Hi everyone, Merry Belated Christmas! Now we begin one of the most exciting moments of R1, the massive battle in the Narita mountains; but of course, things are going to be much different. Not only are the Autobots working with the Black Knights, who now have modified Knightmares, but they even saved a majority of the JLF forces, with Tohdoh himself on his way, so things aren't looking so good for Britannia. But of course, the Decepticons don't intend to sit this out. What will become of this grand and epic battle? Let's find out right now!
Battle for Narita
"What are our losses?" Darlton questioned over the radio just as he regrouped with what was left of his squad, including Alfred and David.
"I can only locate about twenty percent of our forces, Dad." David responded.
"Twenty percent?!" Darlton exclaimed. "Our command structure cannot sustain this!"
"How could a landslide have come out of nowhere?!" Suzaku questioned from the Camelot unit as the top opened up so he could speak with Dreadwing directly.
"At a time like this, with such devastating effects, I doubt this was a natural phenomenon." Dreadwing assumed.
"That would make sense, considering we're getting so many unconfirmed reports about the Autobots and the Black Knights have appeared." Lloyd said casually.
"Zero…" Suzaku muttered as Dreadwing's own optics narrowed.
"Well, well, this looks like it's our chance!" Lloyd exclaimed.
"You're so rash!" Cecile scolded him.
"Why's that?"
Cecile gave something of a mocking smile. "Would you like a detailed explanation?"
Lloyd's own grin formed into an annoyed frown. "Uh… no I'll pass."
"We are not doing anything without Lord Megatron's orders." Dreadwing stated firmly.
"But Dreadwing…" Suzaku tried to reason.
"I understand your concerns, Suzaku, however for this operation we act directly under my master. We cannot rush in without knowing the full situation, that is simply asking for trouble. Once our superiors have full knowledge of the situation, they will give us our orders."
Suzaku didn't respond, though he knew Dreadwing had a point, but he didn't like having to sit by and do nothing at a time like this.
G1 Headquarters
"Is the viceroy safe?"
"Yes, she was outside the mudflow. But most of the units guarding her flank are lost, that means she's totally isolated!"
"What the hell are those Purebloods doing?!"
Lord Kewell opened fire at the incoming Arcee in her vehicle mode, but she was able to avoid all the bullets shot at her before she transformed directly underneath the enemy Sutherland and used the momentum combined with her arm-blades to vertically slice the entire Knightmare in half, killing the pilot in the process.
"Lord Kewell!" Villetta exclaimed in horror.
Multiple enemy Sutherlands tried to shoot her down; but both Cliffjumper, in his vehicle mode, and the Guren MK II soared right towards the enemy. Cliffjumper transformed and delivered a punch that completely wrecked the cockpit of one Sutherland before opening fire with his Energon blasters to obliterate a second. The Guren swerved in from behind him to slash its knife and decapitate one Sutherland before attaching her Radiant Wave Surger onto the cockpit of another, before Kallen activated it and the Sutherland exploded shortly after.
"Arcee, Cliffjumper, Kallen; we've isolated the unit being led by General Darlton a few clicks from your current position." Ratchet informed as Kallen's Knightmare received the data and brought it up on her screen. "Intercept them before they are able to regroup with Cornelia."
"Right." Kallen nodded as she drove her Sutherland to follow the coordinates just as Arcee and Cliffjumper transformed to follow her.
"They're getting away!" One Pureblood exclaimed as there were only three left, including Villetta. "Go after them!"
"Negative!" Villetta stated. "Our first priority is protecting the Viceroy! We must regroup with her immediately!"
Meanwhile in another part of the mountains; multiple enemy Sutherlands faced an incoming group of Bots and BKs consisting of Zero, Ohgi, and Tamaki in their respective Burais alongside the vehicle modes of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Ironhide as they drove down the slope. The enemy units opened fire.
"All units; cover Optimus!" Zero ordered. "Let him and the Autobots take the lead; we'll handle all the stragglers!"
"Understood." Ohgi replied just as the three Autobots took the lead.
Optimus was the first to attack as he barreled himself directly towards seven Sutherlands. He ramming and ran over two of them in his vehicle mode before transforming and grabbing a third by its head and throwing it at least a hundred feet away from the area. His right arm converted into a blade as the Autobot leader slashed downward to vertically cut a Sutherland in half before his left arm transformed into an Energon blaster that he shot and blew out the cockpit of the fifth Sutherland. Optimus then decapitated the sixth Sutherland before punching down to obliterate the seventh with a single punch.
Ironhide was next as he transformed to face on four Sutherlands; they opened fire, but he was already on the attack as he simply blasted his Energon cannons to reduce all four enemy Knightmares to scrap metal in one large blast. Bumblebee gave him back up as he drove up a hillside and flew off it like a ramp towards three incoming Sutherlands; he crashed into and destroyed the middle one before transforming as he landed to sweep both his feet and knock both of them down to the ground in one fell swoop. He shot with both his Energon blasters at the heads to disable the Knightmares.
Ohgi saw the three Autobots work and was beyond amazed; though he'd seen them in action before, it was still a sight to behold. Especially Optimus as he took down more than half a dozen Knightmares in an instant.
"Come on Ohgi! You heard Zero, let's back em up!" Tamaki stated.
"Right." Ohgi got back to reality as both their Burais came to a halt in front of a group of five Sutherlands. They immediately opened fire on the enemy; due to their high-heat magnesium ammunition, the bullets not only shot through the enemy Knightmares like swiss-cheese, they even melted in certain areas due to the intense heat, a few even exploded.
"Hot damn! This magnesium stuff is awesome! How come we never tried this before?!" Tamaki exclaimed with a grin as Ohgi was just as amazed himself.
"Don't get too cocky, soldiers." Ironhide instructed. "We're not done yet."
"Ironhide is correct, we must maintain our guard." Optimus agreed as he accessed his comns. "Ratchet, any sign of the Decepticons?"
"Not yet, but that's bound to change any minute." Ratchet replied.
"However, we are detecting multiple Knightmare signals emerging from the mountains." Fixit reported. "They don't appear to match any Sutherland or any other Britannian frequencies; they could be the JLF."
"Looks like they headed our warning, that's good." Ohgi assumed. "So, are they on our side?"
"We can't know for sure." Zero informed. "Keep your focus on the Britannian forces; but also keep an eye out. The JLF could be our allies, or they could just be trying to escape. Either way, do not engage unless they engage us first."
"Yes sir." Ohgi responded.
"If we manage to pull this off, we can score a huge victory over Britannia." Lelouch thought to himself. "Even so…"
Meanwhile; just outside the mountain, two familiar trucks were well within range, but no one was driving. They had handles on the steering wheels and gas pedals to keep them going as five particular pilots mounted their Knightmares.
"All units, are you ready?" Tohdoh questioned.
"Yes sir." Four voices replied at the same time.
"Alright, deploy the Custom Burais!" Tohdoh ordered.
"Deploying!" Five Burais were brought up to the top of the moving trucks. Four were dark grey, while the one at the lead had a beige color to it. Each of them had some kind of katana-like weapon attached to it. These were known as Burai Kai.
"Listen up…" Tohdoh began to instruct. "It seems like the Autobots and their Black Knight allies have the same goal as us, which should allow us to hit Cornelia from behind. Capture Cornelia now! Assist the Autobots and the Black Knights! Take revenge for what happened seven years ago!"
"Yes sir! By the honor of the Four Holy Swords!"
"What?!" Cornelia exclaimed as one of her own Gloucesters was suddenly exploded; and out of the smoke came Rai in his Gekka Pre-Production, alongside Bulkhead and Wheeljack in their vehicle modes.
The two Autobots transformed as Bulkhead used the momentum, driving his fist up as it converted into his mace and he completely crushed one Sutherland entirely just as Wheeljack opened fire with both his Energon blasters to destroy the heads off two Sutherlands. The two Autobots, along with Rai in his Knightmare, came face-to-face with Cornelia, Guilford, Edgar, along with Bart and Claudio having to all manage regroup in their Gloucesters along with a few other Sutherlands.
"The Autobots?!" Guilford shouted.
"Wait… what's that blue Knightmare?!" Edgar questioned.
"Hold on… who's that white Autobot? I've never seen that one in the reports before!" Bart stated.
Wheeljack smirked as he drew both his swords and pointed one towards Cornelia's Gloucester. "You in the cape? You're that royal lady Cornelia?"
Cornelia narrowed her eyes at being addressed so casually by an enemy. "And just who are you, Autobot?"
"Name's Wheeljack. And you're now face-to-face with the Wreckers!" He, Bulkhead, and Rai's Gekka all stood firmly facing the enemy.
"Wreckers?" Guilford questioned in thought. "What is that? Some sort of special Autobot unit? They might be more organized then we thought."
"Protect her highness!" Guilford exclaimed as he and the three other Glaston Knights surrounded their Princess and ten Sutherlands in total zoomed towards the three Wreckers.
"Let's do this, guys!" Rai stated, as a Geass sigil formed in his left eye. He soared towards the enemy as his Gekka drew its katana. One Sutherland tried to impale him with a lance, but Rai swung the katana down to slice through the lance like butter before slicing the Sutherland's arm and cockpit in a single swing. Rai launched his Gekka's Radiant Wave Surger at a second incoming Sutherland; which grabbed the cockpit before he activated it. Just like with Kallen's, the enemy Knightmare melted and popped from the inside before it completely exploded.
Three Sutherlands charged towards Bulkhead with their lances; the front most one tried to pierce him, but he stood firm and the lance didn't even penetrate the metal skin on Bulkhead as it was crushed against him. Bulkhead delivered an upward swing with his mace to obliterate the front-half of the Sutherland, cockpit-and-all. He converted his left hand into his Energon cannon to shoot and obliterate the second enemy just as the third was about to charge him; but Bulkhead caught the Sutherland's lance with both hands with no effort before spinning his body to spin the lance and enemy Knightmare before letting go to send the Sutherland flying to parts unknown.
Four Sutherlands shot at Wheeljack as the rolled towards him, but he swung his swords to block each bullet that was coming his way before the enemy got close enough for Wheeljack to go on the offensive; he sliced vertically to cut one Sutherland in half before impaling the second in the cockpit with his blade. He then jumped up above a third and brought his blades down to decapitate the Sutherland before spinning his blades back and driving them backwards into the fourth and final Sutherland.
Cornelia herself growled at how easily those two Autobots and that single Black Knight obliterated a dozen Sutherlands like they were nothing. She would have given the order for the ones guarding her rear to attack if it weren't for Guilford's alert.
"Your highness! Enemies coming from behind!"
"What!?"
The five Burai Kais piloted by the Four Holy Swords suddenly appeared out of the forest, each one drawing a katana blade near identical to the one Rai was using and attacked immediately. Tohdoh took the lead as he used his Knightmare's katana to cut one Sutherland in half from behind before zooming to slice a second one incoming.
"Surround them!" Tohdoh ordered as his four companions came in from behind.
"Who are these guys?" Wheeljack asked.
"Those are Burais, I think, but they're not ours." Rai identified.
"They gotta be JLF." Bulkhead assumed.
"So, they're on our side?" Wheeljack wondered.
Just as Tohdoh zoomed in to slash and destroy another Sutherland, he addressed the Wrecker Trio. "Autobots, Black Knights, I understand that our groups have not been on the best of terms in the past. But for now we have a common goal. We'll assist you in defeating Britannia, while you assist us in evacuating our forces!"
"That would be a 'yes.'" Rai answered Wheeljack's previous question.
Bulkhead smirked. "Sounds like a deal." He spoke to Tohdoh directly as he and Wheeljack ran while Rai piloted his Sutherland to assist their new allies in destroying the last of the Sutherlands.
"This reminds me of seven years ago." Asahina said.
"But it's different now." Chiba stated. "This time not only do we have Knightmares, but allies of our own."
"I think it's time to finally put Britannia in their place!" Urabe said with an excited grin.
Guilford, Claudio, Bart, Edgar, and the other Glaston Knights present spread out to engage the Autobots, Rai, Tohdoh, and the Four Holy Swords and protect their princess.
"Your highness, leave them to us! Please, you have to withdraw for now!" Guilford told his princess as he used his Gloucester's lance to block Wheeljack's swords.
Cornelia knew that Guilford could handle this, she had faith in her knight. But above all, she also knew that if the Autobots were here, then their leader wouldn't be far behind. "Very well, I know a way to turn this around. Guilford, after you drive them back, meet me at Point-9."
"Point-9? I understand." Guilford nodded as he broke away from Wheeljack.
