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Izumi Miyamura: Xover - Chapter 74
🕑 Added 2025-03-29 01:44:48 +0000 UTCAuthor's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Scott Fellman.
May 16 - Ruby Pov .
"That was definitely the worst night's sleep ever." I groaned as I stretched my cramping muscles and yawned. Having just woken up from a short night's rest, Mom had the audacity to laugh at me.
"It's not something that will happen to you often since missions like this are rare. But sadly, it's something you'll have to get used to," Mom said. I groaned as she massaged my back.
"Yeah, yeah, I know." I snorted and pouted. Mom smiled at me before handing me a small MRE bag.
"Eat some; you'll need your strength to continue exploring this island," Mom said. I wrinkled my nose and opened the package of pre-prepared food. I instantly grimaced as I looked inside. Mom burst out laughing. "It's not as bad as it looks, and it's all we have. So either you eat or you starve," Mom said amusedly as she looked at me expectantly. I sighed. I grabbed a spoon and scooped out some... I don't even want to know what it was made of.
With a grimace, I brought the food to my mouth. My eyes widened slightly. Yes, it wasn't the best food in the world, but it hadn't tasted bad. It was edible even without knowing what was in it, but most importantly? It was hot. So I quickly took another bite. Mom chuckled as she handed me a bottle of water once I finished my package of mystery food.
"Merlot is still on the island, if he was in the first place. Qrow and Salem were monitoring the airspace and sea for anything entering or leaving the island overnight, all results came back negative. So Merlot should still be on the island." Mom said as I took large gulps from my water bottle. It was refreshing. Once I finished, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. But something caught my attention about what Mom said.
"Um, this Doctor Merlot, he's working with the ones who attacked the USJ when we were there, right? " I asked cautiously. Mom looked at me curiously and nodded. I could feel myself paling. "Mom... they had a teleporter," I said carefully. Mom stopped and paled considerably.
"Shit! How could I have forgotten that!! " Mom exclaimed, angry with herself, making me jump. Mom grimaced as she looked at me before sighing and running her hand over her face. "I'm sorry, that was my fault. I got so focused on Merlot that I forgot about the teleportation device on the other side. That Kurogiri is a problem." Mom snorted before sighing once more. "We have to move quickly. If Kurogiri was contacted last night, then a lot of the important data and items should no longer be on the island, but we can still get something."
"Of course!" I exclaimed immediately before stopping. "But... can I go to the bathroom first?" I said timidly. Mom looked at me for a few seconds before sighing and pointing me somewhere random.
"Thanks! I won't be long! " I exclaimed as I ran out. Once I'd done my business, I quickly came back to find Mom scrolling through her texts, all our things already packed. I blinked a few times; it hadn't taken long at all. So, Mom had packed pretty quickly.
" Are you ready?" Mom asked as she looked at me and saved her scroll. I nodded.
"Absolutely ready!" I exclaimed as I held Crescent Rose on my hip. Mom nodded.
"Come on then, we have to move quickly," Mom said as she started moving. I followed her without hesitation.
"What the hell is that?" I asked, pointing at what appeared to be a puddle of a toxic, slimy green substance. Mom frowned and leaned closer.
"I have no idea," Mom said, bending down to examine it in more detail. "Merlot is on this island for a reason. He must be growing this stuff, and whatever he's using it for, it won't end well." Mom said solemnly. I nodded. She took out a small vial and carefully scooped out a bit of the stuff before putting it back.
Everything seemed to be going well until a drop fell from the bottle and hit Mom's hand, she hissed as she waved her hand.
"Are you okay?!" I asked worriedly as I approached. Mom raised her hand once more, a small burn mark appeared on the back of her hand. Though it was quickly being healed by her aura.
"At least now we know what this substance is. Green mutant Grimms are also capable of corroding auras upon contact. If possible, avoid any blows from The Green Grimms, no exceptions. Be careful, they're capable of exploding or attacking from a distance." Mom said seriously. I nodded. My ear twitched at a small noise.
"Mom, company." I said immediately as I unsheathed Crescent Rose and moved immediately. Once again, they were normal Grimms along with the red robots with a spear. Mom also drew her weapon and began attacking. They were easy, too easy. "Does this mean Merlot is on the island?" I asked in Mom's direction. She hummed softly.
"It's possible, although they could also be automatic defenses," Mom said. I pouted. "Let's follow the pipes. They should lead us to the main building," Mom said, pointing at the large pipes that radiated heat. I didn't want to know what they were carrying.
Mom was right. As we continued forward, we encountered the green Grimms for the first time since we arrived on the island. They weren't difficult, but they behaved differently than their normal counterparts. And the most annoying part was that when the Grimms died, they exploded, and sprayed corrosive acid in all directions.
So I had to make a little hit-and-run adjustment.
"Tch. Ever since Merlot got the idea to experiment on the Grimms, he's definitely gone crazy," Mom said with a grimace once we finished killing all the enemies in our path.
