Hasbro owns Transformers and the name Xanthium, Lego owns Bionicle and the names Jala and Ketongu, and Galem owns Tali, Ava, Amber, Iris, Diego, Alyan, Adhira, Valera, and Kasar.

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Chapter 43: City

As Green and his friends all drove into the city in whatever vehicles they could bring, mainly Slash's plane mode flying low, destructive ruins, and mutilated bodies littered the cracked concrete roads among the rubble. Small tendrils of smoke seeped up into the sky from various rooftops, resulting in burning ashes raining down as gently as the snow that accompanied it. Glass also twinkled like diamonds in the rubble, scattered from the blasted windows, the remains of glass still in tact leering out menacingly at them like incomplete sets of teeth. The crumbling concrete that covered the buildings were beginning to separate further, causing bits of the hard material to rain down at the slightest tremor. As they walked further into the chaos, bodies of the dead littered the road, expressions either blank or frozen in fear for eternity. The bodies were accompanied by smoldering shards and chunks of the rubble that had fallen prior to the snowfall, some fragments continuing to burn.

Though Green had definitely expected quite a horrific scene, he had never expected the sight to be so horrid as what lay before him. Green's expression saddened as a pair of corpses caught his attention. The pair laid beside each other, having expressions that told the story of two who had already accepted their looming fate in the chaos. But that wasn't what caused a tear to slip down the Le-matoran's Pakari. The sight that truly got to him was the fact that these two people had also died holding hands. Green fought not to cry at the thought of what they must have been thinking. These two had basically given up on a possible future together. One involving a marriage, kids, grand kids, and a more peaceful death in their places of rest. The idea of that happening between him and Angela was unbearable. The things this couple could've potentially missed out on, were the same things he wanted to share with Angela. Regardless of the possibility even now, Green decided he would fight now with much more determination to save her, as well as any possible of their continued relationship.

Green also remembered the fact that Xanthium had been the one who ordered the attack, even participating happily as was seen on the news feeds. Green had already though Xanthium bad, but to be willing to kill innocent, defenseless people? Including children who were too confused to understand the why to their hatred? 'Xanthium must be some kind of twisted if he really believes that was okay'. Green decided. Green knew the Makutacons had gone through much oppression before the war, but that still didn't justify what they had done. Just because a majority of people wanted them gone years ago, it didn't mean that there weren't still good people in the world. Not to mention he might have killed a few of those good people. Or worse, killed someone important to those good people which would only spawn a new desired vengeance. One against the Bioformers for the genocide their war had caused. 'All of the death and destruction, was it really that worth it to Xanthium'? Green thought. Regardless of what Xanthium thought, Green only had one response to all of it: "Xanthium, what have you done"?

Jala's eyes were wide in the horror, anger boiling against the Makutacons. 'Who does Xanthium think he is'?! He wondered in rage. 'To willingly go out and kill so many innocent people?! OUR people?! I should have them publicly executed for the atrocities'! Jala's look then softened and even saddened as God reminded him in the form of a memory, that he(Jala) had not been so different long ago. After all, he had been one of the many people who had voted for the exile all those years ago, knowing full well that the Bioformer race could've died out there with little food, and he had been satisfied with it. Matter of fact, it hadn't been until Paradox had saved his life from an attacking Makutacon that he began to truly realize something the Makutacons had failed to: Not everyone is evil based on race. In a way, Jala could only blame himself for the destruction and death that surrounded them. Maybe if he hadn't been so careless, perhaps things would be different and the war would've never happened. Maybe if he had decided to see with his heartlight and do what was right, maybe the Makutacons would've changed their minds. But now it was too late. Hate only succeeded in bringing about more hatred, and it was a crime of which he had prayed for forgiveness, and though he knew he was forgiven, it had not entirely removed the guilt. 'God, please remove my guilt and give me a clear conscious so I can make it up to everyone'. Jala prayed before proceeding forward, to which he heard a still small voice reply: "I'm with you, my child".

"This is horrible." Tali's voice trembled, wishing yet unable to look away from the devastation and death. Tears streamed down Ava's mask as she thought of the happy lives the victims had and could have lived.

"All those people, gone." Amber nodded in agreement to Ava. She had never witnessed such a massacre in all her life. this was the type of thing you would see in war movies and read in the history books. It felt unreal to the Toa Rahayu of Ice and yet, she was seeing it with her own eyes. "So much death." A soft sound turned her attention towards her mother and aunt. They were standing shoulder to shoulder, seemingly unaffected at first glance, but as Amber continued to watch, she saw that their body language was screaming in silent rage. Her mother's hands were clenched tightly and slightly shaking on the hilts of her swords which hung from her belt. Her aunt's eyes were wet with tears of heart-felt sorrow and rage as she hugged herself so tightly that Amber could see her nails piercing her skin a bit to the point of drawing some blood. But what Amber noticed the most from both was that their mouths were moving yet no sound came out. Being an amateur at lip reading, Amber had no clue as to what they were saying but she had a feeling that it was a prayer for the dead and vow to bring the murderers to justice.

"I can't believe this." Startled, Amber looked over at Iris to see that her armor was raised in silent anger and tears were also in her optics as she surveyed the scene before them.

Ops was quick to notice Tali's discomfort and hugged her tightly, also using an arm to block her eyesight from the destruction. Due to her facial expression, Ops could easily tell that she had never seen destruction of that scale. Ops was more accustomed to it, as he was around during the Cybertronian war and even participated in it as an Autobot. It hadn't been the most enjoyable experience, but it was like work to him at the time. Not to say he enjoyed seeing so much death and mayhem, just that it was nothing new in their line of work. Although now as he held a quietly sobbing Tali in his arms, he became far less used to it. It was one thing to see so much destruction yourself for the first time, so he found her reaction understandable. But to see someone else experience it for the first time, that was a first and he already didn't like it. He never wanted to see Tali uncomfortable or in pain. He loved her too much to ever bring anything like it her way. Just seeing her cry made him struggle to stay strong for her. With her breaking down at the moment, he had to.

"This is horrible". Robert commented as he wrapped Ava in a tight hug as well, not noticing Ops cue but deciding to act on his girlfriends uncomfortably regardless. He didn't need an example to care about her.

