Chapter 27: Subject Matter Experts are Logical

Beacon Academy

Science Laboratory

October 28th, 80 AGW

1700 Hours

Ruby Rose thought she knew everything and anything about weaponry, but her time with Professor Shockwave had proved to her that her knowledge base was not only severely lacking but also flawed due to herself.

Her innate desire to study, build, and use weaponry was all to service her desire to become the best huntress that she could be. Being a Grimm killer was her calling, one that she had felt from the moment that she had learned about them. No amount of overprotection from her father or her sister would deter her from her goal of graduating Beacon Academy and becoming a licensed huntress.

And that's exactly where the flaw in her knowledge of weapons originated. By dedicating herself strictly to one path with little to no consideration of the broader subject of weaponry. What she had in mind was something specialized with the intent to inflict hard or death upon one enemy.

Professor Shockwave, although he didn't question her knowledge, provided her with more than enough books to consume to make her realize that weapons weren't strictly swords or guns. Literally anything could be made into a weapon given the right resources and enough time. Rocks and sticks were literally the first things that Mankind used in order to defend themselves against any threats in ancient times.

But by that same token, weapons could be converted for various tasks. For example, the science professor had her working on missiles. Anyone with a passing knowledge of weapons knew that missiles were guided airborne ranged weapons meant to deliver explosive power. However, instead of being used for the sole purpose of destroying enemies, these missiles would be used to scatter dust everywhere in the world and reseed all of Remnant with dust so that with time, dust would be plentiful once again.

Ruby only understood economics and resources in a limited manner. She knew that things cost money because there was a limited amount of it, at least she understood it sort of, but it wasn't something she actively thought about much. How could she consider that for as long as recorded history went back, dust had always been a part of society. All this talk about using missiles to grow new dust deposits all around the world seemed like such a faraway thing.

Frankly speaking, what interested the aspiring huntress more was the missile technology itself that Professor Shockwave had given to her. It relied upon much different materials, assembly, and coding than what the militaries of today might employ, but it was definitely better. Why no one had even come up with something like this amazed her.

Were the kingdoms stagnating in terms of innovation?

There were many questions that the fifteen-year old girl had about all of this. How the scientist managed to consider all of this she had no idea. He had to be more than a genius; he was more like a genius among geniuses.

THE genius.

There was only one choice, she supposed: ask questions and hopefully he would answer them.

"Professor, I have some questions?" Ruby raised her hand, even though she was the only student in the classroom.

Professor Watson only acknowledged her verbally. "Ask your questions."

"So, um, not to repeat myself, but why are we dealing with resources and stuff?" Ruby always felt stupid asking questions, but it had to be done. "I mean, why not use these to kill massive hordes of Grimm?"

Shockwave moved to another console. "You assume that the only purpose of these repurposed weapons is to only replenish resources."

"Huh?" Ruby genuinely was confused.

The teacher tapped some keys on his console. "These missile's other purpose is to clear large hordes of Grimm from sections of land ideal for dust harvesting. The original plan was to clear out their numbers manually, but that would be a waste of time and resources that is required elsewhere."

"So… we're gonna kill Grimm with them?" Ruby scratched her head. "But also do our whole making more dust thing?"

Professor Watson nodded. "If that suits your understanding."

"But wait, that's going to change how we need to design these things." Silver eyes began pouring over the details of a 3D schematic. "We can't just section the missiles according to traditional designs. Also, how are we going to protect the dust we're planning to use for our, um… what's it called again?"

Red eyes stared at her. "Reseeing."

"Yeah, yeah, that! Sure, we've got our usual parts. The warhead, guidance system, targeting, engine, and flight systems, but now we've got to fit dust container units into all of that. That's going to add weight, not to mention hazards relating to the type of dust used."

"I have already formulated a solution to the predicament of a new component. I am certain that you recall first-hand what happens when dust is properly unsecured. It can react violently."

"Please don't remind me, sir." Ruby buried her head into her arms. "I don't want to be called crater face anymore!"

Shockwave did not seem to understand. "Is that a nickname derived from your first encounter with Weiss Schnee?"

