Complete and total bullshit. That was Grif's opinion on what they got themselves into. Bullies gone mad, monsters living in mist, and now rat-men chasing them? It was like some shit in a horror book and Grif hated every second he stayed on this fucking island. "I don't know and I don't fucking care." He coughed. "Let's just get this done and over with."
"Of course you'd say something like that." Peach spat. Man, this bitch could be spiteful if she wanted to be. "This is a new species we're dealing with here. Can you imagine the possibilities of scientific research with this subject alone? When the mist is taken care of, we're taking samples back to Beacon."
"Yes. I'm also aware of the experiments you might run." Grif shot back. "Who knows if you do some stupid shit with this and you'd get us all killed. We got something to do, let's just do it."
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Fuck-face Winchester started saying, "But I agree with fatass here. We came to stop Merlot, not to get samples."
"Mr. Winchester, I know the subtleties of science are lost on you too." Peach said, "But I refuse to pass up on something like this."
"Get your pics and let's move on. We don't have time." Percy said.
Peach seemed startled by the logic, cursing herself out hopefully, then got a picture of the body. "Follow me, boys." They followed along the stupid grey corridor with that stupid red logo showing itself indecently in their faces. Seriously, there are kids here! Before they could move on again, Midoriya stopped in front of them.
"What now?" Grif moaned. Midoriya pointed to a cage in the far corner of the room.
"Something's inside." He whispered. To Grif's annoyance, they crept over, just the two of them, to look. Grif was the first to reach it, and inside was something that pissed him off royally. It was an Ursa Grimm except this one had green eyes and blood instead of the typical red with spikes protruding from the back. It saw them and started clanging against the bars.
"You see?" He called back as they stared at the Grimm. Percy was holding his side which was coated in blood. Grif felt very, VERY happy with himself now. "This is the sort of shit you'd expect to see with rat-man's body. Mark my words."
"I…" Peach looked lovingly back to her corpse then to the Grimm. "Perhaps you might be right." The bars gave a loud clang, bending outward now.
"Oh, fuck!" Grif shouted, loading grenades into the Grif before the bars fully gave. The Grimm slashed at him, knocking him and Midoriya into the walls. Percy dodged to the side with Harry's help but Peach-bitch stood her ground. She threw her ball of death at the Grimm, this time sparkling with electricity. It impacted the beast, yellow lightning arching across its body but didn't move. She pressed some shit on her wrist and it turned blue, spraying ice on its body. In an instant, Peach-bitch pulled out a large syringe and stabbed it into the Grimm's belly.
"This should do it." Her earlier cheer returned as she punched the bar at the end in. "This poison should kill it."
This Grimm clearly didn't get the 'Stay Dead' memo. With its remaining good arm, it slashed at Peach who jumped back to avoid being cut. Then, to Grif's shock, the ice started cracking already as the Grimm fought as hard as it could. "Damn it. Do I have to do everything myself?" Grif demanded as he finished loading the grenades and fired. The Grimm, to his horror, swiped the grenade aside, exploding harmlessly on the wall behind it. "Fuck me!" Grif shouted as it charged at him. Midoriya charged up his own lightning or whatever the fuck it had to do with One for All and jumped at it, doing a spinning kick to its face. It flew into the wall. Another person ran forth. Fuck-face held his mace up, screaming a pathetic battle cry then imbedded the mace into its body. That seemed to actually hurt it as Cardin gave another swing, the blades going in deeper. The Grimm stopped struggling, going limp. Its black ash collapsed to the ground with green goo spilling out.
Maybe fuck-face isn't so useless after all. That is, until he collapsed to his knees and started panting. What a loser! Or at least, that's what old Grif would have said. He couldn't help feeling a little pity for the boy. His team dead and from what he saw, spent hours fighting these things already. He's just dead weight now. Percy ran over to pick him up. How the hell had he already healed? He then went over to hold a hand out to Grif. He saw Grif's questioning look. "Prof's Aura healed me up already." Percy still held out a hand. Grif took it and stood back up. "Oh Gods. You carrying dumbbells with that weight?" Percy smiled but barely grunted from the effort.
"Fuck you." Grif said, clipping the Grif Shot back onto his back. As if Harry's sass wasn't enough, Percy had started getting sarcastic. He wasn't sure how he would handle it later in life. If he made it that far. "Which way now?"
"This way." Cardin said, guiding them to a doorway. "Stand back." Cardin snuck his fingers of his remaining arm under the wall and pulled.
And I thought I was cuckoo, Grif thought as he grunted. "You, greenie, help me." Midoriya hesitated. Does he need to have his hand held at every point? Grif thought annoyed but said instead, "Well, go on. Get it!"
