Hi everyone, thanks for waiting, this is one chapter that I've been wanting to write for some time. I noticed that in the last few, many of you have said how there was a lack of strategy among Lelouch's part, and even Optimus. I noticed that as well, but I assure you, Zero is every bit the strategist that we still know, and he's going to show that well throughout this story, even in this chapter and especially in the next one. I hope you guys find this chapter to be enjoyable as the heroes face a new threat from Megatron's power. With all that being said, let's get started.

Spark of Darkness

Nunnally, Shirley, Euphemia, Rivalz, and Milly, who had Arthur in her arms, had walked into the laboratory of the Ark where they were surprised to see the Autobots of Optimus, Ratchet, Perceptor, Elita-One, and even Jetfire gathered; along with Lelouch, Cera, Suzaku, Cornelia, Tohdoh, Kaguya, Tohdoh, Wizard, and Ohgi with Fixit, Nina, Lloyd, Rakshata, and Cecile all standing on a catwalk that put them on equal-level with the Autobots as they all faced a large containment cube on the far side of the lab.

"Hey, what's going on?" Milly asked as they walked up the steps to join the other humans, and the orange-mini con beside them.

"Oh, just a little experiment with this devil-Energon stuff." Lloyd said casually.

"This is nothing to joke about, Asplund." Ratchet told him sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Lloyd waved off. "This is the same stuff that destroyed Cybertron." This caught the attention of the former Ashford students as well as Euphemia. "I understand that, but I don't get why this experiment has to be contained like this."

The group looked inside to see there was a Knightmare, just an ordinary Burai, stationed within the containment cube, with a series of tubes attached to it from the ceiling.

"Because we can't take any chances." Jetfire said. "I've worked with Dark Energon before, and it's not something to be taken lightly."

"Dark Energon?" Shirley looked in surprise.

"As in, the same substance that Megatron used to destroy Cybertron?" Euphie asked with concern.

"And what gave him his Dark Geass, yes." Cera confirmed.

"What… where did we even get it?" Nunnally asked, looking toward her brother, but Wizard was the one to provide an answer.

"My team and I found it on our last mission to liberate an Energon mine." The masked leader of Peace Mark replied. "We had it transported to the Ark immediately."

"Rakshata and the others wanted to work on it immediately, but Ratchet and Jetfire insisted otherwise." Lelouch explained. "So, we're conducting a test to show them why we can't take any chances with it."

"Didn't you guys say it was supposed to be the blood of an alien devil or something?" Rivalz questioned.

"Unicron, the Chaos Bringer." Optimus confirmed.

"Well, I still think all that's a bit far-fetched." Lloyd said.

"I agree." Rakshata said. "Transforming alien robots are one thing, but I'm not one to consider the existence of gods or devils."

"Hopefully, you'll see otherwise once we conduct this test." Perceptor said as he looked toward Optimus, who nodded to give him permission. With a deep and nervous breath, Perceptor took out a small vial of liquid Dark Energon and placed it in a transfer-machine built into the cube and began the process.

Everyone looked with either curiosity or suspense as they saw the purple liquid transfer into the cube, down the tubes, and directly into the Knightmare like an I.V. After a few seconds, nothing happened. But then suddenly, its inner wiring began to shine a bright purple before it's

'face' opened up to reveal a serrated mouth as the Knightmare gave a shrill roar and moved on its own, smashing its body against the containment cube.

All the present Autobots looked with either cautious or serious expressions, except Fixit who was visibly scared. As for the humans, Wizard, Tohdoh, Ohgi, and Cornelia looked in absolute shock, even Cera was caught off-guard. Nunnally was visibly terrified as she clung to her brother, who held her close as he looked with worry toward the Knightmare-turned monster. Cecile, Shirley, Nina, and Milly covered their mouths in shock and terror, even Euphemia clung to Suzaku, who held her close as well as he also eyed the creature with visible fear. Even Lloyd and Rakshata were more shocked than they'd ever been in their lives. Even Arthur hissed at the monster on the other side of the glass.

"Holy shit…!" Tamaki exclaimed.

"What… the hell is that…?!" Rivalz also exclaimed.

The monster snarled at the Autobots and humans beyond the cube as it banged its arms, whole body, and even its head against the glass in an attempt to shatter it and get to them. Fortunately, the containment cube held up.

"That thing… what…. What are we even looking at?!" Shirley practically screamed.

"Like a demon straight out of hell." Tohdoh's eyes narrowed.

"Just as Dark Energon brings destruction wherever it lays…" Optimus began. "Anything brought to 'life', if you can call it that, by the substance seeks the same thing: destruction. It's only instinct is to wipe out any and all life that lays before it."

The monster continued to bang its head on a single point on the glass, and it was starting to crack a bit.

"It's going to break out." Suzaku said with worry.

Ratchet however pressed the necessary commands on the cube, causing a bright blue light to shine throughout the insides of the containment unit, forcing everyone to shield their eyes before the light vanished. One look inside, and the monster-Knightmare was nothing more than a pile of rubble.

"What… was that?" Ohgi questioned.

"Just before the war began, Starscream and I worked together in a station for the sole purpose of studying Dark Energon." Jetfire revealed. "We tried to test it on a machine to see if it could serve as a fuel source, but the result was much like what you've all seen. Heck, one experiment went so wrong, it blew apart an entire section of the station. These… things that come to life from Dark Energon were given the designation Terrorcons."

"Still think it's all just a bunch of fantasy, Lloyd?" Cecile looked toward him, as he still had a shocked expression on his face.

"I've been wrong before…" Lloyd admitted, not taking his eyes off the pile of rubble.

"Please tell me there's a way to destroy it." Rakshata said in an uncharacteristically scared tone.

"There is." Fixit confirmed. "Through the exposure of an equal or greater amount of natural Energon, Dark Energon can be purged. Anything less will only corrupt the natural Energon."

"What if we used Synthetic Energon?" Nina asked.

"Out of the question!" Ratchet quickly rebutted. "The atomic structure of Synthetic Energon is not like natural Energon, there is a far greater chance of corruption if that is used with Dark Energon."

"Destroy it." Lelouch said immediately. "All the Dark Energon that we've acquired, I want it all destroyed. Not a single trace can be allowed to remain."

"Consider it done." Jetfire nodded.

"Hey Lelouch, Optimus…" Suzaku got their attention. "You said Dark Energon was found on Cybertron, so… why would there be some here? On Earth?"

"That… is a good and disturbing question." Optimus responded.

"Maybe it was just stored at that mine." Shirley suggested.

"If that's the case, are there any other storage sites out there that we have to consider?" Elita asked.

Cornelia groaned. "First, we have those Iacon relics to deal with, now this?"

"T-AI? Is there a way for us to track Dark Energon?" Lelouch asked as the holographic AI appeared before them.

"I'm sorry, but I can't." T-AI reported. "Even if I had the time to analyze the molecular structure and energy signature of Dark Energon, it's not like locating natural Energon. I can only locate large deposits, locating anything small like what was found by Wizard's group is almost impossible."

With that, everyone present looked with concern and even fear. They already knew Megatron had access to Dark Energon, which was how he was able to obtain his Dark Geass. But to know there might be more of it on Earth, not to mention seeing what else it was capable of, really added to the gravity of their current situation.

"Make sure all our forces are aware of this." Optimus told the group. "If any more Dark Energon is found on any of our missions, it is to be destroyed immediately."

Sometime later, Lelouch sat alone in the living quarters of the bridge, overlooking a datapad that contained footage of Megatron's various battles against the forces of the Autobots and Black Knights. As he continued to look, an uneasy expression formed on his face. A part of him felt like putting it away, but he pushed himself to keep observing, determined to find some kind of weakness, but so far, he had found none.

"Hey." He heard Kallen's voice as he turned in surprise to see not only her, but also Nunnally, looking toward him with concern. "It's really bad for your eyes to keep staring at that."

"I'm fine." Lelouch dismissed as he tried to continue looking at the datapad, but Kallen quickly came in and swiped it away.

"Lelouch, you need to give yourself a break." Kallen told him.

"She's right, big brother." Even Nunnally agreed. "I understand what you're trying to do but…"

"Megatron is without question, the greatest threat we're facing." Lelouch began. "Not only is he more cunning than my late father and Schneizel combined, not to mention he is an absolute monster on the battlefield. And now he has Dark Energon… we've all seen what that can do! I just…" He sighed in exasperation as he threw the datapad down before placing a hand on his face. "I can't beat him. I just can't…"

"Of course, you can't." Kallen said, causing him to look toward her in surprise. "You yourself just listed all the reasons he's smart and tough, so of course you can't beat him. At least not by yourself. Isn't that the whole point of all of this?" She gestured to the Ark around her. "It's part of being a team, so we don't all have to bear the burden alone."

"And you're not alone, Lelouch." Nunnally said as she walked over and sat down next to him. "We're all here for you. I know what Megatron did to you was… horrible. You've been having nightmares for these last six months, and don't deny it, I can sometimes hear you screaming late at night."

"When you have someone look inside your head to bring out your worst fears, and then replay those fears over-and-over with the intent of killing you, it's going to leave an impression." Lelouch commented, making no effort to hide that he had been experiencing nightmares.

"You're afraid of him." Kallen pointed out. "And I don't blame you, hell even I'm afraid, especially after what Nunnally and the others just told me about what happened at the lab. Robot zombies?! Are you kidding?! Look the point is, you're not alone." She sat down next to him as well, on the opposite side of Nunnally. "You've got friends, even family. You've got me, too."

While he was truly grateful for both their support, it didn't seem to deter what he was feeling at the moment. "Well, either of you have any ideas on how to handle him? Because I'm open to suggestions."

"Here's an idea." They looked up to see Elita-One glancing toward them. "Play on your own strengths. You're a strategist, aren't you Lelouch? Well use that. Yes, we've seen that you've been improving as a pilot, particularly thanks to Tohdoh and Ironhide, but you're more of a commander than a fighter. Use your strengths, use the people who are willing to follow and help. Put Megatron in a situation where he has to go on the defensive. You've done that kind of thing before, haven't you?"

"Hell yeah, that was what you did with Clovis way back in Shinjuku." Kallen pointed out. "Don't play in Megatron's hands, get him to play in yours."

"If there's one thing you're good at, it's turning the tables on people." Nunnally added.

This seemed to help a bit, reminding Lelouch again just how grateful he was for all their support. "Thank you, all of you." Nunnally hugged him on the side in response while Kallen just playfully shoved his other side. He then looked towards the pink Autobot in front of him. "Can I ask you something, Elita?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Back when we're fighting for the Forge of Solus Prime, Megatron called you Ariel. Why is that?" Lelouch asked as even Kallen and Nunnally looked with curiosity.

