August 15, 20XX, Day 350/365


Beacon Academy (3rd Person POV)

It has been over a day since Christian's mission throughout Forever Fall. Currently, professors Port, Oobleck, and Peach were all present in Ozpin's office, where all of them had to explain the situation to him. The fact that one of the artifacts and his host was missing was more than…troubling to say the least

So, let me see if I understand you all correctly…" Ozpin trailed off as he sat down at his desk "Mr. Pendragon went to go investigate the suspicious ship in Forever Fall. Then all of a sudden, you lost all communication with him"

All four professors nodded in unison

"Yes, after we all lost contact with him, all we got from his scroll and earpiece was nothing but static, meaning that the connection between us and him were lost" Oobleck said

Ozpin suddenly leaned forward, placing his elbows on his desk with his eyes closed

"Ozpin…what do we do? There's no telling where he is" Peach said in a worried tone

"Doctor Oobleck, how long would it take to figure out the route of that ship that took Mr. Pendragon?" Ozpin asked

"Not long enough" Oobleck said "A few days at least"

Ozpin sighed as he dug his hands into his face "This isn't good, while I don't doubt that Mr. Pendragon wouldn't have that much trouble…but he won't be able to survive on his own for that long with the mutated Grimm, and the one who's creating them"

"Then what do we do? We can't just sit here and let the young lad die!" Port said

"I know Peter, but without a location, we can't send in anyone to retrieve him" Ozpin said

"Then how about we-!" Port tried to say, only to be cut off by the sound of static, that appeared to be coming from Oobleck's pocket

"H** d*c? ****** there!?" The static made out

"Wait! I think I might be getting something!" Oobleck yelled, as he pulled out his scroll "Mr. Pendragon! Are you there!?

"I can **l* sp*** three **n**a**s, English, *ro*****y and *ar**sm, I ***t **ea* static ***in, doc!" Christian tried to say through the scroll

Everyone in the room could hear the tone of his voice, but they couldn't make out what he was trying to say

"Can you repeat that!? You're breaking up!" Oobleck yelled,

"W*** *a* th**? **u*e br****** up!" Only to get the same results from his scroll

"It's no use, I can't make out what he's saying" Oobleck said

"Give me your scroll" Ozpin said, as he held out his hand

Oobleck nodded as he walked over to Ozpin and handed him his scroll. Ozpin then turned around towards his desk and inserted it into a small slot built into his desk. All of a sudden, a projection of the map of Remnant came into view from the centre of the room

"What is this?" Peach asked

"This will tell us the location of Mr. Pendragon" Ozpin said, as a flashing blue dot appeared right outside of Vales waters. Ozpin pointed at the dot "There, that is where Mr. Pendragon was taken"

"Fantastic! I'll work on getting the Bullhead ready so we can head over to aid him!" Port said

"And I'll work on getting Mr. Pendragon's exact location!" Oobleck said

Ozpin pulled out his scroll and called Goodwitch "Glynda, send team CFVY up to my office immediately"

"Understood" Glynda said through the scroll

"Wait…why team CFVY? They're only first years" Peach said

"Well, they have shown that they are more than capable of handling themselves in a fight compared to most of the first years. Not only that, but I believe they'll be more than willing and capable to help Mr. Pendragon in his time of need" Ozpin said

"Fair point" Peach said

"I suggest you all get going, we have a long day ahead of us" Ozpin said

Professors Oobleck, Port, and Peach nodded and headed out of his office.

"It looks like this whole Merlot incident is more than just a coincidence, it seems" Ozpin said as he filled his mug with coffee


The City of Vale, Residential District (3rd Person POV)

After a long day of almost non-stop studying, Coco had taken a bullhead down to Vale…but not for the reason you think. Instead of going to the local shopping distract she always does, she instead visited s graveyard near the residential district of Vale. Currently, she was standing in-front of a gravestone that was in the shape of a cross with a pair of sunglasses placed on one of the pedestals next to it. The gravestone read

"Here lies Mocha Adel. A loving sister, daughter, and a hero to us all"

"Rest in peace"

Coco sighed as she removed her sunglass and beret "Hey sis…sorry that I didn't say anything at the funeral…" Coco said, as she wiped a tear from her right eye "I was still in shock after what happened, I didn't want to accept the fact that you were gone…though, a friend of mine helped me out. He told me that you would slap me if you caught me like this" She said with a chuckle

"I don't doubt for a second that you would do that" Coco said "He told me that I needed to be strong. Not for the sake of my myself, but for my teammates, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi as well. Ozpin made me the leader of team CFVY for a reason, and I'll be damned if I disappoint him! Because if I fall down, then I'll be dragging them with me"

"So, here I am. Here to say my final goodbyes" Coco said, as she pulled out a bag of coffee beans with a hint of caramel and placed them on the pedestal

Mocha always loved her coffee with a caramel shot. This was something she would always drink whenever she's out on the job

"Goodbye, Mocha, you were the best damn sister I could have asked for. But I swear to you…" Coco trailed off as she put her beret and sunglasses back on "I will find the bastard that killed you, and I will make him pay for what he did!"

"Coco!" A voice yelled

Coco turned around to see Velvet running towards her with a worried expression "Hey bunbun, what's wrong? You sound worried"

"It's Professor Ozpin! He wants us to go to his office immediately!" Velvet said frantically

"Why? What's happening?" Coco asked

"I-It's Christian, he's in trouble!" Velvet said

Coco scoffed "Velvet…do you know who you're talking about? This is Christian we're talking about! You're gonna have to be more specific"

"I mean that his life is in danger!" Velvet yelled, causing Coco to freeze, sweat dripping down her forehead "C-Coco…are you okay?"

.

.

Coco's response was to shake her head and slapped both of her cheeks "yeah, I'm fine. Tell Fox and Yatsuhashi to meet us in-front of Beacon Tower"

"R-Right" Velvet said, as she pulled out her scroll

'You can't just stay out of trouble, can you?' Coco mentally asked herself


(Timeskip) Beacon Academy, Beacon Tower (3rd Person POV)

Shortly after receiving Velvet's frantic call, Fox and Yatsuhashi immediately stopped what they were doing and were now on their way towards Beacon Tower. After meeting up with the others, all four members of team CFVY were now on their way to meet Professor Ozpin, and hopefully find out what exactly happened to Christian.

Currently, the four were in the elevator that were taking them straight towards Ozpin's office

"So…why did Professor Ozpin want us here again?" Fox asked in a slightly tired tone, as they walked down the hall

"I told you, fox! Christian's life is in danger, and we need to help him!" Velvet said, in an annoyed tone

"Yes, we all still have a debt to repay to him after what he did to help Coco" Yatsu said

"I know, but why does it have to be this early in the morning?" Fox asked with a yawn

"Come on Fox! Christian would've done the same for you if your life was in danger!" Velvet said

"I'm just joking, geez!" Fox defended "With him gone, who's going to be my reading buddy?"

The elevator dinged, letting everyone know that they finally reached the top of the tower…but Coco wasn't having it. Instead of waiting, Coco brought one of her legs up

"Coco wait!" Velvet yelled

But Coco didn't listen as she suddenly kicked the doors open, revealing Ozpin at his desk "Details, now!" Coco shouted, as she walked towards Ozpin's desk

"I guess Christian rubbed off on her…" Fox muttered

"Agreed" Yatsu agreed

"Was kicking my door down really necessary" Ozpin asked

"You wanted us here and here we are! So details, NOW!" Coco demanded, as she slammed her hands on Ozpin's desk

"I understand that your stressed, especially for what has happened this year. But let's try to calm down and focus the situation at hand" Ozpin said in a calm tone

Coco took in a deep breath, before sighing and sitting down in one of the chairs near his desk "Alright, so…what happened?"

Ozpin's response was to insert his scroll in a slot in his desk. All of a sudden, various images and video recordings of Chrstian appeared in the centre of the room. The pictures/videos showcased the young hunter using his guantlet-blade to its fullest against the creatures of Grimm…but what stood out the most to them was that some of the Grimm were green

"For the last year, we've been sending Mr. Pendragon to do some…missions as a way of preparing him to enroll here this year. But these missions we've been sending him on may having been building up for something more…sinister" Ozpin explained "At first, we started to have troubles with our communications, so we sent Christian in th Emerald Forest to see what was causing it, only to find this" he said, as he pressed a button on his scroll, the images switching to ones that showcased the caged Grimm and to a symbol the resembles a giant "M"

"After some further research, we found out that symbol belonged to Merlot Industries, a research and development corporation that was founded on Mountain Glenn" Ozpin said

"Mountain…Glenn?" Velvet whispered

"To investigate further, we sent Mr. Pendragon to Mountain Glenn to locate the old Merlot Industries facility to try and find out why they have resurfaced" Ozpin explained "But as he made his way, the building had managed to collapse and burying him into a cavern below. And that is when we had found this…" Ozpin trailed off, as the images switched to images of the glowing Grimm, along with the cart-bomb

"Then after that, we had traced the railways of Mountain Glenn towards Forever Fall, which was where Christian before he had disappeared" Ozpin said

"Wait…what do you mean by disappeared?" Coco asked

"That…we do not know yet" Ozpin admitted "Mr. Pendragon has been taken somewhere to which we do not know"

"So, let me get ths straight, you have been sending Christian on these dangerous missions that could have possibly killed him…all because it entertains you!?" Coco asked

.

.

"Well…there's more to it than just that" Ozpin said

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!" Coco yelled

"Coco, calm down!" Velvet said, placing a hand on her shoulder

Coco took in a deep breath, sighing before sitting back down in her chair

"That is why I called you here. I believe that the four of you will be able to pull it off" Ozpin said

"Why us, though? Why not a Huntsman or a Huntress?" Velvet asked

"Well, I believe that your relationship with Christian will give you the motivation to push yourselves" Ozpin explained

"Okay, so when do we leave?" Coco asked

"Right now" Ozpin said

.

.

"WHAT?!" The three members of team CFVY shouted

"Alright, let's move team!" Coco said as she put on her sunglasses

"WHAT?!" CFVY shouted again


Pendragon Dorm? (My POV)

"Ugh…my head" I muttered as I got up

As I slowly opened my eyes, I could see from where I was. I was…somehow back in my dorm room laying on my bed

"What the hell?" I asked myself "Did I pass out and Ozpin sent someone for me?"

*KNOCK* *KNOCK*However before I could continue my thoughts, I heard someone knock at my door

Confused, I got up from my bed, walked towards the door and opened it, revealing Neo on the other side of the door

"Oh, hey Neo" I said, as I looked down, only to notice that she was carrying a carton of ice cream "What are you doing with that ice cream?"

Neo put a finger up to her lip, as she pushed me back into my dorm room and onto my bed

"Uh, Neo…what are you doing?" I asked

Neo's response was to press her own body against mine. She then turned back towards the door, and ushered someone else to enter in as well. Suddenly Emerald walked into the room as well

"Hey Emerald, nice of you to drop by…did you want to join in?" I asked

Just like Neo, Emerald didn't speak another word as well. Instead, she just made her way towards her bed and did exactly what Neo just did

"O-Okay…it's starting to get REALLY intense in here!" I said

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Velvet right in the doorframe with her head down

"Oh, hey Velvet, why don't you come in and join the party!" I said

Velvet shyly entered the room I was in and sat down on my bed. However, as Velvet went in for…something, her eyes immediately turned to a dark blue colour as large canines suddenly erupted from her mouth and let out an ear-piercing screech

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH?!" I let out a scream of my own, as the monster-Velvet suddenly drove her teeth into my neck


Island of Merlot (My POV)

"GAAH!?" I yelled, as I shot up from where I was laying down. I began to look around frantically, only to see that I was still inside of the crate. But this time, the crate was left open

"Agh…my head…" I muttered, as I took in a deep breath and layed back down to catch my breath from…that dream

Stupid fucking wet dream! Not only did you stab my feelings, you scared the everfucking hell out of me!

