Code Geass: More Than Meets The Eye

by OpsComXGP

Lelouch, Euphemia, and Mario find themselves now a part of an intergalactic quest with the crew of the Lost Light in search of the Knights of Cybertron. Back on Earth, everyone else is looking to figure out how the three of them got mixed up in this crazy mess. Who know's what sort of crazy intergalactic adventures are going to occur here.

Greetings everyone, it's been a hot minute since I have worked on something and after being away for a long time, it's about time I get back in the groove and work on bringing Code Geass into the world of IDW's More Than Meets the Eye continuity. Where we start this story is near the tail end of Stage 22 of the original anime and we get to that bit where Lelouch slips up, that's when the rules get thrown out the window and where our story begins.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own either Code Geass or Transformers: More Than Meets the Eye (IDW).

TURN 1: HOW TO SAY GOODBYE AND MEAN IT

-CYBERTRON-

We find Hot Rod on a stage with Ultra Magnus and Drift as he was addressing the general population on Cybertron about his intentions to set off in search of the Knights of Cybertron.

"They say that 12 million years ago, on this very spot, the first Cybertronian realized he could change shape. Six million years ago, right here, Nova Prime told the world that he had built an Ark. Four million years to the day, Optimus Prime stood where I am now, and he turned down Megatron's one and only offer to surrender. What happens here tomorrow will rank alongside those moments."

Hot Rod said to the mass gathering of Cybertronians who were listening in.

"Tomorrow, this patch of land will become a launch pad where I will board the Lost Light and I will set off in search of our ancestors, the Knights of Cybertron. They are real and I am going to find them, and I want you to come along with me."

Hot Rod said as the populace was hanging on every word that Hot Rod was saying to them as Hot Rod's speech was broadcasted all throughout Cybertron.

"Bumblebee said that it was your duty to stay here, on a planet you no longer recognize. Among people who resent you for the sacrifices you have made in their name. I say, you have done your duty. That day you thought it would never have come. That is today, the war is over. You have earned the right to see the universe without a gun in your hand."

Hot Rod said as he concluded his speech which was meet with a massive uproar of approval from the citizens of Cybertron. Amongst the crowd of Cybertronians: Wheeljack and Prowl, two highly seasoned and decorated Autobots were also listening in on Hot Rod's speech.

"Kid sure knows how to move a crowd. We could be witnessing a mass exodus at this rate."

Wheeljack said to Prowl as the latter simply just scoffs at Wheeljack's statement.

"Are you disagreeing with me or are your pistons acting up?"

Wheeljack asked Prowl as the latter turned to his fellow Autobot.

"Wheeljack, I can observe 800 moving objects and compute their direction of travel in 0.5 seconds, this is no different."

Prowl said to Wheeljack as he projected a calculation on Hot Rod's mission.

"As soon as Hot Rod said he was leaving, I mentally compiled two lists up: Those who would go with him and those who would rather stay behind. Trust me, all reliable indicators suggest that tomorrow's launch will be one big non-event."

Prowl said to Wheeljack as he doubts anyone would want to go and find the Knights of Cybertron as, according to Prowl and Bumblebee, they've never existed.

"Let's make things interesting Prowl…200 Shanix if you're wrong about your statement?"

Wheeljack said to Prowl as he wanted to put his money where his vocal processor was to prove him wrong.

"Easiest 200 Shanix I've ever had to earn, you should know better than to doubt my estimates Wheeljack."

Prowl said to Wheeljack as he accepted the bet.

-EARTH-

-Area 11 (Japan), 9-18-2017 A.T.B-
-Special Administrative Zone of Japan-

"We are bringing you live coverage from the stadium where the inaugural ceremony will be held for the Special Administrative Zone of Japan. The stadium is already packed full of Ele…apologies, I mean Japanese and those unable to get inside are gathered outside of the stadium."

A Britannian news reporter said as they were broadcasting the ceremony which was conceived by Euphemia Li Britannia, third princess of the empire and sub-viceroy of Area 11. The eyes of the world were watching the event unfold, the biggest set of eyes being the Black Knights, a group of freedom fighters that opposed the current ruling power of the Britannian Empire under Viceroy Cornelia Li Britannia.

"Princess Euphemia, it's time…"

Andreas Darlton, One of Corenlia's top knights, said to Euphemia as she rose up from her chair preparing to deliver a speech to the massive gathering of Japanese citizens. Euphemia briefly turned to her right to see an empty seat where Cornelia should have been, but she did not attend the ceremony. Euphemia then turned up to the sky to see a floating knightmare frame approaching the stadium. This was the knightmare frame known as the Gwain, piloted by Zero, leader of the Black Knights.

"Zero…"

Suzaku Kururugi, Euphemia's personal knight and member of the Royal Britannian Army, said as he knew exactly who was showing up to the special zone.

"Oh, he came after all."

Euphemia said in a delighted tone as she had hoped that Zero would have shown up after her declaration of the special zone was made public at a festival at Ashford Academy.

"Your target is Zero. If he makes any suspicious moves at all, kill him at once."

A Britannian commander said to his fellow troops in turn their response to the orders was without question.

"Zero, welcome to the Special Administrative Zone of Japan."

Euphemia said to Zero as she welcomed him with open arms as a showing of peace.

"Greetings Euphemia Li Britannia, I wish to request an audience with you."

Zero said to Euphemia as he requested a private audience with Euphemia. Although Euphemia was a bit curious as to why Zero would want a private audience with her, she agreed to his terms. Over at Ashford Academy, members of the student council were watching the event from a small tv in their meeting room.

"We've got a major development happening here ladies and gentlemen. It appears that Zero has appeared out in the open and under Euphemia Li Britannia's direction, he is moving to the G1."

The reporter said to the public as the Gwain moved behind the stadium to where the G1 was parked.

-CYBERTRON-

-Kimia, Makeshift Autobot HQ-

"He Transformed himself to death. His transformation cog looks like a lump of coal, he must have been changing non-stop for weeks. Where did you find him Bumblebee?"
Ratchet, chief medical officer of the Autobots, asked Bumblebee, acting leader of Cybertron, as they were looking over a corpse of a neutral Cybertronian.

"Outside, on the steps. He was a Nail, a protestor. He did this on purpose, to draw attention to our "illegal occupation" of Cybertron.
Bumblebee said to Ratchet as the latter took a seat after examining the corpse. Bumblebee had his head down as he was disappointed with the actions the neutral had taken.

"Thanks for looking him over Ratchet, Tyzon said he'd only accept a verdict of suicide if it came from y…"
Bumblebee said to Ratchet, but before he could finish his statement the neutral then changed into his vehicle mode which got a slight jump scare from Bumblebee.

"Relax, it's just a reflex action. Rigor Morphis: the dead body assumes its preferred shape. And yes, sometimes they do choose the alt mode."
Ratchet said to Bumblebee as he explained why the dead neutral changed to his vehicle mode.