"Jaune came up with it." Ruby then perked her head up. "Speaking of which, I haven't heard from him in a while. You know anything about that?"

Mister Watson was silent for a few moments. "He is currently undergoing corrective training in response to his poor standings academically and combatively. If all goes according to plan, he will be far more competent than he is now."

"Well, that's good. I hope he pulls through." Ruby made a mental note to check up on JNPR later. "But back to the missile, what did you have in mind, professor?"

Shockwave tapped his console to utilize the large 3D projector. "In order to eliminate the need for additional reworking of the entire missile, dust will be incorporated into the warhead itself. The explosion generated will allow us to scatter dust far and wide."

"I never thought of that." Ruby actually liked that idea. "But won't that be a problem when the Grimm are reduced to ashes? The dust they leave behind might be a problem if it mixes with the dust."

Once again, the science teacher presented an idea. "The warhead will be turned to ensure that such a mixture will not occur by ensuring a swift destruction of any substances that the Grimm are composed of."

"So… what, like vaporization or something?"

"In a sense. Just as some gemstones are formed due to metamorphosis, so too shall the eventual dust crystals that will result. Bear in mind that while the theory is sound, it has yet to be tested in a practical manner."

All of this was truly amazing stuff, but it did make the fifteen-year-old wonder about her role in all of this.

"Professor, what exactly am I supposed to do?" Ruby questioned. "I mean, you sound like you've got a good handle on everything, so what's my role? Do I even have a role?"

Shockwave blinked. "Your role in all of this is to be my helping hand, assisting where my lack of knowledge fails to address unforeseen issues. Your specialty is weaponry; that knowledge is useful to me."

"Ohhhhh. So, I should just come up with ideas?"

"Yes."

"COOL!"

"But bear in mind that whatever you may put forward must serve the two main objectives. You cannot deviate from them no matter what."

Already, the gears in her mind were turning. "I hear ya, sir! So I was thinking that earth dust will be the coolest. We can shape the explosion so that it creates cool stuff like jagged pillars erupting from the earth."

"While such formations seem highly unlikely to occur, they may provide some interesting samples for dust mining. Exposure to the atmosphere might affect the properties of dust." Mister Watson finally appeared invested in the conversation.

Ruby put her head in her hands to think. "What about making underground mines? Can we use explosives to create deposits?"

"Depending on the explosive, it is possible." Shockwave said. "Shaped charges will prove useful in this endeavor, but bear in mind that should we wish for a more specified blast result, we will need to make adjustments."

The teenage girl felt a dust crystal light up in her head. "We need to test this stuff, right? We can use Forever Falls to test this out right?"

"I will need to confer with the headmaster in order to conduct further testing, but I see nothing for him to object to." The huntsman sounded unconcerned about speaking to Ozpin. "If he is resistant to the idea, I will persuade him."

Ruby's eyes perked up. "You're close with the headmaster?"

"No, our relationship is professional. We have no friendship to speak of."

"But shouldn't all huntsmen be friends?"

"Merely because we fight for the same cause does not mean that we are required to share an intimate relationship. You will find that there are many within this profession that despise each other as individuals."

"Wait, how can you hate each other and work together? That doesn't make sense."

"It rarely does until you experience it first-hand."

She didn't get it.

RWBY - - - Transformers

October 29th, 80 AGW

1745 Hours

Weiss held the professors within Beacon Academy with a healthy degree of respect and admiration. They all had experience and exploits to learn from and she was eager to become a huntress of the highest caliber.

But Doctor Watson not only had her respect and admiration, but also her interest as well. While he claimed that dust was not his specialty, he certainly had a lot to say about the substance that made Remnant go round. It made the heiress unsure about her own knowledge about dust and she had grown up in the business.

The SDC had always provided her with an insider's look at the true power of dust and how it affected the four kingdoms economically, scientifically, and culturally. Dust was so interwoven with Mankind's existence that to remove it would mean society all around would regress by hundreds of years and that was no exaggeration.

And for that reason, Weiss felt that as future heiress of the SDC, she needed to deepen her knowledge in ways that no one had ever done before. Becoming a huntress, in many ways, was just a means to an end. She did not disagree about the need to exterminate Grimm, but she was thinking about what came after they were all gone.