After laying there for at least a few more minutes, I got off the ground and walked outside of the crate and began look at my new surroundings. Right infront of me, was a trimmed down path with various metal barrels at the side. To the left of the path was a large wall made out of rock, but to the right of me was the very same cargo ship that presumably kidnapped and brought me here

"Christian, I don't think we're in Beacon anymore" I muttered to myself, as I looked towards the ocean. It was clear that I was on some sort of island…but where and how far exactly?

I walked towards the edge of the land, trying to see any form of land or at least something in the distance. But there was nothing, not even a seagull…and those cherro-stealing motherfuckers are everywhere!

"Well, I don't see Vale…or anything for that matter in the distance, so I guess it's safe to say that I'm pretty far" I said to myself

My next option was to try and contact Doctor Oobleck. So, I reached into my pocket and pulled out my scroll…that is until I realized something

"Don't the bad guys usually take the hostages belongings to prevent them from escaping?" I asked myself. But I simply shrugged it off as someone doing a bad pat down and called Doctor Oobleck "Hey doc? You there?" I asked

"Mr. P-********! *r* *** **er**!?" I was able to hear the tone of Oobleck's voice, but I wasn't able to make out what he was saying because of all the static.

"I can only speak three languages! English, Profanity, and Sarcasm, I can't speak Static Latin, doc!" I said

"**n y** ******!? Y**re **ea**** **up!" Oobleck yelled

"What was that?" You're breaking up!" I said. But as before, I could only here static from my end "Damn it…the signal is not strong enough here. I may need to get to higher ground"

With no other options, I began to walk the trimmed out path. After several minutes of walking, I eventually passed under a homemade arch that was made out of planks of wood and thin sheets of metal, leading me into some kind of open area. I began to look around the area, before suddenly looking up to see some sort of radio tower in the distance

"Maybe that tower might help boost the signal" I said "Let's just hope that it doesn't require a wifi password…"

"[Warning! Incoming Hostiles!]" Fliss warned through the scroll

"Oh come on! I don't have any time for you motherfuckers!" I said, expecting to see Grimm right behind me…only to see two robots with a red and black colour scheme and were wielding double-bladed energy spears were running towards me "Okay…you're new…"

The first robot charged towards me with its spear reeled backwards. It tries to go in for a jab with its blade, but I managed to roll out of the way before its attack landed. But, just as I summoned the gauntlet out of my arm, the second robot quickly comes in at the side a delivered a series of jabs towards my abdomen, sending me flying towards the water

"How fast are these things!?" I asked/shouted, as I rose out of the water, and just as the gauntlets jewel glowed "Oh, now you decide to charge up!?"

But as I stood up, both robots pointed the tip of their spears towards my direction…and started to fire green bullets

"SHIT!" I shouted, as I quickly used that charge on the Barrier Enchantment, blocking the oncoming bullets "Right…rule number of the RWBYverse…EVERY single fucking weapon is a gun! Swords, spears, maces, shields, handbags…and where the hell is the frying pan!?"

The two robots wasted no charge to charge at me and started to deliver a flurry of jabs and slashes. The Barrier was strong enough to withstand those attacks, but the constant attacks were making the Barrier crack. meaning it was only a matter of time until they broke through

Just as I thought that I was a goner, the gauntlets jew glowed once more. Not missing a beat, I used that charge on the Blink Enchantment just as the Barrier broke, and I appeared behind the two robots/ I swung my blade at the first robot, who manages to block the oncoming attack. But it was sent flying backwards into the second robot, making both of them fly into the water with a satisfying splash

"Well…that takes care of them. But seriously, I REALLY need to build up charges for oncoming fights!" I noted "It's getting ridiculous how I have to wait to ac-!" I tired to say

But I cut myself off, when I saw the two robots climb out of the water and wasted no time charging at me once more with their spears reeled back once more

"And they're waterproof…of course they're waterproof! Why wouldn't they be waterproof?" I said sarcastically

Just as the robots lunged their spears towards me, I quickly rolled backwards in an attempt to dodge their attacks. However, those two immediately started swinging their weapons at my abdomen, sending me flying towards the wall, my aura flickering as I fell to the ground

"Okay…none of this is working" I muttered to myself, as the gauntlet glowed once more "Let's try to fight fire with fire" I said, as I used that charge on the Blast enchantment, immediately splitting the orb in my palms into three smaller ones

As the robots went in for another attack, I fired one of the orbs at one of the robots, sending it flying backwards. The second robot begins to swing its spear in my direction, but i was able to dodge them with ease, now that his partner was sent back a few feet

As it swung it's spear, I quickly rolled under its attack and fired the second smaller orb from my palms into the robot's abdomen, sending it flying backwards. As I got up, I looked over to the two robots to see that both of them had fairly large holes in their bodies from the Blast Enchantment, but were still able to stand

"Looks like that did something…Blast is the bomb!" I said, as I cockingly fired the last small orb from my palms, only for one of the robots to deflect the shot "Guess Blast can only do so much…"

The jewel in my guantlet glowed once more. I immediately used that charge on the Blink Enchantment

"Please don't hit a wall, PLEASE don't hit a wall!" I prayed as I ran towards the damaged robots.

Thankfully, I was able to control the distance of my Blink Enchantment, so I was able to dodge both of the robots attack and managed to land in between them. Using that opportunity, I swung my blade into a circular motion and sliced the robots through their waists, reducing them to nothing more than scrap metal

"Damn, first it was Grimm…then it was the White Fang…now robots!? Who the hell is next, Cinder!?" I remarked "…Actually, don't answer that"

I sat down on the warm sands on the island and began to catch my breath. After several minutes, I looked at the newly-destroyed robots and I realized how advanced they actually were! As in Atlas-kind of advanced!

"Maybe it's an Atlas prototype or something" I muttered, as I began to pick through the pile of scraps. My eyes widened when they recognized a familiar logo consisting of an "M" surrounded by a hexagon "Merlot Industries…why am I not surprised?"

I threw the piece of metal over my shoulders, as I stood back up and turned back around to face the radio tower "Well, I guess I can worry about that later, for now, let's just get over to that tower. And hopefully, I'll be off this island before I start yelling Willson"

I started to run back towards the path I was on before being rudely interrupted by those robots, all the while letting all of my charges building up for a possible oncoming fight. But as I followed the path that HOPEFULLY lead me straight towards the radio tower, I started to think about the events that had just transpired

"So let's see…I was investigating some cargo boxes on the ship when suddenly, I was knocked out by some sort of gas" I muttered "That wasn't a coincidence, someone set that as a trap! Someone knew that I was coming!"

As I continued on the path, I eventually came across a metal fence. I sighed as I used one of my spare charges on the Blast Enchantment, and fired it at the metal fence, blowing it to pieces

"Maybe a little louder next time" I sarcastically muttered, as I continued to talk towards the radio tower "Ugh! Why couldn't I be dropped off somewhere clo-!" I tired to say

Only to cut myself off when I heard the sound of growling right behind me

["Warning! Incoming Hostiles!"] Fliss warned through the scroll

"Oh now you tell me!" I said, as I turned towards the pack of Beowolves, my blade popping out of its gauntlet


(Timeskip) Island of Merlot (My POV)

After I killed the Beowolves, I had managed to run into a door that wouldn't open. At first I was going to use the Blast Enchantment on the door…only to realize I might be attracting more Grimm if I did that. With no other options, I continued to walk down the path that lead me further and deeper into the island. Suddenly, I could hear Ooblec's voice coming from my scroll, but his tone at least. I was still unable to make out what he was trying to say due to the static coming from the scroll

Let's just hope that this radio tower helps boosts the signal, otherwise I may be a goner

"I *hiss*CAN'T *hiss*UNDERSTAND *hiss* WHAT *hiss* YOU *hiss* WHEN *hiss* YOU *hiss* SOUND *hiss* LIKE *hiss* THIS!" I yelled into the scroll

"Well…now that I'm at the radio tower, let's see if I can get a better reception here" I muttered, as I climbed the stairs leading me to the control centre.

But as I made it the control centre, I noticed a small square-like object sitting on-top of it with Merlot's symbol on it. This was one of the same objects I pulled off of the control centre back in the Emerald Forest! I quickly ran towards the control centre, and pulled the object off of the control panel

"Mr. Pendrag**, *** you ***ght?" Oobleck said through the earpiece "Where *** you!?"

"Doc, I'm trapped on some sort of island and I found a nearby radio tower!" I said "I did something, can you hear me now?"

"Yes I can *h*re *** *ou? Whatever you j** did keep ** doing that! There **** be other radio *****'s somewhere else on the island! You must **** the oth**s and then ** the **** thing! Understood?"

"Kind of!" I said, as I put my scroll away "That helped, but it's not enough. Didn't Oobleck mention that there could be other radio towers on this island?

But as I made my way down the radio tower's stairs, I looked to the right of me to see that the closed doors that I passed suddenly opened "…I have a feeling that someone is toying with me" I muttered and I walked through the open doors

As I passed through the doors, I realize that I entered in some sort of building that was filled with various crates with the Schnee Dust Company logo and a single crane to the left of me. But to the left of me was an overlook of the ocean, presumably meant to dock small ships

"Looks like some kind of factory" I muttered to myself "Wonder what they're building here…hopefully not robots, they're a pain in the ass to deal with"

I quickly looked around the area for a good bit, before I spotted an exit in the warehouse "There's the exit, time to move it, otherwise I may lose it!" I said to myself, as I ran out of the buildings exit and found myself back on the path

After several minutes, I had made my way up a nearby hill and saw another radio tower in the distance "Bingo" I muttered under my breath, as I ran towards my destination

Aftr several more minutes of running, I made my way towards the second radio tower. As before, there was that same square-shaped object on the control panel. I grabbed the object with both of my hands and tore it off before dropping it on the ground

"Doc! Do you copy!?" I yelled as I pulled out my scroll

"Mr. Pendragon! It's working! The signal seems much better! But for some reason, I'm not sure if you can still hear me" Oobleck said through the earpiece

"No, I can hear you" I said

"Just a little more and I can pinpoint your exact location on the island. And if you can't do that, then you'll die a horrible death" Oobleck said through the earpiece

"Oh, lovely" I said dryly

"Nevertheless, keep it up!" Oobleck said through the scroll as he cut the connection off

.

"And now I have to find ourselves a third radio tower…does he want me to find his missing keys too!?" I remarked as I ran down the path that led deeper into the island. After several more minutes of running, I turned a sharp corner until I saw a clear view of the third radio tower

"Huh…that was fast" I said to myself "Maybe luck is finally on my side!"

"[Warning! Incoming Hostiles!]" Fliss warned through the scroll

.

.

"You just had to say that RIGHT after I said that!" I groaned as I turned towards a series of growls coming in from behind me


(Timeskip) Island of Merlot (My POV)

I hate this island…I really fucking hate this island!

Shortly after dealing with the small pack of Beowolves, I immediately ran towards the third radio tower where hopefully, it's the final one! I mean, Oobleck did say that he would be able to pinpoint my exact location if I was able to get rid of those boxes..so…yeah. After several seconds of running up the radio tower's stairs, I had made my way towards the towers control panel and pulled the box off

"Hey, doc, I did it!" I said into the scroll, but there wasn't a response "Uh…doc? Are you there?"

"AH, that's better. Sorry, but the reception is always so BAD all the way out here. I hope you're enjoying your stay on the island. You're the first visitors I've had in…well, you are the first" An unknown voice said through my earpiece

"You're obviously not Doctor Oobleck" I said "Can you put him back on?"

