730Chapter 22: My Master is Logical
Mountain Glenn
Outpost Kaon
October 8th, 80 AGW
0059 Hours
Emerald Sustrai.
That was her name. That was the only name she had ever known. It was the name given to her by her birth parents. It was the only one she bothered to use. She could've changed her name, but it wasn't like her family name meant much to anyone. The only reason she kept it in the first place was because she had it in her head that her name was the only thing that she owned. Nobody could take that from her even if she was caught and thrown into prison or even killed. Her name was her sole property.
But while she lived on the streets, she never told anyone her name. She had no reason to tell anyone who she was. When it came to the criminal scene of any location, knowing either a face or a name was bad luck. Her life stealing from others using her semblance hadn't exactly made her any friends, not that she would need any to begin with. If either her name or her face were known, it would be that much harder to steal for money to get the food and water that she needed.
That had been her life for gods knew how long. She couldn't even remember if she had ever had a normal life with a family or anything like. It was just one place to the next, trying to take whatever she could find with value and exchange it for things that she needed. When she realized that certain valuables were harder to get, she learned how to fight. She was no expert, but she was competent enough; she was still alive after all these years, so what she did know had to count for something.
Emerald never gave too much thought to the future. For her, it was always a game of trying to stay alive no matter what. She had never given thought to the future outside the life that she was living. As far as she was concerned, nothing else mattered aside from her own survival. Maybe if things got better, she could aspire to something much greater than being a street rat for the rest of her life. She might not be that smart, but she knew that she didn't want to keep living like she had forever.
Her thoughts turned to the countless memories of her life as a thief because for some strange reason, she had a feeling that something was happening to her. It wasn't a bad feeling per say, but it was unusual, unlike anything she had ever experienced. Frankly, her limited understanding of the world didn't help her understand even a little bit what her current situation was.
She was sure that she wasn't dead, but anything other than death wasn't necessarily a good thing. There were much better ways to live; merely being alive was only a part of truly living, at least that's why she heard other normal people talk about, not that she understood the greater meaning behind it. It sounded like that poetry stuff that were just fancy words strung together for a sophisticated sound.
Emerald felt her eyes open, as if she was doing so for the first time. She immediately closed her eyes again due to the intense amount of light that was within her scope of vision. She squinted for a time, getting adjusted to the visibility.
Once she could see without having to shield her vision, she noticed a laboratory filled with all sorts of technology surrounding her. None of it looked even remotely familiar to her. If anything, her senses were telling her that everything around here wasn't anything that looked even remotely native to Remnant at all. It was like all of this was alien technology.
The girl with mint-green hair lifted her hands in the air, putting then in front of her face to test them. She felt pretty good all things considered. She didn't feel tired or hungry or even thirsty. She noted that no part of her body felt sore or hurt. She couldn't feel anything that indicated any sort of physical problem.
She took a breath in and felt cool air enter her lungs with a tint an unusual smell that she couldn't quite recognize. It wasn't an unpleasant smell by any means, but there was something about it that didn't quite sit right with her. She took a few more breaths and she felt her mind trying to figure out that strange scent.
Emerald began to realize that she was actually laying against a large metal surface angle to be almost meeting the ground at a ninety-degree angle. A test of her limbs had proven that she was capable of moving at any time, but with the unfamiliar locations she was in, she wasn't eager to move without first knowing what exactly she had gotten herself into.
Her questions were halted when she heard something coming. It was a heavy sound followed by another one. It took her a moment to realize that she was hearing footsteps and heavy ones judging by the impact against the metal ground. She listened as the sound got louder, her eyes honing in on the direction from where it was coming from. It looked like there was a doorway, but with the lighting being so dim, it was hard to see who was coming.
She spotted the outline of a figure coming her way. It took her a few more seconds to see that it was male judging by the shape of the body. As he approached, she noticed that he looked big not just in height but also in stature. He was very well-built and appeared to be an iron man of sorts.
Once he was only a few meters away, she got a good look at his face. It was both intriguing and intimidating. The cybernetics captured her eye particularly. With ears that were shaped to resemble faunus features and one red cyborg eye.
Looking him in the eye, an unexplained instinct within herself was triggered. She instantly got off the surface she was resting on and got to her feet. She felt slightly weak for a moment before she stood within a meter away from him and stood straight, looking him square in the eye.
"Who are you?" The man, Shockwave, asked her.
Emerald wondered why she knew his name already, but not for long as she answered his question. "Emerald Sustrai, master."
