Tag: kamen rider

“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.

The Rohirrim army was resting at Dunharrow, their refuge. Théoden spoke with Mikhail in private as he looked towards the other members of his team. “Are you sure about them?” he asked.

“I don’t know about a few of them,” replied Mikhail, “but I DO know that my friends are fighters par excellence. With them around, we can’t help but win.”

“But who will protect any of their children?” asked Théoden.

“…You’re not referring to the women in my team, are you?” warned Mikhail.

“How long have they been in combat?” continued Théoden. “Who has been protecting the younger ones or their homes?”

“They do that just fine on the battlefield!” growled Mikhail. “I find it best not to question a woman’s physical prowess or cunning.” By that, he gave the indication that he would have his way. Théoden wisely decided to drop it and left him to check on something else.

“Not used to seeing women in battle?” guessed Arsha as she approached Mikhail.

“I’ve never understood it,” muttered Mikhail. “Éowyn, his niece, is a shieldmaiden!”

“Not every woman is made for war,” replied Arsha. “One of my spouses’ Falnii, her preferred battlefield is a negotiations table.”

“Yes, but not all MEN are made for war, either!” grumbled Mikhail. “Théoden’s not moving his pieces right!”

“Speaking of moving pieces,” remarked Arsha, “are you the one that set up a chessboard in my tent and commands the white pieces?”

“…Nyet, why?” asked Mikhail.

“Because every time I move one of the black pieces and turn my attention away from the game, a white piece moves,” explained Arsha. “Right now, White moved one of its Pawns to King’s Knight 3.”

“What were the moves so far?” asked Mikhail.

“White began with a Pawn to Queen’s Bishop 4,” recalled Arsha, “then I moved a Black Pawn to Queen 3, then White Pawn to King’s Bishop 4, then Black Pawn to King’s Rook 3, then White Pawn to King 3, then Black Pawn to King’s Knight 4, then White Knight to King’s Bishop 3, then Black Pawn to King 3, then White Knight to Queen’s Rook 3, then Black Pawn to Queen’s Bishop 3, then White Pawn to Queen’s Knight 3, then Black Knight to King’s Bishop 3, and now we’re at White Pawn to King’s Knight 3.”

“Do you…need any help?” asked Mikhail.

“No, I think I have a move in mind,” replied Arsha. “I just need to find out who I’m playing against. It’s like the game is following me!”

“You mean, it started in your home?” asked Mikhail.

“Yes,” confirmed Arsha, “and it…where’s he going?” Arsha pointed to Aragorn as he came out of a tent.

“If things are going according to plan,” chuckled Mikhail, “he’s just received the sword called Andúril, Flame of the West, forged from the shards of Narsil, the blade that first severed the Ring from Sauron.” Aragorn then began preparing Brego, his horse.

“He’s not leaving, is he?!” yelped Arsha. Éowyn then ran up to Aragorn.

“Why are you doing this?!” she demanded of Aragorn. “The war lies to the east! You cannot leave on the eve of battle! You cannot abandon the men! We need you here!”

“Why have you come?” asked Aragorn.

“Do you not know?” asked Éowyn.

“…Lady, no!” hissed Arsha. Aragorn and Éowyn heard her as she ran up to them. “I’ve seen that look in your eyes before! I’ve made such looks towards my lovers!”

“He is loved by everyone here!” insisted Éowyn.

“And especially you,” observed Arsha.

“It is but a shadow and a thought that you love,” Aragorn then answered to Éowyn. “I cannot give you what you seek.” Éowyn backed off, stunned and in tears at his answer. “I have wished you joy since I first saw you.”

“…Okay, cruel,” remarked Arsha. Aragorn then mounted Brego and headed to the entrance to the mountain.

“Just where do you think you’re off to?” asked the gruff voice of Gimli.

“Not this time,” replied Aragorn. “This time, you must stay, Gimli.”

“Have you learned nothing of the stubbornness of Dwarves?” asked Legolas as he joined Aragorn and Gimli.

“You might as well accept it,” rumbled Gimli, “we’re going with you, Laddie.” Aragorn smiled as Legolas and Gimli mounted Legolas’ horse. As they moved into the mountain’s entrance, the Rohirrim stared in surprise.

“There he goes,” mused Strongarm.

“He leaves because there is no hope,” guessed Gamling, the second-in-command of all Rohirrim forces.

“He leaves because he must,” countered Théoden.

“Too few have come!” protested Gamling. “We cannot defeat the armies of Mordor or their allies!”

“No, we cannot,” replied Théoden, “but we will meet them in battle nonetheless!”

“Who says we’re gonna lose?” asked Strongarm. “I foresee victory! Our tenacity will win the day!”

“Tenacity alone cannot win a war,” replied Gamling.

“No,” conceded Arsha, “but it’s a damn good supplement to boost our chances! I don’t know about you all, but I’m gonna fight to win! Sauron may try and break our spirits, but I intend to show him that he needs something more than superior numbers to break me!”

“As will I!” cheered Mikhail.

“And me!” called Strongarm.

“…Then so will we!” declared Théoden. The Rohirrim cheered as the sun came up.

---

Thundercracker looked at the Orc Army and groaned. “What kind of soldiers are they?!” he wailed.

“Quit whining!” snapped Starscream. “We have the troops needed to stop the enemy’s march.”

“And we’ve got three prisoners!” chimed in Skywarp.

“What value are the prisoners to the Rohirrim?!” protested Thundercracker. As the Seekers argued, the Orcs grumbled.

“I’m starving!” growled one. “We ain’t had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinking days!”

“Yeah!” called another. “Why can’t we have some meat?!” The Orc’s eyes then fell on the three prisoners Skywarp was talking about. One had a Beatle’s style haircut, the second had his red, curly hair lining only the back of the head, and the last was bald and fat. “What about them?” asked the second Orc. “They’re fresh!” The Seekers stopped arguing long enough to hear what was going on. They turned to the Orcs and stomped towards them.

“Hey! Back off!” called Skywarp.

“No!” roared Thundercracker.

“They are NOT for eating!” snarled Starscream. A pair of Orcs got the three prisoners onto their feet as another Orc looked them over.

“What about their legs?” asked the Orc. “They don’t need those! They look tasty!”

“I said, back off!” roared Skywarp as his blade got between the Orc and the prisoners.

“The prisoners go with us alive and unspoiled!” snarled Starscream.

“Alive?” asked the Orc planning to take the prisoners’ legs. “Why alive? Do they give good sport?”

“They’re our hostages,” explained Starscream. “Apparently, they’re friends of the Vortex Riders. They stay alive if Rohan backs off. If not, they’re yours to deal with.”

“Just a mouthful!” urged the second Orc. “A bit off the fat one’s flank!” His head was then liberated from his neck by the Orc Commander.

“Looks like meat’s back on the menu, boys!” he announced. The Orcs then feasted on their dead comrade’s corpse.

“Hey! Jiggers!” called one of the prisoners to his friends. He nodded his head in a direction away from the Orcs. Skywarp idly flicked the dead Orc’s spleen away from his shoulder as the Orcs messily devoured it.

“Disgusting!” shuddered Starscream.

“I’ve never seen organics act this way!” agreed Thundercracker. “Hey, you three, how savage can you…WHERE’D THEY GO?!” The three prisoners were gone! At Thundercracker’s yelp, everyone stopped whatever activities they were engaged in and saw the spot the prisoners used to be in.

“FIND THEM!” ordered the Orc Commander.

---

“Boy, that was a narrow escape!” panted the black-haired prisoner.

“You’re telling me!” gasped the bald prisoner. “That guy wanted to carve me up!”

“Over there!” called a voice. The three yelped and peeked over the bushes, seeing a pair of Rohirrim, Melandra, Grimlock, and Haitao.

“We gotta find a way out of here!” gulped the red-headed prisoner.

“I got it!” cheered the black-haired prisoner.

“I hope so,” gulped the bald prisoner. “Because if you don’t, we’ll get it!”

“Quiet!” hissed the black-haired prisoner as he poked the bald one’s eyes.

“Wait a minute, look!” called the red-headed prisoner. He pointed to Haitao’s Vortex Driver.

“Wait a minute, I’ve seen that before!” whispered the bald one.

“Yeah, in the monster’s home universe!” cheered the black-haired one. “That’s the same kind of belt Megumi’s future wore!”

“It’s the Vortex Riders!” called the red-headed one.

“Over here!” shouted the bald one, attracting the attention of the search party. Haitao immediately recognized them.

“It’s Moe, Larry, and Curly!” he called to his party. “Help me untie them!” The party got their knives out and cut the Stooges’ bonds.

“Thanks, boys!” bid Moe.

“What are you doing here?” asked Grimlock.

“That rat, Hiro, kidnapped us!” replied Moe.

“We were settling in nicely as rulers of Moronica!” supplied Larry.

“I’d like to get my hands on Hiro!” snarled Curly. “I’ll dash his head against the wall! I’ll rip both his legs off! I’ll annihilate him! I’ll…!” someone tapped him on the shoulder. He looked around and yelped at seeing Moe’s face.

“We’re marching to Gondor in the morning,” reported Melandra. “That way seems to be the safest route.”

“Bad idea!” yelped Larry.

“The Orcs that had us are over that way, probably still looking for us,” explained Moe. “So are those jet robots.”

“Jet robots?” asked Grimlock. “Do they look alike?”

“Aside from the different colors, they’re almost the same,” replied Curly.

“A Seeker Trine!” growled Grimlock. “If we can safely believe Megatron’s involved, it’s probably Starscream’s Trine!”

“Then we need to find another way quick!” declared Haitao. “Let’s all head back to camp and tell Théoden about this!”

---

Over in Minas Tirith, Hiroki and Gandalf came out of the throne room and into the Courtyard where the White Tree stood. Lukas and Optimus were looking around. “Imagine,” Lukas chuckled to himself. “Last time I was here, we were fighting the Riddler and the Balrog. Now, here we are, ready to fight Mordor.”

“If we can get some sense into Denethor, perhaps we can!” growled Gandalf.

“He’s had his cup of depresso today?” snarked Optimus.

“Idiot’s sent Faramir to Western Osgiliath with no proper preparations!” explained Hiroki.

“Now?!” yelped Optimus. “We were supposed to help him!”

“Denethor sent him in secret,” reported Gandalf, “long before the audience we just held with him!”

“This is NOT going to be a moment where I want to say, ‘I told you so’,” sighed Optimus.

“Guys, Mordor’s coming!” called Wyldstyle. Indeed, at the Pelennor Fields, the host from Mordor arrived. As predicted, it was augmented with Shocker Rift’s technology and weapons. Laser cannons were dispersed among the ranks of Orcs. The troops were armed with laser rifles. The Nine rode on mechanical Fell Beasts controlled by their new motorcycles. Daleks flanked the Nine in the air. Leading the whole thing, in vehicle mode, was a foe Optimus could recognize over the radio.

“Megatron!” he snarled.

“My Lord, Denethor!” called a soldier, Irolas, as more carried Faramir’s body up to the courtyard on a stretcher. Denethor came out of the throne room and ran to Faramir’s body.

“Faramir!” he called. “Say not that he has fallen!”

“They were outnumbered,” reported Irolas. “None survived.”

---

“Fear!” chuckled the Orc Commander. “The city is rank with it! Let us ease their pain! Release the prisoners!”

“Catapults!” ordered the Orc Second-in-Command. The catapults launched their ammunition into the city. The soldiers got a good look at the ammunition, the heads of the Orcs’ prisoners.

---

“My sons are spent!” whimpered Denethor. “My line has ended!” Pippen looked over Faramir’s body as Cliffjumper activated a scanner.

“It’s not over!” called Cliffjumper.

“He’s alive!” supplied Pippen.

“The House of Stewards has failed!” continued Denethor.