"He was not dead when you brought him in though, he still had a spark. It might have been faint, but it was there. I should have been able to save him. Just wished I had been fast enough to get to him, anyway…"
Ratchet said to Bumblebee as he lamented not being able to save the neutral Cybertronian from his eventual fate. Ratchet wasn't done however, as he had an announcement he wanted to make to Bumblebee personally.

"I'll be leaving with Hot Rod tonight. I'm sorry about this Bumblebee, but I've been waiting for the right moment to tell you."

Ratchet said to Bumblebee as the latter was trying to process what Ratchet just said to him. There was a long moment of silence as Bumblebee couldn't believe what his audio receptors just picked up.

"No, no way, you're joking right? This is one of your jokes, isn't it? I need you here Ratchet. You're the best doctor there is, the only autoboot to have saved the life of every Prime since Nominus."
Bumblebee said to Ratchet as he tried to talk some sense into him and hopefully convince Ratchet to stay on Cybertron.

"That's just it, I've been doing this way too long. It's about time that someone else became Chief Medical Officer."
Ratchet said to Bumblebee as he felt like his time had come to step down from his position and let a younger medical bot take his position.

"I'm panicking now, you've made me panic Ratchet. I've got the shakes, look…look at the cane. See that, I'm not doing that on purpose."
Bumblebee said to Ratchet as he was faking a panic attack to get the latter's attention.

"You don't even need a cane anymore Bumblebee. I told you that I've found the spare parts I need to…"
Ratchet said to Bumblebee but before he could finish, Bumblebee cut him off to question why Ratchet was going with Hot Rod.

"Did he seek you out Ratchet? Did Hot Rod give you all that scrap about finding the Knights of Cybertron and "retracing our steps to the Golden Age"? It's all scripted you know, Drift writes it for him."

"Listen to me Bumblebee, it's not about the destination so much as the journey. Hot Rod has promised to pick up some waifs and strays along the way. You and I both know that not everyone is accounted for. There's still a lot of Autobots that are out there and some of them could be injured. Perhaps I could help them and possibly find a successor in the process. Think of this as my swan song Bumblebee."
Ratchet said to Bumblebee as he explained why he was tagging along with Hot Rod on his quest to seek the Knights of Cybertron.

-EARTH-
-Special Administrative Zone of Japan-

Above the Special Zone, on board the Britannian airship Avalon, Dr. Lloyd Apslund and his assistant Cecile Croomy were watching the event like everyone else and the latter had some concerns she wanted to address to Lloyd.

"I'm afraid that something is going to happen, we should have gone there like I have suggested."
Cecile said to Lloyd as he turned to face his associate.

"What for, it's not like we've had a choice in the matter. Besides, everyone said that if Lancelot wasn't there Zero wouldn't even show up."

Lloyd said to Cecile as he used Suzaku's knightmare frame, the Z-01 Lancelot, as a symbol to draw Zero to the Special Zone. Over by the G1, one of the members of Euphemia's security detail checked Zero to see if he had anything on him deeming suspicious.

"Everything appears to be safe your highness."
The security guard said to Euphemia after he determined that Zero wasn't carrying anything deemed suspicious.

"Then this way please Zero."
Euphemia said to Zero as she directed him to the G1. Before Euphemia could leave with Zero, Suzaku wanted to address his concerns to Euphemia.

"Your highness, it's too dangerous to be alone with this man. As your knight Princess Euphemia, please allow me to escort you to safety."
"I appreciate your concerns Suzaku, but it's fine please just trust me on this."
Euphemia said to Suzaku as she hoped to ease his concerns. Suzaku begrudgingly agreed to Euphemia's request to have the private audience with Zero.

-CYBERTRON-

Cyclonus was flying over the terrain of Cybertron as he began to monologue about how the terrain had changed since he was last there millions of years ago.

"To The east: Tetrahex, Subterrania, Pess Pess, the vaulted heights of K'th Kinsere, Obex, Mesmerica, the Pious Pools, and a badly lit basement bar where I first met Scourge."

"To the west: the first city, the fragmented whole, the shadow of the Underbase, Warrior's Gate, the transeptum of infinite reach, and a balcony where I watched the greatest moonrise of my life."

"All gone now, not ruined just gone, removed. My world has been scorched to the bone and now there's nothing left but the vast emptiness and the stench of burning metal. A far cry from what it was."
Cyclonus continued his monologue as a vision of what Cybertron used to look like in Cyclonus' time before it became the current state that Cybertron was in.

"At least I got my alt mode. At least I got my wings. No ID chip in the back of my head, Hot Rod was true to his word…in that respect at least."

"Maybe the chip wouldn't have worked anyways, ever since I was ejected from Vector Sigma's chamber…I feel like I've been given a new lease on life. The question is, what to do with it?"
Cyclonus asked himself as he recalled his reintergration from Vector Sigma as well as when Cybertron reverted to its primordial state.

"Okay then Cyclonus, time to bring the farewell tour to an end and see if Hot Rod remembers the promise that he…"
Cyclonus was saying to himself when a familiar sensor code starting to ping Cyclonus to someone seemingly familiar to him.

"Wait…down there, life signs…familiar life signs. Perhaps there might be a reason to stay after all."
Cyclonus said to himself as he flew over to the source of the life signal.

-KIMIA-
-Prowl's Quarters-

"So, you're off then. This is a setback Chromedome, a real setback I'm disappointed in you."
Prowl said to Chromedome, a former colleague of Prowl's and the Autobot's resident nmemosurgeon. Rewind, Chromedome's good friend and archivist was looking over some of the datapads he needed for their journey on the Lost Light.

"Yeah well, I'm sure you'll get over it Prowl."
Chromedome said to Prowl as he Finished double checking his equipment before setting off with Rewind for the Lost Light.

"I'm going to level with you Chromedome. Somehow, don't ask me how, but Hot Rod has found 200 Autobots willing to join him on his fools' crusade. Well, good riddance I can make do without each and everyone of them, but I can't…"
Prowl was saying to Chromedome before the latter cut him off to name drop an Autobot that was on the Lost Light's crew manifest.

"Even Ratchet?"
"…make do with you Chromedome. You're gifted, you can do things no one else can do. If I had your talents…"
Prowl said to Chromedome as Rewind shuddered the thought of what Prowl could do if he had Chromedome's talents as a Nmemosurgeon.

"Primus help us all…"
"Rewind, you're Chromedome's best friend can't you persuade him to…"

Prowl said to Rewind as he noticed that Rewind's camera was on.
"…your light's on, are you recording this?"
Prowl asked Rewind if he was recording the conversation that he was having with Chromedome.

"Um…yes Prowl?"
Rewind answered Prowl's question which got Prowl slightly crossed with Rewind.

"Well don't, it's extremely annoying, you filming everything all the time."
Prowl said to Rewind as the latter of the two remined Prowl of his role as the Autobots' archivist.

"I'm an archivist Prowl, that's my job. This could be a very important conversation down the line, perhaps could have repercussions in the future."
Chromedome then took the time to speak to Prowl about what's been on his mind as of late.

