Chapter 5
[Vossler]
His heart heinously lighten up as soon as he cannot hear them anymore. The pain subsided but in its place, his emotions became raw. Every image in his mind flashes back to Ruby's smile and the time they were together from the fight with the spiders to the conversation they just had. He never knew what it was like to have a little sister, he couldn't help but envy Yang's life. He knew Weiss means well, but she also have every right to be cautious with him.
He had left them all behind to die, but he had no choice.
Vossler looks up from the ground and spotted a doorway, much different to the others around her. Next to it is a plaque with nearly faded words reading: Gerald's Main Office. He has arrived, and now he can learn whatever he can.
He made a slight push against the doorway, and sure enough the rusted hinges snapped and the entire door frame fell to the ground with a heavy thud. He wryly waves the dust away as he enters the room and was astounded by the large numbers of filing cabinets and tape recordings. All four of the walls are covered in shelves containing books and VHSs with titled project numbers.
But these were not the ones he is looking for. A smart man like Gerald would know better than to put his classified experiment recordings up for window shopping. He would have hidden them, but where?
It was then that Vossler spotted a chess board on the desk in great condition with all the pieces on it. He guessed that Gerald was in a middle of a game with all the pieces laid out in strategic positions. Yet something was odd about it. He reached out his hand and tapped the surface with his knuckles, letting out a repetitive tink sound.
"It's metallic... Must be one of those magnet boards," Vossler tries to pull off a couple of pieces but he could only pull the white ones off, "The black pieces seem to be locked in place... in fact, it looks like I can reenact a checkmate"
He knew better than playing a board game in a time like this. But he knew that Gerald is very fond of chess games. If it is what he expects it to be, then he'll need to solve this thing.
Vossler place the pieces back and began shifting the knights and bishops around the board. He had learned about certain chess puzzles where you can move your pieces anywhere on the board for infinite turns without the black responding back. However he must avoid the borderlines of the opposing team's pieces that can prevent the King from being placed in checkmate.
Easier said than done, whoever made this certain puzzle must spent hours inventing such a seemingly impossible outcome. But Vossler easily picks up from where his mistakes are and slowly progressing to cover the king's field of movement.
"Rook charges at King, Bishop strikes from behind, and Knight restricts escape..."
As soon as he placed a piece to cover the last spot, the pieces' squares lighted up. The two massive bookshelves began sliding away from each other and revealed another room modest in comparison to the fake one, but contains the information of the real project.
"Checkmate." Vossler walks into the room and scans the entire area by first checking the desk that is much different from all the others. It has a built-in keyboard although no computer monitor or even a CPU is anywhere to be seen. He slides his hand under the desk for anything out of the ordinary then suddenly felt a metallic switch. Regardless of whatever else he might think it could be, he flips it.
The room shook a little much to the Hunter's surprise then rotates around as the walls shifted and unfold unto each other revealing a huge monitor with three small ones on each side. The screen turns on and a feminine robotic voice spoke, "Welcome back, Professor Gerald."
All six small monitors were the first ones to lit up and shows only screenshots of various rooms, offices, hallways, and laboratories.
"Gerald is quite paranoid of his own workplace... Of course he knows that what he is doing is not legal." Vossler watched the large monitor projected a beautiful image of the facility when it was active. In front of the entrance, there are several researchers standing with each other in formal positions. This must be the photo of the ones who are in charge of the building. They all look happy and excited, but Vossler couldn't help but stare at them with hatred and disgust. How could they smile and pretend that everything they did to these kids never happened?
You're as bad as them...
"Who's there?!" Vossler shouted at the room, but there was no else in there with him. He shook his head and thought it off as his minds playing tricks on him again.
He rubbed his temples after feeling a slight ache then began searching the desktop for any files that could have anything to do with the word Welding at all.
He found them, a WHOLE bunch of them.
The screen exploded with documents and video footage that shows testing with the Welding process. Vossler couldn't tell where he should begin, but his eye did caught one series of videos that shows a tan-colored man with dark tracings of facial hair around his jaw. His head suddenly aches as images flashes before him, showing him the face of the exact same man holding a syringe...
"Gerald..."
Vossler knew that this is the answer to all his questions. Who better to know about the facility than the man who gave it life? He moves the mouse cursor to the play icon and left-click it. The entire monitor flashes black then cuts to the frame with Gerald sitting in his chair, looking directly at the camera.
"This is the first month after the completed construction of the new lab and office floors. All the payments were successfully taken care of without the Government being able to track it. To ensure not to let any loose ties that can connect to the place, we have furbished a storage unit filled to the brim with electrical dust that can power our additional floors for decades. Although I do hope that it won't take that long to see this project through."
"The purpose of this project started many years back to my college youth in the university. I had a fascination in human and Grimm biology, and I would often speak with my fellow classmates of possible theories and ideas. Those were happier times..." Gerald looks away from the camera as his face grew dark. He look back at it and wet his mouth.
