Grif: Previously, on RvBvRWBY: Incursion...
"I should've known better than to let them do this…" Tai frowned.
"They are trained and skilled. They fought well at the Battle of Beacon, and your youngest single-handedly turned the tide of the battle. Even when those warriors from the other world came to our aid, we were still fighting a losing battle. Vale would've been wiped off the map had Ruby Rose not petrified the Wyvern and killed Cinder Fall."
"She's fifteen!"
"She's a Huntress, Tai. She knew the risks and signed on of her own accord."
"I'll let you know when we have something. Goodbye, Tai."
"What happened?" Andy wondered aloud.
"To what?" Tucker questioned.
"The big monster! It's dead, look!" Andy said. The others glanced around until all their eyes landed on a sand-caked cow skull half-buried in the ground.
"That thing? You've gotta be kidding me!" Tucker exclaimed in disbelief.
So… we're not gonna fight anything?" Ruby questioned.
"I guess not," Blake said, sheathing her weapon.
"I don't know what else we're supposed to do, but this whole 'great quest' thing is turning out to be complete bogus, just like I said it would be," Tucker said.
"What's wrong? Not scared of little ol' me, are you?" Yang smirked.
"Xiao… Long…." The Grimm snarled hoarsely.
"So you do know all of us… what are you?" Yang questioned.
"Need… Dust…" The Grimm said, avoiding the question entirely, if it even understood it.
"Well sorry pal. That's our shipment, and we need that Dust to get home."
"Remnant…" The Grimm said.
"What the hell are you doing here?!" Tex exclaimed.
"Watching your back, which apparently wasn't needed," Blake said solemnly
"Well, whatever happened here, I think they're all dead."
The sounds of heavy footsteps made them stop and take aim. As they got closer, a large form made of black fur and bone-like armor rounded the corner and glared their way. Spikes grew from it's back and was almost the size of the hallway itself.
The Ursa Major narrowed its eyes and howled at them.
"Son of a bitch…" Tex cursed.
RvBVRWBY: Incursion
Chapter 10: Grimm Matters
As the pot of tea shrieked atop the stove, Taiyang quickly turned off the flame just before it bubbled over. He sighed and turned towards the living room. "Hey Ben, pot's done!"
"Be right there," the boy replied. He was on his scroll typing away, really only half paying attention to Tai. Tai leaned on the counter and looked over at him.
"Who are you texting?" He asked.
"Penny," Ben replied. "I wanted to see if she heard anything about the ship."
"Don't worry about it. Ironwood will let me know as soon as they have something. Thanks, though. How is Penny?"
"She's good, but… with all this Dust business going on, the establishment of that outpost they're wanting out here is being postponed." Ben sighed. "Just means longer until we see her again."
"Sorry, pal. I know you were looking forward to it," Tai said with a small smile. "But look at it this way: it's not canceled or anything. Sure, it'll be longer until it happens, but you'll still see her again. Besides, you two talk like every day, right?"
"Well…. Yeah…" Ben said. "But-"
"But actually being there makes a difference?" Tai raised an eyebrow.
"Um… yeah. How did you know?"
Tai chuckled and sat across the room from Ben in a one-person chair while Ben sat on the couch. "After Ruby was born, I stayed home and became a full-time dad while Summer kept going on Huntress missions. She could be gone for weeks at a time. And being apart like that, it's not easy. But so long as I didn't focus on the fact that she was missing, just that she would be back, it made things easier. I'm doing it for Yang and Ruby right now."
"I guess that helps… thanks, Tai."
"Anytime, kid," Tai smiled. It all seemed to put Ben somewhat at ease. It was sometimes difficult for Tai to help or talk to Ben. Having raised two daughters, helping a young man adjust to things, especially with the young man's history, was a challenge. But so far, he and Ben had gotten along pretty well. It had only been just over a month, but Ben had begun to form his own place in the family. Tai liked to think he helped with that.
A knock came at the door, drawing both of their attention. "I got it," Tai said. He stood up and walked towards the door, and opened it partially to see who was visiting.
"Hello, Tai…" Raven Branwen greeted, her arms uncomfortably crossed. But she did have a small welcoming smile on her face. Tai's eyes widened, and he glanced back inside.
