Chapter 9: Mountain Glenn is Illogical

Three days later…

Shockwave had given Team CFVY three days to prepare for the journey, which gave him just enough time to consider his plan and try to conceive of every single scenario possible given his current knowledge of the situation. They had another hour or so before they needed to meet on the landing pad, so he was going over all of his research one last time.

Mountain Glenn was the site of one of Vale's attempts to push for more land, which was a logical choice given that the kingdom would eventually need to push outside its natural boundaries if it was ever to beat back the Grimm, but there were inherent flaws with the original plan itself.

For one, not enough of a military or fighting presence was there during the attempted settling. Based on the images and video feeds he had requested from Ozpin, there was only a token force of huntsmen, huntresses, and military soldiers stationed, not nearly enough to protect the hundreds of workers as well as surveyors and other important personnel. Vale should have sent at least a batallion of soldiers and at least 50 hunters or so, ideally a hundred or more.

An expansion effort couldn't succeed without massive support and funding. This failed attempt lacked so many essential components, meaning that there must've not been a lot of faith placed to begin with. As understandable as it was, it was also an act of cowardice. If Mankind expected to expand its own borders by doing the same thing that they had been doing for thousands of years, which was running and hiding, then they were all insane.

The only thing that this information had done was lower his opinion of the Council of Vale.

In any event, he had procured the most recent surveillance of the region of attempted settlement. It remained largely unchanged in the years past, but he wanted to know which positions would be the most defendable. It was in his best interest to keep his students alive and well, which meant that at least seven hours of sleep was necessary, but nine to ten would be ideal. In order to ensure more cooperation, he would first find out what Team CFVY would agree to before a schedule was committed to.

Shockwave had considered packing the necessary food and liquid supplies for everyone, but it was then that he realized that he would pack what was logical, and while Team CFVY might be effective in combat, they were still illogical. Especially in this time of development, young adults could be... picky about what they ate, so he simply brought some cooking utensils.

He had reviewed some of their combat training logs as well as previous mission logs in order to get a read on what he was working with.

Coco Adel, the leader of the team, was straightforward. She was confident, and maybe arrogant in some cases. He was certain that it was her courage and daring that made her the leader. As far as the records showed, she seemed average in terms of strategy and tactics. Her combat was also a reflection of her own character. She chose sheer power above all else. Her handbag transformed into a minigun that few firearms could match in terms of rounds per minute. In short, she was very powerful, but extremely slow.

Fox Alistair, despite his name saying otherwise, was human. He was a close-quarters combatant, and he wasn't known to speak many words. He was supposed to be blind, but the fact that he was able to "see" that demonstration yesterday was puzzling. Did he have a semblance that granted him a sight? Was it his aura? Regardless, he was built to be fast, agile, and nimble, but he was restricted to close-quarters combat. He was no master strategist or tactician, but he seemed to have excellent instinct and was a quick-thinker.

Velvet Scarlatina, the only Faunus on the team, was a a bit more ambiguous. Although she was capable as an unarmed warrior, her fighting style indicated versatility and adaptability. Those traits did not appear to be the end game. A quick dive into her time at Beacon had him discover that she was working on a project to create weapon imitations with a camera. That kind of technological know-how wasn't something easily learned, and even if only in the early stages, the theoretical literature was sound. The girl had above-average intelligence.

Yatsuhashi Daichi was the the tank of the team. His physical presence alone would intimidate the majority of people, but he wasn't just about being a physical presence. He had proven to be able to withstand an immense amount of punishment, and his size betrayed his speed, which could come out of nowhere. Out of all the team, he was the most calm, the most rational, and he acted as a sort of parental figure for his team. That would make working with him simple and to the point, which was convenient to work with.

Their illogical parts notwithstanding, they would do well enough for this mission. They were amongst the top-rated of the now-second year class, not the best, but they could be with a little more effort.