But unlike the other two males, Pow didn't bother hiding his fear as his hand tightened around Amber's. He wasn't afraid of the idea of dying, though he did not want to for the sake of everyone who loved him. He was more so afraid of the idea of losing Amber to the Makutacons. As they had been fighting them for six months, it had become increasingly clear that they weren't exactly merciful when it came to fighting back. Meaning they would willing kill bystanders and other innocent people just to win the war. Though Amber wasn't any of those bystanders, she was still potentially vulnerable as their elemental and mask powers didn't work on any of them. Though they knew a weak point, it didn't change the fact that they were superiorly outmatched. That meant even Amber was in danger, and the idea of losing her scared him. If he lost her, he wouldn't know what to do and he knew he may never recover from it. He was so committed he was still wearing her promise bracelet. Internally he decided he would try as hard as he could to always watch her back and protect her, even if it meant losing his own life. 'Better me, than her'. Pow thought.

Green remained vigilant, continuing to watch their surroundings as he drove the company van into the city. He was well aware of the risks of being here, especially that of the risk of bringing everyone here. He was possibly at an even less advantage than the others as he was a Matoran. 'But when did that ever stop me before'? Green thought. Aside from that, he had faith that their mission would have some results. They were there to free Angela, and take down the Makutacon forces, which seemed like an impossible feat at the moment, but God had always come through for them before, so why not now too? As long as he had faith, he was positive everything would be okay in the long run. Even if a few of them had to lose their lives, it was to ensure that Angela, along with the rest of the world, got to live another day.

After pulling over to a large curb, Green lowered his head in prayer: 'God, I have no idea how we're going to make it out of this mission and battle in one piece, but I ask that you would be with us. Fighting ahead of us as you did for David, and providing the right circumstances for us to win and maybe even beat the Makutacons once and for all. I also ask that in the fight you would help us save the world from complete annihilation, so that we can continue to praise and worship you in your mercy and grace as you watch over and lovingly protect us with authority. And above all, please protect my fiance. She is the most precious woman I've ever had the pleasure knowing and I can't afford to lose her or let her die. If I have to Father, I ask that you would give me the courage to die for her, and that you would give Angela the strength to eventually overcome her grief. It's in Jesus name that I pray all of this, Amen'.

Iris smiled a bit at Green in gratitude while Tali hugged Ops back tightly, finding strength in his presence, and Amber shifted a bit closer to Pow for reassurance before everyone began to unload from Green's vehicle.

As they proceeded down the streets, each watching a corner, rooftop, building, window, and oddly placed concrete fort, some of them couldn't help but be a little discouraged. The amount of destruction was overwhelming and they had waited until there were zero Toabots around to start destroying everything like it was Black Friday. Actually even worse than that as Black Friday had far less casualties where as casualties here were all over the place. Every now and then they would have to step over a pile of bodies, also not welcoming. To make matters worse, they only had one Toabot on their side. A Prime Toabot sure, but still. Worse still, Green had led everyone here without a definite plan. Or at least as far as they were concerned as Green had never mentioned anything of the such. He hadn't even brought up trying to formulate one before they headed over. So the question remained: 'Did Green even have a remote idea of what to do'?

Deciding to bring an end to everyone's possible worry, Maze spoke quietly: "Hey Green, do you have any plan whatsoever as to HOW we're even gonna find her? Or better yet, HOW we're going to kill all of these things without dying"?

Green kept looking around carefully as he responded: "No. I don't. But I'm not about to let that stop me".

Green had come too far and lost too much to not do this now. Angela was by no means a quitter or even remotely afraid of the Makutacons. But she was being held prisoner by beings who outmatched her far too easily. For her to even attempt an escape on her own could mean suicide, and his first objective was to get her out alive regardless of whether or not he would make it out too. Though he knew she would prefer it to be otherwise, and would at least try to stay alive for her if not for himself. But after that, they had to try to tear down their device. If Green got Angela out only to have the earth blow up mere seconds later, it would defeat the purpose of bothering to save anyone, that was if there were any people still left in the city of Reedersburg. Regardless, they were here to free Angela, and then beat Killer once and for all, and Green would try as hard as he could to make sure that it happened, even if nobody else was with him.

"It's not going to stop us either, Green." Tali assured her friend. Valera nodded.

"Green, would you like us to do an aerial recon?" Tali blinked in surprise at Valera before realizing that might be a smart move, but at the same time, it could draw the attention from the enemy.

Green shook his head. "No, chances are there are snipers throughout this area. If we make one wrong move, anywhere, chances are they'll kill us before we expect it. Once you guys get me close enough, I'll go after Angela and kill Edward if I have to".

Though he had promised another confrontation with Edward, Green wasn't entirely comfortable with the aspect of killing him. Yeah Edward was dangerous and killing him would probably be the safest option if he and Angela were to escape, but Green was already becoming numb to the guilt that followed killing Makutacons and he didn't want it to get worse. He would be a soldier today, but only when he had to. He had already been willing to do it to save his friends, and even more so willing to kill for Angela, but he needed limits. Otherwise he was just as much of a murdered as the Makutacons. Green couldn't even imagine how the Toa could be okay with taking peoples lives considering there had been a law against it years ago. The rule had been taken down, but still. And Green wasn't even a Toa. The life of war wasn't supposed to be his, and as much as he loved helping out, he really didn't want it to be in fear of becoming a monster.

Green looked over to Ops then, who had begun to talk: "Green, I know you care for her, I really do understand, and we all care for her, but before we go in there we're gonna need some major backup".

Robert agreed: "Yeah, and a GREAT-LOT of it".

They weren't lying when they said they cared about Angela. Ever since the Toa Voya, Rahayu, and Toabots met, Angela and Green had done whatever they could for them out of the kindness in their heartlights. This would definitely be them returning the favor for all of those times and it inspired them to keep going and save her. Problem was if they didn't go in without a definite plan, they weren't likely to get far. They were all amazed they had even made it as far as they had without getting attacked. For all they knew, there could be Makutacons all around them getting ready to strike. They needed a plan as well as a formation to watch all directions if they were going to proceed and possibly make it out alive. Angela's life could even depend it. Edward was holding her, and he had already proven himself to be unpredictable. They needed to get the sneak and take down on him as well as getting through the city safely, hence why they needed a plan NOW.