"Hey, Ben, make your cup and go hang out in one of the rooms for a few, okay?" Tai requested.
"Um… alright," Ben said. He made himself a cup of the fresh tea then relegated himself to Ruby's empty room. Only then did Tai open the door all the way and let Raven inside. She hesitantly entered, and Tai closed the door behind her.
"I just made tea."
"It's alright. I can't stay long," Raven said.
"Please," Tai insisted before going over to the pot. Raven started to protest, but it died on her lips. She let out a soft sigh and sat herself at the kitchen table. Tai quickly filled a cup of tea for her and gently placed it in front of her on the table.
"Thank you." Raven gave a small nod and carefully picked the cup up. After just a few moments, Tai sat across from her with his own.
"How have you been?" Tai asked.
"I should be asking that of you," Raven said. "Both of your daughters are missing."
"Yang is your daughter too," Tai countered.
"I trust her to handle herself, and take care of Ruby. But I know how you get. You worry."
"I'll be fine. Ben's been helping. I'll admit, it's weird even for me, having another kid around, especially a guy. Raising only daughters, guess I never thought about it the other way."
"I'm sure babysitting a drunk Qrow counted," Raven said with a small smile before sipping her tea. Tai laughed as well and did the same. Then suddenly an uncomfortable quiet filled the room. Despite the month attempting to reconnect, things were still awkward between the two. After years of being apart, and the reasons they were so, one month wasn't nearly enough time to repair the damage done. But they were both trying.
"So… how is the tribe?" Tai asked, breaking the silence.
"We're… in the middle of some changes," Raven answered.
"What kinds of changes?"
"It's… It sounds ridiculous out loud…" Raven sighed.
"No, c'mon, tell me! I wanna know," Tai said cheerfully.
"Well…" Raven took a breath and averted her eyes downwards before sipping her tea. "We're… shifting away from our previous purposes."
"So you're gonna stop being bandits? That's great! And, uh, do what exactly?" Tai questioned.
"Well… I can't say it's any less violent."
"We've known each other for twenty-five years, and even with how nice Qrow can be, he's not the most gentle drunk. I'm not surprised. Let's hear it."
Raven's eyebrow twitched, but she sighed again. "Instead of aiming our strength on just anyone, we're going to begin to use it on Grimm, the White Fang, and other marauders that would attack settlements across Sanus."
"That's… actually great. So, you're changing the tribe from raiders to almost a group of rangers?"
"Something like that, I suppose…" Raven said before taking a drink.
"If you don't mind me asking, what brought all this change on? I mean, not to open old wounds or anything, but… I thought I would never see you again. Then you show up before the Battle of Beacon wanting to reconnect, and now this stuff with the tribe. What happened, Raven?" She didn't answer right away, still seemingly hesitant on continuing the topic. "It's alright if you don't want to answer, I don't wanna pressure you."
"It's… something personal. Someone not unlike myself said things that made me reconsider some of my choices," She said. "And after he was gone, it all came down on me at once. I was left to figure out what to do. So I came to this. For all I know, these could be all the right choices or all the wrong ones."
"Well, that's the thing. Every choice we make, every action we take, it's a learning experience. You never know until you try."
"Don't pull your parental lessons on me, Xiao Long. Remember what happened when you tried to do that kind of thing when we were students?" Raven replied.
"You were fresh away from your tribe and you broke my collarbone," Tai chuckled, unphased by the darker undertone. "Not the best way to start day one as Team STRQ." His laugh made Raven smile a bit more as well. "I miss those days. I wish things never changed."
"Me too…" Raven agreed quietly. The room fell painfully silent again. Raven took another uncomfortable sip before setting the cup aside. "Perhaps I should go. I did say I couldn't stay long."
"Already? But you just got here."
"I know," Raven sighed. "But I have a lot of work to do. Changing a tribe's motivations from 'attack and rob all' to 'protect the travelers of the night' isn't easy. I can't stop their aggression, but if I can aim it at specific targets, I'll consider it a victory."
"Well, let me walk you out," Tai said before standing from the table.
"Tai, you don't-" Raven started.
"Please, I insist," Tai insisted.
"Alright," Raven relented before also standing up. Tai led her back to the front door and held it open for her. She walked through and Tai closed it behind both of them as they came out into the yard.
