SZ: One last gem….and things are once more about to get trippy…and not in a fun way.

Z0: Yeah…it's about to get freaky folks.

SZ: Real freaky, so let's hop into it…we own nothing aside from original content. Oh and also...please don't bring any political stuff in the reviews or anything. We're just story writers that want to bring you entertainment, action, comedy, drama, all that.

GT: BEGIN! *smashes the screen with a wrench*

Usually at the Autobot/Maximal base, it was usually 50/50 on the normal events that transpire there. Wether its normal with the recruits being trained by some of Optimus' team or Silverbolt's...or just plain chaos whenever one or two of the recruits end up in shenanigans…or when dealing with the chaos brought on usually by Bumblebee, Bulkhead, the Jet Twins-unintentionally mind you-, Ironhide, or sometimes even Wheeljack with his experiments. Unfortunately today….

"YOU LET SOMEONE STEAL THE GEM OF FORM!?" Ratchet's voice echoed throughout the entire island.

Was one of those chaotic days…

"I-I honestly thought it was Bumblebee!" Wheeljack defended, holding his hands up as Ratchet glared at him.

"He wasn't even on base! You…you…BOLT FOR BRAINS!" Ratchet snapped.

"I've never seen the doc bot this mad…even at Bee…" Bulkhead muttered sheepishly.

"Honestly I can't blame him," Ironhide admitted, "That gem is supposed to make people change forms and stuff right? Whoever stole it must've used Bee's likeness to trick Wheeljack…probably even offered him something like joining his next experiment."

"..." Wheeljack's optics became dots when that realization hit in, "...scrap."

"You….ugh! And Optimus just had to vanish on us as well…" Ratchet sighed as he tried to calm himself down.

"Yeah…he would have saved me by now." Wheeljack muttered before yelping when Ratchet turned to glare at him.

"Well it's not like the boss bot to just leave like that." Bulkhead continued with the new subject, "But well if it was so bad he had to leave in such a hurry, it must be really bad. He didn't even grab his Trailer armor or his big sword."

"So…our Leader has run off on a mission he needs to settle himself, likely a challenge from some poor Decepicon idiot?" Ironhide asked, "I'm sure he'll be fine."

"True. Still…who do you think stole the Gem of Form?" Bulkhead asked, "I mean...nobody but us and some of our friends know where this place is, so how could they sneak in without being detected and steal the gem?"

"That's not all the bad news," Jazz spoke as he walked in, "Just checked the cells…the ghost gal with the tattoos is missing."

"Ugh….great! Just great! Can I at least get some good news?!" Ratchet complained into the air before a groundbridge opened up, Tsubaki and the others stepping out of it.

"Good news, we got another gem!" Bumblebee beamed as Sari held up a container with the Gem of Life in it.

"So that's two for us and one…for…" Sari trailed off once she and the others noticed the situation.

"...did….we just miss something?" Max asked.

"Yeah…that ghost lady you captured is gone, and so is the Gem of Form," Jazz replied.

"?! Wh-what…?" Tsubaki asked as her eyes widened a bit, "But…that's impossible. Who could…have…" she trailed before realization kicked in, "Freakshow...he planned it….he wanted us to get the Gem of Form and Lydia…he used her as bait to pinpoint the base."

"?!" the others all tensed up upon hearing that.

"...How….?!" Bumblebee exclaimed.

"Commander, pl-" Strongarm began.

"How's he always two steps ahead of us…?" Bumblebee whispered as he began to walk around the room, holding his head as he tried to make things make sense, "We were winning...but every turn he gets the last laugh!"

"Um...maybe we should calm down and think about finding the last gem," Sari offered, "Besides, I'm sure Tsu...baki…" she trailed off before she noticed her fellow redhead pacing around the room as well, "...ah come on…"

"He's right….he's always two steps ahead of us…" Tsubaki whispered, pinching the bridge of her nose, "But how….how did he know where The Gem of Form would be? How did he sneak in? Just…how?"

"Given his family history, he most likely has ghost relics to help get himself around." Jin guessed before eying a nearby vent…before pulling out his sword and sent an ice wave at it.

"Wh-?! DUDE!" Max shouted before a ghostly mouse slipped out, hissing before it quickly flew off.

"That's how…he had his assistant plant a 'rat' on us back in Detroit," Jin scowled.

"Oh great! One gem left and now we gotta scramble after it and fast!" Bumblebee grumbled, "But where is it?"

"Just chill out Bee," Jazz spoke up, "Getting all stressed and worried will wear and tear your gears. Might even mess up the old T-cog." he laughed, "We just need to go nice and easy, we'll find the signal and warp there as fast as can be."

"Oh that's really easy for you to say Jazz, you're never stressed!" Bumblebee complained.

"It's a gift." he smirked.

"It's why Optimus made him second in command to the Autobots." Ratchet added, "A leader needs to be cool under pressure. So the others can panic and freak out with stress."

"You and Bee do that for me plenty, Doc bot." Jazz smiled, "Besides, you need to get with the times, there are plenty of ways to gather info on Earth. Besides scanning for signals and waiting for news to reach us from word of mouth." he explained as he tapped on a holographic screen projecting from his hand, "I believe you Human cats call this, Social Media." he scrolled through a screen showing images of weird things happening at Friedkin University, "Well now…even for this place this seems mighty odd now don't it?" he moved the screen up to Tsubaki, "Worth a call to someone to check it out right?" he mused while scratching his chin, "Now refresh my memory little lady, don't you have some friends up there? At Least according to the files the Plumbers sent over about their more popular agents."

"...?! GWEN!" Tsubaki gasped as she quickly pulled her phone out, looking through it quickly before she tapped something, "Come on pick up pick up…."

=...Hello?=

"Oh thank you. Gwen, please tell me you've been noticing the odd happenings around your school?" Tsubaki began.

"How'd you…" Bumblebee turned to Jazz.

"...Sometimes it's easy working under the big guy." Jazz spoke, "He's got courage, he's a little uptight, but he knows how to crack a smile under that battlemask, then sometimes he's just wearing his emotions on his sleeves as the humans say. Not that I know what a sleeve is. He gets lost in trying to fix everyone's problem. So…I need to have a few answers already and waiting for him." he explained, "That little lady there, well she's kinda used to having someone around who's like that too. Calm under the pressure, never letting the weight of the world get to them. Bee you're new to being in charge, but trust me little buddy, one day you'll be a natural at this. But you don't gotta have all the answers, once you're ready, you'll just go with the motions."

"Yeah well…I'm still trying to get over being Bumblebee the screw up." he sighed while scratching the back of his helmet.

"Yeah well…you're doing a good job so far leading the rookies, ain't ya?"

"I guess I could be doing way worse…" Bumblebee admitted.

"Energon tank half full," Jazz laughed.

"Uh huh…I see…Thank you, Gwen. We'll be there as soon as possible before something else happens," Tsubaki spoke into her phone once she went over the details with Gwen.

=Gotcha. Now if you'll excuse me…I need to find Luna and Sena…and Kevin=

"Figured Luna might've done something to him?"

=Most likely=

"We'll make it double time." Tsubaki assured, "See you soon," she assured while hanging up.

"So we know where we're going?" Max asked.

"Sounds like a college tour, Dad will love that." Sari chuckled.

"Let's get ready." Tsubaki sighed.

"Now hold on," Jazz spoke, "You little guys are running yourself ragged, jumping all around the place in search of these gems and that freaky little weirdo."

"Jazz is right, humans are much more fragile." Ratchet spoke, "Take it easy, rest on the way there. He can't know the new location ahead of us this time. I'll Ground Bridge you within driving distance of the campus. Rest along the way, regain some strength."

"We don't need to sleep the same way humans do." Drift added, "We just need to refuel on Energon and we'll be fine."

"They're right," Bumblebee added, "You guys rest up as we drive, but no drooling. These seat covers are custom."

...We'll at least we'll get there in style= Steel commented.

"I don't think that's…" Jin began before everyone began punching his arm making him hiss in pain, "It might be for the best to rest a little to remain in top condition…"

"That's better," Tsubaki replied.

"Hello? Kevin? Luna? Sena?" Gwen called out as she opened the door to her and Kevin's shared home, wearing her workout attire as she carefully walked into the oddly silent home. Which…was off, this place was never silent with Kevin and Luna around. There were usually either the sounds of arguing, fighting, shouting, machinery in the garage or loud tv programs. But pure silence, oh that was just wrong to Gwen. Not even a hint of a whimper from Zed, "...I don't like this…"

With that she entered and began looking for anyone. It was odd for them to not be here at this time of day, but well…things have been weird since the other day. Even for Friedkin University standards. Times like this miss Ben being the first to trigger any traps for them, as well as ruin any sense of suspense. But she shook her head and projected an orb of mana to cast a detection spell, which…turned up zip in regards to anything magical being set up within the house or trap-like. So…the house was just empty. Not a change in concern levels, but at least this meant she could walk to her room for a change of clothes and not worry about a magical equivalent to a log trap hitting her.

"...guess I was worried for nothing," she whispered as she began walking to her room, "Guess Kevin decided to take them out for something.." she began to dig through the drawers to pick out some clothing, "...no. They would've left Zed behind after that one incident at that animatronic show…"

"...aaaaaaAAAAAAAHHHH!"

*CRASH!*

"?!" Gwen nearly jumped as she looked out her window, seeing a groaning Kevin hanging out from a nearby tree upside down.

"Ahh….I'm gonna smack that brat…" Kevin groaned, "How does a cute looking cat missile hurt so much…?"

"Kevin?"

"...ah crap…" Kevin groaned as he looked up, "Hey Gwen…"

"Kevin….what happened?" Gwen asked, holding a hand out to open up the window.

"It's Luna…the little brat's high on magic."

"Beg pardon?" Gwen blinked before she spotted the blonde poking out, noting it was Sena currently in control, "...Sena, sweetie, what did your sister do?"

"...eto…well…"

"It's okay. I'll talk to her after you tell me what's wrong," Gwen assured him.

"...that…might be an issue…" Sena muttered.

"Ugh…Luna, you get out here or e-" Gwen began in a stern tone.

"She's not there."

"...Beg pardon?"

"Little guy's right…she isn't in there," Kevin groaned as he managed to get himself up right and sit on a branch, "I don't know how, but the two…actually split."

"S-Split?" Gwen asked incredulously, "What do you mean split?!"

"We…might have…found some odd method of separating…and now…Luna is high on magical energy…"

"...Wait…All those weird things Tsubaki mentioned happening around town…" Gwen whispered as it began to click, "...Where's Zed?"

"With Luna," Sena replied.

"Good…give me a sec to get changed and we can go have a talk with Luna," Gwen stated as she closed the window to finish getting changed.

"Take your time…I'm not going anywhere…" Kevin sighed, "Days like this I wish I'd stayed in Bellwood with Ben…"

"Same with oji-san…" Sena sighed, "...n-not that I don't mind living with you and Gwen-neesan, Kevin-san."

"Nah you're good, little man," Kevin assured as he lightly ruffled Sena's hair a bit, "...may need to get you a haircut and some boy clothes"

"Hmm?"

"Well, you don't gotta wear the same outfit as Luna now," Kevin pointed out, "We could use this to find what you prefer."

"Oh…In the chaos, I hadn't thought about that," Sena blinked.

"Eh, can't blame ya," Kevin shrugged, "Who knows what chaos your sister is causing…"

=Ah! Yo, what the…?!= Major Jamming panicked as he and a few of Lucky Girl's bad guys were currently being flung around in the air like rag dolls.

"AHAHAHAHAH! Tremble bad guys, for Pretty Magical Girl Luna has truly leveled up!" Luna declared with a laugh, holding up the crystal she and Sena had found high in the air as it was attached to a small toy wand, "Now Luna can do anything her normal staff couldn't do!"

"Awoo…" Zed groaned from nearby, burying her paws in her face.

"Oh right. Luna almost forgot," Luna muttered before holding her wand up, "Luna wishes for a big plate of meat for Zed-chan!" the gem glowed bright as it zapped part of the ground, causing a large plate with a huge steak on it to appear in front of Zed.

"I didn't sign up for this nonsense! Superheroes are one thing but this is just nuts!" one villain shouted as he ran for it.