Elita sighed, partly expecting this. "Ariel was my original name before the War for Cybertron. Before I was a soldier, I worked in manual labor among the lower class. One day, I met Optimus, or rather Orion Pax. He came down the Cybertron's 'lower caste cities' to get a better understanding of how a big a difference it was compared to higher class areas like Iacon. He said how he's been wanting to change the system and I ended up joining him."

"You worked alongside Optimus?" Nunnally asked with an eager smile as Lelouch and Kallen also listened.

"I did." Elita confirmed. "Along with Ratchet, Ultra Magnus, Alpha Trion and others." Her look faded into a sour expression. "Including Megatron." Lelouch, Nunnally, and Kallen had unsurprised yet serious expressions on their faces, but continued to listen, nonetheless. "I really thought he truly wanted to change Cybertron for the better, and I admired his strength and determination, we were friends. But… once the Council was more willing to opt for Orion's peaceful approach, as opposed to Megatron's forceful response… and with the start of the war, the Megatron I thought I knew no longer existed."

"But… did you try to at least stop him?" Nunnally asked again.

"I did, many times. Just as Orion and later, Optimus, did." Elita replied. "But each and every time, he tried to convince me to join him. Before the war started, I changed my name to Elita-One, but he still called me Ariel. He told me that it was important not to forget our origins, but now… it's like he calls me that just to throw it all back in my face."

"Bastard." Kallen muttered. "We all know he's evil, but that's just petty."

"I agree." Elita. "Which is why I try to ignore his words, and whatever mind games he tries to play on me. I know it's hard, given what he's done, what he's going to do, but we need to push through." She spoke to Lelouch directly. "We let our actions define us, not our words."

Lelouch could tell what she was saying to him, and it was something he appreciated, while also gaining a newfound respect for Elita, understanding why Optimus worked so well alongside her. "Thank you, Elita. And, if Megatron didn't ruin everything, I think you and Optimus would have made Cybertron a peaceful place."

"Yes, I'd like to think so too." Elita smiled reminiscently, with Kallen and Nunnally easily able to read the expression on her face, causing the two to look toward each other with smirks.

However, a small alarm suddenly turned on, getting their attention as Optimus Prime also entered the bridge of the Ark. "TA-I, what is it?" Optimus questioned as the holographic girl appeared in the air.

"It's a high-frequency signal, with an imbedded message." TA-I revealed. "For you, Optimus."

"Is it more Autobots? Possible reinforcements?" Lelouch asked.

"No, it's from here on Earth and it… it's from Megatron." TA-I responded, causing Nunnally to gasp slightly while Lelouch, Optimus, Elita, and Kallen's eyes all narrowed while TA-I read the message aloud. "'We've been running in circles with each other long enough, old friend. I believe it is time we settle this. Meet me at these coordinates.'"

Kallen scoffed. "Who does he think he is? It's obviously a trap!"

"Of course, it is." Optimus agreed. "Nevertheless, I fear that whatever trap Megatron has could place more innocents in danger."

"Optimus, are you actually going to meet him?" Lelouch questioned. "What exactly are you expecting?"

"I am uncertain, but this must be addressed." Optimus confirmed. "However, I will not be going alone. Elita, Kallen, assemble the Zero Squad."

"Understood." Elita nodded.

"Yes sir." Kallen saluted.

"I'm coming too." Lelouch also stood up. "You might need a little assistance from a fellow commander just in case."

"Very well." Optimus accepted.

"Lelouch…" Nunnally grabbed his hand with a nervous expression. She knew that he was going to try and push himself to face his fears, which she admired, but that didn't make her any less nervous. "Please be careful."

"I will." Lelouch assured his sister.

A single Groundbridge opened up as Optimus was the first to exit, alongside Lelouch within the Shinkiro. Right behind them was the Zero Squad, led by Elita-One, consisting of Bumblebee, Arcee, and Sideswipe; with the Lancelot, Guren, and Byakuen, piloted by Suzaku, Kallen, and Orpheus respectively. Many of them looked in surprise to see that their destination was none other than the ruins of the Tokyo Settlement.

Even with six months, it was as if nothing changed. The entire city was still in ruins from the Black Rebellion, with countless wrecks from Knightmares, vehicles, and massive weapons, and the occasional Vehicon corpse. Any human remains that were exposed had begun rotting away as flies buzzed around them. The Settlement was nothing short of a graveyard now.

"Hard to believe this used to be a bustling city." Arcee commented, getting a sense of déjà vu from viewing the ruins of Cybertron.

"I hated Britannia and the Settlement…" Kallen added. "But… I didn't think they'd deserve this."

"So many people died here…" Suzaku muttered, clenching the controls of his Knightmare in anger at the handiwork of the Decepticons.

"I've heard what had happened here six months ago." Orpheus said. "But, actually seeing it… all that's happened… it's something else."

"Must have been one hell of a battle." Sideswipe added.

Lelouch said nothing as he felt a huge wave of guilt set in. Though this was directly the work of the Decepticons, he couldn't help but feel responsible for all of this. He was the one who started the Black Rebellion because of Megatron's orchestration of the SAZ Massacre, but even then, the Rebellion itself was nothing more than a distraction, and Lelouch cursed himself for not seeing it sooner.

"[We'll make sure they didn't die in vain]" Bumblebee said.

"I agree." Optimus spoke. "What happened here was a tragedy, and we will see to it that it does not repeat."

"First, we need to find the one who invited us here." Elita said. However, right as she said that they all heard the roaring of an engine, causing them all to look toward the sky to see a familiar silver Cybertronian jet fly toward the top of a ruined building before it transformed to reveal himself as the Decepticon they all knew and loathed.

"Optimus, I'm glad you accepted my invitation" Megatron called down to him. "Though I did not say that you could bring company, I'm not particularly upset. To the contrary, I'm glad you did. It gives me the opportunity to catch up with an old friend, wouldn't you agree, Ariel?"

Elita glared up toward him with Kallen already reading her Knightmare for a fight. "Why don't you invite him down here for a chat." The redhead snarled as her Guren's Surger Claw was primed and ready.

"Why did you call us here, Megatron?" Optimus questioned.

"Because I've been wanting to show you something old friend." Megatron answered. "Something that I believe may be the last thing you see." He pulled out a dark purple crystal that they all recognized.

"Is that…?!" Arcee questioned.

"Dark Energon!" Lelouch exclaimed.

Megatron hurled the crystal toward the ruined battlefield below. The second it made contact, it sunk into the ground before crevices spread across the area, a dark and haunting purple glow emanating from the ever-growing cracks as Optimus, Lelouch, and each of the Zero Squad looked in shock, a sinking feeling forming as they had an idea of what was going to happen next.

The Decepticon leader's optics began to glow a bright purple as he felt the power surge. "RISE MY ARMY!" He commanded. Suddenly, a metallic hand shot from the ground as a Vehicon corpse arose to life, or rather an undead state.

"By the Allspark…" Elita muttered.

"Oh my… god…!" Kallen looked in genuine horror, with everyone else.

Every Vehicon corpse, every wrecked Knightmare, every destroyed vehicle, be it civilian or military-grade, virtually every large piece of machinery arose, taking the form of humanoid metallic Terrorcons that numbered in the thousands, maybe even more so. All those that died or were destroyed in the Black Rebellion had now come back as undead monsters.

"BEHOLD!" Megatron bellowed. "THE POWER OF DARK ENERGON!"

"What… what kind of horror show is this?!" Sideswipe exclaimed.

"Britannia… no, not even the Geass Order has done something as sinister as this…!" Orpheus muttered.

"How could he…!?" Suzaku's visibly terror-filled face morphed into one of rage. "He's not even allowing the dead to rest!? He's desecrated them…! No, this is worse than desecration!"

"Not even the dead are free from his war mongering." Optimus stated. Though he appeared to maintain a calm and serious expression, Lelouch could tell there was a burning rage in Optimus' spark, one that mirrored his own feelings of rage, but there was also a great sense of terror in Lelouch as he glanced up to the smirking Megatron who now controlled an army of the undead.

"At last, symbiosis, I can feel it." Megatron said to himself. "I possess complete control over my army, of course… not just the ones that lay before me." He then commanded his legion of Terrorcons. "Destroy them!"

Immediately, Optimus opened fire with his Energon blasters on the frontmost Terrorcons. "Zero, take the Squad and return to the Ark!"

"And leave you here against all of that?!" Lelouch exclaimed. "No! I'm staying here with you, Optimus!"

"We all are!" Elita-One stepped up as well, her Energon blasters primed and ready. "We can't let a single Terrorcon roam free! Zero Squad form up! Open Fire!"

"Rodger!" All the members of the Zero Squad acknowledged their commander as they opened fire as well.

Lelouch was the first to attack with the Shinkiro's chest-mounted cannon. It shot a prism forward first before firing a laser into the prism, causing the laser to disperse and cut multiple lines through the undead hordes. Suzaku added to this with the Lancelot's VARIS rifle, firing multiple charged shots, with Kallen charging an attack with the Guren's Surger Claw to throw a series of energy sphere with explosive results.

The explosion cleared out a large portion of the frontmost Terrorcons, but they barely made a dent in the entire army. However, as the smoke cleared; the Byakuen rolled out alongside the vehicle modes of Bumblebee, Arcee, and Sideswipe. The white Knightmare attacked first, drawing a blade from its 7-Type Armaments right arm to slice one Terrorcon in half down the middle as Arcee, Bumblebee, and Sideswipe all transformed around him to open fire with their Energon blasters, scoring in headshots, but even those didn't seem to take down the Terrorcons that surrounded them.

Sideswipe chose to get personal as he drew his sword to cut down one Terrorcon before moving on to the other. As he did, he noticed that the severed pieces stopped moving.

"Guys! We need cut them down! The smaller the pieces, the better!" Sideswipe told the rest of his comrades.

"Understood." Elita acknowledged before drawing her arm-blades to engage three Terrorcons in front of her. She decapitated one before swiping her feet to knock the remaining two, right as she jumped and landed her feet onto the heads of both of them, destroying them instantly.

"Everyone, don't allow yourselves to get separated!" Lelouch ordered. "Stick in groups of two or more! Don't let yourselves get overwhelmed!" He covered Optimus as he fired the Shinkiro's wrist-mounted Hadron cannons to obliterate a group of Terrorcons. As he was approached from behind, Optimus quickly came in to Lelouch's defense, drawing his blades to slice and cut down four of them at break-neck pace. One tried to bring down a long piece of metallic rubble as a makeshift weapon, but Optimus blocked it before impaling that Terrorcon in its chest, and up its head to destroy it. The Prime and Shinkiro came back-to-back as they found themselves almost surrounded but had more than enough firepower to keep each other safe.

Kallen threw out her Surger to launch a wave of radiation that fried a small group of Terrorcons; though the front most were obliterated, those in the back were merely burnt and continued pressing forward, prompting Kallen to draw her Guren's MVS knife to cut them down. Arcee drove around her in her motorcycle form as several Terrorcons attempted to surround her, but Arcee swerved her vehicle mode to trip them all up before transforming and jumping to land on the Guren's top and fire precise Energon shots at each of their heads.

