Chapter 25: Gathering Maidens is Logical

Beacon Academy

Science Laboratory

October 22nd, 80 AGW

0100 Hours

Raven, despite what many people thought about her, wasn't strictly involved in only Anima. The continent housing the Kingdom of Mistral was merely where she conducted most of her operations and dealings as the leader of the Branwen Bandits. Although publicity never hurt her fearsome reputation, she did appreciate that she was able to trouble with some degree of anonymity, otherwise this meeting might be more difficult.

Normally, a journey back to Beacon Academy was one she did not relish. This time, however, her newest ally had sent her a communique via scroll. He was willing to exchange information as well as discuss "plans for the future" provided that she meet with him at the date and time of his choosing.

The red-eyed woman didn't much appreciate when people dictated when and where she was to go anywhere. She was one of the strongest people in all of Remnant, barring a few notable individuals. Even to a strong individual like Watson, she was irked. The only reason she had decided to meet him was because she had a feeling that whatever he was going to offer was something she ought to be in on.

Plus, as the cyborg had promised, he had delivered some equipment and weapons for their personal usage. To say that it made raids more interesting and varied was an understatement. Her tribesmen were practically glowing at the new tricks they could perform. Much as the tribe leader wouldn't admit it, she was impressed.

Now that Raven thought about it, she was probably doing this out of a misguided sense of debt. She hated owing people anything and another part of her instinct told her that she ought to pay back the debt owed, preferably as soon as possible lest she create more problems for herself down the line. Watson might not be as powerful as her, but he was far above anyone else in her camp. She had a feeling that even numbers wouldn't even work against him. Hell, her assumption of him being below her in power was just that: an assumption with nothing to back it up.

All of this was a gamble at best and a disaster in the making at worst. Frankly, she ought to just back out of this, but when it came to the relics, ignorance wasn't an option. This game of survival would only have a select few winners and millions of losers in the end. The relics were the only surefire piece on the board that had any real value.

The bandit leader did, however, recall that Watson claimed to have no interest in the Relic of Choice, only the Relic of Knowledge. She couldn't be sure why this was the case, but in her mind, any relic was worthwhile regardless of what it did. It was the literal key to stopping Salem from her goals.

This was a deal with a lesser devil, Raven told herself. She could kill this one if it came down to it.

She let her wings guide her down to the ground, honing in on her target. She had only been on these grounds sporadically over the past two decades, but she knew the place well. This was, after all, her alma mater.

And there was her target: a conspicuously open window where every other window was closed.

She was large enough to fit through. Once inside, she transformed.

"Make this fast." Raven immediately rose to her full height and crossed her arms. "I don't want to be here any more than I have to be."

Predictably,Watson didn't comment on her clipped tone. "Before we begin, I have a question. Can Salem be killed?"

"...no." Raven was reluctant to admit this truth, but there was no running from it. "That's why the relics are critical to the survival of my tribe."

There was silence for several seconds before Watson responded. "My information tells me the same thing: the Grimm overlord cannot be killed. However, there is nothing saying that she cannot be contained."

Raven perked up. "And what do you mean by 'contained?'"

"Exactly that. While Salem can resist death, containing her is possible." Watson turned his back to her to regard a hologram. "Based on the information I have gathered from a reliable first-witness source, she is not infallible."

"Infallible or not, Salem IS immortal and powerful." Raven wasn't quite following his meaning. "I don't see how this helps us."

The woman's eyes regarded the holographic image. It looked to be some sort of archaic castle structure, but nothing like anything she had ever seen. If she had to hazard a guess, then this place was where the Grimm Witch resided. She only knew about this place from rumors and scant pieces of trustworthy info.

"For all of the power and immortality that she does possess, Salem has weaknesses that can be exploited." Watson used one hand to magnify the 3D structure. "As I said, killing her is not my intent. Containing her is."

"As in caging her?" Raven decided to play ball. "How do you plan to do that?"

"By striking at her pawns first." Watson said with no trace of hesitation. "Her reliance upon others is merely a means to expedite her goals. If her pawns fail, then she will be forced to take matters into her own hands."

Raven considered his logic, then her eyes widened. "Are you saying… you want to draw Salem out into the open and confront her?"

