Code Prime - R2: Revolution

by Iron117Prime

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

20. Valley of Kings and Titans

Hi everyone, welcome back to Code Prime. Today, we've got a completely original chapter of my own creation. This isn't a rendition of a Code Geass or Transformers episode, but something entirely my own. It's the first time I'm doing anything like it for this fic and I hope it meets your expectations. We continue with the hunt for the Iacon Relics, starting now.

Valley of Kings and Titans

Shockwave worked in his laboratory within the Geass Order, making final adjustments to the project before him. It appeared to be a large black Knightmare frame, hooked up to a series of cables and Energon tubes. The Knightmare's legs were particularly bulky, indicating there might be more to them. It also appeared to have something of a tail-like feature emerging from its back with heavy-duty artillery on its shoulders, and even a weapon on its right arm that seemed a three-way cross between a shield, blade, and cannon. Shockwave pressed a command on the console he was working on, allowing the dark purple substance of Dark Energon to flow through the tubes and directly into the Knightmare. Crystal-like plates upon the Knightmare's shoulder glowed to life in the same color as the readings on the Knightmare came in.

"Dark Energon infusion completely successful." Shockwave reported. "The organic specimen has taken well to it with the cybernetic enhancements. Unit designation Thanatos now fully online." He pressed a few more key commands on the console. "Trial successful, commence final procedures to bring the Nemesis Project online."

The Decepticon scientist received an alert on the communications center within his laboratory, which he was quick to answer, bringing the screen up to the Decepticon who contacted him.

"Shockwave, my team and I are ready to be deployed to the coordinates of the Iacon Relic." Steeljaw reported. "Is Shin ready?"

"The specimen known as Shin Hyuga Shang is indeed ready for combat and will be deployed to your location shortly. You will meet him there." Shockwave replied.

"Good, can't wait to see what how your friend is acclimating into our ranks." Steeljaw sneered.

Within the unit designated as Thanatos, was the human known as Shin Hyuga Shang. Though he had very little humanity in him left, both emotionally and physically. Nearly all his organic biology had been replaced and augmented with Cybertronian robotics, including half his face being cybernetic, which connected him and his brain directly to the Thanatos, not too dissimilar from many of Shockwave's other experiments. Only this time, Shin was alive and now had Dark Energon flowing through his veins.

---

Shin's eyes opened, revealing himself to be in a dark void, his body appearing to be completely human. As his eyes opened, the red glow of the Geass emblem was visible for all to see, except that there didn't appear to be any other individual in this void.

"What is this? Where am I?"

"You know exactly where you are."

Shin gasped, recognizing the dark and distorted voice. He looked out in front of him to see a skull with a Geass emblem embedded into its forehead appear before him with an evil laugh.

"It's… it's you…" He had seen that very same skull before, on the very night he killed his own father and received his power.

"How intriguing." Beleth said. "This is the very first I've ever met the same person twice. All of your predecessors have only seen me once before falling into the eternal darkness of their soul."

"I see… so we're in my mind…" Shin said before gasping in realization. "I remember now…" The images all came back to him in flashes. The battle at Castle Weisswolf, the castle falling down upon him, being pulled out of the rubble, and even being taken apart and put back together by alien technology.

"Akito… Zero… the Autobots… all those fools still live, don't they? This accursed world still lives." Shin said as a scowl formed on his face.

"Indeed, they do, this world still thrives." Beleth replied. "Perhaps you'd like another chance to see it burn? The hatred within your soul has only grown, and I would see that hatred further fuel the flames that will consume all."

"You can grant me more power?" Shin asked.

"I can. Through the use of the dark blood that now flows through your being." Beleth revealed. "I have done so recently, using the blood of darkness to channel my own power and give birth to something more destructive. His power comes from his ability to instill fear into others, and he know uses it to bring this world to it's knees. Would you like that very same power?"

A serious look formed on Shin's face. "Before I answer I must know… who are you? What are you?"

"Who I am… no longer matters. What I am… You could say I am the face of another." Beleth began. "There is an evil in this universe… an evil that has existed since its inception. It is dormant for now, but it will awaken soon… perhaps the actions of you and the other who wields my power will only hasten it's awakening? Who knows? But I am merely an extension of this evil. Once it awakens, I may disappear to its will, for all are nothing compared to it."

"This evil… will it destroy this accursed world? Can I use its power to bring about the end?"

"Yes"

"Then I accept." Shin declared. "All I seek… what I've always sought… is the destruction of all."

"Then take this power… the power of Dark Geass!"

With that declaration, the skull's mouth opened as the Geass emblem on its forehead changed from red to dark purple. Dark flames of the same color shot out of Beleth's mouth and completely engulfed Shin.

---

Inside the Thanatos, Shin's eyes opened, the right side of his face being normal while the left side was mechanical. His right eye and left optic both shined purple, the Dark Geass emblem glowing brightly as a malevolent smile formed on the madman's face.

---

A Groundbridge portal opened in the Egyptian desert, the hot and scorching sun beaming down on the near-white sand as the vehicle modes of Sideswipe, Grindcore, and Strongarm emerged from the portal, followed by the Alexanders of the Black Wyvern squad and the Tristan Divider. The portal closed as the Knightmares and Autobots all transformed into their humanoid forms to observe the area around them.

"Wow…" Sideswipe said, seemingly in awe. "I've never seen a place so… boring."

"Boring?" Ayano questioned. "We're in the middle of freaking Egypt? How is that boring?"

"Well, there's nothing around but sand and rocks." Sideswipe commented. "If you guys think all that is cool, that's your thing. Me? Not so much."

"Yeah… I was kinda hoping the see the pyramids." Gino seemed to agree. "Or that giant cat-god thing."

"You mean the sphinx?" Ryo asked.

"Yeah! That's it! The cat… god… thing." Gino replied.

"The sphinx is a mythological creature that has the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. It's not a god in Egyptian mythology." Leila said.

Yukiya chuckled. "Weren't you a Knight of the Round, Gino? And weren't those guys supposed to be like Britannia's elite? As in they, know everything?" He chuckled.

"Eh, I never really paid much attention in those kinds of classes." Gino replied. "Plus, Britannian elite schools don't really teach anything outside of Britannian culture… which is kinda stupid in my opinion."

"Sounds like those Britannian guys need punching! Sucks I showed up after the Cons took over, I would have had lots of fun laying the hurt on those punks!" Grindcore stated.

"Now that sounds like a fun time." Sideswipe smirked.

"Hey, let's focus back on the mission!" Strongarm got everyone's attention. "We need to retrieve a potential weapon of mass destruction before our enemies do!"

"She's right." Akito agreed. "Commander, what's our heading."

Leila looked to the data on the screen of her Alexander. "Several kilometers north-north-east. We should be there soon if we move now."

"Then let's go." Akito nodded as the Alexanders transformed in their insect-modes, followed by the Autobots in their vehicle modes before driving off. The Tristan Divider then transformed as well, albeit more slowly than a Cybertronian would, resembling something of a shuttle before flying off to catch up with the others.

---

"Alright, looks like Delta Team is on the ground." One of the former officers from the W-ZERO unit said as they monitored the mission progress of this particular team back on Horai Island. How fitting that this group of officers and scientists were all the same people from the W-ZERO squad. It only made sense giving they worked with them the longest.

"Scan indicates no enemy signals so far."

"They are heading the coordinates and should be there momentarily."

Claus leaned back against the wall, taking a sip of his flask with a content smile. 'The more things change, the more they stay the same.'

"Oh my…" Claus looked to the side to see Lloyd casually walking in to join them with Cecile right beind them. "So, this is how the Wyverns operate? Not bad, I see."

"Can I help you Mr. Asplund?" Claus asked.

"Oh, don't mind me, just observing." Lloyd answered.

"Which is translation for him being bored." Cecile said with lowered eyelids.

"There are other missions going on right now." Claus told him. "Maybe you might want to bother some of the other teams."

"Well, I did hear some very interesting things from little Nina about how the infamous W-ZERO operated with their Knightmares, so I'm a little curious." Lloyd said as he walked toward Sophie's station and noticed the data on her screen before taking a quick read of it. "Oh… neural links, eh? Now that's quite interesting."

Sophie could tell that Lloyd wasn't planning on leaving anytime soon, so she decided to humor him with an explanation. "In the past, our unit has attempted to link the minds of our pilots together through their Knightmares in order to better coordinate the missions. It hasn't gone particularly well."

"I did hear that the so-called Ghost of Hannibal went rabid on many of those missions, as did those who went with him." Lloyd put in.

"That wasn't Akito's fault!" Anna quickly stated. "He… he was under the effect of a Geass at the time."

"From his brother?" Cecile asked. She remembered Suzaku telling her and Lloyd about Shin Hyuga Shang and their battle against him at Castle Weisswolf, as well as the existence of his Geass.

"That's right." Anna confirmed. "We had to deactivate the neural links just to avoid Akito's… to avoid the power from effecting the other pilots."

"Apparently Akito was able to overcome it thanks to his own will power, with pretty little Cera's help too." Claus added with a slight laugh. "Who would have thought the 'power of friendship' would come in handy during war time."

"Can't say I'm a fan of that particular trope right there." Lloyd said as he continued to observe the data readings. "But it seems you've gotten the link back online."

"With Shang gone and Akito's overcome of that accursed power, it's safe to say we don't have to worry about that issue anymore." Sophie replied. "And maybe with Cybertronian technology, we could be close to a breakthrough."

This once again brought her up her hopes that her comatose husband could one day recover. He was currently in one of Horai Island's most secure labs, his body receiving proper nutrients and treatment to get it back into proper physical shape for when he recovers, but he was still comatose for now.