"Arcee hang on, we're taking to the air!" Kallen told her partner as the Guren flew straight up with Arcee keeping herself pressed on the Guren's top. Kallen activated her Energy Wing system to fire a hail of energy bolts directly at the Terrorcons below with explosive results. "I'm sure glad these things can't fly." She commented.

"Kallen, dive!" Arcee warned as they just barley dodged a powerful dark blast, causing them to look in shock at the source. "Is that… a Raiko?!"

It was true. It appeared to be the damaged body of a Raiko, now turned Terrorcon monster, with its 'face' serving as the main cannon that fired at them again, causing the Guren to veer away as Arcee barley hung on.

"Hang on! I'm coming!" Suzaku exclaimed as he shot another VARIS blast through a line of Terrorcons, and into the side of the Raiko-Terrorcon, causing it to tilt over, but it was still alive as it turned its attention toward Suzaku. This left it open for Bumblebee to drive in with his vehicle mode through the path Suzaku cleared for him before he transformed, drew his katana, and cut down the other side, allowing Suzaku to fly in and finish it off with a VARIS shot into its 'mouth-cannon', causing it to go up in flames.

Sideswipe used his sword to cut down another Terrorcon as he came back-to-back with the Byakuen as Orpheus lunged its electric weapon into one Terrorcon. This attack didn't even slow it down at first, but not before Orpheus turned up the power, causing it to explode.

"Conventional methods aren't working against these things!" Orpheus scowled as he and Sideswipe found themselves surrounded. However, salvation came in the form of Elita as she moved with such speed and agility, cutting down the Terrorcons that stood in her way before coming to assist the pair, firing her Energon blasters into the heads of four Terrorcons, lightening the load quite a bit.

"We can't hold out like this!" Sideswipe told Elita.

"You're right, we need back-up!" Elita agreed.

The Ark – The Bridge

"This is Elita-One reporting! Requesting immediate assistance!" Elita's report came in through the Ark's system as Ohgi, Ironhide, Ratchet, and Ultra Magnus received the alert; with Nunnally, Euphemia, Shirley, Rai, Cera, Nina, and Rivalz all present as well.

"T-AI! What is happening?!" Ultra Magnus questioned.

"Hang on, I'm patching into the visual systems of the Shinkiro…." T-AI brought up the visual feed of the ongoing battle against the Terrorcons for everyone to see, and to say they were shocked would be an understatement.

"By the Allspark…!" Ratchet muttered in shock.

"Are… are those…?" Shirley stuttered.

"Terrorcons." Cera finished with narrowed eyes.

'Lelouch… Suzaku…' Nunnally thought in fear as she shared a concerning glance with Euphemia.

"Well, what are we waiting for?! We have to help them!" Rivalz exclaimed.

"And we will." Ultra Magnus confirmed as he turned to the Ark's AI. "T-AI, assemble the Black Knights and a select few Autobots. I will provide you with the list of squads and members for deployment."

"Understood." T-AI nodded.

As the gathered commanders quickly made the necessary preparations, Nunnally quickly grabbed Rai's arm once she saw that the immortal was about to leave. "Rai… is… is there something I can do?"

"I'm sorry Nunnally, but you're not getting involved in this, none of you are." Rai said with finality, turning toward the rest of his classmates and other sister. When it looked like they were about to protest, he continued to speak. "This isn't like what happened with Steeljaw, even then that was far too dangerous for all of you! We have an army of freaking zombies led by a genocidal maniac! None of you are going and that is final!"

"He's right." Cera agreed. "If anything happened to any of you, Lelouch, Suzaku, Kallen, none of them would forgive themselves."

"But we can…!" Milly tried to protest, but Euphemia put a hand on her shoulder.

"They're right. We're not fighters." Euphie said. "We would only get in the way, especially with something like that."

Rivalz rubbed the back of his neck in annoyance. "Yeah, we wouldn't last ten seconds out there."

Even Shirley agreed, reminded of how she tried to help during the incident with the data-cylinder, which almost cost them all Bulkhead. "Rai, Cera, you just come back, with everyone else, please."

Rai and Cera shared smiles as the former gave the brunette a quick hug, along with his pink-haired half-sister. "We'll be fine. We've got good people and bots watching our backs." He turned toward Cera. "Let's go."

"Right." She nodded as they quickly made their way from the bridge alongside the present Autobots, leaving only the former princess and students alone as they turned toward the main screen and continued to watch as the Terrorcons continued their rampage.

Back on the battlefield, Optimus, Zero, and the whole Zero Squad regrouped as they tried to gain some distance from the horde of Terrorcons, firing their long-range weapons to try and thin the horde; though the more explosive variants of the VARIS, Hadron, and Surger Claw had done more damage than the likes of Energon blasters or Slash Harkens, it seemed like they were barely making a dent.

"How many of these things are there!?" Sideswipe exclaimed.

"We're basically fighting every Britannian soldier, Black Knight, and Decepticon that died here!" Lelouch replied. "I'd estimate a couple thousand at least!"

"Where's our damn back up?!" Kallen shouted.

"You called?" They heard Jazz speaking over the comns.

Four Groundbridge portals opened across the battlefield and around the Terrorcon horde. A from the portal on the east side, with Ultra Magnus at the lead, alongside Jazz, Prowl, the custom Vincent piloted by Cornelia, with a unit of a dozen Black Knight Akatsuki units. From the south, Ironhide led Bulkhead, Rai, Nonette, each in the Raiden and Galeschin respectively, along with Tamaki's heavily armored Akatsukis with several more Wrecker Black Knights. On the west; Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords in their respective Zangetsu and Command Akatsukis, along with Drift and Zi Dien in his Gekka Shiden. From the sky above, Jetfire flew out along with Cera in her pink Akatsuki, Ohgi in his Gawain Nerion, and several airborne Black Knight units.

"Now that's what I call a calvary." Arcee commented with a relieved smirk.

"We cannot let down our guard." Optimus instructed as he contacted their reinforcements. "These Terrorcons will not fall under conventional means! You must maintain a safe distance!"

"Heavy ordinance is highly recommended! The smaller the pieces, the better!" Zero added. "Don't let yourselves get separated! Stick with your unit, or in groups of two or more!"

"Rodger!" They all replied as multiple explosions lit up across the horde.

"That's our cue!" Elita stated. "Time to press on!" She led the charge with the Zero Squad alongside Optimus and the Shinkiro, blowing away the Terrorcons that laid in front of them.

From above, Jetfire lead the attack with his aerial unit as he flew closer toward the horde in his jet mode, firing a series of rapid-fire Energon blasts to cleave away a large portion of the horde in the center. "Ohgi, Cera, you and everyone else concentrate your fire at this area!" Jetfire ordered as he flew back up. "Break them up at the center!"

"You heard the man! Everyone open fire!" Ohgi exclaimed as he transformed his Gawain into its hovering tank-form to blast a powerful Energon shot at the horde with Cera's Pink Akatsuki, and the other airborne units firing down as well to obliterate the central spot of the Terrorcon horde.

On the east side; Ultra Magnus had brought his Energon hammer down onto a Terrorcon to crush it before he noticed an old ruined building nearby that could provide some aid.

"Jazz, do you believe you can bring that building down?" Ultra Magnus asked the Autobot, who glanced toward the tipping building.

"Shoot yeah, but I might need some time." Jazz confirmed.

"All units, cover Jazz!" Ultra Magnus ordered, form a perimeter around that building, do not let a single Terrorcon breach it.

"Rodger!" Cornelia accepted as she along with the present Black Knights formed a perimeter around the building, facing the horde of Terrorcons. "Empty your guns if you have to! Mow these monsters down!" She exclaimed as she opened fire with her Vincent's rifle, followed by the Akatsukis. The front most Terrorcons were cut down, but those in the back continued to press forward, as the assault seemed to only slow them down.

"Magnus, give me a boost!" Prowl exclaimed to his commander.

Ultra Magnus simply nodded as he allowed Prowl to hop on to his hammer before vaulting him into the air. While airborne, Prowl threw a hail of shurikens out from his fingers to slice and cut down the heads of five Terrorcons, clearing a space out for him as he landed on his hands before kicking his feet out with a split and spun around like a helicopter to knock several down before he transformed and regrouped with Magnus, Cornelia, and their unit.

"Where is Jazz with that plan of his?" Prowl questioned.

Inside the building, Jazz was in his vehicle mode as Undertone stood on the hood, observing the torn support beams at the building's foundation. "You thinking what I'm thinking, little dude?" Jazz asked his Mini-Con partner, who drew a long blade that shined brightly with Energon. "Yeah, that's what I like to hear!" Jazz said enthusiastically as he drove toward the nearest support beam, which Undertone cut down easily enough. They repeated the process, swerving forward and around each and every support beam, cutting them down as the building already began to tip over.

"Magnus, you and everyone might wanna bail! It's about to timber!" Jazz warned over the comns.

"Everyone, clear out!" Ultra Magnus ordered as they could already see the building beginning to tip. He and Prowl both transformed and drove away with Cornelia and their soldiers right behind. Jazz joined them quickly enough as the entire building soon collapsed and fell on it's side, crushing a large portion of the Terrorcon horde underneath.

"That was rather reckless." Cornelia noted. "Something my brother and the rest of the Wreckers would do."

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" Jazz commented. "Plus, it wasn't my idea." He transformed and glanced towards Magnus with a smirk. "Guess working with the Wreckers on Cybertron rubbed off on ya, eh commander?"

"Unusual circumstances require unusual methods." Ultra Magnus commented. "But we're not done yet."

"Understood." Prowl was the first to get serous as they pressed forward. At the same time, Cornelia couldn't help but express concern to both Lelouch and Rai, though she was certain Lelouch would be safe with Optimus and the Zero Squad, as well as Rai with the Wreckers, it didn't deter her inner big sister instincts and the worry she had for her younger siblings.

Speaking of Rai, he gave a warrior's yell as he cut down one Terrorcon with the Raiden's katana before flashing his Surger Claw to shoot a condensed bolt of electricity that obliterated the two in front. However, the ones that were behind were only singed as they continued to press on, despite losing a limb or two.

"Ugh! This is why I hate zombies!" Rai said in frustration.

"Then it's time to bring out the heavy artillery!" Nonette exclaimed as she and Bulkhead joined Rai's side and brought out their respective long-ranged weapons. The Galeschin's VARIS obliterated a large portion of the horde in front of them, while a charged shot from Bulkhead's cannons took out the rest; but there were several more coming in from behind.

"Any time, Ironhide!" Bulkhead called out to the veteran Autobot as he, and Tamaki's Wrecker unit was on a hill top above them.