"No, but I AM much more capable doctor" The man said through the earpiece

"From the looks of how things are manged around here, you NEED a doctor, along with a very elaborate stray jacket" I said "I'd like to get MY doctor back on the line! I'm running out of patience here!" I said

"Oh, what's the rush? Why not stay awhile, perhaps have a cup of tea?" The man said through the earpiece

"Okay, who in the hell am I talking to anyways!?" I asked/shouted

"Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Doctor Merlot" The newly named Merlot said through my earpiece "You don't know me, But I certainly know who you are"

"Stalker alert…" I muttered "Yeah, well, a lot of people know who I am"

"Oh, well aren't you a popular one. Nevertheless, I'm thrilled you're here. You might be exactly what I need for a very important…experiment of mine" Merlot said through the earpiece

"What kind of experiment are we talking about here? It better not be one those social experiments!" I said

Merlot chuckled "I can assure you it's not one of those. This experiment is more…thrilling than others"

But before I could answer, I heard a loud roar coming from a nearby cave. I whipped my head towards the source of the noise, only to see an Ursa that had green crystals coming out of his back

"Okay…it's the kind of experiment that involves trying to kill me…greeeeat!" I muttered to myself, as my blade popped out of my gauntlet, the jewel glowing in the process

"For one who wields one of the thirteen artifacts, this should be an easy test for you, right?" Merlot asked through the earpiece

Wait…he knows!? How does he fucking know about the gauntlet!?

"As for how I know, let's just say I have a few trinkets of my own" Merlot said through the earpiece, but I heard him wave around some sort of metal chain "Now, then…Number 10, get him!"

Then as if on cue, the mutated-Ursa roared into the sky as it got down on all fours and began to charge towards me. It raised one of its massive arms into the air, but I managed to jump out of the way before the attack struck. Using one of my spare charges, I activated the Buster Enchantment. I ran towards the Grimm and jumped on its back, getting ready to drive my blade into its spine. But as I reached the top, the crystals on its back began to shoot out, knocking me off of the mutated Ursa

"So, we meet again, Doctor Merlot" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!?" I yelled, as I dodged another swipe from the mutated Ursa

"Ozpin? Or shall I call you Oz, just for old times sake?" Merlot asked through the earpiece

"I thought you perished in the Mountain Glenn disaster, a tragedy you played no small part in" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"Now!? Are you seriously doing this NOW of all times!? You two have a horrible sense of timing!" I shouted, as I swung my blade at the mutated Ursa's abdomen. The gauntlet's jewel glowing

"'Twas a mere speed bump on the superhighway of scientific progress, and all of it was possible because of my new favourite trinket" Merlot said through the earpiece "You couldn't possibly imagine the ramifications of my latest research because of it"

"You guys really are doing this right now" I grumbled, as I got back to my feet "Wait…trinket?" I said, but before I could continue, the mutated Ursa took another swipe at me. I used one of my spare charges on the Barrier Enchantment, blocking it's attack

"That trinket needs to be locked away or destroyed, the world will be a much safer place without it…and with you, Merlot" Ozpin said sternly through the earpiece "Your actions with your work were reckless and dangerous to the people of Vale"

Does Ozpin know something that I don't? I'm getting a sense of irony here

The mutated Ursa charged once more and reeled one of its arms up. Leaving itself open, I used my spare charge on the Buster Enchantment and swung my blade at the Ursa, making it stumble back a few feet. Not letting up, I then quickly slashed at its abdomen, leaving a nasty cut in the Ursa

"You're calling me the reckless one? You're the one who sent one of your students on an excursion such as this" Merlot said through the earpiece

I'll tell you what…he has a point there

"He's more than a match for your mindless robots. What you're doing here is wrong, Merlot" Ozpin said through the earpiece

The mutated Ursa roars as it suddenly slouches over and fires the crystals out of its back like missiles

"SHIT!" I shouted, as I dodged the first two. But I was left open for the third one. I desperately tried to activate the Barrier Enchantment, only for the jewel to flicker. I was suddenly struck by the third one, sending me flying towards one of the crates near the side of the mountain

"You were saying?" Merlot asked

"I said that he can handle your mindless robots. Your abominations, however, are a different story" Ozpin said through the earpiece

As I picked myself off the ground, my gauntlets jewel glowed "Oh, NOW you decide to charge up!?" I shouted/asked as I used the charge on the Buster Enchantment and swung my blade at the mutated Ursa

It tried to swing one of its claws at me, but due to its multiple wounds on its body, the mutated Ursa was much slower than it was before. I was able to dodge one of its attack with ease and climb onto its back. With most of its crystals gone, there was nothing preventing me from driving my blade into the mutated Ursa's head, killing it

"Trying to make the world a better place is wrong? Say what you will about me, Ozpin. It won't change the fact that you and that boy are powerless to stop me" Merlot sneered through the earpiece

"You'll botch this somehow. You always do" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"Well, let's agree to disagree. I tell you Oz, it's truly been a pleasure catching up, but unfortunately it's time for me to go. Farewell old chum" Merlot said through the earpiece as he cut off his connection

"Are you alright Mr. Pendragon?" Ozpin asked through the earpiece

"I need a doctor…a PROPER doctor!" I corrected "But, yeah I'm alright"

"Well, I'm glad you're alright. We were able to figure out your whereabouts with a special chip implanted in your scroll. We need to stop Doctor Merlot. Head further into the island. I'm sending a team to aid you" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"Team? What team exactly?" I asked

"Don't worry, you're already quite familiar with each other. For now, head further into the island" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"Got it" I said, but suddenly remembered something "Wait, Ozpin!"

"Yes? What is it Mr. Pendragon?" Ozpin asked through the earpiece

"Merlot said something about a trinket that helped him with his research…what did he mean by that?" I asked

.

.

I could hear Ozpin sigh on the other end "Merlot…has a Sacred Array with the power to control the Grimm itself"

I nearly chocked on my own saliva as he said that. I was about to say that was absolutely ridiculous…that is until I remember reading about one that matched it's description: The Demon's Pendent, sometimes call the Grimm Pendent

It's a necklace that gives it's wearer the power to command any and all types of Grimm, no matter how big or small they may be. But, it does come with a cost. The more you use it, the necklace itself devours parts of your very soul! You literally lose pieces of yourself and become a Grimm yourself

Then, I started to think back at previous missions…

In the Emerald Forest…Merlot must've done something more than just block Beacon's communications systems…what if he had manually hacked into them as well? The staff at Beacon had to place cameras in the Emerald forest to watch their students during the initiation in order to grade their standing into the school…but what if the teachers had set cameras in other places as well?

In Mountain Glenn…the home of Merlot Industires must've had some left over tech during its initial collapse, more than enough to set cameras in the ruined city itself. Then…there's the Beringal…a Grimm that is only native to Anima, it seemed coincidental that it would come here of all places. Merlot wanted that tower to collapse, to lead me into the lower caverns of Mountain Glenn…and lead me straight towards his "pets"

And speaking of, the mutated Grimm acted like that were attacking me with actual thinking instead of pure savagery. The Creeps for example were just charging towards me…they never attempted to bite or even scratch. They just exploded whenever they got close, almost as if Merlot himself was the detonator. And the mutated Ursa Major didn't even move until I sent that bomb-cart towards at it.

And in Forever Fall, there were no reports of more of those mutated Grimm until I set foot in the forest itself! Not only that, that mutated Beowolf could've easily took a chunk out of me when I got my blade stuck in it's back…but it didn't. Then there was crate-trap…he set hat himself, knowing that I would be to curious!

Everything that has happened in the last year, was set into motion by Merlot himself…he's been watching me the entire time. Using me as another test subjects…just like what he did to the people of Mountain Glenn…just like how they drove us into the crossfire just to settle a gr-!

However, before I could continue my thoughts, Ozpin broke me out of them "Mr. Pendragon…are you alright?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm alright…just taking a breather that's all. Going after Merlot now" I said, as I cut the connection off

If Merlot himself has a Sacred Array of his own…then I have to do more than just stop him, I have to destroy that necklace, along with trace of whatever he's working on

"Alright Doctor crazy…let's see how I'm able to shit on your day…" I muttered to myself, as I ran towards a nearby path. But as I continued to run, I spotted a nearby apple tree in the distance "Huh…that's convenient…maybe I should pack one for later"


(Timeskip) Island of Merlot (My POV)

Okay…I wasn't expecting that it would take THIS long to reach…something! I'm not sure how long it has been exactly, but according to my scroll, I've been on this island for over six hours, fighting various Grimm and even more of those annoying robots. Eventually, I had finally made my way towards what appeared to be Merlot's main facility that was surrounded by rock

"Bingo" I muttered, as I clung to the rocks wall and began to skim my way towards the building "Guess my choice of clothes does blend well with the shadows"

However, as I continued to walk the path, I found myself in a small area surrounded by pipes. But what stood out the most was that the pipes were leaking out some sort of green liquid on the ground

"Huh…is that…?" I trailed off, as I kicked a nearby rock into the liquid, causing it to disintegrate as it rolled in "Yep, more mutated Grimm juice…"

Wait…if the Grimm is the 'sugar'…and if the pendent is the 'spice'…then I might've found Merlot's 'everything nice'…I grew up in the early two-thousands okay!?

"I wonder if it comes in any other flavours" I muttered, as I pulled out my scroll and contacted Ozpin

"Mr. Pendragon, have you found something?" Ozpin asked through the scroll

"Yeah, I think I found the spice that Merlot is using to create the mutated Grimm" I said

"Hmm, fascinating…" Ozpin trailed off through the scroll

Fascinating…that is not one of the words that come to mind

"Do you have anything to contain the…'spice' as you put it, to contain the liquid in?" Ozpin asked through the scroll

"No, the liquid eats away at anything that it touches" I said

"Unfortunate. Well, continue your search, I suspects that Merlot is on his island for a reason" Ozpin said through the scroll

"Oh, really? I thought that we was on vacation! Maybe enjoying a fucking margarita!" I said with a hint of sarcasm

"I wonder if I should recall the reinforcements?" Ozpin asked himself through the earpiece

"Hey, hey, hey! I was kidding! I was kidding!" I yelled "You know me, Oz!"

"Good. Moving on, it appear that he's harvesting this substnace, and whatever he's using it for it can't be good" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"Come on Oz, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that he's using this Grimm juice to mutate the Grimm!" I said

"Then why hasn't he harvested this part?" Ozpin asked through the earpiece

.

.

.

"That's…a good point, why didn't he" I asked

"Well knowing Merlot, some of his 'experiments' might have not worked" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"So, you think that this is the result of his more…failed experiments?" I asked

"That's exactly what I'm implying" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"Alright then…good to know t-!" I tried to say

"[Warning! Incoming Hostiles!]" Fliss Warned through my scroll, cutting me off

"Oh for god's sake…" I muttered, as I turned to face a pack of Beowolves. The blade popped out of my gauntlet, as it began to build up a charge

"Hmm, how about we grab the attention of the good doctor?" Ozpin suggested through the scroll "Kill these Grimm, that should get his attention"

"I have a batter idea" I said, as I used that charge on the Blast Enchantment

But instead of firing all of them at once, I split the energy in my palms into three separate orbs and fired one of them towards one of the pipes. Green liquid began to shoot out of the cracks, eventually bursting from the pipes themselves and covering the entire Beowolf pack in it. The Beowolves began to howl in pain as the green liquid began to eat at their flesh, reducing them to nothing but a pile of black liquid

"Merlot's serum, guaranteed to remove your toughest stains!" I said "Grease, mustard, and even Grimm!"

"Using your own enemies weapon against them…it seems I have taught you well" Ozpin praised through the scroll

"Thanks" I said "So, what's next Oz?"

"Follow the pipeline. With any luck, it will lead us straight to Doctor Merlot" Ozpin sad through the scroll

"I can hear everything you're saying, you know!" Merlot said indignantly trhough the earpiece

"May we please get him off of this call!" I yelled, as I can ran across the pipeline "This is a private number for crying outloud!"

"It's amazing that you survived the disaster of Mountain Glenn, Merlot. Was it sheer luck…or was the pendent part of your master plan?" Ozpin asked through the earpiece

"Would you believe me if I told you that it wasn't my fault?" Merlot asked through the earpiece

"No" Ozpin and I said in unison

"I believe that you wouldn't take accountability for your actions" Ozpin said through the earpiece

'Admittedly, Mountain Glenn is a bit of a sore spot for me. Decades of hard work, countless research projects, not to mention all of the speicmens I'd collected over the years. All lost without a trace…that is until now!" Merlot said through the earpiece "The pendent that I was gifted at that time has done wonders for my research! What should've taken years, only took me a few short months!"