"It was then we were going through relations of us and the beasts. There was this one peculiar relation between our instincts with the monsters. Of course, all species on Earth has a hidden system known as Killer Instincts. Many animals relies on this and can tap into it at any time. However this of course separates us humans and faunus alike because we have a conscious and a subconscious. If we are pushed to an certain extent, our fighting instincts would kick in, disregarding the conscious mind from intervening our actions until the cause is satisfied. These instincts can make our bodies appear much stronger, faster, and more resilient to situations such as fights between kids to much graver matters like murder."
"We don't exactly know much about the Grimm, but we all know that they despise us and we would never know why. It could be perhaps natural selection, ancient times where men have wronged this creatures, or just pure evil spawns that God has sent down to punish us... They are only conscious to each other but towards us their extincts only commands them to kill us on sight. I don't exactly know how this was brought up, but I might recall that someone out rightfully exclaimed that we have no common with these monsters. But we do, as I have said before ALL species have killer extincts. And I believe it's time for us to have a new generation, a world without Grimm."
Video 2
"This has led to the fruition of our grand idea. We can create a Hunter who can rely on his/her killer instincts but that's what create serial killers. No, we need to rewire the brain and create a new instinct. We don't want Hunters who fought against Grimm because of bravery, we want a true hunter that enjoys it. Although the goal is clear, the problem is what we can do to make it happen? The only way we could do that is traumatize a child influenced by an incident with Grimm creatures in order to make that possible. But that would take a great deal of time and even if we could accomplish it, there are other better possibilities that they'll just be broken."
"After much discussion with other fellow researchers, we have come together a project that'll make real hunters. Welding; a process that can reconfigure human instincts with the influence of other animals. And how ironic it seems to be that the only other species that contains the wildest instincts are none other but the Grimm itself."
"WHAT!?" Vossler trembles back from the monitor after reading that last cursed sentence. This is what many kids have died for?! This is what they had suffered through in order to be broken down into mindless husks so they can become full-blown, killing machines?!
The Hunter then stares at his own hands and wondered, "W-Was I... the one who succeeded?"
Vossler's head once again began erupted in pain and agony. He clutched his skull as if his brain is about to burst through it. He tries to think of something but the pain kept interrupting him like a series of hiccups and gave him images of other things. He saw himself standing in a large clearing, surrounded by dead Grimm creatures. Blood dripping from his blade. And the metallic, bitter taste that crossed his tongue...
Right away he pulled the drawers off the desk in vain hope to ease his pain. He spotted a package hitting the ground and released a bunch of painkillers upon the floor. He kneels down to grab a couple of them and swallows the pills dry.
They worked fast, and the pain has subsided. Vossler climbs his way up the desk feeling fatigued and needed some water. His fingers accidentally pressed a few keys, switching the security camera footage to different sections of the building. In the lower left one, he can see the closed hallways with the three girls still standing there.
He wished he could forget, but every time he tries he can hear Ruby's laughter. And with laughter, came with overwhelming guilt.
"I'm sorry." He said as he typed on one of the keys again, switching the camera view off. But before his eyes had the chance to move away, a shadow brushes in the corner. Vossler pulls out his dagger and pointed in the dark corners of the room, "Who's there!?"
"A friend."
[R/W/Y]
"I KNEW IT! I KNEW WE COULDN'T TRUST HIM!" Weiss screams at the rubble then bangs her fist against the wall. Yang wasn't as pissed as she is but usually she'll hit something to calm down but every part of this corridor could set off another landslide and she's not willing to test that.
Ruby however sat on the ground with a pain expression on her face. Every time Weiss yells out more about Vossler, makes Ruby felt sick.
"Maybe he's trying to find help!" she exclaimed.
"Yeah, maybe him totally leaving us without a word isn't just another vanishing act! Because we all know that's not what he did before!" Weiss snapped.
"Why are you so suspicious of that?" Ruby shouted back at her, "Just because he hid himself from the world doesn't mean he committed any crimes or something!"
Weiss scowls at her and crossed her arms, "Tell me, Ruby. Why do you think that I know about him so much? Why, out of all other hunters, did he interests me the most?"
Yang wanted to intervene to back her little sister up but she didn't know much about Vossler. And she can tell Ruby doesn't either.
"No? Let me tell you about the exact time before he disappeared from everyone. My father had a special dust shipment that was suppose to be taken to a different city, but because most of our train cargo gets raided by the White Fang or some low life bandits it was too risky to let it get stolen by crooks who wouldn't know what to do with it. So my dad had to pull a few strings to deliver the shipment through a Grimm infested area."
Ruby's face slowly changed its expression as she felt she knew where this story is heading...
"Vossler was one of the hunters my dad hired to protect the men and see to it that the dust will be delivered. At first, we all thought that it was a piece of cake. One hunter would be enough to guide a team through and my dad wanted to make sure that nothing would happen by hiring three more. But the buyers from the other city called and said they haven't received their shipment on the date it was suppose to be delivered. We couldn't contact with shipment or the hunters so we sent a dispatch team to see what happened and... Well, it turns out that they didn't make it... They were all killed, the drivers, the guards, and even the hunters were all found dead... All except for Vossler."
"The area was inspected and it was clear that the Grimm didn't do it. They were killed by humans, but no bandits or even the White Fang could possibly know that they would be traversing through one of the most dangerous Grimm territory! And to further prove the point, the shipment was also stolen! Yet my father was blamed for this accident and our family name was spit upon by the media." Weiss cried out as her cheeks flushed in anger.
