Hi! Sorry for the long wait. I have been dealing with a lot of things. It has been a hectic ride. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter.

(The Sanctuary II)

Gamora stared at the throne sitting in the center of the large chamber. She cannot even count how many times she had seen it. Coming in here to meet her father, watching as he sat on that very chair. What things had Thanos seen while seated on that throne? How many worlds had he conquered? How many lives had he destroyed? The amount of blood spilled in his so-called crusade for balance. These thoughts had always crept into her mind as she finally realized the monster that treated her as his own flesh and blood.

And speak of the Devil, the door to the room opened and in came Thanos. He was alone with his helmet off but armor still on. His left hand still covered with the Infinity Gauntlet, now holding three of the stones. In his right hand though, he carried a bowl of soup.

"I brought you some food." Thanos said gently as he held the bowl to Gamora. "Thought you might be hungry."

She stared at it. Gamora recognized the soup from her world, Zen-Whoben. Her mother would make it for the family every night. The memory hurt even more than her wounds. And it only angered her more as she roughly grabbed the dish and threw it at the throne as hard as she could, shattering it upon contact. Thanos said nothing as he looked at Gamora.

"I always hated that chair"

Thanos hummed as he stood beside her. "I've been told. Even so, I'd hope you would sit in it one day." He admitted.

Gamora shook her head in disgust at the thought. "I hated this room." She told him. "This ship. I hated my life."

"…you told me that too. Every day. For almost 20 years." Thanos replied as he sat down on the steps.

Gamora looked away; the fact having made her realize just how long she had been with Thanos. "I was a child when you took me."

"I saved you." Thanos said sternly.

Gamora shook her head. "No, no, we were happy on my home planet." Gamore declared.

Thanos scoffed, not believing her. "Going to bed hungry. Scrounging for scraps. Your planet was on the brink of collapse. I was the one who stopped that." He said as he sat down. "You know what's happened since then? The children born have known nothing but full bellies and clear skies. It's a paradise."

"Because you murdered half the planet!" Gamora exclaimed, anger clear in her voice and eyes.

"A small price to pay for salvation." Thanos retorted calmly.

Gamora looked at him in contempt. "You're insane."

Thanos got up and walked over towards his adopted daughter. "Little one, it's a simple calculus. This universe is finite, its resources, finite… if life is left unchecked, life will cease to exist. It needs correction."

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT!" Gamora yelled.

"I'm the only one who knows that." Thanos stated calmly. "At least I'm the only one with the will to act on it. For a time, you had that same will. As you fought by my side, daughter."

Gamora glared at him. "I'm not your daughter. Everything I hate about myself, you taught me."

"And in doing so, made you the fiercest woman in the Galaxy." Thanos replied. "It's why I trusted you to find the Soul Stone."

"I'm sorry I disappointed you." Gamora said sarcastically.

"I am disappointed. But not because you didn't find it." Thanos leaned down, so that he could whisper into Gamora's ear. "But because you did…and you lied."

Gamora froze, eyes widened and a hint of fear in them. Thanos back a few inches before continuing. "Though not entirely. My new ally told me that the Soul Stone was indeed kept on Vormir, but she had taken it long ago."

"What…?" she asked, shocked that the stone had long since been found. "Then why not just take it from her?" Gamora demanded.

"Unfortunately, the Infinity Stones are not effective when used directly on Cybertronians. As one of the first Cybertronians to be born, Quintessa has a rather strong resistance towards them. However, we both owe one another debts. And thus, the formation of this alliance. She helps me gather the other stones and in return I help Quintessa conquer Cybertron. Upon giving me the Soul Stone, I will destroy a certain threat to all of us and complete my plan to bring true balance to the universe." Thanos summarized.

He looked at Gamora and saw the fire in her eyes. The same fire Thanos saw when she was just a child all those years ago. She looked ready to kill him. "I strongly recommend that you remain here, child. Otherwise" A holo projection appeared in front of them. It showed another room on the Sanctuary II and in it was none other than Nebula, Gamora's

"Some time ago, your sister snuck aboard this ship to kill me. Very nearly succeeded." Thanos said as Gamora looked in horror at Nebula's condition. "I don't think I need to explain what will happen if you try anything. Remain here in the throne room until I return." The Titan ordered before departing, leaving behind a despairing daughter.