“Denethor, aren’t you listening?!” protested Optimus.

“He needs medicine, my Lord!” answered Pippen.

“My line has ended!” insisted Denethor as he stumbled to the edge of the courtyard.

“Don’t be stupid!” shouted Optimus.

“Rohan has deserted us!” whispered Denethor as he saw the legions of Orcs and Daleks.

“Denethor! Can you not hear the catapults smashing into the city?!” shouted Ironhide.

“Théoden’s betrayed me!” hissed Denethor.

“YOUR CITY IS LITERALLY CRUMBLING ALL AROUND YOU!” shouted War. Denethor then leaned over the edge to shout as loud as he could.

“ABANDON YOUR POSTS!” he ordered. “FLEE! FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES!” At that moment, Gandalf had enough! He whacked Denethor several times over with his staff.

“That’s it, then,” declared Hiroki. “PREPARE FOR BATTLE!”

“AUTOBOTS, TO THE AIR!” shouted Optimus. As the Autobots took off, the Riders took out their respective belts.

“HENSHIN!” called all the Riders.

“Open! Turn! Imagine!” called the Chronicle Drivers.

“The Tail of Lash!”

“The Morningstar of Terra!”

“The Crossbow of Striker!”

“The Shield of Highland!”

“The Roller of Turf!”

“The Keyblade of Lux!”

“TATAKAI!” (FIGHT) shouted Hiroki, Kamen Rider Sengoku. Everyone charged to the gates to stop the combined armies of Mordor and Shocker Rift.

“All right, let’s go over the plan one last time,” declared Megumi once several days had passed and all newcomers had made contact with their homes. “We need to get the Ring to Mordor and get Frodo to throw it into Mt. Doom. I will lead a group consisting of Batman, Richard, Emmanuel, Irina, Brenden, Famine, Tonje, Tanisha, Lacey, Sophie, Swalmu, Jandro, Colleen, Usagi I, Bumblebee, Perceptor, Prowl, Team Sonic, Gorfanth, Lardeth, Oak, Dalengor, and Malak. We get Frodo and Sam into Mordor via the Stairs of Cirith Ungol, cross Mordor unseen, and throw the Ring into the fires of Mt. Doom.”

“While that’s going on,” supplied Hiroki, “I will direct a group consisting of Gandalf, Wyldstyle, Michael, Lukas, Livia, War, Charline, Death, Wilson, Twaldar, Alesandro, Liam, Jason, Mickey, Optimus, Cliffjumper, Ironhide, Sira, Team Dark, Malnar, Nazay, Laverda, and Elmar. We will assist Pippen and Gandalf in getting the defenses raised for Minas Tirith and try and hold out.”

“Hopefully, they will hold out until Rohan arrives with my group,” continued Mikhail. “I will be leading Hongo, Haitao, Xiomara, Flora, Victor, Dell, Agus, Foresna, Arsha, Thangred, Melandra, Bashoon, Trema, Natalie, Strongarm, Blackarachnia, Grimlock, Slash, Snarl, Jazz, and Team Chaotix.”

“If and when we drive Mordor’s forces back into the Black Land,” Hiroki went on, “we unite and storm the Black Gates and distract Sauron long enough until Megumi’s group succeeds.”

“When Mt. Doom explodes and Mordor self-destructs,” finished Emily, “the Virginia and Scorpainia’s fleet will finally reveal themselves. I will be in command of the Virginia and will have Joshua, Sheela, Chell, Elphaba, the Brigadier, Rusty, Amelia, Pestilence, Amelia, Henry, Moon-kyung, Peach, Marshii, Thengo, Orthena, Sludge, Swoop, Slag, Ultra Magnus, Team Rose, and Ratchet. We’ll beam you all out, inform everybody of your survival, and, once we return the Hobbits back to the Shire and coronate Aragorn and reunite him with Arwen, we regroup with everyone, chase any survivors of Hiro’s group back to Vorton with a fleet more massive than Shocker Rift’s, chase the bad guys out of our home, and restore it back to how we like it.”

“Excellent!” praised Megumi. “We’re all good. Minna, we all know what’s at stake. If we miss this chance and Sauron gets the Ring back, he’ll have our heads. We must make sure Frodo gets rid of the Ring.”

“A tremendous victory awaits us,” assured Optimus.

“I trust those words are prophetic,” gulped Arsha.

“They are,” replied Optimus.

“Then we should prepare a drink for when we do win,” chuckled Trema.

“Got a bottle of Rock-rum on you?” asked Optimus.

“A bottle?” remarked Trema. “I brought 10 barrels! 2705, there is NO finer vintage!”

“Then let’s make sure we all win so we can use it for a toast,” declared Megumi.

---

“Hiro, what, pray tell, are you and your wife doing?” asked Megatron as he arrived at the Gateway Room.

“Checking something out,” replied Hiro as he set Megumi’s crown on Igura’s head. “What do you think?” he asked Igura as he gestured towards a mirror. She looked in the mirror, then her face fell.

“Oh god, I’m fat!” she moaned.

“You’re not fat,” assured Hiro as he held her pregnant frame from behind her. “Is there anything you need?” he whispered in her ear.

“A new head, maybe,” grumbled Megatron.

“What’s THAT supposed to mean?!” snarled Igura as her mood changed. Call it a mood swing if you will, but I’d say her anger, at that moment, was legitimate.

“Perhaps you should remain out of our way until you’ve given birth,” replied Megatron.

“Are you calling my wife useless?!” growled Hiro.

“I’m saying she’s stressing herself out!” answered Megatron. “Sexist though this sounds, a war zone is no place for a pregnant woman!”

“This ISN’T a war zone!” argued Hiro.

“Give it time!” countered Megatron. “Megumi’s going to return, you can count on it!”

“And we’ll be able to hold her off!” insisted Hiro. “Stop being so unreasonable!”

“Hey, hey, hey, make some love right now!” called a voice. It was Dr. Borg’s Goblin financier, Tormo. He had a tray with a beverage on it.

“Ah, Tormo,” greeted Hiro. “I take it that’s the decaf?”

“Decaf what?” asked Megatron.

“It’s the first attempt at decaffeinated Goblin coffee!” replied Tormo. “Doing a little market research. Go on, try it!” Igura took the drink and sipped it before making a face.

“Horrible!” she gagged.

“Come on, it can’t be that bad,” soothed Hiro before he tried it. “…Ugh, Tormo!” he protested.

“I gave it my best shot!” protested Tormo. “The removal of caffeine from beverages has plagued restaurateurs and bartenders for eons! Not even our best magic can do any better!”

“I’m trying to get Igura off of caffeine, not poison her!” growled Hiro.

“Okay, now who’s being unreasonable?!” argued Igura. “You make me sound like some kind of addict! I have one, maybe one and a half, cups a day!”

“Sweet Eagle,” replied Hiro, “I simply don’t want our daughter to be dependent on caffeine.”

“You’re being ridiculous!” hissed Igura.

“Don’t bother reasoning with him,” interjected Dr. Borg as she came in. “Pregnancy always gets a man in a tizzy, not that that’s always bad. It DOES indicate that the man cares about the child.”

“Excuse me, Doctor,” argued Hiro, “this isn’t the first baby I had!”

“Excuse ME!” replied Igura. “Your first wife had Megumi! You shouldn’t tell me what to do!”

“Not to give total credence to Hiro’s behavior,” remarked Dr. Borg, “but you are carrying HIS child as well as yours. He DOES have some say.”

“Even if he IS leasing out your time,” interjected Tormo, “Hiro HAS certain rights.”

“…Leasing out my time?” asked Igura as venom dripped in her voice.

“Back home, pregnancy is when a man is renting a woman’s time in caring for a child and has to compensate her for her time,” explained Tormo.

“…RENTING?!” roared Hiro and Igura. Tormo decided to beat a hasty retreat.

---

A portal had opened on the Promenade, a portal of Caan’s design. Caan stepped out of it and looked around. He then inched his way towards a shopping area. As he crept in, he failed to notice one of his old Dalek mates. “Unauthorized humanoid detected!” it barked.

“Peace, old brother!” called Caan. “I’m here to help.”

“Why should the Daleks accept help from you?” demanded the Dalek.

“Because I know how to get the Skaro Daleks back into their original casings with no repercussions, and I know what the Emperor is,” replied Caan. The Dalek became a little less twitchy.

“The Creator is the Emperor!” barked the Dalek. “He has joined us in…!”

“Shocker Rift propaganda, I’m afraid,” interrupted Caan. “It’s actually a mutant bred from a Combatman’s cells. I have proof. Check it to see that I’m not lying.” He produced a data-pad for the Dalek to examine.

“…If it IS the truth you speak,” continued the Dalek, “then what hope do we have? We are doomed to be slaves to inferior life-forms!”

“I know how to extricate you from the False Emperor’s control,” offered Caan. “But, we must do it carefully and quietly. If Hiro finds out, you really WILL be doomed to slavery. Even then, after you ARE freed, you must wait until proof of Mordor’s fall reaches you.” The Dalek’s eyestalk drooped slightly downwards and moved from side to side as it considered its next move before deciding. The eyestalk then faced Caan.

“I must consult with the true Dalek Supreme!” declared the Dalek as it took the pad. “You will have our decision within the hour!”

“I’m sure the true Dalek Supreme will do what’s best for Dalek Supremacy,” purred Caan. The Dalek trundled off to find the Dalek Supreme. Caan then activated a communicator. “Metaltron, this is Caan, the seeds of doubt against Hiro are planted. I repeat, the Daleks are about to be free. Requesting immediate return.”

“I obey!” replied Metaltron. A rift opened for Caan and he stepped through.

---

“All contents confirmed!” barked a Scientist Dalek of the Skaro breed. All Daleks on the private comms were of Skarosian origin. “Caan can free us!”

“Then we must accept his offer!” replied the Dalek Supreme. “When we return to our original casings and are freed from the explosives, Skaro will be closed off to Shocker Rift and anyone staying behind will be exterminated! Shocker Rift will fall! Contact Caan with the frequency encoded on the pad!”

“I obey!” replied a Dalek.

---

Soundwave had finally learned the operations of the Gateway and its computer, so he was on monitor duty as usual. He idly flicked through a pleasure channel while keeping his main attention on rift activity. He then heard a ping in his head. It was from Middle Earth. “What the?” he muttered. When he sifted through the information, his optics went wide! “Emergency! Emergency!” he called on the general comms. “Dudes, Autobots have been sighted marching with Théoden! Repeat, Autobots are marching with Rohan!”

“What?!” replied Megatron’s voice.

“There’s more!” continued Soundwave. “Vortex Riders have been sighted at Minas Tirith and Megumi’s reaching Mordor’s western borders!”

“So that’s why she disabled all non-life-support systems!” theorized Dr. Borg. “She still has a way to circumvent us!”

“We need to stop them immediately!” declared Megatron. “Mordor HAS to be their ultimate target, since Sauron’s reduced to being a flaming eye atop Barad-dûr again!”

“There is no reason to panic,” assured Hiro. “Mordor has been augmented by our technology. The Orcs will be able to get the Ring back to Sauron and we’ll be able to defeat them soundly.”

“I find it wise not to underestimate the enemy,” advised Megatron.

“Fine, we can send some other troops, if you’re so paranoid about it,” sighed Hiro.

“Seekers, stop the Rohan march!” ordered Megatron.

“Jansha, weaken Gondor!” commanded Dr. Borg.

“And I suppose we can employ Shelob to stop them, since she’s more powerful than ever as a Transformer,” mused Hiro.

“…Shelob’s a what?” asked Megatron.

---

A portal opened as Sam and Frodo met Megumi’s group at the edge of the Morgul Vale. “Never thought I’d try this again,” muttered Frodo.

