DISCLAIMER: I do not own Code Geass or Transformers. They are (respectively) the property of Sunrise/CLAMP and IDW/Takara/Hasbro.
Rated: T for violence and language.
War explodes in Port Yokosuka, as help arrives for the beleaguered Autobot expedition led by Prowl.
Chapter 21: The Arrival, Part 2: Descent Earth's Atmosphere
Port Yokosuka, Area 11
[Computer, duration until drop zone entry?] Optimus asked the pod's onboard computer.
{Estimated time of arrival: thirty nano-kliks.}
[Open a channel to all other pods en route to the same location.]
{Channel open.}
Prime called out the accompanying cadre of soldiers via voice comm link: [All strike teams, report your status.]
[Roadbuster here, me and the Wreckers are en route to the western side in five nano-kliks.]
[Optimus, this is Bumblebee: my team's about to hit the northeastern section of the dockyards very shortly.]
The Autobot supreme commander smiled inwardly at the progression of their travel. So far everything went smoothly as planned. [Excellent, once we arrive on location we will initiate a counterattack and repel the Decepticons.]
[What do we do about the Britannian forces?] Bumblebee asked.
[Disable them if they fire upon you. Our primary objective is to push Starscream's forces out of this region and if possible, capture any Decepticons that are astray.]
[Yes sir,] all of his subordinates replied in unison.
The pods continued their approach unhindered, delivering their occupants to the war-torn dockyards where their enemies remained unaware for the time being.
_ _ _
Sector 5G
Port Yokosuka, Area 11"Protect the viceroy at all costs!" Guilford ordered to the Knightmares around him, as the pressure mounted rapidly against the imperial forces. He clearly saw (and sensed that the other commanders knew as well) that the Britannians lost the initiative. While Cornelia's army withdrew from the battle area, her knight took care in accompanying her back to the G-1 HQ outside of the dockyards.
"Guilford, are you alright?"
Cornelia's knight responded: "I'm fine, but we need to evacuate as quickly as possible. This area isn't safe."
"General, we need to get out of here! Our positions are being overwhelmed!" one of the pilots yelled, which was overtaken by the shrieks of the insect-like creatures swarming the port.
"Thank you for stating the obvious, Captain! Squads two through seven, regroup at junction three! Squads eight through thirteen, assume tactical formation and engage the creatures that are coming on the west side! MOVE!" Darlton commanded. Radio chatter flooded the comm nets of the Britannian forces after Cornelia issued her order to retreat.
"This is Major Vickers, we're pinned down in sector four! Most of the members in my squad are wounded! I need a medevac to my team's location ASAP!"
"Hold your position, Vickers. We're on our way to help."
Just as Darlton moved his Gloucester, an insectoid creature sprung itself from the grounds below and crawled onto the surface. It snarled in a hostile manner with pits glowing dark red. Tendrils snaked under its mouth, drooling some form of saliva. The monstrosity was one of the most ugliest things the general ever saw.
The creature moved first and attempted to catch Darlton. The general evaded its motions and slammed his weapon into the maw of the insectoid before he blew it into slag, its innards painting the ground several meters. Out in the distance from where the creature laid dead, he spotted a destroyed Sutherland and picked up a jousting lance from its unmoving form. As he stared into the lifeless body of his strange enemy, a Gloucester came forth from behind with its weapon hoisted to its chest.
"General, you must retreat along with the others. We'll hold the creatures here!" one of his captains said as his Gloucester fired his assault rifle. Others joined the foray blazing away in controlled bursts.
"Step aside, this one is mine!" Darlton growled. Ignoring the cries of his men, he heard only the sound of battle. His battle instincts took over as he slammed his jousting lance into the bio-mechanical creature. The sheer force of the bladed weapon pierced through the insectoid like a knife through butter. "Foul creature. Now you know my fury."
"Is everyone alright?" Cornelia radioed on the net.
"Five of our groups have made it back to the G-1 base to re-arm," the general explained, accompanied by Guilford and his contingent back onto the route towards their HQ. Cornelia was the last of the most recent group that made it back to their command post. "There are still numerous squads that are stranded in the dockyards, with most of the escape routes cut off."
"We can't even see these monsters on our radars," Guilford noted to them.
"What about our fighter squadrons?" she radioed out to her advisors.
"They are currently engaged against enemy flyers, and they're not faring well at the moment. Most of them's been wiped out after the enemy attack started."
"Then we must withdraw from here, and eliminate the JLF another day. We'll need to figure out a way to deal with this new enemy that we face," Cornelia said, who was a short distance between her guards and the battle area. While she followed the imperial troops, a monstrous insectoid popped out from underneath, and managed to cling to her Knightmare with its tendrils extending from its maw. It did not take much before the thing dragged it along with her back where it came from.
"Princess Cornelia!" Guilford said, his charge taken by the unknown attackers as they dragged her along towards wherever they went.
_ _ _
Drift held his ground against Megatron, plunging his blades into the Decepticon leader's midsection. Using his millennia of experience as a gladiator, Megatron fought with the strength that he could muster. The blademaster parried numerous blows from his former leader and landed an elbow strike that connected to the chestplate, with another strike from his blades into his left arm.
Megatron swung a left fist, which was promptly blocked by Drift's swords in an X. The intense force of the punch sent the blademaster flying into the air. Drift recovered quickly as he somersaulted in reverse and fired his jumpjets, lifting one of his feet while thrusting it forward. The kick successfully connected to the Decepticon leader's chestplate, while Megatron grabbed Drift by the leg and threw the cyber-ninja into the sea. The blademaster's chassis splashed into the waters out of sight.
