And we are back with another chapter with Alpha on her journey to investigate strange movements detected in Mount Glenn. What will she find out there? Well, my dear viewers, we are about to see that through and let us join on what she would discover in the ruins of Mount Glenn.
But like before, I will address some reviews before moving on to this chapter.
Triscyth59: Any plans to add content from Ice Queendom? I could, but I couldn't find a good reason why it would play out in this story. The Nightmare Grimm is an exciting concept, but it sounds like a headache trying to figure out how it would play out. I think I would see how the anime ends first before I come to any conclusions.
Enki7794: Yup. You can expect some potential power creep with this kind of tech. Then again, Constructs aren't what you call balance in the setting of RWBY. Yes. I agree Ruby would be a dark physical attacker. Yang would be fire, Weiss ice and Blake maybe dark physical. Just like Ruby. And now I can be the proud owner of Vera and Rosetta. Hooray for me!
Cyan-Snake: Cringe, perhaps. But Dr Racher has a history with Alpha's creator Dr Kurt, and I hope to bring up some engaging scenarios in the future. After all, where did you think he got his prosthetic arm that can turn into an energy cannon from? And I want to expand upon Merlots and Racher's teeth-clenching teamwork in the future when I get a chance.
Nova1233: I hope this chapter fulfils your request to go to Mount Glenn in style. Ironwood only has access to Alpha's current location and system status. Memory and direct control are not within the agreement.
Rein Shaker: Technically, it's Nova's ship, but ok.
Onxio: Alpha did it as a way to earn everyone's trust. And she has no intentions of betraying Atlas anytime soon. So, giving Luna access to the nanomachines is beneficial in the long run as it makes them better in combat.
Kotor13e: And you shall have it.
GoldenGloryPants: Yup. I agree that it feels choppy in a way, and no. Her blade glowing isn't her semblance. It's just a unique quirk from Alpha upgrading Benizakura. I planned to show it off in this chapter. But that made me wonder if I should have our dear android cast develop their own Semblances… Hm…
Zekken182: Potentially. I'm not spoiling it anytime soon right now. Yup, things would go out the rails with what I'm planning. And you just brought up the idea of Yang and Alpha having a motorcycle race.
Warlord of Chaos: Hehehe. Anything to prepare her daughter to fight against Salem. Even if the others hadn't realised Alpha's true purpose to defend Remnant from a hidden enemy. Hidden caches of gear all over Remnant? I'm not sure about it, as I have plans to fulfil.
And with the comments. Let us officially begin this chapter. Like before, I hope you all enjoy the chapter.
I do not own any of RWBY or their content. They all belong to their respective owners. Nor do I own any content belonging to Kuro Technology and their series Punishing Gray Raven.
[Systems restarting from sleep mode.]
[Retrieving all data.]
…
[All data retrieved.]
[5 hours since departure from Atlas.]
[ETA 10 minutes to Mount Glenn.]
[Activating mini-map and system radar. Scanning for potential hostiles.]
[Likelihood of White Fang operations in the area. Uncertain. More data required.]
Those appeared on my visor upon waking up from my nap, and at the same time, my personal ship continued flying on autopilot toward Mount Glenn. Which I made it do before placing myself to sleep throughout the journey. I was also running all sorts of potential encounters and why I was required to investigate Mount Glenn upon waking up.
Most would point to Grimm or White Fang if things were to go according to canon. But that might be unlikely since we are still before volume 1 of the story. But I cannot rule it out; it must be severe that Ozpin needs his friend's help. Alternatively, this is a plan between Ozpin and Ironwood to get more data from me, thanks to my agreement with Ironwood, which is fine, to be honest.
Opening my optics, I could see that the sun was beginning to set as the sky was orange, and everything slowly grew darker. As much as I wish to run this construct body some field testing as soon as I arrive. A campsite would be wise to set up before establishing communications with Ironwood. Then the following day, I will begin my search.
I stood up and pushed off the helmet from my head, which disconnected my systems from my jet. I walked away from the cockpit towards the main compartment of my bike, an operating table and a mini laser-powered nano-assembler. It took me time to convince Ironwood and the others to add this feature to my jet, as they were understandably cautious of that idea.
Eventually, they agreed under the condition that it has restrictions to only manufacture components for self-maintenance or clothing. And yes. I am willingly restricting my access to my father's tech to earn their trust. I want to make right for what I have done, and this is one way to assure them.
Where was I? Ah yes. I was walking over to the containment field that had Benizakura in its sheath within it. Reverse gripping Benizakura, I took it out and brought it down near my hip, so my articulate arm could grab and shift it to the back. Then, with Benizakura back with me, I made my way to the tail as it opened up, allowing me to see Mount Glenn in its destroyed glory.
And man, does it go as far as the eyes could see.
With my systems still connected to my jet, I directed it to continue circling the ruined city in a circle as I began gathering data on a possible place to station myself for a second or two.
I soon spotted a tall, ruined building structurally intact and not too far from my current location. I then commanded the Griffin to fly over it as I quickly jumped out of it and performed a three-point landing.
Pushing myself back onto my feet, I could hear a sudden screech that made my head turn sharply towards a Nevermore squawking a distance away. I watched as it chased after the Griffin, and both flew out of sight. Right. I had forgotten that I had set a rule so my ride would perform evasive manoeuvres should I be pursued by any hostile.
"Should have seen that coming…." That thought appeared in my head as I surveyed the city for a suitable campsite. Then, glancing at my surroundings as my optics zoomed in, I found a perfect camping site in a ruined park.
But there's a problem.
All sorts of Grimm could be seen infesting the ruined park, and data indicates that most of them were attracted by the Griffin flying over. And the presence of my Aura according to Father's comprehensive data on Grimm. It states that Grimm is not only attracted to negative emotions. But the power of the soul also brings them in.
And I'm the only active person in this god-forsaken place with my aura. And I think I got their attention based on all the roars and hissing.
[Emotional suppressors activated.]
Feeling my emotions fading while staring at them, I began to walk toward the edge of the building and stare at the packs of Grimm attracted to my presence. Beowolves, Ursai, Creeps in large numbers, and many more watched and snarled at me.
[Combat protocols enabled.]
When that appeared in my optics, I let gravity do the work and fell off the edge of the building with my hand grabbing onto Benizakura.
[50 meters to impact.]