She stopped after seeing the pain expression in Ruby's eyes. She knew she had done enough damage and this time spoke again in a lighter tone, "That's why I tried to find him. I wanted to know what exactly happened there, and if he was involved at all. But right now, I don't even care about what happened to the shipment, and there's no way we can resolve the blame. I just wanted to know why..."
Weiss looks back and sees Yang trying to comfort Ruby who is on a verge of tears. "How will we get out?" Ruby asked, clearly not wanting to bring up the subject again. The Snow Angel got too worked up to come up with an idea. Suddenly, a light bulb appears over Yang's head.
"Wait, Ruby what floor did you and Vossler fought the giant spider?" Yang asked as she swept a hair strand from her sister's face.
"It was on a few floors above this one, why?" croaked the young girl.
"Well we all know that this spider will be heading there, and it obviously doesn't know how to open doors so how can it get inside?"
"When Vossler and I were fighting it, it fled away from us by digging into the ground..." Ruby recalled then her face beamed, "Wait, are you thinking that we-"
"Should ride that bad boy out of here!?" Yang finished for her, but it wasn't exactly the idea Ruby had.
Weiss rolled her eyes, "I think she meant climbing through the dug-out tunnels to the upper floors." she said and shudders at the thought of going through spider-made holes. Who knows what else they did in there?
"It's a good plan either way! We should get there before the spider shows up so we can take it down!" Yang shouted with excitement. And Weiss said the Academy wouldn't let them fight higher forms of monsters.
The Snow Angel took in a deep breathe and sighs, "It's worth a shot. I'm not going to do die while doing nothing..." She walks off into the corridors that leads directly to the storage with Yang about to follow her but noticed her sister Ruby is still staring at the rubble.
"He wouldn't really abandon us, would he?" Ruby asked her sister. Yang shrugs to much of her knowledge and Ruby just feels empty. "I always thought Hunters and Huntresses are always the coolest and the most romantic idols! Vossler was kind and gentle... but everything that was revealed just makes him a terrible person. It just feels so hard to believe the very person who saved me is responsible for all this mess!"
Yang wraps her arm around her sister's shoulders, "Not everyone is perfect Ruby. I know someday that you'll become the greatest huntresses there ever was! Even better than what Vossler could ever be, I know that for sure!"
Ruby gave a weak smile then suddenly got pulled into a huge hug. "And you'll always be my greatest sister!" Yang smothers the poor helpless girl.
"Pleash shtop!" choked Ruby.
Weiss marched ahead as she was soon accompanied by both Ruby and Yang after their quarrel back there. They walked down this hallway for a few minutes and have not seen any other hallways branching off to other areas. Vossler was right all along, but the girls didn't lose hope. They just continued until they came across large double doors.
The Dust Storage.
And like other fancy doorways this one needed a pass code too, but that didn't stop Yang from blasting them off.
"Works every time... Whoa..." The three girls stopped and gaped at the large room surrounded by rows of vats containing yellow dust. Each of the containers have rusted valves and large cylinder-shaped tubes connecting to large, galvanized machinery. Weiss noticed the confused expression on Ruby's face then explained with a weary sigh, "They're condensers, the machine triggers the electric dust to turn it into pure electricity to power the facility."
"Wow~!" Ruby exclaimed.
Weiss walked by a few rows of storage units before calculating the total amount, "Amazing... There's amount of dust that power the entire city of Vale!"
"Really? For how long?"
"Eh, for about a month."
"Oh."
"But that's still incredible! We can probably-"
Weiss stops as she was about to touch one of the units and remembered the sole reason of getting here. The girl receded with a bitterly disappointed expression and crossed her arms, "Well... it WOULD be incredible if we could get this stuff out of here."
Yang and Ruby looks at each other before the huntresses began looking for already dug-out holes for the girls to escape. But even in this massive area, there was no artificial caverns created by any large spider. Not even an actual exit from the area is to be seen either.
"It can't be!" Weiss shouted, "If this thing eats dust then shouldn't it already found this place?" She turns around and watches Yang frantically running around trying to find anything that could take them out of here. "This place is driving me crazy!" Yang growls in frustration with her crimson eyes glowing with rage.
Ruby watched from a few rows away as Yang was about to punch-blast one of the dust containers before Weiss intervened to prevent a possible explosion. She stares at the ground as she can feel hope slipping away. Vossler keeps popping into her mind of him turning his back to her and walking into the darkness.
"How could you... Vossler-Huh? In the corner of her eye, Ruby spotted something glistening near one of the containers. She walks over to inspect the strange light and discovered it to be the yellow dust. Above it is what looks like a trapdoor under the container.
She stood up and placed her hands on the valve then pushes it with such unexpected ease, letting a large amount of dust spilling out onto the floor.
Weiss caught attention of Ruby's action and scowled, "What do you think you're doing?!"
"Wait I can explain! There was a few specs of dust under this thing and I thought to myself 'Well that's kinda weird, aren't these things suppose to be sealed tight?' so I try to see if the valve was still usable but the thing way more loose than I thought and please don't yell at me!" Ruby shies under her cloak.