Out in the distance Megatron watched the as fireballs descended from the cloud banks above away from where the battle was taking place. His optics narrowed at the sight of what appeared to be Autobot drop pods coming from the sky. The warlord wasn't intent on taking any chances.
"Blitzwing, investigate the anomalies coming from the air. I have a feeling we'll have more visitors coming."
"Right away, boss," the triple-changer said.
The battle went well so far for the Decepticons. Whether they could maintain control over the dockyards remained to be foreseen. Megatron had a feeling in his spark that the situation was going to change. Exactly how drastically so remained the question in his neural processor.
_ _ _
The Black Knights had a minimal presence in the ports, since this was meant to be a stealth operation. Before Cornelia launched her attack, he Geassed one of the Royal Marines and instructed him to lay a sakuradite mine near the seabed along the path where the Ishimura was escaping.
Just as Lelouch prepared to activate the explosive with his remote, his second-in-command radioed something that he never thought possible.
"Zero, Ohgi here. "We're observing movement. The Britannians are pulling out."
"What?" his thumb stopped short at the detonation trigger.
"Our guys just observed heavy activity on the eastern piers. It looks like they're up against the machines all of us fought back in Narita."
"Those animal mechanoids are here again?"
Lelouch smiled sinisterly, the moment the Black Knights had been waiting for has come.
So they are here. Perfect, now is the time to strike!
"Takagi, rev up the engines! We're going to move in and capture Cornelia now while we still have the chance!" Lelouch said.
"Powering up, hang on!" the helmsman said.
_ _ _
Port Yokosuka
Yokosuka, Area 11Jazz and the Lambo twins were dispatched to assist Spike's team shortly after the liaison made the call for help. The NSA agents were besieged in another section of the dockyards, closest to the fourth target that they planned to eliminate. The three Autobots separated from each other, intent on reaching their allies before they were overtaken by the Insecticons' creations. Shadows loomed over the horizon, as Sideswipe shifted into robot mode and pulled out his photon rifle, wary of his surroundings.
Another Swarmer jumped above and latched onto Sideswipe, stabbing him in the back with its blades. Feeling the sting of pain course through his chassis, the red twin snatched onto the plating of the creature and slammed it into a building before he powered up his right fist and smashed right through it. The impact of the punch splattered the monstrosity into dozens of pieces and rattled in the pool of its own blood as it died.
"That ought to take care of you," Sideswipe said, wiping the fuel off his hands as he noticed an orange-haired girl in a school uniform hiding behind one of the storage containers.
"Shirley?" Sideswipe said.
_ _ _
Shirley felt the reality of fear kick in. The thundering sounds of gunfire and burning wreckage rung through her ears. She felt the urge to retreat from where she came, and would have to find out the truth about Lelouch another day.
Hordes of black biomechanical creatures crawled from the rooftops of the dockyard hangars, sickle-like protruding out of their forearms. On the ground were dead bodies of what appeared to be Britannian soldiers. Red pools trickled down from their corpses as she tried to make sense of what caused such carnage.
Out for blood, they sensed Shirley was alone by herself. They hissed and drew their arms back, ready to slice her into pieces. She leaned against the wall, finding that there was no escape.
Suddenly the creature splattered into pieces, its biomechanical ligaments flayed onto the ground as a massive red figure emerged. It extended its black-plated hand towards Shirley's direction, trying to take hold of her. She closed her eyes, fearful of what came next.
_ _ _
"No! Stay back! Stay away from me!" Shirley shouted in a state of hysteria, not realizing that it was Christopher Snyder in his true colors.
"Shirley!" Sideswipe said as he scooped the unconscious girl into his hands. Another Swarmer crept behind the red twin and almost impaled him before he heard the sound of a photon blast turning the insectoid creature into a pile of scrap metal. Its internal fluids spilt outwards as it crashed onto the ground unmoving.
"You gotta be more careful, bro," Jazz warned before he saw who it was that Sideswipe held in his hands. "What in the world is she doing here?"
"I don't know, but we've got to get her to a hospital!" the red twin shouted amidst the gunfire.
"Easier said than done, we're outnumbered! The Swarmers are coming in faster than we can scrap them!" the special ops lieutenant said, whose conversation with the Lambo twin was promptly interrupted by Prowl calling through the voice comm frequency. [Jazz, where are you?]
[Near dock number five. Sideswipe founded a female civilian.] the lieutenant explained.
[What about her?] Prowl asked bluntly, whose attention was focused on the battle.
The red twin froze, somewhat hesitant of what to say before Jazz stepped in. [She's somebody we know.]
[You let a civilian get into the crossfire?] the deputy commander shot out, sounding somewhat irate amidst the battle.
[No. We don't even know why she's here,] Jazz replied sharply.
[That doesn't matter now. Fall back to our position, we'll move out as quickly as possible.]
[It looks like our route's been cut off,] the special ops agent observed ahead of the pair. Layers of debris
"Allow me," Sunstreaker said, who caught the two unaware of his presence, as he stepped forward to smash a hole at the obstruction.
[On second thought, disregard what I said earlier,] Jazz called back to Prowl before he turned to the twins: "We need to get out of here and regroup with the others. Stick together and watch for the bugs."