Wait…gifted?

"So, let me get this straight…you're upset that you lost all of your research?" Ozpin asked through the scroll

"Do you have any fucking idea how may people have lost their lives in there!? Countless of innocent people, GONE OR CRIPPLED! Children, ORPHANED! Friendships, SHATTERED! AND ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS YOUR FUCKING RESEARCH!?" I yelled, as I ran towards the facility's front door

"The work done at Merlot Industries was critical in advancement of artificial intelligence and genetics. Without it, Remnant would still be in the dark ages" Merlot said through the earpiece

Oh, the nerve of this asshole!

"You've missed the point the point entirely. And entire city was laid to waster. Countless lives were lost. My only question is how much damage did you cause with the pendent!?" Ozpin yelled into the earpiece

"Well, how else was I supposed to conduct my research? Our supply of test subjects was running thin" Merlot said through the earpiece

"And when the Grimm came back, the city's population was driven underground where it was safe. No thanks to Merlot Industries" Ozpin countered through the earpieces

"Oh, Ozpin, that was only the beginning. Soon, all of Vale will know the results of my research" Merlot said through the earpiece

"What the hell are you talking about!?" I yelled

"Now, why would I want to ruin the surprise?" Merlot asked through the earpiece "I'm sure you're wondering why it's been so quiet lately"

.

.

As soon as he said that, I could hear the sound of the facility's giant doors opening, revealing possibly hundreds of pairs of red eyes and green lights in the darkness. After several seconds, the sources of the eyes and lights revealed themselves to be a horde of robots, Grimm, and mutated Grimm

"Oh shit…" I muttered "Is there a chance that we can talk this out?"

"Well, it has been fun, but it looks like we have to part ways. Farewell, wielder of Viserion" Merlot farewelled through the earpiece

"Get him!" Merlot shouted through a nearby speaker, causing all of the Grimm and robots to immediately charged in my direction

"OH SHIT!" I yelled, as I ran in the other direction, with the group of robots and mutated Grimm catching up from behind.

As I was running, I could feel the very ground start to shake from the horde behind me. Suddenly, a few blasts of energy zoomed past my head and struck the ground in front of me, exploding on impact. I raised my left arm to protect my eyes from the oncoming dust and debris. However, I could feel the very ground explode right under my feet, sending me flying into the air and crashing into the ground

"NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME FOR YOU TO SHOW UP!" I yelled into the gauntlet, as I got back up

But as I did, I was suddenly pounced by normal Beowolf who immediately began to snap it's jaws at me. At that time, the gauntlets jewel glowed, indicating that I had built up a charge. Deciding to use it for later, I placed my feet under the Beowolf's belling and pushed kicked it over my head, before slamming my blade down on its head, killing it

Not wasting a moment, I immediately got back to my feet and used that charge on the Blast Enchantment. I fired the energy from my palms towards the horde, engulfing a quarter of the horde in a explosion that sent some of the robots flying all over the place. However, that Blast only succeeded in blowing most of them off of their feet and were now back to chasing me

Just as the gauntlet built up another charge, one of the red-black robots fired a blast of energy towards my direction and struck my abdomen, sending me flying towards a nearby wall

"How does it feel, Ozpin? Knowing that your precious pupil is about to die, and there is NOTHING you can do about it!" Merlot said through the earpiece, and began to cackle

But to both mine and Merlot's surprise…Ozpin was laughing

"What's so funny?" Merlot asked through the earpiece

"Oh, Merlot, you'll soon figure out that you can't kill Mr. Pendragon THAT easily" Ozpin snickered through the earpiece "Besides…" Ozpin trailed off, as I could hear the roar of some sort of engine in the distance "I've sent reinforcements"

I turned towards the sound of the engines roar, only to see that a Bullhead was flying towards my location. The doors to the Bullhead suddenly opened, revealing Coco, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsu, all of which are ready for battle

I smirked and waved at the Bullhead "What took you guys so long? Did you get stuck in traffic?"

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Velvet shouted

"You can't just stay out of trouble, can you!?" Coco yelled, as she and the rest of Team CFVY jumped out of the Bullhead "Damn…would you look at these things"

"Are these…" Velvet wondered out loud

"Yes, these are mutated Grimm created by Doctor Merlot" Ozpin said through my…I guess our earpieces now

"Who?" CFVY asked in unison

"He's the asshole responsible for what happened at Mountain Glenn" I said, as the jewel in my gauntlet began to glow

"Is that so?" Coco asked, as her grip tightened around her weapon "Then boy do I have more than a few words for him. He's the reason why my mother can't walk anymore!"

"Yeah, so did I! I lost a lot of friends because of him!" Velvet said

"Then let us bring justice upon this man!" Yatsuhashi declared as he placed the edge of his blade on his shoulders

"You really need better phrases man…" I muttered, but shrugged my shoulders "Guys, let's go and kick some ass!" I shouted, as I used that charge on the Boost Enchantment

All of them nodded and pulled out their respected weapons. Velvet and Fox ran towards the horde of mutated Grimm and robots at blinding speeds. While Yatsuhashi pulled out his massive sword andcharged towards a pack of mutated Beowolves. As he got close, Yatus brought his sword over his head and slammed it into the ground, sending the Grimm flying across the area

Fox and Velvet began to throw a barrage of kicks and punches at the various mutant Grimm. Fox slammed his blades onto the ground, which coincidentally had a Grimm underneath him. With Fox being blind, he has mastered all other senses, including feel. Fox then rushed towards a mutated Ursa before suddenly doing a backflip and kicking it into the air, As it fell to the ground, Fox delivered a series of slashes towards its abdomen before suddenly striking it in the head, sending it flying towards another group of Grimm and robots. As the Ursa landed on the ground, it began to puff up like a balloon before suddenly exploding, sending crystals in all directions that stabbed through a portion of the horde

"…How in the blood soaked processed hell did you do that!?" I asked out of shock

"Pressure points" Fox said

"Ah" I said in realization "Just like Kenshiro"

"Who?" Fox asked

"Nothing!" I slightly shouted, as I built up my charges "Let's just get back to fighting!"

Coco was currently mowing down a portion of the horde with her gatling-gun. A flock of mutated nevermore were making their ways towards Coco. Coco simply cracked a smirk as her hands glowed with purple energy, still enhanced by the Boost Enchantment, before suddenly firing het gatling-gun towards the flock of mutated Nevermores, blasting them to pieces and cutting some fo them in half

"Velvet!" Coco called out, causing Velvet to nod and pulled out Anesidora. With just a push of a button, Velvet had managed to create a near-perfect replica of Coco's weapon out of hard-light Dust. Two two then proceeded to fire a baragge of bullets towards the horde, mowing them down very easily

Damn…there is no way in hell I'm gonna get to that level!

"Alright, looks like we almost got them all!" Coco yelled

"Then let's finish this!" I shouted, as I took out a fired dust crystal, and began to apply my Buster Enchantment to it "Everyone, take cover!"

"Wait!" Coco yelled

"I can't wait when I have a BOMB in my hand!" I shouted

Coco sighed, as she suddenly took the Buster-infused Dust crystal from my hands. Just as I was about to snatch it back, Coco simply held her hand up "WAIT!" She yelled

"Okay! Okay! But please hurry!" I shouted

Coco's hand suddenly glowed with purple energy, still under the effect of the Boost Enchantment. The cracks in the crystal suddenly grew bigger and bigger with each second. Coco suddenly threw the Boosted-Dust crystal towards the rest of the horde.

"Everyone! Take cover!" Coco shouted

At that remark, every single one of us ran like hell towards any form of cover. We eventually stopped a massive boulder in the corner of the area and decided to take cover there. I peaked over the boulder to see that the fire-Dust crystal was about to touch the ground.

"Christian! Shield!" Coco shouted

"Coming right up!" I shouted, as I used one of my spare charges on the Barrier Enchantment

As it did, the crystal suddenly exploded, creating a wall of fire that surrounded the entire area a blaze and shaking the very earth itself! I could hear the various painful shrieks of the mutated Grimm, as the robots bodies fell to the ground with a thud. After several seconds, the wall of fire suddenly engulfed the outside of the barrier.

After several seconds, the fire quickly diminished as I deactivated the Barrier Enchantment. All five of us got up and came out of our hiding spot and saw what the explosion did! The entire area, from the rocks and the trees were all covered in pitch black scorch marks. The outside of the white facility, was now a dark grey colour with pieces of it melting off! Not only that, the sheer force of the blast managed to blast the facilities' doors down!

The robots themselves were melted into place, the sheer heat of the blast melted all of their joints together! Some of them looked like they were still active, but couldn't move!

"Holy hell…" I muttered, as I turned towards Coco "What did you do?"

"I used my Semblance on that Dust crystal you were holding" Coco explained "It amplifies the power of Dust crystals. I was going to be enough to take out the entire horde…but not the entire area"

"Yeah…maybe we should use that sparingly" I said, causing Coco to nod

I brushed my hand against the tree, only for it to immediately crumble down to ash "So…Boost-plus-Buster-plus-Fury-plus-fire Dust…would equal one big BOOM!" I muttered "If it was a combustion Dust crystal, it would've gotten the power of a nuke"

I could see that Velvet, Coco, Fox, and Yatsuhashi were now sitting down to catch their breath. I guess they weren't used to fighting mutant Grimm. I could only look towards the entrance towards the facility, and think about what to do next. The longer we stay here, the more likely he's going to get away! I can't and won't let that happen!

After everything he's done, there is no way in hell I'm going to let him get away! He should've stopped his "work" when Mountain Glenn collapsed, but he didn't!

And he has the balls to call these people his "test subjects" or "experiments". He has no regards for life and I'll be damned if I'm just gonna sit here and let him finish this work and turn this entire world into another god damn war zone!


Island of Merlot (3rd Person POV)

"Good work team!" Ozpin said through their earpieces "Now, head into the building and stop Doctor Merlot once and for all! It's important that you all stick together; there's no telling what Merlot has planned for you"

Coco nodded "Alright team, let's g-!" She cut herself off, as she only saw Velvet, Fox and Yatsuhashi…Christian on the other hand was no where to be found "Christian!?"

Ozpin sighed on the other end of the earpiece "Mr. Pendragon's already gone, is he?"

"Yep…" CFVY sighed in unison

"Then I suggest you go after him. It can be quite hard to find him after he's wandered off" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"Right. Hey, Christian! Wait up!" Coco yelled as she and the rest of her team followed him inside


Island of Merlot, Merlot's Lab (3rd Person POV)

Soon after the fight between Doctor Merlot's sick and twisted experiments, Christian quickly rushed into the facility in order to pursue the mad doctor, leaving Team CFVY behind, who then followed pursuit.

"Damn it, he can't fight all of them by himself!" Coco shouted, as she and the rest of her team ran inside of the building

Inside that same part of the building was littered with consoles and screens on the left and right sides, with a giant glass tube full of green liquid in the far right corner. Littered across the floor were the remains of even more robots, but these obots looked like they were torn apart rather than slashed apart. But what stood out the most was that there was a door near the end of the room that looked like that it was blasted down

"So, do you think this is where we'll find the doctor himself?" Yastuhashi asked

"Most likely" Fox said "But, where's Christian? He couldn't have gotten that far"

"It looks like Christian has already been through here, the doors are already opened" Velvet said

Coco then walked over towards the "open" door, only to see that the door was actually blasted down "More like he broke it down. He's never been one for waiting" She said, casuing her team to nod as she picked up a piece of the door

"Hey, there's a console of some sort on the wall" Velvet said, as she stood in-front of it and trailing towards a big red button "Maybe this will show us some sort of map?"

