Author's Note:

If you're the type that likes to read with music on, starting at * to the line break, I wrote that particular conversation to Sis Puella Magica (Orchestra) Long Ver. In fact, a lot of the Madoka soundtrack works rather well for Over overall.

Likewise, Happy New Year everyone! Let's make it a good one!

"So…." Borg gently pushed up his glasses, the glare hiding his eyes, "You have come to me, in your hour of need?"

"Yes," Harumi pushed up her own glasses, glaring her eyes over, "You're the only man for the job."

"You are aware of what I do, yes?" Borg asked firmly.

"I've known a lot longer than you think," Harumi smirked.

"Well then… let's get started!" Borg threw his arms out and spun his wheelchair across the room, "Now this one is going to be a fun one!"

Harumi let out a happy sound, discarding her borrowed glasses and quickly racing across the room with him, the two ending up at a large table with a built in virtual interface. The two raised up markers and rapidly began to draw across the surface. It was only after nearly a minute of random scribbling that Borg looked up to look back to the entrance to his office.

"Oh!" Borg chuckled, "Come in, come in! You're all welcome to come in, you two! Erm…" borg rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm, not quite sure how to address you two!"

Over and Mage stepped into the room, with Samurai X -aka Pixal- behind them. Harumi smiled awkwardly as her two allies, both of whom looked far too strange to be addressed simply, both looked around the room curiously, one with interest and the other confusion.

"You may address me as Over," Over bowed his head, "I must admit, your workplace is not as… grand, as I assumed it would be."

"Well, you haven't seen that much of it!" Borg declared, "And well then, Over, I'll be certain to remember that!" He paused, "Is it just me, or have we met before?"

"Perhaps," Over stated plainly. Borg waited for another response. When he got none, he turned to Mage.

"And, erm, you, boy?" Borg asked, "What do they call you? You look rather… unique."

"Mage!" Mage smiled warmly, "And I know! I'm not from this world!"

Borg turned to Pixal, who shook her head, "Master Lloyd sent these three with explicit instructions to guide them to you. While I have a hard time adjusting the theory, the other ninja have insisted that Master Lloyd did indeed travel the universal boundaries. These three are to be trusted as any of the ninja…" Pixal gave a sideways glance to Over, "Regardless of what a preliminary analysis may suggest." Over simply gave her a look back, but said nothing.

"Ah, well in that case!" Borg reached over to his desk and hit a button, "Let's use the full facilities we have on hand!"

With the press of a button, the room began to shift. The monitors one the wall retracted in, quadruple the amount taking their place. Borg's desk opened up to reveal the one button to be apart of an entire control pad. All over the room, various tables and boards popped up from the floor, each of which were covered in new designs and shapes even Harumi couldn't make most sense of. Some robotic arms even extended from the floor and stood on standby. Mage almost struck one out of fear when rose up beside him, only to be offered a cup of juice. After a moment of suspicion, he took it and drank happily. Over took his own as well, sipping quietly.

As per Over's suggestion, the three had come to Lloyd's own world seeking out the help of Cyrus Borg. Lloyd had left them a message to give to Samurai X so that they could be let into Borg Tower. While they could have equally gone to the Cyrus Borg in Monty's world, the others had taken that particular universe for themselves. Over had not expected to make such a prompt return to this world, but he wasn't complaining. If there was one man that could engineer a solution to taking down a mecha, it was Borg.

"So!" Borg leaned up over the design table, "You have a weapon you need built, yes? I have quite the experience in making those! Some, eheh, not always by choice…" Borg shook his head, "But those are days long behind us! Now, show me what this problem of yours is so we can start our process proper!"

"On it!" Harumi plugged her watch into the table -once more thankful that ports hadn't changed much in her future- and sent a stream of data into the table. Soon, a hologram of Invictus, roughly sketched out from various images Harumi had taken, appeared. In the center, a small glowing ball appeared. Borg leaned forward, his eyes widening as he took it in.

"Fascinating… and, you say this machine runs under its own power?" Borg adjusted his glasses, "What is the scale of this machine, did you say?"

"Well…" Harumi grimaced and reached out with her hand, pointing to just barely above the mech's foot, "That's, about as tall as a person is to it."

"... Now that is simply stunning!" Borg declared, "Why, oh I must study this! A machine capable of sustaining itself at that size under its own power supply is incredible! Why, if I was able to analyze that, we could solve the upcoming energy crisis in the next one hundred years! Tell me, where is this machine now?"

"Currently, attempting to kill us," Over sighed, "To be more specific, the pilot wants us dead. We need you to engineer a weapon that we can use to disable it."

"Oh… well, I suppose that is a bit of a conundrum…" Borg leaned in, analyzing the glowing dot on the hologram, "I assume you have highlighted this region for a reason?"

"That's the core," Harumi frowned, "That's what's powering it. We need a way to disable it. We need some weapon we can build strong enough to take it down. The only problem is… well," Harumi sighed, "We don't have the time to build it. Lloyd says if we make a blueprint of it, we can let him and the others use the Tornado of Creation to build it. He says they've done something like this before, so…" Harumi shook her head, "We need to make a blueprint detailed enough the ninja can make it."

"Oh yes, now that is a challenge… but one I'm eager to take on!" Borg grinned, "Your watch is rather fascinating, now that I look at it. Do you think I can perhaps do a bit of tinkering with it? I promise to return it to its original state when I'm done!"

Harumi's eyes widened as she moved to cover her watch with her hand, "L-Let's not!" Harumi chuckled, gently muttering, "Wouldn't want to mess up his future like that…"

"Ah, a shame… well, since you have such, marvelous technology, would you like to perhaps help me with the design stage?" Borg perked back up remarkably quickly, "They do say that working in teams stimulates the creative process! And you do understand the problem more than I do!"