"Prowl, you and I go way back yeah? You know I've done more for the Autobot Cause than most other bots. You also know that I've done things that, in hindsight, I bitterly…oh, never mind. The point I'm trying to make here Prowl is that using my "talents" in the ways you'd suggest I do is hardly going to help me draw a line under the past."
After getting what was on Chromedome's mind off of his chest, he and Rewind decided to make their leave for the Lost Light. Rewind took the time to console his friend after what he said to Prowl.

"C'mon Chromedome, you've said what you wanted to say."
Prowl didn't take this to well as he bottled up a bunch of anger and frustration about how Chromedome was taking the current situation on Cybertron.

"You know what your problem is Chromedome? You think that just because the war is over that we can afford to stop fighting!"
Prowl said as he unleashed his bottled-up anger and flipped a table in the process, creating a mess of his quarters. Prowl took a few breaths to calm himself down before a call came in that Prowl was expecting.

"It's me, Prowl."
Prowl said as some static came over his communicator that seemingly asked the question "Were you able to convince Chromedome to stay"?
"I couldn't change Chromedome's mind."
More static came through Prowl's communicator as if it was saying "Well that's certainly disappointing to hear".
"No, this was always a possibility. I've gone ahead and made the necessary modifications; all I need you two to do is load the cargo I have requested."
Prowl said back to the voice on the communicator. The static came back to ask the question "you're sure you're serious about this Prowl"?
"What, yes of course I'm serious…I'm always serious."

Prowl said back to the voice on the communicator before he hung up. The bots who called up Prowl were a pair of duobots by the names of Ore and Shock. Before they could even get to where Prowl had the "cargo" stored so that it can link up with the Lost Light, A hooded figure about the size of a human, went and used an EMP-like weapon built into its hands on the duobots, knocking them out cold.

"My apologies, but this is where your part in the story ends. Now to go to the other world to get the final three players who I'll need in this tale."
The hooded figure said to itself before it jumped into a portal, leaving both Cybertron and the two duobots behind.

-EARTH-

-Special Administrative Zone of Japan-

While the ceremony was going on, the rest of the Black Knights were watching things from a distance as things were unfolding between Zero and Euphemia.
"C'mon, how long are we supposed to wait out here for?"
Shinichiro Tamaki, a member of the Black Knights and a low level commander, said to his fellow Black Knights in annoyance.

"Really Tamaki, it's not enough that Zero ordered us to wait out here?"
Kallen Kozuki ne Stadfeldt, the ace pilot of the Black Knights, chirped back to Tamaki.

"That'll be enough out the two of you, first of all we'll need to confirm the empire's true intentions with this proposed special zone."
Kaname Ohgi, deputy commander of the Black Knights, said to Kallen and Tamaki before he got communications from Kyoshiro Tohdoh.

"Zero's already determined the empire's true intentions. Is that not the reason why he asked us to wait in all four directions?"
Tohdoh said to Ohgi as the latter was still unsure about the current situation.

"That's quite a risky assumption there Tohdo, you're serious about this?"
Ohgi then asked Tohdoh back about his intuition about the current situation at the special zone.

"Zero's even got Deithard and Rakshata on standby, it looks as though Zero is going to assassinate Euphemia."
Tohdo said to himself as we head back to the special zone where Mario Garfield ne Disel, a Britannian soldier who is actually an agent of the Black Knights, is with Suzaku as they're discussing about Euphemia and Zero's private audience.

"You're worried about her aren't you Suzaku?"
Mario asked Suzaku as he turned to face his friend and fellow colleague.

"Perhaps that's the easiest read you can get on me Mario, but yes…I can't help but feeling something is off here."
Suzaku said to Mario as he was very concerned about Euphemia being alone with Zero, much like they were on Kaname Island.

"I'm also getting the feeling that something's off too…but I'd rather not jump to conclusions just yet, for now all we can do is let this situation play out and wait."
Mario said to Suzaku as he had to give him the reality of the situation they were in now and that acting rashly could have consequences. Suzaku sighed as he knows that Mario's correct, but his gut is telling him that something is wrong. It was that moment that Mario caught sight of a hooded figure heading for the G1.

"Huh, what it is Mario?"
Suzaku asked Mario as he noticed that Mario's eyes were now fixed on the hooded figure.

"Suzaku, I'll need you and rest of the security detail to wait here. I'm going to pursue our "mystery guest" and see what they could be after."
Mario said to Suzaku as he ran off to chase down the hooded figure. Suzaku wanted to stop him, but then he recalled what Mario said to him earlier. One of the members of Euphemia's security detail noticed that Mario went after the hooded figure.

"We've got a possible intruder in the area, one of our own is in pursuit of the suspect, do not engage at this time."
The security guard said as Suzaku looked back to the G1 and hoped that Euphemia was going to be OK with Zero.

-CYBERTRON-

"I'd just like to say…um, argh I've never done this before. Take two: I'd just like to say, thank you. Oh, come on, don't give me that look I'm being sincere here! I am, look at me, this is my sincere face. Now shut up for a minute while I say my peace."
Whirl, a member of the Wreckers and a loose cannon amongst the Autobots, said to himself as he was preparing a recording before he set off for the Lost Light.

"My life, I'll be honest with you, it hasn't been easy lately. I've had some ups and downs; taken some knocks you know? I get it "boo hoo, woe is me" with the whole Wreckers thing getting left off for their latest mission. Some people out there say that I deserved it, but yeah. Anyways, thank you for the private time that we have shared, it's meant a lot."
Whirl continued to say as he was sitting down outside of a bunker, he was at under Prowl's command to investigate a disturbance that was out there.

"Over the last few weeks, ever since the Nails started to come back, you've helped me get by. No, really, you have. You've helped me offload and vent out my frustrations and…express myself, I guess. I suppose, in a weird way, you've kept me sane."
Whirl was about to finish his log when Cyclonus arrived at the area to investigate the bunker for himself.

"But all good things must come to an end right? If there's one thing in life, I've learned it's how to say goodbye and mean it. Without further ado…"
"Hello? Anyone in here?"
Cyclonus said as he opened the door to the bunker. This caught Whirl's attention as he stopped recording his audio log.

"Huh? What's he doing out here?"
Whirl asked himself as he got up to see what Cyclonus was looking at.

"Scourge? Is that you? I thought I detected your…"
When things became more clearer inside the bunker, Whirl and Cyclonus saw the various corpses of the Sweeps, the clone units of Scourge, were all strung up and a lone Decepticon with a brain module in its mouth was looking at the two of them as if they were the enemy.

"Haven't you two heard of knocking?!"
The Decepticon said as he spat out the brain module onto the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?"
"Oh man…that is so messed up."
Cyclonus and Whirl said before they were both ambushed by the Decepticon who was acting feral towards Cyclonus and Whirl.

"Oh, so we're the ones in the wrong?"
Cyclonus asked the Decepticon in a slightly annoyed tone as both he and Whirl got back on their feet after being tackled by the Decepticon.

