Lessons Learned

Jumping in the air, Mercury propelled himself back while kicking towards the ground. Three gunshots went off as the white bullets flew towards a shadow. It resembled Blake but was entirely dark, no showing any features besides her eyes. Each shot that hit made the shadow disappear and reappear elsewhere as it closed in on Mercury.

"Dammit…" Blake began circulating Mercury as her speed increased even further. Her shadowy figure left behind images that almost seemed physical. Mercury's eyes darted left and right as he tried to keep up with the dozen's figures circling him. "You know I really did want to thank you for one thing."

Locking onto Blake's voice, Mercury performed a roundhouse kick behind him. In that same instance, a blade cut through the air. Mercury's eyes widened as his leg slowly fell to the ground before his eyes. A horrifying wail escaped his mouth as he fell to the ground. Mercury's lower legs were mechanical, but his upper legs weren't.

Blake's strike went through everything, including the bone. With one swift attack, blood poured from the wound. "GAHH!" He continued to scream as he held onto his leg, and he heard Blake's footsteps from behind him. "If it wasn't for you and your allies showing up I wouldn't be getting the two things I desired most today."

Blake walked up from behind the ground-ridden Mercury. As he struggled to turn around, still holding onto his served leg, Mercury's teeth chattered. "Please… Don't." His face had grown weak, and cries still mixed with his words. Blake bent down and looked at him, saying something strange.

"You know I don't think the teachers in the academy were completely right. They said Grimm only has the urge to destroy. So why is it…." Blake's eyes seemed to glue themselves onto Mercury's wound as her eyes grew more vibrant. Seeing the look in her eye's Mercury's body suddenly grew cold and not from the blood loss.

Slowly she licked her lips while speaking. "Humans always called us monsters anyway. We might as well live up to their expectations." Mercury's breath started to quicken as he raised his arm frantically punched Blake. Raising her hand faster than he could react, she caught his fist. "Don't worry I'll leave something behind, he needs proof I did a good job after all."

Mercury's body trembled as it felt like darkness was enveloping every corner of his vision. The last thing he saw was Blake opening her mouth. Back at the HQ building, Shen was on the roof, simply lying there with that same pair of headphones on his head. It was still dry, but the sky was slowly turning orange as the sun began to set.

"Hm?" Shen opened his eyes as he sat up and looked over to his right. Standing in front of the entrance up to the roof was Blake. "So you survived and not only that but it looks like you've taken on the attributes of a Grimm." Blake nodded as she began walking towards him. Shen was actually surprised to see her eyes begin to change back to normal as her skin regained its color.

'So, her Grimm form is linked with the uniform's transformation. That's actually quite convenient though I wonder if there are any side effects.' Soon Blake had turned back into her normal self as she spoke. "I took care of Mercury just like you wanted me to. I have proof as well if it's required."

Shen noticed something strange with the way Blake was speaking to him. Yes, it was slightly more formal though that's to be expected with the Mental Refitting being completed. What he noticed was a lack of focus as she spoke. Narrowing his eyes, he pushed it aside for the time being.

"Good job seeing how you look. I'm guessing the boost in power was significant. So did you notice any side effects?" After asking his question, Shen stood there for a moment but didn't receive a reply. "Blake?" Looking at her closer, he saw her eyes were fully focused on him. And she had a look that seemed to be a mix of both a smile and a gasp.

Shen instinctively took a step back which proved to be the right call. With zero warning Blake suddenly lunged at him, arms outstretched. 'Crap, did the Grimm transformation make her go crazy?' Shen sucked his teeth as Lightning began to course through his arm. As she drew close, he prepared to counter-attack but suddenly stopped himself.

Blake fell onto him, knocking him to the ground. She was practically panting at this point as a look of excitement and flushness spread across her face. Seeing that look, Shen sighed to himself. 'So it was the third mental refitting that broke her self control.' He wasn't dense enough not to notice how much Blake was repressing herself.