"Cornelia!" Senba exclaimed as he and Urabe drove their Burai Kais straight for the Princess but had to use their katanas to block both slash harkens her Gloucester shot at them.
"You weaklings!" Cornelia thrusted her lance at Senba's Burai Kai, but the weapon was batted away by a slash from the blue Gekka's sword.
"Don't think so, lady!" Rai exclaimed as he tried to lash his Surger Claw at her, but she swerved her Gloucester under it and drove away from the scene.
"At last… Optimus Prime! For the humiliation that you dealt me, I shall finally destroy you!" Cornelia thought to herself with an evil smirk as she drove towards her intended destination.
"After her!" Senba was about to pursue her, but Rai raised his Knightmare's silver claw to halt their advance.
"No! Let her go!"
"What? You're letting her get away?!" Urabe questioned.
"Just trust us!" Rai stated before accessing his comns. "Zero, Optimus; Cornelia took the bait! She's left her royal guard and heading for your position now!"
"Understood. Well done Rai." Optimus congratulated.
"Oh, by the way, we got some back-up." Rai informed. "Some Burais being used by the JLF are helping us fight off Cornelia's royal guard. They seem to be holding their own."
"Good. Demolish them! Don't let a single one help Cornelia!" Zero ordered.
"You got it." Rai smirked, his Geass flashing even brighter as he, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Tohdoh, and the Four Holy Swords regrouped to face the Glaston Knights.
"We will not allow you to pass!" Guilford stated firmly as he readied his Gloucester. "Autobots, Black Knights, JLF, this mountain will be the end of all of you!"
"Big talk, how about you put those words into action." Bulkhead challenged.
Wheeljack smirked. "This should be fun."
JLF Headquarters
Tohdoh's face appeared on the screen of the control room, which was more-or-less functional despite the massive tremor that shook up the entire mountain.
"I'm sorry for the late arrival, General."
General Katase couldn't contain his relieved smile. "Tohdoh! We've been waiting!"
"General, we're assisting the Autobots and the Black Knights as we speak. We have the same goal, and I believe that we can accomplish it by working together. How many more units do we have?"
"Almost all of them!" Katase stated. "The Autobot leader gave us a warning of Cornelia's attack and had us dig ourselves in to avoid getting swept up in the landslide. We've sent our forces out to assist them."
"Good. This is our chance to turn the whole war around!"
It was happening all over the mountain; JLF Burais made contact with the modified black Burais and Sutherlands all owned by the Black Knights and quickly overwhelmed what was left of Cornelia's forces. In addition to being heavily outnumbered, the Black Knights' custom magnesium-ammunition practically melted all the enemy Knightmares as if they were made of butter. Needless to say, it was a losing battle for Britannia. Even Darlton and his squad was forced back enemy fire from the mountain.
"Fall back!" Darlton ordered as he and his unit fired their rocket-launchers to stave off the enemy. "We have to find a way to link up with Viceroy Cornelia!"
"You don't have that kind of time!"
Darlton turned around in surprise to see Cliffjumper arrive on the scene in his vehicle mode, before he transformed and punched down one Gloucester. He jumped back to avoid a rocket shot at him by Darlton as he, Alfred, David, and the rest of their squad aimed their heavy artillery weapons at him; but they didn't get a chance to fire as Arcee speed up as a motorcycle off an incline over them before transforming and opening fire with her Energon blasters as she fell. With multiple precise hits, all the enemy's heavy weapons had been destroyed.
"You, filthy alien!" Alfred was just about to charge in at Arcee, but the Guren landed in front to halt his path as Kallen lashed out her Radiant Wave Surger claw to grab onto the cockpit of Alfred's Sutherland before she activated the deadly device.
Alfred looked in surprise as he saw his entire cockpit beginning to overheat as his Knightmare began to explode. "What… no! I can't lose! Not to a damn Eleven…!" Those were the last words he ever said before his entire Knightmare exploded.
"ALFRED!" David exclaimed in shock at seeing his adoptive brother die and even Darlton was rendered speechless.
"Not so fun watching your friends die right in front of you, is it?" Kallen growled. A part of her did feel bad for killing some of these people. A few of them could just be following orders and had families, but she knew that there was no getting through to Britannia. The only way to survive was to fight and beat them; and with the Guren in her possession, as well as her friends the Autobots by her side, she was determined to do just that.
"Destroy them all!" Darlton ordered as he and his squad charged forward.
Kallen drew her Guren's knife as she got to work to destroy two Gloucesters while Arcee drew her arm-blades to block and slash at the slash harkens launched by David's own Knightmare.
Cliffjumper ran directly towards Darlton's charging Knightmare before the Britannian knight lashed out a punch, but Cliff swerved around it to deliver a punch of his own to knock him back. Cliff then swept his feet to knock Darlton's Gloucester onto the ground. He aimed his Energon blaster at the Knightmare's head to disable it, but Darlton launched his slash harkens upwards to force Cliffjumper back as they managed to scratch his face slightly.
The red Autobot felt a trickle of Energon coming down his mouth and smirked as he saw Darlton stand back up in his Knightmare. "Looks like someone knows how to actually fight."
G1 Headquarters
"Sub Viceroy Euphemia, you must act now to prevent a disaster!" One officer stated to the young Princess. "Send the in the G1!"
"No!" The Princess replied.
"But both Commanders Guilford and Darlton are completely pinned down!" Another officer told her. "Even the most elite of the Glaston Knights are stuck! Viceroy Cornelia's life is at stake here!"
"We can't!" Euphemia exclaimed, she was beyond worried for her elder sister's safety, but she couldn't risk the lives of those that were here with her. "There's a field hospital here, and civilians!" However, this wasn't completely correct as the Autobots and Black Knights already arranged to have the city evacuated the night before. "Besides, the G1 base is our command center! The Viceroy ordered me not to move it no matter what! I just can't…"
"That won't be necessary, Sub-Viceroy Euphemia."
Euphemia and the Officers looked up in surprise to see the main screen turn to static before it began to clear to reveal the face of Megatron. Seeing his red-eyes was enough to make Euphie's heart skip a beat; but even more surprising was another screen popping up right next to it with the faces of Suzaku, Lloyd, and Cecile on it. Even Dreadwing's face appeared on a smaller third screen.
"Me… Megatron!?" Euphemia stuttered.
The Nemesis
Soundwave was easily able to access the G1's communications link and was able to connect it to that of the Avalon as well as Dreadwing's own personal communication as the Lord of the Decepticons addressed all those he contacted from the bridge.
"All incoming reports have indicated that the Black Knights and the Autobots have arrived onto the scene, and even the Japan Liberation Front is providing their assistance in this battle." Megatron informed. "With Cornelia's own forces already reduced to less than ten percent, it is clear she is incapable of handling this overwhelming enemy, as such, I am now assuming command of this operation."
"What?!"
"You will do no such thing!"
While the Britannian officers exclaimed their frustrations, Lloyd actually looked more than a little intrigued.
"Aha, so the high and mighty leader of the Decepticons is coming out to play, is he?" Lloyd mused, though Megatron shot him a small glare, which was enough to frighten Asplund, and even Cecile, as they stumbled back.
"In addition, I am also ordering the deployment of the Lancelot and it's pilot, Suzaku Kururugi." Megatron continued. "Dreadwing, I trust you to stay by Kururugi's side. Though he is a formidable pilot, it has been noted that he still has trouble dealing with the Autobots."
"As you wish, Lord Megatron." Dreadwing nodded.
"I'm being deployed to?" Suzaku voiced in surprise.
"Of course, it is what you wanted, is it not?" Megatron reminded. "To be on the battlefield as a soldier as opposed to being forced on the sidelines and simply watch?" Though Suzaku offered no response, he silently agreed that he wanted to get out there and help. He hated not being able to do anything.
"You cannot be serious!" One Britannian officer stated.
"The ASEEC is an irregular unit with an Eleven for a pilot! They cannot…"
"The ASEEC is under my command, as it is an irregular unit as you say, but that also means it is able to be integrated into whatever unit that chooses it." Megatron said calmly yet firmly. "I have taken ownership of the unit and placed it in my command; and seeing how your precious Viceroy Cornelia is on the verge of being captured or killed, with her forces overwhelmed, I would say the only way to avert a disaster is for me to take the reins. And in case you are wondering, this is not a request."
Megatron's glare was enough to silence and startle Euphemia as well as the Officers present as the Decepticon leader turned to the Camelot unit and Dreadwing. "Do you all find these terms to be acceptable?"
"I do, master." Dreadwing bowed his head.
"Oh absolutely!" Lloyd exclaimed joyously. "I've been wanting to test the upgrades Knock Out gave to my Lancelot, and what better way to see them in action than in a real battle?!"
"Young Kururugi?" Megatron asked the only person who didn't respond yet.
Though Suzaku wouldn't openly say that he fully trusted Megatron, he knew that having his permission here would mean that he'd be deployed into the battle, which was what he needed.
"Yes, send me into the battle!"
"Very well." Megatron smiled, doing his best to hide the malevolent expression within in it.
"Suzaku!" Euphemia spoke to the young Honorary Britannian directly. "Save my sister! Please!"
Suzaku was slightly startled as Euphemia spoke to him on a personal level but maintained a professional persona. "Right, I won't fail."
Megatron noticed the observation with interest. It would seem that Suzaku and Euphemia are becoming closer. Perhaps this relationship could be of use to him, if properly manipulated.
Narita
Guilford clashed his lance against Wheeljack's swords, but the Autobot was able to drive a powerful kick to send the Gloucester skidding back. Guilford threw a chaos mine into the air, but before it could deploy, Wheeljack threw his own grenade up to meet it, causing both to explode in the air. Before Guilford could even respond to that, Wheeljack was already on him, swinging his swords at him; which Guilford was barely able to block with his lance as he backed away.
"Is that all you got?" Wheeljack taunted.
"Damn it." Guilford muttered to himself. "The Autobot are much stronger than we thought."
It wasn't just Guilford that was having trouble; Claudio thrusted his Gloucester's lance against the katana wielded by Rai's Gekka which he blocked and parried. Claudio backed away as he launched his slash harkens at Rai, but the young Black Knight instinctively threw up his silver claw and activated the Radiant Wave Surger just as the harkens made contact; causing them to melt and rending them useless.
"Damn Eleven." Claudio grunted.
"May wanna take a look behind you, pal." Rai told him; causing Claudio to look in surprise as Tohdoh's own Burai Kai came in with his katana. Claudio couldn't react in time as Tohdoh slashed down diagonally at the cockpit, killing the pilot inside.
"Claudio!" Bart exclaimed, seeing his brother die; but he didn't even get a chance to react as Bulkhead already ran towards him to attack. Bart panicked and instinctively threw out his lance towards Bulkhead, but the green Autobot was able to block and crush it with a swing of his mace-weapon before forming his Energon cannon in his other arm and shooting at it; with a close-ranged and point-blank shot, Bart and his whole Knightmare were utterly destroyed.
Senba zoomed in to cut down one Gloucester while Asahina provided back-up as well to cut down a Gloucester coming to ambush them. With Bulkhead, Rai, and Wheeljack, even Tohdoh, facing off against the most elite Glaston Knights, the rest seemed pretty insignificant compared to them.
Edgar, the only remaining elite among the Glaston Knights present, save for Guilford was stuck on the defensive from Chiba and Urabe's Burai Kais; but fortunately, back-up quickly came as multiple bullets were shot down from a trio of Sutherlands, the remnants of the Purebloods being led by Villetta as they joined Guilford.
"Lord Guilford! We're here to help!" Villetta stated as she rolled up right next to Guilford's Gloucester.
"What about Zero?! Where is he?! And that lead Autobot, Optimus Prime?!" Guilford questioned.
"I don't know! We haven't seen either of them yet!"
Wheeljack chuckled, getting both their attention. "You haven't figured it out yet? Don't you think it's odd? You guys are up against the Wreckers and the JLF's best soldiers right now; and you're forces here have been cut in half. Don't you think it's odd that were all still here and none of us have gone after your little Princess?"
"What are you getting at, Autobot?!" Villetta questioned out of anger.
"You've been wondering where our leaders are? Maybe you should take a look where your leader is right now." Wheeljack said with a knowing smirk.
Guilford's eyes widened as he had realized that they have been played. He looked for the signal of Cornelia's Knightmare and found it heading right for a group of enemy units that would surround her in minutes.
"PRINCESS CORNELIA!"
Cornelia's Gloucester had made it's a way towards a massive trench and found her way barded by both Bumblebee and Ironhide.