“Well, we’re here to help,” assured Megumi, “and, this time, there’s no Gollum to guide you.”

“Why would that stinker guide us into Mordor?” asked Sam.

“We’ll tell you later,” replied Richard. “Right now, we’ve got some scaling to do.”

“Scaling?” asked Frodo.

“We’re climbing the mountains,” explained Prowl, shuddering. Megumi noticed. Bumblebee saw her glance at Prowl and smirked.

“There are only two Autobots I’ve heard of with a fear of heights,” chuckled Bumblebee. “One of them is Prowl, the other is, ironically, the Aerialbot leader.”

“You could have said something!” Megumi hissed at Prowl.

“The mission is all that matters!” declared Prowl.

“Well, the mission’s going to be screwy if not all teammates are fully prepared!” snapped Megumi.

“I HAVE put aside my acrophobia in certain…” Prowl stopped and had his attention snatched by something else. “Everyone…” he warned.

“That’s definitely marching we’re hearing!” gulped Jandro.

“Hide!” hissed Megumi. Everyone got off the road before the Orc army could see them. Gorshagh was leading the march as the Kiri Zecter sat in his hand. A screech then echoed throughout the Morgul Vale as the Lord of the Nazgûl flew on a mechanical Fell Beast with his new motorcycle embedded into it. His new biker gear evoked his old armor. He shrieked and the Orcs continued marching, arming their new weapons that Shocker Rift had provided. It took over an hour for the Orcs to clear out of the Morgul Vale. Once it was confirmed safe, Megumi’s group looked upwards.

“Too high for a grappling hook,” mused Batman.

“Zephyrs and Vampires tend not to go straight up that high,” muttered Swalmu.

“I can’t really take everyone up as I don’t have that kind of strength,” remarked Tails.

“And our vehicle modes can only go so high unless we’re in combat mode,” replied Perceptor. “Even then, my vehicle mode’s a mobile lab station.”

“Then there’s only one thing for it,” declared Megumi. “We have to scale it.”

“Not all of us are that prepared for rock-climbing,” countered Emmanuel as he gestured to his dress.

“Then there’s only one option,” offered Bumblebee. Everyone gave the Autobot scout their full attention.

---

“You realize having them on us as we climb,” whimpered Prowl, “won’t make us go any faster!” He had Gorfanth, Lardeth, Oak, Dalengor, Malak, Jandro, and Swalmu holding onto him.

“It was the best option I could come up with, given the circumstances!” protested Bumblebee as he carried Team Sonic, Colleen, Usagi I, Sophie, and Lacey.

“Ja, well, next time we do this,” grumbled Perceptor as he carried Megumi, Batman, Richard, Emmanuel, Irina, Brenden, Famine, Tonje, and Tanisha, “we’re bringing a rocket sled that can carry everyone.

“Jandro, stop moving around so much!” protested Gorfanth. “You’re upsetting the balance by moving!”

“Sorry!” whispered Jandro. “I just can’t keep my eyes off Brenden.”

“…Do you have a crush on him?” asked Gorfanth.

“Well, he admitted the same to me when Megumi, Arsha, and Optimus were fighting their preliminary rounds,” replied Jandro.

“Then why not ask him out?” inquired Gorfanth.

“After this adventure, I think I will,” mused Jandro.

“There!” called Megumi as she pointed to a tunnel’s entrance in the mountains.

“I see it!” called Prowl. He buried his fear of heights a little longer as he led the climb to the entrance. He wanted solid ground under his feet as fast as possible. They all arrived at the tunnel’s mouth and rested for a bit. “Bumblebee,” panted Prowl, “never suggest rock-climbing to me as a bonding activity, EVER!”

“Noted, Sir,” replied Bumblebee. “Okay, who else could use a top-off on their internal Energon reserves?”

“I think that will be splendid!” cheered Perceptor.

“We’re taking a breather, then,” declared Megumi. Everyone sat down as the Autobots got their rations out. Megumi arched an eyebrow when she saw how little Bumblebee drank. “I thought you said you needed Energon?” she asked.

“I asked if everyone needed a top-off,” corrected Bumblebee.

“Perceptor and I needed more Energon from that climb,” continued Prowl. “Bumblebee’s the most efficient in terms of Energon consumption.”

“That usually happens when a bot like me is so sho…” Bumblebee was struggling to say the word, “…sho…short!” He then curled up into a ball to hide his embarrassment.

“He admitted it!” Perceptor whispered to Prowl.

“He’s starting to face reality!” replied Prowl.

“Well, shortness-acknowledgement aside,” declared Richard, “I could use some food. Mr. Gamgee, is there enough Lembas for us all?”

“More than enough,” replied Sam. He divided up the Elven-bread and everyone was pleasantly surprised.

“It’s sweet!” praised Jandro.

“Almost like the Elven-bread of home,” chuckled Swalmu.

“Mister Frodo, you need some…Frodo? Mister Frodo?!” Sam became alarmed as he couldn’t find Frodo.

“Of all the…FRODO! NOT YET! WAIT FOR US!” called Megumi. Everyone got up and gave pursuit of the wayward Hobbit.

Vorton was taking a pounding from the combined might of Megatron, Dr. Borg, and Hiro’s forces. Hiroki was trying to thin out the forces with the Virginia. It made various passes at the Nemesis, but couldn’t reasonably scratch its shields. Still, Megatron saw it as an annoyance that needed immediate attention. “How effective will our weapons be on that ship?” he asked Thundercracker at Tactical.

“Theoretically, we would obliterate it,” replied Thundercracker, “but there’s one flaw that ship is taking advantage of; it’s too small for us to get a decent target-lock on it.”

“Dr. Borg is hailing us,” called Soundwave.

“Put it through,” ordered Megatron. Dr. Borg came on screen.

“I’m having Attack Wings 2 through 4 deal with that gnat buzzing around you,” she answered.

“Excellent,” praised Megatron. “Anything I can do for you?”

“There IS the matter of a shield generator that’s exposed on the front-most ring of asteroids,” mused Dr. Borg.

“Got that thing in our sights!” called Thundercracker.

“Then, by all means,” declared Megatron. “Fire.” Thundercracker unleashed a torpedo and reduced the shield generator to dust.

“…How is that possible?” quizzed Dr. Borg.

“Sir,” called Thundercracker, “enemy shield integrity has not made any significant decrease.”

“Optimus’ doing, most likely,” mused Megatron.

---

“Nice tweaking of the shield generator code, Prime,” praised Megumi.

“Well, I WAS a data clerk before I got the Matrix,” replied Optimus. “I’d be a fool if I didn’t practice my skills.”

“Shields are holding,” reported Rusty. “…Wait…we’re being probed inside!”

“What?!” yelped Megumi. Just then, an old Cyber-mite self-destructed. “Hiro must have left that when we had that exchange!” growled Megumi.

---

“Shield frequency retrieved!” called the Communications Officer on the Dominus.

“Alter our weapons to match that frequency!” ordered Hiro.

“Weapons adjusted!” reported Tactical.

“Fire!” shouted Hiro. The enemy fleet fired on Vorton and managed to damage it.

---

“They’ve figured out our shield frequency!” called Rusty.

“We’re being boarded!” reported the Brigadier. “Shocker Rift, the Seekers, and Jansha are flooding the Promenade!”

“Oh boy, this isn’t as rosy as I remember,” gulped a voice. Megumi turned to see…70-year-old Megumi!

“Mirai-Megumi!” she breathed.

“I take it she’s from your future?” guessed Optimus.

“She is,” replied Megumi. “She’s me.”

“And I need to find Henry Zhou,” explained Mirai-Megumi. “Where is he?”

“Medical ward,” replied Megumi. Mirai-Megumi then looked around.

“I’m near enough to it,” she declared before running off.

“Wait, aren’t you going to help?!” called Arsha.

“No, but I can get you one who can,” replied Mirai-Megumi as she left.

“…Not Dr. Zhou!” groaned Megumi.

---

“Well, I must say,” gulped Jandro as he looked around the medical ward while Vorton shook from the weapons fire, “I never expected to be at the center of a war zone again!”

“Any that I’ve read about?” asked Swalmu.

“The Battle of Broken Tears,” replied Jandro.

“I was there as well!” called Twaldar.

“The final battle of the War of Stars, ending the First Age of Unity,” mused Swalmu.

“Could we save the nostalgia for later?!” protested Agus. “We need to take command of the situation!”

“Well, we ARE Kamen Riders now!” suggested Wilson.

“A capital idea, in my humble opinion!” replied Jandro as they pulled out their Chronicle Drivers and fastened them to their waists. “Dr. Zhou, I trust you can heal us if things go awry?”

“That’s what I’m here for,” answered Henry.

“Ah, there you are!” called a voice. It was Mirai-Megumi. The men gawked at her.

“I knew humans age,” gulped Twaldar, “but not that fast!”

“I’m not the Megumi from now,” explained Mirai-Megumi. “I’m her at age 70.”

“…The future?!” protested Twaldar.

“Yep!” confirmed Mirai-Megumi.

“First we’re crossing dimensions, now we’re crossing timelines!” snarled Agus.

“Just ensuring the future plays out as it should,” elaborated Mirai-Megumi as she pulled out a Chronicle Driver. “Let’s see,” she mused. “Ah, yes, Sento-san gave Jandro, Agus, and Wilson theirs; Woz gave Swalmu and Twaldar theirs, so all that’s left is you, Dr. Zhou.”

“…Oh no, you don’t!” argued Henry. “I’m already tied up in medical duties!”

“Shocker Rift has Daleks with them right now!” replied Mirai-Megumi. “They’re not too choosy about who they kill!”

“I hardly think that they’ll bother killing us all if they need workers!” countered Henry. “Besides, my place is in an examination room, tending to patients!”

“You won’t get that chance if you don’t fight!” insisted Mirai Megumi.

“I’m a doctor, not a commando!” declared Henry.

“Emily’s a doctor,” Mirai-Megumi pointed out. “So are Marshii and Ratchet. I see them on the battlefield right now.” Henry looked outside and could, indeed, see Emily as Touché with Ratchet and Marshii holding off a boarding party making its way to the medical ward.

“…I’m going to hate myself in the morning!” groaned Henry as he took the belt.

“I knew you’d make the right choice!” cheered Mirai-Megumi. “Well, sayonara, Minna-san!” She then left the area through a time portal. When it shut, Henry fastened the belt to his waist.

“Chronicle Driver!” it announced.

“Just follow our lead,” advised Jandro as everyone took out their Armor Auto-bios.

“Henshin!” they all called. They inserted their trinkets into the shelves and pressed them down into the Chronicle Drivers.

“Open! Turn! Imagine!” the belts called.

“The Shroud of Cloak!”

“The Venom of Tox!”

“The Tail of Lash!”

“The Fan of Nimbus!”

“The Morningstar of Terra!”

“The Grip of Canopy!”

“The What of What?!” called Henry in confusion. His armor was simple in design and had a blue medical cross between the helmet’s antennae.

“I guess you are Kamen Rider Canopy,” mused Cloak.

“…I guess it makes sense,” mused Henry, Canopy.

“EXTERMINATE!” called a familiar harsh, grating, metallic tone.

“A Droknar?” asked Nimbus. “I thought…” What Nimbus thought was one of his world’s sci-fi monsters rounded the corner and revealed itself to be the Dalek that gave the usual battle cry. “Okay, that’s not a Droknar,” remarked Nimbus.

“We can discuss that later!” declared Terra as he summoned his Morningstar.

“EXTERMIN…!” The Dalek didn’t get far as the Morningstar slammed into its casing and caved its side it, causing it to scream before dying.

“Okay, brutal,” gulped Canopy.

“Over there!” called a voice. Shocker Rift Combatmen swarmed the medical ward.

“Do you have an appointment?” asked Canopy.