Yang calmed down and listened to Ruby about the container then went off looking at the empty ones. Surprisingly, she can also see specs of dust under these ones and all the valves are loosened as well. "She's right, aren't these things suppose to be kinda locked in place?"
Weiss immediately pushes Ruby away, who shrieked like a kitten, and inspected the valve herself. Around the metallic cylinder that connects the valve to the container, she spotted four roughed up holes with missing screws. "Someone forced out the screws so the dust can be manually released. But why would they do that if it's suppose to be used for energy?" she questioned.
Ruby tries to think back about what she learned about the facility. A 'Monster Research' Facility was used to cover up the actual experiments that tests on kids to be broken down into husks so they can be eligible for the Welding process.
She then remembered the fight with the spider and what Vossler said that this factory made that monster, but it doesn't add up. Everything that was revealed didn't explain one bit about the giant spider. And the way how Vossler avoided to answer the reason...
"Why does everything revolves around him... Who IS he?" Ruby muttered.
BOOM!
The whole area shook shocking the girls in fear of another landslide but this one sounded different like something is heading their way!
The right side of the wall collapses into a shower of debris and dust as something large emerges into the area. Mixtures of regular dust and elemental Dusts swirls in the air like a dark yellow fog. The spider's body glows revealing its silhouette and let out a screeching sound.
"Whoa!" Yang gasped with a bit of excitement and surprise, "Now THAT'S a big spider!"
Weiss remained her stance but in truth she's more than intimidated by the creature, she is horrified of it. Out of any possible giant monsters, it had to be something Nora would put under her pillow.
Ruby however was not scared, she fought it before with Vossler but she can finish the job with her friends. She brandishes her weapon in its rifle form but she pauses after making out two more shadows near the monster. As the smoke eased up a bit, her eyes widened and felt her muscles tightening up. "It can't be..."
Vossler stood next to the monster staring straight at the girls not saying a word but his eyes showed pain. It was then all three of the girls spotted another figure holding an object against Vossler's throat. Someone they don't recognize at all.
The stranger is nearly as tall as Vossler but it was impossible to make of what his age is. The man is covered in tattered, dirty clothing that could use to be a scientist coat and an overly stretched out uniform. But what really stands out about the man is that his head and the front of his face is covered in a strange metal casing with the front painfully carved into a Grimm's face.
The man took one look at the girls and let out a hoarse laugh.
"Are these your friends, 154? More 'volunteers' for the Welding?!" the insane man laughed.
Vossler avoided eye contact with the girls, still feeling the guilt of his action. "Please... don't do this-"
"Do what!?" the man growled, "Inject these girls with mind-numbing needles!? Cut their head open and replace parts of their brains with the monsters'!?"
Ruby gasped as Weiss and Yang points their weapons at the man. "What are you talking about?!" Weiss shouted.
It was hard to tell exactly what his expressions are but the man tilts his head in a confused state then follow it with a slight chuckle. "Ohohohohoho, you didn't tell them about Welding, did you?" said the man in a eerie, calm tone.
"I only just found out about it-"
"LIAR!" he shrieked, "You lived longer than any of us! They kept you around even after seeing how you resisted those drugs from breaking your mind! You must have known!"
"I didn't!" Vossler shouted back at the man but was cut short as a familiar dagger is pressed against his throat.
"Recognize it? I found it lodged in my dear Cecil," the man gently pets the giant creature who did not show any hostile behavior in response, "It had your scent on it... it been a long time old friend..."
Ruby suddenly remembers the hallway with the children's rooms and the story Vossler told them. "It was you," she spoke, "You were the one who smashed his head against the wall..."
No. 155 seem to be delighted as he chuckles like a giddy child, "So you told them about me! And here I thought that you had FORGOT!"
Vossler didn't say another word for the dagger's blade is right on his adam's apple. Regardless, the man waited for him to say something then sighs irritably. "C'mon, buddy! You can tell me anything!"
"Enough!" Weiss shouted at the man, now receiving his attention, "What was that about replacing the brain?!"
"Project VIRGIL," Vossler choked out as the man purposely ease the blade to let him speak, "They were trying to turn these kids into killers by giving them the creatures of Grimm's instincts... That is what the Welding is-"
"That's right! Oh but they did not expect so many casualties! They didn't assume that once they have finally given me the power that I would use it against them instead! Isn't that right, my dear Cecil?"
The large spider tenderly nuzzles against the insane man in response. Yang frowns in disgust at the sight and loaded her gauntlets, "Hey! Why isn't that thing attacking you?"
"THING?!" he snapped at her with a murderous tone in his voice, but then pauses as he tilts his head again, "... Ahaha-HAHAHAHAHA! Oh right! How rude of me to not introduce my daughter. This is Cecil, she was once a lost spiderling who too was a victim of this accursed facility but that was before I gave her the gift..."
"What?"
No. 155 stopped himself from replying once he spotted a regular sized spider crawling through the floor. He lunges at it like an animal as he kept hold of it within his right palm. "Allow me to demonstrate..." he chuckled maliciously as his entire right arm began glowing in a dark blue aura, then transmitted all the light into his palm once he closed his fist.
