Okay, after all those comments, I now know who reads the Light Novels and who just watches the Magical Index anime. For those of you who don't know, and I apologize for the spoilers ahead. (Skip out of the author notes if you don't want to know.) The Dragon Shell is actually canon. It might be a little different than what I'm going to do here, but it actually exists. For those that read the Light Novel and expect KnT (Won't explain who this is), there's a difference. Dragon Shell shows up when Touma wants to utilize the dragons better. Knt Shows up when Touma thinks he's using the Imagine Breaker wrong and thinks his old memories hold the key. (This is what my friends and I have discussed on discord. If Kamachi tells us later it's wrong, not much we can do about it.)
Sorry about the wait though. My Beta had college and technical issues. Thanks to Wishez for finally getting off his butt.
Disclaimer: I do not own Toaru Majutsu no Index or RWBY.
Touma's brain processed the explosions almost on instinct.
It wasn't the first time he had dealt with terrorists before. The problem was, as the deafening sounds came from above him, they weren't caused by magic or supernatural powers like Semblances or abilities. If it was a Dust bomb, he would be able to negate parts of the explosion, but he wouldn't be able to cancel it out fully. His hand couldn't do anything against the ceiling when it cracked and brought down the floor above them. There were also the materials the building was made out of. Wood, metal, and other things would just fall and crush him along with the others.
'Just my luck. If only my power could negate physical stuff. Guess I should have learned about the dragons earlier.'
The danger Touma sensed made him immediately wrap his left arm around Sienna and pushed her down as the thought he had ran through his mind at the same time. The boy was too used to helping others that his body moved automatically. If Sienna died here, the White Fang's anger would be almost impossible to quell. They would lash out and attack Atlas, Vale, and anyone else who got in their way. If anyone needed to get out of this alive to have a chance at keeping the peace, it was her. His own life be damned. All of his friends that he had made here on Remnant deserved to live a peaceful life.
As the rubble and debris from the collapsing ceiling fell down upon him, one last thought passed through his mind.
'Index is going to be so mad at me…'
The light vanished as he was engulfed in debris. The panic shouting was just a mish-mash of random sounds. Yet, as he lay buried under the rubble, the boy realized something. He could feel Sienna under him and the weight on top, but they weren't dead. He was alive. That thought also confused him. Did the rubble miraculously miss them and just form a pocket around the two of them? That kind of luck didn't exist for him. Groaning, he pushed up, trying to get his bearings and see what had happened. The weight on his back began to stir as debris fell to either side. Noticing how well it was working, the boy continued to stand, pulling Sienna up with his arm still firmly wrapped around her waist.
Instantly, he was aware of everyone staring at him.
At first, Touma thought they were all amazed that he and Sienna managed to get out in one piece. The way they were gaping at him told him that wasn't entirely the case. Even Pyrrha, who was holding her hands up in the air using her Polarity Semblance to keep the rest of the roof from crashing down, seemed more shocked than was natural. Many of the remaining people weren't even staring at him. It seemed like they were staring at something behind him and over the boy's shoulder. Sienna turned and looked up at him before a small smile graced her lips.
"It seems the rumors may not have been entirely exaggerated." Sienna commented, looking up into Touma's eyes as he securely held her up.
"What are you…?"
The words died instantly in Touma's mouth as he turned his head. The large turquoise wing with yellow-like veins attached to his back flickered back and forth before beginning to slowly dissolve. Much like a Grimm did on death, as if it couldn't exist when he perceived it. Pieces broke off and vanished into the air like dust in the wind.
"If you're okay!" Weiss' shriek split his skull. "Get out of the blast zone, idiot!"
Touma began to move, and Sienna attached to his arm took off to her credit. Years of fighting had honed her own reflexes. Sienna jumped over the rubble while Touma was forced to climb out. Aura enhanced strength helped a lot here. Though, the boy's body felt pretty light, even after having a hotel dropped on him. Pushing off a wood beam, he sort of half leaped onto the ground and fled with Sienna out the front door. The remainder of the troops, Weiss, and Pyrrha, followed suit. Pyrrha was the last one to go, and she slowly lowered the main metal beam to avoid a sudden jolt that might have messed with the already unstable structure.
Outside the hotel, it was a madhouse.
People were screaming from the smoke, part of one floor had caved in, and the police, both Atlas and Vale, were trying to push all the citizens away. It wasn't pretty. Groups of Faunus were yelling at groups of humans, who all seemed to be at each other's throats. Reporters were trying to film the carnage, and only Lisa Lavender was nearby; her camera focused on Sienna and Touma. Two of Sienna's entourage rushed over and began to whisper to her. She nodded and turned to Lisa.
"Are you connected?" Sienna asked, strutting over once they were out of the danger zone. She looked a little tattered, but somehow still kept her regal appearance.
"What are you doing?" Pyrrha asked.
"I'm going to calm things down for now." Sienna told them. "As a thank you for saving me."
"Let me do an intro and I'll introduce you," Lisa told her. "The audience already saw Touma Kamijou saving you, so we'll build off that."
"Wait, don't!" Touma tried to move forward, but the cameraman pushed him away.
"Sorry, kid. This has to be done."
"Lisa Lavender here," The woman introduced herself to the camera as the light of it turned on. "Sorry about the interruption. Based on what happened, a terrorist bombed the hotel where the Peace Conference was taking place. Sienna Khan, the current leader of the White Fang, was almost killed during the assassination attempt. Thanks to the quick work of the students of Beacon, it appeared that everyone in the main conference area escaped unharmed. Including Sienna Khan herself. Miss Khan has some words for us all."
"Look." Weiss pointed.
Pyrrha, Jaune, and Touma looked up at a large screen attached to another building showing Lisa Lavender, her words echoing over Vale. The screen was always attuned to a news station for the people in Central Vale to get information. The kingdom tended to use it for emergency alerts. As the camera angle changed, they saw what Sienna looked like to the rest of the world.
