Hi everyone, welcome back to Code Prime. We're finally here, the final chapter of the Iacon Relic Hunt arc and this one is gonna be all kinds of emotional! This arc has been one heck of a ride as we featured pretty much everyone working to retrieve these incredible relics, with some additional ones from the canon. Once this is done, we will have three more arcs remaining for this story. We're nearing the end people, so get ready for some intense physical and emotional conflicts.

With all that being said, let's get started.

Toxic Nemesis

Shortly before his own deployment, as well as that of the other Decepticon teams, Shockwave was putting on the finishing touches of his Nemesis Project within the Geass Order. Megatron had also just arrived via Groundbridge to see its activation with his own optics.

Standing before him, hooked to several cables and wires on the wall, was a robotic chassis that looked exactly like his foe, Optimus Prime. Though unlike the real one's red and blue paintjob, this one was entirely black, though the windows on its chest were stained a dark red. And of course, there was the Decepticon insignia on its shoulder, as opposed to that of the Autobot where Optimus would have his.

Megatron had to admit this felt somewhat surreal. He knew it wasn't the real Optimus and yet, it looked exactly like him. He wondered that if Optimus had ever decided to join him, he would bare a resemblance much like this. But he knew deep down that no matter how strong this carbon copy would be, it would still pale in comparison to the genuine article.

"Everything is ready?" Megatron asked his top scientist.

"Affirmative." Shockwave confirmed. "With the inclusion of the Synthetic Energon formula, this machine should match the physical prowess of Optimus Prime. However, I must also advise caution. To grant such power to someone who is perpetually immature and prone to violent outbursts carries many risks."

"True, but that's exactly what makes him so perfect for this." Megatron replied. "Though we have taken the precautions to ensure he will not turn against us, with the threat our enemies represent, such risks are necessary."

"Agreed." Shockwave nodded as he pressed the final command functions on his console. "Commencing final Energon infusion. Now." With the final button pressed, the process had begun.

Tubes all across the robot's body began to infuse three different kinds of Energon at different locations. Two tubes on the sides injected the blue fluid of the natural Energon, while the green substance of Synthetic Energon was flowing into the tubes attached to the arms and legs. And finally, a single tube, which carried the purple fluid of Dark Energon, was attached to the head-unit. Once all three forms of Energon entered the body, an electrical surge ran through the entire body for a few seconds before it all stopped.

Less than a second later, its optics turned on, revealing a dark red glow. Nemesis Prime was now online.

"Welcome back, Victor." Megatron greeted.

Nemesis Prime moved its arms and hands, looking at its own body as if it were checking out a new outfit.

"What… what have you done to me?" He asked. Though the one inside had the appearance of a young boy, on the outside, it sounded nothing like him. The voice was deeper, much more intimidating. It didn't even sound like Optimus, more like a dark reflection.

"Up until recently, you were a joke to the Autobots and their Black Knight companions." Megatron began. "Your immortality and ability to grant a Geass may have been useful, but you were no warrior. You lacked the physical power to do any real damage. But that's changed now."

He saw his own reflection in a nearby monitor. "This face… it's his face…"

"This chassis was modeled after Optimus Prime." Shockwave explained. "With the appropriate of infusion of the incomplete Synthetic Energon, your physical strength now matches that of the original. You lack a Cybertronian spark, but your brain is now directly connected to the subject's nervous and skeletal systems, and your regenerative abilities will keep your frail form from deteriorating from the stress of battle. Simply put, you will control this body as if it were yours naturally."

It was true, within the center of Nemesis Prime, where a Cybertronian spark would be naturally, was V.V. His form was connected to the rest of the machines inside him by wires and cables. He had become a cyborg.

"The perfect meld of man and machine… how… exquisite." He sneered inside as the cables detached from the Nemesis body, allowing him to stand on his two feet. "Thank you both, for this incredible body. I can already feel its power. Perhaps we should put it… to the test!"

Nemesis threw his fist forward, gunning for Megatron's face, only for the fist to automatically stop less than an inch from its intended target, much to V.V.'s shock.

"What?!" He tried to punch at Megatron's side, only to get the same result as his fist stopped before making contact. Megatron only looked amused, even as Nemesis Prime stepped back slightly and drew his Ion cannons, looking identical to the ones Optimus would use, only they glowed red as opposed to blue. He aimed one at Megatron and the other at Shockwave and tried to fire, but nothing came out. "What's going on here?!"

"You didn't really think we'd build something as powerful as you and not have a means to control it, did you?" Megatron mused.

"Natural Energon was used to bring this chassis to life, while Synthetic Energon grants you your physical strength." Shockwave explained. "However, Dark Energon has also been infused. Though it is contained to prevent the corruption of the other forms of Energon, it is also connected directly to your organic brain."

"And I control all forms of Dark Energon with but a thought." Megatron mused. "You cannot harm me, or Shockwave. But… I can harm you." Megatron's optics glowed purple, causing Nemesis' Prime's optics to do the same as V.V. felt an agonizing pain shot directly into his head and through the rest of his nervous system, causing the large and metallic body to fall on its legs as it clutched his head. "Though you are immortal, you are not immune to pain. I can make you endure the most agonizing physical pain that would normally kill a human, times a thousand, and yet you would still live, but I imagine you wish you hadn't now."

Megatron's optics changed back to their natural red, causing Nemesis Prime's to also turn back to red as he fell on his hands and knees to recover.

"Do you understand now, my dear Victor?" Megatron asked as he loomed over him. "That body is not a gift, but your prison. Your tomb. You are a weapon for me to use against our enemies. You are my Nemesis Prime and nothing more. Do you understand?"

He gazed up at Megatron and though he couldn't see his natural face, he knew V.V. was glaring at him with as much hate as he could muster.

"You are angry at me, naturally." The leader of the Decepticons noted. "But perhaps you can direct that anger at someone else you feel is responsible for your current predicament?"

There were many faces that came to mind. Lelouch, Optimus, C.C., Nunnally, Kaizaren, and virtually every Autobot and human friend that they knew. They would all suffer! He would make them all pay! Every last one of them!

"What do you want from me…?" He asked but noticed a slight glare in Megatron's eyes before bowing his head reluctantly. "Lord Megatron?"

"I need you to retrieve something for me, Nemesis Prime." Megatron instructed. "And annihilate everything that gets in your way!"

Squadron X, consisting of Barricade, Blackout, Lugnut, Blitzwing, Demolishor, and Overload had already arrived at their intended location to retrieve the Relic: an uninhabited island on the planet's equator. This island was incredibly small and even appeared to be newly formed, evident by the hardened magma and stone-black surface that surrounded the massive volcano that currently had smoke coming out from the summit.

"How long must we wait? My performance demands punctuality!" Overload stated.

"Megatron has his Nemesis project coming in any minute. It's our job to keep him in line." Barricade told him.

"Curious as to why Megatron would allow such an inferior organic such power." Blitzwing said in his logical persona before switching over to his maniacal one. "And they say I'm crazy!" He laughed.

"Bah! Lord Megatron knows what he is doing! It is not our place to question him!" Lugnut boasted. "But… I do have to admit… even I am slightly confused by letting V.V. become this strong."

"Yeah, I've read the files on that guy." Demolishor said. "He's basically a crazy kid who doesn't age. Oh, and he can give humans some crazy mind powers."

"I'm guessing that he just wanted to make him both useful and kept in line." Blackout assumed.

Blitzwing's hotheaded persona emerged. "Let the punk try and double cross us! I'll pound that fancy immortality right out of him!"

"I don't like it either, but it's our leader's orders and we know better than to question him, one way or another." Barricade said.

A Groundbridge portal then opened, getting the attention of all six Decepticons as they saw Nemesis Prime step out before the portal closed.

"Ah, if it isn't Optimus Prime's understudy. Welcome to the show." Overload bowed in a mocking sense.

"Do not compare me to him!" Nemesis exclaimed.

Blitzwing's insane persona appeared. "That's gonna be hard to do since you look just like him!" He laughed before changing again to his logical persona. "At least Optimus has proven to be a worthy adversary. You may wield a body that possess his physical strength, but that immaturity of yours could hold your potential back. I'd advise you to keep it in check."

"Noted." Nemesis growled.

"Nice of you to join us." Barricade addressed the dark doppelganger. "We got a job to do now."

"I know, retrieve the Relic and kill any and all Autobots and Black Knights that arrive. I understand all that." Nemesis Prime brushed off.

"Well, if you want to get a chance at actually killing them, you'll follow our lead!" Barricade told Nemesis before addressing the team. "Lugnut, Blitzwing, Blackout, search the skies! Let us know when you find them!" The three aerial Decepticons transformed into their respective vehicle modes and began their search. "The rest of us, move out! We'll converge when the enemy's been spotted!"