"I got the message, Guilford."
Suzaku placed his ignition key within the Lancelot and got it primed and ready for launch. The white Knightmare stood at the ready as Dreadwing stood by his side.
"Stay beside me, Suzaku." Dreadwing told him. "Do not go off on your own. Consider that an order."
"I understand, Dreadwing."
Megatron contacted Suzaku again as his face appeared on the cockpit's monitor. "Suzaku Kururugi, you have the coordinates; though we have reason to believe the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, is there as well." Suzaku's eyes widened slightly as he remembered the Autobot leader and how he and Zero saved him from being executed, as well as saving all his friends from the terrorists at the hotel jacking, so he had mixed feelings about going against him. "However, you are ordered not to engage him! Battle whatever Autobots or Black Knights are nearby, and secure Cornelia if you desire, but do not engage Optimus. I shall deal with him myself."
Suzaku looked in surprise. "You're coming here?"
"But of course." Megatron replied as though it were obvious. "I am the leader of the Decepticons, and an effective leader must set the best example for his troops. Wouldn't you agree?"
That caught Suzaku off-guard. 'An effective leader must set the best example for his troops'. That phrase sounded almost exactly like Lelouch when the two played chess in their childhood. He remembered Lelouch always started with the King piece and when Suzaku asked why, Lelouch would respond with 'if the King doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow'. The words were different, but Lelouch's saying was nearly identical to Megatron's, and it made him feel quite uncomfortable.
"There is one thing however that I must ask, Suzaku." Megatron told him. "From what Dreadwing has told me of you, you do not like it when someone's life is taken, and yet you are in the military where death is not just likely, it is guaranteed. Why is that?"
Suzaku straightened himself. "I'm in the military to stop people from dying."
Megatron raised an eyebrow. "Quite contradictory, and you may soon find that life is not so simple. But, why don't we see if your actions merit the same results of your words. Be ready to be deployed."
"As you command…" Suzaku struggled to say the last part, mostly because of how he still doesn't completely trust Megatron, but he still said it as he was his commander for this operation. "… Lord Megatron."
The Nemesis – the Bridge
Megatron couldn't contain his own sneer as he knew that Suzaku was almost completely within his grasp. He contacted all his subordinates via Soundwave as the Decepticon surveillance chief prepared to open multiple Groundbridges at once.
"All units, launch immediately!"
Narita
"What are you waiting for, kid?!" Ironhide challenged Cornelia. "Come and get us!"
"Filthy abominations!" Cornelia thrusted her lance towards the Autobot duo; though Bumblebee jumped up to the wall and propelled off it to land behind Cornelia; Ironhide used the blunt-side of his cannon to block and parry Cornelia's lance before delivering a punch to send the Gloucester reeling backwards, right towards Bumblebee who punched the Knightmare's face himself and send it crashing into the side of the trench.
Cornelia launched her slash-harkens upwards towards the other trench wall to fly over both Autobots and shoot down at them with her rifle, but they managed to maneuver out of the way and avoid getting shot at. However, just as her Gloucester hung from the wall, the wall itself was shot by multiple magnesium bullets and several Energon blasts; causing it to collapse and Cornelia to fall. She glanced backwards to see the ones responsible.
"Prime…. Zero…" She practically gnashed her teeth.
"This is checkmate, Cornelia." Zero spoke from his Burai, with Optimus, Ohgi, and Tamaki right beside him. "Your move was beyond predictable. Ever since Optimus defeated you in Saitama, you've just been dying for a rematch. Your pride blinded you, and in your haste for vengeance you fell right into your trap."
"Oh, and in case you're wondering, your army is all but finished." Ironhide addressed Cornelia directly. "You've got maybe half a dozen soldiers left, so I'd say you've lost."
"Princess Cornelia." Optimus began. "Despite your hostile intent towards the innocent, I can see that you are at least compassionate towards your own soldiers and civilians."
"Is there a point to your bluster, Prime?" Cornelia questioned.
"Only that Megatron knows nothing of that. He lives solely for destruction and conquest." Optimus continued. "But there is another path. Surrender now, and I guarantee your life will be spared, as will the lives of your remaining soldiers."
Unfortunately, Cornelia appeared to have lost all sense of reason. "You're a fool, Prime! I will never surrender, especially to you of all people!" She aimed her rifle directly at Optimus, but before she could shoot, it was blasted out of her hands by Bumblebee with his Energon blaster.
Cornelia roared as she thrusted her lance at the yellow Autobot, but Bumblebee swerved around it and delivered a punch to the side of the Gloucester. The Autobot scout took a stance like a professional boxer and laid multiple punches across the Knightmare, forcing it to stumble backwards. Cornelia was about to go on the attack again, but Ironhide grabbed the Knightmare's cape from behind.
"Piece of advice, you may want to rethink the cape. It doesn't really help you in a fight." Ironhide said with a knowing smirk before pulling on the cape, pulling in Cornelia's Knightmare, which Ironhide grabbed to lift over his whole body and slam it down hard onto the ground. Cornelia grunted as she felt her whole-body rock, but she was able to pull it back up, albeit a bit shakily.
However, Zero opened fire with his Burai's rifle; i's magnesium ammunition was able to blast off and practically melt the Gloucester's right arm, as well as the rifle attached to it.
"Coward!" She spat to Zero. "Attacking from behind!"
"If I recall correctly, you tried to massacre the entire Saitama ghetto in an attempt to drive us into the open." Lelouch said with a glare in his eyes. "Someone who is willing to slaughter defenseless children really has no right to call anyone a coward."
Darlton groaned as his Gloucester was punched back and slammed against the wall by an attack from Cliffjumper. David's own Gloucester was also knocked back, though it was missing its right arm, curtsey of Arcee. The two Autobots as well as Kallen in the Guren MK II faced and cornered the only two Britannian Knightmares remaining in the area.
"I can't believe it…." David uttered, fear lingering in his voice. "Is this… how we're gonna go out…?"
"The Autobots…. Black Knights…" Darlton thought as glanced fearfully at the trio facing him. "I never… never imagined they'd be this strong."
Senba sliced down one Sutherland as Urabe did the same for the second in their Burai Kais. Villetta desperately tried to use her Knightmare's tonfas, but Rai was able to destroy them easily with a slice of his Gekka's katana. He moved in to grab her Sutherland's head with his Surger claw, but Villetta, the last surviving remember of the Purebloods, was forced to eject to save her own life.
Asahina parried his Burai Kai's katana against a Gloucester's lance, but the Britannian Knightmare was cut down from behind by Chiba. Bulkhead caught the lance from Edgar's Gloucester before he grabbed and completely tore off the arm of the Knightmare; he then crushed the head-unit with a clap of his massive hands to disable it, though Edgar himself was alive.
Guilford was locked in a stalemate against Tohdoh; his Gloucester's lance against the Burai Kai's katana; but Wheeljack had jumped into the air above the duel and sliced both his swords to completely sever both arms of the Gloucester before finishing it off with a kick to knock it down.
With all the Britannian forces in the area dealt with; Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Rai, Tohdoh, and the Four Holy Swords came together to look down expectantly at the Britannian knight, expecting him to be smart and surrender. The defeated Knight's own eyes shook with terror, but not for himself. "If this keeps up… Princess Cornelia will be…"
"Guilford…" His eyes widened as he heard his Princess contact him and speak in a tone that indicted this would be the last time that she'd be speaking to him. "Guilford… my Knight… Thank you for everything, I couldn't have asked for a better Knight, nor can I think of anyone else to take care of Euphie. I will not surrender! As a Britannian Princess I will fight to the last!"
"PRINCESS CORNELIA!"
Before any of the Autobots or Black Knights could move on the vulnerable Cornelia, they and all other Bots and BKs in the area got an emergency call from Ratchet and Fixit
"Emergency! Emergency!" Fixit shouted. "Multiple Decepticon units incoming! Repeat Multiple Decepticons incoming!"
"The entire mountain is surrounded! I'm counting over a hundred Decepticon signals closing in!" Ratchet reported
True to his word; a large Groundbridge portal opened up in the air high above the group as several Vehicons in their jet-vehicle modes flew out, being led by a large silver Cybertronian aircraft. However, they weren't the only ones as they were also joined in by a large blue jet, which was the vehicle mode of Dreadwing, and right behind him came a large explosion from the side of the trench, with the Lancelot itself coming out of the dust.
Bumblebee and Ironhide had immediately leapt out of the way and up above the trench as the Lancelot emerged.
"Oh, you gotta be freaking kidding!" Ironhide grunted.
"All units! Open fire now!" Optimus ordered as he Ohgi, Zero, Bumblebee, Tamaki, and Ironhide shot up in the air towards the incoming force of Vehicons that responded with their own Energon blasts.
"First that damn White Knightmare from Shinjuku and Lake Kawaguchi now this?!" Tamaki shouted out of frustration as he and the other black Burais attempted to dodge the red Energon blasts while also returning fire.
"[Complain later! Survive now!]" Bumblebee bleeped as he did the same.
However, Suzaku wasn't too concerned with the Autobots at the moment as the Lancelot quickly slid in front of the downed Gloucester owned by Cornelia.
"Viceroy, are you alright? I came to help your highness!" Suzaku stated.
"Special corps? Who authorized you?" Cornelia voiced in surprise.
Megatron, the one who authorized the launch, observed Suzaku's approach. "He used the VARIS of his Knightmare to clear a path. Clever. He should make a fine Decepticon."
The a few Vehicons were shot down; at least six of them all transformed and landed in front of the group of Autobots and Black Knights, along with Dreadwing and the Decepticon leader himself.
"Optimus. It has been a long time." The tyrant greeted with an evil smile.
"Megatron." Optimus narrowed his eyes.
A large Groundbridge portal opened up near the location of the Wreckers and Holy Swords; something that caused the JLF soldiers to look in surprise.
"What is that?" Chiba voiced, never seeing the portal up close before.
"That's not one of ours!" Bulkhead exclaimed with worry. "Get back! Everyone get back now!"
Bulkhead's warning proved to be right as at least a dozen Vehicon troopers all drove out in their vehicle modes; followed by a certain trio of Seekers in their jet-modes, as well as a certain red car and a large blue truck. Just as the portal closed; the Decepticons all transformed to reveal not only the Vehicons present, but as well as Knock Out, Breakdown, Thundercracker, Skywarp, even Starscream who sneered evilly at the heroes.
"Scrap!" Rai cursed.
One single Groundbridge portal opened just above the area where Cliffjumper, Arcee, and Kallen all were, and one single reaper drone flew out of it. It flew around the area before transforming and landing in front of the downed Britannian Knightmares owned by Darlton and David, revealing one of the most dangerous Decepticons ever known: Soundwave.
Though Kallen was startled by the appearance of this particular Decepticon, Arcee and Cliffjumper looked in partial fear, knowing just how dangerous of an enemy just arrived.
"That's not a good sign." Cliffjumper voiced.
"That's… Megatron…?" Ohgi's eyes shook in fear, the first time laying his eyes on the Decepticon leader.
"He's a whole lot bigger than I thought he'd be." Tamaki gulped.
Though Lelouch himself was beyond surprised that Megatron himself came here, and his appearance was intimidating to say the least, he was even more shocked to see the Lancelot here as it climbed its way out of the trench to join the Decepticons. Lelouch's eyes shook with rage as he not only knew who was piloting it, but at the smile he could practically see on Megatron's face, as though he brought Suzaku into his fold simply out of spite. Knowing that his best friend was being used like this made Lelouch's blood boil.
"Have you nothing to say to me Optimus?" Megatron teased. "We haven't seen each other in years, I would have at least expected a hello."
"I have nothing else to say to you, Megatron." Optimus replied.
This only caused Megatron to look even further amused. "Going right into the conflict, I can see you have changed since our last encounter. Very well." He addressed his soldiers. "Destroy them all, but Prime is mine." The Vehicons did as ordered as the opened fire with their Energon blasters and charged forward.
"Scatter! Now!" Ironhide exclaimed as he and Bumblebee rolled out of the way and returned fire with their own Energon blasters; while Zero, Tamaki, and Ohgi in their Burais rolled back and returned fire themselves.
The three front-most Vehicons were blown away by Ironhide's cannons as the fourth was gunned down by Bumblebee while the remaining two ran after the tree Burais. Zero opened fire and was able to hit one. The high-heat magnesium ammunition did as expected, as the high-temperature metal pierced through the metal skin of the Vehicon trooper, killing it. The second one was about to gun down Zero; but Tamaki rammed his Burai into the Vehicon and pinned it to the wall.