"Of course!" Harumi smiled eagerly, "I've always wanted to get a chance to!" Harumi leaned forward, "I already have ideas!" She raised up her marker again.

"Then show them!" Borg raised his own marker, "And let us discuss!"

Mage and Over, both of whom looked more and more out of place the longer Borg spoke, watched as Harumi and Borg got down to work. Mage in particular had little frame of reference for any of this, and Over himself was intrigued with how little Borg differed from his expectation. Soon, both Borg and Harumi had covered the table with notes.

"If the core is powering it, it must be a device that can sustain itself an infinite power supply!" Borg scratched something out, "A disruptor wouldn't be enough! The device could sustain itself even if we could pull that off!"

"Plus, it has to be able to get to the core…" Harumi tapped the table, "What about a projectile?"

"The power supply needed to puncture something like this would be massive!" Borg exclaimed, "But it does seem like an option to pursue! Tell me more about this core."

Soon, the two devolved into a massive flurry of talking, scribbling, arguing and discussing. Pixal gained a slightly embarrassed look on her face, sighing as he moved to stand in front of Over and Mage. She looked at Over's four armed form, then to Mage's smaller and strangely shaped one.

"It appears these two will be at this for some time," Pixal explained, "There are waiting lounges nearby. I am still registered as part of the Borg Network. I can escort you-"

"I believe I will find my own way," Over raised his hand, "I am familiar with this place. Or was. I will handle myself."

"What's a lounge?" Mage asked. Pixal blinked in confusion. Over just gave Pixal a look to indicate she shouldn't think anything of it.

"I will show you," Pixal stepped back out of borg's office, "If you would follow me, Master Mage."

"Master?" Mage chuckled, "I may look like Lloyd, but I'm not him! Just Mage works!"

Pixal led Mage out of the room, splitting off from Over once they reached the hallway. The three left the avid inventor and future daughter to their work, eagerly scribbling and working away at the plan that could let them finally tip the scales in their favor.

On top of Borg Tower, balanced perfectly on the tip of his staff, Over meditated. His staff was planted right on the very top of the large, recently rebuilt polygon gem-shaped top of the tower. From this perch, if he opened his eyes, he would see all of Ninjago City. In all directions, he could see all the city had to offer. But his eyes were closed, meditating and focused on his own balance. His staff was balanced on its point on top of the tower, and he on the other point. One small action, one stray thought, and he would lose his balance. Yet his body remained still. Other than the rise and fall of his chest, there was nothing to say that he wasn't apart of Borg Tower itself.

From here, Over could be alone with his thoughts. Thoughts that belonged to two beings, balanced in harmony. Light, corrupted by darkness, and the source of that darkness. Their thoughts blended together into the singular entity that was him: Over. The one Over all. The Emperor. An identity, born of their own desires. An identity that rested in their combined thoughts and desires. And one that, when the two were no longer in sync, would devolve into the two components. Even when split, though, they were one. They were Overlloyd and the Overlord. They were Over. He was Over. He was a ruler Over all with no kingdom.

The wind tried to remove him. He could feel it, buffeting him and pulling him down towards the floors below. He had ascended far past where any worker would go. But his staff was one with him, and he was one with his staff. No amount of pressure would puncture the staff into his foot. No amount of force would make his balance fall. Here, perched over the world, he knew what he needed to focus. It was just him. Only him.

"Over!" Mage's voice caused Over to open his eyes. He looked down to see Mage's smiling, smooth face looking up from an access hatch at the base of the the tower's ornament. Mage turned to one of the ladders up, preparing to climb.

With a long sigh, Over straightened his back out, standing perfectly perched on one foot. He gave a small leap, kicking his staff to spin as he did. His wings sprouted from his back as he fell straight towards the ground, catching his staff with one of his arms as he did. Just before he struck the platform Mage stood on, his wings gave a hard beat, slamming his momentum to a halt as he landed straight down on the metal. The entire platform rumbled for a brief moment.

"Mage," Over frowned, his staff and wings retreating into his body as he looked to the child, "It is dangerous for you to be here. Powers or not, if you are not accustomed to this gaze over the world, you will fall."

"I know what it's like to fly, Over," Mage pointed out, climbing back down the ladder to stand in front of him, "I spent most of my journey on the back of the Firstbourne."

"Fair enough," Over walked over to a metal railing, one which gave a rather large view of the city as well, "Why have you ventured to find me? I was seeking solitude."

"Because I know whenever people wander off to be alone, either something bad happens or they're not okay," Mage crossed his arms, "So I'm making sure neither of those happen!"

"Hmmph," Over shook his head, "I understand your motivation, but your worldview requires more time to develop. I am a being used to solitude. I am never truly alone, after all."

"Because you're two people," Mage surmised. Over nodded his head. Mage walked up to the railing with Over, leaning up against it and kicking one foot lazily as he looked over the city. Over looked towards him, a curious glare in his eyes.

"You know," Mage spoke, "I never imagined that there could be so many people living in one place before. I bet there's more people here in this one city than in the entire World. My world, I mean," Mage sighed, "It's, something I can even imagine. Places like this, existing? If I'd even thought of this, nobody would've believed me. I'm sure not even Skylar would think I'm telling the truth about these places. It's all so… colorful," Mage smiled, "Amazing, too."

Over didn't speak at first. He followed Mage's gaze out towards the city. This city, amazing? The thought didn't sit with him well. This was a city built over metal and concrete. A place of tight quarters and crime. The very tower they stood on was apart of that world. Looking out, he knew what crimes took place in this city. What evils and horrors would lie within it, those that had already emerged from it. Such a place, such a world… it wasn't beautiful. Not even his world had been beautiful.