With that, Barricade, Demolishor, and Overload all transformed and rolled out; with Nemesis Prime doing the same. His vehicle mode was identical to that of Optimus as well, a black semi-auto truck with blood red-stained windows, as well as a Decepticon insignia at the front. Even though it was his first time, V.V. felt the ability to transform almost naturally. It was as if he had truly become a Cybertronian. As much as he hated Optimus, he had to admit, if this was the kind of strength he had every day, he could understand why Optimus was so worshiped. Now this power was his, and he would make sure that all his enemies and their loved ones would pay the price for their transgressions against him and his brother. As slowly and painfully as possible.

Meanwhile, at another part of the island, a single Groundbridge portal opened, allowing Omega Team to step out. This team consisted of Ironhide, Bulkhead, Rai, Wheeljack, Tamaki, Nonette, Chromia, Warpath, and Hot Shot. The three Black Knights were in their respective Knightmares: the Raiden, the Wrecker Akatsuki, and Galeschin Conquista.

"Welcome to the hottest place on Earth." Rai said in a joking sense as he, Tamaki, and Nonette were already sweating from the intense heat, even in their Knightmares.

"Ugh! Smells worse than the barracks out here!" Hot Shot waved his hand in front of his face.

"That would be all the sulfur. Considering we're practically next to a volcano." Nonette said.

"I actually love the smell." Wheeljack took a deep whiff in. "Reminds me of the time the we used the Cons' own bodies to cross a molten steam."

"Well, it wasn't as fun as blowing all those Cons to smithereens!" Warpath recalled.

"Jeez, this is hot!" Tamaki complained as he wiped the sweat from his brow "When we get back, we gotta tell all the big brains to install some kind of compact air conditioners in our Knightmares!"

"We've got bigger things go on than feeling all comfy cozy, Tamaki." Ironhide told him.

"Tell that to my underwear that's already glued to my ass." He complained. "You guys are lucky!"

"That we don't wear clothes? Or that we can take the heat and cold better than you can?" Chromia questioned rhetorically.

"Both, sweetheart."

"Alright, alright, let's focus on finding the Relic!" Bulkhead stated. "Let's spread out a bit and keep an eye out for any Cons that might already be here."

"Good idea." Rai nodded as the group went off in separate directions, but still kept a relatively close distance to each other, all to be prepared for a potential ambush the enemy might have set up.

The group looked around as best as they could, the three Black Knights using their Knightmares to scan the area while the Autobots looked under every rock and in every crevice, but couldn't find much of anything.

"I don't see anything. What about you guys?" Hot Shot called out.

"Nothing here." Warpath replied.

"Same." Wheeljack responded.

"Coming up empty." Chromia added.

"Scans aren't picking up anything either." Nonette reported.

Ironhide then accessed his comns. "Omega Team to base, we can't find the Relic. Can you reconfirm coordinates?"

"Hang on, I'm triangulating your position." A familiar voice responded that none of them were expecting.

"Euphie?" Rai questioned. "What are you doing here?"

"Thought you were overlooking all the incoming military forces." Bulkhead recalled. "Ya know, for when the big battle comes?"

Back on Horai Island, Euphemia was at a control tower, overlooking a three-dimensional, holographic, map of the area that Omega Team had been sent to.

"Kaguya's already taking care of that." Euphie replied. "She said I could monitor all the retrieval teams that are away."

"Well, are you able to reconfirm our coordinates?" Ironhide asked.

Euphie saw the data and could confirm that this was indeed the location. "Yes. That's the exact spot the retrieved coordinates pointed us toward."

"Well something must have gone wrong, because we can't find a damn thing in this damn place!" Tamaki said as he continued to sweat profusely. "Seriously! Am I the only one who's roasting in here?!"

"Get over it, Tamaki!" Ironhide told him. "Focus on finding the thing that could potentially end the world!"

Nonette rolled her eyes at the bickering but noticed something on her Galeschin's radar. "Hey guys… something's coming. I'm… getting an odd signal our way."

"Is it a Decepticon?" Chromia asked as she pulled out her rifle.

"Better be! Time to make some noise!" Warpath slammed his fists together.

"I… I don't know. I don't think it's Cybertronian." Nonette answered. "I've never seen anything like this!"

"Hang on, I think I got a visual." Wheeljack said as Omega Team regrouped together to see a black semi-auto truck with dark red windows. It came to a stop before transforming to reveal a figure that nobody was expecting.

"What in the…?!" Bulkhead questioned.

"Optimus…?" Hot Shot looked confused.

"Not quite."

"That didn't sound like Prime." Wheeljack had already drawn his swords as Omega Team began to cautiously circle around the lookalike of their leader. Tamaki happened to spot the emblem on its shoulder.

"Shit… this thing's a Con!" He exclaimed.

"What?! But I'm not picking up a signal!" Nonette said as she scanned it again. "And this thing's right in front of me!"

Ironhide aimed his cannons at the imposter. "Who or what are you?"

"The last thing you pathetic Autobots will ever see."

"Tough guy, huh? Wanna back that up?" Warpath challenged.

Nemesis Prime then spotted the Raiden and knew instantly who was inside it. "Kaizaren… I'm glad you're here. Truly."

Rai looked confused. "How do you know that name?"

"Your name. Your real name." Nemesis Prime sneered. "You know, I can't really recall any other contracts I've formed that I came to regret. Any failures just helped me and Charles in the long run… except you. I should never have formed a contract with you. In fact, I should have killed you right then and there, instead of sealing you in that Thought Elevator."

Rai's eyes widened in shock, his face instantly becoming pale. He even felt his Geass flash, resonating slightly with the one who gave it to him in the first place. He knew who it was that was standing before him and his friends.

"V.V….?!"

"In the flesh, in a manner of speaking." The immortal inside confirmed.

"Wait… what?!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

"That little immortal bitch who's stuck as a kid?!" Tamaki questioned.

"Charles Zi Britannia's brother…!" Nonette was just as shocked as her former prince.

"So, what's with the new look, kid. Trying to confuse us? Frame the big guy or something?" Wheeljack questioned.

"I just wanted for you all to feel the utter despair of the one that you all admire so much, being the one to ultimately snuff you out! My hate for all of you cannot be put to words! I am your destroyer! I am the foe to all Autobots and Black Knights! I am… your nemesis…! Nemesis Prime!"

He brought out his dual Ion cannons and opened fire in all directions, forcing Omega Team to scatter and avoid the devastating explosions. Before they had a chance to return fire, more attacks rained down from the sky as Blackout, Lugnut, and Blitzwing's vehicle modes flew in.

"Autobots! Human pets! Prepare to be smelted alive!" Blitzwing stated in his hotheaded persona before unleashing blasts of plasma, followed by missiles from Blackout's helicopter mode. Lugnut added to the resulting explosions by transforming, falling down, and raising his axe and slamming it down to the ground with enough force to crack it open, cracks spreading all across the ground, reveal the magma underneath, and send most of Omega Team scatted.

Warpath skidded on his back toward a ledge and looked up in surprise to see Barricade, Demolishor, and Overload standing at the top of said ledge.

"Attack!" Barricade ordered as he and his companions went on the offensive, engaging Omega Team in heated battle. Warpath transformed into his tank mode to gain some distance before firing at the trio, forcing them to split before Demolisher transformed into his own anti-air tank vehicle and engaging in a heavy-weapons battle as their respective tank-modes moved parallel to each other across the battlefield.

Chromia tried shooting her rifle at the flying Blackout and Blitzwing, only to get tackled by Barricade and pinned to the ground where he attempted to punch her, but she rolled her head out of the way and was able to pull both her feet back and kick him off. Meanwhile, Nonette flew the Galeschin in the air to intercept Blitzwing and Blackout, firing her VARIS rifle at both of them, forcing them to dodge; but Blitzwing quickly transformed and aimed his shoulder cannons to fire at the rifle, knocking it out of the Knightmare's hands before Blitzwing, in his hot-headed persona, flew straight to the Galeschin to knock it out of the sky with a powerful punch.

Ironhide punched Overload to knock him down before blasting him back with blasts from his cannons, but soon met the helicopter mode of Blackout who transformed to engage him in brutal combat as the large Decepticon produced his spinning rotary blade and sliced at Ironhide, scratching his chest and spilling some Energon, but Ironhide was able to recover with an uppercut, followed by a blast from his canons in Blackout's chest area and send him into the air before crashing into the ground.

Tamaki gave a yell as he fired his Wrecker Akatsuki's heavy artillery at Lugnut, but the larger Decepticon rushed through the resulting explosion and tried to bring down his massive axe onto the shocked Black Knight, who was quick to eject just before his Knightmare was completely obliterated. Tamaki's cockpit landed on the ground and opened up, but as he tried to pull himself up, he gazed in shock to see Lugnut looming over him.

"Fool! No one challenges the word of Megatron! In the name of the glorious Decepticon race, I shall…!" Lugnut's speech was interrupted as Wheeljack's vehicle mode shot right at him before transforming as he leapt to slam both his feet into Lugnut, the force was enough to knock him back quite a bit.

"You talk way too much." Wheeljack said as his facemask activated, drawing both his swords before going on the offensive against the larger Decepticon.