"Looks like you Cons ain't so tough after all!" Tamaki's Burai threw a punch, but the Vehicon caught it with little-to-no effort. Tamaki's eyes widened in shock as the Vehicon's own strength was easily able to overpower the Knightmare, with a chop from his other arm, the Vehicon severed the arm of Tamaki's Burai, much to his shock as it tripped and fell down. The Vehicon then aimed its Energon blaster at Tamaki; but he was later gunned down by both Zero and Ohgi with their Burais.
"Tamaki, you alright?" Ohgi asked as he helped him up.
"Yeah… I think so."
"I expected the Decepticons to be strong." Lelouch thought to himself. "But one trooper was still able to overpower a Knightmare? I've underestimated them."
"Look out!" Ironhide suddenly appeared in front of the trio of Burais to block an incoming slash harken from the Lancelot. Ironhide grabbed the harken itself and used his own strength to try and pull the white Knightmare towards himself, but Suzaku swung a kick to Ironhide, which the veteran Autobot saw coming and caught it with his other hand before grabbing the foot with both his hands and throwing him away.
"Hmmp, rookie." Ironhide commented even as he saw the Lancelot land gracefully. "Kid's got some moves, but he still has a lot to learn."
Dreadwing also appeared at the top of a cliffside with a large hand-held cannon. He aimed it at Ironhide and the Black Knights, ready to blow them away, but several Energon blasts hit his side, forcing him to shoot away from the group as Bumblebee ran along the side and shoot at him. Dreadwing aimed at the scout and shot at him, though Bumblebee was able to roll out of the way, each cannon shot caused a large explosion that almost shook the whole cliffside.
Ironhide saw the position they were in and knew the BKs were at a disadvantage, especially with Megatron this close. Plus with the rest of their forces spread so thin and so many Decepticons in the area, they had to regroup as soon as possible.
"Zero, you and the others try and regroup! We gotta get out of here!" Ironhide told the leader of the Black Knights.
"Ironhide…!" Lelouch tried to protest.
"No time to argue! Just go!" Ironhide exclaimed. "Bumblebee go with him and watch out for the Lancelot! I'll handle Dreadwing!"
"[You got it]" Bumblebee nodded as he transformed and began to drive away with Zero, Ohgi, and Tamaki right behind him in their Burais. Even though Zero disagreed with Ironhide often, he knew he was right here, they had to regroup, possibly retreat, as he saw on his Burai's screen just how many Decepticon signals were in the area. Needless to say, they were heavily outnumbered.
The Lancelot, as expected pursued after them. Dreadwing was about to transform and follow as well, but a blast from Ironhide's own cannon caught his attention.
"Pay attention! I'm the one you're fighting!" Ironhide stated as he opened fire, Dreadwing returned fire with his larger cannon. The blasts hit the ground and sent Ironhide back, close towards the edge, but the veteran Autobot wasn't done yet as he charged a powerful blast in his right cannon and shot at the ledge underneath Dreadwing, causing the portion of the cliffside he stood on to collapse, and sending Dreadwing sliding and skidding down it and landing at even level with Ironhide.
"I know your type, Dreadwing." Ironhide began as he saw the Decepticon stand up. "You like to do your dirty work from a distance with bombs and guns, right? Well do you have the ball-bearings to fight with your fists?"
Dreadwing however didn't feel insulted, but rather intrigued. "Well, in this particular case, Autobot, I will be all-too-happy to make an exception." They both gave warriors yells as they charged at one another.
Meanwhile; despite the battles occurring around them, Optimus and Megatron had yet to move from their spots. Optimus trusted Lelouch enough to make the right judgement and trusted Bumblebee to watch out for him. So, he kept his focus squarely on his old enemy.
"Your fellow Autobots and even your newfound allies are wise, Optimus." Megatron told him. "They know when to retreat."
"As I've said Megatron, I have nothing else to say to you." Optimus repeated.
"Very well, then let us see if you have gotten rusty during our time apart, old friend." Megatron sneered as the two enemies ran towards each other to engage in brutal combat.
Meanwhile; Soundwave faced Arcee, the Guren MK II, and Cliffjumper alone, or so it seemed as he deployed four units from his side. From his chest, he produced Laserbeak. Ravage ejected from his back. From his right side, a blue Mini-Con Decepticon with large pile-drivers for arms; this was Rumble. From his left side, an equally tall, red, Mini-Con Decepticon was deployed; this was Frenzy.
"What the heck…?!" Kallen voiced in surprise.
"Get ready to crumble, before Rumble!" Rumble exclaimed as he drove his pile-drivers into the ground, creating a small tremor that collapsed the portion of the cliffside Arcee, Cliffjumper, and the Guren were standing on. They all tumbled and fell; though Arcee and Cliffjumper fell twenty or thirty feet, they landed on stable ground; while Kallen drove her Knightmare's knife into the cliffside, just above the ridge, before she could fall down with them.
Soundwave then pointed over the ridge, ordering his Mini-Cons to face the Autobots. "Ah yeah, time to dance!" Frenzy said excitedly as he, Ravage and Rumble ran to jump over the ridge, while Laserbeak flew down. Soundwave meanwhile turned to face the two surviving Britannian Knightmares and pointed away from the battle.
Darlton looked in surprise. "Is he… telling us to retreat?" It would seem that were the case as Darlton contacted his son. "David, let's get out of here."
"No need to tell me twice!" David agreed as he and his adoptive father drove their heavily damaged Knightmares away, just as Kallen leapt her Guren into the air and landed on the ground, facing Soundwave himself.
"Nice trick with those little mini-bots." She challenged. "But do you know how to fight yourself?" Kallen readied her knife as well as her claw. In direct response, Soundwave took a combative stance himself, his arms extended almost like blades.
With a roar, Kallen shot her Guren straight for Soundwave and lashed out both her claw and knife, but Soundwave dodged each attack almost gracefully, even with the knife just barley grazing his visor. Kallen skidded past Soundwave and jumped upwards, flipping in the air to try and land a drop-kick on Soundwave, but the faceless Decepticon leapt back to avoid it. Kallen growled, not having gotten a single hit in as she zoomed at Soundwave again lashing her knife, but Soundwave blocked the attack with his arm. Kallen threw out her Radiant Wave Surger, but Soundwave crossed his arms in an x-formation to block and lock it in place. Before Kallen could activate it, Soundwave quickly produced a tentacle from his side and snapped it at Kallen to send her skidding back.
Soundwave noticed how different the silver claw appendage was from the rest of the red Knightmare and did a quick scan. The design of the Radiant Wave Surger appeared on his visor and he saw just how dangerous it was, making a silent note to avoid it.
Kallen meanwhile had taken a few deep breaths. She expected the Decepticons to be tough, but to not get a single hit in, even with the Guren MK II, it really made her angry. Kallen charged again, but Soundwave took advantage of her anger and was able to slip past her strike with the Radiant Wave Surger. While he was on her side, he launched one of his tentacles again which managed to grab and attach itself to the Knightmare. Soundwave lifted it up into the air before spinning and slamming the Guren down onto the ground hard in front of him. Kallen yelled as she felt the rock and even spat out some blood before Soundwave dragged the Guren along the ground and sent it skidding near the cliff on its backside.
Before Kallen could even regain her bearings and pull her Knightmare back up, Soundwave shot one of its tentacles to pin the Surger claw onto the ground by its palm, seemingly rendering it useless as Soundwave produced another tentacle, the tip of it spinning like a drill as it aimed itself right for the cockpit. But Kallen instinctively used her Guren's remaining hand to grab the tentacle and try and keep it back. However, Soundwave appeared to be stronger as the drilling-tentacle was inching ever closer to the cockpit. Kallen glanced back and saw how pinned her Surger Claw was. She might not be able to use it on the Con's face, she had to get out of this predicament quick. So, with some desperation, Kallen activated the Radiant Wave Surger. This sent a wave of heat-energy surging through the tentacle and right into Soundwave; which managed to shake up his internal systems, but nothing too damaging, and get him off Kallen. Using this, Kallen quickly pulled herself up and shot her claw at him, its fingers curved in like a fist, and landed a solid punch right on Soundwave's face.
Soundwave stumbled back slightly but didn't falter. He looked at the Guren as a large crack formed on his visor.
Kallen smirked. "Looks like I can hurt you."
Meanwhile; down on the cliffside below; Arcee and Cliffjumper both heard the commotion going on above them.
"Is she seriously picking a fight with Soundwave?!" Cliff voiced with concern.
"We gotta get up there now!" Arcee exclaimed.
"Worry about yourselves first, Bots!" Frenzy launched himself into the air with jet-boosters on his feet as he fired Energon blasters from his hands at the pair, forcing them to separate. Rumble activated his pile-drivers to create a tremor and knock down Cliffjumper just as Laserbeak flew down toward him and shot several Energon lasers at him. But Cliff rolled out of the way and opened fire with his right arm at Laserbeak, and his left at Rumble, but the ground-Mini-Con used his own pile-drivers to propel himself into the air and avoid the attack.
Arcee meanwhile ran and jumped to avoid Frenzy's assault as she returned fire with her own Energon blasters, but she didn't get too many shots in as Ravage pounced on her back and bit down onto her shoulder, causing her to yell in pain. But she was able to grab Ravage and throw him off her. Arcee then came back-to-back with her partner as the four Mini-Cons circled them.
"I forgot how much I hate these guys." Cliffjumper commented.
Rai lashed out his Surger claw at a Vehicon and grabbed his head. "Let's see how this thing works on Cons." Rai activated his Gekka's Radiant Wave Surger. Just like with the Knightmares before, the Vehicon's body began to explode and pop from the inside until the whole Decepticon exploded. Rai didn't have much time to celebrate as he was forced to dodge laser fire from two more Vehicons. Though he was quick enough with his Gekka to avoid all the shots and zoom towards them with his katana to cut them down.
Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords were forced to keep their distance as a group of seven Vehicons shot at them; though the Cons were unable to hit any of their Burai Kais, the Four Holy Swords couldn't find any openings to get in close.
"These things aren't like Britannian Knightmares!" Chiba stated. "Are these those Decepticons we've heard about?"
"Sure, seems like it." Senba uttered as he tried to keep his distance himself.
"How do we take these things down?!" Asahina questioned.
"Go for the joints!" Bulkhead told them as he smashed a Vehicon with his mace. "Sever their arms and legs but move in fast!" He stated before Bulkhead was immediately tackled by Breakdown and sent tumbling through several trees.
Tohdoh seemed to get it. "You heard him! Go for their joints! Switch to Spinning-Life-or-Death formation!"
"Right!" All Four Holy Swords said at the same time as all five Burai Kais followed Tohdoh's lead and began to circle the seven Vehicons so fast that they couldn't get a lock on them. Several tried to lash out with their Energon blasters, but as they did, the Burais threw Katanas outward to sever their arms. They then moved in closer and began to cut away at the Vehicons' arms and legs, before getting to their heads. By the time they were done, all the Vehicons had been reduced to a literal pile of scrap. However, they didn't have time to celebrate as a missile blast hit the ground, sending their Knightmares skidding away.
"So, this is the Japan Liberation Front's best." Starscream mused, having fired a missile at them as he stood with Thundercracker and Skywarp. "The Four Holy Swords."
"Funny, I count five of them." Skywarp said. "And they don't look so 'holy' to me."
"They seem to function best as a single unit." Thundercracker observed.
"Then separate them and pick them off!" Starscream ordered. "But their leader is mine."
Just as the Holy Swords were able to recover; Thundercracker and Skywarp already flew towards them with boosters on their feet as they each managed to engage two at a time. Thundercracker took on Chiba and Asahina while Skywarp engaged Urabe and Senba. Tohdoh's Burai Kai got up only to come face-to-face with the smirking Starscream.
Wheeljack thrusted his sword forward to impale the last Vehicon in the area but had to move out of the way to avoid an incoming buzz-saw strike from Knock Out.
"Time for painful little procedure I like to call the 'nip and tuck'!" Knock Out swung his buzz-saw at Wheeljack which he blocked and parried with one of his swords but Knock Out came up with a drill in his other hand, which Wheeljack was also able to block with his other sword. He jumped back to get some distance from the Mad Doctor of the Decepticons.
"Sorry Doc, but I think you're the one who's gonna need surgery." Wheeljack remarked as he re-engaged the enemy.
Bulkhead threw a mace-strike at Breakdown's face, who retorted with a hammer to Bulkhead's face. Breakdown then lifted his hammer up high and tried to swing down on Bulkhead, but he caught it with both his hands and tried to press against Breakdown, only for the bulky Decepticon to aim his shoulder-mounted rocket and blast Bulkhead, point-blank, sending him flying through multiple trees and into the woods.
