Category: story

The next day, after breakfast, everyone gathered in the Gateway Room on Vorton. “Minna,” called Megumi, “I didn’t want to use this method as it always weirded me out, but it’s the best method we have on making our teams. Rusty, are the dimensional coordinates set for it?”

“All five have been programmed into it,” reported Rusty.

“Into what?” asked Galvatron.

“Oh, I’ve always wanted to play that!” giggled POmega.

“Gather in a circle, everyone,” called Megumi.

“Would someone please explain to the Goblin here,” called Bashoon, “what’s going on?”

“How about the newer Vortex Riders?” asked Barbara’s father, Henry Zhou.

“Or their kids?” quizzed Brittney.

“Oh, it’s that time, hm?” asked Flora.

“POmega, do it,” called Megumi.

“Everyone, it’s time for the old Roulette Reader!” cheered POmega. A circular trapdoor opened and revealed a screen with two arrows coming from the center. “This thing reads the dimensional coordinates, accounts for all dimensional data, and decides who is most qualified to go to a certain dimension! It was used during the Vortech Wars to help decide who would go with the Keystone Bearers when there was a seven-person limit on the Gateway! Everyone, it’s time for a bit of Visitor Chance!” Game show lights then flashed as holographic showgirls appeared and danced. The Gateway Pad was also flashing in different colors as the arrows spun around in different circles. “And the ones ready to go to Universe 8-3-N-1-0 are…!” called POmega. The arrows stopped at various people before turning again as POmega rattled off the names. “…Amelia!” A woman with a veil over her hair bowed and smiled. “…Arcee” Arcee gulped. “…Arsha!” Arsha chuckled. “…Charline!” A woman with the same color of skin as Fordelam nodded. “…Foresna!” Foresna smiled nervously. “…Galen!” Galen punched his hand in readiness. “…Glyph!” Glyph giggled and clapped her hands. “…Kaede!” Kaede adjusted her hat in confidence. “…Lisa!” Lisa smiled and showed her fangs. “…Lobstornias!” Lobstornias stroked his mustache. “…Megumi!” Megumi bowed in acceptance. “…Optimus!” Optimus smirked. “…Orbak!” Orbak checked the wheels of his chair before giving a thumbs-up. “…Rosadera!” Rosadera curtsied. “…Sandy!” Sandy adjusted her gloves. “…Shadow!” Shadow grunted and folded his arms across his chest. “…Sky Runner!” Sky Runner jumped excitedly. “…Sonic!” Sonic jogged in place with a smirk on his face. “…Sora!” Sora gulped. “…Torya!” Torya gave a thumbs up. “…Willmef!” Willmef cracked her knuckles. “…and Xiomara!” A woman in green put a reassuring hand on Sora’s shoulder.

“You’ll do fine, mi hijo,” she assured him.

“The team heading to T-H-0-M-4-5-4-N-D-F-R-1-3-N-D-5 will consist of…Amy!” Amy summoned her hammer and rested it on her shoulder. “…Azuliterii!” Azuliterii ran her hand through her hair. “…Blackarachnia!” Blackarachnia flexed her talons. “…Brittney!” Brittney checked her makeup in a pocket mirror. “…Daniel!” Daniel practiced his kicks and punches before adopting a ready stance. “…Emma!” Emma’s tail twitched as she smiled. “…Endram!” Endram adjusted his arms. “…Falnii!” Falnii took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “…Flora!” Flora gave a nervous smile. “…Glanthel!” Glanthel saluted. “…Goldbug!” Goldbug swung the Magnus Hammer before pointing it out in front of him. “…Hanako!” Hanako’s tails flicked. “…Hejema!” Hejema giggled in happiness. “…Irina!” A woman in blue and orange twirled before stopping and curtsying. “…Kaitlyn!” Kaitlyn winked in triumph. “…Kong!” Kong Primal pounded his chest and roared like his beast mode. “…Richard!” Richard pointed as if he was gonna make a home run. “…Sira!” Sira coyly fiddled with the ribbon of her hairpiece. “…Swalmu!” A man in a cloud dress, Flora’s husband and the father of their children, fanned himself. “…Teletraan!” Teletraan’s android body smirked. “…Thundercracker!” Thundercracker projected lightning between his hands. “…Wilson!” A Mobian Quokka, Katrina’s father and Amelia’s husband, gave a wide grin. “…And Yufantel!” Yufantel made a cloud ball and ran it along her arms.

“Something sounds familiar about that universe’s identifier string,” muttered Teletraan, “but I can’t put my code on it.

“The teammates for 4-D-R-3-X-1-4 will be…Bashoon!” Bashoon’s ears flapped. “…Cosmo!” Cosmo giggled. “…Dinara!” A woman in yellow, Michael and Irina’s daughter, gave a flirty look. “…Elmpam!” Elmpam wagged her tail. “…Emily!” Emily flicked her braid. “…Famine!” A gaunt woman with golden-yellow skin quickly polished off her bucket of popcorn before punching her hand. “…Firestorm!” Firestorm nodded in cocky amusement. “…Fitri!” Fitri spun around and smiled. “…Gabriella!” Gabriella did a small Flamenco Dance routine before she finished with a swish of her skirts. “…Geltar!” Geltar made a cocky smirk as she held her hand under her chin. “…Lacey!” Lacey adjusted the flower in her hair before smiling. “…Llyra!” Llyra flashed her claws and teeth. “…Malnar!” Malnar made a small fireball and held it aloft. “…Maria!” Maria pulled a wrench out of nowhere and twirled it. “…Moradelia!” Moradelia smiled and sighed contentedly. “…Natalie!” Natalie used her duster like a sword and made a few slashes. “…Override!” Override gunned her engine in Robot Mode. “…Palmarta!” Palmarta shimmied. “…Rojenthi!” Rojenthi punched the air. “…Rouge!” Rouge chuckled in her usual sultry manner. “…Scorpainia!” Scorpainia’s tail swished and stopped as the tip was above her head. “…Sophie!” Henry’s wife and Barbara’s mother, a short woman with white hair, clapped in approval. “…Trema!” Trema ran her fingers along her hat’s brim. “…And Verdutha!” Verdutha chuckled happily.

