Hi everyone, welcome back! I'm glad you all enjoyed the last chapter as things went from great to horrible really fast for the heroes. But here is where things really get juicy. There's not a whole lot of action in this specific chapter, and it may even be a bit shorter than most of the others I've posted so far, but it may be one of the most emotional as truths are finally revealed.
With that said, let's get started.
Forward, the Light Brigade
After getting an alert from T-AI about a break in at the vault, and who it was that broke in, a specific Mini-Con that belonged to their prisoner, Bumblebee's vehicle mode wasted no time in driving to the laboratory. As soon as he arrived, Lelouch and Marianne, still in control of Anya's body, quickly stepped out just as the Autobot scout transformed and all of them looked in complete shock over what they saw.
Bulkhead, Wheeljack, Ratchet, and Perceptor laid across the ground, just regaining consciousness from whatever had hit them, Bumblebee quickly moved to try and help them. Rai was the only one fully awake as he was out of the downed Raiden, addressing Tamaki, Lloyd, Rakshata, Cecile, Fixit, Nina, Sophie and Sayoko as they were in a similar state to their Autobot companions.
But what really caught Lelouch's attention was that Soundwave was no longer there. The table that he was previously restrained to was now vacant, which led to him to believe that he had indeed escaped. But he didn't have time to think about that as Rai quickly noticed him and went right to him with a distressed look on his face.
"L-Lelouch… Soundwave… he…"
"He escaped. Damn it." Lelouch scowled.
"N-no… not just that…" Rai was visibly scared as he grabbed his half-brother by the shoulders and spoke to him. "He took them… Nunnally and Cera… Soundwave took them both!"
Bumblebee's optics widened in shock as he heard that, while both Anya and Marianne were nothing short of horrified.
Lelouch on the other hand… felt his heart stop as no words could properly describe the terror that he now felt. It was like all his blood suddenly froze. Nunnally and Cera… both were taken by one of the most dangerous beings on this planet, maybe even in this universe. But even more frightening is that he already knew exactly where they would likely be taken to, or rather who they were taken to.
Megatron gazed upon the Dark Star Saber, seeing his own reflection in the side of the evil sword as he held it in his hands once more with his most loyal servant kneeling before him in the halls of Darkmount.
"Soundwave, once again you've more than exceeded my expectations." The lord of the Decepticons congratulated. "Not only have you returned to me what is mine, you were even thoughtful enough to bring a gift. Now, where is she?"
Soundwave stood up as his visor showed Nunnally currently held in a prison cell that was normally built for Decepticons, due to its enormous size. But her tiny form was incapable of breaking down through the large metallic doors and walls.
"I'll take the time to get to know her later. But first…" Megatron and Soundwave walked through the nearest door and into Shockwave's laboratory. "We have to put the finishing touches to Neo Ragnarök."
Shockwave continued to work at a monitor with all the data he had available, while the amnesiac Cera, who had since woken up, was restrained to a lab table that was normally equipped for Mini-Cons, the same kind that Suzaku and V.V. were previously restrained to when they each underwent a certain interrogation process that she would soon undergo herself.
Cera struggled fearfully in her restraints, but they showed no signs of budging. "Resting comfortably, my dear C.C.?" She gasped in terror as Megatron approached her, his evil face reflected in her widened eyes.
"Y-You're…. you're… him…. You're Megatron…" She stuttered.
"She appears to suffer from amnesia." Shockwave informed his leader. "How much memory she has lost remains largely unknown, but she appears to have mentally regressed to her state before she received her Code."
"But the Code itself is undamaged?" Megatron asked.
"Correct." Shockwave confirmed.
Megatron nodded. "Back at the Geass Order, right before I was trapped, I had hoped to completely destroy her mind and put her in a catatonic state. At best, she would have been unable to reveal the details of Ragnarök to our enemies. But even if she had, this would still make it easier for us to capture. I trust you can fix the damage done to her mind, Shockwave? I need to be certain there are no details regarding Ragnarök that I may have overlooked, or that V.V. was not aware of."
"I can." Shockwave nodded. "Though the Cortical Psychic Patch has never been used in this manner before. Therefore, it is likely her organic body will likely expire multiple times, as it had with V.V. during his interrogation, so this may take some time."
"Do what you can." Megatron told him. "We are so close to the end…" He clenched his fist in anticipation.
Cera was nothing short of terrified. She had been told stories about the monster that was now before her, and while she didn't know all the details, one look in his glowing purple eyes and she could tell that he was pure evil. She had never seen anything like it and it rocked her to her core. But despite that, she tried to put on a brave face. All the amazing people she met, be they made out of squishy flesh or hard medal, none of them would show fear at this monster, so she wouldn't either.
"Whatever it is you want from me… I won't let you get it."
"Oh, I think you will, little one. For you are the key to everything!" Megatron said as Shockwave had already plugged in one end of the cable for the Cortical Psychic Patch into the back of his head, while the other end surged with electricity and was brought towards her.
"Let me out!" Nunnally cried out as she banged her fists against the metal door. "You won't get away with this! Do you hear me?!"
Suddenly, the door opened, causing her to back up as Thundercracker stepped in holding something small in his large hand, which he brought down to the floor, revealing it to be a human-sized bowl with a liquid substance in it.
"What's this?" Nunnally questioned.
"Liquid protein." Thundercracker answered. "You humans need that, right?"
"Where's Cera?! What are you doing to her?!" Nunnally demanded.
"Lord Megatron is getting what he needs." Thundercracker said before turning around. "I suggest you eat."
"You won't win this!" Nunnally said to him.
"What can you do?" The blue Seeker replied as he kept his back turned. "You don't have a Knightmare or a Geass, and there are no Autobots here to help you. You're all alone. There's nothing for you to do but sit down and eat to survive." Thundercracker walked out as the door closed, leaving Nunnally alone again.
She looked at the bowl of liquid protein once more before kicking it away, spilling all of its contents in frustration before sitting down as she wrapped her arms around her legs, tucking them close to herself. Nunnally hated to admit it, but that Decepticon was right. She had no special power and she was no fighter. In the face of overwhelming evil, there wasn't anything she could do and that made her more than a little upset as tears were already forming out of the corner of her eyes. Nunnally probably had a good idea how her brother would react to all this once he finds out and he won't take it well, and while she was confident Bumblebee, Optimus, Kallen, Suzaku, and the rest of their friends and family would be there for him, even their mother, it didn't make it any less hurtful. However, as she glanced to the side, she happened to spot the spilled liquid protein and noticed something shinny inside it.
Crawling her way closer, she poked her fingers through the spilled content to find something hard and tiny. Nunnally picked it up and looked in surprise to see it was a small comm's device, the kind that can easily fit in someone's ear. Taking a brief moment to look around, no doubt she was being monitored, Nunnally scooped up some of the liquid protein in her hand and kneeled down to make it look like she was eating it before slipping the comm in her ear.
"Do not speak."
Nunnally tried her hardest to suppress the gasp. She recognized Steeljaw's voice in an instant.
"If you want to live, I will help you to escape. Wait for me."
The communication the ended. To say Nunnally was surprised would have been an understatement. She only met Steeljaw once, and that was with Leila in the EU, and she could tell at that moment what kind of being he was, and it was one she didn't trust. But this time felt different, while she still didn't trust him, the tone in his voice was far different and more serious. Maybe he was plotting against Megatron? But she doubted it was out of the goodness of his spark. Though given her circumstances, it seemed like the lesser of two evils. So for now, she will follow Steeljaw's lead, if only to give herself, and hopefully the Autobots and Black Knights, a chance to make their move.
Meanwhile, a pair of Vehicons worked at the controls for Darkmount's fusion cannons. "Hey, you wonder what exactly is going on right now?" One Vehicon asked.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean… why are we still here on Earth?" The first one continued. "Most of our forces are either offline or surrendered, Starscream's little coup definitely didn't help, and most of humanity has rallied behind the Autobots. Wouldn't it be best to just cut our loses and leave this mudball behind?"
