3rd POV

Leaving the settlement was the natural way of things. He came and did work, checked up to make sure everything was alright, then he left shortly after. This was how things were supposed to be, and they would continue to be the same. He spent nearly all his Lien on supplies and stuffed his bag to the brim before heading out into the wildlands. Out here, there were no rules. Anything went, which is why the more violent side of humanity and Faunus shined. Out here was his hunting grounds, and people in the frontier of Vale knew it. Mistral knew it too but never experienced it as much as Vale did. His status varied in different places, sometimes good and sometimes bad. It didn't matter to him.

The faint signal had caught his attention again. Every time he sent a report to the Pantheruos Space Naval ships orbiting the planet, there was a third party response back from something else. It interested him and ONI greatly and they decided it would be beneficial towards Raptor if he were to investigate it. While he did do the bounties when he stopped in settlements, he started to stay out of them more often to investigate the signal. Vacuo was the furthest away from it as was Mistral, but Vale and Atlas had the strongest points, it was difficult to pinpoint where it was on the two continents even with the extra agents on the ground. Both he and ONI didn't send too many signals often to avoid someone from Remnant picking up on it, but Raptor did send more than he had in the past. This was interesting and he would dare to admit that it he had thoroughly enjoyed it, even if it was a minuscule amount of the feeling. The areas that usually had the strongest signal were barren of any settlements or military bases. There was also the fact that Grimm populations in that certain area were lower than others.

He felt as if he were coming close to something though. That was part of the satisfaction of investigating this. For the first time in years, he had felt intrigued by something that wasn't bounties nor traveling but something that would truly impress him.

He had two options as of now, find Raven Branwen and have her cough up the slipspace technology or investigate the source of the signal. Both were paths he would take, just in case one were to fail and the other succeed.

Right now though, he still had time. While it was passing by at a moderate rate, he still had time to prepare himself should the need arise. At the moment, he was currently completing his bounty... which was struggling against the binds he had subdued them in. He was in a bar in one of the more vile settlements in Atlas when he found his target being harassed by three cutthroats. The three men attacked him but he quickly eliminated them non-lethally before taking his bounty target. Naturally, the man tried to pay him double the amount of what the bounty was and kept trying to coax him to let him go, but Raptor didn't care. He didn't care what the man had to offer because there wasn't anything that interest him. He didn't care if the man was trying to coax him with Lien but what he did care about was that the man was currently drawing Grimm to the area due to his negative emotions. This presented several problems to which Raptor had to deal with.

It happened once and didn't happen a second time because his target was unconscious the rest of the journey before he stopped at a settlement. Everyone had seen him just carrying the unconscious bounty over his shoulders before stopping off at the guild there, the receptionist just looked at him then at the bounty before nodding and placing something on the desk. It was a stack of Lien cards neatly put together. He inspected it before nodding then leaving the building and going to the jail.

"That the sniveling coward?" The jailer asked.

"..." Raptor just nodded in silence.

"Well alright, put him in the third cell to the right. Man's a dead man anyways, so might as well leave him to the council to decide his fate. By the way, here's the added bonus I mentioned if you brought him in alive." The man said as he reached into his desk and produced a stack of Lien. Raptor nodded then went to the back to the cell, where he threw the bounty on the bed roughly then shut the door on the way out. He went up to the desk and grabbed the Lien card stack before placing it in his bag along with the other one then slung the bag over his shoulders again. He was out the door soon after then went to the store to pick up supplies for the next several minutes before he left the settlement shortly after. His business was done here so there was no reason to stay.

Weeks passed by slowly as he walked the region while gathering clues on the mysterious signal before he decided to leave. As he avoided a military patrol when walking near one of the outer settlements, he had picked up that they knew he was in the continent and sent out a search party for him. Killing them seemed to always happen whenever he was in the region but it wasn't like he sought them out, it was more along the lines of defending himself. He didn't actively seek platoons out and the fact that they had the nerve to call him a reckless killer spoke volumes of them. When it was all said and done; when he was the one to be the last one standing, he felt nothing as they lie dead on the ground. Whoever kept issuing these attacks on him was doing nothing but wasting time, resources, and men to even capture him much less kill him.