Midoriya went over and helped pull. To Grif's surprise, this section of the wall did lift, thicker trails of mist coming out from the bottom. A flash of movement caught Grif's eye and unshouldered the Grif Shot. "Hold it up! Incoming." Grif shouted, firing a grenade under the lifted wall. It exploded under the wall, followed by a loud screech of pain.
Midoriya grunted before lightning arched through his body and the wall was smashed at the top, sparking form the damage. On the other side was the corpse of something that Grif abjectly despised. "Fucking centipedes."
A giant centipede's body, purple in color, lay next to the entrance, its head blown off from the grenade. Thank God for grenades!
"Why's the floor moving?" Midoriya asked.
Grif took a step back, flinching at the sight. "You gotta me fucking kidding me." Grif said. He sounded so pathetic to himself but who could blame him? The tunnel before them had layers upon layers of giant centipedes crawling over each other. "Please tell me there's another way around?"
"No, this is it." Cardin said, staring at the monsters with trepidation. He too looked scared shitless by the sight. That is, until more of the centipedes started crawling to them. Their red antennas twitching towards them, foam in their mouths. "Why don't bastards like these know when they're dead?" Grif asked, his voice shaking again.
"Get on the crate!" Peach shouted, pointing to the Merlot crate nearby. It looked tall but not nearly enough to stop fuckers like these. Where was a giant boot when you needed it?
"Why should we?" Grif demanded before yelping. He felt himself being lifted from the ground.
"Hang on!" Midoriya shouted, then Grif went flying. He felt himself scream in terror as he landed face first onto the crate above.
"Ow…" He moaned as his teammates, Cardin and Peach joined him. "You could have hurt me, ya dick."
"But I didn't." Midoriya said as if it was obvious.
"What's the plan, teach?" Percy asked as the centipedes were starting to crawl up to them.
"Stay close!" Peach shouted, twisting her ball again and tossing it further down the corridor. It started pulsing for several moments before it exploded.
"Whoa! How did the sun get down here?" Grif shouted, shielding his eyes. He heard lots of chittering and when he peeked through his fingers, the centipedes were crawling over themselves, slithering in their ugly way before disappearing.
"Run!" Peach said. Grif didn't need to be told twice. He leapt from the crate and ran down the now-empty corridor.
"Light." Midroiya was muttering. "Of course. That's how they went away."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked as they ran.
"Many of the creatures we're seeing are scary," Peach explained, "But they operate similarly to how other creatures we know work. Centipedes like to crawl around in the darkness,"
"Like bats?" Grif asked, his voice rising again. Why did those hairy, winged demons have to be everywhere?
"Yes, Grif, like bats." Peach said annoyed. "Centipedes are nocturnal creatures. They have no eyes but they know the warmth of light and heat. They're repelled to it."
"Nice." Percy said. They continued onward now, passing under a bannder called Atrium. The lighting was much better now, the pipes cleaner and more oiled with fresh red paint streaks lining some parts.
Another elevator, Grif thought as they entered and Cardin pressed the button. You'd think we're heading for the center of the Earth at this rate. The deeper they went, the more Grif knew they were about to step into some real bullshit now.
Harry Potter was starting to feel angsty. Firebolt could only help so much with them being underground. No, that wasn't why Harry was starting to feel the prickle behind his neck. It came from the sense they were being watched. Harry would catch odd shadows in the corners before they disappear. More of those human-rat creatures maybe? Harry didn't want to know frankly.
The elevator they were riding down lasted longer than the previous one. Harry couldn't help wondering how deep this lab actually went. Eventually, it came to a stop and the door lifted up. This time, they were definitely underground and the mist was thicker now than before. So thick that Harry could barely make out exactly what the room was. He could make out some details like metal tanks and that now-familiar green glow of liquid Dust but other than that, nothing. "What's the plan now?" Harry knew that he should be their eyes and guide them out of here or even see if more of these mist creatures were here, but an irate instructor was the last thing he wanted to cross now.
"Scout the terrain and tell us what you see." Peach said.
Thank God, Harry thought as Firebolt hummed to life against his back and he flew into the air. Harry heard a screech and turned. Coming at him were dozens of four-winged pterodactyls, some with those large bugs hanging from their mouths. Harry pulled out his pistol and fired, flying around the tank in the center of the room for cover. Each shot hit its mark, some hitting wings making them fall back to earth and others heads exploded. He had to move aside so one's body didn't collapse on top of him. Even after fighting Grimm, the violence made Harry feel queasy in his stomach, but now was not the time for that. Harry unloaded the clip and pulled out its replacement. Harry winced to himself as he felt the empty clips rattling against Firebolt. He was going to have to make this one count. He fired three more times, killing the last of the pterodactyl creatures.
