Code Prime - R2: Revolution

by Iron117Prime

Britannia has fallen, and the Decepticons are well on their way to the complete global domination of Earth. However, hope is not lost. Six months after the failed Black Rebellion, Zero and Optimus Prime have returned to finish what they've started. With their Autobot-Black Knight alliance grown with new additions, our heroes have ever intent on freeing Earth once and for all.

3. Nerves of Steel

Hello one and all, thanks again for waiting. As Optimus and Zero's team continue to fight for the Forge of Solus Prime, and Suzaku, Kallen, and the others face Steeljaw, we have a simultaneous mission for other Bots and Black Knights to not only retrieve another potentially powerful relic, but also liberate an Energon mine. But what else is going on in the Ark as all this action takes place? Find out right now.

Nerves of Steel

Nunnally laid back on a hospital bed within the Ark's main lab, undergoing another check-up over her leg braces. As Ratchet and Nina looked over the computer systems, Akari helped the bespectacled girl while Sayoko and Kaguya stayed by Nunnally's side. The scanner shot a light over Nunnally's legs for a few seconds before it stopped, and they got all the data they need.

"Your nerves, bones, and muscles appear to be making a rapid recovery." Ratchet informed. "But you should still avoid doing anything reckless until you get those braces off."

"Thank you." Nunnally said as Kaguya and Sayoko helped her stand up. "So, I'll be able to get these off soon?"

"Very soon." Nina smiled. "The braces only keep your legs upright, while Cybertronian nanotechnology helps to repair your damaged nerves and restore your muscles. This kind of medical technology is leagues beyond anything Britannia ever came up with, it's helped saved many of our soldiers' lives."

Nunnally giggled slightly. "You've really changed, Nina." She told the bespectacled girl. "I remember back at Ashford when you were so shy and…" Her smile faded slightly. "No offense, but you didn't have a… positive view on people who weren't Britannian, specifically the Japanese."

Nina's smile faded as well. "I… yeah, I was different back then. But, I'm hoping I can be someone better, someone that Euphie can… can admire."

"Well, I'd say you're doing a fantastic job." Kaguya told her. "Now you're working with the Japanese and giant aliens." She gestured to Ratchet for emphasis, as well as herself, Sayoko, and Akari.

"That's right, I'd say you'd make a fantastic scientist and doctor one day." Akari commented, causing Nina to smile with a blush. Akari then turned her attention back to Nunnally. "Just be sure you take it easy, Nunnally. I don't want anything to happen to my favorite patient, and sister of my future son-in-law." She smirked before turning apologetically to the other girl. "Sorry Lady Kaguya."

"That doesn't bother me at all." Kaguya said with a smile. "Men have basic physical needs after all."

Most of the group looked toward her in surprise while Nunnally just smiled and laughed at her friend's antics before turning to the Autobot. "Thank you so much Ratchet. Not only for this… but for helping my brother and my friends."

Ratchet tried to hide his smile as he turned around. "Yes, yes, your brother and friends are crucial in our war against the Decepticons and we can't afford to lose any more able bodies."

"Don't let him fool you, Nunnally." Sayoko teased. "He may act cold, but he has a warm spark deep inside."

However, a loud crashing noise was heard that startled everyone as Sayoko and Akari were the first to rush to Nunnally protectively.

"What was that?!" Nina exclaimed as Ratchet was the first to run toward the sound of the crash and was later joined from the other side of the laboratory by Perceptor and Cecile with everyone else close behind to see what appeared to be a large pile of Autobot-sized cylinder-devices that fell and stacked all over each other.

"And what do we have here?" Rakshata asked teasingly with Ganabati and Fixit right behind her, where everyone saw none other than Lloyd at the bottom of the pile of pods. Thankfully however, he wasn't crushed.

"A little help here?" Lloyd asked as Ratchet rolled his eyes before he and Perceptor began to lift the pods off the pile, allowing Lloyd to stand up.

Fixit gave something of a chuckle. "Lloyd Asplund, I sincerely appreciate your efforts to improve upon our limited resources, but I thought it made it clear to allow those who are more experienced with Cybertronian technology to use the more dangerous equipment."

"Especially considering your restricted access to said technology when you were working for the Decepticons, while I was given full access." Rakshata practically gloated while waving her pipe tauntingly. "Which essentially, makes me your superior."

"What is this stuff anyway?" Nunnally asked, referring to the pods.

"Stasis pods." Perceptor answered. "We've procured them from the Harbinger. Anything or anyone that enters them will be, as you humans say, frozen like in a meat locker."

"We can use them to detain any Decepticons we might capture." Ganabati answered. "Maybe even store dangerous weapons if they become unstable."

"The later certainly is a unique way to store dangerous materials." Ratchet commented. "But I can see us making use of it like that."

Lloyd sighed as he brushed the dust off his clothing. "I agree, due to the stinginess of Britannia's old partners turned destroyers, I was given… less than pleasurable access to advantaged technology, so you do have me beat in the experience-department, Rakshata. However, now that I'm on your side, I believe I may be able to tinker more with devices like those fancy Iacon relics you've been searching for."

"Need I remind you that those devices can be potential weapons of mass destruction?" Fixit told him. "I'd rather leave artifacts like those to more capable hands."

"But if you really want to help, little Lloyd, you can help clean up this mess you made." Rakshata smirked.

Nunnally glanced toward Cecile. "Um… are they… fighting?"

Cecile gave a wincing smile. "Well… you could say that. Those two have been rivals ever since they attended the academy. They're always trying to show off the other. And I'm thinking Lloyd's starting to get more than a little jealous since Rakshata, as she graciously put it, knows a bit more about Cybertronian technology from experience."

"I see…" Nunnally couldn't quite understand, but something told her that this would probably develop into something fun and humorous, or dangerous, or even both.

---

Meanwhile, in a large, forested area that surrounded the vicinity of Mount Ontake, a Groundbridge portal suddenly opened up as a large group of Autobots and Black Knight Knightmares stepped out. First was the Black Dragon unit consisting of Tohdoh in his Zangetsu, the Four Holy Swords in their respective Akatsuki Command Models, the Autobot Drift, and Zi Dien in his Gekka Shiden. Following them were the Wreckers, led by Ironhide as, Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Grindcore, Warpath, Chromia, and Hot Shot all walked out alongside Rai in his Raiden Knightmare and Nonette in her Galeschin Conquista. They were joined by the Aerialbots consisting of Silverbolt, Jetfire, Air Raid, and Windblade. Finally, the large Knightmare known as the Agravain, piloted by Wizard, exited along with a small team of Akatsukis, one more heavily armed than the others which was piloted by Tamaki as he led the Inoue (who had been outfited with a cybernetic leg to replace the one she lost), Minami, Sugiyama, and Yoshida out in their respective Akatsukis.

Once everyone was out, and the Groundbridge portal closed; the leaders consisting of Tohdoh, Ironhide, Wizard, and Silverbolt along with Jetfire and Rai as the Aerialbot scientist pulled out a device to scan the area.

"My scans indicate the relic we're seeking is on the south side of the mountain." Jetfire reported.

"Also getting a lot of Energon from that mountain." Rai added.

"Not surprising." Tohdoh commented. "Next to Fuji, Ontake was one of the largest Sakuradite supply lines for the former Britannian Empire."

"Meaning this is all likely to be heavily guarded." Ironhide said. "And with all the humans enslaved in that mine, not to mention we got no idea what this relic is, we can't go all out, guns blazing."

"Maybe we should split up. Four groups total." Wizard suggested. "Two groups act as a distraction to draw out the Decepticons, one team secures the relic, the other secures the mine."

"Good idea." Silverbolt agreed. "Wreckers and Aerialbots will act as the distraction. We'll attack from the skies, while Ironhide and his team come in from the north side of the mountain."

"Sounds like a plan to mee." Bulkhead nodded.

"The Black Dragon will work the secure the relic." Tohdoh declared.

"Yes, sir." The Four Holy Swords and Zi Dien said simultaneously.

"Understood." Drift nodded.

"Tamaki, you and your team will join me to liberate the mine." Wizard.

"You got it flash-mask guy." Tamaki commented.

"Let's move out!" Ironhide ordered as he transformed, followed by all the other Autobots as they and their respective Knightmare companions either drove or flew out in the directions they were assigned. Rai's Raiden also transformed, taking the form of a Mitsubishi F-X with a Cybertronian hue to it, as he flew just above his fellow Wreckers.

---

At the same time, at the very summit of the mountain; four Decepticon Seekers flew down before transforming to land in their respective robot modes.

"You're sure this is where the relic is located?" Starscream asked as Thundercracker took out the scanner.

"That's right, on the south side of this mountain." Thundercracker confirmed.

"So why are we at the top? Why can't we just swoop in and grab it?" Skywarp questioned.

"Because we're waiting for everyone else." Slipstream told them. "With the destruction of Fuji, Ontake is the largest mine production in this country! We lose this, we may end up losing this nation entirely!"

Starscream groaned in annoyance. "Let's just hope our back-up is competent enough to provide some form of assistance."

Two more Groundbridges suddenly appeared on the summit as two Decepticon teams stepped outside. One was the Combaticons, led by Onslaught and consisting of Vortex, Brawl, Swindle, and Blast Off. The other team was none other than Squadron X, led by Barricade and consisting of Lugnut, Blitzwing, Blackout, Quake, Demolisher, Overload, and Groundpounder, along with Headlock.

Starscream couldn't help but look annoyed at who had joined them. "You have got to be kidding me. What are you doing here, Onslaught?"

"I could say the same to you, Starscream." The leader of the Combaticons addressed. "We're trying to keep this mine from being destroyed, so I really think you should just leave before you screw something up, again."

"Me? Screw up?!" Starscream questioned in anger. "When have I ever screwed up?!"

"You want your list in alphabetical or chronological order?" Barricade commented with a smirk. "I'm still surprised the boss even let you around after all this time."

"Probably because he likes to beat him up." Brawl put in.

"Who doesn't like to beat up this guy?" Quake also joked.

As many of the other Decepticons either laughed or smirked, Starscream was practically fuming. "Do not take that attitude with me! I am second-in-command of the Decepticons and my authority will be respected! If you should question anyone's methods, it should be Megatron! For ever allowing the Autobots and those accursed Black Knights to live!"