"Listen Blip, it's Blip right? I'm not interested in fighting."
Cyclonus said to Blip, the Decepticon who was feasting on the Sweeps in the bunker. Whirl quickly tossed a grenade in the bunker while Blip was readying another attack.

"You might not be interested in a fight, because I am!"
Whirl said as the grenade went off and blew up the bunker. Blip then changed into his alt mode as Cyclonus and Whirl did the same while they all fled the scene of the explosion in the bunker.

-EARTH-

-G1 Command Center-

Despite taking necessary precautions by Euphemia while Zero was aboard the G1, Zero wasn't planning on taking any chances as he turned out the lights in the main command room of the G1.

"Even though I've taken the liberty of turning off all the cameras, you're still being extremely careful aren't you?"
Euphemia asked Zero as he started to take of his helmet, revealing himself to be Lelouch Lamperouge ne Vi Britannia. Lelouch was Euphemia's brother who was supposedly lost seven years ago when Britannia invaded Japan, but this was a false truth.

"I've been in hiding for a long time due to a certain empire I'm afraid your highness. This is a needle gun made out of ceramic and bamboo, it can't be picked up on a metal detector."
Lelouch said to Euphemia as he presented the makeshift needle gun to her.

"You would never shoot me, would you Lelouch?"
Euphemia asked Lelouch as he put the gun down on the command table.

"No Euphy, I would never do that, you'll be the one doing the shooting."
Lelouch said to Euphemia, using her childhood nickname. Euphy was bit confused as to why Lelouch insisted that she'd be the one to shoot the gun. Outside of the G1, Suzaku was with Euphemia's security detail while Euphemia and Zero were having their private conversation.

"Is this really a good idea, leaving Princess Euphemia alone with Zero?"
One of the security guards asked the other two guards that were also a part of Euphemia's security detail.

"Princess Euphemia ordered us to."
"Well if things do go south, she always has the emergency call button to rely upon."
The other two guards said as Suzaku was looking on, still deeply concerned for Euphemia. Mario was chasing down the hooded individual that got on board the G1.

"Hey! I'm ordering to stop where you are!"

Mario shouted to the hooded individual, but it kept on its course uninterrupted. Back outside the G1, Suzaku felt a very familiar presence that he felt back at Narita where they first had the connection. The security detail noticed that Suzaku was sensing something that they could not see themselves. The was C.C., an immortal witch that gave Lelouch his geass power and his most trusted confidant.

"It looks like he can see me. Was this due to our indirect contact at Narita or what happened on Kaname Island? Or is that he…if that's the case then…"
C.C. said in a monologue as she determined her course of action because Suzaku was able to see her. C.C. opened up the cockpit of the Gwain and was prepared to step out and confront Suzaku.

-CYBERTRON-
-The Lost Light-

"I'm going to need to search all of your bags Brainstorm."
Red Alert, Chief of Security of the Lost Light, said to Brainstorm, Cybertron's notorious weapons engineer, as the latter gave his bags to Red Alert.

"Yes, yes, I fully understand Red Alert. Do what you must I suppose, but this briefcase sticks with me."
Brainstorm said to Red Alert as he showed him the briefcase that was handcuffed to Brainstorm's right hand.

"Anything I should know about that briefcase you have on hand Brainstorm?"
Red Alert asked Brainstorm as the latter reached into a compartment in his left arm.

"This case contains a work-in-progress Red Alert. If I open up the case outside of a controlled environment, well let's just say things aren't going to end well for all of us. Besides, I've got a special dispensation from Hot Rod himself. It's authentic, check out the rubsign."
Brainstorm said to Red Alert as he showed him the dispensation for the briefcase that Hot Rod signed off on.

"Dispensation checks out Brainstorm, you're cleared to board the Lost Light, next!"
Red Alert said to Brainstorm as the latter boards the ship. Red Alert then looked over the manifest to see who was going to board next.

"Name?"
"Megatron, but you can call me "Death"."
An Autobot said to Red Alert in a tone of voice that borderlined on being cringe worthy. Red Alert knew exactly which bot this was based on how he tried to rile him up.

"Swerve, please tell me you're here to see us off?"
Red Alert asked Swerve, a mini-bot and a Metalurgist, who was more than eager to join up with the crew of the Lost Light.

"No, no, no I'm here for the quest. Love me a good quest. I haven't been on a quest since the whole Luna 1 Moonquest thing."
Swerve said to Red Alert as the latter of which was slightly annoyed by how Swerve was hyping up the quest.

"Stop saying "quest" Swerve, we get it."
"So, can I go on board?"
Swerve asked Red Alert before he boarded the Lost Light. Red Alert, begrudgingly, allowed Swerve to board the ship.

"Of course, next! One Hundred Million! That's quite an impressive serial code, er…"
Red Alert said to the Autobot whom Red Alert recognized but couldn't place a name on him in the moment.

"It's Rung, you know me Red Alert."

Rung said to Red Alert as the latter was slightly embarrassed, he forgot Rung's name.

"Rung, of course my apologies. It's been a while since we've last seen each other that I didn't recognize you."
Red Alert said to Rung in an apologetic tone of voice.

"I was your psychiatrist for six centuries Red Alert."

Rung said to Red Alert, mentioning his position and relationship with him. In the distance, Whirl and Cyclonus were chasing down Blip as they approached the launch pad.
"Sorry about that, what's in the crate?"
Red Alert asked Rung what he was holding before he boarded the Lost Light.

"Nothing much, just trinkets. I collect model spacecraft, arks mainly."
Rung said to Red Alert as he held one of the model arks out to show him that he had nothing deemed suspicious. Red Alert was more surprised that Rung managed to hold on to all of those models despite the war between the Autobots and the Decpticons.

"We were at war for four million years. How did you manage to hold onto this stuff?"
Red Alert asked Rung as Cyclonus, Whirl, and Blip came ever closer to the launch pad.

"If I were to hazard a guess, I suppose you could say I've got a knack for keeping out of harm's…"
Rung said to Red Alert before he got knocked off the platform and he dropped his model arks. Rung also lost an arm in the process as Cyclonus and Whirl flew past them while Red Alert ducked the incoming flyers.

-BRIDGE OF THE LOST LIGHT-

"Total count of crewmates so far is…208."
Drift said to Hot Rod as he looked on at the crew manifest. Hot Rod was over the moon to hear about how many people signed up to tag along with him on his journey to find the Knights of Cybertron.

"Oh yes, stick that up your exhaust Bumblebee. You know, when I gave that "gun in your hand" speech I…"
Hot Rod was saying to Drift before the latter cut him off.

"Great speech by the way Hot Rod."
"Thanks Drift, I never imagined that so many bots would sign up. 208 that's an amazing result. Drift, you think that it's gotta be some sort of record or something?"
Hot Rod said to Drift as he was highly optimistic about the journey that the crew of the Lost Light were about to embark on.

"Your new crewmates Ultra Magnus. Why are you frowning even more than normal?"
Drift said to Ultra Magnus as he handed him the crew manifest. Cyclonus and Whirl were flying right by the bridge in the background.