He was her master. She couldn't explain why that was the case, only that it merely was. It was like trying to explain why she even existed to begin with. It just felt more rational to accept that she was the subordinate and he was the boss of her.
"Who is that?" Shockwave gestured to his left. "Can you identify this woman?"
She turned her head to where his arm pointed to find a woman with ash-black hair wearing a dress that was most definitely meant to attract the eyes of men. Her face was also strikingly beautiful, almost too much so.
"No, I don't." Emerald shook her head, having no recollection of ever having met this person before. "Who is she?"
"Nobody important now." Shockwave answered. "You not knowing her name is not important."
What a strange thing to say, but she didn't give it any further thought. She wasn't one to question him. She just had to take his word at face value seriously. He was, after all, her superior in all ways and the fact that he even bothered to invest any amount of time and resources into her well-being meant that she owed him a debt that she would likely never be able to repay for the rest of her life.
"What am I to do?" Emerald moved on.
"Stand by for further instructions." Shockwave ordered. "Train your skills and hone yourself in the meantime."
"As you wish." Emerald nodded, understanding her instructions. "I'll be in the training room."
She took her leave, heading down the hallway that she had just seen her master come from. It wasn't until she was alone again that she felt strange. How did she know all of this when she didn't a moment earlier? Was she going insane? Did she have deja vu?
As soon as she asked herself those questions, she decided not to think about them anymore. What mattered was that she was no longer having to worry about her basic necessities. She just had to adjust to her new life as best she could. It was a blessing just to be able to have more to do with her life.
A buzzing in her pocket had her retrieving her scroll, noticing a message from her master. There was only one sentence.
Your aura should be able to better support your semblance.
Emerald mulled this over in her head. Her semblance was very useful, but it did have its limits. If she had new limits to test, then she was eager to get started.
RWBY - - - Transformers
Beacon Academy
Training Facilities
October 9th, 80 AGW
1808 Hours
Yang expected this to be a difficult fight. After all, her opponent was a Beacon Academy instructor. It was hard enough for people to get into this place as a student. She could only imagine the requirements to become a part of the staff. It wasn't enough to merely be above average. Only exceptional individuals had a chance of being a part of this place. In short, she was expecting great things from her professor.
What she didn't expect was to be so one-sidedly defeated. Shockwave wasn't just better than her. He outclassed her in every aspect ten fold and then some. Whatever confidence she had in her abilities was shattered by how easily he had beaten her. Anything that she could do well he could do better than.
She was strong, perhaps the strongest of all freshmen, but he was stronger. She was fast on her feet as all martial artists ought to be, but he was faster. She was tenacious in combat, never letting up for a moment, but he had his own brand of persistence. Her semblance allowed her to overpower pretty much any opponent given time, but he seemed almost immune to her damage output.
Yang had approached their first spar with her standard mode of attack. She went in full-throttle, trying to overpower him with sheer brute force. This turned out to be ineffective as he responded with brute force as well. That fight had lasted maybe a minute or two at most before he decked her. The second spar had her apply more cautious and tactical uses of force. Again he appeared to be ten steps ahead of her by merely leading her into believing that she had the upper hand before beating her. The third time, she attempted a speed demon rush, not her smartest move and it had cost her. That lasted not even half a minute.
They might have done ten "spars" before she eventually accepted that she wasn't going to win no matter what she tried. Whatever she thought of herself, she couldn't beat him. It just wasn't going to happen, not as she was right now at the very least. The feeling was there and it hurt her pride, but it should have been expected. He was a huntsman with years of experience and training on his side. Of course he was better than her. She just didn't expect the distance between them to be so vast. Hell, after this demonstration, it was questionable if Pyrrha could even scratch him let alone beat him.
The blonde girl recalled a time during combat class that Professor Goodwitch had reminded them that they all had a long way to go before they could be called true huntsmen and huntresses. Maybe this was exactly what the headmistress was talking about. All these starry-eyed new kids were coming in thinking that they could take on the world when in reality, the world didn't even register them as a blip on the radar. Assuming that was how things were, it was a bitter pill to swallow.
"Glynda's overall assessment of your combative abilities was accurate." Shockwave spoke to her directly. "You are physically strong, the strongest of all freshmen, yet that strength is poorly utilized."
Yang felt herself shrink a bit. "I've always been able to beat my opponents before. I've never had a problem."
"That is a matter of ideal circumstances." Professor Watson didn't buy her reasoning. "When you leave the confines of this academy, being the most qualified in a single aspect does not guarantee you will live."