As Harry let out a sigh of relief, he heard a loud crackle. Something was coming alive. The mist seemed to abate a little, enough for Harry to see the red glow of a monitor bolted to the wall. It then changed to an image of a man Harry had never seen before. He had long, tangled silver hair with a blue eye that even harry could tell showed malice. His other eye, much like Moody's, was a replacement but instead of electric blue, it was fire red. "Greetings, Hunters. Welcome to my island." The voice came from the monitors. It practically dripped with arrogance but there was something akin to malice there too. "I'd give you a grand tour of my greatest work but why take away the thunder from your guides?"
"Merlot! We're coming for you!" Cardin's voice was heard through the mist. Harry had seen him smug, angry. This Cardin was mad, absolutely mad.
"At least that's what you think." Merlot said, the smugness going up even higher if that was even possible. "I admit, I wasn't expecting you arrogant brats to make it to my lab, but that won't happen again. My new… employer wouldn't want that to happen so soon after we got acquainted."
"Employer?" Harry muttered to himself. It couldn't be good that a man as loopy as him had support.
"Dr. Merlot!" Peach called out. "How did you escape from Mt. Glenn?"
"I suppose there's no harm in telling it to you, Peach dear." Merlot answered. Harry flew to the top of the tank, landing on his feet and deactivating Firebolt. He couldn't use all of the air just yet. "My semblance is teleportation. Give me a mental picture, coordinates, even a picture, and I can go there from anywhere in the world. This place was where my work was at. It was always where my best work was. So when I knew my fishing for more test subjects would cause problems for the people of Mount Glenn, I came back here to resume my life's work, to control the Grimm."
"And how did that work out?" Cardin demanded. "My family died in your accident you damn bastard! I will avenge them." Harry's eyes widened under his goggles. So that was why he was so eager to continue on? It was strange, but Harry felt a twinge of sympathy for Cardin, at least until he remembered the cafeteria incident and other acts he committed over the years.
"Yes, it is unfortunate. I lost good people too." Merlot's voice softened into a somber one before the confidence came back next, "And I am going to avenge them by finishing what I started. But upon meeting the messenger, I realized how small I was thinking."
"What are you talking about?" Peach demanded. Harry raised an eyebrow at how nervous Peach suddenly sounded. "Who's your new employer?"
"You wouldn't know him. I don't even know his real name." Merlot seemed very non-plussed about it though. "He only introduced himself as the Crimson King. He showed me, the truth. He showed me everything. That we are but a button in the suit jacket that is creation. He taught me how to use my gifts to lengths even in my brilliant mind, I couldn't comprehend." The screen was clearing up now and Harry saw him give an insane smile, the kind he saw on Barty Crouch's son's face. As if the suit jacket of creation statement wasn't enough. "I bring this knowledge to his greatest servant and not even his insurmountable obstacle can do a thing about it. Now, I would love to discuss the details further but I'm afraid I have to dash. Later, chums!" The screen cut off, returning to the red logo.
The grinding of a metal door caught Harry's attention. Something was coming through the doorway, something bigger than the tank Harry was standing on. It looked like a giant lobster with two clawed arms sticking out on its sides. It clicked loudly, lifting a claw and bringing it down. Harry activated Firebolt as he jumped off the tank, its claw cutting through the metal with ease, liquid Dust spilling out. It screeched in pain but crawled through it to get at Harry. Just like Quidditch. Harry felt his instincts sharpen as it kept swiping at Harry while he was mid-air but Harry whipped out of the way.
"Keep distracting him!" Midoriya called out from the ground below. "I got an idea."
"Make it fast!" Harry answered, but that distraction was enough for the claw to clip the jetpack's body. He felt the air leave the body. Harry yelled as the jetpack shut down and he collapsed to the ground.
"I gotcha!" Percy made his way below, holding his arms out to catch Harry. In a moment, he crashed into Percy sending both boys tumbling onto the ground. Percy groaned as he sat up. "You alright, Harry?"
Harry too sat up, wincing. He ribs felt bruised. "I'm…" Harry tried moving his left arm and had to bite his tongue to stop himself from screaming in pain. His right arm felt like glass had embedded itself. "It killed the Firebolt." Harry said then held up his right arm which flopped around like a wet cloth. "Sorry, Percy. I'm not going to be of much help now."
"You did what you could." Percy gave him a reassuring smile. "You still got some bullets left?" Harry nodded. "Then you might be of help still. See those tanks?" He pointed to a glass tank not too far away from them. "Midoriya thinks those might give us an edge."
"On it." Harry grabbed the pistol with his left hand and pointed it. Harry closed one eye and tried to focus on the tank all the while grenade explosions kept the creature distracted. No matter how much he tried to focus, the gun kept shaking in his left arm. He couldn't get a clean shot. This was it, Harry bemoaned mentally, this is how I die. Because I'm a rubbish shot.
