Chapter 123. Grimm Eclipse

Silva POV

As morning came, I started making breakfast for everyone; I caught some fish in a nearby pond along with some edible mushrooms and plants. I made a simple stone pot and made a hearty fish soup. Blake was the first one up as she smelled the fish; why am I not surprised? As Blake watched me cook, I said to her.

Silva: Thanks Blake for the night before.

Blake: I may have drawn some parallels between you and Adam, but unlike him, you really do care about others and have helped the Faunus in ways I did not think were possible. I guess magic explains a few things with what you have done.

Silva: I am not sure if I should be flattered or annoyed with the comparison.

Blake just gave me a smirk in reply, and soon the others got up and about. They kept quiet as they ate and occasionally sneaked some glances at me with a complicated look in their eyes, especially Ruby. After breakfast, we went off towards Mt.Glenn, and Dr.Oobleck contacted us instead of Professor Port.

Oobleck: DOCTOR!

Dr.Obleck: Professor Port informed me that you found some old Merlot Industries-um... well, technology interfering with our security network. It might be nothing... OR IT MIGHT BE EVERYTHING! Either way, I believe it's worth investigating the Merlot Industries building in Mt.Glenn. If my old maps are still accurate, it should be located near the center of town. Just do your best not to end up like the brilliant men and women who worked there...

Ruby groaned and said.

Ruby: I thought we were done with Mt.Glenn.

Yang: Come on, Ruby, let's go.

As we entered the abandoned town and dealt with an odd few Grimm, we ran into an obstacle.

Dr.Oobleck: Well, that's an issue. It appears the bridge is blocked. According to my map, you should be able to take a detour through the city's old waterway system.

I grimaced and asked.

Silva: You mean the sewers, right?

Dr.Oobleck: Of course not. The waterways and sewers are completely different systems and serve different purposes.

Ruby tried to cheer everyone up because regardless of the differences in names, they would both stink to high heaven.

Ruby: Just pretend it's a day at the waterpark!

Weiss: Ruby, unless you packed some nose plugs, it will be the furthest thing from a waterpark, with the only similarity being we are going to get wet.

Ruby awkwardly chuckled and looked away as we looked for the entrance. We soon found the watergate and turned on the system to open it. An Ursa then showed up as the gate opened, and it was quickly taken down, then the gate finally opened. As we made our way to the town, we soon saw Merlot Industries HQ.

Dr.Oobleck: There! That's the facility! I can't believe how well it's withstood the years... a shame, still... Dr.Merlot would've never let something like this hinder the progress of his work. I can only imagine what we'll find inside.

We soon saw an unusually high amount of Grimm in front of the building, mainly Creeps and Beowolfs.

Dr.Oobleck: Oh dear... Watch out, team! The treasure hunt will have to be put on hold until those Grimm are dealt with; good luck.

It did not take long to take out all those Grimm, but an Ursa Major showed up and complicated things. While significantly tougher, it still fell at the end since Ruby beheaded it while Blake tripped it up in a literal sense. Soon the earth shook beneath our feet as Merlot Industries collapsed, and the ground soon followed. I quickly grabbed everyone with magic then set them down gently. Radio-static filled our scrolls but not for long as Dr.Oobleck contacted us after I set everyone down on some stable ground.

Dr.Oobleck: Students, report in!

Blake: Where are we?

Ruby: Is everyone alright?

Dr.Oonleck then informed everyone where we were after the collapse.

Dr.Oobleck: Thank goodness... I'm afraid you're in Mt.Glenn subterranean levels. This area has become even more dangerous since your last...er, visit... so be careful!

As we went through the underground tunnels, Blake commented.

Blake: Silva and the White Fang didn't do this place any favors. Let's find a way out.

Ruby: You know, this makes me think of those tabletop games where you make your own characters for an adventure.

I kept my sonar mapping the tunnels, so we did not get lost as we went deeper into the underground before going up. The cave wall started to light the way with a strange glowing matter on the walls and a Creep, unlike what anyone had seen before, appeared. It was significantly large with blue-green spikes on its back. Its usually red-orange eyes were the same color as its spikes, and it charged at our group. After a few well-placed hits, it exploded, and Ruby exclaimed.

Ruby: WHAT WAS THAT!?

Dr.Oobleck offered his analysis on the strange Grimm.

Dr.Oobleck: It appeared to be a creature of Grimm, but modified... mutated. This requires further study. It's fascinating... but very, very troubling. Excellent work, team.

As we fought through more of those mutated Grimm, we soon found a large door blocking our way, and Ruby tried to cheer everyone up.

Ruby: Go, team RWBY!

Weiss: Quiet you dunce and focus on finding a way out!

Weiss snapped at Ruby as she was not only on edge from my confession but from this dark hole we are in and lack of a proper bath. Dr.Oobleck then notified us as we stood in front of the large doors.

Dr.Oobleck: You should be able to reach the exit through these doors... Just turn the power back on so we can open them up.

Yang: Over here! I found a substation!

Yang turned it on, and the doors opened as we went through them. And we soon saw something unexpected.

Dr.Oobleck: Oh dear... that is a bomb. And a very large bomb at that. Who would booby trap this place?! Give me a moment...

Ruby snickered and commented.

Ruby: Booby...

Weiss rolled her eyes at Ruby, acting her age, and Dr.Oobleck got back to us.

Dr.Oobleck: Okay, team... Physically tampering with the device or the cart it's attached to could-.

I disarmed the bomb without too much trouble, which left the doctor dumbfounded at how easily I handled it.

Dr.Oobleck: Nevermind, back to finding the exit.