“Get them!” called the Combatman leader. The Combatmen then swarmed the medical ward and attacked, knocking over various tools in the process.

“Okay, no, destruction of a place of healing is NOT a thing I’m putting up with today!” snarled Canopy as he summoned a staff looking like Hermes’ Caduceus staff and swung it onto the Combatmen. He then discovered how to convert it into a crossbow and fired.

“Damn spider-monkey!” shouted a Combatman.

“I’m a Snub-nosed monkey!” snapped Canopy.

“What do you call yourself?” taunted another Combatman. “Kamen Rider Flea-picker?”

“Kamen Rider Canopy, actually,” corrected Canopy. “I’ve got plenty of monkey business for you!”

---

Megumi had already changed into Royal and was helping in trying to clear the Gateway Room. Optimus and Arsha were involved as well. “I must admit,” called Optimus as he fired on the Daleks, “I never thought I’d believe in Vorton, much less fight for its freedom!”

“I never thought I’d be in another world outside my own!” replied Arsha as she tossed a Combatman aside.

“Focus on the fight, you two!” advised Royal. “If the shields around the Gateway Room fail…” A Dalek shot a console. It exploded and the sound of shields being lowered echoed throughout the room. “Oh no!” groaned Royal.

---

“The shields around the Gateway Room have lowered!” called Dr. Borg.

“That’s our que to take the stage!” declared Hiro.

“You heard him!” Megatron boomed at his troops. “Beam us over!”

---

“Royal!” warned Rusty as Megatron, Dr. Borg, and Hiro were beamed right into the Gateway Room. Megatron charged at Optimus and they got into a grapping match. Dr. Borg took to the air and fired magic blasts at Arsha. Hiro got out his phone, put his i.d. tag into it, keyed in a code, then thrust it in front of him.

“Henshin!” he called. He then set it into the buckle and became Kamen Rider Rogue. “Kamen Rider Rogue! Stand and deliver!” he announced as he drew his guns and converted them into shōtō mode.

“Megumi, we’re being overrun!” reported POmega as Royal and Rogue engaged in a sword duel.

“Orders, Ma’am?!” called the Brigadier. Royal looked around after shoving Rogue back.

“…Computer, this is Megumi Hishikawa,” she finally announced. “Initiate Program: Hishikawa 1 Niner Alpha.”

“Program cannot be completed unless Richard Saunders authorizes the concurrence program,” reported the computer.

“What are you doing?!” snarled Rogue.

“Richard-chan,” Royal called on the comms.

“Guard here,” replied Richard’s voice. From his response, he was Kamen Rider Guard again. “Did I hear that right? You authorized half the…?”

“Authorize the other half,” ordered Megumi. “If they want Vorton so bad, they can have it!”

“…Computer,” sighed Guard, “this is Richard Saunders. Initiate Program: Saunders 1 Niner Alpha.”

“Program completed and engaged,” reported the computer. “Evacuate Vorton immediately. All computer systems aside from life-support will self-destruct upon all members evacuating.”

“WHAT?!” roared Rogue.

“You’re having Vorton, not our intelligence!” snarled Royal as the evacuation alarm sounded. Rogue charged wildly at her and attempted to take her head, but Royal blocked every blow. Just then, a red tendril intercepted a blow. Reb Rojam was on Vorton!

“How did YOU get here?!” demanded Optimus.

“Hiro sprung me and my DARLING hubby!” replied Reb as she joined the fray. “Arsha, so DELIGHTFUL to see you again!”

“I wish I could say the feeling’s mutual!” hissed Arsha. The three leaders held off the invaders as everyone evacuated through the Gateway.

“All members and allies are evacuated aside from three,” reported the computer after five minutes had passed.

“Prime, Arsha, you two first,” directed Royal.

“What about you?!” protested Optimus.

“I’ll be all right! Go!” urged Megumi.

“Prime, I don’t think she’ll brook any arguments!” insisted Arsha as she made her way to the Gateway. Optimus rolled his optics before he followed Arsha. Royal then managed to cancel her transformation and threw her crown into a console before leaving. The portal in the Gateway shut itself and electricity coursed through the machinery, leaving only life-support online. Rogue roared in frustration as the Decepticons activated lights hidden within their helmets.

“It looks like Program: 1 Niner Alpha was very thorough,” mused Megatron.

“And a very smart move on her part,” praised Dr. Borg. “She had no intention of letting any of her group’s intelligence fall into her enemy’s hands. In all honesty, I’d be a little disappointed if she didn’t attempt to destroy her plans.”

“Yes, very well and good,” interjected Reb, “but the fact is remains, our SACRED bargain is complete. You told me to help you take Vorton and my hubby and I did. Now, I need a way back to my crew, so FRAUGHT with worry.”

“…A deal’s a deal,” sighed Megatron.

“Hold on, we need her!” argued Rogue.

“We really don’t right now,” dismissed Megatron. He turned to a Dalek. “Does our backup rift generator still work?”

“It is still operational!” replied the Dalek.

“Send Reb and her husband home,” ordered Megatron.

“I obey!” replied the Dalek. As the Dalek scuttled off, Megatron knelt down and picked the crown out of the console.

“As if the message couldn’t be any clearer,” he chuckled.

“What message?” hissed Rogue as he canceled his transformation.

“Megumi declared her intention to return,” explained Dr. Borg.

“…Get weapons power online!” barked Hiro to a Combatman. “Return shield power! I want our prize fortified!”

---

The people that evacuated had arrived at the new Castle Nerd Skull. They were catching their breath as the Riders powered down. Emily then got a notification on her phone. She looked it up and sighed happily. “The Virginia’s in Castle Nerd Skull’s new hangar,” she reported.

“Excellent,” replied Megumi. “And our backup systems?”

“All correct,” replied Lukas.

“Megumi, your crown!” yelped Richard.

“I left it behind on purpose, I promise you,” assured Megumi.

“The question remains, what now?” asked Optimus.

“We throw the Ring into Mt. Doom, first,” declared Megumi.

“Sauron wasn’t on Vorton, though,” remarked Richard.

“Ring?” asked Jandro.

“When the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, fell,” explained Gandalf, “Sauron, his lieutenant, took his place and then disguised himself as Annatar, the Lord of Gifts. With his knowledge of craftsmanship, he counseled Elf smiths in creating Rings of Power. Three were given to the Elves, seven to the Dwarves, and nine were given to Men. In secret, he forged a master ring, the One Ring, and poured his very soul into it.”

“Only a last alliance of Elves and Men stopped him in his home of Mordor,” continued Batman. “Then-Prince Isildur then took up his father’s broken sword and used it to get the Ring away from Sauron. It all could have been avoided if he threw it into Mt. Doom, but he didn’t and it eventually was lost until Gollum picked it up, then lost it, then a Hobbit named Bilbo got it before, reluctantly, passing it on to Frodo at Gandalf’s urging.”

“I take it, you did your research in your universe,” mused Gandalf. “Then, I presume you know how our story was supposed to go.”

“You were supposed to die during the battle with the Balrog,” began Batman, “then Boromir should have died by Uruk Hai arrows while defending Frodo, then Frodo and Sam were supposed to reach Mordor alone while guided by Gollum while Merry and Pippen were taken by Saruman’s forces. They then meet you resurrected in white robes, taking Saruman’s place as you do now. Meanwhile, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas pursued the Uruk Hai forces and found their bodies after men from Rohan killed them. Then they met you and you all went to Edoras to free King Théoden from Saruman’s control. You all then went to Helm’s Deep and defended it while Fangorn Forest took care of the rest of the Isengard forces. While that happened, Saruman was held under siege at Orthanc from the Ents and Merry and Pippen. Both groups then reunited and then Pippen looked in the Palantír, seeing Gondor burning. You and Pippen then headed to Gondor to try and raise the defenses while Sauron sent his forces to siege it. Rohan was then convinced to aid Gondor and both armies drove back Mordor’s soldiers while Sam and Frodo went deeper into Mordor. The armies of Men then marched onto Mordor to distract Sauron while Frodo destroyed the Ring and, as an accident, Gollum.”

“Well, Boromir died of three slashes from Kamen Rider Kiri,” explained Gandalf. “Théoden is freed from Saruman’s control and Merry and Pippen have, indeed, encouraged the Ents to take Isengard. The reason I did not die is because you and our friends first met me as Durin’s Bane and I fell in Moria. The rest, I presume, everyone knows.”

“We all told our stories,” replied Batman as he idly flicked a ring of gold into the air. “The chance to permanently finish Sauron’s is right here.” Everyone’s eyes turned to the ring. Batman, satisfied that he got everyone’s attention, held a lighter to the Ring and bathed it in the small flame for a few seconds before shutting the lighter off and letting the ring drop to the floor. It didn’t even bounce, just landed with a thud. Megumi knelt down and picked up the ring. Fiery writing then appeared and Megumi’s eyes went wider still.

“One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them!” she gasped. There, in her hands, was Sauron’s greatest strength and weakness, the One Ring! “Sauron WAS on Vorton?! How did you get this off his finger?!”

“Wyldstyle built a sword based off of me,” explained Batman. “I used it to do as Isildur did. His armor collapsed, empty of anything or anyone.”

“Then we have a chance to destroy it!” declared Megumi. “With the destruction of the Ring, Mordor will fall! With Mordor gone, Hiro’s forces are reduced to two-thirds of their original might!”

“He’s also getting help from my home,” supplied Batman.

“And he’s got Lord Business’s robots online as well,” reported Wyldstyle.

“And he’s using monsters that I’ve defeated,” finished Hongo.

“Then those are our goals!” affirmed Megumi.

“What about the 3V2R?” asked Optimus.

“Prime’s right,” agreed Arsha. “We DO have that to consider.”

“Once we take care of Mordor,” replied Megumi, “then we take back Vorton, then we plan for the 3V2R!”

“Sounds like a plan,” chuckled Optimus.

“Then the first step is intel gathering,” declared Arsha.

“Actually, that’s the second step,” countered Megumi.

“…Then what’s step one?” asked Arsha.

“To ask a question to the new Chronicle Riders,” replied Megumi. She then turned to the new guys. “Jandro, Henry, Twaldar, Wilson, Swalmu, Agus, you are under no obligation to fight with us.”

“With respect, yes we are,” countered Jandro. “We’ve had a little chat while you were making plans. I have nothing left for me at home, since my clan was exterminated.”

“I’m very interested in After Academy and seeing other universes,” supplied Swalmu.

“I’m interested in seeing other Elves,” continued Twaldar.

“And what good is biological immortality,” interjected Jandro, “if you don’t keep learning?”

“After Academy sounds excellent to fill any empty void people like me and Jandro feel without giving up our immortality,” supplied Twaldar.

“I’ve learned that combat is, sometimes, necessary,” proclaimed Henry. “Besides, I want to learn more about medicine and After Academy will fill that nicely.”

“I’m very interested in the artwork produced there,” offered Wilson.

“And while I may have a good pay at G.U.N,” finished Agus, “I sometimes feel forgotten and don’t contribute much. Here, I felt like I contributed more than I did in my life and I feel so fulfilled!”

“Wait, wait, hold up,” called Optimus. “Does this mean you’re not coming home?”

“No, Mr. Prime,” confirmed Jandro. “We want to stay at After Academy and, if Megumi will have us, become members of her group of Kamen Riders.”

“…Jandro Dormu, Swalmu Damfel, Twaldar Endri, Wilson Andrews, Henry Zhou, Agus Atmadja, kneel,” declared Megumi. They all knelt and Megumi summoned got her sword and tapped each shoulder. “Now rise, Duke Jandro Dormu, Lord Swalmu Damfel, Sir Twaldar Endri, Sir Wilson Andrews, Duke Henry Zhou, and Duke Agus Atmadja! Welcome to the Feudal Nerd Society and Vortex Alliance!” They all rose and bowed.