"How dare you!?" Lugnut made his way over to Starscream. "How dare you question our glorious leader?! He is infallible! He will lead our glorious race to victory! To question him, is to question the very order of the universe itself!"

"Oh? Then tell me Lugnut, why is it the 'order of the universe' has permitted our enemies to live?!" Starscream practically exploded.

"Everyone stop!" They all heard a new voice as they saw what appeared to be a flying mechanical shark soaring overhead before transforming to drop down in-between the three groups, revealing himself to be the Sharkticon, Sky-Byte. "We're all Decepticons! We should not be fighting amongst ourselves! Britannia had that same problem and look where that got them!"

"Sky-Byte!" Starscream looked in surprise.

"Why are you here?" Onslaught also questioned.

"Lord Megatron called for me to help secure the mine while the rest of you secure the relic." Sky-Byte answered. "And since we're all working toward the same objective, we should at least try to work together."

"He is correct." Blitzwing commented in his cold and logical persona. "In-fighting and divisions are the root cause of system's falling apart." He then shifted to his hot-headed persona. "So, all of you shut your traps and start working together, or I'll crush every single one of you into scrap metal!"

"That's right, we're all Decepticons here." Even Demolishor added. "So, let's get on with the mission."

Starscream, Barricade, and Onslaught all glared at each other before relenting. "Very well." The lead Seeker accepted.

Onslaught nodded as he projected a three-dimensional hologram of the mine from his wrist, with the coordinates of the relic. "My team and I will secure the relic. Starscream, since the Seekers are better in the air, you should patrol the skies and keep an eye out for any enemies."

"Assuming you don't accidentally break the relic upon it's discovery." Starscream commented, which Onslaught choose to ignore.

"Squadron X will patrol the ground, that's the more likely spot we'll find any Autobots." Barricade said.

"I will assist with securing the mine." Sky-Byte commented. "Who's in charge, anyway?"

"It's a joint operation." Thundercracker answered. "Quillfire and Springload."

Virtually every Decepticon groaned at the mention of those names. "Not those idiots." Black Out groaned.

"Quillfire is a total anarchist, but at least he's somewhat organized so I get him." Swindle said. "But what about Springload? He's totally nuts."

"He makes Blitzwing look like his head is screwed on straight." Headlock said. "No offense." He told the triple-changer.

"None taken." Blitzwing replied in his cold persona before changing to his insane one. "When someone's crazier than me, you know they're off their rocker!" He laughed maniacally.

"And now, it is time for the main event!" Overload announced dramatically. "Let the show begin!"

---

North Side of Ontake Mountain

Multiple Vehicons patrolled the area, not noticing that the enemy was lurking throughout the forest. Ironhide peeked out from behind the trees to observe the area before quietly gesturing back towards his hidden team before he waved his hand to give the signal.

Suddenly, the red Cybertronian tank form of Warpath shot out of the forest. "Hey Cons! Get a load of this!" He shot a powerful Energon blast from his main cannon to obliterate a group of Vehicons, getting the attention of several others as they opened fire. This left them open however for Chromia, who remained in hiding to snipe off the heads of three Vehicons at an upper point on a ridge, while Rai in his Raiden's vehicle mode, shot down before transforming to reveal his bright blue Energy Wings and rain energy blasts down on the remaining Vehicons in explosive fashion.

"Hey, leave some for the rest of us!" Hot Shot called out as the remaining Wreckers stepped out.

"You think they heard that?" Rai asked with a cocky grin.

"Pretty sure the whole mine heard that." Wheeljack grinned.

Nonette chuckled before her Galeschin's radar bleeped with activity. "We got incoming!" What drew all their attention first was a trio of the airborne vehicle modes of Lugnut, Blitzwing, and Blackout which opened fire; missiles from Blackout and Lugnut, and blasts of fire from Blitzwing; forcing many of the Wreckers to scatter as the Decepticon trio transformed and revealed themselves.

"Looks like we got company, boys!" Blackout mocked.

"And it appears to be the Wreckers." Blitzwing noted in his icy tone. "Curious, it seems as though they've recruited humans into their ranks."

"Goes to show how desperate the Bots are!" Barricade called out as he rolled along the side in his vehicle mode, alongside that of Overload, Quake, Groundpounder, Demolisher, and even Headlock before they all transformed and surrounded the group of Bots and Knights.

"Who the heck are these guys?!" Nonette exclaimed.

Ironhide recognized quite a few of them before looking toward the one resembling a police car. "Barricade."

"Nice to see you, old timer." Barricade smirked. "If you're leading the Wreckers, Prime's standards are starting to sink."

"Say that again, pal! I dare ya!" Grindcore challenged. "I'll punch that smirk right off your face!"

"Good luck with that." Quake said. "We're Squadron X, some of the best of the best Cons out there!"

"This team of Cons was made specifically to counter the Wreckers." Demolishor said. "So let's see which of us is the strongest."

"That sounds fine with me." Bulkhead said as he and his teammates all leapt outward to engage the Decepticons in brutal combat.

---

Near the Summit

Multiple explosions lit up the sky as the four Aerialbots in their respective vehicle modes had finished off the last of the patrolling helicopter Vehicons before transforming to regroup and hover around the area of the mountain top.

"That's the last of them." Silverbolt said.

"That felt a little too easy." Windblade commented.

"Why do you say that?" Air Raid asked casually. "I'd say we're due for a break."

"Perhaps, but not today!" The quartet looked up to see four more fighter jets flying down to engage the Aerialbots in combat as they transformed back into their jet modes, splitting up for a series of one-on-one dog fights.

Jetfire's jet-mode came to a stop as the leader of the group transformed to reveal himself. "Jetfire, my old friend."

"Starscream." The Autobot transformed to glare. "Our friendship ended long ago! The day you decided to join Megatron!"

The leader of the Seekers chuckled. "Still hung up over that? Well then, I'd say it is time we settle old scores." Starscream transformed again to fly away as Jetfire also transformed to give pursuit.

---

South Side

"Perimeter appears to be secure." Asahina noted as he, Urabe, Senba, and Chiba patrolled the skies while Tohdoh's Zangetsu, alongside Zi Dian's custom Gekka, and Drift slid down the slippery slope toward their destination.

"The Wreckers and Aerialbots appear to be engaging the enemy." Senba reported. "And it looks like Wizard's team has entered the mines."

"Sounds like we got this relic in the bag." Urabe smirked.

"Don't get too cocky." Tohdoh told them. "We've underestimated the Decepticons before, and it has cost us dearly."

"Be careful colonel." Chiba said. "We'll keep watch out here."

Tohdoh, Drift, and Zi managed to come to a halt at the bottom of the unearthed ravine to find what appeared to be a Cybertronian pod. At the moment, it looked as if nobody touched it yet.

"I take it that's the relic?" Zi asked.

"It would appear so." Drift answered. "Let us retrieve it before…"

Suddenly, two explosions erupted in the sky as Urabe and Senba's Knightmares were blasted by a fast-flying vehicle, with Chiba and Asahina's Akatsukis also shot in the back by what appeared to be a helicopter, all four Knightmares crashing and rolling down the hill. But Tohdoh and his comrades didn't have time to react as a large explosion erupted from the ground behind them, courtesy of a tank that was flanked by two other vehicles. Despite their Knightmares being damaged, the Holy Swords regrouped with their leader, along with Drift, and Zi as the five Vehicles transformed and revealed themselves.

"The Combaticons!" Drift exclaimed upon seeing them.

"In the metallic flesh!" Swindle said with pride.

Vortex eyed the only Autobot present. "Is that you, Deadlock?"

"I no longer answer to that name." Drift stated.

"You must have fallen real low if you're taking orders from a human." Brawl commented. "Who are these guys?"

Onslaught eyed the black Knightmare and recognized its features. "Well, well, you must be that human Starscream was making such a fuss over. It's Tohdoh, right?" The colonel's eyes narrowed but said nothing in response. "And the rest of you must be the so-called Four Holy Swords."

"Um, there's five of them, Onslaught." Blast Off pointed out. "What's with the purple one that's got way too many blades?"

"You can call me 'Zedd the Tiger', and I'm the guy who's about to slice and dice every single one of you!" Zi Dien exclaimed as his purple Gekka drew a pair of dual blades with Drift, Tohdoh, and each of the Holy Swords drawing their respective blades as well.

Onslaught chuckled. "This should be fun."

---

Center of the Mines

An explosion erupted as the Agravain, followed by the assigned Akatsukis, rolled out of the dust and into the center of the mines, aiming their long-ranged weapons, ready for a fight, only to find…. Nothing. The large central chamber of the mines was completely empty, save for a few unmined Energon crystals as well as boxes.

"Huh, where are the guards?" Tamaki asked.

"Not to mention all the slaves." Inoue added.

Underneath his mask, Wizard's eyes narrowed. "Be on guard. This is likely a trap." The second he said that however, something fast smashed into the Agravain's side, causing it to topple over. It was revealed to be a certain mechanical shark, which flew back to avoid the Akatsukis opening fire at it, but that couldn't stop the pilots inside from looking more than a little perplexed.

"Is… Is that a shark?" Sugiyama questioned.

"Indeed, I am!" He transformed to reveal himself. "The name's Sky-byte, and you're right, this is a trap!"

Two more Decepticons entered the fray in their respective vehicle modes before meeting with Sky-Byte to transform and reveal themselves as what appeared to be a duo of a robotic porcupine and frog.

"Ah, these must be the false revolutionaries known as the Black Knights, siding with the oppressive Autobots!" Quillfire stated.

"Thieves!" Springload pointed to them. "They are here to steal the sacred treasures of Doradus! But the sacred treasures are mine to claim and mine alone!"

Every single Black Knight, including Wizard, looked nothing short of perplexed. "A shark… a porcupine… and a freaking frog?!" Tamaki questioned. "What the hell is this?! Some kind of kid's Saturday morning cartoon?!"

"True victory is victory over oneself." Sky-Byte said. "Victory right here right now." The Black Knights and even his fellow Decepticons looked to him in confusion. "It's a Japanese Haiku, written by Eri Takase. What can I say? I'm fond of poetry. Now then, let's get started, shall we?" He then transformed into his shark-mode again and shot at the Black Knights, fangs-first.