"Do you know when I'd see you again?" Tai asked.
Raven shook her head. "Once the new system is underway, I can't afford to leave the tribe for too long until we fully adjust. Vernal can only do so much to control them."
"I get it. If I went fifteen years without seeing you, I can go a few months if need be," Tai said, clearly disappointed, but not put down by it.
Raven frowned a bit, noticing the disappointment in his eyes. "It won't be another fifteen years, I promise," She said, half joking.
"Well… have a safe trip," Tai wished her.
"And you keep yourself together," Raven replied. "And if you absolutely need me, you know how to reach me."
"Okay. Well… see you later then?"
"Yeah. See you," Raven replied awkwardly. The awkwardness moved on to the silence, then before another word was said, Raven's form changed into that of her namesake and she flew off away from the homestead. Tai let out a heavy sigh.
"'See you later then'? Really Xiao Long?" He scolded himself.
The group heard gunfire from inside the base, the shots echoing off the icy cliff walls. "Well so much for the stealthy approach," Tucker remarked.
Ruby fumbled for her scroll and quickly dialed her teammate. After a few rings, Blake picked up. "Blake! What's going on in there?"
"It's Grimm! And not that talking one! We're being chased by an Ursa Major!" Blake exclaimed.
"What?! How are more Grimm here?!"
"Are you serious? There's more of those things?! Fuck that noise, I'm outta here!" Tucker said before turning back towards the tunnel. He stopped dead, though, when multiple sets of red eyes filled the tunnel now. Approaching them was a full pack of Sabyrs, saber tooth-cat-like Grimm, which snarled with a bellowing growl as they began to approach. "Oh shit…"
The lead Sabyr lunged for Tucker. Tucker cowered and braced himself for the hit, but while the Sabyr was in the air, a Dust round blew through its head, killing it instantly. Tucker looked around to see Ruby with Crescent Rose in her hands in its sniper configuration. "Use your weapon!" Ruby exclaimed.
"I said I didn't wanna kill monsters!" Tucker cried.
"Would you rather be eaten by monsters?" Ruby raised.
"Fair point," Tucker relented before igniting his energy sword. Another Sabyr leapt for him, and he threw out a fearful swipe of his weapon, yelling as he did. The sword cut through the Grimm like butter, and its body disintegrated quickly. "Woah, shit!"
"Get away from the tunnel!" Andy exclaimed. Everyone sprinted from the tunnel before the rest of the pack could pile onto them. As they ran down to the clearing outside the base, the Sabyrs followed them. Ruby would glance back and shoot them one by one as they kept running for the base. As they made it to the yard, however, they were cut off by a mix of Sabyr and Ursa. The group skidded to a stop, and were quickly boxed in as the Grimm surrounded them. Even the Sabyr that were chasing them blocked them in.
"Now… that's a nice kitty…" Caboose said to them in a frightened way.
"Don't be afraid," Ruby said. "These things are drawn to negative emotion, and get stronger with it."
"It's kinda hard not to be afraid when you're surrounded by monsters!" Andy exclaimed.
"At least they can't eat you!" Tucker cried.
"What do we do?" Caboose asked Ruby.
"We fight them?" Ruby raised an eyebrow.
"Easy for you to say! You have super speed and a kick-ass sniper scythe!" Tucker replied.
"How else did you expect to get out of this?!" Ruby exclaimed.
"Running away sounded good at first!"
"They're getting closer!" Andy cried. Sure enough, the Grimm were closing in, giving the group less and less maneuverability room. Even if she charged through to break their ranks and clear a path, the other monsters would leap in and kill the Blues from the other side. She didn't have a good way of clearing the pack from all around them. Unless…
"Pack in as close as you can together! I have an idea!" Ruby ordered.
"You mean like the idea to run down the hill into the open for these things to kill us?" Tucker remarked.
"Just do it!" Ruby stressed. Crunchbite, Tucker and Caboose all backed up until they were right against one another.
"Great, now we're packed together like a bundle of snacks!"