"If I'm stronger than everyone else, what does it matter?" Yang wasn't really getting any of this. "Isn't that the point?"
"Being the strongest physically means exactly that. It does not make it a prelude to a clean winning streak." Shockwave answered her indifferently. "Stronger people than you have come through this academy. Some of them are still alive while others are dead."
She was used to being direct herself on numerous occasions. It was nice to be able to bypass some of the rules of conversation and interaction to get to the heart of the matter. It could make people normally composed become a mess. Bluntness, on the other hand, was relatively unfamiliar territory for her and to hear someone deliver a reality check with this level of uncaring didn't sit well with her, even though in the back of her mind, she knew that he was right.
"Then what do I do?" Yang decided that she couldn't continue down her line of logic. "If being the strongest person won't let me stay alive, then what will?"
"A will to win." Professor Watson paused for a moment before he resumed. "You must be willing to do whatever it takes to secure victory, even if your methods are questionable. People will complain, they will call you a coward or a cheater or label you as dishonorable, but if you are willing to take that step forward, you have a distinct advantage over everyone else."
"Do whatever it takes?" Yang parried his words.
Yeah, now that she thought about it, she did admire people who were hard-working and willing to go a step further than anyone else. They were the type of individuals that would become successful. Too often, it was easy to find people who were willing to make excuses for why they couldn't do something and unfortunately, the brawler herself was not an exception to this pitfall. She simply complained less about her failures.
But to be willing to take any measure to ensure victory? That was the part she wasn't fully sure about. The blonde was many things, but she didn't like the idea of just using whatever method was available. Surely, there were some ways that ought to be rejected because they went against basic moral principles or something like that. If there were no limitations or restraints, how were good guys and bad guys any different?
"Remember this: the Grimm have only one way of seeing us: alive or dead." Shockwave reminded her. "In the middle of combat, we cannot expect to win unless we take all measures possible to stay alive. If you have to choose between the people you love and your morals, which would you choose?"
"Family." Yang almost shouted immediately. "I would always protect family first."
"Then you understand." Professor Watson nodded in approval. "Morals are reserved for society when there is peace, but peace is never eternal, only temporary. Make no mistake, war is on the horizon and only those willing to make sacrifices will be left standing."
All of this felt like something that was so far off. War wasn't likely to happen anytime soon. Everyone knew that if war broke out between the kingdoms, they would all be inviting the Grimm as well. No matter how anyone looked at it, it was a lose-lose situation for everyone involved. If people didn't kill each other, then the Grimm would, and there was no promise that an end to any potential hostilities would end like it had in the Great War.
That's what common sense and history taught the brawler, but she had to remember that her science teacher wasn't typical. He seemed to be able to see things in individuals that even they couldn't comprehend by themselves only to speak these revelations out loud to the surprise and understanding of everyone. That had to make him better than pretty much everyone else. That level of self-awareness seemed possible only in those with the right combination of life experience and skills currently available.
"What makes you so sure about war coming?" Yang inquired, even as skeptical as she remained. "It's not like the kingdoms hate each other. Like, going to war with anyone wouldn't make sense, right?"
"It would not be a war between nations." Shockwave corrected. "And there is only one enemy that seeks out complete and utter extinction. When that comes to pass, what lengths are you prepared to go to ensure the survival of your friends and family?"
They were just talking about the Grimm, but the idea that a war could exist purely between Mankind and them seemed like an idea that was really far gone. It was more akin to something told in old historical texts rather than a modern problem per say. Certainly there was fighting against the Grimm during the Great War, but at the end of the day, the only global war to ever happen on Remnant was fought chiefly by humans and faunus.
But now that he had introduced the idea, could such a thing happen?
Yang didn't fancy herself as a philosopher nor a deep thinker. She just fought bad guys and monsters for thrills and did some good on the side. This talk of war and all that was too much for her right now, yet it didn't stop her from thinking about the idea.
Could it happen?
If it did, what would she do?
And if the people she cared about were in the middle, what would she do? What would they do?
Transformers - - - RWBY
Science Laboratory
October 11th, 80 AGW
1115 Hours
Blake Belladonna had one strategy when it came to surviving at Beacon Academy: keep her head down and never make a scene. The best way to blend into the background was to be as quiet as possible and as unremarkable as possible. Of course, she would keep the full extent of her abilities hidden and do what she needed to do in order to graduate with good grades, but she wasn't about to make herself stand out.
