Yang's head throbbed with pain as she returned to the land of the conscious she could not recall much of what happened to her expect she gained the urge to split off from her group and trail into an alleyway. He vision was dimmed from her forced sleep, but she could tell that she was strapped onto a metallic table of sorts. She tried to make out her surroundings but couldn't still from her light-headed disposition.
"What happened?" was all she could muster to herself. "If this is what my Uncle goes through then I need to tell him he needs to stop." Grumbling for her was all she could do. Not able to move her arm to cover her eyes was not a very pleasing feeling. Especially with seven flood lights like lamps pointed directly on to her.
She moved her head to help somewhat shield her eyes. What it did not help with was the ringing. It almost as if she was hit by a flashbang with how everything was to her.
"….ak…" a muffled voice came into her hearing range as a barrage of purple blue and a whole lot of white began to appear in her blurred vision. "Goo….mak…..y…ob easier then." The voice came into focus. She recognized the voice.
"What did you do to me?" Yang demanded glaring at the figure still completely shrouded in the haze.
The figure ignored her as it got larger approaching her. "Female, Blonde, five foot eight inches, an estimate of one-hundred and forty pounds. Estimated measurements…"
"What do you want with me?" Yang demanded. Cutting off the blue haired woman in anger.
"Subject displays emotions of anger when never getting her answers, charming." The figure began to make a more defined shape. She was a woman that would rival goodwitch's height with a surprisingly toned body trained for dexterity rather than strength. Yang was not exactly a reader but based on her small incursion with this woman her fighting style was similar to that of Lie Ren or Blake.
The woman continued her notes in quiet humming to herself before looking back at Yang. "Subject is compatible for experimentation." She spoke up her one eye never left Yang's face. Her pupil dilated back into her head for a minute as she grabbed onto one of her ears in annoyance. "You were the one who demanded a new subject." She spoke out angrily as she remained standing.
Yang still confused as to her fate glared angrily at the physician as she spoke to seemingly no one. She began to look around confused since there seemed to be nowhere for a person to hide. She began to suspect the she may be using a head piece that the goons at Junior's tended to wear so they can organize their ranks or out flank rowdy patrons.
Until she realized her entire time here she has never seen the kind of technology of New Meridian that could suggest that such equipment could even exist. The entire time she has been in this world she had never saw a single micro radio.
The nurse turned back to Yang confused until realizing that to her she looks possibly mad. "Great." She sighed in annoyance. "Another one thinks I'm terminally mad. I don't have time to go through the whole deal of breaking her." Her tone still very apathetic as she went to a table covered with a handful of random tools. She turned around and looked back at Yang She stayed there for second looking at her. "Normally, breaking a subject's will is my job. If Brain Drain wishes to rush the process, then he can break you himself I got two other appointments to keep." She went and left without another word.
Yang looked around the room still blinded by the surgical light. Her head began to surge with pain, the Migraine was moving throughout her skull affecting every part of her as it moved. It passed the back of her head making her loose vision for several seconds before being blinded yet again by lights. The Migraine then moved toward the center of her head her mind began to race realizing she began to feel extremely cold.
"So, you are what Valentine brings me to work with." The voice was calm almost calculating. Yang shivered because the voice seemed to be almost as it was coming from her own mouth. "Let us see what can be done." The pain began to move toward the center of her head. "Start with memories." This entity known as Brain Drain spoke still calm.
The area around Yang began to melt into blackness as her vision showed an almost distorted reality of a scene not too long ago. It looked to be a high end looking night club, the patrons where all dressed eccentrically. She looked to her left to notice a familiar portly man glaring at her.
"Junior?" She asked looking at him right as her face was pounded from the left. She hit the ground confused as she got back up seeing the assailant was one of the random grunts that was under his employ.
Yang gritted her teeth as she stood up looking at the man. He is a two-piece suit that was designed to match the color scheme of the club's main floors and pillars much like she remembered. The face of the grunt however was altered into a disformed image between the grunt she was thinking of and a robotic head with a few spikes forming from the top of his for head. The hair took a more glass like appearance as the figures brain can be seen.
"Curious" the figure that Yang began to guess was just Brain Drain manifesting himself within her mind. "Your mind's most recent recollection was of this moment." He said as he approached her. Yang glared at the figure waiting to see what he will do. "I hardly recognize this place, to be expected I suppose."
"You need to get out more." Yang growled angrily at him as she went in for the strike. Brain Drain's image diverted from the guard to a more accurate representation of himself. He dodged the strike by disappearing and reforming behind her.
"Perhaps you should cherish your memories. You naive girl." His tone boasted of arrogance "After all you are about to lose them." Yang turned to see that the bar was beginning to be erased not just in visual but in her own conscious.