"You want Megatron to hear that?" The second Vehicon replied. "You know how he is! He'll pulverize us if we question him!"
"But you can't tell me that this isn't weird." The first Vehicon told him. "What's so special about this tiny little planet that keeps Megatron here? And you know what else is weird? All those Spacebridge portals."
"Okay, that part is weird." Vehicon number two admitted. "I don't know where exactly they're going, but all they seem to bring back is scrap metal and just dumping it all around Darkmount. Seems like a waste of Energon."
"Exactly! We need that stuff, too!"
"And you could use a break, too." Both Vehicons turned around to see Sky-Byte and Slipstream enter the controls. "Go ahead, unwind a bit."
"But we have to monitor the area, keep the fusion cannons ready for if the Autobots and Black Knights show up." The second Vehicon said.
"We'll handle that." Sky-Byte assured. "Come on, give yourselves a break. You've earned it."
The pair of Vehicons exchanged glances before coming to a decision. "Yeah, maybe we should try to relax a bit. Nothing's going on anyways."
"Thanks Sky-Byte. About time somebody begins to appreciate us."
The pair left, leaving only the Sharkticon and female Seeker as they went to the controls. "If only they knew just how far their leader had fallen." Sky-Byte said with reluctance.
"Keep it down. We got a job to do right now." Slipstream said as she was the first to get to work, followed by the Sharkticon, quickly pulling up the schematics for the Fusion canons, including its own Energon fuel supply.
Horai Island – The Ark
"All Black Knight and Autobot forces on Horai Island are assembling and preparing for the assault on Darkmount as we speak." T-AI reported to Optimus as he stood on the bridge of the fabled Autobot vessel. "Laila has gone to the EU to rally their military forces, Xingke and Tianzi are doing the same for the Chinese Federation, and Guilford has met up with Duke Velaines in Euro Britannia. Kirihara and the rest of Kyoto are working with all the smaller member nations of the UFN to rally their military forces as well."
"Thank you, T-AI. Inform us the moment we are ready to move." Optimus requested.
"You got it." T-AI nodded before her hologram mode vanished, leaving Optimus to turn to all those that currently occupied the Ark, including his fellow Autobots Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead, Ironhide, Fixit, Ratchet, Elita-One, and Ultra Magnus. Several humans were also present such as Lelouch, Kallen, Rai, Suzaku, Shirley, Milly, Rivalz, Euphemia, Cornelia, Tohdoh, Jeremiah, Ohgi, Tamaki, Sayoko, Kaguya, as well as Anya.
It may as well be deathly silent for all of them as Lelouch sat on the couch that served as the human living quarters on the bridge for the Ark, and while he appeared to be calm on the surface, those that knew him the best knew that he was far from calm right now.
"We'll get them back, Lelouch." Suzaku told him.
"I know." The leader of the Black Knights muttered. "After we've killed Megatron and all those working for him."
"Can we kill him? Isn't the guy immortal, now?" Tamaki questioned.
"That doesn't mean he's invincible, though." Rai answered. "V.V. felt he was and look how that turned out."
"V.V. and Megatron are two completely different individuals." Ratchet reminded. "One was a psychotic man-child, while the other is a ruthless warlord who knows exactly how to misuse the power he has at his disposal."
"I'm still trying to figure out how Megatron even got out of that whole dimensional trap you guys put him in." Bulkhead said.
"For real." Rivalz agreed. "We had a hard time getting out of the regular Shadowzone the first time, but wasn't he stuck inside the Shadowzone of another freaking dimension?!"
"And we destroyed all the Thought Elevators." Ohgi recalled.
"Perhaps Soundwave had something to do with it given he's capable of opening Groundbridges at will." Tohdoh suggested.
"And Shockwave likely had a helping hand as well." Ultra Magnus assumed. "Given most of his studies were to the subject of Geass, I wouldn't be surprised if he had somehow managed to replicate the Thought Elevators."
"Do you know if something like that is even possible, Jeremiah?" Euphemia asked the cyborg soldier.
"I can't say for certain. I'm no scientist, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was truly the case." Jeremiah replied.
"He was even able to clone a Predacon." Fixit added. "Whenever something we believe to be scientifically impossible, Shockwave continues to prove us wrong."
"And if Shockwave was able to replicate the Thought Elevators, then maybe Ragnarök is still a threat." Elita said.
"All that effort and loss we've gone through during the assault on the Geass Order… and we may have only just delayed it." Bumblebee commented.
"If Ragnarök is still active, it explains why Soundwave took Cera when he woke up… but why Nunnally?" Arcee wondered. "What does Megatron have to gain from her? It's not like she has anything to do with him."
"Probably just out of spite." Kallen looked in disgust. "We all know how cruel he, is especially too…" She looked towards Lelouch as he no doubt came to the same conclusion, something that earned a sympathetic look from Lelouch. That was something they all knew very well, Cornelia herself recalled the Special Zone and how Megatron destroyed Euphemia's image as a means to an end, while there may have been a tactical reason behind it, Cornelia had suspected that it was done out of unnecessary cruelty, something she always hated him for.
"Just let me make sure I get this right…" Shirley spoke up. "Ragnarök was supposed to be some kind of Geass project that brings all human minds together like a hivemind?"
"Something like that." Ironhide confirmed.
"Sounds really complicated." Milly commented.
"Why would Megatron be interested in that, though?" Shirley questioned. "I mean… a hivemind for all of humanity seems to be kinda… aiming low for him."
"I would have to agree." Cornelia said. "It's no secret that Megatron views humankind as beneath him, so simply trying to subjugate their minds seems to a bit more difficult than just trying to wipe them out."
"Maybe he thinks we're too tough for that, and we are!" Tamaki boasted. "I mean, we've been kicking Con ass since day one!"
"Humanity is but one species in a vast universe." Ratchet countered. "I sincerely doubt Megatron would go to all the effort to subjugate one species."
"Maybe it's not one species… but possibly all of them." Marianne suggested, finally speaking and getting everyone's attention.
"Mother?" Lelouch looked towards her in confusion.
"I… I have something to say." Marianne began. "Something I've been meaning to say for a while, and I'd hoped under more ideal circumstances."
Darkmount
Nunnally continued to sit and wait in the massive cell, not as though she had many other options. She hated being like this, she hated being so helpless in the dark, just like when she was blinded and confined to that damned wheelchair while the people she loved were fighting for their lives. But despite all that, she was confident that there was still hope. She was so sure that Lelouch, Optimus, and everyone would find a way to stop Megatron and save this world, and they could all go home together. They could build a new home with each other, and even their mother was still with them.
She could already imagine it, she could picture her mother having a cloned body and her consciousness transferred from Anya into that body and sitting at a dinner table alongside Lelouch, Kallen, Suzaku, Sayoko, Alice, Euphemia, Cornelia, Cera, Rai, Shirley, and so many others, even Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead, and all the other Autobots, despite not being able to actually eat, or even too big to fit at a human-sized table… that wouldn't be a problem, they could just be outside. That sounded even better, sitting outside and spending time together, gazing at the sunset and then at the beautiful stars when night fell. Just picturing that brought a smile to her face.
When the cell door finally opened, Nunnally's smile faded as she found herself glaring at the one monster who dared to shatter her dream, and the dreams of so many others, accompanied by the faceless Decepticon who abducted her, and the scientist who put Alice, Grimlock, Jeremiah, and all their friends through so much pain, but her attention was drawn to the green-haired girl that the monster held in his hand before dropping her to the floor in front of her.
"Cera!" Nunnally scurried to her and held her close, she appeared to be unconscious before her eyes slowly flickered open. "Cera… Are you okay?"
"Nunnally…"
"You'll find that you will have no further issues in communication with her, dear Nunnally." Megatron told her, causing the young girl to glare at him. "Thanks to Shockwave's brilliant work, C.C's memories are fully restored."
