This is very nearly the end of the story. As such, I feel it only fair to warn you that this chapter may in fact he considerably longer than the predecessors.

And so it begins...

Chapter 21

Sir Lancelot raised an eyebrow. He didn't know who these strangers surrounding his wayward son were, but they were definitely hostile. Even if he was a lawbreaker and an exile, Lancelot wasn't sure he wanted Galahad to be in their company. A family had to maintain some pride, after all.

"Where is Bors?" he asked awkwardly, "I know that he left when you were banished."

Galahad seemed to flinch slightly at the reminder, then recovered. He held himself with a gravity Lancelot was not used to seeing in him as he answered, "Sir Bors is in conference with the king."

Well that was just as well. Bors and Lancelot had not parted on amiable terms on account of the boy. Bors thought he should have stood up for his offspring and defied the king, and Lancelot thought Bors should stop coddling the boy and let him learn to fend for himself.

"Galahad," Lancelot began, "Put down the blade. Why don't you and I talk as men? Come, we can come to some sort of arrangement, can we not?" He motioned for the younger warrior to follow him, but to his surprise, Galahad stood his ground.

"I apologize, Sir Lancelot," he said very stiffly, "But I've a duty to perform and I shall not be satisfied until I have completed it."

At his side, Raf grinned up at him. "Well said!" he laughed, though his American accent made it difficult to understand him.

"And what duty is this that you are called to?" the elder knight asked suspiciously, "It cannot be one set by Arthur, for he forbade your return!"

Miko leaned casually against the dark-haired knight's shoulder and brazenly yawned. "Galahad has been entrusted with my safety and the safety of my brothers here until our people come to some sort of agreement with your people."

Lancelot took this to mean Galahad had been taken into the service of a foreign king. While it was still a disgrace upon him and his name, Lancelot reflected that a knight-errant could do worse. "What arrangement do you speak of?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Miko held his stare with equal bravado. "That the king turn Gunner over to us so that we may bring him to justice."

At this, the bearded knight scowled and turned to his son. "We have been over this! The king promised him protection and it is treason to speak against him!"

"Their people would describe the situation differently," Galahad dryly answered.

The question "what people" was already on Lancelot's lips when the shout echoed down the corridors, "All warriors to the battlements! Giants! Giants at the gate!" His eyes narrowed at the smirks on the faces of the strangers.

"Our people." The one who had challenged him bared his teeth in a cheeky grin, made all the fiercer by fading bruises and cuts around his face. There was a long pause with no sound but their breathing and a curious humming from around the corner.

"You're rather small to be giants," Lancelot remarked in a cold voice, "But I suppose you must be very young giants. I have made a vow before witnesses to kill any giant that ever comes to our gates."

He let the statement sink in, and noted the way Galahad and the other boy shifted stance, as if preparing for battle. Then, with a swish of his cape, Lancelot turned his back on them.

"You've some growing to do before there is any honor in dueling you, boy," he said, and he waved his hand dismissively.

'So said Goliath once,' Raf remarked thoughtfully, 'But then he took a sling stone to the face.'

Lancelot did not need to understand the words to know that his odds of winning a fight were being questioned. "I am needed upon the wall to deal with your...friends," he said coolly, over his shoulder. "I haven't time to deal with you and that is all. Do not mistake me Galahad: you have defied the king - and me - twice now, and I will see you answer for it. Just not at the moment."

He did not see the quartet's posture relax as he disappeared through an archway, nor did he see the gleaming form of an unearthly metallic woman join them in the hall.

'Well now that Goldilocks is gone, maybe we can get to work finding Gunner,' Arcee snorted.

Absently, Miko reached up for a fist bump. 'Huh. Goldilocks. Nice!'

Arcee didn't much like waiting around in the hall for something to happen, especially with knights wandering about. Still, she had to concede that she was better off here than in the throne room, with a king who already seemed to have a chip on his shoulder regarding her species. She would stick with the kids.

The others could handle the soldiers, right?

'I don't know if we can handle the soldiers,' Bulkhead mumbled.