Aside from his mission preparations, Shockwave had gotten a lot of personal things done. His personal office had been outfitted with the latest in computer technology as well as a private server for storing data. There were hundreds of thousands of encryptions. Without the proper shortcut methods, it would take even the most talented and skilled hacker hours, and that was assuming they could identify the many traps, security measures, and dead ends that had been placed. Also, a person needed to be fluent in Cybertronian in order to attempt a hack at all. The chances of a person actually getting into his secret data were extremely low, virtually zero.

The other thing set up in the office were lab tools. Although he was leaving his equipment out in the open, he would no doubt receive questions from Ozpin concerning the nature of his work. That explanation would be a long one, but the scientist wasn't concerned about his chances. If there was one thing that always made him concede was the necessity to destroy the Grimm.

The headmaster had sent him a packet on information via a private channel concerning the Grimm. He had yet to read it, but it looked like it would shed some light on the history and origins of the illogical monstrosities as well as anyone relevant to them. The title of the message made it quite clear that he was to never reveal the contents to anyone. Only his eyes would be privy to the details. He had also been told to not reveal the truth of the Four Maidens, and the only reason he was adhering to this was because he needed to cement a relationship between himself, his employer, and his coworkers. Once he had their trust, he would decide on how to use this information.

Ozpin keeps many secrets. Shockwave had already deduced that much. What else is he hiding, I wonder?

Every sentient being was going to have secrets, and that was not debatable. If secrets weren't commonplace, there would be no need for lying or deception of any kind. However, Ozpin wasn't a normal person, so therefore, whatever secrets he carried were likely dangerous, and more likely, deadly to the people that he associated with. His students, the faculty, his other allies within the other huntsman academies, anyone who he kept close to him was at risk. The former Decepticon couldn't say that he was a part of that inner circle, at least not by bond. He was only part of it because circumstances… compelled him to be.

Shockwave filed away his questions about Ozpin and grabbed his supplies that he had packed. He had been careful to make sure his backpack had only what he needed and nothing more. Aside from basic food and water supplies, he also had acquired some specialized tools for his work during this mission. As the students weren't required to do any of the technical work, it fell to him to prepare himself.

Additional equipment had been packed into a bullhead, which was waiting on one of the landing pads. Because that aircraft was their mode of transportation, they would have to conceal it well lest they wish to spend days hiking back to Beacon Academy. Unfortunately, the mountains didn't provide much in the ways of camouflage, so the best thing to do was to hide it amongst the wreckage of the colonization project.

Shockwave slung his pack over his shoulder, checked his scroll to make sure he had the right program files ready to go. He would be doing a lot of hardware and software work. Starting from near-scratch was no easy task even with his superior knowledge and intelligence, and since he would be performing these duties alone, every minute would count.

"This is a logical move." Shockwave said to himself. "Although it will be laborious."

It would be just like working in the fields of war with Autobots firing at him. Those memories were plenty.

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

"Come on, Coco!" Velvet called to her team leader. "We're going to be late!"

"You worry too much, Velvet." Coco brushed her teammate off. "We've got five minutes until the meeting time."

"It's called being early!" Velvet countered. "It's rude to make it late to an appointment."

When it came to priorities, Coco and Velvet had differing views on what to do. The former was more likely to put personal priorities and priorities of the team over all other things. Velvet leaned more towards priorities relating to others outside the team. It wasn't that she didn't think of the team, but she was less selfish. Given her nature, it was understandable, and was partially misguided.

"It's not like we're getting credit for this mission." Coco kept her pace. "This is for some cool bling for our weapons."

"But this mission is very serious." Velvet disagreed. "We're talking about new ground for huntsmen and huntresses to go on to fight against the Grimm. We're helping to establish that."

This was just one example of where their priorities were clashing. A selfish focus versus a selfless focus.

"Hurry up, you two!" Yatsuhashi yelled up ahead. "We have five minutes!"

"Have a little faith in us, Yatsu." Coco waved him off. "We've got this."

"Then how about we make a wager?" Fox replied with a question. "First one to get to the meeting spot gets first dibs on the weapon modification."