"He's dangerous, he's delusional, he's a liar, he's mad (I mean literally mad), he was demoted after that incident with the turbofox, I arrested him for impersonating a senior officer, he owes me money, I don't trust him or him (especially not in their combined form), and if he's who I think he is, never ever let him near a crossbow. That's just the A's I looked over."
Ultra Magnus said as he was reviewing the first batch of crewmates that joined the Lost Light.

"You should've put me on the door Hot Rod. I would have turned away any wayward characters."
Ultra Magnus said to Hot Rod as he handed him the crew manifest.

"Magnus, your definition of a "wayward character" is an Autobot who wears their badge at an angle."
Hot Rod said to Ultra Magnus as he received the crew manifest from him.

"Yes, in direct contravention of the military regalia act!"
Ultra Magnus said to Hot Rod as he scanned both Hot Rod and Drift to see what their personalities are like in regards to the mission they're about to undertake.

"Sometimes I wonder how you see the world my friend."
Hot Rod said to Ultra Magnus as the initial report came into Ultra Magnus' optics.

HOT ROD
Dreams of being heroic and important.
Tends not to follow the rules too closely.
Means well, but his impulsive actions often get him into trouble.

Can be hot headed
RISK OF FUTURE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY: Variable

DRIFT
Ex-Decepticon, Resist urge to arrest on sight.

Used to fight for Megatron.

One of the most terrible warriors ever to stalk the face of Cybertron.

Granted amnesty under the reintegration act.

RISK OF FUTURE CRIMINAL ACTIVITY: Off the scale.

-EARTH-

-Special Administrative Zone of Japan-

"This ceremony is being broadcasted globally, and the world is going to witness you, a Britannian princess, shoot Zero. What do you think will happen next?"
Lelouch asked Euphemia as he was putting his original plan into motion. Little did Lelouch or Euphemia knew in that moment is that things were about to change in a way that either one of them could have predicted.

"Rioting would break out I would imagine."
Euphemia said to Lelouch in an answer to the question he had posed to her earlier.

"Correct, Zero would be lured into a deathtrap and he'll become a martyr, while your popularity would come crashing down to Earth."
Lelouch said to Euphemia as he put down his half mask to reveal his full face to her. This was the same face that Euphemia saw back on Kaname Island where they were separated from their respective aces, Suzaku and Kallen.

"What kind of nonsense are you saying Lelouch? You should just help me rebuild Japan."
Euphemia said to Lelouch pointing out how nonsensical he's acting at the moment.

"I you want to force the change you want from up high, you're just as bad as Clovis was."
Lelouch said to Euphemia as the latter was taken back by the words she heard her brother say to her.

"All tasks at hand have been cleared. After hovering near death Zero would be met with cheers when he makes a miraculous recovery. You see Euphemia, people generally don't care about logic or reasoning, but they simply just can't resist miracles."
Lelouch said to Euphemia as he took the gun off the table and put it in a position to where Euphemia could take the gun from his hands.

"There can only be one Messiah Euphemia, and when they realize that you're a false one they'll…"
Lelouch was saying to Euphemia before he felt a sharp pain take over his head and he collapsed to a knee. Euphemia, concerned for her brother's wellbeing, went over to check on him. Outside of the G1, C.C. stepped down to face Suzaku from the Gwain.

"I…I thought so."
Suzaku said to C.C. as he could see her clear as day while everyone else, at this point, is just seeing Suzaku talking to a ghost.

"I need to know one thing: are you the…"
C.C. was asking Suzaku before she was experiencing the same pain that Lelouch was feeling in that exact same moment. C.C. then collapsed to a knee as a geass sigil appeared on her forehead as Suzaku rushed over to check on her.

"No…he's reached that point…"
C.C. was saying as she was trying to fight off the pain she was experiencing.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
Suzaku said as he touched C.C.'s shoulders. The instant Suzaku did that action, he was sent right into C's world where he saw multiple images flash before his eyes. One of those images was that of Lelouch's deceased mother, Marianne Vi Britannia. After seeing that image, Suzaku ended up passing out as C.C. was continuing to fight the pain.

"Major Kururugi's down!"
"Why you, what have you done to him?!"
The agents said to C.C. as they rushed in to surround her. One of the agents makes the same mistake as Suzaku did in touching her, which set off her geass sigil again. All three agents then only saw a vision of death, which drove them crazy before all three of them passed out like Suzaku did.

-CYBERTRON-

Whirl and Cyclonus performed a loop to evade a couple of missiles that Blip had fired upon them. Cyclonus, now in a foul mood, had enough of Blip's games.

"Alright, enough is enough! I said I didn't want to fight you, but that doesn't mean that I won't. When I get going, I will kill you. I don't even know why you're doing this."
Cyclonus said as he slid back after reverting to his robot form. Whirl followed suit, landing on right next to Cyclonus.

"You two bargged in and you saw things."
Blip said to Whirl and Cyclonus as he charged head on to both of them.

"Which…URGH!...implies that we care and in turn that we were going to tell someone."

Cyclonus said to Blip as he held his ground whilst dangling with danger being that close to the edge of a cliff.

"Yeah, what he said…he just mistook the Sweeps for his friend, and I got curious why he was there. Our bad, end of story."

Whirl said to Blip as Cyclonus was a bit surprised that a loose cannon like Whirl was defending him at that moment. Blip then transformed and knocked both of them to the cliff's edge.

"They were already dead, I just scraped 'em off the ground. Besides they were never really alive, were they? They were like turbofoxes: a brain stem, a weak spark, and a set of learned responses. Besides, I wasn't doing anything wrong was I?"
Blip said to Whirl and Cyclonus as the two of them were trying to get off the ground.

"Blip, I don't care because I'm late for an appointment. Now, can we please stop fighting?"
Cyclonus said as he expressed his disinterest in continuing the battle against Blip.

"What do you think Decepticon?"
Blip asked Cyclonus which drew out an angry sigh as to be remarked as a Decepticon, when he actually wasn't one.

"Just so we're touching base here, you're not actually a 'con are you?"
Whirl asked Cyclonus out of interest in the remark that Blip made to Cyclonus.

"No Whirl, I'm not a Decepticon and I've never have been. I fought alongside Galvatron as a fellow Cybertronian."
Cyclonus answered Whirl before getting back up to face off against Blip.

"Now…for the last time, are we done?"
Cyclonus asked Blip which led the Decepticon to charge at both Whirl and Cyclonus, which in turn, led to Blip knocking them off the cliff.

While all of the fighting was going on, Chromedome, Rewind, and Ratchet were walking their way to the launch pad due to Rewind's alt mode being a giant memory stick rather than a jet or a car.
"10 minutes to go before launch. You know Rewind, if you had a decent alt mode, we wouldn't have to walk all the way to the launch pad."
Chromedome said to Rewind in an agitated tone of voice. Rewind didn't take that remark to kindly though.

