Apollo-XL5

CHAPTER XXVIII The three Primes narrowly evaded the Entity's attack, diving out of the way as its fist impacted the crystalline ground and shattered it's structure, leaving a crater in it's place. Jack and Orion found themselves on either side of the cavity, quickly getting back to their feet as Myra landed gracefully just ahead of them. "Don't give it an inch!" the Asari then shouted before throwing a barrage of biotic projectiles at the towering Behemoth, which impacted against Xakron's black liquid-like skin, producing ripples of energy to flow over the Darkness and making it grimace in pain. "Arrgh!" it cried out as both the Human and Cybetronian Primes then spun around and unleashed energy waves from their Sabers. The large projectiles cut through the heavy rain as they flew towards their target, creating crackles of energy bolts to spark outwards as they reacted against the water in the air. "Not this time!" Xakron spat as it suddenly changed its shape and thus dodged the attacks, which passed by and slowly deteriorated in the sky above. "Scrap, I didn't realise it could do that." Jack replied with a shocked tone, as Orion nodded back in agreement. "Yeah, you would think that something that big would be hard to miss." "Then we are just going to have to get closer." Myra shouted as she looked back at them while the Darkness reformed itself before them. "What did you have in mind?" the blue-haired Bot replied, which made the Asari smirk back before turning back towards the Darkness. "Just get ready." She said while holding her hands back towards the pair, gaining a curious look from Jack. "Ready for wh...?" he began to say, only to get cut off as both the human man and his son were suddenly enveloped in biotic energy and started levitating off the ground. "You can't be serious?" her grandfather quickly replied, just earning a slight smile from Orion as he readied his weapon. "Just hold on." he added before the Asari then flung her arms in front of her and catapulted the two guys up into the sky towards Xakron's titanic form. "What in the?" the Darkness replied with a surprised expression as he saw the Primes hurtling up towards him, with their Star-Sabers ready. But before the Entity could react, they both swing their blades down in front of them and unleashed two more energy blasts, which this time hit their mark and made Xakron cry out in pain as the Primes landed on his chest and buried their blades in its skin to stop from falling back. "I think we just pissed him off." Orion shouted as he looked over to his Dad, who was just away from him on the other side of the behemoth's chest. "You will pay for that!" Xakron spat, its voice shaking the very air that it was echoing through as It quickly recovered and brought its arms down upon the pair. "I don't think so!" Myra replied as she suddenly launched herself up at the giant, hitting it directly in the face with a large biotic construct of a fist. "Gah!" the Entity spat as it was forced to stumble back, leaning back enough for Jack and Orion to stand up as the Asari landed on their Adversary's chest between them. "Let's finish this!" The Human Prime then said as he pointed at the Darkness's head, gaining a nod from both his Son and Granddaughter as the three of them started to run up the rest of Xakron's torso. But the Entity began to stand back up straight as it recovered, making the trio's ascent an almost sheer drop. "I know what you are attempting. You will fail." its voice boomed as the Primes closed in on its neck, only for Orion to notice their advantage quickly disappearing beneath their feet. "We're not going to make it!" he said, just as several tentacles grew out of the Behemoth's skin and surged at them. "Head for its shoulders then." Jack said back whilst slicing three of them in half with his holo saber, running through their liquefying remains as he changed his direction. The blue-haired Bot did the same as he headed for the giant's other shoulder, while the Myra leapt up towards Xakron's head and used her biotics to levitate there for a moment as she fired off several more energy blasts. "Arrrgh!" it cried out before swinging its right arm at the Prime, swiping her right out of the air as the other two climbed up onto the Entity's shoulders. "Myra!" Orion shouted, having just seen his Daughter get swatted out of the air like a fly. "Orion, we have work to do. Let's move!" his Dad called back from the other side of Xakron's head, just as more tentacles appeared between them and their target. The blue-haired bot just looked at the spot where he last saw his little girl, a saddened look on his face before he then nodded and re-quipped the Star-Saber. "Right." he replied somewhat reluctantly while turning his attention back to the matter at hand, which now had several tentacles standing between him and the Entity's head. "What are you waiting for, attack me!" its voice bellowed, making both Jack and his son rush forward as they sliced their way through the Darkness's defences which tried to wrap themselves around the Primes, only to be cut down in the process. More grew out of its skin and attacked the two men from all directions, but the blue-haired bot jumped and swung his Star-Saber around him and obliterated them all as several more appeared before Jack while he held back his own weapon, keeping his focus on the target. "You are finished, Xakron." the human shouted as he broke through the tentacles and swung his holo saber at the Death Bringer's head, with Orion doing the same as both of them launched themselves at the Entity. "I think not." it replied with a smug tone as several more tentacles shot out of its skin and grabbed them both, stopping the pair in their tracks as they tightened their grips on the Prime's arms and legs. "Without the Asari, your Trinity was doomed to fail…" it began to say as the pair were moved to the front of its face, hanging from the tentacles like a pair of puppets as its glowing purple eyes focused on them. "…and now it is I who will finish you, now prepare to join your deceased Myra!" Xakron added as his eyes glowed even brighter before the two men, as the tentacles started to pull at their arms and legs with a great amount of strength. This made both Jack and Orion grimace in agony as they felt their bodies being pulled apart from all sides, gritting their teeth as the pain reached their breaking point. 'It can't end this way.' the human Prime started to think, before both his and his Son's attention was caught by several biotic projectiles flying in out of nowhere and slicing up the tentacles, freeing the pair from the Darkness's grip. "What!" Xakron spat as they landed on what could only be described as biotic platforms before a familiar voice spoke out from their right. "You thought I was dead…?" Both Primes looked in that direction to see Myra standing on the Entity's right arm, holding her glowing hands out before her as she controlled the energy platforms that saved them. "…You were wrong." "Myra!" they both said in unison, earning a slight smile from her before she noticed the enraged look on Xakron's face. "What are you waiting for? Attack!" she then shouted, making them both nod in unison before leaping at their enemy's face with their Sabers ready, while the Asari began running up the Darkness's arm as tentacles grew out of its skin and attacked her. "You will not….arrrgh!" it cried out as Jack ran his holo saber through the Entity's left eye, with Orion doing the same to its right as glowing purple liquid spilt out and ran down it's face. "What will it take to shut you up?" the latter asked with a hint of annoyance to his voice as he twisted the Star-Saber around and caused Xakron to cry out even more while Myra fought off the obstacles attempting to halt her progress, cutting them all down as she reached the right shoulder and continued towards the pair. "Okay, now drop!" she then said, which made both Men rip their sabers out of the Entity's face and slide down it's body, before pushing themselves off and dropping to the ground below. Myra, though, charged her biotic-energies through her hands and swiped them from left to right in one flowing action, unleashing a glowing blue/whitish energy wave that quickly separated the behemoth's head from it's body. "Gaahhh!" it cried out as the female-Prime followed up by jumping down and landing gracefully beside the others as their enemy's decapitated body soon joined them at ground level, falling onto it's back and shaking the area with it's impact. "Nice work." Jack said to his granddaughter with an appreciative smile, making her blush as she noticed the proud and loving expression on her Father's face as smiled back. "Very nice work, Myra, and thanks for assist." "It's a team-effort, we all have our parts to play." she said back with a humble tone, which made Orion place his hand on her shoulder as Jack noticed that the Darkness's body had started to liquefy and melt into the ground. "When Xakron swiped at you, I thought..." the blue-haired bot began to say, only for his daughter to cut him off. "...that I was dead? Yeah, I thought that too for a moment with the way it hit me." she replied with a relieved tone and smile. "And you make that mistake once again!" a familiar voice boomed, gaining the three Primes' attention, earning an eye roll from Orion in return. "Seriously? He still isn't dead yet?" he said back with an annoyed tone, while the Darkness reformed itself just away from the trio. "I have survived many things in the time since my birth and when this is all over, I will have survived you three as well." it replied with a confident tone, which made the two Male-Primes ready their weapons once more as Myra stood between them and their enemy. "No, you will not, Xakron. For the three of us are finally going to put you down, once and for all." the Asari spat before launching herself at the Entity, performing a biotic charge which slammed directly into their adversary and knocked him back. "Take this…" Jack then shouted as he spun around and unleashed a white energy wave with his holo-Saber before watching it hit the Darkness while Myra leapt away, landing beside her Father as Xakron stumbled and fell to the ground.. "Dad, now!" she said, earning a nod from the blue-haired Bot as he charged the Star-Saber and swung its glowing white blade into the crystalline floor between him and the Entity. This caused an energy blast to rip up the crystalline ground as it was shot towards their enemy while the three Primes watched. "No, you will not…" Xakron started to say as it tried to evade the blast, but it failed as the energy hit the Darkness directly in its chest and blasted it up into the sky. Myra then flung her biotically charged hands into the air, creating energy constructs that looked like a pair of hands that then grasped the Entity. "Take that!" she then said before swinging her hands down to the ground, making her constructs mirror her actions as they plummeted back to the ground and slammed Xarkon into the crystalline environment. "I think that might do it." Jack said with a slight smile before the trio started for the crash site, which looked similar to a crater as the Darkness was lying in the centre of the sunken ground, surrounded by cracked and smashed looking crystal. "Urgh…" it groaned while slowly getting back to its feet, gaining a surprised look from the Human Prime and his son while the Asari stood between them. "I don't believe it." the younger Man replied, while Myra looked on with a serious expression. "…You…cannot…defeat…me!" it said back defiantly with a pained tone, which made the youngest Prime turn her attention to her Father and Grandfather. 'Wait! Our matrix energy is damaging to it. Perhaps…' she thought. "Okay final roll of the dice." she then said, gaining curious looks from both men as she made her hands glow with white biotic energy once more. "What do you…?" Orion began to ask, only to be cut short as the Asari placed one hand on his shoulder and her other on Jack's. This made the pair go silent, gritting their teeth as her biotic energy flowed into their bodies while each of their matrices glowed even brighter like the three had become truly connected. "Let's finish it off with everything we've got, we are the Trinity after all." she said as her eyes started to glow white, as did Jack and Orion's. The energy being generated by the trio's matrices suddenly made their bodies glow with white energy as Myra let go of her Father and Grandfather, instead of bringing her hands together and creating a biotic sphere between them. Both Jack and Orion responded by spinning their Star-Sabers around them, making the blades charge up to incredible levels as Xakron's eyes widened at what it saw. "That…is…not…possible!" it muttered in shock and fear, as all three Primes smirked in return. "Sure it is, Xakron…" the trio all spoke in unison as their weapons pulsed continuously while they focused on charging them, before narrowing their glowing eyes at their adversary. "…let us show you!" they finished before both Jack and Orion swung their Star-Sabers before them and unleashed two white energy waves, while Myra flung her hands in front of her and released the biotic sphere as all three projectiles hurtled towards the Darkness, who could do nothing but watch as it faces stared back in complete defeat. "NO…!" the Entity began to cry out as the energy attacks suddenly merged into one massive wave which hit it directly in its chest, causing Xakron to scream in agony as it was forced off its feet and fell onto its back. "Arrrragh..!" it cried out as the white energy spread throughout its body, making the Darkness roll around and fling its arms and legs about in a painful rage as it was overcome by the combined attack. Jack, Orion and Myra all watched as Xakron's skin suddenly began to turn to dust, starting with its fingers and feet which became nothing more than flakes as a bright white hole appeared in its chest. "What in the All-spark is that?" the Human-Prime asked as the trio were released from their joint trance, their eyes and bodies returning to normal as they witnessed the Darkness's defeat before them. "…I…cannot…be…defe…" the Entity began to cry out in defiance, only to be stopped as the white hole in its chest suddenly exploded into a beam of bright light which shone up into the sky and broke the cloud cover, exposing the starless sky once more as the dark enemy's body continued to spasm under the pain it was experiencing. "Wait...look!" the blue-haired Bot then added whilst pointing at the beam of light, noticing some movement within it. "I see it too..." Jack started to reply as a slight smile appeared on his face, as the trio could see thousands of small coloured lights travelling up the beam and into the sky, which was now completely clear as the storm clouds had all but disappeared. "...they are Sparks." the human added, while Myra smiled too as she watched the thousands upon thousands of souls escape up into the heavens, taking their places in the sky as they shone down like stars upon the crystalline environment once more. "It's beautiful." the Asari said back, making the two Men nod back in return as they just stood there and witnessed the sight unfolding before them. PRIME EFFECT 5 But after a few moments passed and the thousands of Sparks escaping Xakron's body became millions, the beam of light faded away and left only the Darkness's corpse, which then disintegrated into dust and was blown away by a light breeze that passed through the area. "It is done." Jack said with a relieved tone as the last of sparks joined the rest and lit up the night sky with their light, earning a nod from his Son as the pair looked up at them. "Yep, the place is starting to look like it used to." he replied as the crystalline landscape started to regain its shine as well. "I don't think we are alone." Myra then said with an uncertain tone, gaining the pair's attention as she gestured to their left as several towering figures appeared just away from the trio. "More bad guys?" the blue-haired bot asked as he reached for the Star-Saber, which was now sheathed on the back of his Armour. "No, Orion..." Jack though started to say with a content tone, for one of the new arrivals started to come into view which brought a knowing smile to the Human Prime's face. "...I don't believe it is." he added as the figure was revealed to be Optimus Prime, who with Onyx Primal was surrounded by the rest of the Thirteen. This brought a smile to Orion's face as he stared between the Maximal Leader and the rest of the group, while the Asari looked over at Solus who just gave her a knowing nod and smile in return. For a moment everything went quiet as Optimus and the Thirteen smiled back at their successors, the former Autobot-Leader himself had a warm smile on his face as he looked proudly at Jack, Orion and Myra. "Your friends are at peace, everything is how it should be." a familiar voice suddenly spoke from behind the trio, making them break eye contact with the Thirteen as they turned to find Vok standing next to them. "As are you." the Asari said, having noticed his appearance had returned to normal, earning a nod from the Aeon as he looked at the landscape returning to normal around them. "Yes, I am." he said back with an ambivalent tone, while the three Primes watched as Optimus and the Thirteen faded away from view once more. 'Farewell my friend, rest in peace.' Jack thought with a content expression, before turning back to Vok with a curious look. "Are you okay?" he asked, gaining mirrored looks from both Orion and Myra as the Aeon nodded back in return. "I will be, though it appears that despite everyone that the Darkness consumed having been released back into the All-Spark, Garuda though has not yet appeared." he replied with a worried tone, which made the Asari look back with an understanding stare. "You believe that Xakron devoured her energy completely before we could defeat him?" "I am not sure, Mira Prime..." he started to reply while looking back out at the landscape, as if hoping to spot her in the distance. "...All I know is that when the Darkness was freed into this realm, Garuda and I faced it and she ended up being consumed by it." "I'm sorry. You were obviously very close." Jack then answered with a consoling-like tone as he placed his hand on the Aeon's shoulder, gaining a nod back in return from Vok as he continued to look ahead. "We had been together since the very beginning, watching our own galaxy before coming to this one and being brought into this conflict once more. But even if we were 'close', it is not in the same way as you would put it. We Aeons have outgrown such emotions and desires that you allow yourselves to be ruled by, but still...I will miss her company." "You're not the last Aeon though, right? I mean there are still others out there?" Orion then asked, which made Vok look over to him and nod. "That is correct. I am not the last of my kind. There are still Aeons out there, watching the galaxies of this Universe, though not nearly enough as there had been before we met the Darkness." he replied, though the Aeon did nothing to hide the shame in his voice as he spoke. But this gained a slightly-annoyed look from Myra in response, who turned and faced him directly. "Stop kicking yourself for that. We all make mistakes that we are not proud of." This made the Aeon look back at her, a slight smirk appearing on his face. "I guess you are right, Mira Prime, for it appears you have learnt that lesson yourself." he said back, earning a nod from the Asari. "And anyway, we took care of Xakron. I mean it is gone now, right?" Orion then said, which made Vok sigh in relief. "Yes, the Darkness has been vanquished fully...just as Primus had wanted when he lay the seeds for your Trinity. But even though the balance has been returned between the light and the dark in this universe, there will always be more threats to its stability over time." This gained a confident smile from Orion as looked at everyone around him, gaining their attention. "But that is why we are here, right? To stop such things from happening." he said, which made the Aeon nod back. "Indeed. Because of what you three have achieved today, there will always be Primes to protect and guide the galaxy in the days that follow this. But your part in this has come to an end as the Trinity of Primes is no longer needed." The three Primes nodded back with understanding expressions as they stayed quiet for a moment before Myra looked at the Aeon curiously. "So what happens now?" "The three of you will be returned to your own times, where you Myra will carry on your duties as a Prime until it is time to pass the Matrix to your successor..." the orange and black-robed Man started to say, only to stop as he noticed the trio staring back at him with curious stares. "...who will not be Darby, as your bloodline has completed its role in Primus's design." "So the next Prime could be anyone?" Orion then asked, gaining a nod from Vok. "Yes, that is correct. As I said earlier, Jackson Prime was the link between Cybertron and Humanity, you Orion Prime are the link between them and the Asari. And Mira Prime finishes the link with the rest of the Galaxy, meaning that all future Primes that follow her will be anyone in the Galaxy, no matter their species. It was Primus's wish that the Primes Legacy belongs to all in the galaxy, not just to the Cybertronians. That was the secondary purpose of the Trinity of Primes, which Myra will one day complete after returning to her own timeline." he replied. "Okay. Well, that's a relief. After finding out that not only my son, but my granddaughter too became Primes. I was starting to think that our family was going to continue to do so for while to come." Jack then said with a relieved tone as he smiled slightly at his descendants, who smirked back warmly. "Your Family has served Primus's will commendably and will be remembered in the Legacy of Primes alongside Optimus and the Thirteen..." the Aeon started to reply, before noticing that the Asari had a questioning look on her face and decided to answer her before she could speak. "...but I cannot tell you who the next Prime will be, Myra. Only the Matrix will know when the time arises, which is still centuries away from now." "I understand, we cannot know too much about our futures." she replied before hers and the others' matrices suddenly sent out a pulse of energy around them, before beginning to glow brightly as the crystalline landscape started to shimmer. "What's going on?" Orion asked as he touched the relic in the center of his Prime armour, gaining similar reactions from his Father and Daughter. "Your Matrices are preparing to send you back home, for your time here in the All-Spark has now come to an end." Vok replied, which made Jack look at his descendants with a smile. "Well, this is going to be quite a tale to tell everyone." he said, earning knowing looks from both Orion and Myra as they glanced at each other. "Yeah...I guess it will." the blue-haired bot replied as he noticed his daughter look down to the ground as a white glowing portal appeared to their left and began to grow. 'How I can go back to my little girl and know what life she is going to have after I am gone...' he started to think, only for Vok to speak and cut him off. "I am sorry but I should have told you this earlier, though at the time it was uncertain what the outcome of your battle with the Darkness would be..." he said, regaining the trio's attention. "...but as you are here in the All-Spark, your own personal time-lines are currently out of sync with the regular flow of time. So neither you Jackson Prime or Orion Prime will be able to retain the memories of what has happened here today." the Aeon added, making all three Primes eyes widen as the Asari and her Father stared at each other knowingly, also gaining the oldest Darby's attention as he remembered what had been said about his granddaughter. But the blue-haired bot quickly turned his focus back to the orange and black robed Man. "Wait...you said my father and I would not remember, but what of Myra?" "This day occurs far closer to your daughter's own timeline than it does to either of yours, five hundred plus years separates you and so only she will carry the memory of what happened here..." Vok began to answer, earning understanding looks from the trio. "...but you may feel something has happened after you return to your own times, even though you cannot remember what. I believe a way to describe it would be like the human saying...deja-vu..." he added before turning his attention to Jack, who looked at the Aeon with a curious expression. 'Why is he focusing on me all of a sudden?' the Human Prime thought, while the orange and black robed Bot raised a finger toward his forehead. "...though, Jackson Prime, you will need to remember more than just a feeling, because you still have a role to play in how Orion becomes a Prime..." he continued, earning a knowing look from Orion, which did not go unnoticed by Jack as he glanced at his Son. "...so I ask you, Jackson Prime, can you keep a promise and make sure that Orion follows the path to becoming the Prime that he is destined to become?" Vok then asked, while the blue-haired bot smirked slightly as he watched his father. 'So this is how it started...' he began to think, only to be cut off as Jack started to speak. "I think you would know what my answer was going to be Vok, I am his Father after all..." the older Man said, only to stop and look at Orion with a proud and loving stare. "...I mean I kind of always knew that he was going to Prime, ever since his mother and I witnessed him holding the Matrix Crystal in his hands as a child..." he continued before looking back at the Aeon. "...but if you need to hear the words...then I promise." he finished, which made Vok smile back in return. "I do, Jackson Prime, and now remember that promise and carry it throughout your life..." he began to say as he touched the older Darby's forehead with his finger, before pulling away and stepping back. "...because you will visit this place one final time in your future..." the Aeon added which gained a nod from Jack, before he turned his attention to the Bot and the Asari. "...but, Orion and Myra, I am afraid that this is the last time that you will see this place or myself again in your life times." he continued, which made them both nod back in response. "I understand." Orion replied with a slight smile. "As do I." Myra answered too with a mirrored reaction, earning a warm smile from the orange and black robed Man as he gestured to the portal. "Then I will bid you farewell Primes and on behalf of the entire Universe…thank you." "Farewell." Jack replied as he and his Descendants all smiled back appreciatively before turning away from the Aeon and walking into the glowing white portal, disappearing from Vok's sight and leaving him alone as he turned to look out at the crystalline landscape of the All-Spark. PRIME EFFECT 5 A flash of bright light later and the three Primes found themselves standing inside what looked very similar to a Space-bridge, with different shades of blue and white energy spiralling around them in a tunnel-like construct. "What's this then? The waiting room before we are back in our time-lines?" Orion asked aloud as he watched the energy pass by them, earning a curious look from his father in return. "I suppose so, but at least it's a nice view though. Let's call it a Time-bridge." he replied as they witnessed the different coloured energies dance around each other, before the blue-haired Bot then turned to the Asari. "Myra, are you alright?" he asked, having noticed that she had gone quiet since they passed through the portal. But the blue-woman kept her back to the pair, gaining concerned expressions from them Men as they looked between themselves and her. "I'm okay…" she began to say, only for her Father to walk around her and see that she was anything but okay, for the Asari had a rather sad expression on her face. "What is it?" Orion asked, gaining Jack's attention too as the older Prime joined the pair. "It's nothing, really." she replied, trying to end this line of questioning. But her Father simply looked back with a caring expression, one that she recognised only too well. "Come now, Myra, don't lie to your father now." Jack said back with a knowing tone as he could see what was going to transpire before him, while the blue-haired bot placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "Talk to me, Myra. It's not like we have a lot of time now. So tell me what's bothering you?" he asked, which made the Asari's eyes look into his own. "But that's the point. I've just got the two of you back in my life, only to watch you leave me all over again." she replied, feeling her eyes trying to well up as she fought back the tears. "But we will see you again." her grandfather tried to reason in return, only to make Myra shake her head back. "Not from my perspective, which is nearly a quarter of a millennium since I saw either of you. And now that you're both here, I don't want to lose you again." she said back, which brought a knowing look to the Human Prime's face as Orion listened while still holding his hand on her shoulder. "But that is life, unfortunately, Myra. You of all people should understand this, being an Asari. With your longevity, you're going to outlive virtually everyone." Jack replied, only for the blue-female to shrug her father's hand and turn away from them both. "Don't you think I know that…" she began to say, the tone of her voice underlined with anger as she looked at the swirling energy surrounding them. "After living so long on my own without any of my immediate family, I thought that I had gotten used to the loneliness. But having spent the past day with both my Father and Grandfather…" she continued before looking back at them with a heart-broken expression, which made Orion's Spark ache with regret. "…I realise that I am not, because I have missed you both so much." she said as her voice broke, making her eyes well up. "I kind of wish that I could be rid of the memories of this day, just like the two of you." she added, which brought an urgent look of concern to Orion's face as he quickly moved in front of his daughter and place both hands on her shoulders. "Don't you dare say that, Myra. Don't even think it…not for a moment. I for one don't want to forget what we have done here today, or having witnessed the strong woman my daughter has become." he said back with a proud tone to his voice as he looked back at her lovingly, while she looked down to the ground in shame. "But I know that keeping these memories would come at a price, one that none of us would be able to pay…" he continued to say, earning an understanding stare from Jack as he watched the pair. "…because knowing the life that you have lived through up until now, the pain you have endured. I'd want to do everything in my power to ensure that you wouldn't have to experience that kind of life, the repercussions be damned…because you're my daughter." he added, earning Myra attention as she looked up at him with a saddened and knowing expression. "But the cost of that would be too high, because everything that we have done as the Trinity would never happen." she replied, gaining a nod from the blue-haired bot in return. "Exactly. it appears Fate has made sure that such a thing can never happen and so your grandfather and I will forget…" Orion continued to say, before a knowing look appeared on his face, "…and I think you are looking at this all wrong, Myra." he finished, making the Asari look back with a curious stare as he let go of her shoulders. "In what way?" she asked, earning a slight smile from the Prime in return. "That the memories of our time together is a burden. When, in fact, you should see them as a gift." "A gift?" she replied with a slightly questioning tone, while Jack just smiled at his Son's ingenuity as he continued to watch his descendants. "Yes, because it's not every day that you get a second chance to spend time with your family, long after they have passed on. So, cherish the memories of this day and know that no matter the point of your life we are in, we are always proud of you….especially me." he said back in a loving tone, on that brought a slight smile to Myra's face. "You're right, Dad. I'm sorry." she said back, which made the blue-haired Bot pull her into a caring embrace. "Well, despite you being right about that, Orion. There is something you are wrong about." Jack then said as he walked up to the pair, making them pull away as his Son stared back with a curious look. "And what's that?" he asked. "That out of the two of us, I will at least remember something…apparently." the older Man replied, earning a knowing expression from the other. "I know, I also know the reason why you will remember something too." the younger Bot replied, which this time made Jack look back questioningly. "What do you mean…?" he began to ask, only for a surge of energy to swirl around the space-bridge-like tunnel they were standing in. "Something tells me we don't have enough time to go over the details…" Orion started to say back as he watched the glowing colours of the walls change colour around them, but then he returned his attention to his Father and saw the curious look on his face. "…but…just keep me on track, Dad,…as much as you can." he continued with a cryptic tone, one that made Jack nod back with a slightly understanding look. But then the Human Prime suddenly started to fade away before both the blue-haired bot and the Asari, making their eyes widen in surprise as he looked at his own hands in response. "I guess it's my time to go…" he then said, before looking back at his family and placing a hand on each of their shoulders closest to him. "…so I just want you both to know that it has been an honour and a privilege to see you and to have fought beside you." he added, before looking at Orion with a warm smile. "To see the man that you become, Orion…" he said, gaining a mirrored look from his Son, before turning his attention to Myra. "…and to have met my future granddaughter." This made the Asari smile back before the older man started to fade away once more. "Good bye…" Jack then started to say, before fading away completely and leaving both father and daughter alone in the Time-bridge. But this made Myra suddenly look back at Orion with a worried expression, as she knew what was going to happen next. "No, that means…" she started to say with a panicked tone, only to stop as her father looked back with an accepting expression. "…that I'm next. And with less than twenty-five years between us, I will be disappearing any time now." he replied, cutting her off and making her eyes widen as they started to well up again. "No. No. That's not enough time." she said back with a fearful tone, which made the older Bot place his hand on her cheek tenderly as he looked into her eyes. "I know, but it is all we have…come here." he said before pulling the Asari into another embrace, one that Myra followed through with wholeheartedly, holding on to her Father as if to stop him from going away as tears began to run down her cheeks. "I miss you and Mum so much…" she said back, the tone of her voice filled with so much emotion as she held on tightly to Orion. "I know, Princess, but your Mum and I will always be with you…even when we are no longer around." he said back while holding her in his loving embrace, which flooded the Asari's mind with fond memories of all the times she shared with both her father and mother, warming her heart in return. "I…understand." she replied, trying to fight back the tears. "But you have people who care for you, back in your time. I saw them myself earlier today." the blue-haired Bot said back, making his daughter nod back as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I remember." "So I want you to promise me something." he replied, which made Myra pull away just enough to look into her Father's eyes. "Yes?" she asked, noticing the caring expression on his face as he stared back at her. "Promise me, that from this day forward that you will start living your life, no more letting the past drive you onward. Just take care of the people that care for you and let them take care of you. Can you do that for me, Myra?" he asked, which made the Asari remember Evac, Tolae, Ser-Ket and Kat. 'Kat...' she thought before nodding back in return, making Orion smile again. "I will, Dad. I promise you." she said back, which made the blue-haired Bot pull Myra into a loving hug once again, with both father and daughter enjoying the embrace. "I love you, my little Princess." he replied, which brought a wide smile to the young woman's face as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you too, Dad." she replied contently as she held her arms around him, closing her eyes and allowing herself to experience one last hug with her Father. But after a moment passed and no reply could be heard, the Asari opened her eyes to find that she was embracing thin air as Orion was nowhere to be seen. 'Dad...' she thought while looking around at her surroundings, the energy now swirling around her at a faster pace as a white light appeared at one end of the time bridge and closed in towards her. "I swear, Dad. My life will be different from now on...I promise." she then said aloud as a calm expression appeared on her face, before turning to the light and letting it envelop her as everything went white.