That little bit of motivation was more than satisfactory enough for all of them to take off at blazing-fast speeds. Motivation would only do so much though. Eventually, their own personal physical traits began to dictate the winner and losers. Velvet was the first to make it, followed by Fox, then Coco, and finally Yatsuhashi. Coco seemed bummed out. Yatsuhashi was accepting, no surprise. Fox was okay. Velvet was kind of excited.

The landing pad had a bullhead, but it wasn't a standard one. It looked like it had been modified beyond recognition of a normal grey. For starters, it had been painted white with the insignia of Beacon Academy and the Kingdom of Vale.

The professor was reviewing a map. When he spotted them, he nodded to them and urged them forward.

"You are all exactly thirteen seconds early." The teacher said to them.

"...is that a good thing?" Velvet questioned timidly.

Shockwave regarded them all. "Being early is good regardless of how much time. Saving time is logical. That being said, being earlier would have allowed to do last-minute checks. We leave immediately."

One by one, each of them settled into a seat within ship. Now that they were inside, the interior also looked different from the usual bullhead. It looked like the entire ship had been gutted save for the necessary seats and components. In its place were compartments and stored technology. It looked expensive and complicated, so they all did their best to not touch it if at all possible.

It took only a few more minutes for them to receive the go-ahead to power up and take off. They began to soar into the air, Beacon Academy growing smaller as they gained altitude and flew away towards the mountain ranges. Team CFVY had seen this view before, but it was still an amazing sight to take in.

"Autopilot engaged." A voice from the speakers sounded.

"Now that we are isolated, we can discuss the greater details." Professor Shockwave stepped out from the cockpit.

"More details?" Coco tilted her shades down. "What's so secret that we couldn't discuss them at the school?"

"Officially, you are all shadowing me as I do a typical hunting mission, and in a sense, that is not wrong." The professor grabbed his scroll while talking. "Unofficially, we are doing as I said when I first gave details, but there is more."

He flicked his device on, displaying a map of Mountain Glenn. Everyone huddled closer as he began to go into detail.

"In the original settlement plans of Mountain Glenn, there are some very unusual finds." The image was enlarged. "More specifically, some technology was left behind, aged no doubt, but still useful. Does Merlot Industries mean anything to anyone here?"

"Yes, actually." Velvet brokered in. "It was headed by Doctor Merlot; he was heading numerous research projects around advanced technologies."

"Correct, Miss Scarlatina. It was his technology that was supposed to power this new settlement." Their teacher pointed to a specific point on the map. "The government sector here was the center of this new technology."

"Government sector?" Coco decided to dive deeper. "It sounds more like a military base rather than a civilian residence."

"The official records do not speak of the whole incident." The Faunus man swiped his hand to get to another section on the map. "This is a record I pulled from the restricted files of Beacon Academy, courtesy of Ozpin."

"The headmaster gave you this, professor?" Yatsuhashi's interest had been piqued. "But why? What does it serve in regards to our mission?"

"The technology has been lying dormant for many years now." Professor Watson said. "Although surveys have shown the area to not be disturbed, we have reason to believe that this will become a staging point for future attacks against Beacon and Vale."

"So we're doing a clean sweep of the area." Fox chimed in, trying to sum up as best as he could. "Grabbing whatever was left?"

"Yes, but we are not to return it to Beacon. It was be repurposed for our mission, which is why this mission will be taking as long as I stated when we first discussed the plans."

All of Team CFVY exchanged glances. Now that there was more out in the open, they were all just a bit suspicious about what they were doing. Who else knew about the details of the mission besides themselves, Professor Watson, and Ozpin? Did the other teachers know about this? Would anyone else be allowed to know now?

"If you have concerns as to the legality and legitimacy of this mission, then your concerns are illogical." Professor Watson had already anticipated their thoughts somehow and had a way to respond. "This mission is secretive, nothing more, nothing less."

"No, it's nothing like that." Coco spoke up with a rare serious tone. "But I do have… concerns. If all of this is being done in secret, and if Vale is to be attacked… who are we facing? I mean, against the Grimm, there's never been a need to do all of this."

It was a question that required an answer, and at this point, it was too late for the question to be dodged or ignored. That would only make things more complicated.

