Chapter 7: Unsolved

"What was all of that, Doctor Jin?"

Of course, a technically failed mission would fall under the headmaster's attention. Well, it didn't really fail, they still saved that village with a team of professional huntsmen. The fact remains, though, that the enemy now has a weapon to rival the Super Robots.

"You saw the report. We went to investigate a highly irregular Grimm attack, and discovered the culprit to be an unknown pilot with a Super Robot." Was Hayato's response. His arms were crossed as he tapped his foot, exposing his impatience for Ozpin's method of questioning.

"That is not what I am asking about. Lets try another question," Ozpin clarified, placing his mug on his desk with a quiet clink. "Why is it that the entirety of Team RWBY is now part of whatever you are planning? Not to mention that it was quite a spur of the moment decision. Why not choose any of the upperclassmen for the rest of your team?"

Hayato was silent. The tapping of his foot had stopped, and he looked the emerald clad enigma directly in the eye with full confidence and determination.

"You recall how Summer Rose's abilities were unlocked, correct?"

"Unfortunately doctor, I do. You mean to tell me that you intend to subject her daughter to the same experience by having members of her team pilot alongside her?"

"Precisely, professor," He said with that always dangerous smirk of his. "Her path is one of heaven or hell, and you allowed me to set her on this path. There is no going back for her, and not even you can fight destiny, Ozpin."

Any further conversation would be interrupted by a dinging noise as the elevator to the headmaster's office arrived.

"I will continue this discussion with you later," The old man firmly pressed, indicating that he wants Hayato to leave.

"Very well, but I will not leave and give you the chance to keep any secrets from me," was Hayato's response.

Before Ozpin could protest further, the elevator doors opened and revealed Ruby Rose in her combat outfit. The girl was obviously nervous, as indicated by her gaze that swept the room and her tentative gait. She did seem to somewhat relax upon seeing that it was only Ozpin and Hayato present.

"G-Good evening, Professor Ozpin…" She stumbled out. Strange how such a bubbly girl could be so socially anxious, but that was neither here nor there.

"Good evening, Miss Rose. Please, take a seat. We will merely ask some questions, then you will be free to go."

"Oh, okay," was Ruby's response as she made her way to the chair in front of the headmaster's desk. Sitting down and making a quick adjustment to her combat skirt, she then looked to the headmaster. "What do you need, professor?"

"I read the report… you say that you could hear the enemy pilot's voice?"

"Yes, professor. It was definitely a guy's voice, and it was only his voice."

Hayato paused for a moment, then idly stroked his chin in thought. He made eye contact with Ozpin, the silver haired headmaster giving a subtle nod as they both came to a possible conclusion.

"Did he say anything to you? Besides taunting, of course," Ozpin pressed, steeping his fingers in front of him above his desk. Thinking for a few moments, Ruby shook her head negative. There was something she wanted to say, though, both adults could see it on her face plain as day. "I presume there is something else on your mind?"

Seeming surprised for a moment, Ruby gulped before taking a breath.

"The voice… it sounded familiar, but I don't recall ever meeting someone who sounds like that…"

"That is indeed strange, however there is no use toiling over the fact," was Ozpin's response, distracting the young rose from her thoughts. "There is a chance you could be mistaken."

"I guess so…" Was the young huntress's unconvinced reply, though she did not push further. After a few moments of silence, only broken by the perpetual ticking of the headmaster's office. Ruby was, understandably, very nervous and had some questions she needed answers to.

"Professor… What is it that I'm fighting? What are WE fighting?"

Silence from Ozpin, however there was a smile upon Hayato's cruel countenance.

"Miss Rose, you know much about Super Robot history, correct? Then tell me, what do you think of the works of Doctor Merlot?" Ozpin asked, his statement coming out as a resigned response to an inevitable question. "More conclusively, what do you think of his work?"

Thinking for a few moments, Ruby tried to recall everything she could about this 'Doctor Merlot'. In particular, she remembered all the articles ridiculing his work as morally wrong, but his research regarding the Grimm was nonetheless useful in the information gained through questionable experiments… and finally she remembered his greatest failing as a human being.

"Doctor Merlot… he organized a Super Robot experiment that cost the life of someone my age, right?" She asked, slowly remembering the horrid details.

"Correct," Was Ozpin's response, followed by a sigh. "It is unfortunate what happened to pilot Ayanami. The world didn't even know she existed, and those who did didn't know of her true identity either… the first clone of any Human or Faunus, and he used her for his depraved tests regarding his monstrous creation-"

"The Evangelion," Hayato cut in, interrupting what could've been turned into a speech by Ozpin, "was a technological marvel… it is unfortunate that it was made from Grimm. To this day we have no idea how he managed to collect the biological mass of Grimm without killing them, nor how he managed to integrate it with machinery."

"Regardless of the results, it drew multiple giant Grimm to its location upon activation… causing the destruction of it and the death of its pilot," Ruby muttered, gripping her skirt as fury gripped her soul from deep within. Artificial person or not, no one deserved what happened on that day… especially not when you can feel everything that happens to the monster you're piloting. "I hate everything he stood for. That disregard for life… but how is he related to all of this? I thought he was dead or something?"