“It’s been a while since we visited them,” Moradelia told Rojenthi and Verdutha. Her teammates nodded in agreement.

“Heading to J-4-K-4-N-D-D-4-X-T-3-R are…Adam!” Adam twirled a pencil between his fingers. “…Brendan!” Jandro’s husband, a Vampire like him, stroked his dress’s skirts. “…Death!” Death spun her scythe. “…Delselii!” Delselii laughed like a certain Frankenstein monster from a certain sit-com. “…Eelinape!” Eelinape knelt and put his fist to the floor. “…Farmee!” Farmee checked his gloves and pearl necklace. “Frenzy!” A Decepticon of human height primed his gun and made a “come at me” pose. “…Galvatron!” Galvatron placed his hand over his Spark, then stood at attention. “…Gorfanth!” Gorfanth swished his tail and his ears flicked. “…Henry!” Henry adjusted his doctor’s coat. “…Jack!” Jack flashed his usual flirty grin. “…Jandro!” Jandro chuckled as he adjusted his hair-rose. “…Jason!” Jason saluted as his French dad, Emmanuel, would. “…Joshua!” Emily’s husband and Sam and Tom’s father, a man with a cravat and hat, adjusted his sleeves. “…Knuckles!” Knuckles banged his fists together. “…Lardeth!” Lardeth twirled before posing. “…Liam!” Liam sang a snatch of Loch Lomond. “…Megatron!” Megatron adopted a battle stance. “…Pofomo!” Pofomofo checked her nails in confidence. “…Hot Rod!” Hot Rod leveled his arms and aimed his pipes ahead of him. “…Sam!” Sam swung his katanas. “…Tails!” Tails smirked as he hovered in the air. “…And the Doctor!” The Doctor twirled her sonic screwdriver.

“Looks like a father-son mission, Dad,” mused Galvatron. Megatron nodded in pride.

“That leaves only Team T-M-N-T, consisting of…Agus” A Mobian Komodo Dragon man, Lacey’s husband and Emma’s dad, checked his claws. “…Barbara!” Barbara giggled happily. “…Elgrad!” Elgrad puffed his chest up. “…Endea!” Endea clapped happily at her next new universe. “…Fordelam!” Fordelam smirked and put his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. “…Hiroki!” Hiroki bowed in the usual Japanese manner. “…Jazz!” Jazz did the Michael Jackson Lean. “…Katrina!” Katrina’s tail twitched in nervousness. “…Laserbeak!” Another small Decepticon polished his armor. “…Leemii!” Leemii smirked as she curtsied. “…Michael!” Michael drew his sword and swished it. “…Nightbird!” Nightbird twirled her Sai. “…Pestilence!” A green woman with warts all over her body aside from her head then fluffed her skirt before folding her arms across her chest. “…Ravage!” The last small Decepticon, modeled after a humanoid panther, then twirled his guns before chuckling. “…Shade!” Shade winked and made a cute pose. “…Shockwave!” Shockwave checked her wrist computer, then adopted a ready stance. “…Silver!” Silver floated in the air thanks to his psychokinesis. “…Sweemar!” Sweemar adjusted her hair before smiling. “…Teefmanam!” Teefmanam adjusted her headset before striking her usual greeting pose when she streams. “…Tom!” Sam’s brother, a police officer, checked his gun before nodding in readiness. “…Twaldar!” A male Elf, Charline’s husband and Fordelam’s father, raised a rock from the floor and punched it into dust. “…And War!” An orange-skinned woman with battle scars all over her body and face then roared before drawing a large sword and leveling it at an invisible enemy.

“We have our teams now,” said Megumi. “It’s time to decide who the leader of each team is.”

“Do we?” asked Katrina.

“Katrina, sweetie,” said Amelia, “I know the implications don’t sit well with you, but this is a time of war. We need to have a command structure.”

“Those that wish to lead, remain where you are,” directed Megumi. “Everyone else, you may leave.” The ones who threw their hats into the ring were Arsha, Lobstornias, Megumi, Optimus, Shadow, Sonic, Endram, Goldbug, Kong, Richard, Emily, Fitri, Geltar, Llyra, Malnar, Brendan, Farmee, Galvatron, Megatron, Hot Rod, the Doctor, Hiroki, Jazz, Leemii, Ravage, Silver, and Tom. The Roulette Reader spun its arrows and rested.

“Team 1 will be led by…Megumi!” cheered POmega. “Team 2’s leader is…Richard! Team 3 will have…Emily as leader! Team 4 will be commanded by…Farmee! And Team 5 will have…Hiroki as leader!”

“With that,” called Megumi, “here’s the plan; each team will go to Vorton to be deployed to their universe. They then do what they can to get their respective Flourishment Horseman and Source. Once done, the next team will be deployed the next day. While that team is away, the rest of us will help in reconstruction. We can’t afford to leave the Horsemen of Flourishment to Khan and his forces. We HAVE to save them.”

Optimus and Arsha were the first to beam down. The instant she saw them, Megumi dashed towards them with a big, fat grin on her face. Optimus transformed and activated his holo-mode in time for her to tackled him and Arsha into a hug. “I’ve missed you guys so much!” she cheered.

“We missed you too!” replied Arsha.

“It’s been way too long,” remarked Optimus. They stayed in their embrace for a bit. After a while, they broke it off

“How did you guys figure out we were in trouble?” asked Megumi as the trio got up.

“Entirely by accident, actually,” replied Arsha. “Optimus and his friends and family visited…or rather, crashed into my castle in Largandra.”

“I was feeling nostalgic,” explained Optimus, “and Shockwave and Tails had the tech needed to make our own gateway.”

“…Shockwave AND Tails?” asked Megumi. “Why did you need Shockwave in the first place?”

“Well, she had the data and Tails had the equipment, so we combined the two.”

“Why was she considered at all?”

“…Oh yeah, I didn’t tell you yet, just Arsha. Well, the war’s over.”

“I see.” There was a small silence as Megumi processed what Optimus said. When she did, her eyes widened in shock. “Hold on? The war?! Your war with Megatron?! As in…properly over?! But that’s-!”

“I know.”

“W-When?! How?!”

“It was 50 years ago in our universe. We just fought against our god and destroyer and freed their gods. By then, all thoughts of civil war were gone.”

