Chapter 3: Adapting is Logical

Planet of Remnant

Kingdom of Mistral

City of Windpath

Shockwave had taken to the streets of Mistral following his escape from the docks. He found quite a treasure trove of things going on within the city.

Although Mistral's superfluous civilian culture was not to his liking or caring, he could understand where it would entrance others. There were so many things to discover, so many new things to learn, so many new things to experience. Cultural investigators on Cybertron would be more than willing to invest time into learning about the Kingdom of Mistral and all that it had to offer. They would probably be like sparklings feeding on red energon.

The art that surrounded him was in all things, be it the building architecture, the statues that line the streets, the clothing that people wore, both simple and complex, both elegant, or the music vendors that were sounding all around. All of it was an expression of art, an expression of the inner soul.

None of it mattered to him.

Shockwave was on a mission that his freedom depended on. He had no illusions to the fact that Winter Schnee would be on his tail the moment she discovered that he had left without warning. As far as she was concerned, he was a breach in military protocol, and was to be held in captivity until the threat he posed was neutralized.

He was not to be neutralized like a threat. He neutralized threats himself.

His best chance to evade her was to wait her out. Eventually, her mission would take precedence and she would be recalled back to Atlas. Dealing with a wanted "criminal" would be the least of her superior's problems. The military stopped for no one, not even a specialist's mission.

That is what his logic told him, but without any insightful information on General James Ironwood, he could not know for sure. The man's public image was spotless to say the least, and that only served to make the former Decepticon more wary. Anyone who claimed to be flawless was a liar, and not a good one at that. Every single being in the universe was flawed in some way, even Shockwave himself. Official public records might disagree with him, but civilians could be showered with lies easily.

That being said, flawed or not, Winter Schnee was a tenacious one, and he needed to find some way to change himself so that he looked different than what he looked like now. She had to have memorized his appearance by now.

So a clothing shop was probably the best place to start.

Shockwave was no thief by any measure; he did not possess the ability to pickpocket, not like some tricky Decepticons. He would have to work another angle in order to gather the necessary lien. It would do him no good if he gained infamy without any sort of socially-accepted qualities and accomplishments to go along with it.

The second thing to get was a scroll.

Even if he did not possess such a device, he was more than capable of accessing the worldwide network that Remnant used, and having briefly read about the kingdoms, he knew that there existed the rich, the poor, and everyone in-between, especially in Atlas and Mistral. A rich class meant that they had funds that he could appropriate and utilize for something far more productive than simple luxury and indulgence.

But even if he did take from the rich, he would need to be discrete about it. Taking large amounts would only arouse suspicion, which presented him with a much larger problem. Because the rich constituted only a fraction of the overall population on Remnant, he would not gain much funding for his needs and wants, not if he wanted to remain hidden.

So rather than take from just the rich, he expanded his pool and began to hack into the accounts of other classes of people. In his time on Cybertron, Shockwave had come up with numerous viruses that interacted with the virtual world. He just had to adapt one of his pre-existing virus programs.

He then proceeded to create a personal, anonymous collective account. Nobody short of a genius would be able to find it. He then watched as his fundings went from zero lien to a hundred to a thousand to ten thousand to a hundred a thousand.

Upon reaching a million, he stopped. For now, this would more than suffice. It would serve his basic needs as well as allow him to procure any additional equipment he might need for travel. Maybe he could even get a vehicle.

Essentials first.

Shockwave casually walked the streets, watching the people of Remnant. He knew he was different, and he could see this as many people reacted to his appearance. It seemed that the Humans were especially wary of him. The Faunus, on the other hand, seemed more curious and, to his eye and optic, friendlier.

Noting this, the former mech pondered on whether or not he was a Faunus and not a Human as he saw no visible Faunus features on himself. One didn't have to have visible animal characteristics to be a Faunus, so how was he to distinguish himself as Human or Faunus?

More importantly, if he really was seen as a Faunus, then his options were going to be limited in a great deal of things. Faunus were discriminated in this world plainly for being offbeat from Mankind. That would work against him.