Z raised a hand enthusiastically as he told them: "I'll gladfully go in without back up. I've never needed it before. I've single handedly killed 287 Makutacons, alone".

That hadn't been a lie. Back in the battle in the Mayan Ruins, Z had helped the Toabots and Toa take out several Makutacons. Due to possessing super speed, indestructible min, super strength, accurate aiming, and powerful weapons, Z had actually managed to do pretty well against them. If he had only been there when the base had attacked, he probably would've stopped the entire invasion. The only reason why he hadn't been able to was because he had been previously occupied with bringing Kasar to justice. 'Seriously, if I was there, I probably would've gotten the drop on Xanthium and taken him down easily. True, he's a Prime, but I'm too crazy for that to stop me. Maybe I'll give him a crotch kick if I see him again. Maybe I'll cut the points on his crown too just to add more irritation to his already bad days'.

Both Valera and Amber chuckled while rolling their eyes. While both knew that what Z said was true, they still found his boasting rather funny and, in Valera's case, child-like. They knew that when it came to his helpfulness in the field, they could trust him to be a great asset, but other than that...…..yeah, they could trust him about as far as they could throw him. The only reason they give him a little leeway right now was because Ops was vouching for him. Personally, it would take more than a few saves to make them truly trust Z, and it didn't help that he kept making painfully corny jokes that made one want to just punch him back to the days of Creation. Actually, no, bad idea. He would just mess things up big time back there. Smack him back to the last 10, no 9, uh, 7?..., 8 centuries, that should do it.

Already noticing the slight bit of doubt beginning to rise in his teammates, Green spoke to them almost immediately in the midst of Valera and Amber's chuckling: "Guys, look at what we've already been through together".

Pow was the next to decide to talk: "We have Green, but never have we ever been through anything like THIS. Not even against Teridax".

The Toa Voya hadn't gained their reputation just by fighting the Makutacons and two being members of a secret organization. In one of their first missions, they had gone out to stop Teridax himself from wreaking destruction upon the cave academy campus. That had not been an easy mission and he had truly proven himself to be a threat, possibly more powerful than any of the Makutacons. But this was nothing like the battle in the Mayan Ruins. Matter of fact, this battle was already making that one look like a cake walk. There had been at the very least 250 Makutacons not counting the generals. Now they were fighting to save the world, against literally thousands of Makutacons. To add insult to injury, that also included more supersoldiers like Abominus, a ship fleet that heavily surveyed the roads further in, tanks, snipers, and many more they were unaware of. Possibly even Titans. It would truly take an answered prayer to save them today.

Robert shivered. "And not this bad-cold"!

Even with the winter coats he had handed everyone, Robert was still freezing out there like he probably would be in the New Arctic. That fact alone also served as a disadvantage to everyone who wasn't a super soldier or Guardian Toa. Everyone else was likely to be freezing as much as he was. Especially Green, even if he didn't bother showing it in an effort to look strong for the team. It was actually inspiring how much Green didn't appear to care about their surrounding weather condition, and even less about their odds. Hopefully he would continue to keep it up even after they entered the front lines. With the stakes as high as they were, it was all hands on deck and too big a ship for it to matter. From here on out, Robert would free with every free second he had. Whether it be here and now, or later out on the battlefield.

"That doesn't mean we should just back down." Iris stated, not having felt the cold yet as her Cybertronian armor was more resistant to extreme temperatures. Tali nodded in agreement.

"It's a little harder this time around and the enemy is stronger than what we're used to, that's true." Ava continued the conversation.

"But that just makes it a challenge." Amber grinned confidently.

"A challenge that can easily be overcome."

Then looking to Pow and any of the others who may disagree, Green said in a slightly angry tone: "Guys, I love Angela, alright? Too much to let her go. Especially now".

Green didn't care if there was an army of a billion Makutacons between him and and Angela, he was going to fight as hard as he could manage to get to her. No way was he about to let Angela live out what remained of the days of the earth as a Makutacon captive. Not that he believed they were going to fail. He knew that as long as he had enough faith, God would get them through this. God had already been on their side for the past one hundred years, with the stakes being as high as they currently were, he didn't see how that would change now.

Pow spoke next: "Green, I get what you're saying, but what if YOU die"?

Pow and Green both understood what he meant. Green was the one emotionally and financially supporting Angela. Sure, Angela was assistant manager and was making more money with additional Turaga Council funding. But they also owned a house and a zoo surrounding it. That would only be a cake walk to pay for as long as they were both paying for it. Plus, they still had Green's younger brother to take care of for a very long time depending on what his career choices would be in the future. Of course, the Toa, Autobots, Toabot, and even the Turaga would try to help out the best they could, and that would be enough. But Angela loved Green as much as he loved her, enough to willing spend the rest of her life with him, bear his children, share her life stories with him, have fun with him as friends would. Without Green, Angela would feel alone and broken and continue to blame herself over things she couldn't control.

"THAT WONT HAPPEN". Green gritted through his teeth.

'What is wrong with everyone'?! Green thought. Just because he was a Matoran, didn't mean he didn't know the risks of being in a city infested with Makutacons. Which was why he was going to try his best to stay alive and save her. He was going to beat the Makutacons, save the world, beat Killer again, and get Angela out of here, SOMEHOW. Green wouldn't deny that he didn't have a definitive plan other than go in guns blazing, really with all the Makutacons around Green didn't see any other options. But regardless of the odds, Green knew that with the God of the angel armies on his side, and enough faith and determination, he and the others fighting with him would make it out alive and victorious. Even if he had to bomb the entire city, which wouldn't be a crime as the entire city was evacuated, Green would try hard to ensure their victory.

"And what if it does"? Maze asked Green, then looking at Valera, he raised his arms in front of his mask, (Looks at Valera, "Please don't slap me"! Maze begged quietly.