CHAPTER XXVII "Where were we?" Xakron asked with a knowing smile as he looked down at the Primes, with one of them already at the mercy of another that was under the Darkness's control. The Entity's smile grew a little wider as he looked at Jack, who activated both his holo Star-Saber and Skyboom Shield as he looked at his Son and Granddaughter, failing to notice that Unicron had recovered and was preparing to attack from behind. "Let your Father go, Myra! This isn't you!" he warned, earning a disinterested glance from the corrupted Asari as she readied to drop a biotic boulder construct on Orion. "Stay out of this! Or I will rob Unicron of his prize as well," she replied, which made Jack suddenly spin around and shield himself from the Chaos Bringer's attack, with his arm-blades slamming down on the Prime's shield. "Thought I forgot about you, didn't you, Unicron?" he replied, earning an aggravated look from the Wraith as the two were locked together. "It matters not, you and your son will die today." he replied with a hateful tone, pushing his blades down on the Skyboom shield in an attempt to break through. But Jackson Prime simply smirked as he held his ground, readying his holo-saber. "Not while I still have a say on the matter." The Human then put his strength into his shield and pushed back against his opponent, forcing Unicron to break off and stumble back slightly. Before the Chaos Bringer could recover his balance, Jack followed through by swiping his Star-saber at the enemy's chest and slicing it open, which caused black liquid to spill out as the Wraith grimaced. "Gah!" he cried out in pain with a shocked look on his face, with his arm blades shifting back into hands as he went to cover the wound. But the Human-Prime then deactivated his weapons and grabbed the Wraith, using all his strength to pull Unicron with him as he performed a ground throw and launched his adversary into the air. "What!" Myra quickly replied with a shocked expression before the Chaos Bringer then collided with her, sending them both crashing to the floor as Jack recovered and reached his Son's side. "You alright, Orion?" Jack asked as he helped the blue-haired Bot to his feet, earning an appreciative nod in return. "Yeah, thanks, Dad. But we need to free Myra of Xakron's influence." "I agree, so I am going to keep Unicron busy so that you can concentrate on my granddaughter..." the older Prime started to say, only for a more serious expression to appear on his face as he looked at his younger successor. "...but you can't play it nice with her now, understand? If you drop your guard again, Myra will kill you." he warned, gaining a nod from Orion in return as he looked at their two enemies who were getting back to their feet. "I know and I have a plan, but..." he started to say, making his Father look back with a curious expression. "But?" "...why is Xakron simply watching? He could sweep us aside with a snap of his fingers if he wanted to right now?" the younger Prime asked, making them both glance up at the entity who was merely watching them. "I guess he wants his two disciples to finish us while he digests what's left of our friends." The Darkness's purple eyes narrowed as it looked down at the pair, the grin never leaving its face as it towered over them. "Then let's free Myra and kill Unicron, so we can finally wipe that smug look off Xakron's face." Orion said in a confident tone, which brought a smile to his Father's face. "Let's roll!" he said back before the pair separated and charged at their targets, who had finally got back to their feet and turned to face the two Men. The young blue-haired Bot equipped his Star-Saber, making it glow with blue/white light as he spun around and unleashed an energy wave towards his Daughter, only for the Asari to leap up and over it, performing a perfect somersault as the attack passed under her before stopping in mid-air as her body glowed with purple biotic light before unleashing an energy attack of her own at the Bot. 'Oh, scrap!' Orion thought as he was forced to dive to the right, narrowly missing the projectile that hit the ground beside him. But the impact caused a shockwave to expand from the spot, hitting the Prime and knocking him back to the ground as the Asari landed on her feet before him. "So you now take the gloves off with me, Father? I should have known that you would reveal your true colors." she said spitefully, before throwing another projectile at the blue-haired Bot as he recovered. Orion quickly swung his saber down before him just as the energy ball was about to hit him, slicing it in half And making the attack pass him by. "You're not giving me much choice, Myra. Please, think about what it is you're doing." he said back, hoping once more to get through to his Daughter. The Asari merely gritted her teeth as she created a biotic blade in both her hands and charged toward him, her purple eyes glowing brightly. "This will end with your death!" she spat while swinging her blades down upon her Father, making Orion bring up the Star-Saber and block the attack, causing purple and blue energy to erupt from the clash of weapons. PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, Jack was in the middle of another duel with Unicron, his Saber and shield deflecting each of the strikes the Chaos Bringer caused with his own copy of his Chaos Edge. "You remind me of my Brother, Prime. The two of you fight similarly..." he said, gaining a slight smirk from the Human as he deflected yet another attack, only to follow through by hitting his enemy with the Skyboom Shield, which made the pair separate slightly as the latter stumbled back. "Thanks, that's quite the compliment...which I didn't expect." Jack replied before then lunging towards his enemy with the holo Star-Saber, only for Unicron to dodge and pin the blade between his two. "It was not meant so because, like my weak-hearted Brother, your attacks are easy to read and manipulate to my advantage..." he replied with a knowing tone before suddenly locking the Prime's weapon in place and yanking the Human towards him. "Arrgh!" the Prime cried out before being hit in the face by the Chaos Bringer's elbow, which the latter then followed through with a knee to the man's chest and then an elbow to his back. This made Jack fall to the ground as Unicron stood over him, looking down with a self-satisfying stare. "Who do you think taught Primus how to fight? You never stood a chance." 'He's been playing me all this time.' Jack thought as he lay on his front on the burnt crystalline ground, trying to regain his breath as his back and chest ached. But the Human Prime didn't get the chance as he was suddenly grabbed from the back of his neck and pulled back onto his feet by the Wraith. "Let's see how much more I can hurt you." he said before punching the older Darby hard in his stomach, gaining another grimace from Jack in return. Xakron watched with an inquisitive expression, taking in every detail of Unicron's fight with the Human Prime. 'My servant has the upper hand, which means this Prime's life is about to come to an end.' it thought, before turning its attention to the other fight taking place not far from them. 'Now this one is certainly interesting.' Xakron added as he saw Myra and Orion clash, each switching between defensive and offensive techniques as they attacked one another. 'My new newest ally should finish her father off momentarily, ensuring her spark remains in darkness.' And the fight between Father and Daughter had certainly become fierce as the latter angrily slashed her blades at her opponent. Orion brought up his Star-Saber once again to deflect them, causing blue and purple sparks to erupt from the clashing weapons. But the Asari then began to glow with biotic energy, which Orion recognized as the build-up for an attack. So he quickly broke off and dived to his left, as the other Prime performed a biotic charge and went past him like a blur. 'That was a close one.' he thought as his Daughter stopped and spun around, a surprised but no less angry expression on her face as she gritted her teeth. "How did you know I was about to...?" she started to say, only for the Blue-haired Bot to cut her off mid-question. "I have seen Liara perform that more than a few times over the years, Myra. You and your mother are very much alike." This suddenly made the Asari's expression soften momentarily as she stood there, gaining an ever-so-slight smile from her father in return. 'There, she's hesitating. I have to keep the pressure up. Hopefully, I can finally get through to her...' But before the bot could finish that thought, Myra attacked him again with her biotic blades. The Prime, though, dodged her by spinning around, following that through by elbowing the blue female in the back and sending her to the ground. "Come on, Myra. Surely your Mother and I taught you better than that." he replied with a kind smile, making her stare back with a hesitant expression while on her hands and knees. 'I guess we did. So let's see if I can get her to remember more...even if I do not.' he thought as the Asari got back to her feet, so Orion sheathed the Star-Saber onto the back of his armor and took a fighting stance. This made Myra stare back with an ambivalent expression in return. "You aren't using your weapon? Are you giving up or is this some kind of joke?" she asked, making the Bot shake his head in return as he clenched his fists. "Neither, Myra. I want to see how well your mother and I taught you...now face me!" he said in a serious and commanding tone, which brought a sadistic grin to the Asari's face. "With pleasure..." she started to reply before firing a biotic blast at her Father, making him dive to his left and dodge it. But just as he performed a roll and ended up back on his feet, the blue female used another biotic charge to end up right in front of him. "...since you won't last very long against me." Myra then added as she prepared to attack him with a double biotic punch, only for the Bot to suck under it and sweep-kick his opponent off her feet. "You're not impressing me, Myra. Why are you relying only on your biotics? haven't 'we' showed you to mix it up with hand to hand as well...?" Orion said back as he watched his Daughter recover and get back to his feet. '...after all, Liara and I sparred enough after the Predacon War, helping to hone her skills in that area.' he thought, which brought another hesitant look from the Asari. "Now, impress me!" he then added, throwing a punch at her face. This suddenly made the young Woman block the attack and grab the arm, before pulling the bot over her body and throwing him to the ground beside her. "How was that?" she suddenly replied with a slightly softened expression, which changed instantly to a confused look. "What did I just...?" she asked, while the blue-haired Prime flipped back onto his feet and turned back to her. 'I got through to her for a second. That was Myra.' But this earned a questioning look from Xakron as he watched the pair from just aways, taking note of his brainwashed Asari's behavior as she attacked her father once more. 'Why doesn't she simply kill him with her biotics?' it thought as it saw the Prime block the Woman's roundhouse kick, only for her to follow through with a reverse roundhouse and hit him in the face. 'Just kill him already!' Myra's kick felled Orion onto his back as his opponent launched herself at him, only for the Bot to perform a backward roll and end up on his feet while she landed directly in front of him. "That's more like it. You are like your mother." he said as the Asari started to throw another punch his way, only for her to stop and stare at him hesitantly. This made the Darkness's eyes widen as it saw what was happening between them. 'No! That Prime is starting to get through to her...I have to intervene!' it thought before clenching a fist and making thunder streak overhead. "What in the...?" Orion said as a bolt of lightning suddenly hit the ground between him and Myra, making the blue-haired bot fall back as his daughter froze to the spot. PRIME EFFECT 5 "Why are you hesitating?" Xakron's voice boomed as the Asari stood there in the darkness of her own mind once more, its angry tone echoing around her as it spoke. "I don't know what you talking about. My father will be dead momentarily." she said back, which made the Death Bringer seep out of the dark and appear before her. "What? Just kill him now! Use your biotics!" it spat back, gaining a surprised and confused look from Myra. "...but?" she began to say before an image materialized beside the pair, making the Death Bringer's eyes widen as he looked at it. "What now!" For what he was watching was a memory of the Asari's, specifically one of her and her Father. It showed the blue-haired Prime teaching his Daughter how to fight via hand-to-hand combat, which made the Darkness narrow his eyes in return. "I see what is happening here..." he started to say while turning his attention back to Myra, who merely stood there and looked at him. "…so I guess I should intervene." Xakron added as he flexed the fingers on his right hand, making the Asari stare with a questioning expression. "What do you..?" she started to ask, only to be cut off as the Entity grabbed her by the forehead and dug his fingers into her skin. "Arrgh! What…are…you…" Myra tried to say as she felt his fingers slither and burrow through her skull, before wriggling into her brain. "I am ensuring that you fulfil my wish...and kill your father!" he said back with a ferocious tone, with his voice echoing around the Asari as she fell to her knees before the Darkness and cried out in agony. "Aaaaarrrrggghhh!" Meanwhile, Orion had a look of pure confusion on his face as he looked at his daughter, for she simply stood before him with her eyes closed. "Myra?" he asked aloud with a cautious yet caring tone, taking a step closer to the Asari. But then she suddenly opened her eyes, revealing them to still be bright purple as she raised her arm to him and blast the bot with a powerful energy blast. "Orion!" Jack shouted as the light from the attack caught his and Unicron's attention, with the Human Prime witnessing his Son hurtling backwards to the ground. This gained a smirk from the Chaos Bringer as he looked back down at his quarry, whom he had pinned to the ground. "I think I will kill you only after you have witnessed your own granddaughter murder your only son." he said with a devious tone, which made Jack's eyes widen as he kept his attention on the brainwashed Asari as she walked over to floored Prime. "It seems that I still have to take matters into my own hands." Myra replied with a dark and booming voice, which gained the blue-haired bot's focus despite the pain he was currently feeling from the energy blast. "…Xakron? You're…controlling my…daughter?" he asked with a grimace, gaining a nod from the Asari as she stood over him and looked down. "Yes, I am now. Because it seems that Myra here…" the Entity began to say, looking at the Asari's hands as he possessed her body. "…cannot be entirely corrupted by just the Darkness that exists within her own heart alone. But I think having her witness your death by her own hands should finally tip the scale, don't you think?" Xakron added as Orion slowly began to lift himself back up into a sitting position, only for the Darkness to wave a glowing hand down at the Bot and knock him onto his back once more, making him grimace as the energy surged through his body. "Garrh!" he cried out with a painful tone, gaining a barely invested expression from his adversary in return. "Please, stay down. You are only delaying the evitable…" he replied before clenching his right hand and aiming it at the stricken man, who looked up and saw that it was starting to glow even brighter than before. "…and I think I have waited long enough for this moment." This sentence gained a smirk from Orion, which made Xakron look down at him with a confused expression. "And here I thought that you were a patient being, having spent how many eons locked away between universes." he said back with a slightly sarcastic tone, one that earned a dagger-like stare from the Darkness. "Such insolence…!" it spat back while stamping Myra's right foot on the Prime's chest, making him cough up some blood. "…you should suffer some more for such behaviour before me…" Xakron added while making bot's daughter get down and straddle her Father, who could only watch as she grabbed his throat with both hands. "…and choking the life out of you should suffice, as well as poison your daughter's heart completely…so die!" Orion suddenly felt a vice-like grip around his neck, which began to tighten as the Asari's hands began to glow with a mixture of biotic and dark energy. "…Myra…" he began to say between gasps while grabbing the Woman's arms, trying to free himself in the process. "…you…have to…fight…it. Take…back…control!" he managed to say, only for the Darkness to smile back with his Daughter's face as it tightened its grip even more. "You waste your breath, Prime. For your daughter is currently reliving all her most painful memories and therefore unable to hear you." But the blue-haired Bot removed his hand from the Asari's wrist and placed it on her upper arm, ignoring the evil expression she was staring at him with as he looked into her eyes. "Myra,...you...can...fight...this, because...despite...all...that has...happened...you. I...know...that...deep down...you...are...a good...person...at heart..." the Bot started to say whilst trying to ignore the pain he was feeling, while the Dark-Entity increased the pressure around his throat. Myra, though, was still in the Xakron's grasp and surrounded by images of all of her most dark and painful memories, all of which played out around her as the Darkness held onto her head with his hand. But despite this onslaught on the Asari, she heard a very familiar voice speak to her through the darkness. 'Dad?' the new Prime thought as she tried to focus on his voice, ignoring everything else that was happening around her. "...and...you shouldn't...let your...past...define...who...you...are..." he continued to say, which gained Xakron's attention as he tightened his grip on the Asari's head. "It is too late for you, Myra, for you have been in the darkness far too long to walk away now." But Myra shook her head as she gritted her teeth, trying to keep her attention on her Father's voice while feeling Xakron's fingers slithering throughout her mind. "…and…no…matter how…this…ends, I…will…always…love you." This suddenly made the young Woman's eyes widen as his words dwelled in her thoughts, which did not go unnoticed by the Death Bringer as he narrowed his eyes more and strengthened his grasp on her mind. "He is wrong, Myra. We are what we become and you belong in the darkness with me." But out of nowhere, the Asari grabbed his wrist with a vice-like grip as her eyes locked onto his own and narrowed. "What...!" the Darkness then started to say in a surprised tone, while she started to slowly pull his hand out of her head. "...you cannot fight me! You don't have the strength." he added, but Myra gritted her teeth in return. "My Dad...is...right..., Xakron, I may...have...made some questionable…choices in…my life. Allowed my…emotions…to guide me…down…a darker path…" she started to say whilst grimacing, fighting the Entity's control while continuing to pull it's hand from her head. "…but…I will…no longer…allow…it…to…define…who I am…" the Prime added before ripping her Adversary's hand from her, earning a shocked look from it as she clenched her other hand and made it glow with biotic energy. "…Now get out of my head!" she spat while thrusting her glowing fist through the Darkness's chest, making it explode before her as the memories that had been playing around her disappeared, leaving the Asari's mind as she stood there alone once more. Suddenly, Orion felt the grip around his throat lessen as his daughter closed her eyes and sighed, making the bot look at her with a hopeful expression. "Myra…?" he asked, which made the Woman open her eyes, revealing them to be back to their normal blue as she slowly nodded in return. "Yes..., Dad, it's me." she replied as she got back to her feet, earning a curious look from the Bot as he followed suit, noticing a regretful expression appear on the Asari's face. "I am so sorry..." Myra started to say but was quickly cut off as her father has he pulled her into an embrace. "Shh...it's not your fault." he said with a caring tone, wrapping his arms around his daughter, who sighed in return as she did the same. But just aways from the pair, Unicron's eyes widened as a look of complete shock appeared on his face. "What?" he started to say with confusion underlining his words, while a relieved smile appeared on the Prime's face as he looked at his family. 'Thank Primus.' he thought before returning his focus to the Adversary currently pinning him down to the ground, who then looked back down at him and began to smirk. "Well, it's disappointing. But I guess that means I get to kill you now and end this Trinity finally," he said while clenching his right fist and raising it above his head, which then had a dark energy surround it as he readied to deliver the killing blow. But Myra then looked over her father's shoulder and saw Jack's perilous moment, which made her eyes widen in fear as she suddenly pulled away from his arms and threw her glowing left fist before her. "No!" she cried out, gaining Orion's attention as he turned and watched while she created a biotic construct of a giant fist and launched it at the Chaos Bringer. 'Wow.' he thought as the attack hit the Wraith perfectly and sent him flying off the Human Prime, making him hit the ground a few feet away with a thud. "Dad? You alright?" Orion asked with a worried tone as he joined Jack's side, earning a nod back as Myra kept her focus on their common enemy. "Yeah, I'm good...and Myra's back with us, I see." he replied as both Men witnessed Unicron quickly recover and attack the Asari, who blocked his attack with a biotic shield. "Yes, she is. So let's get in there and help her finish off Unicron." the blue-haired Bot replied as he unsheathed the Star-Saber from his back, gaining a nod from his Father who activated his own Saber in return. "My Master and I will finish you, Asari. You and your wretched bloodline." the Chaos Bringer spat while his arms morphed into blades as he swung them at her, only for the Prime to deflect both with her arms which were shielded in biotic energy. "I think not..." she began to reply while kicking the Wraith in his chest, causing him to stumble backwards as her Father and Grandfather joined her side. "...since he is not here right now." "What?!…" Unicron spat back with a confused tone while the blue-Woman gestured behind him, making the enemy turn around and notice that he was completely alone with the trio. "…what? Where is he?" "I guess Myra here had something to do with that." Orion replied with a proud look, which almost made his Daughter blush as she smirked back, while Jack pointed his holo-saber at their Adversary. "Good work. Now let's finish this Wraith before his Master reappears." But the Chaos Bringer narrowed his glowing purple eyes at them, as several tentacles grew out of his body. "Brave words, Jackson Prime, but I will not be easily defeated." he spat back before lunging at the trio with his tentacles, which swung high and low at the Primes. "Watch out!" Orion shouted as he and Jack jumped back, with both performing backward somersaults just before the Wraith's attack could reach them. Myra, though, used her biotics to launch herself up into the air with another of the tentacles surging up towards the Asari, only for her to catch and grab hold of it and then pull the Chaos Bringer off the ground. "WHAT!" he managed to shout out as the Prime enveloped him in biotic energy as she swung him around and around, before throwing the Wraith into the ground below. "Impressive." the Grandfather said with a surprised expression, gaining a mirrored look from his Son. "I know, right." he replied with a slight smirk before returning his attention to Myra, who landed gracefully in front of them. "You okay? "Yeah. I just want to get this over with." she said back with a serious tone, never taking her eyes off Unicron as he reformed himself. "Alright. Let's do it." he said before charging the Star-Saber and unleashing an energy wave towards their enemy, only for it to miss as the Wraith bent his body around the attack. "You will have to do better than that, Primes!" he shouted back while lunging his tentacles at them, which made the Asari throw two biotic projectiles in return. They both hit the Wraith directly in his center, exploding and enveloping him in a biotic stasis. "Now, finish him off!" she then said, gaining nods from both her father and Grandfather as the pair charged at the frozen Chaos Bringer, who could do nothing but watch as Orion ran him through with a glowing Star-Saber. "…No!" Unicron managed to mutter with a pained tone, feeling the energy of the Prime's blade eat away at his insides. But it was then cut short as Jack quickly decapitated him with his holo-saber, sending his head flying from his body before hitting the burnt crystalline ground and turning to black liquid once again. "One down…" the eldest Prime then said as they watched the Wraith's body do the same as the storm clouds began to converge on the area once more, closing the storm's eye that had revealed the starless night sky overhead. "…one to go." Myra quickly added as she turned around to see Xakron reform himself and tower over them, a look of pure hate was written over his face as his eyes narrowed at the trio. "You have defeated Unicron." he spat, with his voice echoing throughout the area. "Yes, we have. And now it's your turn." Jack replied as the Asari and blue-haired bot stood on either side of him, their matrices beginning to glow as did his own. But this made the Entity burst into laughter, matching the thunder and lightning that the storm unleashed around the Primes. "After defeating a mere puppet, a shadow of the Aeonian that became my slave. You really think you have what it takes to stand against me now?" it asked which made Myra clench her fists and focus her biotics, once more changing their natural blue glow to a more white-like one. "Why not? I mean, if you can be forced out of the mind of someone like me, then I guess sending you back into whatever black hole you seeped out of will be easy." she said with a slight grin, making the Darkness grit his teeth as he clenched his fists and growled deeply. "Very well, Primes,.….FACE ME!" it spat as it lunged down at the trio, making Jack, Myra and Orion launched themselves back at him as the final battle began. PRIME EFFECT 5 Thunder crackled and lightning streaked across the storm-cloud-covered sky as the three Primes and Xakron lunged at each other before suddenly the giant behemoth exploded into a thousand smaller versions of himself that fell down towards the trio. "Look out!" Myra shouted as she created two biotic blades and began slicing through the Wraiths, gaining similar reactions from her Father and Grandfather as they did the same with their own sabers. But soon gravity regained a hold on the three warriors and they landed back down on the crystalline ground, followed by the massive gathering of Xakron's copies who were all around their own height. "You cannot win, Primes of light." all of the wraiths spoke at once, with the same voice and level of hatred underlined with their words. "Okay, anyone else find that really unnerving." Orion then said with an uncomfortable tone, earning a nod from the Asari while the three Primes went back to back as the Wraiths surrounded them. "I would not count us out yet, Xakron. For we Primes have defeated everything that has been created from your interference in our Universe." he said in a confident tone as he held up his holo Star-Saber in front of him, which made Orion do the same. "Yes. We defeated the Reapers…" he started to say. "…and we defeated Unicron." Myra finished as she held her glowing fists before the clones of the Darkness, keeping her attention focused on them. "And now you are all that stands between us and victory." "There can be no victory in the battle between light and dark, between chaos and order. Have you not learned anything from this day?" the Xakrons replied, which brought a slight smirk to Jack's face in return. "You're right. There can be only a balance and that is the victory we fight for. That is the reason that we stand here today…" he started to say as his and the other's matrices light started to flow through all the grooves and connections of their Prime-armors, even lighting up their Autobot insignias. "…and your defeat will bring that balance back…" the Human continued to say as he activated his skyboom-shield and pulled his holo-saber back, which made both Orion and Myra ready themselves for combat. "…for Primus!" he finished as he launched himself at the closest Wraith, lopping off its head with his weapon before slamming the shield into the one next to it. The blue-haired bot spun around and unleashed an energy wave that obliterated a dozen enemies that stood before him, while the Asari performed a biotic charge and became a white/blueish blur that destroyed every copy of the Darkness that was in her path. "Your defeat to me is inevitable, for I am legion." But the Primes ignored the combined voice of the Wraiths as they continued to battle them, with the Human Prime dodging and deflecting attacks from all directions while beheading every enemy around him. "There was only one Legion and he was a far better person than you, Xakron." Jack replied whilst Orion created another energy tornado around himself, sucking up numerous Wraiths into its funnel before they were ripped apart by the energy inside. "Yeah, this guy loves the sound of his own voice." he said, gaining a nod from his Daughter as she joined his side and swatted aside several more with a large biotic construct resembling a hand. "Don't all bad guys?" she asked while freezing another enemy to the spot, which allowed the Bot to swing his Saber down and slice it in two. "Yeah. You have a point there, Myra." Orion replied as he unleashed another energy wave, while the Asari slammed her glowing right fist into the ground and created a biotic blast that travelled along the ground, throwing Wraiths up into the air before launching herself up there and slamming them back down to the ground. Despite the trio defeating a large number of the Darkness's copies, the enemy force still outnumbered them and kept on coming as the storm continued to raze the sky overhead. Orion quickly dispatched another clone with his Saber, before turning around to see yet several more closing in on him. But just as he readied himself for another round, the Wraiths were destroyed by an energy-wave attack to his left. "Thanks for the assist, Dad." he shouted back as his Father started cutting through another three that tried to jump him from behind, slicing his holo-saber through each one and spilling out more of the black liquid which covered much of the area where the battle was taking place. "You're welcome Son, but I don't see this fight ending any time soon." he replied as he pulled the weapon up and lopped off the arms of another Xakron, with the blue-haired man quickly decapitating it in return. "I can see that, though I know a Krogan or two who would be happy with these odds." Orion said with a slight smirk, gaining a similar look from the older Prime as he glanced back at his Son. "Yeah, I know a Dinobot who would feel the same way..." he said back before slamming his shield into the face of Wraith, knocking it back into its comrades and making a little space between him as his Son ran his Saber through the chest of another. "…but I think the only way to beat Xakron is to defeat the Darkness himself." the Human added as three Wraiths launched themselves at the pair, only to be obliterated by a biotic blast as Myra rejoined them. "I have to agree, I think it is the only way we can beat him." she replied before spin-kicking a copy of Xakron in the face, gaining a worried look from her father as he kicked one enemy in the chest and ripped the Star-Saber out of another beside him. "But I thought they are all Xakron, which one could it be?" he asked, which suddenly made all of the copies laugh as they continued to attack and make the Primes defend themselves. "I can hear every word you say to each other, I hope you realize that." it replied, which made the Asari punch a glowing fist right through the nearest Xakron's head, exploding it and sending bits of black liquid flying out in all directions. "We don't care." she spat back before putting both hands at her sides and creating a biotic barrier between the Primes and the Darkness, gaining a smug look from the Entity. "This barrier will not hold me out for long, Asari." But Myra ignored his words as she turned back to her Father and Grandfather, gaining surprised looks from the pair. "Myra?" the former asked, but she simply gave them both a serious and thoughtful expression. "I think I have a way of finding out which one is the source of them all, but…" she started to say, noticing the look on Orion's face. "But?" he said back with an unsure tone, while the numerous Wraiths punched at the barrier repeatedly, reminding the trio of their decreasing time. "…do you trust me, Granddad?" the Asari then said as she turned her attention to Jack, who gave her a silent but understanding nod in return. This made her sigh slightly before returning her stare back to the blue-haired bot. "Do you trust me, Dad?" Orion looked at her with a thoughtful expression for a slight moment before a warm smile appeared on his face, giving her a gentle nod back. "Of course, I do. You're my daughter." he said back, gaining a slight smile from Jack as he watched his two descendants quietly, as a look of relief appeared on his Granddaughter's face. "Good…" she started to say before her expression became serious once again, turning away from the two men and putting her hands together and bowing her head. "…because I'll need you both to defend me as I find Xakron." she added, which made the other Primes step either side of her and ready their weapons. "You've got it…" Orion replied, while the barrier began to flicker and lose its strength with every hit that the Wraiths gave it. "…since I have an idea of what you're going to do." "I have to give your daughter credit, Orion. It's not an easy thing to do…" he started to say as they waited for biotic field to fall, while Myra kept her eyes closed and concentrated. "I know, Dad, but this is an end of the world moment. It's not like we Primes can be picky in what we do to stop such things." he said back, cutting his Father off mid-sentence as the older Man nodded back with a proud expression. "Exactly." he said before the barrier suddenly dropped and the Wraiths rushed towards the Trinity, gaining serious expressions from both Orion and Jack as they swung their weapons and defended the Asari from the attacking horde. PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, Myra blocked out all outside noise as the sounds of battle faded away, focusing on the sounds of her own breathing and the beat of her heart. 'Okay, I can do this. I just have to use my own darkness to find Xakron.' she thought before a familiar voice spoke up, bringing an eerie feeling to her being. "I knew you couldn't resist it, Myra, the darkness in your spark is calling you home." the Entity spoke in her mind, making the blue woman flinch a little as the other two Primes fended off its Wraiths. 'No, Xakron, it's just the opposite. I'm using this darkness inside me to do some good.' she answered back with her thoughts, earning a slight chuckle from the Darkness in return. "Really? You think that you can hone in on my essence by using your own darkness as a tether to connect to mine. I applaud your imaginative thinking, but once you let me in, there will be no escaping me this time." its voice said back, the tone of its voice making Myra's stomach turn as she kept her focus on the blackness, looking for that dark-spark she could latch onto. 'You would like to think that, wouldn't you, Xakron. But the truth is, I acknowledge that I have a darkness within myself. But never again will it control me…' she started to think before a smile appeared on her face, for she saw the opening she wanted. '…for I control it!' she added with a confident tone, gaining the opposite feeling from her adversary. "…No!" Meanwhile, Jack and Orion fought with everything they had as they defended the silent and unmoving Asari, killing every Wraith that tried to pass them. Orion sliced one in half before unleashing yet another energy wave, one that decimated at least half a dozen Xakron-clones in one go. His father was not holding back either as the older Prime impaled an enemy with his holo-saber while slamming his shield into another, knocking it onto its back. He then ripped his weapon out of first Wraith's body, which turned to a black liquid before then plunging that same blade down into the face of one that was slowly trying to get back to its feet. "None of these scrap heaps are getting within an inch of my daughter." Orion defiantly cried out before slicing the head off another Wraith, gaining an admiring glance from Jack before his attention was brought back to the matter at hand as another enemy tried to pass him. "I've got it…!" the Asari suddenly cried out, making both Primes and the Xakron-clones stop as she opened her eyes, revealing them to be glowing white. "…be ready." she then added, gaining a nod from the pair as she squatted down and placed her fists on the ground. "Okay, so…" the blue-haired Bot started to say, only to be cut off as his daughter suddenly launched herself up into the sky. "Wow!" Jack exclaimed as he and his son, as well as all the Wraiths, watched as Myra began to glow all over and shine down like a lone star in the night sky. "Impossible! you cannot know…" Xakron began to say, gaining a confident smirk from the Asari as she floated above them all and looked down at one in particular. "I'm ending this now!" she replied before throwing her fists out in front of her and flying back down towards the ground, aiming herself at that one Wraith as a tail of energy appeared behind her, making the Prime look like a shooting star just a moment before hitting the ground. "Orion, get over here!" Jack shouted in an urgent tone, grabbing his Son by the arm and pulling him back behind the Skyboom shield as he used it to cover them both, just as she hit the ground. This impact shook the area as a massive biotic shockwave was emitted, one that spread out in all directions and annihilated every Wraith it touched. A few moments passed before both Orion and Jack stood up from behind the Skyboom-shield, which the latter then deactivated as the pair looked at their surroundings. "By the Allspark, she did it." the blue-haired Bot said with a happy and proud tone, gaining a similar if more held back expression from his Father. "That was impressive…" he started to say before his eyes fell upon the Asari who was just aways from the pair. "Myra!" her father called out, noticing that she was in a knelt pose with her fist on the ground having left several cracks in the crystal it was made out of. "Did it work?" she asked before looking up at the pair, which gained an encouraging nod from Orion as he offered her his hand. "It look's like it…" he started to say while helping his Daughter to her feet, earning an appreciative smile in return. "…I mean your biotics have neutralized it, right? That's a complete particle reversal." he then added, gaining a smile from Jack as he shook his head in return. "Son, you need to stop watching Ghostbusters." he said with a chuckle, earning a surprised look from the Bot as Myra smiled back at them both. "Hey, it was one of your Blu-rays originally, Dad." he said back. "Yeah, even I recognize that line since you did watch it a few times with me when I was a kid." the Asari added with a caring but playful tone to her Father. "Well, it's good to know that my Blu-rays are still being watched…" Jack started to reply before the trio felt the ground start to shake slightly, regaining their attention. "…but back to the matter at hand, I don't think this is over yet." he said, making both Orion and Myra nod back. "Xakron must be injured though, or else he would have been on top of us by now." she said back, looking out at the area that surrounded them as the rain fell down hard upon them. "Right. So now what do we do?" the blue-haired bot asked back as he grasped the hilt of the Star-Saber tightly, making the older Prime look back at them both. "We wait for the Darkness to reappear…" he started to say, which just coincided with the tremors getting stronger beneath their feet. "…and when he does, we take it out. Because one way or another, this fight ends today." he added, earning serious stares back from his descendants as they nodded back. "But I want you two to know…" Jack then continued as his expression softened as his eyes met theirs. "…that it has been an honour and a privilege to a fought by your sides." the Human Prime finished as he placed his hands on their shoulders, earning similar looks from the pair as they smiled back. "Likewise." Orion replied. "The feeling is mutual." Myra said back before the ground really started to shake. This made the trio return their attention to the task at hand as the men re-equipped their weapons and the Asari clenched her fists and made them glow, their serious expressions returning as they readied themselves for their enemy's return as they felt the rain hit their faces. Then just as the tremors turned into a full-blown earthquake, the ground ahead of them exploded as Xakron burst out of the ground at his original towering size and stared down at them with hateful eyes. "I have had enough of your resistance! You will die now!" it spat while throwing a punch towards the three Primes.