*"Mage," Over turned to the child, "It's time you go home."

"What?" Mage turned to Over, "What are you talking about? We already went there."

'I don't mean as a stop," Over looked out over the city, "I mean for good. This isn't your battle. You're not cut out for this life. Leave us behind, Mage. Go back home and take care of your life there. Leave this mission to us."

Mage blinked in confusion, "But, Over. You know that those two hurt me. They hurt my friends. They destroyed everything I was trying to build! I can't just go home!"

"So you seek only vengeance?" Over's glare rained down on Mage, "You seek only the desire to see the Twins humbled at your feet?"

"No!" Mage replied with a hand on his chest, "I'm here to make sure they don't do that to anyone else! I'm going to save anyone else that might go through what I did!"

"Being a martyr for some unseen hero will get you nothing," Over turned his back on Mage, "Just look at what it got Sun."

Mage's eyes widened. Over's lips curled into a small growl. He hadn't meant to say that. But he felt it. Inside, he could feel the Overlord's curiosity raining down on him. Over took a few steps away from Mage and placed his hands behind his back. Silent, as he contemplated his mind.

"I know what you were trying to do, the last time we fought those two," Over growled, "You thought you could stop that machine. With a sword that is not even yours. There is only one person that would pull a move like that. Storing power in a sword to repel an attack. You know why I am angry with you."

"I wasn't taking a move from him!" Mage gripped his fists, "You looked like you were going to collapse! I had to help you!"

"No, you did not," Over lowered his head, "You have only an obligation to yourself, as do all of us. We are no more than allies in this cause. That does not make us friends."

"..." Mage gripped his robes with his left hand, "I don't care about that. I won't let you or anyone else die. I won't! I already… I've already felt what it's like to lose something important to me. I watched my Summit burn to the ground. I watched those snakes devour men that were fighting for my cause! I can't let that happen again! I can't!"

Suddenly, Mage found the point of Over's staff at his throat. Mage looked down at it with widened eyes, his body stiffening. Over was turned to the side, holding it out and growling, his jaw morphing towards the dragon-like snout of the Overlord.

"You didn't see that coming," Over spat, "You won't see any of this coming, Mage! Our enemies are ones that lie in deception and death. If you cannot even see my own attacks with your own eyes, then do not act like you can stand to the Iron Doom. You already failed at that once. Else, we wouldn't be here. Accept your own limitations and leave us. I will not have a child weighing on my mind while I am fighting enemies that wish for our destruction."

Mage's eyes lit up with fury. His left hand turned to metal and shot up, grabbing the staff's blade. Over's expression remained the same as Mage slowly began to push. Over's strength alone was enough to make him struggle just to move it. But he pushed the point away until he could step forward with a fury in his eyes.

"You're not serious about this!" Mage declared, "I know why you're saying this! You… you don't have a home to go back to anymore. You're putting your own feelings of loss on me, so you can feel better about yourself. I won't let you do that!"

"If you come with us, you will die!" Over spat, giving the staff a yank with his hand to send Mage to the ground, "And nobody will know your grave. Do you think your mentors will appreciate that? Do you think your friend, Skylar, will appreciate never seeing you again?! You already left them for your selfish reasons once! Go home!"

"No!" Mage got up to his hands and knees, then blasted up to his feet with jets of flame, "Not until the Twins are defeated! You can't talk me out of this!"

Former Emperor and Dragon Lord starred each other down. Both of their gazes were unwavering and firm. Over thrust his arm out and once more dissolved his staff back into his body. Mage took a few deep breaths, then formed his Time Matrix on his left hand. The hands turned down, then he blinked forward in time to put himself right in Over's face. Mage's face twisted with worry for a moment at touching such power, but when he craned his head up to look Over in the eyes, he was filled with a determination that Over had only seen in one other before.

"Just because you're hurting, doesn't mean you get to make me feel guilty," Mage gripped his fists, "I'm young. I'm not a child. Don't treat me like one. I stopped Chen. I drove the Twins away. I can defeat them too." Mage growled, "I am not your responsibility, and don't make me one!"

"So you accept the risk of death?" Over asked calmly.

"I always have," Mage declared.

Over said nothing more. Mage, sensing that he'd made his point, turned around and walked away. Mage's shadow bubbled up behind them, then shot up in a claw to try to grab him. Mage turned around ,his pupils complete pitch black, as he reached out and grabbed the shadow with the element of Shadow. Mage gripped it tightly, then crushed it in his palm. The claw melted back down into his shadow, leaving Mage's eyes to return to normal.

"Just because I didn't see it coming the first time," Mage turned to walk away again, "Doesn't mean that I can't the second. I'll survive as many first times as I have to if it means keeping everyone I care about safe. Even you, Overlloyd."

With that, Mage fully walked away, opening the door back into Borg Tower and slamming it shut. As he fully walked away, Over looked back up towards the city. He walked over to the railing and leaned over it, looking down at the landscape again. With a small growl, his dragon wings again spread from his back.

"Something like this… beautiful?" Over looked down at his hands and the city beyond it, "Such naivety."

With that, Over's wings gave a hard flap, carrying him out and over the city. He soon was nothing more than a black dot on the sky as he circled the building, working to once more be alone with just himself and his now erratic thoughts.

After storming off, Mage hadn't had much to do. Borg Tower confused him, and while using the elevator wasn't hard, he didn't like the feeling it gave him. He didn't like the feeling of getting in something and letting it move him without him doing anything. Sure, the Fire Tribe had something like that where they used fire to move platforms up the layers in the tribe, but those he understood. So after storming down almost ten flights of stairs to work off his anger, he'd returned to the lounge that Pixal had taken him to earlier.