"Hope you don't mind me hanging around then for this little mission." Lloyd said as he leaned in close, a bit too close for comfort for Sophie. "Britannia never came up with anything quite like this. They were more focused on finding ways to kill people."

"You say that so casually…" Joe muttered.

"How have these guys put up with this man for so long?" Hilda wondered to Chloe.

"I guess we're about to find out." Chloe replied.

As Cecile sighed in mental exhaustion from Lloyd's usual antics but was surprised to see Claus handing her his flask with a sympathetic smile.

"An exhaustive partner? I know the feeling." Claus said, briefly reminded of his ex and the falling out they had.

"No thanks… I don't drink…" Cecile said, though she smiled slightly in appreciation of his efforts of consolation. "But I'll also admit I'd like to know more about these neural links. Like Lloyd said, Britannia never devised anything like this."

"Well, I'd be happy to explain it to you." Anna offered. "It doesn't seem like Leila and the others are in trouble right now, so we can talk."

---

Meanwhile, back in Egypt, Delta Team continued to move through the desert in their respective vehicle modes, following the coordinates to where they hoped the Relic would be located. Their trail happened to take them down a certain path through the canyons, noticing several large sculptures and tomb openings carved into the rocky walls.

"Whoa, those are some big guys right there." Grindcore said upon seeing large statues of the pharaohs that were carved from the stone. "Didn't know humans can grow that big."

"We can't." Akito said simply. "Those are only statues."

"Hey Leila, where exactly are we going? What is this place?" Ayano asked.

Leila looked around from her cockpit and seemed to recognize this place. Though she'd never been here before, she remembered reading about it in school.

"I don't believe it… this is the Valley of the Kings!"

"Whoa, seriously?!" Ryo questioned. "That's freaking cool!"

"The Valley of the Kings?" Gino asked.

"I'm not particularly familiar with that term either." Strongarm added.

"The Valley of the Kings, as per its name suggests, is a valley upon which several pharaohs and powerful nobles were entombed, all from the eighteenth to twentieth dynasties of Ancient Egypt." Leila explained. "This is five hundred years of history of one of the ancient world's greatest kingdoms!"

"Okay… that's pretty cool." Gino beamed.

"They must have been pretty big guys to get tombs this big carved for them." Grindcore said.

"Egyptian Pharaohs considered themselves the most important people in their world, saying the sun rises and sets for them." Yukiya said. "Honestly, they're not too different from Britannian nobility, ya know considering they're all slave owners."

"Okay, I like these guys less, now." Grindcore stated.

"So, it's basically a valley where a bunch of dead guys are buried." Sideswipe summed up.

"Gee, try not to sound so excited." Ayano said sarcastically.

"Look, I get these might have been important guys and all, and some of these tombs do look pretty cool… but I don't see the appeal in glorifying a bunch of dead people." Sideswipe said. "Seems kinda like a wasted effort."

Ryo snorted slightly. "Hey, you wanna know how they bury these people? They rip out their guts and put them in jars, saying it's supposed to guide them to the afterlife or something like that."

"Okay… that is kinda messed up." Sideswipe said.

"Wait… seriously?" Gino questioned. "That's why they make people into mummies?"

"I wouldn't say that…" Leila began to explain.

However, as they continued to talk, Akito began to feel his head throb slightly. He tried to ignore it for the most part, brushing it off as a minor headache. But he had to stop his Alexander Liberte for a second as he felt the pulsing sensation in his head grow even deeper.

"Akito?" Leila asked with concern as the rest of the team stopped, the Autobots transforming as they addressed their companion.

"Hey, you alright man?" Gino asked.

"I… I feel something…" Akito's vision blurred for a second as he tried to focus his senses.

"If you need medical attention, we could call for a Groundbridge…" Strongarm offered.

"I'm fine it's…" Suddenly, a jolt shot through Akito's mind, causing the throb to increase significantly, leading him to scream in pain.

---

An alarm sounded on the screens, alerting everyone present. "Akito's brainwaves just spiked!"

"What? What happened?!" Sophie questioned as even Claus, Lloyd, and Cecile were alerted by this sudden development.

"His brainwaves are erratic… like… like before…." Joe started to look worried.

"No… this isn't like before…" Anna said as she looked at the readings. "This looks… worse…"

"Enemy units detected!" Sarah announced, catching the red dots on the radar screen. "We have confirmed of four Decepticon signals incoming on Delta Team's location and… and something else there too."

"Something else? What is it?" Claus asked.

"I… I've never seen anything like this before…." Olivia reported with concern. "I don't think it's Cybertronian but…. It's not reading like an enemy Knightmare either…"

"Can we get some kind of Energon reading from it?" Cecile asked. "It might not identify the unit, but it could give us an idea of what we're dealing with."

"Hang on…" Hilda tried to get a reading, but was surprised at the results. "That's… not possible… There's nothing…!"

"What?!" Sophie questioned as everyone was shocked.

"No Energon readings on it whatsoever!" Even Chloe was shocked. "But… that… that can't be right…" She gasped slightly as Lloyd put a hand on her shoulder and looked at the reading with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

"Run it again with a full spectrum analysis. Scan for any and all kinds of energy."

Though surprised by his unusually serious tone, they ran a full spectrum analysis, looking for any other type of energy source other than Energon. They were able to get a reading, which was pulled up on the screen.

"We've got something…" Anna looked at it. "But… this… What is this?"

"Anna?" Claus asked.

"I've never seen this type of energy source before…!" She stated.

"We have." Cecile said as her face hardened, looking at the data herself before glancing toward her superior. "Lloyd…"

"I know…" For one of the fewest times in his life, a sinking feeling formed in Lloyd's chest as his eyes narrowed with fear. "It's Dark Energon."

---

The Thanatos flew through the air at high speeds, the crystals along its side glowing, gunning straight towards Delta Team, with Grindcore being the first to notice it. "Incoming!" His warning came just in time as the Thanatos' heavy artillery opened fire, shooting devastating blasts on the ground just as the whole group began to scatter. Strongarm, Ryo, Ayano, and Yukiya were the first to open fire with their respective long-ranged weapons, but the Thanatos flew with such speed and agility that not a single shot hit.

"That thing is way too fast! We can't hit it!" Yukiya exclaimed, even his Alexander Valiant's long-distanced Linear Canon couldn't get a good shot in.

"I got em!" Gino flew in the Tristan Divider to intercept the enemy unit.

"No! Don't do it!" Akito shouted in a panic, something Leila noticed.

But it was too late. The Tristan Divider had already caught up with the Thanatos, drawing its dual MVS blades as Gino tried to bring down one of them, but the Thanatos was quick to block it with its shield before spinning around to slash its tail weapon at the Tristan, striking it with such force that it was sent crashing into a tomb's statue, rattling Gino inside.

The Thanatos flew to hover above the remainder of Delta Team as they had their weapons primed and ready to shoot it down.

"Hello Akito. Did you miss me?"

Everyone present, Autobot and human, had their eyes widened in shock as they recognized the voice. But none were more horrified than Akito himself.

"N-No… it… it can't be… not you…"

"What's wrong?" A small opening formed on the Thanatos' chest to reveal the cybernetic Shin Hyuga Shang looking down on all of them with a malevolent grin. "Why not come and give your big brother a hug?"

"Shin… Hyuga… Shang…?" Leila stuttered, her eyes wavering in terror.

"In the flesh, so-to-speak." Shang replied. "I see you brought all your friends, Akito. I'm glad. We didn't get the chance to properly acquaint ourselves before."

"You're supposed to be dead!" Sideswipe told him. "We brought a freaking castle down on you!"

"Yes you did…" Shin said in a mix of a growl and a laugh. "But Decepticon technology is truly amazing. Thanks to them, I live to terrify another day."

"And he is not the only one." The group turned around to a rocky hill to see Steeljaw arrive alongside Thunderhoof, Fracture, and Underbite. "What a nice reunion this has turned out to be." Steeljaw greeted with a sinister smile of his own.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." Yukiya's eyes narrowed as they all recognized this particular team of Decepticons. "The wolf pack is back."

"So, you guys are looking for a rematch huh? Fine with me." Ryo said as his Alexander Valiant drew its axe-weapon.

"Me too! Time to get this brawl started!" Grindcore pounded his fists together.

"For once, we agree." Steeljaw said as he was the first to attack, leaping at the group as they opened fire on him. He landed in between the Alexander Valiants of Ryo, Ayano, and Yukiya before sweeping his tail to knock all three Knightmares down. He spotted Leila's Alexander and went after her as she moved back to gain some distance while Strongarm transformed to catch up and intercept.

Akito gasped as he saw the Thanatos fly down towards him. Being propelled by pure fear, he shifted his Alexander Liberte back into its insect-mode and scurried away with Shang in pursuit, though Gino had pulled the Tristan Divider from the rubble and flew in pursuit.

The other Decepticons went on the attack as well with Fracture deploying Airazor and Divebomb in their missile mode before they transformed and dropped down on Ayano's Knightmare while Fracture clashed with Sideswipe, colliding their respective blades. Thunderhoof charged directly at Ryo, who charged forward in response with his Alexander Valiant to clash his axe against Thunderhoof's antlers while Grindcore went straight for Underbite, with Yukiya shooting the large Decepticon with his long-ranged weapon.

Steeljaw was closing in on Leila as her Alexander turned around, transformed to its humanoid mode, and opened fire with its rifle. Steeljaw had already jumped over the gunfire and landed on the Alexander to pin it down even as Leila tried to draw its Uruna Edge Knives from its arms, but Steeljaw had its arms pinned to the ground.