"It will eventually come to a battle." The cyborg continued as if he was planning an afternoon stroll. "But by that time, I will have everything I need to sufficiently suppress her."

"You're insane if you think you can take her on alone." The bandit leader threw an incredulous look. "Not even Ozpin can fight her on equal grounds."

"I never said anything about fighting her alone." Watson's next words were the real shocker. "Nor will I do so. You and the other Maidens will fight her."

"What?" Raven couldn't shove down her emotions this time. "That'll just make it easier for her to win!"

"Then think on this." Watson remained eerily calm. "Ozpin's 'solution' to combat Salem equates to nothing more than hiding the Maidens in the hopes of keeping the relics secure. How long has he been doing this? Decades? Hundred of years?"

"Maybe millenia." Raven muttered. "Gods only know."

"Not only is his plan illogical, but so too are the needless deaths that he has built up with his plan." Watson maintained his pathway. "The time for secrecy has passed. It is now time for more aggressive action. Surely, you can acknowledge that."

And in a way, the huntress could agree with that broad perspective. She was an individual who favored direct, decisive moves. Whether that be in her swordplay or in her choices, she always sought the most direct path. Even if what she was hearing was pure lunacy, she could understand the appeal. However, as much as she was a warrior, she wasn't fool enough to risk her life on a mission with little success.

"I still don't see any reason why I should help you." Raven would give him one final chance to sway her. "I can't see this ending any other way than in failure."

Watson already had his answer. "If not for yourself, then perhaps for Yang Xiao Long."

"My daughter?" Raven only realized moments later that her voice was cracking, thus she struggled to get herself under control. "If I cared about that girl, I would've-"

"But you do care about her well-being." Watts saw through her words immediately. "Why else would you spend so much time observing her? The only logical conclusion is that you know she will not see Ozpin's fate for her and her peers; you are seeking a way to dissuade her from the path of a huntress."

"The path to a certain death." Raven ground out. "That's where she will be going if she follows Oz and Qrow."

"You could spare her from a premature death." Watson offered. "I am providing you the opportunity to save your family, your blood."

"...what about you?" Raven eyed him carefully. "I know that you want the relics, but something tells me you want more than that. What's the catch for helping you?"

"What does it matter what I want?" Watson finally faced her. "So long as your goals are met, why should you care? If you are asking whether or not this plan will negatively affect you in the future, it will not, provided that we harbor no hostilities toward each other."

A threat? A promise? It was hard to tell what exactly he was doing.

But all the same, she wanted to know more.

She had to know more.

Because she did care about Yang.

Her only child.

"I'm going to regret this." Raven decided. "Fine, I'll agree to your insanity."

"Insanity is illogical." Watson shook his head. "I serve only one master: pure logic."

Raven clenched her fists.

RWBY - - - Transformers

Amber had been thoroughly briefed on Shockwave's ultimate plan to confront Salem and even now, she was having serious reservations.

Despite being optimistic about life and her duty, she couldn't deny that what he proposed went against all sorts of common sense, sensible planning, and everything else rational. Then she had to remind herself that her savior wasn't a man that went with the flow. Many times over, she had to remind herself that his fundamental beliefs were incompatible with commonly-held beliefs of society.

While nothing that Mister Watson had done was evil per say, the sheer indifference that he displayed in his course so far brought a bit of doubt and distress to the Fall Maiden. She couldn't help but wonder about the parts of him that she wasn't aware of. For everything that he said and did, it only brought about more questions.

What compelled a man to be so calculating and lack the basic emotional range that most people had?

What sort of life had inspired the cyborg to act the way he did now?

Was he different in the past?

If yes, then what was he like in his earlier days?

Amber had this feeling that if she asked him about his past, Mister Watson wouldn't be opposed to sharing. Again, it all went back to how he was unconventional in so many ways. Most people had secrets they didn't want to talk about, but he wasn't 'most people.'

The brunette knew that she was giving a great deal of thought to the enigmatic man, but then again, she had never met a man like Shockwave. Granted, in her short time as the Fall Maiden, her ability to community with civilization had become restricted, but she still fancied herself travelled and knowledgeable about a lot of people. Even still, she wasn't prepared for any of this.