He left Atlas and headed back to Vale where the second signal was located and began to wander around for the source. He stayed out of the settlements for the most part, only going in when he needed supplies and work to do but for the most part he tried to pinpoint exactly where the signal was located. It was getting closer and closer with each passing day and the anticipation was starting to pay off. He ruled out that it was near the city since it appeared to be its weakest but it was in its strongest out of reach of any sense of civilization. It was in the middle of nowhere for the most part and he felt satisfaction when he discovered it in that regard. The nearest settlement was around three days on land vehicle and about a week and a half on foot so to say that it was far out of any sense of civilization would be an understatement.

Months of searching for this signal that kept contacting him and ONI now, but him mostly, was finally within his grasps and the anticipation was practically beckoning him to claim his prize. It was turning into night of his long search before he found something that put him on guard. It was a cave, but something was different about it. Usually there would be Grimm roaming the area and either attacking him with reckless abandon or avoiding him due to his out of worldly being. But he didn't encounter any for the last several days. The cave was different, it seemed sterile in some places which also sent up a red flag for him. While keeping his weapon at the ready, he entered it.

As he traveled in it for the next several minutes, he began to notice that the deeper he went in, it seemed to slope downwards and it seemed more metallic. The downward slope of the cave seemed to turn into pure metal after several minutes of walking and it became obvious that it wasn't a normal cave. It didn't take a genius to figure that out, no natural cave was constructed like this and had to be natural. Something had created this. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, even the slope was constructed carefully with precise measure. The deeper and lower he got, the more he noticed that it had patterns running across the wall and floor, even the ceiling. He must have been walking for half an hour before he even came across something that resembled a door, there was no telling how deep he was from the surface.

When he came across the giant door and observed it for the next few minutes, he looked to his right and saw what looked like a panel. As he walked over to the panel, he brushed his hand against the door and stepped back in alarm when it lit up dimly with a soft blue light. It seemed almost calming in a sense but he knew better, looks can be deceiving and one wrong move meant certain death. He stared at the lights with his weapon ready in case of an attack before he cautiously went over to the panel that had also lit up and observed it. There was a somewhat holographic screen that popped up and he observed it for a minute. After observing it, he took his fingers and took the biggest button of light and started to move it in an upside down U motion to the right.

He let go and stepped back as the panel seemed to shut off suddenly and he quickly got his weapon ready. When he looked to his left, he saw the door start to hum and he saw it open. Weapon still at the ready, he proceeded to step inside the door and into the dark room carefully. When he was a good distance inside the interior, the door suddenly shut and threw him into darkness. It was silent for a few seconds before the lights of the interior of the construct suddenly began to glow dimly. This proceeded for the next few minutes as he just aimed his weapon at the slightest movement. A few minutes went by and the whole complex was illuminated. He recognized this type of architecture, it was Pantheruos Forerunner.

In other words, a group of excellent Pantheruos engineers, scholars, and soldiers that were around before the first Galactic World War started.

While he may not have had an extensive knowledge of Forerunners and their structures back on Pantheruros, he did know about them in school. Part of his enjoyment in his downtime was learning about topics like these. Although, that still didn't explain how he was able to interact with the technology, he knew about the structures and some of the history through the scientists in Pantheruros but it didn't explain how he was able to interact with it. This was the end of his investigation though, and to say that the satisfaction was justified was slightly an understatement. This proved to be extremely beneficial in his eyes.

This raised several questions with him that he sought answers to.

How was Forerunner technology here?

Would this be the reason as to why there weren't any Grimm nor traces of civilization in this area?

How long had it been here? Why hasn't anyone discovered this yet?

These questions started to rack his mind and it made him shake his head at the sudden trail of questions that started to pile up. Now was not the time since exploring the Forerunner structure was. With any luck, the Pantheruros military would be willing enough to established with the government of this planet. Though... he doubted that anything peaceful would occur. While the outer settlements might take a liking to them, he doubted that the cities would, especially Atlas. They were too prideful for his taste, all it took was one situation to see how fragile they really were.

Remnant for all it's "glory" was rather far back on everything. They haven't even managed to send a satellite into orbit. Pantheruros had managed to complete that within the mid tenth century. Sometimes he wondered what would happen if Remnant had decided to try and pick a fight with Pantheruros. While it was something he never would want to happen, he did wonder what the outcome would be. Pantheruros, despite all of its questionable deeds and past, truly did wish for the survival of their race and many other races; so he doubted they would go to war with a planet that hasn't even broke orbit.