"..." Luna smirked, waving the wand as a cinderblock fell out of the sky and onto his head, "Hee hee~ This is the best day Ever~!" she squealed while hugging her wand, "Luna gets to have her own body now...and she can do whatever she wants now!"

"Awoo?" Zed blinked, pausing from gorging down on the massive steak.

"Okay maybe some things are impossible…" Luna admitted.

Well leave us out of your wild fantasies!= Major Jamming shouted from above.

"...no," Luna replied with a flat expression before grinning deviously, "You bad guys underestimated Luna when she helped Lucky Girl…now Luna will give you bad guys much needed karma!"

"I think I'd prefer Lucky Girl right now!" one villain screamed.

"Where is she?! Shouldn't she be saving us from this little demon!?" another complained only to get clonked upside the head with a sandbag, making him fall over like said sandbag.

"Luna is not a demon!" Luna snapped before waving her wand, causing the villains to scream as they were thrown into super fast circular motions.

Ah stop…oh man…breakfast comin' back up!= Major Jamming gagged.

"Hmm..how should Luna make those buttmonkeys hurt more…?" Luna pondered to herself, tapping her cheek in thought

"Woof," Zed barked before burping due to being stuffed from her meal.

"How would crushing them under a mound of milk bones…oh…you just want more treats don't you?" Luna asked as Zed bashfully turned her head away, "Oh clever girl, I respect it."

"Mmmm~"

"...oh! Luna knows…Luna wi-" Luna began as she raised her wand up, making the villains instantly panic.

"LUNA!-!-!"

"?" Luna blinked for a moment before looking over her shoulder, seeing a really miffed Gwen glaring at her while dressed up as Lucky Girl, "Oh! I was hoping you'd show up, Lucky girl!"

"You are in so much trouble, young lady," Gwen frowned as she began to approach Luna.

"Uh-oh…" Luna realized, "Uh…Zed-chan talked me into it!"

"Awoo!?" Zed gasped.

"I panicked," Luna replied apologetically.

She…urp…lies…= Major Jamming gagged, his helmet's screen showing a sick emoji.

"Shut up before I turn you into a Ken doll!" Luna hissed.

"...Where's your Muchorin?" Gwen questioned once she noticed Luna's wand, "You and Sena are never without it."

"Well once we found this, I kinda left it with Sena," Luna admitted, "I mean this thing…split us apart! That's crazy magic!"

"Yes…and really dangerous magic," Gwen stated, "Tsubaki told me about that gem you and Sena found when she brought up about weird things happening here in town…and something tells me you were involved in those as well."

"What~? No…Luna was not doing anything bad," Luan denied, "Luna was just…fixing a few things…"

"Like leading a small rebellion of animals from the petting zoo?"

"Luna had a very good reason for that!"

"Luna, listen…I know you want to help and are really excited right now, but that gem you have is really dangerous and targeted by someone really dangerous," Gwen continued as she knelt down to look her in the face.

"B…but…I..I just…" Luna tried to argue, unaware of the gem on her wand glowing faintly, "I…I just…wanted to take down bad guys like you…"

"And I know you can, but you're still training in magic. It may look like fun and games, but there is a chance you could get hurt or worse…"

"But….but…" Luna trailed off as she looked at her wand, focusing on the gem as it glowed faintly. Suddenly thoughts began to pour into her head…thoughts of betrayal…someone she looked up to and wanted to learn magic from…turning her down so harshly. Rejecting her…basically telling her she will never be like her, "..."

"Listen…I know you might be upset right now, but I promise you aren't in trouble. Just please…give me the gem," Gwen begged, speaking as calmly and gently as possible.

"...no…."

"?"

"This is Luna's gem…this gem lets Luna do what she dreams of…it makes Luna a better magic user…better than you…" Luna whispered, her head still hung low as the gem in her wand began to glow a bit more brightly, "Luna doesn't want to be a hero like you…she'll be a better hero…no. A better master at magic.." her head shot up, making Gwen's eyes widen as she saw the absolute hate in her eyes…all while they glowed the same color as the gem, "I've outgrown you…"

"?!" Gwen tensed before she summoned a mana barrier, grunting when a massive beam of magic energy crashed into it, the force of impact alone causing multiple cracks to appear already on it as she was sent skidding back a few feet away from the young child.

"Yipe!" Zed yelped, quickly ducking down and covering her face with her paws.

"RUN!" The villains, well those still conscious, panicked as they dragged those outcold away.

"Ngh…Luna, what's gotten into you…?!" Gwen grunted as she dismissed her barrier, 'Is it the Gem's doing?'

"Luna wishes for rain of fire on stupid Unlucky Girl!" Luna shouted as she threw her wand forward, sending out a blast of magic as it formed a cloud above Gwen..before it literally began to rain miniature balls of fire at her.

"?!" Gwen quickly shot her arms out to a nearby set of fire hydrants, water shooting out the tops of them as they formed a shield above her to block the incoming fire, resulting in a massive cloud of steam to cover the area.

"What…where did you go?!" Luna demanded.

'I need to be careful…' Gwen thought as she hid behind a tree, peeking out to see Luna rapidly looking around for her, 'If I can just get that gem away from Luna…it'll snap her back to normal…but wait. The gem gave both her and Sena actual bodies. If I take it…what happens to them?'

"Come out and face Luna, you coward!" Luna shouted, "Or is the great Lucky Girl too scared to face a little girl?!"

'And this gem has likely amplified Luna's negative traits as a form of a security measure to remain protected,' Gwen hypothesized.

"AHA! LUNA FOUND YOU!"

"?!" Gwen tensed before she quickly rolled away just as a magic blast hit the tree, causing it to literally fall apart into stuffed animals.

"Hey! Luna said 'good stuffed animals!' There are dumb ones there, too! Like giraffes and those creepy walruses!" Luna complained before shuddering, "Ugh…Walruses…"

"Luna, please drop the wand!" Gwen begged as she quickly got up, "I don't want to hurt you."

"Well you already did by calling Luna weak!" Luna snapped, "Stupid Lucky Girl just wants Luna's gem for herself! This gem is Luna's and Luna's alone!" she pointed it at the stuffed animals, "Get her!"

She blasted the stuffed animals and their eyes lit up. They shot up, saluted Luna as best they could, and proceeded to charge at Gwen.

"Meena goh!" Gwen chanted before swinging her hands out, letting loose a beam of flames from the palms of her hands, incinerating the plush army.

"Ghh…Luna wishes chains will tied Lucky Girl up!" Luna shouted, aiming her wand at the ground, firing a beam that created silver chains that wrapped around Gwen, "Hah! Get out of that!"

"Two words: Inspira disparia," Gwen replied before a purple aura came off her and let out a pulse, shattering the chains, "I guess Sena's been reading your spellbook more than you. This was in the fifth chapter."

"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH~!" Luna shrieked as she waved her arms around rapidly, "Luna wishes for missiles to strike Lucky Girl!" her wand glowed before Gwen suddenly found herself surrounded by dozens upon dozens of cat-themed missiles.

"Discombobulus Mechano!" Gwen recited, swinging her arms out and sending out waves of mana that engulfed the missiles…before they all fell to the ground, sputtering out, "Mechanae discombobulus!" another wave and the missiles were all disassembled.

"You…you…YOU WASHBOARD BULLY!" Luna snarled, "Luna wishes for big golems to grab Lucky Girl!"

Several blasts came from her want and hit several objects around them. The ground shook before a golem of stone rose out of the ground, the part of the road it came out of attached to its back. Trees and wood groaning and cracking made Gwen glance to see several trees joining together into a large werewolf-like golem with three heads that all snarled at her. Bubbling made her jump onto a mana-made platform to avoid a wave of oil that reformed into a blob-like golem with bits of a gas station's pumps poking out of its oily form. A strong heat made her quickly roll out of the way as a fist of burning stuffed animals shattered her platform, attached to a golem made of the still burning stuffed animals that had once been a tree.

"Ahahahahaha! Yes! Take that, Unlucky Girl!" Luna laughed as she held her head up high, "Luna-sama is the better magic user than you~!"

'Kevin, where the heck are you?!' Gwen thought before quickly summoning a barrier to block a punch from one of the golems, only for it to shatter as she was sent skidding back.

"Okay…she's not in there, either," Kevin muttered as he walked out of a store, Sena walking behind him as he wore a blue sweater, short pants, and a small white sailor cap on top of his head while his hair was cut much shorter, "...Also why the sailor hat, little man?"

"Eto….I a-always wanted to wear one whenever I had control of our body," Sena admitted, blushing a bit as he rubbed his cheek a bit with his finger, "Luna calls it stupid, but I like boats…Ojii-san was the one who got me into them."

"Yeah, that figures. Max had a way with even the most difficult of kids. I only have faint memories of Gwen from when I first met Ben. Let me tell you…that Old man works miracles on kids with bad tempers and attitudes," Kevin admitted, "And Ben's…" he trailed off before shrugging, "Ben barely can be considered human. And I'm half alien and saying that."

"Technically, Luna and I were always used to sharing the same body," Sena admitted, "It's always been like that for us…we just walked around looking for someone or something Jubei-san wanted us to find…and often times Luna would get us in trouble or play the 'poor innocent child that will haunt you forever act' to get people to feed us…then ditch them with the bill while we run."

"...So you kids have been living alone on the streets in your old world, huh?" Kevin asked as they were walking towards his card.

"Yeah…Sometimes we'd black out in the middle of a park or while we were hiding from some grownups or bullies she pranked or stole from…" Sena admitted.

'Blackout?' Kevin mentally repeated before shrugging it off for now, "Eh, don't worry, little man…far as I see it? You get to enjoy the chance to have a body of your own…and I don't have to worry about her going 'SURPRISE!' in my face when I'm trying to talk to ya."

"She does enjoy doing that a lot…" Sena nodded.

"Now we don't gotta punish both of you for something she did," Kevin added, opening the door for him as Sena climbed inside.

"...T-True."

"Hell, I'm pretty sure Gwen's giving her a…" Kevin began as he closed the door before a faint explosion went off not too far from them, "?!"

"...Oh what did Luna do now…?" Sena whispered in worry.

"...Buckle up, kid," Kevin whispered, frowning a bit as he quickly slid over the hood of his car and slid right into the driver's seat.

"This is gonna be bad, isn't it?" Sena asked as he quickly put his seatbelt on.

"Given your sister… Damage control's gonna be really bad." Kevin turned on his car and pressed a button as it roared to life and took off at great speeds.

"Ah!" Sena yelped as he gripped the seat a bit, wincing a bit whenever Kevin took a sharp turn now and again.

"Uh, Sir?" Strongarm asked as the three Autobots drove down the road towards the college town Friedkin University resided in.

"Hah…yeah, I see the big pillar of smoke," Bumblebee sighed.

"That ain't normal…right?" Drift asked.

"Not in the slightest. The others still sleeping for you guys?" Bumblebee asked.

"Out like a light," Drift confirmed.

"Yes, even our Maximals are sleeping…wait, why?" Strongarm asked.

"Ah something about gaining organic based alt modes, they need more Stasis naps then normal," Bumblebee sighed.

"No offense…but…I'm perfectly fine with keeping vehicle alt modes," Drift chuckled.

"Eh, true," Bumblebee agreed, "Still, keep your systems sharp. We have no idea who has it or what they're capable of."

"Should we wake our teammates?" Strongarm asked.

"Well it might be good to warn them of danger," Bumblebee muttered as he turned his attention into the cabin of his Alt mode to look at Sari peacefully snoring away as she held onto Cheetor for warmth and comfort, "Ah… But I can't bring myself to wake her when she's asleep like that. Reminds me of the old days when she used to be tiny."

"She used to be even smaller?" Drift asked.

"Well, all humans start out really small then grow to what's considered tall for them," Strongarm explained.

"So wait…then where do humans come from if not from Protoform pods?" Drift asked.

"Don't answer that!" Bumblebee panicked, "Optimus told me and it freaked me out!"

"Oh, now I really kinda want to know," Drift admitted.

"No you don't!" Bumblebee argued.

"Ugh…keep it down…I'm just waking up…" Jin groaned from inside Drift.

