Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Course Correction

It had been summoned by its masters once more. Once more it would be unleashed upon some planet that would try their hardest to resist his power. Once more a population would be made extinct and fade away into the wind. It was his task. It was his purpose. His masters pointed the way and he was forced to obey their desires. For as long as he could remember his masters would force commands into his mind and he would have no choice but to execute their wishes. Whenever he was not needed, or he completed the task assigned to him, he was caged once more inside of this prison of rock. To either wait on the Xillian home world for deployment or the occasional times they had his meteor follow their fleet of ships through space.

He was only vaguely aware of things when inside this rock. Where he was, when he was, where he was going; none of these particulars were known to him. And the voices. The mental whispers to maim. The commands to obliterate all opposition the Xillian's faced and not once could he fight the influence. The few times he tried to fight the control he was punished severely. They did something that was somehow able to make his mind feel as if it was being consumed by fire. Repeated experiences of this burning pain was enough to destroy any last resistance he had, and thus he just allowed the his masters to use his powers to conquer.

His mind was fed images of the ones that he would be destroying this time. Small, bipedal hairless apes that had become the dominate species of their planet. They were to be the latest victims of the Xillians. Once their major defenses are eliminated, and the giant reptilian creature that roams the planet put down, the remaining humans will be rounded up and used to feed the deceitful alien race. He will be their sword as he has always been. The deafening voices will command him and he will have no choice but to obey. Thus unless he dies or his masters die the cycle will continue without an end in sight.

How fortunate that this is the time fate intervenes and changes the course of history. For this imprisoned creature and an unknown planet not once visited by those from space.

The meteor that was his prison and transport was set on a course for the planet Earth. That was the plan the Xillian's were banking on so that, along with Gigan, they would have enough kaiju power to overwhelm Earth. Yet when another large celestial body collided with this one, an event so unlikely to happen it could be considered astronomical, it's original course was so jarringly altered that even the occupant inside felt the impact. Granted, he was in an almost comatose state, but his red eyes opened for the briefest of moments as the meteor spun in a different direction than before. How unfortunate for his masters that he would not be arriving to fight for them. As he drifted off into a silent sleep, mental images and commands fading as the damage to his prison disrupted their flow, he wondered if he would ever wake again.

"What is it?"

"A monster that hunts other monsters."

"We call it…..Monster X."

Unknown time later

Unbeknownst to the kaiju within, the meteoric prison that housed him had once more become party to an event astronomically small. Near impossible if one were to ask an esteemed person of science. Like, a real person of science, not one of those nutjobs that believed the planet was flat or some such nonsense. Those types could die in a hole.

You see, it was just the kaiju's luck that the meteor surrounding him had been sent on a path that, eventually, crossed into another solar system containing multiple planets. Of course in the history of the universe many celestial bodies crossed through countless systems. A trip with boundless destinations that would be visited until their perpetual motion sent them into an object that either altered or stopped them. An object traversing the cosmos could, theoretically, move through space infinitely without once making contact with another object. Therefore, it was great luck, or destiny, that this meteor was headed straight for a planet that was distance enough from the system's star that it was habitable.

The meteor closed in on the lush planet, narrowly missing the lone moon orbiting, and descended into the atmosphere in a fiery blaze. Within seconds the meteor impacted one of the landmasses with such force a massive shockwave rippled outward in a path of destruction. Trees that were too close were either obliterated or instantly turned into large pillars of fire. The surrounding land sunk deeply into a crevice, tossing dirt and minerals of all sorts into the air to pelt the area for miles. The residue from the impact rose into the air like a tsunami wave upon a coast, slowly but surely bloating out the sun. The superheated rock of the meteor made up for the loss of light with its ethereal glow. Its fire, and those surrounding it, lit up like one had just stepped into hell. And so for almost an hour this was the scene one would have stared at should they have been able to handle the noxious smog in the area.

Eventually the area returned to some manner of norm. The fires burned themselves out, the smoke drifted into the sky and dissipated, and the meteor itself had cooled to the point that just a light bit of steam could occasionally be glimpsed before they faded to nothing. Whilst the meteor itself had been slightly damaged by the crash to terrestrial land, it was otherwise still intact. No sign whatsoever of the imprisoned occupant within.

Said occupant was doing everything he could to keep his eyes open. To fight to consciousness and escape from the rock around him. However, if the Xillians did one thing right, it was building the prison he was kept in. Unless the rock was pierced all the way to the hollow inside where his body was, the litany of machines that forced his mind into a dazed, unaware state would continue to function. In an ideal situation the meteor was to land on a habited world and the Xillians would use a command from their mothership that caused the machines to separate the rock in a way that Monster X would be freed, and the halves could later be put together once more and used for transport of their kaiju again.

With the meteor out of range of the Xillian ships, not to mention the annihilation of the Xillian fleet at the hands of the King of the Monsters back on Earth, said command could not be executed. The relatively undamaged outer casing of the meteor also meant that the machines inside were not interrupted and therefore the protocol to awaken X would not start. In essence the kaiju was trapped within in such a dazed, near drug-like, state he could not muster the strength to force his way out. As his red eyes began to close and his awareness faded, Monster X could feel one thing to be grateful about; the damn voices and commands telling him to maim and kill everything in sight had finally stopped.

It was with this change in the course of events, a change brought by such happenings that it was impossible to occur twice, that would one day shape the future of the planet he landed on. For now their were none that would know he was there, such were the primitive species that currently made the world their home. However, one day, when the top species could flirt with the ideas of war and chaos, whilst also keeping the red eyed demons at bay from tearing down their walls, those that would come to call the planet "Remnant" would learn of this fearsome beast. For it would not be maidens or wizards, relics or warriors of silver eyes, but a monster of black and white that would decide the fate of all life on their world.

MonsterZillaKing presents

Chapter Text

"Ok guys we've made some great progress this week, and the bosses are pretty happy with the shipments sent. I spoke with Mr. Kawa just this morning and he said that if we could get at least two more tons of rock to them by the end of next week we'd all be seeing some nice bonuses on our paychecks." The foreman of the dig site, a Mr. Fivo, allowed his workers to whistle and happily yell words of satisfaction, before raising his hand and calling for quiet so he could explain some other things they needed to know. "With the amount of copper we've been pulling from this rock I don't see us leaving this area for some time. So, despite the SDC trying to push their way into the deals, we're still getting first dibs over any precious minerals until our higher ups decide to move out. These potential bonuses could be just the first of a series. They are thinking at least a minimum of six more months that we'll be mining, so that's six more bonuses."

"I also got wind that if we can pull off positive productivity like they're wanting, our crew may be getting picked to take the Nirr job that the bosses are bidding on. So if a little extra pay for working in Vacou sounds like something you're interested in come see me next month once I get confirmation." The man pulled up his watch, just passed 3:00, and waved his hand towards the open cave entrance. "That's all I have for you guys, so let's get back to work and afterwards we'll celebrate in town. Drinks on me." That got everyone smiling and cheering again. The crew of 30, human and faunas both, grabbed their safety equipment and headed back into the hole they had dug into the mountainside.

Their current location was in Mistral in one of the numerous areas where cliffs dominated the landscape. Whilst many of the mines and quarries were focused on locating Dust this was one that had yielded a different, but just as valuable, reward. Instead of piles of Dust crystals they instead had trucks loaded with rock and hardened dirt filled with copper deposits. That was just the tip of the iceberg as they say. Once the area had begun being tapped for the vital resource the crews found another shocking discovery: fully processed metals. As in, entire slabs of metal already formed and purified from their base elements into ready-to-use material. Such a thing was supposed to be impossible, or at least highly improbable, according to the scientific institutes that had sent a few liaisons to work alongside the quarry workers.

Steel, iron, and even a few rare slabs of pure titanium had so far been extracted from the lone mountain. Add in the copper that was being extracted, and how odd was it that it almost looked like it was bundled into wiring, this was the most profitable dig that the Motokuni Corporation had ever run. With the success that was projected from the current rate of extraction the shareholders estimated that they would potentially make more money than the Schnee Dust Company in the next quarter. Such a thought, and the pride that would come with outdoing that mega-corp, kept the digging crew where they were.

It was today that things would change.

It was in one of the tunnels that branched off from the main one that a crew of three were drilling forward. Just before they had all been called to listen to the news from the foreman they had opened another pocket of steel. This one, however, was different than what had been mined up till that point. It was much stronger than all the slabs they had found so far for one. The regular drill bits had shredded themselves within a minute of being pressed into the metal. After that they tried a stronger bit, which itself only lasted about three minutes before turning into a smoking ruin. Now they had the strongest drill head they could find on the site and planned to put it to use.

As the drill made contact with the steel the sparks began to fly all over the place. At first the drill continued to spin in place and make the same non-progress as the last two. Eventually though, the drill finally began digging into the metal and slowly, but surely, sank more and more through. It took at least fifteen minutes before the drill surged forward, having broken through the metal to an empty pocket on the other side. The reason they were trying to drill the metal in the first place was so that they could possibly attach a high-torque winch to it and, after clearing the surrounding rock, pull a mostly intact piece out for study. Considering that the third drill head was diamond coated, well, the small group was eager to show it off to the boss.

The second the drill was pulled from the hole a blast of hot, pungent air smacked the group in the face. It wasn't so hot as to burn them, but it felt like they'd just stepped into a sauna while still clothed in their protective suits. And the smell? Like an attic that someone decided to leave closed up after a dead rat was found lying around.

"Wow that's rank. It's like a dead fish had sex with a skunk then decided to eat rancid sauerkraut." The only faunus of the group so eloquently put.

After placing the drill on the ground beside them the leader of their group turned to glare at his fellow worker. "That's horrendous Wade. Thanks for the image that I won't forget for days."

"I told you to call me Mr. Wilson while we're working."

"Not a chance."

Now that the steam had time to dissipate they could see that behind the slab of metal it was nearly pitch black, save for what appeared to be the glow of several reddish lights. Perhaps they were some kind of fluorescent mushrooms or other plant life that lit up when in dark locations. The other side appeared to also be an enormous, hollowed out room that was so large they couldn't even see the top or bottom of the cave rock. Although….was it their imagination or did there seem to be something filling up most of the cavern?

"Gggrrrrrrrrag"

That weird shape seemingly taking up space movedjust the slightest bit. Then….what looked like….four giganticred eyes slowly opened…..and stared right at the four men.

The haze slowly fell away and for the first time in a longtime he could feel….he could smell…..he could hear. So, his prison must have finally been breached in some way that allowed the machines to wake him. Why did his body feel so stiff? How long had he been in stasis now? Awakening more by the second his senses picked up small lifeforms nearby, and many more further away from him, and he could just smell them. Hmmmm. He didn't recognize the scent of whatever was close. Even if his masters had taken another form to disguise themselves he would still be able to small the Xillian within their false shell. No. This was something new. Something not encountered before.

His eyes finally opened and allowed him to see the inside of his prison chamber. With his superior kaiju eyes he could also see the small hole in one of the access panels directly in front of him, and the small, ape-like creature looking right at him. Wait a minute…it looked like…he remembered how images of a race of beings that were to be his next victim had filled his head before the meteor was forcibly changed in course. Although partially obscured due to the small size of the hole, X was rather sure that bipedal creature matched that of the "Humans" he was being informed of before losing awareness. So…..where was he?

Forcing himself to move the kaiju started trying to rise from his crouched position he always took inside the meteor. Looking above and around his eyes saw that, despite the activation protocol waking him, the metal around him refused to move. The groaning sounds indicated it was trying, but something was preventing his prison from freeing him.

Well…he could fix that.

"Run! Run now! Get the hell out of here now!"

As Wade ran past several other miners, screaming his head off, his group leader was calling out to anyone and everyone within eyesight or earshot to leave.

"There is some kind of giant Grimm inside the mountain! Get outside before the tunnels collapse!" His warning was accented by a quake that steadily grew worse. Rock fell from the tunnel ceiling, light fixture either stopped working or hit the course ground and shattered, and most startling was the loud growling that was coming from deeper in the cave system. Dropping all sorts of tools and mined materials, the last of the workers dived out of the cave entrance just as a cloud of dust shot out around her. Getting helped to her feet by another miner, she and everyone else stared in disbelief at the now collapsed cave. A split second too slow and several people would've been crushed by rock and metal falling on top of them.

Just when the quake seemed to lessen for a moment, Wade decided to open his mouth. "We'll be fine now. Unless that Grimm is some kind of giant that eats mountains for breakfast. Like…a Rock Biter from Neverending Story!"

Everyone glared death at the idiot for opening his mouth. Before anyone could possibly scold him for his cliched tempting of fate, the mountain exploded. Most of the eruption came from near the top. The rock was forced out and away like a cork being popped in a champagne bottle. Workers scattered and ran for cover in the shade of massive loaders and excavators. That tiger-like growling was now heard once more and a few brave souls poked their head out to see what was happening now.

The monster that now was revealed actually caused some of them to faint. Skin, or muscle, black as night. Skeletal armor cover a good portion of its body. Four red eyes. A long, forked tail that was whip-like it was so thin. Over 120 meters of demonic monster. It was staring at its hands, turning them this way and that, as if it were checking itself for some kind of injury. Thinking that this could be the day she died, the female worker that had been the last one out pulled her scroll and set it to record.

"This is so crazy. We're all going to die." She spoke, partially to herself and partially to anyone that might be lucky enough to see this video. Her voice cracked as the monster stopped looking at its hands and turned a red gaze over the humans and faunus within the quarry. "Mom….dad….I love you guys so much. I'm sorry I couldn't give you any grandkids, but this is how life is sometimes." As the monster kept looking at them she whimpered just the slightest when it growled.

"For anyone watching we're at the Hawcell dig site in Mistral. We've been here over a month digging into the mountain for copper and other precious metals. Looks like we found some kind of Grimm too. As big as it is, please, send everythin-huh?" Her crying words ended when the monster stopped eyeing them. It turned its gaze to the cloudy sky about them and levitated, yes levitated, out of the remains of the mountain it had been in. Without sparing them a second glance the Grimm fully emerged from the earth around it and flew off south. Not once did it attack them or even turn to look at them again. It just….left.

She could only smile….and eventually fell comically to ground, fainted….

Chapter Text

The tranquil sounds of the forest were obliterated when the giant monster landed with a harsh crash. Crouching just a bit to allow his body to absorb the impact the armored kaiju swept his gaze to the area around him. The place his meteoric prison had crashed was a miasma of valleys, cliffs, and small mountains. In his confusion and pleasure at being free he traveled through the air until the valleys were left behind to make way for miles and miles of trees and vegetation. The vibrations of his landing were felt all around with the force of a small earthquake, sending animals of all sorts running in primal fear.