Regardless, he had lien, but now he needed to find somewhere to spend them; before he could do so, he needed to find a way to to dispense the cash. He would stand out if he chose to electronically pay without a scroll. Besides, electronic payments left a larger trail that could be traced.

He believed the machine needed to do such a thing was called an Automated Teller Machine. Finding one in the city was not hard. He did not even have to actively use his map. He just stumbled upon one.

Before he could do what he needed to do, he took a good look around, trying to spot if there was any sort of surveillance. Any device that had to do with currency had to be monitored at all times so fraud and thievery could be detected. It was only logical.

He immediately found a video camera, and fortunately, he wasn't within visual sight of it yet. Not even his shadow was in its sight. Trying to remain unnoticed, he mentally tapped into the camera, then made it play a loop. It would last five minutes, but he only needed two minutes at most to get what he needed.

He grabbed only the lien he would need to purchase some new clothing as well as a new scroll. From there, he would be able to interact with technology without having to resort to hacking or tampering. The more he did those two, the greater the chances of his detection.

His attire right now was basic, and if not for his outstanding physical features, he might actually be normal and blend right in. Alas, fortune did not favor him in this instance.

Ignoring anyone that stared at him, Shockwave eventually found what he was seeking. It to be a simple store, small in size, and stark in its inventory.

There was nobody overlooking the store, but the sign did say that this place was open. The quiet was still appreciated nonetheless as he went through isle by isle.

As he moved through the store, it began to dawn on Shockwave just how lacking he was in the knowledge of fashion. He had merely planned to grab clothing, though he assumed it would be a straightforward thing, and so he gave little thought to details. Now, being presented with choices and with so many items for sale, he began to question what would be appropriate for him. This place had quite a selection, and it was not even a mainstream store either.

The logical thing to do was to search online for current fashion trends; understanding what was considered to be the norm would allow him to blend in, but then an idea occurred to him. To be normal was to make his chances lesser. Normality, in the most simple of terms, meant neither promising or disappointing.

He wanted to remain unnoticed, but sooner or later, he was going to have to interact with society, and he would need resources in order to assess whether or not he was permanently synthetic or not, and if Cybertron was truly lost to him. To do those things, he needed resources, and to do that, he needed connections, and to get those, he needed to work his way up the social ladder, so to speak. He could choose to go out on his own without allies and remain undetected or he could reach out and gain greater knowledge, resources, and maybe power, but at the expense of losing privacy.

Perhaps there was a way he could do both, remain quiet all the while gain access to what he wanted and needed. As many millennia in the numerous fields of science had taught him, true accomplishments were never easy.

"Can I help you?" Someone's voice registered in his audio receptors.

Shockwave, or Shael, as he remembered calling himself, turned to look at who had spoken to him.

It was a woman, or more specifically, a female human. Maturity-wise, she appeared a young adult, twenty-five Remnant years or so. Her eyes were a dark brown, which contrasted her bright blonde hair. She stood about half a head than he did.

When he turned to her, Shockwave looks her up and down. Her physical stature suggested that she was not particularly strong, but that was based on her physical proportions alone. If she was a huntress, then her strength could be magnitudes stronger than himself. Of course, that was just a "what if" scenario.

Also, the fact that there was no trace of fear in her eyes, only curiosity and a tint of wonder, made him believe that she was not quite what she seemed at at glance.

"I was searching for something new to wear, but I honestly have no idea where to begin." Shockwave outwardly relaxed his posture to appear as non-threatening as possible. "Do you work here?"

She stared at him for a while longer, and then she cleared her throat. "Yeah, I work here, I also own the place too. So anyways, you do not have any sort of idea where to start?"

"None at all." Shockwave admitted, albeit with some effort. "I feel as if I am stumbling around blind."

"Hmm." She looked him up and down. "I think I have just the thing that will suit you. Come with me."