"But my dear Summer, the Grimms are a superior species. Their biology is fascinating; their raw, unbridled aggression and lack of sentience make them the perfect vessel." Merlot purred into our communicators. We both straightened stiffly.
"I see you're still here, Merlot. I suppose it was only natural that you wouldn't do the sensible thing and escape," Mom said, narrowing her eyes. Merlot's laughter came through our communicators.
"And waste such good fortune, Summer? Things always happen for a reason… Maybe they can be of some use to me after all." Merlot's voice broke off as he laughed. Mom sighed.
"Let's keep moving. We should be almost at his lab." Mom said as she started walking again, still on guard. I quickly followed her.
We were running around the island, following the pipes for almost half an hour. How big is this island?! Meanwhile, Grimms kept emerging from secret hatches along with killer robots. How resourceful did someone have to be to keep launching robots left and right? I didn't know, but Merlot was capable of it.
Finally, the pipes led to the enormous gate of the Merlot complex. Both Mom and I sighed in relief. Until the floodgates opened once more. I groaned in frustration, but I took Crescent Rose and started moving. Really, I had to thank Izumi later. Thanks to his concentrated breathing technique, I could barely feel the fatigue and tiredness; stamina had never been my strong suit.
The fight was, predictably, easy. At least until the howl of a mutant alpha Beowolf. It was a massive thing, taller than me, almost two or three times my size. It was riddled with toxic green spikes. With a leap, I reached one of the pipes above my head and I braced myself.
Thunderclap and Flash. I kicked off the pipe hard, denting it, and launched myself through the air quickly toward the giant beowolf.
"Ruby, watch out!" My eyes widened slightly as the alpha hit the ground, and green crystals sprouted from the ground and began to surge in my direction. I immediately moved Crescent Rose and shot into the air to the side to get out of its way. However, the growth of green crystals hit my foot, knocking me off balance in the air and sending me rolling on the ground. "Ruby!!"
"I'm fine!" I quickly sat up before dodging the alpha's claws. I winced at the slight pain I felt in my right foot. Nothing serious, nothing fatal, and nothing I couldn't handle. I moved Crescent Rose to intercept a second swipe, my scythe parrying the grimm's hand, who growled loudly.
Mom appeared and hit the beowolf with her axe on the side of the head, disorienting it. I took advantage of the moment to attack once more.
Thunder Breathing - Third Form: Thunder Swarm . I used my Quirk and the strength of my legs to quickly appear in all directions of the Alpha and attacked with Crescent Rose, attacking him a dozen times from all sides. The Alpha couldn't defend against all of the attacks, so more than half of them cut him cleanly, although not too deeply.
The Alpha screamed in fury and tried to hit the ground once more. I jumped back just as Mom stepped forward. She lifted Sundered Rose up and with a swift movement, the axe blade dug into one of the cuts I had made in its arm with precision. With a yell of effort from Mom, the Alpha's arm was severed. I leaped forward once more.
Sound Breathing: First Form: Roar. I spun around a couple of times, held Crescent Rose above my head, and brought it down hard. The tip of Crescent Rose's blade pierced the Alpha's head, stopping for a few seconds as it hit the bone protecting its head before continuing and piercing through the Grimm's entire body and hitting the ground hard with a loud noise similar to thunder.
My legs tensed to move away from the blast radius, but to my surprise, the Alpha simply began to crumble to dust in front of me. Once the mutant grimm was killed, I sighed in relief only to stiffen when the sound of the door in front of us began to echo.
"I guess Merlot wants us to move forward," Mom said dryly.
"Is it a trap?" I asked cautiously. Mom snorted.
"Definitely, but we have no choice but to jump into it if we want to catch Merlot," Mom said reluctantly. "Are you okay, Ruby?" Mom asked, looking at my leg. I blinked and smiled.
"In perfect condition! My aura already healed the bruise that was forming, so I'm not in any discomfort! " I said honestly. Lying about an injury could be disastrous on a mission; at worst, you could be a hindrance. Mom sighed in relief.
"Well, that's good. Good work back there! I've never seen such moves before! " Mom praised with a smile, and I smiled too.
"They're recent! I didn't get a chance to use them at the festival." I pouted, and Mom laughed softly before looking toward the door.
"Unfortunately, we have to move on," Mom said with an apologetic look. I nodded, and we both started walking into Merlot's building/lab.
"Greetings and welcome to Merlot Industries, where we build a better tomorrow today!"
"This place is giving me the creeps." I shuddered as I looked around. It was a large metal-covered place with pipes, cameras, and screens everywhere. The floor was also strangely covered in hexagonal tiles that seemed uneven with each other. Mom grimaced too.
"Everything's too empty, too quiet," Mom said, also looking around. "Stay close. We don't know what Merlot has in this place. Keep your eyes open for any plans, maps, or schematics. Anything helps, even signs on the walls. If you can find a terminal that we can try accessing Merlot's network, all the better, but I don't expect anything." Mom said. I nodded and moved closer to Mom. We both started walking once more.
It's time to step into a crazy, brilliant lab.