And it also didn't help that despite Amber's would-be killers being taken out of the picture, Ozpin still wanted to err on the side of caution. She wasn't to move out of the City of Vale until the end of the year by herself unless otherwise notified. Although she would honor her agreement with the headmaster of Beacon Academy, she still felt inner annoyance. She was given such immense power and responsibility, yet she was being treated like a child incapable of defending herself. It was a maddening double standard.

She took a few breaths in and out. She needed to get herself under control. As much as it would feel nice to let out the anger, it wouldn't do her any good. She had made many compromises in her life in her to fulfill her duties. To a degree, she had to sacrifice her own chance at a normal life in order to carry on.

Plus, this wasn't the time nor the place. Right now, she was currently processing the confusing sight before her. More specifically, she was attempting to make sense of the person in front of her.

Not Mister Watson.

Emerald Sustrai, one of her attackers.

"Hey, my name is Emerald." The mint-haired girl said with a good-natured smile. "You must be the visitor that Master Watson told me was coming. Amber, right?"

"Um, yes." Naturally, the Fall Maiden was caught off guard by a former hostile being so nonchalant and friendly. "It's… a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Emerald's face didn't seem to be hiding any deceit. "Anyone that's involved with my master is most definitely okay in my book."

"...'master?'" Amber fixated on that word. "He's your master?"

"Sure is." Emerald's answer was chipper. "He's great at, well, everything, really. He even gave me a second chance, so I work for him."

"I see." Amber felt uncertainty at this declaration. "Is he around? Your master, I mean."

That sounded awkward.

"Oh, sorry. Right this way." Emerald started walking away. "You can follow me. He's working right now, but he said to lead you to him when you arrived."

Up until this point, the Fall Maiden had been given instructions on what to do by Shockwave should he not be present at Beacon Academy. These instructions included how to use the teleporting device, or ground bridge. She sort of knew that he was working off campus, but this was her first time seeing his laboratory in person.

"Is this your first time here?" Emerald took a sidelong glance back.

Amber paused for a moment. "Y-yes. It's a lot to take in."

"I can understand that." Emerald nodded her head. "Master Watson is very driven by his goals. Even I don't understand half of what he's doing, but it's enough that he lets me contribute to his work."

"And… what exactly is he doing?" Amber decided to ask.

"All kinds of things." Emerald kept leading. "Dust research, genetics advancement, historical analysis, robotics and A.I. learning, natural resource reseeding. Those are just the things that he's working on right now."

"I… had no idea." Amber's response was lame.

"You'll see for yourself." Emerald offered.

After a minute of navigation, the two of them reached a larger room that was equipped with what could only be described as an over exaggeration of a child's imagination of a mad scientist's laboratory. It was one thing to see this sort of thing in a child's cartoon, but it was something else entirely to witness it.

Amber observed everything within her sight. Every tool, every piece of equipment, everything on display, all of it.

"I've got to get back to it." Emerald turned in another direction. "Master Watson will be in shortly."

And just like that, there was no one else in this lab, leaving Amber to continue looking around.

Her eyes settled on a cylindrical glass tank filled to the brim with a liquid that didn't appear to be water. Inside it was what looked to be a sort of unusual animal specimen, nothing that she had ever witnessed before.

Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was a sort of reptilian creature with wings. It appeared to be in a state of unconsciousness or sleep. Its size was no bigger than a forearm's length. Along its back was a spined sail, a strange trait to have given that there weren't any known living species with this trait.

The Fall Maiden regarded the small creature with much curiosity. She wanted to know what this thing was. It was so small and helpless to her eyes. It was actually kind of endearing in its own way.

"You have taken an interest in my experiment." The voice of Mister Watson appeared behind her.

"Don't do that!" Amber jumped a bit. "You almost gave me a heart attack."

"That would be highly illogical." Mister Watson moved to her side, regarding the tank with her. "I see that you have taken an interest in the project that I prioritize the most."

"What, this little guy?" Amber pointed to the innocent-looking animal. "He's your most important thing here?"