Ruby looks back and noticed the spilled dust began pushing itself to the man then swirls in the air around his fist. Everyone can hear the horrifying sounds the spider is capable of making as the glow is becoming brighter and brighter until he opens his hand and all the dust around him fell back to the ground.
In the center of his palm, lies the spider with a large, artificial dust shard growing out of it's thorax.
"The drugs had a certain... side effect that tampers with our auras. The facility took advantage of it when they replaced a part of my brain with an artificial one made of spiders'. I don't know how it works, but my aura is able to connect with arachnids letting me be able to give them the ability to use dust. Cecil gave the labcoats quite a thrashing..." 155 drops the abomination to the ground then immediately stomps on it. "It's a shame that Cecil could not reproduce the ones to carry on the gift, but once they reach a certain age I'll bestow the power of Dust unto them and guide them out of the ruins of this damned building!"
"So that's why this facility was abandoned, you made that creature a monster and made it attack the facility!" Vossler shouted but held his tongue as 155 pressed the dagger even deeper into his neck.
"I TRIED freeing the kids! But all they did was either staring at me with emotionless, dead eyes or fear! I realized that we would never be free... so I commanded Cecil to kill them all. And I wanted to see her feasting upon that bastard Gerald! But he escaped, and I know deep in my heart that he is still alive... And every inch of my body is demanding for vengeance!"
"I will bury this godforsaken building within its own rubble! But not before, I take care of all you..." the man waved Vossler's dagger at each one of them.
Vossler finally mustered up the courage and look into Ruby's eyes. The girl looks back, telling him everything how she felt without audible words. The feeling of betrayal, hatred, and fear. She wanted to know that before her life may end, is that she was beyond upset with him. But Ruby held back as she noticed something within his eyes.
A small glint of light and guilt, a tear.
"Please... let them go. We can have our revenge together." Vossler promised the man who let the dagger down.
"Together? Why, after the way how you abandoned me? The way how let you me break my skull, making me their first choice for the Welding?!"
"I didn't know about this, honest. I thought you died back there." Vossler spoke to him in calming gentle voice, "I never wanted you to go through the Welding. It should've been me, but they were going to toss me away like how all the other kids were able to leave this area. Dead."
Vossler raised his hand to 155 who hesitated and slashed at it. The Hunter cries out in pain and fell to his knees. Ruby prepares her rifle at the man who quickly responded by holding the dagger against the vital area of Vossler's throat. The large spider also moves behind the girls, surrounding them from both opposite sides.
"We were all dead the moment they had shipped us to this facility! You didn't care to find me after the incident, no, you RAN! Like the coward you are! And you'll all die like cowards!"
"No!" Vossler screamed out, "Please! Kill me if you have to! But for the love of god, let them leave!"
"Is that so?" 155 chuckled as he turn his head facing the girl's direction. Ruby can feel his covered eyes staring into her face and at Crescent Rose.
"How much is freedom worth to you, girl?" asked the man.
"What do you mean?"
Vossler's eyes widened with horror and stare at the man, "You wouldn't dare-"
"Kill him, kill this-this traitor! And I promised you that you and your friends are free to leave..." the man promised with a wicked laugh.
"What!? If you think you can order my little sister to..." Yang growls as her hair began flowing in the air like flames.
"How could you do such a thing!?" Weiss scorned the man.
"I want to feel what those damn men have been doing to us for months. I want to see for myself what it feels like to rip a child's innocent away!" 155 stood back from Vossler who is still kneeling on the ground, "Do it, and you're free to go."
Ruby can feel the sweat in her palm around the trigger that originally had been planned for the insane man. If she doesn't comply, the man will kill Vossler and the girls would probably be killed by the large spider with the man laughing. But if she does do it, he might let them go but Vossler's blood would be on her hands. Either way, Vossler would not make it out of here. To be killed by a little girl, or to be killed by an insane man...
"Ruby!"
"Huh?" the girl snaps back into reality and look at the one who called her. Vossler.
His eyes were closed but his expression felt sincere, "Since the beginning of time, stories and fairy tales have always been told to children for simply entertainment. But the true purpose of these tales was that it was to teach and inspire children based on exaggerated events. I always wanted to tell myself that I was one of those children, I wanted to be the fabled heroes who children would look up to and remember my name with fond and joy. That's why I been wanting to show myself to you as a kind and caring hunter like you said you admire."
"Vossler...?"
"But I was lying to you from the beginning. I didn't care for my name to be in children tales, I didn't care for the fame or the 'gold', and neither did I care for to claim a maiden's heart. I am no fairy tale hero, I am something that is shared to the children to keep them in place. Something for them to fear and check under their beds to make sure I wasn't there. I am a warrior who kills to protect others for the thrill. I slaughter monsters not because it was the right thing to do, it was because I enjoyed it."
"What are you saying?!" 155 shouted at him.
"I'm saying that I am the Hunter of the Grimm Tales. I. Am. Dracula!" He said revealing his eyes now red as blood, his teeth sharper than before, and his voice dark and cold.
Before Ruby could react the man raises the dagger and drag it across Vossler's neck, nearly decapitating him.