As soon as Iet gravity the work, all of the Grimm in the vicinity began to run straight toward where I would land. Interestingly enough, several of them did not move in the slightest. Data indicates that those are likely older and thus must have some semblance of intelligence. Speaking of intelligent Grimm, a couple of Goliaths were on the field, just watching me as I fell down. Not sure if they were the same ones Ruby encountered but whatever.
If they don't leave, they'll are going to die. It matters not to me.
[25 meters to impact.]
My Hud points out as I swung my legs forward and began running down the ruined building with my hands on Benizakura and its sheath. Everything began to slow down as I continued running down while matrix mode was activated.
Yup. I've chosen to adopt Luna's and Watts's way of calling it, as it sounds way better and more badass than calling it bullet time mode.
[Numerous Grimm detected. Total count 79.]
[Total active participants. 74.]
[Herd of Goliaths with a 93.435% likely to observe from the side-lines and not interfere.]
So those elephants chose to stay out of the fight and just watch huh? According to data, their size makes them resilient to all sorts of rounds, and their most preferred matter of killing is crushing everything in their path. Kind of like real elephants, which they are based on. No matter, I need to secure the landing zone for my jet to land and establish a landing site.
As soon as I was 10 meters close to the ground, I kicked myself off the wall and flew towards the packs of Grimm, who were still frozen thanks to matrix mode. Then, unsheathing Benizakura, I cleaved through multiple Grimm before using my left foot to push myself in the other direction and cutting through several more Grimm that happened to be in my way.
Now repeat that two more times. And in a split second, at least four-fifths of the total Grimms in the area are already dead. But, of course, they don't realise it yet. Matrix mode was only disabled when I sheathed Benizakura with a satisfying click.
*Click*
And most of them dropped instantly to the ground like rocks, and I got a pretty good sight of the Goliaths, who were watching me from a distance and began to freak out and immediately left the scene without looking back. I then turned my attention to the remaining Grimm foolishly tried to maul me to pieces.
Only to die even faster as none could ever hope to touch or damage me.
[Video footage and data recorded. Saved under field testing 1.]
[Upload video footage to General Ironwood's office? Y/N]
[N]
[Save video footage?]
[Y]
[Saving video footage…]
With that recording out of my sight, I took a quick survey to ensure that all Grimm in the vicinity were eliminated before transmitting data so that the Griffion would land here should I need an evac which I doubt. And to ensure that I would know how to get back here, I saved this location under evac point before I began searching through Mount Glenn for any hints as to what made Ozpin call for Ironwood's help.
[Primary objective. Investigate Mount Glenn for any suspicious movements.]
[Secondary objectives. Search the underground caverns to knock out a potential White Fang operation below the city.]
[Seek out the abandoned primary facility of Merlot Industries 10 clicks south of the designated evac zone.]
With that in mind, let the search begin.
It took at least 3.6 hours of exploration and termination of any Grimm that tried to attack me to finally come across some humanoid tracks. And by that time, night had set in, and I could see the stars of the night and the shattered moon above me. I never once realise how beautiful the night can be away from civilisation. I spent most of my time with my optics in night vision mode to keep track and prevent revealing myself to potential hostiles.
I could only watch as the stars shone like sugar spilt over black marble, glistening in the night sky, and it was such a welcome sight. It appears to be like magic that promises to return every night.
It also reminded me how light pollution on Earth prevented Sarah and me from witnessing its beauty when we were alone. If only she could be here to see such a site by my side. I then felt a pang of despair seeping into me as I stare into the night. And wonder. How is she doing?
Shaking off the despair festering in me, I followed the tracks and soon came across several Faunuses patrolling who were clearly White Fang. Perhaps they were always here before Ruby, her team, and Oobleck discovered their secret hideout and trashed it. I then prone on the ground and slowly made my way towards the White Fang patrol group when one of them spoke up.
"Hey. Have you heard about what happened to the guys Adam sent to Atlas?" One of the patrol grunts spoke up as I began to analyse their biology. It only took milliseconds to indicate that he is a bat Faunus. They have a much stronger sense of hearing compared to normal Faunuses. And my system had marked him as a priority target for elimination.
Dammit. I don't want to kill them right now!
"Yea." The other grunt spoke as he nodded his head. "Heard they disappeared after they left and boss lost contact with them."
Adjusting the rifle in his hand, the bat Faunus spoke. "Yea. Rumours say that whatever they found must have killed them all. Others say that our mole lured them into a trap. Either way, the boss was pissed until their mole came and told them something, and I'll admit." The bat Faunus lets out a wavered breath.
"It scares me…"
"What was it?" His buddy prodded his partner as I slowly got closer. I should let them bring me to their hideout. Speaking of which, I tapped into their scrolls and extracted the relevant date. Turn out, their hideout was still in the process of construction, but it will be operational in about a month. An assault on their hideout would prevent future casualties, but I would deviate from my actual objectives.
Though… I doubt that the Fang were the ones responsible for the suspicious movements that Ozpin detected. Nevertheless, I continue listening to the conversation of the patrol group. Perhaps I could learn something from them.
"Remember how those humans in Atlas tried to make a superweapon machine 25 years back?" The Bat Faunus says as he gets a slow nod from his partner.
"Yea, hard to forget about it. The whole of Remnant was up in arms about it when the incident got leaked. Everyone believed they were messing with things they did not fully understand. That I agree."
"Yea. Our mole told the boss they had found it in stasis and accidentally woke it up. Because of it, our mole had to go into hiding because that also alerted the Atlesian military. We won't be hearing from him anytime soon." He explained as his partner's face paled.
"Wait a minute, you are saying that thing is on the loose because of us?" He replied in terror as the bat Faunus shared his feeling.
"Yea. And that's all we know." The bat Faunus concluded as he glanced around. "And let's get out of here. I'm getting the shivers, as if… Someone's watching us." I leaned closer to the ground as I watched the patrols return to their hideout hastily. All while I tailed after them without alerting them.
Time quickly passed, and I soon reached the underground city of Mount Glenn. Though I had to put my systems to silent mode as they nearly caught me when the bat Faunus heard the whirs of my body when I got within 10 meters of them. Thankfully, they were more concerned with getting into friendly territory instead of seeking out that noise, and they were savvy enough that going alone to investigate at night would likely get them killed.
Either from the Grimm or me.