"Don't move!" Ruby said before she leapt up into the air and sped even further upwards, her form turning into that of a burst of rose petals. At the peak of her height, from the orb of petals came down a hailstorm of dust rounds, raining down hell upon the Grimm. Almost every shot found a mark, killing Sabyr's and Ursai with one bullet. Ruby was using her super-speed to shoot each Grimm individually, but to the others it looked like constant rain of bullets. The monsters began to evaporate one by one. After mere moments, at least half the herd was dead. Ruby's form returned to normal and she dropped to the ground, though she immediately began to stumble. Caboose caught her before she fell over.
"I've got you," he assured her.
"Thanks, Caboose. Sorry, I must've overdone it…" Ruby groaned while massaging her head.
"Well, don't drop on us yet! There are still some of these things left!" Tucker exclaimed. As he spoke, a Sabyr leapt for him. He quickly bisected the creature mid-air. Its two parts flew in opposite directions before fading away. "But I can definitely get used to this thing!"
Crunchbite let out a few sounds of communication, and Andy quickly translated. "He says what we're here for should be nearby! Maybe it can help with these things!"
"Sounds like a plan to me!" Tucker said as an Ursa swiped at him. He narrowly avoided the attack then cleaved the bear-monster's paw off. It howled out in pain just before it was decapitated as well. Another Sabyr leapt for the Blue, but Ruby sniped it in the head right out of the air. Its body dissipated before it got anywhere close.
"Crunchbite, lead the way!" Ruby commanded.
"Blarg," Crunchbite replied before sprinting across the yard towards a smaller side building attached to the main facility. Crunchbite and Tucker ran up the ramp leading to a terminal of some kind, but it simply gave off a holographic display. Ruby and Caboose stayed at the base of the ramp to cover their backs, using their respective weapons to shoot the Grimm before they got close.
"Tucker! Use the key and open the gate!" Andy yelled over the gunfire.
"Key? What key? I don't have a key!" Tucker replied.
Crunchbite roared, and Andy hastily translated, "Your sword! Use the sword!"
"Oh god, the sword is a key? Just when I thought this quest stopped being lame!" Tucker took his sword and swiped it through the holographic display. It let out a chime, and a ramp along the main facility lowered down, revealing another alien craft of some kind sitting alone on a walkway. "What is that thing?!"
Crunchbite let out excited sounds before tossing Andy away into the snow without a second thought and sprinting for the craft. "'The Ship'? What ship?! No one told me about a ship! Hey! Come back here you stink nugget!" Andy exclaimed.
"Where is he going?!" Ruby asked.
"I think he's ditching us!" Tucker answered. Ruby turned back to see that the entire Grimm horde had grouped up, and began to approach them en masse. Ruby and Caboose shot into the horde to kill them, but as soon as the frontrunners were gone, those further back in the pack took their place.
"It's not working!" Caboose exclaimed. Ruby frowned and changed Crescent Rose into its scythe form, preparing to dive into the pack herself, when a large section of the facility wall above them broke off and crushed most of the pack by itself, also splitting the monsters up. On top of the rubble was a stunned, but still alive, Ursa Major. Blake and Tex also dropped down from above, landing right next to their allies.
"You guys alright?" Tex asked.
"We're fine! But where have these Grimm come from?" Ruby questioned.
"No clue. We just came across them inside," Blake replied.
"Speaking of which…" Tex said, gesturing to the recovering Ursa Major. Ruby quickly shifted Crescent Rose back to firearm form and fired a shot that burst right through the Major's neck. The creature stumbled before toppling over and dissipating. By then, only a handful of lesser Grimm remained. They quickly shot down the rest of them, clearing the immediate vicinity of the creatures.
"So what's going on? Where's Crunchbite?" Blake asked. As if on cue, the craft Crunchbite had crawled into shot off into the air and began to leave the group behind.
"Hey! What's that thing? Where's he going?!" Tex exclaimed.
"I don't know!" Andy responded. "He just kept saying, 'there it is, there it is!'"
"I thought you said there was no reward at the end of the quest," Tex said.
"I didn't know!"
"Oh, if you're pissed about that, wait until you find out that this sword is really a key," Tucker added.
"A what?" Blake raised an eyebrow.
"Andy…" Tex growled at the bomb.
"Hey, don't blame me! I'm just the translator!"
Caboose looked up at the ship to see it begin to turn back, aiming its guns right at the group. "Um… I think the alien is coming back…" Everyone else's gazes came up as well.