"It seems that the prospect of peace is never easy," Sienna spoke firmly. "I never believed someone could be so foolish as to attack something like this. Atlas and Vale had assured me all security measures were taken. Yet, bombs were placed without their notice."
"What's she doing!?" Touma demanded. "She's going to incite things even worse!"
"Wait!" Weiss grabbed his arm. "Not yet. She has to acknowledge this."
"At the same time, it was thanks to the students at Beacon who risked their lives along with soldiers of both Kingdoms to protect the other guests and me." Sienna continued. "I will not blame all humans for this attack. I will blame those responsible. So I must plead to all Faunus and humans who are disgusted by this act, do not resort to violence. Let us wait for the investigation. I'm sure Atlas and Vale will not fail us a second time…" A thin tug formed at her lips. "And a special thanks to Touma Kamijou, who protected me with his own body. I hope we can continue our partnership."
Sienna then walked away with her guards toward Ozpin.
"She's really good at masking her anger," Lisa commented to her cameraman. "I was hoping she would let it slip, but this is good too. We should see if we can get Ironwood and Ozpin's statements after getting the kids…" Her eyes fell on Touma and Weiss. She looked predatory for a moment but was blocked by several Atlas troopers, pushing all civilians away.
"Atlas saved our butts," Touma whispered to Jaune. "Even after Sienna pretty much blamed Atlas."
"She's got a way with words," Jaune whispered.
"She's the victim here, and that can't be disputed easily," Pyrrha explained. "By telling people not to riot and show she's not going to discriminate, she's putting herself above those that hate all Faunus. At the same time, she's putting pressure on Atlas and Vale to actually do something. It will make the Councils look incompetent if they can't arrest those responsible for this."
"Then why add my name to this?" Touma demanded.
"She's trying to make your life harder," Weiss explained, looking at the building as fire trucks arrived.. "Guess what? Those who still hate the White Fang will now see you as a member."
"Okay… then why are you smiling so much?" Touma's eyes narrowed.
"Oh, no reason." Weiss's hands rubbed her cheek. "Not the fact my father is going to be furious at the fact I was here and at the same time, can't scold me for attending such an important function."
"If you want to piss him off, you can always say we're dating." Touma winked at her.
"If you tell anyone that, I will freeze the sword between your legs and give it to Zwei." Weiss smiled back, ice cold like her words.
"Noted, Mistress."
Jaune and Pyrrha snickered as Weiss stepped on his toe with her heel.
"I have a few things to tell you about the initial investigation," Ozpin told them as Touma, Jaune, Weiss, and Pyrrha sat in a private meeting room at the police station. They had been there for hours, with their Scrolls blowing up. Their friends back at Beacon were calling and texting them every minute. Ozpin and Ironwood put out a gag order, for now, so all they could send was that they were okay and would tell them what happened later.
Unfortunately, any answer they gave didn't leave their friends with peace of mind.
"Understand that this information is confidential until we tell you otherwise," Ozpin continued, pacing back and forth on one side of the table. "Though, we do understand that your teams are… persuasive."
"Regardless," Glynda slammed her hand on the table, making them jump. "If I get wind of any word of this escaping into the student body, you all will be in trouble, the likes of which you have never seen."
The kids gulped.
"Easy, Glynda," Ozpin assured her. "Thanks to them, we still have a chance at coming to a peaceful conclusion. If Sienna Khan had died, we would have had a major riot on the streets. Miss Schnee and Miss Nikos' timely action with their Semblances, along with Mr. Arc helping escort the guests out, and of course, Mr. Kamijou's efforts to shield Miss Khan were deeds worthy of Huntsmen and Huntresses."
Pyrrha and Weiss tried not to smile at the praise while Jaune fidgeted in his chair. Touma thoroughly brushed it off as he was still trying to understand what had happened. His brain was still processing what he had seen.
"I"m more surprised they just used one bomb," Weiss admitted. "It would make sense to use multiple ones at key infrastructure points."
"That was their plan." Glynda sighed.
"Huh?!"
"What do you mean, professor?" Pyrrha gasped. "I thought only one went off? Weren't they just trying to assassinate Sienna Khan?"
"They were planning to bring down the entire hotel," Ozpin stated seriously. "Security had discovered one of the other bombs less than thirty seconds before the first one went off."
"So they managed to find and disarm them all in that time frame, wow… Atlas security is top notch." Jaune admitted.
"That's just it…" Ozpin and Glynda's eyes slowly turned to Touma, much to everyone's confusion. "They were already disarmed by the time security found them."
"How?" Weiss demanded to know. "That doesn't make any sense."
"One person mentioned seeing a small pink and white girl in the spot with the one they found before she… vanished," Ozpin stated slowly.
It dawned on them what happened, but Neo was supposed to be back at Beacon. Did she follow them and manage to sneak into the conference through all the security? The terrorists managed to pretend to be waitstaff to do so. Neo was an expert thief and master of infiltration. It wouldn't have been too hard for her to do the same. Touma, meanwhile, smacked his forehead.
"I thought I saw a waitress with mismatched eyes, but I assumed I was imagining it." The boy admitted. "So she did follow…"
"It's a good thing she did, because it was thanks to her, everyone who attended today's event survived," Ozpin explained, as Glynda looked away, unable to criticize. "It seemed she was turning over a new leaf and I was slowly relaxing her conditions. I'm glad to see she took advantage of my leniency to help people. She will now be welcomed as a fully stated beacon student."
"Looks like Touma was right about her," Jaune shrugged. "Yang's going to hate that."
"You're not the one she constantly complains to about her." Weiss groaned.
While Weiss' attitude was expected, no one saw Touma's reaction.
"This is terrible!" The unfortunate boy buried his face into his hands.
"Isn't this what you wanted?" Pyrrha blinked in confusion. "To show that Neo was redeemable?"