"I remember you." Steeljaw sneered while Leila grimaced inside her cockpit. "Leila Breisgau. Think that little Knightmare makes you a soldier now, little girl? Let me show you just how wrong you…"

Suddenly, Strongarm's vehicle mode rammed Steeljaw in the side and send him tumbling off Leila's Alexander, where he rolled across the ground but quickly recovered with a growl as Strongarm pointed her Energon crossbow at him.

"I'd advise you to stay where you are, Steeljaw." Strongarm glared as the Alexander next to her recovered.

"Thank you, Strongarm." Leila smiled in appreciation before turning to glare at the wolf-like Decepticon in front of her. "I may not be an ace pilot, but I am a soldier, and a Black Knight! I'll do whatever I can to protect my friends and this world from the likes of you!"

Steeljaw growled again. "Let's see you put those words into actions then." He leapt at them with his razor-sharp claws.

Airazor and Divebomb moved quickly across the ground to avoid the machinegun fire of Ayano's Alexander Valiant and were quick to close the distance, prompting Ayano to draw her Knightmare's sword in its right hand and extend the knife hidden in the second hand. She swung both blades at the Mini-Con pair, but they were far to quick to land a decent hit in, even transforming into their missile-modes to fly around and avoid her slashes, much to her irritation.

"Hold still you little shitheads!" Ayano shouted, only for her Alexander Valiant to be tripped up by Divebomb's missile mode before Airazor appeared and transformed to land onto of the vulnerable cockpit.

"Let's crack this thing open and see the soft fleshy inside." Airazor chuckled alongside Divebomb as he appeared. But before they could begin prying the cockpit open, both Mini-Cons were sent flying by a swipe from Sideswipe's sword, allowing Ayano to recover.

"Thanks Sideswipe."

"You can thank me by helping me out with this guy!" Sideswipe replied as Fracture charged him, drawing his large weapon to bring down onto the red Autobot, which Sideswipe blocked with his sword. But this allowed Ayano to go on the offensive, swinging both her Alexander's longsword and short knife at Fracture, forcing him to guard up against her relentless attacks, which Sideswipe added with his own blade.

Ryo's Alexander Valiant swung his axe at Thunderhoof, but he ducked underneath the swing and used his antlers to ram Ryo's Knightmare and hoist it up to send it flying into the air, but before it got very far, Thunderhoof grabbed the Alexander Valiant's foot and slammed it down onto the ground. But Ryo acted quickly and transformed his Knightmare, freeing himself from Thunderhoof's grasp and fired point-blank with his machine guns; forcing Thunderhoof to cross his arms and defend himself as Ryo backed away to gain some distance.

Yukiya's Alexander kept its fair distance as well as he fired explosive shots from his long-distance rifle at Underbite, but this only seemed to irritate the large Decepticon as he charged full speed at the smaller Knightmare, prompting Yukiya to fall back, but Underbite quickly transformed and drove after him.

"Come back here! You're' too small to even be an appetizer for me ya little bug!" Underbite exclaimed, but he was quickly rammed in the side by Grindcore's monster truck mode which he drove into a nearby rock mound.

"Then how about you pick on somebody your own size, muscle mouth?!" Grindcore stated as he pressed harder in his vehicle mode, trying to push Underbite through the rock. But Underbite transformed back and bit down on the side of Grindcore's vehicle mode, causing him to scream in pain. But this gave Yukiya the chance to come in, his Alexander standing on top of the rock mound and aiming his rifle point blank at Underbite's head.

"You hungry, huh? Well eat this!" Yukiya fired, creating an explosion powerful enough to force Underbite to let go, freeing Grindcore, who then transformed and brought his fists down onto Underbite's face.

However, while the members of both parties appeared evenly matched for the most part, Akito didn't have as much luck with his cybernetic-half-brother, the Thanatos flying like a bat out of hell to catch the fleeing Alexander Liberte. Shang landed his Knightmare directly in front of Akito and swung its blade, causing Akito to gasp in fear as he instinctively transformed his Knightmare to bring up its blaze luminous shield, but the force of the impact was enough to knock the smaller Knightmare back, causing it to bounce on the ground. Not even giving it a chance to recover, Shang fired his heavy artillery at the seemingly down Knightmare, but Akito proved quick enough, pulling down on the controls, ducking his Alexander Liberte as the energy blasts flew over and exploded behind him.

"Akito, why run? We have much to catch up on!" Shang flew his Thanatos forward to close the gap.

"No! Stay away!" Akito gasped as he retreated once more. He was terrified, more so than he had ever been in his life. It wasn't just the fact that his psychopathic half-brother was somehow back from the dead, but the presence he carried was far different than before: it was much worse now. He could feel the darkness, the evil, the closer Shang got, the more Akito felt it in his mind. It was just like when Shang got into his head with his Geass Command, but he thought he had overcome it. So why? Why was this happening to him?

The Thanatos appeared over the retreating Alexander Liberte, but the Tristan Divider suddenly came in to kick the more heavily armored Knightmare down.

"Aktio! Are you okay?!" Gino questioned.

"Gino…!"

"So, the Knight of Three sides with the greatest enemies his empire have ever known." Shang commented as the Thanatos recovered. "That is, aside from the Decepticons that overthrew it. How does it feel to be a traitor, Sir Weinberg?"

"You're one to talk!" Gino glared. "I know who you are and what you've done! But I don't get why?! Why do all of this?! Why join the Cons? Why would you want to destroy the world?! Why try to kill your own brother?!"

Shang chuckled. "I'm surprised a Britannian would ask something like that. Even if I told you my reason, you wouldn't be satisfied. There are just some people who will never understand each other." The Thanatos flew directly at the Tristan Divider, clashing their short-ranged weapons mid-air. "I thought I had a reason for the things I did…" Shang explained as he and Gino engaged in their aerial-duel, with Gino on the defensive. "To spare my loved ones the fate of living in a cruel world… to destroy all that I hate… but as it turns out…" The Tristan pulled back, only for the Thanatos to appear behind it at faster speed and slam it down toward the ground by bringing its shield-blade-cannon weapon down onto its back. "I really don't need a reason." He grinned evilly.

He prepared to fire his cannon at the downed Tristan, but Akito's Alexander Valiant shot up into the air, thanks to its high-speed propulsion wings for something akin to a jump and ram into the Thanatos' weaponized arm, causing it to misfire.

"Stop this, now!" Akito shouted as the Alexander Liberte pushed the Thanatos down toward the ground. It appeared down as Akito drew his Knightmare's katana, but the Thanatos' tail suddenly appeared to slash upward and knock the Liberte back before the Thanatos recovered and grabbed the smaller Knightmare by its shoulders.

"Come on out little brother, I've got something to show you!" Shang said as he began to squeeze on the Liberte's shoulders. Realizing he couldn't escape this grip, Akito opened his cockpit, ready to draw his gun and shoot down Shin the second he saw an opening.

However, the second Shang exposed his cybernetic face, his Dark Geass activated. "Experience true terror, Akito!"

The dark purple sigil flew directly in Akito's eyes, causing a dark purple ring to form. But suddenly, across the battlefield, the same thing happened to Ryo, Ayano, and Yukiya; each of them gasping as they felt the dark presence invade their minds, dark purple rings glowing in each of their own eyes as well.

---

"Massive spike detected in their neural nets!"

Claus, Lloyd, and the others were alerted by this sudden development as alarms sounded on the computers around them.

"Akito's brainwaves are erratic, and somehow, it's spreading to Ryo, Yukiya, and Ayano!"

"Just like before…" Anna muttered as Sophie pulled up the data to see the link connecting between all four pilots.

"No… this is worse." She said with distress. "The way their brainwaves are spiking… it's not just an adrenaline rush… it's almost as if they've been forced into a perpetual nightmare…!"

That revelation caused Lloyd and Cecile to look toward each other in surprise, a dread realization coming in mind for both of them.

"Perpetual nightmare…? What in the hell is going on?" Claus questioned.

"Correct if I'm wrong, but is one of the enemies we are facing Shin Hyuga Shang?" Lloyd asked.

"That seems to be the case." Claus confirmed. "Just don't know how that maniac is even alive."

"And he does have a Geass, correct?" Lloyd continued.

"We did confirm that… yes." Anna nodded.

"This kind of thing happened before, didn't it?" Lloyd asked once again. "Shang used his Geass on Akito, leading him to have his little rage fits, which spread to the others through this neural link thing?"

"A basic summation… do you have some kind of theory?" Sophie asked.

"We know Dark Energon is involved here." Lloyd explained. "If I had to guess, the Cons must have somehow infused Shang with that crazy stuff and it enhanced his Geass, making it somehow even worse than what he had before. Just like with King Con."

"Lloyd… Please don't tell me… you don't think he has the same kind of power as Megatron, do you?!" Cecile questioned.

That caught the attention of everyone else in the room as a serious expression formed on Lloyd's face.

"Yes, Cecile. I do believe that is what we're dealing with here. Dark Geass."

---

"Get back! Just get back!" Ryo screamed in hallucinatory fashion, the dark purple rings in his eyes glowing even brighter. He swung his Alexander's axe frantically, even though Thunderhoof was out of his range, though the Con couldn't help but look in confusion.

Ayano screamed as well, holding her head as she curled up in her cockpit in terror. "No… please… go away… Go away…!" She cried, tears flowing down from her closed eyes.

Sideswipe noticed her Alexander freeze up. "Ayano! What's going on?! Snap out of it!" He was struck down by a slice from Fracture, as his Mini-Con partners rejoined with him.

"Don't know what's going on, but I like it." Fracture grinned.

"N-No… No! Stay back! Stay away from me!" Yukiya cried out as he shot his Knightmare's rifle in all directions, creating several explosions across the area, even one in-between Grindcore and Underbite.

"Hey! We're on the same side!" Grindcore complained, unaware of the ground below him starting to crack apart.