CHAPTER XXVI The conditions had become horrendous as the storm continued to batter the crystalline environment below it, hitting it with heavy rain, blinding lightning, and deafening roars of thunder. But suddenly there was an explosion, a massive ball of dark energy that spread out in all directions and fried everything within its blast radius. It even managed to cancel out the effects of the storm, leaving a giant hole in the dark clouds that gathered overhead, pushed aside by a cloud that had a familiar mushroom shape to it. And once the energy blast had subsided, the area no longer looked like the shimmering crystal landscape it once had. For it was now burnt into a black, desolate wasteland. Orion came too and found himself lying on the ash-covered ground, the blue-haired Bot's entire body ached and his Prime-Armor was steaming. Despite the pain Darby was currently feeling, he managed to look around him and see that Jack, Myra, and the Thirteen were all in similar conditions as they were lying unconscious about the area. 'What in the All-spark was that?' Orion thought as he tried to ignore the pain he kept feeling pulsing through his body each and every time he tried to move, managing to get onto his hands and knees. 'That's it...come on.' he thought before noticing the others slowly coming too, but before he could say anything, the Bot noticed the giant circular hold in the storm and the calm atmosphere surrounding him and his allies. 'Looks like we are in the eye of the storm.' he thought before a dark shadow was cast over him all of a sudden, making him look around. 'Oh Scrap!' For standing over him and the other Primes was the Darkness, glaring down at them with its glowing purple eyes. "This is all that stands before me, six of Primus's children and three primitives that are carry his remaining essence..." it started to say, with his voice echoing around the area. "...I am not impressed." "I know my Master, these Primes are nothing like Primus." Unicron replied, while slowly everyone else came too and began to recover. "Myra, you alright?" Orion asked as he looked over at his Daughter, who grimaced and breathed heavily as she got back to her feet. "I'll be okay, just need a moment." she replied, while Nexus, Jack, and Optimus looked up at their enemy. "I don't think you are going to get one." the Human Prime said back as everyone's attention was brought to the behemoth in their midst, as Unicron stood between them and his Master. "What you just faced was but one drop of the power that my Master has at his disposal after absorbing the majority of the sparks in this realm, including that of your Beast-friend. Do you not see that you are greatly outmatched by my Master?" the Chaos bringer asked, which made Optimus step before the group. "It matters not Unicron, for freedom is the right of all sentient beings. So we fight for them against any and all threats, including the Darkness that stands before us." "...The Darkness! That is a very theatrical name, but that is not my Master's name." the Wraith-clone replied, gaining an uncooperative stare from Orion as he took a step in front of his Daughter. "Then what is 'its' name?" This suddenly made the giant's attention drift to the blue-haired Bot, with its eyes focusing on him as he tightened his fists while never taking his focus from it. "My name is Xakron...the Bringer of Death." its voice boomed, which was followed by a roar of thunder and flashes of lightning as Unicron smirked. "…which also includes your own." he added whilst pointing at the group, but this made Orion grit his teeth as he tightened his grip on the hilt of the Star-Saber. "We'll see about that…let's get them!" he then shouted before lunging at the Chaos Bringer, followed by Myra and Jack as the Thirteen attacked his Master. "You have no idea who you are dealing with…" Xakron replied as Nexus jumped onto its right arm and ran up towards its shoulder, while Optimus and Vector lept at its legs. Micronus, meanwhile, transformed back into his powering form and attached himself to Solus's hammer, before the femme swung it down onto the Bringer of Death's left foot, making it explode into black liquid. "Arrgh!" the Darkness cried out before quickly reforming its foot in time to kick the hammer welding Prime, while the former Autobot Leader and the holder of the blades of time stabbed their melee weapons into its knees, making black ooze leak out. "Gaggh!" Meanwhile, Unicron ducked under Orion's attack, with the Prime's saber narrowly missing the Aeon's head as it swung over him before then countering with an uppercut, one that sent the Darby flying onto his back. "Dad!" Myra called out in a panicked tone before firing several biotic projectiles at their common enemy, only for the Wraith to evade them by disappearing into the ground. "Where did he go?" her Grandfather asked in a worried tone as the Asari ran to her Father's side, helping him to his feet. "I don't see him." she said back as she looked around the area, only for her eyes to widen as the Chaos Bringer materialized behind Jack. "Look out!" she shouted, which made him spin around just in time to block the Wraith's fists with his sky-boom shield. "You are only delaying the inevitable." Unicron said back as he pressed his fists down on the holo-shield, but Jackson Prime managed to push back and knock their adversary away just enough to unleash an energy wave with his saber which hit the enemy directly in his chest, slicing his body in half. All three Primes watched as both halves of the Wraith's body hit the ground and turned into liquid. "You got him?" Orion replied as he readied his Star-Saber again, making Jack shake his head in return while keeping an eye on his surroundings. "I don't think so, be ready." This gained nods from both his Son and his Granddaughter as they prepared themselves for another attack, with all three of them going back to back as the battle between their friends and the Darkness unfolded just aways from them. But as the Trinity kept their attention on the area around them, waiting for Unicron's next attack. None of the Darbys noticed as a black liquid began bubbling through a crack on the ground behind their backs, gaining a puzzled look from Orion. "Anybody hear…?" he started to ask before being cut off as the liquid suddenly shot up out of the ground like a geyser, completely enveloping the trio. "gah!" Myra spat as she and the others felt a tentacle-like grip wrap itself around their bodies, incapacitating them as it held them there in place. The Primes tried to free themselves, struggling against the iron-like grip as Unicron reformed himself and looked at them with an evil smirk. "I've got you now…." he began to say as he held out his arms, which had taken on the look of the very tentacles that now had captured the group. As this was happening, Xakron managed to knock both Optimus and Vector from his body with similar-looking tentacles growing from his black liquid-like skin while Nexus slashed his way through the same growths with his Omni-Saber as he got onto the behemoth's shoulder, gaining its attention as it's eyes narrowed at him. "I am growing tired of you…" it's voice boomed, while the Bot smirked as he rushed toward it's head. "Let's cut you down to size." he jumped in while slicing down the last of the tentacles, with only the Darkness's face left before him. But just as he pulled his blade back for the killing blow, another tentacle grew out of Darkness's skin behind him and swiped the Prime off himself. "No!" Solus shouted as she saw her friend fall to the ground, having finally recovered herself. "Enough!" Xakron then shouted, with his voice echoing around the entire area as the Thirteen suddenly found themselves frozen to the spot as more black liquid appeared around their feet and held them in place. "I can't move my legs." Vector said with frustration tingeing his words as he struggled against the liquid's hold, while Nexus was quickly stopped from getting to his feet as his arms and legs were pinned down by the same substance. "Scrap! Neither can I." he replied, which made Optimus look back at his siblings as their hands were bound by more of the tentacles. "None of us can. Save your strength." he said in both a commanding and understanding tone, which gained Xakron's attention as the Darkness looked down at the former-Autobot Leader. "Yes, do not struggle. For it only weakens you and I do desire to taste the strength of your sparks." "Master, did I not tell you that they would fall to us." Unicron then said, making Optimus and the others look down to see that Jack and his family had also been captured. "You did, my Servant. You continue to serve me well, even after your original demise." "That isn't Unicron, we finished him off back on Virmire." Orion replied with a defiant tone, earning the pair's stare as their purple eyes focused on him. "Indeed you did, thus bringing us all to this moment." Xakron answered, which brought a questioning look to Optimus's face. "What do you mean, what are you exactly?" he asked, regaining the Darkness's stare in return. "You wish to know what I am,…follower of Primus? This has to be a first amongst the inhabitants on this plain of existence…" he started to say as what looked like a smile appeared on his face, making him look at all of his enemies as they remained incapacitated before him. "…very well. You wish to know of me,…then learn." he added as more jet-black tentacles grew out of the ground, one for each of the captive Primes. "Where is that going?" Orion asked with a worried look as he watched the appendage before him slowly slither and stretch up towards his body, while Unicron simply smirked as he bare witness. "Wait and see, Prime." he replied with a teasing tone, as the tentacles then touched the front of the heroes' chests and slithered up their armor towards their faces before pulling back enough to look at their faces. "You have got to be joking." Myra then said with a hint of disgust in her voice, having noticed the tip of the tentacle pointing towards her mouth as it remained directly before her face. But suddenly each black growth then surged at each Primes forehead and burrowed in, with black veins growing over the surrounding skin as it penetrated their minds. "Think happy thoughts." Jack replied under gritted teeth as he felt his tentacle wriggling through his head before his eyes suddenly began glowing purple, with all of his friends and allies reacting the same way as Xakron connected to them. PRIME EFFECT 5 It was then that a mist suddenly descended before the Primes, with each of them looking deeply into it as it swirled and took on the form of an image of vast emptiness. "I am an Entity beyond your comprehension, one that comes from a universe so very similar to your own, though one that was unable to sustain the balance between light and darkness…" Xakron began to say as the image changed to show alien beings continuously fighting with one another in bloody conflicts, conflicts that spanned their entire universe. "…until a group came together with a plan to end all conflict, by purging all negative energy from their realm." The mist then shifted to show the group in question, made up of various bipedal and quadruped beings as they stood around a spherical device. "So they created the Terminus Matrix, a device that could bring their chaotic universe the peace they craved for themselves and future generations. And once activated, it did just that and drawn all of the negative energy of their realm within it." Everyone watched as they saw the device power up and the fighting that had consumed all of creation for that reality slowly stopped until everything was peaceful. "In the span of a century, their worlds had changed from being ravaged by war to paradises that shared peace with one another…it was sickening." None of the Primes could speak as their eyes remained focused on the images created by the mist before them, which then changed again to show the Terminus Matrix once more. "With their plan an apparent success, the group had started to plan of how they would dispose of all the negative energy that the Matrix had collected, as it was nothing more than a repository…" the Death Bringer then started to say as the image then spread out to show the group talking as they stood around the device, with time passing to reveal new members of the group taking place of the old ones. "…but as the years went by and their work passed down to their descendents, tasked to complete the disposal of this Dark Essence…" The images changed to show the group disbanding and leaving the device on its own in the now dark room where it lay. "…one by one, they all left to live their lives in the utopias that their ancestors had made possible. Leaving the Terminus Matrix to gain dust in a tomb of their own making." But then the mist swirled again to now show purplish streaks of light being emanated from the device, lighting up the room. "But in all that time, the energy that the device stored began to slowly change and evolve until finally, it achieved sentience. In other words,…..it became…me!" Xakron explained as the images then revealed a black liquid-like substance breaching the walls of the Terminus Matrix and escaping into the room. "You see, you cannot simply bottle up all evil and darkness in the universe for it breaks the very balance that it exists on…you cannot have light without the dark." It was then that the Thirteen and the Trinity of Primes watched as the images changed to show the more familiar black liquid-like form of the Darkness then escaping from the group's laboratory and spreading out over the planet, consuming all life on it. "I was free and angry for my forced captivity and as I fed on all those that came into my path, I realized what my role was…which was to purge all sentient life from creation itself. I was the very embodiment of Darkness and this universe was going to pay for their arrogance in trying to hold me…" he added with anger underlining his words as the images changed to show a great war enveloping that universe, with armies fighting against Xakron and his growing hordes. "The inhabitants of this paradise were at first overwhelmed by my presence, but they quickly regained the will to fight as their ancestors once possessed. And fought me they did as I spread myself across the cosmos, but they did not realize that as they battled to save their utopia, fighting with every ounce of hate they had for me. They were only making me stronger…" The images then showed the Darkness consuming all those that fought against it, moving like a wave through the masses of soldiers. "…and it was not long until I had eradicated all sentient beings from the universe, though my powers continued to evolve and I then consumed all life itself…leaving a dead cosmos in my wake." Xakron continued as the mist then revealed his black and purplish energy form passing through the void of space, surrounded by stars and dead planets. "After I had consumed all life in my reality, feasting on their very essence and absorbing their combined knowledge. The very fabric of that realm began to unravel as though the universe knew that life was no longer possible within its boundaries and that it's balance had been completely torn apart. So I found myself bearing witness to the end of the very universe that had given me life as every star exploded into what you call supernove…" The stars in the image then acted as the Darkness described, decimating themselves into energy waves that destroyed everything in their paths while the Entity watched, completely unharmed by the destruction happening around it. "…I had become impervious to the wrath of a collapsing universe and waited to see what would become of me in whatever creation itself had in mind next, but instead I found myself trapped in what could only be described as a void…" The mist then showed Xakron surrounded by what looked like spherical images, showing different forms of life forms living their lives. "…and I could see into the very universal streams of entire universes that mine had been unaware of, a multiverse made up of either very different or similar realities with only slight changes to them." the Darkness explained as the Primes then saw the images in the mist more clearly, which made their eyes and optics widen. 'That looks like our reality, but I am still a teenager and Optimus looks a little different.' Jack thought as he stared at one, while Myra stared at one showing someone who looked very familiar to her fighting the Reapers. 'That can't be,….John?" she thought as more images appeared showing numerous versions of Optimus and Megatron battling alongside their comrades. "I watched all of these realities as I waited in the limbo that kept them all separate until one 'window' appeared to me. After all of the universes that I had witnessed, this one felt newer like it had only just been created. It also had what looked like a crack running through itself…" The group could only watch as they saw what the Entity was describing happening before them in the mist, witnessing its energy slithering into the cracked window-like aperture. "…and it was something that I could pass through and so I left the nothingness of the void and entered this new universe, finding myself in a plane of existence that ran parallel with the world of the living, something that the other realities all had differing names for." 'The Allspark…' the Primes all thought in unison as Xakron spoke once more. "I found new life there to feed upon as the ones called Aeonians had begun exploring this realm, looking for the very power they sought to make them gods…but they found me instead." The images in the mist changed to show the war between the Aeons and the Darkness, something that the Asari Prime recognized from her dreams. For she saw Primus and Unicron fighting alongside their fellow Aeonians against their common Adversary. "I quickly found a way out into the living realm of this universe and began spreading my influence amongst it's inhabitants, feeding on their aggressive and dark natures as I fought against those that freed me…" he added before the mist showed the world of Scissio and the final battle raging upon its surface. "…but my enemies made a final desperate push to force me back into what you call the All-spark, but I was too much for their forces…until two brothers stood against me." 'Primus and Unicron…' Optimus and the other members of the Thirteen thought as they saw their Creator and his brother fighting against Xakron, before plunging their sabers into its heart. "They managed to defeat me, sealing my essence back into the plains of the All-spark, into the very cracks that I had used to enter this universe. But I was not destroyed and I had left my mark…" The images then showed Unicron's eyes glowing purple as he, Primus, and the survivors of the Aeonian species conferred after the Darkness's defeat. "…for during our battle, I sensed the darkness in Unicron's spark. It was something that I could corrupt and control, so I infected him with a piece of myself. A piece that would grow and slowly reverse the connection that the brothers shared in their united stand that had trapped me in limbo once more. All I had to do was be patient and bide my time and if there had been anything that I had become good at while stuck between realities for what felt like an eternity, it was waiting." the Entity said with a sly and hopeful tone to his voice as the mist then showed his trapped form slowly becoming free of it's cage during the passing years. "First, I felt Primus's life force fade away, which could only have occurred with his death. And then a short time later, I felt Unicron's essence disappear and the bonds that had held me in place were finally gone…" 'That was after the Primus-wave that ended the Reaper War…' Jack thought, while a knowing look appeared on his Son's face. '…And after Galvatron and Unicron were defeated on Virmire.' "…and I went back into the All-spark and began feeding on the sparks that resided there so that I could regain my strength, while also reaching out with my mind out into the realm of the living, influencing its sentient life-forms into conflict." he said, which made Myra's face take on a shocked look. 'Xakron is responsible for the rise in distrust, hate, and violence that slowly took hold over the galactic community over the last five hundred years.' she thought before suddenly the mist disappeared and everyone found themselves back on the barren wilderness of the All-spark with both the Darkness and Unicron stand before them. "And that brings us to this moment, where I will now consume you all and continue with my purpose…" Xakron then said as the tentacles left the foreheads of all the Primes, slowly retracting back towards the ground from which they appeared. All but the one that had connected to Myra, which just remained eye-level with her as the Entity turned his attention to the Asari. "...wait?! What is this I can feel from this one." Xakron then said as his attention turned to the Asari, which made Orion's eyes widen as he gritted his teeth. "Leave her alone!" he spat, the Darkness ignored him as it closed in on his daughter. "You have darkness in your heart, I could not sense it until now...but you are just like Unicron here." it said while gesturing to the Wraith standing beside her. "Let's see just how far that darkness goes..." the Entity then said before the tentacle suddenly latched onto the Asari's chest plate and leaked inside, making her thrash about and struggle as it connected with her spark. "Myra!" Orion then shouted as he fought back against the black-liquid that was holding him down, gaining a similar reaction from his Father in return. "No!" Jack spat as they and the Thirteen watched while Xakron probed Myra's soul, with her eyes glowing purple as thunder and lightning continued to crackle and flash in the storm clouds overhead. "This one has seen much darkness in her life, starting with when her father died..." it began to say, glancing over to Orion with a knowing look, gaining a shocked expression from the blue-haired Bot. "...watching him lying in his death-bed and passing away pained the Asari, for she had always had her father in her life before then..." the Entity continued before looking back into Myra's memories, with the young Prime now completely still as she was now completely under it's control. "...then came a time when light reappeared in her heart when she met her first Love. But that did not last as On their 'Wedding' day, her mother was murdered and Myra here was forced to end her fiancée's life due to his fatal injuries." Everyone there went deathly quiet as they listened to the Darkness as it spouted Myra's painful memories, Solus was the only one among the Thirteen who looked down to the ground with a pained and understanding expression. But the look on Orion's face was one of complete shock and horror as Xakron's words sunk in, for he had heard that his daughter had gone through times in her life, but he had no idea how bad it really had been. '...Myra.' he thought as a single tear running his cheek, while his attention remained focused on his 'little girl'. "It was this event that poisoned the Asari's heart, making her thirst for vengeance and forcing Myra away from her friends and remaining family. Because she then spent the next few centuries alone in her pursuit of the one responsible, with only her pain and hate to sustain her." Xakron added with a gleeful tone as large smile appeared on it's face, which made Jack's blood run cold as he helplessly watched. Orion, meanwhile, was more focused on the gut-wrenching revelations that had been dropped on him from the Darkness about his daughter's life. 'Myra lost her first love, Liara was murdered…I don't kn…' he stared to think before his attention was once again brought back to what was happening in front of him, as the Entity's eyes glowed even more as it stared down at the Asari. "Her inner turmoil and darkness will make her a fine servant for my purpose…" he said while shrinking down to their height, looking into the Prime's eyes as he did so. "…accept the Darkness in your heart…accept me." Then before anyone could say or do anything, Xakron shifted into a black and purple glowing mist and entered Myra through her mouth and nose, making her eyes turn to black as she stood there in a paralyzed state. PRIME EFFECT 5 Myra found herself standing in what could only be described as a complete void, nothing but darkness surrounding her as she looked at her empty surroundings. "What's going on?" she said aloud, her voice echoing into the distance as she immediately clenched her fists and took a defensive stance, as though feeling that something was a miss. "We are inside your mind, you and I." Xakron's voice replied, making the Asari look behind her and see only nothing but blackness at her back. "Get out of my head!" she shouted back defiantly as her fists glowed blueish/white with biotic energy as she continued to look around, hoping to see a target that she could attack.. "Why would I leave when we have a lot in common since you have spent the majority of your long life embracing the darkness in your heart." he then replied as he materialized behind the Prime, making her spin around and through a biotic punch at his face. But Xakron simply blocked it with one hand, before grabbing the Asari by her throat with the other and lifting her off the ground. "Ugh…fu…you." she managed to reply between gasps for air as the vice-like grip around her neck tightened, as the Entity's eyes narrowed at her. "Perhaps you need a little reminder of what you are capable of…" he started to say while dropping her to her knees making her breathing became heavy, while he stretched his arms out to the sides. "…very well, remember these moments and let their pain fuel your anger." the Darkness added as their surroundings began to change and take on a new form. Myra's eyes then widened in response as she found herself observing her Wedding Day once more, showing Vasir's attack on the Church which ended with her Mother's murder. This brought tears to the Prime's eyes, for she witnessed the Leviathan Leader shooting Liara in the head in what appeared to be slow-motion. "No! Why are you doing this to me?" Myra pleaded as she could not take her attention from what was happening before her, with the scene shifting to her kneeling over Shepard's critically injured body. "I am trying to make you see your true potential, to free you from the shackles of light that are holding you back." Xakron replied as they watched her younger-self euthanising Shepard, but the Asari shook her head in return. "You're wrong because I may have been driven by grief and anger originally, but I then had friends who helped me see beyond my need for vengeance." she replied as Kat, Evac, Crosscut and Tolae appeared around the pair, earning an angry stare from the Entity as it noticed how Myra was focusing on the Human Woman. "Very well..." he spat back while reasserting his grip around her throat and lifting the blue-Female off the ground once more, looking into her eyes as his glowed brighter. "...if you will not see sense, then I will force you to change. Because deep down, you wanted to kill the one called Vasir, you wanted her to drown in her own blood. And unlike Unicron, who I had to corrupt through the darkness in his spark. You already embraced it once, so do so again!" she spat as purple energy glowed around his hand and then enveloped the Asari, making her grit her teeth as she felt it burn through her entire being. "No...I...I will...not..." Myra tried to say through the pain, as she suddenly witnessed herself murdering Vasir in cold blood at the foot of Leviathan back on Earth time and again. She could feel the euphoria and elation that came with this moment...and it felt good. "...No...I...I..." she continued to reply as she felt her dark feelings bubbling to the surface until a sinister smirk appeared on her face. "...that Bitch deserved nothing less than to die by my hands." "Excellent." Xakron said back with a smile of his own as he let go of the Asari, who stared back with glowing purple eyes as she and the Darkness stood beside the limp body of Vasir, before the darkness that surrounded them suddenly enveloped the pair. "Myra...?" Orion then called out in a confused and worried tone as he saw Xakron release the other Prime, who dropped to her knees for a moment. "...Myra?" Everyone remained quiet and simply watches with bated breath as the Asari slowly got back to her feet, though keeping her back to them all. "Myra!" the blue-haired Prime then called out, making her turn to face him. "What in the All-spark...?" he quickly added as his eyes widened in shock, for his daughter's eyes were now permanently glowing purple and her skin was covered in black and purple veins. The Matrix stored in her chest plate was now flickering as well like it was struggling against whatever had taken a hold over her. "Your daughter has accepted the darkness in her heart, Orion Prime. She is now mine." Xakron said with a smug grin, gaining shocked looks from everyone there. "No." Jack replied. "This can't be." Nexus added as the Asari joined Unicron's side while they stood beside their Master, who then grew back to his original towering size. "Once again, Primus has failed. He chose to put his faith in imperfect sentient beings, just like those who created me. And now the Trinity has been broken, leaving this universe at my mercy." "Myra, look at me." Orion said, trying to get his Daughter's attention. But the corrupted Asari simply stared coldly out at the other Primes, while the Darkness returned it's attention to him. "There is only one task remaining that will forever stain this Asari's heart, ensuring that she always remains this way…" it started to say as a sinister smile appeared on it's face while pointing it's finger at the blue-haired Bot. "…Mira Prime, this man is the very beginning of your pain and needs to be eradicated…kill him!" Xakron then commanded, earning a nod from the Prime's Daughter as she clenched her fists and focused her biotics into them, making her body glow with a purplish light. "As you wish, my Master." she replied in a blank, emotionless tone. "Myra, don't…" Jack tried to say back, trying to catch his Granddaughter's attention. But the Asari merely walked by him and up to her bound father, while the other members of the Thirteen watched in shock. "Myra, stop!" Solus shouted, only for Optimus to notice that his sister was still gripping her Hammer, taking notice of the green block-like object connected to it. "Micronus,…Now!" the Big-Bot shouted, which made his Minicon-Brother suddenly disconnect and shift back into his Robot-form. "Forgot about me, didn't you?" he said, gaining a surprised look from the Entity before it turned it's attention to its Wraith-servant. "Unicron, crush that Minicon!" But before the Chaos Bringer even had a chance to move, the smallest of the Thirteen jumped towards the former-Autobot Leader and shifted back into its alternate mode and connected to his right arm. "That's more like it." the Bot replied as he felt a surge of power run through his body, enabling him to break his arm free from the tentacles and shift it into his arm cannon. "Take this, Xakron!" he said as he aimed his weapon at the Darkness and fired off several energy blasts, each hitting its target directly in the face. "Arragh!" it cried out as its concentration was broken enough for the Primes to free themselves from their bonds, which for Orion was just in time, for his daughter was about to strike him with a biotic punch. "Myra, stop this." he said as brought up his hands to block her attack and grab her wrist, which made the Asari narrow her eyes in return. "No, you have to die." she spat back before kicking him in the chest, sending the Prime onto his back. "Orion!" Jack then shouted as he darted to his Son's side, but he was suddenly attacked by Unicron. "Stay out of it, this is for them to work out. You though…are mine." The Chaos Bringer then said as he raised his arms over his head, which began to shift into blades as he readied to strike the Human Prime. But the older Darby managed to activate his holo-Star Saber and deflect the attack, following through with an elbow to the face that made the Wraith stumble backwards. "I don't think so." he replied as he then lunged at his enemy, making it go on the defensive. Meanwhile, Optimus managed to fire off several more shots at the Entity as the remaining members of the Thirteen freed themselves, joining his side as they readied their weapons. "Orion…" the Autobot called back to the blue-haired Bot, gaining his attention as he glanced to his father's former mentor while preparing for Myra's coming attack. "…keep your Daughter at bay for as long as you can, while we will distract Xakron and give you the opportunity to get through to her." Orion nodded back as the Asari launched herself at the Prime, making him fall on his back and catch her with his feet, using her momentum to then throw her over him and onto the ground behind him. Optimus then turned back to his siblings as Micronus transformed back into his robot-mode, looking at them with a serious and stoic expression. "Xakron must keep his attention on us, no matter the cost." he then said before charging forward at the towering Behemoth, firing his arm-cannons at it as they joined his side. "I'll power up your blades, Vector." the Minicon then said as he power-linked with his brother, making the Prime's blades glow extra strong. "Thank you for the boost, my Brother." he replied before swinging his left blade towards the Entity's right arm, which was lunging down toward Nexus and Solus, only to stop it in it's tracks as though it had been frozen. "Arrgh…what…" Xakron spat as he fought to control his arm, which gave the Bot and Femme enough time to get out of the way. "…Raaagh!" he continued as his arm then suddenly moved and slammed into the ground, before they both then turned around and attacked it, slicing and hammering away. "Damn you!" the Darkness cried out as he pulled the arm back, while Optimus continued to fire a barrage of weapons fire at his face. PRIME EFFECT 5 As this was happening, Orion and Myra circled each other as the bot gave his daughter a worried and caring look. "I don't want to hurt you, Myra. Please snap out of it."he pleaded, which made the Asari grit her teeth in return. "Too late. You already did that when you died…" she spat before creating a giant biotic-fist and smacking it directly into his face, sending him tumbling back onto the ground. "…and now I am going to make you pay for leaving us." she continued while creating an energy-blade in her left and lunging at him with it, but Orion quickly rolled out of the way and got back to his feet as she landed next to him. "I'm sorry for what happened. But, Myra, please think. I would never want any harm to come to either you or your mother, I love you both too much." he replied as she attacked again, throwing a punch and then a side-kick his way, only for the blue-haired Bot to block both and push her back once more. Not too far away, Jack and Unicron clashed their melee weapons together, causing blue and purple sparks to fly off as they dueled. "You are weak, Prime, just like the rest of your lineage. My Master will defeat and consume you before making your universe suffer the same fate." the Wraith said with a venomous and gloating tone, only to be met with a punch to the face which made him stumble back, which Jack then followed through with a back kick that knocked the enemy onto his backside. "You're very confident in your Master aren't you…" he started to reply as the Chaos Bringer quickly reformed himself and attacked, only for the Human Prime to dodge and slash at his back. "…though you never talk about what you're going to do." he added as the Wraith grimaced and spun around with a hateful stare. "I guess that's because I am going to kill you." Darby finished as he spun around and unleashed an energy-wave at Unicron. The battle between the Thirteen and Xakron continued to rage on as the Entity struggled to hit each of the attacking Primes, due to his strikes passing through portals not unlike ground-bridges which were being created by Vector Prime. "Nice assist, Brother." Solus said in an appreciative tone as she dodged yet another attack from the Darkness, one that passed through another portal and exited on the other side of the battlefield. "I do what I can, my Sister." he replied while pointing one of his blades at the black limb and freezing it in time before the portal closed and cut it off from Death Bringer's body. "Arrrgh!" he cried out in pain as he pulled back, allowing his limb to grow back while he looked down at the Cybertronian responsible. "I have had enough of this trickery…" he began to say before punching down at the ground with his other arm, causing a shockwave that knocked Optimus, Nexus and Solus to the ground. "…you die now!" the Entity spat as he shifted into a black liquid-like mass that swirled through the air towards Vector Prime, surrounding him in what looked like a tornado. "Not today, Xakron..." he replied before creating a portal and diving through, just in time to escape and reappear several feet away as the Entity reformed himself and looked over at him. "…because we will have this…" the Prime then continued to say, only to be cut off as he found his feet stuck in a familiar black liquid. "…what in the All-spark?" This gained a smile from the Darkness as he gestured down to his left foot, making the Bot look there and see that Xakron's foot had merged with the floor. "You forget, 'Guardian of Time and Space', that I can be everywhere…" he started to say as black hands appeared out of the liquid that was holding Vector in place, quickly latching onto him and pulling him down into it. "No…No…No" the Bot shouted, gaining the others attention as he started to sink into the Entity's liquid mass. "…now, you and will be consumed!" Xakron added, gaining horrified looks from the other Thirteen as they watched their Brother pulled down into the darkness below him, though not before Micronus managed to detach and fall to the ground beside them. "Vector, No!" Solus screamed as he disappeared from sight while the Death Bringer's purple eyes glow extra bright, like the consumption of the Prime strengthened him somewhat more. "You piece of Scrap, I will kill you!" the Femme then roared as she turned and launched herself at the enemy's knee caps, swinging her hammer as she did so. But before she could make contact, several tentacles lunged out from the limb and quickly wrapped themselves around her, making Solus drop her weapon as she became entangled in them. "Solus, we'll get you out." Optimus shouted as he and Nexus ran toward her, gaining the Darkness's attention as he looked down at them. "Wait your turn…" Xakron then began to say as he swung his left arm and knocked the pair flying, before looking back at the trapped Femme and smiled. "…I wonder what your spark will taste like." he then added before Solus was suddenly pulled into his leg, leaving no trace that she was ever there as the Femme was absorbed into its form. "SOLUS!" Nexus and Micronus both cried out before the former started to charge at the Entity, only for Optimus to grab him by the shoulder and stop the Bot in his tracks. "Nexus, wait! We cannot simply charge him or we will suffer the same fate as our comrades." the Autobot said, gaining an angered but understanding look from the other Prime. "Then what is our plan of attack?" he replied while the Big-Bot glanced over to see that Jack and Orion's fights were not fairing any better, as Myra was slowly breaking down her father's defenses with hit after hit from her biotics, while Jack was now in a stalemate with Unicron's clone. "There is only one path that remains for us, Brothers. We must combine our power." Optimus replied as Xakron turned his attention to the trio, his eyes glowing even brighter as his smile widened. "I have tasted the sparks of your siblings, now you will join them!" he said with a victorious tone, which made the Prime shake his head in return as he clenched his fists. "I think not, Xakron, for we will now make you pay for our fallen." the Bot replied before looking at both Nexus and Micronus, who nodded back. "Combine!" the three then shouted out loud as both the Bot and Minicon lept into the air over Optimus, which caused the three to emit a bright white light that almost blinded Xakron as he shielded his eyes. "What…" his voice boomed, gaining the looks of Unicron, Jack, Myra and Orion, who stopped mid-fight to see what was happening as the explosion of light continued to glow. "…Impossible!" the Entity continued to say as it then died down and revealed a larger and more aggressive-looking Bot, instead of the three that had stood before him. "…Optimus?" Jack muttered as he recognized the face of his friend and former-Mentor, but his body was now larger and more armored than before, with a mixture of red and bronze color to his new mold and with a green gem-like shape in the center of his chest-plate, one that fueled glowing green power through the grooves and joints of his armor. "We are now Ultra Prime, Xakron, and you will fall before us." the Bot said with a voice that was a mixture of all three Primes at once before he suddenly launched himself into the air at the Entity and swung a now larger version of Solus's hammer directly into the enemy's face. "Arrrgh! Xakron cried out as he stumbled back a little, but Ultra Prime did not stop as he continued his advantage and swung the hammer once more and hit the Darkness again and again. As this was happening, Orion moved quickly and grabbed the distracted Myra and threw her down to the ground, gaining a grimace from the Asari as she rolled to a stop just aways from him. "I will get through to you, Myra. You are my daughter after all." he said with a hopeful tone as he walked over to his brainwashed opponent, who slowly recovered as she got onto her hands and knees. "You can say nothing that I will believe, for you have been dead to me for centuries now. My life has been one of hate and anger, and now Xakron has simply reminded me that it is my true path to follow." she said back as he then stopped and stood looking down at her, which made him shake his head in return. "You have no idea how wrong you are…" he started to say, giving her a compassionate stare. But the Asari suddenly shone brightly with biotic power and lunged up at her Father, hitting him directly under his chin and sending him flying across the area and landing several feet away. 'Damn it, I should have seen that coming.' he thought with gritted teeth as he struggled against the pain of that hit while lying on the ground before, suddenly, his daughter pinned him in place by placing her armored boot on his chest and holding her left glowing hand in the air. "I have had enough of your bullshit! You are nothing but a painful memory to me,…Father…" she began to say while forming a biotic projection of a boulder directly over him, making his eyes widen as he looked into hers as they narrowed at him. "…and I will make sure you stay that way." Meanwhile, Ultra Prime managed slam his hammer into Xakron's face again, sending the Entity falling onto its back and causing a small earthquake to shake the ground as he landed on its chest. "You will pay for the deaths of our brethren." he said with his unified voice while raising the weapon over his head, preparing to bring it down on the Darkness's face as it lied there with an unconscious look. But just as the big-Bot was about to strike, the Death Bringer's eyes shot open and caused a large tentacle to rise up behind the Prime and latch onto the hammer, stopping the attack in its tracks. "I am not defeated so easily,…Primes..!" Xakron's voice boomed as another tentacle suddenly rose up out of his chest and latched onto the green gem-like form on the Bot's chest. "…and I will feast on your sparks." he added before the tentacle ripped the gem away, which transformed back into Micronus. "Nooooo!" he cried out before being pulled into the jet-black surface of the Entity's body, leaving the remainder of Ultra Prime to fall off the body and land on the ground beside it. 'We've lost Micronus…what do we…' Nexus began to think, before being cut off as the Darkness quickly reformed himself and knelt down beside the Bot and then began to tear the armor from him with tentacles formed from his own fingers. "Gaah, No!" the Prime cried out as this happened, feeling excruciating pain as he was torn apart until only Optimus remained. The broken-off parts were then absorbed into the Darkness as it looked down with a gleeful expression at the fallen Autobot, who could barely move his gravely injured form. "Optimus!" Jack shouted as he saw this, taking his attention away from Unicron who was currently recovering from a blow to the head as he lay on the floor. Even Orion managed a glance, his eyes widening as he saw the Entity then pick up the former Autobot-Leader in his hand. "You fought well, but now it is over." Xakron said as he looked at the defeated Prime. "You may have defeated us, but…" the Bot started to say, only for the Death Bringer to grit his teeth and swipe a finger-like tentacle at the his face. "I will hear no more prattle from you..!" he jumped in as the appendage tore off the Bot's jaw, gaining a painful sound as energon leaked out from the wound. "…you will be silent as I devour you, Prime." the Darkness added as his clenched hand began to envelope the Cybertronian. But Optimus managed to look over at his fellow Primes, his optics conveying his sadness at failing his friends. 'I am sorry, we have failed you. And now this fight must be your own.' he thought before completely disappearing into the Entity's fist, making Jack's and Orion's eyes widen in horror as they then saw Xakron reopen his fist and reveal that their friend was now gone. "At long last, the Thirteen are mine…" he said with a relieved tone, before turning his attention back to the others and smiling, as Unicron rose up behind Jack and Orion found himself at Myra's mercy. "…now, where were we?"