"He WAS," Hayato began, slipping his hands out of his pockets and placing his scroll on Ozpin's desk. A holographic screen popped up that showed a blurry picture of the now cybernetic scientist. "But he returned. The Mistral News Network never made the connection, but they nicknamed him-"

"Doctor Hell," Ruby interrupted, earning a grin from the aging scientist. "So the guy that Koji Kabuto constantly defended Argus from…"

"Was our mad scientist back from the dead. How he survived is unknown, but regardless it is our duty to stop him and bring him to justice," said the headmaster, who leaned back into his chair and kept his expression calm. "That strange Feilong and the new machine are both results of Merlot's experiments. Whatever move he is planning, we must be ready."

"On top of that, the White Fang seems to be getting into very dangerous activity here in the kingdom," Hayato points out, pulling up several pictures of White Fang members and a graphic displaying the recent increase in crime. One of the larger pictures displayed a very large Faunus with reptilian features in a White Fang uniform, which Ruby would recognize as the one Hayato was fighting at the docks. "We also have a returning problem."

"Is that a…" Ruby began, taking in the details of this strange person. She'd only ever seen someone like this encyclopedias or history books.

"A Saurian Faunus. Or dinosaur Faunus, whichever you prefer," The old Doctor confirmed, rubbing the growing beard on his chin. He remembered everything about them, everything from his team's years of combat against their forces to the young boy he had taken from their arms. A boy who belonged with his people, but was in danger from them as well. "After the defeat of their so-called Emperor Gore, they isolated themselves to Eastern Menagerie and became reclusive. For even one to be in the White Fang, something big had to have happened. I have someone heading to Menagerie now to investigate, but it will be a while before we hear from him."

"Mr. Sho, I presume?" Ozpin asked, earning a silent nod from Hayato. Ruby had no idea who that was, but she had a feeling she would learn eventually. "Hopefully he does not cause too much of a stir."

Shifting in her seat, the young rose gave a small sigh. Everything had become so much more complicated than she had wanted, and maybe she was beginning to regret getting in the robot. Yang was currently upset with her for hiding something this big from not only her, but the entire team, and she was not looking forward to that team meeting.

Merlot's Island

"Such a monumental failure! I will not tolerate such incompetence!" Came the dual voices of Baron Ashura, who struck their charge with the Bardo's Wand. Recoiling with nary a sound, the underling spat out a globule of blood.

"The great doctor wants you to be my replacement?! You could've at least come back with Aura Robo G intact if you were going to flee from that fight!" Pulling back for another, even harder strike, Ashura was suddenly interrupted by the voice of their creator.

"You think you are any better, you whimpering weasel?" Came the dark, upper class voice of Merlot. He wore a black cloak over his body, hiding his various cybernetics that kept him alive. In his hand he held a device with a button on top, the sight of which caused Ashura to bow down in fear.

"D-Doctor Merlot! I can explain! This failure-" Their groveling was quickly replaced with cries of pain as electricity coursed throughout their body. Muscle spasms brought them to their knees, and Merlot simply walked past his first creation with little sympathy as he held down the button on the device.

"You would do well to remember your own failures before accusing him of being one. Compared to you, he is my finest creation," the scientist said in a calm, yet threatening tone. His eyes, which shined with contempt for Ashura, became stoic at the sight of his newer creation who simply stood before him in a relaxed posture. Wearing a dark red bodysuit, Merlot's newest creation was ready to pilot again at a moment's notice.

Taking the form of a well built young man, the creation would've seemed like a normal human were it not for the black veins running across the extraordinarily pale skin of his hands and face. Gazing at the ground, his eyes were hidden from Merlot's sight behind his short, white hair.

"Do not be disappointed in yourself, this was merely your test run. You passed your test swimmingly considering that it was your first time in the field, and you will have further opportunities to impress me," the mad scientist told his creation, a pleased tone in his voice as he inspected him. Seeing no response, a mild annoyance set in, so he called his creation by name. "Why is it that you continue to seem disappointed, Go?"

At the sound of his name, the creation known as 'Go' looked up at his creator. His eyes were closed, and when he opened them his gaze met Merlot's. The scientist's red eye met Go's silver eyes.

"I could hear the voice of the enemy pilot, and she could hear mine," he stated in a measured and even voice. His words left nothing to the imagination, despite how brief his sentence was.

Momentarily taken aback, Merlot stroked his mustache as he thought on the implications of this new information. There were a few possibilities on what this could mean, one of which included Ozpin being much more sly than he had given him credit for.

"What do you think of the voice?"

"She sounded familiar, but I have never spoken with anyone besides you and Ashura, Doctor," was Go's reply. "She sounded very young as well, and her machine used a scythe."

At that last statement, Merlot's eyes widened in shock, but his noise of surprise evolved into a deranged cackle as the implications clicked in his head.

"Oz! You devil! Not just the mother, but the child too!" He shouted out, throwing up his hands in amusement. An insane smile was on his face as he continued to laugh. "Oh! How twisted fate weaves its web! Go, you shall be seeing more action indeed!"