Weiss and Yang gasped at the sight as Vossler slowly fell from his knees with his eyes still looking into Ruby's. But this time the girl didn't falter or was worried at all, for she knew that Vossler is smiling at her, and she smiles back.
As soon as his body hits the ground it exploded into a fray of bats swirling at 155 who frantically claws at them as they circle around his head. One of the glowing bats bit the hand that was holding the dagger forcing it to let go as another one swoop down and grabbed then guided the group away.
Cecil can feel its master in pain and charges at the girls from behind but Vossler's bats swoop down let out a multitude of sonic screeches forcing the spider to freeze in a paralyzing state. It was then time for Team RWBY to act.
Ruby charges at Cecil with her weapon in scythe and fired each caliber bullet to increase the velocity and speed as the spider tries to block and parries the attacks but it was too hard for it to keep up with one of its missing limbs. "Ruby!" Weiss called out as she flicks her hand to summon her glyph right under giving Ruby a huge jump boost over the large creature.
"Eat this!" she shouted while bombarding the spider with a barrage of bullets. Successfully damaging the other Dust crystal weakening its state.
155 huffed and panted as he shoves his bleeding hand under his arm then immediately dodged an incoming attack from Yang's bullet punch. "If there's nothing else in the world that could piss me off more than anything, it'd be a psycho trying to mess with my little sister!"
Yang ran in front of 155 to deliver a fully-loaded blast punch to his face but her fist was stopped in mid-attack by the man's sudden movement and grasped her wrist. Yang responded quickly with another swing from the other arm but the same result happened even with the wounded hand. "You really think I would be defenseless?!"
155 pushes Yang back as he twisted his hand in a churning motion. The ground below her began shifting into a muddy form and shot out inorganic arms at her.
"Whoa! Bad touch, BAD TOUCH!" Yang blasted the arms away as she jumps back. Before she looked up, 155 appeared right in front of her with his hand ready to grasp hold of her neck until Vossler's Bowsword intervened.
The Hunter materialized himself back into his regular form right above the man and kicks him by the jaw. Yang rose up as Vossler landed next to her, both of them facing the insane man.
"You alright?" Vossler asked with concern but Yang scoffed at him. "Don't think I forgive you for what you did," snapped Yang, "Once we take care of this guy and his pet spider, I'll use whatever strength left to make you cry!"
The Hunter surprises the girl with a small chuckle as a reply, "Then don't waste your strength on this man, he's mine..." Vossler slowly approaches 155 struggling to get up.
The Dust-Eater blocks Ruby's scythe and spotted Vossler raising his blade at the man. The creature suddenly jumps into the air then dug into the ground as it landed. Ruby and Weiss backs away as the trail of burrowing dirt and cement zooms by in blinding speed right behind the Hunter.
Yang lunges with her loaded shotgun punch at the ground but the spider had already passed her, "Vossler!" she warned him.
The Hunter turns as the spider exploded out of the ground like a landmine and pinned him to the ground. He tried to use his batshift again but the creature immediately pulsated electricity interrupting his ability. 155 rose from the ground and grabs Vossler's sword, "You over-world maggots are all the same! I saw how he betrayed you three, how he left you to ROT in this facility just like what he did to me! Yet you would fight by his side only to be stabbed in the back again!?"
"You're right about one thing," Weiss admitted, "betrayal can never be so easily dismissed. It can drastically change how you view of that person, making you think twice whether they're an ally or was even with you to begin with."
"But it's not like it can happen without a reason either," Yang joined in, "We can't be so oblivious to their lives and ignoring everything but their mistakes. Vossler was given another chance to help us and didn't back away from it!"
"It might take more than saving us to gain our trust back," said Ruby, "but after everything we've been through in those long hours I learned that not all Hunters and Huntresses are like the heroes from the stories. It may take more than to save us earn his trust, but I forgive him..."
Ruby looks into Vossler's eyes, seeing a mixture of shock yet tenderness. "Ruby..." Vossler murmured then screamed in pain as the spider sends in another serving of voltage into his body. She bit back her lip as his screams began to agonize her as well.
"Forgive!? What has forgiveness ever done to me!? Will it bring back my life that was tossed away like a scrap of junk? Will it take out the monster DNA out my body?" 155 shouted.
"It's true that you never had a childhood and a normal life but that doesn't mean you should give up your humanity as well!" Ruby cried.
"So am I suppose to forgive Vossler and Gerald for what they did to me!?"
"No, the one who you should forgive is yourself."
"!" 155 stepped back as her words came to him. Cecil suddenly stopped hurting Vossler as well, probably because it can sense its master's confusion.
He looked at his own hands and thought back to the time they weren't so dirty and scarred. The image of himself in the mirror of his first day now changed to a twisted man. 155 looks back at Vossler, wheezing and gasping for air, stretched his hand towards "H-Harry... I'm sorry..."
"Harry...? That's my name... no, WAS my name" The man turns back at them as he raise his first summoning forth two massive components of earth around him. "The day they sow a monster's brain to mine was the day I had lost my humanity. I... can never forgive anyone... and myself..." The boulders suddenly broke into two sharp rocks, pointed directly at Ruby.