The lounge was normally set up for potential business partners, and thus Mage was more than comfortable. The room had a large couch for him to sprawl out on, and the table in front of him had a holographic display with pictures of food and drinks on it. Mage quickly figured out how to operate it, and soon had a meal in front of him. Thankfully for him, the system was set not to charge him for the bill, one that would make even hotel snack bars blush.

Pixal informed him that Harumi and Borg likely needed no assistance, and so Mage was forced to wait. It was almost two hours of waiting, letting the two devise whatever they needed to get this plan underway. He wasn't sure of the details, but he understood the concept. He also understood he couldn't really help. They were making something to take down Prime, and in turn, Ophiod.

Now that he was alone, Mage was given a chance to think about what he'd said to Over. He wasn't sure why he'd gotten so… angry with him. It wasn't like him to get that angry so quickly. In fact, it wasn't even until the Twins had come to his world that he'd even getting so upset like this before. What was it with the Twins, and making him more and more upset?

Mage rolled over on the couch. Over was so stupid. Of course he wanted to go home. Of course he wanted to leave all this behind and go back to his dad in the Monastery, see Skylar in the New Amber Tribe she was making. He'd love to go back and mend his relationship even more with Acronix. And he wanted to see what Krux and the other leaders were getting up to. He'd been so focused on the Summit, he hadn't quite gotten a chance to see how all the tribes were getting on after the War… or after the Raiders were defeated. He'd left that behind to go and stop the Twins.

He hadn't even gone and talked to his dad when he went back home. The others had been so insistent on getting on top of a new plan, he hadn't wanted to ask. If he could, he'd have gone right over to his home and told his dad he was alright. He was counting on Acronix to do that for him. He knew the longer they stayed in any one place, the greater the chance was of Ophiod or Prime finding them. They were truly on the run now. Even if they were able to stay still for some time and weren't always under fire, they'd painted targets on themselves.

"I should write a letter for them…" Mage mused, "Let them know that I'm… okay. I bet dad and Skylar would like that…"

It was a nice thought. But he might not get to. Or at least, not be able to deliver it. He wanted to see them again. But he knew he couldn't. Not without putting them in danger.

And that wasn't even touching on who was putting him in danger! Ever since talking to Aspheera, Mage felt something in his gut. Something wrong. Something that told him, he knew who Ophiod was. He wasn't sure why. He barely even knew anything about Ophiod aside from how he was born. He didn't even know why he and Skales were so close. But, he didn't want to fight them. He didn't want to fight any of them.

"Stupid Twins…" Mage muttered, curling up, "Forcing us to fight them... Knowing that neither of them are anything like them…"

It was this action that caused Mage to fall into a small nap. The couch was incredibly comfortable, and he wasn't quite used to eating the large amounts of sugar present in Ninjago City food. When he awoke from the nap, the remainder of the two hours had passed, and he slowly rolled up onto his feet, yawning as he stretched.

Thankfully, the longue was on the same floor as Borg's lab, thus finding his way back wasn't very complicated. After a single wrong turn down the rather homogenous looking hallway, Mage soon found himself back at the entrance to Borg's lab. Once there, he saw Harumi and Borg still at work, and waited for a good chance to talk to them. Staying around a bunch of World Leaders had taught him timing when to talk was important.

"...Oh god, please, give me some dream time with just the two of us tonight…" Harumi was humming as she ran simulations on some hologram in front of her, "...hmhmhmh… Fuwa Fuwa Time…"

"How is it coming along?" Borg asked at his desk.

Harumi blushed, not realizing that Borg might have been listening to her, "I-It's running! I think this one might work this time."

"Hmm, alright then!" Borg smirked, "By the way, you have a rather lovely singing voice. I was born with rather horrible pipes myself. What song is that?"

"J-Just a song a friend of mine likes to sing!" Harumi quickly blushed, "H-Heh, I'm not a singer or anything!"

"A shame," Borg shook his head, only to stop when he saw the stimulation finish, displaying a green light on screen, "Ahah! It seems this might be the winning design!"

"Mhm… it's rather, big, though…" Harumi looked at the device displayed on the hologram, "I'm not sure how we're going to fire it."

"You'll need someone with the ability to aim rather well!" Borg proclaimed, "But I assume Lloyd has thought of that."

"What is it?" Mage asked, sensing his time to hop in.

"Mage!" Harumi gasped, slightly startled, "We just finished it. Come look."

Mage bent over the table, studying the hologram on screen. While he didn't understand some parts of it, it made sense to him. He'd seen something like this before.

"Oh!" Mage perked up, "So it's cro-"

"How exactly do you intend to fire this thing?" Over's voice rang out from behind the group.

The three whipped around to see Over, dragon wings and all, hovering outside of Borg's window. Borg blinked and reached out to hit a button to open the window, letting Over enter. Harumi's second startle turned to annoyance as she turned back to the table.

"Do you and Monty have to make the most dramatic entrances you can?" Harumi grumbled, "It's the best we can do given the time. And it's simple enough Lloyd and the others can build it. Borg is having his system compile a blueprint now. If it works, it can aim itself."

"I suppose," Over sighed, "How long will it take for us to make those blueprints?"

"About twenty minutes," Harumi shook her head, "The systems are pretty full right now after rebuilding this place. Lloyd said something about his father coming back as Emperor Garmadon. I erm, didn't really ask details cause…" She paused. She didn't quite like hearing what her mother had done in this world.