CHAPTER XXV The weather was certainly a lot calmer where the Primes were now, compared to the area they were fighting in originally as Jack and Optimus looked out at storm clouds in far-off distance. "And here I thought the All-spark was a place where all Cybertronians could rest in peace..." the Human Prime said with a hint of sadness in his voice, whilst staring at the horizon. "...never thought it would be like this." This gained a knowing look from his former mentor, who nodded back in return. "The All-spark was originally a peaceful existence to all Cybertronians who passed beyond the realms of mortality, even for myself at the beginning." "What happened here, Optimus?" Jack asked, looking up at the former-Autobot Leader. "After we defeated Sideways together and I then passed away due to my wounds, I found myself here and the Thirteen welcomed me. I was once again in the company of my siblings, but after only a short few moments, the weather started to change as storm clouds began gathering on the horizon." he replied, while the older Darby looked up with a thoughtful expression. "You are talking about the moment Primus sacrificed his life to defeat Unicron and the Reapers?" "Yes. The moment I arrived here, I could feel my creator's presence all around me. We all could, but then it was gone and it was as if the All-spark itself could feel it as well, and it then began to change." "What happened?" Jack then asked, making Optimus look back out into the distance. "Time passes at a different rate here than it does for the realm of the living, Jack. But for a very long time, nothing happened except for the faint sounds of thunder and brief flashes of lighting in the far distance. But then one day, the storm suddenly began to spread outwards and the sparks of those that inhabit this plane of existence started to disappear." he replied, earning a questioning look from the Human Prime. "Why? What could have happened to cause that?" "Prima believed that it was the final death of Unicron that caused the storm and disappearances to happen since it was a similar and sudden change like the day Primus was lost." the large Bot said back, making Jack's eyes widen in return. "Unicron's final death! But I thought that he was dealt with after Primus and we defeated him?" he said back, earning a knowing expression from Optimus, as he shook his head. "He was defeated, Jack. But a part of him survived. Unfortunately, I cannot divulge the details of what happened, as..." "...As it's dangerous to know too much about the future, I know..." the Human replied with a nod, before going quiet as a thoughtful look appeared on his face. "Jack?" the Cybertronain Prime inquired, noticing this. 'If this happened after my time as a Prime, that means Orion must have been the one to deal with Unicron, once and for all.' he thought before Optimus's voice regained his attention. "Jack, is everything alright?" "Yes,...Optimus, I am fine. Just realized something...that's all. So you were saying?" the Human Prime replied, gaining an inquisitive expression from his former Mentor. "Well...since that day, the storm has grown stronger and spread further across the All-spark. It is spreading like a virus and corrupting every part of this plain as more and more sparks are lost to it." he said before pointing at a crystalline mountain in the distance, one that had lost its shine and grown dark. "I understand. This land looks like it is sick and it is because of this force...this darkness..." Jack said back before a confused look appeared on his face. "...but what I don't get is apart from you and the Thirteen, my Son and Granddaughter, I have not seen anyone else here. I thought that was because of how Primus described it to me, the last time I was here..." he explained, before pointing up at the sky. "...that all the sparks of those here were up there, shining like stars." This brought a slight smile to Optimus's face as he looked down at his friend, which brought a slightly embarrassed yet similar reaction from the Human. "...What did I say?" "Jack, everything around us...the crystalline landscape, the sky...everything you see, feel and hear is simply how your mind chooses to interpret it as since the true nature of the All-spark is too much for a mortal mind to comprehend." the former-Autobot Leader replied, gaining a nod from Jack as he looked back out at the horizon. "I get it. And it's the same for Orion and Myra too." "Yes, it is even the same for how myself and the other members of the Thirteen appear to you, your son and granddaughter as well." "I see. So you and the others are really nothing more than your sparks now." Jack replied with a thoughtful look as he looked around him at his surroundings once again, gaining a nod from the Prime. "Yes, Jack. But I suggest you try not to contemplate on this too much. It really is far beyond the comprehension of mortals." "That's okay, I think I understand enough. So what happened to the other members of the Thirteen, the ones that are not with you now?" PRIME EFFECT 5 As Jack and Optimus continued to talk, Orion approached Onyx Primal, Nexus Prime and Micronus Prime. "Hey, Onyx." the blue-haired Bot called, gaining the Maximal leader's attention as he looked down at his friend with a smile. "Hello, Orion, it's good to see you." he said back, whilst both the other Primes turned to the new arrival. "So you were right when you said that we would meet again." Orion replied, earning a nod from the larger Bot. "Indeed, just as I was about you being a Prime I see." "Yes, well I haven't actually been a Prime for very long. From my perspective, it's only been three years since the Battle of Virmire." the younger Darby said back. "And you can only have been victorious in that battle, considering that you are here now, which I am glad to see." Onyx replied. "We were, though things might have been different if the Nemesis had not been destroyed." the blue-haired Bot said in return, making the Maximal nod back. "You are welcome, Orion. I am glad that I could help in that regard..." he replied. "That actually is the reason Onyx is here among the members of the Thirteen." Nexus then said, gaining Orion and the Maximal's attention. "What do you mean?" the former asked. "When we last fought the Darkness..." the Prime then started to say, only for Micronus to cut him off mid-sentence. "You mean when we lost our Onyx and Prima to it." he said, which earned a solemn nod from Nexus in return. "...Yes, when we lost more of our brothers. The Enemy appeared to have the rest of us surrounded, but then Onyx here came in and helped us hold it off long enough for Vector to get us out of there." "And once we were safe, we found out about how he sacrificed himself to help you defeat Unicron and Galvatron, as well as lead the Maximals against their Predacon Oppressors. His acts made him worthy of becoming an honorary member of the Thirteen and of having the name of our fallen brother." the smaller of the two Primes added, gaining a slight smile from the Primal. "Thanks, but I am only trying to help...especially after..." he began to reply before trailing off, as a regretful expression quickly appeared on his face. "...what happened to Airazor and the rest of my friends." he added, gaining mirrored looks from the others around him. "You found her? You found Airazor and the other Maximals?" Orion asked, his face looking surprised before it changed to a more solemn expression. "It was the Darkness, wasn't it?" Onyx nodded back, turning to face the horizon whilst the blue-haired Bot and the Primes simply watched. "Yes, it absorbed them... it absorbed her into itself. And I couldn't stop it, so now I will fight to ensure that doesn't happen to anyone else here." the Maximal said back. "We will make the Darkness pay, Onyx, I know we will." the blue-haired Bot replied with a determined and sympathetic tone, earning a nod from the others. "I am honored to be fighting by your side once more Orion." the former-Predacon said back, before noticing Myra standing on her own just aways from the group. "So I take it the Asari is yours and Liara's daughter?" he then asked, which made the Human-Bot look towards her as well. "Yes, she is, though it did come as a surprise to go from seeing my daughter as a baby to then seeing her as an adult." "She looks very much like her mother." the Maximal replied, gaining a slight smile from Orion before a more thoughtful expression befell his face. "What is it, Orion?" Onyx asked, having noticed his small friend's look. "Since meeting Myra now…this future-version of her, hearing about her tough life has been for her,…though only in the most cryptic way imaginable, I cannot help but want to know exactly what it is and how I can fix it once we are sent back to our own times. I mean, she is my daughter and to know that her life is going to be hard and cruel to her, I just couldn't bear it to know all that and not try to do something about it." Orion replied while staring out at the wilderness, not noticing that both Micronus and Nexus had stepped closer. "We have to admit, Orion, that when we first saw your daughter, we could sense a dark aura emanating from her spark. But even though it is similar to what we have felt before amongst our own brothers…" the Minicon replied, gaining a nod from Orion in return. "You mean Megatronus?" he said back. "Yes, Orion,...but unlike our fallen brother, we have a feeling that she will not succumb to that darkness inside of herself, for there is light within her also..." Nexus added. "...because no matter how much we may want to, sometimes there are things you just cannot change." he finished, gaining a reluctant but understanding nod from the blue-haired Bot in return as he stood there and watched his Daughter. Meanwhile, the Asari was standing and looking out at the storm in the far-off distance, her face sullen and thoughtful. 'What am I doing here? They say that I am a Prime, that I belong among the ranks of these legends standing around me. That I am the same as both my father and my grandfather, but that cannot be any further from the truth...' Myra thought, not noticing that someone walking towards her from behind. '...I mean, they said that I became a Prime because I spared Vasir, which was something I never thought I would do in the two hundred plus years that I pursued her. I have still killed plenty of others in the name of revenge, used people to get my way. My hands and soul are stained with the things I did in my quest to bring justice to the woman who ruined my life and my family, so there is no way that I can be worthy to hold this.' she added while looking down at the exposed Matrix in the chest-plate of her Prime Armour. "Are you alright?" a female voice then spoke, gaining the Asari's attention as she turned to see Solus Prime standing next to her. "Yes, thank you." she replied before looking away and back to the horizon, while the Femme stared down at her with a puzzled expression. "I thought you were going to speak with Optimus and your grandfather?" "I was, but I kind of want to be on my own right now." Darby said back, without even looking back. "You have a lot on your mind." Solus then stated with an observing-like expression, which gained a nod from the younger Woman in return. "You could say that, after all, I am probably the least qualified person here. I mean, everyone here has saved the galaxy at least once. You and the rest of the Primes defeated Unicron, my grandfather did the same as well as vanquishing the Reapers as well. Even my father defeated Galvatron and his Predacons, but me..." she started to say with self-loathing evident in her voice, while Solus watched. "...All I did was hunt down a woman who killed my mother and my fiancé...I mean how does that put me in the same league as the rest of you?" she added, which brought a look of understanding to the larger Prime's face. "I can see that this is bothering you, Mira Prime, but you should know that the matrix does not make mistakes in who it chooses to carry it. There is a reason for everything that happens in our lives, no matter if it is good or bad. I learned that shortly after having been killed by my spark-mate...Megatronus." "...the Fallen." Myra replied, earning a nod from the Femme as she gave the Asari a thoughtful expression. "Yes, and like you are now, I was terribly confused by what had transpired. For I arrived here in the All-spark bewildered by what had happened to me, as I did not know why my lover did what he had done. The man I loved would not have been able to hurt me, let alone kill me. But in time, I learned the truth that Megatronus had been corrupted by Unicron during our final battle, thus explaining all of my spark-mate's confusing behavior that occurred afterward. For he had to lead the way alongside Prima in our battles with the Chaos Bringer, only for him to begin arguing with his friend in what we should do next while also pushing the rest of the group away once the enemy was gone. He literally demanded that I forge him the Requiem Blaster, stating that we should have the firepower to protect ourselves from whatever followed Unicron as a threat to us and Primus. And though I disagreed with this newfound belief of his, I still built it for him." "Why?" Myra asked with a curious tone, making Solus sigh in return. "Because I loved him and wanted to support him, despite his erratic and confusing behavior. He also became jealous of my friendships with Onyx Prime, Nexus, and Micronus, even though he had never been so possessive of me before then." "I am sorry about what you experienced, but I don't understand how this has anything to do with me?" the Asari asked in return. "It is because, unlike Megatronus who never questioned what was happening to him, you instead have. I can see it written all over your face as you worry why you were chosen as to be a Prime, always focusing on the bad elements and never on the deeds you have accomplished in your life..." the Femme continued, while Myra remained quiet and listened. "..like not only defeating and sparing the one who was the catalyst for the darkness in your life but also ending the threat her organization posed to the galaxy at large. You also helped end the life of a murderer who had ruined the lives of thousands of innocent people in her long life, bringing peace to another similar young woman like yourself." Solus added, gaining a thoughtful expression from the Asari. 'She is talking about Tolae.' she thought as the Femme spoke once more. "...You also learned to love again, opening your heart and soul to another. Someone who has begun to heal the scars that the past has left you with." 'Kat...' the younger Prime thought, her mind filling with images and fond memories of her lover before a confused expression appeared on her face. "How do you know all this?" Myra then asked, which gained a slight smile from Solus Prime. "Because we have been watching you, Myra, throughout your life...just as we did with both your father and grandfather. For we were created by Primus, given life from his very being which allows us to see those who are connected to him as well. And while you do represent the dark side of the balance between day and night along with your father and grandfather, you are far from unworthy of the title and responsibility that you share with them and the rest of us." Solus said, gaining an appreciative slight smile from the Asari in return. "I guess, I never thought of it that way. Thanks." "It is hard to see the light when you have been seeing darkness for long periods of your life, but there is light around you and within. So don't lose hope in yourself and the ones you surround yourself with, Myra, because they will give you strength as well." the Femme replied, making the younger Prime stare back with a knowing look. "That is what happened to Thirteen, right? After you were killed, I mean?" "Yes..." the larger Prime started to reply, her blue optics focusing on her smaller friend. "...After my murder. Liege Maximo was the next to fall before Megatronus, because he found out what had transpired. And from that moment, the group fell into disarray. Prima killed Megatronus for what he had done and when his and Liege's betrayals were exposed, the latter having played a part in my demise...as he had always been very manipulative. But both Micronus and Onyx then entered the Well of All-sparks, having grown tired and grief-stricken due to all the tragedies that had befallen us. Vector Prime left too, choosing to live out the rest of his days in an unknown dimension. Optimus chose to enter the Well too so that he would be reborn as one of the many Cybertronains that were being created every day..." This made Myra's eyes widen in return, having listened to that last part. "Wait, Optimus is one of you?" she asked in a surprised tone. "Yes, he is the Thirteenth Prime. He acted off advice from Alpha Trion, who read in the Covenant of Primus that Optimus would one day be needed during one of Cybertron's darkest times." the Femme replied, making the Asari turn and look at the red and blue Bot who was still talking with her Grandfather. "I had no idea..." she started to say back, only for Solus to cut her off. "No one outside our group did, Alpha Trion said it was necessary that it remained that way. He himself was the only Prime who stayed among Primus's children, while the rest of us faded away." "There are legends that the Thirteen are immortal, but since you're standing here before me, I guess that isn't true." the Asari then said, gaining a nod from the Femme. "Unfortunately that is the case, as the only beings who could claim to be so, are the Aeons. But even they can die as the deaths of Primus and Unicron have proven. And even though we, like the rest of the Cybertronian-race could live for millions of years originally, that changed due to the effects of the Primus-Wave which made us more like our Human friends..." the larger Prime added, looking back to her friends as she spoke. "...After watching our race stagnate and fall into civil war, even though it was influenced by the Darkness via Unicron, it was the right decision that our creator took and lessened our life-spans, since life should be cherished for the very reason that it is in itself...finite." This gained a nod from Myra as an understanding expression appeared on her face, which was noticed by the Femme. "Nothing should last forever." Myra added, making Solus nod back. "Yes, exactly. Everything that has a beginning, must eventually have an end. That is the way of the universe, and it was a long time coming for the Cybertronain Species to join the rest of their neighbors in this. I believe that is another reason why your grandfather, your father, and you were chosen to be Primes. So that you three would act as a bridge and pass the ownership of the last Matrix from Cybertronain hands to those of the rest of the galaxy, giving them the responsibility of protecting and leading future generations." PRIME EFFECT 5 Myra was so engrossed in listening to Solus, that she did not notice that both Jack and Orion were standing behind her. "Everything alright here?" the blue-haired Bot asked, gaining the Asari's attention. "Yes, everything is fine, Dad. I was just talking with Solus." she replied with an affectionate smile, earning a similar expression from the Bot as Optimus and the other Primes stood behind them. "Did you know that Optimus didn't start out as Orion Pax, but was originally a member of the Thirteen?" Myra then asked, gaining a surprised look from Orion and a nod from her grandfather. "Really? No, I did not...though it makes sense considering that I met the big Bot and the rest of you when I first became a Prime." the Blue-haired Bot replied whilst looking around the group, earning slight smiles from them all. "I didn't know originally, but Optimus told me during our conversation just now." Jack added, before Myra returned her attention to the Thirteen. "Alright...so what's our next step?" she asked. "Well, considering those large always-present storm clouds in the distance over in that direction..." Onyx Primal began to say as he gestured behind the others, making them turn and look that way. "...my guess would be that is where the Darkness is situated." he added, gaining a nod from Vector Prime. "Yes. Whatever that Darkness is, it has never left that location which, as it turns out, is the very center of the All-spark. It simply sends copies of itself along with Tyrants and Wraiths out to capture more Sparks for it to consume, slowly corrupting and draining the All-spark around it." he replied which brought a slight smile to Orion's face, one that both Jack and Myra noticed. "What is it, Dad?" the latter asked, with the Thirteen watching from behind them. "The Darkness can probably detect us..." the blue-haired Bot started to explain while gesturing between himself and his family, pointing at their matrices. "Via our pieces of Primus. So, we can't simply attack it head on. We need a diversion." This earned a knowing look from Optimus, with Nexus and the others quickly realizing what their little friend was talking about. "We could be that distraction, Orion..." the former-Autobot Leader began to reply, before Solus cut him off. "Yes, the Darkness has already shown that it will focus on us when we are in its vicinity." she added as Micronus stepped forward. "Just like it did when it killed and consumed our brothers. The Darkness was nothing but fully committed to wiping us out." "That is why, my Brothers and Sister, we should take the lead and distract the Darkness..." Optimus then added before looking over to Vector, who nodded in return. "And then I can teleport the Trinity here directly on top of our common enemy, giving them the chance to finish it off." "Sounds like a plan." Myra then replied with a confident smirk, earning similar expressions from her family before another distorted male voice suddenly spoke up. "Yes, it does..." It said, making the group turn around to see a jet-black Tyrant standing before them. "Oh Scrap!" Onyx said in return as everyone stared back in surprise, as the usually blank-looking giant began to change. ..."a pity that it will not work." another voice then added, making the Primes look behind them to see a Wraith appear next to them, leaving the group standing between the two new arrivals. "By the All-spark." Optimus stated as both the Tyrant and Wraith shifted their bodies into both Megatronus and the human-like version of the Chaos Bringer. "The Fallen!" Nexus spat, while Solus's optics widened in response. "...Megatronus..." she muttered as Myra clenched her fists, which glowed once more with biotic energy. "Unicron!" she said back, having remembered seeing him during one of her earlier dreams. "But they are both dead. There is no way that they are here now?" Micronus replied with worry tingeing his words, while Optimus shifted his hands into his arm-blades. "They are not, Micronus. The Darkness has simply made two of its drones take on their appearance as a means to rattle us." "Well, it's not going to work. Let's get them!" Onyx shouted before shifting into his Dragon-mode and charging at the Fallen-Tyrant, but it easily dodged the Maximal's attack and followed through by slamming its fists into his back and knocking the Beast onto the floor. "Onyx!" Micronus cried out as the Tyrant looked at the others, its purple eyes glowing as they narrowed. "That was pitiful. Nothing but a simple Beast." the Fallen said with gritted teeth, the disdain evident in his voice. "You are not Megatronus!" Solus said back while tightening her grip on her Hammer, earning a slight smile from the enemy. "No, I am not..." he started to reply, only for the Unicron clone to cut him off. "...we are merely extensions of our Master and since these individuals had been corrupted by the Dark, that means their forms are our Master's to use as he sees fit." "It matters not, for we will not allow you to disgrace their memories any further." Vector Prime replied as he equipped his blades of Time, while Jack and Orion readied their own Star-Sabers. "You seem to believe that you have a chance of defeating the Darkness that rules us..." the Unicron-clone began to reply as storm clouds gathered overhead, which coincided with many more Tyrants and Wraiths appearing around the Primes, seeping out of the crystalline ground and taking form before them. "...you do not realize how wrong you are..." the Fallen added as a cannon grew out of his arm, which he pointed down at the sprawled form of Onyx Primal. "Destroy them!" both clones then shouted in a united voice, making the army charge at the group. "Primes, defend yourselves!" Optimus roared as he cut down one of the Tyrants, making his comrades charge at the enemy and clash. PRIME EFFECT 5 The battle was fierce and unforgiving as the Primes and the soldiers of Darkness fought while a storm battered the area with rain, thunder, and lightning. Orion, Jack, and Myra had engaged the Wraiths while Unicron's clone watched with a look of disdain. And Optimus and his brethren fought the Tyrants as Megatronus stood over the injured beast-form of Onyx Primal, a disinterested look on his face as he glanced down at the Beast. "You are not one of these people, you were not touched by Primus's wretched light. You are nothing." he said in a hateful tone, gaining a growl from the black-Dragon which resulted in the Fallen-Tyrant stamping its foot on the beast's back and making the Maximal yelp as he aimed his arm-cannon down at it. "Time for you to join your species in extinction." But just aways to the left, Solus was charging towards the pair and knocking any Tyrants out of the way with her Hammer. "Micronus, I need a boost!" she shouted to the Minicon, who was right now holding onto an enemy's face and gorging its eyes out. "Okay, on my way." he said back before climbing up onto the Tyrant's head just as the Femme approached, before leaping off and shifting into a small object that clicked onto her right arm, while his enemy was then shot down by an energy-wave from Jackson Prime's holo Star-Saber. "That's great." Solus then exclaimed as she felt a boost of power surge through her body, which was visible due to her optics and joints glowing with bright purple light as she then swung her hammer into the Fallen's back. "Arrgh!" he grimaced while being sent flying over Oynx and onto the ground ahead, while the Femme stopped over her Maximal friend. "Okay, Micronus, give Onyx a boost while I deal with Megatronus's doppelganger." she said while watching the clone of her dead lover slowly recover, as the small Minicon disconnected off her arm and landed on the Dragon's back. This made Onyx Primal quickly get back to his feet and roar up at the heavens as his optics and the underside of his black armor began to glow with a blue light. "Go and help the trinity, Onyx. Go now." Solus then added, earning a low growl before the Dragon spread its wings and launched itself back into the sky, leaving the female-Prime with the Fallen, who had just got back to his feet, looking back at her with his narrowed purple optics. "You would strike the one you love?" he said with a sinister and judging tone, which only made Solus's optics narrow in return. "You are not Megatronus, therefore I have no trouble ending your miserable existence, Tyrant." she replied, making the Fallen smirk as they circled each other, completely ignoring the battle raging around them. "You would like to think that, but my Master not only corrupted and enslaved your lover, he also absorbed everything that made Megatronus who he was. So I know you just as well as he did...and secretly he knew you had feelings for Nexus, you cheating whore." he said back, which enraged the Femme as she launched herself at him and swung her hammer. "You lie!" Meanwhile, Myra, Jack, and Orion were holding their own against the Wraiths, all while Unicron merely watched from just aways. He seemed more than happy to let the liquid black drones do the work for him, looking almost bored as he stared at the three. "Several Wraiths just spawned here on my side." the blue-haired Bot stated as he stabbed the nearest enemy through the chest with the Star-Saber, before performing a roundhouse kick that took off the head off another to his right. "Same here on my side." the Asari added while throwing two Wraiths into a group advancing towards her with her biotics, making them topple like bowling pins. "I noticed..." Jackson Prime replied while slashing two enemies in half with his holo-Saber, while also unleashing an energy wave that cut through another ten behind them. "...no matter how many we kill, more just keep coming." he added as his Son grabbed and threw another Wraith to the floor before pulling his weapon out of a dead enemy lying on the floor beside him and swinging it into the head of yet another Wraith that had charged at him from behind. "So what's the plan? Just keep swinging until we cannot anymore..." he asked, with his own Daughter giving both Men a knowing look as she performed a biotic flare that decimated a large group of Wraiths as yet more rose up from the ground. "I hope not, that plan sucks." she said as the trip found themselves surrounded by a couple of hundred enemies, which made Jack look up into the sky and smirk. "I wouldn't worry..." he started to say, before suddenly Onyx swooped down and landed on a number of the Wraiths before swinging his tail through scores of others. "Onyx!" Orion exclaimed with a relieved smile before Optimus, in his vehicle mode, joined the fight and ran down another score before pulling a hand-brake turn and sliding into several others and stopping beside the trio. "Jack, Myra. Get in!" the big-Bot said as his passenger door opened, with the pair nodding back as they climbed into the vehicle. "What about me?" Orion asked as he sliced the head off another Wraith, while Optimus began to drive off and run down more enemies. "Look behind you." the Autobot replied, making the blue-haired Bot turn to find Onyx kneeling down beside him with his neck and head lowered. "Okay, this is going to be cool." Orion then stated with an enthusiastic tone. As that was happening, Solus and Megatronus were locked in battle as both tried desperately to gain an advantage over the other. "I don't recall it being so difficult to kill you, Solus." he said back while firing a blast from his arm cannon, but the Femme deflected it with her hammer effortlessly. "Perhaps it is because that time was due to you blindsiding me, which is a mistake I am not intending to make again." she replied with a confident smirk, gaining a similar reaction from her adversary. "Sounds like you are finally accepting who I am." the Fallen said as he lunged at her, only for the Femme to hit him in mid-air with a swing of her hammer, sending him flying and hitting the floor hard. "No, my Megatronus died the day Unicron corrupted him. You're just a lifeless copy..." she replied as he rolled a couple of times across the crystalline floor, finally coming to a stop just aways from her. "...and now it is time for you to embrace your end." the Femme added as she walked over to his still form and raised her hammer over her head, readying for the killing blow. But her eyes suddenly widened as Megatronus rolled over and looked back at her with a caring and fearful expression. "...Solus?..." he started to say, which made her pause as she saw her Lover lying before her. "Megatronus?" she asked with a hopeful tone, thinking for a split second that her Lover was somewhere inside that copy. But this made the Fallen smirk back as he lifted his arm-cannon at her and fired, hitting her directly in the chest and sending her onto the ground with a damaged chest plate. "Ha ha ha ha..." the Tyrant laughed as he quickly got back to his feet and walked over to the Femme, who was trying to get recover despite the pain she felt in her chest. "...all this talk of knowing what I was and all I had to do was show you an affectionate face and say your name softly, how truly pathetic you really are..." he continued as he stood over her and aimed his weapon down at her, the inside of its barrel began to glow as he prepared to fire. "...and it's time for my Master to consume you." he finished as his arm cannon hummed and shone brightly, but just as he was about to fire, Nexus Prime rolled in and sliced the Fallen's legs off. "Arrrgh!" he cried out while falling to the ground, his feet and legs dissolving into black