[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/IdCzS8K.png[/img] [h3]
[color=00a651]Exploding[/color][/h3][/center] 


Well, Gren was disappointed. He had hoped to talk to the maid, but she promptly left without so much as a farewell. Seemed rude of her, but Gren wasn’t going to raise an issue. He’d likely see her again at some point today, or perhaps tomorrow. For now, Gren simply ate his meal in peace. As he ate, Gren refocused his thoughts to something more serious: training. If Gren’s last mission was any indication, he was woefully unprepared for certain situations. While it may be fair to say that no one can be prepared for anything, that was quitter’s talk. Gren needed to improve in many ways; equipment, training, and team dynamics. Being the big mean eating machine was fun while it lasted, but now it’s time for some serious work.

After he finished eating Gren left to his workshop. Well, the workshop. All the students go here to modify their weapons, and Gren had a personal area big enough for him to work on the God Eater. He first started by figuring out how to make The God Eater functional underwater. It was a tough weapon that could withstand various forms of damage and corrosion, but a gummed up barrel was still a gummed up barrel. A cursory search on the web revealed that, simply enough, the God Eater was going to need some extensive modification if Gren wants it to work well both underwater and out of the water. Not to mention that he’d need an entirely new set of bullets, since the conventional gas propelled bullets he uses now don’t work well underwater. This research was enough for Gren to consider simply making a new weapon as opposed to further modifying the God Eater. That’s when Gren realized something. 

[color=00a651]”There is another!”[/color]

Trying to make something like the God Eater from scratch would take Gren years, maybe less if he worked with others, but he didn’t consider asking for help at the time. No, but he did have another idea. He needed to go home and bring back a relic of the past. Gren used to have an old gatling gun he used while he was still flesh-and-blood with the White Fang, and he took that with him even after he defected. He left it at home with his parents because he didn’t want to be reminded of those times, but now he would look upon it again and use it to further his career as a hunter. As much as he wants to put that dirty business behind him, Gren couldn’t deny that the White Fang gave him much of his abilities and gifts he had now.

[color=00a651]”Hey, Glauca? Is mom or dad there? Work? Oh right. Are you at home? Can you go to the attic? I need you to find a big metal box for me.”[/color]

After instructing his little brother about getting Gren’s old gun ready for pick up, Gren was working on other projects. He still had rocket thrusters he hopes to upgrade into a full blow propulsion system, though there was an issue about it’s output. Aside from the fact Gren is literally as aerodynamic as a flying brick, his body already outputs most of his energy simply keeping his massive body active. He’d need another outside power source if he hopes to have enough juice to power a jetpack or similar device. And despite his expertise, there were somethings he couldn’t recreate.

Gren was sitting on his workbench chair, looking towards a mirror. He took off his harness, his shirt, and looked at his bare chest. Touching his chest, he could feel warmth, flesh, even blood. But then he moved his hand away and his torso detached from itself, revealing the machine inside. And inside that machine was a factory of mechanical organs keeping Gren alive. At the center of it was Gren’s heart, some strange, black-box device the White Fang stole from Atlus. Supposedly, it was able to produce aura. Supposedly, it contained Gren’s soul. The science behind Aura was confusing to say the least; how does one really measure something like one’s life energy, which may as well be magic? Even Gren couldn’t think about it logically. It simply worked, and there was no denying that it did. But because Gren couldn’t understand it, he could replicated it. Even his knack for technology couldn’t recreate something that was beyond his imagination.

Yet it was this little fist sized contraption that allowed Gren to live, allowed him to use his semblance, and powered his body. It hasn’t failed him yet, even if it’s not as powerful as he’d hope. He poked and prodded the device, contemplating its meaning to him. It was more than just his power source, it was his heart too. And did he have enough heart to truly achieve what he wanted? What he really wanted? Gren sat in the workshop for some time before putting his torso back on. [color=00a651]”Now where did I leave those tubes?”[/color]

Gren moved from the workshop to the firing range. He wasn’t testing the God Eater, but his new jetpack. He had high hopes; he’s had it in its concept phase for nearly a month now, and this would be its first flight. He doesn’t expect success, but hopefully it would at least yield some results. [color=00a651]”Okay, test one. Using the black box phenomenon that is aura technology, I have created a jetpack that can be fueled entirely by my own aura. Hypothetically, prolonged use will diminish my aura levels, and this test I will discover the rate in which my aura is drained compared to the power needed for lift.”[/color] And it certainly did get Gren off his feet and flying airborne! Uncontrollably. After it exploded.

Gren was launched out of the firing range and outside of the building, hitting another building not too far and leaving a Gren-shaped dent in the wall. [color=00a651]”Ow.”[/color] Gren looked up towards the sky and sighed. [color=00a651]”Test one failed to yield usable data. Jetpack failed to function as intended. Back to the drawing board. Ow...”[/color] Instead of heading back, Gren just laid there for a few minutes to recover. This was going to be a long and arduous journey.