"Yes, but not like this." Touma leaned back in his chair as he stared up at the ceiling. "Dammit. She's never gonna let any of us live this down."
"You're… right about that," It was Weiss who shared the sentiment.
"...and do you think the attack will prevent the White Fang from making any more public appearances?" A female news anchor said in Team RWBY's room on a talk show. Weiss and Blake were watching it on Weiss' Scroll with interest as Ruby played video games with Jaune, Yang, Touma, and Nora. Pyrrha sat behind them and watched. She liked participating but was really bad at games and held them back. No matter how much Nora helped her, she was just hopeless at them.
"They certainly will be cautious," The man replied. "Atlas showed they were so incapable of providing adequate security that it took students at Beacon to step in and prevent casualties."
"Incapable or deliberate?" Another woman pointed out. "It's possible Atlas didn't do their best job because they have a violent history with the White Fang."
"One can hardly say the White Fang are innocent in all this," The first female replied. "Violence has occurred from both sides, and as Sienna Khan pointed out, Faunus have been discriminated against even with current laws. The information she sent out so far has been confirmed to be accurate."
"Which makes it seem like the point of this so-called 'peace conference' was just a ploy to slam Atlas and Vale while introducing that Dragon Faunus." A second man grunted. "It's riled up Faunus all over Remnant. The rumors that arose. Some of the more extreme groups are saying this boy will lead them in a rebellion against humanity."
"There has been a lot of online activity about a Dragon Faunus being the sign of the end time," The first woman admitted. "But is he a dragon Faunus? Faunus can't hide their traits like that. It's possible he might have one of the Huntsman abilities, a Semblance, that does that."
"Ugh, shut it off." Blake groaned, getting up. "Once they start talking about Touma being a Dragon Faunus, they never return to the important topics."
"With an assassination attempt on the White Fang leader during a peace conference, they STILL talk about what he did." Weiss agreed, gesturing one hand toward Touma. "It should be obvious he isn't a Faunus due to the fact Faunus traits don't just vanish and appear on command. Sure, some stuff like retractable claws are the exceptions, but wings and a tail?"
"It's been three days; can't they let up?" The boy they were talking about sighed as he died in the game.
"It's because Faunus usually have real animal traits," Pyrrha replied. "I've been getting a lot of mail asking if I know Touma personally and if he's a Faunus. Many are under the impression since he's a mythical creature, he can blend in with humans and hide his traits."
"Is that all the mail you've been getting?" Yang turned around, her eyes twinkling. "Nothing else?"
"You know as well as everyone else I've been getting mail about my relationship with Jaune." Pyrrha nodded slowly.
"Are any of the boys begging you to dump him for them?" The blonde girl asked eagerly.
"A few have, yes." Pyrrha sighed. "I'm almost considering making a public announcement through my manager about this."
"Her manager is stupid," Nora huffed. "I heard him telling Pyrrha she should think about her status and dump him."
"What did you say back?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I told him if he suggested that again, he would be looking for a new job," Pyrrha replied sternly.
Jaune felt his face grow hot as he couldn't resist smiling. Ruby was beside him, holding a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles.
"You go, girl!" Nora cheered. "Now, just stick it to the people who write mean letters to Jaune."
"How bad is it?" Ruby asked, turning to Jaune.
"Not terrible… mostly thanks to Beacon." The boy had to elaborate at the confused look on his friend's face. "Turns out, all our mail in Beacon is examined closely. They don't read our mail, but they do check our package contents. Booby-trapped boxes, any weird substances, those kinds of things? All of them are removed. I was told they disarmed a box that would have blown up and painted our room purple."
"I would have broken that person's legs." Nora nodded sagely.
"My letters come into three main categories," Jaune held up three fingers and lowered them down as he talked. "First, the ones who congratulated me for being lucky. And I am." He turned and smiled at Pyrrha, who genuinely smiled back. "The second group who hates me. They range from insults to death threats. Luckily, they don't phase me. Weiss has way better insults."
"I take full pride in being the one who made you develop a thick skin," Weiss told him.
"Ugh, ever since she's been dating Accelerator, she's been trying to make more jokes, and she's awful at it," Yang complained.
"Still better than your puns." Ruby piped up, high-fiving Weiss as she appeared out of nowhere.
"Punishment!" Yang put her sister in a headlock to give her a noogie. "Never betray your older sister."
"I give, I give!"
"The third group," Jaune continued. "Are the people asking me how I got her to date me."
"And you told them it's because you had amazing friends like Mercury and me hitting you upside the head with a bat screaming at you that she likes you?" Touma interjected with an amused look.
"Nah, I don't recall you ever telling me that." Jaune feigned innocence. "Must be that blunt force trauma."
"Bull." Touma punched him in the arm with his right hand, so Jaune's Aura couldn't absorb the blow.
"That's cheating."
"Shush, I'm a dragon Faunus. Fear me."
Everyone laughed but Blake, though she couldn't hold back the corner of her lips twitching.
"Is that why Neo has been sending everyone pictures of your 'training' to everyone?" Blake asked, tapping her scroll.
"The one where he looks constipated?" Yang asked. "Yeah, that one is hilarious."
"He's trying. That alone is commendable." Pyrrha interjected.
Touma hung his head at the thought. They had been bombarded with questions when they returned from the conference at nearly three o'clock in the morning. Of course, Touma could not explain adequately what happened. He had no idea, either. The boy eventually did have to explain what was hidden in his hand because Blake and Ruby were prodding him. To say people were shocked would be an understatement. If it wasn't for Ruby and Blake vouching for him, he doubted any of them would have believed it.
So, of course, Neo was quick to point out they had been right about him not knowing what his powers could do. Obviously, the first step was to figure out how to repeat that cool dragon armor. It took some convincing not to do anything life-threatening. A couple of times when he thought he was alone, he tried to conjure it, even talking to his hand, but nothing. Neo saw him and videoed his expressions before sending it to everyone.