"Y-you remember everything?" Nunnally asked as Cera slowly picked herself up.
"Yes…. I do." She confirmed. "Died probably eight times before my mind was restored completely though."
The cynical tone in her voice was confirmation enough to know that Cera's memories had indeed been restored, and while Nunnally would normally be overjoyed, what Megatron had just did to her was beyond cruel.
"Do you want me to say thank you?" Nunnally glared at the Decepticon leader. "I doubt you did that for her sake."
"I needed to be sure there were no details regarding Ragnarök that were overlooked." Megatron answered. "And it seems there was no further knowledge to gain. I had already learned everything I needed to know from the late Victor Zi Britannia. Though your mother's survival was a surprise, it really matters not."
"So why am I here?" Nunnally questioned. "Do you intend to threaten Lelouch? Hold me hostage until he meets your demands?"
"You are very much at the center at your brother's life, but your presence here is nothing of the sort, my dear Nunnally." Megatron responded. "I just felt that, given the history the two of us share with many certain individuals, it would only be fitting that the two of us finally get to know one another."
"I already know everything I need to know about you!" Nunnally stated. "You destroyed your own home planet, killed countless innocent Cybertronians and humans! You betrayed Optimus, you ripped out Bumblebee's voice box, you manipulated Suzaku, you used Euphemia's face to start a massacre, and what you did to Lelouch… I swear… I will hate you forever for what you did to him! To all of them!"
Megatron looked more amused than anything at that declaration. "You have your brother's defiance, and Optimus' nobility. It's difficult to believe you are the daughter of Charles and Marianne."
"Go ahead and compare me to my father all you want; I don't care about him." Nunnally said. "But don't you dare say my mother's name! You don't deserve to say her name!"
"Even though she is just as cruel and manipulative as your father?" Megatron mused.
"What are you talking about?" Nunnally questioned while Cera looked away in guilt.
"You really haven't told her, have you?" Megatron asked the immortal woman specifically. "And can I assume that Lelouch doesn't know either? Does anyone?"
"Told me what?" Nunnally questioned once again.
"You know of Ragnarök, C.C. has told you of that, I know that much from patching memories back together… but did she tell you that Marianne, your mother, was actually one Ragnarök's grand architects?" Megatron revealed.
"You expect me to believe that!?" Nunnally exclaimed. "You expect me to believe anything I say?!"
"If you don't believe me, just ask her." Megatron gestured to Cera once more. "Go on, C.C. She deserves to know."
"Cera, it's alright I know he's lying, you don't have to worry." Nunnally spoke to her, but when she turned towards her, she was confused to see Cera looking down with a guilty expression. "Cera? He… He is lying… right?" Now she was starting to look nervous, and that nervousness grew even more when Cera still didn't answer. "Right…?!"
She closed her eyes and took a slight breath before speaking. "He's not."
Nunnally's eyes widened to the point that they were almost completely round, her pupils shrinking.
"Ragnarök was conceived by Charles, Victor, C.C., and Marianne together." Megatron explained. "They had hoped that by uniting humanity's minds into one, they would create the peaceful world they wanted. But Victor grew jealous of Charles' relationship with Marianne and assassinated her, setting you up as the witness no-less with Charles using his Geass to alter your memories and blind you. Though Victor lied and said that he wasn't the one who did it, Charles knew the truth, he easily saw through him. That and Marianne's Geass, given to her by C.C., allowed her to escape into the body of Anya Alstreim upon her death. You were and your brother were sent to Japan, not as bargaining tools, but Charles and Marianne's deluded desire to protect you from V.V. and it was no secret that he despised you two as much as he did your mother. It was then that Charles planned to take his brother's code, while Marianne initially wanted C.C. to pass her code onto her so they could initiate Ragnarök together, but C.C. had abandoned them. Coincidentally, she fled to Japan. The purpose of Japan's invasion was not just to acquire the Thought Elevator stationed there, but to potentially use you and your brother as pawns to draw C.C. out. Though the invasion would have likely resulted in both your deaths, they assumed nothing of it because they believe they would reunite with you one Ragnarök had begun." Megatron chuckled. "Oh the irony is… wonderful."
Cera watched with sorrow and regret as Nunnally had fallen to her hands and knees and let all that sink in. "I'm sorry…" Cera told her as tears formed in her eyes. "I thought by not telling you, I was sparing you. I thought you were better off not knowing the truth."
Nunnally had clenched her hands on her head. Her mother was a part of this?! All this time!? The same loving face that had tucked her in and kissed her whenever she went to sleep, who always played with her and her brother as children, who gazed up at the stars with them and Euphie and even Cornelia as kids… She had been using her and Lelouch for Ragnarök since the beginning!? The invasion that would have claimed their lives, that set Lelouch on his path of revenge and later justice that would lead to so much pain for all their friends and loved ones, Marianne was responsible for that?! No! It couldn't be true! It just couldn't! Nunnally couldn't stop herself from screaming and crying as she fell to the ground, all her defiance and inner strength crumbled, and she was left a sobbing mess.
Cera tried to reach out and comfort her, but she found herself unable to do so. How could she provide any kind of comfort after hiding a secret like that? She should have told Nunnally and Lelouch sooner. She hated herself for not doing so, but none of that compared to the hate she felt towards Megatron in that one moment as she directed her teary hateful glare at him.
"Do not fret, my dear Nunnally." Megatron sneered evilly. "We stand a great moment in time! Neo Ragnarök… which will unite all life, and all will in the known universe under me… is at hand! And you, dear child, have the privilege of witnessing it first-hand." He was about to reach forward and grab them both.
"Lord Megatron!"
"Thundercracker, what is it?!" The Lord of the Decepticons exclaimed with a growl over the comms. What could possibly be so urgent that his absolute victory would be delayed.
"The fusion cannons are overloading!" Thundercracker exclaimed.
"What?!" Megatron questioned as Soundwave's visor lit up to show a diagram of Darkmount's fusion cannons suffering from an Energon overload.
"We're trying to contain it, but we need help! They could blow at any moment!" Thundercracker reported.
"Lord Megatron, if the fusion cannons overload, the resulting explosion could deal a devastating blow to Darkmount's infrastructure." Shockwave told him. "The destabilization could potentially spread to the artificial Thought Elevator and cripple our plans."
Megatron growled in frustration. He was so close! So close! "Then let us see that it does not happen! Soundwave, Shockwave, come with me!" They turned to leave, but Megatron paid one more glance to his captives. "A temporary reprieve. You two are mine, now!" With that, Megatron had left the cell, with he, Soundwave, and Shockwave both running as fast as they could down the halls to halt the potential catastrophe.
Unaware that a certain wolf-like Decepticon was around the corner on the other end of the hall. Once he saw the three were long gone, he quickly made his way to the cell door and opened it, revealing his presence to the prisoners. Though Nunnally was still in the same state as before, Cera looked in confusion but still glared at him suspiciously.
"Come with me." Steeljaw urged as he transformed into his vehicle mode and opened the door. But neither of them moved. "You want to live?! Then let's go!"
"Why should we trust you?" Cera glared.
"Because we don't have a choice…" Nunnally said in a slightly hushed tone as she picked herself back up, somewhat shakily. "We have to go. Now."
"Nunnally… I…"
"Cera… everything else can wait." Nunnally grabbed her hand. "Let's just get out of here."
The immortal nodded. Now was not the time to wallow in guilt, they had to leave quickly. They entered Steeljaw's vehicle mode as he drove out of the cell and into the hallways.
"You do have a plan, right?" Cera asked.
"Of course." Steeljaw answered. "Who do you think I am? Starscream?"
The Ark – Horai Island
Marianne had everyone's attention as she chose her next words very carefully. "You, already know of Ragnarök… how Charles and V.V. wanted to use it to unite humanity under a single consciousness, and how C.C…."