Perhaps it was arrogance for the white-haired girl to think that her generation would see the end of the Creatures of Grimm, but she was nothing if not ambitious. While being a huntress would help to reform the image of the SDC, what would truly help would be the end of combat against the Grimm.

A small part of the girl had this feeling that maybe, the key to solving all of these problems lay within Beacon Academy. She knew that she would not be getting any satisfactory answers back at home. Things would not change that way, but maybe here, things would be better.

Maybe…

Weiss was never an optimistic type, but even she had to admit that at this point, she was getting closer and closer to utter resignation. She might put on the act of knowing everything, but that was simply a byproduct of her upbringing. Competence was rewarded and ineptitude was punished. Perfection was her father's watchword and she had been living by it for most of her life.

No more. She could not keep living like that because she knew that if she did, she would simply become very similar to Jacque Schnee and that was something that absolutely frightened her.

I should probably see how Whitley is doing. Although Weiss didn't have a close relationship with her younger brother, she had no doubt he was facing the brunt of their father's displeasure. Although I can't see him accepting any concern from me.

With that thought in mind, she quietly filed it away to take care of later. Right now, focusing on her studies took priority.

She quickly scanned her notes to get herself back on track. Once she did, she moved to ask a question.

Professor Watson beat her to it and asked one of his own. "Do you know where dust originates from?"

"Just like any other resource we make use of, it is formed through time and various exposure to heat and pressure as well as other weather." Weiss didn't know if this was the answer. "At least, that is what I have been told, but in light of what I have learned here, I find that answer lacking."

"The knowledge of how something came to be should tell you why it formed." Shockwave said, parrying her doubt. "But that information alone does not account for everything. A question for you: what are you searching for?"

Weiss frowned, feeling that her next words would be nothing more than senseless rambling. "Call me paranoid, but my intuition tells me that the known properties and how it has been used over the course of history is far too… convenient. I would even be so bold as to say that it was deliberately designed, although that suggestion strays from science and reason and ventures into a more religious reason."

"You are referring to divine intervention." Professor Watson possessed keen intuition into her thought process, as always. "However, the validity of higher powers is questionable at best and non-existent at worst. It could be logical or illogical."

Now that uncertainty got Weiss's attention. "Not purely one or the other, professor? I would have thought you to be more along the lines of illogical."

"Within every legend and myth, there is always a grain of truth contained within." Shockwave spoke in return, typing away at his console. "It could simply be that in the past, primitive humans viewed individuals more powerful than themselves as gods. Such labels are created for a more simplistic time."

Weiss could get behind that logic. "Of course. Civilization thousands of years ago was much different, much more primitive, much more brutish. They couldn't possibly comprehend what we know now. Still, I do not know how Mankind could even begin to manipulate dust worldwide. The scale is simply too massive, even with today's technologies."

"And the answer to the question may not be answered anytime soon. This is merely a question brought on because of my curiosity." The man gestured to her. "Your thought process has contributed some ideas worth considering."

It was not a direct complement, yet for some odd reason, the heiress could not help but feel some pride at having given the instructor she admired most at Beacon something to ponder further.

A thought came to Weiss in the midst of her self-appreciation. "Sir, your knowledge on history is much more complete than I would think for a science teacher."

"Everything that exists today is rooted within the past." Professor Watson walked over to his desk, searching for a document among some binders. "The past is what shapes the present. Therefore, I study past knowledge and findings thoroughly. To forget or ignore the past is illogical."

That last part made Weiss frown. It struck a little too close to home for her, primarily because in a way, it reflected her current situation. Her pride would never allow her to admit, but a part of her wanted to forget and ignore her past, her family, and the SDC, but there were constant reminders of her legacy everywhere.

Her appearance alone spoke of her family.

The dust used by Beacon Academy was courtesy of the SDC.

All faunus students, to one degree or another, steered clear of her.

Weiss sighed. "Yes, I suppose so."

Her focus now broken, she found herself unable and unwilling to continue studying, but proper social etiquette told her to not be rude and simply step out simply because it inconvenienced her.

"You seem unbalanced, miss Schnee." Shockwave addressed her cordially.