He followed her to another section of the store, one filled with more… stylistic costumes, not the sort of outfits that Shockwave viewed as functional and utilitarian, but visuals could have an affect, he reasoned. Sometimes, a visual appearance could win a battle before it even came to blows. Megatron, on more than one occasion, had used visual fear as a tactic against the Autobots, and visually, the Decepticon leader did not disappoint.

Shockwave watched as the woman began to sort various outfits hanging on coat hangers. There were so many, each with differing colors, designs, details, and much more. The variety was actually quite staggering. Why these designs weren't placed out in front befuddled him. Surely most people would come here if it was visually appealing.

"Here." Her voice caught his attention again. "This one looks good."

It was purple-colored, just like his old scheme, with some black and grey trimmings that dotted the entire coat. There was two kite-shaped tails that almost touched the ground. A single zipper lined the front along with buttons, all of which ended at an adjustable collar that could probably cover the entire neck. The sleeves were purple with black and grey stripes going down the entire length to the cuffs.

"Are you… certain about this?" Shockwave questioned without hesitation, having an opinion already. "This hardly seems… appropriate."

"Trust me when I say this." Her voice spoke with confidence and assurance. "You'll look grand in this. You'll be able to make quite a dramatic entrance in this."

"Dramatic entrance?" He tilted his head slightly to the left. "Why would I want that?"
"Because you're a huntsman." She looked at him like the answer should have be clear as water. "Why else?"

"Of course." He felt slight offense, though far from enough to warrant an emotional response.

"Also, put these on." She handed him a pair of heavy boots as well as a pair of pants. "This should be everything."

"Where would there be a…" Shockwave searched for the term he was looking for, "… a changing room."

"Right over there." She pointed a finger. "Take all the time you need."

With a nod, he moved to where she had pointed out, closing the door, but not using the lock.

This part, he felt dubious about. As a bot of science, he should look at this as another learning opportunity. He knew everything there was to know about Cybertronian biology; he knew how to fix all injuries, and he knew how to kill with minimal effort. This was another learning opportunity, or so he told himself.

With some tentativeness, he carefully removed his plain shirt , feel the sensation of the air against his skin. A nearby mirror afforded him a view at his upper body, and his eyes narrowed in thought. His build was somewhat akin to his physical proportions. Compared to the average person, his entire physical proportions and likely his own attributes were superior. He seemed to possess no fat or otherwise unwanted or unneeded mass.

Well, almost.

The only new addition that he was dismayed to have was… genitalia. He recalled that Humans and Faunus recreated more of their own kind via sexual reproduction, and while the concept wasn't alien, Shockwave never considered that he would ever know it fully. It also signified another weakness he needed to learn how to guard. Fortunately, despite his transformation, his mind remained sharp and he was not distracted by the opposite gender as much as other males seemed to be, if his sources could be trusted.

Shockwave cataloged his musings as he swapped clothing, making sure to stuff these clothes into his backpack along with his scavenged goods.

This coat had a lot of pockets, some obvious, but most hidden, no doubt something that would allow him to conceal different devices and weapons.

That was just the sort of function that a huntsman or a huntress would require.

The coat looked much heavier than he expected, enough so that his overall body movement and coordination would be altered. He could adjust with time and training, things he could do.

The pants fit him fine with a bit of slack, and his boots were the same.

Even though it was merely a change of look, Shockwave couldn't help but look at himself and see how much different he looked now. No longer dressed in casual clothes and looking more akin to a professional-looking man, his presence commanded respect and perhaps intimidation. The coat did nothing to hide his features, more like accentuated them.

Checking that his cuffs were snug in place as well as his collar, he exited the changing room and was greeted to the woman who was waiting outside for him.

"Well don't you look like a fine gentleman." She smiled and cooed. "That suits you perfectly."

She circled around him, taking the time to examine him from head to toe, and the once-Cybertronian.

"Yes, this will work nicely." She finished her fifth lap around him, then faced him. "This is your look. I can't imagine anything else."

This one, she had a knack for detail, he had to concede. While he still wasn't in full agreement with its design, he would still live. He just had to be a bit illogical, if that could be called logical.