"Do you think so?" Fox asked

"Let's find out" Coco said "Velvet, turn on the console"

Velvet nodded and pressed the big red button that was on the console. All of a sudden, Merlot himself popped up on the screen, causing all of team CFVY to jump backwards

["Greeting, and welcome to Merlot Industries!"] Merlot through the console said

"Is…this some sort of recording?" Fox whispered

"Seems so" Yatsu whispered

["Where we're building a better tomorrow…today!"] The recording of Merlot said through the console

"Heh, better tomorrow" Coco scoffed. But as the recording turned off, Coco noticed Velvet's sad expression in the reflection of the screen "Hey, Velvet"

"Yeah?" Velvet asked

"You said that you lost some friends because of this guy, right?" Coco asked

Velvet's ears suddenly perked up out of surprise, not expecting the question, before suddenly drooping down "Yeah…"

"Do…you want o talk about it?" Yatsuhashi asked, as he placed his hand on her shoulder

"Well…I guess now is a better time than any…when I was a kid, I didn't have a lot of friends growing up, mostly because of these" Velvet said, as she pointed towards the pair of rabbit ears on her head "It was hard, constantly being picked on, stepped on, and even beaten at most times. Thought there were a few people that treated me like an equal. They were the closet thing I had to fiends, and I was so happy and grateful to have them" Velvet said, as tears began to well up in her eyes

"But then…the incident at Mountain Glenn happened" Velvet said "That incident did more than just take them away…it was also the reason why my parents divorced…my father, actually previously work with Merlot, but he swears that he had nothing to do with it"

"And…do you believe him?" Yatsuhashi asked

"I do! My father is a good person, and I believe that he would never involve himself with something like this!" Velvet said "On that day, I swore that I would become a Huntress to prove my father's innocence, and to find the true person responsible for what happened!"

"Damn…I'm sorry Velvet" Coco apologized

"It's alright, because now I finally have the chance to get back at the man who did this!" Velvet said with a determined look on her face

"Yeah, I believe we ALL have something to say to this man" Coco said, as she brought her weapon out "Come one, let's go. Christian has most likely progressed further into the lab"

"Team, can you hear me?" Ozpin asked through CFVY's earpieces

"Professor Ozpin!? Why and how are you on our scrolls?" Velvet asked

"Just before you left to go an assist Mr. Pendragon, I implanted a special chip in them just in case I needed to contact you for a situation like this one" Ozpin said

"Well, then. That makes things a bit easier" Coco said

"But, in order for me to help you even more, I'll need to know the layout of the lab. Keep your eyes peels for any maps, schematics, or better yet…any access for any terminals that would allow us to tap into Merlot's network" Ozpin said through the earpieces

"Okay, we're on it" Coco said

"And while you're at it, be on the look out for Mr. Pendragon, there's no telling where he ran of to-*BOOOM*" Ozpin tried to say

"JUST DIE!" Only to be cut off by the sound of an explosion, along with muffled shouting in the distance

"I…think we found him" Coco said

"Right…just follow the noise" Ozpin said through the earpieces

"Right" Coco said, as she began to walk towards the source of the noise

"Wait!" Coco said

"What's up Velvet?" Coco asked

"Just now, did you hear that?" Velvet asked

"Hear what?" Fox asked

"The tone in Christian's voice, it sounded…angry" Velvet said

"Velvet, if I learned anything about Christian through the year, his default emotion is angry whenever he waits" Coco said

"No, that's not what I meant. This is a…different kind of anger" Velvet corrected

"What do you mean?" Yatsuhashi asked

"It seems more…unsettling…almost like a beast" Velvet said

.

.

"…What?" Fox said in confusion

"I know Fox and Yatsu asked this, but I'll ask again. What do you mean?" Coco asked

"When Christian was fighting those Grimm outside, I noticed something. He was fighting more aggressively more than usual" Velvet said "Take a look at the robots!"

"Yeah…what about them?" Coco asked

"They don't look like that they've been slashed apart…more like torn apart" Velvet said

"I see you've noticed as well" Ozpin said through the earpieces

"Noticed what?" Coco asked

"Before I answer that, let me ask you all a question" Ozpin said through the earpieces "Are you all aware of what happened to Mr. Pendragon last year?"

"Yeah, we all know. Right guys?" Coco asked her team, cauign them to nod

"Good, then that saves me the trouble of explaining it. As for what happened, I do believe that Mr. Pendragon hasn't truly gotten over it" Ozpin said through the earpieces

"What are you talking about? He seems alright" Coco said

"That's the issue. I believe that Christian may be doing something that is VERY unhealthy for his mental state" Ozpin said through the earpieces

"What are you talking about?" Velvet asked

"What I'm saying that he hasn't come to terms with it. Instead, he has been bottling up those emotions, and pretending it never happened in the first place" Ozpin said through the earpieces

"That would explain why he doesn't like to talk about it" Coco said

"Yes, and I believe that sooner or later, that bottle will reach it's limit and explode" Ozpin said through the earpieces

"Please tell me that's a metaphor…" Fox muttered

"Unfortunately, it isn't. Mr. Pendragon's Sa-" Ozpin haltered through the earpieces "…Semblance is unique than others. It relies on his emotional and mental state. So I have a request for all of you. Don't let Mr. Pendragon fight Merlot alone. Because if he finds him, that bottle will surely explode, and not in the most pleasant way"

"Okay, you got it professor" Coco said

"Now, I suggest you all get moving before Mr. Pendragon get's to far ahead" Ozpin said through the earpieces

"Right" CFVY said in unison, as they then ran towards a nearby elevator

But as they entered the elevator, they all suddenly realized that the building had a total of over twenty-floors

"Uh…do any of us know what floor he ended up on?" Fox asked


Island of Merlot, Merlot's Lab (My POV)

Shortly after the fight I've had with merlot's experiments, I decided not to waste anymore time sitting around. Because I know that the more we wait, the more creations Merlot could unleash and to top it all of, he could escape! And I'll be damned if I'm just gonna let him cut and run!

Currently, I'm taking an elevator towards the lower floors of the facility. I mean, if I was an evil bad guy, I would hide in the lower parts of the building. It just makes sense to do so! But as I precaution, I kept my gauntlet out in the open to build up even more charges

Do I feel bad for leaving Coco, Velvet, and the other behind…a little

Do I have a plan…kind of. I'm just gonna wing it

I sighed and pinched my temples "I don't have a bucket list…but my fucket (fuck it) list is over a mile long"

At first, I was going to turn Merlot in. After-all, there is nothing more humiliating than being taken down and brought in by the same people you look down upon! But now, after everything he's done and after basically saying 'I don't care what happened to those people, my data matters'…I'm gonna make sure that he suffers for EVRY SINGLE LAST PERSON HE'S H-…wait…why am I thinking like this?

"Use it..." Suddenly, a deep voice echoed throughout the elevator, causing me to whip my head around, looking for the source of the noise

"Wha-!? Ozpin, is that you!?" I slightly shouted

"I agree…use it…burn…everything" Another voice echoed

But before I could continue, the elevator doors opened, revealing a small horde of what appeared to be a new model of robots. They were entirely white and black in colour, similar to the Atlesian Knights. But what stood out was that each of them appeared to carry a massive gun

"Oh come on…" I muttered, as my blade popped out of my gauntlet

Not wasting any time, I used one of my charges on the Blink Enchantment and sped past the first robot, before suddenly slashing my sword towards its back, sending it flying across the wall. But just as I was about to move, a small glowing metal orb rolled in between my feet

But before I could question it, the small metal orb suddenly exploded, sending me flying across the room and crashing into the wall

"Okay…avoid those…"I muttered to myself as I got back up, only for me to winch in pain as I gripped my head with one of my hands. I began to scream at the top of my lungs as the pain in my head only grew. It felt like my very head was about to split open

"It is the only way! Unleash the Jagannath!" Another voice echoed once more

I whipped my head back and forth as I got back up "Okay, whoever the hell is doing that, shut the hell up!"

However, by the time I got back up, the first robot was already back on it's feet and wasted no time firing his grenades towards my direction. I used another spare charge on the Barrier Enchantment, forming a shield just before the grenade bounced off. But to my surprise, as the grenade exploded the barrier shattered like glass, sending me towards the wall once more

Just as the second robot was about to fire yet another grenade, I quickly jumped-lunged out of the way just before the grande exploded as soon as it made contact with the wall

"Can you do anything else besides PK-Grenade-AGH!?" I shouted, as I held my head with both hands once more

"Burn everything…until not even ashes remain!" Another voice shouted "The very sky, the earth, even the sea will burn!"

"SHUT UP!" I shouted

"Unleash the Jagannath! Use the power that the world desires, yet rejects!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" I shouted, as my gauntlets jewel suddenly began to flash out of control, illuminating the room in a crimson light!

But before I even moved, one of the robot slammed it's weapon against my abdomen, sending me crashing through the wall and into another room. My aura suddenly started to flicker on and off, as I began to have a coughing fit. It was almost as if my body was trying to cough out blood, but couldn't

Then there was feeling…I couldn't really explain it…it almost felt like my body was suddenly getting warmer…before suddenly getting colder. I couldn't stand it!

With everything happening all at once, it was getting very, very difficult to concentrate…and it's really starting to piss me off!

As I was starting to pick myself off of the ground, the two robots began to climb the man-made hole and started to walk towards my direction with it's weapon down. It began to reel back it's fist…but before it could made contact with my body, my left arm moved on it's own and blocked the oncoming strike

I was mad…angry even…but now, I'm pissed!

My mind went blank as a flicker of blue began to come out of the corner of my eyes. I transferred one of the stored charges in my gauntlet towards my left and right arms, before suddenly yanking it back and tearing the robot's arm off. Not letting up, my right arm suddenly lunged towards its head, crushing it in my palm. Then with all of my might, I tore off the robots head and spine. I then activated the Buster Enchantment, and swung my blade in a circular motion three times, tear the robot to pieces

It felt like I lost complete control of my body, and in all honesty…I never felt more alive!

Before I could continue my thoughts, I was stopped when the ground suddenly exploded in-front of me. I whipped my head to see the final robot in the other room. I scoffed in annoyance as I used my final spare charges on the Blink Enchantment, appearing right in-front of before suddenly activating my Buster Enchantment, sending flying several feet

The robot quickly recovered and fired another grenade at me. I smirked as I suddenly used the flat edge of my blade and used it as a bat, sending the grenade back at the robot, exploding on impact and sending it flying towards the wall. Just before it got back up, I used one of my last two charges on the Blink Enchantment. I appeared right in-front of the robot once more, as I drove my blade into its chest. Using my last charge, I activated the Blast Enchantment as a giant blue orb appeared in my palms

"JUST DIE!" I shouted, as I fired the orb, blowing the last robot to pieces and sending me flying backwards

I slowly got back to my feet as I used my right arm to grab a nearby box to stabilize myself. As I looked around the room…I realize what i have done. Sure…I do get angry…but I have never done any of this

"So easy, isn't it?" Another male voice echoed through my head "So easy to have so much power? Imagine what you accomplish…

"That is if you give in…you could even prevent wars…"

"Like the one that plagued your home"

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I shouted, gripping my head

.

.

.

Then…almost in an instant…the voices were gone. Not even a single whispered remained

"W-What the hell was that!?" I asked myself "Am I finally going crazy!?"

.

"That…can wait" I muttered to myself, as I continued to run deeper into the facility


(Meanwhile) Merlot's Island, Merlot Lab, Elevator (3rd Person POV)

"It…has to be this one!" Fox said as he pressed the last button

"You said that for the last five minutes…" Coco deadpanned

Currently, all four members of Team CFVY were trying to figure which floor Christian had ended up in. The only way they could find out where he was is if they followed his constant shouting, and the trail of destruction wherever he went. Most of the floors they ended up with were rather storage rooms, or just testing areas with Merlot's new models of robots

They dealt with the robots with ease, but afterwards, they wasted no time heading back to where they were and look on almost every floor. But they couldn't help themselves but think about what Ozpin had said, the part where he said that Christian's "Semblance" reacts on his emotions.