As he left, a figure passed by him. It was a Cybertronian, around the same height as the Sharkticons in their robot forms. However, this one was a Junkion, descendants of ancient Cybertronian colonists. Quintessa had enslaved them as a labor force because of their durability and endurance to even the most fatal wounds. She kept them in line by having chips implanted into them that when activated, they would destroy a good portion of their bodies, too much for them to recover from.

Speaking of said sorceress, Quintessa hovered over towards him. "I trust that you have finished your talk with your daughter. I hope we have nothing to worry about with her being on board." Ignoring the passing Junkion.

Thanos gave the Cybertronian a glare. "That is not your concern." The Mad Titan said firmly. "Ebony's ship is about to reach Titan. Super Giant will command the Sanctuary II while we go there to rendezvous and get the Time Stone and then head to Earth to retrieve the Mind Stone. Once done…"

"I will give you the Soul Stone as promise." Quintessa finished. "In return, you will destroy Unicron and help me reclaim Cybertron."

"And be sure to remember that." Thanos ordered. "Now, leave me. I have things to prepare for." As he walked away.

Quintessa watched as Thanos left. Unbeknownst to the Titan, the Cybertronian sorceress was making her own preparations. She had lived long enough to know what Thanos was thinking. Oh, he would destroy Unicron, that was for certain. Not even he could ignore the threat the Chaos Bringer posed. But she doubted he would help her conquer Cybertron. Instead, he would probably retreat to whatever refuse he made after he completed his mission. In that case, Quintessa had to ensure he had no allies to rely on once she took the Infinity Stones from Thanos.

And she knew the perfect way to do it. As that human saying went: "Two birds with one stone."

(Sometime later, Earth, Diego Garcia, Autobot City)

Despite the upcoming battle about to happen in Wakanda, worked continued as usual at the Autobot settlement. Autobots and humans were moving about on patrol, doing maintenance, training, meetings, and communication, or just hanging out. At the NEST section of the city Major Nolan Reynolds was overseeing things, having been left in charge while Lennox was at Wakanda. And among the Autobots there were Sea Spray, Breacher, and Depthcharge. The three were patrolling the waters along with several NEST ships and helicopters. They, along with all other Autobots and NEST forces, had been notified to remain on standby, and await orders from Optimus and/or Lennox.

Deeper inside the base in one of the hangars was Cade with his family, as well as Jimmy, Shane, Simmons, and Dutch. With them were Canopy, Landmine, Wheelie, Brains and Eject. Eject was a blue and silver Minicon, to be more precise an Allspark creation. He was created accidentally by Adam last year when the former was testing out his new powers. Eject was just an Arri Alexa LF before given life and in many ways, Eject could be considered the younger brother of the late Rewind, standing around the same height as him, but was also equipped with the same hyper-reactive trans-scanning and reformatting system that Frenzy had possessed. Since then, Eject has been living at Burton's castle but mostly chose to remain isolated as he learned more about human and Cybertronian histories and customs.

Cade was presently resting his elbow against a table. He was absentmindedly tapping his finger against the device Optimus had given him. Said artifact was a white disk that was around the same height as Cade's chest with black markings on it. He had a mixed expression on his face as he stared at the wall.

"Cade, could you please stop?" Viviane said as she sat beside Izzy. "You've been doing that for over an hour. It's not going to change anything."

Cade rolled his eyes, but nevertheless stopped tapping. "Fine, but this whole thing of just sitting around is killing me. Maybe Major Reynolds has something I can do." He said as he got up to find said Major.

"You know he's just going to have you come back, right?" Eject said from his spot. Currently the minicon was playing cards with Simmons and Shane, winning at that. "You have better luck figuring out the device Optimus gave you."

Cade was going to say something when several things happened. The first was that it became dark outside the hangar, like nighttime suddenly came. The ground began to shake a little, finally followed by people screaming and explosions. The group were startled and quickly ran outside to see what was happening. What they saw shocked them.

(NEST Section of Autobot City, Command Center)

"What's going on?!" Major Reynolds yelled as he walked into the control room. He was a man in his mid to late thirties, with a short brown hair, fair skin, brown eyes, and wearing a NEST Uniform. Around him technicians were already at work. Screens were lit up, people yelling at one another, trying to get things back in order.