"Thank you." Shockwave felt gratitude was called for. "I believe this will do just fine. How much would you like for it?"

"Well, considering that one's been hanging on my racks for quite some time," She said, putting a finger, "And considering that I'm in a good mood, I'll give it to you for… 400 lien."

All he did was count up the lien and hand it to her, and she took swiftly, and didn't even bother to count it.
"Alright, just let me get you a receipt." She rushed to a nearby register. "Anything else you want?"

Did he want anything else? Normally, he would be satisfied with this, but clothing was not a product bought once and then never again.

"Do you do customizable outfits?" The picture of the Decepticon insignia came to mind. He want another outfit with this on it. "I might just come back for more."

"Sure thing," she grinned, "Just give me a call and I'll get you hooked up. Here's my card."

She handed him a small rectangular card with information, and he took it, but didn't read it, simply placing it in a pocket.

"Alright, that just about does it." She gave him a receipt. "Thanks for coming in… sorry I didn't get your name."

"Shael Watson." He held his hand out. "It is nice to meet you."

"Autumn Kelly." She took his hand. "Likewise."

He let go. "You seem extraordinarily friendly to me, even though we do not know each other at all."

That sentence made Autumn's mood change. "… I don't have to know my fellow Faunus to be able to help them out."

… I am a Faunus?

For the first time since his arrival on this world, he was at a loss, but that lasted seconds, and then he reigned himself in. Looking shocked would only make her question him.

"In any case, thank you." He nodded to her. "I should go."

"You're welcome back anytime." She smiled genuinely. "We Faunus gotta look out for one another."

Leaving that place, Shockwave took his time to process this new revelation. A Faunus, as he understood it, could detect other Faunus, but he couldn't see any Faunus features on Autumn's face, so unless she was lying, which he didn't believe she was, then he too was one.

But what type was he?

A very loud sound entered his ears, and for a moment, he almost thought that his receptors were playing tricks on him. As it turned out, it was nothing more than a loud vehicle passing by, so he decided to continue on his way. His next thing to get would be a scroll. A technology store would probably be the place to go.

That was as easy to find as a clothing store.

Now this was his element, and here, he felt completely at-ease and comfortable. Models old, current, and new were being showcased. Dust scrolls came in all different sizes, shapes, and models, and each was suited for certain situations.

Shockwave wasn't looking for what purposes they could serve. What he wanted was the most powerful model right now. Once he read up the literature that detailed scrolls and how they worked, he could make his own modifications, probably even build his own custom model based on the specifications of a premade scroll.

"Can I help you… sir?" The man in glasses seemed a bit intimidated by him, even though they were of similar height.

"What is the most powerful model you have here?" Shockwave voiced his question.

"Ah, that would be the Generation X, Model L." The man looked like he had recovered and moved to present the model. "This model uses some of the most refined dust courtesy of the SDC. It's got a pristine camera that takes HD pictures and film."

"That is useful." Shockwave agreed, but that was not the answer he sought. "But I am more interested in the specifications."

"Ah, of course." The man pulled up his own device and tapped the screen a few times and displayed its contents. "It uses a dust-refining technique courtesy of the SDC. All the latest technologies have been added. Trust me when I say it, you won't find a better model on the market right now."

Unless you go the black market. Shockwave mused internally. They are often ahead of public products.

"Then this will suffice." Shockwave determined that this would do. "How much for it?"

"Since this is the current model and given that it has maximum storage," a pause ensued, "About 969 lien, but if you want more time to browse, I can-"

Shockwave counted lien in his hand, then just shoved it in the man's hands. "That should suffice." He was not planning on sticking around.

"Uh, sure, hold on a moment." A moment of counting, and the man quickly ran to the back of the store. "I'll be right back."

It was a busy place, this store was, and nobody was paying much attention to him. Certainly, people gave him odd looks, but in no way did they stare, not like he expected them too. Whether they were too busy to care or not affected by his appearance, it worked just fine with him.