"I think he's coming back to kill us!" Blake warned.
"Get down!" Tex exclaimed. Everyone dove out of the way into the snowy ground, and the ship's guns fired-
-just to tear right through an Ursa that was approaching the group from behind. The Grimm let out a whine as its torso was burned through with plasma and it faded away.
"Oh, he wasn't coming to kill us. He was saving us," Caboose noted.
Ruby let out a sigh of relief. "That's a good alien… which is not a sentence I thought I'd say a week ago."
"Well, a deal's a deal. He still owes me that ship, Andy!" Tex claimed. "Tell him to bring that thing down here, and-" A loud boom sounded as the alien ship erupted into flames and blew apart, the main pod crashing down into the snow not far from the group.
"Crunchbite!" Ruby cried out. Blake and Tex quickly drew their weapons again.
"You still want me to tell him? Heh heh… Cause, I think it's down already!" Andy remarked.
"Tex!" a voice called. They all looked up to see a man in white armor with a rocket launcher in his hands, smoke still wafting from one of the twin barrels, standing atop the highest ledge of the facility.
"Wyoming?!" Tex exclaimed.
"Connecticut!" Caboose randomly added.
"They're not playing a game, Caboose," Tucker deadpanned.
"Well, if they were, I totally would've won."
The man in white, Wyoming, who spoke in an English accent, continued. "Well, it appears I've spoiled your little game! So sorry, chums!"
"That was my ship!" Tex exclaimed.
"Oh dear! Then I stand corrected! I'm not sorry!" Wyoming retracted.
"You're gonna pay for that!" Tex snarled.
"All out of change at the moment! Catch you next time! Cheerio!" Wyoming said before turning and disappearing from sight.
"Get back here!" Tex yelled before quickly ascending the side of the facility to catch up, quickly disappearing herself.
"Tex, wait! We're supposed to stay-!" Ruby called out, but Tex was out of earshot already, leaving the other four, and Andy, behind. Ruby sighed. "...together."
"Seems she has something personal to deal with," Blake said. "Well, in the end, the quest was nothing important, just like we thought. But it's only posed more questions. What are more Grimm doing in this universe? We need answers."
"Hell to that. I just got done fighting terrifying monsters, and that wasn't even part of the quest. The way I see it, we can either try and follow Tex, finish the quest, or we just call it quits and go back to Blood Gulch," Tucker suggested.
"You really are a coward," Blake frowned while crossing her arms.
"What do you want from me? I'm a lover, not a fighter," Tucker said. "Besides, if we go back to Blood Gulch, there's probably a chance you'll be back in radio range to call your friends. Our radios have been worth jack all since we started this quest bullshit."
"If more Grimm are in your universe, we have to find out why. They shouldn't be here," Blake said.
"If they're here, I think it has to do with that Hound Grimm that brought us here in the first place," Ruby said. "If we want answers, I think it'll be with it. For now, we should meet back up with Weiss and Yang. Then we can figure out what to do."
Blake sighed, but nodded. "Alright." The group then headed off for the next tunnel, leaving the base, and the questions, behind.
"Hey, guys? Are ya forgetting something? Like the talking bomb? Guys?!" Andy exclaimed.
Yang finished the last coat of paint on the alien speeder, then tossed the now-empty can aside. "Finished!" She backed up next to Grif so they could witness their work together. The base paint job was a sleek black, but the other colors overtook it where it seemed like almost a highlight. The main color was yellow, covering the dome front of the vehicle. The wings-like antigravity generators on the side were painted a dark orange. Across the dome front was also an orange flaming paint job outlined in black, like a hot rod. Geometric black highlights also ran along the sides. The seat behind the larger front was also painted the same sleek black.
"Now this is sick," Grif said proudly.
"Any ideas for a name?" Yang asked.
"I was thinking Blaze, because of the orange flames."
"I don't think piloting a speeder named Blaze inspires confidence. They might think it'll actually go up in flames," Yang crossed her arms.
"Got any better ideas?"
"Hmm… I was thinking… Firefly," Yang said.
"That's… actually pretty good."
"Well then, Firefly it is," Yang smiled. She then kneeled down and spoke to the vehicle. "Wait till I bring you home. Bumblebee will have some competition."