Weiss scolded herself for her failed poker face, trying to maintain what little control she cared to exercise. "I apologize, professor. Old problems from home are on my mind. They have no place here."

"Did I not say that the past defines our present?" The huntsman had somehow quietly managed to move from his desk to where she was sitting, standing in front of her. "If you have unsolved issues, it would be most logical to solve them, preferably while it is within your control."

Weiss could almost scoff at how easy he made it sound. "Respectfully sir, my family issues are not ones that are simply done away with so easily. Also, despite my name and status, I don't have any real power in regards to the SDC."

"You misunderstand. I am not seeking to solve your family issues. That is something only you can accomplish." Professor Watson's red eye and optic never ceased to fascinate. "However, if you require additional information or an impartial viewpoint, I am capable of providing either or both. Any further action will require in-depth deliberation."

The heiress felt like he was offering something dangerous, but she wouldn't deny that having a second set of eyes might be helpful. "Respectfully professor, I do think that you most likely have the answer to the questions I want answered, but what is it that you wish for in return? Not to sound rude, but nothing comes free, especially not valuable information."

He stopped moving entirely, his sights directed at her completely. His completely still form and his eternal stare made her tense up and sweat. How was it that the man could say nothing yet somehow command so much fear?

"You have nothing that I am interested in acquiring at this time." Shockwave intoned very clearly. "However, information for a favor is a logical trade."

Weiss frowned. "Not if the favor is too steep for me to pay."

"It is not I who wishes for questions. You do and you will decide how much those answers are worth." Professor Watson had the upper hand and he knew it. "Unless you believe someone else can do so better than me."

… she wasn't sure if there was anyone who could.

Transformers - - - RWBY

October 30th, 80 AGW

1100 Hours

Blake's paranoia had been at an all-time high. Not since she had last seen Adam had she been this alert before, but as far as she was concerned, being overly cautious was what was going to potentially save her from a disastrous situation.

Every time she stepped into a classroom, she watched each and every teacher very closely. Professor Watson had made it very clear that they all knew her as an ex White Fang terrorist masquerading as a normal human girl. Thus, she couldn't trust any of them when it came to anything they did.

What frustrated the cat faunus girl was that they were all going about their days as teachers as if they didn't know what she was. Even when their eyes fell upon her for a moment, she could feel herself tense up. She almost felt ready to retaliate in whatever manner was necessary to protect herself, but nothing happened. It almost felt like none of them even knew about her past… or even cared.

Somehow to Blake, that sobering realization made her upset, the fact that somehow, everything she had endured meant so little to these people. True, most of them weren't faunus and most of them hadn't lived the life she had, but she had hoped that maybe, they might be more sympathetic to the plight of the White Fang and the faunus at large?

Then again, how was she supposed to expect anyone to understand what she was going through when she took great efforts to hide it? How did anyone expect a problem to be fixed when no one even knew that there was a problem in the first place?

But the girl with golden eyes had seen a side of life that many didn't and once she had seen it as a child, she couldn't unsee it. In fact, the more she tried to hide away from it right now, the more that she felt like her decision was made a bit too hastily. The rather sedentary and calm life at Beacon Academy was a stark contrast to the mobile and sometimes frantic life within the White Fang, particularly with Adam's sect.

Blake was twitchy, looking to do less sitting and listening and taking more action. While she certainly was learning a great deal about things here, more than anything she wanted to get out there and make a name for herself.

Maybe coming to Beacon was a bad idea. She was expecting a lot more out of this whole huntress gig. Whenever she saw Grimm killers, she saw what everyone else saw: heroes defending the weak and innocent from the forces of evil. That's what the advertisements showed and that's what the videos reinforced.

But this reality was much different than what she was expecting. Once again, her expectations and reality were not aligned. Maybe she ought to stop putting stock into public perception.

The bell sounded and everyone began filing out of the laboratory. As usual, the cat faunus did her best to pack prior to the end of class so she could bolt out.

"Miss Belladonna." Professor Watson stopped her conveniently. "I have some papers for you."

"Shit." Blake cursed under her breath. "Had to be now?"

"Oooh, you're in trouble again?" Yang teased. "What did you do?"