_ _ _
Delacruz crouched low through the bridge that connected to one of the warehouses, mindful to avoid the enemies that roamed on the ground. While they were big, they were preoccupied in trying to fight against the scattered imperialist forces that attempted to retreat back to their base of operations.
The rest of the NSA team was under heavy fire, as the Insecticon horde demonstrated that they were not only adept at close quarters fighting, but were just as capable at ranged combat. The grenade launchers were barely holding them off. Groaning his frustration, the Hispanic ex-Delta operator searched for a spot in which to aid his teammates and positioned himself as he laid out his bipod and replaced his ammunition with specially designed EMP rounds to take some of the aliens out of play.
"Commander, you still alive?" the sniper said, hoping that he reached his colleagues in time. As soon as he saw the swarm surrounding the American team, Delacruz didn't waste another second in taking them down. He fired multiple shots in rapid succession to keep the enemy off-balance.
_ _ _
Hearing the support of sniper fire motivated Spike further to keep his team alive for as long as possible. He traced the origin of the shot to a building adjacent to the group's position.
"Yeah, I'm still alive. Keep shooting!"
"Roger that," Delacruz replied.
"Hold your positions, people!" the SEAL told his group. They shot at the American terrorists working with the Decepticon forces as they blocked the exit back towards the dockyards. Finding it difficult to pierce through, they switched their munitions to specially modified high-explosive grenades on their M4 rifles and struck on whatever weak spots they could find on the Swarmers, since their plating made them tough creatures to kill. The insectoids that guarded the Americans' escape route were reduced to scrap, due to the intervention of a certain Porsche and two Lamborghinis. Their presence on the field made the SEAL give out a sigh a relief.
"Jazz, perfect timing!" the liaison said before he saw the girl in Sideswipe's hands. She was covered in blood but ultimately unharmed. "Who's she?"
The fighting still hot, they were not far away enough where they could detonate the C-4 on the fourth cargo vessel safely.
"A friend," the red twin explained to them.
"We need to find cover fast! We're too close to the blast area of the target that we just tagged," Farmer said.
"There's a warehouse over there!" Sunstreaker pointed out with his index finger.
"Alright then, let's go! Matthews, Kelly, all of you: get up and move your asses!"
All of the Americans made a tactical advance towards the building that the yellow twin designated to be safe. Jazz and Sunstreaker kept their photon rifles leveled while Sideswipe followed the
"Blow it!" Spike barked, the NSA agents taking refuge behind one of the crates inside the warehouse. A massive explosion rocked the ground near their site as the ship detonated in a ball of fire. Three more explosions
"That oughta take care of the Decepticons' shipping lanes sir," Farmer quipped.
"It doesn't take care of the jets that are shooting for us! Incoming!" Jazz shouted as he spotted incoming air-to-ground missiles coming from one of the two Seekers assigned to Megatron's guard.
Over their heads the roof collapsed on the Autobot/NSA team. Three of the Americans were killed due to the weight crushing them, with the surviving agents stuck under the debris. Spike's hand stretched out to reach to something, but his efforts proved to be in vain. He could only hope that someone would come to rescue them in time.
_ _ _
Optimus was the first to eject from his pod, as the shell that encased him disintegrated into nothingness. The other Autobots encased within their pods did the same, and braced themselves, Prime landed foot first, the impact of the landing as the ground under him cracked. Concrete showered just a few feet up before the pebbles landed back onto the ground.
"Wreckers on the ground," Roadbuster said.
Bumblebee called Prime up next through the secure frequency. "Squad on the deck and moving."
His personal escort of Autobots soon landed afterwards, with Hound, Smokescreen, Bluestreak, and Windcharger following afterwards. Prime's optics turned into narrow slits, keeping watch over anyone that attempted to approach the group. All of the member's in Optimus' entourage charged their weapons in anticipation of the threats ahead.
"Stay sharp and keep your optics peeled for the Decepticons."
_ _ _
Blitzwing fired several shots from his tank barrel, scoring hits on Gloucesters assigned to Cornelia's army. Since they were unfortunate to cross his path, he had no incentive to allow them to live. Like a raging bull, he transformed into robot mode and rammed through the two royal guard Knightmares who blazed their assault rifles in his direction, smashing them with his fists. One Britannian soldier supported by several other infantrymen in his company attacked him from behind, attempting to damage him by any means possible. Their RPGs and high-explosives did little to deter Blitzwing from pulling out his energy rifle and obliterating them with one blast.
The fury of the skirmish drove the triple-changer into a frenzy. Humans dying was all the motivation he needed to keep fighting, regardless of whatever amount of ore-13 he had running in his chassis. He transformed into tank mode and fired several blasts, disintegrating his targets before they altered their tactics and attempted to outmaneuver him. Their actions against him proved to be a futile venture.
"Weaklings, I was hoping for a little more of a challenge out of you."
Blitzwing drove his blade into the pilot capsule of the enemy Sutherland before he retracted it from the human machine. Nothing sated his thirst for battle better than to stain his sword with the blood of the Terrans. Everything around him came to an abrupt halt when he sensed that something was wrong.
His figure recoiled at the sight of a massive Cybertronian with smokestacks attached to its arms, an Autobot insignia on its pauldrons and ice-blue optics staring angrily in his direction. "You!"
The triple-changer was silenced from the swing of the newcomer's fist as it slammed into his faceplate, breaking his visor and knocking him offline.
