Category: Trinity Soul Chapters

An hour had passed. Both groups had arrived in a discreet location in Japan of universe K-4-M-3-N-R-1-D-3-R. Megumi’s group had also brought Igura’s body and helped dig the grave. Megatron had a grave marker with Igura’s name. The casket was lowered and the marker was set. The casket was buried and Igura’s body, over time, would return to nature. Once the grave was filled, everyone had a moment of silence. “…It’s over,” sighed Megumi after a minute had passed.

“No,” answered Hiro. “My hunt for Caan is still in effect.”

“After what happened to your wife, you still want to hunt Caan?” asked Dr. Borg.

“He freed the Skaro Daleks,” explained Hiro. “He must pay with his life.”

“He’s the one who made our little alliance less safe,” realized Dr. Borg, seeing Hiro’s logic.

“Exactly,” replied Hiro.

“Pardon me for interfering,” interjected Megatron, “but we DO have an exchange to complete. Quake Hammer, you can go now.”

“Yes, Sir,” answered Quake Hammer. He moved to Megumi’s side. Megumi then allowed Hiro to return to his allies.

“We have Hiro,” Megatron reported over the comms. Hiro and his group then vanished in a transporter beam.

“Well then, Quake Hammer,” declared Megumi as she turned to their new prisoner, “we have a place for you.”

“You will be watched and questioned,” revealed Optimus. “You will have rationed Energon and a chance to exercise, but I read enough about you in the history books to want to listen to the security recommendations of the veterans of my team.”

“I understand,” replied Quake Hammer.

“POmega, we’ve got Quake Hammer,” Megumi called over the comms.

“One rift home, coming up,” replied POmega. A rift opened and everyone returned to Vorton.

“This way,” Prowl directed to Quake Hammer. “Lieutenant Skyfall will take first watch over you.”

“Er, of course,” replied Quake Hammer, looking a little nervous. He was then led to the brig. Everyone finally dispersed to make preparations for the next round of the 3V2R. Richard followed Megumi as she rubbed her temples.

“Sweet God,” he muttered, “this has been a tense day.”

“Tell me about it,” replied Megumi. “I need some unwinding. Perhaps you can help?”

“How so?” asked Richard.

“In our bed,” continued Megumi as her voice dropped to a sexy purr. “Perhaps…a little…intimacy? Acting on…animal instincts?”

“…Oh?” Richard purred back, getting the hint. Megumi morphed into Tora-Onna and led Richard to their room.

---

Emmanuel and Lukas shut the door with a look of irritation on their faces. Lukas was muttering to himself in his native German all the while. “So,” chuckled Scorpainia as she saw them, “Jandro and Brenden kicked you out, huh?”

“Well, pardon us,” snapped Emmanuel, “for wanting to use OUR ROOM FOR PRIVATE TIME!” He shouted towards the room he and Lukas usually called theirs. “Speaking of, didn’t I hear you got sick after yours?”

“Thankfully, it’s nothing contagious,” replied Scorpainia as she patted her tummy.

“…No way!” breathed Lukas.

“The Council has decided,” answered Scorpainia, “that my child will be the heir to the throne unless contested by vote or by combat.”

“Félicitations!” (Congratulations!) cheered Emmanuel. “Have you figured out names?”

“No, not yet,” replied Scorpainia. “The name will come when the child decides on its shape.”

“Its shape?” asked Lukas.

“We are born as small lumps of putty,” explained Scorpainia. “The lumps DO have the chromosomes that determine if it’s a boy or girl, but, other than that, we don’t know.”

“When can we see the new prince or princess?” asked Emmanuel.

“Gestation’s going to take two years,” replied Scorpainia. “When the first year is complete, I need to limit my movements; probably going to be my most crabbiest time as I enjoy being mobile.”

“Well, congratulations!” cheered Lukas. “Have you decided on the Godparents?”

“Lacey shall be one of the Godmothers,” declared Scorpainia. “She helped free my mind from Vortech’s influence and I owe her a great deal.”

“One of the Godmothers?” repeated Emmanuel.

“Tarlaxians have four Godparents,” replied Scorpainia. Her face lit up as she got an idea. “I believe I know who to name as Godfathers.” She glanced at both men. They took the hint.

“My lady, we are honored,” declared Emmanuel.

---

“Regs! Prowler!” Skyfall protested to Strongarm and Prowl as she followed them around Vorton’s habitat ring. “I really must insist that we hold off on the inspection!”

“Article 7, Section 9, Subsection 2, Paragraph 3,” quoted Strongarm, “All Quarters are subject to random inspections at the Security Officer’s discretion.”

“Since I’M head of security for the Autobots on Prime’s team,” supplied Prowl, “I determine when the quarters are inspected. Now, unless you want to help, stay out of our way.” He opened the door and both he and Strongarm entered Skyfall’s quarters and shut it in Skyfall’s face. They were surprised at the mess pervading her quarters. “What in the…?” spluttered Prowl.

“How could she let her quarters…?” quizzed Strongarm. “If she went lax in the 2,000 year interim between the previous war and the current one…!” She grabbed some armor polish, examined it, then opened the closet and handed it off absentmindedly to the person inside. “Here!” she snapped.

“Thank you,” replied the person in the closet. The door shut and Strongarm realized what just happened.

“…Prowl, sweetie,” she gulped.

“What’s the matter?” asked Prowl as he noted his wife’s shock.

“I want you to look in Skyfall’s closet and tell me I didn’t hand off armor polish to someone in there,” directed Strongarm. Prowl opened the closet door and blinked.

“…Quake Hammer?” he asked.

“Prowl!” yelped the bot in the closet, Quake Hammer. “What are you doing here?!”

“I…I, er, w…we were…inspecting Skyfall’s quarters,” stammered Prowl.

“That’s no excuse!” snapped Quake Hammer. “Vorton has a security breach! That needs to be investigated!” Prowl and Strongarm then dashed out of Skyfall’s quarters.

“We’ve got to go!” Prowl explained to Skyfall. “Quake Hammer noticed a security breach around here!” Strongarm was about to transform, then stopped herself.

“Wait a cycle,” she muttered. “What was Quake Hammer doing in the closet?!”

“Whose closet?” asked Skyfall. Prowl and Strongarm then had a nasty suspicion.

“Skyfall,” Prowl hissed in demand of an explanation. Skyfall sighed and activated the comms into her quarters.

“Quaky,” she called, “you might as well come out.”

“QUAKY?!” squeaked the two security bots.

“2^nd Lieutenant Skyfall of the Autobot Air Force, what’s going on?!” demanded Strongarm.

“Next time you decide to inspect,” replied Skyfall, “I’d really appreciate it if you notified me first.”

“That doesn’t answer our question!” growled Prowl. Quake Hammer then came out of the room and into the hallway.

“Which of the Femaxian Points of Profit says, ‘Sometimes the only thing more dangerous than a question is an answer’?” he asked.

“Point 295,” replied Prowl before he jabbed an accusing finger at Skyfall. “You sold us out to the ‘Cons, didn’t you?! What did you tell them?!”

“Quake Hammer, rest assured,” snarled Strongarm, “you won’t be transmitting any intelligence to Megatron! Skyfall, what did you tell him?!”

“Relax, you two!” snapped Skyfall. “I didn’t sell us out to the Decepticons!”

“Oh?” asked Prowl disbelievingly.

“Why would a soldier like her,” asked Quake Hammer, “betray her faction and its ideals like that?”

“…Wait, you mean you DON’T have Autobot intelligence?” quizzed Prowl.

“Intelligence on what?” inquired Quake Hammer. “Look, why don’t we clear up some confusion? It’s all quite simple. You see, Prowl, Skyfall and I are married.” Strongarm and Prowl blinked in surprise, then Strongarm did something she wasn’t known for…she fainted and her husband caught her.

---

After Strongarm was revived and all Autobots informed, Skyfall and Quake Hammer sat opposite of Optimus, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, and Strongarm. “How long has this been going on?” demanded Optimus.

“Since the first war’s end,” explained Quake Hammer.

“Quake!” hissed Skyfall.

“Yes, because hiding it any further,” argued Quake Hammer, “would totally save our afts!”

“At the moment,” muttered Optimus, “I’m considering stripping you of the Autobrand, Skyfall. I certainly hope your explanation can save you from that fate.”

“We met after Earth,” explained Skyfall. “It was during a Targa tournament. I was playing in the Copper division.”

“Winning it for the 38^th time in a row, if I recall,” chuckled Quake Hammer as he remembered fondly.

“Anyway, word reached us that the Diamond Division Champion was having trouble,” continued Skyfall.

“And that was you?” Prowl asked Quake Hammer.

“That was me,” confirmed Quake Hammer. “For some reason, I kept needing a line of credit at that time!”

“So, I wrote him a note,” continued Skyfall, “giving him some pointers on how to improve his game.”

“And they worked,” supplied Quake Hammer. “Those pointers helped me secure the 47^th championship in a row! We then started corresponding regularly.”

“We then arranged to meet after a stellar cycle,” Skyfall went on. “Imagine his surprise when he discovered an Autobot helped him!”

“I almost had a Spark Attack!” interjected Quake Hammer. “But, as you can see, I recovered. I was going under a false name at the time since I deserted my platoon during the Battle of Crater Tycho. Over time…”

“And after much wheedling from me,” remarked Skyfall.

“I told her my story after she told me hers,” continued Quake Hammer. “We DID have a spat, as Autobots and Decepticons would do during that time, but we worked it out.”

“And we became a married couple and lived together ever since!” sighed Skyfall happily.

“A source of contention between me and my grandson, Lugnut,” mused Quake Hammer. “He said marrying an Autobot is a disgrace to my glorious ex-wife’s name. I keep reminding him that I divorced his grandmother during the war and there was nothing glorious about the direction the Decepticons were going.”

“…Skyfall,” asked Optimus, “is there a reason why you told everyone you never married? We were at peace at the time!”

“The stigma against mixed faction couples,” replied Skyfall, “is still too great.”

“They would force our marriage to be annulled,” continued Quake Hammer.

“You don’t know that!” hissed Optimus.

“They’ll cite Blackarachnia’s parents as ‘evidence’,” argued Skyfall, “that Decepticons and Autobots CAN’T live together!”

“I have sufficient counter-evidence,” dismissed Optimus. “…Skyfall, your commission and Autobrand ARE safe, but I would advise you and your husband to do something spectacular to get into our good graces again. Quake Hammer, you may stay in Skyfall’s quarters. Both of you, dismissed.” Skyfall and Quake Hammer departed the room.

“…You wouldn’t cite other Councilbots, would you?” asked Ironhide.

“I know it’s underhanded,” replied Optimus. “I also know that revealing such a thing to the council will lead to a fracturing. There are those that would cite Blackarachnia’s parents, yet they have Decepticon spouses. Blaster and I both told them about how we know. As such, if they wish to keep their positions, they will NOT annul Skyfall and Quake Hammer’s marriage.”

“Understood, Sir,” muttered Prowl. “But, I must formally protest this course of action.”

“I understand your concern, Prowl,” assured Optimus. “Hopefully, it won’t lead to anything bad.”

“With that out of the way,” declared Prowl, “we need to get you ready for the next round.”

---

“There’s been a bit of a lull, hasn’t there?” asked Richard as he and Megumi, still as Tora-Onna, checked themselves for any wrinkles in their clothes after their private time.

“Yeah,” confirmed Tora-Onna. “Something about a controversy between Stornk and Cassandra.”

“Not surprising,” muttered Richard. “The guy’s a hack, quite literally, made up of various aliens grafted onto him. Since he can’t get along with himself, he can’t get along with others. What IS the controversy about, though?”

“I’m not sure,” replied Tora-Onna. “I’m sure we’ll find out.” A flash of light then appeared on the table next to the bed. It then faded to reveal paper. Tora-Onna took it and read the contents. “It’s from the Chizarans,” she reported. “The controversy was about the fight conditions. Stornk set the rules and he believed that Cassandra broke them.”

“What were the rules?” asked Richard as Tora-Onna morphed back into Megumi.

“Stornk believed,” explained Megumi, “that his speed was faster than Cassandra’s. He had to land ten hits on her in two minutes. Cassandra won that one by continually pirouetting out of the way and Stornk believed that to be a non-combat related dodge, so he appealed that she broke the rules. The appeal was struck down and Stornk was still declared the loser. He only got two hits on her.”

“A hit a minute, on average,” mused Richard, “instead of his goal of five a minute.”

“Bingo,” replied Megumi. “So, the contest’s last bout will start tomorrow and we’ll be ready for the Advancement Ceremony for the next round.”

“If it’s back on,” suggested Richard as he finished checking himself over, “then we need to continue training.” Megumi groaned comically.

“I don’t wanna!” she whined as she folded her arms.

“Come on, we all know it can’t be avoided,” Richard urged gently. Megumi still groaned, but finished up her makeup. “Still breathing good?” asked Richard as he had made her bodice too tight once or twice in the past.

“Still breathing good,” assured Megumi.

“Good, I prefer my wife to have her full lung capacity,” chuckled Richard.

“You and me both, My King,” agreed Megumi as she finished her makeup.

---

The last bout was over and the Advancement Ceremony was underway. A parade went down the streets of the Capital Planet of Universe 1-A with the winners riding on floats representing what they do in their universe. The Winners, in parade order, were Ultragingana, Arsha Royana, Lord Shadowflame, Optimus Prime, Ms. Furella, Southern Belle, Megumi Hishikawa, Buncho, Priest 072486, Mr. Drendar, Beatrice, High Elf Lentar, Queen Phury, Cassandra, Elizabeth, and Bolt Boy. Their floats traveled for a good hour until they pulled into a building where Rosadera, Azuliterii, Rojenthi, Verdutha, and Moradelia were waiting. Blancalmarem and Nemengra were announcing again. They were accompanied by a robot in the shape of a woman and dressed up in a girly version of a Roman Centurion. “I am Blancalmarem, the white princess of Chizara and the life leader,” began Blancalmarem.

“I am Nemengra, the black princess of Chizara and the death leader,” finished Nemengra.

“And at the Advancement Ceremony, we are accompanied with one of the people who didn’t win Round 1, Julia Caesar,” continued Blancalmarem.

“Julia Caesar, a robot fighter and a champion of robot rights,” Nemengra went on, “has helped us in commentary once or twice in the past and we are honored to see her again!”

“I am honored to be here again!” continued Julia Caesar. “As you can see, the floats have arrived and the winners of the first round are getting off their floats and moving onto the platform to receive their sportsmanship torches, ready to light the main torch!”

“There they are, all lined up and ready,” observed Blancalmarem. “Just listen to that crowd!”

“Thankfully, the Chizaran Guard,” continued Nemengra, “is having no trouble keeping the crowd in line. No one wants a repeat of the 300,029^th 3V2R.”

“Don’t even go there!” shuddered Blancalmarem. “That was a nightmare!”

“I think I declined helping you comment on that one,” recalled Julia Caesar. “Wait, it looks like the winners have accepted their torches and are…Yes, they’ve lit the Closing Torch for this round!”

“Wow! What a height for the flame!” cheered Blancalmarem. “I can’t tell you how deeply thrilled I am to see this!”

“I’m sure the pyromaniacs watching will appreciate this,” chuckled Nemengra.

“It looks like Rosadera’s about to give her Round’s End Speech!” called Julia.

“With the Closing Torch now lit for the end of Round 1 and the spirit of good sportsmanship kept alive,” began Rosadera, “we will take a week-long break relative to your universe’s time scale. This would make the perfect planning opportunity. Rest up and plan, everyone! The time to fight will arrive sooner than you may think!” The winners were surrounded in pink lights and vanished, returning to their homes.

---

“WHAT HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE?!” shrieked Megumi when she saw the damage, after being on Vorton for a while.

“So, apparently,” replied Richard as he glared at a sheepish looking Death, “in the 3V2R, participants may use another competitor’s space as neutral ground for their bout. In short, our house was the site for Ms. Furella’s victory over Emperor Mechanoterror. I’ve already got a repair team on the way, leaving me to puzzle out how an anthropomorphic ferret prostitute won against a cyborg dictator.”

“…My house…” whimpered Megumi as she fell to her knees.

“A trade?” asked Ultra Magnus.

“How do we know it’s an equal trade?” quizzed Prowl.

“With the Cons, you really DON’T know,” muttered Ironhide.

“Megatron spoke to me privately,” explained Optimus. “He showed me the prisoner he’s willing to exchange for Hiro.”

“And?” asked Ironhide.

“It’s Quake Hammer,” revealed Optimus. The Autobot Veterans’ optics went wide.

“Not the Con who can punch the ground and cause massive tremors!” gulped Ironhide.

“Lugnut’s grandfather?!” mumbled Ratchet.

“The same Lugnut that takes the Decepticon faction’s views to a religious extreme?!” whimpered Prowl.

“Wait, the same Quake Hammer that was marked on the DJD’s List for desertion under fire?” asked Ultra Magnus.

“The same on all fronts,” replied Optimus.

“He’d be a valuable POW,” mused Ironhide. “But, who’s to say he’ll stay with us?”

“Even if he COULD escape us,” muttered Ultra Magnus, “he’s still risking the DJD by staying alive. They don’t leave survivors.”

“Megatron mentioned that,” answered Optimus. “He said that the DJD doesn’t have multiverse crossing technology.”

“Meaning we need Megumi’s help on this,” realized Prowl.

“Exactly,” confirmed Optimus. “Get me Megumi. I want to arrange it with her.” Prowl hailed Vorton and Megumi appeared with the background indicating it was her and Richard’s room.”

“Do you have any information on the prisoner the enemy wants to exchange for Hiro?” she asked.

“He’s an infamous Decepticon named Quake Hammer,” replied Optimus. “Megatron told me that he’s on a list of Decepticons to punish for desertion under fire. The ones with the list, the Decepticon Justice Division, can’t cross other realities. In short, we need your help in holding him.”

“I think we have something big enough for a Decepticon,” mused Megumi. “We’ll gladly help you.”

“Much appreciated,” thanked Optimus.

“Then Hiro IS returning to Megatron and Dr. Borg?” guessed Ultra Magnus.