For the most part, school was pretty low-key. There was little in the way of overly exciting things happening. There were classes, some combat here and there, and lots of studying. It was pretty much what she expected out of a school, fighting aside. She kept her expectations low that way she would never be disappointed by anything or anyone. It was better that she have a realistic outlook on everything and everyone.
But there was one thing that was bothering her, something that shouldn't have been bothering her in the first place, but it was. Even more confusing was what exactly was bothering her. Out of all the things that rubbed her the wrong way, she didn't expect this to be one of those things.
Her science teacher, Professor Watson, or Shockwave, as the students liked to call him, was what bothered her. There was something about him that made her pay extra attention to everything he did during class. Her gut instinct told her that the man was hiding a great many things. Being someone that had many secrets to hide, she had a sixth sense for singling out people who had secrets to keep, important ones at least.
Blake usually didn't make it her business to pry into private matters that individuals wanted to be kept hidden. Everyone had a secret that they didn't want others to know about. That was perfectly normal and even expected, but some secrets were deadly and some secrets could affect many people.
Her primary reason for fixating on Professor Watson was due to his usual conduct in class. Unlike many of the other teachers who stuck to more classic examples of teaching and lecturing, the science professor adopted highly unorthodox methods of educating the students about his subject matter. He encouraged high levels of thinking and application. Everything done in class had to serve a functional purpose and anything that didn't was either discarded or dismissed.
In fact, science classes were so rational and methodical that there seemed to be little to no trace of any sort of human emotion or feeling in it. It was like the man had done away with the flaws of individuals in favor of pure logic and reasoning. That was not to say that being level-headed was wrong. It wasn't, but when taken to an extreme, it felt so robotic that it felt dangerous, which was also intriguing.
Also, the fact that his faunus traits were replaced by prosthetic substitutes made her cringe a bit. She could only imagine the story of how he received them.
Despite all of this going through her head, Blake made no move to try and ask him about any of it. He was extremely intimidating and she had a feeling that he knew it and he wasn't trying to hide it. If things went her way, she would've been content with observing and figuring things out herself.
That would not be the case today as Team RWBY and the rest of the class filed out of the science laboratory for the day.
"Blake." Professor Watson called her. "I have something to discuss with you."
"Oooh." Yang gave her partner a mocking smile. "You're in trouble."
"What are you, five years old?" Blake grumbled. "Besides, I haven't done anything."
"Whatever you say." Yang grinned. "Good luck."
"Yeah, have fun!" Ruby waved. "I'm so jealous!"
"We will be sure to inform Miss Goodwitch about your circumstances." Weiss offered. "But don't tarry."
"Yeah." Blake watched her teammates leave. "Later."
It took a few more minutes for the classroom to clear up. Fortunately, there wasn't going to be another class until the next period, but just the two of them in this very large room made the awkwardness all the more pronounced.
"Do you have any idea why I wish to speak with you?" Shockwave asked.
"No, I don't." Blake had her back to him.
"Can you make an educated guess?" The professor folded his arms.
Blake turned around. "Why not just tell me, professor?"
"Your best educated guess." There was no room for discussion. "What is it?"
The faunus girl sighed as she tried to come up with something. Up until this point, she had never spoken to any professor like this. Frankly speaking, she had no idea how to broach any conversation with him, but he was inviting her and now that she considered it, now might be a good time to search for answers to questions that she wasn't connected to, but still wanted because she was nosy like that.
"Is it something about me personally?" Blake took a stab. "I know that my grades are at least decent."
When those red eyes glanced over her, she had this feeling that he was regarding her as if she was not a person, but a piece of equipment that he was assessing for usefulness and viability. There was absolutely nothing in his expression that indicated a hint of emotion of any kind. She had no idea that such an indifferent expression like that could exist on someone's face. It just didn't look right.
"All of the staff at Beacon Academy are aware of your past affiliation and your transgression." Shockwave stated plainly. "Your attempts to conceal your history were moot from the beginning. We were well aware of all of this since you arrived."
All of a sudden, her nerves were at an all time high. Her blood froze for a moment. She didn't expect to be found out like this so soon. She assumed that at the very least, she could hide a bit longer until she figured out something more permanent. Still, she maintained her outer calm appearance, although she felt noticeably more tense. That probably meant that he could clearly see her alertness.
"Ozpin seems to believe that you are worthy of a second chance, which I find quite illogical." Professor Watson didn't break his gaze. "Your history with the White Fang makes you more of a liability than an asset."