_ _ _
Suzaku fought against legions of insectoids with both of his MVSs. They were extremely fast for monsters of their size. Seeing one of his comrades injured, he attempted to aid the wounded pilot, and saw blood caking the man's eyes and face. The scope of the attack against the imperial forces finally dawned upon the Lancelot operator.
"What are you doing here?" the pilot growled, clutching to his wounds.
"Where's Major Powell?" Suzaku asked.
"Major Powell's dead," one of his teammates said, when Suzaku reached forth to offer a hand to his fellow soldier. "Are you alright?"
"Back away from me, Eleven!" the pilot shot hotly.
The warrant officer groaned at the man's stubborn demeanor. "Don't be a fool! We'll get killed unless we work together through this!"
"I would rather fight alongside my real comrades than work with you!"
"Look out!" Suzaku shouted as he had the Lancelot pushed away the damaged Sutherland away from the sickle of one of the insectoid creatures.
"NOOOOOO!" shouted the doomed pilot before he was speared by another creature's arm.
Damn, he thought to himself. Still attempting to earn their trust, their distrusting nature turned to be their undoing. There was nothing more that he could do except fight onward. The only problem with that was that he was on his own.
Suzaku observed what he thought was the viceroy's Knightmare, its arms torn out of its sockets. Whatever the robots wanted with her, it was bound not to be good.
"Princess Cornelia?"
The familiar voice of Andreas Darlton broke through the net, breaking the warrant officer out of his temporarily distracted state. "Kururugi, you still alive?"
"Yes sir!" he barked back, the Lancelot standing at attention.
"Go after the viceroy and rescue her," he said, the grave seriousness of the situation evident in the young pilot's mind. Suzaku nodded and pushed his Knightmare forward, cutting a path for himself to pursue Cornelia's captors.
_ _ _
"Ten seconds 'til arrival, team," Takagi informed.
The craft moved at seventy knots and faster. As it slid against the slope, the boat flew like an artillery shell and crashed against both Britannian and insectoid alike, the ship opened its main bay where all the Knightmares were contained. Those that piloted the Burais cocked their rifles and prepared for action.
The helmsman hastily addressed the group of their entrance to the dockyards. "We're in!"
"Move out!" Zero commanded to his forces.
The Black Knights deployed from their craft, striking anything that crossed their path. Sutherlands and Gloucesters fell under the might of their sudden attack. The fact that the Britannians were in disarray helped matters even less, since they were being attacked on all sides.
"There she is!" Kallen observed.
"Who's that with Cornelia?" Ohgi asked on the tactical net.
"It doesn't matter now, we must attack while the Britannians are still preoccupied defending themselves. Kallen, clear a path towards point seven!"
"Roger, Guren moving in now!" Kallen replied, as her Knightmare rode forth to capture Cornelia's Gloucester while the Britannians were thrown in disarray. As the boat carrying the Black Knight KMFs jumped across the sloped pier and landed against the contingent that attacked the ship carrying, Kallen exited alongside five Burais, one of them being the Burai Kai controlled by Zero.
"Clear a path towards point seven!" the vigilante commanded.
"It's going to be tough getting to her," Kallen said, seeing the vanguard that held the viceroy in their grip, which consisted of biomechanical monsters and the predatory animal machines they encountered back at Narita.
She drew out her fork knife and slashed right through one of the insectoids. The Burais assisted by providing cover fire, destroying the creatures as they gave high-pitched shrieks in response to their presence. The amount of fluids and internal wirings that spilled outward made them seem... alien.
"Zero, there's something weird about these creatures..." she said.
"Cut through them. They're no different than any other enemy that we've fought. We must capture Cornelia by any means necessary! We cannot allow these monsters to slow us down."
_ _ _
"Bring the human female with us. And be sure to take the Autobot prisoners with us," Megatron said to the Predacons. Astrotrain brought Starscream's body in tow, landing in robot mode and dragging the aerospace commander by his foot thrusters. Megatron stood in place for a moment before he stepped toward the triple-changer and his prisoner.
"We recovered the traitor, sir," the cargo specialist informed.
"At last," Megatron said. The Decepticon warlord pulled an energon knife that he would plunge into his former second-in-command's spark to force him to divulge the location of the Golden Disk. Soon after, he heard explosions nearby and turned behind to the origin of the disturbance. Megatron saw the black-colored frame of a Burai Kai, and he suspected that it was commandeered by a certain masked vigilante who held a vested interest in the warlord's prisoner.
"Ah, the infamous Zero. You've been causing quite the ruckus," the Decepticon leader said.
"I believe you have someone in your custody. If you would be so kind as to hand her over to us..."
In a quick motion, Megatron blasted through the cockpit of the Burai guarding Zero with his primary weapon and charged straight towards where the vigilante was and grabbed his Burai Kai by its head.
"Is that the best you can do, Zero? I'm insulted that you even dared to try and steal my prize. But since you're already here, I might as well kill you for the misery you've caused me," Megatron promised as he crushed the factsphere helmet of Zero's Knightmare.
"Get away from him!" yelled the female from the red Knightmare.
"More insects." Megatron said, parrying the Guren's attack as he sent a punch towards the KMF, but missed due to its smaller size. Impressed by its speed, Megatron decided to follow suit and evade its strikes meant to terminate him. It drew back its gauntlet and latched onto Megatron's chest, discharging the energy contained within its forearm. The warlord felt it surge sting through his body, but not enough to phase him out of the battle.