"Yes, this specimen is my most critical piece for my plans in the future." Shockwave began interfacing with a strange-looking terminal. "Although currently in the developmental stage, this one will become something truly remarkable."

"Huh." Amber wasn't sure she understood fully. "What kind of creature is this?"

For a moment, both the cyborg and the maiden stared at each other, the former not forming words or indicating whether or not he would disclose an answer. The latter meanwhile was struggling to keep her fear in check. This was probably none of her business, but now that she was here, she wanted to know.

"This is called 'Project: Predacon.'" Shockwave motioned to the tank. "It is my first attempt at reviving a long-extinct species."

"You can do that?" Amber was amazed at the very concept of resurrection. "I thought that kind of potential wasn't possible."

"Although arduously difficult to achieve, it is not impossible." Mister Watson corrected her. "This but my first attempt and the results have been promising."

"So… is he alive?" Amber took another look at the specimen.

"The subject has been fully cultivated and is now undergoing an accelerated growth phase." The scientist elaborated. "It will be at least another year before full physical size is achieved. In simple terms, yes, it is alive."

Although all of this was very impressive to hear, the very detached nature of her savior left a bad taste in her mouth. Merely calling it a specimen and distancing himself from his own creation of life felt more than a little callous.

Suddenly, Amber had an idea. "Is he aware of anything going on around him?"

Shockwave nodded. "Yes. It is capable of understanding us, but it may not comprehend what it is experiencing."

That was all she needed to a step forward so that she only had mere inches separating herself from the tank, she gently placed a hand against the glass and began speaking in a soft tone.

"Hey there, little guy. I'm sorry that your creator… your father is giving you a cold shoulder, but you're not without kindness." Amber took a few seconds to fully accept what she was about to do, then spoke again. "I will provide you with love and care. I'll… be your mother."

There was no going back from this.

The plan to combat Salem was forgotten for the moment.

Transformers - - - RWBY

For the first time in a very long time, Shockwave was truly surprised at the unexpected action that the Fall Maiden had taken. She had taken it upon herself to become a part of Project: Predacon in a way that he never considered nor cared about: providing an emotional foundation for his subject.

When he broke away from his momentary lapse in logical thought, he weighed the pros and cons of this development.

For pros, having Amber involved more intimately with his work would allow him to gain her complete trust. Although she was thankful to him and certainly heeded his words, she still held herself back. By allowing her some input in his work, he would be allowing her close enough for him to watch her and figure out every aspect of her personality.

Another perk was that he could gain some information regarding what happened when his creations had the experiences of a nurturing soul. Although solitude brought it with tremendous progress in terms of his research, Shockwave would freely admit that his logic was not all derived from his own work. Plenty of individuals had influenced his knowledgebase and reasoning. Perhaps Amber would be able to do the same by being an active element that he could oversee.

The main con was as follows: because of his distance from emotions, should emotional outbursts from his experiment occur, he was not certain if he would have the capacity to contain the situation. Emotions were illogical and he did not use them, but by that same token, he did not understand them in the way that a normal person would. That made any potential study of emotions a calculated risk.

Also, there was potential for Amber to become more deeply embedded into the subconscious mind. In a way, he was giving the Fall Maiden dangerous levels of control over his work by granting her this ability to communicate with the subject. Should she ever harbor doubts or thoughts of betrayal, she would have leverage against him.

In the end, Shockwave did nothing to stop her nor did he put much more effort into thinking about the pros and cons. The deed was already done and now he would have to face whatever consequences came about his decision. That was really the only rational thing to do in this instance.

Still, for extra insurance and peace of mind, he would have Emerald report any and all information about Amber's interactions with Project Predacon. He would not always be here to oversee his work and the brunette woman now had access to his laboratory. What she had seen so far was all she would be permitted to see for the time being.

The former Decepticon might have to use a little bit more trickery and deceit to ensure that her loyalty was firmly on his side, but not now.

But not right now.

Right now, his focus was on the Winter Maiden.

Predictably, she was within the secure territory that the Kingdom of Atlas held. No doubt that James Ironwood, the headmaster of Atlas Academy as well as a Four-Star General of the Atlesian Army, kept the woman in question within his eyesight and most likely within his reach. It seemed like a logical assumption.