Breakdown chuckled as he was ready to go in and finish the job, but gave a sudden holler in pain as Rai's Gekka Pre-Production zoomed past Breakdown, slashing at his chest with his sword before coming to a halt in front of Breakdown.
"Oops, did I do that?" Rai taunted as Breakdown saw the large bleeding cut on his chest. Though it wasn't anything too damaging, it did catch him by surprise. However, it was the voice from the Knightmare that caught his attention. He heard it before.
"Wait a minute, you're that one pilot from Greece." Breakdown recognized him. "The same one who blew up the Harvester."
"Yeah, that was me alright! But this time, I'm ready for you!" Rai's Gekka twirled his sword and showed off his shiny Surger Claw. "Why don't you show me what you got big guy?"
Breakdown smirked evilly. "Bring it, you little meat bag." He formed his hammer again as he ran to try and smash down on him, but Rai's Gekka swerved out of the way easily as he lashed at Breakdown's side with his sword, causing him to grunt in pain as Breakdown swung his hammer at him again, but Rai backed away quickly as Breakdown ran after him.
"I know I talked big, but this guy can throw Bulkhead around like a rag doll!" Rai thought to himself. "If he hits me with that thing I'm done!" He looked this Surger claw and got an idea. Even though he hadn't grabbed onto anything, he actually activated his Radiant Wave Surger and charged right at Breakdown just as the red energy already pulsated through the palm of his device. Breakdown roared as he swung his hammer down at the Gekka, but Rai thrusted his active Surger claw right at the hammer, the second it made contact, it created a large explosion of red energy that actually sent both Rai's Gekka and Breakdown flying back away from each other. However, they were both quick to get back up as they glared at each other once more.
It was pretty much the same all over the Narita mountain. While the Autobots and a certain select few of Black Knights engaged their respective opposing Decepticon squads, many more Vehicons, at least a hundred total, landed all over the mountain and engaged the combined JLF and Black Knight forces in their Knightmares. Though the BKs were able to get a few kills in with their high-heat ammunition in their customized Burais, the JLF Knightmares didn't have as much luck as the Vehicons seemed to lay waste to a vast majority of them. Even with the combined forces of both resistant groups; the deceptions had them all on the run as their Energon blasters rendered the Knightmares to smoking piles of molten scrap in seconds.
The Ark – The Bridge
Ratchet and Fixit watched the warzone unfold on the large screen, and needless to say, both of them were very worried, especially the orange Mini-Con.
"Oh, sweet Primus…" Fixit muttered. "This is a blaster… master… disaster!"
"We suspected the Decepticons would be too much for the Black Knights alone to handle, but to be overwhelmed like this..." Ratchet knew the only way for the Black Knights and his fellow Autobots to survive was to retreat, especially considering Megatron himself was on the battlefield. He immediately contacted everyone.
"All Black Knights, prepare for immediate withdrawal!" Ratchet relayed to everyone. "I am sending you the coordinates where the extractions will be taking place! Get to whichever point is closer immediately! Help each other if you can but disengage from any Decepticon forces immediately! Do not face them! Repeat! Do not face them!" He turned to the Mini-Con. "Fixit, prepare for multiple emergency Groundbridge extractions immediately!"
"Right!" Fixit pulled out his Groundbridge remote and put in the necessary data to begin the retreat.
Narita
Optimus and Megatron each laid a powerful punch to the face, forcing them to slide back, though Optimus was quick to recover and get back into the fight. Megatron fired with his fusion cannon, but Optimus batted it away as he opened fire with his Energon blaster, which Megatron also batted out of the way. They repeated the process as Optimus tried to shoot Megatron, but the tyrant batted the blaster away, forcing Optimus to mis-fire, while Optimus batted away Megatron's fusion cannon for the same result. Optimus however was quick to deliver a roundhouse to Megatron's face and shoot him, but Megatron recovered quickly to bat the blaster away again. They batted their guns away two more times before both Energon blaster and fusion cannon met and blasted at each other. The combined force from the colliding blasts was enough to send Optimus and Megatron flying and crashing through multiple trees.
Optimus was the first to get back up, but Megatron wasn't far behind. However, before either of them could get back into the fight, Megatron was pelted by multiple magnesium ammunition and bullets. He glanced upwards to see at least a dozen combined Black Knight and JLF Burais charging down the hill at him.
"Open fire! Show that oversized-tin-can what Japan can do!" Inoue exclaimed as she led the charge with the Black Knights and JLF members giving warrior calls as they charged the Decepticon leader.
Optimus' eyes widened in surprise and dread. "No! Fall back! Fall back now!" He tried to call to them, but it was too late.
Megatron sneered as he drew extended his blade from his arm and ran at them at a speed impossible for something of his size. The front most Burais were quickly cut down before they could even blink. Megatron then opened fire with his Fusion cannon, just a few shots were able to wipe out more than half the squad as Megatron went on the offensive with blade-strikes, punches, and kicks, rendering the Knightmares to scrap, the pilots inside screaming out of fear and agony as they met a painful end.
Inoue herself looked in absolute terror. A dozen Knightmares were wiped out by one being in less than a minute. "My god…" She uttered to herself. "What… what in the world… is he….?" She was about to be cut down next by Megatron's blade, but Optimus was quick to save her with a punch to Megatron's face before drawing both his Energon blasters for a charged shot to blast Megatron back at least a hundred yards away.
"Retreat now!" Optimus ordered the still-shocked Inoue. "Ratchet has already provided coordinates for the extraction! Rendezvous with whatever our forces are near here and meet at one of those points! Go now!"
Inoue was still shocked, but she was able to shake her head and regain her bearings. "I... yes… yes sir!" She turned her Burai around and gunned it toward the nearest extraction point as Optimus turned to face the recovering Megatron who opened fire with his Fusion cannon.
Optimus drew his blade to slice and deflect the blast as he ran towards Megatron. The Decepticon leader continued to shoot at his enemy, but Optimus deflected every strike before jumping high once he was close enough, Megatron drew his blade once more and met Optimus as he landed. Optimus glared at his foe as they pressed each other's strength against one another.
"Why so angry Optimus?" Megatron teased. "You've done the same thing to my own soldiers, and even to Britannians. How is what I do anything different from what you've already done?"
"You know perfectly well." Optimus responded. "I may have killed, but I take no joy in it. While you relish in it."
Megatron only responded with an evil smirk, all but confirming Optimus' statement. "You really do know me all too well." They pulled back their blades before clashing metal against metal. Optimus slashed downward, which Megatron blocked before ducking under another slice from Optimus and responding with a horizontal slice, which Optimus collided with a vertical slice of his own.
Ironhide threw a punch towards Dreadwing, who blocked it with an arm-parry and responded with a punch towards Ironhide's jaw, but the veteran Autobot was quick to recover with an uppercut to Dreadwing's chin, causing him to stagger back. Ironhide ran forward with another punch that Dreadwing was able to parry and swerved behind Ironhide where he slapped one of his titular bombs on his back, that Ironhide didn't seem to notice. Ironhide threw out another punch that Dreadwing jumped backwards to avoid only to raise both his fists and bring them down onto Ironhide's shoulders.
However, the Autobot wasn't done yet as he grabbed Dreadwing and tackled him through several trees and pinned him hard to a nearby cliffside. Dreadwing groaned as he tried to wrench himself free from Ironhide's grip, but he wouldn't budge, that is until Dreadwing drove a knee into Ironhide's abs, forcing him to let go of Dreadwing, giving the Decepticon an opening to deliver a roundhouse kick to Ironhide's face, sending him skidding back several feet. But Ironhide was quick to get back on his feet and charge back in at Dreadwing where he landed a powerful slug to Dreadwing's face before delivering another to Dreadwing's abs before firing a charged shot from both his Energon cannons at Dreadwing's torso, the blast sending him flying backwards through multiple trees and crashing through a large rock.
Ironhide groaned slightly as he rubbed some of the spilled Energon from his mouth as he saw Dreadwing got back up.
"An admirable effort. However, it seems you have forgotten just how resourceful I can be." Dreadwing said as he pulled out his remote detonator to begin his bomb's countdown, but Ironhide wasn't worried at all.
"I don't forget anything."
Dreadwing's eyes widened as he realized the active bomb was attached to his back! He struggled to take it off, but the second he did, he threw it just as the bomb exploded. Though it was far enough way that it couldn't kill him, the explosion was powerful enough to send him flying and tumbling down a large cliffside.
Ironhide grunted. "I may be old, but I still know a few tricks." He then transformed to meet up with whatever Black Knights were available at the nearest extraction point.
The Lancelot continued its pursuit of Zero, Bumblebee, Ohgi, and Tamaki. Suzaku aimed and fired the VARIS around them; he didn't intend to hit any of them, but he had hoped the demonstration of such a powerful weapon would be enough to get them to surrender, but this only made them drive away faster.
"Damn! Doesn't this guy ever quit?!" Tamaki exclaimed.
"Tamaki, Ohgi, get the nearest extraction point!" Zero ordered through the private communications so the Lancelot couldn't hear their plan. "Bumblebee and I will try to lead the Knightmare away, so we don't endanger our comrades!"
"Wait, Zero are you sure?" Ohgi asked.
"I'm sure! Now go! That's an order!" Zero exclaimed.
Ohgi sighed, but new his leader had a point. "Alright, we'll meet you guys back at the Ark. Tamaki, let's go!"
"Right." Tamaki voiced with great reluctance, hating the idea of retreating as he and Ohgi veered off to the nearest extraction point. But the Lancelot turned and aimed its VARIS to block off their path of escape.
"I won't let you…" Suzaku didn't get a chance to fire as Bumblebee had already turned around and drove under the Lancelot, transforming as he did, while simultaneously grabbing the VARIS out of the Lancelot's hands and throwing it off to the side. Suzaku was take off-guard by such an action, which left him open for Bumblebee to come in and score a punch to the Lancelot, knocking it back.
Bumblebee tried to press the attack, but the Lancelot was quick to duck underneath the Autobot and sweep his feet to knock Bumblebee down, when the Lancelot tried to punch the downed Autobot, Bumblebee was quick to grab the arm with both his hands and catapult Suzaku off him. However, the Lancelot twirled in the air and drew both its MVS blades to swing down at Bumblebee who barley rolled out of the way.
"That thing is way faster than before. The Cons must have given it some upgrades."
The Lancelot was about to go on the attack, but was forced to activate its Blaze Luminous shield to block the fire from Zero's Burai's rifle. "If I can disable the Knightmare, we can leave without hurting Suzaku. Damn it, why the hell did you have to be here?! And why the hell are you with the Decepticons?!"
Suzaku grunted as he used his Lancelot to jump and soar straight for Zero's Burai, but it backed up before it could swing its MVS blades at him, however as he landed, Bumblebee grabbed the Lancelot's right hand and was able to drive an elbow into it with his other arm, forcing the Lancelot to let go of the MVS sword in that hand, which Bumblebee took to swing at Suzaku, who blocked it with his remaining MVS.
Bumblebee backed closer towards Zero's Burai as he held the MVS and faced the Lancelot.
"[I hope the others are having better luck than we are.]" Bumblebee spoke to Zero through his bleeps.
Chiba and Asahina shot their Burai Kais straight for Thundercracker who produced his own arm-blades to block the katana strikes from both Holy Sword members. Thundercracker's feet boosters ignited to give him a boost and avoid the sword-strikes. While airborne, he shot himself downward at the pair, forcing them to retreat and get some distance.
Urabe and Senba rolled their own Knightmares to avoid the Energon blasts shot at them by the airborne Skywarp.
"Come on, is that all you measly humans got? I thought you were supposed to be tough!" Skywarp mocked.
"Oh, we are plenty tough, pal." Urabe rolled his Burai Kai straight towards a flat rock and used it like a ramp to propel himself straight up at the surprised Skywarp; he cut him along his side to knock him down onto the ground as Urabe landed gracefully. Senba pressed the attack with his own Burai Kai, but Skywarp picked up a large rock to use as a blunt shield and block the attack, allowing him to run backwards and gain some distance with the two Holy Swords in pursuit.
Starscream meanwhile lashed out his claws at Tohdoh's Burai Kai, and laughed evilly the whole time, though Tohdoh blocked each strike with his Knightmare's katana. He swerved under another strike to slice at Starscream's side and knock him back as Tohdoh readied himself to face the recovering Decepticon.