Finding the pain tolerable, he latched onto the gauntlet with his fist and exerted enough pressure to disable it.
"Bring your worst," the Decepticon leader said. "Whatever resistance any of you attempt to muster against me will not be enough."
_ _ _
Observing the battle from within the confines of her cockpit, the second princess watched as the Black Knights ran. They were by no means weak, but their leader understood that some battles were un-winnable. She could see her massive opponent's facial expression as it angled its optics in anger.
"Exterminate the Black Knights, let not a single one escape!"
At least he can get rid of Zero for me. Perhaps I can still get away by ejecting my capsule, but should I risk it? Cornelia pondered to herself. Megatron kept himself well-guarded, with the insectoid creatures keeping a close eye on her activity. Her battery power was running low, and she was trying to think of any option in which she could get out of this predicament.
"What in the Inferno..." Megatron said before he saw several of his insectoid minions cut down by a small and nimble Knightmare Frame. It had green optics and factsphere sensors protruding from the side of its chest as they retracted back inside. On its hands were its swords, dripping with the fluids of the slain monsters. "Another interloper..."
"Your Highness, I've come to rescue you," Suzaku said.
"I suppose that's twice I owe you now," Cornelia said with gratitude, which felt unusual to her.
"Silence!"
"I'll handle this one, Megatron," the lion machine offered.
"Go," the warlord commanded.
_ _ _
Razorclaw shifted into robot form and drew his blade down, blocking the path of the white Knightmare that he fought back at the Narita Mountains.
"So, you have come to challenge us again. Only this time you're armed with just your swords."
"I don't have time for you!"
The human operated machine fired its slash harkens onto the ground, lifting itself high above as it jumped over him and rushed forward to the recently captured Princess Cornelia in her Gloucester.
It was stopped short as Razorclaw grabbed it by the leg and smashed it into the ground. Rocks showered from the impact, creating a dust cloud in its wake.
"Don't think you're going to get off easy this time, whelp!"
Recovering quickly, the white Knightmare Frame faced off with both of its swords in hand, dodging whatever attacks Razorclaw sent its way. The Lancelot used both of its swords to block a fatal blow from the Predacon's sword, spun it around while locking it in place, and disarmed him in one swift motion. It was enough to allow it to sneak past the Cybertronian hunter warrior and reach the second princess, whose frame was leaning against one of the hangar bays. Cornelia watched in awe as the Lancelot rushed forth to her aid. She did not expect to be rescued, let alone by the same Eleven that saved her back at Narita.
_ _ _
"Viceroy, watch your head!"
"What?" she whispered to herself before the Lancelot cut the top of her cockpit clean off of her capsule.
"Your Highness, we must hurry. Time is running short," Suzaku advised.
"Who ordered you to rescue me?"
"General Darlton did, ma'am," the Eleven replied.
Sensing danger that was close by, a horde of the insectoids marched towards their position and attempted to entrap them. The Lancelot extended a hand as she climbed onto the Knightmare, her figure clutched safely within its palm.
"I think now would be a good time to make a break for it!" Cornelia suggested to him. He opened his cockpit and reached out to her with his hand.
"Hurry!"
Reluctant, she moved onto the Lancelot's pauldron and climbed into the cockpit with the warrant officer. As crammed as it was, they both managed to fit right in.
"Don't say anything of this," she gritted to him, reminding the lad not to get any bright ideas.
"I wasn't planning to," Suzaku said. "Hold on!"
_ _ _
Megatron yelled in a fit of rage, balling his hands into fists, while still clutching Zero's Knightmare by its head. "NO!"
A massive blast of energy struck the warlord dead center in the chest plate. The beam cut a swath from its point of origin, destroying the Swarmers that stood guard near the Decepticon leader's present location.
When the smoke cleared, Optimus Prime appeared alongside several of his troops with his plasma rifle in hand. On top of the hangar behind him was Hound, Bluestreak, and Smokescreen. All of them were heavily armed, all of them eager to battle. Relief washed over the captured members of the Autobot expedition.
"Optimus, are we glad to see you," Ironhide said, who struggled to hold onto Wheeljack.
"You made it..." the engineer said, weakened by the beating that he endured from the Decepticon leader.
"We came as soon as we could," Prime said as he knelt next to the fallen Lancia. "Are you alright?"
"I've been better..." the engineer groaned, feeling the pain ring throughout his chassis.
"Prime, how generous of you to show up out here in this miserable colony," Megatron said with a sinister smile, clutching the Guren Mark II by the head piece as it struggled to break free.
"Let the humans go, Megatron."
"But we have so much to catch up on," the warlord said to his long-time nemesis.
Optimus allowed the conversation to continue no further and went straight to the point. "I will not allow your slaughter to continue any further. This madness ends now!" Prime declared. The Autobot leader fired the first shot from his plasma rifle before Megatron could use his fusion cannon. The blast damaged the warlord's armor, but not enough to knock him out of play.
"Ah, but this fight has only just begun."
Prime dodged the blast meant for him from the warlord's primary weapon as he charged towards Megatron, slamming the Decepticon leader against the wall of a nearby warehouse. The two commanders were locked in mortal combat as they always have since they first met on the battlefield. Destruction and carnage reached new heights. The humans that were caught in the middle no longer saw the fight as a battle for mere control, but one of survival.