“B-But the Autobots and Decepticons have always been at war! That’s like saying there’s no more blue or the weather’s stopped! …Who won?” Optimus took in a breath before he explained.

“Officially, both factions got sick of fighting one another over a long-forgotten reason. Unofficially, the Autobots won after I beat Megatron in single combat.”

“…I…I see.”

“It’s better if you get the full story,” said Arsha. “Why don’t we have everyone brought down and we can explain.”

While Megumi reconnected with Optimus and Arsha, Sonavok and Ziddet were aboard the Imperium, outside Khan’s throne room. They were panicking beyond belief. The Beyond City Mission wasn’t supposed to end in failure. One of the throne room guards looked like he was about to squee in fanboyish glee. “Hey, I know this is a little awkward,” he said, “but…can I have your autograph?”

“Not! The time!” hissed Ziddet. The two terrified Lords then drew in a breath and projected confidence. They entered the throne room.

“Greetings, Friend Au…oh,” Sonavok’s confidence died when he saw the lighting was red instead of Borg green. “…Going for a new aesthetic, huh?” he gulped. Ziddet was starting to perspire in fear. In the flashes of light, she could see Khan sitting on the throne with the open Tome on one of the armrests, just under his forearm.

“I…er…” she then cleared her throat. “My Author, despite this-”

“So, Sonavok, Ziddet,” interrupted Khan, “you know Drake, yes?” He indicated the guard that let them in.

“…Y-Yes, the whole Collective knows him,” gulped Sonavok.

“He’s a real big fan of yours, he never misses your mission reports.”

“I-Is that a f-fact?” stammered Ziddet.

“He was just telling me about what happened this afternoon. The reason we lost Beyond City so quickly. You two didn’t notice a Zephyr woman, a Chizaran Princess, and a version of Knuckles the Echidna strike at the ground vinculum outside the school, thus letting them upload a virus to the Collective that tricked our forces into thinking it was time to regenerate, then the power net of each ship built up in a feedback loop, thus…well…boom.”

“My Author, we can explain!” urged Sonavok. Khan then looked at the passage he wrote in the Tome and read it aloud.

“‘The instant Khan shouted ‘enough’, Sonavok and Ziddet’s Agonizers switched on and introduced them to mirror-universe pain for a good minute.’” He then shut the Tome.

“My Author, WAIT!” cried Ziddet.

“ENOUGH!” shouted Khan as he stood up. The instant Khan shouted “enough”, Sonavok and Ziddet’s Agonizers switched on and introduced them to mirror-universe pain for a good minute. Once the treatment ended, Khan grabbed them by their throats and hoisted them up above his head. “You idiots had that universe in the palm of your hand and you let Megumi’s friends RESCUE THEM!” He tightened his grip. “I cannot BEGIN to express my disappointment in you!”

“M-Mercy!” choked Sonavok. “N-Nother…chance!” Khan tossed the two Lords into a web he had created earlier. Mechanical spiders held them down as they caught their breath.

“You two will be reassigned as transport drones and you will NOT be consulted for finding the Sources of Flourishment!” declared Khan.

“But if we’re not helping,” protested Ziddet, “then who?!”

“Take a wild guess,” said a new voice. Five figures could be seen in the light flashes.

Optimus and Megumi finished the story of what happened in their respective universes and Arsha was talking about the Final War to everyone. Richard locked eyes with Megatron and nodded his head in one direction. Megatron followed him. They found a private spot and sat to talk. “So,” began Richard, “you changed.”

“I’d like to think so,” rumbled Megatron.

“Both you and Arsha committed Deicide.”

“Looks that way.”

“…Megatron, you gotta understand-”

“Here we go!”

“What Optimus said you did, the fact that you got the Decepticons to put aside their differences in the long run, the way you used Starscream’s ambitions to Cybertron’s ends instead of his, the fact that you willingly fused with Optimus to become Optronix Prime to save your universe, and the mission you took to save Gaia’s moms and your universe’s creators, that can’t be overlooked. Your actions saved your people, your universe. But, before that, you used my wife as a bargaining chip, you sided with our greatest enemy, and you encouraged discord among your allies. That’s not something that can be overlooked.”

“You want me to apologize for my actions. We both know it’s a little late for that. I was conducting a war and Hiro offered Dr. Borg and I a chance to wipe out our enemies. I believed it to be in the Decepticons’ interests if we allied with him and eventually took over. Look, my son is leading the Decepticons, and I’ve retired from that life. I’ve served my sentence for my war crimes and I don’t seek further animosity between us. What I want is to see the multiverse on my terms.”

“…Okay.”

“…Okay what?”

“We’ll work together to weather this crisis.”

“Then why didn’t you just say that?!”

“Because, originally, I pulled you here to tell you to slag off back to your universe!” Megatron arched an eyebrow at that. “Just know this, I’m giving you a chance because it looks like no one else outside your universe will. So, if you let us down, if you fall back on the ways that symbol on your chest stood for, you could save the multiverse a hundred times over and it won’t make a difference to me. Basically, screw up and I demolish you.” Megatron stared at Richard for a bit, then guffawed.

“Still the same Richard Saunders, even after he lost his job! I admire that! …Very well, it looks like we have our terms.”

“All right, let’s get back to the others.” The two then returned as Arsha was finishing up.

“…so, after all that, my spouses and I raised 18 beautiful children, three of them choosing to come along.” Her attention was then grabbed by Richard and Megatron returning. “Is everything all right?” she asked.

“Fine,” said Richard. “What’s the next move here?”

“We were hoping Anansi would tell us,” replied Megumi, “but he’s not here.”

“Try again,” called a voice. Everyone looked up to see Anansi on the ceiling. As they gasped, he dropped to the floor. “So, want to know what Khan is? What he wants? Well, I will tell you. Years ago, I worked with a version of Khan, an evil duplicate who conquered his version of Earth. He then crossed the rift and found Khan when he was just a fanboy writing fanfic. After I gave him the Weaver Driver, I trained him as my student, but then I told him about the Tome. He took control of the Borg guarding it and made them into his servants, the Lords. He went against his own parents and discovered he could remove evil and become the god of a new multiverse. To do that, though, he needs the Time Amethyst, the Mirror of Reality, and the Master Wand to make a clock symbol to place on the Tome to help him rewrite history. After that, he needs the Sources of Flourishment and the Apocalypse to help him determine how each element will work for his new universes.”