Professor Watson eyed them all. "In the coming year, all the huntsman academies may be attacked. They are symbols of power that represent Mankind and the Faunus's sword and shield. The destruction of that symbol would send a impactful message."

"But why?" Velvet asked, with naive confusion painting her expression. "What does anyone stand to gain from this destruction?"

"There are those that would simply seek their own power by tearing down the old ways in order to make way for a new order." Shael's eyes looked out the window. "Make no mistake. They exist out there, and they will do anything to have their way, anything at all."

This was a vague answer, but there was no denying that this man believed it to be true. The four teenagers couldn't say that they believed it themselves, but it wasn't like his words were completely impossible. If there was anything to say about Remnant, the impossible could very well become possible. The ability to wield aura and the power of semblances were proof of that, and those two things were still making the impossible possible. The idea of someone trying to tear down the world to build a new one? Possible, but still difficult.

"Professor, if I may?" Yatsuhashi raised his hand politely. "Why are you telling us this? This sounds like something that should be kept under wraps."

"It is illogical to keep secrets from the future protectors of the world." Professor Shockwave was as monotone as he had been this entire conversation. "Besides, this is not something that is secretive in any sense. All one has to do is put together the pieces that are widely available."

Maybe their enigmatic professor was using too many riddles for the liking of Team CFVY, but he did give them something to think about. If there were indeed people who would target huntsmen and huntresses as well as the academies, then they had to be stopped.

"Here is a piece of evidence that you should reevaluate." The professor turned to head back into the cockpit. "Why do the Grimm still dominate vast expanses of the world still after thousands of years of co-existence alongside Humans and Faunus?"

The cargo area was quiet as four pairs of eyes darted to each other. If that was a lecture of sorts, then it was successful in making them think.

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

Once the bullhead had landed, they were all quick to scope out the area. The whole settlement area was reported to have many Grimm, so despite the black monstrosities not swarming them as they disembarked, they all had their weapons at the ready for when they would be attacked. Their presence would no doubt be sensed swiftly. They had landed on a cliff. It was a sizeable drop and the only way to get to ground level was a spiral path opposite of the drop. As they didn't possess climbing gear, they would have to be mindful of their approach to the bullhead.

Shockwave held his cannon at the ready. "Once we reach the structures, stick close to each other. Do not separate unless absolutely necessary and take no unnecessary risks. The government sector will take time to reach."

"Got it." Coco nodded, then faced her team. "You heard the man. Keep tight formation, and don't go being a hero."

The three remaining members of CFVY gave their leader a look at the last part of her statement.

"What?" Coco asked. "What did I say?"

"Um, you do all sorts of flashy things in combat." Velvet spoke up first. "So…"

"It's called being a badass." Coco lowered her shades. "There's a difference between that and being a hero."

"That's a matter of opinion." Fox spoke softly.

"Understood." Yatsuhashi just acknowledged his leader.

The five of them descended from the cliff in a spiral. It was a quiet few minutes of time. It might be a sunny day, but this place wasn't a bundle of flowers and rainbows. The sight of Vale's failure was on clear display for all of them to witness. It was a testament to a struggle against the Grimm that had been lost. It reminded them all that for all of Mankind's achievements, they had a long ways to go.

The first encounter came in the form of Beowolves, a pack of them. They weren't much of a challenge as Shockwave just killed them all with perfect accuracy. They hadn't even gotten within physical fighting range when dark bodies began to litter the ground.

"Well, that was anticlimactic." Coco lowered her minigun. "But nice shooting, teach."

He nodded, then pointed towards the east. "This way."

The next hour was spent hiking through the remnants of the settlement and taking of Grimm along the way. Occasionally, they would stop to scout a collection of buildings for anything potentially useful. Aside from a few little odds and ends, there wasn't anything worth much, which they had all expected more or less.

"There's one thing I don't understand." Fox began as he looked around. "Grimm come in all shapes and sizes. The smalls ones I know are hard to see, but how do such large Grimm hide?"