"Ah yes, that nasty man! Kidnapped me right form my office and kept me prisoner!" Borg shuddered, "Sadly that's a rather common spot for me to be in."

"Hmmph," Over looked to Borg, "Have you ever considered building an exosuit before?"

"Let's not!" Harumi, recalling Cryptor, quickly tried to change subject, "We should be fine as long as nothing-"

As soon as Harumi spoke, Borg's computers suddenly lit up with alarms. Alarms that spread over the entire screen, and rapidly consumed them. A loud alarm began to blare, one that made Mage rapidly share the element of Sound with everyone in the room so it didn't blow out their eardrums. Almost instantly, metal plates moved to cover the windows to the outside, shutting Borg's office out of natural light. The artificial lights turned on in a harder intensity, letting them all see the room again.

"...You had to say it," Over sighed, pointed at the screen as an image appeared on it, "It looks like he found us."

Invictus rocketed through the skys of Ninjago City, displayed on several cameras that were tracking it over the city. Ophiod was nowhere to be seen, but Invictus had already drawn both of its small knives and extended them into its energy swords. Just seeing it heading right for borg Tower had triggered the security system.

All around Borg Tower, metal plates rose up to cover the exterior. The large diamond on top of Borg Tower suddenly turned red, repeating the alarm to warn the surrounding city. People rushed off the streets and out of Borg Tower as fast as they could. Invictus flew over the city without a care for them, drawing its swords across its chest. The mech was near silent in the sky as it flew, yet the sight of its white and green hull was unmistakable in the sky. And, just as it reached the tower, Invictus slashed its swords outwards to cleave the tower in half.

Just as the swords struck the new metal shell, the entire tower rocked. Borg was thrown from his wheelchair, and Mage rapidly caught him before he hit the ground with gravity. Harumi gripped the design table. Over extended his dragon wings and gave a large flap of them to hover up above the rumbling floor. Outside, the swords slid off the exterior, leaving a large blackened line across the metal shell. His swords had not cut, but had left a mark.

"I assumed you had learned your lesson from our last battle!" Prime's voice boomed from Invictus, relayed through Borg's computer, "But you continue to defy us. I will not forgive you for what you've done! Face me now, or I will ruin this symbol of the city!"

"I-Is that the one that you're creating this machine for?!" Borg asked, gripping his chair tightly.

"Y-Yes… we may have stolen something important from him to build these things…" Harumi raised up the universal traveling device on her wrist, "...And might have, really made him mad."

"Well, he's certainly made me mad!" Borg rolled over to his desk and slammed his hand down on the keys, rapidly typing something, "Let us see how he likes the, new and IMPROVED, Borg Tower security!"

Suddenly, a different alarm began to blare throughout the tower. At the base of Borg tower, the street slid back, revealing a massive pit that ran deep underground. Harumi watched in awe as the tower sank down into the ground. Underground, large bars moved forward slotted into gaps in the tower's sides, locking it into place. The streets then retracted back out, effectively hiding the entire first and second floor under the roads themselves. At the same time, the third floor (now technically the first) extended large beams from the corners that hooked into the ground, further anchoring the tower down.

Invictus drifted back from the tower in confusion, watching it happen. Just as he was about to deactivate his swords, a massive pulse of light shot down from the tower and narrowly missed the mech's head. Invictus' jets kicked into overdrive, firing him backwards from the tower. The large polygon at the top of the tower now had five glowing points along its shape, each of which charged with arcs of electricity and converged in the large red glowing spot in its center. Invictus dodged another blast as it rained down at him, clipping the mech's arm as it did. In response, his left sword suddenly deactivated and returned to the knife. After a moment, the sword returned to normal.

"What?" Prime gasped in surprise in his cockpit.

"Haha! Yes! Perfect shot!" Borg gripped a joystick on his desk, "When the ninja contracted me to rebuild Borg Tower to house their most precious of artifacts, I made certain this place would be well defended! Each shot from the patented Borg Laser will scramble electronic signals upon contact! I might have used some of the blueprints from it on your little project!"

"Hmmph," Over's lips curled into a bit of a smile, "This is more of the Borg I remembered."

"And that isn't even the best part!" Borg used his free hand to type in more code on computer, "I lifted a bit of design from the previous incarnation of this place, so to speak!"

Invictus moved to try to pick up its rifle from its back and load a charge to blast away the entire top portion of the tower. Prime's attention, however, was distracted as something else happened on the tower. In the metal shell the tower now sported, a strange spiral shape began to emerge. Two tracks, spiraling up the tower in different directions, formed on it. From the middle floor of the tower, two large turrets emerged, sliding along the tracks. They both began to slide up the tower in opposite directions, firing blasts of energy at Invictus. Prime moved to draw one of the mech's smaller guns and fire at them, but the turret suddenly changed direction and slid down the track and out of the way of the blasts, returning fire.

"You took inspiration from the that?!" Harumi turned to Borg with wild eyes, "Those turrets look just like-"

"Yes, yes!" Borg laughed, "I swore to myself I would never let my previous tower fall again! Why, so long as the threat comes from outside this tower, nothing will break in ever again! The only thing that could stop my system would be, oh, some sort of thing that can immobilize this entire tower all at once!" Borg smirked, "But, ohoh, I don't see that happening anytime soon!"

Invictus wasn't one to give up that easily. Prime turned in his cockpit and brought his arms over his chest, then pointed one finger right up towards the sky. Invictus shot straight up in the air. The mech drew its rifle, then removed the longer barrel to convert it down. Invictus crossed it's arms in an X, holding the rifle out over its body. With the aim stabilized, he flew the mech around the building. Both the large laser atop the tower and the two turrets fired at him, refusing him entry. One dodge by Invictus revealed all the blasts from the tower's defenses hit the ground below and fizzled out harmlessly, clearly meant only to target machines.