dust which blew away in the almost gale-force wind. "Solus, you alright?" the Prime asked while helping the Femme to her feet, gaining a nod from her in return as she looked down at the crippled clone of her Lover. "Yes, this thing just exploited a momentary weakness of mine." she replied while gripping the hilt of her hammer tightly, gaining a knowing nod from the Bot. "Okay. Well, I'll let you do the honors." Nexus said back, gesturing to the enemy as the Femme stepped before it and raised her weapon over her head. "...Solus..." he said in a soft tone while looking back with a touching stare, but this was met by a cold and angry look expression as she looked down at him. "You're not him..." she started to reply before slamming her hammer into his head, crushing it and killing the Tyrant as its body turned to dust and revealed the cracked crystal ground where he lay. "...that was for you, Megatronus." "Okay, let's get back to helping the others." the other Prime then replied, only for the Femme to stop him as he turned away. "Wait, I think we are in even more trouble than we originally thought with this attack." she warned, gaining a curious look from Nexus in return. PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, Orion rode on the back of Onyx as the Maximal rained down fire from the sky and wiped out scores of Wraiths and Tyrants alike, while on the ground, Optimus drove through the enemy as Jack fired his rifle through the wound-down window of the Autobot's passenger door, killing any black-drone that Optimus missed. Myra was doing the same thing on her end, throwing biotic projectiles which slammed enemies onto the floor, killing them instantly. "This is getting too easy." the blue-haired Bot called on his com-link, gaining a head-shake from his Father as he head-shot another Wraith that had managed to dodge Optimus's aggressive driving. "Why did you have to say that, Orion?" the Human Prime asked disapprovingly, earning a nod from the Asari in return. "I guess that means we should expect trouble now." she replied as Unicron suddenly appeared before the truck, gaining Optimus's attention as he sped towards him. "Run him down, Optimus!" Jack said, which was answered by the Autobot slamming the accelerator down and making the engine roar as he increased speed toward their enemy, making the Wraith clone smirk as he stood his ground. But just before the Semi-truck could slam its grill into the clone of the Chaos Bringer, Unicron dived out of the way and then fired several energy blasts at the trio. "Incoming!" Jack shouted as Optimus began to strafe left and right in an attempt to dodge the attacks, with the first few flying past, only for the last few to hit the Truck directly, earning a grimace from the Bot as he lost control and was forced to transform back into his robot-mode, flinging Myra and her grandfather onto the crystalline ground as he rolled to a stop. "Myra, are you alright?" Jack asked as he slowly got back to his feet, gaining a painful nod from the Asari as she mirrored his actions. "...yeah, nothing some medi-gel wouldn't fix..." she started to say before turning her attention to Optimus, who was trembling slightly as he got to his knees. "...Optimus...?" she then tried to ask, only for another voice to speak out and cut her off. "You should worry about yourself, Mira Prime..." This made the Asari turn around to see Unicron standing over her with a glowing fist aimed at her head. "...because if just one of you three die, then the Trinity dies as well." he continued but Myra simply smirked back, which made the Wraith's expression change to confused as she gestured above him. "…what?" he started to ask while turning around and staring up, with his purple eyes widening as a look of shock appeared on his face at what he saw standing before him. But before he could say anything more, he was suddenly crushed as Onyx Primal landed on the jet-black enemy and crushed him to dust. "No one hurts my daughter." Orion then said as the Dragon roared in return, gaining an appreciative smile from the Asari. "Thanks for the save…" she began to say, only to be cut short as the ground began to shake. "What is going on?" Jack asked as Optimus and the other Primes looked around with confused looks, while the earthquake continued. "I am not sure." the Autobot replied, gaining a knowing look from Solus. "I think we should ready ourselves though…" she started to say before a giant black hand suddenly broke through the crystalline floor beneath Onyx Primal and grabbed the Dragon, flinging Orion off its back in the process." "Dad!" Myra shouted before using her biotics to catch him in mid-air and lower him gently to the ground, while Onyx roared in frustration while attempting to break free from the hand's grip. "Onyx, Micronus,…get out of there!" Nexus then shouted, but only the Minicon was able to do so as he transformed back into robot mode and was quickly thrown from the Maximal's back as it continued to fight against the vice-like grip of the black hand before a dark and booming voice spoke up, shocking everyone. "I have finally found you,…Beast, and now I will feed on your spark!" it boomed before slimy tendrils grew out of every part of the hand and stuck to Onyx, draining energy through the Dragon's body as it roared in agony. "Onyx!" Micronus cried out as he and the others watched as the jet-black Beast started to look weak and brittle as the blue glow of it's optics and the gaps between the pieces of it's armor flickered. But then, almost as quickly as it had started, the hand drained the life out of the Maximal and its body went limp before it sank into the black liquid-like surface of the appendage and was consumed. "NO!" the Minicon screamed with wide-eyed optics, having seen his second beast-like friend killed before his eyes as the black hand opened up to reveal that Onyx was no more. "By the Allspark…" Optimus began to say, only for the ground to shake once more and cut him off. "This has been a long day coming, but you are all within my reach…now…" the voice boomed again before a giant jet-black figure with glowing purple eyes breached the crystalline ground and revealed himself to the Primes, towering over them as Unicron appeared at his feet. "…it's the Darkness!" Jack added as he, his family, and the remaining Thirteen stood before the behemoth as the storm picked up it's pace. "This really is our darkest hour." the former Autobot Leader replied with a worried tone, as it appeared that the end really was around the corner.

CHAPTER XXIV The rain had pretty much stopped as the three Primes traversed the crystalline environment, though the thunder and lightning of the overhead storm continued without an end in sight as they headed in the direction that Vok had pointed them in. Jack was leading the way, keeping his holo-weapons powered and ready as Myra and Orion followed close behind. But the blue-haired Bot could not help but look over to his Daughter with a concerned look on his face, which earned a sigh from the Asari in return as she stopped. "Dad, you're staring again." she replied with a slightly aggravated tone while glancing over to him, making the Bot shake his head in return. "I'm sorry. It's just knowing that you have suffered a lot during your life without knowing exactly what happened..." he started to reply, only for the Female-Prime to cut him off mid-sentence. "I know, Dad, but we have been going over this for the last hour. And I still can't tell you what happens to me or..." she nearly let slip, but her Father caught the last few words and made him look back at her. 'I nearly said it! Damn it, Dad. Why did you have to keep pushing?' she thought with a worried look, one that her Grandfather saw as he looked back at his Family. "Who else were you about to mention then, Myra?" he asked with a curious tone before noticing the sadness in the Youngest Darby's eyes, making his own widen in shock. "...It's your Mother, isn't it...?" he started to ask, only for Jack to catch his attention by grabbing the shoulder-plate of his armor. "Orion, that's enough...!" he said back with a commanding tone, one that made his Son look back at him and show the oldest Darby the worry that was written all over his face, which made him sympathize with his blue-haired son. "I understand you're worried about Myra's future. I am too..." he began to say, glancing to see the Asari taking a deep breath while looking away from the pair. "...but we can't afford to be sidetracked right now, as we have a mission to complete. And since you are a Prime, I can only assume that you understand that." the older man said, earning a nod from Orion. "Yes, I do understand that. But I can't help feeling that if I know what is going to happen, if we knew the details, then perhaps we could change it. I mean, we have both been here before, Dad, and we remembered what we saw here. So, it is possible." he replied while glancing over to his daughter, but Jack shook his head in return as his face became more serious and stoic. "No, Son. It's not, and even if it was…I wouldn't allow it." This made the blue-haired Bot's eyes widen as he stared back in shock, while Myra also looked back after hearing her Grandfather's words. "What…!" Orion started to say back. "…But...if you knew that something was going to happen to the people you care about, wouldn't you want to do whatever you could to help or protect them?" he replied with a worried tone, one that had a slither of hope in it. But the older Prime simply looked back with a sympathetic yet still serious expression. "Not when it could change the events that have to lead us to this point. No, I wouldn't..." Jack said back before looking at the sky, thinking of a way to explain his point to the younger Darby, but before he could say anymore, Myra jumped in with her turn. "Dad, I'm sure you don't want to give Grandfather a full history lesson of everything that has happened from the last moment he saw you until now..." she started to reply, gaining both Men's attention as they looked back to her, as Orion's face changed to a thoughtful one. 'She means the Autobot/Predacon War. So she knows what happened to us all during those events.' he thought as she stared back with a knowing look. "...I can't help but agree that everything we have been through in our lives has helped shape us into who Primus wanted us to be now." she said, gaining a nod from Jackson Prime. "Exactly..." he answered while looking at his Granddaughter, before returning his attention to his Son. "… since we just don't have the right to change the past, no matter how good and pure our reasons are." "I…understand. We would be guilty of a similar crime to what the Aeons did if we attempted to change anything that has already happened…" the blue-haired Bot began to reply before looking over at Myra with a concerned but no less loving stare, who meanwhile had turned away and was staring out to the dark horizon. "…but just knowing that my daughter has been in such darkness. I can't help but want to help her in some way." This made Jack place a hand supportively on his son's shoulder as he looked at Myra too, gaining the Prime's attention. "I know exactly…" he started to say, before the Asari suddenly clenched her fists and made them glow light-blue with biotic energy. "We've got trouble!" she shouted as both men looked past her to see what looked like a black mist rapidly approaching them, moving like swirling gas through the air. "What is that? Another storm-front?" Jack replied, gaining a shoulder shrug from the blue-haired Bot as he instinctively equipped his Star-Saber. "I don't think so." he said back as the mist suddenly began to split and circle the trio, making the oldest Prime activate his own holo-saber once again as it fully surrounded them. "Well, this is new. I have never seen fog act like this before." "I would say that none of us have, and I think we should ready ourselves." Myra added as everything went dark around them as the mist rose up and started to block out the light, making the Primes ready themselves in return. "Yeah, I agree." Orion replied with a serious tone, raising his own weapon as his Father did the same. But before any of the trio could say anything else, several jet-black figures leaped out of the mist at them, making the Primes defend themselves as they stood back to back. Myra instinctively caught her enemy in a biotic field, making it hover before her as Orion sliced the figure attacking him in half as she threw hers back into the blackness surrounding them. Meanwhile, Jack had activated his Sky-boom shield, making his adversary slam into it before then slicing its head off with his holo-saber. "What the hell are these things?" he said back as the figure turned to black dust before him, gaining a dumbfounded look from his family. "No cl…" the Asari started to say before several more black figures lept out of the mist and attacked, making the Primes defend themselves once more as they took down their attackers with ease. Orion knocked his off its feet and then brought his Star-Saber down on it, making the enemy crumble to dust as it was quickly followed by the others. "Whatever they are, they are certainly easy to take down." Orion replied with a confident tone, gaining a knowing glance from his Father in return as they all kept their attention on the mist that surrounded them. "Don't get cocky, Orion. We don't…" he began to reply, only for his voice to fail him as the mist suddenly descend back down to their level and spread out around them on the floor. "Okay…this looks no less creepy." Myra observed with an unnerved tone as she looked around at the ground, seeing only the black fog covering the area around her. "No scrap…" the blue-haired Bot replied before looking over at Jack. "…looks like a setting from one of those old horror movies you and Mom enjoyed watching." he added as everything went deathly quiet. "Right…now keep your focus, Son. I don't think this over yet." the oldest Prime replied before the ground started to tremble as though an earthquake had hit the area, making Myra clench her fists tighter as her Father tightened his grip around the Star-Saber's hilt and Jack tightened his fist, making his holo-version of that same saber glow somewhat brighter. "Get ready." she said before an entire army of jet-black figures suddenly rose out of the mist and surrounded them, earning wide-eyed reactions from the trio in response. "So this has become more interesting…" Orion said, making Myra narrow her eyes at the enemy as Jack gritted his teeth. "Indeed." he replied while looking at their enemy, whose glowing-purple eyes were their only visible detail. "Vok said that our matrices would increase the strength of our weapons and abilities, I think now is as good a time to find out if he was telling the truth." the Human Prime added while glancing at his partners, who nodded back in return. "Gotcha." the blue-haired Bot replied, spinning the hilt of his Star-Saber in his hand as he stared back at the enemies. "Let's do this." Myra added, with her biotic energy starting to glow a near-white light as she focused a little more. "Take these wraiths down!" Jack then commanded as he and the others launched themselves into the mass of bodies surrounding them, cutting or knocking down as many as they could with each and every attack. Jack slammed his holo-shield into one of the jet-black figures while slicing another in half before he then performed a spin kick and sent the third toppling into several more. Orion, meanwhile, spun his glowing Star-Saber around, creating a cyclone of white energy around him which sucked up dozens of Wraiths into it, before finishing the move by swinging his blade into the floor and unleashing an energy wave that tore the ground up as it moved away and decimated many of the enemies in its path. The Bot then began slicing up any stragglers who were still standing while the cyclone dissipated and it rained Wraith down on the area around him. "Nice move, Dad." Myra shouted back as she punched and kicked several foes into dust with her biotically-enhanced moves, gaining a smirk from the Prime as he looked back at her while running his Saber through the chest of another Wraith. "Thanks, Myra." he replied before she then raised her clenched fists over her head, making two giant glowing fists of energy appear before her and gaining a surprised look from her Father. "Wow…" he started to say before the Asari then pulled her fists down in front of her, making the two energy constructs slam down into the masses of wraiths, obliterating many. "…I think you topped mine." he said back in a proud tone as she then created two exotic looking biotic blades and began slicing up several more enemies who charged at her, making moving toward the blue-haired Prime as he was forced to defend himself against several more of his own foes. "Thanks." she said back while impaling a wraith in the face with one blade, before slicing the head off another. But this gained a concerned look from Orion as he noticed the blank look on his Daughter's face as she worked her way through the hordes. 'She is simply in auto-pilot, not even looking back at me.' he thought with a pained spark, before grabbing the arm of an enemy who tried to strangle him from behind, pulling the said figure of his head and slamming it into the ground. 'What kind of things happened to my daughter to make her disconnect like that?' he added while burying his Star-Saber in the enemy's head. PRIME EFFECT 5 As this was happening, Jack had started unleashing energy waves at the Wraiths surrounding him, cutting down many as the projectiles sliced through them as they expanded in all directions. 'Performing this attack isn't exhausting me like it used to, Vok was certainly correct about our matrices enhancing us.' he thought as one Wraith managed to dodge the attacks and launch itself at him, making the Human Prime perform a forward roll. This made his attacker fly over him as both ended up facing away from each other as they recovered, gaining their attention as they turned back around. But Jack lunged his Sky-boom Shield horizontally at the enemy, slicing at the Wraith's throat with its sharp edge as he then followed through with his holo-saber and ran it through with it, making the sword's edge break through the enemy's back before it burst into black dust as he charged through it and attacked several more. With their enhanced abilities and weapons, it was not long before the three Primes had more than halved the number of Wraiths that were still attacking them. Myra slid along the ground and sliced with her biotic blades at several before stopping and then throwing the weapons at another bunch of enemies, which then exploded into biotic flares and devastated another dozen. As she was doing this, Jack and Orion had gone back to back and were unleashing energy waves, obliterating even more with each and every projectile. "This is getting too easy, Dad." the blue-haired Bot said, which gained a nod from his father as he drove his own weapon through the head of the Wraith in front of him, spilling out more dust as glanced over to his Son. "Even so, we shouldn't get over-confident. Who knows what…" he started to reply, only for the ground to shake once more and cut him off mid-sentence. "I think you spoke too soon." the younger Bot replied as Myra joined them after slaughtering her final few enemies, giving them both a curious and yet stern look. "What happened?" "We don't know…" Jack replied with a confused tone before several giant versions of the wraiths suddenly burst out of the mist and towered over them, gaining wide-eyed looks of surprise from the Primes in return. "Okay…I would rather face the smaller ones again." Orion said as he looked up at one of the giants, who stood at least thirty feet tall as they looked down at the trio with their glowing purple eyes. "They are about the same size as the original Cybertronians were. Isn't that right, Grandfather?" Myra asked, earning a nod from the oldest Prime as he held up his holo-saber. "Yes, not that it matters though, since we still have to beat them." Jack replied. But suddenly the closest giant suddenly clenched its right fist and punched down at them, making the Primes dive out of the way as it's slammed into the ground. Both Men landed on their fronts while the Asari Began glowing with biotic energy, which allowed her to perform a perfect somersault before gracefully landing back on her feet. Orion was the first to recover as his father was still getting back to his feet, so he turned to see his daughter looking up at the giant that had attacked them as it slowly lifted its fist and exposed the cracked crystalline floor underneath. "Myra?" the blue-haired Bot called out in a curious tone, while the newest Prime narrowed her eyes and began to squat as her biotics began to glow even more. 'What is she doing?' her Father thought as Jack stood back up and looked around to see the other giants closing in. But before either man could say or do something, Myra suddenly launched herself into the air with a near-vertical biotic-charge aimed directly at the larger enemy's head. Both Jack and Orion could only watch as their descendent became a white/bluish blur of light as she soared up towards the giant's head, but their attention was suddenly caught by the ground shaking as another large Wraith ran jumped over them and caught the Asari in its hands. "MYRA!" the blue-haired Bot shouted as the Giant landed beside its comrade, holding his daughter in its closed fist. "Orion, watch out!" the Human Prime suddenly called out as another enemy reached down for his Son, making the blue-haired Bot spin around and swing his Star-Saber and slice the creature's hand in two. "Arrragh!" the Giant-Wraith screamed as it pulled away and held its injured hand in its other, while Jack then unleashed an energy wave with his holo-Saber that hit another giant directly in its chest and sent it flying onto its back, causing the ground to shake. But as Orion turned to see his Daughter still in the grasps of one of the Wraiths, his Father noticed that several more thirty-foot tall Wraiths had appeared from with into the ground-high mist. "We have to free Myra and retreat." he said, gaining a nod from the younger Prime as he saw the Asari struggling to free herself. "Agreed…" he began to say, only to be cut short as a large shadow was cast over both of them. This made the pair turn to see a giant wraith standing directly over them, raising it's right foot as it readied to crush them. Suddenly though, a ground-bridge-like vortex opened up behind the looming figure and three Cybertronians of similar size lept through and started combating the giant-Wraiths, followed by a jet-black metallic Dragon which flew over the two Primes and their immediate threat as it began breathing fire down upon the other enemies. "Wait…that's Onyx Primal…" Orion said before his attention was brought back to the vortex as a red semi-truck flew out of it as it closed and smashed through the chest of the Giant, making it turn to dust before the vehicle then shifted into its robot form and landed behind the two Men, immediately firing his cannons at the Wraith holding Myra. "Optimus!" Jack stated with a surprised and relieved tone as he and his Son watched as the enemy took several direct hits, just as the Asari started to glow with her biotics which suddenly exploded and destroyed the hand that was holding her, allowing the new Prime to safely land beside her family as Optimus then shifted his left arm-cannon into a blade and sliced the Wraith in half. Meanwhile, the other new arrivals were busy slaying the rest of the jet-black giants as Jack, Orion, and Myra watched. First, there was a bearded Bot in golden armor impaling a Wraith with one of two golden blades, which had a blue-like glow to them as the enemy suddenly froze to the spot and gave the Bot enough time to decapitate with the other. Then to the trio's left there was a purplish-steel Femme swinging a large hammer into the face of another enemy, knocking its head clear off its shoulders in the process. On the far right was a bronze-colored Bot deflecting the punch of a Wraith with his jet-black sword, before then slicing off said arm and punching through its chest, causing it to fall apart in front of him. "That's the Thirteen." Jack then exclaimed gaining a nod from Optimus who looked down at him, his face-shield retracting as he did so. "That's correct, Jack. But now is not the time for talk." he replied before his attention was brought back as the metallic Dragon swooped down and transformed into the recognizable form of Onyx Primal. "There are more Tyrants on the way." he said in an alert tone, earning a nod from the Autobot as the Femme joined them. "We have taken care of the immediate danger, but the Darkness will soon be upon us if we do not withdraw right now." "Then we should fall back, Solus…" Optimus began to reply before looking over at the golden-Bot. "We are retreating, Vector. Open us another portal." he said, gaining a nod from the Cybertronian in return, while Onyx looked over to see the Bronze-Bot finishing off another Wraith with his blade. "Nexus, time to go." As this was happening, Jack gave his former Mentor a questioning look as did his Son and Granddaughter. "Optimus…" he started to say before the Bot shifted back into his vehicle mode, opening his passenger doors to them. "Get in, we can talk once we are safely out of here." he replied, earning a nod from Jack and the others as they climbed into the semi-Truck, while Vector Prime pointed his blade at the area ahead of them and made another portal open. "Alright, let's move." he said, which Optimus then drive through while Solus, Onyx, and Nexus followed close behind. This left Vector on his own as he took one final look at his surroundings, noticing more Tyrants and wraiths approaching in the distance. "I hope this is going to be worth it." he muttered to himself before entering the portal, which then closed and left the barren, crystalline environment to the Darkness's drones. PRIME EFFECT 5 Elsewhere in the extra-dimension of the All-spark, a green armored Cybertronian stood on his own and looked out at the dark horizon as if waiting for something. Suddenly though, a vortex opened up behind him, making the Bot spin round and activate an energy shield around his person, thinking that a fight was about to begin. But then a red-semi truck and a few Cybertronians exited the aperture, gaining a relieved look from the Bot. "I am glad to see it is you guys, though you took long enough." he said, gaining a look from Solus as Nexus, Onyx Primal, and Vector Prime exited the portal. "Micronus, we were only gone a few moments at best." she replied, with the green-Prime watching the portal close before turning away from her. "Well…it felt longer than that." he replied with a slightly apprehensive tone while crossing his arms, which gained Nexus's attention as he joined the Femme's side. "I think Micronus simply misses Onyx." he observed, earning a nod from Solus as she gave the smaller Bot a sympathetic look. "We all miss him, Micronus, and the others too." she said, making the Minicon look at the rest of the Thirteen, who all nodded back whilst Jack, Myra, and Orion exited Optimus's truck mode before he then shifted back to his robot mode. "Indeed, but now is not the time to grieve. For we still have a job to do, which is now possible due to our friends here." the Autobot said, gaining everyone's attention as he gestured to the Darbys standing at their feet as the Asari looked at each of the larger Cybertronians. "So that is Nexus Prime, Vector Prime, Micronus Prime, Solus Prime, and Optimus Prime…" she started to say while standing next to her Father, gaining a nod from the latter. "Yes, Mira Prime. We are all that remains of the Thirteen." he replied, making Jack look back with a confused expression. "Why? Where are the others?" the oldest Darby asked, which brought looks of pain and regret to the faces looking down at them. "Jack, our comrades were defeated and consumed by what the Aeons call the Darkness." Optimus replied grimly, earning a look of shock from his friend. "No, that's imposs…" the Human Prime started to say before stopping as a thoughtful look appeared on his face, but Vector then stepped toward him and caught his attention. "Well, it is! Prima, Alpha Trion, Alchemist, Quintus, Liege Maximo, Amalgamous and Onyx are all gone…" he said in an angered tone, surprising everyone as he glared down at Jack and his family. "…and for what? For the three of you?…This so-called Trinity of Primes, our apparent salvation against the Darkness. I have seen nothing from you to give me hope against what is coming for us." the Golden-Bot continued until he was stopped as Optimus placed a hand on his shoulder. "Easy, Brother. I know how difficult this is for you…" he began to say, before looking at the rest of the Thirteen standing around them. "…for all of you. It feels as though we have been fighting this Darkness for as long as any of us can remember, but there is still hope and that is with our successors here…" the Autobot continued as he pointed down at the Darbys. "…for they were chosen by Primus, not created as was the case with us. We were designed by our creator to defeat Unicron, which we did. But it is not for us to defeat the force that corrupted our creator's brother. That lies with them…" The other Cybertronians simply looked down at their Humanoid companions, thoughtful expressions on their faces as they listened to Optimus. "…for Primus saw that they possessed within themselves what was necessary to truly combat the Darkness. So I ask you to put your faith in them…as I do…" he added, before looking down at Jack, Orion, and Myra with a warm and proud smile. "…for they are Primes, just like us." "I will fight beside you in the coming battle." Solus then said as she stepped toward the trio, who was then followed by Nexus. "As will I." "Well, I don't know how I can help, since all I can do is power-link with my siblings here. But I will fight the Darkness with you all the same." Micronus then said as he too stepped forward, before a thoughtful-looking Vector sighed. "Perhaps I have seen too much darkness in those that I call family. Perhaps I have become far too cynical in my view of the world around me. But Optimus always had a way with words, he always manages to inspire those around him... I forgot about that. But if he truly believes in you then who am I to argue." he replied while taking a step forward as well, gaining slightly embarrassed looks from the Darbys before Jack composed himself and looked up at their new allies. "Thank you. it means a lot to the three of us to hear that. And I don't know what we can do against this Darkness or if we can defeat it, but Primus once did with his brother before his Fall. And the three of us now carry the last embers of your creator with us…" the Human Prime added as he gestured to the glowing Matrices in his and their chest-plates, which appeared to shine a little brighter as he spoke. "…and we will fight to our dying breath to end this threat and bring balance back to the All-spark." he finished, earning a nod from everyone there. "Well said, Jack. Now if you will follow me, I can explain our situation since we should still have some time to rest before the Darkness realizes where we are." Optimus replied as he gestured to the three Primes, who started to follow before Orion stopped. "You guys go on ahead. I want to catch up with Onyx first, if that's alright?" the blue-haired Bot asked, making his father nod back. "Okay, we will be over there." he replied before following the former Autobot leader with Myra, leaving the younger Darby as he walked over to the Maximal who was now standing with Nexus and Micronus. But as the group separated into smaller gatherings, Solus watched the Asari with a thoughtful expression. Meanwhile, at the center of the Crystalline world that the Allspark was made up of, where the once shining mountains and landscape now looked dark and lifeless, the storm clouds suddenly raged with thunder booming across the sky along with streaks of lightning as a black liquid began to seep out of the ground. "I…can…sense a presence…one that I have not felt…in the longest…times." the faceless entity spoke as its body started to take shape out of the jet-black fluid. "Primus! He has returned…and I will destroy him…once and for all!"