"Oh it's started, the alt mode bashing. Every time you get agitated: let's have a go at Rewind because he turns into a giant memory stick and not a…super space tank or whatever."
Rewind chirped back to Chromedome as they continued their walk to the launch pad.

"I just don't see the point of turning into a giant memory stick Rewind, you might as well be a monoformer!"
Chromedome chirped back to Rewind as something caught Ratchet's eye while they were walking to the launch pad.

"Remember the old saying Chromedome? "Everyone's shape serves a purpose"."
Rewind said to Chromedome, bringing up an old quote from one of his various logs he read on Cybertronian history.

"Yeah, well tell that to Sky Lynx."
Ratchet said to Rewind as all three of them then saw Whirl, Cyclonus, and Blip all crash down from up top the cliff and Whirl was the only one of the three that was standing in front of Ratchet, Rewind, and Chromedome.

"Whirl…are you ok there, what's going on?"
Ratchet asked Whirl as the latter was catching his breath after the tumble that he, Cyclonus, and Blip took.

"This guy attacked us after we caught him desecrating corpses. I suggest you look away now if any one of you has an aversion to exploding heads."
Whirl said to Ratchet as he readied his ion cannons on Blip. Cyclonus was missing a horn, and he was far enough away from Blip so that Rewind and Chromedome could get a look at him.

"Whoever this Decepticon is Whirl, he's offline now. He's no longer a threat, so it's best that we lower the gun eh?"
Ratchet said to Whirl in an attempt to talk him down from straight up killing Blip after he attacked both Cyclonus and Whirl.

"You talking me down Doc? Like I'm some sort of maniac that needs to be talked down?"
Whirl asked Ratchet as he was still intent on blowing Blip's head clean off from his body.

"I'm just saying Whirl…"
"No, I'm just saying that he started it and I'm going to finish it. The best way to finish it is with a nice clean head…"
Whirl was saying to Ratchet after he cut him off. Before Whirl could finish his statement however, an explosion came out from underneath Whirl's feet and knocked him straight to the ground. Ratchet, Rewind, and Chromedome then looked down at the hole in the ground.

"Any chance of a hand?"
A voice came out from the hole as Chromedome volunteered to help whoever the voice belonged to. Chromedome was then holding a minibot that he had never seen before, but the bot was in rough shape as he was pulled out from the hole.

"Come here pal, I don't believe we've met."
Chromedome said to the minibot as he looked up to see Chromedome for the first time.

"Have…URGH!...have I missed the launch?"
The minibot asked Chromedome as he was fighting the pain he was enduring. The minibot's attention then turned to Whirl, who was knocked out from the explosion that the minibot caused and he had some chest damage to boot.

"By the shadow of the Underbase! Did I do that?!"
The minibot asked in terror as he saw the damage he did to Whirl.

"Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm. He's de…he's de…he's de…he's dead! I killed him!"

The minibot said in a panicked tone before passing out from the damage he had sustained while he was down in the hole that Rewind, Ratchet and Chromedome found him in.

"This is turning into a very odd day."
Rewind said as Ratchet went over to look at the state of the minibot they had just found.

"Whoever he is, he's just had a massive panic attack. He did mention the launch; I'll fix him up as soon as we're on board the Lost Light. This will probably sound like a bad idea, but we'd best bring Whirl along with us too. We can't risk him being…well, anywhere really."
Ratchet said as he made a judgement call on both Whirl and the minibot that they had found.

-EARTH-

-Special Administrative Zone of Japan-

"Lelouch!"
Euphemia shouted out to Lelouch as she got on her knees to check on her brother.

"Stop it! Stop giving me your pity! Spare me your charity! This is something that I need to do on my own. With that in mind, I shall now stain your hands with blood Euphemia Li Britannia!"
Lelouch said in full rage as he slightly shoved Euphemia away from him and was acting very erratic as he was about to enact his plan using his geass on Euphemia.

"That's no longer my name for I have renounced it!"
Euphemia shouted to Lelouch. This was a bombshell that Lelouch was not expecting and the geass sigil in his left eye disappeared upon hearing Euphemia's declaration.

"There will be an announcement by the homeland any day now, but I have renounced my claim for the throne."
Euphemia said to Lelouch as she got back on his feet as she stood right up in defiance of not her brother, but of Zero.

"But why, it isn't because you have accepted Zero is it?"
Lelouch asked Euphemia as he was still trying to process what he just heard.

"Of course it has, I have to pay the price for doing something as selfish as I did. Those are the consequences of my actions."
Euphemia said to Lelouch which took him back after hearing that Euphemia has accepted him as Zero.

"Yes, I take it that it wasn't difficult for you to give that up for my sake. Is that correct Euphy?"
Lelouch asked Euphemia which drew out a slight chuckle out of Euphemia for what Lelouch asked her.

"You're still conceited as ever Lelouch, but I did this for Nunnaly's sake."
Euphemia said to Lelouch as he was surprised that she revealed that all of this was for Nunnaly, Lelouch's younger sister and the one person that Lelouch genuinely cared for.

"She told me that herself. "All I want is to be with my big brother and nothing else in return"."
Euphemia said to Lelouch as she recalled her conversation with Nunnaly during the school festival where they shared a cup of tea.

"For…for that petty reason?"
Lelouch asked Euphemia as he was trying to deduce the logic behind Euphemia's actions.

"That's right Lelouch, that's how I've made my decision. This is what made me take a step back and figure out what was most important to me in life. Don't you see, I'm not giving up anything that has any worth to me. As far as you go, you can rest easy in knowing that I won't tell anyone about you."
Euphemia said to Lelouch as he took a moment to calm down after the numerous bombshells that Euphemia dished out to him. Lelouch had to laugh not at Euphemia, but at what Cornelia could have possibly been thinking if she had heard what Euphemia said to him.

"And what of Cornelia?"
"It's not like we will never see each other again."
Euphemia said to Lelouch in a follow up to Lelouch's question about how Cornelia is going to take the news that will soon be delivered.

"Euphy, you are indeed a fool, an amazing fool at that."
Lelouch said to Euphemia as he was bit envious, but proud of his little siter for what she did to him.

"I know I'm not as smart as you are Lelouch. When it comes to games and studies, you've got me dead to rights, however…"
Euphemia said to Lelouch as there was still a part of her that looks up to him as something to aspire to be, albeit under unconventional circumstances.

"Despite all of that, in your typical "Rush Euphy" style, you manage to end up winning it all in the end. When I look at you now, I don't see a sub-viceroy or a princess before me. All I see right now, is just plain little Euphy asking for help."
Lelouch said to Euphemia as this was a sign that his previous perception of Euphemia was turning into a false narrative that he created so that he could advance his plans for revenge.

"In that case, would you agree to help out plain little Euphy?"
Euphemia then asked Lelouch as she extended her hand out to him as a sign of peace. Before Lelouch could act however, he then noticed the hooded figure behind Euphemia. Euphemia then turned in shock to see the hooded figure as well and then got behind her older brother.