"Cera." Bumblebee interrupted. "Her name is Cera."
"Right. How, Cera was a part of it…" Marianne took a deep breath. "Well, she wasn't the only one. I… was also a part of it."
Nobody, no human or Autobot, could ever expect those words to come from her mouth as they all looked in absolute and clear shock.
"What…?!" Ratchet exclaimed.
"It can't be…!" Cornelia stated.
"No way!" Rivalz stated.
"It… it must have been father's Geass, right?" Euphemia hoped with an expression that seemed to be that of assurance and nervousness. "He altered your memories to help him…?"
"No. There was no Geass involved." Marianne revealed. "I helped them of my own accord." She took a brief look around and saw expressions of surprise on many of their faces while also serious glares, but when she looked at her son, his eyes were widened as his mouth hung open and his face became pale. Too late to turn back, they had to know everything.
"When I came into the picture, Charles and I had planned that he would take his brother's Code, and I would take C.C… Cera's and we would initiate Ragnarök together. But, V.V. became jealous of mine and Charles' relationship so he tried to kill me, but he didn't know about my Geass or it's abilities. This let me escape into Anya's body while Nunnally was set up as the witness, Charles' Geass rendered her blind and he had altered Lelouch's memories to cover up V.V.'s act. But he saw through V.V.'s intent as my assassination was not part of the plan. My body was preserved so that if I had the chance, I could transfer back from Anya."
"Only when she would die, right?" Arcee glared as her metallic fist clenched up.
"Right." Marianne confirmed regrettably. "Lelouch and Nunnally weren't sent to Japan as bargaining tools, but because Charles wanted to keep them away from V.V. Cera had already escaped from us as well, but the Geass Order had tracked her to Japan… so Charles ordered the invasion, not just to secure the Thought Elevator, but to lure Cera out because… despite her pessimism, she did have a soft spot for children. But even if they died…" She gulped as she forced herself to keep going. "Our agents could find her eventually and we'd reunite with them in Ragnarök."
There it was. The bomb had been dropped. They all knew the truth.
Shirley gasped as she, Bumblebee, Suzaku, Euphemia, Fixit, Bulkhead, Rivalz, Milly, and especially Jeremiah all looked in clear shock, borderline horror. Kallen, Sayoko, Rai, Arcee, Ratchet, Elita, Ultra Magnus, Ohgi, Tohdoh, Ironhide, Cornelia, Kaguya, and Tamaki all glared hard at her. Optimus' expression was certainly one of surprise, but he paid a glance towards Lelouch, who lowered his head slightly with his hair covering his eyes, making it impossible to see his own expression.
"That is messed up!" Tamaki shouted.
"L-Lady… M-Marianne… h-how… how could you…?" Euphemia was brought to tears.
"Y-You lied to us… used us… just as father did… Everything was a lie!" Cornelia shouted in anger.
"The reason you attacked our home… was just to use your own kids…?!" Ohgi growled. "Do you have any idea how many people have died?!"
"Friends… Families… children… countless lives were ruined because of you and your petty dreams!" Tohdoh stated. The only reason he didn't cut Marianne down right now was because he'd also be killing an innocent child and he would never cross that line. That was something that Sayoko felt as well as it took all her willpower to keep her from throwing a kunai in-between the eyes.
"Even your own children…" Kaguya muttered angrily.
"How could you do that to your own kids?!" Bulkhead questioned. "How could you throw them away like that?!"
"My family died because of you!" Rai looked ready to leap out and throttle her, but Rivalz, Milly, and Shirley were quick to try and hold him back.
"You…" Kallen practically gnashed her teeth. "You sit in the same room as the people whose lives you ruin…. You eat with us…. Laugh with us… act like you're one of us…!"
"How very much like a Decepticon." Ultra Magnus looked with a glare.
Marianne only hung her head down as she knew she deserved all of this. "I'm sorry."
The next thing she heard was a roar from Lelouch, followed by his fist connecting to her face, which sent her crashing to the ground. That's when everyone saw his face. They saw the look of pure and unbridged rage in his eyes, the tears that flowed down, and the barred teeth. When it seemed like he was ready to strangle her, Suzaku quickly moved in to restrain his enraged friend.
"Lelouch, that's Anya's body!" Suzaku shouted. "You have every reason to feel the way you do, but Anya didn't ask for any of this! She's a victim too! Don't take it out on her!"
That seemed to get Lelouch to stop his violent rage, but his anger was still present as he glared at Anya's body as Marianne picked it back up to rub her sore cheek.
"It was for you." Lelouch said with a glare. "One of the reasons… I became Zero… was to avenge you! Because out of everyone in the homeland… out of all the plotting and scheming to take throne… you provided us shelter. I always felt at home when you were there… holding us. I thought you would protect us. You even welcomed Euphemia and Cornelia into our house like they were your own… you treated them with just as kindness and compassion as Nunnally and I… but we were all just tools for you! You, my own mother, you abandoned us! You left us to die!"
Seeing the look of hate and heartbreak in her son's eyes made her own heart shatter, but Marianne knew Lelouch had every right to feel that way.
"He was not the only one." She happened to glance towards Jeremiah as he couldn't even bare to look at her in the eye. "I pledged my loyalty to you, I vowed to give everything in service to you, even my life. And somewhere down the line… I even fell in love with you. I would do anything to protect you. I thought I failed in that duty, and it's haunted me ever since. But... I see that I never truly failed, I was just loyal to the wrong master. I've made many mistakes in my life but pledging my loyalty to you… was the worst mistake of them all."
Those cold words cut deep. They may seem calm on the surface from his tone, but Jeremiah may have dealt the most painful set of words he could ever hope to muster, and they truly did hurt.
As Marianne lowered her head, prepared to accept more righteous hate, a calm and collected voice may have broken through the fog of rage that had been lowered.
"Enough." Optimus Prime drew everyone's attention. "Marianne's actions are indeed vile, and you all have every reason to feel the way you do… but all this will have to wait. For what truly matters now, is stopping Megatron. So, do what you have to do to prepare, for we begin our assault on Darkmount as soon as possible. Direct and focus all your rage onto that one goal, and we will no doubt succeed."
Every person and Bot there had a right to feel the anger and betrayal they all currently did. But just like every time, Optimus' words had managed to reach their inner spirit and were enough to at least get them to focus back on the main task.
"Yeah… I got plenty of rage alright." Tamaki muttered. "So, I'll shove it right up the metal asses of every Con I see!" He pounded his fist into his palm.
"You're not the only one." Cornelia agreed.
Ohgi nodded towards Optimus as he turned to his fellow Black Knights. "You all heard the man. Let's load up."
One-by-one, most of the Autobots and Black Knights prepared to leave the area, many of the humans getting rides from the Bots in their vehicle modes. Ratchet took in Fixit, Ultra Magnus provided a ride for Kaguya and Tohdoh. Everyone else happened to pay concerning glances towards Lelouch as Suzaku let him go, but rather than go with Bumblebee as he normally would… Lelouch walked away from the living quarters and went in some random direction.
"I'll handle it." Kallen said to everyone else remaining, including Lelouch's siblings, her friends on the former Student Council, her childhood friend in Ohgi and comrade-in-arms Suzaku, even her Autobot friends, notably Arcee, Bumblebee, and Optimus. Arcee nodded in understanding as she watched her partner follow Lelouch before transforming to provide Cornelia a ride.
Rai, Shirley, Milly, and Rivalz pilled in Bulkhead before he left in his own vehicle mode. Ohgi and Tamaki got inside Ironhide with the latter slamming the door shut. Suzaku and Euphemia were the last to leave with Bumblebee as he drove off.
"Suzaku… Bumblebee… do you think Lelouch is going to be okay?" Euphie asked with worry. "I can't imagine how he must be feeling…"
"He's taking it rough like always." Suzaku answered, his voice indicating he too was very concerned. "Knowing him, he'll probably try to bottle it up and just let it all out on Megatron when he sees him."
