Hi everyone, thanks for your patience. You can consider this chapter a late-Easter gift for all of you. I've actually had a bit of trouble with this particular chapter; one of the main points of conflict in the cannon Transformers episode "Partners", was Arcee's goal to avenge Cliffjumper's death at the hands of Starscream, however, since Cliff is currently alive in my fic, I had to change some things. One of the main points of the previous chapter was to illustrate the partnership between the Autobots and Black Knights, to show that they have become a 'band of brothers' and are truly united; while this chapter will illustrate the stark contrast of the partnership between the Decepticons and Britannia, and how they are divided between themselves and even each other. So, without further delay, let us begin.

Divided They Fall

"Hey everybody! Name's Gino! Nice to meet you!"

These were the words of the Knight of Three, Gino Weinberg as he and two of his comrades, Anya Alstreim, and Monica Krushevsky, all clad in their respective uniforms as Ashford Students, with the excepting of Anya who was in a uniform suited for the middle-school group, as they stood in front of the class at Ashford Academy to introduce themselves.

"My name is Monica, it's a pleasure to meet you all." Monica made a formal bow to the class after Gino's own introduction.

"Anya." The younger girl said stoically as she seemed glued to her own personal hand-held device.

The teacher cleared his throat. "Yes well, as you've heard these three will be joining our classes as of right now. Gino Weinberg, Anya Alstreim, and Monica Krushevsky."

It took a few moments for the introductions to sink in as one student quickly stood up from his seat. "Wait as in... the Knights of the Round!? The Knights of Three, Six, and Twelve?!"

"Yep, that's us!" Gino confirmed with a wide grin.

In that instant, nearly every student in the classroom was in an uproar as it seemed like they were meeting a group of famous celebrities; all sorts of questions were asked and it didn't seem like Gino or Monica seemed to mind, though Anya continued to type away at her cellphone, almost as if everything around her meant nothing to her.

However, not every student felt so excited. Kallen, Rai, and Shirley each remained sitting at their respective seats as they exchanged somewhat nervous glances with each other and shared a concerned look towards Lelouch who could only take a deep sigh as he pressed his fingers against his forehead in minor frustration.

'Three Knights of the Round. Can't say I didn't see this coming.' Lelouch thought to himself. 'On one side, it would seem my father is actually getting rather anxious to send three of his top pilots to Japan to deal with us, meaning we're having a bigger impact than I initially thought. On the other, it means we'll be having more obstacles to contend with aside from the Decepticons. Well, at least things can't get any worse.'

Student Council Room

'And…. I spoke too soon.'

Lelouch did his best to hide his frustrated expressions while Kallen, Rai, and Shirley by his side couldn't contain their own surprised looks as they saw their newest classmates in the Student Council room along with Milly, Rivalz, Suzaku, and Nina, and even Nunally.

"Hey guys! Welcome to the club!" Gino waved his hand in a friendly fashion.

"Um… Madam President…?" Rai looked toward the blonde hoping for an explanation.

"Yeah, I probably should have told you guys." Milly had an apologetic smile on her face. "But Gino, Monica, and Anya are going joining us on the Student Council today."

'Scrap!' Lelouch, Rai, and Kallen all thought at the same time.

"Hey, you're Lelouch, right?" Gino got straight up to Lelouch's face, much to his and his friends' surprise.

"Yes? What of it?"

"You think maybe you can take me to your chess tournaments? Only the underground ones where you bet." Gino said.

"What?!" Lelouch exclaimed.

"I kinda told him how you used to gamble." Rivalz chuckled somewhat nervously.

"Did you tell him that I quit a long time ago?" Lelouch groaned in annoyance.

"Aw, why'd you quit? It sounds like it was a lot of fun!" Gino stated.

"Because I already got enough to buy a car and I didn't need anything else." Lelouch replied, his annoyance groaning even higher.

"Oh, you mean that sweet looking yellow car with racing stripes?" Gino asked, getting even more excited. "Gotta say that car looks awesome! Mind if I take it for a spin!?"

"Yes, I do mind actually." Lelouch's eyes narrowed.

Before Gino could even make an attempt to plead, Monica had already gotten up and pulled him away by his ear. "Sorry about him." Monica smiled apologetically. "He's easily excited."

As Kallen, Rai, and Shirley exchanged awkward looks, they proceeded to sit down at the table, all save for Lelouch as he looked toward a certain blonde. "Madam President, can I have a word with you for a moment, please?"

Milly's expression became serious and concerning as she had a good idea what he wanted to talk about. "Sure thing." She and Lelouch walked out into the empty hallway outside the classroom.

"Would you please explain to me why three Knights of the Round are joining us today?" Lelouch asked, doing his best to maintain a calm façade.

Milly winced. "Lelouch, I know what you're thinking, but my parents and grandfather both insisted on it. I really had no choice in the matter."

"Guess it couldn't be helped then. But I still don't like it." Lelouch said.

"Well, did you know any of them before being sent to Japan? Personally?" Milly asked.

"No, I didn't." Lelouch answered.

"So, it's not like they're going to recognize you or anything." Milly said to him. "Lelouch look, you know I wouldn't do anything that would put you or Nunally in any danger."

"I know that. I trust you, just wish I could say the same for your mother, no offense." Lelouch replied.

"None taken." Milly said. They both knew how desperate her mother was at trying to reestablish the Ashford family name, trying to marry Milly off in a loveless marriage was only proof of that. It was actually a miracle that she hadn't sold out Lelouch or Nunnally, guess they had Milly's grandfather to thank for that.

"OW!"

They both looked in surprise as they ran back into the room to see Gino hopping on his left foot while holding his right foot painfully.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kallen said in her sickly persona as she reached down to grab the books she dropped.

"Um… what just happened?" Lelouch asked.

"Gino tried to flirt with Kallen, and she accidentally dropped her books on his foot." Rai said with a sly smirk, causing Lelouch to smirk as even Shirley did her best to hide her giggles.

"No harm done." Gino said as he set his foot back down. "Man, first day here and it's already a ton of fun. Nonette would love this place!"

That caught Lelouch's attention, as well as everyone else's. "Who?" Rai asked.

"Nonette Enneagram, the Knight of Nine. She's in Area 11 to." Monica answered earning surprised expressions from everyone in the room, especially Lelouch.

"So how come we haven't seen her in class?" Shirley asked.

"She's 29 years old, way too old to be in high school." Monica responded.

"But don't let that fool ya, she's a real looker." Gino said with a smirk, only to get elbowed in the side by Monica.

'The one person even Cornelia couldn't defeat?!' Lelouch remembered Nonette, though he only met her once or twice, everything he heard he heard from either Cornelia herself or Euphemia during his childhood at the Aries Villa as one of the best Knightmare pilots out there, rivaling even his mother. If she was in Japan to, this was going to be a problem.

Lelouch also happened to glance towards Nunnally, almost on instinct, and was surprised to see Anya sitting particularly close to her, with Arthur sitting comfortably on Nunnally's lap. Though it seems she and Nunnally were getting along alright, despite Anya still being glued to her cellphone, there was something about Anya that just made Lelouch on edge, and it wasn't just because how close she was sitting to his sister.

Viceroy Palace

"Hey Nelly, how have you been?" Nonette walked into Cornelia's throne room with a friendly smile, the Viceroy herself sitting on her throne, with her younger sister in the throne next to her, as well as her own personal Knights Darlton and Guilford by Cornelia's side, and even Dreadwing standing by Euphemia's side.

"Just fine, thank you." Cornelia said with a twitching eyebrow. 'Out of all the Knights Father could send, it just had to be her.'

"Oh, and Euphie, good to see you again!" Nonette waved to her.

"Lady Enneagram, it is nice to see you as well." Euphemia nodded, maintain her professional persona.

"Yeah, yeah, enough of the formalities, come over here and give me a hug!" Nonette exclaimed with open arms, which was all Euphie needed to run over with a smile and exchange a heart-warming embrace with the Knight of Nine.

Dreadwing looked in minor surprise, as did Darlton and Guilford. Cornelia however only sighed, not out of annoyance, however. Though there were times where she found Nonette infuriating, she knew the woman was one of the few people she trusted around Euphie as they had become close as well during Nonette's and Cornelia's time in military school and would come over to their residences for frequent visits.

"I've missed you so much!" Euphie stated as she continued to hug Nonette.

"I've missed you to, Euphie. You've been doing okay? Your big sister not giving you a hard time?" Nonette asked almost playfully.

"You do realize I can hear you, correct?" Cornelia remined in annoyance.

The two broke off their hug as Nonette addressed the remainder of the occupants. "Sir Guilford, Sir Darlton, a pleasure."

"The pleasure is ours, Lady Enneagram." Guilford said as he and Darlton both bowed to her out of respect.

She then looked up to the only Decepticon present. "And you must be Dreadwing."

"That is correct." Dreadwing nodded his head. "I am pleased to meet one of Britannia's most elite pilots."

"And I look forward to working alongside you in the battlefield." Nonette replied.

"Lady Enneagram, pardon me but how many Knights besides yourself have arrived in Area 11?" Guilford asked.

"Including me, there are four in total." Nonette answered. "Gino, Anya, and Monica are all here."

That took Darlton, Guilford, and even Cornelia and Euphemia by surprise. Four?! Typically, only one or two Knights of the Round are sent to a military operation to quell the opposition. But if the Emperor sent over half of his current Knights of the Round to Area 11, it must show that he is taking the threat of the Autobots and Zero very seriously.

"That being said, I'd like to know everything you know about the Autobots and their Black Knight allies." Nonette said, getting serious. "The more we know about them, the better we'll be able to prepare."

"I agree." Dreadwing acknowledge. "We'll all benefit by sharing information with one another."

Nonette nodded. 'In addition, this might be able to help me to find Prince Kaizaren. As much as I love Euphie and trust Cornelia, I can't bring them in on this. Euphie's sweet, but she's also naïve; and I can't run the risk Cornelia would try to use Kaizaren for personal gain, considering he is half Japanese. But regardless, I will find him. No matter what.'

The Nemesis

Starscream, along with Thundercracker and Skywarp had walked onto the bridge, apparently in the middle of a conversation between Megatron and Airachnid.

"Is this true?" Megatron questioned in surprise.

"Starscream never mentioned it?" Airachnid asked.

"If he and his minions are up to their old tricks, I shall grind them into powder!" Megatron clenched his fists for emphasis.

"Ahem!" Starscream cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Starscream, and company." Megatron acknowledged.

"Yeah, we kinda heard you, so you guys wanna talk about us like we're not even here?" Skywarp commented, not very amused.

"Lord Megatron, I mean no disrespect, but could you please explain to me why this deserter is back among our ranks?" Thundercracker questioned, referring to Airachnid.

"Airachnid's talents will make her a valuable asset in our growing war against the Autobots and their Black Knight companions." Megatron answered.

Skywarp scoffed slightly. "When we go out without permission, we get a beatdown. But when she actually deserts us, she just gets a slap on the wrist."

"Then maybe you should aim for getting actual results." Airachnid teased, getting close to Skywarp's face, much to his frustration.

"Putting that matter aside, what was it I allegedly failed to mention, Lord Megatron?" Starscream asked.

"The Harbinger." Megatron answered.

"That old piece of junk? What about it?" Skywarp asked.

"Eons ago, a Decepticon transport ship crash-landed on this planet." Airachnid responded, bringing up an image of the Harbinger itself on the Nemesis' main screen.

"Oh please, common knowledge." Starscream dismissed. "My seekers and I used the Harbinger's tracking signal to even get to Earth in the first place."

"Yeah, while you guys were sitting comfortably on the Nemesis, we actually had to fly our way here all the way from Cybertron!" Skywarp said, almost sounding like he was complaining.

"Then I assume the three of you recovered the experimental weapon prototype the Harbinger had been transporting?" Airachnid mused.

That caught the three Seekers off guard. "A weapon? We were never told about a weapon." Thundercracker said.

"I just thought it was transporting Energon." Skywarp said as well.

"Where is the crash-site?" Megatron questioned.

"Apparently they choose not to log it into the Nemesis' data-base." Airachnid said, causally placing the blame on the three Seekers.

"You failed to record the coordinates of a Decepticon transport!?" Megatron was not pleased.

"Hey, don't look at us! Starscream was supposed to have done that!" Skywarp pointed to his supposed commander, who gave a brief glare before turning back to Megatron.

"An oversight Master, but I noted it's exact location." Starscream revealed.

"It's actually located in neutral territory that neither Britannia nor any of the other major Earth superpowers have laid claim to." Thundercracker. "No Energon there, no settlements, no human population; so, we can be in and out really quick."

"Very well, take Airachnid." Megatron instructed. "But, I also want you to lead our newest additions, the Knights of the Round, as well."

Starscream scoffed. "Surely master, we do not need any human pilots for a simple recovery mission."

"Given our enemy's track record, it is highly likely you will encounter the Autobots and the Black Knights during this mission." Megatron said. "And I wish to see what Charles' hand-chosen pilots are capable of myself, if they are truly worthy to stand by our side. Consider it, a trial of sorts."

"Well then, let's go and meet our new partners." Airachnid mused as she causally walked past the Seekers, forcing them to step aside as she walked with a confident and arrogant stride, while flashing an arrogant smirk in Starscream's direction, causing him to scowl.