Finally, Invictus got off one lucky shot, hitting one of the two turrets near the top of the tower. The turret stopped moving, its guns stalling. Borg, at his control console, suddenly looked somewhat nervous as he tried to jerk his joystick about. When it refused to respond, Borg gave a grumble and looked to the three in the room.

"Gah, he's knocked out the turrets auto-aiming systems!" Borg looked around, "One of you! There's an access hatch on the 72nd floor you should be able to reach it from! They're designed to work for pilots as well! Which of you can aim the best?!"

"I can!" Harumi raised her hand, only to grip the table again as one of Invictus' blasts rocked the tower, "I'll go now!" Without hesitation, Harumi scampered out of Borg's office, gripping the wall as blasts rattled her on her feet.

"I shall go as well," Over held out his hand, slowly inhaling, "It is about time I fight Invictus with my true strength. I will ensure he does not destroy any of our defenses."

"I'll go too!" Mage began.

"No," Over growled, "You cannot man a turret, nor can you face Invictus. You will only get in my way. Stay here and protect Borg. If he falls, then this was meaningless!"

"Don't you worry, young Mage!" Borg reached under his desk to produce a headset he slid over his head, the screen beside him showing an aiming reticle he was using to aim the tower's main laser at Invictus with, "I will take care of myself!"

"I'm going!" Mage shouted. Over's eyes flared up. Mage's shadow shot up under him, striking him in the gut and throwing him back down. Over stepped out of the office, then reached up with his four arms and gripped the sides of the door. With his raw strength, he forcibly bent the metal together, sealing them in the office.

"Stay here!" Over shouted, "Monty has told me you can use your powers to let us communicate. Keep it open for us and protect Borg! I cannot fight invictus and protect you together. Stay! Put!"

With that, Over went running down the hall at full speed. Mage gripped his fists, feeling his anger slowly rising. With a small inhale, Mage focused himself, letting his eyes light up purple. He searched out with the power of Mind, linking his mind to Borg, Harumi, and the strange feeling mind of Over.

Invictus made a large sweep of the building, ducking under the fire to try to slice through the building again. A hatch opened up on the 72nd floor, with Harumi sliding out of it. She looked to see the turret a good fifteen feet away from her, and with a drop that she knew wasn't one she could take. With a small inhale and a gleam of familiarity with this situation, Harumi backed up and took a running start. Just before she jumped out of the hatch, she formed nad blasted a Rhotatae disc in the air. She jumped and grabbed hold of it, letting it carry hr a few feet before it lost its momentum. At that moment, Harumi sent a massive blast of green from ehr feet, rocketing her up through the air. She went flying right towards the turret, letting off a small blast of power to orient herself. She hit the turret hard, clinging onto it as she slid down it for a terrifying few seconds. She caught herself just as her feet dangled over the turret's side. With a long shudder, Harumi climbed up the device until she saw a small glass windscreen, opening it up to slip inside and find a stick for her to control the thing with.

"Remember!" Harumi shouted out over Mage's telepathy, "We just have to delay him long enough for the system to print that blueprint. After that, we leave immediately. We don't want to put this city in anymore danger!"

Invictus went to try to drive one of its swords into the building and spear his way through the protective layer. Harumi swung the turret around and focused, narrowing her eyes and calculating the path of her arc. She fired the turret, sending a shot to clip Invictus' sword. Prime stopped in his cockpit and turned to face the turret, seeing Harumi rapidly begin to slide it down the railing and around the corner of the building.

"So you are here indeed…" Prime muttered inside the bubble cockpit, his fists gripping as his eyes glared up with anger, "I won't let you get away this time!"

Prime moved his arms to make Invictus fit the barrel back onto his rifle, preparing to send the massive blast of white laser down to fry the side of the building, Harumi with it. Just as he went to fire, though, his eyes caught something on the side of the building. A massive black shadow had formed over the surface, and from it, a terrifying shadowy visage of a dragon head had emerged. It reached out and clamped its jaws down on the rifle, its mouth encompassing almost all of its length. The action startled Prime enough that the dragon ripped it from his gasp, crushing it in his jaws. The rifle broke into pieces, ones that the dragon let fall to the ground below and crash into the pavement, covering the street with its wreckage.

Eyes filled with rage, Prime turned to see something clinging to the side of the building beside the large swirling shadow. Over clung there, half of his body turned to shadow that seemed to melt into the building. The massive dragon head retreated into the building and the shadows vanished, which then shot back to Over's body. His body seemed to return to solid mass as he turned to face the mech.

"What… what was that?!" Harumi gasped.

"You've seen it before," Over responded back to her over the telepathy, "I am able to assume portions of the Overlord's true form when needed. It simply is… inconvenient, to do so without a solid surface."

"No time for questions!" Borg shouted back to them, "We have a battle to win!"

Prime huffed with anger, then crossed his arms over his body to grip his hips. Invictus drew the two smaller guns it used and drew them, letting bullet fire rain down on Over. Over looked up and then shot up into the air, leaping over the bullet spray. Invictus sprayed bullet fire following him, and thus, Over called upon Shadow Control. The side of the tower was bathed in shadow from the sunlight, and in front of him, an inky set of stairs formed from the shadow. Over went running up them, melting the stairs back to shadow as soon as he passed them. When he reached the side of the building where the sun shone, A massive spike formed perpendicular to the building, letting him leap up and jump off of it. He plunged his staff into the side of the tower, anchoring himself. Just as Invictus came flying around the corner, Over placed his hand on the tower. His entire left side melted into shadows and infused into the tower.