Although Shockwave had never met the general in person, Ozpin had been rather generous in his description about their shared colleague. It was enough information to give a decent picture of what the man was really like.

Direct to the point of being blunt, overprotective in his measures to secure Atlas, hesitant to trust others yet asking for trust from others, an all-or-nothing man, overzealous in his position and title, and arrogant in the most humble way possible.

Where Ozpin saw a valuable ally and trusted friend, Shockwave only saw a ticking time bomb that was just waiting for the right materials to set it off. It was merely a matter of time before it happened.

Which made the matter of ensuring Winter's cooperation by any means necessary a very pressing matter.

With that being said, there was one major problem: the current Winter Maiden was apparently very old and may as well be in the process of dying. Although she was credited with having the most advanced skills and control over her magic than all the maidens, such factors were rendered unimportant. She simply was not useful as she was now.

Following that line of thinking, there was only one course of action to be done: find a new suitable Winter Maiden.

And as coincidence or circumstances would have it, there was one particular female student at Beacon Academy who showed perhaps the greatest potential to become the Winter Maiden, or a maiden in general.

Pyrrha Nikos.

The four-time Mistral Champion was ideal for one reason: her duty and commitment to being a huntress. Her personality and conduct within class told enough about her personality. She believed in what she was fighting for. She believed in the heroics and legends of huntsmen and huntresses long since passed.

If the redheaded girl was shown that she could further her desire to protect and serve the people of Remnant, then she would jump at the chance, no questions asked. She was simply too noble and kind hearted to turn away from a problem when she knew that she had the capability to help in some way. By becoming a maiden, she would be able to achieve everything that she was working towards.

And should she need further incentive to become the Winter Maiden, she would only need to be reminded that her friends at Beacon Academy were at risk every time they went out into the field. Death was a very real possibility for all of them, but a magic wielder had a greater chance of emerging from battle alive. Convincing her that her powers would save the lives of not only civilians but the people she cared about would also work very well to convince her that this was the right path for her.

Shockwave suddenly had a random thought. Megatron was no stranger to using words and spinning tales that would capture the attention of those around him. It was one of the many reasons that the Decepticons had garnered such a large following. Although the scientist was not bought by such rousing words, there was something to be said about an individual who could speak to people and their goals, desires, wants, and needs.

In a way, his manipulation of those around him was him channelling some of Megatron's intelligence and charisma.

A strange thought to have, but one that came to mind for some reason.

Returning to Nikos, there was one issue that would potentially block any progress: her partner and team leader. It was clear as day that she cared a great deal for the blonde boy and she was trying so hard to get him to improve.

Which he was not in the least.

The time to observe was done. Shockwave would take drastic measures to ensure that one way or another, Arc would either make himself useful or be struck from the records of Beacon Academy.

The only way to viably test the incompetent student was to place him under a certain level of stress in order to test his resolve. He was never going to evolve as things were. Nothing during his time as an up and coming huntsman had actually placed him in a situation where he was forced to rely on his more basic instincts to survive. There was nothing more useful in determining the combative worth of an individual than forcing them into a situation where violence was the only means of escape.

After all, most Cybertronians weren't warriors until the War for Cybertron forced them all to become warriors.

All of this, the professor of science was naturally going to discuss with Ozpin. The headmaster really did appreciate when his subordinates played ball with what happened with the students. Being kept apprised of the value of pawns was very helpful in the game of chess that dictated the fate of the world.

The cyborg collected everything he would need to speak with the man of many secrets and made his way to Beacon Tower.

This was going to be a very long discussion, but with the approval of the Ozpin, future events would be able to proceed smoothly.

Shockwave would describe what he currently felt as as feeling of contentment if he had emotions to speak of.

At this time, he did not.

It was enough to say that his path was working out so far. For things to go according to plan was quite rare, especially given his experiences with failure during the war, felt right.

It felt logical.

RWBY - - - Transformers

Arthur Watts was a man who valued intelligence and cunning over brute strength and simple combative ability. Although he was no slouch when it came to combat, a truly powerful opponent knew how to use their every ability to its fullest in any given situation. All of that couldn't be done without intelligence and cunning.