CHAPTER XXIII A sudden roar of thunder awoke Myra as she found herself lying face down on the cold and smooth ground, so the young Asari quickly rose up into a sitting position, her breathing matching the beat of her heart as the deafening sound echoed around her and out into the distance, 'What in the All-spark happen….?' she started to think before her eyes widened as her surroundings came to her attention, taking her thoughts from her as the Spectre found herself staring at an environment made up entirely of crystal. 'Why does this look familiar to me?' she then thought before noticing that her body was no longer suffering the effects of the Cybonic Plague, which made her hold her hands up to see the condition of her skin, but what she saw made her eyes widen even more. 'What the?' For Myra found that she was wearing a completely different armour to what she had been previously, one that looked very familiar and yet new at the same time. 'This looks like a cross between the Prime Armours of both my Father and Grandfather.' she thought while looking at the new outfit as, like their own, hers had the red and silver stripes running down both arms and looked lightweight yet durable, but her silver Autobot insignia with its red outline was now on the left side of her chest-plate, which was completely different to the others as her father's and Grandfather's had the symbol in the centre and right-side respectively. The armour itself was also silver and black and yet far sleeker, which brought a smirk to the Asari's face as she admired it. 'It does look really good...but I still don't get what the Matrix saw in me, since I am far from Prime material.' she thought before returning her attention back to her surroundings, looking at the storm-clouds that filled the entire sky and hence dimmed the sparkling view of the crystal landscape. 'So where am I...?' she thought while staring around her before the centre of her chest plate suddenly opened up enough to reveal the Matrix, which was firmly in place and began to glow as the young Darby turned towards a certain direction. 'Okay...' she started to think before turning away slightly which made the crystal's brightness dim, only to then turn back and make the relic grow brighter again. '...so I guess I have to go this way.' she added while beginning to walk in that direction, with the Prime Armour then activating her breather-helmet which grew around her head as a downpour of rain hit the area, leaving only a blue-tinted visor for her to see out of. On a nearby mountain ridge, an orange and black-robed man watched the Asari from on top of a cliff-face, his face was obscured by the hood he was wearing while standing there in the rain. "At long last, it has begun..." he started to say while keeping his attention on the young Darby. "...the Trinity is coming together." Meanwhile, north of Myra stood a helmeted man in a navy blue coloured Prime Armour with a sword attached to his back. He held his hand to the matrix that was visible in the chest plate of his armour, just under a similar silver Autobot insignia which too had started to glow, so he began walking as well. Also just south-west of this new arrival, another helmeted Man in a dark-grey coloured Prime Armour had started to walk across the crystalline environment, following the glow of a similar matrix that too was visible inside his own chest-plate as the rain-water ran down his being. PRIME EFFECT 5 After walking across the lifeless crystalline landscape for what felt like an hour through the heavy downpour, though it was finally beginning to subside as Myra spotted saw the silhouette of another person walking towards her in the distance. 'Wait, who is that?' she thought while instinctively readying herself for a fight by clenching her fists, with both beginning to glow with biotic energy. The other person, who looked like a man from his build, mirrored her actions by equipping a blade from a sheath on his back and holding it beside him. "Who goes there?" he called over to the Asari, which made her eyes widen in return. 'That voice sounds so familiar to me?' she thought, but it was slightly disguised by the breather-helmet that he was wearing, and the rainfall was still obscuring her vision as it ran down the visor of her own helmet. "How about you tell me who you are first?" she said back as they slowly closed the distance between each other, making the other person raise the blade toward her. "I'm not playing games here. Tell me who you are, this is your last chance." he said back as the rain subsided a little, but it was enough for Myra to recognise the stranger's outfit, for it was a navy-blue coloured Prime armour and the sword in his possession was almost certainly the Star-Saber. "...Dad?" she then replied with a soft, warm tone that was underlined with confusion. This made the other armoured Man hesitate slightly, lowering his weapon a little. "...what did you call me?" he asked back with a confused tone of his own, making Myra respond by deactivating the breather-section of her helmet, which then folded back into armour and revealed the Asari to Man. "It's me, Dad. It's Myra." she replied before his visor and faceplate separated and slid back into his helmet, showing her that he was Orion Darby, though he looked younger than she had expected. 'Dad looks like he did in those photos with me when I was barely a year old.' she thought to herself as a slight smile appeared on her face while feeling her eyes slowly well up since it had been so long since she last stood before her father. "...Myra? But the last time I saw you...you could fit in my hands..." he started to say back, before really looking at this woman claiming to be an older version of his baby daughter. But then he recognised her smile and saw the young Asari adult for who she was, bringing a smile to his face. "...wow, you're the spitting image of your mother." he added, only to notice a tear run down her cheek as his maternal instincts kicked in. "What's wrong?" he asked while closing the distance between them, making the Spectre wipe the tear away as he stopped directly in front of her. "Nothing. I am just happy to see you. You don't realise how long it's been." she said back, which brought a curious look to his face as Orion remembered. 'That's right, as an Asari, Myra would have a thousand years to live.' he thought while looking back at his daughter. "How old are you now?" the Prime asked, making the Asari look at the floor in return. "Nearly five hundred." she replied, which brought a look of surprise to the Bot's face before he then smiled back in a calmer fashion. "Well, you don't look a day over twenty, let alone a hundred. He said back, which made his daughter's smile widen as she looked back at him, recognising her father's charm and wit as he looked at her armour. "...and you're a Prime too...wow..." he started to say before she then cut him off mid-sentence. "I am also an Autobot Spectre." she replied, which brought a loving and caring expression to Orion's face as he looked back at her. "It's not every day that you get to meet the grown-up version of your child, but standing here in front of the fine young woman that you have become and hearing what you have achieved...I am very proud of you, Myra. It's good to know that your mother and I have done right by you..." he started to say before looking away for a moment as something dawned on him as his face became pensive. "...and I can guess it wouldn't have been easy when I eventually passed away..." This brought an understanding look from the young Asari, bringing back memories of that day as she nodded back in return. "...but I know you would still have your mother to call upon, even now..." he continued while looking at the crystalline mountains in the distance, a slight smile reappearing on his face as began to relax once more. "...I bet she still looks as beautiful as she did the day we met too." the Bot then finished before returning his attention to his daughter, noticing another tear running down her other cheek as she glanced at the ground. "What did I say?" he started to ask with a tinge of both confusion and concern, while Myra remembered the day she lost her mother, the love of Orion's life. 'I can't tell him. I can't tell my Father what happened to my Mother.' the Spectre thought before she was pulled from her thoughts by the sound of steps approaching them from behind, which Orion heard too as both Primes spun around with him readying the Star-Saber and she held up a glowing biotic hand at the new arrival, only for both their eyes to widen in disbelief at who they saw before them. For standing there was another person in dark-grey Prime Armour and breather-helmet, holding holo-versions of both the Star-Saber and the Sky-Boom Shield. The newcomer saw the blue-haired Bot's face and hesitated, making him deactivate both weapons as his helmet folded back into his suit, revealing him to be an older, greyer Jackson Prime. "Orion?" he said back with a confused tone, earning a soft smile from his Son in return. "Yeah, Dad. It's me." the Bot said back. noticing that his predecessor was looking at his armour. "You're a Prime?" Jack asked, gaining a nod from the younger Darby as he realised something. "So this is the moment that he found out that I became a Prime. I mean, he looks about the right age to when he started treating me different…all those years ago.' Orion thought as Jack just looked back at his son with an expression that was both confused and yet proud at the same time. "Yes, I succeeded you as Leader of the Autobots once the conflict with the…." the Bot started to say, only to stop short as his Father held his hand in gesture. "Please don't say anymore. No one should know too much about their future." the older man replied, which gained a knowing smile from his son in return. "You won't hear any argument from me, I completely agree with you there." Jack then turned his attention to the Asari standing with them, noticing the Prime-Armour she was wearing. "So who is this?" he asked, but before she or Orion could answer. Another voice spoke, one that the former and latter both recognised. "Her name is Mira Prime…" the voice spoke from behind the trio, making them turn around to see a hooded man in orange and black robes standing before them. "…and she is a Prime, just like you." he added, earning surprised looks from Father and Daughter, "Your name is Vok isn't it? I remember you from Virmire." he said, gaining a nod from the Man as he pulled back the hood and revealed himself to the three Primes. "Yes, we met on the day you were chosen to succeed your Father as the Matrix of Leadership was passed to you." he said before looking over to Myra, who stared back with a curious expression. "You were in my dreams, correct? And that was your voice I heard earlier, right?" she asked, gaining a nod from robed Man. "That is correct Mira Prime, and it does my spark good to see that you came through that final battle unscathed." Vok said back, earning a now confused look from the Asari. "Wait, why do you keep calling me Mira? My name is Myra." she replied with a slightly annoyed tone, which gained a slightly worried look from her Father. "Show some respect, Myra. Vok doesn't take kindly to that tone of voice." he said back, as Vok narrowed his eyes at the youngest Darby. "I see that you are just like him. But to answer your question, Myra, I am not entirely sure why the names of some newly made Primes are changed, only that it is a necessary step, as it was when Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, for example. All I know for sure is that your name is Mira Prime now." he replied with a slight cryptic undertone to his voice, which made the Asari shake her head in response. "That doesn't really answer my question." she said back in a slightly annoyed tone, gaining a shrug from Orion. "I don't get it either…" he said back, before turning his attention back to Vok. "…but I guess you are still using the knowledge and memories you received from the piece of Primus all three of us each carry now." the Prime said, making the robed Man nod back. "Yes, indeed…" he started to say but was cut off by a confused looking Jackson Prime. "I apologise, but can someone explain to me what is going on here. I mean the last time I was here, I was told that there was going to be another crisis sometime down the line. But Primus's echo gave me no indication that I was going to be a part of it." he said, which gained a knowing look from Vok in return. "Remember your own words, Jackson Prime. 'One should not know too much about their own future'…" he began to say, which made the oldest Darby sigh and nod back in return. "…but you should know that my name is Vok and I, like Primus and Unicron, am a member of the Aeons, the first sentient species to evolve in the Universe as you know it." "I see. And what are the three of us doing here?" Jack continued to ask. "We do not have much time, but I will explain everything to you?" the Aeon replied, earning a nod from the Prime as both Orion and Myra stood beside him. "This is about the 'Trinity' right?" the blue-haired Bot asked, gaining a nod from Vok as Myra looked back with a knowing expression. "You mentioned that to me as well, but what is it?" she added. "What you speak of is the 'Trinity of Primes' and that…is the three of you." he said back, making the trio look at each other with confused expressions before returning their attention to the Aeon. "The three of us? But what does that mean?" Jack asked. "After Primus and Unicron defeated the Darkness that we Aeons unintentionally unleashed upon the Universe during our ill-fated search to become Gods, Primus soon came to believe that our greatest enemy may one day return. Because it was not destroyed, only banished back into the dark corners of this realm. And because, like all balances that exist in our Universe, where there is Light, there will always be Darkness and so Primus knew that it would one day return." he began to explain before waving his hand before him, which brought up images of the war fought between the Aeons and the Darkness. As the three Primes watched, Myra could not help but feel that this looked familiar to her. "I saw this all in my dreams.' she thought before the Aeon spoke again and regained her attention. "So he secretly began preparing for the Darkness's return, which unfortunately was cut short by Unicron's betrayal which unbeknownst to either was because of the Darkness." "You're talking about Unicron's conquest to destroy all organic life right, which then led to the creation of the Reapers." Jack replied, which gained a nod from Vok as the images changed to show the creation of Harbinger, Sovereign and Lucifer and the following cycles of harvesting that they and the rest of the Reapers did in the eons that followed. "Yes, it was not until much later that the truth about Unicron's shift in loyalties came to Primus. But by that time, it was far too late. As his Brother had been corrupted by the Darkness during their last battle, which was what led to the balance between the siblings shifting. But Primus had hoped that his own creations…the Thirteen Primes, would be not only the ones to defeat the Chaos Bringer, but also the ones to defeat the Darkness on its return." the Aeon said as the images then showed the Thirteen defeating Unicron, before then showing the corruption of one of their own. "Unfortunately, history would repeat itself and Primus's own warriors would fall into the same trap. Which started when Megatronus was corrupted by Unicron, who became the Fallen and destabilised the balance of the Thirteen." As Jack, Orion and Myra watched, the images then shifted to show the evolution of the Cybertronian species and the Golden Age that followed. "But there still appeared to be hope, as Primus's creations then went on to spawn a civilisation of their own. And for a time, it looked as though they may yet become the Protectors that he envisioned for all creation…" he continued, before the images then shifted to show the Great Cybertronian War. "…and again, failure appeared to be the only answer for the Aeon as his creations fell into an eons-long civil war, one that would spread out beyond the borders of Cybertron and reach out into the galaxy surrounding it." 'I remember a lot of what he is speaking about, having seen this the last time I was here…' Jack thought before glancing over to his Son and the Asari, noticing that the pair were fully invested in what they were witnessing. '...but I guess that this show and tell is not for my benefit, but for theirs.' he added before Vok then carried on, whilst the images then changes to show Earth and the final years of the war. "And as the conflict escalated and continued, Primus nearly lost all hope in his creations. But that was until their war was brought to a small planet called Earth, for its indigenous sentient species...the Human race turned out to be the catalyst that would bring lasting change to the Cybertronians, returning hope to Primus's spark as he watched the two different yet similar forms of life work together for the betterment of all." And it was then that the images changed to show the Reapers return to the galaxy, as well as the rise of Jackson Prime. "After seeing how Humanity had such a positive effect on his children, Primus came to the conclusion that they were a part of the solution he had been searching for in terms of confronting the returning Darkness, and so chose the Human that was a true Paragon of his people as the next Prime, ending the old lineage while also starting a new one, one that would grow to not only continue to ensure the balance between light and dark, order and chaos. But also combat the Darkness when it makes it's return from the far corners of the All-spark. That Human was you, Jackson Prime, entrusting you with the new Matrix of Leadership that would later be the key to the survival of everything..." the Aeon continued before the images changed to show Unicron's defeat and the destruction of the Reapers. "...but with the Reapers return, Primus soon came to realise that his Brother would arise again and the only way to truly defeat him was to end his own life as well. So he did just that, wiping out the creations of the Chaos Bringer while also giving his children the chance to become a truly alive civilisation as they were all but that already thanks to the influence of their Human allies." PRIME EFFECT 5 Then as the Primes continued to watch the images, they changed to show Orion glimpses of the conflicts he was involved with. This gained a curious look from Jack, as he could not make out what was happening or who his son was fighting, but he could not help but feel proud of what Orion had achieved before the Aeon regained his attention. "Before he sacrificed himself to protect the galaxy from his Brother's wrath, Primus came to the conclusion that it would take more than just the Human/Cybertronian alliance to safeguard creation from the Darkness. He knew that only a fully united galaxy could possibly withstand its corrupting and damaging influence, and having seen how Jackson Prime had brought everyone together during the Reaper War. He realised that his preparations would have to reflect this, while also keeping with the aspects that had been so pivotal in the Darkness's original defeat..." Vok added before the images showed both Primus and Unicron facing off with the unknown enemy alongside further images of Orion, showing him reading from the Covenant of Primus. "...which was family, as it was two siblings, each representing both the light and dark sides of the great balance that exists in creation. And this brings us to Orion Darby, the son of both Jackson Prime and his Spark-mate, Arcee." the Aeon added, before looking directly at the blue-haired Bot. "You were not only a child of Earth and of Cybertron, but also a hybrid of both the light and dark sides of the balance as you walk the line between the two, due to you sharing the defining aspects of both your Parents. So Primus created a paragraph in his covenant, knowing that one day you would look upon it and be pushed to accept the destiny that he wanted for you." Vok said, before the images then changed to reveal the young Asari. "And that finally brings us to Mira Prime, the final part of this Trinity. You are the daughter of Orion Darby and the Asari, Liara T'Soni..." He continued to say, earning a surprised expression from Jack as he looked between both his Son and blue Woman. 'Myra is Orion's Daughter...she is my Granddaughter!' he thought before Vok brought him back from his thoughts as he carried on speaking, the images changing to show parts of the Spectre/Prime's life, though only going so far in revealing events. "...And if he was the bridge between Humanity and Cybertron, then you were the one to link them and the rest of the galaxy together, ensuring the unity of the galactic community and one day passing the matrix on to its next recipient. And just as your predecessors were physical representations of the great balance, you were one as well, representing the dark side of that balance." This gained a look of shock from Orion as he took a step toward the Aeon, while his Daughter simply looked to the floor with a look that could only be described as shame. "Are you saying my Daughter is evil? Because I do not believe that, not for one moment!" he spat back defensively, only for Vok to give him a sympathetic look. "No, Orion Prime. That is not what I meant. But your Daughter has seen much in her long life…and suffered through most of it…" This made the blue-haired Bot look over to Myra, who slowly shook her head while staring back at the Aeon. 'Don't tell him! Please don't!' she thought as her father gave her a concerned look, which she felt and so looked down at the crystalline ground beneath her feet. "Myra, what is it? What happened to you? He asked, before he felt a hand on his shoulder and so looked over to see his old man staring back with a sympathetic expression. "Orion, what was it you said to me very recently…about not knowing the future. Now, I can't say that I know Myra. But I am guessing that as she is my future granddaughter and if she is not in the mind of telling us what has happened in her life, then she must have a good reason for that." he said back, but Orion just looked back at his Daughter. The worry was written all over his face as he kept his attention on his daughter, who in turn looked away. Jack though stood his ground as he kept his hand on the younger man's shoulder, while Vok remained quiet and watched the three Primes before him. "Orion, I know what you are feeling right now. As a parent myself, you want to be there for your child and be sure that everything will be alright for them. But the truth is, you can't be and there comes a time when they have to face the world alone. That is a terrifying thought for any Parent to bear, but all you can do is hope that everything you have taught your child about life as you raised them will be enough to help them." he continued as he let go of his Son and walked in front of both Bot and Asari, with Myra slowly looking up at her Grandfather as did Orion. "Now from what I have seen of Myra right now, I cannot see anything but a strong young woman who it turns out has lived through some unknown events that could have broken anybody else. But here she stands, and as a Prime too. I am guessing that this is partly down to the influence both you and…Liara…" Jack started to say, before giving his son a curious expression. "…is this the same Liara that your mother and I met on Thessia during the Reaper War?" he asked, gaining a nod from Orion in return. "Yes, Dad. That's my Liara." he replied, earning a slight smile from the older Prime. "Okay, good….now where was I?" "You were in the middle of a very good explanation about your Granddaughter, Jackson Prime…" he started to say, gaining the trio's attention as he spoke. "…Because Mira Prime has been through a lot in her life and if it had happened to anyone else, they would have either let their lives be ruled by the darkness that had ruined theirs or given up entirely. And even though she has done questionable things in her life, Mira Prime has never let herself be drawn completely into the darkness. And I do believe that is in part because of you and her mother…" the Aeon explained as he pointed at Orion, who put his hand on his Daughter's shoulder before the Primes attention was brought back to the images as they changed and showed Ser-ket, Crosscut, Evac, Tolae and Kat, bringing a slight smile to the Asari's face as she watched. "…and these individuals, people who helped shape Mira Prime into the person she is today. She is fearlessly loyal to those she cares about, willing to put her own life on the line to do the right thing while not endangering the lives of others. But it was a very recent moment where Mira proved that despite her spark being shrouded in darkness for a very long time, that it had ultimately not been consumed by it…" he said before looking directly at the youngest Prime, making her mirror his actions as she listened. "…and that is why you are a Prime." Vok added, earning a nod from the Asari as she sighed in return while the Aeon looked back at the three of them together. "And that is why you are the Trinity of Primes, because you represent the balance between the light and the dark. Also, you make up the very timeline of the Darby bloodline that has carried the Human Matrix of Leadership, starting with its past…" the orange and black-robed man said as he first pointed at Jack. "…it's present…" he then said while gesturing to Orion, before finally looking at Myra. "…and its future." The three Primes then looked down at their individual Matrices, which began to glow while visible in the chest-plates of their armour. "Your family bond and the experiences that each of you have lived through has strengthened the last remaining piece of Primus's spark and by bringing you all here at our darkest hour, the three of you are his last best hope of once again defeating the Darkness before it can finally cross back into your Universe. This is why Primus chose you to become his disciples, to continue what he and his brother tried to do and defeat the Darkness." "But as you said earlier, Primus and Unicron could only defeat this Darkness but not destroy it. So if we are successful here, we will still have the same resolution...the Darkness will still come back once more." Jackson Prime then said, which made Vok nod back. "That is true but as far as we Aeons were able to determine, the Darkness appears to be a manifestation of the evil in the universe. Because before we fought against it, our enemy had already begun influencing the younger races, making them distrust each other. Making them all go to war with each other, and it was something that we Aeons were unable to prevent." he said back, gaining a knowing look from Orion. "I remember you telling me that the last time I was here." he replied, earning a nod from the Aeon as he looked at Myra. "That is correct and it has started influencing the galaxy once more in your own timeline, Mira Prime?" "Yes, fighting has broken out between most of the members of the galactic community. But I originally thought that was because of Leviathan's infiltration and espionage..." she started to say back, only for the robed Man to cut her off. "That is true to a point, but its leader was slowly being corrupted by the Darkness. As it gets stronger and closer to freeing itself, then its ability to influence the younger races and feed on their own inner darkness gains strength, which is why it is paramount that you...the trinity of Primes do not fail in silencing it once gain on this day..." he began to say, while the three disciples of Primus listened. "...or else it will escape into your Universe and spread throughout it, corrupting and consuming everything until only darkness remains." he continued while Orion then glanced at both his Daughter and Father, before looking back at Vok. "I think I can safely say that we understand the stakes and will do everything we can to stop this threat..." he said, gaining nods from the others. "...so where do we find it?" the Blue-haired Bot added, which brought a slight smile to the Aeon's face. "Head that way..." he started to say, raising his arm and pointing towards the darkest storm clouds in the east. "...that is where the Darkness resides, feeding on the remaining sparks that dwell here in the All-spark..." he continued before Myra then spoke, for she saw that his arm looked rusted and frail. "What's wrong with your arm?" she asked, gaining the others attention as they all stared at the Aeon. "As I said, the Darkness has been feeding on those who reside here. Garuda and I were the only Aeons that were willing to try and stop the threat it possessed, and so entered the All-spark in hopes of slowing it down. But she was captured and killed by the Darkness, while I was severally weakened by it's feeding off my energies..." he explained while opening his robes to reveal that his body was just as rusted and damaged as his arm. "...so I will be unable to assist you in this fight." he added. "What stops this Darkness from feeding off us in the same way?" Jackson Prime then asked, making the Aeon point at the glowing crystal relic in each of their chest plates. "Your Matrices will protect you from it and as you are here in the All-spark, they will also enhance your Prime-armour, weapons and natural abilities." the Aeon replied while gesturing to Orion's Star-Saber and Myra herself. "Well, I am thankful for small blessings. But we will still be fighting an entity from the beginning of time by ourselves." the oldest Prime replied, gaining a knowing look from Vok as he slowly began to disappear. "I cannot say whether that is true or not, Jackson Prime, since I am unsure if there are any other individuals still here in the All-spark that can help. But I have faith in Primus's designs and in the three of you. Together you can defeat the Darkness and spare the universe from our mistakes, good luck." he then said before completely disappearing and leaving the trio standing there on their own as they all looked to the east, toward what looked like the source of the storm clouds that were currently spreading out in all directions. "Okay, we know what we need to do..." Jack then said as he activated his holo Star-saber, gaining his son and granddaughter's attention. "So let's roll out." he added with a confident tone, earning nods from the pair as they then started to make their way towards the storm's centre as thunder boomed and lightning flashed across the sky overhead.