Monster X had more important things to concern himself with than the local wildlife however. The dust spat into the air from his impact dissipated enough to allow him a look at his new environment. Blood red eyes scanned the vast expanse of trees around him. Trees that, to the people of this world would appear massive, near 50 feet tall, were nothing to the kaiju. Nearby was a large body of water, clear and clean looking, surrounded on all banks by the trees. Monster X decided to make that his priority, for while he could sustain himself on radiation and solar rays, his thirst could not be so easily sated.

The kaiju didn't really 'need' water to survive, such was his biology, but it was something to enjoy. One of the very few enjoyments he actually could remember. His large stride crushed trees beneath his feet or broke them and left them falling to the forest floor. Animals set to escaping the area narrowly avoided death by virtue of just being so small compared to the kaiju. Their cries and yells could barely be heard over the booming sounds of X's feet meeting the ground. All this was ignored by the monster. Coming to a stop at the shore of the lake Monster X bent down to one knee and stared at his reflection.

He looked the same as he always had before. Bone-like armor over black muscle, red eyes, the half skulls on his shoulders. Despite the unknown amount of time passing that he had been trapped his body was kept in perfect stasis. That was good. He didn't want to become free just to die of a failing body. Reaching down he scooped the crystal clear water into his palm and brought it to his lips. The water wasn't contaminated and tasted quite nice. Whatever planet he was currently on seemed to not be polluted to the point of ecosystem destruction like many of the ones he'd been forced to.

Several more mouthfuls of water were ingested finally ending his dry throat. Satisfied he turned his gaze to the shattered moon in the sky above. How queer that he could see it just as easily as the star lighting up the planet. While such a phenomenon had been experienced on other planets, none of them had a celestial body that was so damaged as this one. Whenever a moon or orbiting rock was damaged the pieces usually were burnt up in the atmosphere of their planet. To see the fragments just…...floating there was odd.

His inner musings were interrupted by a growling to his left. A slight tilt of his neck let him see two figures acting rather aggressive towards him. The two creatures had a rather striking appearance, at least compared to several of the species he had encountered. They seemed to be covered in pitch black fur and had numerous places all over their bodies that a white, armor-like material rested as well. How odd that he would find something similar to himself, even if it was just superficial due to how they appeared. Monster X was reminded of a lupine species when he looked at the growling creatures. Some kind of wolf or wild dog, which seemed to be part of the wildlife of many planets throughout the universe, only on a large scale and standing on just two of their legs. Leaning down he wanted to get a better look at them since in all his memories he had not once seen anything remotely close to himself.

When his gigantic head closed the distance the two creatures backed away for a moment before their built-in desire to kill steadied them. Monster X watched the creatures with what amounted to a squint. They continued to growl at him and employ what he supposed were intimidation motions; scratching at the air, standing as tall as their legs allowed, and growling aggressively. Perhaps that would work on smaller creatures, but to X, whose eyes were bigger than these wolves, it was almost laughable. Maybe they were defending their territory and felt X was an intruder to be dealt with. Maybe they were hungry and somehow thought they could eat him. Whatever the reason X wasn't bothered by them in the slightest.

Reaching his hand out towards the one closest to him X gently placed a clawed finger onto its back and pressed down. With just the barest pressure the wolf was laying prone on the grass, struggling its hardest to get out from under X's finger. Howling in anger and clawing up the dirt like a large mole the wolf could do nothing to free itself. X wasn't looking to kill the creatures, only show them who was boss and that their attempts to act like some kind of Alpha were not going to work. Whilst dealing with the two wolves, however, another native made itself known to X in the worst possible way. A screeching noise to his right caught his attention and as he turned his body several small projectiles of some kind bounced off his armored body.

Some kind of avian animal kept itself level with his head and was much the same as the two he'd already encountered. Like the wolves it had a black coloration with select places covered in white, bone material. It was mostly centered around the skull and beak area, with some light armor over scaled legs. Seeing that whatever it had done caused no damage X stared at the animal as if asking what else it was going to do. A flap of its wings sent razor sharp feathers at him with speed those living on the planet would call impressive. Just as before the feathers bounced off his body, unable to pierce either skin or armor. The avian creature seemed to not know what to do since neither attack had done anything to harm the kaiju. X had a solution to the problem though.

Bringing his right hand up to the bird X held his middle finger down with his thumb and after putting a bit of strength behind it, unleashed the 'attack' against the avian. Flicking the beast away with enough power to get rid of it, but not take its head off, the bird yelped like a dog with its tail stepped on. The animal went flying out of sight, disappearing into the woods on the other side of the lake, black feathers trailing into the air behind it. Seeing their bird friend getting demolished with no effort by the giant kaiju caused all aggression and fight to leave the two wolves. The one still held down by X stopped moving, afraid it would suddenly be pierced by the claw on his back. The other took a step or two back, wondering if it could get into the woods before the monster could kill him.

X was not particularly interested in killing either creature and instead went to get another handful water. He finally let up the animal he had been holding down and decided to ignore them. While he had no kind of psychic powers or abilities he did have an ability to sense energy within other beings. These armored creatures however….seemed to be empty of the life energy most animals contained. It was rather odd, but not something to worry about at this time. What was really on his mind was finding a place to make into a home of some kind. A place to rest and have space to relax. After being trapped for who knows how long, the chance to just be within the open was rather nice.

The two Beowolves eyed the monster that could have ended their lives, but let them continue to exist, then looked at each other. Contrary to what the humans thought they had some degree of intellect. They wouldn't be solving complex equations or thinking new philosophy, but Grimm could still think. This monster was not one of them, nor was it like the animals that roamed the world. It almost felt like the humans they hunted. The predator within each of them could feel the life within the monster and as such that had caused them to decide to attack it initially. It was their natural reaction. Now, however, they kept their red gaze upon the large monster. It stood back up to full height and started to walk away, feet crushing the ground below with thunderous footsteps. The two Grimm were curious about this monster and so set to a quick pace after it. Seeing how strong the monster had been was intriguing to the Beowolves and they wanted to see more of this giant.

Hawcell Dig Site

One could look left, right, front, and back and see, not the hustle and bustle of a quarry crew, but police, huntsmen, huntresses, medical personnel, government officials, and even some military troops. Interviews were being conducted, evidence was being collected, and plans were being formulated. A tent had been set up that was basically 'HQ' for the operation going on. Several photos had been pinned to a board showing the large Grimm that emerged from the mountain; photos of the Grimm looking at those within the quarry and even a photo of the monster flying into the air. Some notes had been written down on a whiteboard with theories on the Grimm. Why it had been inside the mountain, why it had not attacked, where it was going when it left, and what steps to possibly take in order to protect the people.

One person, however, was looking over something that had been brought into the tent half an hour ago. When a team of huntsmen had gone into the tunnel where the creature was first seen, they had returned with some items that blew the mind of many. Lights, speakers, wiring, computer chips, some kind of air system that contained a substance almost like liquid nitrogen, and other such things. The mystery of what these items were and what they were doing inside the mountain, with a giant Grimm thrown in to the mix as well, was just purely baffling. The investigation had really just begun, but already they had questions upon questions and not a single concrete answer to any of them.

One young scientist, a bearded dragon faunus, couldn't have stopped smiling if someone had put a gun to his head. The materials that he was given the chance to look over were amazing. Wiring the likes made out of a material the likes they couldn't identify, computer chips that made the most advanced Atlas hardware look like a toy, etc. Wherever these things had come from they wanted to learn how to make them and utilize them.

He himself had a small notepad that a few things had been jotted down into. The most important thing being: Grimm within mountain, mountain itself filled with advanced technology and materials. Connected somehow? Why did Grimm not attack?

His scroll rang then, signaling that he was getting a call from someone. Irritated with the interruption the young man grabbed his scroll and instantly went from irritated to happy upon seeing who was calling. It was his old headmaster from when he went to school before then going to university to become a physicist.

"Headmaster Ozpin how are you? Me? Well I'm doing pretty well for myself. I'm a bit busy right now, but how can I help you? Huh? Yeah I'm here helping with the investigation. How'd you know about it? It's supposed to be kinda secret. Oh. I've not got very far, but I have found some interesting things."

Chapter Text

One would imagine that the sight of a monstrous kaiju laying atop trees it had smashed down into a makeshift bed, staring at the starry sky above could be cause for concern. X, however, was far away from human eyes at the moment, and was being kept company by those who couldn't tell anyone regardless. Three days had passed since his escape from his prison. Three days to become used to all the sensations and feelings that were practically new to him. Whilst he was had been a slave to the Xilians the control over his mind caused him to be in a constant state where it felt as if he was trapped underwater. Sounds were muted, vision was blurred, movement because sluggish outside of combat.

Yet now…now it was like he was truly alive for the first time. He had yet to venture out from this area, and had no real desire to at the moment, and chose to stay next to the lake he'd discovered. With the sun having fell for the day, the forest around him became a symphony of noise. Most of the animals had yet to return to the woods, terrified of just his presence, but their were some that had no problem doing so. The chirping of crickets sounded with a steady rhythm that mixed well with the constant humming of cicadas. The caws, hoots, and cries of numerous birds added to the noise, further creating a soothing lullaby that X rather liked.

His fiery eyes continued to gaze at the infinite cosmos above. For so long he had traveled those very stars, against his will, and seen many a planet meet a destructive end. Now, on this one, he had no cluewhat to do. What was a being such as him supposed to do? Three days and nights of laying in this forest and not one idea could form in his mind that was sound. Burning the planet to ashes of his own free will was not going to happen. He'd had quite enough senseless death as far as he was concerned. The idea of finding a mate and having offspring was dead since he was the only one of his kind. Traveling the cosmos wasn't appetizing either, since most of his memories were of being stuck inside a meteor making its way through that same space.

Perhaps he would have no real purpose. At least for some time that is. It could be that he just needed more time to adjust to the feelings he was experiencing. In the meantime he would watch over the territory he'd claimed. He didn't fear the native beings of this world, but rather the idea that his masters could be looking for him and he had no real way to know. If they existed still, and sought to claim him as their tool of war once more, he would utterly annihilate them without mercy. One thing he did know with absolution was that he would never again be a slave to others.

"Grrrrrr."

"Caaawwwww. Cawwww"

"Squueeee"

"Grrrrrrrr"

Oh yeah, and he currently had some rather odd…companions? Followers? He wasn't really sure what to think of them as. Rolling onto his left side to look over the small group that apparently wanted to be in close proximity with him for reasons unknown. The two wolves that he'd encountered upon finding this lake had decided to stay around him, as well as the avian one that he had dispatched. A second avian kept close to its other, being a smaller size and less armored. A short, stubby one that had tusks and plates along the back shuffled next to a very large, stocky creature with spikes around the shoulder area.

It looked like they were roughhousing again. Only, unlike the first time it had happened, this go around X wasn't too bothered by the behavior and simply let them be. X remembered clearly what happened yesterday as he was attempting to take a minor nap that had led to them behaving this way.

2:00pm the day before

They just wouldn't stop! For whatever reason the idiotic armored creatures continued to attack him in an attempt to cause harm. Well, the wolves hadn't, but so far several others had joined up with them and they constantly made aggressive noises towards him followed by an insignificant physical display.

Feathers failed to penetrate his body, strong blows did nothing to damage him, and even when the tusked one gained speed it just bounced off and ended up making itself dizzy. Yet they tried and tried over and over without any end in sight. They weren't able to harm him of course, but he wanted to sleep and their interruptions prevented that. Another round of feathers bouncing off him finally prompted a response out of him. It was time to make them stop.

He sat up and turned his body towards the ragtag group of Grimm that had for some reason decided he was an enemy. The stare-down between kaiju and Grimm lasted several seconds before the Grimm started to vocalize their aggression once more. Not this time. X's red eyes flashed gold as he flared out a pulse of keizer energy from within. The golden energy struck each of the Grimm with enough force to send them to the ground in a daze. For several moments sparks of golden energy arched around their bodies as if they'd just tried to rip a transformer off an electrical pole. While the easier response would have been to just obliterate them using his gravity beams, X felt that to fill them with keizer energy was the better answer. Perhaps now they would quit messing around like idiots.

After a minute of twitching and near seizure-like movements the gathered Grimm finally were able to make it back to their feet. Unlike before, where they'd been either aggressive towards him or a bit hostile towards each other, now they just…stared off into nothing. It only lasted a moment before the Grimm started to look around themselves with a sudden case of almost childish curiosity. X kept his gaze on them in case they made the poor decision to try and attack him again.

"Caaawww"

The smaller of the avian Grimm trotted over to X mildly. It's stance wasn't aggressive and if anything it looked like a startled deer. The distance closed between the Grimm and X's hand that was propping him up. Moving quite slowly the Nevermore began to rub it's armored beak against the kaiju. X tilted his head just the slightest at the behavior. Odd. A moment ago these creatures were attacking him nonstop despite causing no harm at all. Now all that aggression seemed to have evaporated and been replaced with…whatever this creature was now feeling. X wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do about this now, so he settled for running his finger atop it's head. Apparently returning the affection proved the right thing as it earned him a chirp in return.

His eyes moved over the others and saw that they were still calm and just…eyeing him like they didn't know what was really going on. Before he could really think of what to do the affectionate Nevermore turned around and tackle one of the Beowolves. The two rolled around making noises and roughhousing like one would expect from a couple of kids. Feeling that everything would be ok X went back to doing his best to fall asleep.

Present day

X watched them play for several minutes and also noticed that the bulky one, an Ursa, and the tusked one, a Boarbatusk, made their noises at each other as if the two were having a conversation. X remembered how they made aggressive noises at him like a predator would, but the noises to the others was clearly different. They hadn't shown any ability to communicate like this before his surge of keizer energy, and even then it was only within the last hour they'd displayed this trait. The kaiju wasn't really sure what to make of that. It wasn't that he was stupid, he just didn't have any experience with something like this having been a weapon to the Xilians. He could sense that there was a bit of keizer energy that filled their bodies, much like his own. It was small, but it was there. So what was his solution? He'd just go back to sleep and not worry about it.

Eventually he would need to explore this planet and get a better understanding of the native species that dominated it. For now however, he would continue to enjoy this large forest he claimed as his territory. Perhaps he would step into the lake and cleanse himself of grime that had clearly accumulated whilst in stasis. Just as he started to close his eyes to get another night of sleep he felt both of the Beowolves nudge his hand and snuggle into it. Looking at them one last time he found it odd that they appeared to be going to sleep like him. He was pretty sure they didn't do that before.