"Here you are." The man returned with a small box. "Could I interest you in any-"

Shockwave was more than finished with talking to people for today, thus not bothering with social norms and simply grabbed the box and left. Now all he needed to do was charge this scroll and he could use it.

The device was light, and lightly built, and in his opinion, it was fragile, which left it vulnerable to even the smallest of drops.

There were some other odds and ends that would help him in the long run, but he had gotten the things he deemed most important right now.

His plan was to go to Vale and lay low there.

Dust planes were faster, but considering how he wished to remain incognito, perhaps not being seen by society for some time might do him some good. A short disappearance would permit him to start fresh, as the phrase was coined.

It was his musings and his relative lack of attention to his overall direction that brought him to a place where he didn't expect to find himself: a shipyard. Many were already leaving for the sea, some were docked and awaiting passengers or cargo or both, and others were just arriving.

It was his solution, he surmised.

It was most likely too late to get a ticket right this moment. These sort of things had to pre-purchased some time before the actual voyage was to take place, lest he lose his guarantee of a seat.

Pulling up his newly-purchased scroll, he began to search for tickets that could be bought in the next day.

There were none.

He shut off his scroll, attempting to conceive of another plan. It was then that he felt something tapping on his shoulder.

"Can I help you?" Shockwave knew it was a person, and he was tired of talking to people.

"No, but I think I might be able to help you." A woman's voice. "You were looking for sea passage to Vale, correct?"
It would seem that this person happened to notice the contents on his scroll.

"Yes, I was." Shockwave turned to face his newest acquaintance, temporarily abandoning his loathing for conversation. "What of it?"

The woman about a head shorter than he was, but she looked fearless. She wore what looked to be nothing that a civilian would wear, which led the half-Cybertronian to believe that she was a worker of some kind.

"Well, you see, I'm actually a first mate on a vessel right over there." She gestured to a specific ship on the dock. "Right over there. We take passengers and some cargo. Our next trip is to Vale, one of the coastal cities."

"Why are you not on this ship now?"

"I had get a few things before we took off." She kicked a stray pebble off the path. "Kind of last minute, but captain didn't mind. Oh, sorry, where are my manners? My name's Matte Skye."

She held her hand out, and she didn't look scared when he looked at her strange before accepting the greeting.

"Shael Watson." The Faunus-Cybertronian felt himself becoming more and more accustomed to his self-formed organic name. "Well-met."

"To you as well." Matte looked back out to the sea. "So how about this: I get you onto the ship, and you owe me a favor."

"What sort of favor?" Shockwave treaded carefully, not wanting to end up in a deal that was unfavorable for him.

"Nothing life-changing or mind-boggling." It was like Matte didn't even have any real concrete idea about what he was to owe her. "But something equal to a one-way passage from Mistral to Vale, and trust me when I say this: you won't find a better deal anywhere else."

Shockwave doubted that statement, but he did think that he would not find a better legitimate deal. She was relatively easy to read in terms of emotions.

"So how about it?" Matte tilted her hips to one side. "It's not an offer that'll last."

There was really nothing to debate about in his mind, but just the same, this was not a decision he could just make lightly. He mentally reviewed everything that he had done since coming to this world.

He had arrived on this world in this new form. He had travelled and discovered a new wilderness. He had fought and allied himself with Atlas military personnel. He had travelled with said military personnel. He had evaded them to take control. He had gained a foothold in the civilized world of Remnant.

His future plans? To find a way to Cybertron, if at all possible, and to recover his original form, if at all possible.

Going to Vale? He was to remain elusive until he had more details in place.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw something that caused his blood-energon spike ever-so slightly. An Atlas mech was patrolling, and if he had to guess by the faces it was being given, it was not welcome here. Its purpose wasn't too hard to determine.

"I accept your terms." He nodded his head quickly. "Was there anything else?"

"Nah, just follow me." She informed him. "We'll be dusting off soon. Just gotta explain this to the captain."