"Alright Wreckers, time to rain fire and steel! Fire all long ranged weapons!" Ironhide ordered.

"Hell yeah! Eat this, you undead freaks!" Tamaki exclaimed as he and the heavily armored Akatsukis fired a large volley of missiles, along with Ironhide who shot with his cannons. Once they hit, a long line of fire erupted where the Terrorcons once stood, obliterating them in an instant.

Meanwhile, Drift moved with such speed and grace, that he seemed like a breeze in the wind as he moved with his dual katanas around a group of seven Terrorcons before sliding past them. Less than a second later, they all fell apart like scrap metal.

"Master Drift, please allow us to assist!" Jetstorm said as he and Safeguard were still undeployed.

"No! Battling Decepticons are one thing, but these abominations are another story all together!"

"But master…!" Jetstrom attempted to protest.

"We understand, master." Safeguard assured. "I'm sure you know what's best."

Despite that, Drift still appeared to be surrounded on all sides by several more Terrorcons. Fortunately, the Four Holy Swords and Zi Dien slid forward with just as much grace, cutting down the Terrorcons at their mid-section and legs, aiming for the limbs to immobilize them before crushing their heads.

"Hey what's the deal?" Urabe questioned after he decapitated one Terrorcon, only to see it was still moving. "I thought if you cut of the head, the zombie dies!" He said as his Akatsuki sliced down to cut the Terrorcon in half.

"This isn't a movie, Urabe! It's real life!" Chiba commented as she covered Zi Dien, who's Shiden's dual blades cut down two Terrorcons in front of him.

"We're fighting alongside alien robots against an army of robot zombies and you say it's real life?" Urabe said with a half-grin and raised eyebrow.

"Just focus on the battle!" Tohdoh exclaimed as he hovered above them, firing the Zangetsu's missile launcher to blast a long line through the Terrorcon horde. "Leave nothing of these monsters!"

"Rodger!" Asahina and Senba both said as they also cut down the remaining Terrorcons around them.

From his vantage point, Megatron watched with amusement as his Terrorcon horde had almost been completely wiped out, save for a third. "Oh dear, it looks like they've wiped out my main attack force." He mused seemingly to himself. "But that's quite alright. After all, these mindless monstrosities were only a test to see if I can control my real soldiers. Wouldn't you agree, Shockwave?"

"Indeed." Shockwave responded over the comns. "Observation concludes that you are able to control any and all units infused with Dark Energon. Meaning, the Dark Pawns should be under your complete control, as well as Refrain and the Dark Queen. The Headmaster units, as well as the Dark Knights and maintain their own free will, but I've seen to it that they will only serve you."

"I trust you have the coordinates then, Shockwave?" Megatron asked.

"Affirmative, we are deploying now." The Decepticon scientist responded before hanging up.

Megatron chuckled evilly. "Let the real battle begin."

The Black Dragon unit had wiped a large portion of the Terrorcons on their side as they regrouped. "This area appears to be clear, colonel." Chiba reported to Tohdoh. "I trust the rest will mop up what's left of these abominations."

"Excellent." Tohdoh nodded. "Let's try and…"

"We have a Groundbridge!" Drift exclaimed as a portal opened up in front of the group. "It is not ours!" He drew his blades as the five Knightmares around him readied their weapons, but they were all blown back by a powerful Energon blast that shot out through the portal.

The source of the blast was a dark purple Cybertronian tank that rolled out of the vortex before transforming to reveal itself to be none other than Shockwave, and he was not alone. Alongside him were four odd-looking robotic beings.

They were humanoid, very similar designs to that of the Vincent Knightmare with a black and purple paintjob, and a Decepticon emblem at the chest. Their heads appeared to stick out the most as they had no faces whatsoever; no eyes, no mouths, nothing. Their heads appeared to be completely round and blank spheres, almost like the top of a pawn piece in Chess.

There was one more that emerged from the portal that stuck out to the rest. It was a dark purple humanoid robot, with black armored plating along its chest, shoulder, and head piece. It also carried a set of double-gatling guns into each of its arms. Within its head, however, was a human girl in her teenage years. She wore a black suit with the Decepticon emblem on its chest, that had a series of plugs and cables connecting her to the cockpit's walls as she stood up. She had dark blonde hair, blue eyes, and what appeared to be a Geass Emblem on her forehead.

"Dark Knight Headmaster – Codename: Land. Reporting for battle." She reported as Shockwave and his quartet of Dark Pawns faced the recovering Black Dragon unit.

"You're continued attempt at defiance is most illogical." The Decepticon scientist said to his enemies.

Another Groundbridge portal opened above the Wreckers' party as they found themselves facing three Dark Pawns that fell down from the portal, with another Dark Knight Headmaster unit falling down from behind to land on the ground. This unit was of similar color scheme with dark purple, and black armored plating along its chest, shoulder, and head piece. What made this one stood out was its arms that carried weapons that resembled the jaws of a dragon. Within its head, was another young girl that wore the same kind of body suit that had her plugged directly into the cockpit. She had dark skin with green eyes, with dark blonde hair tied in a bow, and a Geass emblem on her forehead.

"Dark Knight Headmaster – Codename: Power. Ready for battle." She stated as a hovering Knightmare, looking near identical to the Galahad appeared before the Groundbridge portal closed. Only this Knightmare had a similar color scheme to the other Pluton Knightmares.

"Hello Kaizaren." The immortal known as V.V. said with a sneer as he glanced at the Raiden. "Did you miss me?"

Hearing that voice was enough to make Rai's teeth grit as he glared at the Dark Galahad. "V.V…."

Those among the Elite Guard glanced forward to an open Groundbridge portal as three Dark Pawns came rushing out, right behind them was a black and dark purple version of the transformed Siegfried, with its pilot being the brainwashed and cybernetic Jeremiah, who was plugged directly into the giant and towering Knightmare.

"Who's ready to die, for the glory of Megatron?!" Jeremiah exclaimed maniacally.

"Jeremiah…" Cornelia recognized his voice as she looked with genuine concern.

But he wasn't the only one, the last Knightmare to exit before the Groundbridge closed was another Headmaster unit. Same purple and black color scheme, but it didn't appear to have any other special features compared to the others seen thus far, save for a pair of dual blades in its hands. The pilot inside was a young woman with black hair, red eyes, fair skin, and a Geass emblem on her forehead, she also wore the same kind of plug suit as her fellow Headmasters.

"Dark Knight Headmaster – Codename: Order. Prepared for combat." She said as Ultra Magnus, Jazz, and Prowl readied themselves.

In front of the hovering group that consisted of Jetfire, Cera in her pink Akatsuki, and Ohgi in his Gawain Nerion was yet another Groundbridge portal. Only two enemy units appeared to exit, however. The first one was nearly all black as it bore bat-like wings and carried a double-bladed Energon scythe in its hands. Within its head-cockpit, was a single human head and a nervous system that appeared to be wired thoroughly into this unit's nervous and skeletal system. Both his eyes glowed the Geass sigil as it saw everything from the optics of its robotic body.

"Dark Knight unit – Codename: Refrain. Targets sited."

Cera's pupils shrank as she recognized the voice. "Mao…?!"

The second hovering unit actually bore a dark red color scheme, making it stand out from all the other Pluton-variant Knightmares. On its back was a set of dragon-like wings, a sword built into its right arm, and a serrated chain-like whip built into its left arm. The pilot inside, did not bear any kind of plug-in body suits or physical upgrades of his own because he was the best trained killer of the Geass Order despite his age.

"Dark Knight Nebiros reporting in." The young boy with brown hair and violet eyes said as he identified the three enemies in front of him. "Autobots and Black Knights are to be exterminated. Target code-name C.C. is to be captured alive. By order of Shockwave."

Meanwhile, Optimus, Zero, and the entire Zero Squad unit found themselves facing their own group of opponents as they exited the Groundbridge portal. There were four Dark Pawns present, alongside the Dark Mordred, piloted by Anya, whom unbeknownst to anyone was still under the influence of a vengeful Marianne. Two units however were unidentified. One bore a striking resemblance to the Excalibur Knightmare piloted by the late Charles Zi Britannia, only it's gold and white color scheme was replaced with silver and dark purple, with the black central cockpit remaining black as usual.

The final unit was another Headmaster unit. It was dark purple with black armored plating along its arms, shoulders, chest, and head. It also carried a set of Pegasus-like wings on its back, only they were black as opposed to the expected white. Inside the head, was another young girl with a body suit that had her plugged into the cockpit. She had long blonde hair tied in pigtails with red eyes, fare skin, and a Geass emblem on her forehead as well.

"Dark Knight Headmaster – Codename: Speed. Ready for combat." She reported.

"What… what are these things?!" Arcee questioned, referring to the Dark Pawns in particular as Optimus, Lelouch, Suzaku, and Kallen found themselves glancing toward the Dark Mordred knowing who was piloting inside.

'Anya…' Suzaku thought with concern, one that was shared by his friends and leader.

"These are mine and Shockwave's latest experiments." Megatron explained as he addressed them from his vantage point. "Did you really think this an ambush with the Terrorcons? No, that was merely a test. As you can imagine, Optimus, Dark Energon flows through my veins, which has allowed me to completely control multiple targets infused with the same substance such as those Terrorcons, and now my Dark Pawns. They are neither Knightmare nor Cybertronian, but rather robotic drones operating with a very special programed code."

"What did you do, Megatron?" Optimus glared toward the Decepticon leader he once considered his friend.

"Shockwave extracted the genetic material of Britannia's most elite Knights of the round throughout its history." Megatron responded. "Bismarck Waldstein, Christoph Chamberlain, Victoria of the Void, Olivia Zevon, and many others…"

"Mother…?" Orpheus muttered in surprise. Though he did not really know his mother personally, as he was given away at birth per the Zevon's tradition of using female successors, he was still more than shocked.

"He combined their genetic material into a single batch and converted into digital code, which he then programed directly into these machines." Megatron continued. "They contain the memories, experiences, and combat-data of their 'donors'; and through the use of Dark Energon, not only are they able to access this in abundance, but I also have complete control over them."

This earned heated glares from every present Autobot and Black Knight. "It's no surprise you're desecrating the dead." Suzaku growled. "But what about…?"

"These are my Headmasters." Megatron continued, referring to the Speed, as well as Power, Land, and Order throughout the battlefield. "Some of the best soldiers of the Geass Order with some modifications. As for this one…" He glanced toward the dark version of the Excalibur. "She is my Dark Queen, and she is something truly special. Now then, enough talk… destroy them!"

With that, the Dark Pawns, Speed, and Dark Queen, along with the Dark Mordred engaged the heroes. Marianne gunned straight for Optimus with the Dark Mordred, crashing into him and sending him rolling across the ground before he got back up and grappled with the charging Dark Mordred, with its possessed pilot yelling as she continued to push with the Mordred's float system to try and push Optimus back.