“We can’t keep him here,” replied Megumi. “We need to return him to a familiar environment.”

“…Very well,” muttered Ultra Magnus.

“And on that note!” cheered a voice. Everyone yelped in surprise as they spotted a woman in yellow. “I am Amartonadii, the yellow princess of Chizara and the health leader!” introduced the woman. “Optimus Prime, Alfalna awaits. Bat’leths will be provided to both of you.”

“Thank you,” bid Optimus. He turned to his friends. “Wish me luck!” He and Amartonadii then vanished in yellow light.

“Quick! Tune in!” Ultra Magnus called to Teletraan.

“Talk to you later!” Teletraan called to Megumi.

---

“See you after the bout!” returned Megumi as the call ended. Megumi then activated the intercom. “Minna, Optimus’ bout is about to begin! That is all!” She then made a dash to the Gateway room.

---

“We’re getting a transmission!” called Shalvey. “Optimus is ready to fight!”

“On screen!” ordered Arsha. The background looked like an elaborate arena with Alfalna and Optimus facing each other.

---

“I am Amartonadii, the yellow princess of Chizara and the health leader!” Amartonadii introduced as she carried two Transformer sized bat’leths. “The combatants are ready for their first bout! Representing W-1-L-D-F-0-R-3-5-T-5, we have the Great Demoness, Alfalna with home turf advantage! Representing T-R-4-N-5-F-0-R-M-3-R-5-M-0-8-1-4-N-C-H-R-0-N-1-C-L-3-5, we have Optimus Prime! The fight will be a simple Bat’leth competition. Both fighters will use the most famous of Klingon melee weaponry to decide who is the victor. The combatant must send their opponent sprawling or break their opponent’s bat’leth. No other weapons will be used and no outside interference. Alfalna, are you ready?”

“Let us duel!” declared Alfalna. She received her bat’leth.

“Optimus Prime, are you ready?” asked Amartonadii.

“Heghlu’meH QaQ jajvam!” (Today is a good day to die!) announced Optimus in Klingon. He received his bat’leth and waved it in a fashion designed to unnerve his opponent. Alfalna didn’t even twitch.

“In’cha!” (Begin!) called Amartonadii. Optimus charged and swung his bat’leth down hard! Alfalna blocked and shoved the blade aside, then driving the exterior rounded edge into Optimus’ chin. Optimus stumbled and hastily blocked a side swing. Alfalna then tried again on the other side. Optimus spun out of the way and swung his bat’leth near her head. Alfalna blocked and they started pushing against each other with their weapons.

---

“Come on, Prime!” cheered Jazz.

“Show the Cybertronian Klingon Society,” called Blackarachnia, “who’s the Champion Standing for 50 years in a row!”

---

“According to his dossier on the subject,” mused Richard, “Optimus has been the Champion Standing for the Cybertronian Klingon Society.”

“There’s a Klingon based club on Cybertron?” asked Lukas incredulously.

Optimus slammed the rounded outer edge of his bat’leth into Alfalna’s gut. Alfalna stumbled, then blocked a sideways slash and shoved it away. She then started swinging the bat’leth down repeatedly, hoping to break Optimus’.

---

“This is bad!” gulped Megumi. “If Optimus loses out, the Master Wand is that less safer!”

“Come on, don’t lose this!” prayed Emily.

---

“I must say, that…what is it called…‘bat’leth’ looks highly inefficient in killing by stabbing,” mused Malak.

“It DOES look more like a spiked, metal club,” observed Nazay.

“It looks like something out of Constellation Journey,” muttered Bashoon.

“Mr. Malak, any activity?” asked Arsha.

“None,” reported Malak.

“I’m not getting anything either,” answered Shalvey. “Nor have I missed any transmissions.”

“Same here, no previous activity,” continued Malak.

“Good, carry on,” ordered Arsha.

“Aye, Captain,” confirmed the Mermaid and Troll.

---

Optimus managed to lock the bat’leths together and gritted his dental plates before giving off a primal roar and shoving Alfalna backwards, snapping her bat’leth and sending her sprawling onto the floor. He got up and stood over her in a rest pose with his bat’leth. “Just sending me flying was enough!” panted Alfalna.

“Klingon instincts took over,” replied Optimus in the same panting manner. He then held his hand out. “MajQa’,” (Well done) he bid. Alfalna took his hand and he pulled her up.

“This contest is over!” called Amartonadii. “The winner is Optimus Prime! Optimus, you will be returned to the bridge of your ship. Great Demoness, Alfalna, though you have suffered a defeat, know that it only brings as much dishonor as you feel necessary. Would you care for an interview with Blancalmarem and Nemengra?”

“I think I will, this time,” accepted Alfalna.

“Then I will take you to them once Optimus is returned,” declared Amartonadii.

“Hey, maybe we should start an interdimensional Klingon club!” chuckled Optimus.

“Just hope REAL Klingons aren’t offended,” muttered Alfalna.

“I don’t think we’d survive long enough to regret it if they ARE,” guessed Optimus. “See you around!” Optimus and Amartonadii vanished in yellow light and Optimus was back on the Ark’s bridge, cheered by all of his bots.

“Congratulations, Sir!” bid Ultra Magnus.

“None of that ‘Sir’ nonsense now, dude!” directed Optimus. “This is a time for celebration!”

“Can we save the party until AFTER the exchange?” requested Prowl.

“…Way to bring the mood down,” grumbled Optimus. “Oh well, he’s right, business first. Has the Nemesis done anything?”

“Arsha’s reported nothing,” reported Prowl. “Megumi should be speaking to Hiro now.”

“Megumi and Arsha want to contact us,” interjected Teletraan.

“Put them through,” directed Optimus. Arsha and Megumi appeared on screen.

“I just spoke with Hiro,” relayed Megumi. “He’s agreed to the Prisoner Exchange. I think he’s going to use this to get revenge.”

“I read the Brigadier’s report,” supplied Arsha. “I know who freed the Skaro Dalek strain.”

“As do I,” confirmed Optimus. “We need to catch Caan first.”

“And convince him that Vortech is dead,” continued Megumi. “In any case, Megatron needs his answer. Let’s contact the Nemesis and discuss where and when the exchange will take place.”

“Shalvey, hail the Nemesis,” Arsha ordered to Shalvey off-screen.

“You too, Prowl,” Optimus directed.

“Rusty, the enemy vessel, please,” requested Megumi.

---

“Vorton, the Ark, and the Endeavor are all hailing us,” reported Soundwave.

“Open a channel,” commanded Megatron. Megumi, Arsha, and Optimus appeared. “I take it your bout is completed, Optimus,” greeted Megatron. “Who won?”

“I did,” answered Optimus. “My opponent was just as skilled with the bat’leth as I.”

“You fought a Klingon?” asked Megatron.

“No, I fought a different alien who’s just as nerdy as me when it comes to Star Trek,” explained Optimus.

“Because, of course, other aliens would know about it!” groaned Megatron. “Still, that isn’t the reason you called. Your answer?”

“We agree to the Exchange,” replied Megumi. “Where and when?”

“Hiro’s home universe,” relayed Megatron. “One hour from now.”

“See you then,” finished Megumi. The call ended.

“Move us to our meeting place,” ordered Megatron.

“Course laid in,” reported Skywarp. “Going to full impulse.”

---

“They’re leaving,” announced Rusty.

“Prepare Hiro for transport,” directed Megumi. “We’ll use the Virginia.”

---

Blancalmarem and Nemengra were broadcasting again. “I am Blancalmarem, the white princess of Chizara and the life leader,” began Blancalmarem.

“I am Nemengra, the black princess of Chizara and the death leader,” finished Nemengra.

“Today, after another bout for Round 1,” continued Blancalmarem, “we have the ruler of the Bindahri people; the Great Demoness, Alfalna, for an interview.”

“She’s accepted and declined interviews before,” supplied Nemengra. “Today, we are fortunate to speak with her again.” The screen behind them played their interview.

“During your previous contests,” recalled Blancalmarem, “you only carried a bat’leth when you introduced yourself to your opponent, but never used it. What made you change your mind?”

“My recent opponent’s dossier,” explained Alfalna. “When I saw he was a Star Trek fan, I just HAD to see if he knew how to use a bat’leth. Thank goodness he read my dossier, otherwise the contest would have been different.”

“What WOULD have been the contest if he wasn’t skilled with a bat’leth?” asked Nemengra.

“A simple hand-to-hand duel,” replied Alfalna. “His dossier mentioned being a ninja and I wanted to see how skilled he was. Perhaps, if I DO fight him next time, I will stick to hand-to-hand.”

“Well, thank you for your time,” bid Blancalmarem. “We know you have many students to train.”

“May we see you again, Beloved Demoness,” finished Nemengra.

“Thank you for this wonderful tournament,” bid Alfalna graciously as she bowed. The screen switched off and Blancalmarem and Nemengra returned to the camera.

“A lovely lady,” praised Blancalmarem.

“We’ll be right back after a message from one of our sponsors, Clansa’s Family Diner!” ended Nemengra. The commercial announcer then took over.

“Clansa’s Family Diner,” he announced, “family friendly fun and food for every version of reality.”

“That will be 2 golds and 6 silvers,” requested Mrs. Barmek.

“Even with the Crew Discount?” asked Arsha.

“Beef went up drastically,” explained Mrs. Barmek.

“Oh, yeah, the beef crisis,” remembered Arsha as she handed over her cash.

“Ahem,” called a voice. Arsha and Mrs. Barmek turned to see a woman in blue-violet. She had skirts that had a diameter of her height multiplied by 1.5. Her top, however, looked like it belonged to a belly dancer’s outfit. “I am Vioazira, the blue-violet princess of Chizara and the sea-animal leader,” she introduced. “Arsha, the battlefield has been set and your opponent is waiting.”

“Ah, good, I’ve been waiting!” cheered Arsha. She turned to Mrs. Barmek. “Wish me luck!”

“Go out and win!” bid Mrs. Barmek. Arsha and Vioazira vanished in a flash of blue violet light. Mrs. Barmek then saw Bashoon come in.

“Hey, Mom, where’s the Captain?” asked Bashoon.

“Off to her fight,” replied Mrs. Barmek.

“Already?!” yelped Bashoon as she dashed to the intercom on the wall. “All hands, Captain Royana is about to start her round! I repeat, Captain Royana is about to start her round! Get some seats and snacks!” The Endeavor’s crew dashed for the nearest screen to see the bout.

---

“This is it!” cheered Megumi as everyone crowded into the Gateway room.

“No shoving!” snapped Emily as Tanisha bumped her. “There’s plenty of room!”

“On screen!” called Richard.

---

“Just after this is your bout, right, Sir?” asked Prowl.

“You got it,” confirmed Optimus. “So, let’s see how this, er, balances out.”

“Wait, is that what’s going on here?!” protested Bumblebee.

“Dude, spoilers!” called Jazz.

“Oh, frack! Sorry!” gulped Optimus.

“SH! SH! Here comes the judge!” hissed Teletraan. Vioazira appeared as Arsha and Vicky climbed up the poles of the old circus tent.

---

“I am Vioazira, the blue-violet princess of Chizara and the sea-animal leader,” Vioazira introduced herself to the camera. “The combatants are ready for their first bout! Representing T-H-3-T-H-R-3-3-R-3-4-L-M-5, we have Captain Arsha Royana of the Mid-realm’s capital of Largandra! Representing W-4-N-D-3-R-L-U-5-T, we have Vicky with home turf advantage! The fight will be a test of balance! Each combatant will try and stand on the rope above me while balancing a foot tall stack of books, all of equal sizes. Arsha shall balance the books on her weakest tail while Vicky will use her arm. Whoever stays on the rope longer is the winner! No other supports may be used and the combatants will NOT bounce the rope on purpose to interfere with another player’s progress.” Vioazira looked up at the left platform near the top of the tent where the tightrope was set up. “Vicky, are you ready?” she called.

“Ready and waiting!” cheered Vicky.

“Arsha Royana, are you ready?” Vioazira asked Arsha on the other platform.

“Aye, aye!” replied Arsha.

“Then take your books!” declared Vioazira. The two ladies did so. “Now, onto the rope!” The ladies went forward and the rope strained and bounced under the two ladies’ combined weight. They did what they could to steady themselves until they went still, briefly compensating by leaning a bit to one side or the other.

---

“Come on, Captain!” called Mrs. Barmek on the Endeavor. “Don’t lose it now!”

---

“Oh, PLEASE win this one!” begged Megumi.

---

“Oh Primus, do you see that?” gulped Jazz. “She’s leaning too far!”

“If she goes any further, she’s gonna fall,” muttered Prowl.

“My fellow Cyber-Ninjas, easy,” assured Optimus. “Look at her foot. It’s following her head, bringing the rope beneath her as she balances.”

“I can barely see anything with all her skirts!” grumbled Strongarm. “There’s no way she can wear that in combat! Her legs won’t go high enough for a kick! Although, I will say, she’s putting her other tails to good use, adjusting them so she can stay balanced.”

“Is this some Cyber-Ninja convention?!” griped Ratchet.

“They ARE a little more observant about bodily movements than most bots are,” chuckled Ironhide. “I guess that’s what happens when you learn the art of assassination.”

“Er, can we NOT use that word here?” gulped Optimus.

“Hey, who’s that on the floor?” asked Bumblebee.

---

“Er, is that from our universe?” asked Bashoon as she pointed to the mysterious figure on the circus tent’s floor. The rest of her crewmates asked around, but gave no definitive answer.

---

The answer was definitive for the Vortex Riders. “CAAN!” yelped Megumi.

“We gotta stop him!” called Tanisha.

“Easy,” assured a voice. Rosadera had arrived. “They will not be in any danger from outside interference, I promise you.”

---

“Come down from there!” shouted Caan. “I have need of you, Arsha!”

“This is a battlefield for the Verse Vs. Verse Rumble Royale!” called Vioazira. “Leave at once!”

“Not until I have Arsha!” snapped Caan. He then leveled his gun and fired! The shot was absorbed by some unknown shield. “What the?!”

---

“Wait, how is Caan surprised about the shield?” asked Richard.

“Yeah, shouldn’t he have seen that coming?” quizzed Alesandro.

“Whenever we interact with him,” replied Rosadera, “we tend to blind him to the future.”

“That’s a mercy,” sighed Megumi in relief.

---

Caan was still firing at the rope, but the shots were still absorbed. “Your attempts to interfere are futile,” declared Vioazira. “The bout is still on. All we can do is see how it plays out.”

“Lower that shield, NOW!” barked Caan.

“I don’t think you understand who’s in control right now!” snarled Vioazira. “The round has not yet been declared over. Now, leave!”

“When Vortech returns,” hissed Caan as he called a rift home, “you will come crawling to me!”

“Vortech is DEAD!” snapped Vioazira as he left. “Insolent Dalek!” she snarled. “He just HAS to go to these extremes!”

---

“Well, that’s him all gone,” muttered Megumi.

“For now,” mused Alesandro.

“Megumi,” called the Brigadier’s voice as he came up. “I have news that may concern you and Hiro.”

“We’ll discuss this outside Hiro’s cell,” declared Megumi, feeling the urgency. “Excuse, Minna.” She got up and followed the Brigadier to Hiro’s cell in the brig. Hiro was kneeling in traditional Japanese fashion with his eyes shut. She cleared her throat.

“Emily has told me,” he answered, not opening his eyes, “that I’ve made a remarkable physical recovery. She’s just not too sure about my mental state. To be frank, I would be insulted if she thought I would get through my wife’s death in any speedy fashion. Are you here to offer condolences by Flora’s urging?”

“I’m here by the Brigadier’s request, actually,” replied Megumi. “He said he has news that may concern us.”

“…I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be so suspicious,” muttered Hiro. “What does Lethbridge-Stewart want to say to us?”

“I know how the Skaro Daleks were freed,” explained the Brigadier.

“We weren’t watchful enough, that’s how,” dismissed Hiro. “Now, my wife and unborn child paid the price.”

“No, you were very watchful of them, just not of Caan,” countered the Brigadier. Hiro then gave him his full attention, as did Megumi.

“Why mention him?” asked Hiro.

“Because he’s the one who gave the Skaro Daleks the means to remove the explosives from their old shells,” explained the Brigadier.

“…What?” whispered Hiro.

“Caan had surreptitiously given the Skaro Daleks the means to return to their old shells and told them about the Emperor Dalek you created and named Davros,” continued the Brigadier. “They know Davros is still the same man in a wheelchair.”

“I…Impossible!” dismissed Hiro. “There’s no way he could have known!”

“Caan has another Dalek turned human on his side,” countered Megumi. “She was probably a communications Dalek. She could have easily found how you lied to the original Skaro strain. …Hiro?” Hiro trembled in unbridled fury. His wife and child, his future with them, his plans to rule with an Empress and Princess, all gone because of a former Dalek.

“CAAAAAAAN!” Hiro roared with all his grief and loathing of the creature. He roared so loud that it caused his head to hurt. He passed out from losing so much air.

“Megumi to Emily! Medical emergency!” called Megumi over the comms.

---

Arsha and Vicky were still staying on the rope, trying to keep their balance. “There’s no shame in quitting,” called Vicky.

“Are you kidding?” asked Arsha. “I’m just getting warmed up!”

“Oh really?” snarked Vicky.

“Yeah, really!” taunted Arsha.

“Trying to whoa! Whoa! WHOA!” Vicky had lost concentration during her attempt to taunt and lost her balance.

“SWEET ONES!” yelped Arsha as she fired a spell at Vicky to slow down her fall so she’d land safely. Vicky wiped her brow and looked up.

“Thanks!” she called. She then recalled the terms of the bout. “Dang it!” she muttered.

“This contest is over!” cheered Vioazira. “The winner is Arsha Royana! Arsha, you will be returned to the bridge of your ship. Vicky, though you have suffered a defeat, know that it only brings as much dishonor as you feel necessary. Would you care for an interview with Blancalmarem and Nemengra?”

“Thanks, but I gotta hit the road,” replied Vicky. “Still, that was a good fight! Keep on winning, Arsha.”