---

The Ark – Laboratory

"So… how big was this Metroplex again?!" Nunnally exclaimed as she, Kaguya, and Sayoko looked toward Ratchet and Perceptor in awe.

"His exact height is almost impossible to calculate even by our standards." Ratchet explained. "But to put it simply, his alternate mode would have been even bigger than the old Tokyo Settlement."

Even Sayoko's eyes widened. "I can't imagine…."

"And if Metroplex used his Spark to fuel the Ark, does that mean…?" Nunnally asked with a hopeful expression.

"No, Nunnally." Perceptor shook his head. "Metroplex sacrificed his life so that the Ark could fly. He cannot be restored."

"Oh… I see…" Nunnally looked down in sadness.

"It's a shame." Kaguya said. "We could really use someone like that with us right now."

"I'm sure, but that's not… I…" Nunnally couldn't find the right words right away. "He was alive… and I'm sure that he was glad to sacrifice himself I just…" Sayoko placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright, we understand." Perceptor assured. "It was his choice to aid us, even at great cost. And Metroplex's sacrifice has not been in vain. Because of that, the Autobots, and by extension, the people of Earth, now have a chance to win against the Decepticons."

"Casualties are an unfortunate consequence of war." Ratchet added. "All we can do is push forward so that those who have made the ultimate sacrifice can rest in peace when it's all over."

That was enough for Nunnally to smile as both Sayoko and Kaguya looked to her with agreeing looks in her eyes.

"Still, to have an Autobot the size of a city…!" They all looked in surprise as a certain white-haired young woman appeared out of nowhere. "I can't imagine how something like that is even possible!"

"Oh…. It's…. I'm sorry, who are you?" Nunnally asked.

"X, from Peace Mark." Ratchet acknowledged.

"It's Miss X, thank you very much." She corrected.

"Miss X?" Nunnally wondered.

"Like Ratchet said, she's an intermediary who conveys requests from Peace Mark." Kaguya explained. "Now she works with me and everyone else in Intelligence."

"Oh, no I know that, but is Miss X a codename?" Nunnally asked. "What's your real name?"

"I don't have one." Miss X answered, much to the group's surprise, even that of the Autobot scientists.

"You don't have a name?" Even Sayoko was caught off guard.

"Nope." Miss X confirmed. "I came from the Geass Order, Orpheus rescued me a long time ago. I don't remember anything before that. So, I just go by Miss X."

Nunnally looked in sympathy, to not know your own name or past? This was the same with Rai. She could only pray that her past wasn't as tragic as her half-brother's was, but given what she heard about the secret organization her father and uncle built, she wouldn't be surprised at the thought of another tragic past. Suddenly an idea came to her.

"Well… how about we come up with something right now?" Nunnally suggested. "How about…. Misty?"

"Misty?" Miss X asked.

"Yep, I think it sounds nice." Nunnally confirmed.

Even Kaguya joined in. "A last name would also be needed. How about Ix?"

"Misty Ix?" Ratchet asked as he and Perceptor exchanged glances. "Is there a meaning behind that name?"

"Nope." Nunnally and Kaguya both said with smiles simultaneously.

Even the mysterious young woman thought about it. "Misty Ix… I like it. Alright, from henceforth, my name is Misty Ix."

This earned smiles from the girls, however, not too far from their location, Lloyd was looking at some Cybertronian data over the Spark Extractor on his own personal computer when the device suddenly shut down.

"Huh…? What is…?" He then looked to see none other than Fixit holding the power cord, having disconnected the computer himself.

"I believe we had a discussion about you and Cybertronian technology." The orange Mini-Con told him.

"No, that more so your own personal opinion, which I am inclined to disagree with." Lloyd replied, not noticing the commotion drew the attention of not only Nunnally, Kaguya, Ratchet, Perceptor, Sayoko, and the newly named Misty Ix, but also Cecile, Nina, and Ganabati.

"Sounds like someone's a little envious." Rakshata commented with a smirk as she walked up. "I can't say that I blame you, given your lack of experience."

"Again, you say I have less experience." Lloyd replied. "Yet I don't understand why you're being so stingy. You let me provide data to those Protoforms to make those transformable Knightmares for Suzaku and the others."

"Only because you were more familiar with the Lancelot." Rakshata answered. "But I don't need your grubby, pudding-filled, hands on my children."

"Ah-ha." Lloyd realized with a grin. "It's not about my so-called lack of experience. You're just worried I might mess up with the Knightmares you designed."

"Well, I do seem to recall the original Lancelot, and other Britannian Knightmares based off it, not having a winning streak against my babies." Rakshata put in.

"Only because you had outside help." Lloyd smirked. "Take that away, and my Lancelot is the better one."

"I am well versed in human emotion and psychology, based upon on my viewing of a certain doctor on your television." Fixit said to Lloyd. "In addition to your own self-admitted sociopathic tendencies, he would say you have an unhealthy need to prove your own superiority and fear competition."

"That certainly sounds like Lloyd." Rakshata added. "And while I may have had alien resources at my disposal, I was able to familiarize myself with their technology rather quickly. That being said, I know a whole lot more about Cybertronian science than you, up to the point where I was able to help in manufacturing a Synthetic Energon."

"A formula that has yet to be fully completed." Lloyd quickly said. "Perhaps I should take a crack at it. I'm willing to bet I can finish it. I do have a rather studious and organized approach to this sort of thing."

Fixit scoffed. "Organized? You? Have you seen your Lancelot? The original design was incredibly lacking. In fact…" He smirked. "I might make some modifications right now." He rolled away, much to Lloyd's horror.

"No! Don't you dare!" He ran to pursue the Mini-Con, with Rakshata not far behind.

"Um… should we do something about that?" Nina asked Cecile and Ganabati.

"I honestly feel like we'd just get in the way." Ganabati answered.

Cecile, however, couldn't help but chuckle. "You know, it's actually kinda funny to see him get worked up. Now I think he knows how I feel."

---

North Side of Mt. Ontake

Explosions rocked the entire area, rocks and trees were blown everywhere as the entire side of this mountain erupted into a warzone between the Wreckers and Squadron X. Ironhide fired his fusion cannons at Blackout, who crossed his arms to take the impact before firing from his own Shockwave Cannon built into his right arm to create a tremor along the ground and knock Ironhide back. Blackout then proceeded to draw his rotating Rotor Blade and bring it down on the veteran Autobot, only to be shot in the shoulder by Chromia with her Null-Ray sniper rifle, causing him to falter and allow Ironhide to get back up and deck Blackout across the face and knock him down.

"I got your back, Ironhide." Chromia said with a wink.

"Don't worry about me." He replied back. "Help the others, I got this."

"Try not to get cocky." She smirked before running to assist any of her fellow Wreckers who needed it, right as Blackout got back up, allowing Ironhide to run in and punch him in the gust before decking him across the face again.

Bulkhead roared as he charged Lugnut, throwing his mace toward his face, only for Lugnut to catch it with one hand, while using the other to bring down his large axe, which Bulkhead blocked by using his other arm. Though he felt the axe cut down into his arm, it wasn't too bad as he wresteled against the larger Decepticon.

"Fool!" Lugnut exclaimed as he actually lifted Bulkhead up with his free arm before throwing him over his head. "No one moves Lugnut!" He then walked over Bulkhead and raised his double-sided axe, one of the blades glowing a bright red, ready to unleash a devastating explosion upon impact. "In the name of our glorious leader, you must be extinguished!"

"You first!" Bulkhead shouted as he shot a point-blank Energon blast from his cannon at the charged axe-blade, causing a powerful explosion in Lugnut's face that sent him flying and crashing into the forest, leaving a crater upon impact.

In the air, the vehicle mode of Rai's Raiden gave pursuit to Blitzwing's flying vehicle mode as he tried to shoot a series of Energon blasts in the shape of the blue Energy Wing system built into his Knightmare. But Blitzwing maneuvered over the blast and directly over the Raiden to fire a powerful flame-blast towards him, but the Raiden quickly transformed to halt in mid-air and barley miss the blazing inferno.

"Way to whiff, torchy!" Rai called out to the Decepticon who transformed and hovered in the air as well.

"The name is Blitzwing, insect!" He shouted in his hotheaded persona. "Remember it! Because it's the last thing you're gonna hear before I…" Blitzwing quickly shifted to his crazy persona. "Express my feelings in song! The Itsy-Bitsy Spider went up the waterspout!" He sang as he shot another condensed heat-ray towards Rai, who reacted by extending his Surger claw to blast a stream of electricity to collide and press against the heat-ray. "Well, isn't that shocking?!" The maniacal persona of Blitzwing laughed maniacally before changing to his logical persona. "But perhaps it is time to cool down." He quickly changed his heat-ray attack to a cryokinetic blast that began to overwhelm Rai's electric attack, forcing him to pull the Raiden up and avoid getting frozen, though his Surger Claw did get frosted over.

"What is wrong with that guy?" Rai muttered to himself, referring to Blitzwing's multiple personas.

At the same time, Hot Shot fired his own Energon blasts toward Barricade, who drove in his own vehicle mode around the rookie Wrecker before shooting directly at Hot Shot, transforming in his robot form to gain momentum and slam a punch across his face to send him crashing into a rock. Hot Shot attempted to pick himself up, only for Barricade to press him down with his foot.

"You're out of your league, kid." Barricade mocked.

"Ya think so?" Hot Shot smirked back before transforming into his vehicle mode, catching Barricade off guard before swerving around to trip up the leader of Squadron X. Before Barricade could pull himself up, Hot Shot grabbed him by the shoulders to begin punching him across the face. However, Barricade intercepted one punch before flashing the younger Bot a death-glare, causing Hot Shot to gulp before Barricade actually picked him up to slam him toward the ground.

Demolishor fired a series of rapid-fire explosive Energon blasts from his shoulder cannons at the speedy Wheeljack, who shot toward Demolishor in his Vehicle mode before transforming to draw his swords and slice off the cannons on Demolishor's shoulders, the force of the impact sending him rolling across the ground. He attempted to get back up, only for Wheeljack to point one of his blades towards his face.

"That all you got?" Wheeljack taunted.