If Christian was the bomb, then that means Merlot was the detonator. They have to find him, before he finds Merlot. But eventually, CFVY had ended up in a very recently trashed room with robot parts scattered across the metal floor

"Damn…looks like Christian was here" Coco muttered

"We should find him before he does anything reckless" Yatsuhashi said

"Making yourselves at home, I see? I want my guests to feel welcomed, but my security team rarely feels the saem way" Merlot said through CFVY's earpieces

"What the-!? How did you get this number!?" Coco asked out of shock

"I have my ways, luckily for you, your friend seems to have taken care of them. Quite an angry fellow, is he not? You should've seen what he did to my beloved creations!" Merlot said through CFVY's earpieces as he cut the connection off

"Come on guys, let's go" Coco said, as she and her team followed the trail of destruction in front of them

Finding their way around the facility wasn't as hard as they thought it was, all team CFVY had to do was to follow the trail of destroyed robots, and the various green puddles that were scattered across the metal floor. However, their trek throughout the facility came to a halt when they saw that the path they were following was blocked off by rubbled

"Damn, Christian must've accidentally block the path when fighting…" Coco muttered

"He's close, I can see his aura from here" Fox said "We just need to get over there"

"Did anyone come across any other doors?" Coco asked, causing Yatsuhashi to shake his head

"I was just following you guys" Fox said

"Hey guys!" Velvet yelled, causing everyone to turn towards their partner. Only to see that Velvrt was standing in-front of…a rather large vent big enough for a person to walk through

"God thinking Velv, we can use the ventilation system to get to the other side" Coco said, as she and the rest of her team walked towards the vent and began to crawl there way through

"RRRAGH!" But as they were making their way through, they could hear the sound of Christian shouting in the distance

"Coco…" Velvet said in concern

"Yeah, I know" Coco said "I think I see the way to the other side, let's go!"

After several minutes of crawling, all of Team CFVY had managed to make their way to the other room. As before, the floors were littered with destroyed robots that looked like they were torn apart, and even more green puddles

"Hey look, an elevator!" Velvet said

"Then let's g-!" Coco tried to say, only to cut herself off when one of the monitors turned on, revealing yet another recording of Merlot

["H-Here at Merlot I-Industries, we take pride in i-innov-vation! T-Together, with your help…and a l-little of your special s-spark, we will b-build a better t-tomorrow"] The flickered recording of Merlot said through the screens on the wall

As soon as the recording of Merlot said that, Coco gritted her teeth, remembering that the "better tomorrow" was the very sam reason why her mother couldn't walk anymore! And to top it all off, it caused so much pain to Velvet, one of her teammates and her friend!

"There won't be a tomorrow for your sorry ass!" Coco shouted, as she fired her gatling gun at the screen

Sparks began to fly across the room as the bullets began to shred through the very wall itself. After several second of almost non-stop firing, all that was left was a massive hole in the wall with traces of steam and smoke emitting from it

"Coco…are you alright?" Velvet asked, as she placed a hand on her shoulder

.

.

.

Coco sighed "Yeah…I'm fine bun-bun…let's just find Christian and stop Merlot"

_FVY, nodded in unison, as they all made their way towards yet another elevator. As the elevator descended, they could hear the muffled shouting of Christian's shouting. But the thing was, it was even louder than it was before, meaning they were getting closer to where he was

"I think we're getting close" Coco muttered

But as the elevator doors opened, they were immediately met with the sight of Christian being flung against the wall with trace amounts of smoke "Gah!" He shouted, as he struck the ground and began to grip his head once more

"Christian!" Velvet shouted in concern as she rushed towards him "Are you alright!?"

"SHUT UP!" Christian shouted, as he gripped his head

"Hey, I'm just trying to help you!" Velvet shouted back

"What!? No, not you!" Christian said

"Then wh-*gasp*" Velvet immediately stopped herself as Christian lifted his head up "W-What happened to you!?"

Christian's eyes were now a pink-ish red, with his veins practically almost building through his head and was breathing heavily. His fingers were almost a pale white from the constant gripping. But what stood out the most was that his gauntlet was constantly flashing a red colour

"N-Nevermind about that, let's just kill these things!" Christian said, as he tried to get up, only for one of his legs to give in

"You've done enough…take some rest, and let us handle this…please" Velvet said

.

.

Christian took in a deep breath, closed his eyes and began to calm down, his gauntlet starting to flash as a steady pace before shutting off "Alright…do you see those canisters?" He said, as he pointed towards the various canisters

Some of the canisters then bursted open, as a small horde of mutated Grimm began to pour out. Some of their legs began to wobble, almost as if they were learning how to walk for the first time

"Yeah, what about them?" Coco asked

"I think those canisters is rather holding or making the mutant Grimm" Christian said

"So…destroy the canisters?" Coco asked

"Yeah…pretty much" Christian said with a small smirk

"Alright team, lets move out!" Coco proclaimed as she turned her weapon into a gatling-gun

Yatsu charged into battle first, and slammed his sword at the ground, sending the mutated Creeps flying across the area and causing some of them to crash into any nearby canisters. Fox and Velvet began to charged towards the now-downed Creeps with Fox getting his blades out, and Velvet creating a near-perfect replica out of hard-light Dust

"Wait! Don't get to close to them! They-!" Christian tried to warn.

But it was too late, as soon as Fox and Velvet got close, the mutated Creeps suddenly exploded, sending both hunters-in-training flying backwards, crashing on the ground with a loud thud

"…Explode" Christian finished

"That would've been nice to know BEFORE we went charging in!" Fox yelled

"Sorry!" Christian apologized

"Okay, so keep our distance then?" Velvet asked

"Pretty much" Christian said

Velvet nodded, as she replaced the replica of Fox's weapons with a replica of Coco's weapon "Let's go!" Velvet yelled, as she began to mow down the various mutated Creeps in the room

"Open fire!" Coco yelled, as she joined Velvet to do the same

Velvet and Coco were mowing down the small horde of mutated Creeps left and right, while also destroying the canisters as well. They did for a few minutes before the mutated Creeps stopped popping out of the ground, and all of the canisters were destroyed

"Looks lie that's the last of them. Now then…" Coco said, as she walked over to Christian, picked him up by the scruff of his shirt and slapped him across the face

"OW!" Christian yelled

"Coco! He's hurt!" Velvet shouted

"I don't care!" Coco shouted "What the hell were you thinking running off like that!?"

"I was doing fine!" Christian shot back

"Fine!? Fine!? Take a look at yourself!" Coco shouted "If you were to keep going, what would've happened if you were outnumbered and overwhelmed!? What then!?"

"I would've win-!" Christian tried to say

Coco cut him off "No! I don't want to hear anything about how you would wing it! You could've died!"

"Look, I'm-" Christian tried to say

Coco cut him off with another slap "Do you have ant idea how worried we all were!? For all we knew, you were already dead!"

"Coco, I-!" Christian tired to say

But he suddenly cut himself off when Coco lifted her free arm once more. Expecting another slap, Christian rose one of his hands…only for him to lower them when Coco unexpectingly wrapped her arms around him and buried her head into his chest and began to cry "I already lost someone I cared about…I can't lose anyone else…"

.

.

"Coco…I'm sorry" Christian apologized

The sudden word coming from Christian's mouth shocked almost everyone in the room. There have been several moments where Christian has had made mistakes and had apologized…but they were all "sheepishly". But based on the tone, this was an actual genuine apology

"Wait…what?" Coco asked

"I said that I was-!" Christian tried to say

Coco cut him off "No, I know what you said…I just wasn't expecting that"

"Wait…what is that supposed to mean!?" Christian slightly shouted

"It's just you never apologized for this kind of stuff before. It's just shocking that you are now" Coco said

"Come on, I apologized for something like this!" Christian said as he turned towards _FVY "Right guys?"

Yatsuhashi shook his head

"No" Fox said

"Not really…" Velvet said

"Well, I'm sorry! You happy now!?" Christian shouted

"Now there's the Christian we know" Coco said "We should keep going"

"Uh, Coco…I think that the door is blocked" Velvet said, as she tried to open it

"I got this" Christian said, as his guantlet glowed. But before he was about to use it on the Blast Enchantment, he was stopped by Coco

"No, you need to chill for a bit. I got this!" Coco said, as she revved up her mini-gun once more and began to open fire at the door. Bullets began to bounce off of the door, and one of them scraped Christian's cheek, who then gave Coco a deadpanned look

.

.

"I think blasting it to hell is off the list" Christian deadpanned

"Uh…sorry, my finger slipped" Coco apologized sheepishly

"Stand back" Yatsuhashi warned, as Coco moved back a bit. Yatsu unsheathed his sword once more, lifted it over his head and swung it at the door, shattering it on impact "Let's move"

"I would really appreciate if if you didn't breaks all of my things…but alas, my androids will be rebuilt in no time. This way please" Merlot said through the earpieces

"Oh, believe me, by the time I get my hands on you, breaking your shit will be the least of your worries!" Christian growled, as he suddenly gripped his head

'But one's quest for power is too important, right?' Another deep voice echoed throughout Christian's head

'Oh no…not YOU guys again!' Christian mentally screamed 'What the hell are you anyways!?'

'I like this group you've placed yourself into. They all have a desire to fight'Another feminine voice echoed throughout his head 'Why don't we show them what powerful ally they have?'

"Hey! Leave them the hell out of this!' Christian mentally screamed 'And didn't I tell you shut up!?'

'You feel the power coursing through your veins do you not?' Another voice echoed throughout his head 'With it, we can accomplish anything!"

'You don't need them, Dragon Bearer. We can do all of this on our own!' Another feminine voice echoed throughout his head

'I agree, they'll only slow us down and make us weak!' A deep voice echoed throughout his head 'Leave them behind, this path belongs to us!'

But before Christian was about to respond, he was brought out of those thoughts by Velvet "Hey…are you alright?" Velvet asked with slight concern

"I'm fine…I'm just having a migraine that's all…a very persistent one" Christian grumbled

"Oh, alright…if it helps, pinch your nose" Velvet recommended

"I'll be sure to do that" Christian said

"Hey!" Coco shouted, catching everyone's attention "There's an elevator up ahead, we can take this down!"

Everyone nodded, as they entered the elevator. Coco pressed one of the many buttons, causing the elevator to descend

'So, what do you say?' A voice echoed throughout Christian's head

.

.

'…No. We all travel and fight together. So pack your bags and piss off!' Christian said mentally

'This isn't over!' The deeper voice shouted, as it suddenly got quieter

Christian mentally sighed as he pinched his temples 'At first…I thought that I was going crazy…but I'm not. These voices i keep on hearing are literally breaking my mind, encouraging and even persuading me to give in…but to what exactly? I guess I should thank the others for breaking me out of that daze. And I should ask Ozpin about these voices as soon as I can, but not now. Not while the others are in the elevator…'

"Hey" Christian said, catching everyone's attention "Any idea where we're going?"

"Down" Coco said

"Okay…I just walked right into that one…" Christian muttered "I was talking about what PART of the lab we're going to"

"The lower part" Coco said with a smirk

"I will break your glasses" Christian threatened "Then again…I set that bar too low…"

"Here, we have then Engineering Wing, the so called 'brains of the operation', if you're not counting my own intellect. Don't be shy, there aren't any traps here…yet" Merlot said through the earpieces

"Seriously…how in the hell did he tap into our scrolls?" Christian asked, causing everyone to shrug.

As the elevator's doors opened, they walked out to see a fairly long room was almost filled to the brim with screens and control panels with large gaps spacing them out. The room itself was separated into two floors that were accessible by stairs

"Looks like some sort of data processing centre" Christian muttered as he looked around the room

"Good, that' exactly what we're looking for. Do you see any terminals that you can access directly?" Ozpin asked through their earpieces

Everyone began to look around the room for a terminal, or even a slot that their scrolls can remotely access

"Nope" I said "It's rather I'm bad at hide-and-go-seek, or rather that there isn't one here"

"Hmm, there has to be a terminal somewhere" Ozpin pondered through the earpieces

"Hey guys!" Velvet shouted, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and to turn around

"What did you find bun-bun?" Coco asked

"Is that it?" Velvet asked, pointing towards a control panel on the bottom level of the Engineering Wing. It seemed smaller than the others and had a single slot for anyone to place their scrolls into

"Yes, that's the one!" Ozpin said through the earpieces "Quickly, one of you insert your scroll into the terminal! After that, see if you can proxy the signal over to me!"