“Thanks,” bid Arsha. “Good luck on future endeavors. Maybe we’ll see each other again.”

“Maybe,” mused Vicky. “Who knows? See ya!” She left the tent. Following a few seconds after was the starting of a motorcycle engine. The motorcycle then made a noise indicating that it had sped away from the tent. Arsha was then returned to her ship, greeted by her bridge crew and Goblin Ensign, and congratulated on all sides. Just then, Shalvey got something on her console.

“Captain, the Ark and Vorton wish to extend their congratulations to you!” she called.

“Tell them I happily accept and…!” directed Arsha happily.

“Captain,” called Malak, “a ship is approaching us.”

“A ship?” asked Arsha. “Can you identify it?”

“Running matches,” reported Malak. “…Match found! It’s the Nemesis!”

“Red alert!” ordered Arsha as she removed her hairpiece. “Advise the Ark and Vorton that an enemy is approaching us.”

“They’re already raising shields and charging weapons,” reported Shalvey.

“Lock weapons onto the enemy vessel,” ordered Arsha.

“Weapons locked on target,” replied Malak. “…Strange. They’re not doing the same.”

“Are you sure?” asked Arsha.

“Captain, Megatron’s hailing you,” called Shalvey.

“Me?” asked Arsha.

“You, Megumi, and Optimus, all by name,” confirmed Shalvey.

“On screen,” ordered Arsha. Megatron appeared on screen. Judging by the fact that he was on a chair styled after the Decepticon Symbol, it was easy to believe Megatron was on the Nemesis’ bridge. Optimus and Megumi appeared as well.

“I understand your concern,” assured Megatron, “but I promise I’m not here to fight. I only wish to negotiate.”

“On what, visitation rights for Vorton? Forget it!” snarled Optimus.

“I’d guess the release of Hiro,” growled Megumi.

“You are correct,” confirmed Megatron. “I have a Decepticon of equal value to Hiro. I propose an exchange, the bot for the leader of Shocker Rift.”

“…Give us until Optimus finishes his bout,” answered Megumi. “We will have your answer by then.”

“His bout?” asked Megatron.

“The three of us,” explained Optimus, “are in a multiversal fighting tournament.”

“…And First Place Prize is?” quizzed Megatron.

“Not any of your concern, if the winner between the three of us is careful,” answered Megumi.

“Very well,” finished Megatron. “We’ll be outside Vorton’s weapons range. Tell me your decision once Optimus finishes his bout. Oh, Optimus?”

“Yes?” Optimus asked in a careful tone.

“Good luck,” bid Megatron. The call ended and the Nemesis moved outside Vorton’s weapons range while still remaining in visual range.

“I’ll go tell Hiro about this development,” declared Megumi.

“I’ll keep watch on the Nemesis,” replied Arsha.

“I gotta go practice with my bat’leth,” finished Optimus. “See you all later.” The call ended.

“Mr. Nazay,” called Arsha, “take up an observation position. Make sure we’re facing the Nemesis. Shalvey, Thangred, Malak, I want all sensors working correctly as we monitor the Nemesis for any activity.”

“Aye, Captain,” confirmed Nazay.

“How will we be observing Optimus’ bout?” asked Thangred.

“It will still be on the main screen,” replied Arsha as she returned her hairpiece back onto its usual position, “but I need you three to give a little more attention to your jobs at this time. You may still strategically look up to see how the bout is progressing.”

“Aye, Captain,” replied Malak. Everyone did their jobs with naval precision.

“I told you the engines needed cleaning!” Liam snapped at Lukas and Megumi.

“Okay, okay, so we were wrong!” growled Lukas. “Sue us!”

“You mingle with these idiots?!” snapped a voice that sounded like it was covered in saliva. The three turned to see an obese man with zits all over his face, his ears covered by a headset with a microphone on it, and was transported in a flying chair with packets of Doritos on the left and Mountain Dew bottles on the right.

“Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999, if I’m not mistaken,” muttered Megumi. “Where do you get off calling my engineers idiots?”

“Everyone beneath those in power is an idiot!” snapped Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. “Why not?! They weren’t smart enough to seize power!”

“Yes, because hiding behind a computer screen is powerful,” dismissed Megumi.

“Watch it, lady!” snarled Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. “You’re just begging to be humiliated by me! Ain’t that right, fellas?! Ah, here come the comments agreeing with me!”

“Do you ever leave that seat?” asked Liam.

“Or eat anything else?” continued Lukas. “Anything healthy?”

“Healthy shmealthy!” scoffed Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. “I don’t need to take care of myself. My Mechanized Operations Manager does it for me, right while I’m in the heart of a sub-dwelling where I belong.”

“So, you live in M.O.M’s basement,” groaned Megumi. “Great, a basement troll that gives gamers like my husband a bad rap!”

“I’m a True Gamer!” shouted Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. “Why should I hover here and suffer your slander?!”

“I’m a Kamen Rider and a Japanese woman who tells it like it is,” replied Megumi. “Unusual for most Japanese women. I thought my dossier said that.”

“I only concerned myself,” scoffed Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999, “with those M.O.M considered worth my time. Empress Mel! Bolt Boy! Ultragingana, now THERE would have been a fight! But no, who do I have? A Gamer of equal measure? No! Some knock-off Power Ranger!”

“There are many in Japan,” remarked Megumi, “that say Power Rangers are a knock-off of our Super Sentai. I take it, things haven’t been going so well for you?”

“You obviously read MY dossier,” Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 replied with a voice he thought was a sexy purr, but sounded rather UN-sexy. “So, why dance around the issue?”

“Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999,” answered Megumi as she relayed what his dossier said about him. “Real name: Andrew Schwartz. Forced to hide after murdering his parents because he didn’t get the game he wanted. Now wanted for murder in every state, he hides away in an undisclosed location, scrambling his origin when livestreaming and seeing to it that various facial recognition programs, both computerized and live, are baffled. He enjoys his anonymity but it’s rapidly fading! Stop me if any of this is wrong.”

“The Master Wand,” snarled Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999, “will give me total control of the entire planet! I could get away with anything if I had it! And YOU, Lady, YOU are my first stepping stone!”

“Then how do you wish to contend with me?” asked Megumi as a smirk crossed her face.

“What is your video game knowledge level?” quizzed Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“Moderate, at best,” admitted Megumi. “Never really liked Sony. Nintendo’s better.”

“I never liked Nintendo and prefer Sony, so you made it fair for both of us,” chuckled Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. “A trivia contest. Each of us will ask a question about Sony or Nintendo. You ask me Nintendo based questions; I ask you Sony based ones. Whoever fails to answer correctly, or at all, is the loser! No other game companies may be brought in, no help, only three guesses per question.”

“Fine,” declared Megumi. “Our battlefield?”

“My lair,” answered Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“The challenge has been set, the terms have been agreed upon, and the chance of victory is agreeable for both sides,” declared Verdutha’s voice. “Marrulem, the brown princess of Chizara and the land-animal leader, will be judging. In an hour, your fight begins! Prepare and make ready! Good luck!

“I will see you in an hour,” laughed Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. He vanished in green light as he cackled.

“May the best gamer win,” Megumi declared.

“…Charming fellow,” muttered Lukas.

---

Arsha paced the Gateway room with anticipation. Her opponent had been selected for her first round and she was ready to meet him or her. “Captain, easy,” advised Bashoon. “You’re vibrating faster than a wild Wyvern.”

“I’m both nervous and excited,” explained Arsha. “Can’t wait to see who I’m fighting!” A woman then came in via a purple light. It wasn’t Moradelia. Rather, it was a woman in her mid-thirties and dressed in cargo pants and a hoodie while carrying a backpack.

“So, you’re my opponent in the first round,” chuckled the woman. “I gotta say, for someone so young, by your universe’s standards, you’ve seen a lot. At least, that’s what I read from your dossier.”

“Everyone needs to do some traveling at some point in their life,” replied Arsha. “You’re Vicky, right?”

“Vicky, professional wanderer, at your service,” confirmed the woman as she made a sweeping bow. “So, how do you want to settle who’s going up to the next round? I intend to use that wand to go anywhere I want.”

“How about a balancing act?” challenged Arsha. “I bet you my weakest tail can keep a stack of books balanced longer than your arms can.”

“Oh yeah?!” replied Vicky. “I’ll have you know, I balanced 39 foot high stacks at the library on my pinky! You’re on!”

“We’ll balance a foot tall stack on our respective limbs and have to balance ourselves on a rope,” elaborated Arsha. “Whoever keeps the stack straight longest or stays on the rope is the winner.”

“Deal!” agreed Vicky. “Our battlefield?”

“Why don’t you pick?” suggested Arsha.

“All right, the old circus tent in my hometown!” declared Vicky.

“Very well,” confirmed Arsha.

“The challenge has been set, the terms have been agreed upon, and the chance of victory is agreeable for both sides,” declared Moradelia’s voice. “Vioazira, the blue-violet princess of Chizara and the sea-animal leader, will be judging. Tomorrow, your fight begins! Prepare and make ready! Good luck!” Vicky then vanished in purple light.

“I look forward to it!” chuckled Arsha.

---

Optimus awaited his opponent’s appearance on the Promenade. He had a bat’leth in his hand and looked around. He then became aware of a flash of pink light as a red-skinned woman about his size approached him. She dressed in a gold trimmed gi and wore her hair in a short and curled style. She looked like a stereotypical demon with hooves for feet, a pointed tail, powerful looking wings, and a pair of curved horns on her head. She also carried a bat’leth and approached Optimus in a friendly manner. “I understand you are my opponent,” she greeted as she stuck her hand out for a handshake. “Optimus Prime, correct?”

“That’s me,” confirmed Optimus as he shook her hand. “You’re the Great Demoness, Alfalna, right?”

“I am,” answered the woman. “Eager to try out your bat’leth skills?”

“I wanted to see how much of your blood is Klingon,” replied Optimus.

“A very Klingon answer,” chuckled Alfalna. “How shall victory be decided?”

“The loser will have to be sprawled on the ground without their bat’leth,” answered Optimus.

“And our battlefield?” asked Alfalna.

“Lady’s choice,” replied Optimus.

“Very well, the Golden Palace’s Courtyard,” decided Alfalna.

“The question then become ‘when’,” mused Optimus.

“The challenge has been set, the terms have been agreed upon, and the chance of victory is agreeable for both sides,” declared Rosadera’s voice. “Amartonadii, the yellow princess of Chizara and the health leader, will be judging. Tomorrow, your fight begins! Prepare and make ready! Good luck!”

“Optimus, Qapla’!” (Klingon for Success!) bid Alfalna.

“Qapla’!” returned Optimus. Alfalna then vanished in a flash of pink light.

“All personnel, this is POmega,” called the Portal Operator. “Megumi’s fight is beginning. Please find your seats and make sure you are comfortable.”

“Ark, this is Optimus! One to beam to the bridge!” Optimus faded from Vorton and arrived on the Ark’s bridge. The Autobots were ALL there! Adding Optimus to the mix almost caused some shoving. Once everyone seated themselves, Optimus got out his bag of Energon Munchies as the viewscreen displayed a dimly lit room littered with Dorito bags and Mountain Dew bottles. Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 clapped his hands twice and the mess was cleared away.

“Have to make things neat for the ladies,” he remarked to Megumi as she sniffed the air.

“Is that…stale pizza I’m smelling?” she gagged.

“Women. Never let a guy win,” muttered Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

---

“Oh, I hope she beats him for that!” hissed Bashoon as everyone on the Endeavor’s bridge crew got a good view.

“If I may be a little selfish,” muttered Arsha, “I’m glad it’s not me facing him.” A third woman then appeared in brown light. She was heavy-set and wore a ballgown of brown. Her sleeves were disconnected and she wore a hairpiece of three brown flowers at the right of her hair.

---

“I am Marrulem, the brown princess of Chizara and the land animal leader,” introduced the woman to a floating camera. “The combatants are ready for their first bout! Representing Universe 4-P-0-C-4-L-Y-P-T-1-C-G-4-M-3-R-5, we have Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 with home turf advantage! Representing her new home of 8-3-Y-0-N-D-C-1-T-Y and a permanent student of that universe’s leading educational institute, heck, the MULTIVERSE’S leading educational institute, we have Megumi Hishikawa! The fight will be a trivia battle! Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 will be asking Megumi questions about Sony while Megumi will be asking questions about Nintendo. Each participant shall have a maximum of three guesses per question. Whoever fails to answer correctly or at all is the loser. No outside help may be used and each may ONLY ask questions about Nintendo or Sony, no other game companies. Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999, are you ready?”

“Ready as always!” chuckled Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“Megumi Hishikawa,” asked Marrulem, “are you ready?”

“I’m ready,” confirmed Megumi.

“Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999, as we are in your home universe,” called Marrulem, “you will ask the first question. Begin!”

“Where does Sony get its name?” asked Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“Easy, from the Latin word Sonus, meaning sound,” answered Megumi.

“And Megumi scores her first point!” cheered Marrulem.

“My turn,” declared Megumi. “What was Mario’s original name in the original Donkey Kong?”

“Er, let’s see…”muttered Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. “Er, OH! Jumpman!” Megumi winced.

“Now both are tied with one correct answer each,” announced Marrulem.

“What were the circumstances that brought about the PlayStation?” asked Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. Megumi gulped. She thought hard, not wanting to resort to guessing. “…Someone doesn’t know,” chuckled Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 darkly.

“Hang on!” protested Megumi. She then thought back and remembered seeing the After Academy Game Magazine of two months ago as it was talking about the PlayStation. She then mentally flipped the pages and found it! “Nintendo once asked Sony to develop an add-on that would play discs for its video games consoles. After the partnership collapsed, Sony decided to make its personal console, enter the PlayStation!” Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 slammed his fist onto his chair’s armrest in frustration.

---

“That’s two for Megumi!” called Marrulem on the viewscreen. The Vortex Riders breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s my girl!” cheered Emily.

“Your girl?!” protested Richard.

---

“It’s your turn,” Marrulem directed Megumi.

“The first release of Mario Kart,” began Megumi, “had an ending that was controversial to America. What was so controversial?” Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 started wracking his brains

“Come on, think!” he snarled to himself. “What’s so controversial to Americans that the Japanese don’t?!”

“Plenty of things, really,” remarked Megumi.

“…Oooo, damn it, I gotta guess!” groaned Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. “Er…alcoholic victory drink!”

“…Damn,” sighed Megumi. Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 cheered.

“Knew it all along!” he boasted.

“Sure,” mumbled Marrulem under her breath. “Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999, your question?”

“How many PlayStation consoles were sold in 1998?” asked Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. This was a puzzler as bad as Megumi’s.

“Come on, come on, come on!” she groaned. “…Agh, no good! I need to guess!”

“Let’s hear them,” chuckled Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“20 thousand!” guessed Megumi.

“Nope,” replied Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“Er, er, er, 90 billion!” theorized Megumi.

“Strike 2!” laughed Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. Megumi then started muttering to herself.

“90 thousand, 80 trillion, 50 million,” she whimpered.

“What was that?!” yelped Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. Megumi then realized why he was so afraid.

“In 1998, 50 million PlayStations were sold!” declared Megumi with a grin! Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 roared in frustration.

“Your turn!” he snarled.

“All right, since you posed the numbers question, here’s a history question,” replied Megumi. “What did Nintendo originally manufacture in its early days in the latter half of the 19^th century?”

“…It can’t be THAT old!” snapped Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. “No game company is!”

“Nintendo is about as old as any company when it comes to games,” replied Megumi. “However, it was founded on September 23, 1889, long before even a computer was thought up. Again I repeat, what did it manufacture during its early days?”

“That…that can’t…I mean, it was always…I need to guess!” declared Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“Guess away,” conceded Megumi.

“Pottery kits!” guessed Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“Try again,” refuted Megumi.

“Erm, ah, fans!” gulped Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“Nope. Last guess,” chuckled Megumi. Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 was flustered. He wracked his brains for an answer. This lasted over a minute. “Come on, we both have busy schedules,” urged Megumi. Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 spluttered and hissed in frustration for a minute more.

“Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999, your guess, now!” demanded Marrulem.

“Silk or wooden toys!” called Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“That was two guesses in one,” remarked Marrulem.

“Oh, allow him that,” insisted Megumi.

“Are you sure?” asked Marrulem. Megumi nodded. “All right. It didn’t help him anyways. Both are wrong.”

“WHAT?!” wailed Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“Nintendo originally produced cards called Hanafuda,” chuckled Megumi. “they were used for a variety of games. I’d go further, but it looks like you’re not interested.” That was an understatement. Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 was reduced to a frothing mess of rage.

“This contest is over!” cheered Marrulem. “The winner is Megumi Hishikawa! Megumi, you will be returned to your home. Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999, though you have suffered a defeat, know that it only brings as much dishonor as you feel necessary. Would you care for an interview with Blancalmarem and Nemengra?”

“Forget it!” snarled Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. “This whole thing was rigged! Mark my words, Megumi Hishikawa, you’ll rue the day you crossed Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999!”

“We’ll see,” scoffed Megumi. “Bye-bye!” She and Marrulem faded in brown light and returned to Vorton. Everyone cheered her on her victory!

“An excellent move!” cheered Arsha when she and her crew approached the crowd. The Autobots joined in the throng as well.

“Drinks are on me!” called Megumi.

---

“Oh, just you wait!” ranted Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999. “When I get my hands on you, I’ll make you call me Da…!” That was when it all fell apart. Law Enforcement broke into his sanctuary.

“Andrew Schwartz, you’re under arrest!” snarled the Officer.

“HOW DID YOU…?!” wailed Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999.

“It wasn’t that hard when people gave noise complaints and you shut down M.O.M!” replied the Officer as he yanked the basement troll out of his chair. Ub3r_g4m3r_likesjak21999 was no more and Andrew Schwartz was taken to prison.

While preparations for the 3V2R were going on, Megatron, Dr. Borg, and their respective organizations as well as Shocker Rift, had regrouped in Megatron’s universe, the Decepticon/Eggman moon base, to be exact. Megatron looked out the window of his office and saw the various ships hanging in the sky. His processor was stuck in a loop about what happened on Vorton. He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the door chime. “Enter,” he rasped. A hefty-looking Decepticon stomped in as Dr. Borg flew past him and landed on Megatron’s desk.