"Kallen will probably help him in venting it out." Bumblebee added. "But what's important is that we're all there for him, like always."
"Of course." Euphie nodded in understanding. She knew that Lelouch would be going through a hard time, but she was grateful that he had so many friends and people who loved him that would help him get through the darkness, and that included her. She would be there for him no matter what.
All that was left on the bridge were Optimus, Elita, Sayoko, and Marianne, still in control of Anya's body, as she pushed herself back up to stand. She glanced towards the three of them, and while Elita and Sayoko kept their glares, she didn't see any kind of resentment in Optimus' optics, even though she was certain he'd hate her just as much as everyone.
"Is there something you want to ask?"
"I want to know why." Optimus said, causing Marianne to look in surprise. "Why would you assist with Ragnarök? Why put your children and so many others through such turmoil?"
Marianne looked away in shame. "Would it really matter if I did tell you?"
"Yes, it would!" Elita responded immediately. "You don't just decide you want to go along with something like that without a reason! So, what's the reason!?"
"Nunnally always spoke very highly of you…" Sayoko muttered; her voice laced with anger as she continued to glare down hard. "The memories she shared with me were that of a kind and loving mother who gave her life to protect her flesh and blood. So… tell us… why you would be willing to sacrifice and betray such a pure and innocent soul for the ambitions of a madman?!"
Marianne didn't quite answer right away. "How much of my past do you know?"
"Only that you were a commoner by birth." Optimus answered.
"My parents died when I was very young, I barely even remember them." Marianne began. "I grew up in an orphanage in the Britannian homeland. When I was nine though, I was adopted by a noble family. But they didn't do it out of the kindness of their heart, no. They did it to give some 'motivation' to their own daughter."
"Motivation?" Optimus asked.
"Someone to compete with her." Marianne explained. "If a commoner is capable of doing great things, then she should be able to exceed those same expectations. My 'sister's' name was Elizabeth. We attended the same school together growing up, her parents made arrangements that we would be in the same classes together, just so that they could compare our progress. They told me to try my best for their daughter or I'd be thrown out on the street. So yeah, I did the best I could… but that was only to be expected of me, while Elizabeth's performance was always met with praise. And when I did something better, like get a better grade, she'd insult and yell at me, accuse me of cheating. I'd be scolded by her mother or even beaten by her father. Living in that house was hell."
Optimus, Elita, and Sayoko continued to listen, even though the latter two kept up their glares.
"We enrolled in the military boarding academy together too, when we were teenagers." Marianne continued. "That's when I met Charles, who was a prince at the time. He'd often come to see how the students performed, possibly even pick some to be trained as his personal guard. He took a special interest in me, especially when we started working with Knightmare simulators. Elizabeth wasn't exactly the practical type and could never handle physical training, but I could. Guess all those physical beatings made me stronger." A slight chuckle escaped her lips. "I was better than her at something and it drove her crazy. One examination in particular, in which we used simulated Knightmares, was concocted with the purpose of Charles selecting those to move up in a more advanced academy to train and serve as potential Knights of the Round. I passed with flying colors, and he said I would be going with him, while Elizabeth failed. I'd impressed a member of the royal family… but more importantly… I'd be getting out of the hell that was my adoptive family. I honestly never felt so happy."
"But something happened, didn't it?" Elita assumed.
Marianne's smile faded. "Later that night, when I was asleep…. Elizabeth and a two of her friends snuck into my room. Before I knew it, they had taped my mouth shut and tried to tie me up. They were going to sneak me away from the academy and kill me, all out of spite and jealousy. As I struggled, Elizabeth looked me dead in the eye and said that I was commoner filth, and nobody would ever notice me when I was gone. I would disappear and vanish like it was nothing. I snapped… I fought back with everything I had and I killed them all. I stabbed one of them with the fragments of a glass mirror, slashed the other's throat with one, and smothered Elizabeth with my pillow." Marianne shook as she recalled that memory very clearly. "But when it was all over, I thought that was it for me. I had killed three students, one being a high ranking nobility no less, I'd be expelled at least and executed at worst. But Charles had arrived and used his Geass on all the students and staff at the academy to alter their memories make it look like Elizabeth and her friends had committed suicide, that's when I learned about Geass."
"And then he brought you into his inner circle." Sayoko said.
"He'd introduce me to his brother and C.C., tell me of his plans to change this cruel and unforgiving world." Marianne continued. "I didn't quite join right away, and he seemed lenient about it. Though C.C. did offer a contract with me, which I didn't accept right away either, but she kept the offer open. When I became part of Charles' royal guard a year later, I joined him on his expeditions, or conquests, of areas across the world and I saw more and more bloodshed, fighting and betrayal, I saw what I had come to believe was human nature, to fight and to kill. That's when I came to believe that humanity was beyond salvation, so I accepted C.C.'s contract and joined Charles in his efforts to create a better world."
"How did you feel when you had Lelouch and Nunnally?" Elita asked.
Marianne's face was a mixture of happiness and regret. "When I held each of them in my arms… it was like a ball of light shinned in me. I loved them both, but I also feared for them… feared that the world they were born into would ultimately destroy them. That only further motivated me to help Charles in finishing Ragnarök, so that they would have a world that did deserve them."
"Someone did destroy them, but it wasn't the people of this world. It was their father." Sayoko glared. "And their mother."
She made no effort to deny it any longer but continued on.
"After Charles died and Britannia fell… our plans for Ragnarök came to an end, and everything we did was for nothing." Marianne looked towards Optimus. "I blamed you for that… that you stole my children… but I was such a fool… And after seeing so many people come together to try and fix this world…. I realized just how wrong Charles and I really were. You and everyone else here, human and Autobot…. Are more family to them than I ever was." She tried to wipe away her tears, feeling she didn't deserve to even cry. "I know I have no right to say this but thank you… for looking after them… Optimus Prime."
Optimus really should be angry with Marianne and a part of him did indeed feel that way after everything, but that was not the only thing he felt.
"What you did to Lelouch and Nunnally was cruel, and they have every reason to hate you." Optimus told her, causing Marianne to look down even more. "However, by choosing to come here and admitting to your crimes, you have chosen to take a path of atonement. I have seen many times that those who are cruel, those who place their own pride and goals above everything else, have the capacity for change, and have indeed changed for the better. If it is atonement that you seek, Marianne, then you must pledge yourself to that. Give everything you have for not only your children, but all the lives that were damaged by your ambitions, including young Anya's."
It was easy to see why Lelouch and Nunnally looked up to and admired Optimus so, he saw the best in people and encouraged it. Not long ago, she'd consider that train of thought to be naïve and foolish, just as Charles would. But now, after seeing such a positive impact on so many people, how it even brought former enemies together… such a thing made her believe that there was indeed hope for this world, hope to create something better without the use of Geass.
"I will." Marianne vowed. "I will give everything I have, to set things right."
Kallen had followed the sound of grunting and pounding on metal as she continued to walk down the halls, it wasn't long till she got to the source of it all. It was Lelouch, pounding his fists on the nearest wall. He couldn't even wait to get to his own personal quarters to vent out his frustrations. Who could blame him? Kallen watched in sympathy as Lelouch acted more or less like a violent animal, grunting as he continued to pound angrily.
"Lelouch…" She tried to speak to him, but he didn't seem to notice her right away. "Lelouch…!" She stepped forward and that's when she could see tiny patches of blood along the walls. It was time to step in. "Lelouch, stop!" She grabbed both of his hands and pulled him away, causing him to finally turn towards her, his face was ragged, like he was trying hard to push down all his warring emotions in front of her.
She looked down toward his gloved hands to see that they were torn up, she took them off to see there was already blood on his knuckles and the sides of his hands, but she gripped them gently as she looked at him in the eyes.