The Ark

"Knights of the Round?" Arcee questioned as she, along with the rest of the Autobots met up with Lelouch, Kallen, Shirley, and Rai, all in their respective Black Knight uniforms on the bridge of the Ark.

"Yes, four of them in total." Lelouch confirmed. "Three are at our school even."

"But they don't really seem like bad people." Shirley said.

"Could have fooled me." Kallen commented, still frustrated over Gino's frequent attempts to woo her.

"But they could still be bad for us." Ironhide commented. "From what we've heard, the Knights of the Round are pretty much the top pilots in the entire Empire."

Wheeljack smirked slightly. "Bout time these guys gave us a real challenge. Ever since we started our little war, we've only gotten a real fight from the Cons."

"Wheeljack, you would be wise to take this seriously." Ratchet told the Wrecker.

"Lelouch, do you know what exactly we are dealing with here?" Rai asked.

"To be honest; I'm almost completely in the dark." Lelouch confessed. "The only one I have any real knowledge of is Nonette Enneagram, the Knight of Nine. She and Cornelia attended the same academy together, even surpassing her own skills as a Knightmare pilot, I'd even say she rivaled my own mother who was also a Knight of the Round at that time."

"May we know the names of the other Knights that have arrived in Japan?" Optimus asked.

"Gino Weinberg, Anya Alstreim, and Monica Krushevsky." Lelouch said.

Fixit was able to put their names into the Ark's database as he brought up multiple public and service records, including photos of them and their Knightmares, putting them up on the main screen of the bridge as he began to introduce each of them one-by-one.

"Gino Weinberg, also known as the Knight of Three. Age 16. His Knightmare is known as the RZA-359 Tristian; a personalized seventh generation Knightmare."

"[Like the Lancelot?]" Bumblebee asked.

"Apparently." Fixit confirmed as he brought the image of the Tristian up; it was a very colorful Knightmare that was primarily white and blue, with hints of gold along the shoulders, chest, feet, and shins, with red eyes. "In fact, all the Knightmares the Knights of the Round possess are based off not only the Lancelot, but another seventh generation known as the Gawain that the Empire has been studying. Unfortunately, our information on that particular model is very scarce as we've only been able to access public records."

"Gotta admit, that's actually a pretty cool looking Knightmare." Cliffjumper commented, earning looks of surprise and even tiny glares from the other Autobots and the four young Black Knights present. "I mean, it's bad news for us since it's with the bad guys, but it still looks pretty cool."

"And the others?" Ratchet asked the orange-mini-con.

Next up, Fixit brought up the images of Anya as well as her own Knightmare. "Anya Alstreim, the Knight of Six. Age 14. Her personal Knightmare is known as the RZA-6DG Mordred, also a seventh-generation unit."

"She's fourteen years old?!" Shirley almost exclaimed out of shock. "She's the same age as Nunnally?!"

"How in the name of Primus did a kid end up as a Knight of the Round?!" Ironhide sounded quite disgusted that Britannia would let someone so young pilot a Knightmare like that.

"And just look at that Knightmare of hers." Bulkhead commented upon seeing the Mordred. It seemed to be just as bulky as Bulkhead himself, if only slightly less. It was primarily a dark magenta color with hints of white and gold, and two large shoulder pieces.

"Not much is known about Anya's time before being a Knight of the Round." Fixit continued. "But she is widely feared among the other soldiers. Although, her records indicate she seems to suffer from a rare mental disorder that seems similar to a form of short-term-memory loss."

"And the other two?" Ratchet asked.

"Next is Nonette Enneagram, the Knight of Nine." Fixit brought up her profile on the bridge's main screen, as well as images of her Knightmare. "Age 29. Her unit is the seventh-generation RPI-29 Galeschin."

"Is it just me or is that thing basically a blue Lancelot?" Cliffjumper asked.

"Yeah, it's almost like a twin." Arcee seemed to agree as the Galeschin looked almost identical to the Lancelot, only instead of it being white and gold, it was white and blue, with a curved horn-like ornament on its forehead.

"Actually, according to these records, the unit was originally called the Lancelot Club, it was a prototype of the unit that Suzaku is currently piloting." Fixit said. "But it was renamed upon Nonette claiming it."

Shirley winced slightly as she looked down at the mention of her classmate's name, with Kallen, Rai, and especially Lelouch offering her sympathetic expressions. Shortly after her joining the organization, they already told her about Suzaku not only in the Britannian military as the Lancelot's pilot, but also being involved with the Decepticons. As expected, she did not take the news very well, though her friends were able to calm her down, it still left her in a great state of worry, as she silently prayed Suzaku would be alright.

"And, the final one?" Lelouch asked, getting back on point.

Fixit brought up the photographs of the last Knight and her own Knightmare. "Monica Krushevsky, the Knight of Twelve. Age 17. Her unit is the RZX-12TM1 Florence. Apparently, she also serves as the leader to the Emperor's royal guard."

Though Lelouch's eyes narrowed at that particular description, he didn't let it bother him so much as they all looked at her own Knightmare. It was mostly white with hints of gold along the head and shoulders, green arm-blades along its arms, and black shoulders.

"They're all so young." Optimus noted in a grave tone.

"Not young enough for that scumbag of an Emperor to make them his personal entourage." Kallen stated with a hint of venom in her voice.

"And most of them are our classmates." Rai said in a worried tone.

"I don't think we have cause for concern with that." Lelouch said logically. "Like I said, Nonette was the only one I actually knew before my exile, and even then we only met on the rarest of circumstances, so I don't think she'd recognize me or my sister. And since I've never met the others before, we should be safe there."

"That covers you, but what about the rest of us?" Arcee asked.

"Yeah, from what we've heard, these guys aren't going to be like any of the other Britannians we fought." Cliffjumper added.

"Hey, the fact that old guy sent four of his top soldiers against us shows how scared he is." Wheeljack smirked. Even Lelouch had to smirk at that, the very idea that he made his father scared brought a great deal of satisfaction.

"I feel it is best we approach the Knights of Round with caution." Optimus explained. "Until we have full-knowledge of their skills and their Knightmares' abilities, it may be best to leave them to the Autobots and only our top Black Knight pilots."

"So, just me and Kallen then?" Rai assumed.

"Yes, and even then, you should still watch yourselves." Optimus advised.

"Got it." Kallen nodded.

"I'll contact Kyoto and let them know about this new development." Lelouch said as he stood up from his seat.

"I'll let the other Black Knights know so they know to be careful." Ironhide added.

"Very well, until then, we remain low until I say otherwise." Optimus instructed all his soldiers, including Lelouch, as they all nodded in understanding. The Knights of the Round were not to be taken lightly, especially if they would be working alongside the Decepticons.

Camelot Division

The four Knightmares belonging to the Knights of the Round were all docked alongside the Lancelot; the Mordred, the Tristian, the Galeschin, and the Florence were all there, with a certain man-child scientist rubbing his hands anxiously.

"Oh, how I've waited for this!" Lloyd said excitedly. "I get a chance to work with not one, not two, not three, but four Knightmares piloted by the Knights of the Round! Add the Lancelot and that's five total! Oh, this is gotta be the best day of my life!"

"Is he always like this?" Monica asked Cecile.

"You have no idea." The older woman sighed in exhaustion.

'Well at least he's better company than Bradley.' Monica thought.

Suzaku meanwhile stood on a catwalk just above the exchange in silent thought. It felt a bit overwhelming to know he'd likely be with at least one of the four Knights of the Round every day, not including his time at school. At first, he was a bit nervous for Lelouch and Nunnally's sake, but he and Milly already told him that they wouldn't recognize him, so their identities were safe. At the same time, this could also serve as a good opportunity. If he could convince some of the Knights of the Round to change Britannia's ways, then maybe his goal could become a reality and all this fighting could come to an end.

"You must be Suzaku Kururugi." He looked to his right in surprise to see Nonette walking up to him with Anya by his side. "I am…"

"Lady Enneagram!" Suzaku stood up straight. "Yes, I am aware of who you are! I was told you were coming by your comrades at school! A pleasure to see you again, Lady Alstreim!'

"Yes, you as well." Anya said emotionlessly.

Nonette actually giggled a bit. "Suzaku, there's no need to be so formal with us. I can assure you, I'm not a racist, neither are my collages, well at least not those present with us. But, seeing how we're going to be working together for the foreseeable future, I would like you to feel more relaxed around us, you don't have to act like were better than you or anything. Promise." She handed Suzaku a hand to shake.

This took the young Honorary Britannian by surprise. A Knight of the Round, a Britannian soldier handpicked by the Emperor himself was offering her hand to shake, as an equal! Maybe Suzaku's goal wasn't that far off after all. With a smile, he shook her hand.

"Thank you, and I look forward to working with you as well."

"So, this is where Suzaku's been hanging out huh?" Gino asked, walking up to Lloyd before looking to the certain Knightmare. "And that's the infamous Lancelot."

"I'm honored to have my prized invention gain the recognition of a Knight of the Round." Lloyd said in obvious sarcasm, baring no respect to Gino's title, but not showing any disrespect either.

"Yeah, it does look really cool. Not like those lame Sutherlands and Gloucesters. There's no taste to them." Gino commented.

"Ah ha, you have good taste." Lloyd could already tell he would get along with Gino quite well.

"Yeah, but enough about Knightmares. When are we gonna meet the Decepticons and fight those Autobot guys?! That sounds really cool!" Gino said in an excited child-like tone. "Plus, I hear the Black Knights got some super cool Knightmares of their own!"

"Sooner than you think, Knight."

This earned the attention of the four Knights of the Round, as well as Suzaku, Lloyd, and Cecile as they turned to see a certain quartet of Decepticons walk in. Though the four Knights could look in absolute surprise, or amazement in Gino's case as he had a wide grin, even Anya stopped typing as her mouth hung open slightly and her eyes slightly wavered. Suzaku stood straight once he saw Starscream, along with Thundercracker and Skywarp as they walked into the bay, however…

Suzaku's pupils shrunk once he saw the smirking Airachnid with them. She noticed his presence as well. "Hello Suzaku, did you miss me?"

"Airachnid!" Suzaku was about to run to his Lancelot until he heard Starscream call him.

"Stand down Kururugi!" The Decepticon Fist Lieutenant exclaimed. "Airachnid is with us!"

"What?! You can't be serious!" Suzaku shouted.

"We've very serious." Thundercracker stated.

Nonette placed a hand on Suzaku's shoulder. "I'm assuming you two know each other?" She asked, referring to him and Airachnid.

"She massacred countless innocent people in the ghettos!" Suzaku exclaimed. "She skinned them alive, dismembered them, and even attacked Britannian soldiers!"

Though this took many by surprise, Lloyd still had an intrigued smile on his face. "Ah ha, so you're the boogeyman of the ghettos, or bogeywoman in your case. I have to say you certainly among the most unique Transformers, what with your spider-like abilities."

Airachnid leaned down close to Lloyd. "And you must be Lloyd Asplund, a Britannian earl who has a certain habit of dismembering machinery."

"I wouldn't quite say that… but I do like to tinker." Lloyd said.

"Tell me, have you ever 'tinkered' with a human?" Airachnid mused. "I've always taken a personal enjoyment from ripping people limb-from-limb, you could probably replace them with cyborg appendages if you want. I might even give a personal demonstration."

Lloyd gulped as he nervously took a few steps back. "I'll have to take a pass on that."

Cecile also looked more than a little nervous as Monica stepped almost protectively in front of her as even Gino's smile faded at the sight of Airachnid's demeanor. She reminded them both of a certain blood-thirsty 'vampiric' colleague of theirs whom neither of them really liked.

Airachnid looked at the humans she did not recognize. "So, these are the mighty Knights of the Round." She glanced at their Knightmares. "And these are your own personal Knightmares. Hmm, I've seen better." She wasn't all that impressed even as she walked toward the Lancelot. "At the very least they have variety, much like this one…" She purposely dragged her claws along the chest of the Lancelot, causing a screeching metal sound that made even Gino wince and Nonette cover her ears slightly, even Lloyd's eyebrow twitched slightly at the sight of his precious Lancelot openly defiled.

"Why are you here, Airachnid?" Suzaku glared.

"Isn't it obvious Suzaku?" Airachnid asked upon walking close towards him as he was still on the catwalk. "We're on the same side now. I've rejoined the Decepticons."

"Thought you weren't interested." His eyes narrowed even further.

"Changed my mind." She shrugged. "Listen, you wanna blame someone for that? How about a certain Autobot and her Black Knight pet who destroyed my ship and skinned my knee? Especially that pilot in the red Knightmare that gave me this." Airachnid pointed to a vertical scar underneath her right eye when the Guren cut her with its knife. "I mean to pay them back in kind, both of them. That gives us a common enemy, doesn't it?"

Suzaku didn't offer any response but continued to glare. The tension between these two was so thick that it would take a Knightmare MVS just to cut it. However, it was indeed broken by Gino who coughed loudly. "So, what's going on? You guys here for a reason?"

"Yes, we have a mission for the present Knights of the Round." Starscream said, getting everyone's attention. "Thundercracker, Skywarp, Airachnid and myself are departing for the land you call Australia, the four of you Knights will accompany us. It is neutral territory so there is no need to worry of any diplomacy."