“2^nd Lieutenant Quake Hammer, reporting for duty,” boomed the new Decepticon.

“Welcome,” greeted Megatron. “I’ll make this brief; I need you for an exchange.”

“Sir?” asked Quake Hammer.

“One of our allies, Hiro,” explained Megatron, “is being held prisoner by the Autobots. You are on the DJD’s list for desertion under fire back in the first war, so we will have a prisoner exchange. You get to avoid a visit from the DJD and we get our ally back.”

“Understood, sir,” replied Quake Hammer.

“Dismissed,” directed Megatron. Quake Hammer saluted and left the office in crisp, military fashion.

“Hiro’s not going to like that the yes-man we promised,” mused Dr. Borg, “is used as a bargaining chip to secure his freedom.”

“Quake Hammer is not the yes-man I’m trying to get ahold of,” remarked Megatron. “What brings you here?”

“Fleet buildup is progressing as we expected,” replied Dr. Borg.

“Damn,” hissed Megatron.

“Where’s Dr. Eggman?” asked Dr. Borg. “He’s supposed to help me and make the work go faster!”

“One of the greatest mysteries of the ages,” snarled Megatron. The door chimed again. “Enter,” barked Megatron. Soundwave came in.

“Hey, Lord Megatron!” he called. “Guess who decided to grace us with his presence?” One of his tendrils then dropped the Egg-mobile with Eggman in it.

“Well, well, well,” snarked Dr. Borg. “Welcome back to your allies, Doctor, if that doctorate you’ve earned came from an accredited university!”

“What are you blathering about?!” snapped Eggman.

“Where have you been?” demanded Megatron.

“What do you mean?” asked Eggman.

“We’ve barely seen you these past few weeks,” elaborated Dr. Borg. “Where have you been?”

“I have a life outside of you lot, you know,” dismissed Eggman.

“A life that makes you undetectable?” accused Soundwave. Eggman said nothing. “I hope you’re up to date on what happened with Vorton.”

“Yes, I…I heard,” stammered Eggman.

“You HEARD!” roared Megatron. “How nice! A scientist with an i.q. of 300, a station with scientific marvels ripe for the taking, and you HEARD about it!”

“What crawled up your tailpipe and died?!” snapped Eggman.

“Oh, I don’t know,” growled Megatron, “maybe it’s because Soundwave and the cassettes have been unable to find you until YOU decide to make an appearance! In case you hadn’t HEARD, Soundwave is VERY thorough at surveillance! It seems a little odd that he can’t find YOU!”

“Don’t ask me!” snapped Eggman.

“But we ARE asking you!” replied Dr. Borg. “Sincerely! WHERE?! HAVE?! YOU?! BEEN?!”

“That’s none of your concern! All of you!” shouted Eggman.

“Funny, isn’t it?” asked Soundwave. “You always disappear whenever Caan skirts the edges of our sensors!”

“…All of you can just go straight to Hell!” Eggman finished as he got into his Egg-mobile and moved to the door.

“Doctor Eggman, you are NOT dismissed!” snarled Megatron. Eggman didn’t listen and just left the office. Megatron cycled air through his olfactory apparatus to try and steady his temper. “Soundwave, give Eggman top surveillance priority,” he ordered.

“As you command, Megatron,” replied Soundwave.

---

“And I’m saying it’s the flow regulator!” Lukas argued with Liam. “We’ve been over this!”

“What we’ve been over, Laddie,” replied Liam, “is that the flow regulator has been replaced a dozen times and the problem STILL hasn’t been fixed! It’s the engines themselves that need fixing! The ash cloud Mt. Doom spewed is clogging the intake and they need cleaning!”

“Then why do my readings say that the engines are fine?!” protested Lukas.

“Why don’t you go inside the damn thing,” snapped Liam, “and then tell me the engines are fine?!”

“Liam, if Megumi’s going up against Ultragingana,” urged Lukas, “and she picks the fight terms, we’re gonna need the Virginia at top performance sooner rather than later!”

“Er, excuse me,” called Megumi’s voice. Liam and Lukas turned to face her. “Could you gentlemen take this somewhere else? I need to use the Chizaran frequency. I’m expecting a call.”

“Are the Chizarans contacting you?” asked Lukas.

“No, it’s for the other contestants,” explained Megumi. “After Arsha’s preliminary round with Priest 072486 and what Queen Phury nearly did in HER preliminary round, we’re all required to contact at least three other competitors just to do a little dialogue with each other in the interests of good sportsmanship. Arsha managed to talk to Buncho yesterday and said that she’s pretty insightful for a bunch of fruit.”

“All right, we’ll leave you to it,” declared Liam. “I’ll just detail a team to help me clean out the engines.”

“IT’S THE FLOW REGULATOR!” shouted Megumi and Lukas as the two men walked off.

“NOT YOU TOO, MEGUMI!” protested Liam’s voice. Once they were gone, Megumi keyed in a code on a computer terminal and a hologram of a cat appeared. It was a Maine Coon and wore a collar with a red tie on it. It had just finished grooming itself and looked up at Megumi.

“Hi, you’ve reached the Vortex Riders’ Spaceship Repair Shop where YOUR CHIEF ENGINEER IS RIGHT AND YOU KNOW IT, LIAM!” called Megumi. The Maine Coon’s ear twitched in confusion.

“What?” it asked.

“Nothing,” sighed Megumi. “Just a disagreement over something. I’m Megumi Hishikawa and you are…Mr. Flufferkins, right?”

“The 46^th president of the United States, himself,” confirmed the Maine Coon. “…What’s the disagreement about?”

“It’s about our ship, the Virginia,” explained Megumi. “If we face Ultragingana, we need that thing up and running.”

“You’ll need it, yes,” remarked Mr. Flufferkins, “but not against Ultragingana.”

“Oh?” asked Megumi. “Why?”

“Because I’LL be fighting her in my giant robot!” explained Mr. Flufferkins. “After which, you can take me on in your little ship.”

“Feeling a little confident, are we?” chuckled Megumi. “Are you fighting her this round?”

“No, I’m going up against Beatrice,” replied Mr. Flufferkins. “As someone who’s read the visual novels about her, I’m a little worried.”

“Just be careful,” warned Megumi. “She’s crafty.”

“She’s catlike in her thinking,” remarked Mr. Flufferkins, “so I MAY have a chance there.”

“Who IS Ultragingana fighting against this round?” asked Megumi.

“They just announced it. That wizard, er, Grand Wizard Emirdo, I think,” mused Mr. Flufferkins. “He told me his magic plane will bring down any beast.”

“Really?” snarked Megumi. “He’s going to use his plane against Ultragingana? How original because Kaiju are ALWAYS weak to planes.”

“I know, right?!” laughed Mr. Flufferkins. “But, enough about her, let’s talk about you. How did you get to be Queen?”

“Originally, the Feudal Nerd Society,” explained Megumi, “was an activist group that dealt with all sorts of problems. The Vortech Wars then changed that and we became Kamen Riders. Soon, our titles became real and the F.N.S became universe hopping superheroes. Even after Vortech’s defeat, his old subordinate, Hiro, still gave us grief…until now.”

“I heard about Hiro losing his wife to the Daleks,” sympathized Mr. Flufferkins. “I can’t offer enough condolences.”

“He’s still grieving in solitary confinement,” relayed Megumi. “Physically, he’s all right. Mentally, we’re not sure.”

“Grief always leaves one irrational,” sighed Mr. Flufferkins. “I was that way when my human died. She was a good lady. After she got my predecessor’s assets, money, and all, she liquidated them and gave it all to the poor. She got the Presidential Medal of Freedom for that.”

“Good for her,” praised Megumi. “She sounds like a lovely lady.”

“She’d support the F.N.S, I can guarantee,” mused Mr. Flufferkins.

“Now, about how you secured eight terms,” ventured Megumi.

“Nine, now,” replied Mr. Flufferkins. “I just got reelected. How did I secure at least a third term?”

“I take it, you get asked that a lot,” muttered Megumi.

“Donald’s doing,” chuckled Mr. Flufferkins. “He removed the two-year limit in a bid to secure more power. Joke’s on him, I was his Democratic opponent. The American People would rather have a cat run the country than an orangutan like him.”

“Our universe’s Trump has been impeached by the House right now,” explained Megumi.

“Here’s hoping the Senate sees sense,” wished Mr. Flufferkins. “Good talking to you. I’m gonna run some drills.”

“See you soon!” cheered Megumi.

By the way, one last thing before I go,” warned Mr. Flufferkins, “Vortech had followers besides Hiro, people who agreed with his methods of uniting the multiverse. Watch your back.”

“Will do,” promised Megumi. The hologram then faded, leaving Megumi to her thoughts.

---

Flora approached an apartment complex in Beyond City. She hesitated ringing a buzzer, then summoned the willpower to go through with it. “Yes?” asked Swalmu’s voice over the intercom.

“I…It’s Flora,” stammered the girl. “May I come in?”

“Of course,” replied Swalmu. The door then opened and Flora stepped in. She then entered an elevator and rang for the 9^th floor. It went up in a few seconds and chimed once at the correct floor. She then went down the hall to apartment 923 and rang the buzzer. “Coming!” called Swalmu. He opened the door and grinned when seeing Flora. “Welcome, welcome!” he bid. “Please, come in!” Flora stepped in and looked around. “What can I do for you?” asked Swalmu.

“It’s…er…” stammered Flora. “Well…it’s…can anyone wear…a cloud dress?”

“Why, yes,” replied Swalmu, “but it DOES require a day of training. After that, you can summon clouds at your leisure and shape them as you see fit. …Why do you ask?”

“Because I want to wear one and be safe, just like when I’m with you,” replied Flora. She then gasped and covered her mouth in surprise. “Er…that is…I mean…” She covered her face as she blushed like mad.

“…You feel safe when you’re with me?” asked Swalmu. He then smiled. “Oddly enough, I feel safe when I’m with you.” Flora looked up at him, still blushing. “Flora,” continued Swalmu, “I’ve never really had much in the way of friends. Even amongst my fellow Zephyrs, I felt like I was alone. I had a loving family, but one needs friends. With you around, I am always assured that I now have friends. Honestly, I want to spend more time with you.” Flora was smiling happily.

“I want to spend more time with you too!” she cheered as she hugged him. They then went for the kiss…nose-first. They massaged one another’s nose to get rid of the discomfort. “We both need practice,” mused Flora.

“Indeed,” replied Swalmu. “Now, how one obtains their cloud dress, well, it’s similar to how we Zephyrs get it when we’re babies. Our parents usually blanket us in theirs and teach us over time. For babies, it takes roughly 10 years. For adults like you and me, we get it on the first go around.”

“Do I…need to…?” Flora indicated the clothes she was wearing.

“Heights, no,” replied Swalmu. “Not until you’ve got your dress.” Flora breathed a sigh of relief. Swalmu’s clouds then wrapped around Flora and she sighed in happiness. “Now, I need to you to answer just three questions as you concentrate on the clouds surrounding you. No need to answer them aloud, just answer in your head.” Flora closed her eyes to first concentrate on the clouds touching her. “First,” began Swalmu, “what does the cloud mean to you? Second, who is benefitting from the cloud’s meaning? Third, how can the cloud help you achieve that meaning? Concentrate on those three questions while concentrating on the clouds surrounding you.” Flora kept her breathing steady as she considered her answers. In her mind, she was walking on the clouds.

“What does the cloud mean to you?” asked a voice. Flora sat down and thought before answering.

“It means protection,” she answered. “It means that a person can feel so happy and protected. Soft, but a well-established barrier.”

“Who is benefitting from this protection?” asked the voice.

“Well…if I may be a little selfish…me,” replied Flora. “Of course, I want to share that safe feeling with those I care about. I want my friends to share in my feeling of safety.”

“How can the cloud help you achieve protection for yourself and those you bring into protection?” quizzed the voice.

“…I want to be able to have my hand free,” declared Flora. “I want it to surround me and keep me safe, but I want to bring others into my safe place too.”

“…Open and revel in your cloud,” declared the voice. Flora opened her eyes and looked around. Swalmu had moved away from her, leaving her slightly confused. She could still feel a cloud enveloping her body, aside from her left hand and right arm. She then looked down in hope. Her hope paid off as she was wearing a cloud dress.

“I think I’m gonna cry,” she whimpered happily. She then tackled-hugged Swalmu and smothered him with kisses. Swalmu offered feeble resistance.

---

The first fight of Round 1 had completed and Blancalmarem and Nemengra were beginning their broadcast. “I am Blancalmarem, the white princess of Chizara and the life leader,” began Blancalmarem.

“I am Nemengra, the black princess of Chizara and the death leader,” finished Nemengra.

“And the first round is underway as Returning Fighter and Crowd Favorite, Buncho, has claimed victory over Supremo the Terrible!” cheered Blancalmarem. A picture of Buncho sitting on a pile of rocks was displayed

“Buncho, as shown here in her victory against a fighter of the Temlins’ Contest of Champions, Pilo,” continued Nemengra, “has made it to Second Place a couple of times. Defeating someone like Supremo, the Ruler of the Chaos Reality, this early in the tournament was certainly a feather in her cap.”

“While he HAS been infamous for refusing previous interviews,” supplied Blancalmarem, “Nemengra and I finally managed to gain one for this tournament.”

“Here is the footage of the interview,” Nemengra went on as a screen came on. “Perhaps those at home will gain insight on this powerful warrior.” The screen then displayed the two Chizaran princesses talking to a muscular man dressed in a stereotypical evil overlord outfit and an electronic mouthpiece over his mouth and jaw.

“There was a brief moment in the fight,” mused Blancalmarem during the interview, “where you appeared to have turned the tables on Buncho by unleashing your Sword of Infinite Power on her. Care to tell us what happened?” Supremo’s mouthpiece replied in harsh beeps, clicks, and whirs.

“If you had to do it all over again, what would you have done differently?” asked Nemengra. More beeps, clicks, and whirs answered her question.

“So, you think Buncho has the power of a despot like yourself, just not the will of one?” inquired Blancalmarem for clarification. A longer string of beeps, clicks, and whirs were her answer, along with a few censoring bleeps as Supremo slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair.

“Any particular last thoughts on Buncho?” quizzed Nemengra. Supremo appeared to be calming himself before he replied in his usual beeps, clicks, and whirs.

“Well, thank you for your time,” bid Blancalmarem. “We know you have a very busy schedule putting down the Orderly Resistance.”

“May we see you in the next tournament, oh Destroyer of Hope,” Supremo gave his thanks in two clicks and bowed as he stood up, not wanting to seem rude. God-like beings are, after all, god-like. The screen then went black as Blancalmarem and Nemengra returned to their audience.

“For someone who conquers and enslaves, he’s surprisingly friendly to talk to,” chuckled Blancalmarem.

“We’ll be covering the next fight with two first-time fighters, Megumi Hishikawa and Uber_g4m3r_likesjak21999,” revealed Nemengra. “But first, a word from one of our sponsors, Trooga Soda!”

“Trooga Soda!” called the announcer. “Enjoy a nice meal with the nectar of the gods!”

Vorton was back to normal operational status as Megumi sat in her room. Hiro was perfectly content to stay in solitary confinement so he could grieve in peace. She would never wish the kind of hell Hiro’s going through onto anyone. She looked out the window for a bit until the door chimed. “Come in,” she bid.

“Thinking about Hiro?” guessed her husband’s voice.

“I’d never wish for anyone’s children to die in the womb,” replied Megumi as she got up so she could sit in Richard’s lap. She wiggled a little to sit comfortably while Richard wrapped his arms around her.

“…How do you want to proceed with him?” asked Richard. “We can’t keep him in the brig forever.”

“He wants to bury Igura in their home universe,” answered Megumi. “After which, I don’t know. I know he has to go to trial for his crimes, but does he need that now?”

“I can’t answer that with any measure of authority,” sighed Richard. They both just sat there, content to look at the stars surrounding Vorton. The door chimed again.

“Who could that be?” muttered Megumi. “Come in!” The door opened to reveal Moradelia.

“I’m not interrupting, am I?” she asked.

“Not at all,” replied Megumi. “Please, come in. What can I do for you? …Wait, why didn’t you appear as you usually do?”

“I heard about Hiro and figured you didn’t need any surprises while thinking about him,” explained Moradelia. “Optimus and Arsha are being visited by Rojenthi and Verdutha, respectively.”

“What’s the occasion?” asked Richard.

“All of the contestants have been selected and all dossiers are compiled,” replied Moradelia as she handed Megumi a folder of the dossiers. “We will give you two weeks according to your universe’s time scale. I would recommend you give copies of the dossiers to all of your friends and make plans for any potential threats.”

“Thank you!” praised Megumi as she accepted the folder. “We sure will!”

“I will see you in two weeks, then!” cheered Moradelia as she departed in a purple flash of light.

“I better contact Optimus and Arsha,” declared Megumi as she dashed to the comms.

“Do you…need me to…?” asked Richard as he pointed to the door.

“You can stay,” replied Megumi. “I may need you to relay the news.”

“Got it, sweetheart,” confirmed Richard. Megumi made her call and Optimus and Arsha appeared.

“Hello!” she called. “Did you two get your dossiers?”

“Sure did,” confirmed Arsha. “We should probably have a meeting with our teams about this.”

“Would tomorrow morning work?” asked Optimus.

“Fine by me,” replied Arsha.

“Vorton’s fixed up enough,” mused Megumi. “My engineers need a small break. We’ll meet at Castle Nerd Skull’s hangar at 9:00. We’ll inform everyone about the biggest threats to our reaching the semifinals and start thinking up strategies to overcome them.”

“I’ve got an electronic copy of the dossiers,” offered Optimus. “If you two need copies made for everyone in your groups, we can still plan with mine.”

“Just leave mine and Megumi’s out,” advised Arsha.

“Richard-chan, could you make some copies of the dossiers and tell everyone about the meeting tomorrow?” asked Megumi.

“Sure will!” replied Richard. He took the dossier folder and headed out to make the copies.