Akito stood up from his cockpit completely frozen, a look of pure horror glued to his face along with the dark purple rings in his eyes, causing Shin to grin even more.

"Hey! Akito! What are you doing! Move!" Gino tried to get up, but the Thanatos' canons turned upwards and back over the shoulders to fire rapid blasts at the Tristan, sending it rolling backwards.

Shin then dethatched his cybernetic body from the Thanatos, revealing that nearly his entire body appeared mechanical, save for the right side of his face. He had even lost all his hair as there appeared to be some plugs even on the side and top of his head. He leapt onto the Thanatos' right arm as it kept a solid grip on the Alexander Liberte as he walked toward his brother.

"I don't exactly know what you're seeing right now, little brother. But I'm certain it must be horrifying."

As chaos continued to ensue across the battlefield, Leila happened to glance in the direction of Akito and gasped at what she saw. The monster known as Shin Hyuga Shang was approaching the young man she loved, likely to end his life.

"Akito!" Leila drove her Alexander as fast as she could to his location.

"Leila, wait!" Strongarm tried to go after her, but Steeljaw had knocked her down with a punch.

"I'll be certain you truly die, this time." Shin said as a blade popped up from his right arm, standing just in front of his brother. "Goodbye, Akito. I'll be certain to send all your friends to join you, soon."

Leila gasped as it seemed like she wouldn't make it in time. No! She couldn't accept that! She wouldn't accept it! Even with her Knightmare moving at its top speed, Leila opened her cockpit as she desperately called out to him.

"AKITO!" As she screamed, the sigil of her blue Geass formed in not only her left eye, but her right eye as well, manifesting in both.

Akito gave a sudden gasp as the ring in his eyes turned from dark purple to blue, but just as Shang brought down his blade, the entire ground around them began to shake.

Massive cracks formed all over the battlefield, spreading across the ground. This was the result of the destabilization caused by Yukiya's constant shooting, even now as he continued to fire, which only seemed to make it worse.

"What…?" Steeljaw questioned, only to look in surprise as the ground collapsed. Yukiya's Alexander was the first to fall with Grindcore right behind him, followed by Ryo's, Ayano's, and Sideswipe. Fracture, Underbite, and Thunderhoof were just far enough away to transform and drive away, avoiding the ground that collapsed underneath them a second later. Steeljaw noticed the same thing with the ground near him and drove away as well in his vehicle mode just as Strongarm fell.

Leila was the next to fall. Seeing the destabilization spreading to his location, Shang only scowled as he leapt back into the Thanatos, which hooked itself back up to him automatically before letting go of Akito and his Alexander, flying away while letting his brother and his Knightmare fall into the abyss, with Gino and the Tristan Divider being the last.

It then all came to a stop, revealing only a large dust cloud, which began to slowly fade away as the Decepticons and Thanatos regrouped together.

"What just happened?" Fracture questioned.

The dust had almost completely cleared to reveal a massive hole in the ground, one so deep that it was almost impossible to see the bottom, nothing but a dark abyss appeared before them. Steeljaw was the first to inspect it.

"Hmm, somehow this ground was hollow. The shooting must have destabilized it, creating this sinkhole."

"That would be impossible." Shin said. "There are no naturally formed tunnels in this area."

"Obviously, you ain't right about that." Thunderhoof told him.

"I do not believe this to be a natural phenomenon." Steeljaw said as he inspected the ground. "Something was dug here… maybe a long time ago."

"So, we going after them?" Underbite asked. "Let's finish them off."

"No. We need to retrieve the Relic, that is our top priority." Steeljaw instructed. "If any of them survived, we'll come back and deal with them later."

"Heh, maybe we can find out what this fancy Relic can do by testing it on them." Fracture grinned.

"Now that sounds like a fun time." Thunderhoof smirked as well.

"Then let us retrieve our prize." Steeljaw instructed, prompting Underbite, Fracture, and Thunderhoof to transform and resume their trek toward the coordinates. The wolf-like Decepticon turned back toward the Thanatos. "You coming, my friend?"

"I'll be with you shortly." Shin replied. Steeljaw then transformed and drove away. Shin took one last moment to look down into the pit. "You live for now… Akito. But I promise… you will not leave this desert alive."

The Thanatos flew away to rejoin the rest of his team.

---

"Leila…! Leila…!"

Her eyes slowly opened, the sound of static communications stirring her awake. Leila groaned as she pulled herself up, looking around to see she was still in her Knightmare's cockpit.

"Leila! It's Anna! Do you read me?!"

"Yes Anna… I hear you… I read you…" Leila replied, shaking the cobwebs from her head as she tried to get her Alexander back up and running.

"Thank god…" She could hear Anna breathe a huge sigh of relief. "You and the others just disappeared for a second… But I think we got your location now…"

"Are the others nearby?" Leila asked urgently as her Knightmare sprang back to life, bringing up visuals of the area around her. Her now-active Alexander appeared in a dark cave, with Grindcore, Sideswipe, Strongarm, along with the Tristan Divider, Alexander Valiants operated by Ryo, Yukiya, and Ayano, and even the Alexander Liberte all scattered around and appearing unresponsive.

"Akito!" Leila opened her cockpit, upon seeing that his Knightmare was close to hers, the cockpit open, and Akito lying inside it as he seemed unconscious as well. She leapt from her cockpit and toward his Knightmare, quickly climbing up into it as she tried to shake him awake. "Akito! Wake up!"

His eyes flickered open, revealing no glow, he was no longer the effect of any Geass. "Leila…"

She wasted no time in hugging him. "Akito! You're okay! Thank goodness!" He slowly reached his arms to return the embrace as well, happy that he was out of that nightmare and in the arms of someone he truly trusted.

A series of groans could be heard as the Autobots were the first to pull themselves up. "Ugh, my head…" Grindcore groaned.

"What just happened?" Sideswipe asked as he stood up, turning on the headlights attached to his chest to provide some form of illumination with Strongarm doing the same.

"The ground somehow collapsed… I didn't know this area of Earth had any subterrain levels." She commented.

"Hey… are we dead yet?" They heard Ryo's voice as his Alexander's cockpit opened up, allowing him to stand up as he pulled out a flashlight; Ayano, Yukiya, and Gino did the same as well, opening their cockpits and standing up with flashlights of their own.

"No fire and brimstone, so we're not in Hell." Yukiya commented.

"Yeah, spare me the thought of sharing the afterlife with you." Ayano told him, causing Yukiya to give a half-smirk.

"Hey, we're all alive!" Gino exclaimed with a grin. "That's good, right?"

"Can someone explain what the hell just happened back there?" Ayano questioned. "We were in the middle of a fight and then…" She shivered, remembering the horrible vision she saw, the image of her family being slaughtered in front of her.

"It was almost like… I was being drowned." Ryo said, a cold sweat going down his body. "Not in water but… just darkness… I couldn't see… I couldn't breathe…"

"It felt like there were a thousand daggers in my back…" Yukiya's eyes shook as well. "Like everyone around me was trying to kill me… and… I could have sworn I heard laughter… like the kind kids do when they're having fun."

"I may have an explanation for that." Lloyd's voice came in from all their communications, both Knightmares and Autobots. "Your old buddy Shang has a Dark Geass."

That got all their attention. "The same kind of power Megatron has? How is that possible?" Strongarm questioned.

"Dark Energon." Sideswipe assumed. "And we know that whackjob Shang had a Geass too, guess it must have mixed well with him."

"But wasn't he only looking at Akito? How was anyone else affected?" Gino asked.

"Probably from that neural link." Lloyd told them. "That same thing that happened to all of you in Slonim, only more trauma-enduing than bloodthirsty."

"What he means to say is, that Shang's power has increased thanks to this Dark Energon substance, and while it was directed toward Akito specifically, the neural link and possibly the same experience as before, connected Ryo, Ayano, and Yukiya to him, thereby affecting all four of you at once." Sophie translated.

"Well, that's just great. As if that guy wasn't a pain before." Grindcore said with a scowl.

"It doesn't matter." Akito stood up, trying to shake off what his brother did to him. "We still have a mission, and we are going to complete it."

Leila couldn't help but look at Akito with concern. As he was Shin's primary target, he likely got the worst of it. He may seem fine on the outside, but she could tell that there was a great deal of pain on the inside, and he was simply hiding it, something she knew that he was all too good at.

"Are you sure?" Cecile asked. "We could call for assistance…"

"No, Akito's right." Leila said. "With Steeljaw and Shang here, we can't afford to waste any more time. We need to retrieve the Relic."

"Got any idea how we're gonna get it if we're buried alive down here?" Yukiya asked.

"Gino, can't you fly back up?" Sideswipe asked the former Knight of Three, who was already at the controls of the Tristan.

"No… motor controls are still functional, but it looks like my Float System's shot. No flying for me." Gino said disappointedly.

"That may not be necessary." Claus spoke up.

"Claus?" Leila asked.

"Based on the data we're seeing here, the coordinates are actually straight ahead for you." He explained. "This Relic is buried here and you have a straight path to it."

"Well, isn't that lucky?" Lloyd said in his usual tone. "Guess Shang's terror-inducing power worked in our favor."

"Try not to sound so pleased about that." Ayano told him.

"Hey, I'm a sociopath. I was born without any empathy." Lloyd replied.

"That explains a lot." Sideswipe commented.

Leila was the first to try and get a read on the coordinates and was able to detect the relic with her Alexander's radar. She turned her Knightmare in one specific direction and shined the Alexander's lights, revealing a large tunnel that seemed to lead them to their destination. The others all did the same, shining their lights in that direction.

"Well, that's convenient." Gino said.