When he tried to reprimand her, she just used her Semblance to make the word 'Hero' appear in midair.
"I'm still upset you won't show us the transformation." Nora pouted. "Ren wants to see it. He just doesn't say it."
"I keep telling you. I don't know how to do it." Touma repeated the line for the umpteenth time.
"Where is he anyways?" Ruby asked. "He usually hangs out with us."
"He's going into town to restock supplies for that disgusting shake of his." Nora shuttered.
"Last Order went with him because she wanted a couple of snacks she really likes," Weiss added.
"Accelerator was okay with that?" Yang turned around to look at the heiress.
"Ren's trustworthy," Weiss countered simply. "Plus, he met with Eliza… about the Gate progress." There was a fraction of a second pause in the second half of her statement.
"Why aren't you there?" Ruby asked Touma. "Seems like something you would want to know."
"If I went, I would just stand there awkwardly," Touma shrugged as he focused on the game. "I know nothing about Dust Engineering, interdimensional travel, or anything beyond fixing a few fuses. Accelerator can at least understand what she's talking about, what needs to be done, and how long it's expected to take. Actually, I could have asked that last question, but I would have no idea if they were lying to me or not."
"Makes sense," Ruby agreed, nodding her head sagely. "I would have sent Weiss if I was in your place."
"She's not kidding. She really would be begging me to go instead." Weiss acknowledged.
"Where's Neo now?" Nora asked. "Enjoying her freedom? I would be happy to get an ankle brace off."
"I think she was working out in the training room," Touma bit the corner of lip as he thought about it. "She was upset she missed a bomb. Said she was getting sloppy."
"She located and disarmed nine out of ten bombs," Blake pointed out. "I may not like her a lot, but that's impressive on her own."
"Yeah, I hate her, but she was the conference's hero." Yang agreed. "Maybe she's not completely irredeemable.'
"I bet Neo's hiding in the room and listening." Jaune laughed.
"If she is, she'll be enjoying the praise." Pyrrha giggled.
"Nah, if she's here, she's recording it for her ringtone." Touma paused, picked up a pillow off the bed, and tossed it into the corner of the room. There was a shattering of glass as Neo's illusion broke into pieces. "I figured it was about time for you to show up."
Neo looked almost impressed, then stuck out her tongue.
"How long have you been there!?" Weiss demanded.
The multicolored girl shrugged.
"You know you shouldn't be sneaking into people's rooms." Touma sighed. "Even if we're all here."
"I would have let you in if you had knocked," Ruby added. Neo pointed to Yang and Blake.
"Nah, I would have left her in the hallway." Yang admitted. Blake simply shrugged back as she would probably do the same if it were necessary.
Neo stuck her tongue out at them and then walked over to lean on Touma's head.
"Fine, we can go do some more training," The boy sighed, getting up and passing his controller over to Pyrrha. "Not sure what it's going to accomplish. We have no idea what to do?"
"Can I help!?" Ruby cried out, as she hopped to her feet.
Neo smiled, nodded, then gestured like she was aiming a rifle.
"NO!" Touma stepped between them. "You do not give her permission to shoot at me."
"I can use non-lethal ammo," Ruby suggested. "Or some minor electrical Dust, so it shocks you a little bit."
"Ruby, you are forbidden to hang out with Neo anymore on your own!" Yang declared. "She's a bad influence!"
"No, she's not! She's nice."
Neo nodded and high-fived Ruby.
"Hmm, this could be a problem," Blake whispered dryly to Weiss.
Accelerator stepped off the shuttle in the forest outside Vale.
He had been to this workshop several times, but it still felt a little strange. Not scary, as he didn't believe in stupid things like ghosts. The location was just way out of the way and quiet. Fear of accidentally causing an explosion, they had to make sure the structure was far away from any populated area and ensure no one accidentally ran into it. Walking up to the door, he swiped his card Ozpin had given him, and the metal door slid open. The entranceway was pretty barren and led to an elevator.
"Welcome!" Eliza smiled, waiting for him when he got off. "Right on time."
"Hey," Accelerator nodded. "Ozpin said there was some real progress being made?"
"Come and see, but I'm not sure how much you'll understand," Eliza gestured for him to follow. "Not being from here, you might not understand the mechanical workings…"
"I've been studying Dust engineering for a bit, so I have a grasp of things." Accelerator interjected. "I'll let you know if there's something I don't understand."
"Ah, well, okay." The woman eyed him a little skeptical. "Let me show you where we are."
The central lab was in a large open room with computers behind a two-foot bulletproof glass wall. What Accelerator's eyes were drawn to was the large circular metal gateway attached to the wall. A ramp led up to the machine, but it was currently silent. No lights or electricity was flowing into it at the moment. Hundreds of wires and cables were attached to the device as they slipped along the sides of the wall, behind metal shielding. It looked like it was completed, with no open panels or anything.
"Seems to be coming along nicely," Accelerator commented. "How long until it's operational?"
"Yeah, appearances can be deceiving." Eliza sighed, dropping down into a chair. "With limited people allowed access here, it's been a lot of work getting this made. THIS is the easy part." Her hand gestured to the computers. "There's step-by-step instructions with the blueprints we recovered. Making the portal wasn't difficult."
"It's powering it then."
"Right. It's less engineering focused and more biochemical."
"Can you synthesize the chemical compound necessary to preserve the Grimm carcasses used to power the machine?" Accelerator asked.
"You were paying attention." The scientist grinned briefly. "But to answer your question… not quite."
"Why not?" Accelerator raised an eyebrow. "Is it procurement, synthesizing, or understanding?"
"Procurement and synthesizing," Eliza answered. "Take a look at this." She got back up and led him to the computers, where she had a stack of papers with formulas and compounds. "We have everything we need but the key ingredient."
"Which is?"