Although he was sure most of it came from the Mental Refitting changing her mind, it was dangerous. She had grown both an obsession and desire for him. Blake stared at Shen as she spoke in a frustrated tone. "You've been really cruel, you know that. I was trying to hold myself back but now… I can't do that anymore."

Shen listened as Black began to pull at his jacket and shirt. "Blake get off of me." Blake frowned before shaking her head. "Not this time. I'm going to enjoy this completely." Shen was only surprised that she disobeyed a command. This really was a long time coming, or no amount of willpower would have let her do that.

'This is exactly the kind of situation I wanted to avoid.' One thing that he always saw trip men up were women. Whether it be lust or love, it caused them to make stupid mistakes. It was why he manipulated Blake but always kept her at arm's length. He just couldn't risk it or worry about developing a bias towards her.

In truth, the same went for every person in this world. It may not shine through in the show, but characters like Neo and Pyrrha were all attractive. If not for the fact he had a lot of self-control, he might have tried something with Blake a while ago. 'But now…' With Blake on top of him, he could firmly say that self-control was wearing thin.

"Blake, you understand what you are to me don't you?" Shen wasn't putting on a front this time around. Normally he would put on a fairly convincing act when speaking to Blake, making him seem kind. But Blake wasn't thrown off by the change as she smiled. "Of course. It's to make sure your wishes are carried out. As long as you use me I won't ever have to worry about any thing ever again. I can devote my life to your wishes and to you alone."

Shen could hear how much her obsession had influenced her own wishes. It was the same thing he noticed before, except it was even more intense now than before. Hearing those answers, Shen's body relaxed. "Alright then, fine. This was going to happen sooner or later, might as well get it out of the way." Blake's eyes widened as she stared at Shen under her. "You mean…"

She was going to do it either way, and honestly, he couldn't hold himself back. "This may be your only chance so do what you want." Like a trigger, Blake's eyes flickered with an uncontrollable urge. With Shen offering zero resistance, Blake's will to resist fell to zero. The jacket she had already begun taking off of him was immediately thrown to the side.

Soon the same came to his shirt as Blake pressed her body against his. Despite his unwillingness, it was an experience Shen wouldn't forget. Slowly the activity moved from the rooftop to Shen's room as the moon came up in the sky. At the same time, Shen managed to find a secondary use for the Quirk Squirmy Fingers.

"Huh..." The next day came, and Shen opened his eyes to the sound of rustling. Sitting up, Shen wearily got out of bed. With his other clothes being ripped, he made new ones for himself. Turning to look at Blake, who was lying right next to where he was, she had the most satisfied look on her face.

At the same time, Shen could only shake his head. 'I swear I put all of my points into Endurance. This may be my first time but I dont think normal people go all night.' Though in the end, he couldn't complain. It was enjoyable, to say the least Blake had more talents than he originally thought.

Soon after he had got up, Blake did as well as her eyes opened, Shen said something to her. "Good I didn't have to wake you up myself. So was it everything you hoped for?" Listening to Shen, Blake's eyes widened as red flashed across her face. She seemed at a loss for words as she immediately sat up.

"I'm sorry… I don't know what came over me yesterday. I-" Shen cut her off, seeing Blake had pretty much reverted to what he considered normal. "It's fine I consented to it after all. Just don't lose control like that again." Blake opened her mouth but didn't say anything as she silently nodded. Smirking, Shen waved his hand. "Anyway get dressed. I already told Cinder to stop by, we have a lot of work ahead of us."

Blake tried her best to get rid of her embarrassment as Shen left the room. 'I can't believe I did that. I mean I wanted to but still I was so…' She didn't even want to finish her own thoughts as she got dressed and left the room. She unconsciously remained pretty quiet following Shen. "Oh I didn't expect you to come here early."