"Optimus!" Elita exclaimed, only to find herself on the defensive from Speed as it shot at her at incredible speeds, knocking her back. But she quickly slid to her feet and opened fire with her Energon blasters, but Speed moved at an insane level of speed with her wings glowing brightly. She quickly appeared behind Elita with a kick to her back, knocking her down once more before Elita got back up and was forced on the defensive from this particular Headmaster.

Lelouch found himself backed into a corner as he shot into the air with the Shinkiro, the Dark Queen gunning straight for him, firing its shoulder-mounted Hadron cannons directly at him. Fortunately, he activated the blaze luminous shield in time, which took most of the impact, but it still rocked his Knightmare all the same.

"Hang on, Lelouch!" Kallen shouted as the Guren and Lancelot flew in to provide back up. Kallen was the first to attack, throwing out her Surger Claw, but the Dark Queen quickly turned around to deliver a kick and knock the claw away before punching the Guren's face to knock it back and launch five chest-mounted Slash Harkens at her, which Kallen instinctively tried to block with her MVS knife right as Suzaku flew in to provide back up with a swing from his MVS, but the Dark Queen brought up its right arm to project an energy shield to block the attack before delivering an airborne roundhouse to knock her down.

Bumblebee threw out a punch toward one Dark Pawn, only for it to block and parry with a thrust to Bumblebee's chest before following through with a roundhouse to knock him down. Arcee tried to shoot her Energon blasters at a second Dark Pawn, but it backflipped to avoid her blasts before leaping high into the air to launch a flying kick in her direction, forcing Arcee to flip back and avoid the impact. Sideswipe brought down his sword to slice at one Dark Pawn, only for the Pawn to clap it in-between his hands, right before it fell back, pulling Sideswipe down with him and kicking both his feet up to send Sideswipe over him and crashing on to the ground, where he regrouped with his fellow Autobots.

"These things are tough." Sideswipe commented.

"No duh." Arcee replied. "How's that gonna help us take them down?!"

"I'm thinking! I'm thinking!" Sideswipe exclaimed.

"[Well, you better think faster!]" Bumblebee stated as he drew his katana.

At the same time, Orpheus faced the fourth Dark Pawn of this group, lashing out with the Byakuen's taser-weapon, but the Dark Pawn limboed underneath it before delivering a punch to the white Knightmare's chest, knocking it off balance before dealing a kick to its side to knock it down.

Orpheus grunted in frustration as he saw the Dark Pawn rushing at him before he even had a chance to get up. Acting on instinct, he activated the Byakuen's Gefjun blaster from its head, which shot a condensed beam straight at the Dark Pawn, scoring a hit, causing it to short circuit and render it immobile.

"Well, what do you know?" Orpheus smirked as he quickly drew the Byakuen's blade from its right arm to cut it half and destroy it. "Not so tough now, are ya?"

Back with the Black Dragon unit, each of the Four Holy Swords duked it out with one of the four Dark Pawns present. Even with their weapons such as their Akatsuki's guns or katanas, the Dark Pawns proved too quick for their weapons to deal any damage and were fast enough to come in and deliver strikes in the form of punches, palm-strikes, or kicks to knock each of the Holy Swords back.

Zi-Dien, meanwhile was on the defensive from Land's onslaught of Energon gatling guns, which kept him at a distance and from attacking. He tried to maneuver his Gekka Shiden and appear behind Land's blind spot, but the Headmaster could actually see everything around her in the form of a three-dimensional map, including behind her where a normal human wouldn't be able to see. It's arms spun around, despite its back facing the Gekka Shiden, and opened fire, hitting the purple Knightmare and forcing it further back.

"Damn it?! How the hell does this thing move like that?!" Zi Dien complained as he re-engaged.

At the same time, Drift sliced one of his katanas toward Shockwave, who blocked it with his arm-cannon before dealing a punch to knock the Autobot down. Tohdoh provided back up by flying straight down to lash his Zangetsu's katana, but Shockwave swerved around the attack as the Zangetsu flew past him, prompting Shockwave to grab the Knightmare by the leg and throw it into the recovering Drift.

Shockwave approached the pair as they tried to recover, he quickly aimed his cannon to finish them off. However, Jetstorm and Safeguard leapt from their master in a surprise attack to engage Shockwave. Actually, catching the Decepticon scientist by surprise as they lashed their weapons at his face, before attacking further.

"You will not harm our teacher!" Jetstorm exclaimed as he was the first to leap toward Shockwave with his nunchucks, but Shockwave grabbed the mini-con with one hand and glared at him.

"This is no place for an adolescent Mini-Con." Shockwave commented before throwing Jetstorm down hard on to the ground.

"Jetstorm!" Safeguard attempted to run to his friend's aid, only to look in surprise and terror as Shockwave aimed his Energon cannon directly at him and was ready to exterminate him. Fortunately, Drift had already recovered as he leapt with a kick to Shockwave's chest to knock him back. But Shockwave quickly steadied himself to fire his cannon at Drift, but the Zangetsu flew in the projectile's path, where a pair of capsules appeared on its shoulders and activated a Radiant Wave to serve as a shield and block the blast.

"Using a radiation wave as a shield." Shockwave observed. "Illogical, but effective." He then resumed his fire at the group as they scattered to avoid the blasts.

"Fire! Fire!" Tamaki exclaimed as he and the Wrecker Akatsukis practically unloaded on the trio of Dark Pawns that proved fast and quick enough to avoid all the explosive weaponry that was shot at them before moving in close. The Akatsukis attempted to defend themselves, but the Dark Pawns delivered powerful strikes to the Knightmares' vulnerable areas to disable or destroy them, already half of Tamaki's unit was taken down. "What the hell are these freaking things?!"

One Dark Pawn had leapt toward him and was about to strike with its fist, but it was suddenly blasted from behind and obliterated by the Galeschin's VARIS.

"Don't let them get too close to you!" Nonette warned. "Keep your distance! Stay in the air!" She shot her Galeschin into the air for emphasis.

"You heard the lady! Everyone into the air!" Tamaki ordered as his Akatsuki, followed by the survivors flew into the air to resume fire at the remaining Dark Pawns, putting them on the defensive.

Ironhide threw a punch to the heavily armored Headmaster named Power, but the outer shell actually took the punch before throwing a strike of her own to the vetern Autobot's face, which was powerful enough to send him rolling back. He quickly got up and fired with his Energon cannons, but Power brought her Knightmare's armored arms together to generate a powerful shield that blocked most of Ironhide's attacks. She then shot out of the dust and knocked down Ironhide with a back hand before lunging with its jaw-like weapon, which Ironhide was forced to hold back with both his hands. However, Power's seemingly limitless strength was too much for Ironhide as the weapon inched closer.

Fortunately, Ironhide quickly aimed his right cannon at Power's feet and fired, knocking it down before he got back up and decked a punch to its head and knock the entire unit down to the ground.

"Just what the hell has Megatron been doing? Where did he get something like you?" Ironhide questioned as he aimed his cannon at the downed Power, prompting whoever was inside it to stand down. But she didn't listen as she quickly brought up her left jaw-like weapon to knock Ironhide back.

Rai gave a yell as lashed out with the Raiden's katana to clash with the MVS from the Dark Galahad, both Knightmares hovering in the air as their weapons locked. The Geass sigil glowing brightly in Rai's eyes as he gave a death-glare to the immortal pilot inside.

"What's with the hostility, Kaizaren? I thought you'd be happy to see me again." V.V. mocked. "After all, I'm the reason you're even here."

"SHUT UP!" Rai yelled as he threw out his Surger Claw, but the Dark Galahad withdrew back slightly to avoid the attack before lashing out with its sword to knock the Raiden back. "You murdered my family! You took everything from me!"

"All I did was give you your Geass." V.V. told him. "You were the one who told everyone else to fight. So tell me, how did it feel to kill your mom and sister?" That earned another roar from Rai as he recklessly shot at the Dark Galahad, but V.V. was able to swiftly move around it and deliver a kick to its back as V.V. looked on with a taunting grin. "

You know, I've actually been watching you during your time at Ashford, and I noticed you spend a lot of time with that cute girl. Shirley, I think her name was." V.V. continued, which only seemed to further enrage the former prince. "How's about when we're done here, I pay her a visit. I won't kill her right away, but she'd make a nice toy for me to play with."

Rai roared even further, shooting at V.V. with break-neck speed again, but V.V. anticipated this as he maneuvered the Dark Galahad around the Raiden again, lifted its blade to bring down on to the Raiden's back, right as Rai instinctively brought his Knightmare's katana up to block it, but the impact still sent the blue Knightmare crashing to the ground.

"Damn you…" Rai grunted as he tried to pull the Raiden up, but looked in shock to see the Dark Galahad racing toward him.

"This is what you deserve for backing out of our contract!" V.V. told him. "Now you're gonna…!" Suddenly, Bulkhead appeared to ram his shoulder and side into the Galahad, sending it rolling across the ground. "What?!" V.V. exclaimed as Bulkhead rushed him again, bringing his mace down hard onto the Dark Galahad's face before aiming his Energon cannon into its chest for a charged shot that sent him crashing backwards.

"Bulkhead…?" Rai looked in surprise as his Autobot friend walked toward him and helped the Raiden stand back up.

"You okay, partner?" Bulkhead asked with concern.

"Yeah… I… thanks." Rai smiled, having calmed down.

Bulkhead smiled back. "I get why you hate this little bastard, that's why I'm gonna help you kick his tailpipe. Friends watch each other's backs, right?"

Rai smirked in response "Right."

"Friends?!" They heard V.V. exclaim as the Dark Galahad picked itself up. "He turned his back on me and Charles! He doesn't deserve friends!"

"I was about to same to you, you little shit." Rai glared, but this time, keeping his anger in check as he channeled it toward his immortal nemesis.

"Somebody should have spanked your ass a long time ago." Bulkhead told V.V. "So, we're gonna do it right now!" He and the Raiden both charged at the Dark Galahad, ready to tear it to pieces.

Cornelia grunted as her custom Vincent was knocked back by an airborne roundhouse from a Dark Pawn. She fired her Knightmare's rifle at it, but the Dark Pawn backflipped to avoid the bullets as she continued to shoot, hopping to get some distance from it. She also glanced to her right to see the rest of her unit was almost completely torn apart by the remaining two Dark Pawns.

"Come on…. These things have to have some kind of weakness!" She grunted in frustration.

"All hail Megatron!" Jeremiah exclaimed as the Dark Siegfried brought both its fists down toward Jazz, Smokescreen, and Undertone; but the three proved quick enough to roll out of the way and avoid the crushing blow.

"Dude, you know how many times I heard that track?" Jazz questioned as he activated his grappler straight for the Dark Siegfried's head, pulling him straight up to land a kick and knock the giant mech down to the ground. "Too many!"