"Not even close, Autobot!" Demolishor exclaimed as he punched Wheeljack in the chest before grabbing him by his face and throwing him over his shoulder and into the side of the mountain.

Along the mountain's side, Nonette flew in her airborne Galeschin, firing the VARIS rifle towards Overload, who simply stood his ground as the blasts hit the area around him. When the dust cleared, Nonette looked in shock to see Overload was barely scratched.

"What…?" The former Knight of Nine stuttered.

Overload chuckled. "My dear, one does not become such a decorated actor by looks alone. I have done battle with even the likes of Optimus Prime himself. So, an extra such as you might not quite cut it for the final act."

"You wanna cut something, pal?! How about this?!" The Galeschin shot toward him, drawing both its MVS to slice toward him, but Overload proved rather quick for someone his side, as he avoided most of the slices before revealing a pair of Energon cannons built into his shoulders and firing a powerful blast. Nonette, acting on instinct, attempted to bring up her Blaze Luminous shield, which took most of the impact, but the Galeschin was still sent flying in the air before she stabilized herself to shake off the bright spots in her eyes to glare at the Decepticon.

"Hmm, you're no Optimus Prime, but you might make for an excellent supporting role." Overload commented. "Provided you survive, of course." He resumed fire at the evading Galeschin.

Meanwhile, Grindcore circled around Groundpounder, both silently the other to make the first move, and it would seem Grindcore would do just that. "It's on like Cybertron!" He charged toward the slightly taller Decepticon, to throw a punch before Grindcore caught him by the wrist, lifted him above the head, and slamming him down on the ground before pinning him down with one foot.

"Some Wrecker." Groundpounder mocked. "You know how many gladiators and monsters I killed in the pits of Kaon? Well, you're about to join em!"

Grindcore growled. "I'm gonna make you swallow those words! And your teeth!" He quickly pushed himself up to trip up Groundpounder and knock him back before Grindcore laid a series of punches across his body, sending him crashing into the side of the mountain. But Grindcore wasn't done yet, as he crashed his shoulder into the large gorilla-like Decepticon and began pounding into him, only to feel a sharp pain in his right ankle.

"Ugh! Hey!" He looked down to see Headlock stab his ankle with a corrosively tipped stinger.

"Watch where you're stomping, pal." Headlock smirked, which gave Groundpounder an opening to get back up and deliver an uppercut to send Grindcore hurtling up before crashing back down. Groundpounder then pinned him to the ground before he could get back up as Headlock showed off his needle again. "How about we take out those eyes of yours?"

"Good idea!" A female voice shot out as Groundpounder was hit around the area of his eyes, causing him to yell as he held his face, getting off Grindcore in the process and allowing him to not only slug Groundpounder and knock him down, but even attempt to stomp on Headlock, who quickly moved back to avoid being crushed. "You okay, pal?" Chromia asked as she went to Grindcore's side.

"Pissed off, but alright. Thanks, Chromia." Grindcore smiled.

"Two on one is hardly fair. Let's fix that, shall we?" She smirked as she reloaded her Null-Ray. Grindcore smirked back as they both charged toward the pair of Groundpounder and Headlock

At the same time, the forest behind them was torn apart by a series of explosions as the respective tank-modes of Warpath and Quake swerved to opposite sides, avoiding the deadly explosive blasts that were shot toward the other.

"Come on, Con! Let's play chicken!" Warpath challenged as he shot directly at Quake in his Cybertronian tank-mode, still firing Energon blasts.

"Thought you'd never ask!' Quake accepted as he mirrored Warpath's actions. Both shot at each other at speeds not possible for normal tanks, still blasting at each other with everything they had, and each avoiding the blast until they got close enough to each other for them both to transform with Quake brandishing his Energon cannon from his arm, and Warpath readying the tank-weapon on his chest, both firing at the same time as the blasts made contact; creating an explosion that rocked the whole area.

---

South Side of Ontake

"Safeguard! Jetstorm!" Drift deployed his Mini-Con students. "Find and secure the relic! Now!"

"Yes, master Drift!" They both said at the same time before running toward their target, leaving Drift alone to draw one of his swords and block the axe-strike from Onslaught, the two clashing their weapons against the other before Onslaught kicked Drift down.

"You choose the wrong side, 'Drift'." Onslaught said, ready to bring down his axe, only for the Zangetsu quickly shot at him, slicing its katana-weapon at him, forcing Onslaught off his foe as Tohdoh squared off against the Con.

"Drift, I'll take the leader." Tohdoh told him. "Help the others."

"As you wish but watch yourself." Drift advised him. "Onslaught is not to be taken lightly."

"Noted." Tohdoh acknowledged as Drift transformed to drive away and assist their comrades, leaving the Miracle Worker alone to face the leader of the Combaticons.

"Kyoshiro Tohdoh, also known as the Miracle Worker of Itsukushima." Onslaught acknowledged. "You're someone even the Decepticons are weary off."

"Glad to hear it." The Colonel replied.

"I'll be sure to put their fears to rest when I bring Megatron your Knightmare's head, and your mangled corpse." Onslaught charged the Zangetsu, blocking the axe-strike with its katana.

Chiba grunted as she could barely block the mace-strike from Brawl in her Akatsuki. Trying to get some distance, she pulled her Knightmare up into the sky. "Aw don't run away! We're just getting started!" Brawl called out as he fired with his dual cannons toward her. Though Chiba could avoid the shots themselves, the resulting shockwave sent her crashing toward the ground. She gave a gasp as she already saw Brawl on top of her Akatsuki. "Not much of a challenge, are ya?"

However, before he could bring his mace down on her, he was knocked back by a roundhouse kick from Drift as he quickly stood to Chiba's defense. "Then perhaps I could be of assistance." He offered a smile to Chiba as she pulled her Akatsuki back up.

"Thanks, Drift." She smiled before glaring at the recovering Brawl. "So, where were we, Con?" She shot her Akatsuki at him alongside her Autobot companion.

Swindle fired a series of Energon blasts toward the flying Akatsuki piloted by Urabe, who quickly avoided the blasts before returning fire with a pair of slash harkens, forcing Swindle to jump back and seemingly leaving him vulnerable for Urabe to go on the offensive and strike with his Knightmare's katana, but Swindle quickly maneuvered under the slice to deliver a punch to the Akatsuki's side, followed by a kick to knock it down. Swindle attempted to shoot while it was down, but Urabe actually shot his downed Akatsuki forward to knock Swindle off his feet.

"Not gonna make it easy for ya!" Urabe told him.

Swindle gave an impressive whistle as he pulled himself back up. "That's one interesting Knightmare you got there, you and all your friends. Even by Cybertronian standards, it looks impressive. Tell you what, let me have it and I'll let you go, I'll even split the profits with you once I sell it, sixty-forty."

Urabe chuckled. "Didn't know the Cons had a con-artist. But the name should have been a dead giveaway." He drew his Knightmare's katana once more. "The only way you're getting this from me is to pry my dead corpse off its pilot seat!"

Swindle smiled maliciously. "Fine by me."

Vortex flew in his helicopter-mode, engaging in aerial combat with Asahina's Akatsuki as he opened fire on the youngest of the Holy Swords, who was able to avoid the rapid-fire Energon blasts before returning fire with the Akatsuki's wrist-mounted gun. However, Vortex shot himself directly toward Asahina's Knightmare before transforming to unleash a shockwave attack that sent the Knightmare hurtling through the air, but Asahina was able to stabilize himself just in time to bring out his katana and slice at the incoming Vortex in his vehicle mode, almost sending him derailing out of the sky before he stabilized himself.

"Ya know, you're the first one to not only survive my shockwave attack, but also counter me right after." Vortex pointed out. "Not bad for a human."

"Goes to show you shouldn't underestimate us." Asahina commented before re-engaging his enemy in aerial combat.

Meanwhile, Senba struggled to get a good shoot at the flying Blast Off, who's own jet-mode was far faster than his own flying Knightmare could keep up with. He tried to shoo with his Akatsuki's wrist-mounted gun, but every single shot missed.

"Come on! Hold still!" Senba exclaimed as he continued to shoot with Blast Off literally flying circles around me.

"What's wrong, meatbag?! Can't keep up?!" Blast Off mocked before blasting directly at the Akatsuki with such speed and force that it was knocked out of the air and sent crashing toward the ground. Senba attempted to pull his Akatsuki back up as Blast Off shot toward him again. "End of the line for you!"

"Think again!" Blast Off was hit with an electromagnetic pulse-type blast from a set of special nunchucks wielded by the Gekka Shiden, causing his vehicle mode to tumble before Blast Off transformed and skidded on his side to quickly get back on his feet. "What the heck did you just hit me with?!" He exclaimed, unable to transform.

"Electromagnetic nunchucks. You won't be able to transform for a while" Zi Dien smirked from inside his Knightmare before he drew a pair of dual blades. "Let's see how you fight on ground level!" He shot his Knightmare at Blast Off, who tried to retaliate by firing his Energon pistol at him, but this also left him vulnerable for Senba to slice at him with his Akatsuki's own katana, forcing the Combaticon on the defensive.

"What's wrong? Can't keep up?" Senba mocked, causing Blast Off to growl as he was stuck against the two opponents.

Tohdoh sliced his Zangetsu's katana toward Onslaught, who parried it with his own personal axe before kicking the black Knightmare to knock it back, going on the offensive, which Tohdoh countered by flying into the air to shoot at the Combaticon leader with his Knightmare's Slash Harkens, forcing Onslaught to roll out of the way and return fire with his own Energon blaster. Tohdoh shot the Zangetsu back toward the ground to meet Onslaught as they collided katana against axe once more, pushing their own strength against the other.

"Not bad, Tohdoh." Onslaught commented. "No wonder you gave Starscream such a headache, but don't think I'm on the same level as that idiot." He delivered a head-but to the Knightmare, knocking it back, and forcing Tohdoh to quickly flip the Zangetsu to get it back on its feet before shooting forward with its jet-propulsion system and deliver an airborne spinning kick to knock Onslaught back down.

"Don't get too cocky." Tohdoh replied. 'But he is a powerful opponent. I can't underestimate him.'