Shen was speaking to Torchwick, who had the slyest look on his face. "I'm usually quite nocturnal. Let's just say you two assisted in that." Shen smiled and prepared to say something but stopped himself as he looked behind Torchwick. If looks could kill, then the one Neo was giving him, and Blake would be enough to blow them apart dozens of times over.

Shen wanted to avoid the situation altogether as Blake, behind him, looked at Neo. Despite acting timid before, she couldn't resist smiling. The amount of murderous intent Neo was giving off was insane as Shen quickly stepped in. "I'm guessing Cinder is already inside the room. Let's not keep her waiting shall we?"

Seeing Shen was backing out of the conflict, Torchwick did the same, leaving Blake and Neo to their devices. "You spoke to Cinder recently right? I can't imagine there's been much development on our side to request a meeting." Shen shook his head. "Oh there's been a development alright. Blake, go grab what you brought back last night."

Blake broke her concentration off of Neo as she heard Shen. "Ok." She quickly turned around and ran off as Shen and the others walked into the room. "Apologies for the wait." Taking his seat, both Neo and Torchwick stayed close to the wall out of the way. "Our Master has given us orders to assist you. Although I wasn't expecting you to call on us so soon."

Shen shrugged. "Well if I plan on wiping Argus off the map at the date I have set I need assistance." Shen's words immediately caused Cinder and Emerald's faces to change. Both Torchwick and Neo off to the side looked surprised as well. "Wait what?" Emerald looked towards Shen as Torckwick, off to the side, spoke up.

"Are you planning to destroy Argus? Is that why you sent me here in advance?" Shen remained silent as the two asked their questions. "This shouldn't be such a surprise. Some things need to be removed for new avenues to open. Argus just happens to be one of them." Cinder went silent for a moment before, surprisingly enough, complimenting Shen.

"And here I thought you would have small ambitions. No offense but the White Fang aren't the most… Broad group. Speaking of which, it seems that both are missing people on our side." Cinder was clearly talking about Blake and Mercury. "I bet that idiot is sleeping somewhere he's too lazy for his own good."

Hearing Emerald Shen laughed. "Don't be too hard on him after all he was preoccupied last night wasn't he?" Emerald and Cinder looked at Shen as he continued. "Besides, it isn't good to speak ill of those who aren't with us." His words seemed to hint at something as Emerald spoke. "Whats that supposed to mean?"

But just as she did, the door opened, and Blake walked in. "Sorry I took so long. Here they are." Blake threw something onto the ground, which caused the room to go silent" Clanking onto the floor were a pair of mechanical legs. On them were dried patches of blood along with slashes and cuts from enduring attacks. "It's fine perfect timing, in fact."

Cinder's eyes landed on the legs as she slowly looked up towards Shen. "It's a shame he had to pay the price for your curiosity. Now the mission I'll be giving to you will take even longer." Shen seemed unphased as his gaze landed on Emerald. She was frozen in place, looking at the pair of mechanical legs on the ground.

Who could tell what was running through her head. "In any case I hope his death won't cause you too many issues." As Shen continued to speak, each of his words caused Emerald's face to darken. "You… You bastard..." Gritting her teeth, her red eyes were burning with fury. Without warning, she pulled her weapons from her waist and jumped onto the table.

"How could you!" Seeing her charge at ,him Shen smirked. Tunnel Visioned Emerald didn't notice Torchwick moving. Moving close to the table, he swung his cane like a bat hitting emerald directly in the stomach. . "Sorry greeny but can't let you do that." Stunned, Emerald was completely off guard as Neo jumped up.

Wrapping her legs around Emerald's neck, she flipped Emerald off her feet and threw her against the wall. The impact rang through the room as Shen casually glanced at Emerald. "You already lost Mercury. It would be a shame if you lost Emerald as well. I just hope I made my point clear to Cinder." Cinder's face had a complex expression as she glared at Shen.

"Just be a good dog and follow orders. You're clearly not good at anything else."