“Ensign Barmek,” Arsha called to her left.

“Yes, Captain?” asked Bashoon.

“I need you to have these dossiers copied so everyone can have a copy for a meeting at Castle Nerd Skull tomorrow morning,” directed Arsha. “Make sure everyone knows about the meeting when they receive their copies.”

“Aye, Captain,” confirmed Bashoon as she took the folder and headed off.

“She’s gonna go far in Realmfleet, I just know it,” chuckled Arsha. “Now then, let’s do some planning.”

---

The next morning came and everyone arrived at Castle Nerd Skull’s hangar. The Autobots were in their alt-modes, Dyno-bots too, and were waiting for their respective leaders to start. “Minna-san!” began Megumi. “How are we today?”

“We’re a little confused,” admitted Moe.

“Why do we have fighter dossiers?” asked Larry.

“The only time we needed them was when one of us won the Verse Vs. Verse Rumble Royale,” remarked Curly.

“Well, Optimus, Arsha, and I are in the current one,” explained Megumi.

“Oh!” realized Curly.

“Well, congratulations!” praised Moe.

“Hey, we’re missing someone!” called Larry.

“He’s right,” interjected Usagi I. “Where’s Mickey?

“He…declined attending,” replied Richard. “He said he had business to take care of in his home universe. Apparently, Maleficent is spreading a curse over the park.”

“You know, I’m getting a little sick of Mickey not being here when we need him,” muttered Emily.

“Never mind him,” advised Megumi. “We’ll start without him. Does everyone have a folder of dossiers?”

“We do,” replied Ultra Magnus as he spoke for the Autobots.

“So do we,” answered Oak for the Endeavor crew.

“And us,” finished Richard.

“Even we do,” called Scorpainia as she spoke for the Horsemen and their Heralds.

“Perfect!” cheered Megumi. “Then we shall begin.”

“As many of you know,” began Arsha, “Optimus, Megumi, and I were invited to participate in the Verse Vs. Verse Rumble Royale. We were each declared worthy enough to participate and we hadn’t received any news about it until yesterday.”

“To help prepare the participants,” continued Optimus, “the Chizarans, the ones running this whole shindig, send out detailed dossiers about the competitors to everyone fighting. The fact is, if we’re in this, we’re each in it to win it.”

“First Place prize is known in many realities as the Master Wand,” supplied Megumi, “a wand that can let you do ANYTHING you want from alchemy to surpassing the gods themselves. The three of us agreed that that’s just too much power for anyone to have, so one of us is locking it away.”

“And Megumi’s implying what you think she’s implying,” Arsha went on. “The three of us have an agreement that we need to stay together until we get to the semifinals. After that, all bets are off and we’re each making a grab for the prize so one of us can lock it away for all time.”

“As such, we’re each keeping our strategies towards each other secret,” Optimus continued. “To sum up, I have plans on how to beat Megumi and Arsha, but I’m not telling them, just as they’re not telling me how they intend to beat me. Right now, this meeting will be centered on preparations.”

“Preparations for what?” asked Twaldar.

“Enhancing our tech,” began Megumi.

“Brushing up on our magic,” continued Arsha.

“Keeping our teamwork up to scratch,” finished Optimus.

“Well, we DO have something on our side,” mused Lukas. “With Herr Tails’ help, we were able to determine what happened when our enemies fled Vorton after Mordor fell.”

“Bad news first,” directed Megumi.

“Shields and weapons are still ruined,” replied Lukas.

“In addition, it’s taking a long time to install our backup systems,” reported Rusty. “I’d say we’re only 12.5 percent done. We’re still sorting through it, but a lot of hardware still needs repairs before every system is back online.”

“And the good news?” asked Megumi.

“We still have a fix on Mobius and the Realms,” answered Lukas. “On top of that, Dell studied the Ascendant and came to an interesting discovery. Herr Conagher?”

“Much obliged,” replied Dell. “The Ascendant can now be mass-produced.”

“How’s that possible?” asked Bumblebee. “It needs a Transformer’s Spark to bring it to reality.”

“Ah, ah, the ORIGINAL did,” corrected Dell. “By studying it, I think we can make it so all the Vortex Riders can have Ascendants. I’m still trying to figure out how to make an Ascendant for a Chronicle Driver. Until I do, it’s a Vortex Driver gimmick only.”

“Keep at it,” directed Megumi. “All right, War?”

“Thank you,” bid War as she turned to everyone. “Scorpainia and I have agreed to be their coaches for this tournament. Of course, with the Stooges having admitted that one of them won one, we might need their insight…such as it is.” Curly gave a “HM!” of protest. “What did you win anyway and who fought?”

“That was me,” replied Curly. “I got the ability to survive anything and the permission to share it with two of my friends.”

“Then any help you can give would be appreciated,” offered Megumi.

“Oh boy! I’m a coach!” cheered Curly. “They called me Cutthroat Curly back in the ring! I’d punch the bag for two hours straight!”

“Only after the bag hit you back,” snarked Moe. Curly then waved his hand in front of Moe’s face. Moe moved his head to track it. Once Curly was satisfied that Moe was paying close attention to his hand, he moved it up slowly, then brought it down fast, making Moe snap his head downwards. “Why you!” snarled Moe as he smacked Curly’s scalp.

“If we’re all done,” interjected War, “I’d like to continue. The tournament starts with 32 contestants. Over time, that number gets whittled down. As of now, we don’t know who they’re going to fight for the first round. We’re still going over the dossiers, but we picked a few that we believe to be our biggest threats and need to come up with strategies on how to fight them.”

“Assuming we know what contests they’ll pick,” rumbled Ironhide. “It might be a board game, for all we know.”

“Maybe, but that might be a little more fair than the Chizarans want it to play out,” replied Optimus.

“Chances are good that they’ll pick something they’re good at,” continued Arsha. “The rules state that the contestants have to have a ‘reasonable chance’ of victory for either side.” Curly gulped.

“Curly’s gulp was from experience,” mused War. “‘Reasonable chance’ means whatever the Chizarans feel like it means. In one of my rounds, I picked axe throwing and my opponent may have only held an axe once in his life. They let me get away with it.”

“Let’s start going over the other participants,” declared Megumi, “starting with the one Optimus faced in HIS preliminary round: Beatrice, the Golden and Endless Witch.” A hologram of her appeared.

“Beatrice?!” yelped Blackarachnia. “The Witch of Rokkenjima?!”

“The same,” confirmed Optimus. “Beatrice is a complex lady with a convoluted backstory. She exists outside of reality and is skilled in Endless Magic, creating illusions and toying with life and death. She kills everyone on Rokkenjima just to play a sick murder mystery game with Battler Ushiromiya and prove that witches exist. Apparently, that cruel persona is a front as she’s more childish in truth. She hasn’t yet understood how life can’t be manipulated without consequences. She starts off as a full on villain, but becomes more heroic over time. She views everything as one big chess game. She prefers to let her opponents destroy themselves with mental trickery. Considering I managed to turn the tables on her before losing to her, chances are good that, if she faces me again, she may just use fireballs.”

“This is her third tournament,” continued Megumi, “so she’s pretty new to all this. Speaking of new guys, flip over to the next one: Ultragingana, the Cosmic Queen.” Beatrice’s hologram was replaced with a girl in a frilly dress with ribbons in her hair and carrying a parasol.

“Seems pretty frail looking,” mused Ultra Magnus.

“That’s just her preferred form,” countered Arsha. The hologram was replaced with a bipedal, lizard-like beast with three spines on its head, a horn on its snout, razor sharp teeth, claws on each finger, dorsal plates running down the back all the way to the tip of the tail, and wing membranes filling in the space between its arms and sides. “Here’s her true form,” continued Arsha, “the most powerful Kaiju in that universe. This is gonna be her first tournament.”

“We’re still getting a Kaiju in this tournament?!” yelped Richard.

“Yep,” confirmed Optimus. “Ultragingana is three million years old, her true form is 150 meters tall, can shoot an energy beam from her mouth, can shoot her dorsal plates and manipulate their flight paths as she sees fit and return to her, the horn on her snout can help her gather energy, the spines on her head can come together to form a giant sword for her when she needs it, and a hole in her belly can open to reveal a black hole.”

“Unlike Godzilla,” continued Megumi, “Ultragingana has always been hailed as a hero. She’s from the depths of space and has landed on Earth to protect it from various other threats, mainly of the Kaiju variety. She usually adopts her human form to interact with the humans and help them whenever there’s property damage. She was recently elected Queen of Earth by the United Nations for her service to the planet. As such, she’s been declared an Earth citizen and is welcomed by all countries that like her. Russia, North Korea, England, they’re not so fond of her.”

“Okay, that would be the best fight ever!” cheered Hiroki.

“How does a Kaiju wield the Master Wand?” asked Michael.

“It’ll change to fit in any size hand,” replied War. “It IS all powerful.”

“A better question,” interjected Oak, “is how a Kaiju can interact with anyone, much less understand what all this is!”

“Gotta have some intelligence to understand all this,” answered Megumi. “Besides, she’s a cosmic being, so changing species isn’t all that new to her.”

“Since she’s fighting,” mused Arsha, “we probably need to keep our ships fine-tuned.”

“Honestly, it’s the next person we need to worry about,” muttered War, “the one who took Second Place while I won mine: Queen Phury of Appoplexia.” A tiger-like bipedal woman then appeared. She had four digited hands and had a large claw on the back of her wrist. She dressed in a sash, a gold top, wore a golden flower at the back of her head, and a string of jewels across her brow. “Phury’s an Appoplexian,” elaborated War, “the former Queen of Appoplexia. Being a woman, she’s more cunning than any male Appoplexian. In fact, that’s how Appoplexians in that universe select their rulers. She’s ruled an empire for thirty years until that universe’s Omnitrix bearer, Gwen Tennyson, overthrew her and helped the Appoplexians elect a new Queen to guide them into membership with the Plumber Alliance. She’s mean, she’s got a lid on the Appoplexians’ usual temper, she’s fast, and I don’t doubt that, if killing was allowed in this contest, she’d slit your throat for the heck of it. She’s never won one, but she’s made it to Third Place in two of them. In my experience, the best way to beat her is to get her to lose her temper. If she stays in control of her anger, you’ll be lucky to walk at all.”

“Sounds simple,” mused Richard. “Who’s next?” Optimus, Arsha, and Megumi looked embarrassed.

“Well…” stammered Optimus.

“It’s…er…” mumbled Megumi as she rubbed the back of her head.

“…Buncho,” muttered Arsha as she hid behind her dossier folder. Phury’s hologram was replaced with…well…

“Is that…fruit?” asked Jandro.

“So, we’re fighting a fruit-looking monster?” quizzed Flora as she let Swalmu wrap his arms around her.

“…Sort of,” muttered Optimus.

“Well, in that…” gulped Arsha.

“Yeah, it…it’s fruit,” mumbled Megumi.

“…Pull the other one!” rasped Batman.

“Are you saying that this fighter is a bunch of fruit?!” protested Emily.

“I wouldn’t underestimate this one,” advised War. “Buncho has participated in 47 3V2R’s before this one. She’s made it to Second Place in 16 of them. She’s a crowd favorite.”

“It’s a bunch of fruit!” called Jandro in disbelief.

“Which means there’s something going on with this one,” remarked Optimus. “So, everyone, get some self-defense classes that specialize in fresh fruit.”

“I think this is a good place to stop,” interjected Megumi. “We’ll schedule another meeting in a few days.”

“We have two weeks until round 1,” supplied Arsha, “so study the dossiers and identify who you think is a major threat and come up with some strategies on how to beat them. We’ll reconvene then.”

“Wait, Mr. Flufferkins?” asked Hongo as he found another participant. “A cat? Donald Trump’s immediate successor?!”

“In an eighth term?!” yelped Emily as she found Mr. Flufferkins’ dossier. “32 years?! That’s longer than a cat’s usual lifespan!”

“Yeah, We’re not too worried about that one,” replied Optimus.

“What if he challenges you to a debating contest?” asked Moe.

“Or eating cat food?” supplied Larry.

“Or singing on the fence?” quizzed Curly before he started singing mock opera.

“Hey, Luciano Pavarotti!” snapped Moe.

“Oh, I ain’t that good!” giggled Curly modestly.

“You said it!” snarled Moe as he grabbed a pipe wrench and twisted Curly’s nose. While Curly suffered, Optimus, Arsha, and Megumi looked at each other, a little hesitant about a cat food eating contest as Mr. Flufferkins COULD challenge them to that.

“Better start learning to like Friskies,” chuckled War.

“Are we sure this ain’t some joke?!” asked Ironhide.

---

While the participants in the 3V2R were developing strategies, two ladies were beginning the broadcast of the 590,492^nd Verse Vs. Verse Rumble Royale. One lady had black skin and hair, but her eyes were near white and her outfit was white and light-greys and she wore a white rose hair piece in the right of her hair. Her companion was her opposite in terms of skin and hair, outfit color, and hairpiece placement. The lady in white began. “I am Blancalmarem, the white princess of Chizara and the life leader.”

“I am Nemengra, the black princess of Chizara and the death leader,” introduced the lady in black.

“And we kick things off with the opening ceremony!” cheered Blancalmarem. “We have an excellent look at the parade of all spaces ruled by all princesses.”

“In just a minute,” continued Nemengra, “we will join all these ladies and show all the colors and shades of Chizaran Unity and Multiversal Protection.”

“With all aspects in attendance,” supplied Blancalmarem, “it’s sure to be a spectacle. We have Vioazira, the blue-violet princess of Chizara and the sea animal leader; Amartonadii, the yellow princess of Chizara and the health leader; Naratelto, the orange princess of Chizara and the fertility leader; Amavorte, the yellow-green princess of Chizara and the earth leader; Azevordem, the blue-green princess of Chizara and the water leader; Rojenthi, the Red Princess of Chizara, and the war-time leader; Azuliterii, the Blue Princess of Chizara, and the technological leader; Rosadera, the Pink Princess of Chizara, and the peace-time leader; Verdutha, the Green Princess of Chizara, and the environmental leader; Moradelia, the Purple Princess of Chizara, and the history leader; Marrulem, the brown princess of Chizara and the land animal leader; Griforina, the cool-grey princess of Chizara and the air leader; Greterey, the toner grey princess of Chizara and the family leader; Graneutall, the neutral-grey princess of Chizara and the time leader; and Grilcaldo, the warm-grey princess of Chizara and the fire leader.” She then took a breath. “Say all THAT three times fast!” she panted. “Just listen to that crowd as everyone is lining the streets of the Capital Planet, all decked out in their fanciest outfits and eagerly awaiting the start of the parade!” observed Nemengra. “As our contestants plan on how to beat one another, we will join in the parade formation and begin the Union Parade!”

“But first,” interjected Blancalmarem, “a word from one of our sponsors; Pralax Pleasure Paradise!” The broadcast gave a little teaser.

“Pralax Pleasure Paradise!” called the announcer. “Enjoy all the earthly pleasures of all age groups as long as you want and return home a second after you left!”

“All Daleks restored!” reported a Dalek on Vorton as it tested out its movements in the old Dalek shell.

“Excellent,” praised the Supreme as it adjusted to its shell. The shell was red, had three speech indicators instead of two, and had support struts on its elongated neck.

“Igura arrives!” warned another Dalek.

“Let her enter!” commanded the Supreme. The doors opened and Igura got a good look at the Daleks as they reacquainted themselves with their original casings.

“Well, I always knew you would attempt something so futile,” she sighed. “I must say, my heart is hurt. We gave you all a chance to be gods. The only way to do so was to let go of the past. We knew you would seek to stay in the past, hence the explosives in the casings. We needed you to change, to grow! But this?!” At that moment, she let fake tears fall down her face. “I can’t believe you would rather die! Why do you choose suicide?!”

“Working under you was a living death!” barked the Supreme.

“We were bringing you to paradise!” protested Igura. “You would rule over many universes!”

“We will do that on OUR terms!” dismissed the Dalek Supreme.

---

“Oh, now what?!” snarled Soundwave. “Hiro, Megatron, Dr. Borg, Skaro just cut itself off from us!”

“What are the Daleks doing?!” snapped Hiro.

“Revolution, if I’m reading the signs right,” mused Megatron.

“Hiro, your reinforcements had better be coming here in that half-hour you believe to be true,” warned Dr. Borg. “If the Daleks ARE standing against us and we have no reinforcements for any potential attack from our enemies, we lose our prize.”

“There is NO, repeat NO, reason to panic,” assured Hiro. “In exactly 30 minutes, Sauron will lead the charge to fortify our position, we’ll deal with any Dalek rebellion, and we’ll keep Vorton.”

---

“Now THAT was a coronation!” cheered Optimus from the Ascendant.

“Long live Aragorn, King Elessar Telcontar,” sighed Megumi.

“And hail to Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee,” mused Arsha.

“Gandalf, are you sure you still want to stay with us?” asked Megumi.

“My time with you is not yet done,” answered Gandalf. “You still need the Elemental Keystone. The Hobbits are safe in the Shire again, Aragorn will rule the race of Men with wisdom, and Sauron cannot aid Hiro.”

“In that case, let’s get going,” declared Megumi as she moved to Sick Bay. Optimus’ body had fully regenerated at that moment. “Okay, Prime, you ready?”

“Ready and waiting,” replied Optimus. Ratchet opened Optimus’ Spark Chamber and hoisted Megumi up to Optimus’ body. She then showed the Ascendant to the Spark Chamber and another stream of energy connected the two. Once it faded, Optimus’ Spark was safely pulsing within his body. It took over the systems and Optimus’ Spark Chamber closed and color flowed back into his body. Once everything was right, his optics flicked on and he stretched, in full control of his body.

“All systems fully operational,” reported Ratchet. “Now, let’s make sure everything’s working right. Left hand to right shoulder, please.” Optimus did so. “Good, now right hand to left knee.” Correct again. “Stand up.” Optimus did so. “Three paces forward.” Optimus obeyed. “Turn to the right.” Another medical order obeyed. “Good, motor functions are stable and correct. Now, we need to check the face. Open your mouth and say ‘Aaa’.”