"I don't know about that…" Strongarm said as she walked toward the wall of the tunnel, rubbing her hand down it. "These walls… they're perfectly carved… this tunnel isn't a natural formation. Someone built it."

"Someone? Who?" Ryo asked.

"We can find out later." Akito said. "For now, let's use it to our advantage. I'll take point." He moved his Alexander forward into the tunnel, with Leila close behind him. The Autobots transformed into their respective vehicle modes, the other Alexanders in their insect modes as they and the Tristian drove deeper into the darkened tunnel.

---

Meanwhile, back on the surface, the Thanatos flew over the vehicle modes belonging to the Decepticons of Steeljaw's pack before they arrived at their destination: a stone temple that appeared carved into the large rocks before them. The Decepticons transformed as the Thanatos landed with Steeljaw taking out his scanner to confirm their location.

"This is it. The Relic is here."

"It's inside that musty old temple?" Fracture asked.

"That happens to be the Temple of Hatshepsut, the second historically confirmed female Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt." Shin informed. "She practically established the wealth of the Eighteenth dynasty."

"Who cares about some dead meatbag?" Thunderhoof replied. "We got a weapon to dig up."

"Oh yeah! Time to tear this place up!" Underbite was ready to tear down the temple in front of them, but Steeljaw raised his claw to stop him.

"Actually, the Relic isn't inside the temple, but rather buried directly underneath us." Steeljaw revealed before turning to the Chompazoid. "So, Underbite, if you would?"

The largest Cybertronian present immediately got to work as he used his massive mouth and claws to begin digging into the ground.

"We should hurry, if in the event the enemy were to discover our location." Steeljaw said.

"You think the Bots and their pets are still kicking?" Fracture questioned. "We saw how deep that pit was. Maybe a Bot or two might have survived…"

"But those meatbags pals of theirs ain't gonna be so lucky." Thunderhoof added.

"It would be wise not to underestimate that group of humans, particularly Akito." Shin replied, agreeing with Steeljaw. "My brother has always been damn near impossible to kill."

---

Meanwhile, while the whole of Delta Team continued their trek through the underground tunnel, Lloyd, Claus, and all the others back on Horai Island were seeing everything through the visuals provided by the Knightmares.

"This definitely not a natural cave formation." Cecile said.

"Yes, it's far too straight-forward, no inclines or declines, and it's carved out almost perfectly." Lloyd added. "As if it was made specifically for vehicles to traverse."

"I'm pretty sure Cleopatra didn't have a car to drive around in." Claus put in.

"It might not be natural, but I doubt this is human-made either." Anna said.

"There's also the fact that this path leads directly to the Relic we're supposed to retrieve." Sophie added as well. "I highly doubt that's a coincidence."

"So, um… what are you all saying, exactly?" Joe asked, looking back.

"Perhaps this tunnel was Cybertronian-made." Lloyd assumed, getting everyone's attention.

"Cybertronian?" Hilda questioned.

"But weren't these Relics launched from Cybertron during the final days of the war?" Chloe also questioned.

"To keep them from Decepticon hands, yes." Cecile confirmed. "But these Iacon Relics weren't the only alien artifacts we've found here. There was an Energon Harvester found in Greece."

"Which would mean that Cybertronians have been to Earth before." Anna followed along.

"What exactly does this mean? I don't really follow." Claus said.

"It means my friend, that this might not be a Decepticon weapon of mass destruction." Lloyd said, an intriguing look forming on his face. "We may be looking at something from Cybertron's Golden Age, perhaps a Relic of their so-called Ancients. Now I'm interested."

---

Back in the tunnel, as most of the group continued along, Leila's Alexander moved right alongside Akito's. She looked with concern in his direction once more before opening the communication's channel and establishing a private line.

"Akito… I've established a private communication between my Knightmare and yours, nobody can hear us." She told him, but he didn't give a response. "What happened?"

"What do you mean?" He replied, trying to feign ignorance.

"You know what I'm talking about. What your brother did to you back there." Leila insisted. "I know you, Akito. I know when something's bothering you. Ayano and the others got some kind of nightmare-educing vision and that was only through the neural-link. But you received direct contact from Shang's Dark Geass. You got the worst of it, I know you did."

A conflicted look formed on Akito's face, which he tried to push back. "The mission takes…"

"I don't care about the mission right now, I care about you!" Leila exclaimed, startling him. "Akito… please… what did he do to you? I want to help you… but I can't do that if you don't tell me what's going on…"

Akito shuddered slightly. This was so like her, always trying to find a way to understand people who were in trouble and trying to find a way to help them. One could say she was sticking her nose where it doesn't belong, and he used to think that way of her. But, more recently, he found that aspect of her to be… appealing. She cared for other people, she's always cared about other people, even total strangers. And… to be honest… he's always liked that about her.

"You… remember our time with the gypsies… when I told you about what my brother and I went through… what he did to our clan?" He asked.

"Yes, I remember." She confirmed, Leila still shuddered at the very idea of someone doing something like that to their own family.

"Well… I was brought back to that memory…" Akito shuddered. "But… all the bodies… our clan… my mother… they… came to life… like zombies and… tried to… drag me down with them… I…" He instinctively put his Knightmare on autopilot to continue along the path with the others, just so he could wrap his arms around his own body, shaking like a leaf. "He took that memory and twisted it… into something so… evil…!"

"Akito…" Leila was brought to tears just trying to visualize something like that. But she took a deep breath and spoke, but as she did, she failed to notice her blue Geass activating, almost automatically.

"Akito, listen to me. I told you before, that I'm happy he didn't kill you and I meant every word of that." As she spoke, her words seemed to calm him down, almost as if they were reaching to the very depth of his soul. He didn't even register the blue rings forming in his eyes. "What you went through back then was horrible, and I know you've struggled to try and move past it, but I know you're strong enough to. You don't have to constantly live in the shadow of your trauma or your brother's evil. You are one of the strongest people I know, and I know you can overcome this. But… even if you are that strong, all you need do is ask and I'll be there for you. I'll always be by your side to pull you out of that darkness."

He took every word in stride, feeling her connect to him more deeply than ever before. Though that fear was still present in his mind, and the trauma of that night will likely linger there for a long time, it was less harmful now, because he knew he had someone who would help him through it. A smile graced his face.

"Leila… Thank you."

She smiled back at him, even though neither could see the other's face right now, they could almost feel their smiles toward one another, even as Leila's Geass vanished, as did the rings in Akito's eyes.

"Hey guys, I think we're here." Gino alerted as the group came to the end of their trail, the Autobots transforming into their normal forms, with the Alexanders standing up fully.

They had indeed reached the end of the tunnel with a large stone wall, but what really caught their attention was something resembling a stone sarcophagus in front of them, one so large that it appeared to be fit for a Cybertronian.

"Is that a coffin?" Ayano asked.

"Whatever it is, the Relic has to be inside it." Strongarm said.

Grindcore was already at the coffin, gripping the lid. "Grindcore, be careful!" Sideswipe told him. "We don't know what's inside!" But the large and green Autobot had already shoved off the lid of the sarcophagus, allowing everyone to see what was inside as they shined their lights into it.

What lied inside appeared to be a Cybertronian skeleton, or whatever one could assume was the equivalent of one. It had long since rusted down, any kind of life or color was now gone, not even a trace of Energon was left. This Cybertronian appeared no bigger than an Alexander in comparison to size. But there was something in its hands, as if this item was to be entombed with the deceased Cybertronian. There was an orb in the center with four triangular-shaped objects attached to each corner, giving it the shape of an incomplete two-dimensional diamond.

"Is that the Relic?" Grindcore asked.

"It has to be. There's literally nothing else here." Strongarm said.

"Yeah but… who is that?" Ryo asked, referring to the deceased Cybertronian.

"Is it a Bot or Con?" Yukiya asked.

"I don't think either." Sideswipe said. "This guy's been buried here for a while, probably died before the war started."

"So… what do we do?" Gino asked.

"We have the Relic; we take it and we go." Akito said. "We can identify the body later."

"Akito is right, we have what we came here for. It's time to go." Leila agreed.

However, before either could make a move to grab it, the ceiling began to shake as pieces of rock and stone began to fall off. The group could hear the sounds of what appeared to be digging above them.

"Looks like we're fighting our way out of here!" Ryo stated.

"Wait, I have an idea!" Sideswipe stated. "Gino, what's the most powerful gun you got?"

"I can make an energy canon with Slash Harkens, why?" He replied.

"Blast us a hole out of here! We'll take the bad guys by surprise; it might give us some kind of advantage!" Sideswipe told him.

"You got it! Everyone, get back! Gino ordered.

"Hang on!" Leila reached with her Alexander's hands, gripping around the Relic as the outside digging came ever closer. She used her Knightmare to yank the mysterious artifact from its resting place before rolling back with everyone else just as Gino deployed the Tristan's Slash Harkens onto the ceiling. They combined the second they made contact, and fired a condensed energy shot straight upwards.

---

A massive energy blasted erupted from the ground, forcing Steeljaw and his pack back while Underbite was thrown upwards by the raw force of the blast before crashing hard on the ground behind them.

"What in Cybertron was that?!" Thunderhoof questioned.

"It would seem our enemies have returned." Shin assumed a grin on his face. "Let's make sure to end them this time."

Immediately, the Tristan Divider had pulled out of the hole that had been made via it's slash harkens. Once it was back up, it leapt straight toward the Thanatos with its dual swords, which the Thanatos blocked with its shield before both units landed on the ground to clash their weapons once again. Four of the Alexander units had also climbed back up in their insect modes before opening fire on the Decepticons, forcing them to scatter as the Autobots just climbed back up, Strongarm drawing her crossbow to add to the fire while Sideswipe drew his sword and charged forward with Grimlock to engage Steeljaw and Underbite respectively.