Shaking his head at these thoughts, he proceeded to explore deeper into the facility. Soon, he came across what looked like a large opening in the ground. He looked down and saw that there was nothing but a dim blue light covered by fog. It looked rather deep and one fall could kill any person that can't fly. Stepping back and observing his surroundings, he saw a panel seemingly construct as he walked along the edge. It was the same design at the door and he interacted with it. Soon after he did that, it deconstructed into the floor and a blue hard light bridge appeared.

"..." He stared at it for a few seconds before taking a couple of cautious steps on it before walking across it. His eyes never stopped darting around at anything that moved. This whole situation seemed rather... odd in a sense. Something called him here and he intended to find out what it was. While he already deduced that it was Forerunner, that didn't mean something else couldn't have sent the signal from within the complex. The more he explored, the more he noticed that things started to open up to him without him having to do anything. Something wanted him to find this location out. He just didn't know what. That frustrated him slightly. He was so close to something yet it was so far.

Raptor kept his eyes on the swivel as he sat down and ate in silence. He was in unknown territory but he needed to eat, it had been almost a day since he's eaten and he'd rather have energy in case he needed to fight. Despite him being smart, he didn't know too much about this complex. He had been here for hours and barely found anything that led him to clues. There wasn't any biological organisms here, it was like the place had been sterilized. In some parts that he explored, there were containment chambers but they were barren. Some areas he couldn't access since they were sealed off and no matter how much he tried to interact with it, it wouldn't budge. The place screamed the unknown and that would've bothered most, but to him it was comforting. He accepted the unknown sometimes. That wasn't to say that he trusted it, nor would put his guard down.

He sighed as he finished his food then stood up while putting his helmet on. The familiar sight of his helmet's systems booting up was like a welcome home for him. He felt as if eyes were on him and he quickly equipped his DMR and turned around. There wasn't anything around him but he still felt like he was being watched. It was unnerving. Keeping his weapon out, he packed up his things and roamed around the complex some more before deciding it was time to leave. He estimated that he had been here for the last twenty hours in total. Most of that time he explored, the complex. An hour was spent sitting down and resting before continuing his search.

As he went to the center of the complex, there was a large ramp that led to an arch. While leaving and gathering more supplies seemed beneficial, exploring something that somewhat resembled a communications device seemed more beneficial in his eyes. He would come here again, that much was guaranteed but it wouldn't hurt to investigate this object. It wasn't there when he entered the center so it meant that whatever was contacting him was making its appearance. As he climbed to the top of the ramp and walked along the pathway, he saw two small constructs appear. They were shoulder length apart and two glowing orbs seemed to materialize as he drew closer. He walked along the small, metallic pathway until he reached the small pillar-like constructs.

Observing it for a minute, he cautiously placed his hands onto them. Nothing happened for a minute and all was silent, with the exception of the dull humming of the strange complex, before a sensation met his body. He ripped his hands off the constructs when a jolt of pain flooded his body, knocking him back. The force threw him away and made him skid against the pathway, reaching the edge of the large ramp before stopping. As quick as the pain entered, it left and he quickly stood up. He looked down at his hands and curled his fists a few times, doing this process until the numb feeling in his hands left. The audible flexing of his hands met his ears and he breathed in relief when the pain was gone. His TACPAD was suddenly sent a signal and he responded back. A noise ahead of him made him look to see something slowly start to rise up from the abyss below.

His weapon was aimed at the spherical, floating object that seemed to stare at him. A cold, steely gaze adorned his face as he stared at the purple light of the construct. The air went tense and he was prepared for its first attack when it spoke.

"Oh my." It said. The voice was clearly female and it had a slightly chippy undertone to it. It started to hover around him, ignoring as he kept it in his eyesight and equipped his shotgun. It scanned him harmlessly but he still tensed. Perhaps it was training, or instinct.

"Who the fuck are you?" He asked, keeping his weapon aimed.

"Greetings! I am 046 Auspicious Spark. Monitor of the the Remnant instillation!" She greeted cheerfully.