Now that they had brought me here, I split off and used the ruined tower blocks to survey the area by enabling the X-ray filters in my optics. And what I got was quite the sight. Based on their skeleton structures, hundreds of White Fang of both sexes could be seen all over the hideout they called a base. I could also detect what looked like a deposit containing a large amount of dust.
I see that Cinder had already asked Torchwick to gather them and drop them off her. Now then… what to do?
[Evaluating options…]
[Two options are available currently available. Both would destroy this outpost and render it unusable for the White Fang. For years to come.]
[Option 1: Cause enough chaos and negative emotions to lure the Grimm in. Then let the Grimm tear this hideout down. 97.842% of success with 2.158% of failure.]
[Option 2: Destroy the Dust deposit and sabotage everything of value here. 74.652% of success while remaining unnoticed. 25.348% of detected by local White Fang members.]
[Recommendation. Option 1. Higher chances of success and more likely to render this place uninhabitable to White Fang reclamation for the future.]
Sure, I could go absolutely ham and unleash hell on the Fang here, but I don't want to kill them. Not like what I did to the others that encountered me weeks back. And while it does have a higher chance of failure, aka me getting detected thanks to their enhanced sensory, I prefer to delay them by cutting off anything that is of value to them all instead of taking their lives.
Except for Adam. He can die for all I care. But killing him earlier than expected might make him a martyr to the Fang and make them even more radical. Or do the opposite. I'm getting distracted. The point is, logically, it is better to wipe them out without care. But morally, they are just disgruntled Faunuses who want to improve their lives. And killing them before they even cause a sin rubs me the wrong way.
And with that thought in my mind, I made my move. Subterfuge and sabotage will be what I plan to do. Now. All I need is a distraction, and I can slip in and dismantle critical targets. So, with a plan in mind, I leapt from building to building while maintaining my cover to not reveal myself.
Glancing from my cover, it looks like several snipers were watching from the buildings all over the hideout based on their heat signature on some of the ruined towers. Hm. Not making it easy, aren't ya? And their line of sight seemed to overlap with each other. Making taking them out one by one even tougher. Data indicates that if one sniper is missing and the others notice it, they will sound the alarm of their missing presence.
The only viable option is to take them out with haste before the others are aware of it in 5 minutes based on how often they move their line of sight. Any longer than that and they will be aware that something is wrong.
Jumping towards the first sniper not far from my position, I paused for a couple of seconds just to get the timing right. And when it did, I leapt out from my cover, grabbed the sniper by the shoulder, and pulled him into a karate chop directly to the side of his neck. Thanks to my data on Human/Faunus biology, I know I have to hit them directly in the vagus nerve on their necks for the highest chance of knocking them out.
And as soon as my hand slammed on his neck, the first Faunus sniper crumpled like a house of cards as his body ragdolled onto the floor without uttering a word.
[Time left until snipers will be aware. 5 minutes.]
A Hud appeared in my eyes as I dismissed it and moved on to the following sniper not too far from the next building.
Que me knocking out every single sniper in the vicinity by jumping onto the buildings they are in and smacking them in the neck. With a minute left on the clock, I was on the last White Fang sniper, who appeared to be paying attention to his sight and unaware of me sneaking up on him.
And when I struck, he didn't have any time to react as I used matrix mode to get in closer before stomping on the back of his knees, followed by a sucker punch to the face. Knocking him out in an instant.
"All targets non-lethally eliminated." I mutter to myself as I inspect the view from here. And it was a good spot as I had a full line of sight of the entire hideout and critical targets.
Detonating 50kg worth of Dust will have a detrimental effect on all Faunus in the blast radius. It will result in deafness or possibly death if they are close to it.]
[Current White Fang members within blast radius 164. The number of deaths if the Dust deposit is detonated is 0. The number of wounded will be 86. Enough to form a distraction and allow for targets to be sabotaged.]
First of all, sheesh. That's a lot of people going to get hurt if I were to do that. Wait a second.
[Alert! Movement detected approaching location! 4 White Fang members are coming up. Eliminate or disable them to prevent word from reaching out of current presence.]
Shoot.
Looking around, I could see a hole in the roof, and with haste, I grabbed the unconscious sniper and his gun and leapt onto the next floor before they arrived. Then, switching to X-ray filters, I could see their skeletons moving into the room as they talked.
"Nothing ever happens here huh?" I heard one of the members speaking out bored as what I could guess was a higher-ranking member spoke next.
"Don't jinx it, will you? I know things are boring now, but we need to check on the snipers and ensure they are still there. Or else their absence would pose a security risk." So, he said as my system went on to come up with solutions.
"Why though?"
"Well, this hideout is almost ready and the boss wants it to be done by next month. I am not in the mood to see my suggestion to use this settlement as a hideout gone to waste any time soon."
I watched as they walked into the room where the sniper was supposed to be, and I leaned in a bit closer. If they try something, I will intercept them.
"Wait. Where the hell did Shocker go?"
"Shocker? That's his name? So what? Is he an eel Faunus?" I sarcastically thought in my head as they continued talking.
"Ugh, did he go off to get a smoke again? Seriously, for a sniper, he does like to take breaks often. Hang on, let me call him." Another member says as I watch him pull up his scroll to call him.
Oh no, you don't!
Activating matrix mode again, I knocked all four Faunuses out with a single chop as they all collapsed onto the ground. Unaware as to who or what knocked them out with a single hit. And without any more distractions, I picked up the sniper rifle and took aim at the deposit.
And with a trigger pull, I fired the sniper at it.
*BANG*
…
*KA-BOOM!*
The deposit blew up with a fiery blaze as smoke and chaos spread among the underground city. Cries of panic and confusion spread among the members as I moved while they were all distracted by the explosion and the fires. I jumped from building to building and towards the tunnels leading towards Vale. And with Benizakura, I began destroying the tracks and trains there. By slicing them into nothing but scrap.
At the same time, I picked up radio chatter, and it was chaotic, to say the least. Orders came in to put out the fires and find out what happened, calling for the snipers to be on high alert only to get silent because I knocked them out and many more. The whole situation was messy, but it was the desired outcome. There were reports of Grimm on the move and the hideout defences were holding them out and keeping them busy.
Soon, most of the tracks were destroyed beyond repair, and the same could be said for the train, thanks to me. I then moved on and began smashing their electronic equipment before booking it.
But it appears that my distraction wasn't long enough as reports were coming in from the radios that all of their snipers were knocked out. Another report concerned me as it stated that there was a saboteur in the base.