"Viceroy Cornelia will be joining us upon her insistence." Thundercracker added.

"Ooh, Australia." Gino seemed interested. "The only nation not with any superpower. Heard it's got nice beaches."

"Work first Gino, play later." Monica told him.

"What's the mission, exactly?" Nonette asked.

"To locate an old Cybertronian ship and bring back something that it's been carrying." Skywarp said.

"Ooh, more Cybertronian technology. Goody!" Lloyd seemed quite excited. "I really missed out on that whole Polarity Gauntlet thing."

"What are we bringing back, exactly?" Suzaku asked in a suspicious tone.

"That information is need-to-know and right now, you don't." Airachnid replied. "Especially you, considering you're not joining us Suzaku."

"What?!" Suzaku exclaimed as he and everyone else looked in surprise.

"Is there a reason you don't want Suzaku to come?" Cecile questioned.

"Given his track-record against the Autobots and the Black Knights, as well as his inability to kill his enemies, he may be more of a liability than an asset." Starscream sneered, earning a glare from Suzaku.

"So, the Black Knights and the Autobots are gonna show up?!" Gino asked in an excited and hopeful tone.

"We have no confirmation, but it is likely." Thundercracker said. "And it'll give us a chance to see what the Knights of the Round can do against the Autobots."

"Hmmm, makes sense." Anya seemed alright with it, being as emotionless as ever.

"So, get in your Knightmares you so-called Knights, we're moving out." Starscream ordered.

"If you say so." Nonette narrowed her eyes as she and Anya walked off the catwalk to join Gino and Monica in readying their respective Knightmares.

Skywarp noticed the look of frustration on Suzaku's face. "Kid, you got a problem with it, take it up with the big boss. It was his decision, not ours."

'Believe me, I will!' Suzaku thought to himself as he was already on his way out the door, but not before catching one final look at Airachnid who merely smirked in his direction, causing him to scowl even further as he left.

Ohgi's Residence

Kaname Ohgi walked back into his house when he heard a familiar voice call to him. "Welcome back."

"Thanks." Ohgi stuttered a bit, still not used to having a Britannian Pureblood in his house, even if she did have amnesia. After Zero and Optimus gave Ohgi permission to watch over her, she was given some anesthetics so she would fall asleep as they transported her out of the Ark ant to Ohgi's place. It seemed that she has for the most part recovered physically, though she did still suffer from permanent scars and lacerations on her back.

"Good timing, the meal's almost ready." The amnesiac Villetta returned to her work at the pot.

"Meal?" Ohgi asked. "You mean… did you go out shopping somewhere?" He asked with concern, if someone recognized her it could be bad news.

"No, I just used what you had around." She replied. "Some people here are afraid of Britannians, plus I've heard all these things about giant robots everywhere so…"

"Well I wouldn't say they're everywhere but yeah… probably best to stay indoors for now." Ohgi commented. "So, have you been able to remember anything yet?"

"Sorry, nothing at all, yet." Her smile faded slightly.

"That's okay." Ohgi said as he went into his room and looked at the recordings from the cameras, he hid all over his house, via his computer. Though he wasn't the kind of person to take advantage of someone with amnesia, he wasn't naïve enough to think she might try and trick him. So far, the recordings showed that she hadn't done anything suspicious.

"Don't push it, you're still healing." He said to her. "It's alright if it takes time to remember." That of course left a bit of a question in Ohgi's head, if and when she did regain her memories, what was he going to do with her?

"Okay, it's ready!" She called to him. "I sure hope you like it!"

Despite the odd situation he was facing, Ohgi couldn't help but smile a bit.

Australia

The outback of the independent nation seemed more-or-less a desert with only wildlife serving as its inhabitants, rather than people, with no human civilization in sight. Therefore, nobody would notice the Groundbridge portal opening up as Starscream, Airachnid, Thundercracker, and Skywarp walk out; with Cornelia's Gloucester, as well as the four Knights of the Round in their respective Knightmares roll out.

"Ugh…. Uh, I don't feel so good." Gino commented, holding his stomach.

"Well sucks to be a fleshy then." Skywarp smirked.

"Are you here to bicker or are you here to guide?" Airachnid questioned to the group.

"I will reveal the exact location of the Harbinger when you tell me exactly what we're looking for." Starscream stated.

"Just like I told Suzaku, that information is need-to-know, and you don't right now, none of you do in fact." Airachnid said, resulting in glares from nearly everyone present.

"Watch your tongue, Decepticon." Cornelia glared. "I am Second Princess Cornelia Li Britannia, one of the top pilots in the Empire and I will not be treated like a lowly grunt."

"If you're such a 'mighty warrior', how come you're not a Knight of the Round?" Airachnid taunted.

"There's actually a rule that says members of the royal family cannot also become a Knight of the Round." Anya commented from within her massive Mordred.

"Oh?" Thundercracker mused. "If I recall, wasn't one of the Emperor's consorts also a Knight of the Round? What as her name again? Oh right, Marianne Vi Britannia. She was the Knight of Two if I recall."

"Yeah well, the Emperor changed it after she died." Gino pointed out.

"Guess that means the supposed 'Goddess of Victory' isn't really good enough." Skywarp mocked, resulting in Cornelia growling.

"Goddess of Victory? Where'd you earn that title?" Airachnid taunted as well. "Superiority complex much?"

Suddenly, Cornelia's Gloucester had pointed its lance right at Airachnid's face. "Do not test me, Airachnid! I've laid waste to entire legions of enemies! I brought entire nations to their knees for the sake of the Empire! I will not be mocked by the likes of you!"

"You snuffed out entire nations?" Airachnid mused with a feign surprise and amazement.

"Without even a hint of mercy." Cornelia added.

"Oh? Even Optimus showed you mercy during your little duel in Saitama." Airachnid reminded Cornelia, causing her to grit her teeth even more. "In fact, if I recall correctly, you haven't had one single victory since coming to Japan, haven't you? Though you're no winner, you have still left a great deal of destruction in your wake, including your own precious Glaston Knights. So, I think a more appropriate tile for you would be the 'Goddess of Carcasses Rotting in the Mud'."

"Oooooh! Burn!" Skywarp mocked, and even Gino chuckled a bit as Starscream smirked, while Nonette and Monica glared at the spider-woman.

"I've heard enough!" Cornelia was ready to shoot Airachnid where she stood, but Nonette's Galeschin had come in-between them to stop a fight from breaking out.

"Stop it! We are not enemies!" Nonette said in a very stern tone. "Cornelia, you need to take it easy; don't let your temper get out of control. And Airachnid, you would do well not to push any of our buttons or else there will be trouble."

This seemed to get both of them to back down. Though Cornelia wouldn't admit it, Nonette was one of the few people she regarded as something of a senior and knew better than to question her when she was serious. Airachnid stood down as well, though she was annoyed by the Knight of Nine's tone.

"Ahem!" Thundercracker cleared his throat. "The mission?"

Starscream got back on track. "The wreckage lies just beneath where we stand, I will need to find a point of entry."

Before anyone could find said point of entry, Airachnid's lower body converted into a drill as she began to dig straight down, much to everyone's surprise.

"Whoa! She can dig underground?!" Gino voiced in clear amazement.

"Some spiders are known for dwelling underground." Anya pointed out.

"Show off." Starscream muttered before turning to everyone else. "Airachnid and I will retrieve the item we seek; the rest of you will wait out here and stand guard in case the enemy arrives."

"Makes sense." Monica nodded.

"Sure thing." Skywarp seemed to agree.

Before Starscream could even proceed down the hole himself however, Cornelia's Gloucester rolled in front of him. "I'm coming as well."

"I do not recall giving you permission to do so." Starscream glared.

"If I recall correctly, Megatron said you and I bear equal rank. So, I don't need your permission." Cornelia commented as she drove her Knightmare into the hole, splitting it's legs like a split-kick as she used the wheels on her mech's feet to slow her descent. Starscream merely sighed in annoyance as he proceeded to climb down himself.

Airachnid and Cornelia proceeded down the halls of the ruined Decepticon vessel, with Starscream casually walking behind them. As Airachnid used her spider-legs to crawl on the ceiling, Cornelia's own Knightmare's headlights had been turned on to provide some form of illumination as she herself looked around.

'So, this is a Cybertronian vessel. Hmm, I expected more.' She thought to herself in disappointment.

"Suit yourselves. I conducted a thorough search of this husk years ago." Starscream said. Though he looked in surprise to see Airachnid activating an old console. "What are you doing?!"

"Accessing the cargo manifest." Airachnid answered. "Or didn't you think to do that during your thorough search?" She mocked.

"Idiot." Starscream glared. "The ship's systems hadn't been activated for eons. The Autobots and the Black Knights could detect it's energy signature!"

"Let them come!" Cornelia stated. "I'm not afraid to fight, unlike you it would seem." She said to Starscream.

Before they could even begin an argument, Airachnid found what they were looking for. "Ah, here it is: Section 23."

The Ark

Just as Starscream predicted, the Autobots were able to detect the active energy signature as both Ratchet and Fixit noticed the new signal on the bridge's main console.

"Optimus, Lelouch, our scanners have detected a Decepticon energy profile." Ratchet got both their attention. "But it's ancient."

"The past has a way of catching up with the present, Ratchet." Optimus commented.

"Should I contact the other Black Knights?" Fixit asked.

"Negative." Lelouch countered. "All the Autobots are present, along with Rai and Kallen. If this is another Decepticon weapon, we'll need to hurry, and we'll need the best for this mission."

Australia

Thundercracker sat casually on a large rock, with Skywarp pacing around the area. At the same time; the Tristian, Mordred, Florence, and Galeschin Knightmares all stood straight while the pilots inside casually waited for something to happen.

Gino gave a loud enough yawn that it echoed from his Knightmare's speakers. "Man, I am bored."

"That makes two of us." Skywarp commented.

"What'd you expect? Us playing volleyball to pass the time or something?" Thundercracker questioned in obvious sarcasm.

"I just want something to do is all." Gino said. "I hate doing nothing."

"We have our orders to wait." Monica said. "So, we'll wait."

"You think the Autobots and Black Knights are gonna show up? I really wanna fight them!" Gino hoped.

"Given the record number of Autobot-Black-Knight interference in military operations, the odds seem rather likely." Anya said as she was again glued to her cell phone, even inside her Knightmare.

"And we should take them seriously." Nonette said. "They've completely demolished both the Purebloods and the Glaston Knights. People are taking notice all over the world and we're even seeing rises in resistances and rebellion in other Areas as well, not just Area 11."

Skywarp snickered. "Sucks to be you guys."

However, before that could erupt into an argument, a Groundbridge portal opened up and the Autobots all ran out guns blazing, along with the Guren MK II, the Gekka Pre-Production, and even Zero's own personal Burai. The surprise and rapid Energon blasts forced the Knights of the Round and Seekers to scatter to avoid being hit.

"Autobots! And the Black Knights!" Thundercracker exclaimed.

"About damn time! Now we're talking!" Gino exclaimed with joy.

"Optimus, Bumblebee, and Arcee with me!" Zero ordered as he added to the firefight with his Burai's riffle. "Everyone else take care of the enemy here!"

Zero rolled his Burai as Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Arcee all transformed into their respective vehicle modes and followed him closer to the signal they were detecting.

"So that's Zero huh? I got em!" Gino rolled his Tristian in pursuit, only for the Knightmare to get derailed and knocked to the side by Cliffjumper in his vehicle mode before he transformed and blocked his path.

"Sorry Knight-boy, you gotta go through me first!" Cliffjumper stated with a grin.

Gino's own grin hadn't faded in the least. "If you say so Mr. Autobot!" He rolled his Tristian straight at Cliffjumper as the two clashed.

Thundercracker hovered in the air along with Skywarp as they opened fire with Energon blasts at Ironhide and Wheeljack, but the two were quick to maneuver around their blasts as Ironhide retaliated with blasts from his own cannon, forcing the two to separate while Wheeljack jumped as Ironhide kept them distracted. The Wrecker was able to grab onto Skywarp's feet and pull him out of the air to slam him on the ground; this distracted Thundercracker long enough for Ironhide to blast him right out of the sky and crash hard on the ground.

Bulkhead meanwhile charged forward with his mace straight at the Mordred, however, the bulky Knightmare was actually able to lift both its hands and quickly catch Bulkhead's weapon, much to his own surprise. And even more so as the massive shoulder armaments opened up and fired two powerful blasts that actually sent Bulkhead reeling back across the ground.

"Two shoulder mounted VARIS weapons." Anya observed. "Powerful, yet apparently not deadly enough for an Autobot."

Bulkhead was able to push himself back on his feet as he rubbed some spilled Energon from his mouth. 'Hard to believe a kid's piloting that thing. She'd actually make a pretty decent Wrecker'. Bulkhead quickly brought both his Energon blasters up just as the Mordred fired its VARIS-shoulder weapons again, right as Bulkhead blasted two powerful Energon blasts. They collided and created a powerful explosion that seemed to rock the whole area. Anya's eyes widened slightly as she saw Bulkhead quickly run through the smoke to leap and tackle the Mordred to the ground.