"Like hell. I'm keeping this thing," Grif said.
"I stole it, I did most of the painting, and I named it, so it's mine," Yang countered. "So Firefly goes home with me. Wanna argue about it?"
"Not particularly," Grif relented. "Gotta say though, it's really bad ass."
"I'll say," Church said as he approached. "What is this thing?"
"O'Malley's ride. I jacked it on our way out," Yang said proudly.
"Nice. Must be one of the alien rides from the war. You can drive this?"
"There's a learning curve, but we're getting there. Grif and I can learn to drive anything if we put our minds to it," Yang smirked.
"What are you even doing here? Don't you have your own base to be at?" Grif asked.
"Yeah, but it's kinda empty, and after earlier, I'm just gonna stick near you guys until everybody else gets here," Church answered. "Besides, Sheila's starting to weird me out."
"Weird you out how?" Grif questioned.
"I don't know, maybe a tank's version of jealousy. I don't know if she likes Yang or Weiss very much. Especially Weiss."
"Guess even artificial women have that instinct," Yang shrugged. "I wonder if Penny would…"
"Well, it sucks to be you, Blue. This is our base, plus you have a tank over there. Get lost before Sarge finds out," Grif said
"Hey, buddy? You're not my boss," Church replied.
"How organized are you guys supposed to be anyway? I mean, you're not the only Red and Blue soldiers around, right?" Yang asked.
"There's supposed to be more, but all the ones we've met so far are either stupid or crazy," Church answered. "We used to have a central command too. Command would call and give me the orders and I would pass those along to everybody else. Okay, it works like this. I would get on my radio like this, I'd say, uh… 'Come in, Blue Command, come in. This is Blood Gulch Outpost Alpha, do you read'? And then normally this, uh, really annoying guy would come back and he would say-"
"Hello, hello, come in, hello," Another voice on the radio said.
"Huh. That did really sound like Vic. Nice impression work," Grif complimented.
"Uh… that wasn't me," Church said. He slowly clicked his radio mic back on. "Hello…?"
"Hello, come in Blood Gulch, can you hear me, hello?"
"What? Vic? Is that you?!" Church exclaimed. "It's been eight-hundred years, how have you survived this long?"
"Oh, no way dude, Vic is dead. This is Vic's great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson! Vic Jr!"
"And you- and you work with Blue Command?"
"Oh, right dude. Good one dude. 'Blue command'. Wink."
"What do you mean, what, wait, what does that mean?" Church questioned. "I-Is the war over? Did we win?"
"Dude, I gotta lot to catch ya up on," Vic Junior replied.
Wyoming let out a sigh of relief, having lost Tex, taking a moment to rest. They were still in the snow, and the landscape helped him slip away in his white armor. Not to mention, the terrain itself being as rocky and dangerous as it was alongside a significant head start meant he had just enough time to break before moving on, just to be safe. He had set himself up against a rock twice his size to catch his breath, his helmet set to the side so he could get some fresh air instead of getting the processed air that comes through his helmet's filters. He was a man with brown hair and a curly mustache. He was counting the time before he needed to move on.
Four minutes, twenty-three seconds.
Four minutes, twenty-four seconds.
Four Minutes, twenty-five seconds.
Spending more than five minutes on rest with an active pursuer was not advised by the Director of Project Freelancer. Really, it wasn't more than two minutes, but Wyoming knew Tex wouldn't catch up before he took off again. Whens he first debuted in the program, she was an overwhelming force. But since then, her quality when compared to lower ranked freelancers like him was almost level. She'd become almost predictable.
Five minutes.
Didn't mean he would wait for her to actually get her hands on him. He started to stand up, taking his rifle in his hands, when the shadow of the rock behind him suddenly got taller, and began to move. He quickly snapped around to see a creature of black with no eyes, a canine head and spindly hands. Wyoming emptied his mag into the creature's torso quickly. It howled and slipped off the boulder, but caught itself on the ground. Wyoming rushed to try and reload, but in a single lunge, the Grimm leapt over and sliced right through the weapon with its claws. Wyoming stumbled back, but went into a combat roll to put distance between himself and the monster. He pulled the rocket launcher off his back and crouched down, quickly taking aim with the explosive weapon.