Aka, they were referring to me.
"That's my cue, time to get out of here." I hummed silently as a Hud appeared on my optics like before.
[Location saved as White Fang hideout.]
That would help Ozpin and Ironwood when I return to both. With my objectives accomplished, I overclocked my legs and escaped. Thankfully, no one saw me as I was moving faster than they could react to me. To them, an intruder got in and wrecked the place before fleeing the scene with their identity intact.
Around the 30-minute mark, I was already back on the surface and now resuming my actual objective and not getting distracted by a detour. Though it was still fun to smash up their equipment and play a bit of a stealth section in this mission. I hope Ironwood won't mind that when he sees the report.
Now back on the surface, it is midnight, and the Grimm are more active than in the morning. But I'm unsure whether they possess the trait of being more active at night or because of their strange biology. Unfortunately for me, my father tried to delve into the secrets of the Grimm, only to come to one conclusion.
Doing that would open up a can of worms he didn't want to deal with. Since it was most likely that the Grimm were more magical based than having actual biology.
Nevertheless, I continued to prowl the night for any potential signs of anything suspicious in Mount Glenn and soon concluded that it might be because of Merlot. Now that I have some time to process it. Logic suggests that if things are still canon, Merlot must be behind it.
Damn. I should have at least read the lore between Vol 2 and 3. But according to father, team RWBY would be sent to Mount Glenn to an abandoned facility under Merlot. So, I should head there and, hopefully, find some clues to conclude my investigation. Perhaps even knock it all down as I did earlier with the White Fang.
After some deliberation, I had the Griffin bring my bike over before departing to Merlot's abandoned facility. While I could have taken the Griffin to get me there faster, where's the fun in that? I mean, I always wanted a motorbike, and Alpha also have the same interest as I am. With my bike, I zoomed around both in the facility that housed me and out in the open.
It was worth it. Occasionally either Penny or Luna would join me for a ride. Well… mostly Penny, as Luna would just fly alongside me. Thanks to her levitation abilities.
Time passed rather quickly, as it had been at least 3 hours, and I had reached what appeared to be Merlot's facility since I could detect a power source within it. Well, that and signs that someone has been here recently with all the boxes around that bear Merlot Industries logo.
Wasn't this entire facility booby-trapped? Perhaps I should hack into the facility, figure out what is happening here, and then get out. But before I could do anything, the doors to the facility opened up. Not wishing to reveal myself, I quickly dashed and hid before peeking. And what I saw confused me.
Numerous machines could be seen shambling out in a messy formation, but they clearly used to be under Atlas. Judging from their slightly dirtied appearance, they were most likely salvaged and repurposed as defensive robots. But something is off about them.
Before I could do anything else or decide, one of the machines pointed in my general direction and screeched. Yes. That machine, honest to God, screeched at me before it and its buddies charged straight for me like feral animals.
First of all.
What the glorious fuck?
Secondly, my position is now compromised and I should get ready to fight.
[Multiple hostiles rapidly closing in. Initiating combat protocols.]
[Hostile capabilities unknown. Caution is advised.]
Dashing out of my cover, I unsheathed Benizakura and blocked it as the first machine tried to swipe at me with its claw. A clang could be heard as I twirled and chopped its head clean off its body. Sparks could be seen from it as its head flew off while I dashed in and began cutting them up.
To my surprise, these machines could fight back and work together as one tried to hold my blade while the others attempted to dogpile me. Unfortunately for them, I could still deal with them with my hands as I quickly punched one of them in the face before back kicking another behind me. Then, pulling Benizakura out from one of the hostile machines, I spun around and split every machine around me into two.
[Blade Will activated.]
I then quickly did a backflip into the air and unleashed waves of white projectiles, which wiped out the last few hostiles in the vicinity before landing back on the ground and sheathing Benizakura. But I was first disturbed, followed by confusion. What happens to these machines?
They seem to be based on Atlesian androids, but how those machines act is as if they were living. Don't get me started because the lights on their body are glowing black. As in UV-A light. Which should be unusually strange to have on a machine. Even creepier was that I detected an unknown power signature within them that dissipated upon destruction.
I would do more investigation into these wrecked machines, but more accurate data would no doubt be available inside. So, all I need to do is to find a terminal inside and hack it.
Walking through the wrecks of machine bits, I soon arrive at the door they all emerged out of and examine for a way to open it. However, the entire facility appears to be scan protected and the only way to open it is from within. With that in mind, I have no choice but to force the doors open.
Grabbing hold of the small gap between the strike plate with my fingers, I began to pour more power into my arms as the metal doors creaked from the strain, and so did my arms as I grunted in response. Sparks could also be seen as I slowly pried the doors open. Seconds into it, a loud clang could be heard as the doors were forced apart with my arms stretched out, as even more sparks could be seen flying all over the place.
The hallway into the facility was dimmed as what sounded like groaning could be heard from my audio receptors. It appears that there are more of those things within. Enabling night vision filters on my optics, I ran into the facility with Benizakura on hand as the conflict against those things was expected.
And I kid you not. Within a couple of seconds, I ran into more of them. It wasn't even funny how they were waiting for me to open the door like what the fuck. So anyways, they were exterminated rather quickly and I moved on. But the place tipped me off that something was not right.
Where are the Grimm at? Merlot usually had Grimm all over the place and not machines that behaved animalistic. That only reinforces the need to hack into the system to determine what is happening. And so, I began to carve a part through another pack of robots. But they were more resilient to cutting attacks. They were also wielding proper weapons, which included guns and melee weapons.
Those proved more of a nuisance to me; however, I did get shot by a few as they literally shot through their allies to hit me. Unfortunately, even my system didn't recognise what they were doing until it was too late. But thankfully, no physical damage was dealt as my aura absorbed it all. However, it did put me at 98% aura levels.
Not much changed, to be honest.
I soon arrived in a room with a terminal and devoided of anything that was a threat. Of course, there were Grimm inside the room, but they posed no danger to me thanks to the cramped environment, which allowed me to funnel them through a corridor. Cue me using Blade Will, which cleaved through Grimm like butter.
Once I arrived at the available terminal, I reached the back of my neck, pulled a cable from it, and plugged it into the terminal to access it.
[Hacking into the terminal. Stand by…]
[Hacking complete.]
