallway plus rooms were covered in the material, there was just too much for it to have all come from only three people.

Several rooms contained small Grimm, while the farthest room had a large supply of my… Well, I think you could call it my body. It offered, anticipating Jaune's next question.

Jaune scratched his head, trying to process the explanation before letting out a frustrated sigh. "That doesn't make things very easy…" He muttered under his breath.

I'm sorry Jaune, I did what I had to to keep us alive. Its tone sounded surprisingly apologetic, making a sliver of guilt emerge.

It killed to keep from dying. That didn't make the grimm bad, did it?

"It's not your fault. I lost control too." It was his body after all. And it sounded like the grimm had done only what it had to, that made him feel a bit better. The grimm wasn't a bad guy if it was just trying to stay alive, right?

"So, what's happening now Grimm? Should I call you Grimm?" He changed the subject, more than happy to pay attention to anything that wasn't the twisting in his gut.

Hmm perhaps… But I believe that name is meant to describe all sorts of creatures, not just myself. I don't think my name should be the same as an entire species.

Jaune frowned. What was a name supposed to be? How did he get his? Maybe he should just keep calling it Grimm? But it kind of sounded like it didn't want to be called that... Should he come up with a name for it? It shouldn't be too hard, but he didn't want to disappoint the creature that protected him.

Jaune scratched his chin, looking around at the material the grimm had created. Maybe he could use what it looked like? The material was white with black running through it.

White-Black...

Whitback? That had a nice ring to it.

"What about Whitback?" Jaune took another look around the grimm's makeshift shelter. A shelter made solely to protect them. "Whitback the Grand Protector!" he grinned hopefully. Would the voice like the "title" he added on?

Whit-back. the Grand Protector? Whitback sounded out the syllables, as if tasting how it felt. Yes, I think that will do rather well. Jaune felt his grin widen, it felt good to hear its pleased tone of voice

We still have the other humans to deal with. It reminded Jaune, making his smile fade as quickly as it came. Would it be a bad idea to close his eyes and hope everything worked itself out? Somehow, he doubted that would help out very much.

"I dont know..." He sighed, "Can't we just talk to them?" He didn't want to hurt anyone, heck, he still didn't really understand why everything got so crazy to begin with!

I'm not sure that's possible. We have killed three of them already, I doubt they'll be as willing to talk as you are. Jaune felt himself deflate. Was that it then? They had to fight their way out?

Then again… It spoke up, as if sensing his distress, They did shoot us, perhaps they'll agree to a cease fire if they think we only attacked in self defense. It's voice was neutral, but Jaune got the strangest feeling that it was only saying that to make him feel better.

"I think we should try. I mean, if they don't listen, aren't we just back to standing around here?" Jaune motioned around, hoping Whitback would understand what he meant. It wasn't like they had anything to lose, they would need to leave their shelter eventually.

If you believe it to be our best option then I'll try to help you. Assuming it doesn't put our life at further risk.

Jaune flashed a bright smile and nodded "Agreed".

\-/

"What do we do?" Someone finally spoke, voicing the emotion everyone was feeling. They were all told to hold the hallway and keep the experiment from escaping but… nothing was happening.

The pure ivory wall of hardened material continued to stand motionless. They had thought about breaching, but small arms had done nothing. Even flames, to their surprise, had done little more than stain it. Explosives might have worked, but no one had the bravery -or stupidity- required to get close enough to plant a Dust charge.

A messenger had already been sent to brief General Ironwood on the situation when he arrived. But other than waiting for the man, no one was sure what to do.

"I mean, it isn't doing anything, and the Dust throwers did jack-shit... I guess we just sit here?"

"That's the plan, yeah." A voice called out over the headset, the security room doing what little they could to keep the guards updated. With the camera's on the other side of the wall destroyed, they had no way of knowing just what the experiment was preparing.

The waiting was simultaneously terrifying, and a bit boring.

"What is going on here!?" A deep voice called out, commanding a surprising amount of power while barely needing to be raised.

General Ironwood seemingly drove a steel rod into every spine present. Not a soul failed to stand at attention.

"Awaiting further orders, sir!" A particularly brave guard replied.

"I was informed there were already three men dead, and this is how you "hold the line"?! Disgraceful!" He was already moving, taking strides so long he was in front of the firing line in seconds. He kept an eye on the unknown substance that blocked their view the entire time, even as he spoke.

"I-it hasn't done anything, sir." A less brave, more foolish voice pointed out.