"Hate to do this to ya kid, but I'm gonna have to knock you out for a while!" Bulkhead lifted his mace-weapon in an attempt to smash the Knightmare's head and render it immobile, while not killing Anya inside. However, she shot both the Mordred's fists up into Bulkhead's face and knock him up slightly before the Mordred let loose a series of proximity missiles forcing Bulkhead to cover himself as the blasts knocked him back slightly, though he remained on his feet.

Meanwhile; the Gekka charged at the Galeschin and clashed its rotating-blade Katana against the opposing MVS blade. They locked for a moment before Rai lashed out his Gekka's Surger claw, only for the Galeschin to jump into the air and flip over to land behind the blue Gekka and lash out an MVS strike, only for Rai to instinctively turn his Knightmare round and block the strike with an activated Surger Claw. The opposing energy actually melted the sword, forcing Nonette to roll her Knightmare back as it drew its own VARIS rifle to open fire, which Rai blocked again using an activated Surger claw that actually kept the blast back. Though Rai struggled to keep it back, he moved aside to let the blast past him where it obliterated a large mound of the ground.

'Can't believe I'm actually going toe-to-toe with a Knight of the Round.' He smiled almost humbly. 'Guess all that experience fighting Decepticons has paid off.' He shot his Gekka forward, slashing with both his katana and Surger Claw, forcing Nonette on the defensive.

The Knight of Nine smirked herself. 'I can see it's not just the Autobots that are a threat. The Black Knights got plenty of talent of their own. Whoever this pilot is, he's good.'

Meanwhile; Kallen roared as she shot her Guren straight at the incoming Florence. She lashed out her Radiant Wave Surger claw, only for Monica to block it with an x-formation of her Florence's retractable MVS shoulder blades. They struggled against each other until Monica forced her Knightmare forward, forcing Kallen back as she brought out her Guren's knife which she lashed out, but the Florence ducked and tried to sweep it's feet, only for the Guren to jump over and above and lash out with her Surger claw again, but the Florence batted it away before trying to move her Knightmare back and fire a pair of waist-mounted Slash Harkens, only for Kallen to slash at one with her knife and barley dodge the second.

At the same time, Cliffjumper opened fire with his Energon blasts at the incoming Tristian, but Gino proved fast enough in his Knightmare to dodge each of the blasts as the Tristian drew both its MVS blades and slashed at Cliffjumper who ducked and dodged each swipe before sweeping his feet to knock the Tristian down. He quickly aimed his Energon blaster right to the Tristian's face, but Gino quickly sliced upward with the right MVS to knock the red Autobot back, allowing the Tristian to stand up on its feet.

"Gotta say, that's the first time somebody's knocked me off my feet before!" Gino commented with a grin. "Fighting you Autobots is an absolute blast!" He fired a slash harken from his Knightmare's right arm, which Cliffjumper was able to dodge and avoid.

"Same goes for you!" Cliffjumper grinned as well. "Most of the Britannians I've been fighting act like something crawled up their tail pipe and died." He charged directly at the Tristian who tried to slash downward with its MVS blades, only for Cliff to catch the Knightmare by its arms. "About time someone knows how to have some fun around here!" He headbutted the Tristian to disorient its pilot before grabbing it by its right arm and hauling it over his shoulder for a throw.

"Tell me about it." Gino commented as he flipped his Knightmare to land on its feet. "Hanging around with a bunch of stiffs is kinda lame. Even a few of my pals in the Knights of the Round are hard to talk to."

Cliffjumper maintained his smirk as he clashed with the Tristian once more. Though it seemed like this Gino was actually a pretty decent guy, he still knew he had to take him down. But that didn't mean he couldn't have some fun with him.

At the same time; Airachnid proceeded through the tunnels of the Harbinger with Starscream and Cornelia's Gloucester right behind her, the trio apparently oblivious to the battle occurring outside.

She turned a corner. "Section 23 should be right about…. Here?" She came to a stop as the only thing in front of her was a dead-end of solid rock. "The ship just ends. It must have broken in half during the crash."

Starscream scoffed. "Or in the air. If you performed actual research, you would have learned that an Autobot battalion shot the Harbinger out of the sky."

"You knew this was only part of the ship?" Cornelia questioned, clearly unamused by Starscream's lack of communication.

"How far away is the other half?!" Airachnid demanded.

"I'm afraid that information is… need-to-know." Starscream mocked to both of them.

Both Cornelia and Airachnid growled, but not even the former could contain a surprised expression as the later shot out some of her webbing to ensnare Starscream and knock him onto the ground.

"What are you…?!"

"You're trying to make me look like a fool before Megatron!" Airachnid accused. "Have me return empty-handed while you locate the weapon yourself!"

"How dare you accuse me!" Starscream exclaimed. "You're nothing but a scavenger! An opportunist!"

"Aren't you one-to-talk." Airachnid commented as she leaned closer towards Starscream in a predatory fashion. Cornelia said nothing as she only observed with a smirk, finding it quite amusing to see the Decepticons bicker amongst themselves, particularly the two that drove her up the wall the most.

"Perhaps. But I've changed." Starscream said in a calming tone. "Seen the error of my ways. I live to serve Megatron now."

"You won't live to serve anyone if you don't tell me where to find the rest of this ship. Now!" Airachnid demanded.

Starscream sighed in annoyance. "Twenty kilometers north of here through a stone-arch."

"Thank you." Airachnid stood back up.

"Good, now we can…" Before Cornelia however could make any movements, her Gloucester was suddenly webbed to the walls of the ship. Airachnid wasted no time in using her spider-legs to sever the hands and feet of the Knightmare and even a slice at the Gloucester's neck to sever its communications. "What is the meaning of this?!" Cornelia exclaimed, even Starscream was mildly surprised.

"You know Cornelia, there has been something I've been meaning to ask you." Airachnid mused. "The motto of Britannia is 'survival of the fittest' right? As in, the strong survive and the weak die, correct?"

"What of it?" Cornelia narrowed her eyes.

"So, then I really must ask, why is little Euphemia still around?" Airachnid asked with an amused smirk

"What?!" Cornelia questioned.

"I did a little research on the Britannian Royal Family, seeing how we're supposed to be working together and all." Airachnid began. "Typically, anyone who isn't a warrior like yourself is usually a strategist, or a really good politician. But as it turns out, little Euphemia doesn't fall under any of those categories. So, it makes me wonder why you're even keeping her around. Or, I believe a better question is, why is dead old daddy keeping her around?"

"It's none of your damn business!" Cornelia glared at the spider-Con that so much as mentioned her younger sister's name.

"If she's as weak as I've heard, why hasn't your precious Emperor thrown her to the curb?" Airachnid taunted. "After all, it's not the first time he's done it. What were their names again? Oh right. Lelouch and Nunnally."

Cornelia's eyes widened as she didn't even come up with a response as Airachnid continued.

"Their mommy died, so their father threw them to the hounds and killed them. Isn't that right?"

"No! The Elevens were responsible for their deaths!"

"I don't think so." Airachnid countered. "The truth is, their lives weren't in danger until Japan was invaded. And who was it that invaded Japan again? Oh right, it was you. It was Britannia. Seeing how Charels had no qualms over killing his own son and daughter like that, it makes me wonder why he hasn't done the same to useless Euphie."

"If you so much as lay a finger on her…" Cornelia gritted her teeth so much, it was a wonder they didn't crack.

"I'm not saying I would do anything." Airachnid replied. "I'm only asking what you would do if daddy tried to kill Euphie like how he killed Lelouch and Nunnally? Would you protect her and betray the empire? Or would you kill her yourself to further cement your position as the 'pride of Britannia'."

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Cornelia tried to move her Knightmare, but without it's landspinners on it's feet, it was pretty much immobile.

"Ahem!" Starscream got Airachnid's attention. "As entertaining as this is, we do have a mission to accomplish. So, release me!"

Airachnid proceed to walk away before turning back to the immobilized pair. "When I have the weapon in hand." She smirked. "That is, if I can find my way back without my guide. Oh, and Cornelia, seeing how your Knightmare malfunctioned and you found yourself stranded on this foreign land, I'll be sure to take real good care of little Euphie in your stead."

Her eyes shook with a blind rage as Cornelia tried to personally kick open her cockpit, but with the back of if stuck against the wall, it was almost impossible, so she tried to cut her way out with her sword.

"This is not funny, Airachnid!" Starscream called to her as she walked away. "Come back here right now and cut me loose! Airachnid! That is an order! I am your commanding officer!"

She chuckled as she turned the corner, only to gasp as she spotted Optimus, Arcee, Bumblebee, and Zero's Burai, who in turn spotted her as well.

"Airachnid!" Arcee exclaimed.

"Surrender!" Optimus ordered.

Airachnid growled as she produced her spider-legs and ran back the way she came with the Autobot trio and Zero in close pursuit.

"Airachnid! You traitor!" Starscream exclaimed as she scurried over him and proceed to drill herself back to the surface through the rock-wall on the other side, leaving him, as well as Cornelia's Gloucester with Optimus, Bumblebee, and Zero as Arcee proceeded to climb through the tunnel in pursuit of her nemesis.

"Arcee! Wait!" Optimus tried to call to her.

Zero immediately contacted the others. "All units! Arcee is in pursuit of Airachnid! Provide assistance immediately!"

"I'm on my way!" Kallen responded.

"[Hey Zero.]" Bumblebee got his attention as the Autobot scout pried the webbed and immobile Gloucester from the wall and pulled open its cockpit to pull out Cornelia in his own hand. "[Look who's here.]"

Lelouch's eyes widened as he saw his struggling sister in Bumblebee's grip. 'Cornelia!'

Arcee had made it to the surface, not far from the rest of the fighting as she heard noises and Energon fire in the distance. But that wasn't her concern right now. She aimed her Energon blaster but had seen her enemy had vanished.

However, the ground under her exploded outward, knocking Arcee back as she turned to see Airachnid greeting her. "Arcee."

"I didn't peg you for re-siding with the Decepticons." Arcee commented as she charged her nemesis.

"A temporary arrangement, Arcee. You know I prefer working alone." Airachnid replied as she dodged a punch and a flying kick from Arcee, only for Airachnid to grab Arcee's leg with her spider legs and slam her to the ground before throwing her away. But Arcee flipped mid-air and landed on her feet before charging at Airachnid with her arm-blades.

However, as Arcee slashed her blade, Airachnid dodged it and placed Arcee in a neck-lock. "Speaking of, add any more deceased partners to your list?"

However, Airachnid was sent flying back with a kick to her back, forcing her to let go of Arcee. As Airachnid got back up she saw her assailant was none other than the Guren.

"Here's one, Spider-bitch!" Kallen exclaimed with a glare.

Airachnid glared slightly. "As much as I'd love to have another play-date with you Kallen, I'm afraid I don't quite have the time." She transformed into her helicopter-mode and proceeded to fly away with Arcee and the Guren in close pursuit, the former trying to shoot her down.

Airachnid flew over the area where the remaining Seekers and the four Knights of the Round were duking it out with the Autobots as well as the single Gekka Pre-Production. "Soundwave, I need a Groundbridge. Twenty kilometers north of my current position." She transformed and landed on the ground right as a Groundbridge portal opened up. "Come on everyone! Time to go!"

"Where's Cornelia?!" Nonette exclaimed.

"Forget her, let's just go!" Skywarp stated as he ran to grab the Galeschin by its arm and pull it into the Groundbridge as Skywarp, the Tristian, Mordred, and Florence all followed them, Thundercracker, and Airachnid into the Groundbridge, which deactivated as the portal closed right as Arcee and the Guren regrouped with their comrades.

"Did we just send the Knights of the Round running?" Rai asked. "Awesome!"

"Doubt it." Ironhide shook his head. "They probably got what they needed."

"Too bad, that was actually kinda fun." Cliffjumper said.

"I hear ya, Cliff. About time Britannia gave us a real challenge." Wheeljack shared a fist-bump with the red Autobot.

Kallen shook her head with a smirk as she spared a glance in Arcee's direction. "Hey, you okay Arcee?"

"No. Not until I make her pay." Arcee snarled.

The red-head girl looked with concern. "Arcee, you know that I would personally love to put that bitch in her place, we can't let our emotions cloud our judgement. Right?"

"That's kinda ironic coming from you." Cliffjumper said, resulting in a short glare from Kallen, which he didn't notice as it was inside her Knightmare, but he turned to Arcee with his own serious expression. "But she's right. Revenge is not going to bring back who we lost, you know that."

Arcee offered no response, but simply looked away.

"[Move it!]" They all turned their attention to see Bumblebee, Optimus, and Zero in his Burai personally escorting not only Starscream, but even Cornelia who still remained in Bumblebee's grip.

"No need to use force!" Starscream stated, still ensnared in Airachnid's webbing, as he was forced to his knees.

"Starscream and…" Bulkhead looked in surprise to see the Britannian princess in Bumblebee's hand. "Is that Cornelia?!"

"No way! We actually captured Cornelia?!" Rai exclaimed as even Kallen was stunned.

Cornelia growled at the enemy. "If you think I've accepted this…"

"You really don't have a choice, considering your current predicament." Zero reminded, as Lelouch himself couldn't contain his own smirk from within his Knightmare. He finally did it! He finally captured Cornelia! Now he can get answers from her.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know." Starscream said to the Autobots and Black Knights around him.