_ _ _
Trying to recover after the escape launch, Lelouch shook his head where he heard shouts from members of his group as they yelled out to him with a sense of urgency.
"Zero, we need to get out of here! Trying to capture Cornelia like this is tantamount to suicide!" Ohgi said.
Damn it, this can't be happening, the ex-prince thought bitterly before he issued his command.
"Zero, are you listening?"
When he opened his eyes fully, he saw the fires of war escalating to greater heights. When he saw the red and white giants fighting against each other, it became much more clearer to him that this was a battle beyond what the Black Knights were capable of fighting.
"Kallen, pick me up at the following coordinates, we'll clear an exit at point thirteen!"
"Roger!" she answered.
Looks like we'll have to delay her capture another time.
_ _ _
Northeastern Warehouses
Port Yokosuka, Area 11Cliffjumper felt something stab into his leg, as an Insecticon Swarmer drove one of its blades deeper. The red Autobot yelped in pain before the creature exploded in front of him. He gritted his dental plates as he analyzed the damage done. Wirings and sparks spilled out, as he leaned against a structure to support his weight while attempting to continue in the fight alongside his fellow soldiers.
Bumblebee fired several photon bursts at the incoming swarm. Their mindless pursuit kept the Wreckers and the Autobot regulars on the defensive. The yellow minibot dashed to his wounded friend to check on him in spite of the weapons fire coming in their direction.
"You alright?"
"I'm fine," Cliffjumper said, clutching to his leg.
"Windcharger, I need some assistance over here!" Bumblebee called.
The mining specialist came to the aid of the two minibots as he used his magnetic powers to rewire the damaged red warrior.
"Can you walk?" Bumblebee asked.
"Yeah," Cliffjumper said.
"These freaks are everywhere!" Brawn exclaimed, throwing one in mid-air as it crashed against the sea. "Their numbers seem limitless!"
"Roadbuster to Bumblebee, come in."
The yellow Autobot tapped onto the side of his helmet. "This is 'Bee."
"We're initiating a tactical displacement. Moving into the designated coordinates which I am giving to you now," Roadbuster declared.
"But we can still take them!" Twin Twist said, paving his way through the Insection drones with his fists while his brother Topspin provided fire support while Whirl assisted from the air with a barrage of air-to-ground rockets.
"As much as I like the fact that you're feeling mighty eager to smash these bugs, we're ordered to move. The Alphas are going to be coming in to help us out. Peel off, this place is about to be turned into a scrapyard in a few nanokliks."
Twin Twist growled at Roadbuster's order. It wasn't that he would not obey it, only that he find that withdrawing at such a moment alien to him.
"Order acknowledged. You heard him, let's go!" Bumblebee said, leading the Wreckers element and his own team to move to another location as promptly as possible.
_ _ _
Command Ship Trion
Earth Orbit, Port YokosukaSilverbolt had the sensor displays of the battle raging below in full view. Dots illuminated the map of the combat zone as the firefight between Prime's troops and Megatron's army continued. Since Prime kept the comm line to the flagship open, Silverbolt heard everything that was said between Optimus and Megatron, with the Autobots' worst fears realized.
"Beachcomber, what's the composition of the enemy forces below us?"
"The human imperialists have fallen back towards their headquarters. We detected several aircraft advancing towards that position. It looks like they're engaging the Decepticons."
At least we don't have too much to worry about from them, Silverbolt thought to himself. "Ready the Alpha Sentinels for launch!"
He tapped onto his comm line, which linked with one of his lieutenants who was preparing to go along with the first team of fighters. Each of his subordinates, Air Raid, Fireflight, Skydive and Slingshot, were charged with leading the fighters that were loaded in the ship's hangar. Among all of the Aerialbots, Air Raid was the most fearless, which made him the perfect candidate to command air operations in the region.
"Air Raid, what's the status of your aircraft?"
The Aerialbot lieutenant answered promptly: "Almost prepped over here. We'll be ready to go in three cycles."
"Listen carefully: I want you to lead the squadron down there and help Prime. If the Decepticons show up on your radar, shoot them down."
"I'd be more than happy to, boss," Air Raid replied.
_ _ _
The Alpha Sentinels were armed with a payload to measure up to the Decepticon forces that rampaged in the dockyards below in terms of air-to-air missiles, photon rifles, and EMP/high-explosive cluster rockets for the enemy ground forces. Their aerodynamic frames were a balance of speed and firepower, an evolution of the defense program that created the Omega Sentinels during the advent of the Great War. Their capabilities were enough to rival the Seeker clones of the Aerospace Extermination Squadron.
Inside the noses of each aircraft were tachyon sensors that detected disturbances in the local space time, much in the same manner as the Autobot starships that orbited over Earth. They originally specialized in scanning gaseous anomalies during While the Decepticons energy signatures were masked from conventional sensors that would keep them invisible. There was no place for the Decepticons to hide.
The Autobot insignia with the chevrons on the side were emblazoned on the wings of the Alphas. Part of the new Space Forces fighter squadrons, they would be at the forefront of any engagement involving aerial units. Each plane moved forward toward the launch bay one-by-one. Air Raid positioned himself to the front of the group, where he would be the first to attack the Decepticons from the skies.
[Air Raid to first squadron, take off!]
[First squadron deploying now.]
Six of the Alphas led by Air Raid blasted off into the Earth's atmosphere to join the foray against Megatron's troops.