"You're much tougher than the average human, which isn't saying much." Starscream began. "Seeing as you lead this group, the Four Holy Swords, am I correct to assume you're the legendary Kyoshiro Tohdoh, the Tohdoh of Miracles?" Tohdoh himself narrowed his eyes as Starscream continued. "You may hold your own against those annoying Britannians, but I am in a league far above the rest. I am the mighty Starscream! Second in Command of the Decepticons!" He launched another wrist missile at Tohdoh, who was able to swerve out of the way in his Burai Kai. "Your puny Knightmare is nothing to the likes of me! I am invincible….!" Before Starscream could continue, Tohdoh's Burai Kai suddenly shot out from the smoke and sliced at Starscream's chest; giving a large cut before delivering a roundhouse kick to Starscream's face and sending him soaring into the forest, crashing through several trees in the process.
"You talk too much." Tohdoh commented.
Wheeljack meanwhile blocked and parried Knock Out's repeated drill and buzz-saw strikes with his swords before swerving around a vertical buzz-saw and delivering a kick to his side. Taking advantage of Knock Out's brief disorientation, Wheeljack sliced at his chest to send him flying towards a large rock. Wheeljack tried to press the advantage as he leapt with both his blades, but Knock Out caught him by the arms, however Wheeljack was still able to headbutt Knock Out before delivering another kick to his side.
Knock Out gasped, upon seeing the massive scratch on his paintjob from Wheeljack's sword strike. "Hey watch the paint!" Knock Out tried to thrust his drill at Wheeljack who actually threw down his swords to catch Knock Out by the wrist and haul him over his shoulder before leaping and delivering a punch to the Mad Doctor's face and knock him unconscious.
Wheeljack however smirked mischievously as he picked up his swords. "You don't like scratches huh?" He purposely dragged the tip of his blade down Knock Out's chest to give him a large scratch on his paintjob. "Try buffing that out."
Rai was meanwhile stuck on the defensive, barely able to avoid each strike from Breakdown as he knew that one good strike could probably total his Gekka. He tried to lay in whatever attack he could get with his katana, but all it did was scratch him and barley slow him down. When Rai tried to lash out his katana again, Breakdown caught the Gekka by the wrist and lifted the Knightmare up off his feet.
"Hope this thing's got cushions inside." Breakdown said with an evil grin as he was ready to completely obliterate the Knightmare. Getting desperate, Rai lunged his Surger claw towards Breakdown's face. Upon seeing the incoming claw, Breakdown instinctively let go of the Knightmare, causing it to fall and miss grabbing onto his face; however, the middle claw was still able to extend and pierce into Breakdown's right eye and completely pull it out as the Gekka landed and Rai instinctively pulled back just as Breakdown yelled in pain and held his face.
Rai looked in surprise as he saw the pierced Cybertronian eye on his claw. "Ugh gross!" He shook the claw to shake off the damaged eye. "Guess this is what they mean when they say sharp things can poke your eye out huh?" Rai chuckled slightly out of humor.
Humor that Breakdown clearly didn't share as he roared both in pain and rage and charged straight at Rai. "Uh oh." The young amnesiac Black Knight couldn't react in time as Breakdown swiped his arm to send the Gekka Pre-Production flying and crashing into several trees. Breakdown was about to go in for the kill with a hammer-strike, but his attack was caught by a certain green Autobot.
"Why don't you pick on somebody your own size." Bulkhead glared before punching his mace-weapon into Breakdown's face and then proceeded to deliver multiple punches, both his fists converted into maces. He didn't even give Breakdown time to recover as he laid one punch after another. After maybe the tenth attack, Bulkhead gave an uppercut to Breakdown's chin to send him crashing to the ground. He then picked up Breakdown by the feet and twirled his massive body before letting go and sending him flying, crashing right into Thundercracker and Skywarp that were still engaging the Four Holy Swords.
All three Cons crashed at least a hundred feet away into the woods while the Four Holy Swords, including Tohdoh looked to Bulkhead in surprise.
"Nice throw." Urabe commented.
Bulkhead was able to get to the Gekka to see if his friend was okay. "Rai, are you alright in there?"
Rai groaned as he shakily pulled up his blue Knightmare. "Yeah… I'll live. Nice lob." He chuckled, causing Bulkhead to chuckle as Wheeljack joined them. They then received a communication from Fixit.
"Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Rai; most of our forces have been extracted. A Groundbridge portal is opening now at your location. I would advise entering it as quickly as possible." The orange Mini-Con recommended.
Right on cue, the Groundbridge poral opened up behind them. "Don't worry, this one's ours!" Wheeljack told Tohdoh and his comrades.
"Come on, let's go!" Bulkhead waved for the JLF members to follow them.
"No, you go ahead." Tohdoh replied.
"What?! But what about you guys?!" Rai questioned.
"We have to secure our own forces." Chiba informed. "Thanks for your help, but we're not one of you."
"You guys can't take on the Cons and win though! You're not ready!" Bulkhead tried to reason with them.
"We're not fighting anyone." Asahina said. "Our General contacted us and informed us that our surviving forces are already being evacuated. We have to help them."
"You guys go, but don't worry, I got a feeling we'll be seeing each other again." Senba commented.
Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Rai each exchanged glances with one another. "You won't abandon your friends." Wheeljack said with a nod. "Okay, I respect that."
"Thank you for your help." Tohdoh said sincerely. "Perhaps one day we can return to favor. Oh, before you go though, give a message to Zero for me. Tell him, Kyoshiro Tohdoh sends his regards and hopes to see him… again."
As Tohdoh led the Four Holy Swords away from the field, the three Wreckers looked in surprise.
"Did he just say… 'again'?" Bulkhead questioned.
"Does that mean… he knows about Lelouch?" Rai voiced in worry.
"We can talk about with the kid once we get out of here. Come on, let's go." Wheeljack said as he and his partners both turned to enter the Groundbridge before it closed.
Meanwhile; Kallen gave a roar as she lashed out her Surger claw straight for Soundwave who leapt back as he lashed out his tentacles straight at the Guren, but the red Knightmare drew its knife and used it and her claw to try and bat away the tentacles before jumping upward to try and deliver a kick to Soundwave; but he actually reached out his elongated arm to catch the Guren by the throat and hang it up in the air. Kallen tried using the extender to increase the length of the of her Surger claw, gunning straight for Soundwave's face, but both his tentacles came up to ensnare and begin crushing the claw, damaging the Radiant Wave Surger inside.
Soundwave then threw Kallen hard towards a cliffside; causing it to crash and several rocks to fall over the Guren. Kallen groaned as she was able to pull the Guren MK II up, albeit shakily to face Soundwave.
"Looks like I can hurt you" Soundwave replayed Kallen's voice if only to taunt her, something that actually made her look in fear as the face-less Decepticon began to approach her.
However, Soundwave didn't get a chance to attack as Cliffjumper suddenly appeared behind him and leapt onto his back; grabbing and pulling back on both of Soundwave's arms. "Surprise! Didn't forget about us, did you?" Cliff taunted as Soundwave tried to shake him off; but this left him vulnerable for Arcee to slide down below Soundwave and swipe her feet to trip him, before Cliff jumped off and both Autobots landed protectively in front of the Guren.
"Guys!" Kallen voiced in surprise and relief.
"Picking a fight with Soundwave huh?" Cliffjumper joked. "You got guts kid, but it's gonna take more than that to beat him."
"How'd you get away from all those Mini-Cons he had?" Kallen asked.
"We didn't." Arcee scowled as Rumble, Frenzy, and Ravage had leapt or climbed up the cliffside with Laserbeak hovering above them just as Soundwave picked himself up.
"Awe, why'd you run away, the fun was just getting started." Frenzy taunted.
Soundwave stood as tall as ever as Frenzy, Ravage, and Laserbeak readied their Energon blasters and aimed them at Arcee, Cliffjumper, and the Guren with Rumble readying his pile-drivers.
"Any last words, chumps?" Rumble smirked as Arcee and Cliffjumper readied their weapons and even Kallen's Guren gripped her knife in a battle-stance.
However, the fight didn't occur as Soundwave's cracked visor suddenly came to life as a signal was picked up on the Decepticon communication-line. But it wasn't coming from any Decepticons in the area, or even from the Nemesis. No…. this signal was coming…. From Cybertron? Soundwave looked upwards and east-bound; causing the two Autobots and the Guren's pilot to look in surprise. Soundwave then turned down to his Mini-Cons and silently ordered them to return.
"What? But boss, we can get them!" Frenzy protested, but Soundwave kept his silent expression focused on them, indicating this wasn't up for debate.
"Arlight, fine." Rumble grumbled before turning to the trio. "This ain't over Autobots!" He, Frenzy, Ravage, and Laserbeak all returned to Soundwave, who transformed into his reaper-drone vehicle mode and flew away, much to the surprise of the trio.
"Hey guys… what just happened?" Kallen asked in confusion.
"No idea." Cliffjumper responded. "He had us right where he wanted us, why run away?"
"We can worry about that later." Arcee said. "Right now, we need to get out of here." She accessed her comns. "Fixit, we need a Groundbridge."
Less than a second later, a Groundbridge portal opened up behind them. Arcee and Cliffjumper immediately ran into it with Kallen driving her Guren in right after them before it closed.
Bumblebee hacked and slashed his newly acquired MVS blade against the one the Lancelot used, though as Bumblebee had never used a sword like this before, the Lancelot appeared to have the advantage as it blocked another strike and delivered a fierce kick to Bumblebee's chest and send the yellow Autobot rolling across the forest. The Lancelot activated its Blaze Luminous shield once more to block the fire from Zero's Burai. Suzaku quickly noticed the VARIS rifle was near his position and shot a slash harken at the Burai, severing its gun arm before making a break for the VARIS.
"Scrap!" Lelouch cursed as he saw the Lancelot pick up the weapon. Suzaku aimed and shot the VARIS at the ground below Zero's Burai. The ground exploded; destroying the bottom half of the black Knightmare just as Lelouch put on his mask and activated the eject to shoot his cockpit out of the destroyed Knightmare. It flew and slid to a halt on the ground.
Just as Zero pulled himself out and stood up on the ejected cockpit, the Lancelot had already arrived, but Bumblebee had arrived onto the scene as well, standing protectively in front of Zero and holding the stolen MVS blade tightly just as the Lancelot aimed its VARIS at the Autobot.
It was a stand-off as neither dared to make a move or even speak. Bumblebee kept his optics solely focused on the Lancelot; he knew who piloted it. Even though he didn't know Suzaku personally, he could tell that the young man inside was a good person; he saved Lelouch and Nunnally during the invasion of Japan and helped protected their identity, even know he valued the former Prince as his friend, not knowing that Lelouch and Zero were one-in-the same. But right now, it would seem that he was being used by the Decepticons. Bumblebee wished he still had his voice, if only he could actually speak and try to reason with Suzaku.
Suzaku looked with a concerned yet serious expression at both the scout and masked Revolutionary. "Zero… I owe you and the Autobots, you saved my life; you've saved my friends lives and so many other people. I know there are lots of Elevens supporting you from the shadows… however… your methods are… very wrong."
Lelouch's eyes shook underneath his mask, as his best friend had a large weapon pointed right at him. How did it come to this? How did one of his closest friends become such a deadly enemy? It was all the Decepticons! Who knows what lies Megatron has told him; he was practically brainwashed! Lelouch considered taking off his mask to show his face, just so he could talk to Suzaku. He wanted his friend to understand, and he would never use his Geass to force him to join him. However, before anyone made a move, someone else had walked onto the scene; someone that neither Lelouch, Bumblebee, nor Suzaku had expected to see.
"[C.C.!?]" Bumblebee voiced in bleeps as the green haired girl walked in front of the Lancelot, much to Suzaku's surprise as he recognized her instantly.
"That's….! That's the girl from the capsule in Shinjuku!"
"Stop now!" C.C. exclaimed, facing the Lancelot directly. "Don't even think about hurting them!"
"C.C…" Zero muttered.
"[What are you doing?!]" Bumblebee questioned.
"She's working…. With Zero…?" Suzaku wondered in confusion.
The mysterious woman had walked right up to the Lancelot and she placed her hand directly onto the white Knightmare's left leg.
"Wait… are you challenging a Knightmare?!" Zero exclaimed.
"It's a problem if you die…." C.C. began as her hair began to wave in the wind; as it did, it revealed a red marking on her forehead that resembled the sigil of a Geass. "…It'll be indirect contact but it's worth a try." Her mark began to glow as she activated her own powers.
