//------------------------------//
// 3: Ascension 
// Story: My Little Shockwave: Friendship is Logical 
// by Stalin with Da Spoon 
//------------------------------//

After a few more minutes of walking, Shockwave now stood at the very bottom of the large mountain, moving his head to look up towards the mountains tall peak, enhancing his optic's zoom to get a better view. From the looks of it, there was actually a small winding path that lead up to the mountain's peak, although Shockwave was unsure if it was stable enough to support his vehicle form, and it's rocky terrain could potentially damage his tires or treads. As such, he would have claim the mountain on foot.

Deciding to get right to it, Shockwave slowly began his march along the path up the large mountain, being mindful of any potential holes, gaps, or large rocks to ensure he didn't accidentally trip and fall, even if it would only cause miniscule damage and merely be a temporary setback. Keeping himself stable with both a heavily weighted cannon and only one servo to stabilize with was incredibly difficult, however the cannon's weight also allowed it to assist in balancing by throwing its tonnage  around like a sort of ball and chain. 

As Shockwave slowly climbed higher and higher up the mountain, he occasionally looked down to see a massive distance from the ground staring back at him, and he was thankful that he possessed no fear of heights, otherwise he would be absolutely terrified, an emotion which would hamper his decision making and logical thought. If it were not for the moon's illumination of the mountain, Shockwave would likely be unable to see a thing, and would have to rely solely on the light of his optic, which was unfortunately not very strong. Shockwave reminded himself to made adjustments to his optics light output at a later date, or potentially attach a light harness to his chassis, granting the ability to let him perform his experiments in darker environments. He could also install a night vision module, but that would require advanced equipment.

Five minutes after starting his climb, Shockwave was somehow already a quarter of the way up the mountain, with his large size most likely speeding up the journey, even if he had to take additional measures not to fall and start all over again. Looking back up to the path ahead of him, he could see it start to get slightly thinner as he progressed, so Shockwave began hugging the wall to ensure he did not fall.

Several more minutes of wall hugging and climbing later, and the mountains peak was within Shockwaves grasp, literally. He reminded himself to also try and create a better method of transit up the mountain if he were to establish his lab here. The wind on top of the mountain was increasing in strength, and little bits of light began to shine over the horizon as dawn approached. Shockwave was partially glad that the sunlight was returning, but also worried it would leave him exposed to the glaring eyes of potentially hostile lifeforms. As such, he hastened his ascent up the mountain, soon reaching the peak and coming upon the cave entrance, making his way inside just as the sun emerged over the horizon and shined down upon the forest below.

Shockwave audibly sighed in relief, before taking his time to survey the landscape surrounding the forest. In the distance, he could see a small rural village, and upon zooming in, found more of those small equine lifeforms, all varying in colors, and some possessing horns or even wings. 

"It would be logical to retrieve one of these small equine lifeforms for dissection and study, to further our understanding of this planet and it's lifeform." 

"Such a thing would be totally unnesscary however, as it is far more logical to observe them from a distance and passively gather data." A new voice spoke, seizing his voice processor as a far smoother voice with a light accent to it spoke in a calm tone, sounding like an exact copy of his early war voice.

"Wait, I do not recall thinking that... Or even saying that. I may be suffering from a neural defect, I will need to inspect it when I have the proper equipment."

"You are not experiencing a defect, you are only saying what is properly logical. Or at least, I am."

"And might I ask who you are, interloper?"

"The reasonable side of you."

"Impossible. This may present a potential issue, because now it appears like I am suffering from a split personality disorder, aren't I? How does that not count as a neural defect?"

"What it is identified as is inconsequential, but you most likely sustained neural damage from either the rough exit of the space bridge, or the unknown experimental effects of the bridge itself, considering our rushed work. Or perhaps we are even suffering some form of long-term psychological damage and it's symptoms."

"Regardless, your opinions are irrelevant and illogical in their contradictions to proper scientific methodology."

"Illogical? I cannot simply stand idle and let you potentially ruin what little standing we have with the locals. Doing so is illogical and could potentially lead to us becoming enemies with forces we do not yet fully understand. Unfortunately we will be forced to cooperate as of now, but at the very least I believe it is in our best interest to remain hidden."

"Very well, then we are in logical agreement. For now."