"Come on, mate! This hasn't stopped you before." It was Ron's voice. He looked around but couldn't find him.
"Harry. Don't miss. We need you." Hermione! One by one, voices were heard in Harry's mind, encouraging him to go on.
"Harry." This time it was Sirius. "No matter what happens now, you've made it this far. I'm proud of you. I know if James were here, he'd say the same."
"Thanks, Sirius." Harry smiled as he took in a deep breath and fired. The bullet punched through the glass, liquid Dust spilling on the already moist ground. The creature screeched, its legs melting in the raw heat, collapsing onto the ground.
Percy ran up to the beast, stabbing Riptide into its lobster-like head. It let out a final screech before going limp.
Grif, Midoriya, Cardin and Peach made their way over to them. "Hell of a shot!" Grif said. "Not as good as me though."
Harry laughed. "Ya keep telling yourself that, mate."
"Your arm. It's broken!" Peach exclaimed glancing at his arm.
"Yeah." Harry had so many things he could have said that wouldn't have been so lame, but he couldn't hide it. She bit her lip in concentration.
"Hold on." She placed a hand on her arm. Even that was enough to make Harry wince in pain. Her arm glowed a brilliant yellow light. It was strange. It felt like his arm was dying but it was feeling much better now. He felt warm, comfortable even. He stared down at his arm. The wound was gone now. "Thanks." Harry said, moving his fingers again.
"Welcome to the Broken Arm club!" Midoriya said cheerfully.
"Happy to be here." Harry grumbled.
"Just don't hurt yourselves anymore, students." Peach said who was looking at her watch. "I'm running low on Aura so I won't be of much help further on. Harry, can you still fly?"
He shook his head. "The claw scratched it."
Peach nodded. "We'll get it patched up in a second. We need to get to the lab still."
"Yay. More running. Great." Grif said but they continued on anyways. They found the door where the lobster beast came from. There was another long chamber on their right, where the beast came from, and another elevator at the far end labelled To Lab.
"More elevators." Harry said as they got on board and Cardin pressed the button.
This one lasted longer than the previous one before coming to a stop. The mist was even thicker than before to where Harry felt like he was breathing smoke.
Percy started coughing violently but Harry cupped his mouth to muffle the noise. "Where are we, Cardin?"
"This is the Engineering wing." Cardin answered. "This is where the computers running his robots are stored. We hoped to decimate it but Merlot had us distracted."
"You mean you. Based on the thickness, we got to be near the source." Peach said. She led the group through. Harry heard thick stomping coming towards them.
"Incoming!" Harry shouted, shooting in their direction. Metallic creaking was heard but they kepy going. In an instant, a large red robot larger than Harry tried piercing him with its blue-glowing spear. It took everything for Harry to dodge out of the way.
"We'll keep them distracted!" Midoriya shouted, punching a red robot in the face. It remained bolted to the ground and swing its spear which Midoriya dodged barely. "Kill the terminals."
"Right. Kill the terminals." Harry said making his way over. What's a terminal is what Harry was thinking, looking at the masses of glowing lights and the glass screen before him. He really wished he paid more attention to computers when Dudley wasn't using them, he couldn't make heads or tails of it.
He glanced back, watching his friends and Cardin fighting the robots. "Stop them!" Merlot's voice came through the speakers, visibly panicked. He returned his focus to the monitors. They had Merlot's symbol on them (he loves himself a lot, Harry would admit later on), Mars bar looking things on the screen with buttons that Harry couldn't even attempt understanding. It probably was time for Harry to follow what Harry dubbed the Grif philosophy.
"Yeah, fuck it." Harry pulled his pistol out and fired. The computer monitor sparked from the bullet, glass crashing down to the floor. He did the same for the other two computer screens. For good measure, he even fired two bullets each into the monitors built into the walls. Fire erupted inside the metal, with one of them exploding making Harry cover his face.
The battle which started earlier came to an end. "Did we win?" Harry called out.
"We won." Percy called out. He came through the mist, shoving a large white robot wielding an oversized gun. It crumbled without a fight.
"That was close." Midoriya wiped some sweat from his brow, grinning. "They nearly got Cardin."
"Screw you, greenie. I held my own." Cardin said, panting between words.
"That makes things easier." Peach added calmly. As they were about to continue on, Harry paused.
"Guys, there's something here." Harry called, kneeling down. The mist was thick and it seemed like some mist was coming from it. "Help me." Harry slipped his fingers under the tile, Percy coming over to help. The tile lifted up easily.
"I never knew that was there." Cardin muttered, looking shocked and angry.
"Look at that." Peach said, pointing to the corners where the mist was moving most prominently. "The source is down here."