The vision altered again to an alleyway this time in New Meridian. Yang knew exactly where they were. "My first time encountering that nurse." Her own voice shot through the air as she thought on it. She looked around confused as to why it happened.
"So, this is a dire moment for you in the past." Brain Drain's voice merged with Valentine's as his figure began to take her place. "Fitting as it will be how you are ended." His figure re-shifted back to Valentine as the fight happened again. Yang dodged the bone saw she was brandishing as she punched her hard into the wall. "It seems you are not easily broken." Valentine's voice was slightly irritated as she quickly did multiple slashed into her body and crashing her into a metal door.
Yang opened one of her eyes only to see a high heel come crashing into her throwing her through the door. Instead of a door or a wood floor though Yang found herself on the side of the road. Crowds cheering for a fight that quickly became silenced and revitalized in screams of fear. She already knew where she was.
"DANCE FLAPPER!" Nora's voice could be heard in the area as she looked up to see Nora pointing what Filia called a typewriter in her arms aiming directly at Ruby.
"Vulnerability." Brain Drain's voice sneered sinisterly as he watched the scene play out. Yang stayed quiet as she watched her friend and Punster in crime Nadia take all of the bullets. "Good." The entire scene froze as the last bullet left the gun Nora brandished. "Why was this Feral so important to you?" he stopped and turned around noticing a red cloaked girl. "I see." His voice quieted out as the area melted again.
Yang opened her eyes, she looked around confused as she saw a wagon with a toddler in it. Birds chirped as she looked around in fear. She knew this place. She was several sizes smaller than she was used to. She swallowed hard and walked forward. Right in front of her stood alone cabin. Terror hit her right then confirming what she was hoping it was not. She crept forward slowly watching for movement. Looking at the sky an ominous mix of red and black as if the sun was setting.
A heavy thud could be heard from the cabin. Her hear began to race as fear over took her. A gigantic black paw stepped out of the cabin. She knew what it was.
An Ursa stepped out of the cabin breaking most of the door in its entrance as it roared and charged at the two. Yang impulsively went to push the wagon with her younger stepsister in it only to find it missing. She franticly turned around just to see the wagon completely destroyed.
Yang's pupils dilated in complete shock at the scene as she fell to the ground as darkness to the area.
"There we go now we shall start the process without any farther resistance." Brain Drain spoke with no care as he began to move away from the defeated Yang.
The Forrest curiously stayed to his shock. Brain Drain looked left and right and noticed the mental resemblance of his victim was missing. He looked around this got him concerned as he realized she was missing. Memories began to fade back to an experiment done nearly a year ago with one of the other test subjects that was taken without consent. His own impatience made him rush this process to weaken the patient's will or, so he thought. The actual personality rather than act like a drone still lived inside her husk of a monster. He began to scan the rest of the brain looking for her.
Elsewhere
"This is the one area where she would have left from." Filia confirmed as she looked through the alleyways. "How did she go unnoticed though?"
"Never underestimate a blonde kid." Samson spoke up unamused "Especially the kind that are act first think later."
"You're one to talk." Filia muttered as she looked down the alleyway. It was one she on a few occasions hide for a few hours when police had what was called parasite hunts, but she never went through the alley all the way. She turned to look back at the rest of Team RWBY and JNPR since Cerebella volunteered to get take out for them as they searched for Yang.
Ruby entered the alley first looking around as she saw what looked to be a few strands of yellow hair on the ground. She could tell quickly who's it was. She ran farther into the alley only seeing it split off in another direction. Needles and scalpels littered the ground to her surprise she continued in seeing a slightly bent medical device used to transfer blood to patients when in need of them. "Spread out and find clues."
Blake was the first to begin investigating the area. She walked toward an area that had several dented trash cans and a cracked brick wall. She could tell this was not the assailants since Yang was good at close quarters fighting. She was not sure how she lost the fight. She noticed an unbroken syringe filled with a purplish liquid.
"Anesthetic no doubt." Nadia said coming from behind her looking at the same vile concerned.
"You know who would use this?" Blake asked with slight hope for a lucky break.
"Sorry that's as far as my medical knowledge goes, Hate the doctors." She responds uncaring looking through the ally. "I can try to call up some people that owe me a favor or two to see what they can give but I need to ask you about something while I look it up for you." Blake never liked people like this, but she could tell Nadia did care about Yang quite a bit since the two shared a mutual love of puns.
"What?" She asked reluctantly.