"Ruby-!?" Yang tried to charge but both her feet sunk into the ground by 155's ability. Weiss also have the same fate and fell on her hands as it began to violently pull.
Vossler slowly raised his arm towards Ruby as he uses the other one to place two fingers on his forehead. "I was never a hero to begin with... but at least I'll do something right for once in my life!" Vossler pointed two fingers at Ruby with his other hand then began focusing on his aura.
In the battle between light and darkness, where the ally does not have the strength to fight. Let her obtain thy power so she can see another sunrise! RUBY!
The rocks came to her in what feels like time has slow down. Ruby tries to jump away but they will get to her at the speed they're going but she suddenly felt warmth. Her body started resonating with the alien energy yet it was familiar to her. Vossler?
"NO!" Yang screamed as she watched Ruby being impaled by the rocks. Weiss stared in shock as Ruby's body went limp, being held up by the rock that is stuck to the ground. Tears began swelling in Yang's eyes before she could cried aloud.
"Y-Yang..."
The blonde sister looks up at Ruby's face and widened her eyes. Her sister is smiling at her, the same smile that Vossler had...
"I think... I picked up a new trick."
Ruby's body suddenly exploded into many bats and swirls around the area. They were like Vossler except smaller and crimson-colored. Weiss and Yang couldn't believe their eyes, Ruby never could do that before. And by the looks of how 155 reacted, he didn't either.
"Stop her!" 155 commanded Cecil, completely forgotten Vossler being pinned by the creature. The spider tries to shoot electricity at the bats but many of them dodged yet they were going in a frantic order.
"Ruby!" Vossler called out, "You don't have much time to use that ability! Focus where you need to go and don't think too much about your surroundings! You can do this!"
In response, the bats gradually came together and flew through 155 to make Cecil accidentally hit him instead making him lose focus controlling the ground beneath Yang and Weiss.
"I have got to learn that!" Yang laughed as she blasted the ground to free her feet then charges at 155 with her fist cocked but the man blocked the attack with Vossler's bowsword and kicked her back.
Weiss manage to get herself free and watched how the bats kept flying around the giant spider that's trying to get at least one bat fried. It almost seem like they're dancing around it. "Tch, even as a swarm of bats she still mess around like a child..." she groaned but can't help to not smile at the scene. She noticed Ruby's scythe is at the ground and remembered how Vossler wields his blade in his bat form.
"Ruby, catch!" Weiss picked up the heavy sniper scythe and threw it with all of her strength. The bats noticed the weapon then began flying to it but Cecil knew where they were heading to and lunged. Vossler watch the spider coming closer to Ruby and leaps at the monster. With no weapon in hand to stop it, Vossler opens his mouth and sank his fangs into the spider's flesh.
Cecil screeches in pain then immediately retaliated with a sharp swipe across his chest making a huge gash.
Vossler! Ruby watched through the eyes as the hunter landed with a heavy thud clutching the bleeding wound. Anger swells inside the girl, forcing all the bats gathering together right above Cecil.
"HHAAAAHHH!" Ruby emerged out of the bats with Crimson Rose in her hand. The spider only had a moment to look up right before she unleashed a velocity-charged slash cutting the massive beast in two.
Cecil let out a blood-curling screech as all the electricity escaped from the creature, striking all the nearby dust containers. 155 turns around and stares at Cecil's corpse, "N-No... AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
Yang took the opportunity and charges at him while he's distracted. "Eat this!" she screamed as delivers a uppercut right under his chin, making him let go of Vossler's blade.
The hunter looks up at 155 and Yang while his sword spins in the air. Yang may have given him a strong hit but 155's hand had dragged across the ground, absorbing the concrete into a form of a sharp spike. He's in the perfect position to give Yang a fatal strike. Ruby and Weiss won't be able to intervene as the dust containers suddenly began exploding around them. There's only one thing Vossler can do...
Get up... GET UP DAMN YOU! he struggled but his leg muscles have nearly reach their limit. If I have to claim a life, just so another could live... then so be it!
Vossler lunged at his bowsword, grabbing it in mid-air, as he descends upon 155 right as he was about to counter. "It's over..." he whispered to Harry as he impales right through the heart with his blade. Yang jumps back at the sight of the blood sword tip with Vossler holding the handle. 155 tries to move but Vossler, much to his despite, twists the blade to lock him in place.
"Dammit..." Vossler moaned in pain as tears stream down his cheeks while hearing the gargling sound in Harry's throat. He didn't dare try to look at the girls or anything else. Everything around him seem to fade away into darkness. Just him and Harry.
"V-V-Vossler...?" Harry choked out, crying softly as well, "I... I can see... them... the children..."
"I know" Vossler murmured.
"They're... smiling... I can... hear their laughs..."
"Go to them..." Vossler said solemnly, "You're free now."
Harry chuckles weakly as he slowly limps downward before breathing his last words, "Thank you..."
Vossler shifted back to reality and stared at the back of his head with water-filled eyes. His hand stained with blood grips the handle and pulls the blade out of him.