Finally, someone managed to answer him. "Sir, communications just went offline a few minutes ago. We're completely cut off from the outside world." One technician reported.

Reynolds cursed. "Get a team to check it out and run repairs. Contact the Autobots and see if they can get through. In the meantime, try emergency channels. With most of our forces out, we don't have a lot of defenses."

Suddenly the room began to shake, knocking a few people over in the process. Reynolds was able to recover in time as he used a chair to get up. The screens in front of him switched to show the sky, which had become dark despite it being morning. Above Diego Garcia was the Sanctuary II. Its laser cannons had lined up and began a bombardment of the city. At the same time dozens of Necrocrafts and Chitauri Chairots came flying out, joining in on the assault while hundreds of Sakaaran and Chitauri troopers were beamed down from the warship, already firing their laser rifles at NEST soldiers and Autobots. Outriders had arrived first, rushing towards the defenders while the Chitauri Gorillas were right behind them. The Chitauri Tanks were still being deployed as they prepared to fire.

Said people rushed to organize a response, alarms blaring all over the island as the attackers began to spread out. Autobots transformed into their alt modes, flyers heading up to engage the enemy flyers. Their quick moving provided cover and time for the NEST pilots doing the same thing, jets and helicopters starting up while the ground troops mobilized with armored vehicles and tanks backing them. The response was slow, though, as the invaders had taken NEST completely by surprise. Eventually, though, the defenders were able to fight back, officers shouting over gunfire and explosions as they got their soldiers moving, halting the alien advance on the base.

The NEST naval ships were also fighting. Sakaaran ships and Chitauri Chariots were attacking them, flying around while shooting. Several had already been sunk, the survivors were forced to abandon ship and avoid the enemy from taking shots at them. A few ships were able to get past the swarm and head towards the island, firing from range to provide support for their allies on the island. Dephtcharge transformed, his feet in hover mode so he could zoom across the water. His left arm transformed into its proton torpedo launcher form, while he held his energon cutlass in his right servo. He fired up into the sky, downing a Necrocraft before making a jump and cutting another in half with his cutlass.

"Sea Spray! Breacher!" He shouted. Said Autobots were also fighting in the water. Breacher was standing on Sea Spray in the latter's boat mode and firing his plasma blaster. "Head towards the island and assist the others. I'll stay here and help the fleet!"

"Got it!" Breacher yelled as he downed a Chitauri Chariot. Sea Spray took off immediately towards the island, dodging energy shots from the enemy flyers while Breacher covered him.

Depthcharge turned his attention back to the air, glaring at the massive warship hovering above the fleet. So far, the Sanctuary II was not showing any signs of bombarding either at them nor the island; but it was releasing what seemed like an endless supply of soldiers and flyers. His launcher might've been able to reach it, but wouldn't do any real damage, same with the human ships' cannons. And none of their flyers could get near it with the warship's cannons protecting it, not to mention the force-field around it. For now, though, he would deal with their air fighters.

(With Cade)

The moment the explosions came, everyone took cover. "Get down!" Cade shouted as he ushered his family back into the hangar. More explosions came appearing behind them. Cade fell behind a turned over table knocked over from the impact, Vivianne shielded Izabella as they took cover behind another tipped table with Tessa. Shane and Jimmy scrambled to find cover, screaming as the hangar shook and objects fell. Meanwhile Simmons and Dutch hid behind some pillars, with Wheelie and Brains hiding under a bucket. Eject jumped to avoid flying debris before transforming into his alt mode.

A few minutes later several Sakaaran soldiers came in, laser rifles at the ready as they searched for any humans. They completely ignored the blue and silver Arri Alexa LF, their attention turned towards Vivianne, shielding Izzy and Tessa. "There!" One of the Sakaaran exclaimed, taking aim with his weapon.

Unfortunately for him, that left him open to Eject. Said Minicon quickly transformed and jumped on top of a table. Opening his chest plate, he revealed a launcher that shot out two energy bolas. The first shot entangled two Sakaarans, while the second nabbed three. All five soldiers were electrocuted to death as Eject whipped out his arm-mounted submachine guns and fired on the remaining Sakaarans. Said aliens quickly took cover, returning fire at the Minicon who was jumping all over the place.