Bumblebee buzzed his agreement. They were just about eye-level with a wall full of armed men. 'I mean, I really don't think they can hurt us with their swords and arrows, but I don't think we can fight back without hurting them.'

The Wrecker and the Scout relaxed slightly when Optimus laid a hand on each of their shoulders. 'We are not here to fight, Autobots. We are here to talk. Remember that.'

Bulkhead looked back at the walls and frowned. The plates on his back hitched up and clashed together as he pulled his shoulders up.

'Yeah, I'll remember. Just as long as they remember that that's my girl in there, and if she comes out with so much as one scratch I'm gonna make them eat those swords!'

His round optics shifted into a narrow focus as more men joined the ranks of the knights on the walltops. Many of them were poorly dressed, with crude iron spears and swords. Most of them would probably shatter on coming into contact with Cybertronian skin, but the humans outnumbered the Autobots. Then, up the stairs came a man who looked more like a classical storybook knight than any of the other armor-clad men.

He tied his golden hair back and brandished a shield, staring out at Bulkhead and the others with a dour expression on his narrow features. His eyes widened under his helmet as he took in the sight before him. Gunner had said the giants would be armored. He'd said nothing about their whole bodies being comprised of armor! There was no weak point to attack!

Lancelot began to feel that he'd made a rash and foolish oath when he'd sworn to kill any giant he saw. Still, he was hardly the type of man to admit defeat!

"Archers, at the ready and hold for my signal!" he shouted.

They would await the king's command, unless the monsters at their door made any threatening moves. If he had any reason to believe the fortress was in danger, he would not hesitate to do whatever was necessary to defend it. No cost would be too great, no method too extreme to bring these beasts down. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Gunner, skulking about in the shadows and very obviously terrified.

O ho! So the great and terrible Gunner, so quick to belittle the knights and convince the king of their treachery, so eager to prove his superiority with his strange devices, was afraid of the giants? Now this was information that Lancelot could use! He stormed over to the armorless man and shook him roughly.

"Courage, man! Courage!" he shouted in false camaraderie "What, shivering like a maid? Act the man and stand forth, sirrah!" T

his drew stares from other knights, many of whom Gunner had cowed into silence with his pistol and GPS before. Not one of them would question his right to be there, nor side against him as he had brought them victory against the dragons. That didn't mean they all liked him.

Arcee cocked her helm to the side and held up a hand. "Listen. Sounds like they're getting ready for battle up there!"

The kids glanced at one another uncomfortably.

"Normally, I would say 'let them come'," Raf began, fiddling with his glasses, "But these guys have been taking down Predacons, right? What if they figured out some Cybertronian vulnerabilities?"

Jack frowned and crossed his arms. "I think we should split up. Arcee can take one of us and look for Gunner in the castle, just in case Arthur decides on no deal. The others can get back out to Optimus before things get violent."

Arcee nodded. "Not a bad idea. Miko, you stay with Galahad, since you're the diplomat here."

Miko made a face, but grudgingly admitted that this was true. "What about Raf? Who's he going with?" she asked.

Raf pointed down the path Emrys had taken. "I'll go find Merlin and try to put together a diversion of some kind. Jack can go with Arcee."

The older boy clapped him on the shoulder. "Good man! You sure you'll be alright?"

The child pushed his glasses higher on his nose and smirked at Jack. "Sure! Can't be harder than dodging a psychotic zombie-Skyquake in the Shadowzone, right?"

The two older teens grimaced at the memory, but agreed that he was probably right.

"Okay gang," Miko made a dramatic gesture ending with her pointing straight towards the ceiling. "Let's split up and look for clues!" The others stared at her.

"You've been saving that one for a while, haven't you?" Raf asked.

"So...who does that make us?" Jack sounded suspicious.

Arcee grinned devilishly. "She just told us to split up, so that makes her Fred. She's staying with Galahad, so that makes him Daphne."

Raf groaned and drooped. "Aww! I don't wanna be Velma just 'cause I've got glasses!" he whined.

Arcee glanced down at her partner. "Your choice, Jack. Hippie or Great Dane?"