"It's done" he said as collapsed to the ground with no control of his body. Shards of concrete and debris shower around him as the entire place is trembling. He almost couldn't hear Ruby calling out to him because of all of the destruction. The young student ran to him and grabbed his hand, "C'mon let's get out of here!" she cried, "This whole place is gonna blow!"
She struggles to lift him up but he can also tell that the young girl is also drained. "No, Ruby. Leave me behind..." he said.
"What?!"
"I got what I was looking for... You shouldn't waste your time helping out a criminal-"
"You saved us! You're not a bad guy!" she cried.
Vossler looks away and chuckled, "No... I can never call myself a hero... I'm just an example..."
He looks at Weiss and Yang who are trying their best to clear all the dangerous rubble covering the path 155 made with their weapons but too much dirt and rocks came down replacing the ones they destroyed. It appears that they won't be able to escape. He sighed and looks back at Ruby's silver eyes. "Ruby... there's something I should've said to you before-"
"RUBY! WEISS! YANG!"
"Blake?!" Weiss recognized the voice coming from the entrance hallway. There was hope.
"Go!" he demanded to them. "Get out of here while you still can!"
"Not without you!"
Vossler slapped her hand and glares into her eyes, "You can't become a Huntress if you stayed here and die! Live, Ruby!"
Yang ran and grab Ruby without any resistance and made her way to the doorway. Ruby stares at Vossler as he slowly disappears behind the falling debris. The last image of him, smiling at her with wet eyes.
Weiss spotted Blake ahead standing beneath a hole she made leading to the higher levels. "Where did you come from!?" Weiss shouted in disbelief how there's an exit halfway across from the blocked path.
"This entire place is falling apart! I was only lucky that it lead to you guys!" she answered, looking at Yang and Ruby following in behind. "Wait where's Vossler!"
"It's too late for him," Ruby said, "We have to save ourselves."
Blake knew the expression look on her face and didn't dare to impose on it. She fires her chained blade to the higher level ceiling to lift them all up together. "Let's go, the chopper's waiting."
The airship flew out of the forest as the facility behind them caves into the large deep caverns below it. The girls can confirmed that the Dust Eater is dead but they're not so sure about the other giant crawlies. However security assured them that the spiders don't have a chance to survive anything like that and even if they did they won't be able to use Dust as energy.
Yang fell back on the chair trying to fight the heavy eyelids before she can finally say something. "I. Am. Officially. Done. With missions."
Blake nodded watching Weiss falling asleep against one of the guard's shoulder. She looks back at the Captain's body, covered in a white sheet with his badge on top of it. "All that effort and nothing to show for it. I doubt any of that Dust you guys found will be salvageable." Blake noted.
"Well it's a good thing our mission is to clear out the monsters, right?" Yang replied. Blake smiled at her optimistic friend. It's good to be positive for once this day.
"I still don't understand though..." Blake suddenly remembered something.
"What?"
"Vossler... The last time anyone has ever heard of him was that disappearance at the Dust-raid scene. And suddenly after a few years later, he shows up with the ambition to find out about his past? Somehow knew that Beacon Academy was planning to excavate the site when it wasn't suppose to be revealed to the public after we complete our job?"
Yang frowns at her then leaned in, "Now that you mention it, that does seem rather shady. But didn't the locals said that a rare Dust component was also missing? Do you suppose that he killed them all and stole it so he can sell it for the cash he needs to find the place?"
"That would be correct but he's a Hunter and this was years ago. He could easily have earn enough money to hire Dante and collect information about the facility. And I don't think he would've been able to find the place by himself either."
"You're saying that someone helped him?"
"I don't know... but... there was something I noticed when I was doing my digging around the facility. Prof. Gerald, owner and head researcher of the facility, turned up missing a few months after the facility's shutdown. He was 42 years old but that was nearly two decades ago... Do you think that it might be possible that he's still-"
Blake and Yang turn their heads to Ruby who just came back from the restroom. Her face shows signs of it being washed with a few, wet strands of hair clinging to her cheeks yet she have a very tired look on his face.
"Ruby, how are you feeling?" Yang asked her sister in a voice she use for telling her stories. The girl didn't reply.
"It's alright, we'll be heading to Beacon in a half hour." Blake reassured then check the time, "It's nearly 4:30, thank god Beacon decided to give us a day-off for this."
Ruby didn't say a word as she walks over to her sister and sat down next to her. She stares at the floor slowly sniffing and breathing as she cradles her hand. Yang scooted closer to her sister and placed her arm around her. "Hey, it's alright. Vossler did the right thing and saved us. Just like any real hero would do."
"He said he was no hero... he was about to say something to me..." Ruby finally spoke in a quiet voice.
"Ruby," Blake called to her, ""A person doesn't choose whether to be called a hero or not. It's the ones who he have helped or wronged who gets to decide what he is. You know in you heart what he did for us was the heroic way. So whether he likes it or not, he is a hero."
Ruby gave Blake a weak smile, "You're right... Thanks, Blake."
She gently laid her head onto her sister's lap feeling the drowsiness in her eyes. Yang carefully brushes the hair back and patted her little sister, "You really looked up to him, didn't you?'
"He was my friend..." Ruby said. And with that, the girl closes her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.