As of late however, his mind was telling him to tread carefully when it came to Salem. The dark woman had become irritable lately in the waking news that Cinder Fall had been slain. Their plan had been set back considerably by this development and the Grimm queen was not impressed one bit.

Hazel too sensed the overall mood and had made himself scarce as well. Even Tyrian, even the psychotic killer, knew to not be overly enthusiastic whenever she called the three of them for a meeting.

Finding a new maiden host was going to be hard and even if they did find one, it would take time to train her to their standards. That simply wasn't good enough because their mutual boss wasn't one to waste time, at least not hers.

So they needed a solution and fast because with the way things were going, Cinder might not be the only one that was going to die a premature death.

Watts took to his new job of finding a host with much haste and to start his search, he wanted to know who or what exactly had taken out the arrogant girl who fancied herself the favorite of Salem.

Even without the powers of the maiden, Cinder's defeat should not have happened at all. Much as the Atlesian native despised the woman, he could say with certainty that she was well-trained and would have served her intended role well. Then again, the fact that she had been bested spoke either to her true potential or the greater potential of whomever she had fought against.

Watts wanted to put the mystery to rest so he did everything in his ability to find out the truth.

At least, that's what he planned to do until he found Cinder's scroll number on his screen and his face lit up in confusion.

"Who is this?" Arthur decided to take a chance. "You're not Cinder."

"Arthur Watts." A masculine voice sounded from the other end. "I am Shockwave. I am pleased to make a fellow intellectual and a believer of technology."

Well, that wasn't the response he was expecting.

Nevertheless, Watts proceeded. "I take it you're the one that killed Cinder?"

"Yes and the same fate awaits the rest of your colleagues." The man said with not a trace of hesitation. "But before that, I require all that you have."

"And what exactly are you hoping to take from me?" Arthur found humor in this request. "Because if you know who I am, then you know that unlike Salem, I'm not a fool."

"You were enough of a fool to answer this call." A pause for three seconds. "Your security measures on your scroll are lacking. Now I have access to everything I need."

"Wait." Watts had a revelation. "What did you-"

"Goodbye." Then the call was dropped.

Once he regathered his faculties, Arthur quickly reviewed his scroll to see if there were any changes of any kind.

Only to find there was nothing left.

Literally everything he needed for the eventual invasion of Atlas was gone.

The bug that would infiltrate the security systems both Mantle and Atlas used?

Gone.

His files and important data?

Gone.

Him dying soon might come from more than one place.

I managed to get another chapter done this month. This might be the last one for February considering that I've got training to do next week that'll take up a LOT of time.

So I'm sure all of you have been wondering about the eventual conflict between Shockwave and Salem and as this chapter describes, I thought to myself that if Salem is immortal, then the focus shouldn't be on destroying her. She does have weaknesses to exploit. It's just that they need to be exploited with a different outcome other than death.

Also, this is a small thing, but in light of me becoming a Soldier in the US Army, I've made the assumption that Ironwood is a Four-Star General, the highest-ranking commissioned officer rank in the Army. That's just what makes sense to me, but what doesn't make sense is that he also holds a seat of power within the civilian Council of Atlas. Being a headmaster for a combat academy is more believable.

Also, since Winter has the rank of a Specialist, which is my rank, it's strange that she even can see Ironwood let alone work with him directly. At the very least, given her duties and what she knows, I would think she would at least be a Corporal, a Sergeant, or a Staff Sergeant, or some Non-Commissioned Officer rank. She holds a rank of a junior enlisted Soldier, yet she's doing so much. The only other possibility would be that she is a special operator, whatever equivalent exists in the Atlesian military.

So that's the end of my military rant. I'm sorry if none of you understood that.

In other news, I've got tons of story concepts that I'm considering working on, but due to limited time, I will have to put them on hold. Still, if any of the ideas interest you, then go vote for them on my profile page. Story descriptions are also on my profile page if you need more of an idea of what the concepts are about.

Reviews and feedback are always appreciated. Apologies if there are any errors in grammar. I was partially drunk while writing some of this. It's actually the first time I've seriously been drinking in my life.

Thanks for reading.

"To win without risk is to triumph without glory."

Pierre Cornielle