Grimmlands

Deep within her palace the Queen of the Grimm Salem scowled heavily while looking through a window at her kingdom. Just a day ago she had felt something powerfulaffect some of her children, immediately cutting them off from her senses. Every Grimm that she created was connected to her in such a way that if needed she could see through their eyes. When they were killed by huntsman she could feel it easily. It had a feeling like what one would feel if they had a sunburn; a little pain, but more of an irritant. What happened yesterday was entirely different. Instead of that irritant the feeling that coursed through her was…almost empty. Salem lost contact with some Grimm and that was the end. No pain, but leftover feelings, nothing. They just weren't there. Something like this would not do.

The problem needed to be investigated, and as such she felt that perhaps some of her children needed to handle this. "Come." Her whisper was answered by a newborn Geist, the creature barely an hour into life, floating before her attentively. "There is a disturbance that needs to be looked into. You will go to Mistral and find this disturbance, and if necessary, eliminate it. If you find nothing then return to me. Now go." Her dismissal wasn't even finished before the Geist was zooming out of the palace window towards the kingdom of Mistral. Salem had things to take care of, mainly involving the finding of the Maidens and the Relics. Whatever this minor distraction was would be handled and buried before it could even think of manifesting. There was the chance that this was literally nothing, just an anomaly, but Salem had not lived as long as she had by leaving things to chance. That was that fool Ozpin's arena. No. She met things that opposed her with planning and force. This would be no different.

Oh, if only her future self could warn her.

Hawcell dig site

"Just a few wires here, plug this in, set the power output…aaaaaannnnndddddd it's done. This should transmit electrical data onto the scroll and give us access to anything that might be coded into the chip." The young scientist, the same bearded dragon faunus that Ozpin had contacted, smiled as he carefully connected one of the many computer chips recovered from the mountain into a self-made conduit that would transfer information over to the military-grade scroll he was issued.

Standing next to him was General James Ironwood of the Atlas Military. He had only arrived just this afternoon, under orders from the Atlesian council to provide any and all support to those already on site helping with the incident. Under normal circumstances playing a glorified babysitter would sit rather ill with him. However, the ramifications of the situation were understandable as to why Atlas wanted him there. Mistral themselves had plenty of people that could handle the more minute things, thus there was no need for any micro-managing by the general. But Atlas' council believed a man of his caliber needed to be involved here, with visual and media evidence of a truly titanic Grimm breaking free of the mountain and disappearing.

"Any idea as to what kind of information we may have on this chip Doctor Malau?"

The scientist shook his head, scaled frill swaying with each movement. "It could be literally anything. Perhaps text files, or maybe some audio ones. With everything that we're still excavating from the mountain there is really no way to know. For all we know, this could have cooking instructions on how to boil fish. That's even if we can properly decode any data successfully extracted." He looked away from the processing scroll to the general, "One of the metallurgists told me that the carbon dating on the metal they've recovered is nearly 100,000 years old and the metal itself doesn't match anything we have on record."

James frowned heavily at the news, having not heard as such himself before now. "Is this person reliable? The information accurate and credible?"

Malau nodded his head while checking that the receptacles on the wiring were still making solid contact. "Metallurgy isn't a field I'm well versed in, but she was quite sure of her results. I know her name in the scientific community is highly respected, so I have little reason to think her findings false." Before he could elaborate further his scroll signaled that it had finished the download as best it could.

Ironwood moved closer to the table with hands clasped behind him. He did his best not to show any excitement that the process had thankfully been much shorter than he expected. "What do we have?"

Tapping a few commands on the screen of his scroll, then typing away on the connected keyboard fast enough for his hands to blur, Doctor Malau didn't respond immediately as he booted up what his scroll classified as 'files' from the data. "If what I'm seeing is correct then we may be in luck. This data chip appears to have several files, or what we would think of as files, stored in the memory banks. This isn't going to be perfect, and there is a good chance that we will have to possibly put anything that isn't corrupted through decoding algorithms."

"As old as this would appear to be there is no telling if we'll be able to understand the data for now, if at all, so I suggest not getting your hopes up general."

Just as the scientist finished speaking his scroll started to display a grainy picture of what looked like some kind of insect, a moth-like creature, glowing brightly every once in a while. Both men looked at the screen then at each other. Confusion blanketed their faces at the sight upon the screen, as this was really the last thing either thought they'd find.

"What the hell is this?" James frowned at the image that seemed to cut out and loop back every twelve seconds.

Chapter Text

The Ursa slammed it's hands into the thick tree as hard as he could. Said tree groaned as it fell over and hit the ground. It joined another that had already been knocked down. The large Grimm looked at both trees then at it's right hand. It had always known on some kind of primal level that it was strong and could use that strength to it's advantage. However, it never really tested how strong it truly was. Over the last few days a feeling had begun to stir within itself. The feeling: What was it? To be more specific; what was the Ursa?

The other Grimm were like him, being Grimm, but they were also different. The Beowolves were quick, the Boarbatusk was tough, and the Nevermore were nimble when in the air. Itself? It could knock over trees because of the massive strength afforded to it. Why? What purpose did such strength amount to? Such…..thoughts had been coming forward over the last week. Ever since the giant did whatever it was it did. Now it wasn't just looking for humans to kill. Now it…...had no purpose.

"Oink squeee squeee" Turning to look at the Boarbatusk next to it the Ursa watched with confusion as the other Grimm was using it's front legs and large tusks to tear into the ground. The pig Grimm seemed to be making a rough crevice just large enough to surround it's body. It wasn't very deep, but the Boarbatusk managed to clear out the grass and several buried rocks leaving a circular spot of dirt. Looking over it's work the Grimm nodded before plopping down into the dirt and rolling in it like a little kid. Patches of dirt clung to it's skin and even a little on the armored plating upon it's back. This behavior went on for a whole minute, until the Boarbatusk breathed in deeply and seemed to sigh contently. Having made itself a nice resting spot the Grimm stared off into nothing and enjoyed itself.

The Ursa gave what amounted to be a shrug and laid down on it's stomach, stretching out and enjoying the feel of the grass on it's chin. It could remember how before the encounter with the giant being the only thing on it's mind was killing any human or faunus it came across. Now it just wanted…...to exist if it could really put any particular desire to itself. Several minutes passed as the Ursa and the Boarbatusk both laid upon the ground in satisfaction. Their relaxation was interrupted by growls from the treeline. Both Grimm sat up and watched with confusion as the two Beowolves that had become part of their pack pulled an animal into the area they considered their territory.

It appeared to be a large male deer, obviously dead from it's lack of movement, blood staining the ground as it was brought closer to the Ursa and Boarbatusk. The duo sat up from their 'beds' and watched as the Beowolves tossed it in front of them. The creature's throat was coated in blood where the killing blow had been dealt, and a bloody spot marred a hindquarter from the initial attack. Otherwise the carcass was undamaged and sported a healthy amount of meat. The four Grimm stared at the dead animal for several moments before the smaller of the two Beowolves sank it's teeth into the shoulder area, tearing out a mouthful of meat. The other three watched it begin to chew for a few moments before they too took a mouthful of deer meat. In the past they always had a desire to kill and consume humans, whilst leaving the wildlife alone unless they interfered in some way.

Now though, now they could feel some part of themselves liking the meat from the animal. Unbeknownst to the group of Grimm, the Keizer energy that had affected them was the cause of such a desire. Whereas before they would have no need or inclination to eat for sustenance, deep within that function was now beginning to grow. Each Grimm chewed their bite of meat until it was tender, then they swallowed said meat. For a moment none of said Grimm moved until, after a dilation of their red eyes, they suddenly tore into the corpse like it was their lifeline. It was as if some primal need had been awoken inside of the Grimm. As if, instead of the desire to hunt and kill humans, they were just…...hungry. Within minutes most of the good meat had been stripped from the dead deer, leaving the four Grimm satisfied in a way they didn't fully understand.

At the water's edge the two Nevermore that were part of the pack also experienced such a phenomenon. Wading into the shallows slowly the two birds tilted their necks to watch the fish swim around, seemingly oblivious to the predators amongst them. Quick as lightning they struck, beaks piercing the surface of the water and coming back up with a fish for each of them. Much like a stork they didn't need to chew the fish, instead lifting their heads so that the fish were swallowed whole. The Nevermore felt an odd enjoyment from eating the fish, something, like their compatriots, they had never felt before. Another stray thought had the larger Nevermore lean down to scoop a mouthful of crystal water. It savored the taste buds upon the Grimm's tongue that hadn't existed before. Seeing it's brethren drinking water the second Nevermore copied the behavior. A growling sound behind them had the two switching their attention to the rest of the pack.

A Geist was hovering before the group, it's head tilted in what amounted to confusion, not understanding why these other Grimm were eating something not Human. The Mistress had sent it to locate the source of the disturbance that she had felt a week ago. Strangely, it could sense the energy she was looking for within this group of fellow Grimm. However, while they felt similar, they didn't feel exactly the same. It's Mistress had placed a feeling of what she was searching for, and whatever it was felt massively greater than this. Still, why did the Grimm feel different than usual?

The Beowolf that appeared to be leader of the pack growled once more at the Geist, a warning sound more than anything truly aggressive. The Geist wasn't really sure how to respond to such behavior at first, since it was something Grimm never expressed, but then decided that since the Mistress wanted to know the origin of the energy these Grimm might provide an explanation of some kind. With that in mind the Geist made to possess a large boulder so as to destroy these odd Grimm. Unfortunately for the ghost the Beowolves were quite alert to anything that this outsider was planning. Just like when the duo took down the deer they latched onto the Geist and used their strength to yank it to the ground.

Once the Grimm was on the ground one of the Beowolves let go and sank it's teeth deep into the arm of the ghostly outsider. A flash of golden energy passed from it's mouth into the body of the Geist. A pulse sent them away from each other and left the ghost shivering on the ground. The pack watched as the Geist twitched with bouts of golden lightning and groaned with what could only be described as pain. This state lasted only 10-15 seconds at most before the phantom seemed to gain control over it's body. Sluggish as it was the Geist rose to a floating position above the ground, then turning to look at the pack it had just tried to attack.

"Ghahdahsdh cheoahsdhfdslh" The Geist mumbled to the other Grimm present with the 'language' of his species.

"Rawwerrere rawwerreer"

"Cawww cawww"

The Geist floated to the 'bedding' area that the Boarbatusk had torn into the ground. Aside from the flattened grass where the Ursa had lay there was no other spots truly claimed and customized for resting. The ghost didn't need to rest, but looking at the area around itself brought a thought to it's mind. This pack was different and had just done something that made it feel different. The Mistress had commanded it to find the disturbance of energy, and it found something related to what she had felt, then it was to return to the Grimmlands so she could be told. Now? Now that command was no longer in it's head like an overwhelming sensation that overruled all else. The Geist's mind was quiet now, other than it's thoughts on the situation.

Slowly hovering to the ground next to the Boarbatusk the single red eye of the Geist looked over the others, now joined by the Nevermore, "Ghahadhash….cheahahdhaaadh", the sound was one of confusion and uncertainty. Grimm had always been focused on the instinctual goal of human annihilation. With the golden energy warping them it was….afraid…...of these new feelings.

"Squeee squeee oiink" The hog nudged the ghost with the tip of it's tusk. "Squee oink oiinnk squwe have been adjusting too. Each day the sun rises we are different in some way than before, ever since The Great One did what it did. We don't know what is happening, but it is…..enjoyable."

"Gahadah dadhcaadh"

One of the Beowolves nodded, folding it's legs underneath it's body and laying down in the grass. "Enjoyment is new to us, but it brings warmth to our chest. That warmth is….desirable….and we want to keep feeling it. We remember what it was like before The Great One; empty, angry, hazy. We don't want that again, so stay with us Geist." The other Beowolf sidled up next to it and cuddled into it's side, affectionately nipping on the muzzle of the one that spoke.

The Geist let it's body rest on the grass like the others were and, very slowly, nodded to the request the pack leader put forth.

Mistral Beach, southern border

"Okay, we are live at Verizano Beach, it's sunny and about 95°, the waves are going off and begging to be ridden. Roja here is gonna go first then I, Mire, your Hostess with the Mostess will take a ride and YOU, the fans, will tell us who did better." Mire turned the camera on her scroll to her boyfriend, his surfboard in arm. "You ready to lose babe?"

The hedgehog faunus smiled at his human girlfriend, "Keep it up Mire, we'll see who's going home tonight with the crown. Gotta show the fans what a future pro looks like." He moved towards her and they kissed, the 'competition' really just something they did for their Whotube channel that fans enjoyed. "Alright, so what rules are we going with this time?"

"According to the poll we'll be using-" The light around them dimmed suddenly as if the clouds became overcast in an instant. Looking above them to see what was happening, a dark shadow growing larger by the second provided them with the unasked for shade. Whatever it was crashed to the sandy beach with enough force that Mire and Roja were knocked off their feet. Startled as they were it took a moment to stand up and actually look at whatever just struck the ground.

"Oh my god." Roja dropped his board and pulled Mire back from the giant 'Grimm' that stood looking out over the waters. It didn't move to attack them nor were there other Grimm with it, but the shear size of the creature was enough for them.

Without really thinking about it Mire aimed her scroll and started streaming the monster online, "W-we've…...I've never seen anything like this in my life! It's gotta be 110-120 meters tall! Just came out of the sky, no idea where it came from!" The monster turned it's head to stare them down, causing Mire to choke out a sob. "This is it guys. We're grateful you've followed us all this time and given all your support."

Roja grabbed Mire and pulled her into a loving embrace, lips smashing into hers and trying to convey all his feelings for her. The seconds passed and they had yet to die, so slowly separating the couple turned their gaze, and the camera, back to the monster. It appeared to not give a damn about them any longer and started walking into the ocean water. As tall as the thing was it had to walk quite a bit of distance before the water reached to the middle of it's torso.

Roja actually rubbed his eyes just to make sure what happened next wasn't a hallucination, "Is that Grimm…..bathing itself?" X was indeed scooping up handfuls of ocean water and dumping the liquid over it's head. He also ran his hands along his arms and chest in a sort of scrubbing motion in an attempt to dislodge any dirt or grime that was built up particularly rough.

Mire nodded in response, still keeping her scroll pointed right at the beast. Never in the history of humanity had such an event been witnessed. Grimm didn't care about hygiene, only about killing and destruction, so what the couple were seeing should've been impossible. Yet it was directly in front of them doing just that. Deciding that since they were still live and the situation was, again, unique, a little commentary wouldn't hurt at this moment. "Um, so again, for those just joining Mire and Roja here and Verizano Beach in south Mistral, we were planning on a surf showdown with you, the fans, as the voters. As you can see, however, this giant Grimm has just….well landed on the beach next to us. It hasn't attacked and obviously you saw that it looked at us, so it knows we're here, but instead the monster looks like it's taking a bath."

"I…..I know that's weird, and that we should probably get out of here, but this is…..out there. This Grimm doesn't look like anything I've ever seen, in appearance or size. We'll keep filming as much as we can, but be warned that if it does turn hostile….you'll know what happened."