Suzaku's eyes widened as he was suddenly pulled into a tunnel of colored lights, much like what Lelouch had seen when he formed his contract with C.C. Suzaku's whole body turned white as he was bombarded with a series of visions. He saw two worlds facing each other; one resembling Earth, the other being a world made entirely out of metal that he couldn't identify. He also saw two large beings; one surrounded by blue energy like a divine being, the other being surrounded by more chaotic purple energy like something of demonic nature. He saw multiple ancient people in white robes with Geass marks on their foreheads, all praying before falling deeper into the tunnel of lights and colors.
When he reached the end, Suzaku found himself in a white void, the only sound being that of a ticking broken clock. But he wasn't the sole occupant of this void, someone else was there; someone that caused his pupils to shrink. A middle-aged large man wearing a military uniform that turned to him and looked to him with a glare.
"Father…. You're dead….! That's impossible…!"
Genbu Kururugi walked closer to his shocked son, which only caused him to look in shock even further.
"No… I didn't mean to… No I… I… just…"
Back in reality; the whole Lancelot began to shake as Suzaku was still in a state of shock; something that caused Lelouch and Bumblebee to look in concern.
"[What are you doing? Are you using Geass?]" Bumblebee questioned as Zero walked closer to the mysterious woman.
"I'm just feeding him some shock-images." C.C. replied. "I can't tell what he's seeing though. Anyway, you've got time to get away now."
"What about you?" Zero asked. "We'll call a Groundbridge and you can…"
"I can't move yet. Don't worry about me." C.C. replied. "The longer you stay, the more likely that the Decepticons will arrive to capture or kill you two. Get going now."
"Don't be foolish, I can't keep owing you favors." Zero put a hand on her shoulder, but the second he did, C.C.'s eyes widened in fear.
"No! Not know!" C.C. exclaimed as her Geass mark began to glow even further; and visions began to flash in Lelouch's own mind as well.
Bumblebee looked in alarm and tried to make a move to grab both Zero and C.C., but when his own hands made contact, his optics widened as he began to see visions himself.
Lelouch and Bumblebee both saw a familiar tunnel, familiar to Lelouch anyway, but at the end; they both saw a memory of what appeared to be a mob attacking a church, throwing rocks at it, but this church had the emblem of Geass etched into its stone wall.
"What… this is different….?" Lelouch thought.
"What is this…. Geass or… what?" Bumblebee had similar thoughts himself as the visions continued to play in their mind. They saw a nun praying, with a Geass emblem glowing on her forehead. They saw the Kururugi shrine, which led straight towards the Aries Villa before seeing C.C. herself with a look of despair on her face as she laid naked in a pond, a scar shaped like a Geass mark on her body.
"St… Stop it!" They heard C.C.'s voice echoing throughout the visions. "Stay out… of my… mind!" Both Bumblebee and Lelouch heard screams as they saw chaos, war, and bloodshed, even a little girl crying with a Geass mark in her eyes.
"Stop…" C.C.'s voice cracked, tears flowing down her eyes as these images all played in her mind as well. All these unpleasant memories that she had buried away deep inside her soul over the centuries that she's lived were now coming back to her in a flashflood. "You're… unveiling me…" She, as well as Lelouch, Bumblebee, and Suzaku all saw and heard the same thing now: people screaming as silhouettes of black people walked aimlessly through a white void. A cloud full of skulls and agonized vaches before they all began to vanish and reveal a face: a face appearing to be made entirely out of stone with long curved horns and glowing dark purple eyes that just seemed to radiate evil.
"UGH! I HAD TO DO IT!" Suzaku's voice screamed from the Lancelot as he couldn't take it anymore. The Lancelot pulled away. As C.C. lost contact with the Lancelot, she, Bumblebee, and Lelouch were pulled back into reality; but Suzaku still appeared to be seeing these images as he aimlessly shot the VARIS in every direction. Bumblebee instinctively tried to cover the pair, but a blast from the VARIS not only knocked him back, but shot shrapnel of rock from the ground, one large piece managed to pierce C.C.'s chest.
"C.C.!" Zero exclaimed in shock.
Bumblebee immediately got back up and ran towards the Lancelot; he pulled the VARIS out of its hands before delivering a powerful punch to the face and send it crashing to the ground, apparently knocking Suzaku out as the Lancelot didn't seem to move right after.
The yellow Autobot then transformed back into his vehicle mode and drove up to Zero as he picked up the gravely injured C.C. bridal style. "[Get in!]" No need to be told twice, Zero brought C.C. into the car and it drove off just as Bumblebee contacted the Ark. "[Ratchet! Groundbridge! Now!]"
A portal opened up right in front of the yellow car before it drove straight in, with Lelouch and C.C. safely inside, just before the portal closed.
Optimus grunted as he sliced down at Megatron who blocked it with his own blade. Optimus pressed forward with another slice, but Megatron parried the attack and drove a fist right into Optimus' face before delivering a fierce kick to knock Optimus back several yards. The last of the Primes quickly got back up however and transformed into his vehicle mode and gunned it straight for Megatron; ramming into him and sending him crashing throughout the forest behind them. Optimus kept driving and pushing, knocking Megatron back against multiple trees, rocks, and other obstructions before slamming Megatron hard into a large cliffside.
Megatron however was able to grab the front of Optimus' truck before using his own strength to throw it far to the left, sending the vehicle mode crashing through several more trees before Optimus transformed back and landed on his feet. Megatron rushed towards Optimus who was able to give a solid uppercut to his face, but Megatron countered with a kick to Optimus' abs to force him back. Optimus would have continued the fight if Ratchet hadn't contacted him.
"Optimus, all our forces, including Zero, have been evacuated! I'm opening a Groundbridge at your location now!"
A single Groundbridge portal opened behind Optimus who brought up his Energon blasters to shoot at Megatron and give himself some cover before running into the portal which closed shortly after.
Megatron chuckled slightly as he wiped some of the spilled Energon from his mouth. "You're as strong as ever, Optimus. Good, I wouldn't want you anything less as I snuff out your spark."
"Lord Megatron, all the surviving Black Knights have fled the area." Starscream contacted him. "And the JLF appears to be evacuating as well. Shall we give pursuit."
"Negative." Megatron contradicted. "The Japan Liberation Front is not our concern. Have all units return to the Nemesis, our job here is done. And have Dreadwing escort Suzaku back to the Special corps and inform me of his progress."
"Yes master." Starscream cut off before Megatron transformed and flew into the sky.
The Ark
All Black Knights had returned to the Ark as their Knightmares were brought into the bay for any repairs and modifications they may lead. Several of them seemed to celebrate their victory over Britannia, however their celebration was cut off as a few had lost their friends to the Decepticons. Among the groups talking were Cliffjumper, Tamaki, Ohgi, Arcee, Inoue, Kallen, Rai, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack.
"Man, can you believe it?" Tamaki voiced. "We we're totally whooping Britannia's ass, then the Cons come in and totally ruin our party!"
"I knew they were strong, but I didn't expect them to be so… powerful." Ohgi voiced.
"Welcome to our world." Arcee said. "There's a reason the Cons are still around."
"Well I believe you, we even had trouble against their foot soldiers." Ohgi pointed out.
"Vehicon troopers." Wheeljack explained. "Standard Decepticon infantry. Yeah, they can be tough in large groups; but the more you fight them, the more you can understand how they fight."
"Yeah, I'd recommend fighting them from a distance, avoid close combat." Bulkhead told them. "At least we know that magnesium stuff works."
"The Radiant Wave Surger seems to have the same kind of effect on them as it does Knightmares." Rai recalled.
"But… will it be enough." Inoue voiced, getting everyone's attention. Her eyes were still shaky as she remembered Megatron decimating a dozen Knightmares in an instant. "I saw their leader… tear apart a whole unit of Knightmares like they were nothing!"
"Megatron." Arcee almost growled as she narrowed her eyes.
"Yeah, he's pretty much the strongest Con out there." Bulkhead said. "I'd recommend letting Optimus handle him."
"No argument here." Kallen agreed. "I was barely able to hold my own against one Decepticon with the Guren and I thought that thing was unstoppable."
"That wasn't just any Decepticon, Kallen. That was Soundwave." Arcee told her.
"He's the Con surveillance chief, and arguably the most dangerous Decepticon right next to their leader; he's right up there in the top 3. Especially with that squad of Mini-Cons he's got on-hand." Cliffjumper explained.
As tension fell on most of the Black Knights and a few of the Autobots, Tamaki of all people chose to look at the bright side.
"But hey, don't forget we totaled an entire army of Britannian Knightmares! We thought we couldn't fight them before, but now we got them on the run! Who's to say we can't do the same for the Cons?"
"Hey, that's right." Ohgi seemed to smile slightly. "We almost destroyed Cornelia's entire army, maybe with more training, we might be able to fight back against the Cons."
"Well I'd say you guys got the potential for it." Wheeljack pointed out with a sincere smile. "But don't get too cocky, that's my job."
This erected a laugh from every Knight and Bot present, even Arcee smiled slightly as Bulkhead patted his best friend's back. Rai noticed however a few people missing.
"Hey where's Zero and Bumblebee? I thought they came back." Rai asked.
"Bee went to speak with Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide." Bulkhead answered. "Zero is in the med-bay."
"Med-bay?! Is he hurt?!" Kallen asked with concern.
"No, he's fine." Bulkhead replied. "But someone else got hurt, so he and Fixit are tending to her right now."
"Her?" Rai voiced as he instantly thought of C.C. and wondered why she would need medical attention.
The Bridge
Bumblebee had spoken with Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide, on the Bridge of their ship/base privately to discuss the visions he saw when he and Lelouch made physical contact with C.C. Needless to say; they were all surprised, even Optimus' optics widened.
"You saw Cybertron?!" Ironhide exclaimed.
"[I think so…]" Bumblebee bleeped. "[Briefly, but it looked like the planet was right next to Earth]"
"That's impossible." Ratchet voiced. "Aside from the fact that Cybertron is lightyears away from this planet, it's physically impossible for two planets to be within any close proximity to one another."
"Bumblebee, did you say you also saw C.C. in the past?" Optimus asked.
"[Yeah]" Bumblebee began. "[They were all just images, like multiple pictures flipping in and out. I think there may have been other people in the past that have had Geass, and maybe…. C.C. might be older than we think. Because I saw things that looked like what Earth did centuries ago!]"
"Centuries?!" Ironhide voiced in surprise. "Has that girl really lived for that long?!"
"I cannot understand how that is even possible." Ratchet voiced. "Human biology permits a being to last a hundred years at the very most. The idea that she's lived multiple lifetimes and maintains her youth is beyond any form of reasonable explanation!"
"Lelouch has told us that he has seen C.C. fatally shot, just before he received his Geass ability from her." Optimus recalled. "Perhaps the ability that allows her to grant Geass to others, is also what has kept her alive all this time."
"I'm a bit more concerned by what Bumblebee said about other people with Geass." Ironhide said. "Does this mean she's given it to others before? Could there still be some alive today?"
Ratchet began to think. "We seem to have more questions than we do answers. Even more surprising is Bumblebee seeing these visions himself. We've seen that Lelouch's Geass has no effect on us, due to the energy it radiates being weaker than that of our Sparks; so why could this affect you, Bumblebee?" Ratchet asked the scout directly.
"[Maybe her power is stronger than Lelouch's?]"
"One thing remains certain however." Optimus spoke. "We must keep a close watch on C.C."
"[Optimus, when I saw those visions, I could hear her crying.]" Bumblebee began, causing Optimus, Ironhide, and Ratchet to look at him in surprise. "[Those were her memories; and none of them were good ones. She's lived for hundreds of years and has seen all kinds of wars; she's lived through Hell, the same kind of Hell that we lived through during the War for Cybertron. I don't really know C.C., but I do know this. She needs help, she needs… a friend.]"
The Medical Center
Lelouch had his mask and cape off as he and Fixit watched over C.C. as she laid on a bed unconscious.
"She doesn't appear to have suffered any sort of physical damage." Fixit said. "Her ability to heal rapidly from even the most fatal of injuries is responsible…. Invisible… phenomenal!"
"I don't think she's human, it's not possible." Lelouch said as he brushed away her hair to reveal the Geass emblem on her forehead.
"All her DNA samples seem to indicate she shares the same physical traits as a human." Fixit pointed out.
"Yes, but I've seen her suffer fatal wounds and heal from them almost instantly. Not to mention there's her ability to grant Geass." Lelouch recalled.
As they both contemplated; they heard a knock on the door. "Zero, it's Rai. Can I come in?"