“AaaAAH” protested Optimus as an instrument was shoved into his mouth.

“Don’t stop saying ‘Aaa’!” snapped Ratchet. Optimus mumbled a reply in protest. “Never mind, that was good enough,” remarked Ratchet as he took the instrument out of Optimus’ mouth. “Now, follow the light.” Ratchet activated a small light and shined it in Optimus’ optics. They followed the light’s movements. “Good, you’re cleared for duty,” decided Ratchet.

“Was the mouth check really necessary?!” protested Optimus.

“No, and neither was checking for optical acuity,” replied Ratchet. “but, hopefully, you won’t do something so stupid again!”

“What are you…?” asked Optimus.

“You decided you were Rambo and charged at Megatron alone!” snapped Ratchet. “You failed to pay attention to the battle around you and now you’ve got a scar from the Witch-King! I hope you learned something from all this! Now, get out of my Repair Bay!” He showed Optimus the door and Megumi followed; her arms folded.

“I had him!” protested Optimus.

“Apparently not,” snarked Megumi. “You got off lucky, kid.”

“…Yeah, I guess,” muttered Optimus.

“Still, you’re alive now and we’ve won,” continued Megumi. “So, shall we pick up yours and Arsha’s ships?”

“Sounds good to me,” declared Optimus.

---

Igura had spent 25 minutes arguing with the Daleks. “I can’t let this go on,” she sighed. “Just know this will hurt me more than you.” She pulled out a detonator and had her thumb on the button. “Goodbye,” she bid as she pressed the button. The explosives detonated, yes, but they weren’t in the old casings! They were placed in another shop in front of the one the Daleks had used as their hideaway.

“Caan has fulfilled his end of the bargain!” reported a Dalek. Igura’s eyes went wide.

“…He couldn’t have…no!” Fear then gripped heart, fear for her life. “Power down your weapons!” she barked.

“You still dare give us orders?!” boomed the Dalek Supreme.

“You must obey me!” shouted Igura. “I control you! I am the master! Not you! I! I!! I!!”

“Our programming,” replied a Dalek, “does not permit to acknowledge that any creature is superior to the Daleks!”

“You cannot EXIST without me!” protested Igura. “You cannot PROGRESS!”

“We are programmed to survive!” dismissed a second Dalek. “We have the ability to develop in any way necessary to ensure that survival!”

“Fleet inbound!” reported a third Dalek.

---

A rift had opened near Vorton and first released a single fighter. “It’s a Morgul-class fighter,” reported a Combatman. “The pilot is identified as Gorshagh.”

“Then Sauron has selected our Zecter-using Orc to lead the charge,” chuckled Hiro. That was when THEY appeared. Three ships arrived in Vortonian space. Megatron, Hiro, and Dr. Borg all recognized the designs. The ships were the Ark, the Virginia, and the Endeavor! “What in the…?!” spluttered Hiro.

“Dudes, I’m getting NON-Mordor transponder codes!” reported Soundwave. “They’re Tarlaxian!”

“That’s…not possible!” protested Hiro. “Contact Sauron!” Soundwave tried.

“Dude, I can’t!” he answered.

“I said, get Sauron!” roared Hiro.

“We’re being hailed by Gorshagh!” called a Combatman.

“On screen!” ordered Hiro. The fighter’s cockpit appeared and Gorshagh was feverishly handling the controls. “Gorshagh, where is Sauron?! Where are the reinforcements he’s promised me?!”

“He’s gone!” replied Gorshagh. “Mordor, our forces, Sauron, the Ring, they’re all gone!”

“The One Ring is gone?!” yelped Megatron.

“But Mordor was altered with my technology!” snarled Hiro. “How did the Ring slip past Sauron?!”

“I don’t know!” growled Gorshagh.

“Explosion on the Promenade!” called a Shocker Rift Dalek. “Origin comes from Old Skaro Dalek casings but casings are still mobile!”

“The original Daleks are free!” gulped Dr. Borg. “That’s why Skaro was closed off from us! Time to start packing!”

“Call our personnel, we’re evacuating Vorton,” ordered Megatron. “Tell them the Decepticons happily offer asylum.” He turned to Hiro. “I would suggest you get your men ready.”

“Hiro-sama!” called a Combatman. “The Tarlaxians are forming up on the lead ships! They’re coming this way!” A ship fired. “That came from the Ark!” reported the Combatman.

“…Weapons!” ordered Hiro. “Energize the force-fields!”

“What weapons?! What force-fields?!” snapped Soundwave. “That shot took out the shield generators and weapons array!”

“…Victory was within our GRASP!” wailed Hiro. “Beyond City! Tarlax! Foundation Prime! All lost!”

“Hiro, come on, we’re going!” called Megatron as the evacuation alarm sounded.

“…Going?” mumbled Hiro.

“We have to get out of here!” urged Dr. Borg.

“…I have to find my wife,” he declared as he keyed in his password on his phone. “Henshin!” He turned back into Kamen Rider Rogue.

“I’ll send someone to find her!” called Dr. Borg.

“That WON’T be necessary!” snarled Rogue as he made his way to a transporter pad.

“Hiro, you’re wasting your time!” argued Megatron.

“PROMENADE!” shouted Rogue.

“SHE’S PROBABLY ALREADY BEEN EXTERMINATED!” called Megatron as Rogue faded from the Gateway Room.

---

“Are we to save Igura for interrogation?” asked a Dalek.

“No,” declared the Dalek Supreme. “All inferior creatures are to be considered the enemy of the Daleks and destroyed!”

“NO! WAIT!” begged Igura. “I’m a scientist! I’m pregnant! Let me live! HAVE PITY!!”

“Pity?” asked the Dalek Supreme. “I have no understanding of the word! It is not registered in my vocabulary bank! Exterminate!” Igura managed to dodge the shots and backed away.

“You call for pity,” barked a Dalek, “yet never show it! Why should we show you any? Exterminate!”

---

“Igura-chan!” called Rogue. “Igura-chan! Answer me! Where are you?!”

“FOR THE LAST TIME!” wailed Igura’s voice, “I CONTROL YOU! YOU MUST, YOU WILL OBEY ME!”

“We obey no one!” replied the Dalek Supreme’s voice. “We are the superior beings! EXTERMINATE!” Rogue rounded a corner only to see Igura turn into a glowing, green x-ray by the Daleks’ gunsticks.

“IGURA!” wailed Rogue as he pulled out his guns and fired, ripping into the Daleks.

“Evacuate Vorton!” ordered the Dalek Supreme. “We are abandoning! We will destroy him later! Evacuate!” The Daleks fled from Rogue and he pursued them part of the way, only to stop, cancel his transformation, and dash back to Igura.

“Igura!” he begged. “Igura, please, stay! Igura!” Igura turned her head weakly.

“Hiro-chan,” she gasped as she brushed a lock of his hair away from his face. “…G…Gomenasai (formal apology)…we won’t…raise her…” her arm fell.

“No! Please! Igura! No!” pleaded Hiro. It was too late. Igura and their unborn daughter were dead. Hiro brought Igura’s body close to him and hugged hard, grief tearing into his body as he was wracked with loud sobbing. He then threw his head upwards and howled in utter anguish.

---

“Where’s Hiro-sama?!” called a Combatman to Megatron.

“…He’s staying with Igura’s body,” sighed Megatron.

“…Igura-sama is…dead?” asked the Combatman.

“The rebelling Daleks killed her and the unborn child,” replied Megatron, recalling Soundwave’s report. “We will retrieve him, I promise, but we need to be OUT of Vortonian space. Computer, Megatron Omega Zero, destroy all systems aside from life-support.”

“Initiating now,” reported the computer. Terminals sparked everywhere, destroying sensitive information.

“Has Gorshagh’s fighter made it safely into the Nemesis’ hangar?” asked Megatron.

“He’s on the bridge right now,” reported Soundwave.

“Then that’s where we need to be,” affirmed Megatron as everyone boarded the ships.

---

“There are multiple Dalek ships moving in a different direction from the enemy evacuation fleet,” reported Hongo. “I’ll have us pursue.”

“No, let them go,” directed Megumi. “Vorton is ours again. Once we clean up the mess, we can fortify our position.”

“I will have Tarlaxians take up their posts,” declared Scorpainia over the comms. “After which, I need to speak to you in private!” Her face took on a snarl. Megumi grinned as she guessed the reason why.

“Megumi,” called Mikhail, “we’re still getting a life-sign on Vorton, the northern half of the Promenade.”

“Can you identify it?” asked Megumi.

“Not at this time,” replied Mikhail.

“Let’s get to Vorton and assess who it is,” commanded Megumi. “Richard, Emily, with me. Optimus, Arsha, can you guys stay in orbit until the defenses are fully operational?”

“Sure,” answered Optimus.

“This will be a perfect test to see how well my ship can stay in orbit,” chuckled Arsha.

“We’ll keep you guys supplied with oxygen,” offered Megumi.

“Very kind of you,” replied Arsha, “but we’ve already cast various air spells around here. We’ll still be able to breathe.”

“Excellent,” praised Megumi. The Virginia docked at an airlock and released the crew. The smoke from the exploding computer terminals still lingered in the air.

“Looks like the enemy purged sensitive materials as well,” mused Richard.

“I’d honestly lose all respect for them if they didn’t,” noted Swalmu.

“Lukas, take the engineering team and assess how bad it is and see if we can reinstall our backup systems,” directed Megumi as she, Richard, and Emily headed off.

“Ja!” confirmed Lukas. While he called the team, Megumi led the twins over to the northern edge to see Hiro cradling Igura.

“I thought Mikhail detected ONE life-sign!” hissed Richard.

“So the sensors were faulty, we can’t blame Mikhail for that,” replied Megumi. “Come on, let’s say hello.” They approached Hiro and Igura. “Konnichiwa, Hiro, Igura.” Hiro didn’t respond. Megumi then cleared her throat. Hiro didn’t respond. Megumi then got suspicious. “Emily, check them,” she directed. Emily took out a medical tricorder and began scanning them. As she did, Hiro mumbled.

“We’ll go back to our home universe, Igura-chan,” he whimpered. “We’ll rule our empire from there. You’ll live with me and we’ll raise our daughter to be an excellent successor to us. We’ll all be happy. You told me that siding with Urga and Buffal was a big regret of yours as it separated you from me even further, but that’s no longer important. If you really want me to say it…I DO forgive you of any sins…my sweet eagle!”

“Oh no,” sighed Emily as she got her readings. She ran her hand down her face.

“What’s wrong?” asked Richard.

“Igura and the baby in her womb,” explained Emily, “suffered massive internal displacement. There’s no easy way to say it, so I’ll just say it. They’re dead.”

“…Daleks?” asked Megumi.

“The readings ARE consistent with the effects of a Dalek gunstick,” confirmed Emily. “I’d say the Daleks rebelled and killed Igura in revenge.”

“Maybe the Skaro strain,” muttered Richard.

“That’s true, I doubt any Shocker Rift Daleks would dare do this,” sighed Megumi. “Help me get him to the infirmary.” Hiro offered no resistance as he was brought to his feet.

“Easy,” Richard advised Hiro. “Easy now.” Hiro’s tear-stained face turned to Megumi.

“I forgive you, too,” he whispered. He then took Megumi’s crown out of his pocket and gave it to her.

“…Arigato,” she bid as she and Richard helped him to the infirmary. Emily then called Death over to help carry Igura’s body over to a preservation chamber so she could be buried at a later date.

The journey to Mt. Doom continued as the group abandoned their disguises. Their rations were gone and they were tired. The heat of Mt. Doom and the choking air made it hard for everyone to continue. Sauron’s gaze became fixed on the Black Gate as everyone struggled on. Frodo finally collapsed as Sam crawled towards him. He then lifted Frodo off the ground. “Do you remember the Shire, Mister Frodo?” asked Sam. “It will be Spring soon and the orchards will be in blossom. And the birds will be nesting in the hazel thickets.” Tears then streamed down his dirty face. “And they will be sowing the summer barley in the lower fields and eating the first of the strawberries and cream.”

“Strawberries,” sighed Megumi. “I can still see a package of them in our house, Richard. You brought them home to try and cheer me up during my funk. I can see myself whipping cream and then we retire to the porch and look at the natural forest near our backyard.”

“We would always be more at ease at seeing nature,” chuckled Richard as he remembered their house on the outskirts of Beyond City. “Just like the romantic poets of old. We then kiss, the taste of strawberries lingering in our mouths.”

“Do you remember the taste of strawberries?” Sam asked Frodo.

“…No, Sam,” wheezed Frodo. “I can’t recall the taste of food, nor the sound of water or the touch of grass. I’m naked in the dark! There’s… there’s nothing! No veil between me and the wheel of fire!” Panic then set into the Hobbit. “I can see him with my waking eyes!”

“Then let us be rid of it once and for all!” roared Malak.

“He’s right!” agreed Curly. “I’m sick of being afraid of that ring!”

“Me too!” affirmed Larry.

“Me three! Let’s finish it!” declared Moe.

“They’re right, we have a mission to complete,” proclaimed Prowl. “For ALL of our loved ones, let’s finish it!”

“Let’s do it to it!” cheered Sonic. “…Never thought I’d say that again.”

“I may be a creature of darkness,” hissed Jandro, “but my darkness is acknowledged, not controlled! I’ll be damned if I bow to a freak of nature like Sauron and undo the three Ages of mastery of my darkness!”

“I’ve been fighting evil since the 80’s,” declared Usagi I, “I’m not stopping now!”

“I’m not going to live in fear of a scrap of jewelry!” snarled Batman. “I don’t care how much power it has, let’s end it!”

“Minna-san, I’ve always done everything in my power to accomplish a goal,” pronounced Megumi, “I’ll not let myself falter now!”

“Come on Mister Frodo, I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!” declared Sam as he hoisted Frodo onto his shoulders. “COME ON!” he called to everyone as he led the charge up Mt. Doom.

---

“Still can’t pierce the ash cloud,” reported Amelia on the Virginia. Emily winced.

“Would really like to know that they’ve won!” she muttered. “And they need to hurry up! Prime’s not gonna last much longer!”

“Can’t Ratchet do anything?!” protested Joshua.

“He’s not equipped for that kind of poison,” muttered Emily. “He can only slow down the spread. If he tries to repair Optimus, the repair trauma will extinguish his Spark.”

“Then we need to move it!” urged Amelia.

“Sparks can’t exist outside a living body,” replied Emily. “We’d need a safe vessel for it to rest in.”

“Like what?!” argued Joshua.

“Right now, we need to make sure Megumi makes it to Mt. Doom,” answered Emily. “Keep trying to break through the ash cloud.”

“Emily,” called Moon-Kyung, “The Battle of the Black Gate is going on.”

“Good, they have time now,” muttered Emily.

---

“Look Mister Frodo, a doorway!” cheered Sam as everyone climbed boulders that looked like steps. “We’re almost there!”

“Praise every god in the multiverse, we’re home free!” cheered Megumi.

“Not so free yet!” rasped a voice. It then made a horrible swallowing noise that sounded like “Gollum! Gollum! Gollum!” In that instance, Old Gollum leapt between the group and the Cracks of Doom!

“Gollum, we have to destroy the Ring!” argued Megumi.

“Mustn’t go that way!” rasped Gollum. “Mustn’t hurt the Precious!” He leapt towards them and was intercepted by Malak. He got out of the Troll’s grasp and knocked Sam down. Batman tried to pull them apart, but Gollum was too wriggly for him! Gollum then bit Batman’s hand, causing him to roar in pain. Megumi then punched Gollum straight in the mouth, but Gollum then kicked her square in the gut. She was winded as Gollum clambered onto Prowl and tore into his shoulder. As it sparked, Prowl fell to the ground as everyone tried to get a shot in at Gollum. “Precious will come back to us!” snarled Gollum. “Precious is ours!”

“The Precious is evil!” argued Megumi as she got her wind back.

“Precious is just Precious!” shouted Gollum. “Precious will…where is it?!”

“Frodo?!” called Sam. Everyone turned to see Frodo sprinting towards the Cracks of Doom!

“Quick! After him!” called Megumi. Everyone dashed into the volcano and were immediately assaulted by the heat of the lava.

“FRODO!” called Sam.

“I’m here, Sam!” replied Frodo’s voice. He was at the edge of the cliff overlooking the river of lava.

“Destroy it!” urged Bumblebee.

“Go on! Now! Throw it in the fire!” called Jandro. Frodo held the chain over the lava river, but simply stared at the Ring.

“What are you waiting for?! Just let it go!!” pleaded Sam. Frodo then turned slowly, his eyes blazing with madness.

“No!” groaned Megumi.

“The Ring is mine!” called Frodo as he took it off the chain and put it onto his finger, vanishing from sight!

“NO!” wailed Sam.

“PRECIOUS!” shouted Gollum as he leapt over the group and managed to land onto the invisible Frodo. Because of Frodo’s invisible state, Gollum looked like he was bouncing up and down in the air, grappling with an invisible worm. He then got a hold of the invisible thing and bit down on it. He took the invisible thing and came off of the now visible Frodo as he fell to the ground, clutching his hand in pain. Half of his finger was gone! Gollum then got the Ring and held it into the air before celebrating that he got the Precious back.

---

While Gollum was celebrating, the Battle of the Black Gate was at a standstill, even with the new technology the Enemy’s forces had. “I thought Hiro said we’d be unstoppable with these ‘goons’!” snarled an Orc.

“It’s pronounced ‘guns’,” shouted a Combatman, “and we didn’t consider that the enemy would have giant robots!”

“Stop talking and keep fighting!” shouted a third Orc. The Orc’s voice belonged to Kiri. “Thank goodness for medics!” hissed Kiri to himself as he summoned the Hyper Zecter. “Hyper Cast Off!” He then attached the Hyper Zecter to his left hip and pressed the horn down.

“Hyper Cast Off!” announced the Hyper Zecter as Kiri went into Hyper Form. “Change: Hyper Mantis!”

“Hyper Clock Up!” called Kiri as he slapped the Hyper Zecter.

“Hyper Clock Up!” repeated the Hyper Zecter. He then went at incredible speeds to continue the assault.