"Lelouch, Princess Euphemia, stay back…this person's presumed dangerous."
Mario said to Lelouch and Euphemia as he entered the control room of the G1 and got in front of the two of them.

"Mario Garfield, what are you doing here?"
Euphemia asked Mario as she was not expecting him to be in the G1 with both herself and Lelouch.

"Right now Euphy, I wouldn't complain about having some extra backup at the moment."
Lelouch said to Euphemia as he recognized the potential danger they were in from the hooded figure. The hooded figure reached into its cloak and thew three wrist bracers at Mario, Lelouch, and Euphemia. The bracers latched onto their left arms and became bonded to them.

…GENETIC SIGNATURE LOCKED, COMMENCING EVOFUSION…

"What the…what are you doing?!"
Lelouch asked the hooded figure of its intentions. Euphemia and Mario were struggling to get the bracers off of their arms, just like Lelouch was. The hooded figure then extended its right hand and a blue light began to emit from it.

"And now, the real journey begins my young champions."
The hooded figure said to the trio as the room became enveloped in a blue light.

-CYBERTRON-

-Bridge of the Lost Light-

"Red Alert wants to talk to you Hot Rod. Something about Ratchet bring a "weapon of mass destruction" on board?"
Drift said to Hot Rod as he received a call from Red Alert about Ratchet bringing Whirl on board the Lost Light.

"It can wait Drift; it's time that we set off."
Hot Rod said to Drift as he was prepared to launch the Lost Light and begin their quest to find the Knights of Cybertron.

"Incoming call from Bumblebee, you want to take it Hot Rod?"
Ultra Magnus asked Hot Rod as Bumblebee was hailing the Lost Light in a final hope of convincing Hot Rod to stay behind and help rebuild Cybertron.

"All hands on deck, prepare for takeoff."
Hot Rod said as he ordered the Lost Light to take off and leave Cybertron. As the Lost Light was making its initial ascent from Cybertron, Prowl and Bumblebee were watching on like many other Cybertronians to see what was going to happen next.

"I thought you said you had a plan?"
Bumblebee said to Prowl in a curious tone as the Lost Light was set on its course to prepare for a quantum jump. From that moment, two worlds were about to collide, and no one even had it in their minds to even register the events that were about to occur. On Cybertron, everyone seemingly witnessed the Lost Light exploding right in front of them. On Earth, a giant pillar of light burst through the roof of the G1 command center. This light sent Lelouch, Mario, and Euphemia off to the world of the Transformers where they will be among them, not as humans but as Cybertronians.

-EARTH-

-Special Administrative Zone of Japan-

Everyone in attendance at the ceremony saw the massive beam of light that came from the G1 command center. The citizens dropped down and covered their eyes, as did most of the Britannian soldiers that were guarding the stadium as well. Far off in the distance, the Black Knights were able to see the light and were stunned by disbelief at what they were seeing. This feeling was mutual to the Britannians as they couldn't even process what was happening at that moment. The light then vanished as quickly as it appeared so that everyone could gather their bearings as to what had just transpired.

"Status report, is everyone alright?"
Darlton asked one of the soldiers in the area. Despite them being "Elevens" in their eyes, their safety had to take top priority in this instance.

"Yes my lord, it appears as if everyone in and around the stadium are unharmed."
The soldier answer backed to Darlton. This was a massive relief from not just the Britannian's prespective, but for the Black Knights as no one in and around the stadium was harmed.

"Did everyone just see that?!"
Tamaki asked his fellow Black Knights a question that was borderline rhetorical but warranted given the circumstances.

"How could we have not seen it."
Ohgi said to Tamaki as he was still trying to come to terms at what he just saw.

"It appears as if everyone in and around the stadium are unharmed. Also worth noting that the Britannians are just as confused as we are with what just transpired."
Tohdoh said to his fellow Black Knights as he was looking at the broadcast from his heads-up display.

"That's good to hear, but what about Zero and Princess Euphemia? What's their status?"
Kallen asked Tohdoh as he was continuing to monitor the live feed. The reporters were getting their bearings together as they were about to resume their broadcast. All across the planet, every nation saw the blue light that emanated from Area 11 and not just from the live broadcast. Every citizen around the world was both in awe and in confusion as to what just happened over in Area 11.

"Ugh…what just happened?"
Suzaku said as he woke up after being knocked out by C.C. Suzaku was slow to get to his feet, but he was helped up by Andreas Darlton after he saw him wake up.

"Glad to have you back in one-piece Major Kururugi. No one in or around the stadium was harmed after what just transpired."
Darlton said to Suzaku as there was a sigh of relief from the young Knight. After hearing about the general public, his mind then shifted towards Euphemia.

"Wait a minute…where's Princess Euphemia?"
Suzaku asked Darlton as he then noticed the state of the G1 command base. Both Suzaku and Darlton saw the ring of smoke coming from the roof of the command deck.

"No, no, no, no, no!"
Suzaku said in a terrified tone as both he and Darlton rushed up to the command deck. Kallen made a judgment call and rushed towards the special zone at breakneck speed.

"Kallen, where are you going?!"
Ohgi asked Kallen as she stormed out from her position.

"Zero was in that thing too, we've got to know if he survived!"
Kallen said with a panicked tone in her voice. Kallen switched off all the weapons on her knightmare frame, the Gurren Mk II, and blew right by the Britannian forces. The Britannian forces were still in shock from the beam of light as they didn't even notice Kallen scream right past them. Kallen parked her knightmare frame next to Zero's and she jumped out from her cockpit to the command deck of the G1. When Suzaku, Kallen, and Darlton arrived on the scene, the only thing they could see was Zero's mask and the stench of burning metal.

"Princess Euphemia…Zero…they're gone…"
Darlton said in a bit of a defeated tone as it was starting to settle in that they had simply vanished from the area. Suzaku dropped to his knees as he was afraid that he had just lost the one person he cared about more than anything in this world. Kallen, despite having the same fear in her eyes, saw that there was a third set of footprints that was in the same place where Zero and Euphemia were.

"Wait…was there a third person that came into the G1?"
Kallen asked Suzaku and Darlton as she inspected the footprints, which were visible as daylight. Suzaku then remembered that Mario was chasing down a hooded individual that sneaked on board the G1.

"Mario…Mario said that he was in pursuit of a trespasser that was in the area. Did he get…"
Suzaku said to Kallen as he and Darlton saw the third set of footprints.

"Three people just gone in a flash of light…that's just impossible, I don't believe it!"
Darlton said to Suzaku and Kallen as he was starting to bottle up some anger over what just happened. As the smoke was starting to clear up, Kallen saw that there was something in Zero's mask that wasn't there before.

"Hey guys, I think I got something here."
Kallen said to Suzaku and Darlton as they moved in behind her to see what was in Zero's mask.

"Is that…a model spaceship or something?"
Suzaku asked Kallen as she plucked the spaceship out from Zero's mask, which was too hot to handle at the moment.