Cade managed to recover in time to pull out his mini-blaster pistol. He fired an energy bolt that struck a Sakaaran square in the chest. He then ran from cover to reach his family, firing all the while. Said family were taking cover as a Sakaaran homed in on them but was forced back when Cade starting shooting at him. The Sakaaran tried to shoot Cade, but was knocked down by Wheelie and Brains, the former in his toy car mode with the latter riding him. That Sakaaran was quickly killed by Simmons and Dutch, the two having brought shotguns with them.

When Eject dealt with the last invader, the group quickly regrouped. "We need to get out of here. We need to get out of here now." Cade said, under no illusion that the hanger they were in was safe.

As if to prove his point, a Necrocraft appeared, hovering a few feet off the ground, facing the group. It prepared to take fire until a barrage of laser blasts struck its left side. The Necrocraft stood no chance as it was torn apart, exploding seconds later. Coming towards the wreckage was Canopy, the large yellow mech carrying an ion displacer. He kicked aside the wreckage as he moved closer towards the hangar entrance.

"Canopy!" Izzy exclaimed in relief, happy to see her friend. She and the others began making their way towards the Autobot. Around them, the sounds of battle continued. Wreckages of vehicles, both human, Cybertronian, and invaders were scattered across the field. The dead also filled the battlefield, though thankfully the enemy's dead outnumbered the defenders. While the NEST and Autobot forces had the home field advantage, the enemy had better numbers and seemed to lack the self-preservation that the defenders possessed.

"We need to move deeper into the city where the shelters are. It's not safe here" Canopy said, ushering them outside quickly. His optics were looking around them for any attacks. The first to leave was Eject, weapons at the ready. Followed by Simmons and Dutch, their own firearms prepared too. Next were Shane and Tessa along with Vivianne and Izabella, the older woman shielding the younger. Wheelie and Brains were next, the latter riding on top of the former as they followed the humans. And finally, Cade who had one hand holding his pistol and the other the item that Optimus had given him: the disk with Cybertronian letters on it.

Suddenly, two Chitauri and one of their Gorillas appeared, charging out of the smoke created by the explosions all around them. The beast tackled Canopy, making the Autobot drop his weapon as he tried to wrestle the creature off. The two alien soldiers focused their attention on the humans and smaller Autobots. At the same time, a Chitauri Chariot had taken notice of them and made a nosedive, preparing to blast them into oblivion.

Eject tackled one of the Chitauri, making quick work of it with his metal digits, while the humans were forced to deal with the other. Dutch and Simmons tried to fire their guns, but the alien was quicker, smacking them aside as it focused on Vivianne and Izabella, the two whom it designated as the weakest. The females screamed as the Chitauri aimed its weapon at them…only to be stopped when Cade smacked it on the back of the head with the disk. "Bastard!" Cade cursed as he attacked the alien that threatened his family. The blow caused the Chitauri to lose its focus and balance, falling on its knees as it tried to avoid Cade's next blow.

Tessa, who she along with Shane, Wheelie, and Brains managed to get back when they were attacked, shouted, "Dad!"

Hearing his daughter's cry, Cade looked up and saw the Chitauri Chariot heading straight towards him, Vivianne, and Izzy. Without thinking, Cade clutched the Cybertronian object to his chest while he tried to shield them. At that moment several things happened; the aliencraft fired its blasters at them while the disk began to shift and expand. The energy projectiles struck head on, causing dust to rise, and making everyone else get to cover.

"No!" Tessa cried as she tried to spot her family, with only Shane holding her back from danger.

But her worries were unneeded as the dust cleared, revealing a most unexpected sight. Towering over Vivianne and Izabella, and the remains of the Chitauri soldier, was none other than Cade. This time, though, he was encased in a large silver armor, with blue glowing trims. Size-wise, it was around the same height as Canopy, and the only sign that Cade was in it was because of the glass-like visor that showed the man's surprised face.

"Holy shit!" Cade exclaimed, shocked just like everyone else. He flexed his left hand, and the armor's own limb did the same. He was snapped from his shock when Canopy let out a grunt, still trying to get the Chitauri Gorilla off. Moving the armor's legs, Cade rushed over and grabbed the beast and pulled it off Canopy, before slamming it against the ground with a loud smack.

"Whoa" A new voice commented. Approaching the group were Breacher and Sea Spray. A little worse for wear, but still functioning. "Is that the Apex Armor?" Breacher asked.