“The only Sources I know are the Sources of the Apocalypse, those crystal spheres the Horsemen of the Apocalypse hid in different universes,” remarked Megumi. “What are the Sources of Flourishment?”

“That, I can answer,” whispered Death. “The Sources of Flourishment belong to our opposite Horsemen; they are Life, Health, Bounty, Peace, and Order. They are our sisters and exist as balances for us. They used to live with us, but Lacey’s predecessor, the original Chaos, was thrown into the Void by Lord Vortech. Because of that, we needed a new Horseman of Chaos. After the original Chaos died, the Horsemen of Flourishment left in grief, with Order taking it the hardest.”

“They could be anywhere,” muttered Megatron.

“No, actually, we have their dimensional coordinates,” replied Death. “Life is in 8-3-N-1-0, Bounty is in T-H-0-M-4-5-4-N-D-F-R-1-3-N-D-5, Health is in J-4-K-4-N-D-D-4-X-T-3-R, Peace is in 4-D-R-3-X-1-4, and Order is in T-M-N-T.”

“All right, then there’s one thing we need to do!” declared Megumi. “We can’t afford to send everyone to the same universe, so we’ll divide into teams! Everyone, meet on Vorton for Team Assignments.”

“And we better train for Transcendant use,” Optimus suggested to Arsha.

“That’s right,” agreed Arsha. “We’re gonna need Kamen Rider Vortex: Trinity Soul for this one.” Megumi winced.

“About that…” she said. She then pulled out an oblong device with the Vortex Driver’s Ride Wheel on each side. Ordinarily, it would open to fit with the main Ride Wheel, but there was a problem. It was cracked, charred, and bent!

“What happened?!” yelped Optimus.

“It was during a mission in Gotham,” explained Megumi. “The Justice League had discovered that someone from the Joker’s old gang gained access to Ra’s al Ghul’s Lazarus Pit and dumped the Joker’s body in there. Somehow, it hadn’t decayed all that much and the Joker came back to life, stronger and crazier than ever.” Arsha shuddered.

“I remember that demon clown!” she gulped. “Him and that Smylex of his!”

“Since the Joker died before the Transcendant was built, I figured I’d catch him off guard. The thing is it only worked because of your three. When I tried to use it by myself, it sparked wildly and flew off my Vortex Driver in the state you see it now. We still beat him back with the Justice League’s help. My team has been trying to fix it, but they’re hitting a wall here.”

“We’ve got our own scientists,” offered Optimus. “They can help.”

“And maybe some magic can help things along,” suggested Arsha.

“Thanks, you two. Right now, we’d be sunk without you.” Megumi hugged them again, then turned to address everyone. “All right, everyone, report to Vorton tomorrow for team assignments. There’s an old method we need to use.”

“…Old method?” asked Megatron.

It took every technically minded person a full two hours to make the virus. Once done, Tails approached them. “All right, we’re ready,” he said to Optimus, Sonic, Arsha, Rosadera, Megatron, and Galvatron.

“We still need to make our strike team,” remarked Galvatron.

“The Borg tend to ignore small groups unless that group attacks them,” said Optimus. “A two- or three-person team should do the trick.”

“And it should consist of people that are smaller than us,” remarked Megatron.

“Then that leaves me, Sonic, and Rosadera,” declared Arsha.

“We can’t go down there unless it’s cleared of Borg,” said Rosadera. “We’re the leaders. If they assimilate us, we’re all hosed. Besides, Azuliterii’s better with computers than I am.”

“Well, I’m not sending my family down there!” snarled Sonic. “And the Enterprise needs Shadow on the bridge!”

“…What about Knuckles?” asked Optimus. “His punches should break through Borg armor no sweat.”

“If he and Rouge are up for it, then that’s a perfect idea.”

“What about Liam?” asked Galvatron.

“He’s needed on the Virginia,” said Arsha.

“I’m going,” said a voice. It was Teefmanam!

“Out of the question!” protested Arsha.

“Arsha, with all due respect, that’s not your call to make.”

“Teefmanam, no! This isn’t one of the games you stream! If Lardeth is forced to bury you-!”

“Arsha, my mind is made up! I’m going whether you approve or not!” Arsha looked to her friends for help.

“Azuliterii will protect her,” assured Rosadera. “You have my word.”

“…Lardeth’s gonna kill me if you die, THEN he’s gonna divorce me!” groaned Arsha.

“Neither will happen, I promise,” said Teefmanam.

An hour later, after Azuliterii, Teefmanam, and Knuckles were assembled and briefed on how the plan would go, the three of them gathered in the Gateway Room. Rusty keyed in the coordinates. “All set,” she reported. “Opening a rift.”

“Away we go,” said Azuliterii. The rift opened and the team jumped in.

Back at After Academy, Megumi headed to her bike. She fastened her Vortex Driver and inserted her i.d tag into it. “Henshin,” she announced, and she spun the wheel. She became Kamen Rider Royal and mounted her bike.

“No,” said Richard’s voice.

“We’ve discussed this already,” replied Royal.

“It’s a suicide run! The Lords are still Borg!”

“I can take out as many as I can. Besides, we can’t die.”

“Yeah, but you can still be assimilated!”

“Richard, my mind is made up!” Royal gunned the engine.

“Our kids still need you!” Royal’s fingers stopped before they wrapped around the throttle.

“…Our daughters are independent,” she sighed. “Believe it or not, they no longer need me. They’re grown, capable fighters.”

“Megumi, please! Don’t leave me!” Royal declined her head.

“…Our daughters’ freedom is more important than mine. …Be strong for me.” She twisted the throttle and sped off. She went through the shield wall and met with a wall of Lords firing on the school.

“THERE SHE IS!” called a Lord. “OPEN FIRE! STUN ONLY!” The Lords fired their disruptors. Royal’s bike projected shields, but they wouldn’t last long. She went faster and burst through the ranks, causing Lords to be scattered into the air. She then turned the bike sideways and skidded to a stop, dragging her foot along the road as a means of braking. The Lords charged and Royal summoned her sword, converted it to rifle mode, and fired as long as she could before the Lords got too close and she had to switch it back to sword mode.