We soon heard Grimm howling at the distance, and we put some haste in our movement because getting boxed in these tunnels would be annoying for me while slightly difficult for the girls. Weiss quickly reloaded on Dust that was being mined by a nearby machine. Dr.Oobleck wondered out loud from the comms.

Dr.Oobleck: Who reprogrammed the security network? Who set that trap? And where in the world did the mutated Grimm come from? I have several hypotheses... and none of them are good news.

We soon found a way out of the caves and took a break in the sunshine we all missed in the forest of red Forever Falls. Still, unfortunately, the break had to be cut short thanks to the mutated Grimm, and after dispatching them, the team RWBY started to get worried about these strange Grimm as we found some train tracks leading away from the caves, and we're working as well since a train cart just went by.

Blake: What is wrong with these Grimm?

Dr.Oobleck: This is indeed concerning... those mutated Grimm you fought in Mt.Glenn, we're no fluke. Now we know there are more of them. Follow those train tracks uphill and maybe find out where they're coming from?

As we followed the tracks, we soon ran into a new variety of mutated Grimm, Beowolfs. They were broader and were, covered in blue-green spikes all over its back and much more aggressive. After taking down the pack, Oobleck added his commentary.

Dr.Oobleck: DOCTOR! Team, that was an incredible display of fighting mastery. We must get to the source of where these mutated monstrosities are coming from, and most importantly, who's behind it. I sense we are getting close! If you can manage to get to the end of the rail line, we might just find the answers we need. But seeing how things are continuously getting more difficult, I will send you some additional backup be at the ready; they will be there in a manner of hours near your location.

Everyone was starting to get tired and hungry, so I suggested.

Silva: How about we stop for a quick lunch since we can't fight on an empty stomach.

Ruby: But we're so close!

Ruby's stomach growled in protest, much to her embarrassment, and Dr.Oobleck agreed with me.

Dr.Oobleck: Mister Cloud is correct. A quick break to recharge yourself will help out in the long run, plus it will give that backup I sent time to reach you on time.

I grabbed some sap from the trees and a wild boar and made a quick barbecue, the sap mixed with some berries really dealt with the gamey flavor of the meat. We soon heard an airship overhead and got ready for a possible fight, but from that airship, we saw some familiar faces, team PLAN. Pyrrha, Ren, Jeanne, and Nora jumped out of the airship and used their landing strategies, and touched down near us. I smiled and greeted them.

Silva: Hey, guys, you're just in time for a late lunch!

Pyrrha walked up and hugged me, then said.

Pyrrha: Good to see you!

Nora: Something smells good; let's dig in!

Nora quickly got herself a couple of ribs from the boar and chowed down. After lunch, we got back to work tracking the rail line. As we tried to follow the rail lines, we lost sight of them due to the terrain becoming more hilly and mountainous, along with some ruins.

Dr.Oobleck: Hmm, no sign of those train tracks anywhere. They must be hidden behind those doors. See if you can find a way to open them.

Rather than look for a key or switch to open them, I just clenched my fist and clad it with vibrations and smashed the door open, much to Dr.Ooblecks anger.

Dr.Oobleck: MISTER CLOUD, DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU HAVE DONE! YOU DESTROYED POSSIBLY AN IMPORTANT PIECE OF HISTORICAL ARCHITECTURE! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?!

Silva: Because I was in a hurry...

Dr.Oobleck: I-I, very well then move along teams and Mister Cloud, I will need a word with you after the mission.

Silva: Sure...

As we went through the broken doors, we soon ran into some mutated Grimm, surprising team PLAN for the first time.

Nora: WHAT ARE THOSE?! THEY'RE SO PRETTY! Ren, can we take one home, please, please!

Ren: Nora, they are still Grimm...

Nora: Okay!

They soon dealt with, and we moved on and found ourselves blocked by another door from the ruins, which I smashed open again, and Dr.Oobleck did not blow up on me again. We soon saw a large ship come in on an ancient port with the rail system overhead. Dr.Oobleck seeing this through the comms, he said.

Dr.Oobleck: Teams... this discovery is a bit unexpected and worse than I feared. That appears to be an active Merlot Industries ship. But Dr.Merlot has not been heard from or seen in ages... I must inform Ozpin at once. Meanwhile, I want you to investigate the ship, but please keep a safe distance.

We back tracked to another door since that port turned out to be a dead-end, and I forced it open. We then saw a temple filled with cages with Grimm in them.

Blake: Someone is capturing Grimm here, but why?

Nora: Maybe they're collecting them like stamps?

Dr.Oobleck: This temple looks like it's being used as a temporary storage facility for Grimm of all things! This is quite the discovery!

The Grimm soon started rattling against their cages, and a few even got out! With two teams plus me, they were quickly dealt with, but this attracted some the mutated Grimm towards us that was wandering around. We made our way through the temple and found ourselves in front of the large ship.

Dr.Oobleck: Great job! You've made it to the ship. I may need you to get a closer look to see what cargo they're carrying. But, be careful not to be spotted. Who knows what kind of security they have.

As we got closer to the containers, we saw a faded SDC logo on the containers, much to Weiss's surprise.

Weiss: They have containers from my family's company!

Blake then suggested as she gestured to the container near the crane.

Blake: Let's sneak over to the container over there.

As we went inside the container to see its contents, the comms were suddenly filled with static, and we felt the container move; when we got out, we noticed that we were sailing away from the port, and Yang joked.

Yang: I guess we're CRUISING through our mission!

After a collective groan plus some booing from Nora, we decided to explore the ship itself since we couldn't turn back. I hope we got on some dry land soon.