"I'm so sorry…"
Those three words caused whatever was left of Lelouch's walls to collapse as the tears all came out and he fell into Kallen's arms. She lowered herself as he sobbed and held him close.
"Don't be Zero right now." She told him. "Just let it all out… Let yourself fall apart… and I'll help you stand back up." Kallen consoled as Lelouch reached up to grasp her tightly. "I'm here for you… we're all here for you…"
Darkmount
The fusion cannons' control room was in near chaos as Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, Thundercracker, Slipstream, and Sky-Byte did everything they could to prevent the overload of the fusion cannons. Alarms blared as the screens turned red, the power core at the center fluctuating uncontrollably.
"We have to divert the Energon flow!" Thundercracker stated as he was at the controls.
"Where too?! We can't just dump it all somewhere! And there's too much build up!" Slipstream argued.
'Maybe sabotaging the cannons wasn't such a good idea.' Sky-Byte thought to himself. It did seem like a good distraction at the time to get Megatron, Shockwave, and Soundwave away from the human prisoners so Steeljaw could make his move, but he was in no mood to get blown up. Though if the cannons did overload, it could potentially destroy the artificial Thought Elevator and end the threat of Neo Ragnarök, but at the cost of his own life. A price that Sky-Byte would be willing to pay, but he didn't have to like it.
Sky-Byte was shoved aside as Megatron went to the controls. "Shockwave, Soundwave, divert all the access Energon to the dark underground channels below."
"A wise course of action, Lord Megatron." Shockwave approved as he quickly pressed the necessary key commands on the console in front of him, with Soundwave and Megatron doing the same. The two Seekers and Sharkticon watched as the power core began to stabilize, and the alarms slowly faded to silence. The monitors showed all the excess Energon being diverted from the fusion cannons directly to the underground beneath the fortress.
"The Fusions cannons are stable." Shockwave reported.
"Excellent." Megatron said with relief.
"Dark underground channels?" Slipstream questioned, having never heard that phrase before. "Care to let us in on that."
Megatron looked to Soundwave and nodded, prompting the silent Decepticon to display a hologram of the Darkmount fortress and the surrounding area, even showing artificially made channels that stretched from the bottom of the tower all around the underground, with an enormous cluster of what appeared to be scrap metal surrounding the whole fortress.
"Underneath the ground surrounding this fortress are channels of Dark Energon." Megatron explained. "With the excess Energon from the cannons being diverted down there, all that Energon will be corrupted and simply add to the dark substance."
"Why exactly do you have all that Dark Energon down there?" Thundercracker asked.
"We had anticipated Starscream and Schneizel would betray us." Shockwave responded. "Even with the possibility of them turning half the Decepticon forces against us. Their recent attempt at a coup, with the additional losses suffered from our frequent battles against the Autobots and Black Knights, have left our own forces greatly diminished."
"Which is why I had arranged for multiple Spacebridge transportations to Cybertron, in which already over five thousand Cybertronian carcasses have been brought here, connecting directly to our constructed channels." Megatron revealed.
Thundercracker, Slipstream, and Sky-Byte's optics all widened as they realized what he was implying. "You mean to replace our ranks with Terrorcons…?!" Sky-Byte looked nothing short of horrified.
"That last battle in the former Area 11 was merely a test to see if the Blood of Unicron would indeed raise an army of the dead." Megatron replied. "Now that we know it is a possibility, we have the means to protect ourselves for when our enemy attacks."
That sneer caused the three defectors to look extremely nervous. Megatron was really pulling out all the stops to ensure his Neo Ragnarök plan would be complete. Looks like things just got a whole lot more difficult for them.
"Wait… a virus?" Rivalz asked as he, Arcee, Suzaku, Bulkhead, Shirley, Rai, and Milly were in the Knightmare bay where every human and Autobot present was working to ready any and all Knightmares and weapons for the coming siege, with the group standing before Ratchet, Nina, Knock Out, Lloyd, Rakshata, and Cecile, all of whom had been presently working on the Lancelot, Guren, and Raiden.
"Yep." Lloyd confirmed in his usual giddy state. "A real nasty one too."
"So, what does this virus do?" Rai questioned.
"Well, Lloyd here happened to have told me about that little virus you installed in Laserbeak to transfer the Iacon Database from the Nemesis to your base." Knock Out began.
"You told him about that?!" Arcee questioned the scientist with a look of irritation on her face.
"Of course, we're all on the same side now." Lloyd smiled.
"That said, Knock Out came up with a rather ingenious idea that could neutralize Soundwave." Rakshata said, getting all their attention.
"Using the source code from the original virus as a base, we already have the means to create a new one that can allow us to tap directly into Soundwave." Ratchet explained. "And using what data we could get from our initial scan when he was our prisoner, we believe we can use this virus to disconnect him from his internal Spacebridge program."
"Depriving him of that annoying ability of his to just zap out of trouble." Lloyd said enthusiastically.
Bulkhead chuckled. "If it means he and Megatron can't make a quick getaway, I'd say I'm all for it."
"Yeah, I'd say that's pretty genius!" Shirley smiled as well.
"Why only his ability to make portals?" Suzaku asked. "Why not just have the virus shut him down entirely?"
"Because we didn't get a good enough look at his internal systems while we had him." Nina answered. "We only peeked at his Spacebridge systems because of its strategic importance."
"Not to mention our resources were divided trying to subject him to a Cortical Psychic Patch." Cecile added. "We're making do with what we have."
"Why do I have a feeling there's some kind of catch to this?" Arcee assumed.
"The catch… is that the virus has to be directly uploaded into Soundwave himself." Ratchet answered. "As in, we need to make physical contact with his body."
"You're kidding, right?" Rai questioned. "How the hell are we supposed to do that if even our most skilled can barely touch the guy!"
"Ah, that's where your Knightmares come in." Knock Out revealed. "I've already uploaded the virus code directly into the Guren's and Raiden's respective mainframes. All you have to do is touch him with those fancy Surger Claws of yours and the virus will automatically upload in less than a second."
"We wanted to put the virus in the hands of our top-tier pilots after all." Rakshata said. "I trust Kallen and Rai will be more than up to the task."
"Just touch him with the Surger Claw. That's it?" Rai asked.
"That's it." Ratchet confirmed.
"Don't worry partner, you know I got your back." Bulkhead assured Rai with a smile and a thumbs up, who returned the gesture himself.
"What about Suzaku, here?" Rivalz asked. "He's one of our top Knightmare pilots."
"True, but knowing our knight-in-shining armor here, he has his sights on another target, right Suzaku?" Lloyd asked knowingly.
Suzaku himself nodded as a serious look formed on his face. "I've known Lelouch and Optimus long enough to know they will do everything in their power to stop him, and I plan to be there by their side. He wanted to make a killer out of me? I intend for him to face that killer. I don't care if he's immortal…" A fire of determination and righteous vengeance formed in his eyes. "For the sake of this world, and beyond… Megatron must be destroyed."
Back on the bridge of the Ark, a holographic image of Darkmount was displayed as Optimus and Elita tried to come up with a plan, while Sayoko and Anya were present as well. Their attention was soon drawn as Lelouch and Kallen joined them, the former looking somewhat flustered, having just let out a great deal of emotion no doubt with the latter being by his side to support him, but he still seemed to be standing.
"Lelouch…" Optimus began.
"Nunnally and Cera need our help right now, that's what matters." Lelouch quickly said. "Everything else can wait."
Optimus could tell that even though Kallen had helped Lelouch get much of his anguish out, he was still reeling from the revelations, but had chose to put them to the side due to the lack of time they probably had, which was probably the more strategic choice. He looked towards Kallen, who gave a nod of confirmation to silently say that he was ready, to which he nodded back.
Kallen felt a hand on her shoulder and looked to see Sayoko smile at her gratefully. "Thank you." She said sincerely, which Kallen appreciated with a smile.
Lelouch then walked towards Anya, not sure who was in control at the moment. "Which one am I talking too, right now?"