However, Jeremiah grunted as he quickly pulled the Dark Siegfried up to sweep a kick, which Jazz avoided by sliding backwards. However, Prowl ran towards its back and threw a series of shurikens, scoring direct hits, and prompting the Dark Siegfried to turn around and lash out a powerful punch. Prowl was able to flip back and avoid it, right as the fist hit the ground however, Undertone leapt toward the arm and quickly ran toward the shoulder before leaping, quickly pulling out his bladed staff to jam right into the Dark Siegfried's neck, but the large impact generated a powerful electric shockwave from its body, zapping Undertone and sending him flying.

Fortunately, Jazz launched his grappler to catch his Mini-Con partner and pull him to safety. "Yo Prowl, got an ideas on how to take this thing down? Cause I don't!"

"Perhaps." Prowl replied. "Just keep avoiding his attacks a little while longer. I'll let you know when to strike."

"Till then we just play tag. Got it." Jazz nodded as he and Prowl both transformed and began to drive literal circles around the giant machine in an attempt to confuse it, which seemed to be working as the cybernetic Jeremiah was having trouble locking on to one single target.

At the same time, the Headmaster designated Order crossed her blades to catch the Energon hammer that was swung down by Ultra Magnus before Order delivered a kick to Magnus' chest area, causing him to stumble back, right as she rushed his side and sliced toward him to knock him down. She tried to bring both her swords down on to him, but Ultra Magnus quickly transformed and drove away to gain some distance before transforming back and opening fire with his Energon blasters, but Order flew into the air to avoid each and every blast shot at her.

'It's like they're able to anticipate my movements.' Magnus contemplated as he continued to fire at her, while also analyzing her as she avoided the attacks. 'Is this the work of a Geass? Either way, I have a feeling this won't be an easy fight.'

Meanwhile, in the air, Jetfire and the Gawain Nerion shot directly toward Nebiros, who didn't seem the least bit worried. "I don't think so." The Geass sigil in both of his eyes activated, projecting an invisible sphere of red energy, causing both Jetfire and Ohgi's Knightmare to halt in their tracks, a red ring forming in Ohgi's eyes while a subtle red glow formed in Jetfire's optics. "Prepare to be terminated." Nebiros was about to bring his sword down on Jetfire first, but the pink Akatsuki flew into the sphere, completely unaffected to block the attack with its katana and deliver a strike to knock the red Knightmare back, breaking his Geass hold over Ohgi and Jetfire.

"Hold on… what?" Ohgi questioned as he and Jetfire blinked in confusion.

"What happened?" Jetfire also questioned.

"Ohgi, Jetfire, I'll handle him!" Cera told them as she faced Nebiros. "He has Geass, but it won't affect me! You just keep the other one busy!"

"Are you sure?" Jetfire asked.

"Yes." Cera confirmed. "But be careful, that's Mao!"

That took Ohgi by surprise. "The mind reader?! But I thought he was dead!"

"So did I." Cera said with a hint of regret in her voice. "Just keep him busy, I'll deal with this one, then help you!"

"Understood." Jetfire acknowledged before he and the Gawain Nerion flew off to engage Refrain in aerial combat, leaving Cera alone with the Geass Order's top assassin.

"C.C. I have been ordered to bring you back with me." Nebiros said stoically.

"Rolo, also known as Nebiros." Cera began. "You were practically raised by V.V. in the Geass Order, you have a higher kill count than any other Geass agent within the organization. Your Geass allows you to halt one's perception of time. But I didn't expect it to be powerful enough to effect Cybertronians, regardless, it won't affect me."

"Correct." Nebiros confirmed. "My Geass has become stronger from both V.V.'s training as well as Shockwave's experiments, though I required the least amount of attention compared to everyone else, especially the Headmasters. While it's true my Geass cannot affect you, I can still kill you, at least temporarily and bring you back to the Order."

"I'd like to see you try." Cera's eyes narrowed as she readied her Knightmare for battle.

At the same time, Refrain unleashed its Energon scythe toward Jetfire, flew back to avoid it before opening fire with his Energon blaster, but Refrain was able to see it coming as he flew backwards, apparently to where the Gawain Nerion had transformed into its hover-tank mode for a point-blank shot, but right as Ohgi fired, Refrain flew directly upward, causing the shoot to head towards Jetfire, who just barley limboed underneath the blast.

"We're not getting anywhere like this!" Jetfire exclaimed.

"Is he still able to read our minds?!" Ohgi questioned as he quickly brought up his blade to block Refrain's scythe attack, with Jetfire opening fire toward him, but Refrain was already prepared as he hovered backwards and avoided the blast.

"This is going to be a problem." Jetfire looked more than a little annoyed.

Optimus held the Dark Mordred back as he looked toward the cockpit, though he could not see who was inside, he knew who the pilot one as he thought with a serious expression. 'My Prime Geass could did not work before… why is that? Unless… is there another Geass in play? Something forcing her to fight?'

"Die… Optimus Prime…!" Anya, under the possession of Marianne, exclaimed. However, her eyes widened as the red ring blinked and changed into a white ring.

"What… what am I doing…?" For a moment, it looked as if Anya was regaining control of her body. But the red ring of Marianne's control formed back as the girl held her head in pain, stopping her attack as she felt an invasive force inside her mind.

"No! I'm in control! You can't…!" Marianne struggled as the red and white glow seemed to fight against each other, the effects of Optimus' Prime Geass from before seemed to strengthen Anya's will as she tried to fight back. For a moment, she had actually gained control of her body as she saw the face of Optimus through her Knightmare's screen.

"Optimus Prime!" Anya begged as tears were forming in her eyes. "Help me! Please! I'm… I'm not…!" She felt the invasive spirit inside struggling against her, but Optimus was still able to hear her plea all the same.

"Oz!" Optimus called to Orpheus as the Byakuen rolled toward him. "Immobilize her Knightmare! Quickly!"

"You got it!" Orpheus activated his Knightmare's head mounted Gefjun blaster to strike the Dark Mordred from the back, which not only immobilized the entire enemy Knightmare, but also sent a powerful shock that knocked Anya inside unconscious. "What was going on over here?"

"Anya Alstreim was fighting for control." Optimus tried to explain, even though he wasn't completely sure himself. "Likely the effect of a Geass, but this will keep her immobile for the time being. Orpheus, I want you to assist Bumblebee, Arcee, and Sideswipe, I'll aid the others."

"Understood." Orpheus said as he and the Prime moved in to assist their allies. Orpheus was the first to reach the Autobot trio as they engaged the remaining three Dark Pawns before firing a hail of bullets towards them, forcing the Dark Pawns back as he regrouped with the Autobots.

At the same time, the Shinkiro was knocked back slightly as the Dark Queen hovered over him, only for the mysterious machine to quickly bring up a shielding system on both sides as the Lancelot and Guren tried to strike from the left and right sides respectively. Not far from this confrontation, Elita was knocked down by a zooming strike from Speed that sent her rolling close towards the downed Shinkiro as Lelouch glared up toward the smirking Megatron who remained on his vantage point.

However, before Kallen and Suzaku would be pushed back by the Dark Queen, Optimus quickly rolled up in his vehicle mode before transforming and leaping straight up to grab the Dark Queen by its foot and used the gathered momentum to hurtle it toward Speed at such speed that the Headmaster was unable to dodge it as the Dark Queen smashed into it.

"Optimus!" Lelouch exclaimed with a relieved smile, something shared by Elita, Suzaku, and Kallen.

"Elita, you and I will deal with these two." Optimus told his fellow Autobot. "Zero; you, Suzaku, and Kallen will handle Megatron."

"What?" Lelouch was more than a little shocked, but the Prime wasn't finished speaking yet.

"Think for a moment." Optimus began. "Megatron is controlling many of the enemy units gathered here, yet he himself has not joined the fray. Why is that?"

Lelouch's eyes widened as it suddenly clicked for him. 'He can't do both! That's why he was testing it before with the Terrorcons and didn't attack back then either. If he's defending himself…' A smirk fell on his face. 'It'll probably be difficult for him to control his puppets simultaneously.'

"Understood." Lelouch nodded. "Suzaku, Kallen, with me!" He shot the Shinkiro toward the Decepticon leader with the Lancelot and Guren right behind him as Optimus and Elita joined together to face the recovering Dark Queen and Speed.

"Look at this." Elita smirked reminiscently. "The two of us standing together again, it sure feels like old times, doesn't it?"

"Indeed." Optimus agreed with a reminiscent smile before Speed was the first to fly directly toward them, but Optimus anticipated this as he grabbed Elita's hands and spun her around for her to deliver a powerful kick with the gathered momentum to intercept and slam into Speed's face and send her crashing back as Dark Queen flew in to engage them, but Elita let go of Optimus and flew right over to deliver a kick to its back and allowing Optimus to strike with an uppercut to knock the Dark Queen in the air right as Elita jumped to meet it and pulled back her feet to slam them both into the Dark Queen's back and crash it into the ground.

Meanwhile, the Shinkiro, Guren, and Lancelot flew around Megatron in literal circles as he looked with amusement. "You think you can distract me from controlling my puppets?" The Decepticon leader was able to see through their plan. "Well, give it your best shot, if you can defeat the Champion of Kaon." He drew his blade and allowed them to make the first move.

'I won't be drawn in like last time, Megatron.' Lelouch thought to himself. 'This time, you're going to play into my hands.' Zero then activated his Knightmare's communication so he could speak to Kallen and Suzaku without Megatron overhearing their plan. "Here's what we're going to do. Hit and run attacks, don't engage him in a direct fight. Keep him on his toes. Suzaku, strike with the VARIS first, get him off his vantage point!"

"Understood." Suzaku aimed his Lancelot's VARIS and fired at the ground underneath Megatron, forcing him to leap into the air as he avoided the blast. Before he even had the chance to transform however…

"Kallen! Strike form behind! Now!" Zero ordered. Without needing to be told twice, the Guren's energy-wings activated as Kallen shot directly behind Megatron at a speed faster than the Decepticon leader anticipated and blasted him with a point-blank attack from her Radiant Surger, sending Megatron crashing through the ruined building that was once his vantage point.

Megatron attempted to recover as he climbed out through the other side, but the Shinkiro suddenly appeared in front of him as Zero fired his Hadron cannons around Megatron, not only blasting him back, but causing a sizeable portion of the building to collapse.

'There's only one path for him to take now.' Lelouch thought right before he saw Megatron fly out of the collapsing roof top in his Cybertronian jet mode. 'I knew it.' He smirked. "Suzaku, with me! Shoot and coral him straight for Kallen!" The Shinkiro transformed into its Cybertronian shuttle alt mode, with the Lancelot doing the same into its Cybertronian jet mode. Both vehicle modes flew together in pursuit of Megatron as they fired Energon bolts at him, forcing Megatron to keep flying straight up where the Guren was waiting for him.