"I got it! I'm the closet after-all. Be sure to watch my back!" Christian said, as he jumped down towards the terminal

As Christian jumped down, Coco brought out her gatling-gun, while Velvet made another near-perfect replica of Coco's weapon. Fox and Yatsuhashi on the other hand took their blades out and got ready to pounce into battle if Merlot decided to send something along the way

"Alright…just put this into here and…" Christian trailed off as he placed the scroll into the terminal "Got it!"

"Oh, no! Oh, no! You started to upload the layout to my lab, I'm doomed!" Merlot said through the earpieces in a dramatic manner…before suddenly throwing himsef into a laughing fit "Did you really think I would leave the terminal unguarded?"

"What is he…" Christian muttered to himself. Suddenly, he cut himself off when a glass wall shot out of the ground, trapping him on the other-side of the room "Shit!" He yelled as he ran towards the glass wall and tried to break it with al of his might

"Christian!" CFVY shouted, as they jumped down and unsheathed their weapons. Coco began to fire as many bullets as she could, but not even they were making a single dent in the glass! Not even Fox's and Yatsuhashi's blades were able to make as much as a scratch on it!

Suddenly, everyone stopped what they were doing when one of the monitors turned on, revealing a man on the other end.

He was an elderly man with disheveled gray hair, a matching mustache and beard and prominent eyebrows. His left eye is robotic and glows red and around it were noticeable claw marks. His right arm was also robotic and was dark and metallic and has red inner circuits. But what stood out the most was that the man veins were nearly bulging from his body and were black in colour

"Is that…him?" Velvet whispered

"It sure looks like it" Coco snarled

"Nice try, but you'll need something sharper than diamond if you want to even cut through that!" Merlot said through the monitor "But I would worry less about that, if I were you"

"Bullet proof glass…it HAD to be bulletproof glass!" Christian sarcastically said

"I can assure you, it can do MORE than just withstand bullets!" Merlot said through the monitor "After-all, you should see what polycarbonate AND hard-light Dust are capable of if you mix the two together!"

"What are you doing, Merlot!?" Ozpin shouted through the earpieces

"Oh Ozpin, you my have gotten the layout to my lab…but at what cost?" Merlot asked through the monitor

Suddenly, the vents opened in the room that Christian was trapped in, releasing a large amount of green gas that began to spread rapidly throughout the trapped room

"Do you see this gas? This gas contains a modified poison from a Mother Longlegs, a Grimm whose poison is strong enough to kill a person in a matter of minutes!" Merlot explained through the monitor "However…I have modified it to completely wipeout an entire city full of people! He won't last a minute in there!"

"NO!" Coco yelled, as she activated her Semblance and began to fire everything she had at the glass wall.

"Should I explain the proper steps in how the poison works?" Merlot asked through the monitor "First, it enters the body and starts to swell up the throat chambers. Next, it starts to clot up all of the blood cells in the body and paralyzes most of the hosts muscles. Then it enters the lungs to suffocate the carrier from within! Oh, and my personal favourite…it will begin to attack the central brain system…forcing the poor unfortunate soul to see horrifying hallucinations!"

Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi began to do the same, using whatever might they had left to break the wall down. The poison continued to spread throughout the chamber Christian was in, who was currently holding the front of his shirt over his mouth in an attempt not to breathe it in…but it was futile

Not seeing any other options, Christian tried to charge up his gauntlet, intending on using the Blast Enchantment to shatter the glass wall…but it didn't. The gauntlet's jewel began to flicker on and off out on control

"COME ON YOU PIECE OF-*gasp*" Christian immediately stopped himself, realizing that he breathed in some of the poison. He began to clench his throat with his hands, chocking on the poison before suddenly falling and rolling on the ground out of panic. His eyes almost looked like they were about to burst out of his head as foam began to pour from the corners of his mouth

"CHRISTIAN! HANG ON! WE'RE CO-!" Coco tried to yell

Ozpin cut them off "No! Stop it now!"

"B-But Professor! He'll die if we-!" Velvet tried to say

Ozpin cut them off once more "If you destroy the glass, then the poison will spread here!"

"B-But-" Velvet tried to say, fighting back tears at the sight of her friend rolling on the ground, going through one of the worst deaths imaginable

"I'm…sorry students…I truly am, but there is nothing we can do for Mr. Pendragon now…" Ozpin said through the earpieces in a low tone

At that sudden answer, Velvet proceeded to fall to the ground and covering her eyes with her hands, letting her tears flow. Yatsuhashi quickly pulled his partner in an embrace, letting Velvet ry into his chest

Tears began to flow down Coco's face as well, clenching both of her fist, before slamming one of them against the wall "DAMN IT!"

"I am terribly sorry students, but it looks like you'll have to say goodbye to your little friend" Merlot mockingly said through the monitor

"LEAVE THEM OUT OF THIS!" Ozpin shouted back through the earpieces

"Consider this as payback Ozpin. The poison should have reached his central nervous system by now…meaning it is now only a matter of time until the poison drives him mad…then your precious student will fall" Merlot said through the monitor, before throwing into another laughing fit

As Coco, Velvet, Fox, and Yatsuhashi began to grieve in their own ways, the younger hunter continued to roll on the ground, trying to gasp for air. Only for the sudden voices to return in his head, causing him to release his grip on his throat, and onto his head

'Christian, don't you see the trouble you are causing for others?' Another voice echoed throughout his head 'We can end all of their suffering now!'

'Do you think calling my name will change anything!?' Christian mentally screamed

'You cannot rely on luck and you can no longer rely on them…for their sakes!' Another voice echoed throughout his head 'You MUST take matters into your own hands! We can destroy our enemies and get out of this cage ourselves…all you have to do is give in!"

The pain in his head suddenly got worse, as his gauntlet continued to flash on and off until visible red cracks were starting to form in the weapon itself! His eyes began to flash an abnormal colour, but no matter what happen, Christian still resisted what the voices were trying to do

'Why do you still resist? Is it because you see them as an assest for your quest in power? To get what you want?' Another voiced in his head asked

Christian began to crawl his way towards the glass wall, which didn't go unnoticed by Coco. She couldn't do anything to save him, but she knew what she could do what to be there in his final moments

She couldn't see him directly, but only the silhouette of his body in the room, but she could tell that he was trying to get him to tell her something

"Don't worry…I'm here" Coco tried to reassure

The silhouette of Christian used his free arm and pressed the earpiece "Do…me a favour…would ya?"

Coco wiped away her tears "A-Anything!"

"Don't…let Merlot…be the…last thing I…hear…before I-…wait" The silhouette of Christian halted as he realized something. Then in an instant, he sat up fairly quickly "…How am I able to speak…and…how am I able to move?"

Coco along with everyone else jumped back up in surprise

"C-Christian…? H-How do you feel?" Velvet asked

"Uh…" Christian pondered through the earpiece, as was taking in deep breaths of the poison, almost as if he was breathing air "I…feel fine actually"

"H-How!? How are you still alive!?" Merlot asked angrily through the monitor


Beacon Academy, Beacon Tower (3rd Person POV)

Meanwhile, Ozpin was doing his best to guide his students through the mad sceintists lab. Only for his pupil to fall into one of Merlot's traps where the mad doctor released a powerful poison, intending to kill the boy. But to his and everyones surprise, Christian's body was somehow resisting the poison and was breathing it in like normal air

'How…how isn't he dying from the poison?' Ozpin thought to himself

.

.

.

.

'Wait!' Ozpin thought to himself, as he remembered what Peach and Christian said to him

'But what's unique is his immune system! It's completely different compared to the average person, it's unlike anything I've seen before. It fought off all of the Dust I injected into his body in a matter of minutes! When I tired again, it fought it off in just a few seconds!' Ozpin remembered Peach saying

'I somehow got into the centre of a blast, thought I'm surprised that I wasn't affected by it! I expected a few burns, maybe even a lost limb!' Ozpin remembered Christian saying

Ozpin continued to ponder those phrases…that is until his eyes widened in realization "Could it be…" He muttered, as he got up from his desk and rushed towards the bookshelf in his office and began to look for a specific book

During his sparetime, Ozpin made it one of his priorities to learn anything more about the thirteen artifacts. Or to be more precise, the Blue Dragon King's Gauntlet. But in order to learn more about it, he had read books that focused on the myths and legends of dragons. Some of which turned out to be nothing more than superstition, so it was hard to determine which was real and which one wasn't

'Here it is!' Ozpin thought to himself, as he flipped through the page until he found what he was looking

"The dragons were among one of the strongest creatures in any known folklore. Not even the sharpest of blades could pierce their hide and not even the strongest of metals could withstand their claws. But what was most unique about them, was their blood"

"According to Vacuo folklore, whoever wielded dragon's blood, could shrug off and cure any known diseases and poisons like a common cold!'

'That's it! The contract links body and soul! And when Mr. Pendragon made an agreement with the dragon-spirit, not only did he carry the dragon's power with it…but also it's blood!' Ozpin realized 'The Dragon's blood is fighting the poison faster than it can spread! At this point, he's now resistant to it!'


Island of Merlot, Merlot's Lab, Engineering Wing (My POV)

"W-What's going on? Why isn't he dying?" Coco asked through the earpiece out of shock

And…when I thought things couldn't get any worse…it actually somehow got better for once! Whatever this poison was…I wasn't feeling it. At first, yes the poison was affecting my body, but after a short bit, I slowly realized that I was starting to feel better. And to top it all off, I was breathing in the poison like it was fresh air! But how the ever-loving hell is that even possible!?

.

Actually, I'm here in Remnant, so noting really makes sense anymore!

"I'm…not sure" I said "But…are you sure that this stuff is poison?" I asked, as I turned towards the pumps that was releasing the poison

"If so, then it must be a REALLY shitty poison" I said as I walked over to one of the pumps, and ripped it out of the wall, causing the gas to quickly disperse "I mean I do feel a little itchy, is that supposed to be a side effect?"

"WHAT!?" Merlot shouted through the monitor

"Quickly! Destroy the glass!" Ozpin said through our earpieces

We wasted no time, and began to damage the glass from our own respected ends. After what seemed like ten-minutes, the glass eventually started to crack. And with one charge from my gauntlet, I fired the Blast Enchantment, breaking the wall of glass

As the glass shattered, Velvet was the first to charge towards my direction, lunge forward and enveloped me in a tight embrace that would put Yang's to shame!

"H-How!?…How are you still alive!?" Velvet asked/shouted with tears still streaming down her face

Now that…that…I can't really answer

"I think that poison might've been a dud…but don't jinx it" I said, as I hugged her back "Now then…may you please stop crying? This shirt of mine is machine-wash, cold only"

"You jerk!" Velvet chuckled

"Hey, Ozpin, how's the download going?" I asked

"It's complete. Let me see…yes, I have everything I need. Team, I wat you to head to the lower levels…to the Manufacturing Wing" Ozpin said through the earpieces

"I'll be waiting…and I'll be looking forward to running more tests once I have my new lab rat!" Merlot said through the monitor

"I'm a human, not a lab rat, and you call yourself a doctor!?" I scoffed

"Okay team, you heard the man, let's move out!" Coco said, as she and the rest of her team ran deeper into the labs

I was just about to follow right behind them, only for Ozpin to stop me "Mr. Pendragon, there's something I need to tell you, and ONLY you!"

Sounds like it has to be important…I might as well tell Ozpin about the voices in my head, I may not get another chance while I'm here

"Okay, what's up?" I asked

"I may have figured out why you weren't as affected by the poison" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"Yeah, why is that?" I asked

"Do you remember when you told me that you died to a nuclear blast back on your world, right?" Ozpin said through the earpiece "And you you remember when you forged a contract with the spirit in your gauntlet?"

"It was more like a mutual agreement than a contract, Oz. But, yeah…what are you getting at exactly?" I asked

"I believe that you are carry more than just the dragon's power…but also it's blood!" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"That…doesn't sound very pleasant" I said "Anyways, what does that have to do with anything?"