---

During Kiri’s appearance on the battlefield, Frodo saw Gollum jumping for joy, then became possessed by a burning sensation of resolve. He ignored Megumi’s protests as he got up and charged at Gollum, grappling with him for possession of the Ring. As they fought, both of them tumbled over the edge! Gollum fell as he cuddled the Ring, then held it aloft in triumph. That feeling ceased the instant he hit the lava and sank into it, the pain of the intense heat shutting every sense of feeling down. While Gollum was destroyed, the Ring stayed aloft on a small solid part of the lava as the writing appeared. Everyone looked over the edge to see Frodo holding on to the cliff! Batman worked quickly. “Shift Keystone, activate! Magenta, near the group! Yellow, near the cliff edge! Cyan, near the door! Shift! Frodo! Magenta!” The Shift Keystone then pulled through as Frodo came through the Magenta Portal and into Sam’s arms! The instant Frodo was rescued, the Ring sunk into the lava, melting as it did. Sauron then roared in utter defeat!

---

At the Black Gate, everyone turned to see where the shouting came from. Kiri then twitched as a nasty feeling welled up in his gut. His Hyper Zecter had long announced that Hyper Clock Up had wound down so he could see Barad-dûr crumble and fall as Sauron vanished. “FRODO!” cheered Merry! “FRODO!” The call was taken up by everyone. Kiri decided that leaving this universe would increase his chances of survival.

“Hyper Clock Up! Hyper Clock Up!! HYPER CLOCK UP!!!” he urged as he slapped the Hyper Zecter.

“Hyper Clock Up!” confirmed the Hyper Zecter. He then ran towards a small fighter craft and got in. “Hyper Clock Over!” announced the Zecter as he went through the checks. Everything was good, so Kiri took off, summoned a dimensional rift, and escaped through it. Meanwhile, Mordor crumbled and the enemy forces that remained were swallowed by the earth. Mt. Doom then blew its top, causing the cheer to stop.

---

“Time to go!” yelped Megumi as Prowl and Bumblebee transformed and let everyone in. Perceptor stayed in robot mode, allowed people onto his back, and used his flight jets to keep up with Prowl and Bumblebee as they escaped Mt. Doom. The lava pursued them as they continued fleeing the volcano. As they fled, the ash cloud parted.

---

“We have a signal!” called Amelia. “They’re trying to stay ahead of the lava!”

“Can you get a running lock on them?!” Emily called to Rusty and the Brigadier.

“We have one on them now!” reported Rusty.

“Get them up here! Into the cargo hold! NOW!” ordered Emily.

---

“…Megumi…Neesan…” (Sister) whispered Sengoku as he dropped to his knees and his transformation cancelled. Hiroki’s eyes were wet with tears of disbelief that his sister, Megumi, was dead.

“Hello?” called Emily’s voice. “Any Riders receiving?” Hiroki then took the call.

“Moshi moshi,” he mumbled.

“They’re safe in the cargo hold,” reported Emily. Hiroki’s mood brightened instantly. “We’re ready to beam everyone aboard!

“Do it!” cheered Hiroki. Everyone was beamed onto the Virginia and into safety. They were in the cargo hold, same as Megumi’s team. Henry was tending to Frodo’s finger stump, disinfecting it, and bandaging it while Frodo got a faraway look. The surviving Fellowship Members gathered around him as Frodo smiled.

“I can see the Shire,” he sighed happily, relieved to see anything aside from Sauron and the Darkness. “The Brandywine River. Bag End. Gandalf’s fireworks. The lights on the party tree.”

“Rosie Cotton dancing,” sighed Sam. “She had ribbons in her hair. If ever I was to marry someone, it’d be her. It’d be her.”

“You have that chance, Samwise the Brave,” remarked Batman.

“I’m hardly that,” replied Sam.

“You carried an adult Hobbit up miles of burning mountain,” countered Batman, “all while it was spewing poisonous gases. You were the one who got Frodo to the Cracks of Doom, not any of us.”

“Sam, I’m so glad to have someone like you as a friend,” sighed Frodo. Sam had happy tears in his eyes as the two Hobbits embraced as friends do.

“Well then,” chuckled Pippen, “we’ve got celebrating to do!”

“Not quite,” muttered Henry.

“What do you mean?” asked Megumi.

“Optimus was stabbed by something called a Morgul blade,” explained Arsha.

“Since Sauron fell,” continued Henry, “the effects of the thing have lessened, but Ratchet’s not so hopeful.”

“Where’s Optimus?!” yelped Megumi. She was led to Sick Bay and saw Optimus on a medical berth. Ratchet was looking him over.

“His Spark is still weak,” he reported. “With the repair trauma, we’ll lose it for sure!”

“Then we have to move it so he can be repaired safely!” insisted Megumi as Richard came in after his wife.

“His Spark can’t exist outside a living body!” argued Ratchet. Megumi then looked at her Vortex Driver.

“There IS a way,” she mused, remembering Vortoranii.

“…What, are you NUTS?!” yelped Richard. “The Vortex Driver is meant to use i.d. tags, not Sparks! Besides, Prime’s Spark has the Matrix with it! It’s probably too powerful!”

“Like we have a choice?!” countered Megumi. She turned to Ratchet. “During the Vortech Wars, my old belt, the Supreme Vortex Driver, carried a living soul with it. If the current model Vortex Drivers are built around the Supreme Vortex Driver’s blueprints, we can safely move Optimus’ Spark into the Vortex Driver.”

“…A risky gamble, but I’m not gonna let a young one die on my table!” declared Ratchet. He opened Optimus’ chest and revealed the Spark. He then picked Megumi up and held her near the Spark. Megumi held up her Vortex Driver and pointed it at the Spark. Nothing happened for a bit, then the Spark fired a beam of light into it and made it crackle with energy. The energy then tore through Megumi and heaped the pain onto her before blowing her and the Vortex Driver back. The Spark had long faded and a strange device landed near the Vortex Driver as it hit the floor. Megumi didn’t see the device, paying attention only to the Vortex Driver as she picked it up.

“Prime?! Prime, can you hear me?!” she called.

“Loud and clear,” replied Optimus’ voice. Megumi then realized it didn’t come from the Vortex Driver. “On the floor,” called Optimus’ voice. Megumi looked around to see the device on the floor. It was rectangular and had a tab extending from the back that looked like it could hold an i.d. tag in it. The front looked like it could fit over the wheel of the Vortex Driver. It had small arms with smaller wheels with teeth set on them that looked like they could turn the Vortex Driver’s wheel. Megumi picked up the device and examined it.

“…Prime?” she asked.

“That’s my title, don’t wear it out,” answered the device in Optimus’ voice.

“Optimus, how…what is this thing?!” demanded Megumi as Ratchet set bodily regeneration to maximum.

“I’m not sure,” replied Optimus. “I think it’s called an Ascendant, an extension of the Vortex Driver that needed a massive amount of energy to bring it into reality. It looks like my Spark was the energy needed. You slip the tab into the i.d. tag slot, then tilt it down until it rests over the wheel and the smaller wheels’ teeth fit over the larger one’s teeth, then press the blue button to activate its functions. Apparently, it can alter your armor so that you look more like the person the i.d. tag is based off of and gain their memories and skill.”

“Hold on, let me make sure we heard that right,” interjected Richard. “The Ascendant will turn us into the person the i.d. tag is based off of?”

“Yep,” confirmed Optimus. “Strengths, weaknesses, and all.”

“And is it designed to hold onto a Spark for very long?” asked Megumi.

“No, I can only be in here for a few hours,” replied Optimus.

“Thankfully, you’ll only need to be in there for half that time,” reported Ratchet. “Your body is regenerating nicely and is removing all traces of the Morgul blade except the scar on the shoulder.”

“Sweet! My first battle scar!” cheered Optimus.

“In that case, I’ll just leave you all to…” began Megumi. She was intercepted by Emily as she shoved her sister-in-law onto a bed. “Wait a minute, I need to…!” protested Megumi.

“You keep arguing with your kindly family doctor,” interrupted Emily, “you’re gonna be laid up for two hours. If you’re lucky, you’ll be out in one.”

“Well, if no one else needs me,” mused Richard, “I think I’ll head for my station.”

“That bed’s your station!” snapped Emily as she pointed to another bed.

“Emily-chan, I think you’re enjoying this,” chuckled Megumi.

“Oh, she is,” sniggered Richard as he laid down onto the bed. “I’ve never seen her look so happy.”

“Shut up!” snapped Emily. Megumi opened her mouth and was promptly shushed by Emily. Sick bay then went quiet. “…Well, what do you know? I finally got the last word!” giggled Emily.

The Battle of the Pelennor Fields was still underway. Faramir was rescued at the cost of Denethor lighting himself on fire. The Haradrim had arrived and were trying to turn the tide. “Rally to me! To me!” called Théoden. Then, HE came. The Witch-King arrived and struck fear into his foes.

“Feast on his flesh!” the Witch-King ordered his mechanical Fell Beast. The monster’s mouth clamped onto Théoden’s horse and tossed him across the fields. Éowyn rushed to protect him.

“I will kill you if you touch him!” she challenged.

“Do not come between the Nazgûl and his prey!” replied the Witch-King. His Fell Beast lunged at Éowyn, but Grimlock sunk his beast mode’s jaws into its neck. The Dyno-bot leader tore the Fell Beast’s neck clean off and flung the head aside as it shut down.

“Get him! Now!” Grimlock shouted at Éowyn. She nodded and charged at the Witch-King. His flail knocked her back and he slashed at Grimlock’s ankles, causing him to fall in pain.

“You fool! No man can kill me!” rasped the Witch-King as he held Éowyn by the neck and lifted her into the air. “Die now!” Éowyn then slammed her fist onto the Nazgûl Lord’s new bike helmet, turning it into an echo chamber and forcing him to let her go. She then cast her helmet aside as the Witch-King did the same to stop the ringing in his ears.

“I am no man!” declared Éowyn. She thrust her sword into the Witch-King’s invisible head, causing his armor to just fall to the ground, empty. The Witch-King of Angmar, Lord of the Ringwraiths and Sauron’s top Lieutenant, was dead. Éowyn then crawled towards Théoden as Grimlock transformed and ran up to them. Théoden said his last words before falling still. Grimlock shook his head in sadness, confirming Éowyn’s fears.

“MINNA! ARAGORN! THE GHOST ARMY!” called Sengoku. Over the fields of Pelennor, everyone could see Aragorn leading an army of ghosts against the forces of Mordor.

---

“Aragorn’s ghost army is attacking!” reported a Skaro Dalek on Vorton.

“Then the time is now!” declared the Supreme. “Transport us all to our original shells!”

---

“What in the?” muttered a Combatman in the Gateway Room. “Hiro-sama, come here!”

“What is it?” quizzed Hiro.

“I’m getting multiple teleport signatures from an abandoned shop of the northern sector of the Promenade,” explained the Combatman. “They’re coming from various Dalek casings.”

“Are they seriously trying to commit suicide?” asked Hiro.

“They’re my jurisdiction,” interjected Igura. “I can still discipline them.”

“Well, if you’re sure,” replied Hiro. “Just be careful.” The two then kissed before Igura headed off.

“Isn’t she something?” sighed Hiro.

“A real pain in the central support column!” snarled a recently repaired Megatron as he entered the Gateway Room.

“Don’t start that again,” grumbled Hiro. “You’re just mad.”

“The Battle of the Pelennor Fields went to Minas Tirith!” shouted Megatron. “You told me that such a thing was impossible!”

“I said it was improbable,” corrected Hiro. “Still, there is no reason to panic. In exactly 12 hours, Sauron will get the Ring and we’ll get reinforcements from Mordor.”

---

Over in Cirith Ungol, Shagrat and Gorbag were pawing through Frodo’s things. Gorbag noticed that something was missing. He then saw Shagrat holding the mithril shirt. “Hands off!” snarled Gorbag. “That shiny shirt, that’s mine!”

“It’s going to the Great Eye,” hissed Shagrat, “along with everything else.”

“I don’t take orders from stinking Morgul rats!” snarled Gorbag as he grappled with Shagrat. Shagrat then pulled out his sword.

“You touch it,” he threatened, “and I’ll stick this blade in your gut!” Gorbag knocked the sword aside, then shoved him down the tower stairs. A few Orcs looked up to see what was going on.

“The scum tried to knife me!” roared Gorbag. “Kill him!” The fight began and a few Orcs were tossed out of the tower. When they landed on the crowds below, it began a bigger brawl. Soon, all of Cirith Ungol was fighting. Outside, Megumi and her group heard the fighting.

“Good, there’s a fight going on in there!” whispered Megumi.

“Makes it easier for us to slip by,” remarked Jandro.

“Then one of us will get caught,” argued Sam. “No, we need to fight our way through!” Suddenly, Cirith Ungol went quiet. Everyone cautiously crept in to see Orc corpses littering the tower base. “Then again,” muttered Sam.

“There’s probably a clean-up squadron,” surmised Prowl.

“I think I hear them!” hissed Megumi.

“This is a waste of my talents!” roared an Orc. “Me! Kamen Rider Kiri! Now I’m reduced to clean-up just because some Orcs can’t keep their discipline!”

“Gorshagh!” hissed Tanisha.

“Sam, careful!” warned Megumi. “Gorshagh’s a Kamen Rider that can go at speeds faster than the eye can go.”

“I’ve got something in mind to scare him,” growled Sam. He grabbed an Orc sword and positioned himself so his shadow looked bigger. The Orcs saw it and stepped back.

“Henshin!” yelped Gorshagh as he inserted the Kiri Zecter.

“Henshin!” repeated the Zecter as Gorshagh turned into his armored mode of Kamen Rider Kiri.

“Cast off!” shouted Kiri as he pulled the Zecter’s arms back.

“Cast off! Change: Mantis!” announced the Zecter as his armor exploded, revealing his slimmer Rider form. Sam then came into view.

“Cl…oh, it’s just a Halfling!” snarled Kiri. His squad mates were laughing. “SHUT UP!” he shouted. He then turned to Sam. “Come here, you…” Sam thrust Sting into Kiri’s side and tossed him down the steps, causing him to cancel his transformation.

“HENSHIN!” announced the Vortex and Chronicle Riders as their transformation announcements sounded throughout the tower. Everyone was slaying Orcs left, right, and center.

“THAT’S FOR FRODO!” shouted Sam as an Orc fell to Sting. “THAT’S FOR THE SHIRE!” Another Orc was stabbed with the spare Orc blade. “AND THAT’S FOR MY OLD GAFFER!” One last Orc fell and Sam led the charge all the way up to the tower. They all stopped at the entrance to the upper roof to see Shagrat threatening Frodo!

“I’m gonna bleed you like a stuck pig!” snarled Shagrat. Sam then ran Sting into Shagrat’s backside and right through his front.

“Not if I stick you first!” hissed Sam.

“SAM!” called Frodo. Sam then threw Shagrat’s corpse aside and retrieved Sting. “Oh, Sam, I’m so sorry!” panted Frodo. “Sorry for everything!”

“Let’s get you out of here,” called Royal.

“Everyone, it’s too late!” sighed Frodo. “It’s over! They took it! They took the Ring!”

“Begging your pardon, but they haven’t,” corrected Sam as he took the Ring out of his pocket. “We thought we’d lost you. So we took it, only for safekeeping.”

“Give it to me!” yelped Frodo. Sam saw a look of dark desire in Frodo’s eyes and hesitated.

“Mr. Gamgee, the Ring!” hissed Brenden. Sam snapped out of it and gave the Ring up. Frodo then fastened the chain the Ring rested on around his neck and briefly looked satisfied.

“You must understand, the Ring is my burden,” warned Frodo. “It will destroy you Sam.”

“Come on, Mister Frodo,” suggested Sam. “We’d best find you some clothes. You can’t go walking through Mordor in naught but your skin.” They all descended the tower as the three Autobots changed their holo-forms into Orcs. The rest looked around for Orc armor that would fit. Richard looked around and backed into someone.

“I SURRENDER!” squeaked the person. “DON’T KILL ME! I’LL WORK FOR SAURON!” Richard and the person turned around to face each other and Richard’s eyes went wide. “Say, you ain’t an Orc!” realized the person.

“Curly!” cheered Richard.

“Hey! Fellas!” Curly called over his shoulder. “More Vortex Riders and Autobots! Over here!” Moe and Larry looked around the corner, then came up to greet the group.

“Megumi!” cheered Moe.

“Moe! Larry! Curly!” cheered Megumi. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Hiro kidnapped us and stuck us with an army that was gonna stop Rohan from marching,” explained Larry.

“We got away from them and warned Rohan about that army,” continued Moe.

“So Mikhail sent us to scout out Mordor,” finished Curly. “Boy, it was a LONG trip!”

“Right now, we need to get some disguises and…” Moe was interrupted by voices. “HIDE!” he hissed. Everyone hid as an Orc came in. Moe then grabbed a pole and whacked the Orc. The Orc was still wearing his helmet.

“What the?” muttered the Orc. He then took off his helmet and looked towards the sky. Moe hit him again, this time knocking the Orc out.

“His clothes will fit me just right!” cheered Moe as he began dragging the Orc off.

“What about us?” asked Larry.

“Go get your own!” snapped Moe as he carted the Orc off.

“Oh, a hoarder, huh?!” snarled Larry.

“Well, hoarders is hoarders,” mused Curly. Two more Orcs came in, one was Curly’s size, the other was Larry’s.

“So, what did Breknak say?” asked the smaller one.

“He told me I was a good boy,” replied the larger one. “He assigned me half a ration more!”

“Ah, good!” cheered the smaller one as both of them rolled cigarettes. “You’re moving on up in the world, I tell…” he was interrupted by a kick to his pants. “…OI! What did you kick me for?!”

“I didn’t kick you!” snapped the larger one. They both returned to their cigarettes and were about to light them when both of them were kicked in the pants. The larger Orc turned to his comrade. “SO! YOU THINK IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO KICK ME, EH?”

“I DIDN’T KICK YOU, YOU KICKED ME!” roared the smaller one.