"Mmm…five more minutes…" Sari grumbled as Cheetor let out a large yawn.

"Oh now look what happened," Bumblebee groaned before sighing, "Right. Sorry, but something exploded in the place we're heading for. We think it's likely the one who found the Gem."

"Oh…great. More gem-based chaos…" Rattrap muttered before laying back down, "Wake me when it's all over…"

"You're helping too, Rattrap."

"Oh, fer bootin' up code~" Rattrap whined before sighing, "...Ten Tayden it's a kid dat's got it."

"We are not betting!" Bumblebee barked.

"Fifteen on it being that dual brat Luna and Sena," Jin huffed.

"Aw come on!"

I got fifteen on it being that Litchi lady. A gem that alters reality would be good temptation since her folder has a note on it about this 'Roy' fellow being a sludge thing in glass that she's hoping to find a cure for= Steel added in.

"A sludge thing…in glass. You sure this 'Roy' isn't Meltdown?" Bumblebee asked in concern.

"No, he's got a cell in the Plumbers HQ in Bellwood inside of a reinforced glass container inside of an energy bubble inside of a cell," Sari replied, "Came for me a few days before all this nonsense broke out since my dad was in Bellwood for an expo up in New York and wanted to double it as a visit to see me."

Don't remind me. That stuff he's made of stings! Not even Toxxon is capable of making a chemical as corrosive as his entire body! Thank the Celestialsapiens that Kajun is so good with repairs= Steel wiped his arm over his 'brow' from the painful memory =But yeah, no. This 'Roy' ain't Meltdown. He's from Jin and Tsubaki's old future time from what the folder we have on him says=

"Okay, you gotta find a better wording for all that 'cause just saying it as it is…makes my processor hurt something horrible…" Bumblebee groaned.

"Agreed," Strongarm concurred, "The only thing that I can understand is that time travel causes issues with mental exercises."

"Just say we're from the year 2200. It's easy enough to state," Jin sighed before seeing another large explosion, "...Huh. We're sure Tennyson's not back? Because that is something only a Tennyson could cause."

"How do you even know who causes an explosion?" Tsubaki asked.

"Well…" Rattrap began.

"It was rhetorical, but perhaps later since it sounds like it'd be good for forensics to study up on," Tsubaki quickly spoke.

"As for me? Simple…only a Tennyson could cause an explosion of such caliber…or survive one," Jin explained himself, "You should see what Magister Tennyson can do with random materials he has in his RV…and I don't mean alien technology. He once made a powerful fire bomb using random junk from a supermarket."

"Why would…What type of training trips does he take you boys on?" Tsubaki asked in stunned shock.

"If you ever wondered why, if he wanted to, The annoying Tennyson could floor all of us…that's why," Jin explained.

"...So that would mean that Gwendolyn Tennyson has encountered the problem?" Strongarm questioned, "If your logic dictates that an explosion like that correlates to a Tennyson and the only one in this town is her…"

"Well Gwendolyn is an Anodite and therefore has limitless magical potential," Jin explained, "If not for the fact she's a normal person in temperament, she could actually be just as dangerous as her idiotic walking super weapon cousin. But it's the fact she's so controlled that makes her easy to get along with."

"Wouldn't limitless magic potential mean she's stronger then Ben?" Rattrap asked.

"They fought…he won," Jin explained, "It's a sore subject to bring up."

"Yeesh. What? Did he use a-" Rattrap began.

"INCOMING ROGUE MISSILES!" Airazor shouted from above.

"EVASIVE MANEUVERS!" Bumblebee commanded.

"YES SIR!" Strongarm shouted before the Autobots began to swerve out of the way of a few wayward cat-themed missiles, the explosions following leaving cat-shaped dust clouds in the process.

"A…Are these…feline missiles?" Drift questioned.

"Cat missiles?!" Cheetor repeated, "Who'd do that?!"

Aw shoot…I was hoping it'd be the doctor lady= Steel groaned as Jin smirked.

"This is why we can't have nice things," Max sighed.

"You know who's shooting at us?!" Drift questioned.

"Not personally," Max replied.

"It's Luna," Tsubaki replied, "She's the only one who makes the missiles cat-themed."

"WHO LETS A LITTLE KID USE MISSLES?!" the Autobots and Maximals exclaimed in shock.

"It's bec-CAR!"

"Because c-OH GEEZ!" Bumblebee panicked as he, Drift and Strongarm skid to a halt, making those inside tumble around a bit as Kevin's car suddenly crashed near them.

"Ahh my car…!" Kevin exclaimed from inside, "Ah…I'm gonna get that brat…! Grounded for a month! No, three!" muffled noises went off from in it, "At least the airbags work."

"Kevin?" Tsubaki pondered as she got out and ran over to the flipped over vehicle, the passenger seat's airbag hiding the occupant.

"Hm? Oh, hey," Kevin greeted, crawling out of it through the shattered window, "I'm guessing you're here because of the brat?"

"I think so. Does she have a magic gem that isn't her Nox Nyctores?" Tsubaki asked.

"Yeah," Kevin scowled as he put a hand on his car and absorbed the metal before turning his fist into a blade and popped the airbag…before pulling Sena out, "First thing she apparently did was split her and Sena into two kids."

"I think I don't need to ever go on a carnival ride ever again…" Sena gasped for air due to the panic and shock.

"First car crash always does this," Kevin chuckled, setting him down but kept a hand on him to help keep him steady on his shaking legs, "I even said that word for word in my first crash."

"Ben?" Tsubaki asked with a deadpan.

"Shockingly? No. Was on Tarvos XV when I was fifteen. Testing out the new engine I got from the Tetramands and it was in drive and not reverse like I was planning," Kevin shrugged, "I think Argit still has pics he pilfered from the police office there when he busted me out."

"...One problem at a time," Tsubaki whispered, "Where's Gwen?"

"Right now? Still dealing with Luna and her chaos…Was about to drive in and help when the brat sent my ride flying with her cat missiles…again!"

"Is she dual wielding it and the Muchorin?" Jin asked.

"N-No," Sena replied as he held up the Nox Nyctores, "She abandoned it for that gem she put on a toy wand."

"She abandoned it?"

"Yeah…before when we lost it, we felt like we were…fading kinda," Sena admitted, "Luna tried to put the gem on it and it just…rejected it."

'It rejected the Gem of Fantasy?' Tsubaki thought, 'Huh…that is odd…'

"...By the way, where's Ben?" Kevin asked as he looked around, "Already ran ahead of you guys?"

"No. He's currently away on a mission in the Anur System with a few of the others," Max replied as he and the others began to hop out of their rides.

"Anur? You mean where Ghostfreak and those Halloween Town aliens come from?" Kevin asked.

"That's a place?" Sena asked.

"I've only heard rumors, but you'd probably see just as much creepy stuff as any Tim Burton film…" Kevin muttered in response.

"I-I don't mind Nightmare Before Christmas…" Sena mumbled.

"Good choice," Kevin chuckled, patting his head, "So no Ben. Got it." he noticed Cheetor, Rattrap, Tigatron, and Airazor, "...Oh don't tell me Luna somehow poofed animals into your rides and Bumblebee."

"No, these are friends," Tsubaki explained, "These are Maximals; Autobots who have taken on organic based Alternate Modes."

"Tight," Kevin nodded.

"Wait, how'd you know it was me?" Bumblebee asked as he transformed.

"I never forget a sweet ride," Kevin replied, "And Cybertronian engines have a slight hum to them, sorta like breathing."

"...Kevin, how do you know that?" Tsubaki asked.

"...Uh…No reason," Kevin muttered as his eyes darted back and forth, "...Oh, and if you guys run into a Cybertronian named Swindle…don't tell him where I am."

"Wait…Swindle's a Decepticon. Did you swindle a Decepticon that specialized in swindling others enough to name himself Swindle?" Sari asked.

"Uhm…" Kevin mumbled nervously as Tsubaki crossed her arms.

"This is why Ben blows up your car…" Tsubaki frowned.

"I'm more impressed he got away with it," Bumblebee admitted.

"According to Ben, Kevin has a unique talent to get away with lots of things like that." Tsubaki sighed.

"Is…?"

"Yes, this is about what you did to Looma!" Tsubaki snapped, making Kevin flinch.

"Okay…not my greatest moment," he chuckled.

"You pawned off your alien fiance onto Ben…and it all began over a car engine," Max crossed his arms with a chuckle, "Dude…again, no wonder Ben keeps trashing your rides. He's like an Agent of Karma."

"Hey, what about Mr. Baumann's ride?" Kevin grumbled, "All he did was move in next door to the guy…"

"No, that one's just Ben being Ben…" Tsubaki replied, "Given as a five year old, he set it on fire…with a magnifying glass…we have no real explanation for that one."

"Tennyson is just a Vehicle Destroyer by now…He embraces the title," Jin added.

"And it isn't much of a problem anymore thanks to Springer," Sari noted.

"Say what?" Kevin blinked.

"Ben asked an Autobot Soldier who entered retirement to move in with Mr. Bauman and be his…well…his new car and double as security for his store," Tsubaki explained, "They are friends and roommates essentially. They keep one another company while Mr. Bauman can't be with his fiance."

"...An Autobot ride…" Kevin mused.

"Ano…Luna?" Sena spoke up to remind everyone just as another explosion went off in the distance.

"...And this is why you're a good kid," Kevin stated, making Sena blush with a bashful smile, "Right. We've got a brat to punish and a Gwen to help…and likely a Zed to grab to stay with Sena."

"You have a Tetramand deity living with you?" Strongarm asked.

"Anubian Baskurr," Kevin corrected, "Now let's hurry, already!"

Gwen flipped back over a swing of the fire golem and swung a hand out, "Incendia absum!" the flames on the fire golem went out in an instant, making it look down at itself…before giving several squeaky toy sounds as it covered itself and started to scoot away, letting the oil golem charge, "Discombobulus negatum!" She fired a blast of mana at the oil golem, causing it to collapse into a large puddle of oil and dropped broken gas station pumps, "Meena goh!"

She flipped over the lunging three-headed tree golem, letting it slip and fall into the oil spill. Her spell quickly struck the golem and ignited the oil, creating a massive explosion. She was about to land when she was grabbed by the earth golem, letting it roar at her in its grasp.

"That's it, big guy!" Luna cheered, "Teach that washboard hater how it's done!"

Gwen grunted, struggling to get out of its grip, before spotting a few acorns that had fallen from the tree golem, "Gh…Vitalis Eruptum!"

The acorns twitched before digging into the ground. A moment passed before tree-like vines erupted from where they had been planted and quickly ensnared the earth golem, surprising it long enough to release Gwen from its grasp. Gwen landed on her feet and swung her hands up, engulfing the earth golem in a sphere of mana.

"Eradico!" Gwen casted, causing the mana to sink into the golem before it exploded, "...Whew…" she looked over her shoulder at the gawking Luna, "So…do you want to keep going, Luna, or do we just stop this all, you make a magic-proof and mind-proof box to put the gem in, we take it to Professor Hex, and then ground you for a month instead of three since I'll take two off for making Sena his own body first?"

"...uh…I…." Luna began before wincing, the Gem of Fantasy glowing bright as she held her head, "Gh….Grr….NO!" she snapped as her eyes glowed just as bright, "THE GEM IS LUNA'S! IT'S MINE MINE MINE!"

"Lu-" Gwen began before a beam of magic hit her, making her cry out as she was sent flying back, losing her 'transformed' state in the process as a lock appeared on her, "?! Wh-what the…?!"

"Try using magic now, Unlucky Girl!" Luna shouted as he pointed at her, "That lock makes it so you can't use any magic or your Anodite powers! And don't bother taking it off!" she added as Gwen tried to take it off only to wince when some energy flowed off it and zapped her hand, "If you or anyone else with magic tries to take it off, it'll zap you good!"

"Wh-What?!" Gwen gasped.

"That's right! I beat you!" Luna mockingly laughed, "You can't cheat with your big word magic while I still have mine!"

'She's not even speaking in the third person anymore…' Gwen thought.