"... A monitor?" He tilted his head for once... confused.

"Yes. I am the monitor of this current instillation, tasked with overseeing its progress throughout time and researching the current wildlife." She answered. Questions racked his mind as he stared at the female construct. He lowered his weapon slightly as he stared at it-no her. He was confused, and that irritated him. His irritation made him sigh in annoyance before he pushed away the feeling and continued to stare at the monitor. While he wasn't well versed like some of the other ONI or scientists that were exposed more to this topic, he did understand a little bit. From what he gathered, this was pretty much the Overseer of the planet.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the monitor float uncomfortably in the air. She had been staring him for several minutes while he did the same.

"Ahem." She cleared her metaphorical throat. He snapped up to her as soon as she made that noise and asked her a question before she could even say something.

"A communications panel. Do you have one?" Raptor asked.

"What for?" She asked back.

"... I need to send a signal." He answered curtly. While he didn't want to tell the artificial intelligence in front of him, he had no choice. If there was a chance that she would let him use it that is.

"It seems you have been the one of the many who has been responding to the signal I have been sending. Oh, this is most wonderful!" She bounced around quickly.

"Why?" He asked raising a brow.

"Well, I have been waiting for a Reclaimer for so long! None of the inhabitants of this planet seemingly fit the genetic coding. Each one that has managed to stumble across this facility, none of them have actually managed to access this location." She answered. Why did she call him a Reclaimer? He wasn't one. Those questions could wait later when he stopped by.

"Why haven't they?" He asked. He wanted to know more.

"As I have stated before, none of them have the correct genetic coding of the Pantheruros Forerunners. Only the Forerunners themselves and Reclaimers are able to access to this facility." She answered. This just brought up more questions to be honest, but he did understand that no one on Remnant could access this place. To most, this area was considered a dead zone to anyone that isn't from Pantheruros.

"You stated that you're here to observe and research the wildlife, yet you don't go out. How are you documenting this information?" Raptor asked.

"I have several ways to gather information of this installation. Although, I am restricted in what I am able to do. My protocols state that I am allowed to do nothing but observe and research with this installation. I may not interfere with the inhabitants nor dictate their actions, but I am able to observe them by any means necessary." She stated. He thought about this for a while. She stated that it was against protocol to interfere with Remnant's inhabitants, yet it was okay for her to observe them by any means necessary. Did this mean she was able to kidnap people and use them for research? Although, that would contradict what she stated earlier, she stated wildlife. That meant anything within the animal kingdom and possibly the Grimm.

"Grimm, you are here to study Grimm?" He asked.

"For the most part, yes. They were created to act as cannon fodder against the Flood parasite. Though, the ones that made these organisms seem to forget that the parasite uses biological material, assimilating it into a greater mind." She said.

"Flood?" He asked. He's never heard of that term, but his parents say they are so deadly and dangerous that some whole galaxies had to be atomised from existence at a cellular level.

"Yes. The Flood is a parasitic life form that reproduces quickly and consumes any organic material. One Flood spore is enough to wipe out an entire species. They infect other sentient species and hijack their bodies and nervous systems to create more. Even a corpse of a sentient species. It is a rather horrifying process, assimilating all the intelligence and biomass into one being. The Flood are virtually unstoppable in some cases." She explained. He went quiet for a while. That... truly was a problematic situation. An organism capable of merging thousands of species together to create a supreme intelligence.

That begged the question, was there any here?

"This is a research facility, correct?" He asked.

"As I have stated before, yes." She bobbed herself up and down as if nodding.

"Then are there any samples here? Any semblance of Flood that can infect this installation?" He asked. If there was, then Remnant was at risk if a containment breach were to occur.

"There is not. The one who created the Grimm and the other left shortly after a containment breach happened. I was forced to cleanse this installation thoroughly when I had begun to realize that the infection was spreading fast. Luckily, I managed to contain it within the first few days. I had managed to collect all the data I could regarding these creatures and their exposure to the Flood." She said. He did manage to catch the slight malice in her undertone when she spoke of the one who created the Grimm.

"The one who created the Grimm and the other. Who were they?" He asked.