Bulkhead fired both his cannons at the charging Nemesis Prime, who barreled through to slam his shoulders into the green Autobot to push him onto a ledge before Nemesis pounded him even further with multiple punches to break the entire ledge and send Bulkhead rolling across the ground. Nemesis then aimed his ion cannon at his face with the intent on finishing him off, only to get struck in the back by a spinning kick from the Raiden.

'I can see why Suzaku does that trick. It's actually kinda fun.' Rai thought before glaring hatefully at the fake Optimus, drawing his Knightmare's katana while Nemesis drew his own arm-blade to engage in a brutal-sword duel, clashing their blades repeatedly before the Raiden reached out with its Surger claw, but Nemesis caught it with his arm before hoisting the Raiden up and over, slamming it into the ground.

"Hey!" Nemesis felt multiple Energon blasts struck him in the side and turned around to see Hot Shot running right at him. "You're nothing but a big phony! I'll take you on!" He jumped onto Nemesis, and fired point-blank shots right into his face, causing Nemesis to groan in pain and annoyance before reaching to grab Hot Shot with both hands, raise him up and slamming him down. He was ready to pummel him even further…

"You're going down, faker!" Bulkhead tackled him over a ledge, the two rolling on a small hill before Bulkhead made sure to slam Nemesis face-first into a stone wall. Bulkhead pulled away and wouldn't even give Nemesis a chance to recover as he brought out both his maces and slammed them onto Nemesis' back repeatedly.

With a roar, Nemesis pushed himself back to knock Bulkhead off his footing briefly before turning around to deck the green Autobot in the face. Nemesis followed through with another punch, but Bulkhead was able to catch it, much to V.V.'s shock.

"What?! No…! No! You can't do this!" Nemesis raised his free fist to slam it on Bulkhead's head before kicking him back. "I have the strength of that worthless Prime! You can't stand up to me!" He tried to charge him, only for Bulkhead to repeat the action as he raised his right fist, converted into a mace, and slammed into Nemesis' face before pounding him in the chest area with his other hand, then converted it into an Energon cannon and fired a charged shot to blast Nemesis through a stone ledge.

"You might look like him, kid…" Bulkhead said as he wiped some Energon from his mouth. "But you ain't got his guts. You're no Optimus Prime."

V.V. growled from the inside of his new robotic body. "I don't have his guts? Then how about I spill yours across the ground?!" He exclaimed before charging at his enemy again

Rai saw the predicament Bulkhead was in, glancing around to see the rest of Omega Team appearing to be locked in an explosive standstill against the enemy forces.

'We can't afford to drag this out. Gotta end this now.' Rai happened to glance to his Knightmare's right and see a large crevice where lava flowed underneath. An idea quickly came to mind as he plunged his Surger claw directly into the lava.

"Everyone! Get clear! Now! We got ourselves an eruption!" Rai alerted.

Ironhide happened to be close by as he saw what Rai was doing and knew what was coming. "You heard the man! Fall back!" Ironhide transformed into his vehicle mode and drove off, disengaging from the confused Blackout and Overload. Hotshot, Chromia, and Warpath all did the same as Wheeljack quickly scooped up Tamaki and transformed before driving off too, even Nonette flew out of the way.

Rai then activated his Surger claw at maximum power, sending a powerful electrical current surging through the exposed lava, which traveled all across the magma underneath the area. This caused the molten rock to become more active and unstable as temperatures soared even higher. The Raiden pulled away just in time as multiple spouts of electrified lava shot out from all over the abandoned battlefield. Many of the Decepticons were knocked off their footing as the entire area broke off from the main landmass and flowed downhill from the streaming magma at intense speeds, preventing the Decepticons from transforming and escaping.

Nemesis Prime looked in shock to see what was happening, which gave Bulkhead an opening to pound him in the face twice with his clubs and gave one final uppercut to knock Nemesis Prime into the sliding piece of land before it fell off a small cliff, sending Nemesis and the Decepticons of Squadron X falling before the large slab of land flipped and landed on all of them to bury them.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Bulkhead transformed and drove off to meet up with the rest of Omega Team.

Back on Horai Island, Euphemia continued to observe Omega Team's progress on the holo-map. "Alright, I'm tracking your location and keeping an eye out for enemy activity. So far, no other Decepticon signals."

"Perhaps you could use some assistance?" She turned around in surprise to see none other than Diethard Ried approaching.

"Mr. R-Ried…?" Euphie questioned.

"Diethard, what are you doing here?" Bulkhead questioned.

"I came here to monitor your mission; all the other teams are covered." He explained. "Though it seems former princess Euphemia has that covered, but I'd still like to provide a helping hand."

"I'd appreciate it if you would just refer to me as Euphemia." She told him.

"My apologies." Diethard replied.

"Here I thought old Britannian pretty boy was off getting his beauty sleep." Tamaki cracked.

"Perhaps I was… and I was dreaming that I would finally get some respect from all of you." Diethard said.

"Yeah, keep dreaming pal." Rai joked, earning chuckles from most of Omega Team, and even Euphie herself suppressed a giggle, while Diethard chose to ignore.

"What is your current progress?" He asked, getting to the mission at hand.

"Provided coordinates came up empty, but we may have a lead on the Relic." Ironhide reported. "Based on the terrain, I'm sure lava from an erupting may have carried it downhill. That's where we're heading."

"But wouldn't that burn it up or melt it?" Euphie asked.

"These Relics are in containers that were built for interstellar travel, I'm sure a little lava's no big deal." Wheeljack brushed off.

"But you've already engaged the enemy?" Diethard asked, having overheard what Euphemia said upon entering.

"Yes. Decepticon Squadron X came up out of nowhere, but they weren't alone." Nonette reported.

"That pompous little punk V.V. was also with them, and he's piloting some kind of knock off Optimus body." Warpath added.

"V.V.?! There!? With you!?" Euphemia exclaimed in shock, being the first time that she's heard this piece of info.

"What do you mean when you say he's piloting a 'knock off Optimus body'?" Diethard asked for clarification.

"Exactly what he meant. He's got some kind of robot body now that looks exactly like Optimus!" Hot Shot pointed out.

"Except for the paintjob." Tamaki added. "His is all black. Least we can't get em mixed up that way. Little bastard even calls himself Nemesis Prime."

"Catchy." Diethard commented.

"But he's nothing like the real deal." Bulkhead said. "He might pack a little extra strength, but the kid's still no fighter."

"Hey, Rai…? Are you… okay…?" Euphie asked with worry and caution for her half-brother. She knew the history surrounding Rai and V.V. and just the mention of him was enough to make Rai's blood boil.

"I'm fine, Euphie." Rai assured. "Like Bulkhead said, just because he looks like Optimus doesn't mean he knows how to fight like him. I sent him and his Con buddies rolling down hill with a mini-eruption, buried them alive. It'll take him a while to get out of there."

"Are you so certain?" Diethard questioned. "Immortality aside, if his new body is based off that of Optimus, I'd wager it is just as durable as the original; and we all know how much Optimus Prime can endure."

"All the more reason for us to find that Relic and get out of here." Ironhide said. "We should find it soon."

"Speak for yourself old-timer. Next time, I call dibs on that fake Optimus!" Warpath boasted.

"I still owe him a beatdown myself." Hot Shot added.

"Priorities, guys." Nonette said with a partially annoyed sigh.

With an explosion, Nemesis Prime emerged from the pile of rubble, having used his Ion Cannon to blast away all the rocks and stones that were piled over him. As he pulled himself out, V.V. glanced around to see the rest of Squadron X had already emerged as well.

"That did not go as planned." Blitzwing commented in his logical persona before switching over to his insane one. "You could say it all went… downhill! Get it?!" He laughed.

"Shut it, Blitzwing!" Barricade scolded. "We still got a job to do!"

"Before we get to the Relic, I think we should talk about getting rid of some dead weight." Blackout gestured to Nemesis Prime.

"Excuse me?" He growled.

"Your performance was utterly distasteful." Overload said. "At least Optimus performs with grace, while you act as if you are a child throwing a tantrum."

"Because he is a child. Having a body based off a Prime does not put him on equal footing to one." Lugnut stated.

"I wield the power and strength of Optimus Prime!" Nemesis exclaimed.

"But you're not good at using it!" Demolisher said, going up to Nemesis' face. "You are a sadistic little brat playing with power tools! Megatron gave you that power to be useful to our cause!" He pointed at his chest. "So, make yourself useful!"

"Shut up!" Nemesis pounded him into the ground. "I'm stronger than all of you combined! I'm not in this for whatever cause you and your precious master preach about! I'm here to slaughter every last Autobot and Black Knight! Wipe them off the face of the planet!"

"You wanna put those words into action, you little punk?!" Blitzwing challenged in his hotheaded persona as he aimed his shoulder cannons at him.

"You dare insult not only Lord Megatron but our glorious cause?!" Lugnut drew his axe. "You do not deserve to bare the glorious Decepticon emblem!"

Blackout and Overload were also ready to fight back against Nemesis Prime as he drew his Ion cannons and aimed them in all directions.