"A-Apex Armor? You know what this is?" Cade asked back, looking at the armor in awe.

Sea Spray nodded. "A relic of the Primes. Forged by Solus Prime; whoever wears it becomes impervious to any attack, as well as enhance the wearer's strength. Guess Optimus figured that you might need it."

"Looks like he was right." Sea Spray added. "We're getting reports all over the city. The enemy is beginning to push deeper in. Countermeasures are under way, but that warship is making things difficult. Last I heard, Major Reynolds is preparing the railgun to shoot through that thing's shield."

Suddenly there was a loud explosion, followed by a surge of energy that nearly knocked everyone off their feet. Looking up, they could see several of the warship's cannons firing together. "Scrap!" Breacher swore as he scanned the damage to the railgun before accessing his comms. "Whatever that blast did it disconnected the Railgun from the rest of the base. Reynolds says we can't link back up with it."

"I might be able to help." Eject said, tossing aside the dead Chitauri. "Just need to find a good computer or server for me to hack and I should be able to link up to the railgun myself."

Cade nodded. Now was not the time to hesitate. "Okay, I'll take Eject and find somewhere he can do his magic. Canopy, get the others to safety…and no arguing you guys!" He added the last part followed by giving a firm look at Izzy and Tessa before they could speak.

Breacher and Sea Spray nodded. They had heard how Cade had helped lead his Autobot group with Prowl during the years Optimus had vanished. They knew to trust his words. The group split up quickly after that, with Breacher and Sea Spray heading off to help with the defenses. Canopy led the humans and two drones in the direction he had originally been taking them, while Cade and Eject dashed off towards where the servers and computers were.

(Meanwhile, Sanctuary II)

Inside one of the many prison cells, a lone Chitauri soldier was watching over the unconscious Nebula. The cyborg was being suspended in the air by a gravity field, keeping her immobile as the soldier was slowly putting her back together. The sounds of battle outside could barely be felt, save for echoes of explosions.

Suddenly, the gravity field went down, along with Nebula who crashed onto the floor. The Chitauri was clearly shocked, looking around for what had caused the power failure, ignoring the now freed prisoner under the belief she was still out cold. This proved fatal as Nebula's eyes snapped open and with precision, struck the Chitauri in the legs, knocking it off balance. She then quickly grabbed it by the neck and snapped it with a grunt before the guard could let out a sound.

Getting up and stretching her limbs, plus pushing her left eye back into place, Nebula began limping out of the room. She opened the cell and was soon met by another individual. It was a Junkion, a mech to be precise. Like the rest of his kind, his body was a mix of brown, orange, and bits of red color, and gave off the impression of being mismatched and dirtied. His head was orange and rather wide, with what looked like a long red beard and mustache around his mouth. His blue optics locked onto Nebula. But rather than attacking, he began speaking in broken Cybertronian.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine Wreck-Gar." Nebula said, understanding the Junkion. "You could've dropped me gentler, though?" She asked, cracking her stiff neck.

The Junkion, Wreck-Gar, said something else, sounding almost apologetic.

Nebula rolled her eyes. "Fine, I get it." She paused as she pulled out a chip from her left arm. She had kept it hidden there when she first infiltrated the warship to kill Thanos and continued to do so after her capture. "Take this and free the others. I'll meet up with you once I get Gamora."

Wreck-Gar nodded, gently taking the chip before giving Nebula her Electroshock Batons and Electric Blaster and then heading off towards where his people were usually kept. The chip Nebula had given him would allow Wreck-Gar to free the other Junkions from the collars that kept them from rebelling against Quintessa. And with the warship's communications, Wreck-Gar could send the frequency and code to the other places that his people were being kept at.

Meanwhile, Nebula had finally made it to the throne room, where Gamora was being held. She quickly took out the guards there before opening the door. Sure enough, sitting near the throne, a bowl of food beside her, was Gamora. Said woman looked up and was surprised to see her sister there.

"Nebula. What…?" Asked Gamora but was cut off when Nebula tossed her a Chitauri Staff that she had taken from her guard.

"Long story. Short version is that I made a deal with those Junkions before dear old dad stopped my failed attempt on his life." Nebula said as she led her sister out of the room. "But it looks like that bitch Quintessa is trying to pull a fast one on Thanos. She has the ship attacking a human base with Cybertronians. They're getting hammered right now." Nebula readied her batons and looked at Gamora. "Wanna cause some trouble?"