"Leila, take the Relic and go!" Akito told her as her Alexander was the last to climb up with the Relic in its hands. "We'll keep them busy!"

"But Akito…" She tried to protest.

"No, he's right!" Strongarm agreed. "Get enough distance and call for a Groundbridge, secure the Relic back at base and we'll be right behind you!"

Though she hated the idea of leaving her friends and comrades, especially Akito with his wicked brother at such close proximity, she knew they were right. There was no telling what kind of powers this Relic may hold but she would not allow the Decepticons to abuse it for their own gain. She would secure it back at Horai Island and return to them to bring them back as well.

"Alright, but I will be back!" Leila stated as she transformed her Alexander into its insectoid mode, the Relic being held by the unit's sub-arms beneath the cockpit, before moving away.

As the Decepticons gathered themselves and went on the offensive against Delta Team, the Tristan was once again knocked down by a tail slash from the Thanatos before he quickly noticed the white Alexander leaving the fray with the Relic. He knew exactly who was in there, and just how important she was to Akito, for the reason, he flew after her.

"Crap! He's going after Leila!" Gino warned, causing every Bot and human to look in shock to see the Thanatos already catching up to her, firing it's shoulder and arm cannons at her, which she could just barley avoid with her Alexander.

"Hang on! I'm coming…!" Sideswipe was about to go after her, but Steeljaw rushed him to knock him down with a punch. Ayano, Strongarm, and Yukiya attempted to fire their long-ranged weapons at the Thanatos, but all three of them were quickly intercepted by Fracture, who kicked Strongarm down before pulling out and swinging his largest weapon to keep Ayano and Yukiya's Alexanders at bay.

"Get out of our way!" Ayano exclaimed as she tried to thrust her longsword at him, but Fracture easily blocked it before drawing his smaller blade from his left arm to try and decapitate Yukiya's Alexander, which he just barley avoided.

Akito shot his Knightmare after Leila and Shin with Ryo's Alexander and Grindcore right behind him; but Underbite charged from the side to ram both and knock them down while Thunderhoof tried to block Akito's path.

"You ain't going nowhere, Meatb…" The Tristan rammed its shoulder into Thunderhoof to clear the way.

"Go! Akito!" Gino exclaimed.

Akito shot his Alexander as fast as he could, a look of desperation on his face as he tried to catch up to them.

Leila screamed as one explosion from behind, shot by the Thanatos' arm-cannon, knocked her Alexander down, the Relic falling from the sub-arm's grip and onto the ground underneath her. She gasped as she saw the Thanatos land in front of her and aimed its arm cannon directly at her.

"You care for Akito, don't you Leila?" Shin grinned evilly. "You love him… That makes me sick. Love is such a painful feeling, especially when that loved one leaves you. Allow me to demonstrate." He charged his canon and was ready to fire onto her, her eyes widening with terror.

"NOOO!" Akito's Alexander Liberte swooped in with a kick to knock the canon away from Leila, causing the blast to misfire and obliterate a section of the nearby temple. The Alexander's free hand grabbed the Thanatos' canon-arm as Akito tried to bring his Knightmare's katana down onto Shin, but the Thanatos own free hand grabbed the katana-arm, both Knightmares wrestling against each other.

"Akito!" Leila exclaimed.

"Stay away from her!" He exclaimed at his brother. "You took everything from else from me, brother… you will not take her too!"

A look of psychotic rage formed on Shin's face. "Akito… You're supposed to die at my hands! Why can't you see that?!" He aimed the Thanatos' shoulder cannons at both Akito and Leila. "Even if this kills me… I'll drag you both down to Hell myself if I have to!"

In that instant, Leila's blue Geass manifested in her eyes once again, causing blue rings to form in not just Akito's eyes, but also that of Ryo, Yukiya, and Ayano.

But, even more surprising… was the fact the mysterious Relic underneath Leila's Alexander began to glow as well. The orb in the center was already emanating a red light.

---

"BRS levels are spiking again!" Chloe exclaimed as another alert came in for the team back at base.

"Again?! Why now?!" Claus shouted.

"Can't you sever the link or something?!" Cecile questioned.

"Not in the middle of a crisis like this!" Anna replied.

"Wait… something's different…" Sophie got a good look at the readings on her console with Lloyd over her shoulder. "This isn't like all the other times, or even what happened recently!"

"This energy reading… it's not Dark Energon…" Lloyd said. "It's… different."

"Their brainwaves… Akito's…. Ryo's… Yukiya's… Ayano's… they're all syncing perfectly…" Sophie gasped as a new reading suddenly popped up. "They're syncing… with Leila!"

---

"Stay away from them!" Ryo shouted, the blue ring in his eyes glowing brighter as his Alexander kicked back Underbite in the face before he rushed towards Akito, Leila, and Shin. "I'm not letting you kill Akito or Leila!"

"You won't hurt our friends!" Ayano exclaimed as her Alexander flipped over Fracture while Yukiya used his to trip up the Decepticon before they both gunned it as well.

"We'll keep them safe!" Yukiya also cried out as his and Ayano's eyes shined with the blue rings of Leila's Geass as well.

Shin noticed the trio incoming toward them, causing him to scowl even further. "Die… DIE! ALL OF YOU JUST DIE!" He screamed.

"No!" Leila exclaimed, the Relic below her changing its red glow to blue, as if the Relic itself was syncing with her own Geass. "Nobody is dying here!"

The second those words left her lips, the Relic suddenly shot up and attached itself to the chest of her Alexander, enveloping the Knightmare in a bright blue aura, causing the Knightmare to levitate into the air before four energy bolts shot from the Relic and toward Akito's Alexander Liberte and the three Alexander Valiants belonging to Ayano, Yukiya, and Ryo.

---

Suddenly, Leila was no longer in her cockpit, but in what appeared to be a white void, hovering motionlessly. She looked around her to see Akito, Ryo, Ayano, and Yukiya were all beside her, all four of them looking just as confused as she was. The blue Geass sigil in her eyes glowed brightly, along with the blue rings in those of the others.

But before any of them could question what was happening, a large figure appeared before them. He was clearing Cybertronian, but nothing like they've ever seen before. He was certainly larger than any Autobot or Decepticon they've encountered, more than three-times their own size, even dwarfing the like of Optimus. His appearance was incredibly well-built, as if his arms, legs, and body were also capable of operating independently. But it was the presence this being carried as he gazed down upon them.

There was something of an unpredictable element to him, maybe a bit mischievous, but there was wisdom there to. As if this being seemed to embody the nature of change itself. He looked down at them with a smile and a nod before speaking four familiar words.

"Till all are one."

---

Leila's Alexander hovered higher into the air as the Alexander Liberte and three Alexander Valiants hovered with her before encircling the white Alexander that the Relic was attached to, almost like planets orbiting a star. They were then pulled in closer and closer before coming together, creating a bright flash of blue light, drawing the attention of Gino, Shin, Steeljaw, Sideswipe, Strongarm, Grindcore, Underbite, Fracture, and Thunderhoof, all looking at the phenomenon with shock and awe.

Inside this surge of energy, Leila's Alexander extended its arms and legs in four separate directions, it's shoulder-mounted rifle splitting up to attach to both arms and create extensions of some sort, with the land-spinners on each of the legs doing the same thing.

Akito's Alexander Liberte came towards the right arm, shifting and transforming, it's arms and legs merging with the body as the katana and shield-like attachment fused to the front and back respectively, taking the form of a bladed arm-like attachment.

Ryo's Alexander Valiant came towards the left arm, also shifting and transforming with its arms and legs merging with the body, the axe and large shoulder-mounted canon merging together and with the whole body on its back.

Yukiya's Alexander Valiant changed in a slightly different manner. It went into a form resembling its insect-like mode, with the arms and legs being somewhat spread out as the large long-ranged rifle separated into two halves, one half shifting and transforming, attaching to the back and pointing straight upward, coming toward the lower left.

Ayano's Alexander Valiant changed and transformed just like Yukiya's, similar to its insect-mode with its arms and legs somewhat spread out. The other half of Yukiya's rifle attached to this Alexander's weapon and stuck upward, forming a joint-like connection as it came toward the lower right.

All four units merged with Leila's Alexander, Akito's at the upper right with Ryo's at the upper left, forming a pair of large arms, with Yukiya and Ayano coming up to attach as well, forming the left and right legs respectively. With one final flash of energy, the combined form of all five Alexanders landed on the ground, revealing itself to everyone around them.

"Holy…" Sideswipe looked in awe.

"Sweet Solus Prime!" Strongarm exclaimed.

"That is… so freaking awesome!" Grindcore exclaimed with a grin.

For once in his life, Gino had absolutely nothing to say. 'Did… did they just… combine?' He remembered seeing the Constructicons forming into Devastator and Combaticons merging into Bruticus as well, but he would never once in a million years expect human-made Knightmares to do the same thing.

All the Decepticons were rendered speechless as well as even Underbite's jaw hung open. Steeljaw looked in just as much shock as everyone else, but a scowl formed on his face as he growled in anger and even fear.

But none appeared more shocked than Shin Hyuga Shang himself as he stood the closest to this combined-Alexander unit that stood about a little more than twice his own height. While this unit wasn't nearly as big as the likes of Bruticus, this was an unexpected development that nobody could ever anticipate.

---

Back at base, everyone's eyes widened and their mouths hung open as they saw through the visual feed of the Tristan Divider what had just happened, and all of them, even the likes of Claus and Lloyd were speechless.

"Did… did our Knightmares… just merge together…?" Claus questioned, looking at his flask. "Yeah… I've been drinking too much."