"Enough!" Barricade stepped forward and in-between them. "The more we argue with each other, the more time we get the enemy to get the Relic!" He turned to face Nemesis Prime. "I'm not here to babysit you! You don't wanna be treated like a kid, then act your age! Megatron told me that you and your brother were among the most cunning humans on this planet, which isn't saying much given how weak your race is. Prime is strong and smart, and he knows how to use both his strength and intelligence! You wanna stand a chance against him? Do the same! Stop being that little whiny brat V.V. and start being Nemesis Prime! Or throw another temper tantrum, and I'll have Soundwave use a spacebridge to zap you to the center of the sun!"

From inside the mechanical body of Nemesis Prime, V.V. took rabid breaths, like a wild animal ready to tear apart everything in his path. Yet, he had listened to everything Barricade had said. He knew he was right, deep down. Ever since the Autobots and Black Knights re-appeared following Britannia's fall, V.V. had been nothing like his old self. He would always hide in the shadows, working with Charles, plotting and manipulating, stepping in when the moment was right. Now all he's done is throw temper tantrums when things don't go his way. He had the body of Optimus Prime, but not his mind. That's right. He wasn't Optimus Prime, he was V.V. It was time to use his manipulations and cunning once again. The cunning mind of V.V and the strength of Optimus together was what made Nemesis Prime.

"Let's go find that Relic." Nemesis stated in a calmer tone of voice. "If it wasn't at the provided coordinates, it's possible that lava from an eruption carried it downhill."

Barricade noticed how calm he was speaking and lowered his guard, prompting the rest of Squadron X to do the same. "You may be right about that." Barricade granted.

"Then it would be logical to assume the Autobots and Black Knights have come to the same conclusion and are nearing the Relic as we speak." Blitzwing said in his logical persona.

"If that is the case, then act two must commence soon!" Overload said dramatically.

"For the glory of Megatron! Both the Relic and revenge will be ours!" Lugnut boasted.

With that, Squadron X and Nemesis Prime transformed into their respective vehicle modes and rolled out. Inside the black semi-auto truck vehicle mode, V.V. snickered evilly.

'This won't be like last time, Kaizaren. When I find you, I'll rip you to pieces and deliver what's left to Lelouch. That should be enough to push him over the edge and get him to come to me. Once I slay him… that'll draw in Optimus Prime, and I will do what Megatron could not. I will end the line of the Primes! I may even take whatever makes Optimus so powerful and use it along with this body to restart Ragnarök! Megatron… granting me this body was the best thing you could do for me, and your greatest mistake!'

Omega Team continued to ride in their respective vehicle modes, the Autobots being on the ground, while the Raiden and Galeschin flew above them. As they moved on, the Raiden's radar gave a ping, alerting Rai. He looked on the screen to see his sensors lock onto something.

"Guys, I think I found it." He got the rest of his team's attention as the Raiden flew to its intended location, the Galeschin close behind. Both Knightmares came to the spot, hovering above the Cybertronian container that held the Relic within. "Bingo."

The Autobots arrived, all transforming, with Tamaki on Wheeljack's shoulder, as the Knightmares landed. "I'll get it." Bulkhead volunteered, already walking up.

"Everyone else, watch the perimeter." Ironhide ordered as the group kept an eye out for any enemies incoming.

"Be a lot more useful if I still had a Knightmare…" Tamaki grumbled.

"Sorry, man." Wheeljack said apologetically.

Bulkhead try to pry the container from its spot, but it seemed welded in there. "Need some help, Bulk?" Hot Shot joked, just as Bulkhead pulled the lid off, with enough force to knock himself back.

"Nah, I'm good." Bulkhead said as he got back up and looked inside the container to see what the Relic was. It was a sickly green crystal with some kind of corrosive vapor emanating from it. The moment his optics saw it, dread filled Bulkhead's body. "Uh oh."

"What? What is…?" Ironhide walked up to the container, followed by everyone else to see what the Relic was.

"What the heck is that?" Tamaki questioned.

"Is that… Energon?" Nonette asked.

"Base, we have a problem." Ironhide contacted Horai Island.

"What's the matter?" Euphemia asked.

"We found the Relic… it's a cache of Energon." Chromia answered.

"But isn't that a good thing?" Euphie asked again.

"No-no-no, not this kind." Bulkhead said, fear evident in his voice. "It's known as Tox-En. Causes nausea and dizziness upon contact, prolonged exposure weakens us to the point of paralysis! And then… it snuffs out our sparks!"

"Wait… Tox-En? Toxic Energon?!" Tamaki exclaimed. "Like that freaky Dark Energon stuff?!"

"No, that crazy goop can bring the dead back to life." Warpath shook his head, sounding genuinely scared for one of the few times in his life. "This stuff just kills you. Slowly."

"It-It can't be any worse than being eaten alive by Scraplets, right?" Rai asked nervously.

"Oh no, it's way worse." Wheeljack said seriously. "Trust me kid. This stuff is pretty much the most dangerous substance on Cybertron."

"Well, then get away from it!" Euphie prompted. "If it's really that dangerous, then the Decepticons won't want it either!"

"I don't think so. They may want it even more." Diethard disagreed.

"What do you mean?! It's poisonous!" Euphie exclaimed.

"Exactly." He replied. "Think about it for a minute. Why would this 'Tox-En' be sent away from Cybertron in the exact same method other Decepticon-made weapons of mass destruction were?"

It then dawned on Euphie as her eyes widened in terror. "Because they were able to weaponize it!"

"That's exactly right." Ironhide responded. "Megatron was able to somehow refine raw Tox-En, turn it into a biological weapon. I saw an entire army wiped out by this stuff. The way they went out… I wouldn't wish it even on my worst enemy."

"And I don't even wanna think what this stuff can do to humans." Bulkhead added. "There's no way we can leave it for the Cons to find and abuse."

"Then bring it back here. We'll have a Groundbridge…" Euphie suggested but was quickly interrupted.

"No. We don't have a safe place to store it." Chromia told her. "This stuff is way too potent. We could risk bringing a deadly plague to all of Horai Island if we bring it back."

"Do you have a means to destroy it?" Diethard asked. "Because that seems to be our only option at this point."

"Maybe, but we can't leave even a single trace of this stuff!" Ironhide responded. "With someone like Shockwave, he'd be able to make use out of the tiniest drop."

Rai tried to think of a way to destroy it. He knew someone as sadistic and ruthless as V.V. would have a field day with something this dangerous. His immortality also meant he can do anything he wanted with it and not die from it. Rai's eyes happened to gaze through his cockpit's monitors, where he noticed the smoking summit of the island's sole volcano.

"I think I have an idea. Wheeljack, you got a grenade on you?"

"You need to ask?" The aforementioned Autobot smirked as he causally held a grenade in his hand.

Blackout's helicopter mode flew through the skies, with the aerial modes of Blitzwing and Lugnut beside him. While airborne, they spotted the Relic container where the heroes had originally found it.

"I believe we have found our target." Blitzwing said in his logical persona.

"Blackout to Barricade, we found the Relic! Rendezvous at our location!" Blackout reported as the three flying Decepticons descended before transforming when they got to the ground. A few seconds later; Barricade, Overload, and Demolisher, along with Nemesis Prime all pulled up in their vehicle modes and transformed as well.

"Allow me to retrieve it." Overload suggested. "The acquisition of our prize is best suited for the lead role." He walked toward the container.

"Does he actually think he's some sort of actor?" Nemesis Prime had to ask, as this was getting a little annoying.

"Just roll with it." Demolishor replied.

However, Barricade looked in suspicion. The Relic was just sitting out in the open, and there wasn't any sign of the Autobots or Black Knights. They had such a head start; the enemy should have found the Relic first. He then remembered how this team of Autobots had Wreckers in their ranks. His optics then widened in shock.

"No! Wait!"

But it was too late, the second Overload pulled off the container's lid, he tripped the grenade attached to the chunk of Tox-En inside.

*BOOM!*

The entire container exploded, much to the surprise of Squadron X. Overload was blasted back, a large gaping hole in his chest as the sickly green fragments of Tox-En melted their way into his body.

"Alas… hoist… with his own… petard…." Those were Overload's last words before he succumbed to his injuries. Even if the bomb hadn't killed him, all the Tox-En that ended up in his internal systems would have finished it.

Lugnut noticed the green vapor emanating from Overload's body and recognized it immediately. "It is Tox-En!"

"Wait, you're carrying it Rai?!" Euphie exclaimed as the Raiden rolled across the ground on its land spinners, the Knightmare holding the only remaining piece of Tox-En with Bulkhead's vehicle mode and the Galeschin right behind him. "You heard how toxic it is!"

"I know." Rai confirmed with Tamaki sitting behind him in the cockpit. "But don't worry, I'm sealed inside the Raiden. I'll be fine."

"And if he does get sick, he's got a co-pilot to help him out." Tamaki said with a grin.

"You'd get sick along with me since we're in the same cockpit. But thanks." Rai said with a smile.

"Any time, buddy." Tamaki nodded.

"I still think I should have taken it." Nonette said in disapproving tone. The idea of Rai carrying a toxic substance did not sit well with her.