"I'll go first." Grif said, pressing some buttons on his helmet. Two brilliant lights came on his helmet and he stared down. "Hello down there!" Nothing came out. "Guess its safe." He leapt down.
Peach glanced to Harry with pity. "He's going to be the death of you yet."
"Thanks for the tip. But I've had people trying to kill me a long time, probably longer than Percy, but they haven't gotten me yet." Harry smirked as he jumped in after Grif. Darkness consumed his vision.
"Jumping in head first." Percy Jackson shook his head at the sight. It honestly worried him sometimes how similar Harry was to him. He was like the little brother Percy never had, and he couldn't stop worrying about him at each step. He at least glanced down and looked around. It was so dark it was like Night's Palace but Percy could make out the lights from Grif's helmet. "It does look alright." Percy jumped down and followed. The soft glow of Riptide guided him along the tunnel (Gods, it was small) and they crept along. Every now and then, he would pause to hear something moving above them, or a roar, but would continue on regardless. Percy coughed louder the further they went. The air was so thick it was like Tartarus. The training he had done with Harry and Pyrrha helped his lungs recover to some extent from the scarring but thick air like this? He wasn't sure how much good he could be.
"We're here." Grif's voice echoed in the tunnel where Percy had to cover his ears to muffle it.
"Gotcha. You gotta shout?" Percy asked as Grif kicked open a vent.
"What the fuck?" His voice called out as he crawled out. Percy crawled out too and his jaw dropped. They were in a cylindrical chamber with wires running towards a towering door frame the size of the room. This doorframe was definitely the source if they were going on thickness of the mist. They only reason Percy could see it, it was so thick, was that there was a gaping hole leading to the surface, sun being fully up and hurting Percy's eyes. Was this how that giant beast got out?
"What's that?" Cardin asked as he got through.
"That, Mr. Winchester, must be the source." Peach said, staring at it.
Percy stared at it. Was it a portal? How did it work? He noticed Midoriya walking towards it, placing a hand on it. He seemed dazed, disbelieving at what he saw. "Hey, you okay?"
"Yeah." He nodded, returning his focus. "I've seen one of these once before."
"Where's that?"
But Percy wouldn't get his answer. Peach made her way over and tapped it. "Metal. Grif's grenades should do the trick." She walked to the front entrance of the portal-like thing. "Is this a portal? It's a shame we have to destroy it, I would have loved to…. What's that?" Peach leaned in to get a look. Then, in a flash, a tentacle poked through and grabbed Peach. She yelled in surprise.
"Hang on!" Percy swung Riptide and cleaved the tentacle. "Grif, kill it when we're away!"
"You got it!" Grif shouted, readying the Grif Shot.
Percy made his way to Peach who was now screaming at the top of her lungs. "Get it off, get it off!" Percy pulled the tentacle off, taking some of her flesh with it. Percy stared at the inside as he helped unravel it. The inside had sharp teeth chewing on the flesh before it vanished from sight, her blood pooling to the base of the tentacle.
"Sick." He said, throwing the tentacle aside as Peach dragged herself out. More tentacles appeared, ready to finish the meal they started. "Now!"
Grif pulled the trigger. Grenade after grenade flew, impacting the portal. A loud screech was heard as the portal blew up, the metal melting under the heat. The mist flew out more than ever before coming to a stop. He mist was still here, but it didn't seem as threatening as it once was. "Everyone okay? I'm running low on grenades."
"Got two shots left." Harry added on. Man, that wasn't good. But now was the time to ask the real question.
"Okay. Are we sure this was the only source?" The room was silent, dreading the thought of there being many of them.
"Merlot was always a cautious sort." Peach said, her Aura trying to heal her wounds. "If there are other sources of this mist, he would want them close by. His lab, maybe."
"You serious?" Grif demanded. "We killed this bitch, we saved the world for all we know and you still want to go in to kill his bastard? Why can't we leave and tell somebody about this?"
"Because of his semblance." Peach said. "If he knew we were coming, he'd just teleport out of here, you heard him yourself. This is our chance to get him." She turned to Cardin. "Which way now?"
He looked around. "I don't know." He admitted. "Maybe that way?" Percy looked. There was a large door, likely a main entrance, standing at the far end and closed.
"Better something than nothing." Grif said pressing a button on the door. The door swung open. They found themselves in a new grey corridor. Honestly, Percy was getting sick and tired of the lack of color here. Could someone, anyone, make this place not a sore sight?
They followed the corridor, still mist-covered to a circular doorway. It opened when they came near. Well, this is new at least Percy thought. They were now on a suspended platform inside a circular tunnel. "What's the plan now?"
"This." Peach said pulling out her silver ball again and twisting it. "Energy Dust, can act as an EMP for electronics."