"Is that right? And what do you want in return, Starscream?" Ironhide glared, knowing just how deceptive their prisoner was.

"I want to be on your side." Starscream revealed.

This caught Rai and Kallen by surprise as most of the other Autobots narrowed their eyes untrustingly towards Starscream, though Optimus maintained a serious expression as did Lelouch.

"On our side?!" Bulkhead laughed. "Yeah right! And I've been lobbing with the Fallen!"

"You wouldn't betray the Decepticons." Zero told him.

"Wouldn't I?!" Starscream questioned. "What have they done for me lately besides humiliate me, spy on me, demote me! Do you know how many times Megatron tried to extinguish my spark in cold blood?! Only to have him now replace me with that traitorous wretch Airachnid! She abandoned me! Even my own Seekers! They left me for scrap! So why not rat them out?"

While the others eyed the Seeker with suspicion, Wheeljack looked towards Cornelia. "What about you princess? Your little Knights of the Round abandoned you to? I think that's cause for some payback, right?"

"If you think for one moment, I would betray Britannia, you are sorely mistaken, Autobot!" Cornelia exclaimed. "Unlike this back-stabbing snake, my loyalty will never shake!"

Lelouch narrowed his eyes but offered no response. "Zero? What do you think?" Kallen asked from her Guren.

He was silent for a minute before looking at Optimus, though the Autobot leader couldn't see his face, he knew Lelouch was looking at him. He gave him a nod, saying they would talk about this. "Bumblebee, Guren, Gekka, watch our prisoners. Everyone else, we'll discuss this."

Zero slowly rolled his Burai away to meet up with Optimus and the others while Bumblebee kept his grim firm on Cornelia as the Guren and Gekka both rolled toward Starscream; with the Gekka bring it's katana underneath Starscream's chin and the Guren keeping its Radiant Wave Surger claw only a few inches away from the back of Starscream's head.

Lelouch put his mask back on as he opened his Knightmare's cockpit to speak with the Autobots around him. "Well? What the rest of you suggest?"

"Absolutely not!" Ironhide stated. "I can't tell you how many times Starscream's tried that same thing to us and Megatron!"

"But he was also telling the truth about the number of times Megatron tried to scrap him." Arcee added.

"You're not saying you actually trust Starscream?" Bulkhead asked.

"Never, not in a million years. But this may be the one time or objectives align." Arcee said.

"The Decepticon first lieutenant has to know all sorts of juicy information." Cliffjumper added. "And considering his own soldiers abandoned him, I wouldn't at least say he's itching for payback."

"What about Cornelia? She has to know quite a bit to, right?" Wheeljack asked. "But I don't think she'd be willing to talk us. She doesn't seem like the back-stabbing type."

"Leave her to me, I can get her to talk." Zero said. The Autobots, and even Optimus, knew what Lelouch was talking about. But given Cornelia's current status, it would make sense for him to use his Geass on her.

"Think maybe your Geass is strong enough to use on Cybertronians yet?" Ironhide asked. "At least that way, we'll know if Starscream is telling the truth."

"No, it's not strong enough." Zero shook his head. "But like Cliffjumper and Arcee have said, our objectives with Starscream align and he should have information that could prove to be invaluable to us."

"Bulkhead, Ironhide, you two are right to be wary." Optimus acknowledged. "But I agree with Zero and the others."

The two aforementioned Autobots glanced at each other. Though they knew their comrades made valued points and they trusted Optimus' judgement, it didn't mean they'd be willing to let their guard down around Starscream.

Twenty kilometers north of the Autobots and Black Knights' position, a single Groundbridge portal opened up, allowing Airachnid, Thundercracker, and Skywarp, along with the four Knights of the Round, in their respective Knightmares to arrive at their destination: the remains of the Harbinger. It appeared to be embedded in the rocks within a large canyon, almost completely buried with the back of its outer haul being only partially visible.

"Ah, there it is." Airachnid smirked.

"Whoa… an alien starship. That is so cool!" Gino exclaimed with a grin.

"What about Cornelia or Starscream? We just left them there!" Monica stated.

"Oh well, tough break for them." Skywarp shrugged.

"You would abandon one of your own?!" Nonette exclaimed in shock.

"What do you expect? If they can't keep up, they get left behind." Thundercracker stated. "That's logical, right?"

"It does make sense." Anya admitted.

However, Gino's own smile faded as he looked in honest surprise. "Whoa… that's a little cold, don't you think?"

"It's reality. And it's how your empire operates, right?" Airachnid reminded.

"What are you talking about?" Gino narrowed his eyes.

"Your emperor said it himself." Airachnid began. "Evolution is continuous, only the strong survive. But here's the thing, Britannia is not the exception, it should apply for you to. After all, that's happened to Lelouch, Nunnally, and Clovis, right? They were weak so they died, even their own daddy didn't shed a tear. I'm pretty sure the same could be said for Cornelia if she died to."

"What…?!" Monica was already becoming quite angry with Airachnid, with Nonette and even Gino not far behind, though Anya remained as emotionless as ever.

"But I don't think the Autobots and their little friends are going to summarily execute her." Airachnid continued. "After all, they're the 'Knights for Justice and Freedom'. So, if you rescue her, you could use that to further your own status and gain even more power than you already have. A win-win situation if you ask me…"

Airachnid was suddenly silenced as the Galeschin's brought its MVS blade to Airachnid's neck, prompting Skywarp and Thundercracker to aim its Energon blasters at the white and blue Knightmare, in which the Tristian and Florence brought their own bladed weapons to the two Seekers, even Anya's Mordred readied its own proximity missiles.

"Let me make something perfectly clear, Airachnid." Nonette glared at her. "I'm not in this for the glory. And contrary to what you might think, not everyone in Britannia is a merciless killer like you! If I have a chance to save Cornelia, I will take it regardless of what you might think. And, if you do anything to threaten her, Euphemia, or anyone else, I will kill you. Am I clear?"

Airachnid looked seriously as she used her fingers to gently lower the blade from her neck. "Crystal." The Galeschin lowered its weapons, prompting Thundercracker and Skywarp to do the same, followed by the other Knights of the Round. "Now wait here while I go retrieve the weapon."

"By yourself?" Monica narrowed her eyes.

"Unless your Knightmares are prepared to traverse a derelict and structurally unstable warship, I suggest you stay back." Airachnid advised. "Which is even more crucial if our enemies happen to catch up to us."

Nobody offered her a reply as they simply watched Airachnid use her spider-legs to traverse up the vertical incline of the ruins of the Harbinger, though the Knights of the Round couldn't help but glare.

'Hmph, never thought there was someone I hated more than Luciano.' Gino thought to himself.

Airachnid seemed to traverse through the dusty insides of the Harbinger with little issue, making it rather easily into Section 23 where she tore open a storage compartment to find what she had been looking for.

"Be still my beating spark." She pulled out a rod-like device with a trident-like attachment at the end that began to spin around as it emanated a light-blue energy vortex from it's tip.

The Autobots in their vehicle modes, along with Optimus carrying a trailer behind his truck-mode, drove along with the Guren, Gekka, and Burai, piloted by Kallen, Rai, and Zero respectively toward their intended destination. They all came to a stop just before the large stone-arch that Starscream described before the Autobots, minus Bumblebee, all transformed back to their robot-modes.

"Looks like he was telling the truth." Kallen noticed.

"Don't let your guard down, could still be a trap." Arcee advised.

"Starscream's loyalty to Megatron has always been questionable." Optimus commented as he left the trailer behind upon transforming.

"From your descriptions however, the only one he appears to be truly loyal toward is himself." Zero replied.

"Ironic, considering most of his schemes end up backfiring in his face in the most explosive way." Cliffjumper added.

"Talk about being your own worst enemy." Rai commented.

"But that doesn't mean he's not dangerous." Ironhide said. "In fact, his own insecurities are what make him unpredictable, which might arguably make him more dangerous than Megatron."

"That has to be an exaggeration, right?" Kallen asked. "I mean, we've all seen Megatron, that guy is freaking huge! And Starscream looks like he has noodles for arms."

"Screamy might not be a gladiator, but he'll backstab you the first chance he gets." Bulkhead said.

"If Starscream's tried to back-stab Megatron multiple times, why does he even keep him around?" Rai asked.

"I have to agree." Zero said. "If Starscream was in our ranks, I'd have him removed the first attempted coup."

Wheeljack shrugged. "Don't know, maybe a stress reliver? I mean beating him up is kinda fun."

"What's the old saying? Keep your friends close but your enemies closer?" Bulkhead mused.

"What do you think, Optimus?" Zero asked.

"As you all have stated, the only one Starscream truly serves is himself." Optimus began. "If he has truly split from the Decepticons, his knowledge of their agendas could make him a valuable ally."

"You're not suggesting that he'd actually join us? Right?" Rai question. "A sleezebag like him?!"

"I gotta agree with the kid, Optimus." Ironhide agreed. "If we keep Starscream around, its only gonna do more harm than good."

"I understand how many of you all feel." Optimus replied. "And I agree that it is highly unlikely that Starscream, or any other Decepticon would choose the path of good, even they possess the potential for change."

"Even bot-killers? Even Airachnid?!" Arcee exclaimed.

"Or Cornelia?! Or that god-damn Emperor?!" Kallen exclaimed as well.

"Without that hope, we may never achieve lasting peace." Optimus said. Though he knew that there were indeed those that are incapable of change, there were also those that we're. That had Lelouch think for a bit, there was a time when he and Cornelia were close, but after all she's done, the odds of them reforming any sort of bond were unlikely.

"[Hey, speaking of which, can someone get her out of my trunk? She's really putting up a fight.]" Bumblebee pointed out as his trunk began to shake slightly.

The Guren and Gekka both deactivated as their pilots, both wearing visors to hide their identities, lowered themselves from their Knightmares. Kallen and Rai walked to Bumblebee and opened his truck to reveal Cornelia. She was completely wrapped in duct tape: her wrists were tapped behind her back, her ankles tapped together, with more duct tape wrapping around her to bind her arms to her side, with a single strip of duct tape to cover her mouth.

"Not so fun now that you're helpless, is it?" Kallen smirked as Cornelia glared and muffled a curse under her gag, even as she and Rai dragged her out of Bumblebee's trunk, allowing him to transform back to normal.

"About time we get our other guest out." Ironhide said as Bulkhead walked to the trailer and opened it.

"Rise and shine, Screamy!" Bulkhead dragged Starscream out by his feet, his hands were cuffed in front of him with his wings clamped back to prevent him from transforming. He grunted a bit as he was dragged out.

"We're here. Where's the ship?" Arcee questioned.

Starscream looked at his surroundings for a second before answering. "It's through the arch, among the stones."

Optimus looked back towards the arch a brief moment before relaying instructions. "Ironhide, Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Cliffjumper, and Wheeljack; you're with me. Gekka-pilot, you as well."

"Got it." Rai nodded as he walked away from the bound Cornelia to climb back into his Knightmare.

"Zero, Arcee, Guren-pilot, remain with our prisoners."

"Understood." Zero said from inside his Knightmare as he reached down with his Burai's hand to grab the bound Cornelia. "I'm going to have a chat with her majesty. See that we're not disturbed."

Kallen nodded as she went back to the Guren.

As the other Autobots, and the Gekka, began to leave, Arcee tried to plead with her leader. "Optimus, please. For Tailgate."

Though Optimus did understand where she was coming from, and knew her spark was in the right place, they had to be careful in this situation. "Your desire to avenge Tailgate will only continue to cloud your judgment." He said before walking away.

Starscream ached a bit in pain. "Is the clamp really necessary?" He asked, getting Arcee's and Kallen's attention. "I promise not to fly away, it's really giving me a crick!"

"We can shove you back in the trailer if you want." Kallen told him, causing Starscream to grumble.

"The trailer is currently occupied at the moment." Zero said as his Burai, along with Cornelia literally in-hand, were already inside.

After the trailer door was closed behind, Cornelia was set down relatively gently in the far-right corner before the Burai kneeled down, while keeping its lights on for illumination. It deactivated, allowing Zero to step out now that he was sure he could speak with Cornelia privately.

He slowly walked toward Cornelia who glared daggers at him. He reached forward and painfully ripped the tape from her mouth, causing her to grunt.

"It's about time we finally met face-to-face." Zero said.

"Zero… If you think for one second that I'm going to beg for mercy, forget it!" She exclaimed.

"No, you're not the type to beg, are you?" Zero acknowledged. "Not like Clovis, who begged for his own life. Even after he so callously ordered the death of countless innocent people! Which you tried to do in Saitama if only to lure me out. Guess this apple truly did not fall far from the tree."

"Who are you to judge me?!" Cornelia exclaimed. "A masked terrorist who claims to fight for justice?!"

"I don't claim to fight for anything! The cause I fight for is real! Which is more than I can say for yours!" Zero shook his head with a sigh. "It pains me to see just how far you've fallen. I truly did admire you."

"What? Are you some kind of fan?" Cornelia questioned.

"No, but you and I were close…." Zero took off his mask to reveal his face. "…Dear sister."

Cornelia gasped as her eyes widened with absolute shock. Any anger from her face had morphed into complete and absolute surprise. "L… L… Lelouch…?!"

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Cornelia?" Lelouch glared at his elder half-sister.