Gamora blinked for a moment, before a cocky smile appeared on her face. She charged the staff. "Hell yeah."

(Sanctuary II, Command Room)

Super Giant, a blue-skinned female alien with white iris, watched from the command chair. The large room was surrounded by Chitauri Soldiers overseeing the assault on the Cybertronian city. Before her, the large holographic screen showed multiple images of her forces engaging the defenders. The surprise attack had indeed taken both the humans and Autobots by surprise, and they were now slowly pushing them back.

'Still, it's quite strange that father would order us to launch an attack like this. We would be more useful in supporting the others in acquiring the Mind Stone.' Super Giant thought. "Well, this does ensure our enemies cannot send support of their own. Plus, I can prove myself to Lord Thanos that I am better than my other siblings."

"Same as always, Giant." A familiar voice said. "Can't handle being the inferior one."

Super Giant's eyes widened as she spun her chair around. She turned around just in time to see Nebula take down a Sakaaran while Gamora blasted a Chitauri soldier. By now the rest of the occupants in the room became aware of the intruder and were already preparing for battle.

The Black Order member snarled. "Kill those traitors!" Super Giant ordered as the Sakaarans and Chitauri opened fire. The two sisters immediately fled. Not willing to let them escape, Super Giant chased after them with several soldiers following her.

That proved to be unwise. As she and her troops exited the command room and made a left, they found themselves facing Gamora, Nebula, and several dozen Junkions. All of them freed and very angry. With their restraints gone, the Cybertornians unveiled their built-in weapons: blades, axes, maces, cannons, blasters, and so forth. Wreck-Gar, who had his four-bladed Axe and round-spiked shield out, stood over the sisters.

Gamora and Nebula both had calm expressions, with the latter looking up at the Cybertronians. She said exactly two words: "Get them."

(Autobot City)

Eject tore off a panel, facing the many screens, buttons, and other components. "Aha! Here we go!" Eject exclaimed as he found a server. He immediately split his two arms into four as he got to work. Multitasking, Eject began hacking into the server, working to establish a link with the Railgun to get it operational again.

He and Cade had managed to reach the building where the server room was. The invaders were by then more focused on pushing deeper into the city, leaving places out of their line of sight alone…for now. Hopefully it would be enough for Eject to get his job down. In the meanwhile, Cade had taken to guarding the building outside, ready in case any of the attackers came their way.

"How's it going in there, Eject?" Cade asked.

Eject pressed a few buttons. "So far so good. I just need to find the right signal to interface with the Railgun." He said as he took out a cable from his right hip and plugged into a port and began uploading his commands. "Just a heads up, but if the Railgun is too damaged, then we came here for nothing."

Cade snorted. "I doubt we're that unlucky." He commented as he looked back at the warship. Was it just him or did it seem like it was tipping to the side a bit? And was that smoke coming out from the front?

He had little time to ponder as a roar caught his attention. Charging towards him were about two Chitauri Gorillas, followed by a dozen Chitauri and Sakaarans, and Cade could make out a Chariot flying towards him too. Without wasting a moment, Cade tore off one of the doors to the building and flung it at the oncoming enemies. The door immediately bisected one of the war beasts, while the other closed the distance and pounced on Cade. Unfortunately, despite its cybernetic enhanced strength, the beast could not even put in a dent in the Apex Armor. Cade immediately grabbed the Chitauri Gorilla by the neck and snapped it.

By then the rest of the enemies had arrived and opened fire. Naturally, their energy projectiles had no effect on the Apex Armor, allowing Cade to charge them without a care. With the armor's large hands he swat the Chitauri and Sakaaran soldiers like flies, or simply stepping on them with his armored legs. He even grabbed one Sakaaran and threw it at the Chitauri Chariot, knocking the pilot off and sending the craft crashing. All the time, Cade made sure none of them got close to Eject, who remained focused on his task. The mech concentrated as he began running a diagnostic on the Railgun.

'It's not too damaged from the bombardment. But its mobility has been greatly diminished.' Eject thought as he began powering up the weapon. 'And the power level has gone down. Unless I redirect from other turrets, I'll probably get only two or three shots. Got to make them count.'