While the fight was going on, Knuckles and his team headed to the ground vinculum. Azuliterii began keying in commands. “Come on, don’t let there be so many redundant safeguards!” she muttered. Teefmanam then looked over.

“Uh oh, some of them are getting wise!” she warned.

“That’s our cue!” said Knuckles as he banged his fists together. As the Lords opened fire, Teefmanam fired her wand while Knuckles threw different projectiles. A few of the Lords were hit. One of the ones still standing looked over his fallen comrade, then his face contorted in rage.

“You killed Amanda!” he snarled as he looked at Teefmanam. “I will make you suffer for that!”

“She’s not dead!” said a lightly armored Lord. “She’s just damaged! She needs repairs in her alcove!”

“Get her there now!” ordered the distressed Lord.

“Am I hearing that right?!” called Azuliterii. “The Borg are using individual pronouns?!”

“Never mind that!” urged Knuckles. Just then, Azuliterii cheered.

“It’s done!” At that, the Lords realized that a new command came through.

“We can’t be THAT low on power!” argued one.

“It doesn’t matter, we all need to regenerate,” replied the Strike Commander. The Lords then ceased firing and beamed up to their Cube.

“Optimus, the virus is working! Repeat, the virus is working!” Teefmanam called.

“Roger that,” replied Optimus’ voice. “Get to the school and hide out there. We’re on our way.” The call then ended.

Royal continued swinging her sword into the Lords. She was beginning to tire. “What’s the matter, Princess?” taunted a Lord woman. “Can’t lift your sword?”

“Too many crumpets slowing you down?” taunted a Lord man.

“Still strong enough to stop you!” panted Royal. Just then, a call came through for the Lords.

“…Aw!” complained the woman. “We were having fun!”

“No matter,” sighed the man. “We gotta go.” The Lords then beamed out.

“…Eh?!” asked Royal. She then got a call.

“Megumi! Megumi, please respond!” begged the caller, her husband.

“I’m all right, Richard,” replied Megumi. “Just…confused.”

“Oh, thank the Chizarans!” sighed Richard happily. “Megumi, there’s been a drastic reduction in Lord ground troops! They all beamed up!”

“Well, I’m not complaining. “I’m heading back. Maybe we can get some-”

“WHOA!”

“Richard! Richard, are you-!”

“Azuliterii just popped in with one of Swalmu’s people and a version of Knuckles!”

“Azuliterii?! I’m DEFINITELY on my way!” Royal mounted her bike and sped off.

Royal got back behind the school’s walls and met Azuliterii and her companions. She transformed back into Megumi and hugged the Chizaran. “It’s been way too long!” she said.

“You’re not kidding,” agreed Azuliterii. The embrace broke off, then Azuliterii bonked Megumi on the head. “That stunt, on the other hand, we ALL could have done without!”

“Richard!” hissed Megumi, guessing who told her. “I did what I needed to do!”

“Throwing away your freedom like that is NEVER an acceptable solution! Not when the Virginia needs you!”

“…B…But the Virginia’s orbiting Vorton and we’ve engaged the Knightfall Protocols.”

“There were people, two that you know, that got wise to the Borg invading.”

“…No way!”

“They wanted to visit you. They can’t do that if you’re assimilated.”

“Why did everyone go back to their ships?” Sonavok demanded a Cardassian Lord woman, Ziddet.

“It looks like a good chunk of our forces,” she replied, “were told to report to their alcoves for regeneration.”

“All of them?”

“Only the Juggernaut and Imperium are unaffected.”

“…Hold on, something’s speaking through the hive mind. Let me hear it.” Ziddet keyed in a command on the nearby console and a voice crackled to life.

“Nine. Eight. Seven. Six,” droned the voice. Sonavok and Ziddet then realized what that countdown was all about when they detected power net buildups in the affected ships.

“GET OUT!” Sonavok shouted through both the hive mind and out loud. “GET OUT OF THERE!” He could feel the drones disconnecting from their alcoves, but it was too little, too late. The Lord fleet exploded, leaving only the Imperium and Juggernaut to weather the explosions.

“Optimus made that virus?!” asked Megumi

“He suggested the parameters,” corrected Azuliterii. “Speaking of which…” she then made a call. “Strike team to Vorton, the Borg threat is lessened! Repeat, the Borg lost too many drones for them!”

“Just enough for us!” cheered Optimus on the other end. “We’re on our way!” A fleet-sized rift then opened and the Virginia led the fleet into the universe.

“Dammit! Optimus and Arsha made it!” groaned Sonavok.

“We have to fight back!” urged Ziddet. “I’ll rally our remaining-!”

“Hey, Ziddet, Sonavok,” called a Bajoran Lord woman, “the Author wants to see you as we retreat.” Sonavok and Ziddet’s blood ran cold.

The remainder of the Lord fleet entered their own rift and abandoned Beyond City. Everyone cheered as the enemy fled. A call then came through. “This is Optimus Prime, requesting permission on behalf of the Ark, Enterprise, and Nemesis to beam down.”

“This is Arsha Royana, Queen of the Realms, requesting the same permission on behalf of the Endeavor and Glanthelantir,” said Arsha’s voice on the same call.

“This is Queen Scorpainia, also requesting landing permission on behalf of the Hammer of Tarlax.”

“Permission granted,” replied Death on the comms channel. “Welcome back, old friends.”

“Happy to be back,” said Optimus.

“Because of COURSE the situation wasn’t dire enough without the Borg!” grunted Megatron.

“Megatron, please!” snapped Nightbird.

“How did the Borg even get into that universe?!” asked Elphaba.

“It doesn’t matter,” replied Goldbug. “The only way we can save them is if we make a strike now!”

“I’m not about to send Autobots over to be assimilated!” replied Optimus.

“Neither will I send any Decepticons,” agreed Galvatron.

“But Galvatron,” argued Goldbug, “our friends might be assimilated! We gotta reverse the process now!”

“The Decepticons have a long history of going into situations half-cocked, my own father’s schemes being the more recent examples that YOU, of all bots, should know, and I refuse to repeat those mistakes unless there’s no other alternative. If we attack now, without any knowledge of their weaknesses, the Borg will adapt and assimilate us. I won’t help on that kind of suicide run.”