"No, we're all seeing it… but that should be impossible…" Cecile said. "We don't have the technology for…"

"It has to be the Relic." Anna said. "Somehow it combined the Alexanders…! Sophie, what happened to Anna and the others?!"

"We have vitals from all five of them, they're alive." Sophie reported. "But they're brainwaves are perfectly synced… it's almost as if they're sharing one mind together."

"I don't know what sort of alien-magic-tech those kids have gotten their hands on, but I'm not complaining." Lloyd said with a laugh. "Let's see what this bad boy can do!"

---

"HOW!?" Steeljaw exclaimed as the Alexander Combiner unit stood tall.

Inside the unit, Leila, Akito, Ryo, Yukiya, and Ayano were still inside each of their individual cockpits from the respective parts that their Knightmares transformed into. Leila was in the central torso, Akito was the right arm, Ryo was the left, while Ayano and Yukiya were the right and left legs respectively. Leila's eyes still glowed with the blue Geass sigil while everyone else still had their blue rings in their eyes.

"Hey… are you guys feeling this?" Yukiya asked.

"Yeah… I… I hear you… not through the comns but…" Ayano was at a loss for words.

"In my head." Ryo finished. "What the hell…?"

"I think my Geass connected to all of you through the Alexanders' neural link, and that somehow connected to the Relic that combined us into this form." Leila assumed.

"Well let's take advantage of this state while we can." Akito was the first to get them to focus. "Somehow, our minds are synced together with this unit, and knowing my brother, he's going to hack us to pieces any second."

True to Akito's word, the cybernetic Shin gnashed his teeth together, to the point where a tooth even chipped before he gave a roar and fired his heavy-artillery shoulder cannons. But Akito and Ryo acted quickly with Leila, the Alexander Combiner crossing its arms together, generating a shield-like energy barrier that blocked the blasts, much to everyone's surprise.

"Whoa… we got a shield?!" Ryo exclaimed.

"I think we got a sword, too!" Ayano said as Akito pulled on the arm's controls, causing a large katana-shaped energy blade to extend from the Combiner's right arm.

"Listen, everyone… I don't know what happened, but whatever it was, it happened for a reason." Leila began. "I know the bond we have, with each other and with the other Autobots and Black Knights is unbreakable. No matter what evil we face, we face it together. Unity, that is how we win this war! That is how we take our world back from the Decepticons!"

"Damn right." Ryo smirked.

"Let's take these guys down a peg." Ayano also smirked.

"Got me all fired up." Yukiya smirked as well.

Even Akito smirked. "Well then Leila, we'll follow your lead."

She smiled with a blush before getting serious as they faced the Thanatos again, the crazed Shin giving a war-cry as he shot at them.

"Let's do this! Together!" Leila cried out as the Alexander Combiner ran, charging at the Thanatos. The gap was quickly closed as Akito raised the sword arm and sliced at the Thanatos, but it missed as Shin tried to circle around.

"He's behind us!" Akito reported.

"I got em!" Yukiya quickly lifted the left leg to deal a kick to the Thanatos, scoring a hit that sent it crashing and rolling across the ground.

Ryo noticed a targeting system coming online in his cockpit. "Ho-ho-ho!" He laughed. "We got guns, I sure as hell ain't wasting them!" The Alexander Combiner's left arm revealed a chain-gun like device that locked onto the recovering Thanatos.

"Light em up!" Ayano ordered, the gun unleashing rapid-fire energy blasts, forcing Shin on the defensive as he tried to fly away, but Ryo kept their gun trained on him.

Seeing one of their most powerful assets in such a defensive state made Steeljaw more than a little peeved. He turned back to his Pack to see they were still in the same speechless state as before.

"Don't just stand there!" He growled to them, getting their attention. "Tear that thing apart!"

"Nuh-uh-uh." They turned to see Sideswipe, Grindcore, Strongarm, and the Tristan Divider blocking their path. "You're gonna have to get through us, first." Sideswipe grinned.

Steeljaw growled even more before he roared as he charged forward, to which Gino responded in kind, driving the Tristan Divider forward to clash his Knightmare's swords against Steeljaw's claws. Grindcore ran forward to tackle Underbite and pin him all the way to the wall of the nearby temple, leaving Sideswipe and Strongarm to face Fracture and Thunderhoof together.

Grindcore grabbed Underbite by the back of his head and shoved him repeatedly into the wall of the temple until Underbite had enough and pulled back on his hind legs to kick Grindcore off and down.

"Nobody! Shoves my face! In the dirt!" Underbite charged at Grindcore, but the green Autobot anticipated this, seeing his chance as he stuck to the ground right when Underbite got to him, allowing Grindcore to deliver a surprise uppercut to his enemy's jaw, sending him reeling back before Grindcore grabbed him by the face and used his own strength to pull and begin spinning him around, picking up speed and momentum with each spin until Grindcore let go and sent him crashing deeper into the temple, where a part of it collapsed inward on the Decepticon inside.

"Oops, hope that wasn't important." Grindcore said with a smile.

Sideswipe parried his sword with Fracture's own blade, coming back-to-back with Strongarm as Thunderhoof attempted to charge her. They both shared looks and nodded to one another before they ducked and rolled to the side, causing Thunderhoof to accidentally ram into Fracture with enough force to knock him down and out. Before Thunderhoof could even question what happened, Sideswipe and Strongarm both appeared in front of him to deliver a double-punch to his face and knock him out as well.

"Not bad, rookie." Sideswipe complemented the female Autobot.

"Not bad yourself." Strongarm nodded with a smile.

Gino continued to use his Tristan's MVS blades to block and parry Steeljaw's relentless claw swipes, but when he tried to go on the offensive, Steeljaw caught both swords in his claws with a growl, but Gino saw this coming. He launched a pair of slash harkens from his arms to knock Steeljaw back before the harkens combined together to unleash an energy blast that knocked Steeljaw back quite a bit.

"How's that for a meatbag?" Gino grinned triumphantly.

Meanwhile, the Thanatos still tried to duke it out with the Alexander Combiner, getting up in its face, but a hammer-fist from Ryo's arm-unit knocked it down to the ground, but Shin quickly recovered as it flew at the head-unit to lash out its tail-weapon toward what he hoped was Leila, but Akito quickly raised the sword to block the strike before slicing to sever the entire tail and leaved the surprised Shin vulnerable for Ayano to pull back on the right leg and deliver a kick to knock the Thanatos down once again.

"No! No! I will not lose to you children! Not again!" Shin cried out.

"You want to know why you keep losing, brother?" Akito told him. "Because I think that's what you want."

"What?" Shin questioned.

"You heard em." Ayano stated. "You think this world is a dark and miserable place."

"And you're not wrong, it's got some shitty people in it, with you near the top of it all." Yukiya added.

"But this world's also got a lot that's worth fighting for." Ryo said.

"We have friends, family, people that we love, with many more families out there hoping for a better world for their children." Leila stated. "And that is a future that's worth fighting for."

"But all you see is pain and darkness." Akito continued. "That's all you've ever seen, isn't it? It's all you really can see. You don't want to live in this world, so you want to die… but you want to take everyone else with you, thinking it'll save everyone from this pain. To be honest, I pity you, brother."

Pity? He pitied him!? Akito dared to pity him?! After everything he's done, everything he worked for, his overall goal of destroying this wretched and insignificant world, his younger brother offered him pity?!

He was beyond words now. Shin roared in rage as he shot the Thanatos at them once more, but Akito had the Alexander Combiner's sword-arm ready and waiting.

*SLASH!*

The Thanatos was cleaved completely in half by the waist, both halves fell and bounced in the sand before coming to a stop. The Alexander Combiner turned and looked at the wrecked Knightmare, almost expectantly. A port in the upper half opened as the cybernetic Shin Hyuga Shang pulled himself out. He turned to glare at the Combiner and all its pilots inside. He turned to see the rest of his team had all been defeated, with Steeljaw appearing barley conscious himself.

With a deep sigh, he appeared to push his mad rage aside as a logical expression formed on his cybernetic face. "Perhaps another time." He contacted his partner. "Steeljaw, our forces are down. It's time to retreat."

Steeljaw had pulled himself up to see the Tristan approaching him. "Agreed." He said with a growl before contacting the Nemesis. "This is Steeljaw to Decepticon command, requesting emergency Groundbridge at our coordinates. Get a portal open to each individual signal. Now."

In that instant, a Groundbridge portal opened behind him, prompting Steeljaw to leap into it and escape. At the same time, a portal opened underneath Fracture and Thunderhoof, pulling them in, while another did the same for Underbite, leaving only one more portal to open under the remains of the Thanatos and Shin. He paid one last glare towards Akito.

"We're not done yet." He said before the portal closed, taking Shin away from the battle.

"We'll be waiting." Akito acknowledged.

Leila sighed in relief, the battle over, her Geass deactivating. But the instant that it did, a white flash engulfed their Alexander Combiner, causing it to separate back into each individual Alexander that landed rather roughly on the ground.

---

"BRS levels are declining. They're no longer in sync." Chloe reported.

"Biometrics indicate that all five of them are alive." Hilda added.

"So that's it… we won?" Joe hoped.

"Sure, feels that way." Lloyd smirked. "All it took was some alien-magic-tech Deus Ex Machina stuff to pull it off."

"Did you just say we won because we were lucky?" Claus asked.

"No. Luck is completely different from a Deus Ex Machina." Lloyd corrected.

"Don't bother trying to understand him." Cecile told Claus and Anna. "I honestly gave up on that a long time ago. But I'm just really happy it all turend out well."

"That makes two of us." Anna breathed in relief.

"Three." Claus agreed. "This calls for a drink." He pulled out his flask again and gulped it all down.