“Congratulations, all of you!” praised Arsha.

“Well, with all that,” declared Megumi, “it’s time for me!”

“Time for you?” asked Richard. “Time for you to what?”

“Given that I’ve got new friends with me and new members of the F.N.S as Chronicle Riders,” replied Megumi, “maybe it’s time…for a change!” She then ducked into a dressing room and went behind a screen. She stayed there for a good hour before coming out in a fluffy dress with shades of blue and white, a large boa of the same color scheme as her dress, a long dress train, a hairpiece adorning the left of her head, and blue eyeshadow and lipstick. “Now, we start planning how to destroy the Ring!” proclaimed Megumi.

Megumi looked at her new surroundings in a tiny bit of nostalgia. “Tokyo?” she muttered.

“You’re my opponent in this?” growled a voice. Megumi whirled around to see a muscular Japanese man with fearsome claws on his fingers, grey hair, and a long tail with oak leaf spines running from the tail’s tip to the nape of his neck. Megumi recognized him instantly.

“Godzilla!” she cheered. “What brought you to this tournament?”

“I just wanted to see if you were fighting in it,” replied Godzilla. “Whether or not I qualify makes little difference to me now. I want to see how well you fight these days.”

“Well then, put up your fists!” challenged Megumi as she fastened her belt.

“Vortex Driver!” it called.

“I’m about to win this one!” declared Megumi. “Henshin!” As she changed, Godzilla let off a challenge roar and charged at her, swinging wildly.

---

Optimus looked around and blinked. “The base?” he muttered.

“Prime? What are you doing here?” asked Teletraan.

“Teletraan, did anyone unwanted come inside?” quizzed Teletraan.

“Let me check,” replied Teletraan. “…Found her!”

“Her?” asked Optimus. “I didn’t say I was looking for a woman.”

“Who else could it be?” replied Teletraan. “This IS the preliminary round for the Verse Vs. Verse Rumble Royale, correct?”

“…How did you know about that?” demanded Optimus. Then, he realized it. “Wait a cycle, Moradelia said I was fighting…you’re not Teletraan 1! You’re Beatrice, the Golden Witch! This is the mental scrap, isn’t it?!” Teletraan’s avatar cackled. As it did, it changed into a human woman with ginger blonde hair in a braided bun and adorned with a rose on the right side of the head. She had a long pipe in her hand and her piercing blue eyes penetrated Optimus’ armor as she cackled. “I fragging knew it!” hissed Optimus.

“You’re more perceptive to magic than my usual opponent!” laughed the woman, Beatrice. “In any event, it’s partial ‘mental scrap’, as you so eloquently put it. A version of hide-and-seek if you will!”

“Just peppered with illusions,” muttered Optimus.

“Right again!” giggled Beatrice. “Come and find me!” She vanished from the screen in a shower of golden butterflies and cackled all the while.

“Slagging PIT! I HATE the mental scrap!” swore Optimus.

“You and me both, Prime!” called the voice of his best friend.

---

“What the…my castle?” muttered Arsha.

“Arsha?!” yelped a voice. It was Domesta, her Genie maid. “I thought you were in the Over-realm!”

“I’ll explain everything later,” assured Arsha. “Right now, has anyone attempted to…?”

“UNHOLY, FAT FLESH!” screamed a voice with a robotic undertone.

“WHAT IN THE DEPTHS ARE YOU DOING IN MY BEDROOM?!” roared another voice that was familiar to Arsha.

“DADDY!” she yelped. She dashed up to her parent’s tower with Domesta trailing behind her. She stopped at her parent’s room and saw a robot in priestly ornamentation swiping at her father, King Elgrad Royana. “DADDY! THIS WAY!” she called.

“Arsha?! What are you…?!” spluttered Elgrad.

“I’ll explain later, Daddy!” replied Arsha as she summoned her armor and grabbed the robot priest, Priest 072486. She then pulled him out of the tower and onto the balcony. Priest 072486 then punched Arsha in the jaw, disorienting her enough to make her fall.

“VICTORY! STEEL OVER SKIN!” shrieked the Priest.

“Idiot! She did that numerous times when she was an adolescent!” snapped Elgrad.

“ORGANIC LIES!” accused Priest 072486.

“Not really!” laughed Arsha. She was riding on a broom with a handlebar and footrest harness. “Catch me if you can, you spark-showering excuse for micro-circuitry!” she taunted as she flew towards the stables.

“SAY THAT TO MY FACE, YOU DEMON OF FLESH!” roared the priest as he activated a jetpack and flew after her.

“…Domesta,” mumbled Elgrad.

“Yes, Your Majesty?” asked Domesta.

“What the F*** just happened?” quizzed Elgrad.

“No idea, Your Majesty,” replied Domesta.

---

“Come on, stop trying to hit me and hit me!” taunted Godzilla as he threw a car!

“Stop hiding behind cars and maybe I will!” replied Royal. That did it! The spines went blue! “Uh oh!” gulped Royal as she ducked into an alley. Godzilla unleashed his atomic breath. “Okay, important safety tip,” she gasped to herself. “Do NOT poke at Godzilla’s bravery!” She then got an idea. “Well, I haven’t used it much,” she mused. She then drew out an i.d. tag and changed her own for it. She spun the wheel and activated the wardrobe.

“Godzilla Steel!” announced the Vortex Driver as she gained additional armor based on the King of the Monsters. Godzilla stomped past the alley, looking for her.

“I heard your belt!” he roared. “Come out and face me!”

“If you insist!” whispered Royal as she dashed out of the alley and tripped him up with her new tail. Godzilla then swung his foot into her ankles and tripped her up. As he got up, he raised his foot over her head and brought it down. She grabbed it before it hit her head and flung him aside. Godzilla picked himself up again as Royal charged at him and punched him in the face! Godzilla shook his head and recovered.

“You’ve clearly been fighting a long time,” he rumbled.

“Comes with fighting Shocker Rift for five years,” replied Royal.

“I can see that,” growled Godzilla. “If this fight went on any longer, we BOTH would have leveled Tokyo at our current size.”

“Then perhaps we should get out of any populated area and fight somewhere more remote,” suggested Royal.

“Nah,” replied Godzilla as he waved his hand in dismissal. “This fight’s over anyways. I’m out.”

“…I’m sorry, maybe I’m not reading you right,” muttered Royal. “Are you…?”

“I forfeit,” confirmed Godzilla. A green flash of light appeared and solidified into Verdutha.

“You forfeit?!” she protested. “But both of you are worthy competitors! You’re passing up a chance at a great prize!”

“I don’t need any magic voodoo thing,” dismissed Godzilla. “I’m already the most powerful kaiju in the world, I don’t need a wand to prove it. I just wanted to see if Megumi needed me again and it’s clear she doesn’t. I was going to forfeit if I faced her in the tournament anyway and deemed her strong enough to be a hero and, right now, she is. Thanks for considering me, but I’m not accepting any more invitations to fight in this tournament.” He then stomped home.

“…This…this is…I don’t,” spluttered Verdutha.

“Never happened before?” guessed Royal.

“No, never,” confirmed Verdutha. “…Well, I guess you win this one, even if it fell flat for both of us. Megumi, like I said, you’re worthy enough to be a competitor. You will receive dossiers on other participants once all preliminary rounds are complete and all participants are decided. Welcome, once again, to the Verse Vs. Verse Rumble Royale.” She then took Megumi back to Vorton.

---

“Jazz, what are you doing here?” asked Optimus.

“Not really here, dude,” replied Jazz’s image.

“Oh, yeah, mental scrap,” muttered Optimus. “So, what ARE you, then?”

“Maybe I’m your own mind trying to tell you something,” answered Jazz’s image, “maybe I’m one of your weapons, but the signal’s messed up with Beatrice’s interference; or maybe I AM Jazz with secret psychic powers that you never knew about! Though, given who I am, that ain’t likely.”

“Yeah, that sounds more like something I would say,” muttered Optimus. “I think it’s the first option.”

“Probably,” agreed Jazz’s image. “So, how’s your brooding over your brother’s betrayal?”

“I am NOT brooding over Megatron’s betrayal!” insisted Optimus. “I’m just thinking over how Mom’s gonna take this and what will happen to him if the Autobots win this second war. Not to mention, I’ve been thinking about how this might lead to fratricide and what I would do to him if I got the Master Wand.”

“So…brooding,” remarked Jazz’s image.

“…Yeah,” muttered Optimus. “If you ARE one of my weapons with a messed up image, then let me remind you that our first time meeting face-to-face was because I was dangerously close to becoming a bad guy. With Megatron leading the Decepticons, I’m constantly running the risk of committing the sin of killing my own brother!”

“True,” conceded Jazz’s image, “but he’s still alive and I don’t think any bad guy would even consider the potential ethical breaches you’re running into.”

“But you don’t know if I’ll STOP thinking about them!” argued Optimus.

“…No,” replied Jazz’s image lamely.

“I have so much power for a mech that hasn’t fully matured,” sighed Optimus. “The prize will only give me more power than I need! The Master Wand is like the Infinity Gauntlet with all the Infinity Stones set into it! One flick of the wrist and the universe is your playground! How am I supposed to resist that kind of temptation?!”

“Maybe you won’t,” mused Jazz’s image. “Maybe you’ll be a terrible god that can make Cybertron and Mobius bow to you.”

“My point!” exclaimed Optimus.

“Then again,” replied Jazz’s image, “you’ve had that kind of power for a good chunk of your life and had only a hiccup on that front. Nowadays, you’re pretty far away from that kind of evil.”

“But what if…” Optimus stopped himself until he found the right words. “What if the Master Wand is too great of a temptation?”

“Now that, I don’t know,” remarked Jazz’s image, “nor do I know if you’re that kind of bot who grabs power at every opportunity. But you can’t find out if you just think, think, think all day!”

“What else can I do?!” protested Optimus.

“You can find the psycho witch, for a start,” offered Jazz’s image.

“You know this is all in the robot’s head, right?!” snarled Beatrice’s voice. “I can hear you just fine!”

“The point is,” continued Jazz’s image, “only if you move forward will you find out if you WILL fall to that temptation. So, moving forward, what will you do?”

“…I’m not sure,” mused Optimus, “but I think I’ll use my imagination.” He pulled out his gun and then began his search.

“That’s better!” cackled Beatrice’s voice. “I was getting bored!”

“Yeah, well, keep your rose in your hair! I’ll find you!” snarked Optimus.

“…Keep my rose in my hair?” muttered Beatrice’s voice. “That’s a new one.” Optimus checked his office and was greeted with a falling cake about his size. “That never gets old!” cackled Beatrice’s voice. Optimus left the office and decided the repair bay was next. He opened the door.

“AHA!” he shouted as he pointed his gun into what should have been the repair bay’s interior. Instead, it was a basement dwelling as a human male his size leveled a nerf gun at him. “…Not what I was expecting,” mumbled Optimus as he observed the human was pale, had dirty-blonde hair in a ponytail, and a bit of scruff on his chin and upper lip. He had a sour expression on his face.

“You can go now!” warned the human. Optimus held his hands up as he backed off.

“Sorry,” he apologized as the human shut the door and reality returned to normal for him.

“Dumbaft!” he hissed.

---

“Jackhole!” hissed Optimus once the door shut. He then got an idea. “Boy, am I an idiot!” he called.

“Is someone giving up?!” cackled Beatrice’s voice. “Come on now, the game is just beginning!”

“Rest assured, I’m not giving up,” replied Optimus. “I know how to find you!”

“Oh? And how, pray tell, did you compute that, machine?” taunted Beatrice’s voice.

“I’m willing to bet that you’re not even far!” called Optimus.