"We all talked about this." Rai replied. "The Raiden is more advanced than the Galeschin, it has the lesser risk of poisoning the pilot and I am not about to let you get poisoned. I'm more worried about Bulkhead considering he's right next to me and has no protection at all."

"I'm alright, Rai." Bulkhead assured his friend. "And you know that wherever you go, I go. No exceptions."

"You hear that, you're stuck with us buddy." Tamaki grinned as he ruffled Rai's hair, causing him to chuckle.

"Thanks guys."

"Alright, but why split up?" Euphie asked as she saw on the holo-screen that Omega Team had split into three groups. The group consisting of Rai, Bulkhead, and Nonette were heading directly to the volcano; while the other two groups; one of Ironhide and Chromia were heading eastward down the slope, while the last group of Wheeljack, Warpath, and Hot Shot were going in the westward direction.

"I know that this Tox-En is dangerous to Cybertronians, but this seems a little much!" She continued. "Why not just use that grenade to destroy all of it?!"

"Because we don't got the ordinance to destroy it all without leaving a single trace left." Wheeljack said as his vehicle mode, along with that of Hot Shot and Warpath drove down the slope, leaving a trail of leaking Energon from wounds they self-inflicted along the way.

"Yeah, when it comes to Tox-En you wanna be very through." Warpath added.

"The rest of us will lure the Cons away; while Bulk, Rai, and Nonette destroy what's left of the Tox-En." Hot Shot put in. "Lob it right into the volcano."

"But what about V.V.?! Isn't he still out there!? And more dangerous than ever?!" Euphie asked.

"We can handle it." Ironhide replied as his vehicle mode rode alongside that of Chromia.

"We don't have to win, just lure them away long enough for the others to do their work." The female Autobot said.

"I could call up a Groundbridge that'll get you straight to the volcano!" Euphie offered. "Or Rai can just fly there! It would be faster!"

"If we fly, we run the risk of getting spotted!" Rai replied. "And I want those Groundbridges on stand-by for the other teams if they get overwhelmed!"

"But…"

"Euphie. Do you trust us?" Nonette asked.

"I…" She took a deep breath, looking to Diethard of all people for any kind of assurance or advice. The way he looked at her told her that he agreed with their plan, though he didn't seem to like it either. "I trust you. I trust all of you."

"Then trust that we know what we're doing." Nonette assured. "It's risky, but it's the best way to ensure the Decepticons don't get a single drop of this."

"Alright, but if anything comes up and I can help… let me know." Euphie requested.

"Sure thing, kid. You're our first contact." Bulkhead assured.

"We'll monitor things from here." Diethard said as he found the holo-map. "From the looks of things, it seems the enemy has found your little surprise. I can't say whether it's inflicted any casualties though."

"Well, I at least know for certain that V.V. survived." Rai commented.

"Barricade to Megatron!" The commander of Squadron X contacted the Decepticon leader. "The Relic we're searching for… it's Tox-En."

"Exactly how much is in your possession?" Megatron asked.

"None… the Autobots set up a trap. They probably destroyed it all." Barricade responded.

"Did they? Really?" Nemesis Prime questioned. "Look." He gestured to two trails of Energon spots leading in two separate directions.

"Trails of Energon." Lugnut identified. "The Autobots leak from their wounds."

"But they are in two separate directions." Blitzwing said in his logical persona before switching to his insane one. "Perhaps they've been hit one too many times in the head!" He chuckled.

"Or they're trying to split us up!" Demolishor stated. "They wouldn't do something like this if they destroyed all the Tox-En. There must still be some of it left."

"At least one group has to have it." Blackout assumed.

"Do whatever it takes! Retrieve the Tox-En!" Megatron ordered.

"As you wish, Lord Megatron." Barricade accepted before addressing his team. "Two groups! Blackout and Demolishor are with me; Lugnut and Blitzwing, you two take Nemesis! Stay in contact!"

With that order, the Decepticons all transformed and rolled out in their respective directions.

'Kaizaren…' V.V. thought to himself. 'No matter where you'll go, I'll find you. You are not leaving this island alive.'

"It would seem your plan is working." Diethard contacted the separated groups of Omega Team. "Ironhide, you and Chromia have three enemy units heading your way; Wheeljack, Warpath, Hotshot; you have two. Your trap may have killed at least one Deception, though it stands to reason that your group will be facing this Nemesis Prime, so I'd advise caution."

"Don't you worry, we can handle that fake Prime." Warpath brushed off.

"We'll call you guys when we're ready for clean up." Wheeljack said before signing off.

"We'll deal with the Cons on our end to. Keep monitoring Rai, Bulkhead, and Nonette. Destroying the Tox-En takes priority." Ironhide instructed.

"Understood." Diethard said as the veteran Autobot signed off as well.

"Rai, are you and the others doing alright?" Euphie asked.

"We're holding our own." Rai answered. "Not feeling the least bit sick."

"I got a barf bag though in case you need it." Tamaki joked, earning a giggle from Euphie.

"I wish there was more I can do to help you though." Euphie said as her smile faded.

"Euphie, you have already done more than enough for the cause." Nonette told her seriously. "You helped to free Euro Britannia from the Decepticons occupying it, now you're instrumental in building the UFN!"

"She's right, kiddo." Bulkhead added, though he happened to sound a bit exhausted. "You may not be a soldier, but you're a Black Knight through-and-through. Heck, when you were still with Britannia, you really worked to shake their cages. You didn't hesitate to stand up to their hypocrisy and scrappy philosophies, no matter how dangerous they were."

"Yeah, most of the Britannian royals were a bunch of scumbags, but you ain't one of them. You're a good kid." Tamaki granted.

"I've been dealing with Britannia since the moment I was born. I couldn't stand how my father and most of my family was doing to the world." Euphie said with a fierce expression. "My only regret is that I didn't join your side sooner. Perhaps if I had…" She looked away in grief. "Then the Special Zone…"

"That wasn't your fault!" Rai quickly exclaimed. "Megatron was the one who started that, not you! You know that!"

"I know… I just wish that…"

"There's nothing we can do to change what happened." Diethard put his two cents in. "The past is the past and it can't be undone. Just as the Autobots can't undo what happened to Cybertron, correct?"

"Yeah… exactly." Bulkhead confirmed. "Our planet's gone, so many sparks lost… but we got a chance to save this world and we ain't backing down!"

"I know, and that's what I admire about all of you so much." Euphie said with a genuine smile. "You've all lost so much… all of you, human and Cybertronian. But… despite all that… and what we're facing… you don't give up. You don't back, you don't give in. You keep going."

"Because we have to." Rai said. "Because we have hope that there's light at the end of this dark tunnel."

"And I'm going to help all of you get there, even if I have to carry you there on my bare back!" Euphie stated with a fiery look in her eyes.

Tamaki chuckled. "Spoken like a Wrecker. You'd actually make a pretty decent Zero."

Being spoken of so highly and even directly compared to her amazing half-brother whom she admired and loved dearly, earned a happy smile and blush from the former princess.

"What about you, Diethard? What made you decide to be a Black Knight anyway?" Nonette asked.

"The guy's a fanatic." Bulkhead said in a joking sense, though his tone of voice was sounding more exhausted. "Said he wanted to document our 'shaking the world to its core' or whatever. I'm surprised he didn't start a religious cult around Zero or Optimus at this point."

"I've never been particularly religious." Diethard joked back. "And I will admit, I'm something pretty fanatical. Who wouldn't want to be at the center of all this? A war between two alien robotic factions, and humans fighting alongside them as their equals? It's already an amazing story!"

"See? Total fanatic." Rai laughed.

"But more than anything… I want to see you do the impossible." Diethard said.

"What do you mean?" Tamaki asked.

"What you're all doing now… trying to unite all of humanity together…" Diethard begin. "Ever since the start of human civilization, long before Britannia even existed, the human race has never been united. They've always waged war with one another for various reasons; justice, power, land, money, or just pure hatred. But now… with Zero and Optimus Prime at the helm… they don't just say they'll unite humanity to build an army against the Decepticons, they actually mean it. Those two genuinely believe they can bring humanity together, regardless of their differences, not just to end this war… but to bring peace throughout the entire world. And… as crazy as it sounds… I'm starting to believe it myself."

Bulkhead gave an amused scoff. "If you think it's crazy, then you know something's wrong?"

Diethard had a half-smile before continued. "Seriously. I want to be there. I want to see it. I want to see the end of this war, and humanity united under one cause, one banner. Not subjugated under another's power as Britannia tried to do and what the Decepticons currently aim for; but one united humanity with all standing as equals. It's the one that has never happened before. And I want to see it with my own eyes. I want to see a united humanity."

Euphie looked into his eyes and could see that he meant every word. He truly did want to see the world that Optimus and Lelouch strive for come to pass. It was what she wanted to.

"You will see it, Diethard. We'll all see it. We are going to to stop the Decepticons, and we are going to win this war!" Euphie stated.