"Yes." Lelouch answered. The door opened and Rai walked into the medical center and was greeted by Fixit.
"Hello Rai, how is everyone else doing?"
"Pretty good, considering what just happened." Rai answered. "A lot of our own forces got totaled by the Cons; and even our most elite were put on the defensive. They're a lot stronger than I thought they'd be."
"As expected, we are dealing with the most dangerous beings in the known universe after all." Fixit responded.
Rai then turned his attention to Lelouch and the unconscious C.C. "How's she doing?"
"Physically, she seems to be fine. Otherwise, I have no idea. I have no idea who she even is." Lelouch began. "Clovis confined her for his private experiments, so she's not connected to Britannia."
Before anyone could respond, all three of them heard a slight groan from C.C., who appeared to be talking in her sleep. But what she said, nobody could have expected.
"Cera…" She smiled in her sleep. "You finally called me… by my real name."
G1 Base
Cornelia and what was left of her forces were brought back to their mobile base that was already on its way away from Narita. And needless to say, no one in the Britannian military present was happy with the outcome.
"Zero and the Autobots escaped again." Cornelia muttered.
"The Japan Liberation Front appeared to have escaped as well." Guilford reported. "They used the confusion ensued by the Decepticons' attack to slip away."
Cornelia's fists clenched with rage. "My entire army was all but wiped out! We even lost half of the Glaston Knights' elite! I lost to them again! I lost to him again, and he didn't even face me himself!"
Guilford knew Cornelia was referring to Optimus Prime, but choose not to say anything as he feared anything, he said wouldn't make her feel any better.
"And I had to be rescued…. By not just those Decepticons… but an Eleven as well." Cornelia muttered angrily.
The Nemesis – the Bridge
"Well, that went well." Skywarp voiced as he, Thundercracker, and Starscream reported directly to Megatron.
"The enemy escaped, how can that be categorized as 'went well'?" Thundercracker questioned.
"Not all of them escaped." Starscream pointed out. "Quite a few Black Knights met their demise, and even most of the Liberation Front was wiped out."
"But not a single Autobot was terminated." Thundercracker argued. "And the Black Knights have shown that even their Knightmares can damage our own forces."
"Yes, the Black Knights have proven more capable than we thought." Megatron mused. "But now, we seem to have a full grasp of their forces; even though we didn't destroy them this time, we'll try again. I'm more concerned with Kururugi at the moment."
Starscream rolled his eyes. "Still thinking about that measly human?"
"This battle was a test to see whether or not the boy was worthy, and he passed with flying colors." Megatron said. "He'll be inducted within our ranks as soon as possible. Suzaku Kururugi, is one of us now."
"Forgive me, Lord Megatron, but I don't think he's mentally prepared for that, given what just happened recently." Thundercracker pointed out.
"Oh?" Megatron raised an eyebrow.
"Kururugi encountered the Autobot named Bumblebee and Zero, afterwards he spiraled into a frenzy but was quickly brought down." Thundercracker reported.
"Maybe a seizure or a spas attack or whatever it is humans call it." Skywarp brushed off.
"Where is he now?" Megatron asked.
"With Dreadwing and the Special Corps unit." Starscream answered.
Though Dreadwing himself was incapable of standing inside the large truck that served as the base for the Lancelot and its pilot, he expressed concern for his comrade as glanced towards it. While inside; Suzaku was placed on a bed as his whole body was shaking and he muttered nonsense like a machine gun. Though Lloyd had his usual smile, both Cecile and Euphemia looked towards him with great concern.
The Ark – Medical Center
C.C. had woken up as Fixit reported her physical status. "Your wounds have completely healed, so you should be back to normal."
"Tending to me wasn't necessary." C.C. said pointedly.
"Gee, way to say, 'thank you'." Rai rolled his eyes, but Lelouch merely smiled as he said one single word.
"Cera."
The woman's eyes widened with an audible gasp as she heard that name.
"That's your name, isn't it?" Lelouch asked as the woman apparently named Cera glared at him.
"You have a bad habit of eavesdropping."
"Hard not to when you talk in your sleep." Rai pointed out. "And personally, I like 'Cera', it's a pretty name. 'C.C'. sounds like the name you'd give a machine. No offense, Fixit." He quickly said to the Mini-Con.
"None taken. I like 'Cera' to, it's charming." Fixit added.
"Oh, that's a joke! Who wants to be more human!" The woman said scornfully before her voice began to crack, causing the three around her to look with surprise and concern. "After all I… I… I've forgotten everything. Every single thing… so what's the use of it…" Tears were already flowing down her eyes. "A name? But why? Cera…? Do I even deserve something like that?"
Rai immediately came up to her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. If there's someone who gets it, it's me. I forgot my own past and I don't know if I'll ever remember it. But… I think I might be okay with it. Because, I've got a life here, and friends to help me through it; Lelouch, everyone at Ashford, even the Autobots and the Black Knights." Rai smiled. "And you can have that to, if you'd open up a bit to others and not close yourself off to everyone."
Cera's eyes widened as tears continued to flow. For the first time in her life, she didn't have a response to give.
Some of Rai's words even impacted Lelouch a bit. It wasn't too long ago that he closed himself off from everyone excluding his own sister. But since he started this whole journey, he too began to crawl out of his shell. All the Autobots knew him for who he is and accepted him regardless, even Rai knows. He'd be lying to say if he wasn't grateful for all they've done for him.
"Hey, listen." He spoke to C.C. directly. "I never got a chance to thank you for helping me… way back in Shinjuku, and for helping me today. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead, and I would have never met the Autobots. So…. Thank you."
Rai and Fixit were surprised at first by Lelouch's honesty before they smiled at him; but Cera appeared to be the most touched by it.
"No one's ever… thanked me before…." Cera stuttered as tears of joy began to flow down her eyes, and Rai kept a comfortable hand on her shoulder. "So, can you show your appreciation? Say my name again, like you did before. Just this once with tenderness like you treasure it in your heart."
"Whoa there, kinda rushing it don't you think?" Rai joked, and even C.C. laughed slightly.
"Alright…. Cera." Lelouch said her name, trying to sound as sincere as possible. "How was that?"
"It was terrible." Cera replied bluntly. "There was nothing tender or warm about it at all."
"Someone's picky." Rai voiced. "Let me try… Cera. That better?"
"Well, if nothing else, you at least sounds like you're trying to be sincere about it."
"Cera." Fixit said, only to end up glitching and repeating the name over and over. "Cera. Cera. Cera. Cera. Cera. Cera…" Lelouch gave a smack to Fixit's back to get him to stop. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"Great, now my name's a glitch." Cera muttered.
"Okay, well craziness aside, I'm glad we're finally getting to know you, Cera." Rai smiled, and even C.C. smiled as well.
There was a knock on the door. "Hello? Zero are you in there? I heard Rai was looking for you, is everything okay?"
"Oh Kallen…we uh…" Rai tried to come up with an excuse, but Lelouch put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. Maybe it was time he started to expand his circle of trust a little bit more.
"Kallen, you can come in." Lelouch said.
"Are you sure?" Fixit asked.
"I'm sure." Lelouch nodded just as the door opened.
"Zero, sorry to bother you I just…" Kallen stopped in her tracks as her eyes set on Lelouch's face, clad in his suit with the Zero mask and cape aside on a table. Though the appearance of C.C. was a surprise, including the looks on Rai and Fixit's faces, nothing could prepare her for the true face of Zero to appear before her.
"Hello Kallen." Lelouch greeted.
Narita
The sun was setting as a large truck began to drive out of the city. This truck was driven by scientists' part of the secret research group known as Code R as they carried two familiar capsules in the back.
"Come on, the military is gone. Now is our chance to get out of this city!" One scientist said to the driver.
"I'm going as fast as I can!" The driver replied.
On the passenger seat sat the man named Joseph Fenette, who remained silent as he glanced at the pictures of his wife and daughter in his locket. However, the truck would soon come to a halt as a certain reaper drone passed by them before it transformed to reveal Soundwave as he landed right in front of the truck.
The truck came to a stop as it slammed into Soundwave's legs. All the scientists on-board looked up in terror at the sight of the faceless Cybertronian. Soundwave glanced down towards the vehicle that was no longer operable, but he wasn't here for them. His cracked visor lit up as the same signal reached him again. Soundwave reconfigured the Spacebridge systems that was built into his body before he opened a small Space Bridge portal in front of him and the disabled truck.
At first, nothing exited through the portal, but soon there was the sound of large and pounding footsteps coming out of it before a single being exited. He was a Cybertronian, clearly a Decepticon, but he was among the feared Decepticons in the entire ranks; even alongside Soundwave and Megatron himself. This Decepticon had purple metallic skin with a large bulky frame; he had a large cannon for his left arm. But what stood out was the single red eye that served as his whole head. This was the dreaded Decepticon scientist known as Shockwave.
"Soundwave." Shockwave greeted in a cold and straight-forward tone as he stepped out of the portal before it closed. "You have received my transmission."
Soundwave nodded in confirmation. Shockwave then began to observe his newfound surroundings, even catching the attention of the truck behind Soundwave and the terrified scientists still inside it. However, both Decepticons found themselves gazing down toward the street as they saw a single Britannian pilot, one who was grievously injured, stumbled deliriously in front of them.
"I swear I'm not Orange… ZERO!" Jeremiah uttered before collapsing at the feet of the two Decepticons.
Done.
Holy crap that was WAY longer than I thought it would be; almost twice as long. But anyway, it's finally done, and I hope you all like it! Consider it a belated Christmas gift from me to all my loyal followers.
So, a lot has happened in this chapter. The Autobots and Black Knights have proven themselves more than capable of handling Britannia; even killed more than half the Glaston Knights' elite; the only survivors being Cornelia, Guilford, Darlton, David, and Edgar. But, the Decepticons are not pulling any punches either; as it seems only the elite likes of Kallen and Rai in their specialized Knightmares could only play defensive from certain Decepticons, even the Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords had trouble. But they're not completely helpless….
*Kallen was able to hold her own against SOUNDWAVE of all Bots; albeit stuck on the defensive, and she probably would have lost against him if Arcee and Cliffjumper hadn't helped.
*Rai was able to go against Breakdown briefly; though he lost initially, he actually managed to poke out one of Breakdown's eyes.
*We even had Tohdoh duke it out with Starscream (Steven Blum vs Steven Blum LOL)
*The Lancelot meanwhile has gotten some upgrades and is now better able to hold it's own against the Autobots as Bumblebee was no on defense from it unlike before. And Megatron is now putting Suzaku into the Decepticon fold, but don't expect Suzaku to go all White Grim Reaper like he did in R2, he's still going to be hesitant about working with them. Honestly, the only Decepticon he truly trusts is Dreadwing.
We also FINALLY got a good-old-fashion Optimus-vs-Megatron brawl! I had SO much fun writing that! Two old enemies clash once more and are bound to clash once again in the future.
We also have learned C.C.'s real name: Cera. It was never revealed in the cannon, but it was often speculated that her name was Cera, so that's what I'm going with. Plus, I like Cera, it's a nice name. And it seems that even her Code powers can affect Cybertronians as Bumblebee got those visions from direct contact to her along with Lelouch. Speaking of which, I'm certain you all have an idea whose face that was at the end of her vision; however, don't expect a certain Chaos Bringer to appear anytime soon; the Bots and BKs have enough on their hands just dealing with Britannia and the Decepticons, they don't need to be fighting a giant evil god to.
And it looks like Lelouch is also starting to open up a bit more, even revealing his identity to Kallen (You'll see her reaction in the next chapter). But don't expect EVERYONE to know his identity just yet (especially with a certain meeting coming up with Kyoto), it's still gonna take the prince-turned-revolutionary some time before he can fully open up to other people willingly. Right now, it's only going to be a select few people (and Bots) he trusts. However, Tohdoh might already suspect Lelouch is Zero, given that hint he gave the Wreckers. (Quite frankly, I'm surprised that someone as smart as him didn't connect the dots sooner in the cannon. But things might be different here, so you'll see).
So good news; Shirley's Dad lives! HOORAY!
Bad news: Shockwave has arrived. Yep, the Decepticon mad scientist has returned! (How logical) But no, there will NOT be any Predacons yet! (Not in R1 at least). But now Joseph Fenette and the rest of Code R, and even Jeremiah/Orange-boy are literally at the feet of Soundwave and Shockwave. What exactly does all that entail?
Find out in the next chapter.
So much has happened here and so much more will happen later as the next chapters continue to unfold. Until then, I'll see you all in 2020! Happy New Year!