CHAPTER XXII Hardhead towered over the slouched Kat, who was still trying to catch her breath after that punch, with the Destron's shadow slowly casting itself over the Human Wrecker as he raised his claws up in the air. "...I had better finish you off before you get the chance to recover." the Con then said before lunging down at her with his claws and razor-sharp teeth bared, which made the young Shepard's eyes widen in return. 'No!' she thought while she suddenly found her strength and slammed her right holo-blade into Hardhead's armoured boot, cutting right through its plates and impaling his foot. "Arrragh!" he cried out in pain as he looked up at the ceiling, which gave Kat enough time to get back onto her feet, having gained her second wind. So she quickly pulled herself back onto her feet, leaning forward and putting all her weight onto the holo-blade which sank further into Hardhead's appendage, which she then twisted a little. "Arrragh!" he screamed again as the blade then sliced through the bottom of his foot and cut into the deck under it, making blood pour out into a small puddle around it. 'Got to make this quick, because the pain will soon enrage Hardhead and snap him out of this agony.' she thought before yanking the blade put of her adversary's boot, making the Con stumble back as blood squirted out from his wound. "You Bitch! I'm going to make you..." he started to say, only to be cut off by Kat rushing up to him and slashing her left holo-blade at his neck, slitting his throat which made the rest of his blood pour out like a waterfall. "No...guh...n..." he then tried to say while pressing his hands to his throat in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding, which continued to seep out between his fingers while the Human Wrecker turned her attention to the other fight, ignoring Hardhead as he fell to his knees before collapsing onto the ground as the last of his life-blood left him, leaving his body lying in a pool of red. Meanwhile, Inferno rushed towards Sharp-tooth with his claws bared, while the Dinobot Leader was still being distracted by Scylla who was digging her claws into his back and gnawing at his neck. "You die now!" the Con roared as he brought his claws up in an uppercut-like fashion at the Bot's chest, but suddenly Scorn tackled the Femme and pulled both her and his team-mate out of Inferno's path, making him swipe at fresh air. "What!" he spat while watching as the new arrival then ripped Scylla off his friend and held her over his head for a moment, while she flailed her arms around and screamed. "I don't think so..." Scorn then said before pulling the Destron-Femme down on his right knee, earning a loud crack as her spine was broken. "Scylla!" Inferno cried out as the Bot dropped her body next to Sharp-tooth, with the Dinobot Leader ignoring his injuries as he then grabbed her screaming head and turned it so quickly that it snapped her neck, killing her. This brought a fearful look upon the Destron's face as his eyes widened, because now he was completely alone against the Autobots with Kat joining her allies' side as they turned their attention to him. "Looks like it's just you and us, Inferno." Sharp-tooth then said, still ignoring the blood trickling down his armour from his neck wound. "No!" the Con then spat back, tapping his com-link as he slowly backed away from the trio. "Vasir, I need reinforcements." "I can see that." the Asari said back with a disinterested tone as she watched via the holo-screen of her holo-tool, seeing the three Autobots out-manning the Destron. "Well, send them then!" he spat back, which made the Leviathan Leader look over at one of her Asari crewmen standing at a nearby station. "Are they near one of the hatches leading to the outside?" she asked, gaining a nod from the Asari in return. "Yes, Sir. At the altitude Leviathan's height reaches, anyone in that area would be sucked out the moment we open it to the outside pressure." "Do it..." Vasir then said before returning her attention the screen, noticing that the Autobots were about to kill the Destron Leader. "...I don't think so. You have failed me for the last time, Inferno..." she started to say, which made the Con's eyes widen even more as he listened to her. "...but you should take comfort in the fact that the Autobots will die with you." she finished before nodding back at the other Asari. Suddenly, the sound of something opening caught the attention of Inferno and his enemies, earning confused looks from them as the Con looked as though he had fouled himself. "What is that noise?" Sharp-tooth asked as it echoed from further down the corridor, before suddenly they found themselves being pulled off their feet as the air was quickly vacated from the area. Noooooo!" Inferno screamed as he was sent flying down the corridor, followed then by the bodies of his team-mates while Sharp-tooth and Scorn dug their claws into the ground, with the latter also holding onto Kat as he did so. "Hold on!" the Dinobot Leader roared as the three tried to fight against pull of the outside, feeling their strength slowly giving way as they did so. Meanwhile, Inferno shot through the corridor against his will, unable to claw at anything around him in an attempt to slow and stop himself. He saw the hatch up ahead and held his arms out, managing to grip the sides of the opening and dig his claws in, slowing his movement to a stop as the air continued to be sucked out. "Vasir...betrayed...me..." he started to say before being cut off as the Destron suddenly spotted the bodies of Hardhead, Devron and Scylla heading directly at him ...No..." he added as they then hit him and broke his grip, sending the Destron Leader and his dead comrades out of the Leviathan as they fell to the ground below, which was a long drop to say the least. Meanwhile, Kat, Sharp-tooth and Scorn were still clinging to the deck as the air was being sucked out around them. "I can't...hold on...for much...longer." the Dinobot Leader said whilst gritting his teeth, which earned a worried look from his team-mate as he felt his claws loosen from the ground slightly. "Me too..." he managed to say, which made Kat tap her com-link in return. "Evac, come in...this is Kat. Do you read?" In orbit, the battle was still going strong as the Autobot fleet and Vasir's forces fought, with torpedoes and cannon fire in all directions as the Eudora weaved in and out of the combating ships, firing on whatever enemy ships it could get a lock on. "I have Kat on the Com..." Tolae said as she looked over to her Lover, who performed another barrel roll as two enemy cruisers flew past either side of them. "Put her through." he said back, gaining a nod from the Ardat-Yakshi as she typed in her holo-interface. "Kat, we read you. What you need?" the Pilot then said. "We need a ground-bridge at our location...with its endpoint at another spot in Leviathan." the Human Woman said over the Com-link, which made him look over his shoulder at Tolae with a concerned expression. "Tolae..." he started to say, which made her focus on her station in return. "Keep your eyes ahead, Evac. I've got this..." she started to reply, earning a nod from the Pilot who returned his focus to the battle unfolding on the other side of the cockpit's canopy, while the Asari looked at the map of leviathan which showed exactly where the trio were. "...okay, Kat, I have the exit vortex locked. Just let me know when you are ready." "Roger that..." Kat said back just as Sharp-tooth's grip suddenly failed, which made him fly away from Scorn and her. "No!" the Bot shouted as he then let go of the ground, allowing himself and the Human Wrecker to be pulled into the air too as they closely followed their friend. "Tolae, now!" Kat the shouted as the opened hatch came in sight, getting bigger as the trio shot towards it. But then suddenly a green glowing vortex opened up in front of it, sucking the three into it and surrounding them in a bright light before then spitting them back out into an identical corridor. At this moment, a smile appeared on Vasir's face as she looked down at the screen at her place Leviathan's CIC, which had just shown footage of the three Autobots being sucked away just like Inferno had. "Alright, close the hatch and re-pressurise that deck…" she started to say before a thoughtful expression appeared on her face. 'Why wasn't Myra with them? There is no way she wouldn't be in on this incursion.' she thought while turning to the Weapons station, gaining the crewman's attention. "Wake up our Mechs and have them patrol Leviathan's corridors on search and destroy protocol." This gained a nod from the crewman before he began typing into his holo-interface, which led to a giant warehouse-sized room being brought out of darkness as it's lights lit the area up and revealed an army of Mechs standing in formation, their optics slowly powering up as they activated. PRIME EFFECT 5 As this was happening, Kat and her friends slowly recovered in the corridor that the Eudora's vortex had dropped them into. "Thanks for the help, Tolae. You don't know how much we appreciate it." she said into her com-link as Scorn patched up Sharp-tooth's injuries, earning smiles from the pair as they nodded back at her. "Your welcome, Kat. Good luck down there." the Ardat-Yakshi replied before ending the call, which made the Wrecker return her attention to the two Dinobots. "How you doing, Sharp-tooth?" "I'll be fine, Kat. they're just some scratches, nothing more." the Dinobot Leader replied, shrugging it off as his friend finished treating the last neck wound with Medi-gel and a bandage. "There, that should hold unless we come across any more fights like that." the Bot stated, gaining an appreciative smile from the other as Kat activated her holo-tool. "Okay, let's see if we are closer or indeed further from our objective now." she said back, with her eyes widening as her screen appeared and revealed their new location. "What? What is it?" Scorn asked as both Dinobots just stared back at the surprised Woman, who returned her attention to the pair. "...It's just down this corridor, we have only moved into a section near to our original location. Tolae has allowed us to skip the majority of our path." she replied with a smile, which gained mirrored looks from her team-mates. "We should get Tolae a fruit-basket or something..." Sharp-tooth replied before getting to his feet, followed by both Kat and Scorn. "Well before that, let's get this mission done." the latter said back, earning nods from the others before the trio then ran down the corridor. Meanwhile, Myra and her team exited an empty elevator shaft and found themselves in another long corridor nearing the center of Leviathan's giant torso, gaining a worried look from Slash. "Please tell me that we are getting closer, because all this running around and no fighting is starting to bug me?" he asked, having noticed Strafe looking down at her holo-tool while Myra looked down both sides of the corridor. "I am detecting a very large power source just beyond the next room at the end of this corridor…" the Femme began to say, only to be cut off by the Asari. "Let's get moving then." she said in a commanding tone, gaining a nod from the others as the three started to run in the direction that Strafe had motioned to, only to have them stop suddenly as a door opened on the right side of the corridor ahead of them. "Okay, that's new…" Slash started to say as several Mechs entered the area and looked directly at them, which brought a smile to the Dinobot's face. "…that's more like it." he said, earning an eye-roll from the Femme as Myra focused her biotics into her hands which she clenched into fists. "We don't have time for this." she spat before launching blue-energy projectiles at the enemies, hitting the ground between them and exploded in a biotic shockwave which sent them all flying. "Then go on, we'll handle these guys." Strafe then replied while Slash switched to his beast-mode and charged into the recovering group of Mechs, earning a surprised look from Myra in return as she looked back at the Femme. "But…" "We've got this, Myra. Go!" the Bot shouted back as he gripped the head of one enemy with his claws while kicking at another, before ripping the other's head off and throwing it into a Mech that was targeting it's weapon and the women. This gained a friendly and encouraging look from the Strafe as she nodded back to the Spectre, who then sighed in return. "Okay, watch your backs." she replied before charging towards the ongoing fight that Slash was currently in the thick off, while Strafe changed into her beast-mode as well and launched herself at one of the Mechs. And as the two Dinobots started to trash the enemy troops around them, Myra performed a biotic charge and smashed through three more before continuing on and running towards the doorway at the end of the corridor. As that was happening, the crewman working at the sensors station in Leviathan's CIC looked over to Vasir with an awkward expression. "…Vasir?" he said with a shaky tone, but the Asari's attention was focused on the holo-screen overhead as it showed Omega Supreme readying itself again for attack. "…Prepare for another…" she began to say before the crewman then spoke up again. "Vasir?" he said, making the Leviathan Leader look back at him with a glare. "What! Can you not see that we are in the middle of a…." she started to say before the room suddenly shook as the City-Bot took another hit from the Autobot Guardian, which then made her face tense up. "…battle here!" she finished with narrowed eyes while staring back at the crewman, who felt as though the ground should open up and swallow him. "…b…but a patrol of Mechs have come up against another team of Autobots near the Power-core." he managed to reply, gaining a wide-eyed look from Vasir in return. "Show me!" she then said, before a small holo-screen appeared next to her with footage showing Myra running through an opening door as her two Dinobot allies continued to fight the Mechs. 'Damn it, I knew she wouldn't be sitting this out and she is near to the core…?' she thought before looking over to the Weapons station, who then looked back with a fearful look as he wondered what she was going to say. "Flood the Power-Core with the Cybonic Plague." Vasir spat, gaining a confused look from the crewman. "Sir?" "Her Father was a Cybertronian Hybrid, the plague may just work on her as well." she replied, earning a nod from him as he began rerouting the plague from it's central storage tanks towards the power-core on his holo-interface as Vasir slowly smirked. 'This should finally deal with her.' Myra though found herself in a massive spherical room, standing on one of many metallic hanging walkways that surrounded the large spherically shaped power-core in it's center, with her walkway and a few others leading directly to the heart of the Behemoth, which was held in place by large cables and piping that looked like it branched out from the core into all sides of the room. 'It looks like a mechanical version of a circulatory system.' she thought while admiring the greenish-blue glow of the Energon as it was pumped out of the core to the other parts of the City-Bot's body. 'Okay, sightseeing is over.' the Asari then thought before refocusing on the task at hand and running down the walkway towards the Titan's mechanical heart, with it getting progressively larger as she got closer to it. 'I hope there is a simple 'off' switch available, once I get in there.' the young Darby hoped as she approached what looked like an entrance to the core, as a large circular door with a warning sign in it's center welcomed her. For Myra didn't want to leave her two Dinobot companions for long as they fought against Leviathan's Mechs, or Kat and her squad for that matter either. But as she hacked the door controls with her holo-tool which then beeped back with a green blinking light to signify that it was successful, the Spectre could not help but worry that it might not be that simple. 'Please let this be quick.' she thought as the door opened and she walked into the core, only for her eyes to widen in return at what she saw as it closed behind her. For the Asari was looking at two large masses of metallic cables and pipes reaching both the ceiling and the floor, but what they were connected to was blurred out by the bright greenish-blue sphere of energy being emanated from it. This earned a reluctant sigh from Myra as she stared back, recognising how advanced it looked. 'That's great. I'm guessing that whatever I need to shut down is at the center of that….' she started to think before suddenly starting to cough as a tingling sensation came over her. 'What in the…' the Spectre began to think as her breathing became heavy and the tingling started to ache in a rather aggressively painful way, which made her fall to her knees in return. '…why am I starting to feel so…' she thought while looking around the room, noticing a faint mist surrounding her which wasn't being produced by the core. '…I can't…can't think…' Myra found her thoughts slowly abandoning her as the Asari's vision started to blur as her eyes started to feel sore, so she lifted her left hand to rub at them despite how much it ached. But before doing so, the Asari managed to catch a glimpse of what her hand looked like as it was no longer the healthy Asari blue but was instead slowly being covered by dark grey veins as it's colour began to dull. 'By the…goddess, it's…the…plague. But…I am…Asari, it shouldn't affect me…like this?' Myra questioned between the painful coughs before everything suddenly went black, as the Spectre lost consciousness and passed out on the Power-core's floor. Meanwhile, as Kat and her squad were busy setting up the incendiary bomb in the Plague's storage hold, completely undetected by Leviathan's security as it was focused on both Slash and Strafe's continuous butchering of it's Mechs. Vasir could only smile as things started to look up as her City-Bot had managed to knock Omega Supreme back on to it's back. "Now, while it is down, grab and pick it up." she ordered, earning a nod from the helmsman who then made Leviathan do just that as the Behemoth then bent down and grabbed the recovering Bot by it's head and lifted it off the ground. "Try to break us free." Vraz shouted to his own helmsman as smoke billowed out around the Supreme's bridge while other crewmen tried to put out the fires and keep control of the situation. But the Commander could not help but wonder if the distraction was about to come to an end, as slowly the image of Leviathan's face came into view on their large holo-screen as it held Omega up in the air with both arms. "We have the Guardian in our grasp, Sir. Your orders?" the Helmsman then said to the Leviathan Leader, making her smile widen a little more as she looked out at her Adversary's damaged and beaten Bot. "It's time to finish this…. Rip it's head off." It was then that Leviathan, who held Omega Supreme by his head with it's right arm while also holding on to the Autobot's right arm with its left, then pulled with the former, making the Supreme's crew hear sounds of stress and straining echoing down from the top of the Guardian's body. "Everybody hold on!" Vraz then shouted before suddenly the old Autobot's head was pulled clean off it's body, making the bridge-stations explode and send all the crew manning them to the floor as the Commander fell to his knees as well. Vasir laughed as she watched the Autobot's last hope fall apart in the grasp of her mighty City-Bot, earning relieved looks from the crew around her. "That was great. Now drop the wreck to the floor." she said in a happy tone before Leviathan did just that, letting go of Omega's body which quickly joined it's severed head as it hit the ground with the sound of crushed metal. "Report!" Vraz shouted as he looked around the bridge, which was now only lit by emergency lighting as the fires gave off more light as the crewmen tried to fight them around him. But one Autobot managed to get back to his station and try to work it, which was not easy as his holo-interface was flickering on and off randomly. "We have lost main power, Sir. Emergency power has kicked in and we have sensors, artificial gravity and comms, but we have lost control of Omega himself….He's….offline." the crewman said with a fearful tone, one that the Commander shared with a stare before he looked back at the holo-screen which now had a view of Leviathan as it stood directly over them. "Send the transmission. I don't know if it will be picked up in time…but it looks like it is up to Myra now." Vraz replied, a tinge of hope underlined his serious and beaten tone, which gained nods from the crew around him as the Communications Crewman hit the button on his damaged console. In the Leviathan's CIC, Vasir could not have looked happier as she looked at the image of the defeated Autobot Guardian on the giant view-screen. "That was beautiful…" the Asari started to say in a twisted gleeful tone, before looking back at the small holo-screen beside her which showed an image of an unconscious Myra lying on the power core's floor. "…and this is just….excellent." she added as her smile widened fully before the crewman manning the weapons station looked over to her. "Sir,…" he started to say back, gaining the Leviathan Leader's attention. "…we are ready to fire the torpedo now." he added, which brought a sparkle to Vasir's eyes as she smiled back, earning worried looks from her crew once more. "This is just getting better and better. Very well,…set target and prepare to fire." she replied before ignoring the small holo-screen as she turned back to the main view-screen, which still showed the beaten Omega, but also now contained a small inner screen that showed the torpedo locking on target. Meanwhile, outside, Leviathan lifted it's left arm up into the air as a cannon slid out of it's fore-arm and prepared to fire. "The Cybertronians have lived their last day. The time of their end has come…" Vasir then said as she watched the screen with a jubilant expression, before pointing at the Weapons station. "…Fire the torpedo!" she added, gaining a nod from the crewman who then typed in the key combination on his holo-interface. "Launching in thirty seconds….. twenty-nine….twenty-eight…" But as the count-down began, the crewman's voice was barely even registered by the Asari. For she was right now revelling in what now was quickly becoming her moment of victory. 'Benezia….this is for you.' But unbeknownst to the Leviathan Leader, Myra had slowly come to and found herself lying exactly where she had passed out, which was at the foot of the power-core. 'Who…said…that?' she thought as she pulled herself onto her knees, despite the increasingly painful aches of her joints and muscles. 'I heard a voice…it said 'You must not fail'.' she thought before reaching down to her utility belt and pulling out a large Medi-gel injection. 'This won't…cure me, but…it should…help.' The Asari then injected it's contents into her body, which instantly made her like she could move again, though the pain was still ever-present. 'I've got…to shut that thing down now!' she thought as her face became focused and her eyes glowed with biotic energy before it then enveloped her body like a shield, making the Spectre look like a figure of blue light as she got back to her feet. 'Hope my biotics can hold out.' Myra then held her left hand out before her as she walked toward the energy field of the power core's centre, which felt as hot as the surface of the Sun as she got closer to it. And then just as the Asari passed into it, Myra felt pain rack through her skin like wildfire despite the protection of her biotic-field. 'Fucking….burns, but…I'm nearly there.' she thought while slowly making her way through the fiery energy of the core towards it's center, which then revealed itself to the Spectre. '…it's the…energy…reaction of…the core.' the young Darby thought as her body continued to be riddled with pain, while she found herself staring at a small sphere of energy hanging between what looked like to highly sophisticated electro-magnets. '…I…might…be…able…to destabilise…it with…my biotics.' Myra thought as she then reached out with both hands at it, focusing her energies towards them both, before suddenly placing them on it. "Arrrrrrgh!" the Asari screamed as she then flooded the core with her own biotic energies, mixing the bright blue biotics into the green sphere of the core. This made her eyes and mouth all glow with a white light as explosions started to rattle the interior around her before suddenly the energy sphere itself exploded, sending a shockwave out that knocked the Spectre away as everything onboard the City-bot went dark. "What?!…just happened?" Vasir then asked with a confused expression as everything around her deactivated, gaining similarly mirrored looks from the crew around her. "I'm not sure, but it seems that we have lost all power Sir." the Crewman manning the Engineering station said, which then brought utter silence from everyone else as they stood there and looked at the Asari. For the Leviathan Leader simply stood in the middle of them all and looked up at the ceiling where the massive holo-screen used to be, not saying a word before her eyes then narrowed and she gritted her teeth. "WHAT!" Vasir spat as she spun around and stared daggers at the crewman, who looked like he was about to die as his Asari colleague hastily activated her holo-tool. "I…d…don't know what else that could be." the crewman said back with a fearful stare as the Leviathan Leader began to glow with biotic energy, a cold and ferocious look on her face. "Get…emergency…power…running!" she replied, but all this did was make the crewman panic as he looked around at his console, which had lost its holo-interface due to the power outage. "…I can't." he merely replied, which made the Asari pick him up by his neck with her biotics, much to the shock of the crew around them. "…Then you are useless to me!" she spat back while preparing to snap his neck, only for the crewman with the active holo-tool to catch her attention. "Sir,…wait!" the other Asari shouted, making the Leviathan Leader drop the crewman and look at her. "What!" "I have managed to use my holo-tool to gain communications with our fleet…" she started to say, gulping as her Commander's glowing eyes narrowed once more. "Well…you better have some good news?" Vasir said back in a menacing tone, which only made the other Asari shake her head in return. "A fleet of ISF ships, ones not registered with our allies, have jumped in and are assisting the Autobot cruisers…" she started to say, which only made the Leviathan Leader's eyes narrow even more. "…and with Leviathan shutting down…our fleet has ordered the retreat." she added while almost biting her lip out of fear, for Vasir gritted her teeth and clenched her fists so tightly that she drew a few small drops of blood in return. "…what?" she said in a surprisingly calm voice, which made everyone's hearts feel as though they had stopped. But before anyone could say anything else, an internal explosion from the decks below shook the room. "Oh no!" another crewman then said, having guessed what that was as suddenly the Leviathan Leader just snapped and held her fists up in the air and screamed. "NOOOOOO!" she cried out while letting loose a biotic shockwave, one that knocked all the crewmen around her against the walls behind them, killing them instantly. Vasir then dropped to her knees and looked at the floor as it dawned on her what had happened, making her anger build up once more. 'First Leviathan is shut down. Then, my forces turn tail and run….and now the plague is destroyed. No, I will not let this be the end…..Myra! This all started with her.' she thought while her biotics flared up again as she got back to her feet. "I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, MYRA!" the Asari then spat in an enraged voice before running out of the CIC, leaving the dead bodies of her crew behind. 'And I know just where to find you!' PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, Slash and Strafe entered the exterior of the power-core, noting the low lit area as the now-dead City-Bot's heart was before them. "She did it! Myra shut the thing down." Slash said in an ecstatic tone, earning a knowing look from the Femme as they began running down the walkway toward the spherical core in front of them. "Of course she did, also shut down all the Mechs too. Luckily, they were all tied to the same power source, it would seem." she said before noticing the Asari exiting the power-core ahead of them. "Myra,…you did it!" the Bot replied before the Spectre then hit him with biotic blast, stopping him and Strafe in their tracks. "Stay back!" she shouted back, earning confused looks from the pair in return. "Myra? What's wrong?" the Femme then asked, before noticing the dark grey veins on the young Darby's face as well as the dark patches around her eyes. "I've been…infected with…the Plague, you will…be too…if you come…any closer." she said while holding her hand out at them as a warning, which brought worried looks to their faces. "We can get you a Medical team, have you fixed up." Slash said back, making the Spectre shake her head in return while coughing hard. "…No, this is…highly contagious…can't risk…." she tried to say back, just as a ground-bridge vortex opened up behind the Dinobots. "We did it…we…" Kat started to say in a happy tone as she exited the vortex with Sharp-tooth and Scorn, only for her eyes to fall on her Lover's heavily injured form. "…Myra!" she screamed before rushing towards the Asari, with only Slash and Strafe to stop her as she fought against their grip. "You can't…she's been infected with the Plague." the Femme said back, earning shocked looks from the other Elite Terracons as the young Shepard kept her eyes on Myra. "I don't care. I'm not Cybertronian!" she spat back while trying to break out of their hold, only to stop as the Asari spoke up. "You…have to…go, Kat. I'm…afraid…I can't go…with you." she said between coughs and heavy breaths, which made the Human Wrecker's eyes well up in return. "I'm not going anywhere without you." she said back, which brought a slight smile to the Spectre's face as a tear ran down her own cheek, as she raised her throbbing hand to her com-link. "Evac,…do you…read me?" she managed to say, despite the pain in her voice. "Loud and clear, Myra. You alright down there?" the Pilot replied with a concerned tone, while the Asari just kept her eyes on Kat. "I…need you…to transport…the others back…to the…ship. You…need to…do it…now." she said back, making Shepard's eyes widen more as she listened to her. "Okay? But we just took some damage up here from a fleeing enemy cruiser, so the best I can do is outside in the desert." This made the Spectre's smile widen a little more before she responded. "That will do…" she started to say before another ground bridge opened up behind everyone else, making both Strafe and Slash pull the now crying Kat back with them toward the portal. "…thanks, Evac,…for everything." she then replied before tapping her com-link again. "Yeah…wait... what?" the Autobot Pilot began to say back before the call was cut short as the sound of a door opening up several levels ahead of them was heard, making Myra's face go serious. "You…have…to go…now!" she said, gaining nods from all the Dinobots as Sharp-tooth then threw something over to the deteriorating Spectre, with it hitting the floor right in front of the now kneeling Asari. "That should help with the pain…at least." he said in a saddened tone, which earned an appreciative smile from Myra. "Thanks." she replied before turning her attention back to Kat, who was almost inside the event horizon of the vortex as the other Dinobots continued to pull her in. "Myra, I won't leave you!" she cried out while fighting against her friends, which made the Spectre smile back with a loving stare. "I….lov…" she started to say before the group then disappeared into the vortex, which then closed after them and left Myra on her own. "…love you." the young Darby finished as she sighed and looked down at the object that Sharp-tooth had thrown to her which was another injection of Medi-gel, this time an extremely strong dose. 'If…this is…how…I am…going to…go, then…I will…go down…fighting.' she thought while taking the injection in her hand and injecting it into her neck, immediately feeling the effects of the Medi-gel as it staved off the pain her body was going through, just as a familiar voice shouted down from the walkways above her. "DARBY!" This gained the Spectre's attention as she got to her feet and looked up to see Vasir glaring down at her with an enraged stare, tightening her grip around the arm rails in front of her . "I knew…this would get your attention." the young Darby replied with a slight smile, which made the Leviathan Leader grit her teeth in return. "You and your fucking Autobots have gotten in my way for the last time Myra, I am going to finish you just like I did your mother." she spat back, before jumping over the rails and launching herself at the Spectre, throwing a biotic punch at her adversary. But the young Darby managed to block the attack with energy-barrier, before grappling with Vasir as they stood together on the same walkway. "You're not looking well, Myra. Perhaps you should give up now…" the Leviathan Leader said as she noticed the effects of the plague taking a hold on her enemy, with the dark grey veins spreading over the other Asari's face. "…I promise to make your death quick." she added, but this just made the younger Woman smirk as they continued to grapple. "…Even if I had…just a cold, Vasir, you still…wouldn't be a match…for me….and today will be no different." she joked back, which made Vasir grit her teeth in return as she suddenly tried to punch her opponent. Myra, though, blocked the attack and countered, which made the older Asari counter back. The two women went back and forth like this for what felt like a long moment before Vasir looked to have the advantage, performing a spin kick which was aimed at the young Darby's face. The Spectre though used her biotics to catch the other Asari's leg and then use her inertial to throw the Leviathan Leader into the opposite direction. But the Leviathan Leader used her own biotics to slow her speed and gently put herself back onto the walkway, before spinning around and throwing several biotic projectiles at her younger opponent. Myra though slid onto her knees, aching as much as they were and slid under the balls of energy as they passed over her, before performing a biotic uppercut, which hit the Leviathan Leader directly under the chin and sent her flying on to her back with a thud. "You had enough?" the Spectre then asked as Vasir got back to her feet and wiped a trickle of blood from her mouth, staring back with narrowed eyes. "Never." she spat before launching herself at the younger Asari in a biotic charge, only for Myra to perform the same manoeuvre as the two then collided which resulted in biotic explosion that once more sent the Leviathan Leader onto the deck as the younger Darby grabbed hold of the hand-rail beside her and breathed heavily, as once more the Plague was starting to take it's toll. "Alright…" Vasir then said as she slowly recovered and got onto her knees, while the Spectre stood there and looked down at her with a hateful stare. "…I admit it…" she continued while slipping her hand down to her utility belt, slowly unclipping an injection device and grasping it in her hand. "…you are the better fighter…and I am never going to be your equal like this…" she continued to say until the young Darby's eyes fell upon the object in her hand and so moved closer to her enemy. "Wait? What is that…in your…hand?" she asked, earning a devious smile from the Leviathan Leader as she jabbed the device's needle into her neck, releasing a red liquid into her bloodstream. "Something that will tip the scales between you and I." she said, before Myra suddenly noticed the other Asari's eyes glowing red as similarly coloured veins appeared on her skin as she started to suffer convulsions. 'Damn it, she is…going to blow.' the Spectre thought before using her biotics to pick you her rival and throw her over the side, which then was followed by a bright red flash of light from beneath the walkway. 'Is Vasir…finally dead?' she thought while making her way to the other side of the walkway, taking hold of the hand-rail so she could look over. But all the Asari could see was more walkways underneath, with no sign of Vasir's body. 'Where is her body?' she thought with a confused expression, before suddenly being thrown onto her side as she felt what could only be described as being slammed in the back by a Krogan. "Arrgh!" The Autobot Spectre cried out as she hit the floor, before quickly recovering and getting back to her feet, which was getting harder as the Medi-gel's effects continued to wear off. Though her eyes widened in shock as she saw Vasir standing before her on the walkway once again, but this time she looked quite different. "What…the Hell?" Myra asked in a confused tone, as the Leviathan Leader now had glowing red eyes and veins over her skin, as well as similarly coloured biotic field emanating from her now seriously toned physique as she smirked back at her hated rival. "It's called 'Crimson Rage'. A biotic enhancer that also brings about a beast-like change to whoever uses it….much like how the Terracons own beast-mode…" she replied before then hitting Myra with what looked like a biotic hammer, knocking the young Darby back onto her stomach. "…it's made me far more stronger than you, Darby." she added before then using her red-glowing biotics to pick the injured Spectre back off the ground and hold her in the air in front the Leviathan Leader. "…And now I can finally do what I should have done the first time round…" she then started to say while pulling her right arm back, as if readying to punch her rival. "…end the Darby lineage once and for all!" the Asari then spat before performing an uppercut at Myra, only for a large biotic fist to appear and hit the Spectre so hard that she was launched up into the air. The young Darby suddenly found herself flying up towards the ceiling of the outer-room of the Power-core, but even though she was in immense pain, from both the Plague's effect on her deteriorating body and Vasir's own Mega-punch. She still managed to focus her biotics into enveloping her body with a protective field, just as the large spherical room's ceiling was about to meet her. 'This…is going to…hurt.' she thought before suddenly she stopped, finding herself once more in the grasp of red biotic energy which was holding her in place. And then suddenly in the blink of an eye, Vasir was right back in her face with another punch that hit the younger Asari in the face and flung her into one of the metallic walkways that hung from the ceiling. "I am going to make you pay for all the trouble you have caused me, Darby." she spat before launching herself at her rival, who had managed to recover and regain her footing on the damaged walkway and dive out of the enraged Leviathan Leader's path as she flew past in a red-blur. 'This formula has boosted Vasir's physique and her biotics, even allowing her to fly!' she thought before suddenly finding herself on the defensive as Vasir attacked again, making the Spectre block her attacks with a biotic barrier which started to show cracks in its blue shell as it was continuously hammered by her adversary's fiery red strikes. "You can't hide behind your biotics, Myra. This is the end for you." the older Asari spat as she went to punch at the younger Woman's barrier, only for Myra to make it disappear. This caused the Leviathan Leader's inertial to get the better of her, giving the Spectre an advantage as she hit her enemy with biotic uppercut and knocked her onto her back. "Who's hiding." the younger Darby spat back as she then tried to use her current advantage once more by launching herself at the floored Asari, only for Vasir to then hit her with a powerful biotic blast. The Spectre suddenly found herself hurtling through the ceiling as well as all the decks above that while being completely enveloped in the glowing red energy. Meanwhile, Kat and the Dinobots stood outside in the desert, not far from the right foot of the gigantic Leviathan which stood like a statue in the hot blazing sun that shown down from above. "Why didn't you leave me with Myra?! she shouldn't have…" the Human Wrecker started to vent, only for the sound of an explosion to cut her off as she and the others looked up to see a glowing red beam explode out of the right shoulder of the City-Bot above them. "What the hell is that?" Sharp-tooth started to say as they stood there and watched, while Kat's eyes widened in return. "Myra!" she gasped before running closer to the Behemoth, earning shocked looks from the Bots. "Kat! Wait!" Strafe shouted back before she and the elite Terracons followed in pursuit. But upon Leviathan's right shoulder, Myra hit the cold hard metal of the City-Bot's exterior with a heavy thud after being knocked through what felt like the entire interior of Leviathan, earning a grimace from the Asari as her body ached even more despite the protection of her biotic field. 'I don't...know how much...more I can take.' the young Woman thought as she slowly got back to her feet, before noticing that she was now outside and standing on the City-Bot's shoulder, the cold air was a shock to her system as the strong wind hit her hard. 'Wow! Now that can wake you up. Just need a moment to get my breath back.' she added, suddenly feeling a little more alert as the cold air numbed her pain slightly. But the moment was not meant to be, as an explosion from behind the Spectre knocked her back onto the cold floor with a grimace. "There you are..." Vasir then called as she floated out of the hole she had made and joined her Autobot rival, the red biotic energy looking like it was fire as it danced over her body. "...and here I thought I might have accidentally sent you into orbit." she joked with a slight laugh, gaining a blank expression from Myra on return. "You certainly like to overemphasise your abilities, Vasir, even with this 'Crimson Rage' you've taken. But truth be told, that blast barely even hurt. Sounds similar to all your other endeavours." she replied with a slight grin appearing on her face as a trickle of blood ran down her chin from her mouth, one that made the Leviathan Leader's face to look like thunder as she gritted her teeth, making her biotics glow even brighter. "I'm just going to have to make you bleed even more before I kill you." she spat back before firing another biotic blast from her arms which the Spectre dodged by leaping to the side, using her biotics to perform a somersault before landing back on her feet and launching an energy blast of her own. But Vasir simply swatted it aside, causing the blue energy to vaporise against her red biotics as she then flung herself at her adversary with another biotic punch. The younger Darby brought up another barrier, but that was smashed through by the Leviathan Leader who then grabbed the Asari by her throat. "Was that the best you could do?" she asked with hateful stare, making it hard for Myra to breath as her fingers grip tightened around the other's neck. "Well...at least...mine was naturally...created and not done...with a drug." she managed to say between the gasps for air, which only made the older Woman's rage build up even more as she glared down at the rival in her grasp. "I would do anything to make up for the mistake of letting you live, even this." she roared before punching Myra in the stomach so hard, the armour there cracked in response and made the Spectre cough up some blood as she fell onto her knees. 'I am nearly spent...' she started to think as the pain her body was currently experiencing started to double in strength and intensity, due to the Medi-gel having been completely used up in her system and allowing the Plague to continue without any further hindrance. '...I think...I only have...enough strength...for one...last attack.' she continued, before looking up at her adversary who currently towered over her. "You know...even after...all the talk...of killing me..." Myra then started to say, gaining a curious stare from Vasir who just listened in return. "...you still...can't just do it...you can't just...kill me...can you?" the Spectre added with a slight smile, which earned a dumbfounded look from the Leviathan Leader. But the Spectre's words sunk in and suddenly the older Asari snapped as she raised her fists into the air, burning brightly with biotic energy. "I will kill you right now!" she spat with a furious expression and tone while about to strike, but Myra suddenly put everything she had into her biotics as the younger Asari punched up at her adversary and hit directly in the enemy Commander's chest. Her glowing blue fists created a ripple effect over Vasir's biotic field, making it fluctuate while also making the older Woman stumble backwards until she crossed the edge of City-Bot's shoulder and started to fall. No!" the Leviathan Leader shouted with a startled look as gravity took hold of her, earning a sigh from the Autobot Spectre in return. That, though, was cut short as Vasir then punched her glowing hand towards Myra and latched onto the young Darby with a biotic tether, pulling her off the Behemoth's shoulder and into freefall as the two Asari grappled with one another. "This is how it ends." Vasir shouted as they fell to the ground below, which was quickly rushing up to meet them, but the Leviathan Leader quickly and easily manoeuvred Myra under her as a cushion since the Spectre was now in a severally weakened state. The older Woman then started to glow again with her fiery biotics, before suddenly performing a biotic charge and hurtling faster to the ground. The pair looked like a shooting star before they both hit the ground beside Leviathan's foot so hard, that it created a small shockwave of dirt and sand. "MYRA!" Kat screamed with a horrified expression as she ran towards the crater, having seen what had just transpired. Her heart was beating so fast in her chest, that she could feel it through the chest-plate of her armour. But as she got closer, the dust began to settle as the Human Woman could see an Asari standing over another at it's center. "No..." she gasped as she recognised Vasir as the one who stood over the fallen Spectre, who looked like she was dead since she was not moving. "NO!" the young Shepard then cried out, gaining Vasir's attention as she fired a biotic wave at the approaching group, knocking Kat and the Dinobots off their feet as it hit them. "Stay out of this!" she spat before returning her focus to Myra, who slowly opened her eyes and looked up at her. "For I want to enjoy this moment..." the older Asari continued to rant as she then stamped on the Spectre's stomach, making her cough up some more blood as her body quickly sat up in a reflex move from the hit. "...As I finally get to reunite a daughter..." she added while grabbing Myra by her chest-plate with her right hand while holding her left fist in the air as it glowed brightly with her red-biotics as she readied the killing blow. "...with that bitch of a mother of hers!" she finished as she pulled her fist back and then launched it at Myra's face, which suddenly made the younger Asari snap out of her daze as she grabbed Kat's combat blade from the sheath on her leg and stabbed it into Vasir's side. "NO!" the Spectre spat as the Leviathan Leader was stopped in her tracks and looked down to see the blade stuck in her torso, a look of pure shock appearing on her face. "...what? How?" she then muttered before falling to her knees, gaining equally surprised looks from her friends as they watched from the crater's edge. But Myra ignored them as she fought the pain in her body to get back onto her own feet, feeling nothing but an aching pain as her skin felt as if it was starting to boil. 'Time to finish this.' she thought while finally standing over the injured Vasir, the Woman who had stolen so much from the young Darby's life. So Myra clenched her right hand into a fist and raised it over the Leviathan Leader, who looked up at her with a fearful expression as said fist began to glow with a blue hue as the Spectre's biotics were channelled into it. Kat could only watch with her mouth slightly ajar, as her Lover looked to finally have her chance at revenge. 'Is she...going to...?' she started to think, before being cut off as Myra spoke. "Vasir, this is...for my...loved ones...that you...murdered…Liara T'Soni...my Mother ...and John Shepard...my fiancé...you bitch!" she spat before punching the older Asari so hard that it knocked her off her knees and onto her back, spilling blood from the Leviathan Leader's mouth as a thunder-like clap echoed around the area before everything went quiet. Myra then simply looked down at the fallen Vasir and sighed, before suddenly falling to her own knees and slouching there beside her. 'It is done.' she thought with a relieved heart as her attention was suddenly drawn to her left as someone placed a hand on her shoulder. "...Kat!" she exclaimed with a breathless tone as her eyes fell upon her Lover, who had gotten down beside her and looked back with a loving stare. "...you shouldn't...be near me...the virus..." she started to say between heavy breaths, only for the Wrecker to cut her off. "I'm pure Human. The plague has no effect on me. And I am not having you push me away again, especially now..." she started to say as she held her Lover's face in her hands as a tear ran down the Asari's cheek. "...I love you." she added, which made Myra's slowing heartbeat slightly faster for a moment as she enjoyed the soft touch of the Human against her own skin as she closed her eyes. "Kat..." she began to say, reopening her eyes and looking deeply into the Female-Shepard's. "I lo..." she was about to say before Sharp-tooth then cut her off mid-sentence as he and the Dinobots stood at the edge of the crater. "We'll have a Medical team here in just a moment." he said, earning the attention of both the Women as Kat nodded back in return. "So is Vasir dead?" Strafe asked, beating the others to the question, which made Myra look down at the other Asari with disdain. "...No, she is not." This made Kat's eyes widen in surprise as she pulled back slightly, regaining the Spectre's attention. "That's surprising... considering how long you have been chasing her. Why?" she asked, which brought a thoughtful look to the young Darby's face. "Because killing her...would not bring...'them' back. It would...be true justice...for 'them'...that Vasir lives...out the rest of her...pathetic...life behind bars, knowing...that her empire...and all...of her plans...amounted to... absolutely nothing." she replied with a pained tone, earning a nod from Kat who looked back at her a growing smile. "I'm proud of you, Myra." she said, which the Asari could not help but smile back to, before she returned her attention to the elite Terracons. "Make sure...to have...a biotic clamp...on Vasir...before she..." she started to say, only to be cut off as a brightly glowing object suddenly materialised before her and Kat. "What in the All-spark?" Scorn shouted as the glowing object floated in front of the two lovers, gaining a curious look from both before Myra's eyes widened as she recognised it. "It...can't be..." she started to say in a confused tone, making Kat look between it and her lover with a questioning expression. "What is it?" she asked, while the Asari simply stared at it with widened eyes. "It's the Matrix!" she replied while just making out the shape of the long thought lost Autobot relic, gaining a similar look from Kat in return. "The Matrix of Leadership? But I thought that disappeared after your father passed away centuries ago?" she said back, making the Spectre nod back as she continued to stare at the glowing object. "It did. I was there. But my mother told me that it would reappear when the next Prime was ready." This made Kat look around the crater before turning her attention to the Dinobots standing at it's edge. "Well…who is it then?" And suddenly, as if it had heard the Wrecker's question. The Matrix started to float towards the dying Asari, making Myra's face look even more confused as she watched it. "I don't…understand…" she began to say as the bright shining relic drew closer, which gained a look of epiphany appeared on Kat's face as she looked at her lover. "It's you, Myra. You're the next Prime." "But…I do not…deserve it, I've done…things…" she replied, only for young Shepard to look back with a serious but caring expression. "Well, obviously it disagrees with you there. So, who are you to argue. Now get up..." she replied before taking hold of the stricken Darby's arm as she got ready to help the Asari to her feet. "Okay…you have…a point, help me…up." Myra replied before slowly getting back to her feet with Kat's assistance, which was painful for the young Darby as all of her muscles felt like they were on fire. But then she stood before the glowing Matrix. It's star-like appearance reflected in her eyes as she looked into it, while the Wrecker looked on. "Go on, take it in your hands." she said with anticipation underlining the tone of her voice, but the Spectre simply looked at it. As unbeknownst to the Human Woman, the Asari heard a familiar voice echoing in her mind. 'Myra Darby, take the Matrix in your hands. It is your destiny to 'unite the Trinity'.' it said, which earned a knowing look from her before she then looked back at the young Shepard. "Kat.." she began to say, gaining a curious look from her lover in return. "…Yes, Myra?" "…I'll see…you soon." she then replied, bringing a confused look to Kat's face in return. "…What do you…?" the Wrecker started to say before the Asari then turned her attention back to the Matrix and placed her hand on it, which suddenly shone extremely bright, so bright that it nearly blinded everyone in the area, as Kat found herself stumbling backwards while shielding her eyes. "Myra!" she called back, while the Dinobots mimicked her actions too as the white light completely enveloped the Spectre and it shined even brighter. But then almost as quickly as it had appeared, the matrix then disappeared and Myra was gone with it as Kat found herself standing alone in the center of the crater with an unconscious Vasir lying at her feet. "Wait! Where did Myra go?" Sharp-tooth called back, earning a knowing look from the Human Woman as she then looked up into sky with a slight smile on her face. "Wherever you are, Myra,…good luck." she whispered.