After giving the absurd scenario approximately four seconds of thought, Jack let out a long sigh. "No."

"Come on, you practically have to now."

With a look that could have boiled water, Jack gave in. "Ruh roh." he said flatly.

"Yesss!" Miko punched the air triumphantly. "Everything is proceeding as I have forseen!" Jack shook his head. "You would make a very unsettling supervillain, ya know that?"

They turned and realized that Galahad was staring at them, eyes as wide as an owl's.

"Annnd...we said all of that in English, didn't we?" Arcee sighed. "He has no idea what we're talking about."

Of course, he wouldn't have known what they were talking about even if they had been speaking in Anglo-Saxon.

"That's the thing about these translator chips," Raf mused as he scooted off down the hall, "Once they assimilate to the surroundings, I'm never sure what language I'm speaking in!" He shot a thumbs up towards the others to let them know that he would be alright on his own, then vanished into the shadows.

Arthur sighed and ran a hand over Excalibur's hilt. "I will not argue this with you, Bors. I did what I felt was necessary to defend my kingdom then, and that is precisely what I am doing now."

Bors followed him to the doors, scowling. "Aye, I know that sire, but for the love of all that is holy, do not antagonize that man! Optimus Prime could be a powerful ally...or a very dangerous enemy."

The doors swung open and they found Galahad and Miko waiting. Immediately suspicious, Arthur paused. "Where are the two lads?" he demanded.

Miko shrugged as innocently as she could. "I sent them back to our people outside. They were doing no good here. Of course, young as Rafael is, I shouldn't wonder if he manages to get completely lost on the way."

Arthur frowned. "Galahad, escort the lady back to her people and do not at foot within my borders uninvited again. This time your life will be spared: defy me again and there will be consequences." He pushed past the young knight and stormed through the archway leading to the outer staircase.

"Sir Bors, come with me. You can speak to this "Optimus Prime" on my behalf."

The outer stairs wound up around a tower, looking out over the muddy courtyard, full of servants and livestock. The chill of the stone was driven away by the heat of the morning sun as the king strode out onto the balustrade. He froze upon seeing the so-called giants for the first time.

They were nothing like he'd expected. Their sizes and shapes varied widely, much like humans, but they could never be mistaken for humans themselves. It was immediately clear which one was the leader by the way he carried himself. Behind him, Bors nodded slowly to the titan, signaling that yes, this was the king. Arthur looked into the creature's eyes and saw emotion, intelligence, and an old soul

. "Greetings," it said. It's voice was low and deep, and it rang with authority. Arthur nodded fractionally.

"I am Arthur, ruler of these lands," he said sternly, "Who are you and what are your intentions?"

Optimus shifted very slightly, locking his hands behind his back.

"My name is Optimus Prime, and I do not wish any hostility between your people and my own."

This was it: they were about to find out what Miko had said to the man, and whether or not he would cooperate. Optimus did not want to start a war, nor did he wish to have to use intimidation here.

Arthur tilted his head back and looked down at him. "Yes. The young woman mentioned that you sought a fugitive from justice that you believed to be hidden here. Tell me, Optimus Prime, what it is that this fugitive stands accused of? I protect my people, giant. I will not hand over an innocent man to an unknown fate."

"Understandable, but I would have you understand that I too wish to protect my people. Allowing this man to remain at large would have devastating consequences: not only for me and mine, but for your entire race. The dragons and the meddling of the fugitive will awaken something older and fouler than you could ever imagine, and your world as you know it will end."

There was no lie in his uncanny eyes, and Arthur felt the chill anew. Along the line, the men fretted amongst themselves at the ominous words. It was as the girl had said.

"If this is so, why have you not simply taken this man from among my people? Surely you realize that none of our weapons could match your might?" Save perhaps Excalibur, he added silently, but he felt no need to advertise this asset.

"We are not barbarians!" It was the red and white one that spoke, irritation radiating from his rough voice. "Autobots respect the rights of others."