This comment grabbed Robert's attention immediately, turning his head over at the Guardian Toa as he asked: "Wait, Guard-Toa hard-slapped someone"?

A smirk brightened Valera's face as she started chuckling. "Looks like word of that got around fast." She smiled at her sister who was also laughing.

"Looks like it." Adhira agreed, remembering how fast gossip spread around NEST base.

Ops groaned at the memory. "My ears are still ringing from the screaming Slash made".

Noticing everyone was already getting off track, Pow whispered: "Why are we talking even talking about this right now"?!

This response was met with a swing to the lower leg from Turaga Jala. "Don't raise your voice to your teammates"!

Jala didn't care how stressful the situation would eventually prove to be, anger between teammates would only create more strife in the team, and that was something they did not need. They needed to reserve their anger and control it, on the battlefield. As dark a concept as it seemed, killing Makutacons over anger over something that wasn't their fault, anger was useful in battle as long as they did not allow anger to control them. It may have also been an option on a particularly stressful day where one could not find a moment of peace. Though since everyone here was a Christian, they should've been able to find a moment to pray after clearing a section, while others kept watch. Bottom line: No way was Jala going to allow strife to break the team or its concentration.

Pow narrowed his eyes down at the Turaga. "I'm sorry, but there's still a battle we need to get to"!

"No, what we really need is a plan"! Maze exclaimed a little loudly, causing Green to shoot him a silencing glare.

Adhira took a step towards Green, the seriousness in her eyes apparent. "Green, let me go up there. I can use my mask powers to become invisible and fly high where no one will see me." No sooner had the words left her lips that Valera jerked her backwards by her arm.

"Se ye cra?" She hissed. "Ye ilil gen yasan dengra! Ye noncanep ondala tasel!"

"Clo no gen dengra, kapoa." Adhira responded, rolling her eyes. "Clo sa fan!"

Frowning a bit irritably, Pow asked his girlfriend in a much nicer and polite tone: "What are they saying"?

"It's the ancient Matoran language." Amber replied haltingly as her mind strained to remember what she had learned of that language in school. 'And here I thought I wasn't going to need that information.' She scolded herself before several of the words clicked into place and the translations flowed. "Mom is asking Aunt Adhira if she's crazy for making such a suggestion, saying that she'll get herself killed and that she can't keep doing this, to which Aunt Adhira says that she won't get killed and she'll be fine."

"Oh". Pow responded with a blush.

'How did I NOT know that'?! Pow thought to himself. Now that Pow had begun to listen a little closer, he recognized the tongue and native language of his people. Being the son of Macku and Hewkii, he had often heard them talk in the same language. But the stress of the situation had easily caused him to forget it. Come to think of it, he had been speaking the human language of English for so long that he had also begun to forget exactly how to speak Matoran. Maybe he would ask Amber to teach him how to speak it again after this was over, after they had won the battle for the Earth. Both of his parents were fairly patient people, so it wouldn't necessarily have been a problem to learn from them. Pow just knew that it would also be a good excuse to hang out with Amber. A reason aside from just wanting to go out on a date. Not that he didn't want to go out with Amber. Again, he wanted to find an excuse to spend more time with the female he loved.

Getting frustrated now, Green spoke next: "Guys, we are LITERALLY in the middle of a site of mass murder"! , waving a hand over to the corpses still littering the streets as they came to a stop. "Why are we ARGUING right now, when we should be getting over to that relic"?

With a sigh, Turaga Jala said: "Because that just seems to be what people do these days regardless of where they're at or what they're supposed to be doing".

Though Turaga Jala really did consider the more chatter and thinking and less working, he thought himself as one to talk. After all, he had been one of the Turaga to vote yes on exiling the Bioformers all those years ago, a decision he had made without truly thinking, or considering what the consequences could have been to his people. As a Turaga, his duty was to the people, to help them out however he could based on his political power. The Bioformers, regardless of what everyone else thought at that time, were not meant to be their slaves to exile the second they had rebelled for their harsh treatment. They had been their people too, and though the Turaga was still intending to fight this battle, he would still do whatever he could to help him.

Gazing carefully at a monitor on his arm, Maze spoke: "On the contrary Turaga, don't look so down on the arguing. It might actually get us somewhere".

"How so, Maze?" Amber asked, completely confused.

"The worse times DO call for quick solutions". Maze answered.

Though stress induced situations were in fact agitating and not always easy to deal with, even Maze had to admit that some results did result from stress and sometimes even from pressure. For example, growing up, his mother had provoked him to get a job pretty much the very moment he had turned sixteen. All the lectures, nagging, questions, being called lazy for trying to get rich of his inventions, really got to him some days. Some days he had been so agitated by all of her nagging that he had snapped back. Then the fights continued until he finally got some job at a restaurant just to get her to shut up. Though he still hated that time around her, and would never ever go back to living through it, it had yielded promising results and he saved up enough money to attend Cave University. No way was he going to be a member of the order, even though he did end up being one of the best Toa out there.

Pow then added: "Yeah, if you'd call getting killed a solution".

Robert glared at the Toa of Stone then, covering Ava's already covered ears as he shouted: "Bad-hey! Don't worse-scare her"! Though he knew Ava wasn't scared in the slightest about going into battle, no way was he about to let one of his own teammates put any fear or doubt in her head. Not that he thought it would, but as he saw her as a collector would see a precious gem, he didn't want to take the risk. He loved her too much to see her frightened. Unless he was trying to prank-scare her. Then it was okay.

Seeming to be included in the list of people secretly written by the authors, Z spoke up next: "Why don't the fourteen of us just get back to fighting the Makutacons already"?!

'Seriously, Michael Bay's script writers would cough up a script faster than the pace of our arguing'! Z thought. 'We're wasting far too much time trading dialogue with each other when at least three of us should be charging in there and killing as many Makutacons as possible! Even Green knows me, Adhira, and Valera can handle quite a bit when it comes to action! Seriously, didn't we have the most kills out of everyone in the Mayan Ruins'? Z wondered. 'Hm. I'll have to ask the Guardian Toa sisters about that later'. 'Seriously, nobody else here is indestructible or is super strong. Unless anyone here is also wearing a Pakari. Green doesn't count though since he's a Matoran. It's a powerless one since a power-based Toa mask would kill a Matoran'.