"I may not be good at reading people, but I know a thing or two about spotting someone with a shadier history." Blake's eyes widened as she spoke but at the same time she knew to some extent that the feral caught on back during their sparing match. "As it turns out, mutual frie- I mean, acquaintance Cerebella wants help solving a mystery in a building she needs a hand infiltrating." She seemed rather uncaring about why the circus performer asked she already guessed it was because of the need of someone who knew about stealing and breaking and entry. "Thing is it's a three-man gig."
Blake seemed unamused about the question, but it did not help the feeling that she was being forced into an agreement that she could regret. Fortune could tell this easily just watching the way she looked toward the ground with high hesitation. She already knew more than likely Blake was not interested. "And if not, I'll look call them anyway." Blake looked at her confused as she began to walk away. "Its what friends do." She responded grinning twisting her head back forwards, so the stitching could reform.
Ruby, Wiess, and Filia were looking at the area they guessed was Yang's last stand before falling unconscious it did not appear to be a fatal injury from the lack of blood. Wiess looked at the scene angered as she looked at the leader of this expedition. "Why did you not warn us about this?" She demanded facing Filia who began backing away nervous.
"I, I couldn't have known this would happen." Filia spoke up concerned as she looked Wiess at her enraged gaze.
"Couldn't have known?" Wiess looked at her even more angered "Then perhaps rather than playing tour guide you should of have us focus preparing us for the dangers pf this kind of environment." Filia's face turned from sorrow and guilt to one of complete fear. Wiess never noticed the change nor the reason why. "instead one of us is missing and we don't have a clue as to her disappearance."
"Training is what you want?" Samson's low voice began to snarl as he got ready to fight. Several heavy strands of serrated hair came caving down on Wiess' position forcing her to jump back. Wiess quickly drew her makeshift rapier and got ready to counter act her opponents.
Samson was letting out his battle cry as he lunged Filia forward making her go stumbling to the ground, so he could begin to drill into the ground. Wiess saw this movement coming and jumped out of the way as a new swing came falling on top of her being a tied up Filia plastered in spines. Wiess kicked her off and parried Samson's counter attack.
Ruby could only sit in shock watching the two fight each other right here. She wanted to do something, but she did not know what to do. She turned her head to see JNPR at the entrance of this section of the alley way in compete shock at what transpired between the two. It was beyond her control and she knew it. She turned her head again seeing distance between the two Filia having several scratches on her and Samson was slightly tangled. Wiess seemed mostly unharmed since she had been playing defensively to Samson's onslaught capitalizing on his openings.
The two began to dash at each other again only to stop when an object crashed between the two of them kicking up a lot of dust from the ground. Wiess backed up curious as to what just happened. Filia tripped and almost fell making Samson lose concentration on his opponent and glare at this new threat.
The dust cleared revealing a familiar four bladed masked individual who looked around the area. She looked around confused as to who on earth did she just encounter. Carol had crashed into the alley unintentionally. She looked left and right realizing she was surrounded. Her figure took a combative stance only for her to freeze halfway through seeing who it was that surrounded her.
"Carol." Ruby spoke up exited that she somehow ended up breaking the fight between Filia and Wiess.
"Hey?" She tilted her head confused as to why they were here. "Why are you guys in an alley?" She looked around slightly surprised "More off putting (though I'll take it as a positive) Yang is not with you, where is she?"
"Missing." Blake spoke up approaching holding several of the scalpels and needles. "Filia and Ms. Fortune believed this is where she would have taken a wrong turn."
Carol's eyes narrowed on the utensils as Blake continued to explain the situation. Her mind was holding on now, but her rage was continuously clawing at her insides bellowing for freedom.
"Anyway, Nadia said she would get these looked at by a few people that owed her a few things." Blake concluded as she handed them to the feral.
"They're hers." No remorse could be heard from her tone in a way anger had purely engulfed her being knowing exactly what had happened.
"Hers?" Ruby asked looking at Carol or rather Painwheel since her mind had just about been consumed by the side that seeks vengeance.
"Where are you staying?" Carols voice as raspy as it was eerily calm as the blades on her back sharpened themselves against the ground.
"Team RWBY has been staying with Filia in Mapelcrest." Jaune answered looking at the situation. Already knowing that whatever was bound to happen will not be good. "As for my team, we have been staying at one the Fish Bone Gang's hideouts."
Carol just nodded as she looked at a specific direction and launched the strange four bladed weapons skyward toward the wall of the left building.
"Well that was useless." Samson grumbled turning his gaze to see Wiess leaving the Alley. Ruby followed Samson's angle to notice the same thing.
"Wiess." Ruby began to speak up chasing her down only to be stopped by Pryyha. She turned to look at her before she watched her follow Wiess.