[Retrieving files…]
While my systems were downloading everything relevant, one of the files opened up to a log from Merlot himself. It states that he is working with someone whose identity is not revealed to create something that should not be possible. The mixture of Grimm and machine. And those I destroyed earlier were just failed prototypes at the start of their project. Even more interesting was that it was because of this co-op project is why I don't see much Grimm here.
Both he and this unknown individual have been working on this for weeks.
Another thing that was on the radar was something that should not be possible. Merlot had created some sort of Grimm extract, as he called it. I must take this back to the General. Whatever Merlot plans to do with his 'partner', as he put it, is up to no good.
Upon retrieval of all the files, I pulled out the cable from the terminal and let it return to my neck before taking off. Thankfully, it also contains the abandoned facility's interior map, so it took only minutes to arrive where this extract is located. Another thing of notice was that my systems detected multiple unknown signatures in the room ahead.
And after prying another door open, the lights in the room sprang to life as my optics automatically turned off night vision. What was inside the room confused me for a second. First, what looked like some sort of containment field was holding a black vial. Next, a humanoid body could be seen inside a pod, and a massive screen turned on to reveal Merlot himself.
He was an elderly man with dishevelled grey hair, a matching moustache, a beard, and prominent eyebrows. His left eye is robotic and glows red, and around it was noticeable claw marks, likely from his Grimm experiments. His robotic right arm was also dark and metallic and had red inner circuits. He wears a light grey jacket with a high collar and a red shirt underneath. On each sleeve of the coat is a dark grey hexagon shape.
"Ah, excellent. I was wondering when you will show up. Altas' greatest weapon ever created." Merlot greeted me as I just stared at that old man.
[Piggybacking on existing bandwidth. Tracking Merlot's current location on the whole of Remnant.]
[Hacking into local system.]
[Time to hacking completion. 10:00.]
"Not a talker, huh? Not that I blame you, I bet you must be fascinated by those machines you saw just now." Merlot just grinned at me as he gave a bow.
"Oh, where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Dr Merlot. You don't know me, but I most certainly know who you are. Nevertheless, I'm thrilled you're here. You might be exactly what I need for a very important... experiment."
In the next second, a wall of hard light dust split the room and separated me from the black vial and the pod. Merlot continues his speech as I glance around for the source to destroy.
"Unfortunately, I cannot let you destroy it yet. Thankfully, a friend lent me this extraordinary tech specifically designed to deal with you in particular." Merlot grinned as he pressed a button on his side. The next thing I knew, my systems were screaming for me to take cover right as a device emerged from the ceiling.
A blue pulse suddenly appeared from it and washed over the entire room. Then everything became glitched and static. While I could just scream in agony from the EMP pulse frying my insides.
[Ǝ̴̡̡̡͓̻̥̈̀̎̉͗͊Я̴̨̛̛͓̥̞̘̖͑͗͌͌Я̷̡̗̜͇̺̣̈́̃̾̏̀̿O̴̧͉͍̰͓̒͑̌̿̊͝ͅЯ̷̪̳̝̫̘̝̏͐͊͗͆͌ ̸̡̢̱̺̯̐̿͛̋͋͛ͅƎ̶̧͉̼͚̪̝̂̎͐͛͑̀Я̴̤̝̯͎͚̟̾̒̿̒̓̕Я̶̡͈̮̲̘̙̐̈́͋̉͊͝Ǫ̵̧̝̰͕̟̎̿̓̇̈͘Я̶̜̯̘͙̥̌̈́̽͛̆͂͜ ̶̮͖̝̫͓̹͑͐͌̎͑͆Ǝ̷̨̛͉̗̩̙͎̅̀̅̕͘Я̵̡̬͖̼̗͑́͌̇͆̀ͅЯ̴̞̳̗͇̫̗͌̌́̈́̈́̕Ò̵̝̬̫̥̯̇͊̈́̂̚͜Я̷̝̱͖̞̣͖͆̍̀̍̔̉ ̴͍͔̠̼̯́͊̑̕͠͝ͅƎ̶̡̟̹̲̹͈̒͆͆͑͝͠Я̷̡̗̪̥̻̀́̎͛̔͋͜Я̶̛͈͚͕̤̙̒̒͐́̕͜Ö̶̻̝̮̥̫̠̈̈̈́̾͝Я̴͍̭͈̻͙͑͛̿́́͝ͅ ̵̛̹̭̝͚͚͇͌̀̓̏̄Ǝ̴͖̹̝̩̣̖̏͛͒͂͝͠Я̶̧̫͙̤͇̟̓̈͊̊̾̈Я̵͔̯͇͔̪̝̒̍͒̂̕̕Ơ̴̞̮͖͚̬̭̌͑̍̕̕Я̴̡̤̦̠̭̣̓͒̽̿̋͐]
B̵͒͆͜y̸̝̆ ̴̹̺͐ă̷̼l̷̰̕ḷ̸̤̍̚ ̷͈̜́̍ẗ̶͖̚h̶̙́͜͝a̴̛͇t̵̝̭̔ ̵̢̗́͋i̵̬͓̿s̴̢̟͋̇ ̵̣͊̈́h̷̊ͅő̵̼̪l̷̬͆ỷ̵̘̙!̵͈̖̐̉ ̶̻͌̎T̴̡̆̾h̵̘̾̇ă̵̻̩t̶̲́ ̷̭̈́b̶̖̃a̷̝̺͗̓s̶̙̃͝t̴͗͜a̷̙̋r̸̦̅̌ḓ̵̐̑ ̶̺͉́̒ṷ̶͗s̸̩͈̈́͗e̸̫̓͜͝d̸͎͚̐ ̸̺̚à̵̺̘n̸͚̄ ̴̲́E̸̡͊Ṃ̷͖̉̀P̸̬͎̾̕ ̶͙̀͒ò̶̗̒ń̶̦̚ ̶̲̓m̵̝̣͊̌e̸͙̪̋!̶̪̒̐ ̸̳͙̀E̷̢̓v̷̘̻́̔e̸̳͌r̸̪̺̓̆y̵̜͛̈́t̵͉͌ͅh̶̥̄i̶̛̟͝n̸̻̂̎g̴̤̍ ̸̛̩̬ ̶̖̀̇͜f̴̗̕ͅǔ̷̡ć̷̩k̶̫̤̆̒ỉ̸̩n̶̢̒g̶͍̀̅ ̵͎͐h̷̰͂͝ú̴͉̮r̷̙̞̈́̈́ṭ̶̢̈́͛s̵͓̿͐!̴̩̽̈́ ̸̡͕̉C̷̠͝͝a̵̢̻͠n̷͚̈́͠'̶͕͓̊͐t̵̳̲̋̏ ̴͇͂m̷̝̒͛o̵̗͕̐v̷͖̓͜͠e̸͕̿̓!̶̮̭̎̀ ̸̗̒S̸͉̩͌y̷̦̦̎̒s̵̖̞̍̇t̵͓͓̉e̴̬͌m̶̧̝̅s̷̞̼̋ ̸͎̊f̴̝̆a̸̟͂̚ĭ̵̹l̷̙͒͗ȉ̸̦̠̐n̶͚̂g̵͎̍.̵͚̏ ̶̫͔̚G̶̣͚̏͌Ě̷̛̩T̴̠̎̿ ̵͖͐̂Ȗ̶̙̜P̵͕̈́ ̶͇̱̈͋N̷̼͎͒̕O̸̧̰̍̀Ẅ̵̜́!̴̺͛
"Marvellous! Now kindly make yourself feel at home while I work on this. After all, no achievement can be done without sacrifice. And my partner wants comprehensive data from this test in return for helping me out. And I must say that you're a scientific marvel if you're still functional after that." Merlot commented.