"A hundred and three thousand years ago, this installation was created. It's original purpose was to research the Flood and in hopes of creating an immunity to the infection for Pantheruros. A thousand years later, two beings claimed to be Gods took residence here. The Pantheruros Forerunners observed these beings to see if they were of Precursor lineage." She started to explain.

"Were they?" He asked. He was curious about this but it would also serve well for Pantheruros to know. In truth, he was gathering information for them to use in the future.

"Not necessarily. They were of some lower form of Precursor. Not on the scale of creating a universe but they were capable of creating life. We respected them and worshiped them greatly, they had managed to create life on this planet. Over time, we realized that they were nothing but children fighting over the rights to a planet they had no control over. They started to disregard the rules and protocols that were set in place here. Claiming that this world was theirs and they had every right to do whatever they pleased. Soon after, a conflict broke out between the Forerunners and these brother 'Gods' had started to destroy the instillation they saw as their playground. A century of conflict between the two had come to an end. The Forerunners had decided that they would leave the world to these two, on the agreement that they had to remain here for the rest of their life cycle. Should they leave, then they were to be destroyed in both body and soul with the atom bomb device placed in their cores. Although they were nearly invincible, there were ways to counter them." She explained. There were several tones of malice in her voice but he ignored it as it reminds him of his sisters.

"They left." He assumed calmly. It was expected since he rarely saw any religion that correlated to these two. Although, he was completely skeptical about the whole story, it wasn't completely out of proportion. Still, he refused to believe this so easily.

"They did. They went back on the agreement between the two sides and left the planet they decided to inhabit. The Forerunners had explicitly stated that should they leave the instillation, their cores would be destroyed. I was tasked with monitoring these two and denying them access to the facility due to past events. Once I had detected that they were breaking their end of the agreement and leaving the planet, I was given full authority to eliminate them. There is also the fact that they had caused a containment breach." She said.

"There was something else." He said. She gave a pleasant beep when he realized this. Although he may have not known what that other thing was, he did assume there was one.

"They had managed to wipe out all life with the exception of one woman. I observed this individual for some time and came to the conclusion that they had granted her prolonged life. While she is able to be eliminated, she keeps coming back. There is also the fact that before I was able to eliminate them, they had managed to bring someone else back. I assume it was to counter the woman." She said.

"..." Raptor stayed silent and that prompted her to continue.

"While she is extremely difficult to eliminate, it isn't impossible to kill her. The one that keeps bouncing his life energy around, he is the one who is supposed to counter her. I have observed his actions for some time. Although he has good intentions, he is dragging this conflict out too long." She said.

"... This woman, do you have a location or a name?" He asked.

"I have a vague location but no name. Much of my privileges were tampered with due to the two imbeciles and the Forerunners. I may have control over this installation, but some areas I am unable to access due to these restrictions. It is stated that only a Reclaimer is able to get these systems in my control again. From then on, I am able to have complete control over the entire instillation as I had before." She stated.

"That seems counterproductive. Not to mention illogical in the highest regard." He commented.

"It is. In many regards it is counterproductive, but I can't do anything about it." She agreed. It was quiet for a while and he just sighed under his breath. This was a lot to take in, but he managed to soak as much in as he could.

He would come back here in the future, but he needed to send a long report about this whole thing and get back out there. If he could get this installation under the monitor's control, then it would prove to be more beneficial in his eyes. There was also the topic of the woman, the monitor stated that there was a woman that was hard to kill, but she never said what kind of threat she was.

"What kind of threat is this woman?" He asked.

"It is theorized that she wants to eliminate all life on this planet. After that, presumably take complete control over the instillation." The monitor answered.

"Have you tried to stop her in the past?" He asked. If the monitor of this planet hasn't tried to stop her in the past, then that would be counterproductive.

"No, that would go against my protocols. The Forerunners had placed safety measures on me. If I disobey too many protocols then I would be destroyed. This in line, kept me in check. I have disobeyed one already, and I will only disobey that one. To make matters worse, it did not bring me any satisfaction in doing so. I am only here to observe and research." She said. He could tell from the tone of her voice that she wasn't one to break protocols. That one time was the only exception but other than that, she didn't.

"..." Raptor didn't say anything, didn't need to. While it didn't make much sense, he didn't really understand how the past Pantheruros were when it came to protocols. The current Pantheruros and them were different, hundreds of thousands of years different. He brushed those thoughts aside. They could be answered later, but now he had to see if he could get his report out.