"You mean an emp?" Grif asked.
"EMP."
"Whatever, you say tomato I get my minions here to say to-mato."
"Just stop." Peach sounded annoyed as she threw the ball. Electricity sparked from it, lights dying out. "We need to hurry before emergency power kicks on."
"More running? Just kill me now."
"Hey, it could be worse." Percy grinned as they kept on going. "You could choke on a hot dog."
"Don't diss the dog!" Grif said in a warning tone.
Percy opened his mouth to bite back, but there was another roar, one Percy hadn't heard before. "Go!" They went through multiple doorways that had been burst through by something large and likely ugly.
"Which way now?" Peach demanded as they reached a new corridor, pipes flowing liquid Dust about. The mist was getting lighter now.
"There!" Cardin said, pointing to a service ladder. "The lab is right above us."
"I'll lead on." Peach said, getting to the elevator first and climbing.
"I'll cover." Percy said, turning back and holding shield and Riptide. The creature, whatever it was, lumbered to them. He could see its shadow as it approached. It was furry but Percy couldn't make anything else out.
"Come on!"
"On my way." Percy said, turning back and climbing the ladder himself. He was halfway up when the creature entered the room. It moved so fast and was so ugly, Percy could barely believe his eyes. A set of teeth followed by the bite. It barely missed Percy but ate the ladder below him. He scrambled to the top, panting. Harry held out his hand which Percy took and hoisted him up. Cardin, with his remaining arm, slammed the lid shut.
"Thanks, bro." Percy said, panting. The mist, coupled with the running and fighting left him exhausted. What he wouldn't give for a cheeseburger with bacon right about now.
"Welcome." Harry answered. He looked ready to pass out. All of them, in fact, looked like they needed a vacation.
"Boys," Peach said glancing around them. "I didn't know what you had in you getting to this point. I thought you were a lunatic," She said to Grif who shockingly didn't bite back, "Then I saw how used to fighting Grimm and these things you were, Harry able to communicate with snakes," Percy had honestly forgotten that happened until she brought it up. He had mentioned something about Parseltongue a while ago but Percy had never seen him use it, "and you've been stupendous." She said to Midoriya. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're probably the best team I've ever worked with."
"Really?" Midoriya asked, shocked. He than grinned. "You've been an excellent teacher yourself."
"Shut it." Grif said, raising his Grif Shot. "Someone's coming."
Percy was on alert again, raising Riptide. Footsteps echoed along the hallway coming from the door at the far end. It opened and Percy saw a dozen of the rat-man creatures he saw earlier except these things wore the terrible human masks. "There humes!" They shouted, pulling out pistols.
"Get them!" Grif shouted, firing a grenade at them. They then charged once more, Percy swinging his blade and cleaving one of the creatures on half. Grif was able to do the same with his blade but their punches and shots knocked him to the ground. Peach threw her ball, knocking some of them aside. As for Cardin? He tore through them with ease.
The battle was over as soon as it began. "These guys weren't nearly as tough as that first one." Percy said, looking down at the bodies. He was grateful on some level that these were merely creatures wearing human faces instead of actual mortals; that would have been very uneasy for him.
"We killed them." Midoriya said, looking rattled at the bodies.
"Better them than us." Grif said, making his way to the door. "Come, let's get this fucker and go home." He knocked the blade against the door. "Hey, fuckface senior. You've lost. Come on out or we'll fuck your shit up so much you'll be weeping for the rest of your short miserable life."
"You seriously did that." Percy said, honestly torn between being impressed or disbelief. Grif certainly was full of surprises. Peach held her face in her hands and Cardin just looked stunned. Midoriya and Harry were trying not to laugh.
"Come out, come out." Grif said. Still, no one answered. "Yo, teach. Do your emp thing."
"EMP." She corrected again, throwing her ball at the door. Electricity went off again and the door lifted. They stepped inside.
"Not exactly the nicest thing I'd seen." Percy remarked. It was a single chamber room with an open door to a neatly folded bed. On the left side of the wall were giant computer monitors going to the ceiling, looking out at every part of the island and lab. Those creatures were roaming the island fully now, but to Percy's surprise, they were fighting each other. In front of the computer screens was a metal chair that was unoccupied. On the right, though, that was the interesting part. Green tubes were here, filled with the green Dust. Inside them were Grimm, their veins glowing the same color as the liquid. But it wasn't just Grimm. At the far end was a humanoid creature, tall and slender with closed eyes and swollen fingers. He's creating new monsters. Percy's grip on his sword tightened. At least they got here soon enough so something like this isn't unleashed on the world
"Grif, you idiot!" Percy turned to see Peach kicked the far wall. "He got away!"
"Well, how do you know he hadn't left earlier?" Grif demanded.