_ _ _
The fight raged onward with even greater force than ever before, the destructive potential between the two Cybertronian factions just as apparent as it was millions of stellar cycles ago.
Prime gave his orders to the Autobots, who stood their ground firm. "Roadbuster, give cover fire while we move Prowl's unit until the Alphas arrive."
"You got it." Roadbuster said as he shifted into vehicle mode, bringing his tank cannon to bear as he drove to a safe and well-defended firing position where it would be hard for the Insecticons to crawl through, since the space was narrow and they attacked in groups. "Hardhead, move to my location, we'll trash the 'Swarmers on the left side on my signal.
"Copy, moving now," Hardhead said, driving towards an ideal spot where they could strike the enemy hard. His Stryker vehicle mode remained obscure in the chaos of the skirmish between the Autobots and the Decepticons. He positioned himself alongside the Wreckers sub-commander and armed his main gun to bear.
"All set," Hardhead said.
"Fire!"
Using the narrow spaces to thin the Insecticons' numbers, the two Autobot warriors discharged their weaponry and cut a bloody swath against the horde of Swarmers that pursued the escaping Autobots. They continued pounding through the masses of creatures as they crawled over each other to seek out and terminate their targets with extreme prejudice.
"That should hold them off for now," the Wreckers sub-commander said.
"Not for long, they'll probably be coming in for another attack run," Hardhead surmised.
Sensing one that snuck in past their defensive line, Roadbuster changed back into robot mode again and decimated the unscathed Swarmer with his shoulder cannons, before it blew into dozens of pieces and splattered against his frame. He noticed bits of techno-organic residue on his metallic skin. Shrugging his shoulders, he patted the liquid off of his chassis and refocused on his task. "They're persistent, I'll give them that."
_ _ _
"Thundercracker, Skywarp, take the Autobot fighters. The rest of you, engage the enemy's ground forces. I will handle Prime."
The Decepticon flyers scrambled back into the air in fighter mode, engaging the Autobot Alphas that intervened in the fight. Razorclaw led his group into action as the war between the Decepticons and the combating human forces escalated beyond the latter's control.
Both of the Seekers shifted into robot form and fired their null rays against an Alpha that changed into its robot form and discharged its photon rifle at them. While the pair preoccupied themselves attempting to blast the other Autobot aircraft that dared to fight them, a black plane dove between while accelerating at high speed. To them it looked like a blur, until it changed into robot form, proudly wearing the red insignia of their enemies.
"What the –-?" Skywarp said.
"You mechs didn't forget that you weren't the only Cybertronians that could fly, did you?" Air Raid taunted. Catching the two Decepticons completely by surprise, the Aerialbot took advantage of the momentary distraction before he struck Skywarp in the faceplate. "Well then, allow me to refresh your memory!"
"Let's dance!" Skywarp shouted, accepting his opponent's challenge as he changed back into his alternate form and pursued the enemy plane in a dogfight. Both executed aerial maneuvers that defied explanation. The black-purple Seeker unloaded a volley of missiles trailing behind his target, which was prematurely detonated by countermeasures released by the Aerialbot.
"Skyarp, wait!" Thundercracker pleaded his comrade, knowing that their opponent was leading them into a trap. He considered himself to be more level than his brash companion. Thus, the blue Seeker changed into his alternate mode and fired his afterburners to keep up with his partner.
Air Raid led his opponent into a wild goose chase out towards the sea, away from where the ground forces of the Cybertronian factions combated each other. As soon as the two fighters crossed a distance far enough where they were isolated, the Aerialbot changed back into his robot form alongside two Alpha Sentinels that came out from the sky.
The ruse turned out to be what Thundercracker feared. As a missile volley were loosed by the Autobot squadron and pursued the black-purple Seeker. Skywarp countered with his own flares and climbed up at a 330 degree angle, his nose pointed forward as he pushed the speed to his limit. Thundercracker quickly assisted his comrade and shot down the missiles with his internal vulcan cannon.
"I tried warning you," was all the blue flyer managed to say.
"Shut up and keep fighting," Skywarp told his colleague, focusing intensely on the matter at hand.
_ _ _
The two leaders squared off with sheer fanaticism, much like their previous encounters in the past four million stellar cycles. Megatron picked up a massive boulder and threw it at Optimus. Prime punched through the debris and charged at his opponent like a raging bull, as they both locked hands in a strength of will. Prime looked at his nemesis squarely in the optic. The sounds of battle did nothing to prevent them from trying to tear each other to pieces.
"You cannot save these humans. Their fates have already been sealed long before you even arrived."
"Then I'm willing to contest that, as I always have!" Prime said, battling Megatron to the death. He refused to back down. No exchange of words between the two leaders has ever reached . The Decepticons have violated the Tyrest Accords. This moment was the culmination of the tension between the two factions long ago.
Prime swung an uppercut that connected to Megatron's faceplate. Megatron grasped his nemesis by the midsection, lifting him off his feet and throwing him into a warehouse. Optimus recovered back onto his feet. Air Raid called Prime on an encrypted frequency to warn him in advance of an impending attack.
"Optimus, air strike heading your way. Clear out while you can!"
The Autobot leader watched as the fighters sent from the Trion descended and opened their internal missile bays. Air Raid was the first to let loose a volley that decimated the Swarmers from above. Fluids and bio-armor plating scattered as explosions from the Insecticon creatures bloomed all around.