"A specific type of Grimm." Came the response as Eliza started typing on her computer. "One that hasn't been seen in a long time. Or so we thought. Turns out the Spyder Grimm we thought was in the lab turned out to be this." Accelerator leaned over her shoulder to take a look.
The Grimm appeared as a small skull-like creature, with three pairs of eyes, a pair of horns, and several tentacles. Like many Grimm it had red markings on its skull. Overall, it looked like a small creature was hiding under the bone mask like a crab. As far as Grimm were concerned, Accelerator didn't think it looked particularly fearsome. It was tiny, like a small dog.
"What's the big deal with this one?" Accelerator asked.
"It doesn't officially have a name, but just referenced as a Tentacle Grimm," Eliza replied. "This Grimm is not a threat by itself, but rather, when encountering others it has the ability to possess organic matter, unlike Geists, which only can possess inorganic matter."
"So… it can possess people and animals?" Accelerator asked, frowning.
"Yeah, and even other Grimm, enhancing their physical attributes exponentially." Eliza explained. "A very dangerous Grimm in those situations. We thought it was extinct."
"Until that mad scientist kept one locked up,." Accelerator pointed out. "But the fucking lab imploded. If there was one there, it's gone now."
"Sadly, that's why this is a problem," Eliza grunted, leaning back in her chair. "The only reason this Grimm is important is because of the unique makeup allowing it to do this. I can't find any other Grimm with similar makeup. As you know, the compound slows normal Grimm's decay to a manageable level where it can be converted into energy. This Grimm's genetic makeup allows the compound to bind to other Grimm. Without this Grimm, the compound won't work, and the Grimm we try to use it on will just vanish."
"Can you substitute another type of energy source over Grimm energy?" Accelerator asked.
"No, nothing else is viable. Merlot ran a lot of tests to see if he could because of the difficulty it was to procure that Grimm. Dust, oil, raw electricity, nothing." The woman rubbed her temples. "This method was only made possible by Merlot's assistant. I found a mention of him in a journal entry where that guy discovered it."
"Easy, find that guy." Accelerator rolled his eyes. "Get him to work for us."
"I have a first name and NO other information!" Eliza cried out. "He would be impossible to find. Seriously, I would love to meet this Aleister guy. He must be a genius."
At the name, Accelerator froze.
That name was familiar and attached to many horrible things back home. Aleister was the superintendent of Academy City, the one who authorized and monitored the crazy experiments, including Accelerator's. The man was supposed to be a genius, and Accelerator wasn't naive enough to think otherwise. One couldn't control Academy City for as long as he did without intelligence and power. At the same time, the man couldn't be here. There was no way they could be the same person. Aleister couldn't be that uncommon of a name. It was probably best not to think about it.
"So then, what's the plan?" Accelerator asked instead, crossing his arms. "You haven't stopped construction of The Gate."
"I sent two people to investigate some areas that historical records have shown that this Grimm used to live," Eliza assured him. "I haven't been sitting on my ass doing nothing. It's called multitasking and moms are pros at it."
"Wouldn't know."
Eliza spent the next hour explaining some of the mechanical functions and how they operated. Some of the upgrades they have done since technology has improved since the first gate experiment. As Accelerator now had a basic understanding of Dust and Dust Engineering, along with his own knowledge from before coming to Remnant, he understood pretty much everything. It was apparent Eliza was impressed. He even was able to check some work of hers and verify it was accurate.
"The two biggest roadblocks are finding a Grimm with a similar composition as the Tentacle Grimm, and then trying to understand how Grimm Powered Generators work," Eliza finished. "That's going to take some trial and error. Not going to lie, it will probably take several times longer than recreating the physical Gate. There's also a chance that even with the upgrades proposed by Merlot, the Gate won't work. I don't want to sound discouraging…"
"No, I appreciate the honesty." It was a far cry from Academy City where nearly everyone lied or told secrets. Accelerator may not fully trust Ozpin's motivation, but Eliza had been straightforward with him. "I'm not like the others and their optimism. I'm a realist and will accept the reality of the situation. Don't sugar coat things for me like you do the others."
"Glad to hear it. I'm not a fan of political speaking anyways." Eliza grinned at him as her Scroll began to ring. "Hang on a second."
Accelerator sat down and examined some documents in front of him with the engineering schematics of part of the gate. Even with Academy City being more advanced than the rest of the world, these plans were almost in a league of their own. As far as the boy was aware, no one in Academy City considered making a portal to another world. Current theory indicated other worlds didn't exist. It looks like they would have to reevaluate that. The more Accelerator thought about it, the more he wanted to laugh.
"Are you sure!" Eliza's voice cut into Accelerator's thoughts, and he spun around. "Okay, I'll head there immediately." She hung up, jumped to her feet, and began to rummage through some supplies, shoving a briefcase with gear.
"What's going on?"
"Ozpin had a couple of his men observing the area outside Vale for anything strange around where Merlot's Lab exploded," Eliza explained. "We hoped some parts of the lab survived or there were more hidden compartments. Honestly, I think he was just paranoid that someone else would check it out and wanted to monitor them. Well, Ozpin just called me and said something was going on. Grimm have been acting weird there, so I was going to check it out. Do you want in? He said you could come and skip classes tomorrow."
"Damn right, I'll come." Accelerator followed her into the elevator and returned to the surface when he remembered he really ought to do something. Pulling out his Scroll, he started sending a message to Weiss.
"Messaging your girlfriend?" Eliza teased.
"Yeah, and letting her know she needs to take care of Last Order." Accelerator answered, refusing to rise to her taunts. Having someone tease him about something that made him weirdly happy was a lot better than bringing up old wounds.
A little over four hours later, a familiar fortress town came into view. It was the town where Accelerator went on his first mission for Beacon with Team JNPR. The city closest to Merlot's Lab. If something were here relating to the Gate, it would make sense that something would happen here. The Bullhead landed, and Eliza put on a pair of sunglasses as she picked up her briefcase.