"I've been doing some research of my own and when a user forges an contract in body and soul, in a way, they become one! The dragon-spirit did more than just give you it's power, it gave you its blood that can fight off any poison faster than it can spread!"Ozpin said through the earpiece "It was just taking time to build up immunity against the poison!"

"Wait, wait, wait…are you telling me that by forging an agreement with the gauntlet…I carried some of it's blood?" I asked "So, I'm basically immune to poison?"

"I think you're immune to more than just that, Mr. Pendragon" Ozpin said through the earpiece

.

"That would've been nice to know BEFORE hand!" I said

"You must understand Mr. Pendragon, most of the legends of these artifacts are wrapped in mystery and superstition. It's hard to tell which is real and which isn't" Ozpin said through the earpiece

"Well…you got a good point there" I said "Wait…if I'm carrying some of it's blood…and I'm pretty much one with him…doesn't that make me…part-!" I tired to say

Ozpin cut me off "Yes, in other words when you forged an agreement with you dragon-spirit, you became part dragon"

.

.

.

What…the…fuck…

Okay…this kind of blows my voices discovery out of the water…speaking of

"Oh, and Oz…I may have something else to tell you" I said

"Hmm, yes, what is it?" Ozpin asked through the earpiece

"Well…how do I exactly put this…but…I've been hearing…voices in my head" I said "And they kept on telling me to use something"

.

"Mr. Pendragon…what did they say exactly?" Ozpin asked in a serious tone through the earpiece

Okay…I think he does know something

"They…kept on saying something about 'giving in'…to use a 'power to burn the sky, sea, and the earth'…a power 'that the world desire, yet rejects'. I don't know, I thought that I was going crazy at first, but it's been consistent" I said

"And when was the last time you've heard them?" Ozpin asked in a serious tone though the earpiece

"It was around when I was trapped in the tank" I said

.

.

"Mr. Pendragon…listen to me VERY carefully! No matter what happens, do not listen to them!" Ozpin warned through the earpiece "Those voices has to be an indication that you're close! But no matter what happens, don't listen to them!"

"Close to what?" I asked

However, before I could ask why, Coco brought me out of my thoughts "Hey! What are you waiting for!? Let's go!"

"Well, let's not keep them waiting" Ozpin said through the earpiece "We'll talk about this more once you get back"

"Yeah, let's go and pay the old doctor a visit" I said as I ran towards CFVY's direction


(Timeskip) Island of Merlot, Merlot's Lab, Manufacturing Wing (My POV)

After stealing a digital map from the terminal in the Engineering Wing, Ozpin gave us the coordinates towards the Manufacturing Wing, where I'm betting is where Merlot keeps most of his more "prized" experiments. And if possible, that means we were now getting closer to Merlot

"Are we almost there yet?" I asked

"Almost. Why? Are you nervous?" Coco asked

I shook my head "No, I'm just itching to bask that fuckers skull in!"

"Good news, team. The coordinates of Merlot's secret lab were contained within data retrieved from the terminal. An airship has been deployed and will rendezvous with you shortly" Ozpin said through our earpieces

"Well, Merlot's secret lab is not so secret anymore" I muttered

"Glad to see that we have a way out!" Coco said

"You should be entering Merlot's production facility. Destroy everything that may seem vital to Merlot's operations!" Ozpin said through our earpieces

"So destroy shit basically…that's a plan that I can get behind!" I said, as we ran towards our destination

The room was litter with a dark-metal hexagon floor with a white-metal wall. The place seemed to be littered with crates and small canisters of Merlot Serum

But as we entered the room, I immediately kicked one of the canisters, spilling its contents on the floor

"H-Hey! Y-You're not authorized to be in here!" Merlot shouted through the monitors, showcasing his panicked/angry expression as his black veins were visibly pumping

"Sorry, I can't hear you over the amount of FUCKS I don't give!" I shouted, as I picked up a random canister

"D-Don't touch that!" Merlot shouted through the monitor

"What? Do you mean this?" I asked as I picked up a nearby canister

"Yes! That!" Merlot shouted through the monitor "Now drop it!"

"Okay" I said, as I released my grip on the canister, dropping it and causing it shatter on the floor "You REALLY need to choose your words carefully"

"NO!" Merlot shouted through the monitors

"You like that? How about this!" I shouted, as I swung my blade at a stack of canisters, breaking them

"Stop it!" Merlot yelled through the monitor, his black veins noticeably growing bigger

"Or this?" Coco asked with a smirk as she swung her purse at another canister, breaking it

"I SAID STOP IT!" Merlot shouted through the monitor

"What about this!" Velvet shouted, as she wrapped her arms around three canisters, and threw them towards Yatsuhashi. Who swung his massive sword towards the containers, shattering them as they made impact with his blade

"STOP IT! STOP IT NOW!" Merlot shouted in an angry tone through the monitors

"What's that? You want us to continue?" I asked/shouted

"NO!" Merlot shouted through the monitor

"You heard the man, guys! Go wild!" I shouted, as I swung my blade at everything that seemed important, and for everyone else to do the same

After several minutes of bashing, smashing, crashing, and a grown man that sounds like an angry shit-poster on social media yelling in our ears, we had finally managed to destroy even that even looked of value in that room

"Look like that's everything" I said, as I wiped the sweat off my forehead

"I'll admit…that was fun!" Velvet said, causing Fox, Coco, and Yatshuhashi to nod

"You did it! That should deliver a shock to Merlot's system" Ozpin said through the earpieces

"F-Fine! If THAT's how you want to play…" Merlot said through the monitors as they turned off, as the elevators doors open up

…All of this seems TOO coincidental

"Let's go!" Coco said

Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi followed right behind her. I was about to follow them, only to catch something shiny out of my eye. It was an orange Dust crystal. And if it's orange, meaning is a Combustion Dust crystal! That will defiantly come in handy!

"Ooohh, shiny!" I said, as I picked up the Dust crystal and shoved it in my pocket "I'm sure no one would mind if I picked up a little souvenir"

As I placed the Dust crystal in my pocket, I caught up with the others and walked inside the elevator as the doors were closing and began to descend into the deeper parts of the lab

"I'm warning you students, if you keep this up, your fates are sealed!" Merlot said through our earpieces

"Don't mind him, his threats are as empty as his theories" Ozpin said through our earpieces

Huh…I wonder what's stopping Merlot from turning off he elevators and letting us fall to our deaths…probably should keep that to myself

After several seconds, the doors t the elevators opened. But as we walked out, we could see a series of spikes coming out of the floor

"Oh look…a spike trap! Totally not overused at all!" I said dryly

I mean seriously…you'd expect a scientist as "brilliant" as Merlot to have some DECENT traps! I mean, what happened to the glass cage!?

"Hey, there's a vent on the other side!" Velvet said

"Then let's kiss that vent goodbye!" I said, as we walked, jumped, and hopped around the spike-littered floor

After several seconds of this, we managed to make our way towards the vent, broke it down and made our way towards our next destination. The next room was noticeably much bigger than the last one. However, this room had a total of eight giant vats of Merlots serum along with a few canisters stacked against the wall

"According to my map of the lab, this room contains more processing equipment for Merlot's serum. You need to take it out…all of it!" Ozpin commanded through our earpieces

"So, you want us to destroy his shit again, is that right?" I asked, as my blade popped out of my gauntlet "Team CFVY…let's go wild!"

"Stop it!" I'm wanring you!" Merlot shouted through the monitor

But it was too late, we all had already begun destroying the vats. Using one of my spare charges, I used my Buster Enchantment and sliced one of the vats in one swipe, spilling its contents allover the floor. Velvet made a copy of Yatsu's weapon and used it to smash a few vats of her own. Fox on the other hand went towards the small canisters in the corners and smashed them all to pieces

"STOP IT! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE DOING!" merlot shouted through the monitor

"Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of us destroying your shit!" I yelled, as I destroyed another vat

After several minutes of almost non-stop smashing and the yelling of an angry doctor, the only things that were left of value was a lone giant vat in the left corner of the room

"I got this one" Coco said, as she revered up her weapon

"N-NO STOP!" Merlot shouted through the monitor "C-Coco…what about your mother?"

As those words left his mouth, Coco stopped dead in her tracks with a shocked expression on her face. I looked towards the others to see that they had different expressions consisting of anger and shock. In all honesty, I was on the same page as them

"H-How did you-?" Coco asked

"My serum cou-no…it WILL help her walk again. Think about it, she'll be happy again" Merlot said in an persuading tone

I was about to call Coco out, but I suddenly stopped myself from doing so. If there'a anything I learned about Coco is that she's a lesbian that breaks girls hearts and has a major shopping problem. But most importantly, once her mind to set on something, she'll run straight ahead without stopping or taking a detour. I think-…no, I KNOW that Coco will make the right decision

.

.

.

"Shut up" Coco said in a low tone

Told ya

"W-What!?" Merlot shouted through the monitor

"Did you really think she'd accept help from the like of you!? You are the reason why she can't walk anymore you bastard!" Coco yelled, as she pulled her trigger and fired her gun's clip into the last serum vat, shattering it to pieces

"NO! MY SERUM!" Merlot shouted through the monitor

"You did it! You destroyed his serum!" Ozpin said through our earpieces "I must admit, you all have handled yourselves well. The team back at Beacon is cheering for you! Now, all you have to do is to get to the Bullhead! I'll send you the coordinates to the drop zone!"

"You head him, let's head home everyone!" Coco said, as her teammate followed behind her

I was about to follow suit…that is until I stopped in my tracks as I realized something. If we leave now…Merlot will get away, Scott-free! That son-of-a-bitch needs to pay fro what he did, and he has the nerve to call the people of Mountain Glenn, who are just trying to lead happy lives his "experiments"

And with some his research still intact, it will only take him a few months to recover and rebuild. We'll be basically doing this all over again…unless I destroy everything. His laboratory…his research…all of his equipment…and even the pendent he's linked too…I need to destroy it all

"Hey, Christian!" Coco shouted, bringing me out of my thoughts "What are you waiting for? We need to get out of here!"

.

"No…" I said in a low tone

.

.

"I'm sorry…what did you just say!?" Coco asked

"You heard me" I said, as I pulled out my scroll "You go on ahead, this bastard needs to pay for what he's done"

"What are you doing!?" Coco asked/shouted

"I'm finishing this" I said, as I began to dial Merlot's number

"Mr. Pendragon! Now is not the time for that! You need to get out of here, you're exhausted enough as it is!" Ozpin tried to say through our earpieces

"I wasn't talking to you, Ozpin" I said, as I finished dialling Merlot's number "Where the hell are you, Merlot!? Send everything you have at me, and I'll kill them all! Then, I'm coming for you!"

"You want payback that badly? Very well, then come over to my testing grounds, I'll upload the coordinates to your scroll…I'll be waiting" Merlot said through my earpiece

"Christian, come on! You're tired and even your legs are shaking!" Velvet pleaded "We can do this another time!"

"I'll manage! Besides, we may not get another opportunity like this again! If you want to go fine, but I'm staying here to finish this, once and for all!" I said, as my gauntlet's jewel glowed

"Christian, wa-!" Coco tried to say, as she lunged towards me

However, she was cut off when I used that charge on the Blink Enchantment, "blinking" away from the group. After getting a considerable distance, I began to run the rest of the way towards Merlot's testing grounds. Expecting a big fight, I began to stack up multiple charges in my gauntlet

However, as I ran towards my destination, my head started to hurt once more…meaning that the voices were coming back

I know what you're going to say, so save your fucking breath. I'm not giving in to whatever the hell it is!

'You will when they come to your aid' A voice echoed in my head 'Which brings the question…how will you feel when they all die for you?'

That will never happen, even if my friends come

'And why is that?' Anoher voice asked

.

.

Weren't you listening?It's because I won't let it happen!


Well, that's about it

If you like what you read and want to see more, then leave a follow, fav, or a review.

See you guys in the next update.

Have a good one!