"We have it!" Tohdoh and even Onslaught's attention was caught by a pair of Mini-Cons, with Safeguard holding up a rod-like device.

"We have found the relic!" Jetstorm called out.

"Perfect." Onslaught smirked before transforming into his vehicle mode to give pursuit.

"Jetstorm! Safeguard! Move!" Tohdoh called to them as he tried to stop Onslaught, while the pair of Mini-Cons ran for their lives with the relic in hand.

---

The Ark – Laboratory

T-AI suddenly appeared before the group consisting of Nunnally, Sayoko, Kaguya, and Misty. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I seem to be having some sort of technical problem."

"What's wrong, T-AI?" Kaguya asked.

"My data seems to be all mixed up." T-AI reported. "The Decepticon enemy database has been relocated to another hard drive to make room for some new file called 'Knightmare Improvisation', and it seems someone has also been mix-matching all the files I had on Decepticon weapons."

"What in the name of the All Spark?!" They all heard Ratchet's exclamation as they saw him at a console. "Where is the data on the Synthetic Energon formula?!"

"Moved it." Lloyd called out as he worked on his own computer, typing away at break-neck speed.

"Where?!" Ratchet exclaimed.

"Don't remember." Lloyd replied. "Let's see Rakshata and Fixit try to find it now."

"Who has been altering the Ark's weapon designs?" Perceptor questioned as he stepped up. "It looks as if somebody wants to invent a massive Radiant Wave Surger for the vessel! We can't employ a weapon like that without severe consequences!"

"Alright, this is officially out of control." Sayoko commented as they looked to see Nina and Ganabati attempting to talk to Rakshata and Fixit respectively, the former working on her own computer, while Fixit was 'relocating' and 'organizing' spare Knightmare parts.

Nunnally silently agreed as she turned to the holographic girl. "T-AI, can you please broadcast my voice across the lab?"

"Of course." T-AI created a holographic megaphone in her hands and hovered it over Nunnally's voice.

"ALL OF YOU! STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING AND GET OVER HERE! NOW!" Nunnally shouted, her voice booming loudly through the holographic tool, causing everyone in the lab to look in total surprise, not expecting such an outburst from the young girl. Lloyd, Rakshata, and Fixit slowly walked toward the girl as she spoke again, still using the megaphone. "You three are all important members…!" Everyone's ears or audio receptors winced, Nunnally realized she was still speaking into the megaphone before turning to T-AI who snapped her fingers, causing it to vanish, and allowing the girl to speak normally. "…of this team! If you keep competing like this, re-arranging everything important just because of a childish rivalry, it could put everyone in danger! In case you haven't noticed, we're at war with an enemy that wants to wipe us all out! So, stop fighting like a bunch of toddlers and start working together!"

The two Autobot scientists, and most of the humans present, looked toward Nunnally in surprise, save for Sayoko who simply had a proud smile on her face.

"I've… never seen Nunnally loose her temper before." Nina commented.

"I know, I kinda like it." Kaguya smiled.

However, for the arguing trio, it seemed like the outburst went in one ear and out the other. "You moved the Lancelot's designs into the same file as the Ark's engine protocols?!" Lloyd exclaimed to Fixit. "What kind of messed up system is that?!"

"Alphabetical." Fixit answered, causing Lloyd to look in genuine confusion. "Cybertronian Alphabet." The Mini-Con clarified.

"All of my data is going back, where it belongs!" Lloyd stormed off in one direction.

Rakshata gave a scoff. "Oh, trust me, whatever 'improvements' you've made to the Synthetic Energon formula, is about to be un-made." She walked off in the other with Fixit right behind her.

"Seems as though they didn't listen." Perceptor commented.

Cecile sighed. "Lloyd's always been one who doesn't like to be shown off."

"Sorry Nunnally, but you're no Zero." Ratchet told her.

Nunnally herself looked disappointed before she gave a gasp. "I have an idea. But I'm going to need everyone's help for this."

"What do you have in mind?" Misty asked.

---

Skies above Ontake

Explosions lit up the sky as the Aerialbots and Seekers engaged in an all-out dog fight. Silverbolt gave pursuit of Skywarp, firing a series of missiles at the purple Seeker, who transformed to his robot mode to blast the missiles with a series of Energon blasts before transforming to shoot at Silverbolt, turning the hunter into the hunted as Silverbolt flew away. At the same time, Air Raid flew to try and get away from Thundercracker barrage of laser fire, both soaring through the clouds. However, once Thundercracker flew through one cloud, he was surprised to have lost sight of Air Raid.

"What? Where did…?"

However, Air Raid, in his robot mode, dropped down from above to land on Thundercracker. "Gotcha!" He pounded on his cockpit area for a bit before Thundercracker zoomed away, forcing Air Raid to grab hold and hang for dear life as the blue Seeker spun around to try and shake him off.

Windblade soared directly for Slipstream, right as they were about to crash into each other, they both transformed as Windblade slashed with one of her swords, which Slipstream blocked with point-blank Energon blast from her wrist, forcing Windblade back as they hovered in the air for the moment.

"Been a long time, Windblade." Slipstream smirked. "I'm actually glad you're here."

"Still sore about me out-classing you on Velocitron, Slippy?" Windblade mocked.

"You may be faster than me, but I'm the more ruthless warrior!" She shot both her hands forward for a barrage of rapid-fire Energon blasts, which Windblade attempted to block and parry with her dual swords before transforming to fly away, prompting Slipstream to do the same and give pursuit.

Meanwhile, Starscream appeared to be pursuing Jetfire as he shot a pair of missiles at his former comrade, but Jetfire transformed to open fire with his Energon blaster and destroy the missiles before shooting at Starscream, though he did graze his wing, Starscream did fly over Jetfire before transforming to shoot at him with a point blank Energon blast, scoring a hit on his shoulder, but Jetfire wasn't done as he glared at Starscream.

"Don't tell me that's all you got, Jetfire?" Starscream mocked. "Has all that time with the Autobots made you soft?"

Jetfire actually smirked. "You're calling me weak? Look at you! Back on Cybertron, you at least had something of an intimidating build. But now, you're about as skinny as a twig. Not all that impressive, Starscream."

Starscream growled in response. "Blame those filthy humans and their poor vehicle design. No matter, I'm still deadly enough as I am now."

"Prove it." Jetfire challenged as they re-engaged in aerial combat.

---

Inside the Mines

Springload hopped higher and higher along the walls of the mine as the three Akatsukis piloted by Minami, Sugiyama, and Yoshida opened fire on the Amphiboid, but he proved quick and nimble enough to avoid all their shots before he leapt from the wall to land in-between all three and deliver quick kicks to each Knightmare to send skidding back.

"Deceivers! Unworthies!" Springload exclaimed. "You shall not keep me from Doradus!"

"What the hell is he talking about?" Minami questioned.

"Don't know, this guy's a real basket case." Sugiyama stated.

"Eat this, frog boy!" Yoshida opened fire, but Springload leapt back before lashing out with his tongue at Yoshida's Akatsuki. The second it hit, his Knightmare's cockpit began to melt before it exploded, killing the pilot inside.

"Yoshida!" Minami exclaimed as he and Sugiyama looked in horror before glaring at the frog-like Decepticon. "You're dead, Con!" They opened fire at Springload, forcing him to leap back and get some distance.

At the same time, Quillfire launched a series of quills from his back at the Knightmares piloted by Inoue and Tamaki, forcing the two to scatter as Tamaki opened fire with a volley of missiles from his Wrecker-Akatsuki. However, Quillfire transformed and drove away to get some distance from the resulting explosion before transforming back to face the two Black Knights.

"False revolutionaries!" Quillfire announced. "You cannot stop the Decepticons' glorious reign! Anarchy for all!" He launched another volley of quills, fortunately, the pair were able to avoid it.

"Geeze, this guy makes those overly patriotic Britannians look downright sane." Inoue commented.

"Buckethead must have a thing for nutjobs." Tamaki stated before addressing the deranged Con. "Guess what porcupine?! Our revolution is gonna kicks yours in the ass!" He charged his Knightmare forward to ram into Quillfire and send him crashing into the wall.

Meanwhile, higher in the shaft, the airborne Agravain hovered, wielding its pair of MVS blades, which Wizard used to block and parry the quick hit-and-run attacks of the flying Sky-Byte in his shark-mode, who flew at incredible speeds to try and bite down on the large Knightmare, but the Agravain was able to quickly slice with its blades to parry the razor-sharp teeth of the Sharkticon. Having enough of playing defense, Wizard fired all eight of his Knightmare's hip-mounted slash harkens in all directions, hopping at least one would hit Sky-Byte. One did graze him, but it wasn't enough to stop him as Sky-Byte transformed to deliver a powerful airborne kick with both his feet and send the Agravain crashing into the wall.

"Ugh!" Wizard shook off the pain as his Knightmare was rocked. 'My code-name is Wizard, and I'm fighting a giant robotic poetry-loving shark. Yeah… more on my life to rethink.'

"I am about to give you one chance, Black Knight." Sky-Byte told him as he hovered in the air. "Surrender, and you will live."

From underneath Wizard's mask, the greenish-blue eyes of Oiagros Zevon narrowed at the Decepticon. "Sorry… but I already died before. If I do meet my end, it will be by the hands of those who deserve it the most, and that's not you!" He fired both of the Agravain's Hadron cannons, causing Sky-Byte to yelp as he flew up to avoid the devastating blast.

'Wow, someone's got issues.' Sky-Byte noted before transforming into his shark-mode and went on the attack again. However, he didn't seem to notice that the Agravain's attack had torn open a hole in the mine, exposing a dark purple cluster of crystals that gave an ominous glow.

---

Back in the Skies

Air Raid continued to chase down Thundercracker in their respective jet modes, but so far, it looked like there would be no end in sight for this dog fight. Air Raid also noticed his leader was in a similar position to Skywarp and got an idea.

"Hey Skywarp!" Air Raid called as he stopped pursuing Thundercracker. "Here's a joke for you! How many Seekers does it take to change a lightbulb?!" That got the purple Seeker's attention. "Answer: None! Cause they don't even know what a lightbulb is!"