"You have asked about sending a signal, yes?" She asked while getting closer. He backed up, his hands tensing on his weapon some more. It seemed she saw this and backed away, seeing him relax slightly when she was far enough away. Her knowledge of this installation was practically limitless but beyond that wasn't. There were several things she didn't know about this planet due to restrictions.

"Yes. Do you have something that is able to send a report beyond the galaxy?" He asked.

"There is. Although it may be weak, it is capable of doing so." She nodded her spherical body.

"Show me." He practically ordered. If anyone else would've heard him say that, they would've heard a cold tone. Those that knew him just heard his calm one that he always had. He watched as the monitor nod a bit before floating past him, turning around every so often to make sure he was still following. They walked around for several minutes and he was eventually at a door that was locked earlier. A beam came from her and he watched as the door opened up. The two of them traveled through a long hallway for some time before he eventually came across something.

In the center of the room was a large spiral of energy. Three beams in a triangular fashion pointed towards the spiral and would rotate every so often. To anyone else, it would've fixated them for hours, but to him it was interesting. Discovering unknown objects and complexes were always a pleasurable thing to him. That could wait for later though, he had something that needed to be done. He came across another gap and waited for her to create a light bridge before walking across it. There was another panel that required him to place both his hands on. Like before, he observed it then placed his hands on the panel.

After steeling himself for a bit, he sent his first mildly strong and long report. One that was encrypted, only meant for the ONI and top Pantheruros military generals to receive. He didn't know why, but it felt satisfying beyond all recognition to finally be able to send something like this.

The silent hum of the transmission device filled the chamber as Raptor pressed his hands against the glowing console, sending out his report. His encrypted message raced through space, breaching the dark void beyond Remnant's atmosphere and reaching Pantheruos-controlled vessels orbiting far above the planet. The signal pulsed through encrypted channels, meant only for the highest-ranking ONI officials and military commanders.

Raptor remained still, his mind analyzing everything he had learned from his brief conversation with 046 Auspicious Spark, the Monitor of the hidden installation. He had confirmed the presence of Pantheruos Forerunner technology on Remnant, something that should have been an impossibility. The implications of that discovery alone would shake the military and ONI to their core. The history of this planet was far more complex than he had assumed, and with it came troubling concerns.

The Monitor's confirmation of an ancient war between the Pantheruos Forerunners and two supposed 'gods' was also concerning. If these entities were indeed remnants of the Precursors, even if they were lower beings, their influence over this world had been undeniable. Their creations—the Grimm—were a testament to their existence. And if what Spark had said was true, then the woman who survived their extinction event was still a threat.

That was a problem.

Raptor didn't trust the word of anyone easily, let alone an artificial intelligence that had been locked away in a hidden research facility for over a hundred thousand years. But there was logic in what she had said. The woman in question—whoever she was—had an agenda. The Grimm, despite their supposed mindless nature, were tools of a greater force. If Spark's claims were true, this woman was working toward the extinction of all life on Remnant.

That meant there were three major threats at play:

The woman who survived the extinction event. She was clearly a danger to Remnant and its people, whether they knew it or not.

The resurrected entity meant to counter her. If the ancient 'gods' had brought someone back to oppose her, what exactly was he? Was he even aware of his purpose?

The existence of Pantheruos Forerunner technology on Remnant. If discovered, it could completely disrupt the fragile power balance of this world.

The lights in the chamber flickered as the transmission finished sending. Raptor stepped back, watching the spiraling energy slow its movement before stabilizing again. His hands clenched into fists as he took a deep breath. He had done what he came to do.

"Transmission sent. Awaiting confirmation," Spark chimed, her glowing purple eye dimming slightly as she observed him.

Raptor exhaled slowly, his body relaxing just a fraction. "How long until the message is received?"

"With the current state of this installation's transmission arrays? Approximately two weeks. This structure's deep placement underground weakens long-range communication efficiency," Spark answered with her usual chipper tone. "But rest assured, it will reach its destination."

Two weeks. That meant he wouldn't be receiving orders from ONI or the Pantheruos military for at least that long. That suited him just fine. He never operated under the assumption that help would come. He was the help.