X was unaware of anything the two humans were doing, and he honestly wasn't concerned about it any way. He just took the time to bathe and enjoy the feeling of the cold water. Said water was crystal clear, being close to the tropical region of the planet, allowing him to see numerous marine life swimming around his legs and feet curiously. It appeared they were less willing to run that the land animals back at his resting place, but as none were trying to bite or attack him he let them be. As it was right now, once he finished cleaning himself perhaps he would grab that snake-like monster waiting further out in the deeper waters. While enormous to the natives, to him it may as well have been a goldfish. Eh, he'd figure it out later.

Chapter Text

Almost two weeks they had been at this quarry studying everything that had been extracted from within the mountain. The more they discovered, the more they were amazed and confused. Doctor Malau had been hard at work, getting the bare minimum of sleep in his pursuit of the answers to the questions brought up. The most important thing had at first been the video of the insectoid beings that appeared to be talking to each other in a command room of some kind. However another discovery just the day before sent the excavation teams into a frenzy.

A handful of files that were mostly of the text variety, which gave them an excellent basis for a codex in order to make a translation of this unknown language. While it wasn't perfect it was the best they had so far in order to move forward with finding answers. This was not the only progress made, with Doctor Malau and General Ironwood currently handling another file that, along with text and audio, was filled with images of the giant Grimm that had escaped in the first place. Despite the fact that a solid translation was not complete yet, the imagery alone was enough to cause severe tension in the General.

The screen in front of him showed what looked like a schematic-like image of the Grimm with various text boxes pointing to numerous spots on it's body. While the translation program hadn't been applied to this file yet, Ironwood immediately thought of similar files the Atlas military had for their numerous weapons and vehicles. An image of whatever it was, with info and diagrams showing the features that were specialized for each one. Even if he didn't understand what the letters meant it was obvious to him he was looking over a layout with technical data regarding the monster.

Next to this computer was another that had a video playing on it of a rather concerning nature. It was footage of a group of the insectoid beings overlooking the Grimm as it destroyed a city. Two of the insects were tapping away at what could pass for a scroll, although not see-through, with their chitinous 'hands'. Mandibles clicks between the two, and seemingly communicated to a third who appeared to be the leader. This alone would have been severe enough for the situation, but the thing that truly bothered Ironwood was the fact that he had not onceseen any kind of city or settlement as advanced as the one being destroyed. While the cities of Atlas were the pinnacle of modern technology, the images he was looking at made them seen tame in comparison. If the General were being honest he'd think he was watching an episode of a high budget sci-fi movie.

All too easily the buildings fell. The ships and ground vehicles that were most likely military failed to make any kind of dent in the Grimm's armor-like body. Even ships that clearly had a design made for transportation had been swatted out of the sky. The horrifying display of destruction was enough to make the General sweat. Add to that how the insects continued on with their clicks and tapping on the scrolls, and Ironwood couldn't help but think he was watching a weapon being field tested. The idea was insane; that intelligent beings would use a 120 meter tall monster the same way a Huntsman would a blade. Yet the proof was before him. Such an idea raised more questions than it gave answers. Plus, if the giant Grimm were somehow one that was controlled, what was it doing now? Where was it? Where were the insects in this video?

On the other side of the room they were in, a makeshift HQ for the operation set up in the quarry foreman's trailer, Doctor Malau was jotting down more letters on his scroll as his computer's translation program kept hard at work. With each new letter translated that he put into the system more files were becoming partially readable. The last week and a half had seen considerable progress with excavating a lot of electronics, and files upon files were being compiled into the Faunas' scroll. One particular file grabbed his attention over the others. It was the one that appeared to be the most recent if the timestamps were to be believed.

Req#es# #or #he wea#on: Ear#h kai## #roving an obs#acle. Wea#on needed #o elimina#e i#

With many letters missing the Doctor couldn't be sure of what the message said. He had a guess, but the idea it presented was one that could shake the very core of everything the inhabitants of Remnant had come to believe about space. A message sent asking for the weapon to eliminate something that was causing trouble. It was all a puzzle with each piece completing the picture more and more. Malau felt that perhaps it was time to discuss what he truly felt to Ironwood about the situation.

Clicking a couple more files to be stored away for now the faunus turned to the other man in the room, taking a deep breath. "General, I have an idea that has been forming over the last day or so that, crazy as it may sound, is supported by a lot of the evidence we've been studying."

Ironwood paused the video playing on the computer and turned to the man that was quickly becoming quite the asset to the investigation. Perhaps when this situation was concluded he would seek to hire the doctor for future projects the Atlesian government undertook. "From my perspective more questions are known than answers Doctor. Any information you can provide would be appreciated. I'm willing to hear out any theories you have at the moment."

"Well," Malau waved his hand at the information collected on the computers around them, "Considering the estimated age of what's been recovered, the contents of these data chips and hardware, and the fact that the inside of the mountain is in no way natural…...I'm theorizing that the Grimm that escaped is in fact some kind of alien life-form and that it came here in a ship or containment chamber that the mountain grew around. I believe this alien creature would, in fact, still be within the mountain had the mining crew not breached the interior." There. He was laying it on the line and risking the chance the general would laugh at him before kicking him off the investigation.

No such laughter came, but James did frown at the idea being explained. "Truly Doctor? The kingdoms have never before found proof of life beyond our own, and space exploration is currently impossible. The idea that among the cosmos exist such a monster, and that more could be waiting, is horrifying in ways almost indescribable." The general's frown lessened just a bit, now more confused instead of troubled. "If such a theory were true, what is the creature doing on Remnant? What purpose does it serve? I also don't understand what kind of connection to the insects this monster would have. The idea you have brought up creates even morequestions, so many unknowns."

The doctor nodded his agreement to what the general was stating. Then motioned to the computer he'd been working on. "Despite still missing many letters corresponding to our alphabet, I have managed to translate what I believe is an order for the creature to be sent somewhere to kill something." The partially translated message was shown to Ironwood, who frowned again upon reading it. "I don't think it ever made it to whatever location the message was speaking of, since it was inside the mountain. Any plans that may have been in the works have most likely fallen through for whoever commanded the monster."

"The bugs…...they held it's leash?" The idea was rather ludicrous. He compared the idea to how Ozpin told him of the woman behind the Grimm. A demon in a human form: Salem. Ozpin's description of the Queen was that of a woman with white skin and red eyes. At first glance one could possibly think her normal, with perhaps a bizarre Semblance. He knew otherwise of course, but still. The thought that the man-sized insects were an intelligent race that had domain among the stars and also possessed a monster able to annihilate whole cities…...he hoped beyond hope that if these beings were still around that they would avoid Remnant.

Malau nodded to the idea, his own frown appearing. "I can't state with 100% to the accuracy that that is the case. However I am fairly certain of the fact that creature is not native to this planet. What it will do now, without the insects to give it orders, is anyone's guess. Perhaps it will do nothing, or maybe it will try leaving Remnant to go elsewhere. Maybe it will kill everything on this planet and leave it a barren rock. I just…..I don't know."

James was a man who normally hated such answers from his men. Not because he was some kind of perfectionist prick like Jacques Schnee, but because the unknown could lead to people losing their lives. Just as he was about to pose another question his scroll began to ring. Pulling the device out he was surprised to see Ozpin was calling him. "Ozpin, my friend, how are you?"

"James, do you have another scroll or are you around someone who does?"

What kind of a question was that to greet someone with? "Yes….I am. Why?"

"Turn it to VNN now." The headmaster's voice was deadly serious. What could possibly be going on that needed his immediate attention on the news? He nodded for Malau to follow the instruction. The faunus opened his scroll to Vale News Network, which had a bright red banner upon their main page.

BREAKING NEWS!

GIANT GRIMM SIGHTED ON MISTRALAN BEACH

SECOND GRIMM ENGAGES BATTLE

The news alert showed what looked like a live broadcast upon a sandy beach where the monster they'd just been discussing stood before another giant. This other, however, was clearly a Beowolf amped up in size to the point it matched the humanoid one. The Beowolf was growling and making aggressive movements with it's arms. The alien, however, wasn't moving one bit. In fact, it almost looked bored. The camera moved so that they could see a young faunus man saying something to the one holding the camera, then went back to the giants.

The two men watched with bated breath as the Beowolf began to move.

Grimmlands

Salem gripped the edge of her throne so hard that hairline cracks started to appear. What was the reason for her anger? Her subordinate Dr. Watts had come to her with his scroll turned to a live video that was of a rather concerning nature. At first she thought it would be something that, at most, would be an inconvenience to her plans. Upon seeing the giant monster that looked like her children, but clearly was not, her thoughts started churning. The video was coming from Mistral, which was where she had felt the disturbance that was cause for investigation the week before. Add in the fact that just an hour ago she felt the connection to the Geist she'd dispatched violently ended. The feeling was the same as before, when something wretched her children from her Sight. Perhaps….was this creature somehow responsible for what happened? Even if it wasn't stealing away her creations it was obviously an unknown piece in the chess game between herself and Ozpin. It wasn't her weapon, and unless Ozpin had lost his damn mind, it wasn't his either. Ergo: This thing had to die.

Watts, now joined by Hazel Rainart, actually took a step back in case their Queen lashed out at them. It didn't happen often, but when it did the results weren't pretty. The mustached man hesitantly decided to speak up, "My Queen what do you plan to do?"

Salem's eyes began to be overtaken by the red of her pupils, the furious color consuming the black sclera until it was as if two rubies had replaced her eyes. "I will be creating something to deal with this nuisance. We are too close to our current goals to be stopped by some beast, giant or not."

Focusing her power towards Mistral the Grimm Queen sought to create one of her children, but unlike regular ones that might as well have been cannon fodder against huntsman and huntresses, this would be a one-of-a-kind Grimm. One that could stand against the unknown monster.

Mistral

Deep within the uncharted wilderness of the eastern swamps of Mistral was a black pit of bubbling liquid that continuously spawned Grimm to torment the local populations and keep their numbers in check. What humanity didn't know about these pits was that when Salem created them they were given 'instructions' on what kinds of Grimm to create. And that unless she choose otherwise, she was connected to them in a way that allowed her to create Grimm whenever she wanted. She rarely used this ability, content to allow the spawning pits to do the job she created them for. Now? Now she needed something new.

The normally docile bubbling atop the surface suddenly quickened to a rapid pace, akin to a pot of boiling water. A few minutes of this went by before the liquid movedand began pooling into a pillar shape that started rising vertically. The higher the liquid went, the wider it became. Shapes came and went during this process, some familiar and some so otherworldly words couldn't describe how they looked. Half an hour passed before the transforming goo solidified into a shape that most people on Remnant would recognize.

It was a Beowolf. However, that was where the similarities pretty much ended. For one; it was 100 meters tall. Along with the armored claws that rested at the end of it's fingers being like razor blades instead of regular claws, four bone-like spikes were pointing out of it's forearms, two on each arm. The normal mask that most Beowolf donned was also different. The mask had a red pattern that spiraled out from the center that ended when it encountered the right ear of the Grimm. Near the top of the Grimm's head was a crown of spikes that were black in color, pointing to the sky like an evil knight's helmet. Upon it's chest was armor the likes of which might cause a soldier to think of kevlar plating. This torso armor looked thinner the lower it went, but still appeared sturdy enough to provide good protection.

Pure white eyes narrowed in anger before the altered Beowolf dropped to all fours and headed south towards the creature it's mother wanted dead. It was happy to oblige.

Chapter Text

Ruby frantically rubbed the gooey stuff out of her eyes and once more tried to focus on what Doctor Oobleck was telling the class. The lecture had been going for nearly an hour now and, despite normally loving his class, a lack of sleep from a head-cold the night before made her want to just bury her head in a pillow. It didn't help that Combat Class had taken up two course slots today because Professor Goodwitch believed everyone was slacking off the last few days.

The team leader looked down to her notebook and continued to write down what she felt was the most important things from Oobleck's words. A rather harsh story about when Humans and Faunus first encountered each other and how fear and misunderstanding lead to war, slavery, and death. 'Our differences don't divide us, they bring us together' was written and underlined twice. Yeah, that sounded like something that could be on a test.

Once more her eyes started to water and the irritation returned worse than ever. Reluctantly Ruby laid her head down and shut her hurting eyes. Just a minute. That's all she needed. Just a minute to try soothing the dry orbs. Taking several slow breaths while gently rubbing her eyelids Ruby hoped that the next class, Brave Wilderness, would have some easy assignment she could finish relatively quick. Afterwards classes would be over and she could return to the dorm. They would be doing something outside as usual, the professor, a coyote faunus named Pet Erson, almost never had actual classwork that was theoretical or classroom-based. So, maybe she could just skip the class and have Weiss give her the homework. Yeah, that sounded nice.

When Ruby felt ok enough to open her eyes she was surprised to see that Doctor Oobleck was not at the front of the class anymore. In fact, the couple of other students in the row in front of her were also gone. What? Looking to her right she expected to see her partner, and secret BFF, Weiss frowning at her in disappointment for sleeping through the rest of class. Instead the young Rose was horrified to see an Alpha Beowolf sitting next to her, staring her down with it's fiery gaze..

Then it spoke in Weiss' voice, "Ruby."

Ruby jolted up, waking from her dream due to Weiss shaking her shoulder just enough to rouse her. The young team leader tried to calm herself, doing her best to slow her racing heart, all while Weiss had a rising brow at the Rose's behavior. "Are you ok?"

"I….I'm fine. Sorry, I just really don't feel good. How much did I miss?" Trying to rub the drowsiness out of her eyes once more, she reached for her pen and tried to focus again.

Weiss turned her head forward and jotted down a quick point the professor was making. "Just a few minutes. Don't worry Ruby, I know you're sick, so just do what you can and I'll go over everything with you later." The Schnee gently rubbed Ruby's shoulder, reminding the younger girl of the night Weiss promised to be the best teammate she could.

Her BFF being so nice, when she was normally more strict, made the sinus headache she had just a little more bearable. She laid her head down and listened to Doctor Oobleck start to talk about a possible test they might be having soon, when she was startled by a shout from someone in the row behind her.

"Holy shit!"

Everyone, Doctor Oobleck included, looked to a student that was staring wide-eyed at her scroll as if it was the most important thing in the world. Instead of writing down notes for the lecture that Oobleck had been in the middle of, said student was surfing the web on her scroll. The obvious conclusion to messing around in class would be a surprise quiz and multiple detentions, but Doctor Oobleck had a different response to the student's outburst.

"What did you just say?!" Running, aka teleporting to the eyes of everyone else, to stand in front of her. She continued to stare down at her scroll, wide-eyed and jaw-dropped, ignoring him for a moment. "Miss Jayek! Look at me when I'm talking to you."