Ops responded: "Because some of us are still refusing to go in blindfolded". Then blinking rapidly upon realization. "Also, there are THIRTEEN of us". 'Right? Lets see, Me, Tali, Pow, Amber, Robert, Ava, Iris, Valera, Adhira, Z, Turaga Jala, Green, Slash'. He counted them in his helm. 'Yeah, thirteen. Where is Z getting fourteen from'?

Z turned his head in Tali's direction as he responded: "No Ops, there are fourteen".

Ops raised an eyebrow. "Z, what the scrap are you talking about".

Z optics went wide in shock. "Seriously, no one else noticed? Z placed a monocle over an optic and a fedora on his helm as he continued in a narrative tone: "She vomited this morning over the smell of the eggs Green cooked this morning, no discredit to you Green, they're better than Ops's cooking". That comment earned a small glare from the Autobot. "Anyways, she vomited the eggs when she ate them too. Aside from that, she's been smelling and hearing things too distant for us to hear. Which only leads to one conclusion, plus an X-ray scan just to be sure". He removed the fedora and placed the monocle in a random slot in his armpit. Then finally, in a serious tone: "Tali, you're pregnant".

Tali stared at Z, eyes wide in shock, as that last sentence rang in her head like a bell, her thoughts swirling chaotically around it. 'Pregnant?! How?! This can't be?! How did this happen?!' Images of the time they spent at her house made their way through the madness. 'But we used protection! There is no way this can happen! Oh, why did I agree in the first place?! I never should have brought Ops...Ops...OPS!' Anger boiled in her veins and her chest became hot with rage as her mind chanted the name of the mech she loved to the point of drowning out all rational thought. faster than one could blink, she whirled around to Ops, her eyes now narrowed pinpricks of white fury.

Ops's initial reaction to the news was shock and a bit of happiness. 'Tali, my fiance, is pregnant?! As in she's going to have my children in six months'?! While human pregnancy lasted for nine months, both Bionicle and Cybertronian pregnancies lasted for six. It took a few short moments for the shock and happiness to be overshadowed by what he was sure to be not only Tali, but also her parents reaction to the news. 'They're all going to kill me'! Ops thought.

Ops's response to Tali's actually terrifying angry look, was to blush redder than the rest of his frame, and to desperately grasp his thought processor for anything he could say to calm her down. Of course, Ops was at fault for not being able to control himself alone with his fiance, but never did Ops consider it ending like this. Least of all the revelation popping up in an about to be battlefield. Even if Ops did have an excuse, Tali was still pregnant. Not that he had a problem with that exactly. The fact that it happened early, kind of. The fact that there were babies or a baby in her belly, no. Ops did not condone abortion and would never consider it an option. Nor would he try to defend himself should Tali stroll over to pummel him into the concrete. He did kinda deserve it.

In the two seconds that Tali had somehow managed to allow herself to give Ops, he said: "Tali I-I…"

Robert put a hand over his mouth so as to stop any wisecracks from coming out, so as not to suffer Tali's wrath, as a look of surprise conquered his mask. Robert had spent the night with Ava, and he never even considered, well you know. Robert respected Ava too much to violate the marriage bed, and wanted to see her as a friend first. Not to say that Ops didn't have respect for Tali. Robert had also just started dating Ava days ago. Ops and Tali had been texting for the past six months so they had an excuse to at least be engaged. Robert also had to admit to being a little afraid of his girlfriend. Not to the point of leaving her of course. He considered himself blessed to have the courage to kiss her the other day when she was crying to calm her down, when she could've reacted with a slap.

Pow also had a wide eyed expression, not even completely sure of how to react. A part of him wanted to slap Ops for what he did. Getting the fiance pregnant before the wedding ceremony had even been planned was a big no no to the Toa Voya of stone. Sure, they would probably make it as both made $40 an hour as defenders of New Mata Nui, even getting a ten dollar raise for going overseas. But that didn't give Ops or Tali any excuse to get pregnant early, even if that wasn't the intention, and judging by the angry look on her Hau, it wasn't. Say what you may about pregnancy before marriage. Pow didn't see babies as a sin, but the action before marriage definitely was, and it was made so for a very good reason. That reason being that young parents rarely had a clue how to properly raise children, and he had seen enough lack of discipline in teenage families to know that to be true. Regardless of experience, if Ops even tried to run away from his newest responsibility, Tali wouldn't be the only Toa after him.

Ava's mouth dropped open in a gasp. She knew that Tali and Ops knew better than this. They had always said that they preferred to wait until their wedding night to do that. But Ava also knew that they were all mortal and made mistakes. Clearly, Tali and Ops had taken precautions and it failed, thus Tali's I'm-going-to-beat-you-back-to-last-century glare. And while Ava wouldn't blame Tali should she go through with said silent threat, she knew that Tali was going to blame herself the most out of the two and thus would be determined to stand by her to support her in anyway she could. Meanwhile, unknown to Ava, Amber was having a different train of thought. Yes, she was shocked that Tali and Ops would do such a thing and, yes, she knew the result was not planned in the slightest, but her thoughts turned to a more worrisome subject. What would Optimus and Elita say about this? What would Tahu and Gali say? Amber knew her grandparents had always strongly advised their children to wait for marriage to do such acts, and she knew Tahu and Gali held the same morals. How would they react when they found out? On top of that, what would happen to their careers, their jobs? Tali wouldn't be allowed to lead the team anymore after a few months. Who would take her place? Amber swallowed hard, she really didn't know how things would unfold after this revelation. She just hoped Tali didn't beat Ops too much. They needed him for the upcoming battle after all.

Unaware of her friends' concerns, Tali continued to glare at her fiancé a few seconds longer, planning to strike him where it would hurt the most when the haze in her mind slightly cleared by a sudden thought. 'Would that change anything?' As the softness of it eased her inner storm, she slowly came to realize that it was God that had asked it. Her heart twinged slightly in shame as she answered, 'No, it wouldn't. What's done is done. It can't be reversed.' Hanging her head in shame, Tali walked away, the fight having drained her strength and left her with the desire to be alone for a bit. Wiping a tear from her eye, she felt a calming presence behind her and looked over to see Adhira following her, keeping a distance of two feet between them so to give Tali some space. Tali smiled at her in appreciation, letting her feet take her anywhere away from the group.