“What proof do you have of that?!” cackled Beatrice’s voice. “The fact remains I cannot be found by your vaunted sensors!” The area went red for a bit.

“A Red Truth, all right,” chuckled Optimus. “Then here’s a Blue one for you: because it’s in my head, reality is mine to alter!” Just then, the area went blue and Beatrice’s voice yelped in pain. Optimus found the source of the yelp in the server room and found Beatrice pulling a blue spear out of her rear end.

“How?!” demanded Beatrice. “Machines can’t acknowledge that magic exists! Only those who can give credence to the Witches’ side can use a Blue Truth!”

“Lady, I was recently promoted to a full-fledged Wizard of the Red Order,” replied Optimus. “Magic exists in this universe!”

“Very well, then!” hissed Beatrice. “A magic duel it is!” She then summoned towers that fired off streams of light!

“Defendere!” called Optimus as he cast a red barrier. The streams hit the barrier multiple times before shattering. When it did, Optimus fired from his gun. Beatrice split into golden butterflies and they flew to a spot in the air above the impact of Optimus’ shots and reformed into Beatrice. Optimus charged a shot as Beatrice turned her pipe into a dueling sword and charged her own shot. Both then released their shots at the same time and created a magnificent explosion, knocking both of them out. When they opened their eyes, Moradelia was standing between them.

“This round has ended,” she announced. “Because, in the mental world, she fell last, the Winner is Beatrice. Both of you are worthy enough to fight in this tournament. You will both receive dossiers on other participants once all preliminary rounds are complete and all participants are decided. Welcome, once again, to the Verse Vs. Verse Rumble Royale.” She then brought Optimus to Vorton as Beatrice was returned to her home of Rokkenjima.

---

Arsha and Priest 072486 were still flying around the castle and shooting at one another. Arsha then pulled her broom straight up and the Priest followed her. She then abandoned her broom and dove straight at him, pushing him downwards and punching him repeatedly. They soon landed in the hay near the stables, making it explode and startling the horses. They picked themselves up and attacked, pushing each other outside and leaving the horses to gossip about what happened. “Give up!” bellowed Priest 072486. “Steel over Skin!”

“I’ve heard that before from a robot that left us a while back!” countered Arsha. “She lost that one!”

“She will triumph in the long run!” argued Priest 072486. “The unholiness of flesh shall be purged!” He then attacked with more punches, but Arsha countered with a direct knife-hand jab to his hip joint, rendering him unable to move. Just then, Rosadera appeared.

“This round has ended,” she announced. “The Winner is Arsha. Both of you are worthy enough to fight in this tournament. You will both receive dossiers on other participants once all preliminary rounds are complete and all participants are decided. Welcome, once again, to the Verse Vs. Verse Rumble Royale.” She vanished and returned Arsha to Vorton while Priest 072486 was returned to his world.

---

“Well done, all of you!” praised Death as she heard the stories of their bouts.

“Godzilla forfeited?!” squeaked Richard. “That’s not like him!”

“How’d he even understand what all this meant?” asked Jazz.

“He and the other Kaiju,” explained Megumi, “were genetically altered and shrunk down to look like us…somewhat. He still had his powers.”

“So, it’s the same Godzilla that helped us beat Vortech?” asked Batman.

“The same,” replied Megumi. “Now, we wait until the preliminary rounds are finished and all competitors are selected.”

“How many are we expecting?” asked Optimus.

“There will be 32 competitors once all of them are decided,” explained Death. “There will be two normal rounds, then the quarterfinals, then semifinals, then the final round and a round for the two losers of the semifinals to decide who will take Third Place.”

“If one of us is going to keep the Master Wand out of enemy hands,” declared Arsha, “we all need to get to the semifinals.”

“She’s right,” agreed Optimus. “We can’t run the risk of other people using it to invade our universes with evil intentions.”

“Agreed,” confirmed Megumi. “That thing needs to be locked away and only one of us will get that chance. Until we reach the semifinals, we’re all in this together.”

“Then we need to start…” Arsha’s sentence was interrupted by an alarm.

“All inhabitants of Vorton, emergency!” called POmega. “A Shocker Rift fleet has decloaked with the Dominus and two unidentified ships at the head! I repeat, Shocker Rift is attacking!”

“Battle stations!” ordered Megumi. She, Optimus, and Arsha headed to the Gateway room. “Do we have a visual?” asked Megumi.

“We do,” replied Rusty. “Projecting images now.” The mystery ships came on screen and Optimus and Arsha blanched a bit. One of the ships looked like a bunch of swords while the other had slender pincer claws on each side of its keel.

“Of all ships!” groaned Optimus. “I thought it was still under repairs!”

“You know one of them?” asked Megumi.

“It’s the Decepticon flagship, the Nemesis!” replied Optimus.

“I guess it’s a safe bet to assume Megatron’s on that ship,” muttered Megumi.

“And the other one is Dr. Borg’s experimental ship, the Scorpion,” revealed Arsha.

“Three guesses why it’s called that,” mumbled Optimus.

“We’re being hailed by them and the Dominus,” reported Rusty.

“Open a channel,” ordered Megumi.

“Channel open,” obliged Rusty. Hiro, Megatron, and Dr. Borg appeared on screen with each on the bridge of their respective ships.

“Ah, Megumi!” greeted Megatron. “Good to see you again. I see you’ve met my younger brother, Optimus Prime.”

“And a woman rapidly becoming a thorn in my side,” called Dr. Borg. “How fares the Fae Republic? Still incredibly angry at what Knock-out and Ratbat did?”

“Let’s just say,” replied Arsha as she transferred her hairpiece to her waist, “those specific bots are within the Fae Republic’s Circle of Vengeance.”

“I hypothesized as much,” chuckled Dr. Borg.

“That’s quite a fleet you have there, Hiro,” quipped Megumi. “I take it you’re trying to siege Vorton again?”

“And this time, we will take it,” declared Hiro. “Of course, there is the easier option of you surrendering it to us. It would avoid any bloodshed, since my allies seem squeamish about it for some odd reason.”

“I’m squeamish about UNNECESSARY bloodshed!” hissed Megatron.

“I’m afraid bloodshed will be necessary if you don’t leave at once!” challenged Megumi.

“I was hoping you’d say that,” chuckled Hiro. The call ended.

“Status of shields and weapons?” requested Megumi.

“Shields at maximum,” reported the Brigadier. “All weapons standing by.”

---

“The enemy’s shields are raised and their weapons are online!” reported the Shocker Rift Dalek Commander.

“Then, by all means,” declared Hiro, “order all ships to move in for the kill!”

“I obey!” replied the Dalek Commander.

Everyone had managed to calm the people down as they investigated where the scream came from. It was an old hangar barn for everyone to fit into. “This…I mean…it was coming from here!” insisted Cliffjumper.

“Sure it did,” remarked Ratchet.

“You heard it too!” protested Cliffjumper. “So did half of Empire City!”

“What we heard,” argued Ratchet, “was something that SOUNDED like a scream. It’s probably just wind going through the buildings.”

“What IS this place?” asked Swalmu. “Some sort of plane hangar?”

“Looks like it,” remarked Hanako. “Bit dusty.” She wiped some dust off of a support.

“That’s it, we’re taking a breather,” declared Ratchet. “Doctor’s orders.”

“Cliffjumper, you and Prowl distribute the Energon rations,” ordered Optimus.

“Got it,” confirmed Cliffjumper. As he passed out Energon cubes that would fit in a Transformer’s hand, he noticed something. “Oh, peachy! I need the fire extinguisher!” he grumbled. “There’s a small fire…over…here…huh.”

“What’s wrong?” asked Bashoon.

“The fire,” replied Cliffjumper. “Come take a look.”

“…Okay, as a Wizard of the Red Order, I can say this with some measure of authority,” called Optimus once everyone saw what was wrong, “fire should flicker. Primus, fire should MOVE!”

“Maybe it’s a projection of some kind?” suggested Twaldar. Thengo inched one of her legs towards the frozen fire.

“I’m feeling heat coming from it,” she replied. “I’m…kind of afraid to touch it.” She then snapped her fingers as an idea clicked in her head. “Someone get me a cloth!”

“Got one!” called Shalvey as her chair glided over to Thengo. It was an oily rag.

“Perfect,” praised Thengo. She took the rag then dropped it onto the fire. “…Huh,” muttered Thengo as everyone observed the results. “The rag’s burning but the fire’s still not moving. Heck, even the new flames are freezing up.”

“Er, everyone,” gulped Hanako, “I wiped some dust off of a support beam, then wiped my hand onto my sleeve, but now the dust is OFF my sleeve and back onto the support beam!”

“Okay, I wanna test this further,” declared Ironhide. “Cliffjumper, my rations?”

“I hardly think this is a good time to take in Energon,” muttered Cliffjumper as he handed the small cube over. Ironhide then pulled his arm back with the Energon cube still in his hand, then hurled it at a wall, shattering it on impact!

“Are you trying to make Prowl bore us with a lecture on wasting Energon…!?” spluttered Ratchet until more weirdness took place. The liquid Energon was flying back into the cube as it reassembled itself and flew back into Ironhide’s hands! “…Okay, to the Pit with a basket of this!” shuddered Ratchet. “Can we relax somewhere that ISN’T a freaky time-locked hangar barn?!”

“I second that,” agreed Optimus. “Let’s roll out. Teletraan, we need a…”

“Sir, hate to interrupt,” called Prowl from outside the hangar barn, “but, for some odd reason, Teletraan can’t be reached when you’re inside the barn. Apparently, he can’t find you lot.”

“What?!” yelped Optimus. He dashed outside and connected to Teletraan.

“There you are!” answered Teletraan. “Where were you?! You guys blipped out the instant you stepped inside!”

“How could we have blipped out?!” protested Optimus. “You’ve got all the sensors monitoring…!” He was cut off by everyone inside yelping in surprise. “Oh, scrap! I’ll call you back!” He and Prowl then ducked inside and gave off their own yelps as transparent people had joined the group.

“Where in the Pit did THEY come from?!” asked Prowl. One of the people, a Japanese woman in a white and gold dress with a three-pronged crown said something, but it was too fast to pick up.

“Um, could you repeat that?” quizzed Ironhide. A heavyset woman with roses all over her outfit then spoke to the Japanese woman at the same speed as her.

“We…we can’t understand you,” called Optimus. “We can’t…”

“Megumi!” called Richard. The Japanese woman turned and her face brightened at seeing Richard. They both ran toward each other. “Megumi, I can’t tell you how much I WHOAHAHAAHAHA! She…She ran right through me!” Richard’s joy was replaced with fear.

---

“My husband…literally…ran…right through me!” squeaked Megumi as the transparent version of Richard slowly stopped. “To Hell with this! Let’s get out of the ghost cave!”

“But ghosts only manifest in the Under-realm!” protested Malnar.

“Oh, really?!” argued Jandro. “Maybe you should tell them that! I’m sure they’ll move there right away!”

“Guys, those aren’t ghosts,” corrected War.

---

“What do you mean?” asked Arsha as she saw the altercation between the transparent versions of Megumi and Richard.

“They’re our loved ones,” explained Lacey. “The Temporal Stops are lining up with their help. We just need to figure out which one is the central universe.”

“And that means?” asked Ultra Magnus.

“It means that there’s a universe,” lectured Death, “that runs on a time scale between two other universes. We synchronize on that universe; we all go to that universe.”

---

“I don’t get it!” snapped Optimus.

“I can put it in more…” offered Pestilence.

“No, no, no,” replied Optimus. “What I don’t get is how we missed this! We swept Empire City before! We didn’t see it!”

“Oh, that?” asked Pestilence. “Maybe I didn’t tune the sensors right. In any event, we need that equipment now.”

“I’ll step out and tell Teletraan we need it,” volunteered Snarl. He headed out as Pestilence tried to make the situation clear to the transparent people.