His concentration was nearly broken when a loud explosion shook the building. Outside, a Chitauri Tank had fired upon the building. Noting how Cade was focused on protecting the server room, the driver decided to shoot at the facility. Cade saw this and acted. Though the Apex Armor had no range weaponry, there was plenty of stuff around him to use as projectiles. Picking up the scorched remains of the crashed Chariot, Cade threw it straight towards the tank.

The wreckage struck the vehicle head on, causing the tank to lose its position and fire away from the building. This momentarily lapse gave Cade the chance to rush the tank and with both hands, ripped it apart before killing the driver. He threw the remains of the tank at another group of Sakaaran soldiers that had just arrived.

A loud BANG caught Cade's attention. The engineer turned to see the Railgun having fired, showing that Eject had managed to gain control of the weapon. Its first shot pierced right through the warship's shield. The second shot that followed damaged the right side of the alien ship. The explosion from the impact could be seen from where Cade was. All it would take would be one more shot, of which Eject was already preparing.

(Sanctuary II's Command Room)

The fighting had spread begun to spread. With their collars that once threatened them with pain and deactivation now gone, the Junkions were holding nothing back. Whether with their weapons or limbs, they slaughtered the crew of the warship that was once their prison. Chitauri and Sakaarans found themselves being overwhelmed, not by sheer numbers but by strength and firepower. Though the Junkions were few in numbers, ranging to no more than about 50 on board the Sanctuary II, their size and incredible endurance made up for it. The fact that many places on the ship were wide enough for several Junkions to walk side by side made it easier for them to beat back the crew.

In the command room, the battle was beginning to end. Wreck-Gar and the few of his people who were with him at the time, were slaughtering the rest of the personnel while Gamora and Nebula were dealing with Super Giant. By then, said Black Order member had used her special ability, which was expanding her size and figure into ginormous height, thus increasing her strength to equal that of her brother Cull Obsidian.

With a roar Super Giant lunged at the two. The two former assassins were able to move, thus Super Giant's fist imbedded itself into the metal floor, creating a small hole in doing so. She let out another roar when Nebula struck her in the back with her batons. "Argh! Damn you traitors!" Super Giant cursed as swung her left arm, forcing Nebula back.

Gamora came in next, swinging the Chitauri Staff at Super Giant's face. This forced the Black Order member to shield herself with her arms. She hissed whenever the staff's blade made contact with her skin, the shocks having only a small effect on her current physique. Super Giant was eventually able to push back by knocking the staff out of Gamora's hand before landing a devastating punch on her stomach. Gamora just barely blocked it, but the impact still sent her flying back a few feet.

Super Giant proceeded to tear off a nearby panel and began using it as a makeshift weapon, swinging it at Nebula, keeping her back at the same time. However, the fighting was paused when the ship shook, making a few of those present lose their footing. Looking outside the large window of the command room, everyone could see the shield that surrounded the Sanctuary II go down, followed by smoke rising from parts of the ship. Suddenly, another explosion occurred, this one louder and making the room shake once more.

Super Giant, realizing that the Sanctuary II was in serious trouble, began shouting orders. Her fight with her treacherous sisters was put on hold. "Quickly! Get the emergency shields up! Move us away from the base before-"

Her warning came too late. A third shot was fired from Autobot city. This one pierced the left side of the ship, damaging the engines there. The shockwave from the impact damaged the command room, shattering the reinforced glass, sending the occupants flying about. A few unlucky Chitauri soldiers were sent flying through the broken window.

That shot had been the coup de grace that doomed the Sanctuary II. Combined with the damage done internally by the rampaging Junkions, the giant warship was unable to remain stable in the air. Slowly it started to descend, heading towards the water that surrounded the island. The Necrocrafts and Chitauri Chariots who had been protecting it were crushed or smacked aside violently by the larger vessel. Autobot and NEST flyers had already spread out as the warship began to fall. Any human ships near the predicted crash site immediately moved out of the way. Among them was Depthcharge, watching the enemy ship fall as he skated across the water.

Back aboard the doom warship, Nebula had been sent flying by the previous explosion, and unfortunately was pinned by falling debris. "Nebula!" Gamora cried as she ran to help her sister. Using all her strength, she slowly began lifting the metal that was on top of Nebula.