"I left the White Fang by choice to come here." Blake felt an edge in her tone as she defended herself. "Isn't that proof enough that I'm trustworthy?"
"Hardly. The fact that you were once associated with terrorists is enough reason to be vigilant in regards to you." Shockwave rebuked her so assuredly. "There are quite a number of the staff who share similar concerns as well."
So the issue here wasn't her being a Faunus. It was the fact that her past was cast with some shades of dark grey. That was a far better way to be judged than merely on account of her species, but it still hurt her. Then again, it should have been expected. Being here didn't change the fact that she had been a criminal and a dangerous one at that. Kids her age weren't supposed to arm themselves and fight against governments and corporations.
"If I'm such a hazard, then why let me stay?" Blake challenged. "Why not just expel me and be done with it?"
"Ozpin is adamant in his decision to allow your enrollment at this academy. His decision is the only reason you are here." Professor Watson spoke bluntly. "But know this: your actions are being monitored very carefully. If there is even a hint of further infractions, there will be serious consequences."
"Wonderful." Blake couldn't hide her sarcasm. "Is that all, professor?"
"No, but you are free to leave." Shockwave was unresponsive to her bite as he turned his back to her. "This exchange is over."
It was almost like he was saying that he found the very act of conversing with her to be a waste of time. That subtle dismissal made her hands bawl into fists. Did he really think so little of her?
For a moment, the ninja was tempted to try to say something back in retaliation, but he was already working on something else and it looked like he wasn't even concerned with her presence. He could very well continue his work even if she tried to interrupt him.
With a small scoffing sound, Blake shook her head and left the room, a scowl now adorned on her features. She became absorbed in a mixture of ugly emotions that by the time she found her next class, she had forgotten the journey.
She was going to have problems.
RWBY - - - Transformers
Mountain Glenn
Outpost Kaon
October 11th, 80 AGW
2359 Hours
Shockwave knew the inherent risks of including accelerated growth hormones into a clone's genetic makeup. The result was often a shortened lifespan and rapid breakdown of the physical body at rate unseen by a normally-birth one. His decision to include this agent in his human cloning experiment was so that he could allow some time for live training once the clone was finished.
While the gestation period was underway, proper in-depth observation of the original would also be done. Cinder Fall was no ordinary woman, that much was clear. Given enough time, she could become quite the warrior, both tactically and strategically. No doubt her advanced skill set was courtesy of more intense physical and mental training from Salem. Taken to the Nth degree, that skill set could only become even greater.
And speaking of the immortal witch, she probably had realized by this point that her servant was no longer in a position to be serving and that a new pawn was needed so that she could harness the power of the maidens in order to obtain the relics. It was unfortunate for the Queen of Grimm that she would need time to train another female. By the time such a resolution came to fruition, the world will have already changed.
Be that as it may, her other minions were at large and their continued existences were going to prove to be a complication in the future if he did not take direct action. Drawing them out and forcing a confrontation was starting to sound like a logical plan if only to lessen the potential thorns in his side.
Shockwave also pondered another problematic situation. Blake Belladonna was now aware that her secrets weren't well-kept and now she would be untrusting of the entire staff at Beacon. Not that she would willingly speak of the matter, but if her behavior changed in an overt way, the other teachers would notice and eventually, they would figure out that this change was due to him. He needed to do something about this before he became the target of blame for something that he had no time or patience to deal with.
His decision to befriend the rest of Team RWBY was now turning out to be quite the logical thing. Influencing them to see the reality of who their teammate was would undoubtedly compel the cat faunus to change herself. If more people knew the truth, the likely shame that would follow would be a more than sufficient means of effectively quelling any further threats of rebellion and dissidence.
Blake was wholly moralistic at her core. All that was needed to cow her into submission was to dangle all of her wrongdoings in front of her and make sure she understood that there was no escaping from the reality of her life. She would crumble under the weight of her own actions and would be more receptive to changes by outside influence.
In order for all of this to happen as he saw it, some preemptive measures would need to be taken.
Shockwave rattled off some messages.
For some characters, their own perspective of events will be unreliable. In the case of Emerald, due to Shockwave erasing some memories and altering others, her ability to see things in an objective light are questionable, so don't take everything she says at face value. The same applies for other characters as well.
That's all I have to say for this chapter.
Thoughs? Comments? Other stuff? Reviews are always appreciated.
Thanks for reading.
"The greater ouf knowledge increases the more our ignorance unfolds."
John F. Kennedy