"Oh, I'll show you what a lightbulb, is!" The dumbest of the Seekers exclaimed as he charged directly toward Air Raid, who transformed to charge at him in response. Silverbolt realized what he was doing and decided to play along as he flew into some cloud cover. Once they were close enough, Air Raid transformed to shoot an Energon blast into Skywarp's rear-engine, causing an explosion that sent him screaming and hurtling out of the sky.

"Skywarp!" Thundercracker exclaimed, but this also left him open for Silverbolt to come in and shoot him from his blind spot in the cloud cover, nailing enough shots that sent Thundercracker falling through the clouds as well.

"Nice shoot." Air Raid saluted his commander.

"Nice trick." Silverbolt replied with a smirk.

"Hey, you know me. As the humans say, 'always the troll'." Air Raid smirked back.

Back with Starscream and Jetfire, they swerved up and over the clouds, constantly shifting from the positions of hunter and hunted as they tried to shoot the other down. However, Jetfire decided that enough was enough as he gunned straight for Starscream at twice his normal speed, and before the Seeker commander could even react, Jetfire transformed to land a solid punch in Starscream's cockpit area, sending him realign and allowing the hovering Autobot to open fire, hitting him multiple times and sending him tumbling down through the clouds.

"Damn you, Jetfire!" Starscream called out as he fell. "DAMN YOU!"

"You choose the wrong side." Jetfire said with a serious expression.

At the same time, Slipstream hovered in her robot form as she continued to shoot at Windblade, who flew up and around to avoid all the Energon blasts. However, it seemed like Slipstream had a target lock. "Gotcha."

"Might wanna rethink that." She gasped upon hearing Silverbolt's voice as both he and Air Raid hovered behind her, aiming their Energon blasters toward her head. Likewise, Jetfire and Windblade both hovered in front of her as well.

"Your teammates are probably half-way to the ground by now, either that or pulling themselves up from the ground." Jetfire told her. 'You can either surrender or run."

"Probably the later, cause that's all you know how to do, Slippy." Windblade smirked.

Slipstream scowled. "This isn't over, Autobots." She transformed and flew downwards to retrieve her teammates.

"Ah yeah!" Air Raid pumped his fist. "Aerialbots – One, Seekers – Zero!"

"Aerialbots!" Tohdoh made contact with them. "We need immediate assistance! The relic is in jeopardy!"

"We're on our way!" Silverbolt replied as he and his squadron all transformed into their jet-modes to fly back down to assist their allies.

---

Ark – Laboratory.

"FIXIT!" Lloyd's loud yell echoed throughout the lab as he stormed in, carrying a bowl of white substance. "What. Is. This?!"

"It's part of your new diet." Fixit smirked as he rolled up. "All that pudding is bad for your physical health. This is a substance that carries the essential nutrients humans need. You're welcome."

"How do you even know what humans need?! You're an alien robot!?" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Oh easy, I told him." Rakshata smirked. "I also told him about your overly dependence on the child-like desert, so maybe you can finally mature mentally as well as physically. Maybe."

Lloyd was fuming, so uncharacteristic for him, it almost looked like steam was about to blow out of his ears. "I have tolerated a lot of things from you, Rakshata." He walked up toward her. "On one hand, I enjoy competition, it keeps me from getting bored. Building devices to overshadow my own creations is one thing… but messing with my food… is a step too far!" He swiped her pipe from her, much to her surprise. "Smoking is rather bad for your health too." He smirked. "Maybe I should replace it with a healthy alternative."

"Give that back!" Rakshata tried to reach for it, but Lloyd kept it from arm's reach. Fixit also decided to join in for some reason. However, before it could escalate any further…

"Oh no!" All three looked in surprise to see Misty Ix running toward them with a distressed look on her face. "You guys need to come over here! Now!"

Sensing the emergency, the trio followed her to the far side of the lab where Nunnally, Kaguya, Cecile, Nina, Ganabati, and Sayoko all gathered, all of them having worried looks on their faces as they looked at a Cybertronian weapon.

"We…. We didn't mean to…" Nunnally stuttered, sounding like she was incredibly guilty. "I just touched it and…" The device gave a loud noise that sounded like it was about to overload. "It did that!"

"That's an Ion cannon!" Fixit exclaimed.

"Where are Ratchet and Perceptor?" Rakshata asked, getting serious.

"We don't know! They said they had to leave!" Cecile answered.

"It's a Cybertronian weapon, none of us know how to fix this." Ganabati said.

"I… I don't want to risk damaging it!" Nina added. "Maybe… you guys can…"

Lloyd and Rakshata kneeled around the weapon as Fixit looked at with caution. "Might be a simple anomaly." Fixit commented.

"Or… a system's overload." Lloyd looked more than a little worried.

"If it's the later, the explosion could be catastrophic." Rakshata said, looking somewhat nervous. "It has to be dismantled."

"To access the Ion Cannon's inner workings, the outer casing needs to be removed." Fixit informed. "The cannon itself must be kept completely immobile. I… can't do it alone…" He said toward Lloyd specifically.

Lloyd and Rakshata exchanged concerning glances before nodding with serious expressions toward each other. "Tell us what to do." Lloyd said.

"Both of you need to hold each end, and make sure it doesn't move an inch." Fixit explained. "We cannot risk a rupture."

"Understood." Rakshata nodded as she and Lloyd each held one end of the cannon and kept it as still as possible. Carefully, Fixit's right arm converted into a small drill as he began to remove the outer casing, making absolutely certain not to damage anything. After a few tense seconds, the outer casing was opened, exposing the inner workings of the weapon.

"Ammunition casing appears to be stable." Lloyd observed.

"No damage to the motherboard, either." Rakshata also added. "What's the problem?"

"I believe I may have found it." Fixit noticed a small foreign object lodged in what appeared to be a rotator component. "Both of you, keep it completely still." He converted his right hand into a set of plyers as he slowly and carefully grabbed the object, both Lloyd and Rakshata were beginning to sweat. It wasn't like either of them to show fear, but then again, neither of them had to deal with a potentially dangerous alien weapon exploding in their faces, likely killing them in the process.

Fortunately, Fixit was able to remove the object, and no explosion took place. However, none of them were expecting the foreign object to be a pink hairpin.

"A hairpin?" Lloyd questioned.

"Wait… I've seen this kind of hairpin before." Fixit recognized it as they all heard everyone else laughing, along with T-AI, who had just appeared as well. Fixit then noticed it was one of two matching hairpins that Nunnally wore! It didn't take long to deduce what just happened.

"What kind of stunt…?!" Rakshata questioned.

"The kind that worked." Kaguya pointed out.

"The kind that made you three stop arguing and start working together." Nina added.

"You should have seen the look on your face Lloyd." Cecile giggled. "It was priceless!"

Fixit, Lloyd, and Rakshata exchanged surprised glances with each other before giving partial glares to the group.

"Seems rather reckless to use a highly destructive Cybertronian weapon for something like that." Fixit lectured.

"It wasn't actually malfunctioning." T-AI told them. "The noise came from me." She replayed the noise from her auditory systems.

"And the weapon is disarmed." Perceptor and Ratchet both revealed themselves, having walked in from the lab. "We unloaded it's ammunition before this whole thing played out." Perceptor revealed.

"You really didn't think we'd purposely sabotage a fully armed Ion Cannon, did you?" Ratchet pointed out.

"You two were also in on this?" Lloyd questioned.

"Better than watching your childish squabbles." Ratchet replied.

"Though that was entertaining in of itself." Ganabati added.

"Oh, and it was Nunnally's idea." Sayoko pointed out, with the girl in question merely smirking in confirmation.

"That's my devious surrogate sister." Kaguya put her elbow on Nunnally's shoulder in congratulatory form.

Rakshata couldn't help but chuckle. "You, my dear girl, truly are your brother's sister."

"Thank you." Nunnally maintained her smirk.

Lloyd gave a sigh as he pulled himself up. "Perhaps, we should fix the mess that we made."

"Yes, I agree." Fixit added. "And if you'd like, I do have some possible ideas to modify our Knightmares' weapon-systems that I'd be interested to share with the both of you."

"Well, you know I'm always listening to you Fixit, but what about you, my dear Asplund?" Rakshata turned to the former Britannian scientist.

"So long as I'm willing to share my own ideas as well, I can keep an open mind." Lloyd replied.

"A collaboration it is then." Fixit accepted as the three walked away, leaving the group behind to smirk as many of them exchanged fist-bumps with each other in the case of Cecile with both Nina and Ganabati, even Ratchet sighed in relief.

"Finally, some peace and quiet." The Autobot medic sounded more than a little satisfied at the outcome.

"Nunnally…" Misty Ix looked toward her. "You are an absolute genius."

"Thanks, Misty." Nunnally smiled.

"And I love my new name." She replied. "I was wondering… maybe we can be friends? I don't have a whole lot of friends outside Orpheus and Zi, so…"

Nunnally smiled. "All you had to do was ask." She pulled the older girl into a surprising hug, which Misty quickly returned. However, once Nunnally was in her arms, she felt a familiar sensation. One she never felt she'd experience again, she looked directly into Misty's face, into her eyes specially. She gasped at what she saw. Though her eyes were a different color, as was her hair, Misty looked almost exactly like…

"Nunnally?" Misty looked in confusion once she saw her face. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh, no… nothing." Nunnally quickly brushed it off before smiling again. "I just… you reminded me of somebody else, that's all."

"Oh, alright." Misty seemed to accept that as she began to walk away.

Nunnally's smile faded once more as she looked in confusion. 'Her eyes… her hair… they're completely different. Even her voice is different. So… why? Why does being with her… feel so much like… like I'm with… Mother…?'

---

South Side of Ontake

Onslaught shot blasts of Energon toward Safeguard and Jetstorm as they tried to run with the relic. However, Onslaught didn't get much of a chance to keep shooting as Tohdoh's Zangetsu shot at him to strike him in the side with a spinning kick before flashing his katana to strike down the leader of the Combaticons, who quickly recovered to bring up his axe and block the attack.

"You had better stay focused on me!" Tohdoh exclaimed as he drove his Knightmare forward, pushing Onslaught into a large rock with the Combaticon leader holding his ground.

"Combaticons!" Onslaught called for his team. "Those Mini-Cons have the relic! Destroy them! If we can't have it, neither can the Autobots!"