Optimus led the group consisting of Bumblebee, Rai, Ironhide, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Cliffjumper through a narrow path in the canyon-like area, the Autobots had their Energon blasters at the ready, while Rai's Gekka already had its katana unsheathed.

"Be alert, Airachnid is known to attack from below ground." Optimus advised. "And we still know little of the Knights of the Round's battle strategies. We could be attacked at any moment."

"Right." Bulkhead said as everyone else nodded.

They passed the rockiest area before coming to a large open area where they spotted the derelict Harbinger. Optimus raised his hand to silently halt the group's advance, before motioning to proceed forward.

Rai however noticed some incoming dots on his Gekka's radar screen. "Incoming at three o'clock!" He exclaimed as the group dispersed to avoid multiple blasts shot at them.

The Autobots looked in surprise to see the Tristian, Galeschin, Florence, and Mordred all roll down the hillside, each blasting missiles or VARIS at the enemy, forcing the Autobots to find cover and return fire. But it wasn't just the four Knights of the Round on the attack; Skywarp and Thundercracker flew down in their jet modes to open fire as well right as the Knights made contact with the ground and engaged the Autobots and the Gekka.

This was all meanwhile being observed by Airachnid who smirked, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to test her new weapon. She aimed and opened fire on Bulkhead just as he knocked the Florence down with his mace. The weapon fired a spiral-like beam, and once it hit Bulkhead, he instantly became frozen and unable to move. Everyone, Autobot and Decepticon, Black Knight, or Britannian soldier, looked shocked at what just happened as Airachnid brandished her new weapon.

"The Immobilizer. True to its name." She said before resuming her 'trial-run'.

Meanwhile, back in the trailer, Cornelia was rendered speechless at the sight of her younger half-brother's glaring face. "What? No 'hello'? No 'how have you been, Lelouch?' Honestly, I'm hurt!"

"Lelouch… I… I don't… how…" Cornelia stuttered. "How are you…?"

"Alive?" Lelouch questioned. "You mean since our father exiled me and Nunnally?! Since you abandoned us?!"

The mention of her younger sister's name caught Cornelia's attention. "Nunnally…. Is… is she…?"

"She's alive." Lelouch told her. "And she's safe, far away from our father, and far away from you!"

"What…? Why would you want to protect her from me…? I would never hurt…?" Cornelia was still not over the shock.

"I used to think that." Lelouch said, anger clear cross his face. "I used to think that our big sister would always protect us. Until you weren't there, until you just stood by and watched as Nunnally and I were practically sentenced to death! And even more despicable… the very thought that you would betray our mother…!"

"What?! What does that mean? I would never betray your mother, Lelouch!" Cornelia exclaimed until her eyes widened with realization. "Is… is that why… is that why you're Zero?" She soon glared at her. "Is that why you killed Clovis and betrayed your own nation?! Your own family?!"

"Britannia betrayed us!" Lelouch shouted. "Our father betrayed me and Nunnally! You betrayed me and Nunnally! Clovis ordered hundreds of people to be executed to cover up his own conspiracies! He deserved what he got! And it's not just him! Countless innocent people are being killed and prejudiced against every day by Britannia! By our father! By you! How many people did you slaughter to get where you are now?!"

Cornelia wasn't sure how to respond at first, her mind still racing over the fact not only were here brother and sister alive, but even Lelouch admitted that he'd turn against Britannia.

"I cannot be part of that same world you and that monster you call our father are creating!" Lelouch continued. "A world where the weak and helpless are just steppingstones for you! I'll destroy that world myself if I have to!"

"So, you've allied yourself with alien monstrosities…!" Cornelia growled.

"You have no room to talk!" Lelouch exclaimed. "Considering your partnership with Megatron who is even worse than Charles Zi Britannia! Say what you will about me, but I won't let you speak a word of vanity in regard to the Autobots, especially Optimus Prime! He's been more of a father to me than Charles ever was!"

"What…?" Cornelia couldn't fathom the idea of the same alien who bested her in battle being a father-figure to her own brother.

"I already lost one parent at your hands Cornelia; I'll be damned if I let you take another from me!" Lelouch stated.

"What are you talking about?" Cornelia questioned.

"I'm talking about my mother! Whose death you were responsible for!" Lelouch shouted in pure ire.

Cornelia's eyes widened, she looked to Lelouch almost as if he had grown a second head. "You think that… that I would… Lelouch I did not kill your mother…"

"I asked Clovis about it." Lelouch continued. "His exact words were 'my brother Schneizel and my sister Cornelia, they can tell you'."

"I did not kill your mother, Lelouch!" Cornelia shouted. "I had nothing but absolute respect for her! I would never even think about hurting her! The fact that you think I would, or that I would even harm Nunnally is nothing short of insulting!"

"It doesn't matter what you think. The truth cannot be hidden from me any longer." Lelouch glared as the Geass sigil manifested in his left eye. "Starting now, you will tell me everything I want to know!"

The Geass sigil flew into Cornelia's eyes and rewrote her brainwave patterns, where a red ring formed in both her eyes. Her face become almost emotionless as she addressed her brother. "Of course, what do you wish to know?"

"Did you kill my mother?" Lelouch glared.

"No, I did not." Cornelia revealed, much to Lelouch's surprise.

"Did you have anything to do with it?" Lelouch questioned further.

"No." Cornelia responded.

Lelouch looked in surprise once more, before his look faded into frustration. "What did Clovis mean then when he said you could tell me about it?"

"He was likely referring to my investigations on the incident." Cornelia answered.

That caught Lelouch off-guard. "You were investigating her murder? Why?"

"Because, as I said, I had nothing but respect for your mother. I would never think about laying a hand against her." Cornelia answered, still under the influence of his Geass.

Though Lelouch was shocked by this revelation, he could still use this to get information from her. "Tell me everything you know about the incident."

"I found nothing in my investigation." Cornelia began. "Though I've theorized that it is likely someone from the royal family, aside from myself, Euphemia, Clovis, and Schneizel."

"Does that include the Emperor?" Lelouch questioned further.

"No, though I cannot see a reason why he would, I remain quite suspicious of him." Cornelia said.

"Then why don't you do anything about it?" Lelouch asked.

"Because I have no evidence, and even if I did, I worry he would do something to Euphemia if I went against him." Cornelia answered.

Lelouch honestly wasn't surprised. She always did doddle over Euphemia, and he wouldn't put it past Charles to use her as leverage against Cornelia. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Yes, there is." Cornelia continued. "The day before the murder, Lady Marianne asked me personally to shut down security and relieve the guards of their duty for the night."

That took Lelouch by surprise. "What? Why would she do that?"

"I do not know; she didn't say anything other than she was expecting a guest." Cornelia answered. "That was the last I heard from her before her death."

The prince-turned-revolutionary sighed in disappointment. He was honestly no closer to avenging his mother's death as all he did was rule out one single suspect. "You would never betray my mother?" He asked, his Geass still active

"Never." Cornelia confirmed.

"You would never betray… Nunnally or myself…?" Lelouch asked, his voice softening a bit

"Never." Cornelia confirmed once more.

Lelouch's own anger soon faded, as once she said that, he remembered his past with Cornelia. He remembered how she and Euphemia would come over to the Aries Villa all the time to play with him and Nunnally, she even used to read bed-time stories to him, Nunnally and Euphemia as they even slept in the same bed in their toddler years.

"How did you handle the news… of Nunnally and my supposed deaths after Japan fell?"

"Any time I wasn't spent comforting Euphemia, I cried my own eyes out. I even cried myself to sleep for a week." Cornelia revealed, causing Lelouch to look in emotional shock as he felt his own emotions shake.

"If you learned we were alive… what would you do…?" He asked.

"I would protect you two, with everything that I have." Cornelia answered.

"Even from our father… even from Megatron…?"

"Yes." Cornelia answered.

"Why…?"

"Because I love you."

Lelouch was not prepared for those words, his own eyes began to shake despite his Geass still being active as Cornelia continued.

"Lelouch, I love you and Nunnally as much as I love Euphie." She answered honestly, still under the influence of Lelouch's Geass. "If you need me to protect you from even Britannia itself, I would do so without hesitation. I also have no doubt that Euphemia, and even the remainder of the Glaston Knights would as well."

"Why them…?" Lelouch asked, emotion filling his voice.

"Because they've sworn loyalty to me, not to the Emperor." Cornelia answered. "I know them. If they would choose between me or our father, they would choose me."

"Even after I rebelled…?" Lelouch questioned, tears already forming in his eyes.

"Yes. Your actions for rebelling are understandable."

"Even after… Clovis…" Lelouch stuttered.

"Yes."

Though he still kept his Geass active, Lelouch turned away from his sister as he pressed his hand against the walls of the trailer. Tears were ready to fall down from his eyes. In his childhood, he truly did love Cornelia and admired her as his big sister. And now, she had honestly said, albeit under the influence of a Geass, that she would walk away from Britannia and even fight the Decepticons for his and Nunnally's sake. There was a part of him that considered using his Geass to order her to do so, but that would make him no different from their father or even Megatron. Besides, would the Black Knights be so acceptant of Cornelia after what she' done? Probably not, but if he revealed his own status, it might help them to become more open-minded. Even Optimus said that there were those with the potential to change. However, all this could wait. He still had Cornelia under his Geass' influence and he had a job to do. So, he squashed down his emotions as he faced her once again.

"I want you to tell me everything about Britannia's military operations here in Japan." Lelouch said.

"Of course. Whatever you need." Cornelia replied.

At the same time, Kallen still remained in her Guren as Arcee continued to pace in front of Starscream. The red head glanced in the direction of the trailer, deeply concerned for Lelouch. Though she knew he could handle himself and his Geass would keep Cornelia from hurting him, she could only imagine how difficult this must be for him. Despite everything, Cornelia was still his sister, though Lelouch didn't go into the specifics of their relationship, it must still be hard to feel betrayed by someone you once trusted and loved.

"I'm not really so bad, you know." Starscream said, more so to Arcee, while also getting Kallen's attention. "Megatron, he's the evil one."

"Tell it to someone who cares." Arcee replied.

"Like whom? Airachnid? Or Thundercracker and Skywarp?" Starscream scoffed. "What I wouldn't do to get my hands around their wretched throats."

"Hmm, guess we agree on something after all." Kallen commented.

"Oh, you have no idea." Starscream began his rant. "I've worked with those two for eons! Long before I joined Megatron, I was air-commander of an entire Seeker armada! I worked hard to bring those two up in the ranks; Thundercracker was my top scientist, though Skywarp was no genius, he had exceptional combat skills. And after all I've done for them, they still see fit to, as you humans say, throw me under the transport!"

"Bus. The phrase is 'under the bus'." Kallen corrected.

"And don't even get me started on Airachnid!" Starscream continued. "She showed up one day after deserting our cause, and the next thing you know she's acting like she runs the place! She whispered lies into Megatron's ear, maneuvered to rob me of my rightful place!"

"Well, she terminated my partner." Arcee looked down as Kallen had her own sympathetic expression to give to Arcee, despite nobody seeing it in her Knightmare.

"Oh… well, my apologies." Starscream said.

"Don't act like you're any different!" Arcee exclaimed, getting right up to Starscream's face. "How many times have you back-stabbed someone!? Only to beg for your miserable life and end up doing it again?!"

Starscream stuttered. "I admit… I was not the most honest of Bots, but I've changed!"

"Have you?" Kallen questioned. "I know a rat when I see one. I know who you are, the Autobots told me and everyone else what you've done 'Screamy'. All the times you tried to usurp Megatron to make yourself leader of the Decepticons, only to crawl right back to his feet begging him to rejoin! Honestly I'm surprised he's even keeping you around!"

"Oh? And would you rather have him as leader of the Decepticons?!" Starscream questioned. "Did you know he was directly responsible for destroying our world?! I never wanted Cybertron destroyed!"

"No, you just wanted to rule it yourself!" Arcee stated. "Everything you've done has solely been for yourself! You never once changed Starscream! Not once in a million years since the war began! How can any of us trust that you're changing now?!"

"Okay! Okay it was a mistake! I've made many! Monumental ones! But I swear I've changed!" Starscream looked like he was begging, in fact he was even as he bent down on his cuffed hands and knees. "Please! Please reconsider my termination!"

Kallen looked at Starscream with a befuddled expression. "Are… are you serious right now?! Arcee, is he actually serious?!"

Arcee rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I have no idea."

"Wow… you are just pathetic." Kallen commented to the Seeker. "How you could end up as the Con's second-in-command is beyond me."

"Come on, get up we're not gonna kill you." Arcee bent over to bring him up. "What even made you…!"

*SLASH!*

Arcee's optics widened as she felt a gash across her abdomen, stuttering back right into the Guren's grip. "Arcee…? What happened…?!" She exclaimed upon seeing the bleeding Energon leaking from Arcee's wound. Only to look in even further shock as she heard a similar slash across her own Knightmare's lower abs. She saw her systems begin to flicker on and off as she saw on the screen briefly a smirking Starscream holding important pieces of the Guren's insides in his claws before the Guren fell over on its back.

Starscream snickered as he reached down for the key to his cuffs that Arcee had dropped upon being slashed before he freed himself. "What's the matter, Arcee? After all, you really shouldn't be surprised."