"I wondered what all the big fuss was," a voice made Gwen blink and turn around, "Here I was enjoying a world where I don't need to work overtime to save from evil. And here you kids go and do something silly like wake up these stupid rocks." Merlin sighed, sitting atop one of the vine-like trees, "I'll have you know I was in the middle of an important experiment. Yet it seems like you let a gem that makes dreams reality fall into the hands of a child with extraordinary magical potential. Boy, you really are related to Ben, aren't you? Everything is always the hard way for you Tennysons."

"Wh-what the…?!"

"Ah….B…BOOOBIE MONSTER!" Luna snapped before pointing her wand at Merlin, "Luna wishes for her to become a flat toad!"

"Hmm?" Merlin smiled, raising her hand and capturing something inside of a magical circle, "Ooh…It seems the Gem has boosted your magical potential to the limit. Well the limit of your current self. Obviously, as a child, you can only produce so much magic. But this is actually almost impressive; not my level, mind you. But…I'm impressed. Do you know how hard it is to impress me? Been more than a thousand years, and there's a lot less horny little idiot demons running around to boot."

"AHH!" Luna gawked at that before her face went red, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A LITTLE IDIOT DEMON, YOU COW TITTED BITCH!?"

"Mm….It seems to have corrupted her mind even more," Merlin whispered to herself as she tossed the magic circle away and let it land on a rock…which became a toad, "Alright, Gwendolyn, was it?" she smiled, "Since you seem to have gotten yourself into a bind, I shall lend you a hand this time around. But just this once. Next time you end up awakening an ancient evil magic? You are all on your own."

"Just…who are…Wait. Are you…Merlin?" Gwen gasped.

"Hoh? Not going to compare me to an old geezer, are we?" Merlin asked.

"Professor Hex has a few books that speak of you, but that's something for later. Right now, I would be grateful for your help," Gwen replied.

"Well then, let's get on with it then." Merlin smiled as she began walking forward, "First lesson, that gem is a parasitic dark magic item. Without the control device-in this case, a rather tacky gothic gauntlet-it will influence the world around it when activated. And if it lands in the hands of someone who can make use of its power effectively, it won't want to leave. This is the Gem of Dreams, making dreams real, granted limited as it needs its other components. However, in the hands of a child with a lot of anger, ego, and magical potential…" Merlin lingered as if waiting for someone to finish her point, akin to a teacher leading a student towards an answer.

"It has near limitless potential and possibilities," Gwen supplied.

"Exactly," Merlin smiled, "However as I said first, it is a parasitic dark item, it won't let the poor child go. So it's twisting what she hears from others, even one she cares for, IE: you." she pointed to Gwen, "Sounds like something terrible, amplifying her negative traits so she won't release it. So you were stuck in an uphill battle from the start. A child throwing a tantrum is already difficult enough to deal with. This isn't a 90's sitcom where you can just talk to her and expect her to learn the error of her ways."

"That explains a lot," Gwen muttered, "Wait, how do you…?"

"I borrowed your cousin's Hulu password," Merlin smirked as she held her hand up and blocked another incoming barrage of missiles, "And Netflix…" she shrugged, snapping her fingers and making the missiles poof away into purple sparks.

"AHHHH~! STOP IGNORING ME!" Luna snapped.

"Shh…We'll get to you in a moment," Merlin hushed as Luna screamed and…nothing was heard, not a single noise, "It's been a while since I had anyone to teach, I rather missed it. Now the trick to dealing with a dark magical item of dangerous potential, well for me that is, is to have at least twice the magical potential. But given my special magical ability is literally Infinity…I have an unfair advantage," she smirked, "That means unlike most, my spells will never fade away, in fact; unless I will my magic spells to stop, the spell will keep going and going and get stronger as long as it goes on."

"..." Luna narrowed her eyes before holding her wand up high, making Zed suddenly appear as the young girl was riding on top of the alien canine, "!"

"Awoo?!" Zed panicked before a huge steak materialized in front of her, "?!"

"...Zed, no…" Gwen realized what was about to happen.

"ARF!" Zed barked as she began to give chase to the big slab of meat…all while Luna seemed to flip them off as her eyes and the gem continued to glow.

"...Well…in my four thousand plus years alive…that is a new one," Merlin blinked, "You'd think after the magical talking pig…I'd be less surprised." she gestured to where Luna and Zed had been, "Yet, here I am…surprised."

"She's getting away," Gwen spoke.

"I know, and I'm surprised." Merlin replied, "Oh right, you want to chase her. No…we're not doing that." she shook her head before pointing to the lock, "That…is a problem. With that, your Anodite side is literally locked away. Meaning you are just a normal human girl at the moment. And no amount of blackbelts is going to give you the ability to flying roundhouse kick a magical enchanted cat missile away."

"...hah. You're right," Gwen sighed before tires screeching caught their attention, making them turn to see Kevin and the others running in with the Autobots transforming into their robot modes.

"...Ahhh~! She got away?!" Kevin exclaimed once he saw no sign of either Luna or Zed.

"Regular genius this one, isn't he?" Merlin muttered.

"Lady Merlin?" Tsubaki blinked, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was in the middle of an important experiment when I felt someone had activated the Reality Gems…mostly the Gem of Dreams."

"Don't you mean the Gem of Fantasy, ma'am?" Sari asked.

"Oh no. That's the name those Men in White and a few residents of the Madou realm call it...In truth, it's the Gem of Dreams because what are fantasies if not but dreams?" Merlin replied.

"You know her?" Gwen asked.

"Considering I have Excalibur, yes," Tsubaki replied.

"It's a package deal. Getting that sword in working order after all that happened was hard," Merlin explained, leaning against the redhead from the future, "Imagine my surprise at how much you folks get the story wrong. Like making me a man…and half demon with an incubus father, and trapping me in a tree~" she laughed.

"...I can't tell if she's serious or just messin' with us," Kevin whispered to the others.

We always go with the simplest answer: yes= Steel shrugged =She's spiritually older than any of us and allowed to get away with it=

"Anyway," Merlin waved off, "I need to break the curse on Gwendolyn, since at the moment she's literally just a normal human girl." she explained as she casually gestured to the lock.

"What?" Kevin asked with a look of shock.

"Care to try breaking the lock?" Merlin offered.

"A lock, eh?" Kevin pondered as he walked over, "Okay, let's just…"

*BZZRAAAP~!*

Kevin's armor crumbled away, "..." he coughed up a bit of smoke and looked at Gwen, "Three months grounded?"

"L-Let's be a little fair. The Gem is corrupting her mind…" Gwen chuckled sheepishly due to knowing that would happen and not warning her boyfriend.

"Oh, not again…" Jin sighed, earning the trio's attention as Sena looked on at where Luna used to be, "We just recently dealt with the Gem of Life over at Hope's Peak and it had corrupted someone we know there."

"Hmm…" Merlin looked them over, "Yes, I do feel remnants of every single Gem aside from this one on you all, be it from holding it or from being used by the user of that gem."

"Yeah, well...we had most of them, but turns out the guy that's also after them managed to steal one right from underneath us, so it's literally 2-1 right now and we're scrambling to get that last gem!" Bumblebee added.

"Well then we better get the last one," Merlin replied, "But I need to break the curse on Gwendolyn, mostly because I worry what could happen if she's out of touch from her Anodite self for too long."

"Wait, what?" Gwen asked.

"Oh…It's nothing important. Just maybe…maybe…" she held her thumb and index finger up for emphasis, "A slight chance that too much time disconnected from your Anodite self…could have psychological side effects…"

"...Please hurry. I do not want to end up like Ben," Gwen pleaded, causing her to laugh.

"Oh you mean the Tiger one! I love that one!" Merlin laughed.

"Well…"

"No worries, I have something for this. But…" Merlin lingered as she tapped Gwen's nose, "I can't promise the curse's effect won't sting you in the process. But you're a strong girl, so you can take it, right?"

'...We're in a hurry…and I've already trained enough with Nine's spells today as is, so hopefully this will get it undone in time before…' Gwen paused in her thoughts before the thought of Luna and Sena losing their new bodies once the Gem of Dreams was recovered undid everything the former did, "..."

"…You're scared they'll lose their new bodies if the magic of the Gem of Dreams is undone," Merlin noted, making Gwen look back at her, "I read everyone's mind, hun, don't feel special. Like your boyfriend keeps side eyeing my outfit and thinking of you in it."

"No I'm not," Kevin instantly denied.

"He lies~" Merlin smiled.

"She…never stops," Tsubaki explained, "Weirdly she claims the only one she can't read…is Ben as Rath."

"Just white noise; it's fun," Merlin nodded.

"...I am, yes," Gwen admitted, glancing over at Sena, "You probably already know I've been looking at ways to help them."

"Mmm-hmm," Merlin nodded, "But not to worry, hun. Haven't seen a case like this since the early 1400s. And, no, you do not want to know what I was up to during that time and I'd rather forget what I was up to during that time, but hindsight's twenty-twenty. Now ready to handle getting that lock off?"

Gwen inhaled deeply before nodding, a determined look in her eyes.

"Then off to a private space. No sense doing this out in the middle of the street." Merlin snapped her fingers as a purple flash made her and Gwen vanish.

"She just kidnapped my girlfriend!" Kevin pointed to the space they once stood in now filled with fading purple smoke.

"It should be okay," Tsubaki shrugged.

"SHOULD BE?!"

"She has limitless magical power and is prone to finding her own means of keeping herself entertained," Tsubaki replied, "The one time Jin got angry at her, she turned him into a mouse for twenty-four hours then erased his memory of the entire day." she explained as Jin blinked and looked at her in shock and outrage, "The less said about what she does to the people she likes to tease…"

"She turned Ragna's friend Bullet into a lion cub…and clamped a bracelet on her that nullified all her violent impulses." Max added.

"So far, we haven't seen or heard of anything involving Alf," Tsubaki admitted, "But he's given Makoto photos and recordings of Kagura as a celibate monk and then the immediate aftermath when the mental state wore off but the clothes didn't change back. Ben had to confiscate them because she kept passing out from lack of oxygen."

"Why was she passing out from lack of oxygen?" Cheetor asked.

"She kept laughing too hard," Tsubaki replied with a flat, exasperated expression.

Gwen blinked and found herself now standing in the middle of a large open grassland field. She blinked, looking around, before Merlin appeared right in front of her. The currently depowered Anodite yelped and jumped back.

"Do you do this to everyone?" Gwen asked, putting a hand to her chest to calm herself from the jumpscare.

"Normally? Eh…" Merlin shrugged, "I had to bring you to a place very conducive towards helping us. IE this is a ley line junction. Here there is a large abundance of natural mana. You'll need it to refuel yourself after we break the lock off." she explained, "And the only way to do so is overwhelm it with more mana then was used in its creation. Twice as much is our minimum."

"That…is a lot of mana, isn't it?" Gwen asked.

"Oh very much so. You know the girl well, so you should have an idea as to what she could possibly do if she had control over that potential," Merlin nodded, "The issue was you were being parental in that moment. You care for her and want to nurture her, to guide her towards betterment. You are indeed in the right, and no one could fault your choice in the heat of the moment. However, the corruptive power of the Gem is strong, you were fighting the gem not so much the girl. The worst case is if they land in the hands of one with power. Ending up with someone who lacks power is bad enough, but those with power? Mmm-mmm. You are putting good effort into your studies of the magical arts," she smiled while forming two magical circles in her hands, "It's crude, though, reliant on natural talent. Supplementing that talent with what you read, so someone like you can skip the process of making a magical circle, which is in laymen terms the equivalent of showing your work in solving a math equation. Molding Mana into forms, performing miracles or manipulation of the world around you, that's all simple for Anodites like you or your Grandmother, or I guess that one annoying cousin who…looks like a clone of you."

"Wow, you do know everything…" Gwen blinked at that, "So you're saying that I skip the steps normal magic users do?"

"Yes, your abilities let you perform spells faster since you can do the work in your head naturally. If we are to continue with the math metaphor. You should have noticed that the child was doing the same thing with the stone. A good magical item acts like a calculator to make the process move faster," Merlin continued, "You're wondering why the lesson?" she asked, making Gwen blink and remember she was a mind reader, "Because I'm not just going to fix you and do it for free. It's been a few hundred years since I taught someone anything, and I like to talk, believe it or not."