“What about the Chizarans or the Tarlaxians?” asked Arsha. “They have ships.”

“And the Borg ships have a vinculum at the hearts of their vessels that suppress all individual thoughts and keep each drone connected to the Collective,” mused Optimus. “If we can distract the Borg enough to upload that virus into multiple vinculums, it could create enough damage to the Collective.”

“That still depends on what the virus will do,” remarked Goldbug.

“A feedback loop,” said Optimus. “The virus should tell the drones of each ship that it’s time for their regeneration cycle. They’ll beam aboard and begin the regeneration process, disabling their electromagnetic field and put them at minimal power. With every drone regenerating, it will cause the power net to feedback on itself and trigger a self-destruct sequence.”

“That kind of virus won’t last a long time,” remarked Megatron.

“It should be enough for our ships and allies to swoop in and save them,” replied Arsha.

“I’ll have Shockwave work with other technically minded individuals to help construct the virus,” offered Galvatron. “Now that we have an actual plan, you’ll have the Decepticons’ help.”

“I’ll contact Tarlax 14 Alpha and Chizara Prime,” offered the Brigadier.

“We’re on the clock now,” called Arsha. “Let’s get moving.” Everyone headed off. Galvatron stopped Megatron.

“Listen, Dad, about what I said-” he began.

“You spoke the truth,” interrupted Megatron. “I DID go half-cocked back in the day. You’ve learned from the mistakes of others very well. Though, if I might critique one thing, you should be a smidge more…diplomatic in your approach.”

“Yes, Father.”

“That’s my boy!” Megatron patted Galvatron’s shoulder with pride.

“It’s amazing,” muttered Arsha as she saw the whole thing.

“What is?” asked Optimus.

“How Cold, Distant Megatron became a dad.”

“Arsha, Megatron has changed over the years. He DOES regret what he did. That’s why he joined us when we visited you, to make amends.”

“From what I heard, Autobots died because of him!”

“Ah ah! You misheard. Autobots died when he was in charge of the Decepticons, but he didn’t cause their deaths.”

“He’s responsible for his men.”

“Ironhide died because of an acolyte of our destroyer and Chromia died of metal fatigue. Neither death was the result of Megatron or his men.”

“…I guess I’m still bitter about what his men did when they first visited the Realms.” Optimus winced at that. There wasn’t anything he could say. “I’ll work with him to free Beyond City from the Borg, but I’m not sure I can forgive or forget.” Arsha left to assist in the preparations. Optimus sighed. He had a feeling that Megumi would have similar feelings for Megatron.

Optimus, Arsha, and Megatron were standing by the Gateway as the Brigadier began calling an ally. “This is Vorton on the Emergency Channel, calling Castle Spectrum on Chizara Prime. Chizara Prime, do you read?”

“This is Rosadera, reading you loud and clear, Brigadier,” replied a woman’s voice that they all recognized. “Does this trouble concern the loss of communications between us and Beyond City?”

“It does, Rosadera,” confirmed the Brigadier. “And we have allies that helped us find out what happened. Arsha and Optimus are back.”

“Are they there?”

“Right here, Rosadera,” replied Optimus. “The Borg have invaded Beyond City.”

“The Borg?! How did that happen?!”

“It doesn’t matter,” answered Arsha. “What matters is that we have a plan to get them out of there, but we need your help.”

“Me, my fellow Major Princesses, and a few people from Beyond City that got trapped here will be there the instant this call ends.”

“We’ll see you then,” replied Optimus. The call ended and five different lights flashed. They were pink, purple, red, blue, and green and they all turned into different humanoid shapes. The pink light turned into a woman with pink hair, eyes, and a pink dress, as well as a woman in a red dress with red eyes. The green light turned into a woman with green hair, eyes, and a greed dress as well as a woman in orange with a rodent’s tail. The blue light turned into a woman with the same hair, eyes, and dress color, but possessing hair that touched the floor, and it also turned into a man with Elven features, bright green eyes, and orange-toned skin as well as a woman with white hair, a blue dress, and a white monkey tail. The purple light revealed a woman with the same hair, eyes, and dress and revealed a woman with a yellow dress and lizard tail. The red light became a woman with the same hair, eyes, and dress and became three blue-haired women in cloud dresses as well as a man in a dress. “Good to see you again, My Ladies,” greeted Optimus.

“And it’s nice to meet the new guys,” said Arsha.

“Lovely to see you too, Arsha and Optimus,” returned the woman in pink, Rosadera. “I don’t believe you met everyone, so may I introduce Jason Babineaux…”

“Bonjour and Guten Tag,” greeted the dress-wearing man.

“Fordelam Endri…”

“How’s it going?” asked the Elf-looking man.

“Brittney Dormu…”

“Hello!” said the woman with red eyes. Fangs appeared as she smiled.

“Emma Atmadja…”

“Welcome to Vorton!” greeted the woman with the lizard tail.

“Barbara Zhou…”

“Howdy!” called the woman with the monkey tail.

“Katrina Andrews…”

“Lovely to meet you,” greeted the woman with the rodent tail as the woman in green, Verdutha, hugged her from behind.

“Fitri Damfel…”

“Hi there!” called a blue-haired woman wearing what looked like a doughnut-style cloud on her head.

“Leemii Damfel…”

“Hello!” said a blue-haired woman with a high-collar on her dress.

“And Willmef Damfel.”

“How do you do?” asked the last blue-haired woman as she adjusted the fabric in her cloud hairpiece.

“Are these all the Herald Riders’ kids?” asked Optimus.

“Indeed, they are,” answered the woman in blue, Azuliterii.

“You said something about the Borg,” reminded the woman in red, Rojenthi.

“Are they safe?” asked the woman in purple, Moradelia.

“We don’t know,” replied Arsha. “We’re calling the Tarlaxians for help.”

“This is Vorton on the Emergency Channel,” said the Brigadier as he made the next call, “calling the Imperial Palace on Tarlax 14 Alpha. Tarlax 14 Alpha, do you read?”

“This is Tarlax 14 Alpha, Prince Lobstornias replying,” came a voice. “We’re in the middle of figuring out why we can’t go to After Academy. Our gateway there has shut down.”

“Your Highness, the Borg have invaded Beyond City.”