"Don't know." Blake played it off to her partner. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

Ruby nodded. "Sure thing."

"Just don't be long." Weiss said. "We've got combat class next."

Blake regarded the heiress. "Yeah, I know."

With wary eyes, the B of RWBY waited until everyone had vacated the classroom, which took an additional several minutes. Once she was absolutely sure that there would be no one to hear her or the professor, she faced him.

Blake maintained a cool exterior to the best of her ability. "What did you have to give me… professor?"

Her situation was delicate as things were. One little slip-up, no matter how minor, could have disastrous consequences. Frankly speaking, she was surprised that nothing had happened to her ever since she became aware of the reality of her being here at Beacon Academy.

"It concerns a subject matter that you are intimately familiar with." Shockwave replied in turn, handing over a small stack of papers. "I would say more, but I believe the information speaks for itself."

Cautiously, the raven-haired girl grabbed the documents and read the initial title words and instantly froze up.

WHITE FANG COMPREHENSIVE REPORT

Her hands automatically turned the pages. Inside were reports based on police findings, private investigator work, huntsmen reports, military reports, and a few other sources. It became clear that a great deal of effort had been put into finding sources and cross-referencing the information in order to corroborate its validity.

Turning to the page that encompassed all of the Kingdom of Vale, Blake found to her shock a detailed listing of the rank structure within her former cell. Adam was clearly on top and after him was his lieutenant, Jet Sky. Not only were their names and photos in this document, but so too were detailed descriptions about known sightings dating back to before her father, Ghira had stepped down as leader of the White Fang.

She was so consumed by this mountain of information that she momentarily forgot where she was and who had presented her with such incriminating evidence. Her name and her bio was here as well. There was more than enough here to put her behind bars not just for a few measly days, but potentially for decades, maybe even a life sentence, and even the death penalty.

Blake calmed herself. "Why are you showing me this?"

"To show you the extent of the information that the faculty and staff at Beacon Academy have available." Professor Watson explained. "You are a known and high-profile criminal and your enrollment at Beacon Academy is known to law enforcement."

"...are you threatening me?" Blake felt herself instinctively readying herself for a confrontation.

"No. Threats are only words of malicious intent, which are illogical as there is no action behind them." Shockwave did not appear the least bit intimidated by her change of tone and body language. "I only issue promises. However, my goal is not to harm you, merely to extend an offer to you."

Blake's eyes narrowed. "An offer?"

"Your perception of this situation is understandable, even if it is most illogical." The man certainly was arguably even more insulting in his honesty than she was. "You pride yourself on being collected and rational, yet it did not occur to you that despite being able to place you in federal prison, we have not done so. The headmaster is perfectly able to report you to the Council of Vale, yet chose not to."

There was some sense to that, much to the cat faunus's chagrin. An institution like Beacon Academy with a proud and long history would be the kind of place that would usually do whatever it took to uphold traditions and its image, yet for some reason, the school was perfectly willing to risk its own reputation to harbor a terrorist.

That didn't stop Blake's suspicions. "But you could report me as soon as I don't meet expectations or if I don't do something that fits with the academy's goals."

"If your being here is not proof enough of our integrity, then perhaps this will be." Professor Watson activated his scroll and a 3D image of her former mentor appeared. "Adam Taurus is currently operating within the City of Vale. He has prior plans with a human woman, Cinder Fall, to bring down Beacon Academy's defenses and the city itself."

"...what?" Blake wasn't sure that she heard right. "T-that can't be true. Adam… h-he doesn't have that kind of-"

"But he does." Shockwave interrupted her swiftly. "And if given the chance, he would not hesitate to inflict harm upon Beacon Academy and the Kingdom of Vale in order to make clear his true motive."

"... and what would that be?"

"To make Mankind subservient to the Faunus under an illogical notion that the Faunus are superior to Humans."

It was a shocking revelation to hear, that was for sure, but at the same time, she expected it, even anticipated it. Perhaps deep down, she had known this whole time that was what Adam had grown to want and it made sense. He was full of pain and misery and sorrow; now he was just taking it out on Humans using the White Fang as his justification for waging conflict against everyone who was not to his liking.