The Grimm growled at him, and Wyoming locked in. "Goodnight, you oversized mutt," he said before pulling the trigger. The rocket sped from one of the launcher's twin barrels blasting right for the creature-
The rocket stopped dead in the air as the Grimm's spindly fingers were wrapped around the cylindrical center of the rocket. It had caught the projectile midair, its thruster still blasting away. Wyoming stared for a second, stunned at the monster's reaction speed. Before he could process it further, the Grimm spun around and let the rocket fly back towards the Freelancer. It exploded at his feet and sent him flying. The launcher was lost from his grip, and he slammed back down onto the snowy ground, smoke wafting from his armor. The Grimm let out a low chuckle, then walked over to Wyoming's body. The Grimm flipped him over to see his torso armor was scorched, but mainly undamaged, but now part of his face was burned. The freelancer let out a groan and looked up at the creature. The Grimm pinned his body down with one hand and leaned down, his snout getting close to the freelancer's face. Wyoming was afraid, terrified.
"You…. you are…. their enemy…" The Grimm snarled. "The soldiers… the black armored one…"
"Wh-What the d-devil are you…?!" Wyoming stammered.
"The result…. of a witch's curse. Death…. made…. flesh…." The Grimm then opened its maw, and from its mouth came a downpour of black liquid matter, Grimm Matter. It splashed down onto Wyoming's body, covering him in it. It then began to seep into his mouth and down his throat, drowning him with it as well. After long, awful, horrifying moments of it spreading across and throughout his entire body, the matter stopped coming down on Wyoming. The Grimm closed its mouth and stepped away. Wyoming's body began to convulse and thrash back and forth, as if something was trying to tear through his body from the inside. While the body jerked up and down, back and forth, bones snapping and skin tearing, the Grimm turned around and spewed more of the black matter, creating a large puddle of it in front of itself. It backed away, and from the puddle crawled out a trio of Beowolves, spawned into the world from the puddle itself. They came out scanning around and howling, then the other Grimm snapped at them, snarling harshly. The three Beowolves whimpered and kneeled down to the Hound, bowing their snouts to the ground in submission.
The Hound chuckled and turned back around to see Wyoming on his feet, staring ahead with now pitch black eyes and red irises. From his eyes also dripped Grimm Matter like tear tracks.
"What… is your… name?" The Grimm asked.
"Agent Wyoming, of Project Freelancer," Wyoming answered.
"Who… are… the soldiers?"
"Simulation troopers, meant only for training amongst our program, regulated as such for low performances on UNSC qualification tests," Wyoming answered again.
"And the one… in black armor?" The Grimm questioned.
"Agent Texas of Project Freelancer."
"The only one… who poses a threat… besides Team RWBY…" The Grimm noted. "How… do you feel… Agent Wyoming?"
"How do I…?" It then seemed as if Wyoming's mind was coming back to him, and he glanced at himself, then whipped some of the Grimm Matter from his cheek. "What have you done to me…?"
"Made… you… more…" The Grimm answered.
"What's the catch, mate? I didn't exactly sign up to be drowned in creek water," Wyoming remarked.
"Didn't expect you… to survive. But now that you have… I have a… proposition."
"Something tells me I don't have much choice in the matter."
"Not really…" The Grimm chuckled. "Those soldiers… the other Agent… they are your enemies?"
"More or less," Wyoming said.
"The girls with them… the huntresses… Team RWBY…. are mine. Together… we can deal with them all… at once."
"Interesting proposition. But what if I say no?" Wyoming raised an eyebrow.
"That… Grimm Matter… keeps you safe from them," The Grimm said, gesturing to the three Beowolves waiting for their command. "I can… take that Matter back… then… it's lunch hour… capiche?"
"So… we're a regular Wallace and Gromit then?"
The Grimm chuckled, as if actually amused. "Something… like… that…"
"Well, we better get going, then, chap. Avoiding Tex should be our main concern for now," Wyoming said.
"Agreed," The Grimm nodded. It snapped back and barked at the three Beowolves. They stood up and rushed out into the snow in the opposite direction.
"What are they doing?" Wyoming asked.
"Buying… time…" The Grimm answered. "Let's… go."