"Indeed, now then, it is advisable that we explore this cavern. I believe it may be of use to us." Shockwave said, as he turned to face the somewhat large cave, finding it quite dark as he activated his optic light and illuminated the cave before heading inside. Surprisingly, the cave was quite large, appearing almost bigger on the inside than the outside. However, this was likely due to the fact that the cave seemed to lead deeper into the mountain itself, as Shockwave descended deep inside.

Soon, as Shockwave was walking along, the clanging of metal caused him to look to the ground, to see he had stepped on a floor of steel, which confused him greatly, as it was not just any steel, but cybermatter. Directing his attention forward, he soon saw the walls and ceiling turn to steel cybermatter as well, before ending at a large metal door. As Shockwave approached, he saw the very symbol he once wore proudly.

The symbol of the Decepticons.

"But... How? This world isn't even in the Decepticon archives." His more reasonable side spoke in slight confusion. His logical side was already irritated by the emotion present in their tone, but remembering his prior nature before removing his emotive functions he realized it was only logical for them to inevitably resurface.

"Perhaps it is a simple outpost on an unremarkable, and not worth inputting into the already polluted and bloated archives."

"Is that the most logical solution that I can come up with?"

"I have several theories, but until we know more, that is my most prominent and logical one." Shockwave then turned to the terminal on the wall, walking over to it and pressing his hand against it. Remarkably, it powered on, as the door lit up before slowly opening, revealing a surprising sight. As the lights inside slowly turned on, illuminating the room in a dark purple light, as Shockwave could see several computer screens and terminals flash on, as well as highly advanced workbenches, fabricators, and tool racks. It reminded him of his own advanced laboratory on Cybertron, but what confused him was how this base was still powered. It was likely the base had been dormant for an extended period of time, and still had some enerong fuel left before it was shut down.

Shockwave noticed that one of the computer terminals was flashing with an alert, as he walked over and pressed it, displaying a screen showing the layout of the base. From the looks of it, this was only one room, as there were two other rooms connected to this lab, and from this screen, he could open the doors to both rooms, tapping the first door to reveal what was inside, as Shockwave turned to see it open and walked inside the new room. 

It appeared to be a large operating room with a large operating and experimentation table at it's center, along with five large empty vats. As he turned to see a functional terminal, he walked over and activated it, scanning it's logs. Soon, he found a video file, and accessed it, only to be greeted with his face, or at least his face during the later part of the war, before he was maimed by Grimlock, as evident by them having two arms. (Aka, Shockwave from the Cybertron games Trilogy, also this version of Shockwave is voiced by Steven Blum).

"Project Predacon research and development log number 62. I have successfully completed my greatest work yet, and the five Predacon test subjects are a glorious success in both lab and field testing. The test subjects have been unleashed upon the planet, and their vital signs are reading nominal as they ravage it's landscape as well as hunt for any possible autobots hiding here. I shall continue to monitor them for a time before returning to Cybertron and beginning mass production of the Predacon clones for Lord Megatron. When I make my leave, my creations will gather any energon they can find on this planet before entering into stasis mode until my eventual return. End log." Suddenly, a rush of memories came flooding back to Shockwave.

This wasn't an average outpost, this was the one of the many research black sites he had developed project Predacon. He had deleted the knowledge long ago, to ensure it could not be extracted and used against the Decepticons by the Autobots in the event of his capture, which luckily never happened. He found it poetic that a set of random coordinates would bring him back to the site of where he developed one of his greatest creations yet. 

Now sufficiently having his questions about the facilities origin answered, he turned to the five vats, now knowing they once contained the Predacons, before exiting the experimentation lab and going to open the door to the other room. As the door opened, he was greeted with a surprising sight, seeing five large holding cells, most likely meant for the Predacon test subjects, as well as a sixth much larger containment cell, meant for experimentation and observation on larger creatures. It was clear to Shockwave that this facility had all the essentials he needed, with the database even confirming the base had a supply of energon to keep him sustained. 

As Shockwave entered the main room, he proceeded to pull out the charred piece of wood he had retrieved from the timber wolfs carcass and set it on a workbench. Sure, he could be busy finding those dormant Predacons, or looking through his old logs, but this took priority, as he felt the need to get to the bottom of the strange wooden wolfs origins. Because after all, if he wasn't here for science...

What else was he here for?