"Fuck you, and I don't want compliments from you of all people." I growled. Or at least that should have come out of my mouth. But all Merlot heard was garbling from me instead. Finally, my systems began to reboot while self-repairs were initiated as I slowly pushed myself back onto my feet after collapsing earlier from the EMP pulse. Lesson learned.
Destroy the EMP generator and find a solution to counter it in the future. Or this will be painful as all hell.
[System rebooted. System self-repairs initiated.]
[EMP has disrupted attempts to piggyback the local bandwidth and hack the local system.]
[Resuming Piggybacking and hacking.]
[Notice. Destroy the EMP generator. Extensive exposure to EMP pulses will result in critical systems being jeopardised.]
Wonderful.
"Did you say something?" Merlot asked as he faced back at me before shaking his head nonchalantly. "No matter, the process will take some time. So how about I introduce you to some of my works in the meantime?" He says it proudly as a door opens, allowing several Mutant Beowolves to run in while growling and howling.
Compared to a normal Beowolf, these beasts are even more significantly larger than Alphas and glow radioactive green. It took seconds for those things to see me struggling before they roared, followed by charging at me.
Stumbling onto my feet for a second, I grabbed Benizakura from its sheath and dashed into their faces, decapitating them with such accuracy and speed that they could not react to it. And then sheathing Benizakura back with a click.
Huh.
Despite their size and increased toughness, they still die as quickly as the others. Or am I just that powerful? I got better things to worry about, like searching for that damn EMP generator.
"My my. You recovered fast." Merlot grinned as his eyes lit up like a child who had just received a new toy. "It appears that you're stronger than the records I have here. Thankfully I have a solution for that."
Merlot causally pushed a button as he released another goddamn EMP pulse, and everything went glitched and static again.
Í̴̞́ ̶̮̆S̴̪͆W̵̻̌E̸̫̾Â̵̰̅R̶̬̱̋̏ ̶̭̅T̶͖̬͐̊O̵̠͆͜ ̸͔͝F̴̯͒U̵̬̎͑Ć̸̼̰K̷̛̮̒Ȉ̶̧̠N̴̨̲̊̚G̸̼̐͆ ̸̼̇G̸̣̅Ō̵̟̓Ḋ̷̰͉!̷̻̼͛̆ ̶̜͘͜Ï̸̛̱̪'̴͇̂̾M̸̦͚͑̑ ̷̨̕̚G̶͓͙̓̑O̷̘͘͝I̶̤͙͂N̷̞̈́̉G̸͚̙͊͘ ̴̼̠̽T̵̠̾O̷̻̒̕ ̵̙̽F̶̺̽͆Ü̸̯̟C̴̻͌̚K̷̮̐Ĭ̵̠͚N̴̛͕͈G̵̰͛ ̵̱̞͂͠K̶̹͔̍I̸̛̩̩̐L̶͉͑̏L̸͓͖̓͒ ̷͔͠H̷͍̖̔I̶͈̿̑M̴͉͌ ̸͔̓̽ ̵̘͎́T̴͇͍͛̓H̴̗̼͐Ḭ̸̭́͝S̶̢̈́ ̷̧͌Ĭ̵̼̽S̷̗͌ ̴̨̔͌B̴͍͚́̇L̷͓͝͝O̴̯͙̾Ő̴̭̳D̷͎̒Y̴̠̬̊ ̸̨͍̈͘T̷͍̗̾O̴̗̕Ŕ̷͕̽T̸̗̓͐Ṳ̸̮̒̎R̴̭͚̾Ë̸͈̜!̸̩̽ ̴̮̾F̸̹͛͝Ų̴̬͝C̵̹͒K̸̤̀͜ ̵̻͓́͊I̸̩͑̚'̷̫̗̽̇Ṃ̶̛̓ ̶͖͌̓B̷͚̳͐̇Ū̸̮͐R̶̫̔N̵͔͠Í̶̧͎̌N̵̲̜̍̅G̶̤̬͘ ̵̱̰̃O̸͎͗͌N̶͐ͅ ̷̻͒̚T̷̩̐͜H̴̙̊Ȅ̶̙̅ ̸̦̲̿̾I̶̤̰͗͠N̶̻̈́S̷̺̆I̴͚̯̒̉D̵̩͂E̴͉͆̈!̸̖̐̓
F̵̯̟́͠U̴̡͉͒̂C̸̨͍̾͠K̶̦͊͗I̵̯͑ͅN̴̖͊̽Ġ̷͚͝ ̴͍͒H̷͚̆E̷̤̹̐͑L̷̞̼͋L̶̼̿̽!̶̟̚
Ȃ̸̹̰͂̀̈́A̵̻̲͝Ä̴͈̉̚ͅA̸̠̋̉̔̀͝A̷̠̮͙̺͊͐̏̀̀Ã̴̖̟̤̟̱̑̒͠A̸̻̖̮̿̽̅Ä̷̝͉̲̏Ä̶̛͖̝́̾̃͊A̸͓̜̰͍̬̓̍̊͝H̸̢̭͖̺͂̐͒ͅH̵̢͍̝͍̖͒̂͠Ḧ̴̫̮͕́ͅH̴͇̬̉̈́H̴̘̼̥͆̊̑ͅḦ̷͕́̓̕H̸̺̱͚̗͊́Ḥ̴̈͗H̵̱̳̩͌̈́̍H̷̰͇̭͈̔͂̈̇̋H̷̜̀H̸̰͇̿̋̑H̴͎̽͋̉̉͠Ḩ̸̹̭͌̓̕H̶̢̠̬̭̿̇̈́̅Ḥ̷̡̢̱̃̚̚͜H̸̨̖̆̎͜Ḥ̴̾̀̎Ḩ̸̼͈̮̓̀͐̏̀H̵̢̩̚H̵̝̩̞̓Ḩ̵̭̯͍͌̆͆̓̕H̵͓̭͎́̃̀H̸̑͜
Luna POV
On the rooftops of the laboratory that housed me, I watched the night skies as I hovered over the floor. Thinking.