With a self-deprecating laugh, Arthur leaned one boot on the parapet and rested his arm on his knee. "Rights?" he sounded incredulous. "You are stronger, we are weaker. It is as simple as that. Such is the way of the world."

Optimus took a step closer, shaking the ground. "But it is not our way," he said gravely. "Those with strength are responsible for the way that strength is used. I would not have it said of me that I abused the power given to me and acted without honor."

After a moment, the king smiled softly. "Well said, Optimus Prime."

There was one final test he had in mind.

"Tell me, do you see the accused man among these soldiers?"

The giants scanned back and forth a moment, and then as one they lifted their arms to point in solemn judgment. In the shadows, Gunner froze, and found all eyes upon him, for the condemning hands of the Prime and his men pointed to him.

Rafael slipped from shadow to shadow in the dark interior of the castle as silently as he had navigated the streets of the Alternate Jasper.

"Emrys!" he whispered, as loudly as he dared. It occurred to him that if it were to happen that Gunner were inside the castle, there was little to nothing that a twelve year old boy could do to stop him.

He crouched, hoping to avoid notice as two raggedy serfs dashed past, muttering in a language more Celtic than Anglo-Saxon. He was just about to stand again when someone plowed into him from behind. With a loud "Oof!" two small boys tumbled down three broad steps in a tangle of arms and legs.

"Watch where you're going, witless!" the stranger snapped. He looked to be ten at the oldest, tangled blonde hair covering most of his face.

"Where I'm going?" Raf scoffed, making heavy use of his translator chip, "I was standing still! You're the one that ran into me!"

They glared at each other a moment, then the scruffier boy mumbled, "Oh. Apologies then." He stood and brushed his hair out of his face as Raf got to his feet.

"I don't recognize you. Were you brought here by knights too? I came here looking for my father. My mum said I should, but then she disappeared." He shrugged nonchalantly. "She's always doing that."

"Oh. That's...that's terrible! I hope your mom comes back soon," Raf awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. "Hey, you haven't seen a tall, weird guy with short hair and a scar on his nose, have you? Has an accent like mine?"

The other boy nodded. "Yeah, I know the one. The king's new "favorite"." He spoke with a childish contempt and spat to the side. "He banished some of his most loyal knights for that fellow...hope it was worth it if enemies come to the gates. What do you want with him?"

He sputtered as the strangely dressed lad he'd run into simply answered, "I'm hunting him down so my family can drag him back to our country to face justice."

"...what?" The child stared at him as if he'd grown a second head. "You're mad. You must be. Did you not just hear me say that he was a favorite of the king? It wouldn't matter if he'd sold his sister to Rome, he's under Arthur's protection!"

Raf turned and placed both hands on the skinny boy's shoulders. "No one is above the law." he said firmly.

"Not even the king?" his companion gasped.

"Especially not a king," Raf nodded.

To his left, an old voice rang from the doorway. "Rafael! Rafael, there you are lad. Come, let's get back out to your friends. I've a hunch they'll be needing a distraction soon." Emrys hurried out of the shadows, caught Raf by the shoulder, and hustled him towards the side had that had first granted them entrance.

The other child stood in the corridor with a bemused expression on his filthy face.

An ill-tempered man barged through moments later. "Mordred!" he bellowed, "What are you standing around for, worthless brat? Get back to work!" He aimed a kick at the boy, but Mordred's was quicker than he and dodged back towards the servants' quarters with a resentful glare.

"Not even a king is above the law, eh?" he murmured to himself, "Interesting." A sly look passed through his eyes, so quickly that you would have thought you had imagined it. And then it was gone, and he simply stared out at the courtyard where the mysterious other boy had disappeared to.

Gunner had three choices, as he saw it.

One, he could shoot the guards around him, run out of bullets, and bank on the knights' shock to give him time to run before the Autobots grabbed him. Two, he could surrender and hope the Autobots were in a merciful mood. He curled his lip at the notion and turned to his third option: he could fight.

The knights were all staring at him, waiting for him to make a move, yet were still caught off guard when he struck. Iago's years of military training kicked in as he darted forward. The man tucked himself into a somersault and came up next to Arthur, pistol in hand.