"Get a load of this, Megajackass!" Kallen exclaimed as she shot a hail of red Energon bolts from her Guren's energy wings, several managed to hit Megatron and send him derailing off his course and crashing straight toward the ground. As he skidded, Megatron quickly transformed back into his robot form as he came to a halt on his hands and knees. He growled at the three Knightmares before firing his Fusion cannon at them.

"Keep attacking at a distance!" Lelouch ordered as the Shinkiro and Lancelot both transformed back and maneuvered with the Guren, circling Megatron as they continued to fire their long-distance weapons at him. 'No matter how cunning he is, he has to focus on us. Whether he focuses directly or tries to split it between us or his puppets…'

Already the Dark Pawn trio closest to them began to short circuit, and glitch, leaving them open for the heroes to attack. Bumblebee was the first to strike as he delivered a series of punches across one Dark Pawn to knock it down before quickly drawing his katana to impale and terminate it. Arcee zoomed toward the second Dark Pawn in her motorcycle form before transforming and drawing her arm-blades as she leapt towards it with a decapitating slice.

Orpheus lunged with the Byakuen's taser weapon, scoring a direct hit on the third Dark Pawn and causing it to short circuit before Sideswipe brought his sword down to cut the final Dark Pawn in half vertically.

Back with the Black Dragon unit, the four Dark Pawns also began to glitch up, which the Holy Swords were able to take advantage of as they spun around the enemy for the Spinning-Life-or-Death formation technique to cut them down with little issue.

"Urabe, Senba, help Zi Dien!" Chiba ordered. "Asahina, you and I will assist Drift and the Colonel!"

"Acknowledged." The other three Holy Swords reported before splitting off to their assigned tasks.

Zi Dien continued to maneuver around the rapid-fire bullets of the seemingly stationary Land, trying to find an opening. However, he looked in surprise to see Senba and Urabe's Akatsukis slide directly toward Land at high speeds. Though the Headmaster seemed to be able to anticipate this and turned her attention toward the pair, firing at them and forcing them to divert paths, it gave Zi Dien an opening to move in with his Gekka Shiden quickly enough to strike Land in the head-area, knocking the girl inside and rattling the entire unit, and allowing the purple Knightmare to slice with a sword to cut down the guns mounted on Land's arms, forcing her to fall back as her primary weapon had been destroyed.

At the same time, Shockwave had transformed into his tank mode as he shot rapid Energon blasts to keep Drift, Tohdoh, and even Jetstorm and Safeguard at bay, but he grunted as he felt bullets pelt him from above, curtsey of the Akatsukis piloted by Asahina and Chiba, forcing Shockwave to transform and open fire at them.

This however left Shockwave open for Drift to move in first and slice at him with both his blades, which Shockwave blocked with his cannon, but this was merely a distraction for Jetstorm and Safeguard to leap up from their teacher's shoulders and strike at Shockwave's chest, causing him to stumble back right as Tohdoh barreled his Zangetsu right at him, launching all his Slash Harkens to send Shockwave hurtling back and crashing into a ruined building.

With the Elite Guard unit, the last two Dark Pawns, like the others, began to glitch and stutter, which Cornelia took full advantage of as she and the remaining Black Knights with her opened fire to gun them down and obliterate them.

At the same time, Prowl ran around the Dark Siegfried as he activated his hologram projector, creating two holographic duplicates of himself before transforming and driving around the massive Knightmare in literal circles in an attempt to confuse the brainwashed Jeremiah, which was totally working.

"Damn Autobots…! You and your tricks…!" Jeremiah grunted, while also giving Jazz a chance to grapple at him from behind with his hook, pulling himself as well as Undertone straight up. Undertone was the first to attack with his spear, driving it right the neck of the head-unit of the Dark Siegfried, causing Jeremiah to yell as he felt the sensation himself, due to being plugged into the machine directly.

"Why don't you take a load off?!" Jazz was holding onto the struggling Dark Siegfried's back before aiming his sonic gun and unleashing at full power, just as the real Prowl, who deactivated his holograms, gunned it right at the Dark Siegfried's legs and transformed to land a flying double-kick behind its right knee right as Jazz opened fire. The double attack sent the massive mech tumbling straight towards the grouped as Jazz and Undertone let go.

"Timber!" Jazz exclaimed as the disabled Knightmare crashed on to the ground just as Jazz, Undertone, and Prowl regrouped.

Meanwhile, Ultra Magnus appeared to be locked in combat against Order still, however a series of bullets fired at the feet of the Dark Knight Headmaster caused her to stop fighting as she found herself surrounded by Cornelia and the present Black Knights.

"Now might be an ideal time to surrender." Magnus advised, causing the young woman inside to tisk in minor frustration.

Back with the Wreckers, Tamaki noticed how the last two Dark Pawns were glitching up, which gave him the advantage as he aimed his Wrecker Akatsuki's weapons at them. "Open fire! Take those zombie-ninja things out!" He and all the Wrecker Akatsukis around him unloaded their heavy artillery to blast the final two Dark Pawns to smithereens.

At the same time, Bulkhead threw out his mace-weapon to smack the Dark Galahad and send it tumbling toward the Galeschin as Nonette sliced forward to cut off the Knightmare's right arm before V.V. had a chance to fight back, as he stumbled, Rai shot the Raiden's Surger Claw forward to grab the Dark Galahad by its face.

"Hey Victor, ever know how it feels to be struck by lightning?" Rai questioned.

"You think you can threaten me!?" V.V. ranted. "You're just a disgrace of Charles!"

"It feels like this!" Rai exclaimed, ignoring V.V.'s rant as he activated his Surger claw, shocking the entire Dark Galahad with electricity before it exploded, killing V.V., albeit temporarily. "I know he's gonna come back from that, but it sure as hell felt good."

"I'll bet." Bulkhead smirked. "And just in case he's back now…" He brought his mace weapon down on the burning remains of the Dark Galahad, even if V.V. had resurrected so soon, he would have been crushed right away.

"Nice." Nonette chuckled before glancing toward the Raiden. "Rai, are you alright?"

Rai took a deep breath before responding. "Yeah… like I said, that felt good."

"Yeah, he totally deserved that." Nonette replied. "Just like he deserves this." She aimed her Galeschin's' VARIS to obliterate whatever was left of the Dark Galahad's remains, likely killing V.V. a third time in the process just to add insult to injury.

Optimus threw out a punch to the face of the Dark Queen, knocking it back before Elita leapt over Optimus to deliver an airborne roundhouse kick of her own to knock the mysterious Knightmare down once more. They both turned to see Speed about to gun right for them, only for its advance to suddenly halt as Bumblebee and Sideswipe both grabbed its arms and kept it from moving any further.

"Oh no you don't!" Sideswipe stated. "Speed's my game and I don't like the competition!"

"[We got it! Now what?]!" Bumblebee questioned as the Byakuen rolled up to scan the odd-looking Knightmare.

"There's a person inside it! At the head!" Orpheus reported.

"Understood." Optimus nodded. "Arcee…"

"On it." Arcee quickly ran up to the struggling Knightmare as she leapt, drew her arm blades and sliced past its neck. As she slid to a halt, the head-unit fell off before the decapitated mechanical body fell back. The sudden shock of the decapitation was enough to shock the girl inside and knock her unconscious.

Meanwhile, Kallen threw an energy sphere from her Guren's Surger Claw at Megatron's feet, not only blasting him back but also creating a smokescreen. This left him open for Suzaku to aim his Lancelot's VARIS once again and blast Megatron in the back, sending him flying and crashing towards the Shinkiro as it fired its Hadron cannon at him, sending the Decepticon leader crashing back with explosive results.

Though he was still alive, Megatron was down on his knees, but he was far from defeated. "Looks like it's just about check-mate." Zero commented as the three Knightmares regrouped.

"Then let's finish it." Kallen glared. "Right here and now."

"I agree." Suzaku stated. "If we end Megatron, the Decepticons will fall apart! We can end this war!"

"Then we have no time to waste! Charge your weapons to full capacity! We're gonna blast him to dust!" Zero ordered as all three Knightmares charged their weapons.

Megatron however had one last trick up his sleeve. 'I'll admit, I underestimated Lelouch as well as his friends. They might actually have me beat…' He sneered evilly. 'But, maybe it's time I break that boy once and for all!' He pulled himself up back to his feet and took command of his only remaining puppet. "To me, my Dark Queen!"

The mysterious unit that was known as the Dark Queen suddenly sprang to life as it soared directly over Optimus, catching not only his attention, but the other Autobots as well as Orpheus as they gave chase, and by extension, got closer to Megatron and their allies. At the same time, the disabled Dark Mordred's cockpit was manually opened as Anya, still under Marianne's possession climbed out to see the Dark Queen coming closer to Megatron, right before it came to a stop in front of him just as the Shinkiro, Guren, and Lancelot had their weapons fully charged.

"That shield is not gonna stop us!" Kallen exclaimed. "We'll obliterate both of them!"

"You may want to rethink that… Lelouch!" Megatron spoke to the leader of the Black Knights specifically as the Dark Queen's central cockpit opened to reveal something that caused Lelouch's pupils to shrink.

"What…?!" Acting on instinct, Lelouch pulled the Shinkiro up to fire the fully charged central chest cannon straight into the sky. Kallen and Suzaku were also shocked at what they saw as they pulled their weapons away to the side to veer around Megatron and the Dark Queen.

"What the hell…?!" Kallen saw what Lelouch was seeing, as did Suzaku who was rendered completely speechless.

Optimus, Arcee, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Elita, even Orpheus were all seeing it as well as they looked more shocked than they had ever been, even the emotionally calm Optimus had almost completely lost his composure. Even the spirit possessing Anya could not see it coming as her 'borrowed' eyes wavered at this revealed bombshell.

In the central unit of the Dark Queen mech appeared to be the body of a young woman. Only her upper body appeared to be visible as her entire lower section had been removed, along with her arms, and connected to the inner machinery of this mech by tubes and wires that also connected to her back; but there was no mistaking the long black hair, face, or violet eyes that looked completely dead.

"M… Mother…?" Lelouch stuttered as he and all his friends and allies present saw the body of his own flesh and blood mother, Marianne vi Britannia, installed into the Dark Queen like some kind of battery.

"There is no use talking to her. As I'm sure you're aware, Lelouch, she's been dead for almost eight years." Megatron told him with a sneer.

Lelouch opened the cockpit of the Shinkiro to make sure he wasn't seeing things, to see the body of his mother with his own eyes. "What… what did you do…?"