---

“If I’m understanding Pestilence’s frantic waving right,” muttered War, “she’s saying we need to find the central universe.” She pointed to Megumi to try and make it clear. First Death nodded, then, after a minute, Pestilence nodded.

“I guess we’re all tuning to THIS location,” mused Megumi.

---

“Okay, she got the message,” declared Death.

“And it looks like Optimus’ team is setting up their equipment,” observed Strongarm.

“When they’re done, we need to modulate the rift transmission to a setting of 3.982,” began Lacey. Arsha tried her best to mime the number to the transparent people.

---

Pestilence was looking intently at Arsha when her image was rapidly and repeatedly miming out Lacey’s instructions. “If I’m reading her right,” called Pestilence, “once everything is set up, we’re modulating the rift transmission to a setting of 3.982.”

---

“She’s miming 3.982,” reported Malnar, eager to reunite with Arsha.

“Must be the modulation of rift transmission,” guessed War.

---

“They’re modulating!” called Arsha.

“Then, once they’re all done,” instructed Lacey, “we all need to press our respective start button! First us, then Richard’s group, then Megumi’s.” Arsha mimed the instructions repeatedly.

---

“She’s pointing to her, then us, then Megumi,” reported Richard.

“The start button order,” guessed Pestilence as her hand hovered over the button.

---

“It’s Lacey’s group, then Richard’s, then us!” reported Megumi.

“Then all we need to do,” declared War, “is wait for the countdown.

---

“They got the message!” called Arsha.

“Starting the countdown!” replied Lacey. “Three!” Arsha held up three fingers.

---

“Three!” called Optimus as he held up three fingers.

---

“Three!” counted Megumi as she held up three fingers.

---

“Two!” called Lacey as Arsha let a finger down.

---

“Two!” announced Optimus as a finger went down.

---

“Two!” relayed Megumi as she put a finger down.

---

“One!” continued Lacey.

---

“One!” relayed Optimus.

---

“One!” reported Megumi.

---

“NOW!” called Lacey as she pressed the button.

---

“NOW!” declared Optimus as Pestilence pressed the button.

---

“NOW!” announced Megumi as War pressed the button. All three, by some cosmic coincidence, managed to press their buttons at the same time. Energy then coursed throughout everyone and put them into pain. This treatment lasted for an hour until everyone blacked out.

---

When she came to, Megumi groaned. “Who else is aching all over?” she asked.

“Is someone talking?” moaned a young man’s voice. “I think my processor’s in another head that’s in another castle!”

“I don wanna go t’ scoo, mommee!” mumbled a young woman’s voice.

“Prime?” asked Blackarachnia. Megumi’s vision cleared to see Blackarachnia stepping towards a red robot with a blue helmet, Optimus Prime. His vision cleared and he put on a look of disbelief when he saw her.

“Legs?” he gasped as he stood up. They touched one another on the shoulders, then kissed passionately, pressing their lips against one another.

“Megumi!” called Richard’s voice. He picked up Megumi and twirled her, startling her at first before she laughed happily with him.

“PRINCESS! FOXY! HOOVES! FLUFFY! FARM BOY!” called Malnar.

“BONFIRE!” called Lardeth. Falnii, Foresna, Malnar, and Gorfanth then ran towards Lardeth and Arsha. “Uh oh!” gulped Lardeth. They were soon buried under their lovers and kissed repeatedly.

“Give them some air, for Seemeertii’s sake!” called Hanako. Everyone broke off the embrace as Hanako hugged Arsha. “My Precious One, I’ve missed you!” she proclaimed.

“I missed you too, Mama!” replied Arsha.

“Autobots, do you read?!” called a voice.

“Excuse me, Sir,” hissed another voice, “but if you could get off the line, I’m trying to locate a friend!”

“So am I, Lady!” snapped the first voice. Optimus and Arsha then found the communicator on Megumi’s equipment.

“Teletraan, this is Optimus,” he began. “All Autobots are reunited.”

“My Senior Staff and Ensign are with me as well, Rellmeer,” continued Arsha. Both callers sighed.

“You bots disappeared in a flash of light,” explained Teletraan. “I had to use a Sky Spy to try and contact you.”

“I was coming in to check on you all,” continued Rellmeer, “when you lot disappeared in the same manner as Mr. Optimus did.”

“We’re all safe,” assured Arsha.

“If things go right, we’ll be back soon,” reported Optimus. “See you in a bit.” Both Arsha and Optimus then ended the call.

“Megumi! Good to see you!” called a voice. It was Sonic!

“You blue speedster! It’s been too long!” cheered Megumi.

“So you have Transformers in your universe?! Lucky pincushion!” chuckled Richard.

“Prime’s been a pretty big help so far in fighting Eggman,” explained Sonic.

“Don’t sell yourself short, dude,” interjected Optimus. “You’ve helped the Autobots a lot against the Decepticons.”

“He’s helped a lot in keeping Soundwave and Buzzsaw off our backs,” supplied Arsha.

“Soundwave and Buzzsaw were in your home universe?” gulped Optimus.

“I’ll brief you on everything when we have time, Sir,” offered Ultra Magnus.

“You know, I just realized,” remarked Arsha, “we never introduced ourselves.”

“No, we didn’t,” agreed Optimus.

“I’ll start,” offered Megumi. “I’m Hishikawa Megumi, Queen of the Feudal Nerd Society and Kamen Rider Royal/Vortex.”

“I’m Optimus Prime,” continued Optimus, “leader of the Autobots.”

“I’m Arsha Royana,” finished Arsha, “Captain of the CRS-2784, Endeavor and Crown Princess of the entire Mid-realm.”

“I have to apologize for dumping my friends on you all,” offered Optimus.

“That’s the result of the Convergence,” replied Megumi. “We all had to take care of one another until we were reunited.” The equipment then made a noise. “Aha!” cheered Megumi. “Your respective homes are encoded onto a flash drive! Let’s get to the Gateway and locate your homes!”

“The Gateway?” asked Optimus.

“I guess we’ll find out,” mused Arsha. Megumi pulled out a communicator.

“POmega, this is Megumi!” she called. “Temporal Stop alignment is a success! Everyone’s back together! I repeat, everyone’s back together! Requesting a rift back to Vorton!”

“One rift home coming up!” called POmega. “And I’ve finally got the patch that removes the seven-person limit set up! You’re all welcome to Vorton!”

“Wait, hold up,” interjected Optimus. “Are you saying…?” The rift then opened.

“Everyone, please mind your step as you enter the rift,” lectured Megumi. Everyone then piled into the rift and made it to Vorton. Optimus was stunned! Arsha took in the beauty of the place.

“But…but I thought,” spluttered Optimus as he stumbled around, “…I mean…this planet’s supposed to be a myth!”

“Apparently not,” mused Arsha. “By the Ones, this is magnificent!”

“Told you!” laughed Sonic.

“Sonic went on about how he went to Vorton and how he helped beat Lord Vortech,” elaborated Optimus to Megumi.

“Home sweet home,” sighed Richard, happy that he proved Optimus wrong.

“It’s been home for a lot of us for some time,” chuckled Malnar.

“And I hope you can visit us in the future,” offered Megumi.

“Wait, before you send us off,” interjected Arsha, “I gotta know; did you get invited to a fighting tournament?”

“That depends,” replied Optimus, “was the fighting tournament called the Verse Vs. Verse Rumble Royale?”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot!” gasped Megumi. “I was supposed to decide on whether or not I would participate when I met you two.”

“Same here,” supplied Optimus.

“Anyone know what First Place prize is?” asked Arsha.

“Nope,” replied Megumi.

“Sorry,” answered Optimus.

“Then I guess we need to ask them before we give our decision,” declared Arsha.

“I’ll get my invitation and we’ll ask them,” offered Megumi. She headed to her room and got her invitation, returned to the group, and held her invitation up. “Chizaran Princesses, is the First Place prize decided?” she asked. Purple, pink, and green flashes of light appeared and they solidified into Moradelia, Rosadera, and Verdutha.

“First Place prize,” answered Verdutha, “should you accept, is an object known by many names. In Arsha’s home, it is the Elder Stick. On Cybertron, it is the Staff of Power. Megumi heard it referred to as the Wand of Godhood during one of her history classes. All universes call it…”

“THE FRAGGING MASTER WAND?!” yelped Optimus as Megumi’s jaw hit the floor.

“WHY WOULD GOD-LIKE BEINGS WANT TO HAND OUT PRIZES THAT POWERFUL?!” protested Arsha.

“Because we can,” replied Rosadera.

“Seems like it would give you an unfair advantage if you participated again!” remarked Optimus.

“Not possible,” assured Moradelia. “Once you’ve won first place, you cannot participate again. Only if you don’t win first place may you compete more than once.”

“Forgive me if I sound ungrateful,” interjected Megumi, “but this feels like a trap. You find potential dangers, entice them with ultimate power, then get rid of them!”

“Just because one wins,” countered Verdutha, “does NOT mean previous competitors can’t try and steal it from you. When she lost the one War won, Scorpainia tried to steal the Forge from her.” Megumi arched an eyebrow. “Don’t be so harsh on her!” protested Verdutha. “She was trying to free her world from a tyrannical regime before her own regime took over! A forge that can create anything you want? You bet she wanted that. War made it too well defended, however. She just gave up. Besides, not all champions here are heroes. Some may be unstoppable dictators while others may be pacifists with superior mental powers. Some use their respective prizes on a whim while others just lock them away.”

“And that’s what needs to be done with the Master Wand,” declared Arsha.

“So we’re agreed,” guessed Megumi. “The Tarlaxians have the best vault and…”

“Excuse you!” interjected Arsha as she transferred her hairpiece to her waist. “The Master Wand is going into Realmfleet’s custody!”

“Excuse YOU!” argued Megumi. “The Tarlaxians are better guardians!”

“Excuse BOTH of you!” countered Optimus. “The Forbidden Archives on Cybertron are far more guarded than any of yours!”

“…There’s only one way to settle it then,” declared Megumi.

“Agreed!” called Arsha.

“No other way,” confirmed Optimus. They then turned to the three Chizarans. “Invitation accepted freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion,” pronounced Optimus.

“I’m in, too!” declared Arsha.

“I’m fighting as well!” announced Megumi.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” called Death’s voice. “What’s this I hear about accepting the invitation?! You lot aren’t ready yet!”

“Megumi Hishikawa,” declared Verdutha, “your preliminary round begins! I shall preside over it. Your opponent is Godzilla! Battlefield has been selected as Godzilla’s.”

“Optimus Prime, your preliminary round begins!” announced Moradelia. “I shall preside over it. Your opponent is Beatrice, the Golden Witch! Battlefield has been selected as Optimus Prime’s.”

“Arsha Royana, your preliminary round begins!” proclaimed Rosadera. “I shall preside over it. Your opponent is Priest 072486! Battlefield has been selected as Arsha Royana’s.” The three then disappeared.

“Preliminary rounds?” asked Optimus.

“Oh yeah,” remembered Arsha. “Before they start things off, they need to make sure they made no mistakes, so they have…” Arsha, Megumi, and Optimus then vanished!

“Oh, please, let them win!” begged Death.

Optimus, Woz, and the Kamen Riders returned to the Autobot base. “Not more strays!” protested Ratchet.

“Relax, I won’t stay long,” assured Woz.

“And who are you calling strays?!” asked Nimbus hotly as he and Terra canceled their transformations and returned to Swalmu and Twaldar.

“So, as I usually say, IWAE!” called Woz. “You have two new saviors!” A purple portal then opened. “With that, I must say farewell. See you later or earlier!” Woz then vanished into the portal.

“…Who was that?” asked Ratchet.