Neither of them noticed Super Giant, who also had been sent flying, had recovered quickly with her enhanced strength. The first things she saw were Gamora and Nebula. Rage began to consume the Black Order member, were it not for them, none of this would be happening. With the Sanctuary II doomed, the only way for Super Giant to redeem herself in Thanos' eyes was to bring the heads the traitors.

With a roar, she made to lunge at them. But her attempt was thwarted before it could begin by Wreck-Gar. The Junkion leader had spotted the Black Order member and immediately drew out his Decelerator Laser Blaster. With a glare, he fired his weapon right at the organic alien. The laser bolt pierced through the durable body of Super Giant, and the result was now a corpse with a large hole through its chest and the left arm severed. Her body summarily landed with a loud crash against destroyed panels.

The act did not escape Gamora and Nebula, the two women monetarily surprised by Super Giant's death. They pushed aside as Wreck-Gar came over and assisted with freeing Nebula before picking her and Gamora up. With the sea coming closer, he and the other Junkions immediately fled the destroyed command room to a safer part of the ship.

(Autobot City, NEST Base Section, Command Tower)

Reynolds fired another shot at a Chitauri Soldier with his Remington M870 shotgun, killing the alien for good. Around him, the survivors of the personnel in the command room had finally pushed back the attackers, gunning down the last of them.

Mid-way during the attack, at least a few dozen of the invaders had breached the command tower in the NEST base. The Major was able to react quickly, pulling out his sidearm and killing a Sakaaran with a headshot before getting the rest of his people to shoot back. They had suffered some losses, but they were able to push back the initial wave. Reynolds immediately had a barricade set up while trying to continue commanding NEST forces. They suffered a few more attacks but were thankfully reinforced by NEST squads that were nearby.

The situation worsened for a time when they lost control over the Railgun, the only weapon that had the firepower to pierce the alien warship's shield and that could be prepared in time. And with nearly the entire base busy, there was barely anyone available who could fix that…until Cade sent word that he and Eject were going to try their luck. Having heard of Cade's reputation, Reynolds felt confident in leaving the matter in their hands. For the time being, he just focused on making sure that both NEST and Autobot forces remained coordinated and repelling any other attempts to take the tower.

Reynold's musings were broken when a third shot from the Railgun was fired. Looking up through the cracked glass, the Major could see the enemy warship descending, flying over them as it headed towards the water. Without wasting a second, Reynolds looked at his men. "Send word to all forces in Autobot City. The enemy mobile base is down! I want any surviving invader rounded up and put down!" He ordered, having been told beforehand about the relentless nature of Thanos' forces. "Get in contact with the fleet and have them send ships to secure the crash site. The rest are to make sure not even one of these bastard's escape. I don't want to take any chances!"

"Sir!" Several people said as they got to work. With that done, and no more attacks, Reynolds allowed himself to collapse on his chair, the adrenaline from the fight having gone through him.

It did not take long for the fighting to die down. With the warship going down, morale among the invaders dropped. This allowed the defenders to reorganize and initiate a proper counter offensive against them. Medical teams were being dispatched to look for the wounded and anyone who might have been trapped from the initial bombardment. Slowly, the resistance was beginning to die down, with teams reporting success in neutralizing the threat. They also finally got through the mainland, and relief would be arriving within the hour.

Suddenly, the radio came to life. "This is Depthcharge to Autobot City HQ and NEST Command. We've secured the crash site. Looks like there were Cybertronians aboard. They call themselves Junkions, and they're leader Wreck-Gar says Quintessa was using them as slave labor."

"Are they surrendering?" Reynolds asked. It was a bit of a surprise that they had slaves on the ship. And even more surprising that they had survived such a crash.

"Yeah, so long as we agree to treat their injured." Depthcharge replied. "Not that many are wounded but I think its mainly from energon starvation."

Reynolds sighed. "Tell their leader we agree to their demand. Have what ships are available get them off that wreck. I'll leave it to you, Depthcharge."

The Major let out another sigh. This battle was now over. He just hoped the team in Wakanda was doing just as well.

And there you go! The chapter is finished. I deep apology for the long wait. It has been a tiring few months. From working on other stories to work, to now having to do job hunting again, to the holidays, it's been a whirlwind. The holiday was good, got to spend with both sides of the family for Christmas and Hanukkah. I got the "Rise of the Beast" on Blu Ray for Christmas!

Anyway, leave a review!