'...th-'

"And yes…it'll help you with mastering Nine's spells as well," Merlin cut her off, "You and I are at least somewhat alike. I'm not an Anodite, but I am from a clan called the Wisemen. Magic comes naturally to my kind. We have more or less the same cheat, but you still need to learn the basics," she went on, "You didn't get your Black Belt just because you were able to kick a grown woman onto her ass as a child, right?" she asked, "No, you had to spend hours upon hours working on the basics, the stances, katas, and repetition 'till the muscles remembered each and every motion to the point you did them with minimal effort and no wasted movements."

"So learning to do magic from the ground up without using my natural talent…"

"Will build the habit of performing it the long way, and when you master that, mixing talent and hard work results in greater results. It's why you struggle with the advanced stuff in Nine's spell book. You're rushing to the end of the spell, you're missing the work in between…and therefore you miss that one little thing…like when you don't do the work in an equation and you forget that one remaining number, then get the wrong answer." Merlin finished, "When you first learned magic, you just read from the book, and once you got one spell right, boom the next one became easier. Then the next one, and then the next, and so on 'till you learned everything in it using your natural talents at molding mana presented to you as an Anodite. A normal person learning magic would spend much longer just learning to mold mana."

"I think I'm starting to understand," Gwen spoke.

"Keeping that in mind, my spell will force that lock to absorb the mana around us," Merlin explained, "It will flow through it and into you. Normally, this method would be…well…stupidly dangerous. But my normal method of curse breaking would cause just as much pain to less of a benefit."

"Benefit?"

"You'll have to mold and control all that mana flowing into you the moment the lock brakes." Merlin explained, "Unfortunately, training a natural prodigy takes a much more intense method. This does mean you'll break it yourself, resulting in marginally less pain to your human form. But if you can't control and mold the mana…well…I call it being 'drunk off magic.' You'll be loopy and 'one with the universe'," she smiled.

"You mean I'll get high?" Gwen asked.

"Yes, this literally only works because you're an Anodite. So too much Mana won't do anything other than get you high off your ass," Merlin chuckled at the thought, "I've seen it before with stupid young Anodites absorbing too much mana."

"...that might explain a few things about Sunny…" Gwen whispered to herself

"That and she's just a brat…" Merlin shrugged, "Alright, time to begin the spell. This is your last chance to prepare yourself. This is either gonna be the rush of your life or your first time going on a wild trip."

Gwen nodded as she took a deep breath, relaxing her body as she braced for what was about to happen.

"Alright, this is gonna feel strange for your first time taking in Mana. But…here we go," Merlin nodded as she formed a magic circle over the lock before it began spinning and slammed into Gwen's torso, causing a faith stream of pink mana to flow from the very air itself and into the magical circle.

"?!" Gwen tensed as she felt a huge swell of mana surging within her body, her body feeling as if it was on fire as she struggled to stay standing up, all while her form flickered between her normal appearance and her Anodite self, "Gh…!"

"You're doing okay," Merlin spoke, "Now, you just have to take care of the rest yourself."

Meanwhile, back with the others, the search for Luna and her Reality Gem was weirdly slow going. It was as if she somehow learned how to hide her presence suddenly. That or was using her new enhanced abilities to hide from them. The most likely solution they chose to believe in was the latter. Wherever she went, she was waiting them out. That or purposely waiting for Gwen to return since it seemed the gem was forcing her to focus on and feel negatively towards her at the moment.

"Hah….still nothing," Tsubaki sighed as she stopped near a park bench, pulling her badge out as she tapped it, "Airazor, any luck on your and Tigatron's end?"

=Negative. All we've found so far were bigger kids suddenly tied up in balloon animals= Airazor replied.

=It seems a bit too far…yet it feels deserved somehow= Tigatron muttered in the background.

"Noted," Tsubaki nodded before tapping her badge, "Max, Sari, Jin, Bumblebee, any luck on your ends?"

=Negative. No signs of Luna at the candy store here= Sari replied.

=This is getting ridiculous= Jin growled =How can she be so good at hiding?!=

=Not even this one kid I used to babysit a few years back was this good= Max muttered, barely audible over the line.

=Okay, I've checked every place I am physically able to go to that I remember Sari would've gone to before she upgraded herself with the Key= Bumblebee reported =Zilch=

"So…she's either really good at hiding…"

=According to Sena…they are somewhat good at that. Or well…when he was in charge of their shared body they were…= Kevin corrected himself as Sena explained while sitting next to him.

"Meaning it's option B: she's using her new enhanced magic to keep herself from being found…" Tsubaki finished.

=In other words, we're not gonna find her until she wants to be found= Sari grimaced.

=Ugh…damn it= Jin groaned =And Freakshow is still out there…=

=Wait…Freakshow? As in the ringmaster of Circus Gothica?= Kevin blinked That's who's trying to find those Reality Gems?=

"Believe me, he's pretty dangerous if you underestimate him," Tsubaki frowned a bit, "Before all this, it turns out he was enslaving ghosts for his circus show to drag in people for his performance…all while Zombozo steals their life energy to regain his power."

=I still need to slice him for what he did to Tsubaki…=

=...What d-=

"N-nothing! Nothing at all…"

=She, Mai, and Rook got turned into Clown Zombies= Steel blurted out.

"STEEL!"

=Clown Zombies? I've heard of killer clowns from outer space, but the zombie is a new one= Cheetor noted.

=Dat was a movie, pussycat= Rattrap sighed.

=W-Wait, Cheetor…do you think all movies really happened?= Bumblebee asked.

=I mean those Alien movies had real aliens…= Cheetor mumbled.

=ah…N-No…They got them totally wrong and…ah man, this explains a lot…= Bumblebee groaned. =...wait. Does that mean the Predator movies are real, too?!=

"Magister Tennyson did confirm that several movie franchises like Alien was done to warn Earthlings about the Xenocites and the dangers of them…even if they're also a delicacy called Xenocuisine…"

=Yeah, this is why I don't watch several movies involving aliens since I may have gotten into trouble with some of the actual races they're based off of…=

"Focus," Tsubaki sighed, "We still have a little girl with a magic gem that's magnified all her negative aspects and…and…" she trailed off, "Sena."

=Y-Yes?=

"You know Luna the best out of anyone in the world. What is the biggest thing that upsets her?" Tsubaki asked.

=Oh…um…w-well…it's, um…= Sena mumbled before he whispered something.

=Ugh…How did I forget that when she complains about them almost every other day?= Kevin groaned in exasperation.

"What?" Tsubaki asked.

=Large chests= Kevin replied in a flat tone.

=She doesn't like pirates?= Cheetor asked.

=No, ya loose nut! He's talkin' 'bout da things on dem organic femmes' torsos!= Rattrap replied =Da brat's got a hatin' fer dem dat's probably from jealousy!=

=She…has a problem with the chassis of other human girls…I don't get it…= Cheetor innocently muttered in confusion.

=...Cyber Puberty can't get here soon enough…= Rattrap sighed =We'll be leavin' dat talk fer Siegfriend and Roy's cat=

=You're pretty creative at the names= Kevin chuckled =Still…there is one place that she may target if she does go after some of the more…= he cleared his throat =...more developed ladies in town since Gwen isn't here=

=Who?= Drift questioned.

"Take care now, Mr. Endoragohn," Litchi waved farewell to an alien patient, "I'll see you in three weeks for that followup." she sighed after she closed the door to the clinic and hung up the 'Out to Lunch' sign, "Even with the near year we've lived here, Linhua, it still amazes me at what I've been learning about different alien races and treating them."

"It's been a lot of fun to learn about them, though," Linhua smiled.

"Oh very true, plus it feels like we've learned a lot about such drastically different fields. Mainly since some aliens are somehow living minerals," Litchi chuckled.

"I didn't think an alien made of crystals could get joint pain," Linhua added.

"Well hopefully Mrs. Dianthium's change of diet will help with that calcium buildup that caused it," Litchi nodded, "Now then…" she paused as the phone rang, "Hm?"

"Hello, Li Clinic," Linhua answered, "We apologize, but we just went on lu…Huh?" she put a hand to the receiver, "It's Mr. Levin."

"Oh?" Litchi pondered as she accepted the phone, "Yes? Is everything alright?"

=No. You…may want to get out of there as fast as possible, doc=

"Beg pardon?"

=Okay…so…uh…this is awkward to explain, but I'll just be honest= he took a breath, =Luna found a magical rock that gave her the power to make a body for both her and one for Sena, but it's cursed and super evil. Now she's gone nuts with power and the gem is making her act on her worst thoughts, impulses, etc. She zapped Gwen and locked away all her magic, she's blown up most of downtown, and now we have a theory that because she has some weird prepubescent hang up about women who are older with more developed chest regions. She's likely to take out her magical tantrum on the next prettiest girl in town after my Gwen. Which is you= he explained in one single breath, =Sorry if that sounded too blunt, but I am a loyal man and I say it as I see it; but, that's not the point 'cause we have reason to think you're next on her hit list=

=Your face got all blue…you really said that all in one breath?= Sena gawked.

=I have had a lot of practice explaining to Gwen why Ben pulled a 'Leroy Jenkins!' of the week as Rath and most of the time…I caused it…So don't follow my example, little man. Trust me. Less headaches for you=

"Oh my…" Litchi gasped, "I see. Thank you for the warning, Mr. Levin. Though after all this is done, do make sure to bring Sena here, alright? I want to make sure that his new body is in good health and that he isn't suffering anything that we're unaware of."

=Aw man…= Sena groaned.

=You got it, Doc, just book it to safety. Trust me. That magic rock is some major bad news= Kevin added.

"Will do," Litchi replied as she hung up.

"Is everything okay?" Linhua asked.

"Yes, but we'll have to step out for a bit," Litchi replied, "Roy, we're having to evacuate for a few hours!" several thumps against a thick glass went off, "Yes, I'll see if the bookstore has the latest volume. Stay safe now!"

"Evacuate?!" Linhua gawked as she quickly followed Litchi out the door, "Wh-What's going on?!"

"You know that little girl, Luna? She's gotten into contact with a magic stone that's amplified her abilities and all her negative traits," Litchi calmly explained, pulling her normal outfit off to reveal her fighting attire, "I may be a prime target due to some negative issues she has with my dietary and physical habits."

"...Hoo boy," Linhua sighed a bit, "I knew that violent temper would explode sooner or later…"

"I truly thought Gwendolyn had a handle on it, but magic is what magic does, I suppose," Litchi noted before striking a magic beam aimed at her with her pole staff, causing it to be knocked into a trash can that turned it into a toad, "Linhua, stay back!"

"?!" Linhua tensed before she nearly avoided an incoming cat missile, the small explosion sending her flying into a nearby pile of boxes, "Eeek! Why is it always cats with her?!"

"Linhua!"

"I FOUND YOU, BOOBIE DEMON!" Luna's voice shouted from above, making her quickly turn as she used her pole staff to block a giant cat-themed hammer from Luna.

"Normally, I am against hurting a child, but you are in need of some firmer discipline," Litchi noted, narrowing her eyes behind her glasses as her tiny panda companion shivered with wide frightened eyes.

"BLEAUGH~! AS IF I CARE!" Luna snapped before bouncing off, wielding her wand high up in the air, "I wish for your stupid staff to smack you back!"

"Excuse me?" Litchi questioned as a beam hit her staff, causing it to grow noodle-like arms and slapped her, "!?"

"So…this is a thing…" Linhua muttered, currently peeking around some cover with some smoke coming off her from the explosions, "That's just cartoon magic by this point…"

"Now that's just rude," Litchi frowned as she dismissed the staff, 'Maybe if I can hit a few pressure points to momentarily stun her, I can get this gem that's causing all this off her. I just need to get close enough to her…'

"Grr…I'll show you rude!" Luna snapped as the Gem of Dreams glowed brighter and brighter. "I wish you were a little twerp!"

"?!" Litchi tensed as she quickly did a leg split to avoid the incoming blast, hitting a rather large bulldog that was about to attack a cat, the blast hitting both in the process as a puppy and kitten took their place.

"Aw~" Linhua cooed under her breath before ducking under another beam Litchi avoided.