Invictus raised his arm up to defend itself as a massive dragon leg of shadow shot straight out from the side of the building, emerging from an inky swirling vortex of shadow. Over retracted it and fused his body back together, then spread his dragon wings and took to the sky. Invictus went to follow him, yet from around the other side of the tower, Harumi and her turret fired directly at him. Prime growled in anger and went to fire at her, but Harumi slid down the track and hid around the side of the tower. Before Invictus could follow her, a dragon leg once more shot out from the tower's die to grab him. Invictus dodged by blasting back from the tower, only to put himself in range for Borg's laser to rain down on him again.

"We have his attention," Over, clinging to the side of the building, informed them, "Borg, how much longer must we hold out?"

"Ehum…" Borg looked for a moment, "Five minutes! By the way, how are we speaking to one another? I don't recall installing communicators!"

"Not important!" Over growled, "We will last for that time. Harumi, you must draw his attention from-"

Invictus, hovering far below them, drew and placed its swords together. The large cannons on the mech's arms charged up and fired up through the sword, sending a massive blast of energy right towards where Over clung. Over leapt up into the air just in time for the explosion to rock the tower where he last stood. He did a backflip in the air, causing the wind to rush right around his body and the sky and city to invert. Invictus rocketed up towards him, slashing the sword horizontally to attack. Over's eyes flared as his wings flapped, carrying him in a summersault above the blade. Just as he cleared the blade's swipe, his wings shot open to sent him snapping right by Invictus' head. Invictus went to fire at him again, but once more Harumi emerged to send fire at him. Prime watched as Over soared up towards the top of the tower.

"You are all… truly…" Prime inhaled and opened his eyes, "ANNOYING!"

Invictus shot straight towards Harumi, causing her to rapidly move the turret away from him. Rather than slash her, though, invictus cleaved its sword through the track. While his sword wasn't able to cleave through the building yet, it severed the track perfectly, preventing Harumi from ascending the tower anymore. Invictus, seeing this, rapidly began pursuing her.

Without options, Harumi sent her turret down the track as fast as he could, dodging Invictus' slashing blades. Each time, the track was cleaved open to prevent her from going up. Invictus was rapidly chasing her towards the ground. Harumi's eyes widened as she soon saw she was getting dangerously close to the ground. Inictus was cornering her, and when she ran out of track…

The other turret moved to rapidly descend the tower, trying to attack Invictus. This, however, resulted in Prime turning the mech's arm back to blast it apart with his arm cannon. Borg's laser was firing wildly, but with him so close to the ground, his aim was anything but accurate. Soon, Harumi could see she had maybe two laps before she was stuck.

"I need to get out of this thing!" Harumi shouted, "I need a distraction!"

Just as she spoke, Over's form shot down the tower, landing with a crash on top of Harumi's turret. He extended his hand, unleashing a blast of dark power to blast the mecha. Over summoned his staff and gripped it, spinning it up in his arms to then launch off Harumi's turret and strike Invictus' sword. The action momentarily caught Invictus' blade. As soon as he did, though, Over suddenly felt his body stiffening.

"I've enhanced my mech since our last battle!" Prime laughed in the cockpit, "Your strength won't be enough to stop me now, Over!"

To prove his point, Invictus let out a pneumatic hiss and swung the sword like a bat, sending Over spiraling through the air along the side of the building. Before Over could regain himself, Invictus switched from swords to guns to send a volley of bullets at him. Over spun his staff up to deflect them, but the force of impact only sent him hurtling through the air even more. He went soarin away from Borg Tower, and it was only then that Invictus shot straight up to him, reaching out with its open hand to grab Over and crush him in the mech's grasp.

"You defied the Twins," Prime growled, "And you escaped your world. You're just a shadow1 You should return to the shadows you came from!" Invictus tightened its grasp, causing Over to let out a gasp.

"Gah!" Harumi opened the cockpit to her turret, racing out to see the turret track was destroyed and leaving her too far away to attack, "I can't get to him!"

Borg's laser struck Invictus dead on. The mech twitched and jerked, the grasp on Over momentarily letting him breathe. When it faded, the grasp only tightened harder. Over let out a howl of pain as he was crushed, the pain preventing him from shifting to shadow and melting away. Prime, in his cockpit, just smiled.

"You aren't him… but someone that willingly fused with him deserves to meet his same fate," Prime frowned, "I told you what would happen if you left that world. Now, you have to accept your fate." Prime opened his palm, then gripped his fist tightly.

Suddenly, with a flash of gold, something struck Invictus' arm. A mechanical crunch ripped through the air as Mage plugned Aevum hard into the elbow of Invictus. The action caused Invictus' systems to delay Prime's signal as the slowed time took impact. In that moment, Mage focused on the element of Fire, sending as much of it as he could into the arm to rapidly superheat the metal, followed by a massive blast of lightning. Prime let out a cry of pain inside the cockpit, grabbed his left arm as it went limp. In turn, Invictus let go of Over, letting him fall to the ground.

Mage ripped his sword out of the mech, and in turn caught Over with gravity. He sent the two of them soaring straight up towards the top of Borg Tower. Mage didn't stop until they reached the very top. Once there, he dropped both himself and Over onto the roof, immediately placing his hands on his knees and heaving to get breath into his tired body. Over similarly coughed, sliding to get up onto his knees.

"You…" Over coughed, hitting his chest, "Why are you here?!"

"I won't sit back and watch someone get hurt!" Mage declared, "Learn that about me now! I'm in this fight, whether you want me to or not! I'll stand beside any of you, whatever it takes!"