Noticing Tali walking away, made a tear slip from Ops's optics. Knowing the fact that it had been his fault was bad enough. To see Tali just walk away from him with the possibility of never talking to him again, made him feel worse. All Ops wanted to do now was to hug her close, let her cry into his arms and tell her he was sorry for everything. He would even gladly allow her to punch him if it would calm her down and keep her from leaving him. He would take a bullet through the servo if it would earn her forgiveness. Regardless of the fault of his actions last night, he still felt an overwhelming need to be there for his future wife, to let her know she wasn't alone in this, and that he would never ever leave her alone either.

"Tali, wait-" Ops began to say as he started to run in her direction.

Before Ops could get far in chasing after her, Valera raised a wing to block his path. "Let her go, Ops." She said calmly yet sternly with a shake of her head. "She needs some time to straighten out her emotions. Don't worry."

But Ops barely heard Valera over the silence of his own sorrow. 'Tali, come back'! He wanted to shout. 'I didn't mean to do this to you'! But the longer Ops stood still behind the blocked passageway, the farther away Tali got. Ops wasn't crazy, and was okay with spending time apart if it was necessary. Although this definitely seemed like one of those times to her, it only continued to make Ops weep. What if she left him over this? Sure, she would need financial support for her child or children, but she had her friends for that. Should she choose to annul the engagement, it would prove no consequence to her. But Ops had lost so much in the past several years. Almost all of his cousins had been killed in a battle with him against a mind controlled Z, and he still couldn't confront the other Autobots for it. To have to lose his own fiance and children now would be too much for him to bear.

Ops's faceplates turned to a glare then as he turned towards Z. 'Speaking of whom'. Granted, he had forgiven Z for killing his friends, as it had not really been his fault, but it did not change his current anger towards the ex-con. 'Taking my friends because you were mind controlled was one thing, but if you think you're going to take my family from me, you don't know me at all, buddy'! Ops thought. 'Why couldn't you have just worded it some other way, or just told us earlier?! There was no way for me to know beforehand'!

As if being able to read his friends thoughts, Z spoke next in a not so friendly tone: "It's not like I was going to lie Ops. You're my friend, my BEST friend. Also, if you think I'm letting your pregnant wife get killed out there, you have another thing coming".

It had already been part of Z's fault for the death of his friends. If Z hadn't allowed himself to be experimented on, then Ops's friends would've never had to have met a sour demise. Next to that, Ops had been afraid of his capabilities towards his newfound friends. Simply allowing Ops's fiance and child to die, when Z had full capability of stopping it, was not something he would not allow himself to have in his personal programming. Enough innocent children had died as it was. Just the sight itself of stacked corpses of children made Z fight not to cry. Even it the situation did cause a drift in Ops and Tali's relationship, it would be well worth it as long as it meant his children and his fiance got to stay alive, and he took the God-given opportunity to truly repent from getting more people killed in his life.

Unwilling to see his friend stand any longer, and just needing something to punch right now, Ops began to stomp towards the ex-con. Though Ops did value his friendship with the guy, he still felt the angry need to knock him face first into the concrete. Even though Z's intentions were just, he may have just destroyed another family. Maybe this way he would stop Z from ever doing that again.

But Z didn't move. He didn't ready a weapon, or stance, or prepare to dodge, or even turn to anger like Ops had been so quick to do. Z wanted Ops to punch him again, maybe harder than he had back in the Mayan Ruins. Even though he knew killing Ops's friends wasn't his fault, he still felt every once in a while like he could've stopped if he had fought hard enough to break Alphatron's control. Yet he had been too weak. Maybe he needed this. For everyone to see him be weak so they wouldn't fear or resent him. Maybe it would cause people to doubt his efficiency, but he didn't care about that. After what had unwillingly put Ops through, Z owed Ops at least a thousand punches if it meant making it up to Ops, should he still have any anger or hatred for him.

"Ops! Do not do something you will regret." Valera called to him, hoping her words would make him rethink about what he was planning on doing to Z, as she was hesitant to step in to stop him. Ava opened her mouth to add to Valera's words to convince Ops to stop but a hand on her arm stopped her. Turning to the hand's owner, she saw Amber shaking her head, silently telling Ava with her eyes to let Ops be. Ava frowned as she didn't want either of the mechs to get into a fight right now, but she did understand that unless Ops got this out of his system, they could risk losing him in the battle against the Makutacons.

Growing increasingly impatient with everyone continuing to change the subject, and for also talking when they were probably as deep in as they were going to get before Makutacons started shooting at them, Green turned to the group, shouting: "GUYS! WHY CANT EACH OF YOU JUST FOCUS FOR A SECOND"?!, stunning all of them into silence as they turned their heads to gaze at the enraged Le-Matoran.

Sure Tali being pregnant was big news, but they still had a very important, world staking mission at hand. Now was the last time to be talking about random things. So Tali couldn't fight now, big deal. At least her baby would be safe while they were off fighting for all life on the planet that could end in two seconds in they didn't get over to their device now. Green would even let Ops go to get her out for a moment if need be, the only downside to that being they couldn't afford to wait on him to come back if he even would. Regardless, these Makutacons were scattered everywhere and they had no way of knowing how close they were, even with their Energy Signature Radars. These Makutacons were more than capable enough of knowing how to mask their own energy signatures if they even had the means. They all needed to be alert and ready for whatever attack they could've been planning at this very moment.

Easily understanding Greens anger, Pow began to approach the Le-Matoran slowly. They were all on edge, especially now, but that was not an excuse to start screaming at his team mates when it wasn't necessary, and since it may have been an unwise move on his part. Not that Pow was about to throw that in his Pakari. In a situation like this, under the immense pressure Green was already under, a calmer and gentler approach was the better way to confronting him about his attitude. Maybe it would even calm him down and give him a better peace of mind and help him to think a little more about what they should do. A plan was a little out of the question as there were a very limited amount of people helping Green out and their best route to survival was unity, but they still needed to go over maneuvers and possible places to put booby traps as it would be a great help in the long run.