"After your mother's untimely death, your father took her body and had it preserved." Megatron began. "Of course, after I exterminated him, her corpse fell into my possession. At first, I considered throwing it away like the garbage that it was. But then again, it seemed like such a waste. So, I gave the body to Shockwave and allowed him to experiment on it to his spark's content. Her brain and nervous system are fused with the endoskeleton-material of this Knightmare, which belonged to your father before I destroyed him, which Shockwave heavily modified of course. But, at the end, all it ever was, was just a corpse… that is until I infused it with the Blood of Unicron." His sneer only grew. "This puppet retains all the memories and experiences of her past life, but she carries no will or true life of her own whatsoever. She's a literal puppet at my strings, the most powerful one of all. She is my Dark Queen."

Everybody present; Bumblebee, Suzaku, Orpheus, Arcee, Elita, Sideswipe, but especially Kallen and Optimus were beyond livid at what Megatron had just revealed. However, no words could describe just how horrified and torn Lelouch felt inside.

"You didn't…. you…. How could….?" It felt like something inside him died as tears streamed down his face.

"Come now, there's no need to weep my boy." Megatron continued. "I'd say this was a fate she deserved. If you truly knew your mother, you would likely wish this fate upon her. But sadly, you may never know… but C.C. might."

"MEGATRON!" Optimus shouted as he was the first to shoot directly at him, followed by everyone else. However, he had already transformed and flown into the sky with the Dark Queen flying right behind him.

"Retrieve the Dark Mordred and its pilot." Megatron instructed the Dark Queen as it did just as its puppeteer instructed and flew back down to the ground just as Megatron contacted the Nemesis. "Soundwave, prepare multiple Groundbridge extractions. We're done here."

The Dark Queen flew back down and quickly grabbed the Dark Mordred, causing Anya inside to stumble and fall back into her cockpit as she was also carried away. However, from her vantage point, the spirit of Marianne was rendered completely speechless as she saw her own mangled and defiled body. There were no words to describe just how she was feeling right as a Groundbridge portal opened up, allowing the pair to escape, while also leaving the disabled mech of Speed behind.

At the same time, all across the warzone, Order, Land, Power, and as well as Shockwave escaped through the Groundbridge portals that appeared near them, even as the heroes shot at them and tried to stop them, they were unable to prevent their escape. Even portals opened up underneath the disabled Dark Siegfried and ruins of the Dark Galahad, pulling away V.V. as well as Jeremiah.

Back in the air, Jetfire and Ohgi continued to battle Refrain, but it appeared to be a stalemate. Even Cera was locked in a stalemate of her own against Nebiros, that is until he got an alert.

"Acknowledged." He reported to his superior before pulling his Knightmare back just as a Groundbridge portal opened up from behind. "Looks like you get to remain free a little while longer, C.C. I have orders to retreat. Refrain, it's time to go."

Refrain ceased its fighting as it shot into the air before flying to meet Nebiros before they flew directly into the portal.

"Wait!" Cera tried to stop them, but they were already gone.

The Ark – The Laboratory

Ratchet and Perceptor worked delicately with the recovered head from the Speed mech as they tried to cut it open with precise tools so not to damage the organic that was inside. At the same time; Lloyd, Cecile, Fixit, Rakshata, and Ganabati looked at the body of the mech that had also been brought in and laid across a Cybertronian examination table for study.

"Oh my, this is an unusual Knightmare." Lloyd commented.

"It's unlike anything that we've seen so far." Cecile said. "And we haven't even begun analyzing yet."

"I'd personally love to meet whoever made this." Rakshata added.

"No, trust me you don't." Fixit quickly said. "Because if the reports were true, and this was a creation of Shockwave…" He gave a fearful gulp.

"Who exactly is Shockwave?" Ganabati asked.

"One of the most dangerous Decepticons there is." Fixit replied. "Megatron's top scientist, responsible for multiple unethical experimentations, and if he's working with Dark Energon...!"

"Okay, that is a terrifying thought." Cecile muttered as even Lloyd and Rakshata looked a bit nervous.

"It's open!" They heard Ratchet's voice as the group of five quickly turned around to see the Autobot scientists having finished opening the head unit, only for him and Perceptor to look in absolute shock at what was inside. "What in Primus…?!"

"It's… a human girl…!" Perceptor stated upon seeing the unconscious blonde girl inside.

Meanwhile, Lelouch sat in his own personal quarters, the color in his eyes vanished as he appeared completely dead inside. His mind had almost completely shut down, and it seemed lie his heart would as well. The door opened as he glanced to see the group consisting of Kallen, Suzaku, Nunnally, Shirley, Rai, Milly, Nina, Rivalz, Euphemia, Sayoko, Kaguya, and even Cornelia walk inside.

"Lelouch… are… are you okay?" Shirley asked, but he didn't answer.

"We… We heard what happened out there." Milly said, but Lelouch still didn't respond, even as Arthur leapt up to his side and tried to purr and nuzzle against him, but it didn't seem to work. Everyone looked amongst each other, unsure of what to do as it didn't even seem like he had heard any of them.

Nunnally then approached him and gently placed her hand on his, which seemed to stir him slightly. "Big brother… please say something…"

This time, Lelouch spoke, though it seemed to be something of a tiny laugh. "You know… I actually thought I had him… that… that I had… gotten over what he did… and… I could make him play into my hands… give him a taste of his own medicine. But… he did it to me again…" He chuckled slightly, causing his friends and siblings to look at him with concern. "Just like before… I was just a piece in his game… he knows exactly how to get to me… and I let myself play into his hands again. I guess I really am just a fool, huh? It's… it's almost funny…" It seemed like he was laughing, but it also seemed like he was crying at the same time.

Though everyone looked at Lelouch in shock, even Nunnally was unsure of what to do here, Kallen was the first to walk up to him and wrap her arms around him, completely catching him off guard and snapping him out of his state.

"I'm sorry…." He heard her speak. "Lelouch… I am so sorry…!"

Nunnally was next as she hugged her brother, followed by Euphemia as well as Cornelia, and even Shirley. Milly, Kaguya, Sayoko, and Rai joined in as well, followed by Rivalz, Nina, and Suzaku as they each placed a hand on his back.

Having all these people that he had come to care for and love embrace him like this was all it took for the dam to break as he cried his eyes out, letting all the emotion turmoil that had built up inside him to flow out like a flood. He heard everyone around him say how sorry they were.

"We're all here for you Lelouch. Every one of us." Euphie's voice cracked as she comforted her brother.

"None of us are going to forgive him for what he's done." Cornelia spoke. "But we are not going to leave you, not this time little brother."

"You have so many people here who love you and want to help you in any way they can." Kaguya said. "So please let us."

"We're here buddy, we're here." Rivalz said.

"Friends stick together till the end." Milly added.

"That's right." Nina added.

"You didn't give up on me, so I'm not going to give up on you either, Lelouch." Suzaku said.

"I'll always be with you, my lord." Sayoko said.

"We're more than friends. We're family." Rai stated.

"And this family is going to stick with you even at the end of the world." Shirley said.

"We love you, big brother. So just let it all out." Nunnally comforted as she also shed tears at what had befallen the body of her mother.

"No matter what happens Lelouch… none of us will ever leave your side. We've got your back." Kallen said as she patted his back while being the closest to him. "I've got your back."

Meanwhile, outside, as everyone continued to comfort the sobbing revolutionary; Optimus, Bumblebee, and Elita had heard everything as they glanced towards each other with smiles of their own. While they were still enraged with what Megatron did, they would not let Lelouch break. Once he was done, and he had time to recover, each of them would lend their support as well, showing the boy that he wasn't truly alone.

However, around the corner, none of them seemed to notice Cera with a torn expression on her face. She truly felt sympathy and pity for Lelouch and wanted to comfort him as well, but she felt she had no right to.

'I'm so sorry Lelouch. I want to tell you the truth… but I can't. Not just… not just at how hard you'll take it but… what would you think of me? Please…. Please forgive me…!'

The Nemesis

Megatron stood on the bridge of his warship alongside Shockwave and Soundwave. "Despite the outcome of the battle, I would call it a rather successful test run. Shockwave, are you able to improve upon these results?"

"Affirmative, Lord Megatron." Shockwave nodded. "The next line of Dark Pawns will undergo extensive modifications. But I believe there is also work to be done with your control over them. They cannot function properly if your focus is split."

"Yes, unfortunately." Megatron's smile faded. "We'll have to work on that." However, the silent one of the trio walked up to his master's side. "Is there something you'd like to say, Soundwave?"

Soundwave nodded as he attached his tentacles to the bride's main console and typed in the necessary commands to view a recorded message on the central screen, which both Megatron and Shockwave recognized.

"This is the message that was relayed from the Nemesis." Shockwave observed. "The one that called for additional Decepticon aid."

However, Soundwave broke apart the frequency to identify a hidden message that contained the Autobot logo. "A hidden message!" Megatron identified. "So, the Autobots used our own message to call for reinforcements of their own. Very clever." But Soundwave wasn't done yet. Once this frequency was isolated, it was a simple matter of back-tracking it and tracing it to its source, which was identified on the main screen with a world map and precise coordinates at the Pacific Ocean floor, where a three-dimensional image of a familiar vessel appeared.

"The Ark!" Megatron exclaimed before he gave a laugh. "So, Optimus still uses that derelict vessel. I should have expected as much, but now we know it's exact location." He then turned to his two most trusted followers. "Contact all our forces, deploy the Nemesis. It is time to put this revolution to an end!"

Done.

And so… we have finally learned the full extent of the Dark Knight roster, including the Headmasters (Speed, Order, Land, Power,) as well as Refrain/Mao and Nebiros/Rolo. Just letting you know, the mechs that each of them have are loosely based off the main Gundams that were seen in the show "Mobile Suit Gundam Wing" (specifically the Endless Waltz OVA).

Speed/Alice – Wing Zero

Order/Sancia – Sandrock

Land/Lucretia – Heavyarms

Power/Dalque – Altron

Refrain/Mao – Deathscythe Hell

Nebiros/Rolo – Epyon

I just thought it would be something cool to work with, and something that makes them all truly dangerous, which is what Shockwave was going for when he worked with them. And it seems the Autobots and Black Knights have recovered Alice.

Of course, it's not just them, the Dark Pawns are basically robotic hybrid clones of the greatest knights/soldiers of Britannia's history, under Megatron's control as their power source is Dark Energon, which makes them all the more dangerous.

Of course, there's also the Dark Queen, which is basically the Terrorcon/puppet of Marianne's corpse. I bet you didn't see that coming, did ya? It is something that not even Marianne herself saw as Optimus' Prime Geass is still affecting Anya herself who wants to break free of the invasive spirit inside her. But… now that they both have seen what has happened to Marianne's original body… things are going to be quite different, which you'll see in later chapters.

But worse of all, Megatron knows where the Ark is, and is ready to wipe it off the face of the Earth! The second battle for the Ark takes place in the next chapter, and it is going to rock your whole world! I hope you are all ready for the biggest battle of Code Prime yet! Until then, stay safe and stay warm out there.