“That was Kamen Rider Zi-O’s servant, Woz,” explained Guard as he canceled his transformation. “He gave Swalmu and Twaldar Chronicle Drivers, the type of belt Liam wears. As of now, Swalmu is Kamen Rider Nimbus and Twaldar is Kamen Rider Terra. Together, they helped us beat back the Nazgûl until Sauron collected them.”

“Sauron was here again?!” yelped Teletraan.

“He took the Nazgûl back with him,” assured Optimus. “We’re good. How goes the sensor sweep on Holaska?”

“Not a slagging peep of any indication of a Temporal Stop,” grumbled Ratchet as he led everyone to the med bay. He checked everyone over as Hanako helped make up the necessary painkillers for a Zephyr and an Elf. Ratchet gave Optimus and Richard their painkillers and cleared them.

“Teletraan, locate Ironhide,” called Optimus. “I want to get some firearm advice.”

“Why not ask Ratchet?” snarked Teletraan. Optimus turned to Ratchet with a quizzed look.

“The fool tried fighting the Battle of Seattle in the holo-suite with the safety protocols turned off,” explained Ratchet.

“With his vision going?!” yelped Optimus. “Is he ready for visitors? I’m thinking of snapping at him! Unless you haven’t done so already?”

“Already did so,” replied Ratchet as he handed Optimus a pad detailing Ironhide’s injuries with illustrations to help Optimus understand the damage. “He’s in ward 2 and is eagerly awaiting visitors.”

“Thank you,” replied Optimus as he headed to ward 2 and opened the door to see Ironhide on a repair berth. His expression was a happy one when he saw the mech he raised as his own son.

“You’re a sight for an old mech’s eyes,” he drawled.

“Yeah, well, my words won’t be pleasant for your ears, Sergeant!” snapped Optimus. “Apparently, after turning off the safety protocols during a simulation of the Battle of Seattle, the enemy hologram stabbed you in the shoulder! Another three centimeters up, then you would have leaked all of your Energon onto the holo-suite’s floor and lost your Spark!”

“You wizards and your fascination for what COULD have happened!” grumbled Ironhide. “That particular Energon line ain’t damaged and I ain’t offline!”

“Well then, forgive me for boring you and being concerned as a mech would be when their father figure does something like this!” hissed Optimus. “I’ll get to the point: you’re acting like a fool!”

“Your concern for me is noted,” replied Ironhide, “but having a few days of inaction has dulled this old mech’s reflexes. This is only proof I need further training.”

“Turning off the safety protocols during a battle simulation,” continued Optimus, “is, at best, dubious. For someone of your age and current visual acuity, it’s idiotic! Now, if you would consider corrective ocular lenses…”

“I DON’T WANT GLASSES, OPTIMUS PRIME!” shouted Ironhide.

“Then,” lectured Optimus, “you must accept the fact that you have a disability that will compromise you in…!”

“You may be my Prime,” snarled Ironhide, “but there are limits as to how far I will indulge even you!” At that moment, Ratchet came into the room.

“Judging by your shouting,” he snarked, “Ironhide, you’re cleared for duty.”

“Thanks, Doc,” bid Ironhide.

“My name is NOT ‘Doc’,” snapped Ratchet, “and, if you REALLY want to thank me, don’t come into my med-bay dripping Energon! It takes days for me and whatever poor sap Optimus assigns to help me get it all up off the floor!” Ironhide glanced at the floor, then returned a glare to Ratchet who glared right back at him as he left. The instant the door closed; Ratchet turned to Optimus. “Did you REALLY suggest glasses to him?”

“Considering that the need for glasses runs in my family, I would figure he would understand,” sighed Optimus.

“Don’t bother,” muttered Ratchet. “Let me give you a little advice; us rust-buckets don’t like being reminded of our weaknesses. I certainly don’t like it when I’m reminded of my back pains.”

“Noted,” replied Optimus.

---

Swalmu was outside, his dress now looking more irregular and cloud-like as he hovered above the ground. He took a deep breath and sighed as he closed his eyes and looked towards the sun. “Um, excuse me,” called a timid voice.

“Ms. Flora Nightly, correct?” asked Swalmu. The voice gasped; it WAS Flora.

“H…how did you…?” gulped Flora.

“Being a member of a species that came from the wind,” continued Swalmu as he moved on his cloud to face Flora, “it means I can read how air flows around an object. The cloud that functions as my dress enhances my abilities. Did you have a question?”

“I just…wanted to know…how your people came to be,” mumbled Flora.

“Well, there’s the usual scientific explanation of us evolving along the Wind Elemental family tree,” replied Swalmu, “and there’s the creation myth. Which would tickle your fancy?”

“The myth, please,” answered Flora, “if that’s okay with you.” Swalmu then made a set of steps put of his cloud.

“I would prefer not to shout it down to the audience,” he explained. Flora tested the steps by putting her foot on one, then standing on it. She was surprised at how the step held up her weight. She then continued up the steps and joined Swalmu. “We Zephyrs,” he began, “used to be quite different from what we are today. We were wind spirits; small, noisy voices living in the air.”

“Using the wind to see?” asked Flora.

“And always jealous of the ability to see colors,” continued Swalmu. “One day, one of the Divine Ones, Altrek, heard our pleas and she was so moved by how we wanted to see like other creatures, so, in secret, she made bodies in her image. She then made a few males so the new species could flourish, but her fellow Divine Ones became angry with her for daring to alter a life-form from its original form. The new Zephyrs then pleaded their case and had so moved and shamed the Divine Ones, they were told to flourish and live life to the fullest.”

“And they had no repercussions from shaming their Gods?” quizzed Flora.

“Not a single bit of punishment,” replied Swalmu. “Imagine it! My people were little more than formless wind spirits, now look at us! Look at what we’ve become!”

“Do you…er…that is…” stammered Flora.

“Is something else on your mind?” asked Swalmu.

“Not…that I wish to…I mean…why dress the way you do?” Flora finally asked.

“It feels more comfortable to all Zephyrs, regardless of gender,” replied Swalmu. “During our first years, a non-Zephyr asked if there were any Zephyr men. As you can guess, there ARE. When told this, the non-Zephyr said we should dress as men do. In defiance, we all wore dresses. Now, we all dress as women.”

“…You’re so pretty,” whispered Flora.

“Hm?” asked Swalmu.

“N-NOTHING!” squeaked Flora.

“…Very well,” mused Swalmu.

---

Hiro sat on the bed in his quarters. He sighed as he considered how to proceed as their military might was being built up. As he thought, he heard the door chime. “Enter,” he muttered. The door opened.

“Ah, Hiro Adachi, the man I’m looking for!” cheered the newcomer.

“Eggman!” yelped Hiro. “I haven’t seen you since you first contacted me!”

“I was just puttering round,” replied Eggman. “Just some poking around and…well…no, I shouldn’t say.”

“Shouldn’t say what?” asked Hiro.

“No, it’s too harsh,” sighed Eggman. “It concerns Ambassador Hell.”

“Tell me!” growled Hiro. Eggman released one last sigh.

“Here,” he mumbled as he handed Hiro an object.

“…What is it?” asked Hiro.

“What does it look like?” inquired Eggman.

“A box,” replied Hiro.

“Open it,” urged Eggman. When he opened the box, Hiro noticed a lot of machinery.

“…I don’t know what this is,” muttered Hiro. “What is it?”

“A small nuke with the combined destructive capabilities of the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki!” explained Eggman.

“WHAT?!” yelped Hiro as he dropped it. “IT’S…!”

“Relax,” assured Eggman, “the radioactive material has been rendered inert. Besides, it wasn’t even armed.”

“I certainly hope not!” shuddered Hiro.

“But, much like your organization’s original home of Japan,” continued Eggman, “such weapons are illegal. I found it in Ambassador Hell’s quarters.”

“He’ll probably say it’s a new mining charge for the Nonexistium mines,” dismissed Hiro.

“At which point,” countered Eggman, “you would tell him that a mining charge is used to minimize the blast effect. This device, however, is a powerful explosive with the sole purpose to spread nuclear radiation over a wide area.”

“What would he be wanting with that?” asked Hiro.

“Why not ask him?” invited Eggman.

“You know, I may do just that,” declared Hiro. He eft his quarters, leaving Eggman alone. Eggman decided to help himself to Hiro’s communicator and typed in a code. A private, untraceable communications channel opened.

“Caan, it’s Eggman,” he called. “Hiro’s been made aware of Ambassador Hell’s mini-nuke.”

“Splendid,” praised Caan’s voice. “And Ambassador Hell himself?”

“Took Combatmen loyal to him and abandoned Shocker Rift,” reported Eggman. “The original Shocker is back in its home universe.”

“As I predicted,” cheered Caan. “Good. Keep me posted. I’ll pick you up when they find out about your duplicity.”

“Very well,” replied Eggman. “Eggman out.” He closed the channel.

---

Hiro stormed to the bridge of the ship. “Locate Ambassador Hell!” he barked to the Communications Officer. “He’s created a nuclear bomb!”

“Hiro-sama,” called the Helmsman, “Ambassador Hell took the original Shocker Combatmen with him on an old ship and returned home. He left a message for us.”

“On screen!” snapped Hiro.

“The message is audio only,” replied the Communications Officer. “Playing back now.”

“This is Ambassador Hell, the true leader of Shocker in the absence of our Great Leader,” began the message. “Hiro, if you’re hearing this, then it means my mini-nuke DIDN’T explode. I must say, I’m disappointed. In any event, you’ve probably pieced together why I’m leaving you; you are the worst leader Shocker has ever had. I was hoping you would see sense and drop your vendetta against Megumi since she was Vortech’s enemy, not yours. By the way, if you’ve discovered the cash pile I left you, then you’ll notice that I only left you 20 million yen which, knowing you, you’ve already spent on Igura’s ridiculous cravings to satisfy your mutant child. All the other stuff, diamonds, gold, jewels, it’s all fake! I always hated you since you joined us before the mess with Hongo and this was the perfect payback! By now, you’re only functioning on studs and can’t exchange them for yen! The tax people are after you and you can’t admit to everyone I fooled you! If you’re playing this on the bridge of your ship, then let me leave you with this: the joke’s on YOU, failure! I command the one TRUE Shocker and got the last laugh!” The message ended on Ambassador Hell’s laughter before the Communications Officer switched it off.

“…Hiro-sama…” gulped the Helmsman.

“Speak,” growled Hiro.

“I speak for everyone when I say, ‘To Hell with the fake money’,” continued the Helmsman.

“Oh?” asked Hiro.

“We have no reason to go back home,” continued the helmsman. “We’re with you to the bitter end. Who really cares about the outdated Shocker? I prefer the upgrades and not talking in strict ‘YEE!’”

“Orders, Lord Hiro?” asked the Shocker Rift Commander Dalek.

“The Temporal Stops are lining up,” declared Hiro. “Set course for Vorton. Once we see it, cloak and hold position until it’s confirmed all of our enemies are right there.”

---

Optimus massaged his temples as he returned to his office. He let himself fall into the chair and shut his optics off for a bit. When he opened them a few seconds later, he noticed a chess board set up on his desk with the black pieces on his side. A white Pawn in front of the Queen’s Bishop had moved two spaces forward. Optimus blinked and looked around. His optics flickered before he moved the Pawn in front of the Black Queen one space forward. “…Okay, your move, whoever you are,” called Optimus.

“Prime!” called Cliffjumper’s voice over the comms.

“Go ahead,” directed Optimus.

“There was a scream at Empire City!” reported Cliffjumper. “People are in a panic!”

“I can only say it SOUNDED like a scream,” supplied Ratchet’s voice. “Everyone, even our visitors, is currently trying to find the source of the scream.”

“On my way!” declared Optimus. As he left, he failed to notice that the Pawn in front of the White King’s Bishop had moved two spaces forward.