Van Jayek tore her eyes away from her scroll, before silently turning it towards the professor. The green-haired man was about to ask why she was showing him her scroll, but he then saw the image upon the glass screen. Quick as lightning he pulled out his own, after handing back hers, and turned it to VNN. Everyone looked at the duo confused as to what they were looking at, until Van stood up briefly. "Go to Vale News Network. There's some kind of giant Grimm about to fight."

Half the class thought she was joking, the other half were concerned at the idea of such a thing. Nevertheless everyone else proceeded to pull out the scrolls and go to the news site. Team RWBY crowded around Weiss' scroll, their jaws slowly dropping upon sight of the giant Beowolf and the unknown one having a standoff. The dust heiress almost dropped the device on the desk in front of her in shock, the other three not much better seeing that such Grimm existed.

"Oh man….how….how are we supposed to take on something like that?! There's no way..." Yang gripped her golden locks tightly in one hand, while the other held onto Ruby's shoulder. Her big sister instincts were skyrocketing and this was just at seeing imagesof these monsters.

Ruby herself felt her throat tighten and her heart speed up harshly. When they had fought against Grimm in the Emerald Forest she hadn't been afraid. Even when fighting against the Nevermore, the largest Grimm she'd seen in her life at that point, she'd been careful, but confident. This however? These two were enormous in size. They could literally step on her like a bug and that'd be the end of her career as a huntress. Her breath caught as the Beowolf charged the other creature.

Mistralian Beach

X just couldn't go anywhere without one of these things bother him it seemed. Here he was trying to clean himself of the accumulated filth gathered while stuck inside his prison and what greets him, one of the odd native creatures somehow matching him in size. When the bipedal wolf first appeared it made threatening gestures with it's arms and growled at him in a way that was supposed to be intimidating. They weren't and it wasn't. In response X growled back trying to convey one simple thing, 'Leave me or you won't like what happens'. His growls were not understood by the Grimm, for only other kaiju would have an idea of what he was speaking, and as the Beowolf came at him he knew it would not listen otherwise.

The Beowolf raised one of it's paws ready to strike as it closed the distance. It was about to claw the alien, but a quick snap from X stopped it in place. X had jabbed out with the back of his hand, landing a blow to the Grimm's face. The Grimm stumbled back in shock, X himself not having moved a step, before shaking his head to clear it. The Beowolf tried another slash, but X knocked it aside, following up with two more jabs to the face and a solid cross. The Beowolf stumbled back again, falling to one knee and rubbing it's face.

X still had yet to move from his original spot, staring down the Grimm without care. Maybe smacking the Grimm around a little would get his point across. That desire was killed once he saw the wolf stand back up. Having not learned it's lesson the Beowolf tried to lunge jaws first at X, hoping to get a good bite in and tear some flesh. X was having none of that. With agility beyond what something of his size should possess, X threw his leg out in a roundhouse kick, following immediately after with a spinning heel kick. The Beowolf was knocked on it's ass, a few teeth missing from it's mouth.

Roja and Mire were shocked beyond belief watching these Grimm confront each other. Not so much at the Beowolf, since it acted just like one that was regularly sized. No, it was the sight of the other Grimm fight with clear marital arts moves. The duo had some self-defense training they had taken, since neither had what it took to be a huntsman or huntress, and it was obvious the armored Grimm was using such moves. Little did they know such thoughts were going through the minds of others all over the planet. Seeing what most believed to be a mindless Grimm using some kind of martial arts frightened them more than had it just been swinging claws like an animal.

After a minute of trying to gather it's wits the Beowolf finally stood back up. X turned his body sideways, lowered his stance, curled the middle three fingers on each hand, then breathed in a growled one last time at the Grimm. The Beowolf didn't flee, it couldn't, for it's master gave it a single command, 'Kill this creature', therefore it had no choice but to fight. Trying something different this time it grabbed a handful of trees from the ground beneath it and held them in it's clawed fist. Almost like it was wearing a pair of brass knuckles. Charging forward it tried to jab the broken trees into X's face, but it was not to be.

X's left hand snapped out to catch the inside of the Grimm's arm, stopping it from moving forward any more. Before it could try and back away he jammed his right fist into the wolf's ribs, knocking the wind out of it. This was followed by five rapid punches to the Grimm's chest, landed in three seconds, ending with a kick to it's knee. Once more the Beowolf the down, black ichor dripping out of it's mouth and obvious pain marring it's features. Driven to one knee it looked up at X and growled angrily, wishing nothing more than to inflict damage to the kaiju. X stared at it in pity, or maybe it was apathy, before drawing back. Putting more power into it than before X flung his leg out in a roundhouse kick, his shin connecting with the side of the Beowolf's head. A horrible tearing sound tore through the air, actually making a little blood come out of Roja and Mire's ears, before the sight of a severed Beowolf head flying into the ocean filled scroll screens the world over.

The disintegrating body fell to the ground at X's feet, which he stared at in interest before lowering his leg and dropping his combat stance. He had yet to see any Grimm die, so the sight of it disappearing into nothing was strange, and he wanted to make sure it wouldn't somehow still attack him. This distraction allowed the Sea Feilong that had been watching the fight from the water to lunge at X, latching onto the back of his left thigh in an attempt to harm him. This did not go their way however, and within seconds X had grabbed both of them and held them in his hands like a human holding a snake. They both writhed and growled in his grip, trying to claw at his fingers in hope it would make the kaiju let go.

How easily he could kill them both right now. A twitch of his thumbs and their necks would snap, ending them just as quick as the giant he just killed. Instead, thinking back to the group waiting around at his 'home', X let a surge of keizer energy flow downs his arms and into the two serpents. Just like the others before, their bodies surged in near seizure-like movements for over a minute before they stopped twitching. Not caring to deal with it any longer X tossed them both back into the waters from which they emerged, bodies splashing the water hard enough it would have capsized a ship.

X huffed to himself before gathering the energy in his body and preparing to levitate back to his claimed lake. Yet, he stopped and turned his gaze to the tiny ape-like being standing on the sand. They resembled those that were around his prison as well as the ones he was supposed to destroy when his masters had called for him. Hmmm. He'd not seen any since he first awoke, so he leaned down to stare at them curiously. His movements caused them to stumble back, falling to the sands screaming in fear. What the hell was wrong with them? He tried getting them to quiet down with a low growl, but that only made it worse. With that in mind he stood back up and levitated away, leaving two confused people scared, but grateful, to pick themselves up and film him ascending into the sky.

Back in Beacon

Everyone in the class was silent. So silent that one could hear a pin drop, despite that being cliched and overused in writing, but silent nonetheless. They had just witnessed two Grimm fight, if one getting it's ass beat could be called fighting, then the victor not bothering to kill the human and faunus filming it. Such an experience just seen was…...nearly indescribable. Grimm were mindless beasts that killed without cause. They did not know martial arts and they certainly did not spare humanity.

Truly what Yang said earlier was true. How could they fight something like that? A Grimm that literally kicked something's head off.

Doctor Oobleck himself finally gathered his wits as he received a message from the headmaster. He cleared his throat loudly, startling some of the students that still had their eyes glued to their scrolls. "Class is dismissed for now. I…..for now I'd advise returning to your dorms. Classes for the rest of the day are canceled until the staff meeting with the headmaster is concluded. Don't worry everyone, we're safe here." Instead of waiting for any response, or even seeing if the students followed his words, the caffeine-addict rushed out the door heading for the elevator that would take him to Ozpin's office.

Seeing that her Team leader was in a near daze Weiss closed her scroll and grabbed her books. "Let's do what the professor says and go back to the dorm. I'm sure that we'll be told more information when it becomes available, and sitting here is going to get us nowhere."

The rest of Team RWBY nodded and gathered their belongings. Little did they know that they themselves would soon become involved with this new force of nature that revealed itself to Remnant.

Chapter Text

The queen of the Grimm grit her teeth as another surge of energy flew through her body. She had expected her creation to kill the other creature, whatever it was, and had instead met failure for the first time in quite a long while. The silk sheets of her bed clung to her sweating body like a moth in a cocoon. Salem had used a lot of power to bring her giant to life so quickly and the result could not have been worse. While she didn't have control over that Grimm to the extent of what one would call mind-control, the woman's connection was much deeper than all the other Grimm that came into existence each day. With such a tie to said monster, when it died the feedback on her end of the connection exploded within her body with the force of a city destroying bomb. She had collapsed bonelessly into her chair, pair wracking through her, her Seers holding her while she convulsed over and over.

Watts and Hazel had attempted to take her to her chambers, only for Salem to violently shove them away. Stumbling like a drunk after a night in a liquor store, the Grimm queen returned to her room, where she had remained for the last two days. She hoped to be back on her feet by day's end so as to create a plan with her followers on how to kill that damn monster. Perhaps that project she had Watts working on involving Grimm capable of using Dust? It had been some time since the last update on said project was given to her.

The question most on her mind was where this monster had come from. It was not one of her creations, despite being similar in appearance. Was it some kind of mutated animal? Or perhaps an experiment the humans of the world created in some freak accident? Salem supposed it didn't really matter, since it would be dead when she had a chance to heal. Perhaps once it was eliminated she would assign Watts to dissect the thing's corpse and attempt to weaponize it's power. Cloning it into an obedient slave? Well, she had success at cloning before, so that avenue was acceptable.

For now she would rest, and plan, so that when the time came Salem would eliminate this pest, and get back to her war with Ozma. With a silent command the Seer closest to her bed lifted the glass of water she'd asked for, allowing the dark queen to sip the cool liquid. It barely helped in her attempt to relax, hell, part of her felt like downing an entire bottle of one of her aged wines. At least if she were intoxicated her body would have something else to focus on. Laying her head back to the pillow she drifted off into a fitful sleep, thoughts of fierce vengeance swirling her mind.

After X defeated giant Grimm

Team RWBY sat in their dorm in absolute silence. Ruby was laying on Weiss' bed with a cool rag resting upon her forehead, Weiss took a sip from a cup filled with lemon water, Yang continued to watch the footage of Monster X fighting and killing what was being called 'Gigawolf', and Blake read from her smutty novel without the usual gusto. They'd been sitting quietly for the last hour since their dismissal from class. Waiting for some kind of response or instruction to their scrolls was eating at the students, but the idea of running around the halls aimlessly wasn't appealing either. So here the team sat, a proverbial Goliath in the room about what they'd seen.

After about the eighth time of restarting the video of the giant Grimm, Yang finally broke the tense atmosphere. "I'm not an expert, but I've never seen a fighting style like this." Standing up she placed her scroll on top of the bookshelf under the window, then took a few steps away. Turning her body sideways like the monster, then brought her left arm up to her chest, while keeping her right even with her hip. Yang widened her feet, bent her knees, and just for aesthetics curled the middle three fingers of both hands.

Ruby, Weiss, and Blake watched her hold the stance for several moments, eyes narrowed as the brawler concentrated on the fight moves X made in the video. Then the blonde jabbed her right arm out twice, followed by a snapping kick to her invisible opponent's chest. Weiss, downing the last of her drink, frowned at Yang as she kept imitating X's moves. "Yang, what are you doing?"

She finished her shadowboxing with one last punch before leaving the copied stance. She placed her hands upon her hips and frowned back at Weiss. "We've seen Grimm that could use limited thinking when fighting against us. Beowolves that try to ambush you, Ursa that toss boulders at someone, and other stuff, but this," her hand motioned to the scroll video of X kicking 'Gigawolf's' head off, "this is waybeyond that."

Blake closed her book and sat it on the sheets, turning to face her partner while removing her school blazer. "That's pretty obvious Yang, but what's the point? Getting worked up over this new Grimm isn't going to help with anything."

Weiss nodded in agreement with Blake, sitting next to Ruby and crossing her legs. "I would imagine that the Councils will be getting together to come up with a strategy of some sort. Perhaps they'll send an Atlesian fleet to track it and destroy it. That would be the best option for this kind of situation."

"I know I shouldn't be getting worked up, it's just that…..I mean just look at it. That Grimm is out there running around and we had no idea it existed. At any moment that thing could attack a settlement or city and wipe it away. There wouldn't be a single thing we could do to stop it. It really puts a damper on the idea of being a Huntress. Like, what's the point?" Sighing heavily the blonde sat next to Blake, removing her own blazer and undoing the top three buttons of her shit.

It was her sister that responded. "Because we've always known the risks sis. I mean, sure, this Grimm is holy-humongous big, but even the regular sized ones could kill us if things went bad. I mean….that's how mom….." Ruby paused for a moment to take a breath, then smiled at Yang. "We've trained, we've learned, we made a choice to be the sword and shield for the whole world. If that giant decides to attack….then we'll do our duty and protect as many people as we can."

Yang visibly brightened just a bit, but had one last doubt to voice. "Even if that thing can just step on us like bugs?"

Grinning and nodding back, Ruby gave a thumbs up. "Especially if it can step on us. People will be telling tales of the valiant effort given by Team RWBY for years. Then they'll make a movie out of us, and instead of teenagers playing us they'll have 30 year old actresses that barely look like us. What do you say guys?! If that Grimm comes we'll kick it's big butt!" She placed her hand out between them, waiting for the others to join in.

Her sister finally smiled and placed her hand atop Ruby's. "Hell yeah sis. I guess I'm just a little scared, but I won't give up." To her surprise Blake was quick to put her own hand on hers, giving a light squeeze as well.

"Being afraid is normal, welcome actually, and you aren't the only one partner. Despite being afraid of what might happen, we can handle it so long as we have each other." Her amber eyes glowed with pure warmth, confident and wholly trusting of her teammates. With that the three gazed at the final member of the team.

Weiss had her arms crossed, frowning at the display before her. Her eyebrow arching just the slightest when they nodded to the hand huddle. "I will not take part in such a childish action. I'm all for fighting, even against that monster, but I'm not doing a hand cheer." Ruby, Yang, and Blake kept staring at her, grins on their faces, and with a huff she finally relented. Placing her hand to the top of the pile, Weiss let a small grin show at last. "I do like the idea of people making a movie out of us. Hopefully a trilogy if we're good enough."

"Awesome! Team RWBY won't let anything stop us. Huzzah!"

"Huzzah!"

The team threw the hands into the air to complete the cheer, each feeling a little better about the monster situation. Little did they know just how involved they would become in the near future. After all, if the White Fang situation from the month before taught anyone anything, Team RWBY didn't know how to stay out of trouble.

Ozpin's office

"It is my suggestion to cancel the Vytal Festival and focus our fleets on tracking this monster. Nothing short of complete annihilation via bombing in mass, every bit of Dust and weaponry we have." Ironwood's voice cut through one of the multiple scrolls sitting on Ozpin's desk, doing his best to get his piece in before the squabbling politicians could start talking over each other.