Letting go of the button, Merlot releases Ashura from their electric torture and turns to face them. Stowing the remote in his pocket, the mad scientist proceeds to give the horrid amalgamation of man and woman a new order.

"Ashura! It is time for you to meet up with an old friend of ours, you don't have to win. We are proceeding a few steps ahead of schedule!" He calls out, kicking Ashura into an upward kneeling position before sending them off. Turning to Go, Merlot clasps his hands together excitedly. "As for you! I hope you don't mind a family reunion, for that was your sister!"

"Sis… ter?" Go asked, tilting his head slightly.

Doctor Merlot ignored Go's question and walked over to a large computer and input a series of commands. Smiling furiously, he pulled up a screen depicting a map of Mistral, with a dot on the northern shoreline blinking red.

"How utterly splendid!"

Argus, Mistral

An alarm resounded throughout the facilities of Argus Military Base, rousing the personnel into action as they all performed their duties in line with their instructions. All except for one.

"This is the largest Grimm invasion we have seen in YEARS and he's what?!" Cordovin screeched, puffing herself up to try and look much taller than she actually was. It did not work in the slightest, as the young man she was harping away at was much taller and knew he was much more respected on this base than her despite the difference in rank.

"As I said, we cannot get in contact with my brother due to the birth of his child. He's also on leave, so I would rather not interrupt it," the young man replied, crossing his arms. This proved to infuriate Cordovin further, but she merely huffed before pointing a finger at him.

"You! Get in an Ichinana and help protect Argus! We will be getting in touch with your other brother!" She shouted at him. "Brothers help me, Kabuto Shiro, I swear your family is more than they're worth!"

Giving her a quick smile, the man snapped a quick salute before running off to get into his piloting gear. Pulling out his scroll, he tapped on one of his emergency contacts while slipping on his uniform. The contact was simply listed as 'Big Bro', while another that was in his recent calls was listed as 'Tetsuya'.

The sound of the scroll being picked up prompted Shiro to speak, but he was interrupted right when he opened his mouth.

"I'm already there, Shiro."

When Shiro stepped outside to run towards his mech, he would spot a small red aircraft fly overhead as the alarms continued to sound. With a smile on his face, Shiro snapped a quick salute before slipping his helmet on.

"Go get 'em, Koji!"

Up in the sky, the aircraft piloted by Koji Kabuto briefly circled a rectangular pool of water before shouting out two words.

"MAZIN, GO!"

The water split down the middle, draining as a massive set of doors opened up in the bottom to reveal a towering black and grey mech that slowly rose up to ground level. Pressing a series of buttons, the aircraft's wings fold upwards as it lowers vertically into the machine's head and seems to snap into it. It's been years, but it seems that the Atlesian took good care of Mazinger Z.

"Pilder on!"

As the aircraft snaps into place, the ultimate Mazin's eyes shine brightly for a moment before it subsides. After initializing, the connection between the two machines starts the boot up sequence, causing the start of an initial mobility test. Slowly raising its arms above its head, the mech snaps into a flexing pose and also releases a noise that causes the nearby Atlesian soldiers to give a cheer. A kind of runway rises up out of the nearby ocean as Mazinger Z lowers its arms, and Koji inputs a command before taking off running down the runway.

"Jet Scrander!"

A section of the mountain that the Argus Military Base is built into opens up, a railing extending out of it as a jet-like machine with two clasps accelerates and shoots off of said railing after unfolding its wings.

"Jet Scrander is en route!" A voice calls out in Koji's headset. In response, he makes Mazinger Z leap up into the air before activating the thrusters in the soles of its feet to gain more air. After a few moments of flight, he could see the Jet Scrander line up with him as it flew above Mazinger Z. Lowering in a precise manner, the winged machine used its clasps to latch into Mazinger Z's waist and briefly enveloped the entire mech in a golden glow.

"Scrander Cross!"

Seeing the encroaching horde of Giant Grimm in the shallow waters of Argus from his position in the sky, Koji grit his teeth in anger. Just what was the meaning of this? The last time there was an attack like this, that old bastard Merlot was involved… but Koji made sure he was six feet under. His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of Cordovin in his helmet, much to his annoyance.

"Kabuto, I give you full permission to use your full arsenal to dispose of this threat! Bear in mind as well that there will be Ichinana pilots joining you in this battle, so watch for friendly fire."

"Understood, Special Operative Cordovin!" Was Koji's formal reply. He may not particularly like the woman, but he did technically work for her so he preferred to keep things professional.

Setting the thrust to maximum, Mazinger Z rocketed down towards the visible body of a Leviathan in the shallow waters and dived in, the wing of the Jet Scrander cutting the beast in half through its waist as Mazinger Z slammed into the sea floor.

Rising up from the depths as it stood on its feet, Mazinger Z's eyes glowed as multiple other Fiant Grimm stood up in the shallows in response to the appearance of their enemy.

"It's time to show you the power of the ultimate Mazin! Z is back in action!"