At the same time; the Autobots and Rai were currently on the defensive, doing what they can to avoid the blasts from Airachnid's newly acquired Immobilizer, while also defending themselves from the relentless attacks from Skywarp, Thundercracker, and the Knights of the Round.

Wheeljack rolled back to avoid the continuous missile blasts from the Mordred as he drew his dual swords and rushed the Mordred, avoiding the VARIS blasts shot from its shoulder-units. Once he was close enough, he leapt at the Mordred, spinning his blades in front of him like a drill, which Anya tried to block by crossing the Mordred's arms, only for the arms to be torn up. However, as Wheeljack landed on his feet, Anya sped the Mordred forward into Wheeljack, crashing both the Knightmare and the Autobot into a large rock. Wheeljack however dug his feet into the ground and tried to press back against the Mordred as Anya tried to press it forward, spinning the tiers hard until smoke began to shoot out from them.

"That all… you got… kid…?!" Wheeljack grunted.

However, both the Mordred and Wheeljack were hit with a large beam shot by the Immobilizer, striking them both. Wheeljack completely froze, as did the Mordred, much to the surprise of remaining three Knights.

"Anya!" Gino exclaimed, unfortunately leaving him open to be decked across the face by Ironhide.

Anya herself was unharmed, but it seems as though her Knightmare's systems have completely shut down. "Controls unresponsive." She said in a monotone voice. "Communications unresponsive. Manual ejection and override, all unresponsive. I am stuck."

Nonette kept firing her VARIS at Bumblebee, who dodged each of the blasts, while also turning to Airachnid who was at the top of a large rock. "You hit one of our own!"

"She was in the way." Airachnid shrugged. "And I see no reason why she wouldn't be hurt. This weapon only seems to work on Cybertronians. Since she's a human, she should be fine."

Airachnid was caught off guard by a series of slash harkens shot straight up at her as the Gekka Pre-Production leapt at Airachnid and tried to bring an axe-kick down on her. But she leapt back off the rock just as the Gekka shattered it with its kick.

"Let's see you try that thing on me!" Rai shot his Gekka straight at Airachnid, hopping to hit her at a speed that she couldn't react in time. Unfortunately, her reaction-time was better than he thought as she quickly hit the blue Knightmare with a point-blank attack from the Immobilizer, halting the Gekka in its tracks. Rai himself was fine, but his Knightmare was completely locked in place. "Scrap!"

"Kid!" Cliffjumper exclaimed, while also backflipping to avoid two waist-mounted Slash Harkens shot by Monica in the Florence as she drove in pursuit of him.

At the same time, Optimus was busy duking it out with both Thundercracker and Skywarp. The largest of the Seekers drew his own blade to fly down and clash with Optimus' own blades, but Optimus was able to counter and deliver a kick to send Thundercracker flying back. He was however pelted in the back by Energon blasts from Skywarp, but Optimus was unharmed enough to return fire with his own Energon blasters, which Skywarp attempted to avoid as he transformed and flew into the air.

Ironhide meanwhile opened fire with his Energon cannons at Gino's Tristian, which it rolled away to avoid on its landspinner wheels before driving itself straight towards the veteran Autobot with both its MVS blades. Gino slashed with the right blade, which Ironhide bluntly blocked with his right cannon, and ended up stepping his left foot over the Tristian's feet, causing it to trip up and flip and skid across the ground.

"You're good kid." Ironhide granted. "But talent or not, you still got a lot to learn." He said, clearly having more experience over the Knight of Three. However, this also left him vulnerable to get immobilized by Airachnid's new weapon, causing her to smirk.

"And here I thought experience comes with age." Airachnid taunted the frozen veteran Autobot.

"Thanks, Airachnid." Gino said as he stood his Tristan up. "But I could of…" Gino however did not expect Airachnid to turn the Immobilizer on him and freeze his own Knightmare, much to his shock.

"Airachnid!" Nonette stopped fighting with Bumblebee completely as she turned her VARIS on the spider-con, shooting at her, and forcing her to avoid the destructive blasts. "I knew you couldn't be trusted!" She shot her VARIS again and tried to obliterate Airachnid's cover, only to find she had completely vanished.

However, Airachnid tunneled her way back up from behind the Galeschin. "You're only figuring that out now?" She said as she zapped the Knight of Nine's Knightmare with her Immobilizer to freeze it.

Airachnid was then forced on the defensive once more as both Cliffjumper and the Florence shot Energon blasts and Slash Harkens respectively. "Quick truce?" The red Autobot offered the Knight of Twelve.

"For now." Monice agreed as they attempted to double team Airachnid, but much like before she tunneled underground as Cliffjumper tried to shoot her, he ran up alongside the Florence to look down in the hole to see she had vanished.

"Welp, that sucks." Cliffjumper commented, only for the ground underneath them to shake even further. "But not as much as that…!" Suddenly the ground below exploded, sending both Cliffjumper and Monica skidding in separate directions as Airachnid emerged from the ground, quickly using the Immobilizer to freeze them both before they even got back up, bringing their truce to an end.

At the same time, Bumblebee had come in to provide Optimus some back up as he drove up and transformed to deliver a flying punch to Skywarp's face and send him crashing into Thundercracker, whom Optimus just slammed down into the ground along with the flying Skywarp.

However, Airachnid had also used this as a perfect opportunity to once again, emerge from under the ground beneath the only remaining mobile Autobots. "Freeze!" She shot the Immobilizer at Optimus, rendering him immobile. Bumblebee tried to shoot at her, only for Airachnid to leap up onto a series of rocks. Before however she shot Bumblebee, she used this opportunity to hit Thundercracker and Skywarp with her weapon, freezing them in a pile before they even had a chance to recover. She then resumed her attack on the only enemy left: Bumblebee.

Lelouch felt the trailer rock as he tried to steady himself, with his Burai almost toppling over as well. "What's going on out there?!"

"It would seem something is impacting the trailer." Cornelia observed, still tied up in duct tape, and under the influence of Lelouch's Geass.

He grunted in frustration as he knew they needed his help right now, but what about Cornelia? He already learned everything he needed to know from her, both personal and military-wise. He wasn't going to force her to join him, even though he wanted her by his side. And now was not the time; if Megatron or Charles ever found out, it would put both Cornelia and Euphemia in danger. Not to mention there was how the rest of the Black Knights would feel. So, for the moment, it probably be best she remained his enemy, if only as protection. Irony at its finest.

Lelouch tore off another piece of duct tape and placed it over Cornelia's mouth as he relayed his final instructions. "Listen, when I put my mask back on, you are going to forget about this conversation. Everything from the moment I first took it off in front of you. So far as you are concerned, you still do not know Zero's identity. Am I clear?"

She nodded as Lelouch sighed, placing the mask over his face and finally turning off his Geass. The red rings vanished from her eyes as she resumed her venomous glare, muffling all sorts of curses and death-threats at Zero under her gag. Lelouch looked at her with sympathy before turning around.

"Stay here." He said as he got into his Burai.

However, what he didn't know was that Cornelia had a knife hidden in her sleeve, which she let slide out to begin cutting the restraints around her bound wrists. She had kept that hidden, ready to stab Zero at a moment's notice, but apparently, he wasn't giving her the time.

Outside, Arcee did her best to block Starscream's relentless claw-strikes with a single arm-blade as she used her other hand to keep holding the wound, he inflicted on her. After a few more blocks, she delivered a kick to Starscream's face to knock him back.

"You're definitely a tough Autobot, I'll grant you that." Starscream mused. "But how long can you last? You've already lost quite a bit of Energon, haven't you?"

Suddenly, Starscream was punched across the face by Zero's Burai, knocking him down. "Then why don't you pick on someone your own size, you filthy coward?!" He exclaimed as he opened fire with his Burai's rifle. The magnesium bullets, grazed Starscream as he tried to run away to avoid any series damage before kneeling his Knightmare down to help up Arcee.

"Arcee, are you alright?! What happened?! Where's Kallen?!"

The blue fem-bot grunted. "Let my guard down. The Guren's down, but Kallen is fine." They faced the recovering Starscream as he growled.

"We'll take him together." Zero said as he glared at the Seeker.

"Sounds like a plan." Arcee agreed as they charged at Starscream.

Meanwhile, Kallen was able to forcibly open her Guren's cockpit to try and pull herself out. "Damn it! Can't believe I let him get the drop on me…" However, Kallen was pulled out of her thoughts as someone yanked her from her cockpit and forced her to the ground, keeping her hands pinned behind her back. Though Kallen still had her visor on, she glared at Cornelia who had just freed herself as she kept Kallen pinned and the knife close to her neck.

"Don't move, Black Knight." Cornelia practically growled.

Kallen however was far from helpless as she bent her legs and kicked Cornelia in the back, forcing the older woman to loosen her grip and allowing Kallen to free her arms and punch Cornelia off her, allowing the young Black Knight to stand back up and point a pistol at her.

"Same to you." Kallen glared under her visor.

Cornelia practically snarled. "Filthy Eleven, taking the coward's route!"

"Really? And you're not a coward?" Kallen scoffed. "But, if you're really that prideful…" She threw her gun away and cracked her knuckles.

Cornelia did the same with her knife before rushing Kallen with her bare hands to try and punch her, but Kallen caught the punch, spun her body around to grab Cornelia's arm, while also spreading her left leg over Cornelia's and hauling the Britannian Princess over her shoulder and flipping her on the ground.

"What's wrong?" Kallen taunted. "Never thought an 'Eleven' could defend herself?" She made her own martial arts stance as Cornelia tried to pull herself back up. "Let's see how well you fight without your precious Knightmare." Kallen made a hand gesture to 'bring it on', which the angry Cornelia obliged.

"Tell me, bug! Do you think Megatron will enjoy his new trophies?" Airachnid called out to Bumblebee as he continued to hide. "He'll probably use the bulky ones for target practice." She mused as she had not only tipped over immobile Bulkhead but did the same for the frozen Ironhide as well. "As for the precious Knights of the Round…" She mused aloud, as while their own Knightmares were inoperable, they themselves could still hear Airachnid's taunts as their own eyes narrowed. "I'll let their precious Emperor decide their fate for their failure." She tauntingly walked over to the frozen Gekka with the glaring Rai still inside. "Though I might throw them a bone and hand them over one of the Black Knights' top pilots." She tauntingly tipped over the Gekka, knocking Rai inside.

"Say that to my face, bitch!" Rai shouted, even though Airachnid couldn't hear him.

"Prime, is the true prize." Airachnid continued as she crawled on top of his shoulders with her spider-legs. "Perhaps he'll adorn the prowl of Megatron's warship." She then opened fire with her Energon palms at the spot where she glanced Bumblebee.

However, the scout saw some stray blasts hit the rock in front of him and creating a small cloud of dust. This gave him an idea as he opened fire at the same rock with his own Energon blasters, causing the entire rock to collapse and create an even larger dust cloud.

Airachnid saw a few stray blasts coming her way, so she shot her Immobilizer through the dust cloud until it began to clear. When it did, it would appear that she had successfully froze Bumblebee has he appeared stuck in mid-run.

"But you, bug…" Airachnid taunted as she walked closer to him. "I suspect Megatron will simply dismantle you, the Wrecker, and your talkative friend for spare parts." She then walked over toward the still frozen Thundercracker and Skywarp, stuck in their pile. "Tell me you two, what do you think? Two of the greatest Seekers in Decepticon history, who abandoned their own commander for a weapon, only to be dealt with by a former deserter who chooses to turn you in to redeem herself? That sounds like a good deal, doesn't it?" She then walked over towards Optimus' immobile form, still monologuing, not noticing that Bumblebee was in fact not frozen and quietly snuck his way closer to the rambling Decepticon.

"I mean, with prizes and results like this… I could earn Megatron's eternal trust."

"[I don't think so.]"

She turned around in surprise to see Bumblebee's fist before it made contact with her face to not only knock her down but also the Immobilizer out her hands. Before she could even react, Bumblebee had grabbed the device and used it to freeze Airachnid herself.

"[Not so fun, is it?!]" Bumblebee bleeped. He then looked to Optimus and spoke in bleeps aloud to all his friends so they could hear him. "[Sorry guys! I'll call Ratchet later! I don't wanna take any chances with something like this! But I gotta go check in on Zero and the others! Be back soon!]" He transformed and drove his way back to the spot where he left his remaining comrades.

Starscream had delivered a knee to the injured Arcee's abs, before driving an elbow into her back to knock her down and later kick her down the hill. However, this also left Starscream open for Zero to open fire on him with his Burai, forcing the Seeker to take cover behind the trailer.

Zero tried to steer around the trailer and shoot Starscream again, but the Seeker had expected this and opened fire with a missile wrist to blast off the legs of the Burai and send the remainder crashing across the ground. Starscream snickered as he walked toward the downed Knightmare.

"You may be a competent strategist, Zero!" Starscream taunted. "But your combat skills still leave a lot to be desired."

Kallen had punched down Cornelia and saw the state her friends were in. "Arcee! Zero!" She tried to run and help, only for Cornelia to grab her by the shoulder and punch her across the face, almost knocking the visor off.

"Don't you dare turn your back on me!" Cornelia tried to press her attack, only for Kallen to grab her by the shoulders and slam her knee into her abs before headbutting her and knocking her down. However, Cornelia swept her legs to knock Kallen down and try to put her in a chock-hold.