"Damn right." Rai nodded as he and his group were more than half-way up the volcano's slope. They would reach the top soon. However, he saw from his Knightmare's monitor that Bulkhead had stopped, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. "Bulk? You okay, buddy?"

"Just… taking a breather…" Bulkhead took a second before pushing himself up.

"Even if you're not carrying it, the Tox-En is still affecting you." Nonette said.

"I'm fine, what about you Rai?" Bulkhead asked. "You and Tamaki doing okay in there?"

"Still feel fine. We're sealed in pretty tight." Rai brushed off.

"But what about the Raiden?" Tamaki asked. "This thing runs on Energon, right? What if that stuff gets corroded or something?"

Rai took a second to run a brief diagnostic, and saw a few alerts come up. "Energon flow is disrupted a bit. Guess Tox-En can affect Knightmares to…" He pulled on the controls a bit and they still felt normal. "Motor controls appear to be fine. We should keep going."

"Let's pick up the pace." Nonette urged. "I don't want to leave the others to fend for themselves for too long."

Ironhide and Chromia's vehicle modes continued along their path, practically moving in circles even though they were covering huge distances to create more confusion. However, a certain helicopter intercepted their path and fired rapid-Energon blasts to halt their path; prompting the pair to transform and return fire with their respective long-ranged weapons, forcing Blackout's helicopter mode to dodge.

Turning around at the sound of approaching vehicles, Ironhide and Chromia found themselves facing off with Barricade and Demolisher as they transformed as well; with Blackout doing the same to land on the other side. The Autobot duo exchanged eye-contact as they came back-to-back to face the trio of Decepticons.

"Autobot scum!" Blitzwing exclaimed in his hot-headed persona, appearing in his aerial mode, as he fired his canons down on the vehicle modes of Wheeljack, Warpath, and Hot Shot. "I am going to blast you so hard into the ground that they'll need Energon drills just to salvage what's left of you!"

"Oh yeah?! Why don't you come down here and say that?! Kablam!" Warpath fired his tank-shot at Blitzwing, forcing him to dodge as Lugnut flew in to fire a barrage of missiles in front of them. The three Autobots were forced to stop and transform to avoid the explosion that erupted in their path.

As Hot Shot and Warpath continued to fire at the airborne Lugnut and Blitzwing, Wheeljack noticed a figure walking through the flames of the explosion. The figure stepped forward to reveal himself as Nemesis Prime.

"Your death is near, Autobots." Nemesis Prime vowed as he drew an Energon axe, one that was identical to the one Optimus had with a darker blood red glow to it.

"So, you think you're hot-stuff, kid?" Wheeljack challenged as he drew his dual swords. "Let's see if you can back it up."

Meanwhile; Bulkhead, the Raiden, and Galeschin were almost nearing the top of the volcano, but they weren't quite there yet. In fact, Bulkhead was slowing down even more, up to the point he had to stop and take a break.

"Bulk, seriously if you wanna stop, it's fine!" Rai urged. "I can go up ahead! I'm almost there!"

"No way…!" Bulkhead insisted, pushing himself up. "Rai, you're my partner and I'm not letting you handle this all by yourself. I'm sticking with you no matter what."

"He speaks for both of us." Nonette also said. "We're getting this done and we're doing it together."

"Yeah, all of us." Tamaki added. "I mean, I don't technically have a choice since I'm riding with you… but you get the idea."

Rai chuckled, both at Tamaki's joke and the reminder of how stubborn both Bulkhead and Nonette could be, especially when it came to his own well-being. At the same time, he loved them both for it. They always had his back. Nonette was his knight growing up, looking after him and his family; and when it came down to it, she abandoned Britannia just to be by his side. And Bulkhead, his partner and friend ever since he became a Black Knight. They've been through thick-and-thin together and always fought together as brothers-in-arms.

Of course, it wasn't just them….

"Hey Euphie, you still there?" Rai asked.

"Of course."

"Can you check in on Shirley? I just wanna know if she's doing okay." Rai requested.

"Awe, you worried about your little girlfriend?" Tamaki teased. "Welcome to man-hood." He ruffled his hair, causing Rai to chuckle as he pushed Tamaki off. But he became concerned when Euphie didn't respond right away.

"Euphie…?"

"Rai… about Shirley." Euphie tried to explain. "She… she actually went with Beta Team to Paris to retrieve the Relic there." Rai gasped in surprise. "Her along with Nunnally, Rivalz, and Milly."

"What!? Why the hell am I hearing about this now?!" Rai exclaimed.

"I'm sorry. Apparently, they joined Bumblebee and the others just after you and everyone else left." Euphie explained.

"Listen, I understand that you're concerned for your friends… but you need to stay focused on your mission." Diethard told him. "There's nothing you can do for them at this time."

Rai knew he was right, but that didn't mean he wasn't worried. But at the same time, this wasn't that big of a surprise for him. Shirley's always been pretty impulsive in wanting to help them out. First she became a Black Knight, then she tried to help with the Data-Cylinder, then against Mao, later she tried to help Milly and everyone at Ashford when the Insecticons took it over; and of course, she volunteered to join them all in going to the E.U., even coming face-to-face with that maniac Shang, even convincing one of his soldiers to switch sides. While he did love that generous and noble heart of hers, it did put her in dangerous and life-threatening situations.

"You… you're not just crushing on that girl, are you?" Tamaki asked Rai, looking to him in surprise. "You love her."

Rai gasped as his eyes widened to the point they were almost circular. Love?!

"Yeah… I think you do, too." Nonette added as the Galeschin pulled up, the cockpit opening as she stood up to face him, prompting Rai to the same as Bulkhead also came to the side. "You're always by her side and she's always by yours."

"You don't have to hide it, Rai. We can all see it on your face." Bulkhead said. "I've been around you long enough to know how you feel, and that's why we're here. We know you can handle yourself, but we're still here, all to make it sure you get home safely to see your family and friends again, especially her."

Rai once again thought to Shirley. She was one of the first people to come into his life since he woke up in Ashford with amnesia. He knew she had a crush on Lelouch but still chose to get close to her because she was just so nice and compassionate. Then, when they were both in the Black Knights and with everything that's happened since then, they both grew closer and closer. And when his past all came rushing back, and he was under the crushing weight of his guilt and sorrow, she was the first person to help pull him out and remind him of all the good he's done. He wasn't sure when exactly it happened… but he knew, right here and know… that he did indeed love her. And he would do everything in his power to ensure this world would be a place where she could live a long and happy life, and he would be at her side the whole time.

"You're right… Bulk… Tamaki… Nonette…" Rai said with pure determination and conviction. "I do love her. And I will set this world right for her and everyone else that I've come to love."

"And we're going to stay by your side the whole time and make sure that you see that girl again and tell her exactly how you feel." Tamaki stated as Bulkhead and Nonette nodded in agreement. Rai then got back in his cockpit and closed it up, carrying the Tox-En back up the volcano with Nonette and Bulkhead by his side the entire way.

Chromia shot her rifle at Demolishor's shoulder cannons, neutralizing his heavy artillery, but this also left her vulnerable for Barricade to come in with a punch. He tried to get her while she was down, but she pulled up her rifle and slammed the back end of it across his face like a club before getting back up to deliver a kick, only for Barricade to catch her foot and slam her into the ground before throwing her toward a steam vent, which shattered upon impact, revealing a pool of lava underneath.

Ironhide slammed his shoulder and arm into Blackout to push him back, but the larger Decepticon quickly dug his feet in to stand his ground before raising his fists to slam them down on the veteran Autobot's back and kick him away. Blackout then activated his rotary blades and was ready to slice him to pieces while he was down…

Suddenly, Ironhide aimed his cannon point blank to not only obliterate Blackout's spinning blades, but his whole right arm. Using this to his advantage, Ironhide drove his other fist into Blackout's left knee and fired to blast off the whole leg, forcing Blackout down to the where Ironhide could grab him by the head and with a yell he not only snapped Blackout's neck, but even twisted the whole head off.

"Piece of tin." Ironhide grumbled as Blackout's body fell to the ground "I'm getting too old for this." He was them rammed in the back by Demolishor, sending him tumbling down toward the area where Chromia was.

"Then it's time for you to retire." Barricade fired his Energon blaster at the ground underneath the pair of Autobots, causing it to cave in as both of them fell into the lava below.

Blitzwing had transformed into his tank-mode and fired multiple rapid blasts at Warpath, who had also transformed into his tank-mode to fire his larger ammunition, but the triple-changer was just barely able to avoid the blast before driving forward to ram himself into Warpath.

"Guess you're a tank-lover too." Blitzwing mused in his insane persona. But he was taken aback as Warpath transformed to pick up Blitzwing while he was still in his vehicle mode and throw him away.

"Come on, big boy! Can't hit what you can't hit!" Hot Shot transformed into his vehicle mode and began to drive literal circles around Lugnut.

"Bothersome pest!" Lugnut raised his axe and rather than waste his time trying to strike Hot Shot directly, he brought the axe down on the ground in front of him to create a strong enough force to split the ground where Hot Shot was gonna be, causing the young Autobot to fall in screaming.