"And you think that means it's safe?!" Before Ironwood could tear the man apart, a loud gurgling sound resonated from the grimm-made structure. A moment later, the wall began to liquify and shift as sickly veins the color of tar spread throughout the entire structure.

"Arms at the ready!" He commanded and not a soul dared to disobey, all lining up beside him with rifles raised high.

Then, faster than any would have expected, the strange material started to shrink back. It revealed several opened doorways as it pulled backward foot by foot, showing all of them to be empty. All except a final doorway that the material continued to block, as well as the door next to it that remained shut, but uncovered by material.

It wasn't going to attack? James forced away the confusion, the intel had spoken of the creature's intelligence and ability to communicate. It shouldn't have surprised him that the thing not only wanted to talk, but found a way to do so while protecting itself.

Clearly intelligent was an understatement.

Had he the option, he would have preferred to bomb it from a distance, eliminating the issue before it could threaten anything.

Jacques ensured such an option wasn't possible. Was the man really so detached from reality that he didn't see the problem with smuggling an unknown Grimm directly into the city? No, it wasn't detachment or idiocy, just greed. Blind worship to the almighty Lien. For all his power, Jacques Schnee was really quite a simple, if not an overtly pathetic, man.

"Secure the files and make your way to my position" Ironwood muttered into the mic hidden in his jacket's collar before turning to address the SDC guards. "Check the other rooms in pairs of two, make sure nothing surprises us." He ordered before moving closer to the "Grimm" looking door, labeled "Danger".

He motioned to one of the remaining guards, "You, keep an eye on it. If something comes out, shoot." He wasn't stupid enough to trust the Grimm completely, and gunshot's were louder than shouts.

Without another word he opened the next door over, marked "Observation", and entered with his weapon raised. He made sure to close the door behind him, stopping Jacques' guards from listening in. Any information would be best kept far away from the man who started this whole mess.

When he saw the small, pale child with blood red eyes and veins like tar standing just on the other side of a thick pane of glass, he knew he found Jacques's little project.

"Jacques told me about you." He began calmly, "his files said you were an orphaned boy they combined with some new grimm. Is that true?" Ironwood let his revolver fall to his side when it was clear no attack was incoming. Though, His finger lingered on the trigger, just in case.

Jaune nodded slowly, showing he could hear despite the glass separating them. uncertainty was written on his face, but he didn't seem overly panicked or distressed.

"Am I talking with the grimm? or Jaune?" Ironwood pressed. He wasn't expecting a forthcoming answer but he had to at least try to defuse the situation. He didn't want to end the life of a child, but his hopes for the situation were not particularly high.

It would be a tragedy to kill the sole survivor of a terrorist attack, but the safety of his nation took precedence above all else.

"Both." Its voice reverberated through the room, as if it was resonating with itself. There was no trace of the child left in that voice, only some sick mockery of human speech remained.

Ironwood steeled his nerves, smothering any fear he might have felt and continued his interrogation. "Why did you kill those men?"

"Jaune received a fatal wound and material was needed to heal it, Whitback took it from the closest source available. The other two were used to make adequate defenses in order to protect Jaune while he recovered." Ironwood raised an eyebrow. Why was it answering his questions so readily? That single answer spoke volumes of the grimm's abilities, why wouldn't it at least try to hide them?

"So then, am I talking to Whitback?" The child's face turned to a scowl, "I already told you, it's both of us. Weren't you listening?" It glared at him, arms crossed with what might have been a petulant expression, had it been on the face of a regular child. As it stood, the black veins and glowing red eyes made for a disturbing image, devouring any innocence the face must have once held.

"Of course, I'm just a bit confused." He replied diplomatically, "What are you trying to do here?" Ironwood couldn't understand its motives. It was clearly grimm, its origins ensured that, but then, why wasn't it trying to kill them like any other grimm would? Why had it stopped with only three dead?

Why was it speaking with him?

"Trying to do…?" It scratched its head, looking upwards thoughtfully. "Did I try to do anything…?" It sounded confused, staring off into nothing. "I just wanted the pain to stop… I wasn't trying to do anything, I promise. I-I-" It broke off, face twisting in agony as its limbs bagan shaking like leaves in the wind.

"I just want my mom and dad."

James ironwood, General of the Atlesian military, often seen as a stone wall devoid of emotion, felt his heart twist at the sight of a weeping child.

Had it done that on purpose? Was it trying to trick him into dropping his guard? Why? It already had plenty of opportunity to slaughter every guard that was nearby. Simply put, it wouldn't need the advantage of surprise if it just wanted to kill everyone.