"Anya Alstreim." The girl confirmed. "Though she can come out if you need to say something to her."
"I've said all I needed to say to her." Lelouch replied with some anger in his voice, but it was quickly replaced with remorse as he spoke to Anya directly. "But I wanted to apologize to you, Anya. I shouldn't have hit you, I'm sorry."
"No, I understand. You had every right to be mad." Anya assured, showing no hard feelings.
"That said, when we begin our attack, I want you by my side." Lelouch said.
"To keep an eye on her?" Anya asked.
"Partly, but also because I know you probably want to help tear it all down too." Lelouch replied. "We're both victims of Geass, so it's only fitting that we work together to tear it down." He offered his hand to the younger girl. "What do you say?"
Anya looked to his hand before smiling and accepting the gesture as she clasped her hand with his. "I accept."
"Got room for one more?" Bumblebee's vehicle mode quickly entered the bridge, his driver's door opening to allow Alice to step out before the scout transformed, allowing him to quickly pick up Alice and put her on the same level as Lelouch and the other humans.
"Bumblebee told me everything." Alice said as she looked to Lelouch with concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm…. probably not." Lelouch admitted. "But I'm alright enough for this, and I at least have a good idea where to aim it all." He saw that Alice's eyes were red and her face was a mess. It was no surprise that she was probably in emotional turmoil when she found out Nunnally had been kidnapped, causing Lelouch to mentally kick himself for not thinking about how Alice felt given how close she and Nunnally were. He put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll get her back. I promise."
"I know." Alice put her hand on his own as she sniffled a bit. "She means everything… to both of us."
Lelouch nodded before looking towards Optimus and Elita. "How soon are we ready to deploy?"
"We're ready to move in at any moment." Elita informed. "All our own forces, as well as those of Euro Britannia, the EU, Chinese Federation, and all military from the member nations of the UFN can move in immediately, we even have a means to transport everyone there at once. The only issue are those fusion cannons."
"They are of the same as those that were equipped on Damocles, so it stands to reason they are capable of just as much destruction." Optimus explained. "But that is not all, our scans have indicated there is a vast amount of Dark Energon surrounding the fortress as well."
"Why am I not surprised?" Lelouch replied. "He's digging himself in very deep."
"Probably because he knows we can crush him. And that's what we're going to do." Kallen stated.
"If we can take out those cannons though, that gives us a huge advantage." Bumblebee said. "We just need…"
"Optimus! Zero!" T-AI suddenly appeared before all of them. "I'm getting an urgent communication! It's from Nunnally and Cera!"
Lelouch and Alice looked especially surprised and emotional, but Elita spoke up first with caution. "Is it really them? Or is it another one of Soundwave's tricks?"
"It's them, I've confirmed it." T-AI replied before patching them through.
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
Hearing Nunnally's voice caused Lelouch to feel a great sense of relief. "Nunnally, I'm here! We hear you!"
"Are you alright?" Alice asked urgently.
"Is Cera with you?" Optimus asked as well.
"I'm here, we're fine, for now anyway." Cera spoke up as well.
"Where are you?" Sayoko asked.
"We're on the move with Steeljaw right now…" Nunnally answered.
"Steeljaw?!" Bumblebee questioned.
"It's a temporary alliance, and we don't have any other options right now!" Cera stated.
Lelouch recognized the tone in Cera's voice, it wasn't one of a frightened girl like before, but a serious woman who knew how to keep in control of her emotions. "Cera? Are your memories back?"
"Yes, they are, but that's not important right now." Cera quickly said. "Listen, Megatron has constructed an artificial Thought Elevator beneath Darkmount. That's how he escaped from the Shadowzone and the Sword of Akasha, and it's also how he plans to initiate his own version of Ragnarök! Megatron has combined the Thought Elevator with Spacebridge technology and intends to not only assimilate human life, but Cybertronian and all other forms of sentient life throughout the whole universe! He'll control all and all will, he'll become nothing short of a god if he succeeds!"
Everyone on the bridge looked in clear horror at that implication. Lelouch, Kallen, Bumblebee, Elita, Sayoko, Alice, Anya, and even Optimus were nothing short of shocked, even Marianne within Anya was beyond horrified, she would never imagine Ragnarök being used to such an extreme.
"Steeljaw's working with a few others to try and help us." Nunnally said. "They've already taken down the fusion cannons, temporarily anyway, but Megatron will have an army of those Terrorcon zombies waiting for you! Please, you have to hurry!"
"We will be there." Optimus assured. "Stay safe, we are coming for you."
The communication line then ended.
"Can't we get them out with a Groundbridge?" Alice questioned.
"We're still getting interference surrounding Darkmount that prevents us from bridging directly inside." T-AI responded. "The closest we can get is ten kilometers of the fortress, but that's it."
"You would think Steeljaw would try and sabotage that too." Kallen muttered.
"The cannons are down though and that still gives us a huge advantage, at least right now." Bumblebee said.
"We need to move in, now!" Elita stated. "If what they said is true, and Megatron has made Ragnarök into a universal threat, then we can't wait any longer."
"Then we won't." Lelouch clenched his fist firmly. "Give the call to all our forces! We're launching a full-scale assault on Darkmount immediately!"
Shockwave typed away at the console within the fusion cannon's control room to assess the damage while Megatron, Soundwave, Thundercracker, Slipstream, and Sky-Byte observed.
"Well?" Megatron asked.
"Though an overload has been prevented, the system's coolant has been overheated." Shockwave reported. "The cannons are offline and need to be rebooted before they are ready to fire again."
"How long will that take?" Megatron questioned.
"The reboot is already in progress, and it will be completed within one earth hour." Shockwave informed. "However, I suspect this incident was not a mere coincidence."
"Oh?" Megatron queried as Thundercracker, Slipstream, and Sky-Byte exchanged nervous glances.
"The Energon containment protocols have been overwritten." Shockwave revealed, turning around to face his master. "This no accident, but sabotage."
"Sabotage?" Slipstream questioned, trying to feign innocence. "Could the Autobots have infiltrated our base?"
"Illogical." Shockwave countered. "It was likely one of our own."
Megatron thought for a moment before he realized something All this happened just as he was about to initiate Neo Ragnarök! His eyes widened with shock as he turned to Soundwave. "Where are the prisoners?!"
Soundwave's visor activated to reveal real-time footage of the cell that Cera and Nunnally were previously kept in, only to show that it was empty.
"WHAT?!" Megatron exclaimed.
Soundwave then rewound the footage until he got to a specific point where a certain wolf-like Decepticon had arrived to take the prisoners.
"Steeljaw lives?! Find him! Track him down! C.C. must not escape…!" Megatron was about to march off before he got an alert on the comms.
"Lord Megatron! It's Prime! And Zero! They're here!"
A single Groundbridge portal opened on the barren ground as Optimus Prime was the first to emerge, the Star Saber and Sky-Boom Shield both quipped to his back before he was followed by a select few individuals. This included Lelouch as he piloted the Shinkiro with Sayoko sitting in the co-pilot seat behind him, Bumblebee, Suzaku in the Lancelot, Arcee, Kallen in the Guren, Bulkhead, Rai in the Raiden, Ironhide, Anya in the Mordred, and even Ratchet was present.
All of them gazed not only at the tower of Darkmount, but the empty ten kilometers of land that stretched between them, and the seemingly countless Cybertronian corpses that laid scattered and piled.
'It feels so long ago… that I met this very team of Autobots… that changed my life forever.' Lelouch thought. 'I sought their aid to create a better world for my sister… and now it is that very same team that will rescue her. Well… almost all of them.' He happened to glance in the direction of the Guren as well as Arcee as they stood next to one another.
'You brought us this far… now we're going to end it. For you…Naoto, and you, Cliff." Kallen thought.