"Age changing…that seems rather dangerous…" Litchi noted as she avoided another blast that hit an old man walking down the street, zapping him into a young teenager who patted over his body before cheering and running off to enjoy a second chance at youth, "...Very dangerous…"

"Oh dear, that was Mr. Seagle…Oh, Mrs. Seagle is not gonna like this…" Linhua muttered.

"He must have been super old…" Luna blinked, also shocked by what just happened, before yelping and barely avoiding the strike from Litchi, "No touchy!"

"Luna, please listen to me!" Litchi called out to her…though to Luna in her current state, it sounded more like 'you stupid little brat! Give me that gem you little gremlin!'.

"YOU BITCH!" Luna snapped as she fired another magic blast at her, prompting Litchi to quickly dodge out of the way.

'Okay, so words aren't reaching her,' Litchi thought, flipping over another blast and landing atop a fire hydrant on the tip of her right foot, 'I may need to try to exhaust her in order to try to get that gem away from her.' she glanced towards Linhua in her hiding spot, 'But I can't let her harm Linhua, either.' she frowned in thought, 'I need to lure her away from here, then.' she nodded to Linhua before speaking aloud while jumping off and running off, "This way, Luna!"

"YOU GET BACK HERE AND FACE LUNA'S WRATH, TITTY MONSTER!" Luna snapped as she jumped on top of Zed's back once more, "AFTER HER, ZED-CHAN!"

"Ruff."

"Oh fine…" Luna sighed, making another steak appear.

"ARF!" Zed barked happily as she quickly ran after it and consequently Litchi.

"..." Linhua poked up from behind her cover, watching them run off, "What is she…?" she blinked a few times before looking around and running back to the office, "I gotta call Mr. Levin and tell him about this!"

"...Oh now what?" Kevin groaned as his phone went off, quickly grabbing it as he answered, "Hello?"

=Mr. Levin?=

"Linhua, what happened? Luna show up?" Kevin asked.

=Yeah. She's currently chasing after Dr. Litchi right now down main street=

"Well that doesn't sound good…"

"Uhm…Why is that kid wearing Mr. Seagle's clothes?" Sena asked, looking out the window of Bumblebee.

"...Luna's firing deaging beams at Ms. Litchi?" Kevin asked.

=How'd you guess?=

"Mrs. Seagle is gonna flip her lid."

=...Please hurry=

"Okay…I'm all for just accepting magic as an umbrella answer to nonsense…but that is some Chronosapien crazy right now…" Bumblebee muttered as the call ended.

"Wait…Ben could do that to people?" Kevin asked, "Note to self…pray he never masters Clockwork…"

"Did she say where Luna was at?" Sena asked.

"Yeah. Main street," Kevin replied, "Ms. Litchi's leading her around."

"Then let's hurry up before something else happens," Bumblebee spoke as he began to go a bit faster and make a sharp turn...only to tense as he began to slide along the now frozen solid street, "WOAH!"

"CRAP BASKETS/SCRAP TRAYS!" Kevin and Bumblebee panicked as Sena quickly buckled up.

"What was that?" Litchi blinked as Bumblebee skidded past her, "A screaming car…okay…today is a bit on the weird side, huh?"

"?!" Lao-ju tensed as he nudged her a bit from his perch in her hair, making her blink before she quickly ducked under a cat missile from behind.

"DAMN IT!"

"Language!" Litchi shouted as she quickly flipped up, flipping back as she dodged a huge cat-themed hammer from Luna.

"MMMM! STAND STILL YOU COW JUGGED WITCH!"

"Well it could have been worse." Litchi muttered dodging another wide swing, "What else could go wrong today?"

"I'll show-Gah!" Luna grunted as she was knocked over, making her turn to see Kevin with his arm melded into the ground.

"Oh you are so grounded when this is all over."

"We're okay!" Bumblebee groaned as his hand raised up from a set of bushes with Sena safely in his palm.

"Y-yay…" Sena gave a thumbs up...with his eyes replaced with spirals.

"...You okay, kid?"

"I'm okay, pretty ghost lady…"

"Boy that tumble rattled you good…" Bumblebee muttered in concern, unaware of the ruby within Muchorin faintly glowing a bit.

"Gah~! Let me go, you dorky dorky jerky asshole!" Luna seethed as she tried to get free of Kevin's grip.

"No…you're totally grounded for a month after this! No TV, No Internet, no Games, and no yard time!" Kevin grunted, "Maybe I'll finally master this stupid trick in that time."

"Why don't you just throw me on the streets, too?! Least I wouldn't have to look at your uggo mug!"

"Oh believe me if I had my way, we'd ship you off to reform school…or back to Grandpa Max." Kevin complained.

"Well least he cares about me!" Luna snapped.

"Wh-what?!"

"Oh dear I see where this is going…" Litchi whispered.

"You and Gwen hate me, don't you?!" Luna snapped at Kevin, "You always complain about me..you always treat Sena better than me!"

"...What?!" Kevin exclaimed.

"It must be the gem. It's making the worst thoughts in her head worse and worse," Sena realized, "I know Luna feels bad about how much trouble she gets us into…but I didn't think…"

"You would be surprised how much girls hold that stuff in," Bumblebee replied, "Just from taking care of Sari during all that mess with her Dad and Megatron…it can get intense."

"...oh no," Sena squeaked.

"Grr…BAKA KEVIN!" Luna snapped as she tried ot aim her wand at him, "I wish for you to let me go!"

"Okay." Kevin replied doing so and making Luna lose her balance and fall over as the bolt of magic flew up into the sky and faded into the atmosphere.

"YOU MADE ME MISS!"

"I did as you asked, didn't I?" Kevin replied.

"...sh-shut up!"

"Yo Bee! Hurry and Tell TSubaki and the others we got the brat!" Kevin shouted to bumblebee, making Luna tense up, "Hopefully Gwen will be b-"

"LUNA! IS NOT! A BRATTTTT!-!-!-!-!" Luna snapped as she aimed her wand down, resulting in the ground exploding as Kevin was sent flying, all while her eyes glowed a fierce corrupted dark blue.

"You are an idiot aren't ya?" Bumblebee asked, "This is why Gwen and Ben save your butt so often."

"Gh…Shut it…" Kevin grunted as he forced himself up.

"Right, right…" Bumblebee muttered before turning his coms on, "Uh, Tsubaki? You, Drift and Strongarm better get over here asap…and please tell me you've seen Gwen!"

=We're on our way, and…well…no= Tsubaki replied.

"N-no?! Shouldn't she be done with that Merlin lady by now?!"

=The spell is most likely not done, so we'll have to try and hold off Luna as best we can until she gets back=

=I aint goin' near that demon child in magical girl clothes!= Steel spoke up.

=Me either!= Rattrap exclaimed.

Sorry. Majority rule, so you are outvoted= Tsubaki replied.

=SCRAP!=

=Suck it up, Rattrap…= Sari sighed.

"Whoa!" Kevin grunted as he was tossed into Bumblebee, leaving Sena to fall into the bushes.

"We're not okay." both groaned as they pushed themselves up.

"I am," Sena shook his head as he got up. He grunted and walked up, "Luna!" he called out getting her attention, "You've done enough already!"

"Grr…Stupid Sena! I haven't done enough!" Luan snapped, her eyes and the gem glowing brightly, "Everyone in this stupid town is gonna pay for mistreating me!"

"This isn't like you! That gem is messing with your head…please! We're all worried about you!"

"Didn't seem that way with Lucky Girl and Gwen!" Luna argued before trying to imitate Gwen's voice, "'Oh Sena is such a quick learner! He knows how to behave and use his spells properly unlike that bratty Luna! All she does is rush her spells and messes them up unlike you! Heck even Kevin likes to hang out with him more than you because you're nothing but a big spoiled brat!'"

"That's not true at all!" Litchi called out, Lao-Jiu hanging onto her hair as he shook a bit, "She would tell me how excited and eager you always looked when you learned a new spell from her!"

"LIAR!" Luna snapped as her wand fired multiple magic blasts, hitting Litchi and Tsubaki's group just as they turned a corner…and each ended up in a bubble.

"Ahh! Wh-what the…?!" Strongarm gasped.

"I knew it. I knew something would happen!" Rattrap complained.

"Please stop, you know it's not true! Gwen really cares about you. She's just a little harder on you so you don't hurt anyone. You always make spells so much bigger than they need to be. She cares about you; she's just trying to teach you control. Look at you right now. You're not in control at all. You're letting the rock control you. Are you really gonna lose to a rock?" Sena asked, hoping to reverse psych their twin into breaking free on her own.

"..." Luna slowly blinked before wincing, the Gem of Dreams glowing before her eyes snapped open, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING STUPID?! STUPID SENA!" she snapped as she fired a magic blast at him.

"AHH!" Sena yelped as he quickly pulled out Muchorin, flinching as he braced for the incoming blast…only for a huge barrier to pop up around him as it took in most of the blast, "...hah?"

"HAH?! No fair you're already on barriers, Sena?!" Luna exclaimed, "What else is Gwen teaching you without me knowing?!"

'...but…I didn't do that,' Sena thought before eying Muchorin for a moment, '...w…was it…' he tensed when he saw the faint image of a blonde woman for a moment, '?! ...was it…?'

"No fair! No fair!" Luna growled as she stomped the ground, "Why do you get special lessons?!"

"B-But I didn't do that!" Sena defended.

"LIAR!" Luna shrieked as she threw her wand out, sending out a wave of magical fire at Sena, making him yelp as he threw Muchorin out, the gem flashing for a moment before it unleashed a beam that hit the fire, causing it to turn into steam, "?!"

"Now you're pulling alchemy on Luna?! Grr...SENA, YOUR DORKY JERK!"

"B-But, I'm really not doing this!" Sena yelped as he began to run from the magic blasts Luan fired at him.

"...Tsubaki, you know a lot about magic relics and stuff from your old timeline, right?" Max asked Tsubaki from his bubble, "Do you…happen to know anything about the kids' magical staff?"

"Hmm?" Tsubaki blinked before looking back at the battlefield, focusing on Muchorin as Sena continued to run and dodge Luna's rampage, "...Some of it…the Muchorin is one of the Nox Nyctores, wielded by one of the Six Heroes…The Platinum Alchemist, Trinity Glassfil."

"I see…any chance she might be alive?"

"Iie…no one knows what happened to her the night she and Nine 'vanished'," Tsubaki explained.

"Is there a point to this small history lesson?" Rattrap deadpanned.

"Nothing. Just…given our track record of meeting these guys…" Max paused as he focused on Sena, "Call it a hunch for now…"

"DAMN IT, SENA! STOP DODGING AND HIDING!"

"N-no thank you! And language!" Sena yelped as he threw Muchorin out, causing another barrier to pop up to block the incoming magic blast as he quickly ran into an alleyway, 'Ah mou…That gem is making Luna even more dangerous…and its making it impossible for her to listen to anyone…ahh~ Wh-what do I do…g-Gwen-san…h-'

"Please believe in yourself. You can reach out to her and rescue her."

"?!" Sena nearly jumped as he quickly looked around, "...wh…who…?"

"FOUND YOU!"

"?!" Sena tensed as he turned to see Luna about to slam her large hammer down on him, making him yelp as he held up Muchorin to block it, the resulting clash resulting in a large shockwave that sent a huge flash of magic energy into the air.

"Hmm?" Merlin blinked as she looked over her shoulder for a moment, '...Well now…what was that? It felt like both of those children's magic powers were clashing…but who's that third one I detected just now?'

"Hah…hah….hah…" Gwen panted heavily as she laid on the floor, managing to stand on her hands and knees as she sweated heavily, all while surges of magic came off her now and again, "Is…is everything…alright…Lady Merlin?"

"It would seem the Gem of Dreams is forcing those two to clash," Merlin replied, "It's quite strong for such a young age both are."

"Luna is fighting Sena?" Gwen asked as she tried to push herself up.

"Indeed, and he's holding her off rather well. Problem is he seems to be focusing more on defensive spells while she keeps going on the offence…it's like pitting a spear against a shield. One will just cancel the other out."

"I suppose that's due to their being two souls who lived in one body," Gwen spoke, "They relied on one another to survive for so long."

"Seems like you've regained your breath enough," Merlin noted, "This means you can go and fix this now. You're a quick study, you kept your sense of self during something known for being trippy for your kind."