Continuing to approach him, he calmly told the Le-Matoran: "Whoa, Green, just calm down".

Green's glare eased a bit as he turned his head in Pow's direction, his expression still being a glare despite appreciating his calmness. "Honestly!? We're here in a war zone! Not to sound mean, but PLEASE stop FIGHTING and TEASING each other for two seconds! We're on a battlefield for crying out loud"!

Z was the next to speak with a pouty expression after a little bit of time had passed: "Can I fool around now? It's literally been two seconds".

Green glared at Z next, replying angrily: "Metaphorical two seconds, Z"! Though Green did have admit that he did find that a little funny as he fought not to smile. Of course he understood that Z was trying to lighten the mood, much like Pow. As much as Green appreciated the gesture however, it was not what Green wanted to focus on at the moment, and he thoroughly believed that he would start to feel better once everyone stopped talking and breaking his concentration. Even if it didn't seem like it, Green regretted not going in without a plan and was still brainstorming what to do if he even could do anything with the eleven people he still had. Green had actually gone in thinking that the idea would come to him within seconds of stepping in. Not that he had no faith, Green was just clueless and at a loss of what to do to accomplish their mission and get out alive if they could.

These were peoples lives he had in his hands after all, and he did not take any one of them for granted, nor would he ever be willing to. But he hated the idea of someone and many others not making it out of here. Some of these people were an only child in their respective families and therefore their parents had much to lose just by Green bringing them here. He needed a method to get everyone else out of here including Angela, should the situation arise where he needed to sacrifice himself just so that others would get the chance to live their lives. Everyone was even beginning to get into relationships, and judging by the matching bands of Amber and Pow, they were getting pretty serious. It made him dread the idea of losing one of them even more. Sure, he knew most of them wouldn't blame him for their deaths, but they would still be in a depressed state from losing their loved ones, no thanks to him.

As Z made another humorous response along the lines of "How was I supposed to know you were serious"?!, Robert began to hear something farther ahead of the group. A sound of repetitive and carefully calculated clanking that continued to get closer and closer. 'What is that'? Robert wondered, looking past Z and Green and trying the best he could to hone in on the sound. Whatever it was, it wasn't to far away. Based on the volume of the clanking, Robert could tell it was coming from up ahead and kept his gaze ahead. A second later, he heard a second pair of metallic steps approaching from another pathway ahead of them. Another second later, something became visible from beside the right corner of the right building. A black nozzle accompanied seconds later with the growing body of an Xtronian machine gun, like one of the ones the Toabots had used. Robert's eyes widened immediately as the incoming action became clear.

"Crap"! Robert exclaimed. "Get down, take cover"!

Ava looked at him in confusion. "What is it, Robert?" Then she saw the light from the blaster warming up and gasped in shock, her voice trapped in her throat.

Everyone turned in shock as two Makutacons came from around both corners of the street. Both Makutacons were quick to point their weapons at the group, both with intense glares as the first one ordered. "EVERYONE, drop your weapons and get on the ground with your hands on your heads"!

With that, Slash rolled in front of the group, next to Green as he unseathed both of his wing-shaped blades and stood defensively. Slash didn't know how much quicker he would be able to swing a draft of air from his blades, than they could pull their triggers. On the bright side, he had close to mastered his air blades so he thought he should've been able to do it if he were quick enough. But that didn't take away the chances of them firing first and killing him, and if that were the case, the bullets would be able to go straight through him, not even giving him the option to shield anyone with his body. The Makutacons were often unpredictable with their fighting methods. After all, they had managed to hide this ambush for years and they were winning the war. Hence the point of this little resistance he had joined. But regardless of the odds, that wouldn't stop Slash from going down without a fight. Jesus had risked his own life for every life that was, is, and ever would be, Slash would be willing to do the same if it came to that.

Ava and Amber snarled in anger at being caught with their guard down while Iris tensed in silent rage. The Toa Rahayu always prided themselves for being about to sense an enemy and take them down before they had a chance to get close enough. Obviously, with the recent blows to their team, they had slipped in that aspect. "Scrap." Valera muttered, not liking this little ambush one bit.

Each of the Toa, and Autobots were next to raise their weapons, all sharing Slash's desire to fight and defend while they had the chance, each aiming at the Makutacon's eyes for a kill shot. No was anyone about to let Slash fight alone. Everyone came to give the earth one last fighting chance, and they would see it through to the end, no matter how many Makutacons would stand against them.

The second Makutacon growled at their resistance to comply to their orders and cocked his machine gun. "Screw it. I need something to kill".

Green instantly knew that this battle could go all kinds of wrong. One of two things were about to happen. One, the Makutacons succeeded in killing them all and the earth would still die. Two, they would actually succeed in killing the Makutacons, only for thousands more to come rushing in and execute them in a storm of bullets. Regardless of which way this would play out, Green knew it may not end well for them unless they got an intense amount of help this very moment.

Knowing there may not be another moment to do this, Green fell to his hands and knees and prayed quietly: 'God, I don't know how much longer we have, but I know if we fight them alone, we might not make it. But you are the God of the angel armies who makes what is impossible possible. You parted the sea for Moses, split rock for Joshua, slayed Goliath through David, calmed the lions for Daniel, and spared his friends from the scorching heat of Nebuchannezzar's furnace. This is all proof to me that you can do the impossible, so I'm asking you to do the same for us now. Please, help us to defeat our immensely larger and stronger foe. Send us help however your will desires. It is in Jesus's mighty name that I make this prayer to you Lord, amen.

A second later, Green opened his eyes to the sound of a gasp, and the dropping of a weapon in shock. This made Green smile, knowing that God had answered him and sent help. He didn't know how, or whom was about to bring in the much needed help, but Green would remain on the ground regardless so as to be out of the way of whatever would happen next. He did feel the phrase in his heart "Stay down"., after all so it made him further figure this would be for the best. To just stand back and let God's mighty plan work out.