Sophie shook her head with a smile, glad that it all turned out as well. Whatever this Relic was, she knew it was the reason they were able to sync perfectly. This was the very same thing they studied and hoped for, the same pursuit that led to her husband being rendered comatose. But… now that it looks like they have a means to perfect it… she might just get him back.

---

Back in Egypt, the Autobots and Tristan Divider regrouped with all five Alexanders as their cockpits opened, with the pilots climbing out.

"Whoa… that was… whoa…!" Ryo couldn't find the words to describe what he felt back there.

"It's like… we all shared the same mind…" Yukiya said, feeling the same way.

"Weird but… it also felt so… natural." Ayano added. "Like… we were all part of the same whole…"

"Till all are one." Akito said as he and Leila walked up. "I think I know what that means now." He looked towards Leila with a smile, causing her to smile back.

"I'll tell you what it was. It was awesome!" Grindcore exclaimed. "Super mega awesome!"

"Heck yeah, it was!" Gino stood up from the open cockpit of his Tristan. "Knightmare Combiner baby!" He raised in the fist enthusiastically.

"Quick, combine back together so I can go a few rounds with it!" Grindcore told the five pilots.

"Let's find out just how the heck that happened first." Sideswipe said. "Seriously, Knightmare Combiners? That shouldn't be possible!"

"It was the Relic. There's no other explanation." Leila said. "Somehow, I felt it connect to my Geass, and since that allowed me to connect to Akito and the others through the Alexander's neural link, it must have been enough to bring it together."

All their eyes set upon the aforementioned Relic, one that appeared to be merged with the chest of Leila's white Alexander, almost as if the Relic had now become a permanent part of it.

"The Enigma of Combination." Strongarm said, recognizing it.

"The what?" Ryo asked.

"A Relic of the original Thirteen Primes." Strongarm explained. "Nexus Prime, to be specific. But he wasn't just a Prime, Cybertronian lore indicates that he was the very first Combiner, the strongest one of them all, even. The Enigma is said to contain a fracture of his power, capable of fostering unity and cooperation of the minds of sentient creatures within its proximity. It must have indeed connected to Leila's Geass and those it connected her too to combine your Knightmares together."

Everyone looked towards Strongarm with a surprised expression.

"Aren't you supposed to be a rookie cop or something?" Yukiya asked, judging Strongarm by her paintjob resembling a police vehicle. "How do you know all this?"

"When I wasn't training, I would sometimes read up on Cybertronian lore and history to pass the time." Strongarm summed up.

Ayano gave a half-smile to her partner. "We really need to get you a hobby, Strongarm."

"Reading is my hobby…" She replied, not seeing what was wrong with that.

"Still, a Relic of the Thirteen… that's pretty surreal." Sideswipe commented.

"Does that mean we can combine again?" Yukiya asked. "I'm really hopping that whole thing wasn't a one-time-deal or anything."

"I do believe we are capable of achieving that form again." Leila confirmed. "Provided we're in close proximity to one another."

"So, what are you gonna name it?" Grindcore asked.

"Name it?" Akito questioned.

"Come on, all Combiner modes have a nick name to em." Grindcore insisted.

"Heck yeah! The Cons got Bruticus and Devastator, now we got a cool Combiner on our side, we need name for it!" Gino agreed.

Leila took a moment to think, trying to come up with one that she hoped would everyone else would like, particularly those that made up the transformation. It seemed she had one figured out.

"Hercules."

"Hercules?" Ayano questioned. "As in the son of Zeus?"

"The demigod, yes." Leila confirmed.

"I thought you would go with an Egyptian name or something, considering we're in Egypt and all." Ryo said.

Leila giggled. "You know what's funny? Alexander the Great, whom our Knightmares are named after, was actually a pharaoh himself."

"Wait… seriously?" Ryo questioned in honest surprise. "But wasn't he Greek or something?"

"Technically he was Macedonian." Leila explained. "But when he liberated Egypt from the Persians, he was considered their savior, a god-man, and was given the title of Pharaoh. He created a vast empire that stretched from Macedonia to Egypt, and from Greece to part of India."

"Guy sure had ambition." Gino commented.

"In Greece, his feats were so legendary that they considered him a son of Zeus." Leila continued. "Of course, he was no real demigod. So, I thought it fitting to name our combined Knightmare after a real one, and arguably the most famous."

"Hercules…" Ayano liked the way it sounded. "I like it."

"Yeah, naming our thing after the strongest man in the world…? I can get behind that." Yukiya approved.

"Sounds good to me." Ryo grinned.

"Agreed." Even Akito nodded.

"Well then, it's official." Sideswipe announced. "The very first Knightmare Combiner… Hercules!"

"Ah yeah!" Gino and Grindcore both cheered as even Strongarm gave a nod of approval.

"Now let's celebrate back home." Sideswipe accessed his comns. "Mission accomplished. We need a Groundbridge, please."

A Groundbridge portal opened up before them with the Autobots and Tristan being the first to enter. Ryo, Yukiya, and Ayano got back in their Knightmares, the boys already powering them up as they prepared to enter the portal, but Ayano noticed Leila and Akito were still in the ground.

"You two coming?"

"In a minute." Leila told her. "Go on, we'll be right behind you."

A knowing smirk fell on Ayano's face before she drove her Knightmare into the Groundbridge, leaving the two alone.

"There something you want to say, Leila?" Akito asked.

"Yes… I…" Before she even realized it, she wrapped her arms around Akito, surprising him. "Thank you…! You saved me…! I… I thought I might die back there but you… you saved me… thank you…!"

Akito relaxed, returning the gesture briefly before they let go. "If I'm being honest… you saved my life a long time ago."

Leila gasped in surprise.

"If it weren't for you… I don't know where I'd be right now…" Akito began. "I get I was recruited as expendable muscle back in the EU but… you never treated me like that. You treated me and everyone else like we were really people…"

"Because you are! You are a person, Akito! Not a number or something to be thrown away!" Leila insisted.

"And I'm grateful for that." Akito continued. "Even though… It didn't seem like it at the time." He looked away with a shamed expression. "I was… detached… I didn't care about much of anything… not even whether I lived or died… After what my brother did… I was empty… alone… unfeeling… but when I met you, and later the Black Knights and Autobots… I began to feel again… You… you helped me to see… made me think about the kind of person I really wanted to be."

She looked at him in awe, her eyes wavering as he continued.

"I want to be someone… who can help people. Someone who can protect those who can't protect themselves." Akito said with a determined expression on his face. "When we defeat the Decepticons, there will be much healing to do. The world has suffered so much, even long before they took over, so it won't be easy. But, Leila… If anyone can help fix this world, it be you. I know you have the support of the right people who want the same thing, and I'm one of them." He gently but firmly grabbed her shoulders, causing her to gasp as her cheeks turned pink, Akito looking deep into her eyes. "Leila, I will be by your side always. In the war against the Decepticons, rebuilding the world, and long after. I will never leave you."

Tears of joy poured down her face, her lips curving upward in an emotional smile. Before she even realized it…

She pressed her lips against his own. His eyes widened in surprise, but they quickly closed as he pulled her in closer and returned the kiss.

After about a minute, they pulled apart, their cheeks pink as they looked into each other's eyes with content smiles.

"Now… let's go home. We've got a war to win." Akito told her.

"You've got that right."

Done.

Wow, that was something. This chapter was much more eventful than I thought it was gonna be. But all around, I'd say I'm pleased with how it turned out. Not bad for a completely original chapter, huh? ;)

Yep! This Relic is indeed the Enigma of Combination! We got our very own Knightmare Combiner. The five Alexanders of the former W-ZERO squad can now combine to make up the 'Super Knightmare' known as Hercules. My own original idea. As for why this particular Relic was entombed with a Cybertronain skeleton, you'll get an explanation for that soon.

We had quite the epic battle as Black Wyvern squadron and their Autobot partners duked it out with Steeljaw's pack, as well as the now alive and cybernetic Shin Hyuga Shang in his new unit, the Thanatos (the Greek personification of death. Rather fitting for him, don't you think).

But while this is a concrete victory for the heroes, the villains still escaped. Shin now has a Dark Geass after his 'reunion' with Beleth.
Here's one note about that skull-ghost, you could consider him at this point to be a spawn of Unicron. We all know the Chaos Bringer is asleep inside the Earth's core, he isn't aware of Beleth nor is he acting of Unicorn's instruction as an avatar or anything like that. Beleth's very nature is to create people to sew chaos, having been 'reborn' from his mortal form to this ghost-like state thanks to the power of Unicron; and we have confirmation that Megatron's own Dark Geass was granted to him by Beleth, something Megatron isn't aware of. There really is no ulterior motive to Beleth's actions, other than causing chaos and destruction. I hope that makes sense.

Also, this may disappoint some, but don't expect any more Knightmare Combiners, at least for the rest of R2 (slight spoiler, I do have an R3 planned, and we might see something there, keyword being 'might', because I'm not making any guarantees). There will be a logical explanation as to why that is the case here in my story, but plot-wise, if the Autobots and Black Knights are able to combine EVERYONE into various other Combiners, it would take away what makes the ability so unique and special (I said that in an early chapter). I still want the heroes to be in an uphill battle against the Decepticons, so even though they have the Hercules on their side, it still won't be an easy fight.

There's also one other reason why Leila's Geass seems to work in tandem with the Enigma of Combination. This Relic is capable of fostering unity and cooperation, and that also applies to Leila's Geass, and its ability to connect to other people's minds to better understand them, with her dream and desire of bringing peace to everyone. Peace and unity always work in tandem, so it makes sense why she, Akito, and the others can combine thanks to the Geass power and Enigma together.

So that's three Relics down. Two for the Autobots and Black Knights and one for the Decepticons. Five more to go.
What's next for our heroes? Find out next time on Code Prime!