"Have you ever tried to chase animals before?" Velvet was the first to offer a solution. "They're trained to survive in their environment. They could spend hours simply sitting in one place while you go right past them. Grimm are no different. They might be hostile towards Humans and Faunus, but they act just like normal animals. Normal animals and Grimm are known to get alone fine except in the case of territorial disputes."

"So any Grimm could be on our six and we wouldn't even know it?" Fox wished he hadn't heard that answer. "Great, way to make me paranoid."

"Chill out, Fox." Coco shifted her minigun to look over her shoulder. "Unless you haven't been paying attention to Port's classes, then there's nothing to worry about."

"Coco, you don't listen to those classes either." Yatsuhashi brought forth his own observations.

"Hush, Yatsu." Coco scolded him through her shades. "Don't ruin my moment."

"Nevertheless, Miss Scarlatina is not wrong." Shockwave didn't stop his pace. "The Grimm are, in essence, nothing more than animals, only with a unnatural desire to see Humans and Faunus killed. The question is why."

"All the theories floating around are kind of wacko." Coco shrugged her shoulders. "Cursed animal spirits, from dust to fully-formed monsters, animals transforming into Grimm, the list goes on. None of them have concrete evidence."

"But all things have to come from somewhere." Shockwave addressed the broader topic. "All things come from somewhere, intentionally, accidentally, or by chance. The Grimm are no different. That being said, the fact that Grimm are created to act like normal lifeforms yet indiscriminately attack Humans and Faunus alike is… unusual."

"How so, professor?" Velvet wanted to hear more, it seemed.

"The fact that Grimm attack Humans and Faunus with the intent to kill speaks to an unnatural disliking for us. The Grimm have never shown anything other than hostile dispositions and all attempts to pacify, befriend, or otherwise placate them have always resulted in failure. This leads me to believe that the Grimm were created by something… or someone who has an intense hatred of Humans and Faunus."

"But… who would hate the living so much?" Fox was having a hard time processing this. "I mean, sure there's always a bad egg in the bunch, but surely we're all not worth being hated."

"Hatred has led people to do illogical things." Shockwave understood this emotional all-too well. "It can lead to obsessions that are durable and unwavering."

Ominous words for an ominous subject matter. What sort of person would hate the living so much that they would be willing to burn it all down? What sort of malice drove a person like that? What intent perpetuated them forward? Were they even worth understanding? Such a perspective was so alien compared to the mindset of everyone in the world.

Another period of silence followed as they all crawled their way through the civilian sector of the settlement. The government sector was still a ways off, and there might be more Grimm there than there were in this sector. The resistance was surprisingly low for some reason, which was suspicious. Grimm did show up, albeit in small packs, but nothing too dangerous for four hunters in training and a veteran warrior. The ended up expended less combat-related resources as a result.

"The government sector was one of the first places in the settlement to be functional." Shockwave pointed with his cannon arm. "See those structures in the distance? They were meant to house all personnel that worked in the sector."

"That's a lot of buildings." Coco lowered his shades to get a better look. "Weird that none of this information got onto the public records."

"The Kingdom of Vale deemed intimate information regarding the expansion to be confidential." The former Decepticon elaborated. "They did not wish for hope to be too high."

"And it would seem their belief was not unfounded." Yatsuhashi muttered sadly. "It's a shame that this didn't come to fruition."

"That being said, it's an opportunity to learn." Velvet adjusted her backpack. "Mistakes need to be explored so that history doesn't repeat itself."

"There's another thing that's been bugging me." Fox interjected. "If this is an ideal place for bad guys to set up camp, why haven't there been any attempts since the evacuation of the settlement?"

"The Grimm were too many in number." Shockwave touched the ground to check for dust. "See here? Although it is worn, there are traces of Grimm tracks and dust as well. There was a lot of struggle before the abandonment."