One of Vale's Council members scoffed at the general's words, the older man never having like the military official too well. "Canceling the Festival would just create more problems than it would solve. It is a symbol of our unity, something to raise hope in the populous. Taking that away will ensure more negativity, which will bring more Grimm to our walls. Perhaps you don't care about that General, seeing that it wouldn't affect Atlas, but we have a duty to our citizens."

James grit his teeth and tightened his mechanical fist, picturing a Beowolf strangling the councilor. "I am well aware of the possible downsides to my idea, but if we split our focus between finding this thing and having to handle the Festival then both are at risk. If we can't track the Grimm then it could pop up wherever it pleases, seeing as how it can apparently fly. If we can't provide effective security during the Festival then criminals and other unsavory elements could cause a lot of damage and harm."

Atlas' head councilor piped in, backing the general. "While I too agree that canceling the Festival and sending out our fleets is a good idea, might I suggest gathering the Maidens and having the four of them attack this Grimm? That is their purpose, is it not?"

Ozpin chose this moment to finally speak up. His eyes narrowed at the faded silhouette of the councilor, the man's idea bothering him as he thought of the girl under his school. "Even if Amber were not in the critical state she is, I do not believe the Maidens could stop this creature by themselves. Perhaps with the backing of the Atlas military and a legion of highly trained Huntsmen and Huntresses they could take it, but by themselves?" He let out his own scoff, but had to temper his anger, remembering that they were not warriors, only politicians. "For now Councilors I believe General Ironwood's idea of sending out Atlas' fleets is a sound strategy, as well as waiting until the creature has been killed to continue our plans for the Vytal Festival. It could be the best way to avoid unnecessary deaths and damage."

The Vale councilor slammed his hand on his desk, the sound muffled due to the scroll connection. "No! If you want to send out fleets of Airships then fine, but the Festival will proceed as scheduled. If anyone wants to abstain from it, that is their choice, but Vale will stand tall and we will not cower before this beast. If that is all, I will take my leave of this meeting." His scroll signal disconnected, leaving Ozpin and Ironwood with the councilors of Atlas, Mistral, and Vacuo. The two headmasters shook their heads at the pure ignorance shown by the Vale councilor, but the meeting could still be salvaged and plans made.

A feminine voice spoke from the Mistral scroll. "Since the Grimm first appeared in our kingdom we will dispatch Huntsmen teams to search for any signs of where the creature may be living, if it's still there that is. Should they find it's territory we'll report back first, wait for your airships to arrive and assist General."

Ironwood nodded in agreement, himself having been brainstorming such an idea. "Mistral does seem to be a place the Grimm favors so far. I will assign my personal fleet to start there, covering the shorelines first then moving in bit by bit."

"Thank you General, once our teams have been organized and selected I will send the information to you. Until then." Her scroll cut off, leaving Vacuo's representative to give his piece.

"It is unlikely that the creature would be in the deserts of our kingdom, there is practically no one inhabiting them excluding a few minor tribes. I doubt that would be enough to draw the creature, so we will coordinate with Mistral and dispatch Huntsmen teams of our own to join with theirs."

"Do you have an idea of how many you would be able to spare?" Ozpin appreciated their help, but knew they also had major problems internally, and as such they would still focus on their own issues first.

"I believe at least four for the moment. They are not our most elite Huntsmen, but they are skilled, and their records show they know how to get the job done. I'll send their information to you both." With that he disconnected, leaving just Ozpin and Ironwood in the room.

"I will continue trying to convince the Councilor to change his mind about the Vytal Festival. Until then, I shall have my staff ask our older students if any wish to volunteer in the search and destroy you'll be heading."

"Thank you Ozpin. It will take some time to get the entire fleet into Mistral, so it will be at least a few days before I leave. I'll happily take any that wish to lend an extra blade."

Ozpin took one last look at the image of the monster on his scroll. While on the outside he spoke of finding and killing the creature, his mind was of another thought process. Twice had the being encountered humans, first when it escaped the mountain and second upon the beach. Both times it ignored the people around it, for the most part, and it had fought the giant Beowolf. Grimm did not fight each other, even if two groups encroached upon each other's territory, they would still go after humans. Perhaps, if fate could grant them a boon for once, this situation would turn into a positive. He would have Bartholomew work on research as a side project, to see if he could find anything in history that could give them some information about this monster.

Mistral Forest

The large shadow cast over their home caused the group of Grimm to look up, where they happily saw the giant one slowly descending to the ground. X's feet touched down gently, barely even disrupting the dirt, and he carefully looked around the area he rested at. There was a large pile of fruit stacked atop a rock that had clearly been beaten into a flat shape so that nothing would roll off into the dirt. The Geist added two more colorful food items to the stack, while the third it was carrying was brought up to it's mouth and bitten into.

The Ursa was working on stabbing tree logs into the ground in a squared shape. Two had already been completed, which were being topped with more logs by the two Nevermore. The shapes were extremely crude and primitive, but they were clearly supposed to be shelters. Similar to their activity the Boarbatusk was using it's tusks to tear up the ground, much like a farmer with a tiller, while following behind the Beowolves placed logs with sharpened tops in a line. Huh, they were building a perimeter wall. Each of the Grimm were doing something to make the area more habitable, odd considering what they had been doing when he first encountered them, but it appeared they were learning and adapting every day.

It seemed he was rewarded for not killing them when he'd first commandeered this plot of land. If they were evolving constantly due to his keizer energy then perhaps he needed to track down those two serpents he had tossed into the ocean. There was no telling where they would travel, so if he brought them to this lake he could keep an eye on their growth. What an odd thing to think. All his existence X was used as a tool by the Xilians, most of that time under their mental control. Now in the month he had been awake he was attempting to figure out what he was to do. Well, he still had time. For now he would watch over these little beings that followed him so, maybe infect some more with his power to see what kind of developments would happen.

It was an odd life he had come into so far on this primitive planet. Yet he could say that for the first time ever he could feel the emotion of enjoyment. That feeling was…...different, but in a good way. Laying down on the crushed trees he'd turned into a 'bed' his inner thoughts were interrupted by the Geist floating up to him.

"You are the Giant One the others told me about. It is you that freed them, and they freed me. Are there…...are there more like us? Can you help more? Make them feel?" It's words were not spoken like a true language. The words came out as a mix of hisses and keels like a bird. When it spoke to the others, who had their own noises made into words, they understood it. Perhaps this one, their Creator, could as well?

X stared at the Geist for a moment before he brought up his hand, palm upturned. The Geist hovered down just enough to be 'sitting' on the kaiju's palm. Red eyes met with fellow red, a silence in the air only broken by the occasional sound of the Grimm working below. As the sky turned into a mixture of oranges and purples X opened his mouth to finally respond. The panther-like growls would be unknown to anything not kaiju or keizer, so the words soothed the Geist into a feeling of happiness.

"Perhaps I shall"

Millions of miles away

Scientists could never say space was a boring place. With all the cosmic anomalies and events that took place, some of which were once in a lifetime, the sight of what appeared to be a giant amalgam of white crystals passing through the void might normally be considered just another phenomenon. Yet for one unfortunate planet, one that laid directly in the crystal's path, this was one anomaly that made one wish for boring.

For deep within the crystalline structure a pair of menacing red eyes, set in a vaguely reptilian face, stared at the void around it. It needed food, minerals from within a celestial body, as it had been some time since it last consumed. As a result of hunger it had lost size, but once the crystal touched down upon the surface of a planet the process would begin again, and he would be whole once more.

Chapter Text

Tribe of Grimm

The Alpha held up his hands and waved to his smaller companion, the other Beowolf in their expanding group. "I want you to hit me. Just pull back and give me a swing as hard as you can. I need to test this out."

His partner tilted her head and began to ball up her paw. "Are you sure? If this doesn't work it's going to hurt." He was about to respond, but voices to the side interrupted them.

"Either way it's going to be entertaining. Besides, we've all got stuff we want to try." A large Deathstalker missing it's stinger spoke with a hint of excitement. He was a newer addition to the tribe, and so far his personality had developed to that of someone that liked to have fun. Having never experienced the emotion before the Awakening, as they called their changes, he took every opportunity to explore this new sensation.

"Plus, should your ability work the way you believe, I will have someone to fight without worry of killing. A chance to get stronger is one I crave right now." The Nuckelavee that had been brought to them by the Giant One was certainly different from the first day they interacted with him. Three whole days the unusual Grimm kept himself isolated in a corner of the perimeter wall, not speaking to anyone or reacting in any way. On day four he finally trudged to the shy Geist amongst them and asked for some food. More days passed, each with the Nuckelavee sticking close to his Geist friend, before he started to talk with the others. At times he could still be standoffish, but for the most part he was beginning to form what humans could call a 'friendship' with the rest of the tribe. Especially with the Geist who made sure to put time in her day for him. She was so nice…

The female Beowolf clapped her paws together before pulling them apart to reveal a roughly shaped 4x4 she created. As with many of the others, she had begun to develop a power unique to only her as time went on since her Awakening. She could created any construct her mind was able to visualize out of wood. From the ground, from her body, from the air; it didn't matter. The more she practiced the better the results, but sometimes whatever she made was still as brittle as glass. Luckily this time the weapon was sturdy and would serve their purpose.

The Alpha braced himself and took a deep breath, readying his own power within. A loud smack echoed around them as his companion struck his face with the wood bar. Nodding to himself he looked up at her and braced once more. "It's working. A couple more times and I can unleash it." She complied with his request, smacking him across the face once, twice, thrice, and one last before her tool broke in half. Damn. She still needed to work on hardening the inside to prevent breakages.

Turning away from them Alpha smacked his paw onto the grass and let loose the energy built up. A fiery trail traversed along the ground before connecting with a wooden figure shaped like a Beowolf, set up at the Alpha's request beforehand for this exact purpose. The wooden dummy exploded into dozens of pieces, utterly destroyed by the energy the Beowolf focused towards it. "Yes! I knew it. I can do whatever I want with the energy I absorb. But it took a lot of concentration to do that, so I need more time."

"I'll happily give you some." Moving to stand next to the female Beowolf, the Nuckelavee grunted with effort and, slowly, blades that looked to be made of bone sprouted from all over his body. It was obvious he had very little experience with this power since it took so long for the blades to fully come out, and how it left him almost gasping for air. But with a grin he lifted his arms, bones sticking out like thorns on a rose bush. "Let's have a go Alpha."

From the entrance of her home the Ursa Major that had been with them since the start watched everything. Those at the 'proving ground', as the Deathstalker called it, the Nevermore duo talking with the recently arrived Sea Feilong duo, brought by the Giant One, at the water's edge, a smaller than normal King Taijitu taking a nap next to the large fire pit where they gathered together at night to eat the mushrooms found in the area. In the home next to hers a Goliath sat enjoying some fruit with their Boarbatusk friend, and a tuskless Boarbatusk that was cuddled next to him.

"You look like you have a lot on your mind. Here." The female Geist that was quite excellent at finding fruit in the vast woodland floated before her, hand outstretched and offering a few of the mushrooms that allowed them to take their spiritual journeys each day. The smaller Ursa male next to her scooted over and rested his head on her shoulder. It was a nice feeling. This feeling of…...comfort. It felt familiar somehow, but she couldn't figure out why.

Taking them in hand she gave one to her cuddle buddy and one for herself. The others she left for the rest of the tribe. "Thank you dear. I've been having this recurring experience during our mindfalls, this same one where I'm…...in darkness. I can't move and I can hear someone talking to me before the darkness drowns me. Whatever she is saying…...I can't understand it yet. I need to figure this out." She consumed the mushroom in one bite, her male partner doing the same just after. Unlike the two of them he had yet to gain the ability to talk, but his emotions were blossoming like a flower in spring. She would watch over him and protect him. That was what she did…...wasn't it?

Within minutes the mushroom took effect, sending her into a world of swirling colors and sounds. That is to say; she could hear the colors and see the sounds. Before her very eyes the silhouette of a human man stood before her holding something in his arms.

What should we name her? I was thinking dlfhsd

He shimmered before turning into a white figure with black liquid falling down her cheeks.

Such power shouldn't be wasted. Don't be my enemy. I'll show you the truth of the world my dear ldhflsjfoei

Then the black liquid consumed her body.

Chapter Text

"My dear Tyrian, how willing are you to assist me with ending the threat of our new enemy?" Salem knew the answer to this, but she got a perverse joy out of watching him express his devotion to his goddess.

The insane grin and near wagging of his stinger could've said it all. But Tyrian was a man of words that needed to share them with any who would listen, and some that wouldn't. "Of course my Goddess, I am willing to lay down my life if you asked. I would lovingly lay down others lives if anyone got in our way. What is thy bidding my Goddess?"

"Come with me Tyrian. I have something I need your help with." Leaving the dining room she lead him down corridor after corridor, a special destination in mind where she hoped to put his exceptional combat skill to use. Several minutes passed while they walked, the building suspense exciting Tyrian to an almost aroused state of mind. He had never once failed her when given a task, whether that be killing, stealing, espionage; it didn't matter. He would accomplish whatever she asked, nothing would stop him.

They finally stopped outside of a rather plain door, plain for her fortress at least, and stepped into a room Tyrian actually paused at the appearance of. The room contained an in-ground pool filled with a bubbling black liquid that the faunus knew created the Creatures of Grimm that served his goddess. What made him pause was that every pool of darkness he'd seen were always outside. Never had he seen the wondrous liquid inside the tower. He wondered what he could help his Goddess with that happened to involve one of the pools.

Turning to him Salem folded her hands into her sleeves. "If I asked you to destroy the monster that has appeared to us recently, would you do it?"

Tyrian grinned savagely and gave a firm nod. "Why of course my Queen! If I had a way to match it I would happily tear out it's heart and bring it to you! Then we could make a scarecrow out of the corpse! Keep everyone away from the Grimmlands forever, or anywhere really, and-"

"That is enough Tyrian." The Grimm Queen turned now to gaze at the pool beside her. "If I had a way to put you on a level playing field, then could you, truly, slay the beast?"

Dropping to a knee the madman spread his arms in a bow. "I would love nothing more than to do so my Queen." He was ecstatic when she graced him with a smile, walking past him as if to leave the room. When he turned to follow he watched her lift her right hand, and that's when he felt them.

Two black tendrils had latched onto his arms, one his waist, and two for his legs. His kneejerk reaction had been to fight against them, but they dripped with the same essence as the pool behind him. Was…...was his Goddess going to make him into one of her creatures? One of the many weapons to destroy the world, only this time with one specific target in mind? How absolutely glorious.