"Doesn't look like anything I've seen before and why was it in Zero's mask to begin with?"
Darlton asked Suzaku and Kallen, hoping to get their opinions on it. Kallen was inspecting the ship to see if there were any sort of secret compartments in it, like a dead drop on spy missions. While the trio was investigating, the titantrons around the stadium started to change their picture from the live feed that was being presented to the public. To the sight of an unfamiliar planet to everyone.

"My lord, you need to come and see this."
Suzaku said to Darlton as both he and Kallen came up next to Suzaku and they saw what everyone else is seeing.

-ELSEWHERE-

The Lost Light had emerged from its quantum jump to the unknown planet. Back on Earth, everyone was in shock to see a spaceship seemingly heading for a collision course with the planet. What happened next, however, was going to change everything that they thought they know.

"Would someone please explain to me what just happened? Perceptor? Mainframe? Highbrow? Anyone, come on!"
Hot Rod said as most of the Autobots on board the ship was struggling to regain their composure after the quantum jump. The ship's siren was going off and all systems were going haywire.

"We quantum jumped before we were ready! We've just hopped halfway across the galaxy and we're flying blind. I'm sorry Hot Rod, but I don't know why!"
Mainframe said to Hot Rod as he and Highbrow were hard at work trying to regain the Lost Light's systems.

"Damage report?"
Hot Rod asked Mainframe and Highbrow for an update as temperatures in the ship were rising.

"One of the rear thrusters exploded, deck 6 is in flames and…oh no."
Highbrow said to Hot Rod as he was assessing the damages to the Lost Light and had just picked up something that drew heavy concern from Hot Rod.

"What? What is it?"
"We've got a hull breach! One of the hangars on the upper decks."

Highbrow said to Hot Rod as we see multiple Autobots being flung from the ship where the breach was located. As the ship was diving down to the planet below, Mainframe managed to make the repairs needed on time before the ship crashed.

"Resealing…now, structural integrity restored. Heat shields in place, Hot Rod?"
Mainframe said to Hot Rod as he was looking to the captain for their next set of orders.

"Set us down, we're not going anywhere until we figure out why the quantum engines malfunctioned."
Hot Rod said as Mainframe and Highbrow regained control of the ship and put it in a controlled descent.

"Sensors are indicating that we're missing Fizzle, Polaris, Waverider, Hyperion, Rad…we're 40 'bots down all told. They've must have been…the breach must have…"
Drift said to Hot Rod as he was reading out the missing Autobots who fell out from the breach. There was also concern in Drift's voice that the Autobots were deemed lost.

"They're not dead, I'll tell you that now Drift. No one dies on my watch, not this time. As soon as we touch down, we'll find them, we'll fix them, and we're going to get back on track. We'll make sure that this day is a good day."
Hot Rod said to Drift as he was determined to save all of the Autobots that flew out from the hull breach. Once the Lost Light touched down onto the planet, Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus went outside of the ship to look for any signs of the missing Autobots.

"Big place, where should we start?"
Hot Rod asked Ultra Magnus as he took in the surroundings of the planet they were on.

"How about over there?"
"Wait, under the meteor shower?"
Ultra Magnus asked Hot Rod as he pointed to the sky to see what the latter thought of as a meteor shower.

"That's not a meteor shower. That's Fizzle, Polaris, Waverider, Hyperion, Rad…they're burning up as they enter the atmosphere."
Ultra Magnus said to Hot Rod as he pointed out that the "meteor shower" was in fact the Autobots that were sucked out from the hull breach.

"Not a good start…OK let's get to work, rev up and roll out!"
Hot Rod said to Ultra Magnus as both he and Magnus changed into their respective alt modes of a Cybertronian sports car and a Cybertronian car carrier. The two commanding Autobots set off to begin the search for their comrades while the rest of the crew makes the repairs to the Lost Light.

-THE LOST LIGHT-

-Cargo Hold-

We find three Cybertronians laid out in the cargo hold after the quantum jump accident. These three were not initially part of the 208 listed in the crew manifest, but that was about to change. These three Cybertronians were in fact: Lelouch, Euphemia, and Mario from their Earth and they were about to wake up to a world they couldn't even have predicted being in.

"Ugh…I-I feel like someone just went and dropped a mountain on me."
Lelouch said as he was starting to stir from his slumber. Mario was the next to wake up, but he was also feeling the pain that Lelouch was feeling as well.

"Well…at the very least we're not dead, so that's something…ow!"
Mario said to Lelouch as he held the back of his head. Euphemia was the next to wake up and she was feeling like she had one too many drinks after a lavish Britannian party that she was forced to attend to.

"Blegh…that was one of the worst…gulp…trips I've ever been on."
Euphemia said as she was feeling disoriented after the experience that the trio went through. As Lelouch sat up and catches his breath, he then took a look at his right hand. It was at this point he figured out that it was no longer flesh and bone, but of cold steel and servos. A rush of fear quickly came over Lelouch as he saw what he had become.

"My-my hands…"
Lelouch said in horror as he then let out a shriek that caught Euphemia and Mario's attention to see what he had become. It was in that moment, that they looked at each other saw that it wasn't just Lelouch that became a "living robot", but Euphemia and Mario were just like Lelouch, albeit with different designs that made them distinct from each other. Lelouch had details like a futuristic cop car, Mario's details were like a futuristic fire truck, and Euphemia had details like a futuristic fast response car for a hospital.

"What in the hell happened to us?!"

Mario said as he looked at his reflection on the metal surface of a wall in the cargo hold.

"This defies all rules of both logic and nature, I'm sorry but I can't seem to find an explanation for all of this."
Lelouch said to Mario as he was still taking in his new form. Euphemia looked up to a symbol that was on one of the containers in the cargo hold. Unlike Lelouch and Maro, who were still freaking out over what they had become, Euphemia was putting the pieces together and figuring out what happened to them as well as where they are now.

"Lelouch, Mario…does this symbol here mean anything to the two of you?"
Euphemia asked Lelouch and mario who turned to face the container that Euphemia was look at. All three of them saw the insignia of the Autobots and it was in that moment that disbelief set in for Mario and Lelouch.

"You have got to be kidding me…"
Lelouch said as he saw the Autobot insignia. Mario just stood there with his jaw wide open, and Euphemia was just as surprised as both Lelouch and Mario.

So, the adventure begins, and this was perhaps one of the longest openings I've ever done. I got into this project after listening to the audio dramas of More Than Meets the Eye done by StarForce Media as well as re-reading Code Prime by Iron117Prime. To answer a few questions right off the bat: 1. I chose the name "Hot Rod" over "Rodimus" because I felt like that name was more appropriate for him since he's no longer a holder of the Matrix of Leadership, 2. Tailgate's backstory, which I omitted here, will be told around turn 3 (adapting Issue 3 of MTMTE), 3. The designs for Lelouch, Euphemia, and Mario's Cybertronian forms will be based on GoShooter, Cab, and Minerva from Super-God Masterforce and drawings I'm going to see get commissioned by Transformers artists. Gonna take some time before I get work on Stage 2 and until then, wanna make something of it?