"Now, you know the plan, right?" The woman asked Accelerator. "We're here to investigate the Grimm sightings. Well, I am. You're protecting me. Under no circumstance do we tell others about our real objective."
"Got it," The albino replied, standing up from his seat. "I'm not the type to blab."
"And we have to capture the tentacle Grimm. Alive! I can't stress this enough." Eliza pointed to a metal vat prepared for the compound. "We need to shove it into that to start the chemical reaction."
"Going to be tough to sneak it out." Accelerator commented.
"We won't take it until we get back to the Bullhead," Eliza assured him. "And then we will make our great escape with nobody noticing."
"Famous last words," Accelerator muttered as he followed her off the ship. "Everything is going to go wrong."
"I'm sure you can handle it."
The two of them didn't get far, when Martin, the pudgy bald mayor of the town, came forward.
"Eliza?" The man asked. "I heard you might be coming, but I'm quite surprised you want to deal with the simple task of exterminating a few Grimm."
"I heard there were quite a few acting strangely?" Eliza replied a little confused. "That would certainly be the reason for my coming here."
"Ah…" The man took out a handkerchief and batted his forehead. "This kind of talk might be best… inside. It's rather hot out today."
Accelerator knew the nervous look plastered on the man's face. Something was going on, and he had a pretty good inkling it involved Merlot and the Grimm they were looking for. He kept his mouth shut for now as he followed the man with Eliza into an office building. Once inside and the door shut firmly, then locked, Martin turned to them.
"There's a large nest of King Taijitu that popped up," Martin quickly told them. "A lot of them took residence in a large crater nearby that seemed to have shown up out of nowhere."
Eliza and Accelerator kept determinately passive faces.
"So, of course, we're worried." Martin continued. "We just required some backup to bomb the nest, but then you two arrived. Are you here because of that?"
"Yes," Eliza lied. Part of her was guilty that it seemed like the destroyed lab created perfect nesting grounds for the larger Grimm. The least they could do was take it out. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Accelerator uncomfortably fidget slightly, so she doubted he would argue too hard about helping. "I'm planning to investigate why they decided to spring up here, and Accelerator here is a Huntsman from Beacon. He's quite strong, so this should be taken care of quickly."
"Bless you!" Martin grabbed her hand and shook it excitedly. "The people thank you."
"Can you refuel our ship, and we'll use it to scout the area." Eliza smiled back at him.
"Right away!"
One phone call later, their Bullhead was being serviced as Accelerator watched.
"You don't mind killing a few Grimm while we're here, do you?" Eliza asked. "It will keep the cover story."
"Nah, it will only take a minute. Just drop me into the next and it will be over in a moment." Accelerator yawned. "If I see the Grimm we want, I'll be sure not to kill it."
"You're probably one of the few people with that luxury." Eliza laughed.
Once the ship had been refueled, they loaded back in. The city never checked their cargo. Even if Eliza promised they would be fine, Accelerator didn't want anyone to mess with their gear. Every movie in existence showed what happened when people got lazy trying to capture some deadly creatures. Aliens, dinosaurs, monsters, it ends up with the ship crashing and all the scientists dying. He would be fine, but Eliza didn't deserve to die. She was a good person and a hard-working individual. Plus, he also needed her alive to work on the Gate, but that was the last reason.
"Surprised we're taking a ship this time," Accelerator called over the roar of the engines as they took off. "You made us walk before."
"We're on a scouting mission, and our pilot is sworn to secrecy!" Eliza yelled back as they flew toward the destroyed lab. "He knows we're doing a mission for Ozpin, but that's it."
"So, should I do anything besides just kill the snake Grimm?" Accelerator asked.
"Not unless we see the Tentacle Grimm." Eliza handed him an earpiece. "This will let us keep in contact when you're on the ground." Accelerator attached the tiny device to his ear. "Testing. Can you hear me?"
"Yeah, it's fine."
"Grimm Nest, coming into view!" The pilot's voice came over the intercom.
The back of the Bullhead opened up and Accelerator glanced down into the hole where the once proud Merlot Lab used to be. The giant hole was moving and squirming like it was full of liquid. But with the black and white colors of the two-headed King Taijitu, it was obvious what was actually in that pit. Accelerator was used to seeing blood and guts, but even he didn't enjoy looking down at that squirming mass.
"Ready?" Eliza asked from his earpiece. She was up with the pilot now.
"Yeah, it shouldn't take long." Accelerator replied, stepping off the ship.
The wind whistled around him as he fell. There was no need to slow himself down as even the ground couldn't hurt him. When he landed, the earth around him blew away with a loud boom. Dust obscured his few, but he just blew it away by manipulating the air around him. His entrance hardly went unnoticed as several heads rose up out of the pit and stared at him through angry red eyes.
Angry hissing filled the air as Accelerator stretched.
"If you come to me, this will be a lot faster."
A white head opened its mouth and lunged at him. Like an ordinary snake, the pouncing speed made it a blur as the fangs bite down upon Accelerator's body.
Only to shatter.
The only thing Accelerator could do was sigh. A quick calculation was all it took for him to tear off the head, spraying the ground with dark black blood. The other head tried to attack, only to end up with the same fate. The boy kicked the body into the distance so it wouldn't get in the way. It was disappearing into smoke but wouldn't vanish instantly. Two more King Taijitu slithered out of the hole and surrounded Accelerator.
"Good thing Grimm don't learn. Saves a whole lot of time." Accelerator commented.
Even wild animals could understand those who are superior to them. Pack animals would flee if they lost too many of their group. Insects were the type of animal to swarm until they either won or all died. Were Grimm insects like? There were insect-type Grimm, but the reptilian and mammal ones weren't any smarter. He brushed his hand against the neck of another Grimm, tearing the head off. The other head bounced away off his reflection, breaking its jaw.