"Alright, that's far enough, Prime!"

Before anyone could move, he'd wrapped an arm around the king's throat and pressed the muzzle to his head. "All of you, get back!" he shouted at the knights.

"You've seen this thing in action, you know what I'll do if you so much as twitch!"

In his grip, Arthur snarled curses at him. "Treacherous dog! I gave you asylum and this is how you would repay me?" Further protests were cut off by cold steel against his temple.

"Nothing personal, Pendragon," Gunner hissed, "Please understand I hold you in the highest respect. But desperate times, desperate measures and all that."

Sweat rolled down into his unkempt beard as the MECH agent turned his attention to the Autobots. "Now you. Back off, or I blow Arthur's brains out!"

The little yellow one pointed at him and made a series of angry buzzing noises, but was restrained by Prime.

"Don't be a fool, Gunner!" Ratchet snapped, "You'll corrupt the timeline even more than you already have!"

Gunner glanced down over the parapet. "Yeah, not interested in anything you have to say, alien. You, Prime, tell them to retreat of they'll be cleaning the king off the stones for days!" Optimus put out a hand to stall the others and sent a silent communique to Arcee. 'Gunner is here on the rooftop. He is holding Arthur at gunpoint. Can you ambush him?'

Arcee's response was reluctant. 'Yeah, I can drop him, easy. But I don't really want to have to kill him in front of the locals.'

Then Jack's voice broke into the line. 'Uh...Optimus? If he dies, what happens to us?'

Optimus frowned and activated his battle mask. 'I do not know, Jackson. We must attempt to capture him without killing him. I will stall Gunner. Arcee, try to get the gun away from him.'

Bulkhead tapped into the conversation with an apologetic sigil, somewhat akin to tapping Prime on the shoulder. 'Wait! Where are Raf and Miko?'

He did not relax until a side gate opened and four small figures hurried out. "Here we are! Here we are," Galahad shouted cheerily.

He turned and waved up at the walltops. "Hullo, Father! I've been banished again! That's twice in one year. Are you terribly ashamed?"

Miko elbowed him roughly. "Dude, what are you doing?!"

The twenty year old grinned down at her. "Making a scene. What does it look like? Trying to distract Gunner, er, dude."

Emrys nodded in approval. "Good thought, young Galahad. The Healer's boy and I may have a more...er...explosive solution, however."

Miko backed up and held up her hands. "If there's fire and it goes "boom", I have no issues with it whatsoever."

With an impatient grunt, Ratchet reached down and lifted the wizard and the boy. "Whatever you're going to do, do it soon! Gunner is getting impatient!"

Raf nodded and handed the old man a flask. 'It's okay, Ratchet! I saw this on a Macgyver once.'

The medic rolled his optics at the statement. 'My confidence has been restored,' he fired back sourly.

Gunner squinted down at the humans in the red and white Autobot's hands. What were they doing? If the humans were outside with them, maybe they were preparing a retreat? In hindsight, he hadn't realized the aliens' human allies - or were they pets? slaves? - had been dragged along as well. If he hadn't known what role the elder one had had in the downfall of Silas, he'd have attempted a rescue. But that was neither here nor there. The old man and the little boy he'd shot at in the warehouse were shaking a few containers, it looked like. But why would-

POOF!

A cloud of white rose to obscure the 'Bots, and everyone on the walltops gasped. Without thinking, Gunner snatched Excalibur from its sheath at Arthur's side and held it out in front of him. This raised a commotion with the knights, who shouted in outrage, though none dared come forward to stop him, for he still held the gun to Arthur's head. "Enough!" Desperation rose to new heights as he realized that it would be all too easy for one of the aliens to simply grab him off the wall.

In retrospect, his next move could only be described as sheer idiocy.

He saw the hand coming in the fog, and swung with the heavy blade. Bumblebee cried out in pain and dropped back, energon drilling from a small but deep cut.

'Bumblebee! Are you alright?' Optimus inspected the wound briefly before pushing his scout behind him, towards Ratchet.