Before Over could respond, Invictus' form went rocketing right up the tower and hovered in front of them. In his office, Borg went to fire at point blank, but Invictus raised its smaller gun and blasted it to pieces. Borg's aiming reticle went dark as he tore his headset off in frustration, Over and Mage looked up as teh mech then lowered that gun towards them.

"You would protect someone like him?!" Prime shouted, "Do you know what he's done?1 If you're going to stand with him like that, I'll treat you the same way I'll treat him1"

"Let your actions speak louder than words then!" Over shouted to Mage, standing up and summoning his staff, "Give me an opening."

Mage shot his left arm up, summoning metal to thrust his hand out and throw Invictus' aim off to strike the roof away from them. Mage went running to the right, while Over did a backflip to land behind the wreckage of the large structure atop Borg Tower. Invictus went for Mage first, who sheathed Aevum and clapped his hands. He turned to smoke almost instantly, letting the bullet fire pass through him harmlessly. Mage came back together with a massive breath, then stopped dead in his tracks and struck the ground. A section of metal ripped up to flip him into the air. With a hiss, Mage reared his head back and thrust it forward, spraying a stream of poison directly towards Invictus' already damaged left arm. The acid sizzled against the arm. Inside the cockpit, Prime's limp left arm only twitched again.

"I shouldn't need to go this deep in sync… to defeat you," Prime grimaced painfully as he forced himself to raise his left arm, looking across the uninjured arm, "I won't let you beat me!"

Forcing Invictus to raise the damaged arm, the core inside of Invictus charged up, sending a blast of power down the left arm to cause it to jerk and move normally. With a large grin, Prime extended one of the swords in the left arm and then swung at Mage. Mage rapidly puffed into smoke or dodged with a blast of fire in the air, weaving his body around them. Mage's heart was pounding out of his chest each time he did, but each time he dodged Prime's swipes. And soon, he saw his opening.

Mage, feeling exhaustion starting to come over him, launched himself up through the air with blasts of wind to soar up and over the mech. He reached out and dug his hands into invictus' head, using metal to dig his hands into the mecha. He held on as invictus tried to shake him off, and puffed into smoke when he tried to scrape him off with his sword. Mage held on, his heartbeat almost drowning out everything else as he waited for Over.

Suddenly, Invicuts lurched. Prime looked down to see two massive dragon arms of shadow had erupted form the buildings top and wrapped its claws around both of Invictus' ankles. Over's lower body was a complete shadow melting into the top of the roof, standing in the middle of the two. With a loud shout, Over willed the dragon limbs to rip Invictus down towards the roof. Before Invictus could stop itself, it's body went crashing overtop the roof. Mage was sent rolling across the roof, stopping himself by using a flash of speed to push forward. He stood up, dripping with sweat. Over stood beside the fallen mech, back to Mage and similarly trembling.

"Mage," Over reached out with Shadow Control, "Lend me your power!"

Mage, feeling something happening under Invictus, turned his eyes pitch black, willing his elemental power over shadow. Invictus had just begun to sit up when the shadows it cast under its chest formed into a massive fist. With Over and Mage's strength combined, the first struck Invictus right dead center in the chest, sending it up into the air and then causing the beautiful exterior of Invictus to, for a moment, crack. The mech topped over onto its back, resting with one leg now dangling over the side of the building. Just as it landed, another massive fist shot up to then strike it in the back, knocking the mech off the side of the building to send it sliding off to its crash.

"None will stand against the shadows," Over pointed one hand out towards where the mech fell, "Your Emperor has commanded it."

With a loud groan, Mage slumped down onto his knees, heaving hard. The sheer amount of stress and elemental power he'd exerted for all of that felt like running several marathons. Over looked down to him for a moment, an unreadable gaze in his eye. Slowly, he reached one arm down, ready to help pick Mage back up to his feet.

With a loud burst, Invictus soared straight up in the sky, the large crack across its chest now visible. Over stiffened and grabbed Mage's arm, dragging him to his feet. The two stood staring at the mech as Prime, his body rattled from the dual impacts inside the cockpit, pressed his right hand to his head to quell his throbbing headache.

"Was that… the best shot you had" Prime huffed, rubbing his temple, "Clearly it couldn't have been, since I'm still standing!"

"Over!" Mage gasped. Over's expression remained calm.

Invictus drew both its swords, the left arm still being supercharged by the core. It raised both swords up in the air, the blades crackling with power. Over watched the mech charge up its power, ready to send them to their doom. Mage lifted his head, hearing something in his mind. He turned to Over, sharing it with him: It's Harumi!

Invictus slashed its swords down. Over turned and threw his body in front of Mage, just as Mage reached out for his device on his right arm. The swords impacted the roof, cleaving through the already ruined portions and kicking up a massive cloud of dust and rubble. Unwilling to wait, Invictus swung a sword to blow it all away and reveal what was there. When he saw nothing but rubble and his own blade cleaved into the building, Prime growled with rage.

"They got away?!" Prime shouted, "I won't let you get away!"

With a loud crackle, the core of Invictus charged up. Underneath Invictus, a portal opened in the air, not unlike the one that the devices Harumi created. The core continued to charge up until the moment that Invictus dove into it, resuming his chase for them. The portal crackled once more before it faded, leaving behind nothing but the damaged shell of Borg Tower and the air inside.

Inside the tower, Borg slowly raised his head up from his desk, rubbing his neck. On the screen in front of him, the words 'SUCCESSFUL RENDER' were displayed. Borg sighed and pushed himself upright, picking up his glasses as he did.

"I hope that device will aid you, brave ninja," Borg declared, "Now… to clean up all of this mess they left behind…"