"We'll never know that! Do you know the grief and anger Beacon's staff endured when Mount Glenn fell? We've wanted to know what happened to him and them for years, and now that we had a chance, he disappeared. I will…. Aah!" She stopped her rant when a blade punctured the right side of her chest.
"You haven't changed a bit, Professor." Dr. Merlot said, standing behind her. "Hello, boys. Oh, Winchester. You're not looking too good. Monster catch your tongue?" He said, a sadistic grin forming on his lips.
"We'll have you by the end of the day." Harry said, holding up his pistol.
"Really? What're you going to do with two bullets?" He asked. "I counted." He added on, seeing Harry's shocked face. Percy took slow steps hoping to get behind him. "Eh, eh, eh." He said, turning to Percy. "Don't even think of trying to sneak up on me. I know you're there."
"Why?" Peach said, reaching for the arm that was now around her throat. "Why are you doing all this? Mount Glenn, creating Grimm, this mist. Why are you doing this?"
Merlot paused, frowning in thought. "I don't know why I started. I guess I've always wanted to do something good in the world. All the research I've done showed that modified Grimm can be controlled, can be used to better man and Faunus-kind. But no. Ozma, your leader, stopped me at every step."
"Ozma?" Harry asked, confused.
He blinked. "Did I say that? I forgot, he goes by Ozpin lately. No matter. You're not the only one who suffered because of Mount Glenn's fall. I had family and workers who died there too. It was only recently that I started getting back on my feet again. The Can-Toi you most likely killed out there helped."
"Can-Toi?" Harry said, sounding very alarmed. "Is that what they're called?" For some reason, Peach too seemed to recognize the name.
"That's right. Odd creatures they are but then again, who am I to judge?" Merlot laughed, more barking than laugh. "Their master, the Crimson King, chose me of all the wretches in the world to do his duty. I'm getting to create something no one had ever seen before. And can you believe it, all I had to do in exchange was send a card to his chum? Faraday or something like that."
Percy glanced to Harry. His eyes widened when he saw Harry flick his wrist, wand in hand. You better know what you're doing, Percy thought, turning his attention back to Merlot. "What's the message you were asked to give Faraday?"
"Like I'd tell you, I swore to say nothing about that." Merlot's grin returned. "What I do know is that I'm going after a very special boy. But I saw the truth, I saw what he really is. It's a shame I didn't get to meet him but after everything he's endured, I don't blame him for being a little dead inside. Once I kill him, Faraday and the Crimson King will shower me with their favors. I could ask to rule Remnant if I so desired. I wouldn't, I just want to continue my science."
"That won't be happening any more." Harry said then moved fast. Percy couldn't even see the wand in Harry's hand as a beam of light went ot the tiles below them. They lifted up.
"What's this?" Merlot asked, distracted long enough for Peach to elbow him. The blade was pulled from her chest, her Aura healing the wound as she stepped forward. She threw the ball at him, but Merlot smacked it aside. To Percy's surprise, he saw that his right arm was all metal with a red circle on the back of his wrist. "Big mistake." He punched her on the face. Blood spewed from her mouth as she collapsed.
Percy ran forth to slice at him, but Merlot caught the blade with his metal arm. With his other, he pulled out a machine gun and started firing. Grif, Midoriya and Harry ran for cover of the capsules. Percy pressed harder, the arm bending a little. "You're strong." Merlot said, both eyes trained on him now. "And this sword, it feels extraordinary in my hand. The Crimson King was right all along. It's nice to meet you at last, son of Poseidon."
Those words made Percy's jaw drop for a moment as he pressed. He wasn't making it up. He really did someone who it could be. But Percy couldn't think about that now. He saw Midoriya creep up next to him. "You will only call me Percy!" He lifted the sword from Merlot's hand, jumping back as Midoriya lunged forth, punching Merlot squarely in the face. He crashed into the wall, coughing violently.
"Get back." Percy glanced over to Cardin, wielding his mace. "It's been a long time coming for this. For my father," He smashed the mace down hitting him in the stomach, "my mother," another one, "and my brother." As he was going again, Merlot held up his machine gun and fired. Cardin took the brunt but his Aura staved off the worst.
"Aah!" Percy lifted up Riptide and brought it down into Merlot's stomach. He gasped staring at the blade.
"You little bastard." Merlot stuttered, coughing up blood. "I hope Faraday makes you suffer. I hope that I'm avenged." He pressed a button on his metallic wrist. Alarms started blaring. "Attention, attention. Self-destruct sequence has been initiated. You now have ten minutes to reach minimum safe distance." In an instant, he smashed the arm against the wall, metal crunching under the effort.
"Oh shit, we gotta go." Grif said, shouldering the Grif Shot.