Both Makutacons looked terrified for a moment, their expressions then turning to shock and anger as one screamed: "What"?!, before aiming his weapon behind the group, before being met with a bolt of lightning to the face and being knocked down and dead. The first Makutacon made a grab for his own machine gun on the ground, only to be met with a lightning bolt to the chest, burning a hole through him, and causing him to collapse on top of his weapon.

Ops was the first to speak in the midst of everyone's surprise: "What just happened"?!

Green lifted his head then, noticing the cauterized hole in the Makutacon in front of them. He widened his eyes then. 'Wait, was that? No. It couldn't be. Is it'? But there was no way it wasn't, as he said next: "There's only ONE Toabot I know who could do that".

As if realizing it at the same time, everyone turned around, to face the familiar Toabot Leader, who smiled at them as the sun rose a bit higher behind him, casting his also familiar shadow over them.

"Paradox!" Amber exclaimed happily while tears of joy streamed down Ava's mask.

"Great timing!" Iris cheered as Valera smiled in relief that he was back and alive.

Green smiled brightly with everyone, both at the fact that Paradox had finally returned to bring victory to the Toabot cause, and the fact that God had loved him enough to hear his prayer before he had even made it, and answered it in a truly amazing way. Not only had they been saved by the Toabot Leader, now that he was here, the Toabots were not leaderless! Xanthium's lie would finally be exposed and the Toabots would come back to fight again for the freedom of the people. 'Thank you, Lord'. Green prayed thankfully in silence.

Green hadn't been the only one making prayers of thanks at Paradox's return. For the past couple hours, Slash had begun to fear for Paradox's safety, as his life was ultimately in Xanthium's servos after he had beaten him to a pulp, and seeing Xanthium be as truly merciless as he could be, Slash had begun to worry that he hadn't lied about killing Paradox, even if he hadn't done so in combat. But once again, God had come through. Rather miraculously too as Paradox's scars were gone, having healed rather quickly for a Bioformer, and bringing him back to a family who loved and missed him dearly in the two days he had been captured and possibly tortured. But God had had mercy on him, and set him, and in turn the rest of the world, free from annihilation. Not that he cared more for the world than he did for his dad, as he ran to and hugged him tightly, tears streaming down his Miru as he said in relief and joy: "Dad".

Paradox smiled warmly at his son, hugging and petting his head as he responded: "It's okay, my baby boy. I'm here now".

Having dearly missed his family as well, Paradox allowed the moment to linger just a few seconds longer, ending the hug with a kiss on Slash's forehead before pulling away. Though he too wanted the moment to last much longer, Paradox also understood the stakes of today's mission. The world was at stake, and would surely die if Paradox continued giving hugs now that he would be more than willing to give later. After casting one last smile to the others, he turned around and nodded behind himself, to the hill-tilted road.

Within seconds, Billy and Outilisa walked up next, accompanied by several Toabots that continued to grow in number as they passed the group and took their positions in various building and rooftops. Intrigued, Green walked past Paradox, gazing down the hill slated road to see hundreds upon hundreds of Toabots walking up, armed with rifles, tanks, ships, and full bodysuits of what he assumed to be their version of Kevlar, all grouped in a well organized line ahead of a large portal that must have been at least a mile away.

Ava and Amber's eyes widened in surprise at the size of the reinforcements. Yeah, they were expecting some last minute help but nothing like this! Glancing back at the Toabot leader, they spotted two familiar figures walking up to stand beside him and joy overflowed in their heartlights. "Billy! Outilisa!" Ava called, waving to them excitedly, Amber and Iris mimicking her.

Billy and Outilisa both smiled back, happy to see their friends again as they gave hugs and shook hands. Like Paradox, they wished their welcome backs and greetings would last a little longer, but when a revenge crazed Bioformer was prepared to turn the entire world mechanical with one of the relics of the original Primes, long lasting greetings kinda flew out the window. Billy and Outilisa both did make a mental note to take the remaining survivors of their Toa/Autobot group out to dinner after everything was over with. No way were they about to include the rest of the Toabots in that though. As much as they both loved the Toabots, there were far too many now and the bill for covering all the other Toa and Autobots would be big enough as it was.

In the midst of everything, Green still managed to hear Paradox call his name, and looked up to Paradox as he continued: "Green, you could have gotten yourself killed back there. What were you doing"? Paradox hadn't said this in a reprimanding tone, for he knew that Green was not one of his soldiers. Rather, it had been a tone of concern mixed with: 'Are you sure you know what you're doing'?

Green smiled up at the Toabot leader as he responded: "Exactly what you would have done".

To this, Paradox chuckled in response. "Green, your courage never ceases to amaze me".

Though sending a Matoran in the battle was the last thing Paradox would ever consider doing in the battlefield, no way was he about to talk Green out. Green's dedication to his friendships made him to too stubborn to talk him out of it. But at least Paradox knew he could trust Green to have his back, as he had months ago in the Central District. In the face of an opponent much larger than himself, Green remained unafraid and sought through with his plan until the bitter end. Even though Matoran had been known to fight in wars back in the days of the island of Mata Nui, with so many Toa and Autobots around, Matoran fighting for what was right was now an option. But for having the nerve to walk into a Makutacon infested city, that made Green a soldier. Further more, a soldier Paradox could trust to have his back, should he require that of the young Le-Matoran.

Taking a rifle from a duffel bag he had brought, Paradox handed it to Green with a smile of acceptance.

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Biomarvel740: Lego owns Macku and Hewkii.

Galem: (whistles the kissing song teasingly)

Biomarvel740: (chuckle) You know Pow is their son?

Galem: Yeah, I know.

Z: #GetwrektGregFarshtey.

Biomarvel740: Z!

Galem: lol! (dumps a bucket of ice water on Z)

Z: (shakes off like a dog before zooming off)

Biomarvel740: (Chuckling) Silly child. (Looks to the readers) How did you all like the chapter?

Galem: Please let us know by leaving a review or, if you have any questions, you can PM either of us.

Biomarvel740: We thank you all for reading-

Galem: and please...

Biomarvel740 and Galem: Have a God-blessed day! XD :D