Wheeljack ducked underneath the slice from Nemesis Prime's Energon Axe before rushing him to slice upwards with his swords and knock the false Prime, while also jumping to deliver a kick and knock him back. Wheeljack then pressed his advantage, trying to keep Nemesis from fighting back as he sliced both his swords at him, forcing Nemesis to cover himself with his metallic arms, but that didn't stop Wheeljack from pushing forward with a relentless series of slashes and thrusts.

"What's the matter, Vicky?" Wheeljack taunted as he continued to hack and slash at him. "Not used to fighting somebody who's not so helpless or emotionally broken?! Someone who can actually push back!?" Wheeljack spoke those words with venom as he knew V.V. had hurt his friend Rai so badly. Even if V.V. couldn't traditionally die, Wheeljack was still gonna make sure that he hurt.

As Wheeljack tried to thrust his right sword toward him, Nemesis Prime caught the blade itself with his left hand and with a swing of his Energon axe in his right hand, he completely severed Wheeljack's right arm before he sliced the axe at him again with enough force to send Wheeljack upward. Before he could even fall though, Nemesis caught him by the face and slammed him on the ground repeatedly.

"I'm sick of people fighting back! You have no right to fight back against me!" Nemesis Prime scolded.

Warpath suddenly tackled Nemesis Prime from behind, forcing him to let go of Wheeljack as the red Autobot laid on top of him and began to pound him repeatedly.

"We got every right, you self-righteous punk! Who the hell are you to say that we can't?!" However, Nemesis Prime forced himself upward to push off Warpath. Before the red Autobot could recover, Nemesis stomped his foot repeatedly into his face before grabbing his chest cannon with both hands and violently tore it out.

"I am the one who would have helped make a better world! But you fools all cling to the old one out of some outdated and false sense of justice, pretending to be heroes!" Nemesis Prime threw the torn canon away as Warpath laid in agony. He then heard Wheeljack's chuckle and turned to him with a glare. "What's so funny?"

"Could you… maybe use a different voice… or something…?" Wheeljack mocked. "I get it's meant to sound intimidating… but the way you rant off like a brat… it just doesn't match it…!" He gave a chuckle, even as Nemesis Prime brought his axe close to the Wrecker's face.

"Where's the Tox-En? More importantly, where's Kaizaren?" Nemesis questioned.

"Try your mom's house." Wheeljack stated. "That's a human joke, in case you didn't know."

Nemesis raised his axe in furry, ready to finish him off, with Wheeljack not even flinching. But then, he stopped himself and took the moment to think.

"Finding you was easy… and that other trail probably led to the same conclusion." Nemesis mused. "You wouldn't have made it so easy if you were trying to get the Tox-En away from us." His sense of logic caused Nemesis to turn around toward the volcano in the distance. "You were trying to lure us away. Huh, clever. For an Autobot." He then addressed his two teammates. "Lugnut, Blitzwing, we're wasting our time here. Let's get to that volcano."

"It would be the most logical choice to dispose of the Tox-En. It seems we have indeed been tricked." Blitzwing said in his logical persona.

"What about the Autobots? They still live." Lugnut pointed out.

"Let them." Nemesis Prime said as he glanced at the brutalized Wheeljack and Warpath. "I do intend to kill Kaizaren and probably whoever's with him, but I'd like some survivors to get back home and tell their friends what happened here. I want Prime and Zero to both know that their time is coming to an end, at the hands of Nemesis Prime."

Lugnut and Blitzwing both transformed as Nemesis held onto Lugnut's side, riding with him as they flew toward the volcano.

"That's… not good…" Wheeljack stuttered as he tried to pull himself up.

"Hot Shot… Where's Hot Shot…?" Warpath tried to crawl to the large crevice where he saw his fellow Wrecker fall into. But as he made his way over, and he looked down into it… his optics widened in surprise at what he saw.

Bulkhead had managed to climb to the very top of the summit of the volcano, with the Raiden and Galeschin hovering up to reach the top as well, the blue Knightmare still keeping the Tox-En close. But it seemed like that side of the Raiden, along with part of its chest area, were slowly starting to corrode. Fortunately, they wouldn't have much longer to go. Now that they were at the mouth of the volcano, all that separated them from the magma below as a casing of hardened lava that seemed sturdy enough to walk on, but fragile enough to break with enough pressure.

"Damn… it's hot…" Rai chuckled.

"Oh, now you think it's hot." Tamaki said in humorous sarcasm.

"But we made it…" Rai finished.

"Let's get this over with." Nonette stated.

"Just about there…" Bulkhead added as they went into the mouth.

"That's right! Get rid of that accursed stone and come on home!" Euphie encouraged.

Diethard got a call on his headset. "Yes? Lady Kaguya, what is it? Oh… the other teams." He shared a glance with Euphemia as it seemed they would hear about the status of the others soon.

The trio didn't get very far however as they heard a familiar voice call to them from above.

"Kaizaren!" They looked up to see Blitzwing and Lugnut fly in, the later still carrying Nemesis Prime as he dropped down, both Decepticons transforming and landing at his sides. "Put down the rock and allow us to put you and your friends out of my misery."

Though they couldn't exactly make eye-contact; Bulkhead, Rai, Tamaki, and Nonette knew exactly what the others were thinking, and what they would do next.

"How about this?" Rai finally dropped the Tox-En behind him and his team, drawing his Knightmare's katana. "How about you come here so I can put you out of our misery?!"

"Let's go." Bulkhead converted both his hands into maces as the Galeschin drew its VARIS rifle and an MVS blade before they all clashed against one another. The Galeschin shot directly at Blitzwing, Bulkhead clashed with Lugnut, and the Raiden engaged Nemesis Prime.

"Excellent news." Diethard said. "And you've acquired a new ally? I suppose we'll just have to see him for ourselves. Good work. See you back, soon." He hung up and looked to Euphemia with a nod, which she returned as she heard everything as well. Diethard then got back to their current assignment. "Rai, are you still there?"

"Kinda fighting for my life right now…! But yeah, still here!"

"Listen, I just felt you should know…" Diethard began. "You're friend, Shirley? She's alright. Beta Team acquired their Relic and there are no casualties among them. Mission accomplished."

Rai chuckled with a satisfied grin. "That's my girl." He pushed the Raiden forward, bringing down its katana towards Nemesis Prime, who blocked with his arm-blade. He tried to aim his Ion Blaster, only for the Raiden to grab onto that arm with its Surger Claw and quickly activate it, sending an electrical shock through Nemesis Prime's systems, electrocuting V.V. on the inside before he swiped his arm to knock him back.

However, Rai glanced back in surprise to see that it wasn't him who activated the Surger, but Tamaki who reached over to pull on the switch. "Co-pilot, kid. I told ya I got your back."

"Thanks man."

"So, there's someone else in there, too?" They heard Nemesis Prime muse as he drew his Energon axe. "I'll just kill both of you in one sitting."

"Bring it on, you little shit!" Tamaki challenged as the Raiden and Nemesis clashed once again.

Blitzwing was at the edge of the mouth of the volcano as he fired his shoulder-cannons at the airborne Galeschin, with Nonette being quick enough to dodge most of the shots before she returned fire with the VARIS, blasting the rocks underneath Blitzwing to send him crashing back to the inner-area of the mouth. She flew down to get in close range and swing her sword at him, but Blitzwing recovered and grabbed her by the arm before flipping her over to slam her into the ground.

"You, puny little organic!" The triple-changer shouted in his hotheaded persona. "I'm going to crush that fancy tin can of yours like foil with you still inside!"

"You first!" Nonette fired her slash harkens at him to slash up Blitzwing's sides before getting back up and firing the Galeschin's VARIS point-blank to blast Blitzwing out of the mouth and send him tumbling down the side of the volcano.

"Mayday! Mayday! Let's all dance around the maypole!" Blitzwing said in his insane persona as he fell.

Bulkhead smashed his mace against Lugnut's frame three times, but Lugnut was quick to recover and return the punch to the Autobot's face before delivering another to knock him down, close to the Tox-En.

"Your strikes aren't as strong as before." Lugnut observed as he drew his axe. "Prolonged exposure to the Tox-En has weakened you. You cannot overpower me." Bulkhead noticed the Tox-En shard in front of him. "Time for your life to end, in the name of Megatron!" Lugnut brought down his axe, but Bulkhead was able to dodge it with a burst of strength, grab the Tox-En and shove it right into Lugnut's face.

"Fair warning… I'm contagious!" Bulkhead then smashed it into Lugnut with enough force to knock him down before placing it on his chest. "Here, hold this why don't you?"

The Raiden was sent crashing back to the other end of the volcano's mouth, with Nemesis Prime charging at him in high speeds, but Rai shot his Knightmare upward to avoid the devastating slash from the Energon axe. Tamaki fired the Raiden's slash harkens, but Nemesis was able to grab one of them and pull the Raiden in to deliver a devastating kick and knock it back.

Getting desperate, Rai activated the Raiden's energy wings and fired multiple point-blank shots directly at Nemesis. Though the attack didn't last very long as the wings quickly short-circuited.