"You enjoyed this, didn't you?" Gwen asked.

"Maybe," Merlin shrugged, "Part of mastering magic is a sense of freedom. You've seen it from your Grandmother, very free, go with the wind, but doesn't take 'no' as an answer well. Nine was a lot more harsh on you about this. But I understand some part of you is afraid to embrace that side and lose your humanity. You love being a normal girl sometimes. You enjoy going to school, you enjoy having a dopey, but handsome boyfriend who screws up things often…" She listed, "But rejecting one side and overtly embracing the other is not much better than losing yourself to another and losing your former self. I think the best choice is to accept all aspects of yourself, and enjoy being who you are. And this is coming from a woman in her Four Thousands."

"I guess…life is full of finding people to learn from." Gwen sighed as she took that in, "Compared to my Grandmother and Nine…your…a lot more calm and collected as a master of magic. Granted, the only other examples I have are Hex and his kinda crazy niece."

"Not the best examples…they are on the more simplistic and full of themself side." Merlin nodded.

"You said you come from a clan called Wiseman…are they also…?" Gwen asked.

"Hmm…similar. Probably distant cousins." Merlin replied with a shrug, "Earth used to have tons of interesting things back in the day. But well if Earth is good at one thing…it's giving everyone a reason to fight till there is one of something left. Thankfully a lot of these races chose to ditch this place for a different dimensional space."

"So many of them left?" Gwen asked.

"You should try and explore Ledgerdomain more," Merlin offered, "There's more layers to it than you think or could be perceived by the likes of that turtle or little Hope."

"Really?"

"I'll happily show you. I've been meaning to visit some folks I know are there," Merlin offered, "You can bring your cousin, see if his watch can't scan some of the weird giant monsters down there. Or you could make friends; magical contracts are handy. How do you think Nine does some of her tricks with the big monster thing?"

"It's kind of nice having a mentor in magic who's not a former super villain, my crazy grandma who wants to drag me off to space, or tough love to the extreme and trying to blow me up," Gwen admitted, "Can you please show up around here more?"

"Sorry kid, I'm a free spirit. But I'm not opposed to giving a lesson now and again," Merlin smiled with a wink, "Now, let's go save that little girl from an annoying parasitic magical rock."

"Right," Gwen agreed.

"It's like the story of the spear and shield," Max compared, seeing another strike from Luna being blocked by Sena and the Muchorin.

=The what story?=

"A man walks up to a peddler who says he owns two weapons. One is a spear that can pierce any shield. The other is a shield that can block anything. The man asks the peddler 'What would happen if I use the spear on the shield' and leaves the peddler speechless," Max replied, "It's said to be China's origin for explaining what a paradox is."

"So currently, all our hopes are fer dat shield ta hold up to da spear?" Rattrap summed up before sighing, "We're all goin' ta die…"

"He's quite pessimistic, isn't he?" Litchi asked.

"Ma'am, you have no idea," Airrazor sighed, a wing to her face.

"GRR! STOP BLOCKING, SENA!" Luna snapped

"St-Stop listening to the gem!" Sena yelped as he swung Muchorin to block another strike from Luna's hammer.

"NO! Luna's the magic expert and is better than you and Gwen!"

"...Bee, be honest, was I…this bratty at times?" Sari questioned.

"Mmm…Not in the way you'd think," Bumblebee admitted, "You weren't this kinda violent, but you were a bit devious."

"Good…I'd rather be devious than that current wildfire out there."

"Trust me, I'd go back to our old days any time," Bumblebee nodded, "But you know with less Megatron…"

"Some days, I have to agree," Sari sighed.

"This is humiliating…" Drift deadpanned as he and Jin were trapped in a separate bubble with Cheetor and Tigatron.

"Agreed.."

"This is so trippy…" Cheetor groaned, "I don't enjoy weightlessness…"

"Most odd," Tigatron nodded, "It feels like my body wishes to correct itself…but it just causes this trap to spin…"

"Me too." Cheetor grunted.

"Of course cats would want to land on their feet…" Jin grumbled.

"Drift, any chance you can pop these with your blades?" Strongarm asked.

"I've tried, but these are far too elastic," Drift responded.

"And for some reason, they're not freezing," Jin scowled, pressing Yukianesa against the bubble, "Goddamn magic…"

"Isn't magic your thing?" Bumblebee asked, "So doesn't that mean you are hating on yourself here?"

"..."

"Well…" most of those who knew Jin muttered.

"Shut up," Jin growled.

"I could try Excalibur," Tsubaki offered, "I just wasn't sure it would work given the Yukianesa also failed."

=Well try it! Longer that gem is in the brat's hand, the b…= Steel began.

"LUNA IS NOT A BRAT!" Luna snapped as her magic blast grew in size, making Sena yelp as Muchorin summoned another barrier to protect him, the force of it causing it to crack.

"...Steel…"

=Yes yes I know…=

"Come on. Gwen where are you…" Kevin whispered.

"Alright," Tsubaki grunted, struggling to draw her sword before poking the blade to the bubble…causing it to instantly evaporate and the magic which comprised it sucked into Excalibur's blade as it began glowing for a moment, "Eh!?" she blinked, falling to the ground with Strongarm.

"What the hell?" Jin blinked.

"I'm guessing Excalibur is superior to these nox things…" Bumblebee muttered in surprise.

"I…I guess so," Tsubaki noted, looking it over.

"Tsubaki, think you can use it to get the rest of us out?" Bumblebee asked.

"Of course," Tsubaki replied.

"Strongarm, help Sena distract Luna," Bumblebee ordered.

"What? But, sir, I…" Strongarm began.

"Just do light taunts like saying something bad about her ponytails," Bumblebee advised, "Or just call her that word she says she isn't."

"Oh, you mean this 'br…'" Strongarm began.

"Yes, that one," Bumblebee interrupted, "Now get going and keep Sena safe."

"Yes, sir!" Strongarm saluted, quickly getting up as she rushed off to help.

Sena grimaced as he nearly collapsed to his knees after Luna's beam ended, "L-Luna, please…"

"SHUT UP!" Luna barked before Strongarm ran by and scooped up Sena, "HEY!"

"Sorry, but I have to protect Sena from 'brats' like you!" Strongarm apologized before whispering to Sena, "I am very sorry for insulting your sister."

"It-It's alright for now," Sena assured before they heard a howl of rage and Strongarm barely ducked under a beam aimed for her head, letting it hit the nearby church's bell and turned it into a green chocolate with chocolate chips in it, "Oh, mint chocolate chip…Luna does not like that flavor at all."

"I am to understand Earthling females enjoy Mint chocolate chip."

"If you've noticed…Luna isn't like other girls," Sena sighed.

"SENA!"

"Oof…Yeah, that…that was just as bad on my audio receptors as when you screamed at me and Bulkhead when we first met, Sari," Bumblebee winced.

"Mawp…Mawp…Mawp…" Cheetor mawped with a dizzy look on his face as Tigatron grimaced while holdings his paws up to his ears.

"The sooner we calm the young one, the better," Airrazor noted, laying a wing on the white tiger to try to comfort him.

"Bwagh~" Rattrap groaned as he twitched on the ground.

"DAMN IT! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!" Luna shirked as she chased after the two, "I'm gonna *Beep* your *beep* and *beep beep beep, like when you *Beep* cost me all that yummy food, Sena, you *beep beep*! You too, ya giant *Beep beep beep beep beep beeeeeeep*!"

"...Jesus h christ…" Max gawked.

"Oh dear…" Litchi added as Lao-jiu covered his ears.

"Oh Gwen is totally gonna ground her," Kevin muttered, "...wait. Where'd the beeps come…?"

=Sorry…that was my bad…= Steel spoke =Multiple notifications. Seems they were all sent at different times and I just got 'em all at once. All from Noel asking about Kajun and inventing something to help with 'scary monster aliens' and 'protecting Drei from female kid Loboans' and rambling on him being too young to date and then Ben sending an apology message for that and they're having her cuddle Makoto's tail and want to schedule an appointment with Alf for her. Guess they're done in the Anur System=

"But they won't be back here in time to help, right?" Max guessed.

=Yep=

"That's comforting…" Sari chuckled sheepishly.

"Now what do we do now that we're out of those bubbles?" Drift asked, looking out where Strongarm was barely avoiding shots of Luna's missiles and magic blasts that kept turning things into mint chocolate chips.

"You girls were her age once, what got you to exhaust yourself out of a tantrum?" Bumblebee asked, looking at Sari and Tsubaki.

Tsubaki shuddered, "Exhaust? With Mother's disappointed gaze and Father's scolding later on…"

"I just ended up grounded for a week," Sari sheepishly admitted.

"Oh the irony…they was raised up right…" Rattrap muttered.

"I suppose that is kinda…ironic in this one situation…" Sari muttered.

"And we can't keep using the 'b' word because she just gets angrier," Bumblebee sighed.

"It would be counterproductive, yes," Tigatron nodded, "She would simple wind herself up further and go deeper into the gem's influence." he looked around before spotting Zed's behind peeking around a corner, "...That is your animal companion, yes?"

"Huh? Zed?" Kevin pondered as he followed his gaze, "Ah! Hey, Zed! Over here, girl!"

"Awoo?" she blinked before barking and rushing and tackling Kevin.

"Ah…man, you must have been so freaked and…is that steak on your breath? Ah, she bribed you again, didn't she?" Kevin asked, "Man…you know what beef does to you…gives you the bubble guts…"

"Mmm~"

"Guess even in her rage state, she likes Zed," Sari guessed.

"...Maybe that's the key," Bumblebee guessed, "Have Zed distract her long enough for someone to try to snatch the wand and gem in it."

"...It's better than nothing," Litchi spoke as she looked at Tsubaki.

"It's a good plan, but will Zed do it?" Tsubaki questioned.

"...Zed, I need you to listen," Kevin spoke up, making Zed looked back up at him, "I get it: you're nervous right now…but guess what? That gem in Luna's wand is messing with her mind, and it's putting both her and Sena in danger…and you don't want that to happen as much as I do."

"?" Zed's ears twitched a bit as she looked at him with a tilted head.

"I know they get on my nerves at times-mainly Luna-but…I get it in a way," Kevin sighed a bit "They barely had anyone to depend on…just livin' out on the streets while having to steal or trick people just to eat and survive, probably getting into things that are WAY over their heads…" he shook his head, "Probably why I'm hardest on Luna since she reminds me way too much of me at that age."

"Woof," Zed barked in understanding.

"Good girl…now how's about we help snatch that parasite of a pebble off Luna?" Kevin smirked.

"ARF!"

"Go girl, go!" Kevin ordered as Zed rushed off.

"AHH!" Sena yelped as Strongarm avoided the rain of hammers that tried to hit her from above.

"AHH~! STUPID FAT ROBOT!" Luna snapped.

"Fat? But I am at the optimum weight for my frame," Strongarm noted in confusion.

"What? But you're…and…" Luna blinked due to her insult having no effect whatsoever. It was a new experience honestly …and she found it annoying in her current state, "Yeah, well you…you…glitch!"

"AH~!" Strongarm gasped as her entire body became white, "S…Such vulgar language!"

"Eh?! How did that work and the other didn't?!" Luna snapped.

"C-Cybertronians have different curse words, Luna!" Sena shouted from his spot in Strongarm's hands, "You just basically called her a b-"

"SHUT UP SENA!"

"I tried…" Sena sighed.

"Boy is she gonna be tasting soap for a while…" Max muttered, "Also…uh...Strongarm?!"

"I…I'm a glitch…"

"Oh, you're just as bad at the cursing game as Tsubaki…and she's dating Jin…" Max sighed.

"Hey~" Tsubaki complained at that while Jin adapted an annoyed expression.

=You can barely finish saying ass without feeling bad!= Steel declared.

"Wh-?! Of course I can, Steel, you…you…" Tsubaki paused as she tried to get something out, "You...you…metal…aaaaa…..ahh! I'm so sorry~!" She quickly bowed with an embarrassed blush.

"GAH! Luna is gonna…!" Luna began before Zed barked a few times as she ran up to her, "Oh! Zed, perfect! Luna needs your help to go after that big rusty glitch!"