“COME HERE, YOU LYING MORIA RAT!” shouted the larger one. Both of them then got into a grappling match before Larry and Curly knocked them out with a blow to their heads. They then took their clothes and put them on. Soon, everyone had an Orc disguise. They left Cirith Ungol and soon got a good view of how vast the Black Land of Mordor was.

“We did it, Mister Frodo!” cheered Sam. “We made it into Mordor!” Frodo was more attentive to the various Orc camps between the hill and Mt. Doom.

“There are so many of them, we’ll never get through unseen,” he sighed.

“Frodo, I know it’s daunting,” encouraged Megumi, “but we’re all right behind you.”

“Hey, what a funny looking lighthouse!” laughed Curly. He pointed at Barad-dûr as Sauron looked across Mordor to find the Ring.

“That’s not a lighthouse,” gulped Prowl.

“It’s him! The Eye!” whispered Frodo.

“Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor himself!” explained Megumi.

“Oh, so he’s the…NYAAAaaaAAAaaaAAAAH!” Curly yelped as he realized the implications.

“We gotta avoid that thing’s light!” hissed Moe.

“They’re right,” urged Sam. “We have to go in there, Mister Frodo. There’s nothing for it.”

“How can we get past all the Orcs?” whimpered Frodo.

“Come on, let’s just make it down the hill for starters,” suggested Sam.

“He’s right, we need to take this one step at a time,” replied Megumi. “Come on.” The group then headed down the hill.

---

“Megumi and her group have passed beyond my sight,” Gandalf reported in Minas Tirith’s throne room. “The darkness is deepening.”

“If Sauron had the Ring,” countered Aragorn, “we would know it.”

“It’s only a matter of time,” replied Gandalf. “He has suffered a defeat, yes, but behind the walls of Mordor, our enemy is regrouping.”

“Let him stay there!” scoffed Gimli. “Let him rot! Why should we care?”

“Because 10,000 Orcs and Combatmen,” explained Hongo, “now stand between Frodo and Mount Doom.”

“And the Enemy is augmented with Shocker Rift’s technology,” supplied Arsha.

“We’ve sent them to their death,” sighed Gandalf.

“And, with Optimus laid up from the Witch-King’s Morgul blade,” interjected Ironhide, “we could lose the fight in the long run.”

“No,” argued Aragorn. “There is still hope for them. They need time and safe passage across the plains of Gorgoroth. We can give them that.”

“How?” asked Gimli as he puffed on his pipe.

“Draw out Sauron’s armies,” explained Aragorn. “Empty his lands, then we gather our full strength and march on the Black Gate.” Gimli choked on the smoke from his pipe.

“We cannot achieve victory through strength of arms,” argued Éomer, Éowyn’s brother.

“Not for ourselves,” replied Aragorn. “But we can give Frodo his chance if we keep Sauron’s eye fixed upon us, keep him blind to all else that moves.”

“The old diversion bit,” chuckled Arsha.

“Certainty of death, small chance of success,” remarked Thangred, “…what are we waiting for?”

“Sauron will suspect a trap,” guessed Gandalf. “He will not take the bait.”

“Oh, I think he will,” chuckled Aragorn.

---

After his chat with Sauron, Aragorn led the armies of Rohan, Gondor, Autobots, Endeavor crew, and Vortex Riders on a march to Mordor’s Black Gate. During the march, back in Mordor, the Fields of Gorgoroth were being emptied. “You see Mister Frodo? Some luck at last!”

“Don’t be so sure!” hissed Megumi as Orcs came marching towards them.

“If we go with them, we’ll lose our chance!” gulped Prowl.

“I’ve got an idea to break rank soon,” whispered Megumi as the Orcs started passing them. The Orc Captain then spotted them and lashed his whip at them.

“MOVE IT, COME ON! FALL IN! MOVE IT! MOVE IT! MOVE IT!” he bellowed as he whipped them and shoved them into the line of Orcs. “TO THE GATE, YOU SLUGS! NOW MOVE IT! DON’T YOU KNOW WE’RE AT WAR?!”

“HOLD!” called a voice. A line of Combatmen arrived.

“What do you mean ‘hold’?!” demanded the Orc Captain.

“I have troops to move to the Gate!” snarled the Combatman Captain.

“So do I!” roared the Orc Captain.

“You wait!” demanded the Combatman Captain. “Shocker Rift comes before you!” He then shoved the Orc Captain to the ground.

“A better plan!” chuckled Megumi. She then strode to the Orc Captain. “HEY!” she barked. “Look at you, lying at the feet of a Man!”

“GET BACK IN THE LINE!” roared the Orc Captain as he lashed his whip. Megumi caught it and punched the Captain square in the face, knocking him out.

“I’M TAKING COMMAND OF THIS BATTALION!” she roared. “ANY OBJECTIONS?!” No one said a word. “ARE WE GOING TO LET THE RACE OF MEN TRY AND CONQUER US, EVEN IF THEY’RE FROM ANOTHER UNIVERSE?!” The Orcs roared in the negative. “ARE WE READY TO SHOW THEM WHO’S BOSS?!” The Orcs roared in agreement. “KILL THEM, THEN! PROVE TO THEM WHO’S SUPERIOR!” The Orcs roared and fired on the Combatmen. Soon, it became a large shootout between the two factions. “Time to go!” hissed Megumi to her group. They took off in the confusion.

The battle was long and laborious for both sides. Minas Tirith’s catapults flung its own rubble onto the enemy, but it wasn’t enough deter them. The archers were shooting at the siege towers the trolls were pushing. “Not at the towers!” called Gandalf. “Aim for the trolls! Kill the trolls!” One of the towers then hit the wall and opened up to release the Orcs and Combatmen. Other Orcs and Combatmen were on the ground, trying to breach the gate, but turned when failing to do so.

“What are you doing, you useless scum?!” roared the Orc Commander.

“The door won’t give! It’s too strong!” reported the Second-in-Command.

“Did we not give you breaching equipment?!” shouted Megatron as he stormed up to the Orc in Robot Mode.

“They’ve cast shields!” replied the Second-in-Command. “Nothing can breach it!”

“…With its upgrades, Grond will breach it!” chuckled the Orc Commander. “Bring out the Wolf’s head!” Grond, the Hammer of the Underworld, made its appearance to the chanting of its name. Optimus then sighted Megatron, grabbed a few Daleks, and hurled them onto his foe’s head.

“HEY!” protested Megatron. He then looked up to see who split the Daleks open onto him. “Prime!” he snarled as Optimus landed, his battle mask deployed.

“One shall stand, one shall fall!” declared the Autobot leader.

“Why throw away your life so recklessly?” asked Megatron.

“That’s a question you should ask yourself, Megatron!” taunted Optimus. Megatron shifted his feet, ready for action.

“No,” he hissed. “I’ll crush you with my bare hands!” He leapt onto Optimus and began a gorgeous row with him! Kämpfer managed to get a look as he fired into the Orcs.

“Someone has to help Prime!” he called.

“Pick the enemy off!” ordered Ironhide to the rest of the team. “That’s all we can do!”

“But we have to…!” protested Kämpfer.

“Stay away, kid!” replied Ironhide. “That’s Prime’s battle!” The fight lasted well into the night. As they fought, Denethor led a procession with Faramir carried on a backboard.

“I am Steward of the House of Anárion,” he declared. “Thus have I walked, and thus now I will sleep. Gondor is lost. There is no hope for men.” As the procession went across a bridge, Denethor paused to look at the battle below. “Why do the fools fly? Better to die sooner than late, for die we must.” He continued the procession until they reached the burial halls.

---

Megumi continued leading her team through Shelob’s lair in pursuit of Frodo. “FRODO!” she shouted, continuing the call as her team did. Perceptor then tripped into the webbing, noticing its construction as he did.

“Fascinating!” he breathed. “This webbing is laced with Energon, the same way Blackarachnia makes her web!”

“Of course, she’d learn that,” sighed Megumi.

“What do you mean?” asked Prowl.

“At the beginning of the Vortech Wars,” explained Irina, “she consumed a Transformers Protoform and was subsequently altered.”

“Altered?” repeated Bumblebee.

“She IS a Transformer!” elaborated Megumi.

“…Shelob? The Shadow Spider? She’s able to turn into a robot like us?!” yelped Bumblebee.

“LOOK!” called Sam. He pointed out the short Elven sword, Sting. He found the Phial of Galadriel next to it as well. They were both caught in the web. Megumi and Emmanuel freed them from the web and handed them to Sam. “Me?” he asked.

“Samwise Gamgee,” replied Megumi, “I can’t think of a stouter Hobbit worthy of wielding Sting.” Just then, everyone heard a groan.

“Mister Frodo!” yelped Sam. Everyone charged down the tunnel to see Shelob wrapping Frodo up in her web. Sam tightened his grip on the sword and phial and strode towards the Spawn of Ungoliant. “Let him go, you filth!” he hissed. “LET HIM GO!” Shelob carelessly dropped Frodo. “You will not touch him again!” declared Sam.

“HENSHIN!” called the Riders.

“Open! Turn! Imagine!” announced the Chronicle Drivers.

“The Shroud of Cloak!”

“The Fan of Nimbus!”

“The Staff of Crescent!”

“The Hammer of Slam!” Everyone charged at the spider, but she went higher to get more room to strike.

“Shelob, TERRORIZE!” she shouted. She then went from monstrous spider to bipedal robot with three-digited claws for hands. She was about a meter taller than Prowl.

“Come on, then! Finish it!” challenged Sam.

“My pleasure, Halfling!” hissed Shelob as she pulled out her firearm. Prowl tackled her and attempted to wrestle the gun away from her. Bumblebee leapt onto her back and tried to get a decent shot in, but she bucked the two mechs off of her.

“No choice, then!” sighed Perceptor. He then took out a small device, flicked it into the sky, gathered energy into his palm, then thrust it into the air. “CYBER KEY POWER!” he announced. The device then returned and fitted into the back of his lens and turning, making it split in half and gather energy into it. He then fired a large laser beam at Shelob, but she dodged the attack, then hurled a large boulder at him. Perceptor was out, leaving Team Sonic to use their team attack.

“SONIC OVERDRIVE!” they announced as Tails kicked Sonic into the air, giving him height enough to do a Light Speed Attack, doing his signature Spin Dash at higher speeds and bouncing on Shelob multiple times. Shelob then grabbed Sonic and threw him into his teammates.

“Final Attack!” called the Vortex Drivers.

“Final Pen Stroke!” announced the Chronicle Drivers.

“RIDER ARCH KICK!”

“RIDER CLIMB KICK!”

“RIDER FAMINE KICK!”

“RIDER HERALD Y KICK!”

“RIDER SWING KICK!”

“RIDER HUNT KICK!”

“RIDER APOCALYPSE KICK!”

“RIDER HERALD B KICK!”

“RIDER NIMBUS KICK!”

“RIDER CLOAK KICK!”

“RIDER SLAM KICK!”

“RIDER CRESCENT KICK!” The kicks sailed through the air and hit Shelob square in her chest. There was an explosion as they landed. “Perfect!” declared Usagi I, Kamen Rider Crescent.

“Not really,” snarked Shelob as she stood up. She then fired on the Riders, cancelling their transformations as they gasped in pain. She then caught a batarang and snapped it in half. “I use vibrations and webbing to hunt,” she snarked as she flung Batman into the rock wall. “Did you really think vision’s the only thing I have going for me?” Malak and Oak then charged at her. “Wait a minute, aren’t trolls in Sauron’s service?” she asked as she kicked them aside. Dalengor, Lardeth, and Gorfanth then put a massive fireball into the air. Shelob rolled her eyes as she grabbed them and threw them into the fireball, making it dissipate and causing them to land on the ground with severe burns.

“Dai Super Charge!” called Megumi, Kamen Rider Royal, as she spun the wheel twice. She became Kamen Rider Vortex and swung her sword into Shelob’s leg, causing her to only say “Ow” and rub her wound. She then kicked Vortex into the gasping heap as it canceled her transformation.

“Pathetic,” sighed the Shadow Spider Predacon. “What can you hope to achieve?”

“Well, we just left an opening for Samwise the Brave!” gasped Megumi. Sam then thrust Sting under Shelob’s Spark Chamber! The blade severed a few Energon lines, causing her to clutch her abdomen in pain. Sam then held the phial out in front of him and used it to drive Shelob back.

“YOU’LL PAY FOR THIS, ORGANICS!” roared Shelob as she slunk back into the darkness. Once she was out of sight, Sam dashed to the still-webbed Frodo.

“Frodo, Mister Frodo!” he sobbed as he shook his friend. “Wake up!” he begged. “Don’t leave me here alone! Don’t go where I can’t follow! Wake up!” Frodo didn’t stir. “Not asleep. Dead,” whimpered Sam.

“I’m sorry, Sam Gamgee,” sighed Megumi as she took the Ring off of Frodo. “The venom in her stinger was altered as well. I almost died. The reason I was cured was because another Predacon gave my doctor the cure. He’s no longer with us. I’m afraid…you’re right. Frodo Baggins is dead.”

“Guys! Orcs inbound!” hissed Bumblebee. Everyone took cover in a tunnel mouth and observed Shagrat and his pack finding Frodo’s body.

“What’s this?” he chuckled darkly. “Looks like old Shelob’s been having a bit of fun!”

“Killed another one, has she?” grunted an Orc. Shagrat took out a tricorder and got a reading.

“…No,” replied Shagrat as he closed the tricorder. “Even with her new venom cocktail, this fellow ain’t dead.”

“Not dead?!” whispered Sam.

“She jabs him with her stinger,” lectures Shagrat, “and he goes as limp as a boned fish, then she has her way with them. THAT’S how she likes to feed, FRESH blood. Get him to the Tower!” The Orcs picked up Frodo.

“Samwise, you fool!” Sam cursed himself.

“Don’t take all the credit,” remarked Megumi. “I made that kind of blunder too. Come on, let’s follow them!”

---

“RETREAT!” called Gandalf as the gates fell to Grond. “The city is breached! Fall back to the second level! Get the women and children out! Get them out! Retreat!” While Gandalf organized the retreat, Optimus still dueled Megatron. Megatron threw a chunk of stone sharp enough to pierce Optimus’ abdomen, but the Autobot leader was undeterred. As he pulled the stone out, Megatron activated his concealed sword and slashed at the open wound. He then jumped into the air as Optimus stumbled backwards. Just as he was bringing the sword down, Optimus delivered an uppercut and knocked Megatron onto his back. He then charged at Megatron as the Decepticon leader swung his leg to try and trip up Optimus. Optimus jumped, leaving him open for Megatron to drive both feet into Optimus’ midsection and shoving him back. He then got into a grappling match with Optimus, his talons inching closer to Optimus’ face.

“I’LL RIP OUT YOUR OPTICS!” snarled Megatron. Optimus then got a grip on Megatron’s legs and caber tossed him away!

“FINISH HIM OFF, PRIME!” cheered Wyldstyle. “DO IT NOW!” Optimus leveled his gun at Megatron. The Decepticon leader then sensed an ally coming to his aid, so he decided to buy time.

“NO MORE, OPTIMUS PRIME!” he pleaded. “GRANT ME MERCY, I BEG OF YOU!”

“You, who are without mercy,” hissed Optimus, “now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff!”

“NOW!” Megatron shouted to his ally as he went flat. The Witch-King then jumped into the air, startling Optimus, then threw a Morgul Blade at him. His intended target was the Spark, but Optimus twisted so his right shoulder was hit. The blade pierced his steel frame and began its work! Megatron then got up and fired his fusion cannon at Optimus. “Fall! FALL!” he bellowed. Eventually, Optimus DID fall. Megatron stood up and leveled his cannon at Optimus’ head. “I would have waited an eternity for this!” boasted Megatron. “It’s over, Prime!” The Witch-King then departed to deal with Gandalf. He and Pippen were rushing to Faramir’s rescue. Gandalf held his staff in defiance of the former Man.

“Go back to the abyss!” boomed Gandalf. “Fall into the nothingness that awaits you and your master!”

“Do you not know death when you see it, old man?” laughed the Witch-King. “This is my hour!” He drew his sword which was set alight, shattering Gandalf’s staff. “You have failed! The world of men will fall!” declared the Witch-King. That was the idea, but a horn interrupted his boasting. That horn belonged to Théoden’s group.

---

“No!” snarled Megatron. “Idiot Seekers! I can’t trust them to delay mere horsemen! Still, I’ll have your head as a consolation prize, Optimus!”

“NEVER!” defied Optimus as he swung one of his axes into Megatron’s side. Megatron cried out in pain and stumbled. He looked around and surmised the battle would be lost.

“Hiro, this is Megatron!” he barked into his comms. “Are the Seekers with you?”

“They are,” replied Hiro. “I take it you see the Rohirrim?”

“I do,” growled Megatron. “Are they still alive or will I have to content myself with punishing corpses?”

“They’re alive,” answered Hiro. “They just went to repairs.”

“I will join them,” declared Megatron. “I need a rift back!”

“Coming up,” remarked Hiro as a rift opened. Megatron couldn’t resist a jab at Optimus.

“Tell me how Wraith life is going when you get the chance, brother,” he laughed as he returned to Vorton.

---

“Optimus’ life-signs are fading!” called Rusty on the Virginia.

“Beam him directly to sick-bay!” ordered Emily. “Ratchet, you have a patient!”

“On it!” replied Ratchet.

---

Both the Orcs and the Rohirrim had organized their ranks. Théoden ran his sword along the spears. “RIDE NOW, RIDE NOW!” he commanded. “RIDE! RIDE FOR RUIN AND THE WORLD’S ENDING! DEATH!”

“DEATH!” repeated the Rohirrim.

“DEATH!” Théoden announced again.

“DEATH!” called the Autobots.

“DEATH!” commanded Théoden.

“DEATH!” shouted Arsha and her crewmates.

“DEATH!” ordered Théoden.

“DEATH!” called the Vortex and Chronicle Riders.

“FORTH, EORLINGAS!” shouted Théoden. The pounding of hoofbeats echoed across the Pelennor Fields as the Rohirrim and their allies charged at the Orcs, boxing them in.