Immediately; Brawl, Vortex, Blast Off, and Swindle disengaged from their respective battles and transformed to give pursuit of the two Mini-Cons.

"Jetstorm! Safeguard! Look out!" Chiba called to the Mini-Cons as they were already cut off by the four Combaticons, who already had their Energon weapons primed at them. They looked in terror, as did the present Black Knights, and especially their teacher.

"NOOO!" Drift shouted as the Combaticons opened fire, Brawl's tank-like weapon being the most destructive, creating a large explosion that seemed like it obliterated the Mini-Cons, and the relic in their position.

However, when the dust cleared, everyone; Autobot, human, and Decepticon, all looked in absolute shock to see that the Mini-Cons were unharmed, both holding out the rod-shaped relic almost on instinct as it projected a large, bright blue, transparent shield that had blocked the blast and spared the Mini-Con pair.

"We're… alive?" Jetstorm looked in confusion.

"The relic… it's a shield generator!" Safeguard exclaimed.

"What the scrap?!" Brawl exclaimed as he opened fire with multiple Energon blasts from his shoulder-cannons, but not a single one made it through the energy shield.

"Brawl, stop! I know what that weapon is!" Swindle told him. "It's an experimental forcefield generator! The same kind that's meant to be used for starships, only downsized for our soldiers to use! It can tank even warship-grade weaponry!"

Jetstorm and Safeguard looked toward the generator in awe. "Such a powerful shield…" Jetstorm uttered.

"It will serve our case, well." Safeguard smirked.

"Not if we pry it from you first!" Vortex was ready to take it by force, only for him and his team to be cut off by the Akatsukis piloted by the Four Holy Swords, Zi Dien's Gekka Shiden, and an enraged Drift.

"You'll have to get past us before you do!" Zi Dien declared.

"Please try." Urabe smirked. "I dare ya."

Tohdoh even broke off his fight with Onslaught to regroup with the Black Dragon unit while Onslaught regrouped with his own team. Onslaught however chuckled.

"Don't underestimate us." He turned back to his team. "Combaticons, combine…"

"Look out below!" Everyone heard Windblade's warning as they all saw four flying Autobots descend from the sky in their jet-mode.

"Jetstorm! Safeguard! Use the shield and cover us!" Drift told his students, sensing what was coming.

"Yes, Master Drift." They both said simultaneously as they held up the generator to project a dome-like shield over the entire Black Dragon unit just as the Aerialbots opened fire with a bombardment of missiles.

"Brace yourselves!" Onslaught warned his team as they tried to get some distance, but the barrage had already hit the area, blasting all the Combaticons back as the entire area around this side of the mountain was leveled in less than a minute.

The dust cleared out quickly enough, revealing the undamaged energy dome that covered the Black Dragon team, while the Combaticons groaned as they struggled to pull themselves up. Though they were alive, each of them had taken a serious amount of damage, even Onslaught himself held his damaged arm that was leaking plenty of Energon, including down the right side of his face. He glared at not only the team they were currently fighting, but also the four hovering Aerialbots that aimed their weapons at him and his team as well.

"Your choice, Onslaught." Silverbolt warned. "Pick up your team and leave or stay and get blasted."

"But we're cool if you wanna do the later." Windblade smirked.

Onslaught growled, realizing they had lost this fight before accessing his comns. "Soundwave, we need a Groundbridge. Call of the other Decepticons in the area as well, this mission is lost." A Groundbridge portal opened up behind him and his team. "Combaticons, retreat." With groans of pain and disappointment, the Decepticons entered the portal one-by-one, with their leader being last as he glared at the heroes. "This isn't over." He then glared toward the Zangetsu. "Kyoshiro Tohdoh, I'll be coming for you."

"Looking forward to it." Tohdoh replied as he saw Onslaught leave.

"Everyone alright?" Jetfire asked those among Black Dragon.

"We're alright." Asahina replied. "Thanks to the two little guys."

"We're honored to be of service." Safeguard smiled humbly.

"Perhaps you will allow us to partake in these missions again, master Drift?" Jetstorm asked his teacher.

Drift wouldn't openly say it, but he was indeed proud of his students. "Don't get too overconfident." He told them with a small smile.

---

Meanwhile, on the north side of the mountain, more explosions erupted along the ground and the sky, with no signs of slowing down as the Wreckers threw themselves again and again at the equally strong Squadron X. This seemed to be like a case of the unstoppable force clashing against the immovable object as neither side seemed willing to back down.

Bulkhead picked up Overload to throw him into the mountain, only to get blasted in the back by Quake's tank mode and sent crashing into the same area. But Quake was rammed and tackled by Hot Shot who shot at him in his vehicle mode before transforming to land a double-kick and knock him down before he pounded on his face. Chromia engaged Barricade in hand-to-hand combat with Chromia throwing a kick toward Barricade, who caught it before throwing Chromia to the side, only for Barricade to get blasted by Ironhide's cannons in response, but Ironhide himself was forced to take cover as Demolisher tried to bombard him with his own Energon blasters. Wheeljack lashed his swords out toward Blitzwing, who ducked underneath the attack, while still in his hot-headed persona to throw a punch and knock him back into the trees. Grindcore tore a tree from the ground and used it as a makeshift weapon to slam at Blackout, but he quickly used his rotator blade to slice through the weapon, but also leaving him open for Grindcore to slug him across the face. Warpath threw a punch toward Groundpounder, who easily caught it and heaved over to slam him onto the ground, Headlock rode in to try and poke Warpath's eyes out while he was down, but both Decepticons were blasted away by a combined attack from the VARIS of Nonette's Galeschin and an electric bolt from the Raiden's Surger Claw used by Rai. However, both Knightmares were bombarded by a series of missiles by Lugnut.

"How long have we been going against these guys?!" Rai exclaimed.

"Hard to say." Wheeljack replied as he regrouped with the pair. "But they're no pushovers, that's for sure."

Rai growled, wanting nothing more than to end this. However, he accidentally activated his Geass, which he was quick to turn off. 'No… not again.' Rai thought to himself as he tried to calm down. 'I swore to myself I would never use my Geass again. Have to keep emotions in check.'

"Autobots! Black Knights! How dare you continue to stand in the face of the glorious Decepticon race!" Lugnut exclaimed.

However, before the fighting could resume, Barricade received a transmission, prompting him to growl as he heard the order to retreat. "Squadron X, we're falling back!"

"What?! But we can still fight!" Blitzwing exclaimed in his hotheaded persona before switching to his maniacal one. "This party is crazy, and I don't want it to end!"

"Orders from Soundwave! The mission is lost! We're returning to the Nemesis!" Barricade told them as a Groundbridge portal opened up behind him. Knowing they had no other choice, the Decepticons of Squadron X picked themselves up as they retreated one-by-one into the portal, all save Lugnut who glared toward the regrouping group of Autobots and Black Knights.

"You fools may have won the battle, but the war wages on!" Lugnut shouted. "All hail the granduer of Megatron!"

"Just come on!" Barricade grabbed him by his arm and pulled the zealous Decepticon into the portal before it closed.

"Run you yellow-plated cowards!" Hot Shot called out.

"Hey, Bumblebee's yellow! Remember?" Bulkhead told him.

"Oh… right sorry." Hot Shot winced.

"Not bad work out there, rookie." Chromia patted his shoulder congratulated. "Present company excluded." She joked in the Galeschin's direction.

"Ha, ha." Nonette replied with a half-smirk.

"Good work, Wreckers." Ironhide told them before contacting his fellow squad leaders. "Tohdoh, Silverbolt, the Cons are retreating. Did we win?"

"Yes, we have the relic." Tohdoh confirmed.

"It's a starship-grade shield generator." Silverbolt revealed. "Jetfire's already coming up with ways we can use it fix the Ark's own shield systems."

"I like the sound of that. Meet you guys back at the Ark." Ironhide replied before contacting the Ark itself. "T-AI, we need a Groundbridge, our job here is done."

"On it." T-AI replied before a Groundbridge portal of their own opened up in front of them, allowing the Wreckers to step inside. However, Bulkhead noticed the Raiden wasn't moving.

"Hey Rai, you okay in there?" He asked his young partner and friend.

"Yeah…" Rai said as he took a deep breath. "Felt my Geass turn on for a sec… I know Cera helped to repress it and all but…"

"Hey, don't worry." Bulkhead smiled sincerely. "You'll get it figured out. We got your back."

"I know… thanks." Rai smiled before he rolled the Raiden into the portal, followed by the green Autobot before it closed.

---

Inside the Mines

While Tamaki and his friends continued to fend off against Springload and Quillfire, Wizard continued to engage Sky-Byte in an aerial duel. When the Agravain sliced with one of its MVS, Sky-Byte caught it with his claw as they hovered in air and pressed their own strength against the other.

"Hmm, it's been a while since I had a good one-on-one like this." Sky-Byte commented. "Are the other Black Knights as strong as you? I certainly hope so." Wizard said nothing in response as he continued to glare at his adversary. However, he was surprised to see Sky-Byte pulling back. "Oh too bad. Looks like you win."

"What? What are you doing?" Wizard questioned.

"Just got a message." Sky-Byte answered. "Your team secured the relic, no point in this continuing any further." He transformed into his shark-mode and prepared to leave. "Help yourself to any Energon here, oh and the humans are all imprisoned in the third shaft over."

"You expect me to buy all this?!" Wizard exclaimed. "After everything your kind has pulled?! How do we know there isn't some kind of trap where your slaves are supposedly held?!"

Sky-Byte gave a sigh. "I don't blame you for thinking that way, many Cons pull that kind of stuff, but not me. I'm shark of my word. You won, so you deserve the reward. Looking forward to facing you again, Black Knight." He flew back down to retrieve his comrades. "Quillfire, Springload, we're leaving!" He maneuvered underneath each of them to carry them on his back as he flew straight up toward the exit at the top of the shaft.

"No! Doradus calls to me!" Springload called out as he was pulled away.

"For the revolution!" Quillfire's voice echoed as they all vanished, leaving the Black Knights confused.

"Okay… not what I expected." Tamaki commented.