Pryyha followed Wiess until they made it to the street that the alley emptied out to. The road seemed unchanged from the moment they entered. "Hey Wiess." She spoke up looking at the street in front of them. "Something the matter."
"When did we get into this mess?" Wiess asked looking at her. Pyrrha tilted her head in confusion as to what she was referring to. "We were training to save the world from Grimm. That was what we were taught. Semblance is what is our main line of defense is. But ever since the start of Beacon we have encountered reality jumpers, parasites, and a dangerous necromancer that is on the loose." The tone was filled with the kind of verge of madness that only exists when she learns the world is crazier than she thought.
"I think you need to talk to the person who has gone through the same situation." Pyrrha spoke calmly leaning next to one of the lamp post. "I imagine that any New Meridian citizen would be going through the same crisis."
Wiess breathed heavily as she turned back into the alley. She noticed that it seemed Jaune was adapting faster than many of the two teams. "How is he adapting to this so well?" She asked looking at the group. She had watched a lot of her team in their sparing often try to take the full force of any hit since they were used to aura being there to aid them in combat as well as their semblance as a form of ace in the hole in gritty situations.
"Jaune never was formally educated in any of the huntsmen prep schools." Pryyha began to explain. "It's why I believe he has been the quickest to adapt to the situation only behind the natives." Wiess did not take comfort in that thought. "Just think of it as specialized training. We are some of the few that will understand our own reaction time as well as find a way to keep up with their combat endurance." The enthusiasm made little sense to Wiess, but she recalled the way most of the New Meridian students seemed to take harder hits a lot better under stronger blows. "Let's go and catch up to Cerebella, I'm certain that she has ordered for us. Plus, the way Filia talks about this diner I think it may be nice to sit back and have a plan of attack."
It was one thing Wiess could agree on as the group slowly approached the center of town.
ASGL
Ozpin stepped out of the elevator to see very little had changed from when he left this morning. He was slightly certain that Oobleck had not left the spot from the night prior or if at all. He was really invested into the study of the Canopy Kingdom.
"So, you meant Parasoul I take it." Avian asked looking at him while reading test results. Ozpin nodded as he passed. "Quite the charmer she is."
"I find people of action to be more honest than talkers honestly." His bluntness remained unsurprised. He walked over to what looked to be the coffee machine. He turned and gestured if he may have some.
"Not our pot." Avian remarked as he jabbed his thumb at the table. Oobleck seemed to ignore him probably unaware of the fact he was being accused. "Brewed it shortly after Eighty" He stopped himself as Ozpin's gaze meant his "Carol, left."
"She's permitted to wander?" He did not expect her to have such freedom with the Anti-Skullgirl organization. "A bit hazardous don't you think?"
Avian smirked a little "Says the one fond of men of action." Ozpin was not exactly amused at him. "Besides we always have a few Avery unit or special forces close by in case of a rampage." He looked at the monitors to see peacock was still glued to the set. "It is curious though headmaster." Ozpin looked at him as he filled his thermostat mug. "I believe if the reason of your visit was on more friendlier terms we would be far more decent friends. We are both a like in a lot of ways after all." A statement Ozpin did not exactly concur with.
"Is that so?" He seemed more intrigued of the madman's claim.
"We care greatly about our worlds and strive to improve it." The professor seemed un focused as he talked looking back toward the laboratory. "Our concern has always been for the next generation ensuring we have ways of guaranteeing our survival." Ozpin listened still contemplating what he heard. "Don't think I have not been doing just research on the Skullgirl, she will be here long after you and your friends leave. I have a lot of time."
"Tell me then" Ozpin began to get curious on Avian's research. "What do you know about Remnant.?"
"Not a whole lot." He admitted straightly. "All I really caught on was the threat of creatures that feed of negative emotions. Creatures like this are not easily wavered as long as negative energy exists." He seemed to understand basic concepts of their worlds disposition to Ozpin's surprise. "That said, I'm curious how your world would be able to endear our world's threat."
Ozpin recalled Oobleck's theories on how Filia ended up on Remnant in the first place. While it was on accident it still a problem he liked to discuss.
Avian took a breath as he looked toward one of the labs seeing Stanley stepping out of it. "Forgive me but I need to aid in the next project so to speak." His voice was rather disappointed his break was cut short.
"Before leaving." Ozpin spoke up his voice never changed from when they first began conversating. "Care to tell me where General Ironwood has ventured of to?"
Avian froze in place looking at Peacock's den. "Ironwood has left to speak with some people in Mapelcrest. Big Band is with him." His voice was direct but never faced the headmaster as he slowly wandered out of the lounge area. He already knew where the general was going to speak to.