"Accelerator!" Eliza's voice came through his earpiece.
"What?" Accelerator asked. "I'm fine. Give me a minute to finish this."
"Something is happening inside the nest!" The warning came. "Can you get closer and check it out?"
Accelerator kicked off the ground and propelled himself forward using his ability, crashing through a snake head trying to stop him. Even the blood was blown away from him. He stopped at the edge of the pit and looked down.
"Yeah… seems like the Tentacle Grimm is here," Accelerator told her. "It must have survived the lab's self-destruction. So far, so good."
"It was hard to tell up here, but it looks like…"
"Yeah, it's grabbing the King Taijitu," Accelerator reported. "Damn… that's fucked up."
Tentacles from the small Grimm were stretching out exponentially longer than they originally were. The picture in the book accurately described the size but didn't mention that part. One tentacle wrapped around the center of each King Taijitu and began to pull them toward each other. Where it was getting that strength was a mystery. Large veins were spreading through the Grimm's body as the color changed on the white half of each Grimm.
They were growing darker. The scales were growing black and more armor-like. The bone armor on their head spread out and grew thicker. The Tentacle Grimm vanished inside the squirming mass of bodies as each King Taijitu merged together. Accelerator was a teenage boy, and seeing a fusion like this piqued his interest, even if it was disgusting. It's something one would see in an anime in his world, even if it would be edited to be more appealing to a general audience.
The giant ten-headed black hydra-like creature took the place of the remaining five King Taijitus.
"Impressive." Accelerator looked up and raised an eyebrow, but couldn't keep the amusement out of his voice. "If I was anyone else, that might be intimidating."
"It's an Emperor Orochi!" Eliza shouted through his earpiece. "It's a creature only mentioned in ancient writing. How fascinating! I-I mean… you need to make sure that Grimm doesn't reach the city! Those walls aren't prepared for something like this!"
A head from the Emperor Orochi shot forward at blinding speed and collided with Accelerator. Not that it mattered. It didn't matter how strong or tough a creature was. Against Accelerator's reflection that relied on simply manipulating their vectors, all the strength in the world was meaningless. The only thing that could possibly bypass his reflection is something with unknown vectors he hadn't encountered before. Those so-called Magicians and Dark Matter back home were a few of a very small number of individuals capable of that.
This creature may have had its strength, speed, and agility increased dramatically, but it was useless.
A painful hiss escaped its mouth as the head flew back. There was a crack of some bone being broken, but the head was still attached and continued to eye him. The red eyes glowed with anger as the other heads snapped at him. Yet it didn't immediately attack. If this Tentacle Grimm did possess the other Grimm and not just fuse them together, it also seemed to have increased their intelligence.
"What else can you do?" Accelerator mused, almost curious.
"You can't just slaughter that Grimm!" Eliza warned him. "You need to separate it and capture our target!"
"Right… hmm, if it's connected to the rest of the bodies, this might be challenging."
The boy wasn't sure exactly how this possession thing worked. He knew about biological fusions that actually merged DNA between organisms, but Grimm weren't like creatures back home. If he damaged the Emperor Orochi too much, it might kill the Tentacle Grimm. This was the only known one on Remnant right now. He might have to rip it off first.
The boy cracked his neck with his hand.
"Alright, let's see how strong this thing really is."
Accelerator had to make some minor adjustments. He didn't want to destroy the hydra creature, but he couldn't just let it attack without repercussions. The calculations had to be a little less pure reflection and more deflection to limit the damage to the heads until he got to the body. It shouldn't take long, but he had to detach the Tentacle Grimm. As he adjusted, another head tried to kill him, biting down on his body. The light vanished as the head was about to swallow him whole.
The jaw dislocated, the fangs snapped, and the head was thrown off him, alive, but severely mangled.
"That should do." Accelerator considered, as the ground exploded beneath him, sending him flying forward into the pit.
The ten heads were oddly coordinated. Fast like lightning with their strikes, strong enough to tear people apart, and fangs that could piece flesh and bone, yet did not interfere with each other. It was like they were linked and the boy considered that possibility. If the Tentacle Grimm were the new brain, the rest of the heads were no more than additional appendages. Normal Huntsman would have died time and time again to the muscled necks slamming into him and the fangs snapping shut.
But Accelerator wasn't a normal Huntsman.
The Emperor Orochi was only fast and strong.
None of that mattered when facing Accelerator.
"Come on out, you fucker!" Accelerator called out, landing on the squirming core of bodies. "Or I'll make you!" For an instant, he saw a flash of glowing red eyes between two serpentine bodies. "There you are!"
Accelerator reached a hand between the bodies. Snakes were pretty much a giant mass of muscle, and the Grimm snakes were hardly any different. Just much, much bigger and stronger. Again, strength meant nothing when their vectors moved. The two snakes flew open and Accelerator could see the Grimm up close. It really did just look like a skull with tentacles under it. With most of the sun blocked but the rest of the snake heads trying to attack Accelerator, the most recent one bouncing off his back, he could still see the outlines.
"Tentacles are fused with the King Taijitu," Accelerator reported. "I'm going to have to cut somewhere."
"Focus on the snake side if you can," Eliza ordered, over the noise of angry hissing and roaring. "We want as much of it as possible."
"Got it."
Accelerator reached over and grabbed the Tentacle Grimm's skull, ensuring it couldn't escape. He then reached over and tapped the snake's body.
RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPPPPP.
Flesh ripped apart as Accelerator pulled off the King Taijitu body. A high pitch screech came not from the snakes but the Grimm Accelerator was holding onto. It was biologically fused with the snakes, so getting ripped off was probably like losing a limb. Accelerator wasn't the kind to show mercy to his enemies. He still had four more snakes to rip off.
And he did just that, one by one.