'Dreadwing… you gave everything so that I could have a chance to live with the people I care about…' Suzaku thought. 'And that's exactly what I'm going to do. We'll win this, and I'll spend every day of my life with the people I love. Your sacrifice hasn't been in vain, nor will it ever be.'
'Mother… Erina… Whatever happens, I want you to know… I haven't forgotten either of you.' Rai thought about his late family. 'I wish you were here now… but I know you're gone. But I'm not alone anymore. I have a new family, new friends… and I swear I will fight like hell to protect them all!'
'This is it.' Anya communicated with the only other person occupying her body. 'Can I can count on you?'
"We started this together, Anya. So, let us end it together." Marianne vowed.
"You have all grown and come so far since I've met each and every one of you." Optimus turned around to speak to his team directly. "You've all struggled, you've all suffered, and have even come close to losing yourselves… but you've all stayed strong, you've become stronger and rediscovered what you felt you no longer had. If this is to be our final battle… I could not think of a worthier family to fight beside. It has been an honor serving with you all."
"The honor has been all ours, Optimus." Bumblebee said with a smile.
"I've always been kicking tail by your side, wouldn't be right if I sat this one out." Ironhide said to one of his oldest friends.
"Humankind hasn't been the best of species, but I've come to believe that it is still a species worth fighting for… and living with." Ratchet also said. "Even if we failed Cybertron … I will not fail Earth!"
"I don't know about humankind all together, but I know a bunch of scrappy kids that I'm willing to give my all for." Bulkhead said as he smiled towards Rai in his Knightmare, who smiled back.
"Same here." Arcee nodded. "So, let's go out in a blaze of glory." She and Kallen exchanged smirks with one another.
"Sayoko…" Lelouch spoke to his loyal comrade and friend. "Thank you for everything." He felt her reach out to gently grasp his hand with her own as she smiled towards him.
"I'll be with you until the very end, Lelouch. Now let's go get your sister." She declared. Lelouch nodded as he and all his friends turned their eyes then turned towards Darkmount itself.
From the very top of his fortress, just below the hovering Nemesis warship, Megatron had stepped towards the ledge, the Predacon crawling up the side of his throne chamber and quickly moving to stand at his right side, while the Thanatos, with the smirking cybernetic Shin Hyuga Shang inside, hovered just above Megatron's left. The Lord of the Decepticons gazed out where he spotted, even from this distance, all his enemies as they too seemed to be gazing directly at him.
Megatron looked towards his palm where his Code emblem was before he activated his power, the emblem shinning a brighter purple, as did his optics. "Rise, my army!" He raised his fist.
With the powers provided by his Code, and the connection he had with Dark Energon, the Blood of Unicron that had been stored in the underground channels activated. The channels cracked as the dark energy spread out and upward, straight towards the field of Cybertronian corpses above. A dark and ominous glow emanated from the ground as the bodies all began to twitch before they rose. It didn't take long for an army of the undead, one that vastly dwarfed the one the heroes fought in the ruins of Area 11 a long time ago, all the Terrorcons snarling and moaning like the zombies they were, all under the command of their master.
The team of Autobots and Black Knights present gazed at the Terrorcon army that appeared before them, but none of them seemed the slightest bit nervous. Even as Megatron gazed down at them with a taunting expression, that look faded into one of seriousness as he saw multiple glow spots appear in the distance.
These were Groundbridge portals.
And they stretched across various areas of the soon-to-be battlefield, both on the ground and in the air, though they were all kept at a reasonable distance to avoid any dimensional ruptures that would lead to channels of the Shadowzone.
Stepping out of one portal on the right side of the heroes was Ultra Magnus, Ohgi in the Gawain Nerion, Jazz, and Smokescreen, and they all lead multiple Black Knight Knightmares that emerged from that portal, and several others around them. Flying out of two portals above that group were the airships known as the Grandberry MK II and the Ikaruga; the latter was operated by Euphemia, Diethard, Claus, Nina, Lloyd, and Cecile; the former was operated by Toto, Rakshata, Misty, Fixit, Shirley, Milly, Kaguya, and Rivalz. Of course, they were flanked and escorted by several aerial Knightmares that included Jetfire, Windblade, Tohdoh in the Zangetsu, Oiagros in the Agravain, Marrybell in the Lancelot Trial, Chiba in her Akatsuki command unit, Gino in the Tristian Divider, Orpheus in the Gouka Byakuen, Monica in the Florence Nero, Oldrin in the Lancelot Grail, and Sokkia in the Vincent Gram.
Emerging from a portal on the left side were Elita-One, Wheeljack, Nonette in the Galeschin Conquista, Warpath, Tamaki in his Wrecker Akatsuki, and many more heavy-duty Wrecker Knightmares. They would soon be joined by Laila, Akito, Ryo, Ayano, and Yukiya in their respective Alexanders, along with Sideswipe, Grindcore, and Strongarm, and they would be leading an army of E.U. forces which consisted of Panzer-Hamel Knightmares and armored vehicles such as tanks and more than a few heavy command vehicles, one of which was commanded by Gene Smilas, still under the influence of Lelouch's Geass, along with multiple fighter jets that emerged from the portals in the air.
Stepping out of various portals were the forces of the Chinese Federation that were led by Drift, Xingke in his Shen Hu, and they appeared to make up the largest bulk of this combined army with countless Gang Lou Knightmares, tanks and armored vehicles, with flying VTOL Gunships emerging from the airborne portals, and even two massive armored fortress known as Longdans, one of which was under the command of Tianzi, who was under the protection of Zhou.
One portal was enough for a single group that consisted of Grimlock, Alice in the Pegasus, Swoop, Dalque in the Ryujin, Snarl, Sancia in the Scorpio, Sludge, Lucretia in the Tungsten, Slug, and Jeremiah in the Siegfried-Loyal.
The smallest military force that joined them was from Euro Britannia, but they were still ready to fight, nonetheless. A single G1 unit emerged from a portal first, which was operated by Andrea Farnese as what remained of the Holy Order of Raphael were joined by Cornelia in her custom Vincent, Chigusa in her own Vincent as well, Guilford in his custom Akatsuki, Ashley in the Dagonet, and Jean in the Aglovale. Of course, they were also joined by several other Knightmares and armored vehicles, land and air, that originated from the many smaller nations of the UFN.
And last but certainly not least, the Ark itself had arrived, under the complete control of T-AI, with Steve and Knock Out providing support. The mighty vessel was also flanked by the massive ship-mode of Omega Supreme, who flew closer to the ground before transforming and revealing his mighty form as he stood before the massive army of Autobots and humans that would fight for this world and the known universe with everything they had.
Megatron glared at the invading army. He drew the Dark Star Saber and pointed it forward, giving the command to the Terrorcon forces to attack as they roared and snarled before advancing. The Predacon as well giving a loud roar from its position.
Lelouch clenched the controls of his Knightmare, glaring at the only obstacle between him and the two members of his family that he would rescue no matter what.
"Let's roll."
Done.
The final battle has begun. And let me tell you, it is going to be huge! The Autobots and Black Knights lead an army of a united Earth against Megatron and his undead, with the fate of the universe at stake.
Lelouch, Nunnally, and their friends all know the truth of Marianne and it went about as well as you would expect. And while Lelouch and the others still haven't forgiven her (not even Optimus who is rather infuriated with her himself, is merely offering her a chance at atonement, because he's done so before), he is channeling all that anger and strife into leading the battle that will end the war against the Decepticons once and for all.
Marianne's story is also my own original idea. It was never explained in canon why Marianne ended up the way she did, so I wanted to make something that would at least give her reason why she did what she did, in that she's suffered since the beginning. It's no excuse for her actions, but all that pain can cause someone to break.
So where does that leave her once this war is over? You'll just have to see.
Only three more chapters remain, including an epilogue, and there is so much to cover with so many characters and so little time.
And don't worry, we'll still get the legendary line.
Until then… stay safe and stay healthy out there.