Zero opened his cockpit only to see the smirking Starscream looming over him. "If you think I'm going to beg for mercy, Starscream. Forget it!" He glared from underneath his mask.

Starscream was slightly caught off-guard by Zero's defiance. "Uh… yes. Begging for mercy would be quite pathetic, wouldn't it?" He kneeled down closer to Zero who stood up fully from the remains of his Burai. "Well, your much more valuable to me alive. Imagine Megatron's appreciation, when I not only deliver him an invaluable weapon, but even the ever elusive Zero. I think that would restore my stature quite nicely."

However, the Seeker was suddenly blasted in the back, and his shocked expression was the one that would be frozen with the rest of his immobile body for the time being, much to Zero's surprise. He looked past the immobile Seeker to see the one responsible. "Bumblebee!"

The yellow Autobot was also above Cornelia, pointing his Energon blasters at her, motioning for her to let Kallen go and stand up. With great reluctance, Cornelia raised her hands, knowing she couldn't best an Autobot, leaving her open for Kallen to slug her in the face and knock her unconscious.

"That felt good." Kallen smirked, only for her to look in fear and concern as she, Bee, and Zero heard Arcee's painful grunt.

"Arcee!" Zero exclaimed as he, Kallen and Bumblebee all ran to help her. "Are you alright?"

"… I'll live…" She grunted as Bumblebee helped her on his feet.

"What the heck happened to everyone else?" Kallen asked Bumblebee.

"[Same thing that happened to him.]" Bumblebee pointed to the frozen Starscream. "[With this.]"

"Let me guess, a Decepticon weapon that can immobilize both Cybertronians and apparently Knightmares." Zero assumed.

"[Yup.]" Bumblebee confirmed.

"Can you reverse it?" Kallen asked.

"[Ratchet might be able to. But we'll need back-up to haul everyone back to the Ark.]" Bumblebee answered.

"What… what about her?" The injured Arcee asked, referring to Cornelia. "And the Cons and… and the Knights…?"

"Leave them." Zero said. "I got everything I need from Cornelia. Let the Knights and Decepticons go back to their masters in disgrace."

Bumblebee contacted the Ark. "[Ratchet, we need a Groundbridge. And some extra help, we've got a heavy haul.]"

As Bumblebee tried to explain everything to Rachet back at the Ark, Lelouch paid one final glance to his elder sister, a feeling of remorse filling his entire body.

The Nemesis – One Hour Later

After receiving no response from their forces, Soundwave had located the immobile Decepticon quartet, as well as those in the Knights of the Round, and even Cornelia herself who had regained consciousness. Knock Out was able to effectively reverse the stasis lock on everyone present; before Soundwave returned Cornelia and the Knights to Japan, while also transporting Starscream, Airachnid, Thundercracker, and Skywarp to Megatron who was less-than-pleased over what happened. After Soundwave was told what happened by all the Knights, with Soundwave himself confirming they weren't lying, Megatron knew exactly what happened.

Starscream was thrown against the wall, Airachnid slammed against the ground, while Thundercracker and Skywarp's faces were pounded together before all four of them were on their hands and knees before their enraged master.

"It would seem that deceit is in all your nature…" Megatron muttered.

"I am the victim here!" Starscream protested. "They abounded me! I was only…!" He was sent flying by a slap from Megatron.

"I WILL NOT TOLERATE YOUR EXCUSES!" The Decepticon leader shouted.

"My Lordship, it was the incompetence of the Knights that cost us the Immobilizer!" Airachnid stated.

"No! You turned it on us!" Thundercracker argued.

"Yeah! This whole mess was your fault!" Skywarp agreed, only for all three of them to be smacked into the recovering Starscream by Megatron.

"I've heard this same excuse multiple times before." Megatron stated as he walked toward all four of them. Grabbing Skywarp and Thundercracker by their throats, while also stepping on Starscream's body and Airachnid's head to squeeze them further. "'It's not my fault!', 'If only it weren't' for them!', 'If only they'd listened to me!' It's just one excuse after another! This is why our enemies continue to best us! Because you are each so busy trying to usurp the others, you allow the enemy to take advantage of our divided nature!" He slammed both Thundercracker and Skywarp down onto Airachnid and Starscream.

"But I will not tolerate this any longer! Listen to me well, all of you." Megatron told the four of them as they tried to recover. "You will find a way to work together. There will be no further fighting among our own ranks! If any of you try this again… you will all perish! Even if the others weren't' involved! The fates of you four are now linked together! If even one of you sabotages myself, each other, or anyone else in our own ranks… I will terminate all of you! Am I understood?!"

All four of them, even Airachnid, looked in fear at the glowing red eyes of the leader of the Decepticons. Prompting them all to bow their heads, on their hands and knees.

"Yes, Lord Megatron. I understand perfectly." Starscream bowed fearfully.

"We live to serve you." Thundercracker bowed as well.

"Yes, your wish is our command." Skywarp also submitted.

Megatron then paid one last glare at Airachnid who had yet to say anything. Though she bowed as well. "I… will serve you as well. I submit, to your will… Lord Megatron."

The Ark – The Bridge

Ratchet had finished his work on reversing the effects of the Immobilizer on all the Autobots as well as the Gekka. "There, you are all now fully functional. It was especially helpful that you brought the device back in one piece."

"[Yeah, figured it was best to let you handle it.]" Bumblebee nodded as the rest of the Autobots stretched their limbs.

"How's Arcee?" Cliffjumper asked.

"She'll make a full recovery, don't worry." Ratchet assured.

"That's good." Kallen sighed in relief. "What about the Guren?"

"The damage was extensive." Fixit reported. "But it should be repaired and fully functional again relatively noon… boon… soon!"

"Well, now we got both the Polarity Gauntlet and the Immobilizer!" Rai stated. "Another win for us!"

"Not to mention we took on Britannia's best pilots and sent them running." Wheeljack smirked.

"I think that was mostly because Airachnid stabbed them in the back." Bulkhead commented.

"True, but that's only going to cost the Cons and Brits more trouble." Wheeljack continued. "If they keep fighting each other, it just gives us the advantage."

"Though while the division between Britannia and the Decepticons is indeed beneficial, we cannot rely solely on it." Optimus advised. "The Knights of the Round have proven to be formidable opponents and are not to be underestimated."

"We also can't count on the Cons and Britannia being divided forever." Ironhide added. "We have to be ready for if they truly unite."

As everyone began to discuss this, Lelouch himself stood on the catwalk of the Bridge, something still on his mind that he needed to talk with his mentor and father-figure. "Optimus." He got the Autobot leader's attention. "I'd like to speak with you, please."

"Of course." Optimus nodded.

Lelouch had later met with Optimus in an empty cargo-bay where he had told him everything about his encounter with Cornelia; all the military information he gained from her, as well as knowledge in regard to his mother's death, and even what Cornelia would do for his and Nunnally's sake. When it was done, Lelouch sat down on some large cargo containers, being on equal level with Optimus' abdomen as he hung his head, placing his hands on his forehead as Optimus listened to every word.

"I see." Optimus finally spoke. "This information will prove most beneficial to our cause."

"Do you… do you think I did the right thing?" Lelouch asked. "Erasing her memories of our discussion? Keeping my identity, a secret?"

"Given our current circumstances, I would say that was a wise move." Optimus granted, though Lelouch still felt conflicted over quite a few things. "But something else is on your mind. Lelouch, forgive me if this is too personal, but what was your relationship with Cornelia before your exile?"

"I loved her." Lelouch said honestly as his own eyes began to water. "She was my… big sister. She always coddled over me, Nunnally, and Euphie. I admired her skills as a warrior, I even wanted to be like her one day. I looked up to her, in the same way I admired my mother. But… after our exile… and after Japan was attacked… I… I just felt so angry! Like she… she and everyone else just abandoned us. Abandoned me. You… you have no idea… how much that hurt…"

"Which was one of the reasons you chose to rebel and become Zero." Optimus said.

"I still firmly believe that we can change this world." Lelouch said honestly. "I became Zero to destroy Britannia because it would one day destroy everything else. I wanted to make a world where Nunnally could find happiness. But… you're right. I… I wanted revenge. I wanted revenge on my father and… everyone else for abandoning us. For… for following Charles' ways… following Megatron's ways on… on destroying the weak. After seeing what Cornelia did in Saitama… I… I lost all respect for her. I felt… felt she was just our father: cruel and evil… but I was wrong… she… she still loves me… and Nunnally…" He was already crying. "Now I… I… I can't bring myself to hate her… I want her… I want her by my side… working with us."

Optimus looked toward Lelouch with nothing but sympathy as he continued to cry.

"I'm not… naïve enough to think the Black Knights would accept her so easily, not after everything she's done…" Lelouch continued. "But… I remember how you said… even Decepticons possess potential for change…. Optimus, please! Is… is it possible for her to change?" He looked up toward Optimus with a pleading expression. "Can my sister change for the better?!"

The Autobot leader didn't hesitate to give an honest answer. "Yes."

Lelouch looked toward Optimus with a hopeful expression as the Prime continued.

"From what you've told me, it would seem that she truly does care for you and your sister. And despite her flaws and shortcomings, I can see she does indeed have a code of honor. As you've said, the Black Knights won't be so easily acceptant of her. But, if she does choose to come to our side of her own accord, and if she truly desires to aid us..." Optimus smiled. "She'll have my support."

This caused Lelouch to smile, a true genuine smile that he never thought he'd give to anyone with the exception of Nunnally and even Suzaku.

"Optimus I… I never did have a chance to… to thank you." Lelouch began. "You… you accepted me into your cause and supported me… despite knowing how… far from perfect I was. You believed in me, and without you, or Bumblebee, or the others… I don't know where I'd be today." He stood up as he bowed his head humbly to the Autobot leader. "Optimus Prime, thank you. I owe you a debt I'll never be able to repay, but I will try. I promise."

Optimus kneeled down to be on equal level with the young revolutionary. "Lelouch, when we first met, I did recognize someone who was driven by revenge, with anger boiling deep inside. But, at the same time, I also saw someone who was suffering, with a longing desire to protect those he cares for. Someone who was capable of empathy, compassion, and even love. You have many flaws, but I have been impressed by how much you've matured since we've first met. You've even opened up your identity to others and expanded your circle of trust, allowing them to trust you as well. Lelouch Vi Britannia, I am honored to be your mentor, your ally, as well as your friend."

Lelouch had felt a weight lift off his heart. The one being he admired more than anything just said he was honored to work alongside him! Before he knew it, a single tear of joy fell down from Lelouch's own face.

"I truly believe that you are destined for greatness." Optimus continued. "And no matter what happens, I will always be by your side."

A warm smile formed on Lelouch's face as he smiled at the Prime. "And I'll be by your side to. No matter what, I'll do my best."

"I know you will." Optimus smiled back.

Done.

Wow, this chapter was A LOT longer than I thought it would be. Seriously, this was probably the longest chapter I've ever written! But then again, quite a lot has happened already. What's there to take away from this chapter?

*First off; Gino, Anya, and Monica are now enrolled in Ashford Academy. That should be interesting.

*Second, Suzaku is NOT happy that Airachnid is back with the Decepticons and plans to confront Megatron on it. (Which he will in the next chapter)

*Thirdly, the Black Knights have been personally introduced to Starscream's back-stabbing nature.

*Thirdly, in regard to the Knightmares owned by the Knights of the Round, I made a few changes. First off, none of them can fly yet. Secondly, I know the Mordred's shoulder-weapons are supposed to be Hadron Cannons, but those aren't quite ready yet, so I deiced to add VARIS-based weapons, courtesy of Knock Out. I also know many of these Knightmares weren't invented till R2 in the cannon series, but I threw them anyway. I also decided to rename the Lancelot Club (piloted by Nonette) the Galeschin, named after the nephew of King Arthur, just so that it stands out. (I got the idea from the DeviantArt artist "unoservis", check out his work, it's really good)

Also, it seems the Knights of the Round are skilled enough to actually be a challenge for the Autobots. There's a reason why they're the best pilots in the entire Empire.

*Fourthly, we see clearly just how divided the Decepticons and Britannia truly are, backstabbing each other left-and-right. Seriously, there's more back-stabbing here than in Game of Thrones, which says A LOT. (even though the Knights of the Round, at least the ones we've seen so far, actually have a code of honor)

*Finally, the most important thing to take from this chapter, is Lelouch's meeting with Cornelia. Bet you didn't see that coming did you? Not only did he learn what she knows about his mother's death, but her own feelings in regard to his and Nunnally's supposed death. Even admitting that she'd turn her back on Britannia to protect them. (Maybe a possible redemption is in store for her? Hint, hint). This seems to have Lelouch open to the possibility of Cornelia redeeming herself, as he actually wants to reestablish the bond, he once had with her in his childhood. But he knows to be careful given their circumstances. But Optimus himself has leant him his support, as we see just how much Lelouch has grown as a character, clearly viewing Optimus as a surrogate father.

Up next, Lelouch will face a returning enemy that will strike very close to home as this foe places someone he truly loves in peril. How will our heroes respond to this? Find out next time on Code Prime!

Again, Happy Late Easter!