What about the crew members?

… what about them?

Her rational side understood and acknowledged this truth.

But her emotional side did not.

And Shockwave knew this. "You seem unconvinced in spite of all you have experience working with him. Your emotions are warping your reason. You know that Adam Taurus will not be reasoned with."

"... then what do I do?" Blake whispered her question.

"Kill him." Watson's indifferent and callous response reverberated clearly. "It is the most logical course of action."

...no.

There had to be another way.

Transformers - - - RWBY

October 31st, 80 AGW

1900 Hours

Yang's favorite part about training to become a huntress were the fights. Obviously, to become a student at Beacon Academy, a person either had to currently have strong combative skills or possess the potential for incredible combat skills. Academics were all well and good, but the way she saw it, at the end of the day, the ability to fight and kill Grimm was all that mattered.

That's why combat class had initially been her most anticipated class during the weekdays. Every student in her class was unique in their style of fighting. Some were ranged fighters, others fought in close quarters, some were in-between, and a few mixed and matched. Regardless of what a person used, the brawler could always rely on everything at her disposal to see her through a battle.

Ranged fighter? No problem, just close the distance quickly and beat them before they could get out of her range.

Close-quarters combat? She was the best in the entire freshman year, so there was nothing to worry about there.

Mid-range? Same rules with range. Close the distance.

And any damage she took was just extra damage for her to return. Normally, aura damage was a problem for most people, but not for her. If anything, she wanted people to attack her because it would only make her stronger.

The only person that had ever managed to be her one-on-one was Pyrrha, but considering the reputation of the spartan and her nigh-perfect abilities, it was a loss that the blonde girl could accept. Granted, matches between them weren't merely one-sided. The redhead had to fight tooth and nail for every victory when they were both in the arena.

Pyrrha had been the greatest challenge.

Until Professor Shockwave.

It made sense that the science teacher was superior to the students. He had years of experience and training under his belt. He had probably seen and done things that most could only dream about doing. Knowing about that superiority was one thing; actually being on the receiving end of it was another.

Yang had fought her favorite teacher at Beacon Academy many times and each and every time, it always ended in a one-sided victory. Nothing that she did could even so much as phase him let alone beat him.

But no matter how many times the brawler had been beaten by the science teacher, she kept coming to him asking to fight him. To her, he represented a challenge unlike any other she had faced. Not only was he better than her in terms of fighting, but his mentality was also top-notch. He was far from a conventional speaker and most likely, he would probably bumble in certain social settings, but he was far from incompetent when it came to talking to people. If anything, he was just as scary with his words as he was with his actions.

Basically, he was extremely interesting and she wanted to dig deeper and see what she could find.

Oh, and he was also easy on the eyes. Her team could be prudes (minus Blake) all they wanted, but they didn't exactly deny it either.

Today was her lucky day as she squared up against her opponent.

"What's my best time against you?" Yang questioned as she stared at him.

Shockwave regarded her with the same penance stare. "Twenty six point three three seconds."

"I'll make it in thirty today!" Yang told him while also psyching himself up. "I'm ready!"

"As am I." The professor didn't army himself with his canon, instead choosing to stand casually.

There was no referee nor any noise to indicate the beginning of the fight. Instead it was quiet, and then it wasn't.

She moved her forearms to guard herself. While he might not be as fast as Ruby, his size belied his true speed. If she wasn't careful, he could easily blindside her and she wouldn't even know where to look for him.

What had her even more unnerved was how he could remain so still, like a statue, but the fact that he could remain so still and be alive felt so inhuman.

No offense to the faunus.

That last thought was a mistake because it took her focus off of him for all of less than half a second, which was somehow more than enough time for him to maneuver around her. Her instincts screamed at her to move to her left.

Her gauntlets came up barely in time to intercept his own fists, then came his cannon arm, which was now fully deployed. She ducked down to avoid the heavy object as it swung over head. She began to rise while going for an uppercut. The hit intercepted his chin, snapping his head back, but then he came back to headbutt her, temporarily disorienting her.