A final nod to Matte and Shockwave went to follow her

Only for them to walk meet face-to-face with the Atlas mech. Silence ensued as they both stared at each other eye and optic to visor.

Then the half-Cybertronian hacked into the mech's mainframe in an instant, which followed by him dumping junk data into its systems. The mech remained frozen, giving no signs that it was alerted to his presence.

"Atlas mechs," Matte scoffed, "What's one doing here anyways?"

"Who knows why?" Shockwave knew, of course. "On your lead."

He sidestepped the mechanical android, only sparing it a final look. By the time the primitive mech sorted through the useless data in its systems, he would be long-gone. At best, it had gotten a sparing glance of him, and Winter Schnee would not have the time or resources to track every ship and came and left the city.

"So what's your story?" Matte started off another conversation. "You don't look the type to be just wandering around for no reason."

"I have… business in Vale." Shockwave thought about his response for a moment, then added some more. "Unexpected business."

"Sounds super important and secretive." She sounded like she didn't know what to say. "So are you gonna tell me what that means?"

"It is as you said." He confirmed her words. "Secretive and important."

"Ah, well, everyone's got one of those." She shrugged her shoulders. "So are you into tech or something. Those prosthetics don't look cheap."

"There were custom-made." Shockwave made something up. "They replace what I once had."

"Ouch, sounds painful." She shivered slightly as she no doubt tried to comprehend the mental image. "You can spare me the details."

And he was more than willing to do so. The less she asked, the less he had to make up. Lying was illogical in this case, but still necessary.

"Well here we are." She gazed at the ship as if seeing it for the first time. "Ain't she a beauty?"

"I suppose so." How people viewed their ships as people was beyond Shockwave. "There is nothing else that I need to do?"

"Just get on-board and relax." She began to take off in a different directions. "I'm gonna check on the other crew members."

(X)(X)(X)(X)

Winter Schnee's day went from exhausting to angering.

She shouldn't have left Shael Watson to his own devices. This was bound to happen and she scolded herself numerous times for doing something that someone of her positions shouldn't have ever done.

How was she going to explain this loss to General Ironwood. He had already be informed about the details of the mission. Her mission was mostly a success, but a mission that was mostly complete might just be counted as a failure in her superior's eyes.

One of her screens flashed and then suddenly went into a static frenzy. She focused her eyes on this anomaly. Very few people had the ability to hack into Atlesian soldier mechs, and she doubted that it was someone she did not known.

"Where are you?" She began to type some commands into the console.

With mechs spread out into the city, she couldn't afford to get out there herself. She'd never get to the offline mech fast enough.

"Dammit." She muttered under her breath.

She had an idea where to start with this useless data, and she tried to get through all of it and fix the problem.

That's when her console controls shut off and the screen darkened, but didn't blink out completely.

Instead, there was a single message displayed on her screen.

Pursuing me is illogical. Cease now.

"Curses." Winter slammed her fist onto the metal console.

Eh, this is another boring chapter, but one or two more chapters similar in tone to this one and the previous chapter will be needed to set up Shockwave as the summary of the story tells.

As some may have noticed, exploring Shockwave's mind is very complicated. Shockwave's mentality in life is easy: pursue what is most logical, though what he considers logical can shift and change given the right perspective. Remember that as I go forward. Also, I've spent some time reading about Shockwave via Transformers Wiki's and looking at the cartoons. All of them. I expect some very unusual results.

So I made Shockwave a Faunus. It seemed to make sense. Even compared to Cybertronians, he's not like an ordinary Cybertronian. Like Soundwave, he can be quite a wild card. Also, what's not to like about a partly-synthetic Faunus badass?

What did you guys think of this chapter? Please let me know so that I can make adjustments and fine-tune as I go. I may have the story outlined, but you can still affect the details when you speak out.

Also, if it interests you, go check out my poll on my profile page for future RWBY stories, both normal and crossover.

I hope you goys enjoyed this chapter, and remember:

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."

Henry Ford

Primus be with you!