Wondering to myself.
"Are you ok, Luna?" Hearing my little sister calling me, I turned my head to see Penny standing next to me past midnight. It has been almost a day since Alpha departed to accomplish Ironwood's mission alone. Only recently, Dr Watts managed to integrate Alpha's nanomachines into my system. And the results are significant.
Systems now allow for indefinite use of combat mode without the risk of system shutdown. As a result, combat efficiency has risen by 86.638%. However, further testing is required to improve efficiency.
One thing still concerns me though. For there has been no word from Alpha for a while. General Ironwood assured us that Alpha would return and meet him in Beacon alongside his fellow headmaster. Ozpin.
Even so, marching into unknown territory gives a -15.762% survival rate despite receiving Construct augmentations recently. Alpha wielding such a body could have made her suffer from unknown side effects.
"I'm sure Lucia will come back! She always does." Penny said confidently as I slowly nodded.
"I believe you. Sister."
Back at Merlot's facility, Lucia could be seen slashing through another mutated Grimm. Artificial blood could be seen pouring down her nose, and simultaneously, a scowl was on her face as she jumped over some mutated Creeps and cut through a mutated Ursa. Then, she began slicing the wall of hard light dust in her way with Benizakura after using it to eliminate the remaining mutated Grimm in the vicinity.
"My oh my. Are you just begging to see what that can do now?" Merlot just grinned as Lucia continued to cause chunks to break off. "Very well then. The insertion process is done, and the actual testing can now begin."
A hiss could be seen as the pod opened up while, at the same time, the hard light dust wall began to flicker. But before Lucia could break through the wall and close the distance towards Merlot's experiment, the EMP device on the ceiling glows with power and is about to release another pulse.
Only for Lucia to instantly sliced it into two as she dived straight for the pod. But that's when it awoke and grabbed her blade with its hand.
"I must admit. If my partner ever finds out about this. He would probably kill me for conducting it, but it is for the good of us all. I needed life subjects for this to work, and he won't accept it. Believing that I'm 'crossing the line.'" Merlot scoffed as Lucia just looked absolutely horrified at the look of that thing. It grabbed her by the neck and threw her aside with little effort.
And what emerged from the pod could be a mixture of Grimm, Human and machine. Much of the body was covered in cybernetics, with the few remaining flesh being deathly pale in colour. Black veins could also be seen all over its body as a plain white mask was on its face. Black particles could also be seen being emitted by that thing.
It snarled at Lucia as a massive halberd emerged from the ground next to it before it grabs the halberd with one hand, let out a screak, and charged at Lucia. Who dodged it to the side and sent a stab through its back with Benizakura.
Lucia's blade pierced through Merlot's creation's back as black blood poured from its stab wound. However, it does not flinch but just responds with more screeching before it turns its weapon horizontally toward Lucia, who ducks underneath it, pulls her sword out of that abomination, and takes several steps back.
"Out of everything I've seen so far. This goes too far..." Lucia spat as she readied herself while Merlot's creation snarled. "And once I'm done with this 'experiment' of yours, I'm coming after you, Merlot."
"I wouldn't worry much about it, even if you were to kill it. It is still in its testing phase and the data are pretty impressive, I must say." Merlot says without a care of the world as he begins typing down his observations.
"I doubt it," Lucia muttered as she disappeared in a flash and instantly ended that abomination by turning it into tiny gibs, much to Merlot's surprise at the speed Lucia sliced his creation into bits.
But however, much to Lucia's surprise, the gibs of Merlot's creation began to pull themselves back together rapidly.
"Rapid regeneration?"
"Yes! A wonderful surprise, isn't it?" Merlot grinned as his creation reformed itself, its right arm turning into a long blade as it still wields the halberd in its free hand. Lucia narrowed her eyes in shock before they widened as she concluded that something in the black goo was keeping it alive. Lucia zoomed into the black substance with her eyes only to recognise something.
No… it can't be.
Father's nanomachines? Inside it? Tainted and corrupted with Grimm essence?
How?
Her shock lasted only a split second before the abomination closed the distance, with a hand blade swung for her head. Lucia raised Benizakura and blocked the attack aimed for her head, the ground beneath her caving in from the seer force unleashed onto her.
"Father's Technology compromised. The General must know of this…" Lucia muttered as her right eye glowed. "Target for absolute termination. Let the flames of the abyss end your pain and existence."
Time froze as Lucia unleashed her full might and sent hundreds of slashes that ripped into reality and pushed her construct body to its limits. Every slash burned away tainted flesh and corrupted machinery as she continues slashing until there was nothing left of Merlot's creation. Giving the poor tortured soul peace and purging every single Grimm-tainted nanomachine from existence.
Time resumed as Lucia immediately collapsed onto her knees while leaning on Benizakura as she breathed heavily, her sword glowing white hot the whole time.
As for Merlot, he was utterly stunned at what had happened in a split second, "I did not see that coming…" He admitted as Lucia grunted as she pushed herself back onto her feet.
"No matter. I have all the data I need here. I'm sure that you will see me again soon. Assuming you survived the explosion. Toodles!" Merlot waved off as his screen shut down, and an alarm went off.
"Facility overloaded. Self-destruct initiated. One minute till self-destruction."