Salem faced him now, as spiked tendrils pierced his flesh along his spine, connecting to his central nervous system. "You will become one of my Leviathans with a few…...upgrades, and you will do what you must to draw out that creature. I will be watching your progress, so do put on a good show Tyrian. I would be disappointed if you did anything less."

Just before the last spike entered the back of his head Tyrian managed one last response. "It will be a massacre my Queen." Then his body was pulled into the black pool, consciousness leaving it as his Queen demanded.

Argus

Deep below the waters surface a monster stirred at his master's command. It was content to wait until needed, as had it's last instruction been, but it seemed that the master had use for it's power. Or at least it's body. The Leviathan's eyes glowed a blood red, different from the red-orange of old, pulsing with power as something newentered it's mind. Thoughts, ideas, feelings, purpose…..a desire to please his Queen. YES. With a deep breath, and weren't gills just the oddest thing to breathe through?, Tyrian lifted his new hands to his new eyes. Oh, with such joy was he going to kill everything in sight. Looking above he could just make out the surface of the water. Once he figured out where he was then he could cause some mayhem and get that beast to come to him.

Seconds later his head broke the surface and he quickly scanned the horizon. THERE! Before him lay the harbor city of Argus; the perfect place to turn into a slaughterhouse. Even if the beast didn't arrive to fight him it would at least give him a chance to test out his body. He began heading towards the port city with as much of a grin as this body would allow.

Closer…..closer….closer…...he was nearly upon them! But…..first he should deal with the military base in the harbor. Take out the pawns and the rest would be sure to follow. He finally reached an area where his feet could touch the ocean floor and thus stood before the Atlas military and Mistral civilians in all his glory. Already he could hear the blaring alarms from the base, and it seemed they were quick to deploy the hard light barriers to protect the city as well. No matter. He'd destroy it all. However, just as he was about to take a step forward, excruciating pain flooded his body. This pain was accompanied by the voice of his Queen in his mind.

"As I said Tyrian, there are some upgrades you need first."

Already the Atlas military was scrambling to get airships into the air and get someone into the Colossus to fight the Grimm. They had dealt with Leviathans before, so this wouldn't be any different than usual. Or so they thought. Tyrian began grabbing at his face, clawing and screeching, as the pain amplified tenfold. Digging into his own skin Tyrian roughly pulled his face apart, revealing a new one beneath. As his skin began to fall off all over his body, the faunus-turned-grimm started to grow in size. More and more of his body was changing as he became taller, stronger, more agile. Tyrian's face turned into a collection of pain as a horn sprouted from his forehead, a spike emerged from his chin, and two mandible-like growths extended from his cheeks. His dolphin-esque head was gone, replaced by a green colored insectoid face, razor sharp teeth and pure white eyes gleaming in the daylight.

Armor plating covered his back, shoulders, legs, arms, and tail; the armor as green as Zoysia grass. Spikes traveled down his back, ending at his hips, while two blade-like protrusions extended from his shoulders; which matched the two at his hips. The end of his tail now had three upward-curved spikes, sharp and deadly like those on his face, filled to the brim, with Venom. His original hands and feet were now replaced with three claws on each appendage. The middle claw of each set was nearly twice as long as the others, ready to rend and tear flesh, or in this particular case, annihilate the Atlas military presence protecting the city, then destroying the city itself.

Now grown to his full height of 110 meters Tyrian was ready to destroy everything in sight. His Queen's voice spoke once more in his mind. "Now my beautiful Skorpio King, KILL." Oh he would gladly do so. Electricity coursing through his new body Tyrian brought his claws down, destroying 6 airships in a near instant. Yes. He had always wished to serve his Goddess and kill her enemies should she ask. Now he could do so in spades. The kaijufied Tyrian slowly ran his claws across the domed shield protecting the city, the barrier straining just at his slight touch. The shattering sound when he pierced the hardlight protection was pure music to his ears. Unable to handle the force of his one attack the shield faded away like shattered glass. He let loose a sick laugh, coming out as a chuckling growl, and turned towards the military base and the oncoming prey.

Grimm Village

X was startled awake by the surge of energy he could feel on the other side of the continent. It was a feeling he'd not felt in a long time; Kaiju. Only…..….it was different somehow. Darker and more…..unstable; kaiju weren't supposed to feel like this. Whatever he was sensing needed to be looked into immediately. X focused his graviton power and ascended into the sky, heading towards the strange feeling kaiju. He didn't know what to expect, but a part of him hoped it would not be some beast seeking to fight. He was coming to enjoy his peace with the little ones.

Beacon

"Ok team, so, what kind of fun are we having this weekend?!" Ruby nearly slammed her lunch tray onto the table she was so excited. Today they had ice cream as the 'sweet' dish available, and although it didn't rank as good as chocolate chip cookies, she could never say no to a bowl of cold, sugary goodness.

Yang smiled at her sister's enthusiasm, despite the fact that the day was really dragging after spending the morning listening to Professor Port telling another longstory from his youth. "You mean other than sleeping in with the blanket smothering my head?" Her statement earned a small frown from Weiss, but that was nothing new to be honest.

The heiress wiped her mouth with a napkin before speaking, herself enjoying a dollop of strawberry ice cream. "More students are arriving for the Vytal Festival, the grapevine says they're from Vacuo and Atlas, so we could go greet them and welcome them to Vale."

Blake smirked and her eyes nearly glowed with amusement. "You meant spy on them like last time, right?" Weiss glared at her halfheartedly, before nodding in agreement.

"Yes we can spy on them and maybe get some early ideas for any fights we might have. But we really SHOULD try to be welcoming. As students of Beacon we're held to a level of prestige and decorum above all the other academies. We need to show that we're professional huntresses-in-training and set an example."

Ruby nudged her partner gently, grinning. "Weiss that sounds like a fancy way of saying, 'Hey, we're super-duper awesome. Look at how cool we are!'. Why don't we just say, 'Hi! Want to hang out?'".

Yang pulled out her scroll and started surfing the net, doing her best not to laugh. "I don't think Weiss is that easy-going sis. Too much fun cramps her style."

The heiress spluttered roughly, trying to avoid just straight up yelling at the blonde. "I know how to have fun Yang! All I said was that we should act professional and of our station." A tray slamming down next to them startled the four, Nora digging into her food with gusto.

"Who cares about all that stuff?! Think of all the food and the fights we're gonna get at the festival. It's gonna be SOOOOOO awesome! Turkey legs, giant corn dogs, gyros, overpriced sodas out of the vending machines we could get cheaper at the store." She would have kept going were it not for Ren putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Nora, as much as I agree with you about enjoying the festival, please don't talk with your mouth full. It's impolite and you could choke."

The orangette nodded in apology, focusing on her food so that she could talk after. Didn't stop her from smiling at her best friend before munching on a roll. Jaune and Pyrrha placed their food down as well, taking more sedated bites than the grenadier. Jaune looked to his sister team and asked what they'd been talking about. When Ruby happily explained that she was trying to come up with some kind of weekend fun plan, the boy perked up, a suggestion of his own he'd been thinking of for his team.

"Well, we could all go to this new arcade they just opened downtown. It's only been open for about a week, but I heard from a fourth-year that it has some awesomegames, great food, and the owner is a really nice guy." Everyone could see his enthusiasm over the idea, and though a weapons or comics store were always Ruby's #1 chill place, she really enjoyed video games too.

The young leader put down her spoon and focused on Jaune. "What's the place called?"

"Ah….I think he said it's called Flynn's. It's one of those old-school type arcades where all the games are just played for fun; they don't give out tickets and stuff like that. So everything in it is so people can spend time with their friends and just hang out. There's also pool tables, darts, a room for karaoke, and probably other things I'm forgetting." The blonde scratched his cheek, embarrassed he couldn't remember everything that upperclassman told him, but a reassuring pat from Pyrrha calmed him.

"I think that sounds quite fun Jaune." She looked to team RWBY, smiling at the friends she had made since coming to Beacon. "Do you want to join us for a trip to this arcade?"

Ruby's eyes were shining like diamonds by the time Jaune had finished telling them about the arcade, grin like a cat at the idea of playing some games and maybe even a quick round of darts to test her aim. "I'm up for that! We can have so much fun, right bestie?" The question was aimed at her partner, secret bestie, whom sighed at the younger girl's hyperness.

Holding a pose that looked like she was thinking and scowling at the same time, Weiss eventually nodded, smirking at JNPR. "I guess I'm not opposed to doing something that can be relaxing and allow us to practice our teamwork. Plus, if I have Ruby watching my back on the game cabinets, there's no way the two of us will lose. She's like the Ozpin of video games!" Such a warm response had Ruby practically floating in the air, mumbles of 'My bestie is the best'.

Blake made a show of rolling her eyes and sighing, but she showed a real smile to the others after a few seconds of letting them stew. "I'm up for a trip to the arcade. I've..…..actually never been to one, so why not?"

Yang's response brought all conversation to a grinding halt. "Not again."

Thinking she was talking about the planned trip everyone looked at her in surprise, but instead of them, the blonde was staring down her scroll like her life depended on it. Everyone was curious as to what was causing her such distress and crowed around her to see what she was reading.

LIVE: Argus under siege! Giant monster attacks!

"This is Jung Fleurie reporting live from the coastal city of Argus in Mistral, where a giant monster is attacking the local Atlas military forces! Witnesses say that at first a Leviathan-class grimm emerged from the ocean waters, the city itself protected by a quick deployment of a hardlight barrier, however the grimm soon began to….well…..change into something else." The camera turned to show the green monster smashing airships out of the sky, naval ships being cleaved in two, and the military base itself covered in debris and fire. The teens were horrified to see the monster then grab one of the larger airships and eat it. After the brief smoke from the explosion cleared the monster then started to laugh, or at least make short growls that sounded like it was laughing.

"You can see that the barrier shield is no longer up, despite the danger still here. This monster overloaded and destroyed it just by piercing it with one of it's claws shortly before our broadcast started. Right now we have no official word from police, military, or government spokesmen about what the current plan is. I know that local huntsmen have been trying to evacuate the city away from the water, but with everyone in a panic it's slow-going and highly chaotic. Beyond that we're not sur-oh god."

Now the camera view looked to the sky, where the teams saw the same martial arts using grimm that was already the talk of the world descending from the clouds with outstretched arms. It landed softly in the water quite a bit away from the green monster, it's skull-like head seeming to look back and forth over the area before settling on the other one.

Argus

Monster X surveyed the damage that this other kaiju was causing, the destroyed remains of ships and an area away from the shore burning brightly despite the midday sun. The kaiju stared him down, but he couldn't take his eyes off the destruction that had been wrought. And for what? While the structures on the coast had not been attacked, the isolated place on the mini island was nearly obliterated, and what he presumed to be military vessels littered the water. All this destruction…...it made him think of times past.

Cities demolished, environments annihilated, populations made extinct, worlds left barren. All because of him. Yes, his former masters had been in control of his mind, and therefore his body, but it was still he and his power that was the cause of so much death. Time and time again, more and more loss. He was the weapon of mass destruction. Since his awakening X had begun to truly…...enjoy his existence. No voice telling him to destroy, no confinement in that prison, no orders. Just he and his little ones. Fate was a cruel entity. He just couldn't escape the company of death it seemed.

"So you finally arrived. I'm glad. My Goddess has sent me to kill you, and now that you're here I can make that happen." The other kaiju was speaking to him, pulling him from his miserable thoughts, pacing back and forth before him like a caged animal.

X took a moment to think on what was just said to him, and immediately he could feel something like…...fire in his chest. "You caused all this death just to get my attention?"

"No. I caused all this death because my Queen asked me to do something dramatic. And because I liked it. Getting you to show up this fast was just a bonus." A white tongue, sparking with electricity, snaked out of his mouth to run over his razor sharp teeth.

X couldn't help but to stare at this kaiju. He likedkilling? Just…...like…..his…..slavers…...Xilians. X had never been able to do anything before, trapped within his own body by those bugs, but…...he could now. He was tiredof all the harm he had seen and caused. No more. "What do they call you?"

"My name is Tyrian, but my Queen says this body is called Skorpio King. It doesn't really matter though, does it? I'm going to rip whatever you have for a heart out of your chest either way."

Were he not in a half-dazed state of mind from the images of his past sins, Monster X might have laughed in mocking at this child's claim. Instead he shook his head. "No, you won't." Then he charged towards this vile creature, intent on killing this monster and righting the wrongs he'd once done.

Chapter Text

Argus

SKREEEEEEOOHHHHHNNGK!

SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!

The Demon of the Galaxy and the Scorpion Leviathan roared at eachother, and fought viciously

X saw the Skorpio King raised it’s claw, and slashed down at him, but he managed to block a slash to his stomach, but a quick jab punctured his shoulder, forcing him to put some distance between he and his opponent. Tyrian was not allowing that however. Bounding after the other kaiju he brought both arms down to slice it's chest, but instead of a block this time X ducked to the left to get away from the sharp claws. X tried for a kick to Tyrian's chest, but Tyrian wrapped his arms around the limb and bit into the black flesh. While the bite itself wasn't really painful, it was what came after that surprised X. Electricity surged through his body which caused his other leg to go out. Laying in the water, all of his muscles twitching in pain, X tried to kick Tyrian away, to get him to let go of his leg. His foot connected with the other kaiju's neck four times before his leg was released. X swung his legs and pivoted on his hands, getting back to his feet and punching Tyrian in the chest over and over.

Tyrian took the hits without much trouble, since his chest was covered in hard armor. He brought his hands up in an attempt to impale X through the stomach, but the keizer grabbed his wrists, stopping the attack and returning it with kicks to Tyrian's right thigh. Although thick with muscle and partially protected by armor the leg gave after almost a minute of taking abuse. Driven to one knee Tyrian tried to stab X with the sharp horns on his head. He didn't get the stab he was looking for, but a lengthy slice was made in the flesh between bone plating. With his right leg also giving out for a moment, the two were at the same level again. Letting go of Tyrian's wrists X slammed the edge of his hand into the soft flesh of the electrical kaiju's neck.

Tyrian responded to this by clamping his jaws down on X's hand. Stunned for a second from another dose of electricity, the keizer couldn't protect himself when Tyrian tackled him to the ground. Water sloshing around them, surges of electricity flowing off X's body, Tyrian finally got a chance for a solid attack. Pulling back his right arm he gathered electricity around his claws, a razor sharp smirk forming around the hand he was biting, then the claws were driven into X's shoulder just under the half-head that rested there.

Beacon

"Come on, get up!" Ruby's outburst startled the seven students surrounding her.

Weiss dragged a hand down her face while the other sat over her heart, trying to calm herself. "There's no need to yell Ruby. Besides, why are you cheering for that grimm?"