'I'm okay, Optimus. Watch it though, armor doesn't stop that blade!'

With narrowed optics, the Prime turned back to the wall. 'Then let us see how it fares against another blade.'

The archivist and historian part of him mourned the destruction of the mythic blade, but if it damaged even Cybertronian armor, then the other humans' weapons stood no chance against it. Excalibur had been a force for good, but any weapon in the hand of an evil person, or even simply an unwise one, can be used to devastating effect. Optimus drew the Star Saber and held it out in front of him. A glow like blue fire shot up the length of the broadsword, lighting his silhouette in the smoky cloud.

"Lower your weapons, Gunner, and surrender!" he ordered. "You are making this unnecessarily difficult for yourself." He would not swing the sword at even half his regular strength, or the wall would crumble and all those in it would perish.

With an angry, unintelligible yell, Gunner dropped the gun and swung with all his might. Now that he knew Excalibur could wound them, he felt an exhilaration, a savage desire to see the blood of these creatures spilled. With a resounding clang, Excalibur caught on something and held.

Optimus was surprised that Excalibur did not shatter on contact. It must have been made from something at least as strong as the Star Saber, perhaps even an artifact from whoever had brought the Predacons to Earth. Still, as mighty as Excalibur alone was, it was only as strong as its wielder, and the strength of a Prime far exceeded the might of a human.

The moment Gunner had dropped the gun, Bors had dragged Arthur away from the edge of the wall and stood in front of him, shield at the ready.

"Milady, now is the time!" Bors shouted over his shoulder. The soldiers parted in a hurry, more flustered than before, as an armored woman, nine feet high at least, rose from the stairs.

"Jack, get his gun!" she yelled as one of her hands collapsed into the shape of another one of the strange firing devices that she called a "gun".

Lancelot assumed it was named after Gunner, who he guessed to have created the first one. After the metal giantess came a dark haired youth in odd garb, who slipped between them quickly and snatched up the fallen weapon.

He shouted a confirmation in a language unknown to them as the blue woman dove for Gunner, who was still struggling with all his might to repel the Star Saber. Optimus loosened his grip and allowed Excalibur to push his own blade an inch of two back. He needed to keep the treacherous man's attention fixed on the "battle", and so he allowed the agent to think he was succeeding. Iago Gunner would never know that he had not faced even a tenth of the Autobot's full strength.

Just as he was beginning to picture cutting down the great Optimus Prime, Gunner heard the heavy green one shout, "Arcee! Now!"

One long metal arm suddenly pinned his own arms to his sides, and Excalibur clattered to the stone.

"Jack, come here!" Arcee held out her other arm for the human as a sharp wind kicked up, seemingly out of nowhere.

Jack paused to shake Bors's hand. "Tell Galahad and Gawain and the others goodbye for me," he said softly, "You guys are great."

Bors gasped as the boy ducked to huddle under Arcee's protective arm. "But you couldn't speak our language! I thought you couldn't speak our language!"

Below, Ratchet gently placed Emrys on the ground. "Look after those poor creatures, will ya?" he grumbled, "Who knows what kind of funny business they'll get up to without a crotchety old man in residence to straighten them out?"

The old Anglo-Saxon laughed and patted the medic's foot. "I shall not forget you, friend!" he assured him, "nor your young apprentice!" Ratchet nodded once, then looped an arm round Bumblebee's shoulder and pulled Raf closer, waiting.

"M-milady Miko, I really don't understand what's going on," Galahad stammered.

Miko punched his shoulder playfully. "Don't sweat it, kid. We almost never really know what's going on in this gang."

The young knight looked utterly bewildered by her strange slang. "I think you are speaking in another language again..." he mumbled.

Bulkhead reached down and scooped up Miko. "Yeah yeah yeah, so long, so sad. Take care of yourself, kid." He tilted his helm back as the winds became stronger. "I'm ready to go home!"

Then reality shook.

It was as if someone had taken the ripples of a stone thrown into a pond and reversed the concentric circles. Mud became concrete beneath their feet, the air grew thicker, more polluted, and then the world disappeared.