The King Taijitus were roaring in pain too, or hiss roaring, whatever that sound was. Yet, once they were separated from the Tentacle Grimm, Accelerator noticed they were reverting back to their original selves. Black armored scales were receding, and they were now half white again. Yet, they had big chunks pulled out of their bodies and a couple of their heads were pretty much destroyed. Accelerator propelled himself into the air, out of the nest, and landed on the ground outside the pit.
"Quit squirming," Accelerator growled, holding out a hand with the Tentacle Grimm. Black blood was leaking out of the ends of the tentacles, but they seemed to be closing up. This Grimm must have had increased regeneration. "You're going into a vat."
The tentacles shot out and tried to wrap around Accelerator once they were healed. The moment they made contact, he bounced them off without even blinking. The Grimm tried several more times before giving up. To it, Accelerator might as well be a metal wall.
"Did you just try to absorb me?" Accelerator was almost amused. "Well, at least you have good taste." There were no unusual vectors involved. He briefly considered that the fusion of DNA between the Grimm and himself might actually bypass basic reflection. It turns out, it didn't.
"Do you need us to land, or can you come meet us?" Eliza's voice asked through his earpiece.
"I'll come up," Accelerator replied, wind whistling behind him like tornados. "A couple of the Grimm are still alive. Once we have this one contained, I'll kill the rest. But watch it. It's struggling and trying to absorb anyone near it."
"I'll open the vat and stay in the cockpit with the pilot," Eliza assured him. "Once you enter the back, just push the Grimm in and seal it."
"Easy." Lifting up into the air, the albino flew toward the Bullhead high above him.
Accelerator returned the following day, deciding to just sleep in the lab that night.
"Look who finally decided to join us," Yang announced as he walked into the cafeteria.
"Welcome back, MISAKA greets as MISAKA runs over to hug you." Last Order rushed toward Accelerator and hugged him. "Did you have a good meeting? MISAKA inquires."
"Yeah, things are progressing, but we had to stop and pick up a component," Accelerator replied, sitting down at the table with Team RWBY, JNPR, and his team. "Reason I was gone. Eliza needed some muscle."
Blake slapped a hand over Yang's mouth to stop her from saying something to get her bed destroyed again.
"Any idea how long until it's completed?" Touma asked.
"Not for a while," Accelerator grunted. "The energy source… is unique." They could only say so much in public. "The actual mechanical work is about done."
"I see, so it will still be some time then." Weiss' words were somewhere between relieved and depressed. Nora and Pyrrha shared a look of concern. "Well, I guess that's okay."
"What have you been doing?" Accelerator asked.
"We've been working on trying to get Touma to master his dragon powers!" Ruby puffed out her chest.
"And how has that been going?" Jaune asked.
"No luck so far." Blake answered as Ruby deflated. "We have no idea what triggered it besides the life or death situation."
'We should use live ammo.' Neo suggested making the words in the air.
"Vetoed," Touma grunted.
"No, you should use live ammo," Accelerator agreed. "Only way to force it out of him."
"He doesn't have Aura so that might kill him." Ren pointed out thoughtfully.
"Nah, he's harder to kill than a cockroach. I wouldn't be surprised if bullets bounced off of him." The albino rolled his eyes and began eating.
"There's one other piece of news, MISAKA realized." Last Order turned to Accelerator. "If you're interested."
"Huh?" The boy glanced over at her.
"Well, you probably won't care too much, but it's been a big deal for Vale." Jaune explained. "It dominated the news when they finally chilled on the Conference Attack."
"Sienna Khan was invited to watch the Vytal Festival by Ozpin." Pyrrha continued. "Ironwood isn't happy about it."
"Really?" Accelerator raised an eyebrow. "Figured after that stunt, she wouldn't want to be anywhere near Beacon."
"It's more along the lines that Ozpin wanted to apologize for it and show they are trying to amend for past mistakes," Touma explained, pushing the remains of his breakfast back and forth on his plate with his fork. "Ozpin called me into his office yesterday to talk about it. They want us to escort her around as additional security since we aren't participating in the tournament. It will mostly be Neo and me, but we might need you to help."
"Tsk." Accelerator clicked his tongue. "What a pain in the ass."
"The meeting wasn't enjoyable," Touma groaned. "Ironwood and Qrow were there. The General was pissed…"
"Of course he was," Blake mumbled.
"But Qrow was laughing during most of it."
"That sounds like Uncle Qrow." Ruby and Yang said together, staring right at each other after saying it.
"We'll help out if you want," Pyrrha offered. "I'm sure she won't mind."
"No one will try anything with us around." Nora cracked her knuckles, and Ren nodded at that.
"What do you think of this?" Accelerator asked Weiss. "After she antagonized everyone at the conference?"
"I think she has a point, but wish she presented it better," Weiss admitted slowly. "The way she did it was designed to shock people, show them they were wrong, and accuse them at the same time. Some people will push back. Ozpin's been taking some flack for what she said about the way they address bullying."
"I can understand the reasoning," Jaune agreed. "But at the same time, for those getting bullied? It's not fun at all."
"Discrimination has no easy answer." Blake added.
"Well, something is happening now, so we should try to encourage it," Ruby pipped up. "Not just ignore the problem." Blake smiled at her.
"Maybe Accelerator could work out with Touma and me when he's bored." Yang winked. "Get some muscles on that twig body."
"There are better uses for my time," Accelerator scoffed. "I'm actually getting paid to develop technology. Oh, and if you ask me for money, I'll laugh in your face."
"Same." Weiss agreed.
"You two suck." Yang pouted as Neo laughed at her and made a small minute illusion of a homeless Yang begging for change on the table. "You suck more, midget."
Feel free to leave a review, comment, suggestions, or ideas, I love reading them. If you have a question you wish to ask and would like a quick answer, feel free to message me directly. I try to respond to those within a day or two. Comments, I tend to respond to in the next chapter.
Wishez: It's been quite some time for me. But I muscled this chapter out. Now Dark can finally get off my back.
Dark: Nope, will never give you a break.