Turning from her sister's scroll Ruby looked as if Weiss asked her why she liked cookies. "The other one was destroying everything in sight, and this one came to stop it. I think it's obvious why I should cheer for it."

Weiss was not convinced however, her frown, her usual expression, working as a metaphor to try and scold her team leader for that statement. "Ruby, this is a GRIMM we're talking about. Not some movie star or musician or other kind of entertainer. It's a monster that will need to be put down."

Ruby starred at her partner for a moment before looking at the others. While not outright agreeing with what Weiss said verbally, Ruby could see from their expressions that they were of a similar mindset. So, knowing she had to stick to her guns, and with the inside of her cheek being chewed on, Ruby posed the important question. "Well...what if it isn't a grimm?"

Weiss couldn't believe what she just heard. "What kind of a question is that? It has a dark-colored body and bone armor all over it. This thing's eyes are red too. Textbook case of the characteristics of a grimm. What else could it possibly be Ruby?"

In the past Ruby might have cowed to Weiss' points, and the undertone of frustration in the heiress' voice, but time and experience taught her how to debate a subject even if the situation was tense. "Grimm don't fight other grimm though, and I've never seen a grimm that fought using martial arts. If it was a grimm why did it stop the other one from destroying the city? What if it's…..just a big animal or something?"

Blake's eyes went from Ruby to Yang's scroll, the news feed showing X manage to remove his hand from Tyrian's jaws. The keizer looked to be trying to lock his legs around the neck of his attacker in some kind of armbar. "You're right that grimm don't fight each other, but animals aren't intelligent enough to use advanced fighting techniques. Teeth, claws, natural poisons or venom, but nothing like what humans can do with time and training. I don't think this is some kind of big animal, but Ruby may be right that it isn't a grimm."

X wasn't able to lock his legs around Tyrian's neck so he settled for placing a foot against Tyrian's chest and shoving him away. While the angle wasn't the best, the eight teens could see red blood seeping from where the monster had been stabbed. Gasps were heard all over the cafeteria from fellow students, many whom looked much like RWBY and JNPR. This giant creature was bleeding red blood, instead of the wound fizzing with black smoke as was normal with grimm.

Out of their little group Jaune was the one to break the ice on the matter. "Well I guess that means it isn't a giant Grimm. So, just a big monster?"

Argus

X brought his fingers to his wound, prodding it to see how deep it was. It nearly went to the joint within, but despite the pain he was feeling he could finish this fight. Moving in X deflected a slash before planting two punches into Tyrian's gut and three into his chest. The other kaiju ducked the spinning heel kick that followed, and lashed out for the first time with his tail. The three spikes at the end of his tail sliced across X's stomach, drawing more blood from the unprotected flesh.

That pissed X off to a new level.

Once Tyrian was facing X again he ate a left cross to the face. The blow staggered him, but he had zero time to counter as a cross from the other fist connected. One, two, three, four, five, six. Driven closer to the Argus docks Tyrian was knocked on his ass by one last punch that broke the spike sticking out of his left cheek. X grabbed hold of his shoulders and roughly pulled him back to his feet. Dragging him away from the populous X pulled back for another cross, to which Tyrian desperately thrust his claws to retaliate.

X screamed out in pain as his right bicep was pierced by Tyrian's claw, the ends of which were sticking out the other side of his limb. Little time was had to process this when his opponent stabbed that same side's armpit. Not giving the keizer time to recover in some way Tyrian clamped his teeth once more onto X's hand. Impaled in two places and electricity surging through him again X fell to one knee. He couldn't move his right arm in any way and with the energy coursing into his body he could barely keep his eyes straight.

With all the razor sharp armored hide at his opponent's disposal, every close attack had the chance to turn ugly. This was the first time in a very long time that he'd been in a fight where his enemy actually put up a good resistance. Eyes beginning to glow with power, Monster X was done with this fool.

Beacon

Uncaring of how many people might stare, or how it might affect her social status among her peers, Ruby nearly caused Yang to go deaf with her scream. "No! Don't let that poophead win! You've gotta fight back big guy!"

Weiss grabbed the younger girl's arm and tried to drag her down so that everyone looking couldn't see her. "Ruby what are you doing?! Everyone's staring at us and you're cheering on this monster!"

Not trying to be mean, but not willing to be hushed, Ruby pulled her arm away from the heiress. Her defiant frown could've said it all, but the young rose was always one to say how she felt. "I'm cheering for the one that I think is a good guy. I don't care if people don't like that. I believe it's here to help!"

Weiss didn't get a chance to argue with her partner, as a fourth-year student across the room yelled out to them, anger quite clear on his face. "You're rooting for this monster to get up and win? Aren't you forgetting that we're learning to kill monsters like this?"

Ruby wasn't going to be cowed by the older boy, however, and pointed her finger to the scroll in Yang's hand. Huh, what's going on with it's eyes?"That one is obviously trying to beat the other one. You know, the one that was destroying everything. The military wasn't able to do anything so if he's able to beat it why shouldn't I be happy?"

The senior was not happy with the phrasing the freshman used to describe X. "He?! That thing is. a. monster!"

Yang was about to get up and put her two lien into it, aka her fists in the guy's face, but Ruby boldly shook her head. "Monster is a relative term you meanie. To a rabbit a wolf is a monster."

Her words actually caused many within the cafeteria to look thoughtful. The comparison actually made sense to the students, who pictured how a rabbit being hunted by a wolf would think the canidae was the devil, when in reality it was just a predator trying to feed itself. Everyone looked back down to their scrolls just in time to see an explosion of yellow light appear between the two giants. X's hand was finally let go which allowed him to grab hold of Tyrian's arm that was stabbing his bicep. Gritting his teeth he pulled the claws out and held that arm away. His eyes glowed yellow once more before unleashing his graviton beams into the inner elbow, going right through and severing the limb.

In shock and massive pain Tyrian pulled his other claws out of X and backed away. If it was possible for a kaiju to look like he'd just shit himself Tyrian was the poster boy for such an expression. Another round of graviton beams to his chest sent Tyrian to the water, unable to get his bearings after losing his arm. X didn't care that he was down and hit him one more time with his energy attack.

Seeing the fight take such a sudden turn cheers and whoops were heard throughout the room. Ruby herself was glomping her sis so hard you could almost hear bones creak. "That was so cool! He's got freaking laser beam eyes! Ahh!"

Jaune was caught up in all the excitement with her, a fist pump nearly knocking Pyrrha in the head. "He took that thing's arm off with them! Pulled those claws out and just said, 'No more'. He's got this in the bag!"

Argus

Getting back to his feet Tyrian was confused to why X stood before him with fingertips nearly touching his chest. Despite almost no room to put any power behind the punch, when X drove his left fist into his chest Tyrian screamed from the pain. The one-inch-punch, so to speak, cracked his chest armor instantly and sent him into an unoccupied space of the bay. Falling onto his back, crushing trees beneath his massive form, Tyrian could barely breath and didn't have the strength to rise back up. The blurry outline of X was turned sideways, his injured arm behind him so it couldn't be hit.

X felt that now was the time to give this demon one last bit of wisdom. "I told you that you wouldn't rip out my heart. Perhaps your 'Queen' will think twice of messing with me. Send her my regards." Side-jumping towards Tyrian, bringing his left leg up and in, coiling like a snake about to strike, X crossed the distance between them with lethal intent.

Within his mind Tyrian was screaming for Salem. Please my Queen, release me from this body! This beast is going to kill me! Silence answered his pleas. He couldn't hear his Goddess within his mind any longer. Just as X's foot made contact with his skull one last thought was processed, My QUEEN!Then his life was ended by his head being crushed. X stood there for another moment, leg extended, before pulling back and just staring at the dead body of his foe. Unlike the last kaiju he'd killed this one didn't begin to disintegrate into nothing. He didn't really care if it faded away or if the thing's corpse lay there and decomposed. It was finally over.

The pain in his right arm came back with a vengeance as his adrenaline died down. He would be healed up within a day as long as he didn't aggravate the wounds, so he wasn't really worried now that his enemy was dead. Looking around at the destruction he was happy to see that the city was not badly damaged, truly the only thing wrong with the settlement itself was a couple of buildings were dirtied with his blood that spilled after his impalement. Of course the base where they kept their vehicles and armaments was still burning away, the wreckage of flying and seafaring craft scattered across the waters. Along with…

Walking over to a bright orange object that was keeping a couple of the tiny apes out of the water he eyed them with amusement when they pulled out weapons and aimed his way. Really? After seeing him kill the other kaiju did they really think anything they tried would hurt him? Such simple beings. He picked up their rescue craft with his good hand before they had a chance to jump into the water, which cause them to scream out. Why did these little things like to make so much noise? They were brought to the shore of the city and gently placed upon the ground amongst a crowd of gobsmacked onlookers. X went back out to the water and grabbed another of the inflatable lifeboats, returning to the docks with it and putting it down next to the first.

The crowd of humans and faunus stared speechless as the giant creature continued to rescue military and civilian personal that were floating in the lifeboats around the military base. Nobody knew where it started or by whom, but someone screamed out in happiness then whistled loudly. Then a second. A third. Ten. Thirty. Before long everyone was cheering, clapping, whistling, or just screaming incoherently. This monster had come to save them from their attacker and was not trying to destroy them after the battle.

"Jung Fleurie reporting live from the city of Argus where the battle between the two giant monsters has come to an end! It was a long, tough fight for our savior, who didn't come out unscathed, but in the end he stopped the Leviathan and is now rescuing survivors from the Atlas base. I...I don't know what this means for the future of Remnant, but ladies and gentlemen our own eyes have seen that this giant grimm...or whatever it is means us no harm. Many families will sleep tonight with the knowledge that this incredible monster saved them. We'll have more on the story as details become available and we'll try to have an update on how the city and it's citizens are doing later on. This is Jung Fleurie with Mistral Broadcasting Company signing off. Back to you in the studio Van."

With Grimm Tribe

The Alpha was panicking to the point one might think he was going to have a heart attack. Nearly an hour ago everyone in their pack had begun to feel ill to the point that they thought perhaps they would die. Headaches, fever, sweats, physical pain, and the occasional spark of the yellow energy The Great One bestowed upon them. Something was very, very wrong. He was their leader, their Alpha, and he could do nothing to help them except check on each one.

He too was suffering from this illness like his brethren, but a liberal use of his ability kept strength within his limbs, after having absorbed power from the beam of energy he'd asked the male Nevermore to hit him with. He stroked his mate's head gently...lovingly and pushed a piece of fruit to her mouth. He didn't expect her to be able to eat it, but he wanted it there for her in case hunger struck. Not wanting to, but knowing it was his duty, the Alpha stood and made his way around their home once more to check on everyone. Two Ursa, two Boarbatusk, two Nevermore, Deathstalker, Goliath, King Taiju, even the two Sea Feilong. Then he came across a sight that just killed him inside.

The soft-spoken Geist that made it her goal to give each of them a piece of fruit for midday meals, and herself stockpiled the food, lay motionless on her back next to the tiny shack she called home. Teeth grit he rushed to her side, hoping that she was alive. She was, thank The Great One, but only just. The Alpha Beowolf sat her up and wiped away a lone tear trailing down what counted as her face.

"A-Alpha what's happening to us? Are we dying? Have we angered some spirit like The Great One and are being punished?" Her voice was rough, like she had trouble just getting the words out. It was concerning as she didn't have a mouth or a true throat that would be sore in the first place. He grabbed onto her 'hand' and squeezed, trying to shift some of his stored energy into her. Unfortunately he failed, as he just didn't have the skill for such a thing yet. "I don't understand. Why is th-"

She was cut off as her body began to convulse, arcs of keizer energy shooting off her body into the air like sunspots on a star. All around him the rest of the tribe fell to the same convulsions, and though he tried to fight it, the Alpha did too hit the dirt seizing for nearly a minute. Then it all stopped. The grimm ceased to move, ceased to breathe, just ceased everything. Were one to come across their self-built home they might think of the area as a grave. And yet…

Alpha's body began to twitch. It was not the movement of something trying to rise after passing out. It was not the movement of something in pain. No. The Alpha's body twitch as if...as if something were trying to burst from within. A vile tearing sound came from his body, and every other body of the awakened grimm. Like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis a humanoid form crawled out of the corpse of the Alpha Beowolf. Dark skin that matched that of the Grimm, a domino mask of bone covering his eyes, long brown hair tickling his chin, humanoid arms and legs, a strange appendage dangling between his legs. Stumbling out of his disintegrating wolf body like a drunk the Alpha hit the ground in shock, crying out in fear as his blue eyes looked to his fellow grimm.

All around him were others that matched his new form, some with the appendage between their legs, while others had round flesh on their chest. Alpha was hyperventilating by this point. His wide eyes looked to his new hand, said body part shaking and feeling quite sore. Hell his whole body was sore. Trying to stand on these new legs was a chore. None of the grimm could make it to there feet at first, but being their leader Alpha forced his body to work. He had to. Finally he stood, shaking and with his back bent from his body's exertion, but he stood nonetheless. Stumbling to his mate he wrapped his arms around her. Both were covered in goo that clung to them as they'd left their 'cocoons', but neither cared.

Like him she was humanoid now. Strawberry blonde hair that touched her shoulders, bone that served as eyebrows and a thin piece that crossed her nose, red eyes, a soft face, a feminine body with childbearing hips, muscular legs, the mounds of flesh upon her chest. Her mouth moved, throat making strange sounds as she tried to figure out this new voice. His hands came to rest on her face, unable to break eye contact with the one that cuddled with him at night.

Finally the former Beowolf managed to work out how her voice worked. "Al. Alp..Alpha. Alpha. Alpha!"

He too tried to get his throat to work right, eager to respond to his mate. "P-part...partner. Partner!"

The former grimm tribe came together and sat with each other. It didn't matter that they were all naked. They didn't know about their bodies, so why would that matter? A slight rain began as they gathered, quickly turning into a downpour that washed the grime and filth from their bodies. The former monsters felt good. Obviously they were sore from the transformation, but the sickness they had been feeling before was now gone. Unbeknownst to them the keizer energy Monster X had filled them with awakened them as true, sentient beings. The God of Light had Ozpin, the Relics, the Maidens, and the silver eyes. While the God of Darkness had just Salem, the pools of darkness, and the Grimm. Uncorrupted the Grimm were supposed to be just like Humans and Faunus. But with Salem having power of the pools all Grimm that were born were mindless, violent, puppets. The keizer energy, being of alien origin, worked in ways the Gods and their servants couldn't understand. It could transform Monster X into Keizer Ghidorah when utilized. No one could foresee that it would restore the Grimm to their true form they should have had before Salem took control. It was a one-in-a-million chance to have happened. Had Monster X's asteroid prison landed anywhere else this would not have come to be. But somehow, life had found a way.