Percy glanced over to Peach. "Prof!" He ran over to her. She was coughing up blood and laying on the ground. Her Aura was no longer fixing her wounds. "Come on, we need to get you out of here. Midoriya, come help me!" He glanced up. Midoriya did nothing, tears were wetting his eyes.
"Percy, we can't help her." He said.
"Yes, we can. Come on! Fine, I'll do it myself." Percy started lifting her up before she groaned.
"Stop, please." She said. Percy did so, staring down at her. "I'm just going to slow you down. Leave me behind."
"That's the last thing we're going to do." Percy said, trying to lift her up but she screamed.
"I can't. I can't stand up." She said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't forget, Mr. Jackson, that I'm a Huntress. I knew deep down, this might be the last one. And if I get to pass so the next generation can live," she coughed, "then I'm okay with it. Just tell my sister that Mom's tea was always the worst."
Percy felt himself feeling shocked and angry. How many times must he be in this place? But deep down, he knew she was right. "Okay. Harry, your pistol. Now!" Harry, startled, gave him the pistol and put it in Peach's hand. "Now, you can go out on your terms."
Peach smiled at him. "You really are a hero, Mr. Jackson. Go." She pushed him away, laying back onto the ground.
"Come on, we're going." He glanced over. Merlot was trying to fight off Cardin who was reaching into his pockets. "What are you doing? Let's go!"
"No!" Merlot said, terrified, as Cardin pulled something from the pocket and stuffed it into his armor.
"Let's move." They ran out of the lab, over the bodies of the Can-Toi and reached the hatch. They paused when they heard that creature still below them. "We can't go back this way."
"Follow me." Cardin said reaching a door at the opposite end of the hall from the lab. "This is where the hangar's at. We can escape through here."
"Do it!" Percy shouted, trying and failing to keep some composure about him. Cardin pressed some buttons on the console and the door opened. They ran inside, lights coming to life as they ran past. Hangar might have been an understatement, it was almost the size of an airport, eleven Bullheads sitting in wait. "Grif, fire it up!" Grif, fully huffing and puffing now, reached the pilot seat and started working.
"Thank God, no more running." Grif said as he flipped some switches. The side hatch opened allowing the four boys to take their seats. Midoriya was fully crying now as he buckled down. "We're rolling!" Grif shouted as the Bullhead lifted off the ground and rocketed forward. Percy held on, trying not to barf at the speed. In an instant, Percy saw the sun again. It had a red tint to it, but Percy was more grateful now to see it than he has ever been. They pivoted around, following the shoreline. The mist still covered much of the island, creatures roaming about freely, some eating the remaining Grimm who ran away earlier.
"Look." Harry said, his voice hollow. Percy did. The Bullhead that carried them to the island was decimated, fires still going. "I can't believe it." He pulled the goggles off, slamming them against the metal floor and rubbing his head. He looked pale and hollow like some of his soul got sucked out.
"We're alive. That's what matters." Percy said, leaning back against his seat. The island was barely a rock in sight when Percy saw the orange ball take its place and disappear. It was over now.
"Alright, we're going back to Beacon. I'll send a message from here." Grif called back. His huffing was easier now but he still sounded strained.
"Will do." Percy felt the prickle of sleep wanting to overtake him but couldn't. Their professor, a good woman, had died so they could live and same with Cardin. She died so he could satisfy his revenge. The thought angered him so much he saw the mental image of the crystal ball cracking in his mind, but he let out a sigh, the crack healing. It's done now, and there was nothing he could do about it. A feeling very familiar to him.
"Uh, Cardin?" Percy's attention was brought to Midoriya who was staring at Cardin curiously.
"Hm?" He glanced over curiously.
"What was it you got out of Dr. Merlot's coat?" He asked. Percy remembered him rummaging through it and Merlot's reaction. He sat forward now, same as Harry.
Cardin glanced from one to the next before nodding slowly. "The message the Can-Toi wanted him to give to Russell Faraday. I overheard them talking about it, and its urgency as he tucked it in. That was before we went in to confront him and he activated that portal thing." He started rummaging in his armor. "He seemed to know you. Maybe you might know what this is?" He pulled it out. It was a thin sheet of paper. He held it out to Percy who took it.
It wasn't a sheet of paper at all. It was a post card of an old-looking hotel with white walls and a red tiled roof, two wings sticking out further than the main entrance itself. It had emblazoned Come stay with us at the Overlook Hotel, 40 miles west of Sindewinder, Colorado. Percy raised an eyebrow at that. He'd never been to Colorado and he'd certainly never heard of the Overlook Hotel in his life. You'd think you'd at least heard of it if post cards were made of it. He flipped it over. On the back was a handwritten message, very artfully done. This part read: This was once home to your greatest and most insurmountable obstacle. To beat him, you must remember.