“Okay, so since this is the Emergency Channel and knowing you, Brigadier, this isn’t a joke. I’ll have Mom and Dad prepare the Imperial Navy. We should be there within the hour, faster if we can.”

“Please hurry.” The Brigadier ended the call and turned to his audience. “Now we wait.”

The Tarlaxians’ arrival took about half an hour. Three different humanoids appeared. One was a woman with scorpion features, another was a man with eel features, and the last was a man with lobster features. They were Scorpainia, Eelinape, and Lobstornias, the ruling family of the Tarlaxians. “Is it true?” asked Scorpainia when she and her family met everyone. “The Borg have invaded Beyond City?”

“I’m afraid so,” replied Liam. “We’ve got an idea on how to get them out, but we need a plan of attack.”

“I understand you have the plans for After Academy?” asked Optimus.

“I do,” confirmed Scorpainia. “Normally, I wouldn’t even consider showing you all, but the Borg’s reputation is well-known among my people. What you’re about to see does not go outside the confines of this room, is that clear?” Everyone nodded. Scorpainia activated a holographic display of the school with its siege protocols enacted. “The shield wall is simply the first line of defense. There are numerous guns ready to pop out of the ground should it fail. With how the Borg can adapt, it’s likely that it will fall quickly. Each gun modulates its energy frequency, but it’s never been tested on how effective it is against Borg vessels, just the drones. There are also mines that can be deployed, both underground and in the air. We need to weaken the Borg’s adaptability.”

“That’s where our plan comes in,” offered Optimus. “If we can get aboard a vessel, we can find its vinculum and introduce a virus that will trigger a self-destruct command on all Borg vessels in the vicinity.”

“Then we need a small strike team,” said the Brigadier as he pulled up another holographic display, this time displaying the Borg Siege in real time. “It looks like there’s a machine on the outskirts of the wall that matches all known descriptions of a Borg vinculum.”

“That will make uploading the virus easier,” mused Optimus. “Once the virus is uploaded and enough Borg vessels are destroyed, our ships swoop in and mop up the rest of the Borg.”

“We leave once the virus is completed,” declared Arsha. “We can’t afford to wait a second longer.” She then sighed. “What a way to reconnect with your friends.”

Tails had transferred control of the gateway to the MSS-Enterprise. There were now five ships on a journey to Vorton. Optimus and his family took up positions on the Autobot Flagship, the Ark. Jazz joined in the fun and Optimus’ right-hand bot, Goldbug Magnus, was already in position with his wife, Arcee, and their daughter, Glyph, assuming their posts. The Nebulans were in one of the guest quarters. “All hands ready,” reported Goldbug.

“Now we wait for the others,” replied Optimus.

Because of the nature of the mission, Shockwave and her Mini-cons, Laserbeak, Ravage, and Frenzy (once Soundwave’s), took up positions on the Nemesis. “All decks report ready,” said Megatron as he took up the comms position while Galvatron sat in the Captain’s Chair. “The Ark’s standing by too.”

“Captain, there’s a space bridge opening near us,” reported Ravage. “Small one bearing 2-1-0 Mark 1-7-5.”

“Source?” asked Galvatron.

“It’s from Cybertron,” replied Megatron as he got Ravage’s readings. “The Bridge Passenger is hailing all ships.”

“Open a channel.” Megatron dutifully did so.

“This is Thundercracker Korrug, Leader of the Seekers,” came the call. Shockwave ran a Spark Check. “I heard that there was a fleet gathering around Mobius for a rescue mission. Nemesis, permission to board?”

“Spark Check confirmed,” reported Shockwave. “It’s Thundercracker.”

“Permission granted, Thundercracker,” said Galvatron. “Welcome aboard. Meet us on the bridge.”

While Thundercracker boarded the Nemesis, the Enterprise was awaiting its readiness update. Sira and her family were onboard, as were Sonic and his family and Shadow’s family. Rouge and Knuckles also joined them Tails and Cosmo worked on the gateway controls. “All decks report ready,” reported Shadow’s tactical officer.

“Gateway controls are locked in,” said Tails.

“We open the gateway on Optimus and the Faker’s command,” declared Shadow.

“That’s right, Faker,” chuckled Sonic. The tactical officer just rolled their eyes.

On the Glanthelantir, Glanthel was in awe. “I never thought I’d be out among the stars,” he remarked.

“It’s exciting for us all,” replied his CMO.

“All decks ready,” reported the tactical officer.

“We await the final checks,” directed Glanthel.

“I can’t believe I became a Mechanica AFTER this kind of experience!” Endea giggled. “And I still work in space!”

“It’s exhilarating, isn’t it?” asked Arsha. “Being among what was once forbidden to us.”

“Maybe we should start a space program ourselves,” mused Bashoon.

“All decks standing by,” came the tactical officer’s report.

“Signal our readiness to the fleet,” ordered Endea.

“Fleet’s reporting ready,” said Shadow’s comms officer.

“Let’s do it to it!” cheered Sonic. Shadow groaned at that phrase.

“Enterprise is ready,” said Goldbug.

“Let’s roll out!” declared Optimus.

A massive dimensional rift opened in front of the fleet. Once it was opened, all ships flew in.

Several rocks in space floated silently. They were connected by various scaffolds and tubes. In the center of it all was a rock with a massive gateway and five different shields with different patterns on them. This was the Main Vorton Gateway, the last of the Great Gateways of the Vortonian people. Right now, four people and a robot stood by it. One was a woman wearing orange pants and a white tank top advertising Aperture Laboratories. This was Chell of Portal. The second one was a woman dressed like a Dalek, complete with gunstick and plunger in her forearms. This was Rusty, a former Dalek. The third was a green-skinned woman dressed in black and wearing a witch’s hat. This was Elphaba Thropp, the former Wicked Witch of the West in The Wizard of Oz. The last person was a Cyberman without his helmet, revealing a man with gray hair and a moustache. This was Sir Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, the Brigadier. The robot, identifying as female, had one eye, an antenna on each side of the head, pincer claws, and a hover skirt. This was Portal Operator Omega, known as POmega. “Fleet’s on its way,” reported POmega.