Megatron observed that the Autobot aerospace fighters had impressive amounts of firepower at their disposal, almost enough to match that of the Seekers from the Aerospace Extermination Squadron. Never one to shy away from a fight, he decided it was in the Decepticons' interest to depart and fight another solar cycle. Seeing no point in continuing any further, he opted to have his forces disengage from the fighting for the moment.
"Give up Megatron, you can't win this fight," Optimus bellowed to his enemy.
"I shall concede to you this victory for now, Prime. Just remember: I will return. Decepticons, withdraw!"
Astrotrain took Starscream's body and created a transwarp portal that led back into their lair. Skywarp took his fellow Seeker and teleported to what was presumably the same location. The enemy retreated willingly.
We'll see... Prime thought calmly.
"Roadbuster, Bumblebee, stand down. We will get them eventually."
Behind the Autobot commander a shadow loomed. It was the familiar figure of Drift, who was drenched in water after being thrown a distance into the sea. The cyber-ninja was thankful that he survived the encounter against the Decepticon warlord, and was further relieved to see a friendly face in amidst the rubble.
"Commander."
"Drift, I see you're holding up well."
"Only my pride is wounded, after battling with Megatron. At least I am online to fight another day," the blademaster replied.
Optimus nodded. "If you can, please join with Roadbuster and help tend to our wounded."
Smiling slightly, Drift bowed in respect. "Of course," The gesture was welcoming, not that Prime wished for it. He hoped that the Americans that joined Prowl's unit were safe.
_ _ _
The Guren carried Zero as he stood in its left hand. His team suffered light casualties, but the immense strength of the robot that called itself Megatron startled him. There were rumors of the Britannians developing a weapon system that was similar to the one that the white machine used on its right forearm. A weapon developed exclusively by the Toromo Institute, with the tecnology itself a carryover from the experimental Gefjun Disturber tech.
His mind pensive, the more he delved in the situation, the more questions that arose as to the recent events within the past three hours. Lelouch began to slowly believe that this fight was beyond the realm of private corporations openly competing against one another. He suspected that there were factions within the three world powers battling for reasons unknown. One thing was for sure: the memory of Megatron would be engraved in his brain for a long time.
_ _ _
All around corpses and wrecked machines littered the dockyards. Craters formed from the weapons fire between the Autobots and the Decepticons left their mark on the streets and the buildings everywhere.
Amidst the rubble Jazz shoved aside some rocks that cut off the air to the humans that he shielded. When they came to, smoke and dust filled the space around them. Soon the Americans that were caught under the collapse of the building recovered onto their feet. Only Spike, Farmer, Delacruz and two other agents survived the endeavor, along with their young female companion and the Lambo twins.
He would come home to bury the men that volunteered to join. He watched a massive figure, at least taller than a regular Transformer, with the blue helmet and lighter optics to match its steely demeanor. It turned towards the NSA liaison and his cohorts, expressionless. Spike smiled in recognition of a familiar face to join the group.
"Optimus?"
"Spike. It is good to see you again."
"At least you made it to over here," the SEAL commander noted.
"Not soon enough, I'm afraid," Prime replied woefully. His blue optics surveyed the destruction that occurred within just a few hours.
"Sir, we've secured the perimeter. All the Decepticons are gone. As well as the Black Knights and the Britannians," Roadbuster radioed to him.
"Prep our wounded to load onto the shuttles."
The Wreckers sub-commander replied quickly before he carried on in his business. "Yes, sir."
"Optimus, I need your people's assistance in recovering one of my men." Spike said with a morose look on his face.
Pensive with concern, Prime gave an emphatic expression towards his human colleague. "I will send Ratchet to help with your comrade. But we must evacuate here soon, away from prying eyes," Prime said.
"Optimus, we wish to remain here for the time being," Jazz said as he walked toward the Autobot leader, accompanied by the twins.
Prime arched one of his optics in curiosity. "Is there a reason why?"
Sideswipe presented himself with the young Britannian female in his hands. "This girl is one of the locals that we know."
"Alright. Be careful and watch your backs," Prime said to them, as he watched the special ops agent and his two cohorts drive off into the darkness, mindful of avoiding contact with anyone who participated in the battle. The holoemitter lent to the trio by Wheeljack ensured that they would make it to the city in safety.
After the battle was over, the Autobots erased whatever evidence they could find so that the Britannians in Area 11 would not be able to seize the technology for themselves. Using the incoming shuttles to vaporize the remains of the Insecticon hordes and their victims. Though they couldn't eliminate all traces, they managed to erase large pieces of material left behind by the Insecticon onslaught so they could not identify what happened. It was the least that the Autobots could do at such a bleak time.
End of Chapter 21
Author's Note:
Thus concludes the fight in Yokosuka. From this point on the story will deviate from the Code Geass R1 canon in the series and stand on its own.
For those that saw the initial version of this chapter that I posted prior to the update I apologize. Hopefully the revisions made to this one and the chapter before it will make give the story a cleaner read.
I have also adopted a new policy in regards to the subsequent chapters that will come in the future. They will not happen as frequently as they used to (due to a variety of personal reasons), though I assure you that I am writing them.
Questions? Comments? Gripes? Please do not hesitate to tell me! Just remember: no flaming!
As usual, I would like to thank all of you who has read this fic so far and gave honest feedback. Keep in mind: the story is in and of itself an evolving continuum which is subject to changes in which I deem fit and necessary (along with a few helping hands), so don't say I didn't warn you. :)