But then, as suddenly as the emotion had emerged, it was gone. The child stared blankly at Ironwood once again.

"Jaune doesn't want others to suffer like him. Whitback will help Jaune stop the White-fang. Will you help me? Or will you get in my way?" Ironwood felt his muscles tense, his sympathy drying up quickly in the face of such a threat. His weapon, however, remained lowered. He couldn't afford to make any rash decisions, not when such a uniquely unknown Grimm was involved.

"Listen," He tried to stall, "I would like to help, but the issue is far more complicated than-"

"No!" A loud bang surprised Ironwood, the grimm having stomped its foot on the ground with enough force to dent the steel underneath.

He couldn't believe it. Such a raw display of power, an obviously threatening action, and yet the thing remained still. Not attacking or killing anyone, just... pouting. Like a child.

"Very well…" He answered slowly, "I'll help Jaune. But in exchange you will agree to do as I say." It wasn't an ideal solution, but he couldn't afford for a fight to break out. If it proved problematic, which it almost certainly would, it could easily end up in the streets above ground.

If it could devour and use people like material as it suggested it could, such an outcome could prove disastrous for all of Remnant.

Then again… If it gained strength from devouring people, would it not be best to eliminate it before it could progress any further? It had only consumed three people and was already able to hold off an assault team loaded with automatic rifles. What if it acquired a few dozen more bodies? At that point, would it be able to survive a bomb?

The thought caused his trigger finger to twitch, but still he kept from raising his hand. The thick glass between them would block a lot of damage, giving it plenty of time to put another wall up. He wouldn't be able to do any damage before its defenses were up.

He pushed his thoughts of violence away. Without proper intelligence, he was at a major disadvantage and could easily end up "broken down". The risk of death was hardly a new one, and it was one he accepted long ago. But if he were to fall here, he knew there would be no one strong enough to hold this Grimm back from the civilians above. It had already shown the SDC guards were woefully inadequate to handle such a threat.

Ironwood hated to admit it, but if he wanted to minimize the risk to his country, he had to help this Grimm. At least until he could figure out how to dispose of it effectively, preferably without putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk.

"No acting on your own without my say so, and absolutely no breaking down people without my express knowledge. Do we have a deal?"

"deal!" Its voice changed suddenly, still inhuman but it no longer resonated with itself. "That felt weird…" It muttered faintly before turning back to Ironwood.

"Whitback doesn't trust you." The child explained, "It wanted to make sure we both could talk at the same time." He offered with a nervous smile, looking far more anxious than he had a few moments earlier.

"I see..." He didn't, but he would have plenty of time to ask questions after they were at a secure site.

"That's fine." He said instead, "I'll be expecting you in the hall." He gave a nod before leaving the observation room.

One of the specialists he brought along was waiting for him on the other side.

"Change of plans," he told the shorter man, "We have a passenger coming back with us. Order two squads to come down and assist with cleanup" The man trotted off quickly to follow the orders while Ironwood turned to address Jacques's guards.

"Attention employees of the SDC." Some of the men jumped at the sudden increase in volume, "Due to the illegal experimentation done on humans in this facility, everyone here is under arrest. Cooperation will be your only chance at leniency." There were some hesitant glances amongst the guards. No one wanted to trust their lives to a military tribunal.

"Were you aware the child taken was from Vale? Destabilizing relations between our nations is an act of treason." He pulled the hammer on his revolver back with a dangerous click. "Should you fail to comply with my orders, I hold the authority to immediately carry out your executions."

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Every weapon hit the floor in unison as the men saluted, praying they didn't just get the death sentence. He had another of his specialists take the prisoners away, leaving him alone in the hall with a handful of his own soldiers.

Then, he turned to look at the strange substance that blocked the doorway, forced to wait for a tortured child twisted by the SDC's greed. Was it even a child anymore? Or was the grimm simply imitating one? He let out a sigh, the mental jumping jacks of such questions exhausted him.

Jacques Schnee had done a lot of questionable things over the years, but this?

This was madness.

\~/

I'll be honest, this chapter was a bit hard to do. I reread it multiple times before getting to this point and I think I've made it far better than the previous verison. That being said, part of me feels like I might not have made sense at some point. Maybe its how Jaune reacted to the deaths? Not sure. The fact that I can't really find why I think that makes me think its just my general anxious thoughts, but if any of you do find something fucky, please dont hesitate to let me know!

Hope you all enjoy your morning's and evenings!