As their professor kneeled down to observe the ground for clues, Team CFVY gathered around him to see exactly what he was getting at. They were sure that Professor Port had once told them about how to track Grimm using the environment, but that had probably been lost in one of his many spiels. This was more relevant not to mention easier to follow. On the ground, there were faint traces of something unnatural to the soil. At first glance, there wasn't anything to note. A closer look revealed some black ashes, worn with time, but still visible. More clearly seen were tracks of Grimm who walked on the ground. These were more recent, probably by several days.

"It looks like something's been here in the past day or two." Velvet studied the ground. "Something fairly big."

"It looks like an Ursa Major." Coco observed further. "But these marks here look like the work of a Death Stalker."

"We should keep moving." Shockwave stood up and checked his surroundings. "Out in the open, it will be much more difficult."

"Could there be any airborne Grimm?" Fox looked in the sky. "Not that it's easy to see any signs of them."

"The chances of a Nevermore being in this area are slim." The scientist said. "Griffon are more likely to appear due to their adaptable nature. More importantly, we have reached our objective."

All heads looked to the remnants of a sign, worn but still legible. It bore the insignia of the Kingdom of Vale, and its words were easy enough to read.

NOW ENTERING THE GOVERNMENT SECTOR

"Time is precious. Let us make haste."

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

PRIORITY MESSAGE FROM OZPIN TO SHAEL WATSON

Let me start this message off by saying that what I'm about to tell you is highly secretive information. Our successful operation depends on all our members keeping this information in the shadows. As I have understood it, Glynda has told me that, if given a logical reason, then you will not hesitate to reveal information to those you feel need to know. It is your right to do so, but consider carefully the consequences if you choose to do so.

But getting back to the main point of this informative video, what I'm about to share pertains to the origins of the Grimm and the enemy that we are fighting. Originally, Remnant had two Gods. One of the Light, and One of the Darkness. The former spent His days creating life of all kinds and the latter spent His nights destroying what his brother created by conjuring destruction. The two brother clashed until the Brother of Light propositioned a shared creationed with the Brother of Darkness. With a new mutual goal, the two of them created their masterpiece, something with the ability to create and destroy, given the ability to obtain and retain knowledge about itself and the world around it, and to use that knowledge to decide on which path to follow. That is Mankind's origins.

The Grimm were the creation of the Brother of Darkness, and they were created with his same malicious intent, the intent to destroy everything and everyone with no reason, no purpose, and no goals. Just pure unadulterated hatred.

Furthermore, Mankind was left with four relics, physical manifestations of gifts that the Gods gave before abandoning this world. They are Creation, Choice, Destruction, and Knowledge. Each Relic is locked within a chamber and the huntsman academies were built over these chambers. Additionally, only a specific Maiden can access a specific relic. Winter can access Creation, Spring can access Knowledge, Summer can access Destruction, and Fall can access Choice. If an individual were to obtain all of these relics, then they would be able to shape this world in whatever way they deemed fit.

And the person that seeks that power is Salem, a witch shrouded in mystery. Who she is and her past doesn't matter right now. All that matters is stopping her, whatever the cost. Her hatred for Mankind as the Faunus is eternal, and she will stop at nothing to see our world reduced to ashes, and she controls the Grimm, which makes her all the more dangerous.

If you can deliver the promises that you say, then the tide of this war will be turned and we may yet have a chance to stop the greatest threat of the living at the heart. However, should you ever harbor thoughts of joining Salem, know that she will only see you as a pawn in her master plan. She cares not for people, only herself and her goals. If you ally with her, you will only live so long as you can be useful to her.

Apologies for the late chapter. I apparently have new life priorities that have sapped up more of my time, so there's no telling when the next chapter will be posted.

This chapter was mainly to set up some events for next chapter as well as foreshadow the future. Although Shockwave hasn't viewed any of the contents of Ozpin's video, showing you, the readers, what's in the video can give you some ideas as to what our favorite Decepticon will do with the information. The conclusions he'll come to are many.

Also, if you find any grammar errors, that's my doing. I was kind of impatient and just wanted to upload, but I hope to get around to them ASAP.

So what did you guys think of this chapter? Let me know with a review. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated regardless of what you think about this chapter.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.

"It does not matter how slow you go as long as you do not stop."

Confucious