"What happened?!" Tamaki questioned as Rai looked at the diagnosis.

"Tox-En has corrupted the Raiden's Energon flow! The wings are down!" The entire Knightmare was rocked as Nemesis kicked it down. Before he would even recover, Nemesis Prime was already on him as he continued to kick at him repeatedly to where the side of the Raiden was already severely wrecked, looking ready to cave in.

"Oh, you have no idea how satisfying this is!" V.V. sneered from inside. "I should have let you kill yourself back on that island, but better late than never. I'll be sure to tell Lelouch and Nunnally just how much you've suffered before I get my newfound hands on them."

He heard Bulkhead's roar as he turned in surprise to see the charging green Autobot slam his mace into the face of Nemesis Prime. He then tackled him to the ground and attempted to smash the arm that held the Energon axe, forcing Nemesis to let it go. But the fake Prime was able to reach over and pull Bulkhead off. He then grabbed Bulkhead by his back-wheels and slammed him head-first into the rocky wall closest to him. As Nemesis turned around, he was greeted by the sight of the Galeschin standing protectively in front of the downed Raiden.

"Nonette Enneagram… Knight of Nine… you're supposed to be by my brother's side, not one of his bastards!" V.V. scolded. "Your life is forfeit to everyone but him! What right do you think you have to protect that piece of living garbage?!"

"I swore a loyalty to Kaizaren first… but I failed." Nonette replied. "I failed Kaizaren Von Britannia and his family… but I will not fail Rai Kururugi! Not as a knight to a prince, but as a friend to a friend!"

Nemesis Prime scoffed. "You always did have a soft spot, something Charles overlooked. If you love your precious Rai so much… then die with him!" He aimed his Ion Blaster just as the Galeschin shot its VARIS. Both bolts shot past each other as the VARIS blast struck Nemesis's shoulder, while the opposing one obliterated the VARIS rifle.

Nonette gave a yell as she charged her Galeschin forward, its MVS blade at the ready, but Nemesis quickly drew his arm-blade and sliced at the Galeschin's mid-section to slice it in half, both halves separated and rolled across the ground. The woman inside shook a bit from the impact as it hit hard, but she was still alive. She then gasped in fear as she saw Nemesis looming closer to her, having reacquired his Energon axe.

"Die… you worthless excuse for a knight…!" Nemesis hauled his axe and was ready to bring it down onto her.

"NNNOOOO!" The Raiden shot forward with the last bit of fuel it had left, taking the axe-strike right into its chest.

Within the cockpit, Rai tried to push Tamaki back his right arm as the front of the cockpit quickly caved in on him, with Rai using his left arm to shield himself. Unfortunately, his left arm ended up getting crushed and twisted in the worst way because of this, with his head getting hit hard to knock him unconscious in that same moment.

"RAI!" Tamaki exclaimed in terror as the youth fell back into his arms.

Both Nonette and the barely recovering Bulkhead looked in shock and horror as they saw what happened.

However, there was one who wasn't as horrified, but rather elated, over what had just happened. So much so that he begun to laugh. No, not laugh, but cackle! Cackle like a rabid hyena!

"Oh… how stupid was he?!" V.V. mocked from inside his Nemesis body. "He threw his life away for the sake of his friend?! Oh right, that's probably what that worthless Optimus and even Lelouch fed him, to protect your loved ones at any cost! You should only protect yourself, otherwise you'll end up dead, because no one is going to protect you! And he realized that too late!" V.V. continued to laugh.

He felt something grasp onto his shoulder and turned around to see Bulkhead's mace smash into him, sending him tumbling directly into Lugnut, knocking the Tox-En off him and close to the Nemesis body. The immortal-turned-cyborg tried to flip himself over, only to have Bulkhead literally sit down on him and use his own weight to keep him pinned. V.V. looked to see not only the vengeful look on Bulkhead's face, but also the Tox-En that he grabbed and shoved right into his chest area, where Bulkhead was certain that's where V.V.'s real body would be.

"You want a taste of this…! Do ya…?!" Bulkhead growled hatefully.

Despite the protection of the Nemesis body, V.V.'s own physical form could feel the poisonous effects of the Tox-En. Not only that, the Energon inside his frame that also connected to his own nervous system became corrupted and corroded from the Tox-En's effects. He not only felt the burning pain outside, but even on the inside. Despite being immortal, it was purely agonizing, to the point he actually screamed in pain.

Bulkhead kept the Tox-En forced onto Nemesis' chest area with one hand as he raised his other with his mace and slammed it into Nemesis face repeatedly. With each smash, and the combined weight of both heavily built bodies, the hardened lava floor underneath began to crack.

"This is for Rai!" Bulkhead exclaimed as he smashed again. "For Nonette!" He smashed yet again. "For Cera!" Another smash. "For everyone you and your evil brother have hurt… for everything…!" Bulkhead said with one final smash.

The ground had finally begun to break underneath. Bulkhead pulled himself back in time to see Nemesis Prime and the Tox-En now fall into the newly made hole and into the magma below.

Bulkhead stood up and limped over to the hole, looking down to make sure the work was done. He couldn't see Nemesis Prime; but he did see the Tox-En melt away and vanish in the molten rock. It was over.

"Euphie… Diethard… we need evac… all of us… and medical help. Rai's hurt real bad…" Bulkhead contacted base.

Euphemia acted quickly as she locked onto all three locations where Omega Team was scattered. "Opening emergency Groundbridge to these locations now!"

Diethard also got to work in contacting medical. "Perceptor, we have multiple wounded coming in! Humans and Bots! And tell me you have a means to treat potential Tox-En exposure!"

Ironhide was able to pull himself out of the lava, holding Chromia close to him, both smoking with the red-hot molten rock. A Groundbridge portal appeared just below them, causing them both to fall in and to safety.

Warpath and Wheeljack tried to help each other up, both just as injured as before as they limped to the Groundbridge portal that just opened in front of them.

At the mouth of the volcano, a third and final Groundbridge portal had just opened as Bulkhead had to drag both the heavily damaged Raiden and Galeschin in, with all three humans still inside. With as weak as he was, this was the most he could do, but he would get his friends and teammates to safety or die trying.

However, he failed to notice a metallic hand emerge from the newly made hole and grasp onto the surface. This hand belonged to Nemesis Prime as he weakly pulled himself out, his metallic frame smoking hot from having been bathed in lava.

Inside, V.V., who was burning up on the inside from the superheated temperatures and poisoned Energon from Tox-En exposure, glared hatefully at the retreating Autobot. He weakly aimed his Ion blaster and fired the most powerful and charged shot he could give.

The blast hit Bulkhead in the back with enough force to send him and the damaged Knightmares flying through the vortex, colliding into Ironhide, Chromia, Warpath, and Wheeljack.

What was left of Omega Team fell out in pieces on the other side of the Groundbridge vortex and onto the ground of Horai Island's perimeter where Euphemia, Diethard, Nina and the recently arrived Sigma Team looked in horror.

Done.

Well, that chapter was one hell of a ride.

Yep, V.V. is now Nemesis Prime. Think like something similar to when Silas was installed into Breakdown's body in canon TFP with his brain fused to a Cybertronian nervous and skeletal system. He's got regular Energon to bring his system online, Synthetic Energon to provide strength and speed to rival Optimus, and just enough Dark Energon for Megatron to keep him in line. Despite his perpetual immaturity, V.V. is dangerously cunning, up to the point where Charles had to be cautious around him in the canon, but since the start of R2, he's mostly been a bit of a joke when compared to the Autobots and Decepticons, but no more. Now he's a legitimate threat to our heroes. With his own ruthless cunning and the strength and power equal to that of the Autobot leader, but more importantly, his selfishness and cruelty all combined truly make him the exact opposite of Optimus Prime. It's this combination that has given birth to the dreaded Nemesis Prime.

As for what he looks like (he's black with red windows and eyes as opposed to how MECH made him in the canon TFP), go to DeviantArt and look up "Nemesis Prime" by "PalettePix". I much prefer the black and red version over how MECH made him look.

While Omega Team was successful in destroying the Tox-En, killing off Overload and Blackout to boot, they suffered heavy damage as that was arguably the most brutal fight they've gone through. (Hot Shot's fate is… still up in the air.)

I decided to put not only Euphie but also Diethard in the supporting role that Fowler was in because Diethard himself was largely out of focus at the start of R2, and it seems being around the Autobots has also had an effect on him. He still admits he's a fanatic, but he actually wants to see Optimus and Zero accomplish the impossible and that's uniting humanity together. Feels like something that would be part of his character.

And Rai has openly admitted his feelings in that he truly loves Shirley. But given the state he's now in… you can expect how she will react when she returns from her own mission.

With this, the Iacon Relic Hunt arc has now come to an end. I have to say, I'm rather pleased with how it all turned out. Now three more arcs remain for R2, with the next one dealing with the aftermath of the Iacon Relic Hunt, the acquisition of a certain sword, and the long-awaited assault on the Geass Order.

Until then, stay safe and stay healthy out there. Love you guys.