Yang felt a temporary pain lance through her skull and it left her completely open to his counterattack, which was the tip of his cannon barrel. It was enough to knock the wind out of her as well as bite off a chunk of her aura. Then he fired the weapon and she felt herself blasted across the area and slammed into the wall.

The brawler collapsed in a heap, coughing and spluttering.

How was she losing this badly? She could swear that she was getting better with more practice against him.

"Your combat abilities are improving, but so too are mine." Shockwave's words cut into her thoughts. "Thinking that you were the only one who was evolving is illogical."

Yeah, that made a ton of sense.

But now wasn't the time to throw in the towel. She was in the yellow; she wasn't in the red yet.

"Yeah, I noticed." Yang unsteadily rose to her feet.

She couldn't even orient herself before she felt an impact against her face. Her back was against the wall that she had just collided with moments ago. Not even a second has passed before she felt a hand wrap around her throat and begin crushing. Even with the damage her aura had taken and her increase in power, she still wasn't physically strong enough to even so much as break his grip even by a little bit.

And he wouldn't even afford her the chance to fight him for long. His cannon had shifted back into a metallic fist that he used to deliver punches to her face. Every time she even moved so much as moved, he struck.

Got no choice. Yang reasoned with herself. I've gotta bust out my trump card.

She began to dip deeper into her soul, her semblance feeding off the damage she had taken. She'd get one chance at this.

Her eyes closed lilac and opened red, her hair beginning to glow. That prompted Shockwave to hit her. She ignored the feeling and used her increase in strength to pry his hand off her throat and then use her legs to kick him to put distance between them. He was sent back, but he maintained footing on his landing.

"All or nothing." Yang grinned as she positioned herself with Ember Celica.

Although she couldn't reach Ruby's speed with her semblance and her weapons in combination, she was able to cover ground quickly. For a moment, she thought she was going to strike him full force.

Except someone with not even centimeters between them, he was just gone.

What?! Where'd he go?

He wasn't around her…

Then she saw too late a purple blast above her. At point blank range, there was no way for it to miss her. The kinetic force behind the shot was enough to send her careening into the floor, followed by a very heavy Shockwave.

The entire world felt hazy to the blonde girl. It felt like a struggle to just breathe let alone move her body.

"Twenty three seconds exactly." A masculine voice said.

"...fuck." She felt real anger at that number.

She could've sworn that she had gotten better at holding her ground against him. That apparently was a gross overestimation of her abilities.

But that was not the end of Shockwave's comments. "While you did not achieve your goal, you are adapting."

"... I appreciate the kind words sir, but could we talk about it when you're not pinning me to the ground?" Yang didn't really care to be humiliated any longer than she needed to be, even if it was only them two.

He didn't speak to her in return nor did he move for all of four seconds, then he rose, allowing her to breathe and move without strain.

Yang checked the status of her own aura. "No aura. Great, can't even continue fighting today."

"It is illogical to only seek me for combative training." Shockwave's perfect posture mocked her in a way. "It would be more logical for you to seek out advice from the other professors and even from your fellow freshmen."

"I hear ya, teach, but I don't think they can teach me to be as brutal as you can."

"Why do you wish to become brutal in battle?"

"I don't know… it's just a feeling."

It was more like she liked how he fought and she wanted to replicate his brutal efficiency as much as possible.

But he didn't need to know that.

So I've been struggling with writing for the past few months and now all of a sudden, I'm writing up a storm. I won't say exacly what happened, but let's just say a certain event in work seems to have given me a boost.

Regarding the story, one thing that I want people to understand that Shockwave being more villainous or leaning into a morally black area is intentionally. Not only does it make for interesting story-telling, but the way I see it, being involved in an ongoing war will undoubtedly change a person, even a logical person.

Also, there are more ways than one to win. In a typical hero story, the hero stops the villain and saves the world. Usually, that means killing the villain, but sometimes, taking over the world isn't the true objective with the villain/antagonist. In the same vein, Shockwave isn't looking to take over the world. In fact, I've already made clear his goal: to make Remnant a more logical place. That doesn't just apply to his personal goals, but also to the people he's influencing.

Thoughts on this story? What do you all think about Shockwave being this master manipulator? Feedback is always appreciated.

Thanks for reading.