"Such cruel words from someone so young…" Strongarm whimpered, Sena trying to comfort her.

"I've been with her my whole life, I understand perfectly well," Sena sighed.

"Will you all just…?!" Luna raised the wand and prepared to swing it before Zed blurred past and grabbed it in her jaw and yanked it out of the girl's hand, "Eh?"

"Woof…" Zed gave a muffled bark as she wagged her tail to make it seem like she was playing.

"W-Wait!" Luna called out trying to get it back, only for Zed to run away, "Z-Zed-chan!?"

"It was that easy?!" many of them complained.

"Luna let her guard down around Zed due to thinking she had her loyalty," Tsubaki noted, "So she didn't have her guard up as much. Zed being an Anubian Baskur is a great deal smarter than a normal dog…except maybe Drei…"

"The corgi is too smart to compare…" Jin grumbled.

"Zed-chan, you give Luna her wand back!" Luna called out as Zed ran off and she followed after her, "Ah! No~! Zed-chan!"

"...wh-what just happened…?" Sena slowly blinked.

"The Anubian Baskurr you call Zed pilfered the Gem from her," Strongarm replied, trying to understand it herself.

"Oh…well, Luna's never been able to get the stick from Zed when we play at the park…"

"Seriously, Zed-chan, not funny~!" Luna whined, "Give Luna her wand back~!"

Zed shook her head at that before jumping out of the way of another attempt to grab it. She growled in an attempt to get Luna to back off before running away to get some distance. Seeing her fake out didn't deter her. Worse of all, Zed could feel the gem trying to control her via whispers in her mind, but…well she didn't recognize the voice so she easily ignored it due to not being her master's or immediate family's voice.

"Zed-chan seriously, give that back~!" Luna complained, "That's Luna's and you're bei-AH!" she yelped as she was suddenly picked up by the scruff of her outfit by a hand of mana.

"Well now, this is quite the amusing sight we've stumbled upon. The Gem doesn't know how to handle a loyal alien canine," Merlin noted, standing by Gwen as the latter pulled Luna over to her, "Either her mind is too simple for it to grab a hold on or her loyalty is too strong for the Gem to conquer or a combination of both."

"At least that's taken care of. Zed won't let anyone grab a stick from her unless you know what she wants in trade," Gwen noted before looking at the struggling Luna, "Luna."

"Gh! L-Let go!" she grunted.

"Give it a minute," Merlin replied as she walked over to Zed, who handed over the makeshift wand, "Well…this thing has caused too much trouble." she tapped it, covering it in a purple aura which caused it to begin to dull and lose luster, "There, it should be asleep now. Unless some idiot goth twink plugs them all into the gauntlet and taps them in the right order. But asleep? Soon, the influence will fade from the child."

"..." Tsubaki rubbed her chin in thought, "Lady Merlin?"

"Hm?"

"May I ask for you to take care of that Gem? Do whatever you please so long as it can never be claimed by anyone?" Tsubaki requested.

"Huh?!" Bumblebee gawked.

"Tsubaki, are you sure?" Jin asked.

"I've been thinking on this since we convinced Garo to give us the other Gem from Kibougamine, even more since we were told of the Gem of Form's theft," Tsubaki replied, "I don't believe anyone can handle these things without being corrupted unless they are stronger than them." she looked back to Merlin, "And who better than a powerful spellcaster who literally has infinite magic at her command?"

"Well…I don't want them, but I can probably toss them at the head of an old friend for a laugh," Merlin replied, "I'm sure Fairies can do something with them…"

"Wait, what?" Kevin blinked.

"Shh…they don't want people to know they exist." Merlin hushed, "Sworn to secrecy," she winked at everyone.

"Right. Mute's da codeword," Rattrap made a zipping motion with his fingers, "Now if'n you'll excuse me…I need ta go inta stasis fer…a solar cycle after all dis nonsense."

"We will need to stay alert for Freakshow and his ghostly ally if they believe we have the Gems still," Tigatron pointed out.

"...You just had ta tell me…" Rattrap groaned.

"At least when he does show up, we can book them and deliver them to Lady Merlin for wherever she intends to store them since she has not said a word for security reasons," Strongarm noted as she gently placed Sena down, letting him run over to Gwen and Luna with Kevin and Zed.

"Mmm! Ghh!" Luna grunted still struggling.

"You can fight it all you want," Gwen replied with a small smile, "I've recently gotten a bit of a power boost thanks to Lady Merlin. And now I'm remastering some basics, so you're not wiggling free. Like it or not, you are going to hug this out with us, then you're in trouble."

"Wait, you got stronger?" Kevin asked.

"It's nothing to worry about, but it was a helpful learning experience," Gwen replied as Luna gave up struggling, "The gem's effect wore off a while ago, huh? You…were just scared I'd yell, right?"

"...Yeah…" Luna mumbled, looking at her shoes.

"Luna, I'm not mad. Those thoughts were deep down in your mind, but you didn't mean them or to do all this damage?" Gwen cringed a bit.

"I'm on it," Merlin replied as she walked off, "Time spells are a forte of mine."

"See? So, yes, you will be in a little bit of trouble, but…I'm not mad at you, okay?" Gwen smiled putting her down, "That stupid gem preyed upon the darkest thoughts in your mind. And, okay, maybe I am a little hard on you. But, you have to understand, you have crazy powerful magic. If you're not careful you could hurt people. Or yourself and Sena…er…" she looked at Sena then back and Luna, "Okay…so maybe that won't exactly be a thing from now on."

"It…It is kinda nice that we don't have to share a body anymore," Sena noted.

"Aw crud."

"What?" Gwen asked, looking at Kevin.

"Gonna have to go to IKEA and buy a bunk bed," Kevin sighed.

"Kevin, you're supposed to read the directions," Gwen rolled her eyes.

"I am not taking advice from a cartoon dog," Kevin argued.

"Kevin Ethan Levin, I swear to the Celestialsapiens that if you mistake 'T' brackets for 'L' brackets again…" Gwen began as Luna, Sena, and Zed kept looking back and forth at the two, the human girl of the three unintentionally being released from the mana grip and caught by the sole male of three.

"They're gonna kiss, aren't they?" Luna muttered.

"Think of it as part of your punishment?" Sena suggested as he looked at her…before blinking, "This…will take some getting used to."

"Why's that?"

"I'm used to you being a voice or in control of our body, not seeing you."

"Huh?! W-Well…er…yeah, same here," Luna huffed.

"I also know one other thing," Sena added.

"What's that?"

"I call dibs on the top bunk," Sena smiled.

"Wha!? No way! I get Top Bunk!"

"Not after today," Gwen spoke up.

"Aw what?!" Luna gawked, "That's not fair~! Sena, trade me!"

"Eh?! B-But I want the top bunk…"

Merlin merely giggled as she looked on at the sight, about to turn towards Tsubaki before she noticed Muchorin faintly glowing for a moment, the faint image of the blonde woman Sena saw before appearing for a moment with a relieved, kind smile on her.

'...Well now…So that's who I detected…' Merlin noted with an amused smile, 'A third soul…one within that staff…Oh these Nox Nyctores just grow more and more interesting…'

"...oh! Uh ma-" Sari began.

"Yes, I'll make sure to retrieve the Gem of Life from the Autobot base when I get the chance," Merlin replied, not once turning to face her, "Hopefully it's less noisy when I do…Those Dinobots are too loud for my liking…"

"Ah…noted."

'This truly has been a most…interesting day…..' Litchi thought.

"Ah yes…we are here," Freakshow whispered, standing outside of the college with his assistant standing nearby, "The next Gem should be somewhere in this town...and one step closer to godhood." Lydia quirked her brow, "Yes, it's the strongest one of all. It is what allows one to create whatever they wish. With it, I can just summon a portal to their base, snatch the Gem of life…and it'll be all over from there as we reach the final act. The rebirth of Circus Gothica…or rather…" he held his arm up as he clenched the air with the Reality Gauntlet, "Planet Gothica! A show that never ends, one filled with terrors and fright! The performers? Tennyson and his Saturday morning breakfast club crew and any other fool stupid enough to try and defy me."

"..."

"You're giving me that look like you're judging me, and I want it to stop." Freakshow frowned.

"..."

"I said…" Freakshow began as he reached into his coat, pulling out the relic he used to track her down before gripping it, making her wince as energy came off her, "I want it to stop!"

"..."

"...Good," Freakshow grinned as he lowered it, "Now then…know what? I've waited this long…" he held up the Reality Gauntlet to the college, the two gems within it glowing bright, "Let's just go scorched earth. No need f-"

Before he could even finish that sentence, he felt the wind brush past him…and the sudden missing feeling in his gauntlet arm. The sudden jolts of pain and metal hitting the floor filled his ears, making him slowly look down…to see his own arm on the ground as blood spurted and spilt from the stub that used to be his arm.

"Wha…?" He asked as it was so sudden the pain didn't even register in his mind. He only fully began to realize what happened before a pair of red eyes glared down at him. He gasped, sensing the figure towering over him.

"Move, pest," at that, a massive green arm swung…and blood splattered along the walls of the building; Freakshow's body fell to the floor almost immediately after, letting Vilgax groan while looking at his blood-covered fist, "Gh…" he looked down at the blood and fragments of bone littering the ground, "Hmm…" he just shook his massive clawed hand and shook some of the blood off, "Where are we, Nu? This doesn't look like Tennyson's home…" he grumbled as he grabbed Freakshow's body and used his jacket to wipe his hand clean before dropping the now headless corpse away and out of his path.

"My apologies. While transporting, we detected a large energy source in this area," Nu replied simply as she picked up the gauntlet, "It seems to be this."

"Ugh…Magic…" Vilgax groaned in disgust, "Dispose of it…" he waved it off as more figures exited through a disturbingly red colored Space Bridge portal.

"..." Lydia began to frown a bit as she got into a stance.

"Honestly…" Vlad Plasmius spoke as he was one of the first to step out, "It would be better off if you don't do anything reckless…less you want to find out if there's an afterlife to those who are already deceased."

"It seems we are off course…" Vilgax sighed as Nu looked over the gauntlet in interest.

"Can Nu keep it?" she asked innocently as she just casually pulled the severed arm out of the gauntlet.

"Just keep it away from me," Vilgax replied.

"...Nu will dedicate this victory in the name of Megatron-sama," Nu whispered with a small smile.

"I wanted to touch down in Bellwood so as to find someone to send a message to Tennyson," Vilgax sighed, "Great…this is just wonderful. I knew we should have taken the space cruiser…"

"Well we still got here," Vlad argued.

"But it's in the middle of nowhere…and no one here is worth our time…" Vilgax argued as he stepped over Freakshow's body and began scanning the area, "As the green haired snake would say…" his eyes began glowing, "Screw it, let's get to work. We have much to do." he turned to Nu, "Child…do as Megatron requested. Lay the groundwork for their space bridge portals. We'll make our way to Bellwood and wait for Tennyson." he turned his head, spotting some humans who just stared at him, "Maybe…I can leave Tennyson a message after all," he laughed, walking towards them as the glow and his eyes grew stronger as his optic beams began charging up, "A most…wonderful message."

SZ: They're here~~

Z0: Ah…yeah…we kinda faked this out. We didn't have time to do this whole arc the same way. But we are setting up the main event in the very next arc after the current one concludes. Which we plan to do as soon as we can.

GT: (laughs) Trust us, folks. Freakshow was just not a good enough baddie to get all those Gems given the power roster that's amassed. As such, the only good way…is to call upon the best of the worst.

SZ: The man pushed his luck one too many times…he got karma in the form of his head exploding…from a backhand from Vilgax.

Z0: You know…despite how serious our story is compared to the original content…we haven't had a lot of…deaths…well time for me to overcorrect that!

SZ: Trust us folks…Z0 has been anticipating this coming arc for a LONG time now.

Z0: I'm gonna go so nuts Vilgax is gonna need a Killcount video. Oh trust me, I often try to hold myself back. I grew up on horror and crazy action movies. I just try to stick to the themes of whatever I use for fics.

GT: And Z0 now has permission to give it his best! So, until next time folks! Please Read and Review!

Z0: Well you heard them…*puts on black hockey mask…and teleports out of sight*