Even Wizard looked confused from inside the Agravain's cockpit as he took off his mask, revealing the face of the man named Oiagros Zevon, the face and identify he had not shared with anyone in the Black Knights, Autobots, or even his fellow agents in Peace Mark. 'Seems odd… to face an honest Decepticon.' He gave a wincing smile. 'Oh, who am I to talk about honesty?' The look of shame on his eyes was as visible as daylight as he thought about the remaining members of his family. Though he knew his nephew was safe as a fellow Black Knight, and a competent pilot, he heard nothing of his niece as she, Marrybell, and the rest of the Glinda Knights dropped off the radar completely since Britannia fell. A part of him wanted to reveal his identity to all of his allies, new and old, and what he knew about the Geass Order as well, but he couldn't bring himself to do it without revealing all his past sins, and he wasn't quite ready for that yet.

"Orpheus… Oldrin… Olivia… I'm sorry." He muttered before his Knightmare's sensors picked up something odd. Curiosity taking hold, he hovered his Agravain up toward a large hole he previously made in the wall with his hadron cannon and spotted the dark purple crystals inside. "What's this…?"

---

The Ark

As Ironhide, Silverbolt, Tohdoh, and Wizard were on the bridge to give their report to Optimus, Zero, Ultra Magnus, and Ohgi; everyone else in the mission had gone their separate ways to get some rest and recuperation. Bulkhead, Grindcore, Rai, and Nonette walked in one hallway adjacent to the bridge when they heard one of their names being called.

"Hey, Grindcore." They turned around to see Suzaku as well as Euphemia address the Autobot in question. "I just… wanted to say thanks for your advice earlier." Suzaku began. "You told me to 'wow' some people, I think I pulled it off."

"He most certainly did." Euphie confirmed.

"You'll have to tell us all about it." Nonette said with a smile. "Your mission sounds like it went well."

"It did." Suzaku confirmed before turning back to Grindcore. "What you said to me… it really helped so thanks… Teamie." He finished with a smile.

Grindcore gave a toothy grin. "Teamie!" He exclaimed excitedly. "Quick! Get back in your Knightmare!"

Suzaku looked in confusion. "Uh… why?"

"So, I can hug ya without crushing ya!" Grindcore exclaimed with his wide grin.

"Pretty sure you'd turn even the Lancelot into a tin can if you tried hugging it." Bulkhead cracked.

"Sounds like someone I know." Rai joked toward Bulkhead who waved it off as the group chuckled, even Suzaku got a good laugh out of it, causing Euphie to smile brightly.

'I don't think I've seen Suzaku laugh like this. It really suits him.' Euphie then found herself looking towards Nonette who gave a half-cocked grin and a raised eyebrow, reading through Euphie's expression, causing her to blush with a smile, silently confirming her relationship status with Suzaku as Nonette smirked and gave a thumbs-up in response.

---

"A shield generator." Lelouch said upon him and the rest of the leadership receiving the report. "We'll definitely put that to use."

"The science division is already working on it." Silverbolt informed. "Jetfire is even helping out too."

"Excellent work." Optimus nodded. "However, the appearance of the Combaticons is quite disturbing."

"Are they really that bad?" Ohgi asked.

"They're among Megatron's top tier soldiers in the Decepticon ranks." Ultra Magnus explained. "The five of them together could take down a small army if they wanted to. With Onslaught leading them, they are a force to be reckoned with."

"They even caused massive damaged to the Ark just before we came here." Ironhide added. "Be glad those guys didn't get pulled into the portal with us, or Megatron could have just taken over Britannia, and probably the rest of the Earth, right as he landed on this rock."

"It took the entire Black Dragon unit as well as the Aerialbots to beat them back." Tohdoh commented. "And I have the feeling they weren't even fighting us seriously at the time."

"Optimus, is it true that these Combaticons are capable of combining with each other?" Lelouch asked.

"Yes." Optimus confirmed. "They form the Combiner known as Bruticus, and he is one of Megatron's most devastating weapons."

"Is the ability to combine common among Cybertronians?" Wizard asked. "Can any of us here pull it off?"

"No." Ultra Magnus shook his head. "Only a select few have the ability to combine with others, it's not common at all. Those among us that can combine require the rest of their team, which we do not have."

"The Aerialbots could do it." Silverbolt said. "But it's just me and Air Raid right now; Jetfire and Windblade can't combine with us. We were separated from the rest of our team when Cybertron went dark. They either didn't pick up your signal, Optimus; or they're… not with us anymore."

There was a mourning silence with the group before Lelouch spoke again. "So, just hypothetically speaking, we can't have a team of say… Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Strongarm, and Grindcore combine?"

"What made you come up with that combination?" Ironhide asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Just guessing." Lelouch shrugged.

"No, such a Combiner would be impossible." Optimus replied. "None of them have the ability."

"So… for humans it's like a gene that's inherited…?" Ohgi tried to guess.

"Something like that." Silverbolt replied. "It's hard to explain."

"Can we do something like that with our Knightmares?" Wizard asked. "Five of which are able to transform."

"Only because those were made from Cybertronian Protoforms." Ultra Magnus replied. "The odds of our Knightmares learning such an ability is unlikely."

"If were to possess the Forge of Solus Prime, however, could we do it?" Lelouch asked Optimus specifically.

"Hmm, given the Forge's mystical nature, I wouldn't say it's an impossible task." Optimus replied. "However, as we do not have the Forge, we cannot put it to use."

"I understand." Lelouch nodded. "Only making suggestions because we will retrieve the Forge. Even if Megatron can't use it now, I'm not comfortable at all with leaving a powerful relic like that with him."

"Agreed." Everyone else, save Wizard, all responded.

Wizard then spoke up. "Optimus, Zero, there is something else you should know." Everyone directed their attention to him as Tohdoh, Ironhide, and Silverbolt all winced as they knew what he was talking about. "After we rescued all the slaves from the Ontake mine, we found… something else other than Energon."

"What did you find?" Optimus asked.

Ironhide had a grim expression as he answered. "Dark Energon."

---

The Nemesis

Starscream, Onslaught, Sky-Byte, and Barricade all kneeled apologetically toward their leader, as well as his silent surveillance chief, as they reported their mission failure.

"Hmmm, disappointing." Megatron noted. "An advanced piece of technology, as well as another mine lost."

"Humble apologies, Lord Megatron." Sky-Byte bowed. Though he didn't regret accepting defeat from the enemy, he wasn't pleased in disappointing his leader.

"The Autobots and their human allies have grown significantly." Starscream reported. "They have even acquired air forces of their own."

"Even I underestimated them, but it won't happen again." Onslaught added.

"Next time I swear… we will…." Barricade tried to speak as well.

"Enough." Megatron interrupted. "You are all dismissed." He said before turning around, much to their confusion. It wasn't like Megatron to not dish out any kind of punishment for failure.

"Master?" Even Starscream looked rather confused.

"I said dismissed." Megatron insisted, much more firmly, causing the four kneeling Decepticons to bow their heads before standing up and leaving the bridge. Megatron then turned toward his surveillance chief. "Contact Shockwave."

Soundwave nodded as he accessed the Nemesis' communications to make contact with the Geass Order. The screen lit up to show the emotionless optic of Shockwave as he addressed his leader.

"Yes, Lord Megatron?"

"I require a progress report, Shockwave." Megatron told him.

"As you wish." Shockwave nodded. "Assimilation of the Geass Order into the Decepticon ranks is ninety-eight point seven three six percent complete. All unnecessary Geass specimens have been disposed of. Pluton's Knightmares haven been significantly upgraded. The cloned organic bio-integrated systems function most effectively with Dark Energon, enabling you to maintain full control upon their deployment."

"Good. What of the remaining Dark Knights?" Megatron asked. "Just the two former Knights of the Round aren't good enough."

"Nebiros remains the most prominent member." Shockwave responded. "No cybernetic enhancements required. Orange's new system is operating at ninety-nine point eight two capacity. And Refrain's integration into his system is at optimal efficacy as well. Even V.V. has proven to be useful. In addition, the Dark Knight Headmasters are also ready for deployment."

"And what of the Dark Queen?" Megatron asked. "I trust that is proceeding according to my specifications."

"Indeed." Shockwave confirmed. "The Dark Queen is ready to be deployed whenever you desire."

"Good. Prepare her and the Dark Knights for deployment." Megatron told him. "The Autobots and Black Knights have indeed grown stronger. But now it is time to show them just how much we've grown." He finished with a sneer as his Dark Geass began to glow ominously.

Done.

So, now we've seen the Wreckers, Aerialbots, Black Dragon, and even Wizard engage the likes of the Combaticons, Squadron X, Seekers, and even Sky-Byte, and they seemed evenly matched for the most part. I had quite a bit of fun writing these battles, but I feel as if I had put in too many characters. So… some are going to have to bite it, but not right away, and not all at once. I do plan on sparing quite a few people as well, so don't you worry.

On the positive side, their mission was a success. They've rescued more human slaves, retrieved the force field generator relic, which they plan to integrate into the Ark, and have even found some Dark Energon (they won't be using it, they know better than that).

I even added a sub-plot of Lloyd, Rakshata, and Fixit debating over who's the superior mind, and I had even more fun writing that than the action. Nunnally has shown to be just as devious as her brother, but also someone who's equally sweet and compassionate, having given the name 'Misty Ix' to Miss X. But… it seems that the mysterious woman has a connection to Marianne. What is it?

It was never really explained what her origins were in the cannon, but I plan to change that.

However, Megatron has something else planned as well. Shockwave has been very busy with the Geass Order, and it seems there are more Dark Knights than just Gino and Anya, I'm sure many of you can take a guess as to who some of them are. But who are the Dark Knight Headmasters? And who is this Dark Queen? Find out in the next chapter as the Autobots and Black Knights learn the full extent of the nightmare-fuel and trauma inducing horrors that Megatron is capable of.

One last thing to note: don't expect any Autobot Combiners to show up (at least for a while. I can't go into details without serious spoilers), but the idea of this story is to show that while the Bots and BKs have gotten stronger, they are still facing a deadly adversary and it's not going to be an easy war. (Also, NO Ultra-Bee. I did not like the whole premise of the final season of RID 2015, when it looked like every Bot could combine. That really took the magic out of the Combiner element and made the concept seem dull. But that's just my opinion).

Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there.

Transform and roll out!