“Open the other end,” directed Elphaba. A fleet-sized dimensional rift opened, and the fleet arrived in orbit around Vorton. Once the rift closed, Arsha, Bashoon, Delselii, Geltar, Farmee, Yufantel, Hejema, Torya, Optimus, Megatron, Sky Runner, Firestorm, Galvatron, Goldbug, Arcee, Glyph, Sira, Sandy, Sonic, Silver, Daniel, Shadow, Maria, Trema, Llyra, Galen, Kong, Hot Rod, and Override beamed down. The ones who came to Vorton before looked as the new arrivals goggled at the place in wonder.

“So this is where the magic happened!” chuckled Delselii.

“Awesome, isn’t it?” asked Arsha.

“Daddy, you never said how amazing this place was!” Glyph said to Goldbug.

“It was something you needed to see for yourself,” replied Goldbug.

“Welcome to Vorton, everyone,” greeted the Brigadier. “I trust the trip was comfortable.”

“It was fine, Brigadier,” replied Optimus. “Now, let’s get to work. We gotta get back into contact with Beyond City. Perhaps gain some allies.”

“First off,” suggested Shade, “we should probably gain some intel. Can we send some sort of probe to this Beyond City?”

“As a matter of fact, we can,” replied POmega. “We just wondered if that was a good idea given that it can’t be hidden all that easily.”

“If we can somehow make it so that the probe is cloaked, we can easily get the intel we need,” decided Shade.

“That’s my girl!” chuckled Shadow as he ruffled her quills.

“But where are we gonna get the tech needed to cloak it?” asked Bashoon. “It’s not exactly cheap OR legal tech in my world.”

“Leave that to me,” replied Megatron. “Shockwave’s been developing cloaking technology. I’m sure this would be a perfect test for it.” Just then, they heard a couple talking as they approached.

“I’m telling you, we gotta get help!” urged a Scottish man.

“And I’m telling you to have faith!” replied a woman’s voice. Arsha’s ears flicked.

“I know that voice,” she muttered. A Naga woman with a red tail then slithered in with a dark-skinned man.

“Palma, there’s no way-!” The couple stopped when they caught sight of everyone. “…Ah, so that’s the game, eh?” asked the man.

“Arsha?” asked the Naga.

“Palmarta?” asked Arsha.

“By the Ones, it IS you!” The two women then hugged one another. “It’s been too long, I thought I’d never see you again after…well…” The Naga, Palmarta, faltered.

“Your nephews and nieces got out of there,” assured Arsha. “They formed the Palmarta School for Singers during Reconstruction.”

“Reconstruction?! Then…we won?!”

“We won! Dr. Borg drained Oyed and the Divine Ones of their Divine Mana and made them mortal, so we took that opportunity to get rid of Oyed and then we stopped Dr. Borg’s experiment to make herself and her fellow Councilors the new Divine Ones thanks to the Divine Mana they drained. Now they’re dead and me and my lovers got married and we’re ruling the-!” Palmarta hugged Arsha again.

“Your Hi…Your Majesty, you have no idea how much I worried about that! I kept having nightmares and screamed myself awake! …And woke up Liam in the process.” She gestured to the man she came in with.

“I promise you,” assured Liam as he stroked her back, “it really was no bother. Anything for my wife.”

“Wife?” asked Arsha. “You’re married?!”

“It was such a romantic first date!” sighed Palmarta happily. “It was during an After Academy Prom. Our eyes drifted to each other, and we silently came together and danced the night away, all in bliss!”

“That was the second time we met, you numpty!” called Liam. “The first time we met, you were drunk off your scaled arse!”

“Okay, so I didn’t have a good coping mechanism for post-death!”

“I appreciate seeing the truth come to light,” rumbled Megatron, “but we have business concerning your home, Mr McIntyre.” Liam recognized that voice.

“Megatron!” he hissed.

“He’s here at my request,” said Optimus. “Sonic and I visited the Realms, then Arsha visited us, then we tried to raise Beyond City only to be met with interrupted communications, so we had to come here to assess the situation and possibly find a solution.”

“We’re thinking of sending a cloaked probe,” explained Arsha. “Apparently, Shockwave’s got the cloaking tech.”

“Well, as long as Ms. One-Eye doesn’t think of dissecting me or Palmarta, we’ll help her make the probe.

The cloaked probe was constructed. “Cloaking device functions within expected parameters,” Shockwave reported.

“Uploading last known dimensional coordinates to probe computer,” said Rusty. “…Coordinates uploaded. Launching probe and opening a rift.” She pressed the launch button, and the probe flew into a rift.

“All we do is wait,” muttered Optimus as he drummed his fingers. Farmee amused himself by making cloud balls and arranging them in various patterns.

“You know, having fought in a war,” remarked Arsha, “I figured I’d get used to it during peacetime. Guess not.”

“I don’t think you need to wait that long,” replied Maria.

“Why’s that?” asked Optimus.

“We’re getting a visual.” A holographic display of After Academy in its current state appeared in front of everyone.

“Are…are those…shield walls?” asked Optimus.

“That’s part of the Siege System,” replied Liam.

“I take it that’s not something the average student thinks they would see,” guessed Megatron.

“Aye, so if that system’s up, After Academy’s in deep shite. It blocks all normal communications channels and severs us from the rest of the multiverse.”

“That explains why we couldn’t get to Beyond City,” mused Optimus.

“But what kind of enemy would warrant that?” asked Farmee. “Would they really be that dangerous?”

“The fighting needs to be contained,” replied Arsha. “In that instance, Beyond City was smart. But that still leaves the identity of the enemy.”

“Hold up, the probe’s detecting a vessel,” said Maria. “Pulling up visual now.” She keyed in a few commands and got the image of the vessel, a gray cube with circuitry on its hull and green light coming from inside. The instant Optimus saw it, his internal Energon nearly froze.

“Oh no,” he breathed. Megatron arched an eyebrow.

“That’s not what I think it is, I trust?” he asked.

“Given that the F.N.S knew a Klingon Dahar Master,” replied Optimus, “I think it is.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Farmee.

“That cube,” explained Optimus, “is the standard patrol vessel of the most malevolent enemy to the United Federation of Planets. It takes technology and people and assimilates them into a collective mind of cyborgs, suppressing any and all individuality.”

“Does this collective have a name?” Optimus growled as he said the name.

“The Borg!”