With her eyes widened, Lucia bolted for the exit as she only had a minute before this entire facility self-destructed. Thankfully, she made it in time, as she jumped onto her motorbike and drove away as explosions could be heard in the facility behind her before a final blast engulfed it.
Out of the blast zone and aware of the potential Grimm attracted to loud noises, Lucia drove away and towards an abandoned garden wide enough for her jet to use as a landing zone. And with haste, Lucia embarked on her jet as it took off.
"God, that was a mess…" I muttered to myself as I leaned against the inner hull of my jet. Honestly, that could have gone better. But, while I failed to hack Merlot's facility for more data, not all was lost. I managed to piggyback Merlot's connection. Now I know where he is right now. But…
Where did he get Father's tech? Just… how? It has to be his partner, right? Could it be?
[All data points to someone with experience working with Dr Kurt.]
"But the real question is who?" I thought to myself as I remembered something. Touching my nose with my hand and pulling away, I saw blood coating my fingers as it reminded me how those EMP pulses fucked me up hard. I need to find a countermeasure as soon as possible.
While this Construct body can surprisingly resist it for a while, it is not wise to ignore such apparent vulnerability. The thing is, I did not see the possibility of an EMP being present on Remnant. But that earlier conflict proves that whoever Dr Merlot is working with, he's a significant threat to me and anyone else against him.
[System instability detected. Reasons for instability.]
[Exposure to EMP pulses.]
[Current system stability at 89%]
[System repairs recommended.]
And that thing Merlot made… What the hell was that thing… An abomination. I need to inform Ironwood and Ozpin. If Salem gets her hands on either of them, Remnant is in for much trouble. Back to Merlot. I've managed to track Merlot's location in… the middle of the sea far south of Sanus?
What the…?
In the ocean? How did he get there?
[System repairs recommended.]
[Time required for complete system repairs. 1 day.]
[Recommend system repairs before rendezvousing with General Ironwood.]
Geeze, it really wants me to attend to that, huh?
Letting out a sigh, I pushed myself off the wall and headed to the operating table. However, the Hud does have a point, I don't know how badly that EMP scrambled my systems, and some maintenance would be nice after what was supposed to be a glorified scouting mission. Additionally, I do not know what low system stability would mean for me, so better to be safe than sorry.
With a plan in mind, I had the Griffin find a secluded spot to hide in Mount Glenn while I performed a day's worth of maintenance checks. Which was unusually long, but I won't mind it. First, I need to sleep and process everything I've seen so far through.
Once maintenance is done, I will head to Beacon Academy and meet up with Ironwood and Ozpin. Perhaps I should come up with a suitable outfit in the meantime. Oh! And I should also hide my mechanical origins. Can't let team RWBY or anyone else suspect me too early.
"Well then. Let's get to work." I thought to myself as I lay on the operating table.
Somewhere in the middle of the ocean…
Dr Racher could be seen typing away on a console minding his own business when Merlot opened the door to his laboratory. Knowing his partner was behind him, Racher paused as he turned to face Merlot, holding a tablet.
"Ah, Racher, Alpha appears to be such a fascinating machine, isn't she?" Merlot greeted him as Dr Racher turned to face Merlot.
"She would have been so, had she not decided to go on a killing spree on all my colleagues." Racher bitterly admitted. "What did you find out?" He decided to cut to the chase, as he had no intention of spending longer with a crazed man.
Merlot extended his hand with the tablet to Racher, who took it from him. "She appears to be beyond what was in the records. The information you have on her is outdated."
Racher just narrowed his eyes. "In what way?"
"Just read it. You will find what I've gathered to be… worth your attention." Merlot gestured his hand to the tablet in Racher's hand. Closing his eyes for a second or two, Racher landed his eyes on the tablet and began reading through.
"Your invention did work on her. To an extent."
"I can read." Racher deadpanned as Merlot leaned to the right to look at Racher's creation.
"What a fascinating creation you have over there." Merlot commented as Racher brought his eyes up from the tablet and back to the Grimm-obsessed scientist.
"Your point? From what I know, you have also been working on your own experiments. What's so fascinating about mine?" Racher questioned.
"Nothing of concern. But I must inform you that Alpha knows of our current location."
…
"YOU WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU DO?" Dr Racher suddenly roared at Merlot who just took it at face value with a smirk.
"Oh? She piggybacked off my bandwidth and tracked us here. But that won't matter. We have months before she or Atlas arrive here." Merlot nonchalantly comments while ignoring that his fellow scientist just screaming in his face.
"And just what were you thinking?! Do you know how this could threaten both of our plans? My work is still months away from completion, and the shit you just pulled off puts it all at risk!" Racher countered as Merlot wiped the saliva off his coat.
"Then you better get working on it. I will do the same with mine…" Merlot turned and left Racher's laboratory as he just muttered to himself in frustration.
"This partnership is becoming less appealing by the moment." Racher rubbed his forehead with his hands. "No matter, I can still do this. Even with this complication."
And so, Racher turned back and resumed typing on the console as a feminine humanoid lay on the operating table with much of its limbs robotic in nature. Its arms were sleek and humanoid, while its legs were digitigrade in design. There was also a rather sizeable mechanical tail attached, but much of it was still in the making.
"Now… What to call you." Racher hummed as an idea came to his head.
"Ah, I know," He then smirked. "I think I will call you,"
"Lamia."
And we are done with this chapter! And things are now getting more interesting at the moment, yea? Some stuff happened at my office that required me to stay later than usual, so I had no choice but to spend less time writing it when I had time. So likely chapters might be a bit slower or something. Besides that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as we got some stuff to talk about.
Firstly, as you can tell, Lucia took the time to sabotage the White Fang's hideout in Mount Glenn, and this would change things dramatically since it has been crippled heavily. Secondly, Merlot's facility and that thing Lucia fought and eliminated. As you can tell, Merlot had Racher's assistance in the form of an EMP device, which hurts Lucia's internal systems.
Another thing that I need to address is that while Merlot and Racher are working together, they would act against each other and sabotage each other's work due to conflicting ideas and philosophies. Even their creations are different, with Merlot's being more beastly and less restrained compared to Racher's, which is more similar to android with enhancements. And I bet some of you can tell who she is.
With that, I have nothing much to say either than a request for you to follow and favourite me if you enjoy this story! Do also leave a review of what you think of this chapter, as I enjoy reading it and giving replies to it!
And with that, I will see your wonderful people in the future!
RGQC out!