CHAPTER XXI Meanwhile, in the small town of Enterprise which was just south-west of Las Vegas, the Autobots were shepherding the civilian population through a number of ground-bridges that had been opened throughout the town as one group was herding people on West Mountains Edge Parkway towards their nearest portal. "Rewind.." one of the Turian Autobots shouted to a ginger-haired man wearing black, white and yellow armour who looked over to him. "What…we have a tight schedule to keep too, don't want these Civvies around should Leviathan appear." he said back, earning a nod from his colleague who walked over to him. "I know. But there is a group near Nathan Jones Park who is refusing to leave their homes." This made the bot shake his head as a disgusted look appeared on his face, before looking over at the civilians to his left as they walked into the green portals. "Okay…" Rewind started to say as he looked back at the Turian. "…Let me go talk some sense into them, and you stay here and maintain this evacuation." he added, gaining a nod from the soldier. "Yes, Sir." With that, the bot turned away and tapped his com-link, while the Turian took over his post. "Central, this is Rewind. I need a Ground-Bridge to Nathan Jones Park, there are civilians refusing to leave that area." "This is Mercury, I read you loud and clear, Rewind. Opening a portal for you now." a female voice spoke from the other end, earning a smile from the Autobot. "Thanks, Mercury. I owe you one." he replied as another green vortex opened up before him, with the Bot walking towards it in turn. "More than one…" she said back as he walked through the portal, feeling a rush of energy flow past him before finding himself standing in front of the entrance to the park as a large grouping of civilians looked over to him. "Oh look, another Autobot here to tell us what to do." a rather heavily-built Man said with angry tone, gaining nods and cheers from the other people around him as Rewind walked over to them. "You're wasting your time, we are not abandoning our homes." Another shouted as several held up baseball bats and other objects like weapons, which made the Bot equip his pistol and activate his holo-blade. "Now look here…" Rewind started to say as the people noticed this, looks of concern and uneasiness appearing on the faces of many as they looked at him. "…There is a ninety nine percent chance of a large scale battle occurring in this area at any moment now, so we are evacuating everyone in Las Vegas…which includes all sub-districts. Now you will get yourselves into this Ground-Bridge or…." the Bot started to say before being cut off mid-sentence by the first Man again, who started to walk over to him. "Or what? What are you going to do…" he began to say, making Rewind look him up and down with a disinterested stare. "…there has not been an attack here on Earth in over five hundred years, so all that is left for us to think is that this is just some stupid drill." he carried on saying, earning further nods from those now standing behind him. "…So we are not going anywhere and you can't make us…" he spat while stopping right in front of the Bot and looking down at him with an angry glare as he towered over the soldier. But if Rewind was bothered by this, he certainly did not show it as he simply narrowed his eyes while staring right back at this loud mouthed civilian. "I can and I will if you won't listen to reason." he replied with a calm tone, which made the Man smile broadly as though he was about to laugh out loud. "Really? You're just a small Autobot. I am not taking any crap from the likes of you." "You talk big, how about actually showing it." Rewind then said with a slight smirk, which made the Man's eyes widen in shock before rage took over. "I'll show you, you cockily little…" he started to say while throwing a punch at the Bot's face, but Rewind quickly ducked under the attack and swiped his holo-blade at the knees of his attacker, slicing the skin open as blood began to squirt out. "Arrrgh!" the Man cried out loud as he stumbled back, before the Bot then followed though by hitting his adversary with the but of his gun in an uppercut. This sent the Man flying onto his back, gaining gasps from the crowd as the Autobot simply regained his composure and looked over at them. "You two…" he then said while pointing over to a pair of Men in the crowd, earning worried looks back in return. "…pick this idiot up and take him through the portal…now!" he ordered, gaining panicky nods back from them as they then followed Rewind's orders to the letter. "And as for the rest of you…." the Bot then said before his attention was caught by one of the Women looking up above everyone else. "What is that?" she asked in a loud tone while pointing up into the sky, which made the Autobot look up to see what looked like a giant metallic figure falling down towards the ground as it continued to shift and change. "That's not possible..." Rewind began to say as he appeared to recognise it somewhat before it hit the ground about a mile outside of the town. The object hit the ground so hard that it brought up a dust cloud around it's position as the area shook like it was experiencing an earthquake, making everyone practically lose their footing as the vehicles and buildings appeared to tremble around them. But then all of a sudden it stopped as silence fell upon the town, with everyone simply staring at the shadowy silhouette that was concealed behind the dust that had been thrown up high into the sky around it. "Come on, everyone into the ground-bridges." the Autobot then said, trying to regain the attention of the civilians though they all just looked on as the dust started to dissipate, slowly revealing the giant robot to them all. This even made Rewind's eyes widen as he could now see the new arrival more clearly. "It can't be..." he said as he saw the giant's colour scheme which was severely faded, but still recognisable for it had red arms and a grey and white chest, along with a pair pf blue legs and a blue helmet around it's white face. "...It's one of the legendary City-Bots." he added before looking back at the large crowd that around him, who were frozen to the spot as they stared at the behemoth. So he then equipped his pistol and pointed up into the air and pulled the trigger, firing a shot which snapped everyone's attention back to him. "Everyone, get into the Ground-bridge!" he spat, earning shaken nods from the civilians before they then did as they were told and walked into the glowing green vortex. Meanwhile, Myra and her friends stared in complete disbelief at the image of the City-Bot on the holo-screen in front of them, for their ship and the Supreme were still up amongst the clouds. "Tell me that isn't what I think it is?" The Pilot said with a worried tone, which gained a nod from the Asari. "If your thinking City-Bot, then you would be correct." she replied, making him look down and shake his head in return. "That's what I was afraid of." "Myra, you're acting like you have seen one before." Tolae then asked with a curious tone, while placing a comforting hand on her lover's shoulder. "I personally haven't, but my Father told me how my Grandfather fought alongside one during the Reaper War. Its name was Metro-Titan." the Spectre explained. "You wouldn't happen to know which one this is?" Kat asked as she looked to the Blue Woman, taking her attention from the Holo-screen. "Sorry, I have no idea which this one is..." she started to reply, only for Vraz to speak up over the Inter-com. "Eudora, come in." "We read you, Supreme." the Spectre then said back, while Evac piloted the ship down below the clouds, bringing the City-Bot into view as it stood in there in the desert. "Using a combination of our sensors and data-banks, we have identified the Leviathan as the long lost Autobot City-Bot called 'Grand Maximus'. It was recorded lost during the battle of Chaar back in the Great War, having been killed by the Decepticon's version called 'Metro-Titan' before it was transferred to Tuchunka." the Commander replied, while Kat looked out of the Cockpit's canopy at the behemoth. "Looks like Vasir found what was left and rebuilt the Bot for her own purposes, which was why she was so interested in getting her hands on the Synthetic Energon formula." she said while noticing the Autobot Insignia of the City-Bot, which lied on its chest and was rusted and scratched out. This gained a nod from Myra in return, before the Asari turned her attention to Evac, who then spoke up. "So what's the plan? Have our fleet come down and bomb this old Bot out of existence?" he asked. "Unfortunately, no. Our cruisers are incapable of atmospheric flight. Plus, they have their hands full with the rest of Vasir's fleet. Also, we can't simply destroy Maximus..." he began to say, only for Myra to jump in. "Because we may accidentally release the plague as we destroy the target." she said while looking down at her Pilot, who then nodded back reluctantly. "I forgot about that." he replied, while Kat's eyes widened a little as something sprang to mind. "Then we board Leviathan and disable its power core. That would certainly stop it from launching the plague." she said, gaining the others attention. "Now that's a good idea. We could also find where the plague is stockpiled and destroy it with an incendiary bomb." Myra replied. "Meanwhile, I'll have Omega Supreme here keep Leviathan busy, taking Vasir's attention from what is happening inside." Vraz added, earning a concerned look from the Spectre. "Omega may be powerful, Vraz. But he still is not much of a threat to a City-Bot." "That's for me to worry about..." he started to reply back, while Tolae looked up from her holo-Interface at both Kat and Myra. "I just took a scan of the Leviathan and the area it's power-core resides is shielded against ground bridges. I am also picking up traces of the Plague's signature but I cannot lock it down to a specific location." "Just find us a spot nearby while Kat and I suit up..." she said before Vraz's voice spoke over the Inter-com once more. "And I will have the Dinobots join the two of you there." he said, gaining an appreciative smile from the young Darby. "Understood. Thanks, Vraz." she replied before gesturing to her Lover to follow, gaining a nod from the Human Wrecker in return as they then left the cockpit. PRIME EFFECT 5 Vasir looked out from her spot in Leviathan's CIC, noticing the outskirts of Las Vegas in the distance on the secondary holo-screen. "Report our status." she said while turning her attention to the crewmen around her, earning their attention as they looked up from their stations. "Leviathan's City-Bot mode is working perfectly. All systems are still in the green." one said from behind the Leviathan Leader, who then looked over to the weapons station while ignoring Inferno, who was still on his knees nearby. "Can we launch the torpedo from here?" she asked, which made the crewman nod back in return. "Yes, but I will have to recalculate the coordinates for dispersal again as we are now at ground-level..." he started to say back, only for Vasir to cut him off with a stern look. "How long?" she asked, making the crewman's heart beat faster as he started to worry for his life, considering how he saw her treat the Destron Leader only a few minutes earlier. "...Ten...ten minutes at...most, but several at...least." he replied with a shaky tone, which made the Asari look away from him and back at the holo-screen detailing the battle continuing in orbit at this moment. "Well, considering our fleet is still keeping the Autobots busy and with the fact that they will need time to build up an effective ground force to combat us, I think we still have the upper hand here..." she began to say before returning her attention to the Weapons station. "Start your calculations and inform me when we are ready..." she said before looking over to the Helm station. "Meanwhile, take us to Las Vegas. Let's do some damage while we wait." The crewman manning the station nodded back before typing onto his holo-interface, which then made the behemoth lift its right leg as it began to move. "Look!" Inferno then spat as he pointed at the other screen, gaining Vasir's attention as they saw the Supreme fly down and block their path. "Autobots! They try so hard...shoot that ship down!" she commanded, but before anything could be done, the Supreme suddenly began to shift and change which made the Leviathan leader's eyes widen in response. "What in the..." she started to say as the Autobot Dreadnought transformed into Omega Supreme, landing on the ground in front of the larger City-Bot and pointing its cannons at it. "Omega Supreme online, power - optimal, mission - terminate Leviathan." its voice boomed, which brought a slight smile to Vasir's face as Leviathan looked down at the Autobot Guardian. "That's their big plan, use that outdated Bot against me. I want that thing ripped apart!" she then shouted, earning nods from around the CIC before the giant behemoth kicked out at Omega with its right leg which the smaller Bot evaded by jumping to its left. Once Omega landed, it immediately countered by firing its cannon-arm at the Behemoth's chest. The energy blast hit Leviathan and made it stumble back a little, with the ground shaking as a tremor passed through with each and every footfall. Then as soon as the City-Bot had regained its balance, the two Titans squared off for another round. Meanwhile, somewhere on board Leviathan, two ground-bridge portals opened on either side of a large corridor. Their green energy illuminated the area as Myra and Kat exited one, while the Dinobots walked out of the other and immediately looked around with their weapons ready, only to see that there were no enemies in sight. The Spectre tapped her com-link while Strafe activated her holo-tool, as the others maintained their attention on the area around the group. "Okay, we are on board. You can close the ground bridges." the Asari said, earning a nod from the Femme in return as she looked at the readings on her device. "And it looks like we have not set off any internal security, I guess Vasir isn't expecting any guests." "Well, good luck with your mission. Let us know once you are done and we will extract you. But it will have to be from the spot you are now in, because there is some strong interference which is blocking our ground bridges from locking on." the Commander added, gaining a nod from Myra in return. "Alright, good luck with your distraction." "Good luck to you too, Vraz out." he said back before the com-link went silent, making the Asari turn her attention back to the group. "Okay, we have two targets and so will be splitting into two three-person teams..." she started to say, earning a nod from Sharptooth and his teammates. "...Team one will be Sharptooth, Scorn with Kat in charge. Your objective is to find where the Plague is being stored…" she started to say before the Dinobot Leader cut her off as he showed off the explosive device in his hands. "And take out that area with this beauty." he said with an encouraging tone, which made the Spectre nod back with a smile before noticing the concerned look on Kat's face. "…Team two will be me, Slash and Strafe. Our target is the power-core." The Dinobot-Femme nodded back before looking at her holo-screen, which also earned her team-mate's attention. "I already have the Synthetic-Energon signature locked in, we need to head down this corridor first." she said in return. "Good luck you guys." Slash then said to his friends as Myra walked over to her Human-Lover, who simply stared back with a confused look. "Why are we not on the same team, Myra?" she asked, which brought a serious yet understanding look to her lover's face. "Kat, I want nothing more than to have you by my side in this fight. But I need you to keep an eye on the Dinobots for me because you're the only one I trust to make sure that their mission is pulled off without a hitch..." she began to say in a confident tone, while the young Shepard just stared back in surprise. "...there is too much at stake if something were to go wrong and we can't afford mistakes." the Asari added, while Kat glanced back at the Elite-Terracons who were talking amongst themselves. "Wait, you don't trust them, do you?" she then said in a quiet tone as she returned her attention to the Spectre, who nodded back in return. "No, no I don't..." she began to say while remembering the Dinobots fights with both Morinth and Inferno. "...but I do trust you, more than anyone I have known for a long time..." she carried on saying with a slight smile, as Kat's eyes widened at her words. "...so please lead them, for me." This made the Wrecker mirror her expression as she nodded back in response, though her cheeks had reddened slightly as she did so. "Alright, you can count on me,...Myra." she replied with a serious yet affectionate tone, which made the Asari's smile widen. "I know I can." she said back whilst looking at the Human woman like she was taking a mental picture of her. The young Darby then sighed before beginning to turn round and face the Dinobots, but she was stopped as Kat grabbed her hand and made her look back. "Wait...I want you to have this..." she started to say, with the Asari feeling something being placed into her hand. This made Myra look down at the object as her Lover continued to talk. "...because I think you might need it more than I." The Autobot Spectre's eyes widened as she looked at what was in her grasp, completely surprised at what Kat had done. 'John's Combat-knife!' she thought while staring down at the blade. "...But this is yours, I shouldn't..." she started to say back, only for the Wrecker to cut her off with a warm and disarming smile. "Since finding out whose Knife this really was, I have come to believe that my family and I have just been safeguarding it. Because this is the last part of my Great, great, great Grandfather and you should be the one to keep it...I feel that he would want that." she said, which made Myra's eyes begin to well up as she slowly clenched onto the knife's hilt while looking at it. "Thank you…" She replied while sheathing the blade in a small utility belt on her left thigh, before returning her attention to Kat as the interior of the Leviathan shook as if something had hit it hard on its exterior. "…now you be careful." she added, gaining a nod from her lover in return. "You too. Good luck." she said back while looking into the Asari's eyes, which Myra could not help but smile at. "and you." she said before turning around and walking back to Strafe and Slash, while Sharp-tooth and Scorn joined the Human's side. They then all gave each other one final look before heading off in opposite directions down the corridors. PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, the fight between Omega Supreme and Leviathan was heating up as the smaller Guardian fired yet another energy blast at its far larger opponent, hitting its chest once more, burning the armour there somewhat. This though caused one of the stations in the CIC to explode, throwing its crewman to the floor which made Vasir grit her teeth in response. "Goddess! Why is that damn Bot still standing in our way?" she spat to the others, who simply kept their heads down and focused on their duties. "…I want that Autobot scrap-heap out of my sight" she then added, gaining a nod from the helmsman who then typed in a number of commands into his holo-interface. This suddenly made several small openings appear in City-Bot's chest, revealing large cannons which fired a barrage of blaster-fire at Omega, which made him dive to his right and out of their fire. But Leviathan seemed to be anticipating that move as it then threw a punch down at its rival, hitting the back of the Guardian and slamming him into the ground. Onboard Omega, the bridge shook violently and sent everyone falling off their seats as that last hit was felt across the entire Bot. "Damage report!" Vraz shouted as numerous stations blew sparks from them, with the crewman manning the Engineering station getting back to his feet and looking at his holo-interface. "Sir, that last hit caused structural damage across the back of Omega, we can't take too much damage in that area again." he reported, earning a nod from the Commander before another crewman caught his attention. "Leviathan's attacking again!" they cried out, making the Autobot Leader look back at the screen and see the Behemoth lifting its foot into the air, getting ready to crush the Bot's back more. "Roll us out of the way!" he then commanded to the Helmsman, which then made Omega do just that as the Guardian rolled onto its back. "Return fire now!" Vraz quickly added, which made two gun-ports open on either side of its chest armour before firing two torpedoes at the enemy bot's leg, causing a large explosion where they hit and making Leviathan struggle to remain balanced on its one leg. This brought a smile to the Commander's face as he watched it on the holo-screen. "Fire again!" Omega Supreme then lifted its cannon arm and fired another energy blast which hit the City-Bot and sent it flying onto its back, causing a strong tremor to rock the area as a dust cloud was formed around it. "Get us back up NOW!" Vasir screamed at her crew as smoke billowed from broken pipes overhead as she got back to her feet, earning fearful but acknowledged looks from them as they got back to their stations and worked. "I think we have a problem…" the crewman manning the sensors then said, gaining a narrow stare from the Asari as her attention was drawn to him. "Oh…really, you think?" she replied in a sarcastic tone, one layered in a wave of building anger which made the crewman gulp in return before pointing at his holo-interface. "No…I mean yes, we already do. But…" he started to ramble, which made the Asari glow with biotic energy as she clenched her fists. "Just spit it out!" she shouted, which almost made him jump out of his skin. "…Internal…sensors have picked up movement in the lower levels, nearing the Plague containment tanks." he replied, making the Leviathan Leader's eyes widen as a realisation came over her. "So, that was the Autobots plan…" she muttered before looking back at Inferno, who just stared back with a dumbfounded expression. "Make yourself useful and intercept our unwanted guests, and take your Destrons with you." she commanded, gaining a nod from the Con who began to turn around and head out of the CIC. "I will see it done." he replied, which made the Asari narrow her eyes in return as she watched him leave. "Don't fail me again." she said back, which made the Destron Leader's spark go cold, for he knew what would await him if he did so while Vasir then returned her attention to the CIC crew as she noticed that Leviathan had returned to it's feet as shown on the massive holo-screen. "Now take that scrap-heap down!" she spat as Omega Supreme was seen to have recovered as well. A few minutes later, Kat, Sharp-tooth and Scorn were running down one the identical corridors that flowed through Leviathan like a nerve system, listening intensively to the quickening beeps of the latter's holo-tool as they closed in on their target. "How many times have we had to climb and drop down into one of these corridors, surely this would be easier if we had boarded this City-Bot when it was still in Battle-ship mode?" he asked, earning a grunt from his Leader in return. "I am just wondering why we haven't come across any enemy troops yet, surely this place would be filled with them?" he replied. "Be glad that wasn't the case, Sharp-tooth, as it means that we are still undetected by Vasir and her crew." the Human Wrecker said back just as they reached a T-Junction, taking a right turn before stopping dead in their tracks as a familiar voice spoke up. "That's as far as you go, Autobots." This made Kat's and the Dinobots eyes widen as they found themselves standing opposite Inferno and his Destrons, who had their weapons trained on them. "Inferno! I was hoping to see you again,…Traitor." Sharp-tooth replied as he clenched his fists tightly, while Kat activated her holo-blades and Slash mirrored his team-mate. But Inferno simply ignored the Dinobot Leader and looked at the group before a slight smile appeared on his face. "And where is Myra, I thought if anyone would be leading this then it would be her?" he asked, which made the young Shepard sigh slightly with relief. 'They still don't know about Myra and her team, that's good to hear. Means we can keep them busy while she shuts this Goliath down.' she thought before her attention was caught by Sharp-tooth who lunged at the Destron Leader. "You should worry about us!" he spat while shifting into his Beast-mode, tackling his adversary to the ground as Scylla, Hardhead and Devron could only watch in shock before remembering that the Dinobot was not alone, returning their attention to both Kat and Scorn. "Scylla, help the Commander. Hardhead, let's finish these two." the latter said, gaining a nod from the Femme who changed form and headed for the two Bots currently grappling on the floor just away. Both the other Destrons followed suit and shifted to their own Beast-modes, revealing their sharp claws, beast-like eyes and more built bodies. "Die!" Devron then cried out as he and his teammate charged at the two Autobots, bringing down his claws upon Kat. But the Human-Wrecker quickly spun around, making him miss her as his inertia took him forward. She then quickly brought her holo-blades round as she spun and drove them into the Con's back, making him scream out in pain as she pulled the blades up and out of his back, leaving a large bloody wound running down the back of his torso. "Devron!" Hardhead shouted back in a panicked tone as he grappled with a too changed Scorn, being unable to help as his friend bled heavily from his wound and fell to his knees as Kat then swung her left blade through the Destron's neck, separating his head from his body as more blood shot out into the air like a geyser. "No!" the other Con shouted before breaking free of his enemy's grip and then following through by throwing Scorn over his shoulder and into a nearby wall. "You are going to die, Bitch!" he roared while charging down Kat. Meanwhile, Sharp-tooth and Inferno were still locked in a standstill on the floor, with the Destron Leader now changed into his own form and growled at his adversary who bore down upon him. "I am going to rip your throat out..." the Dinobot said with gritted teeth before he was suddenly cut off by a sharp pain in his back as Scylla clawed into his back with her sharp claws. "Arrrrgh!" he cried out as she then bit into his neck and started to chew away, making the Bot climb off Inferno while trying to get the Femme off him. This gained Inferno enough time to recover as he got back to his feet and activate his holo-claws, which grew over his hand and increased the size of his own. "Hold that pathetic excuse for a Dinobot right there Scylla, so that I can gut him where he stands." he said in an angered yet relished tone while flexing his claws as he approached the pair. As this was happening, Scorn found himself torn between who he should help as he saw what his teammate was up against. So he looked back at Kat, who managed to evade another attack from Hardhead. "Go help Sharp-tooth. I've got this." the Human Wrecker said in a confident tone, which made the Bot nod and turn around, leaving her to face the enraged Destron. 'I saw what she did to Devron, so she can easily handle Hardhead.' he thought whilst charging back to Sharp-tooth. Meanwhile, Kat dodged yet another swipe from Hardhead by ducking under his strike. She could feel his claws cut through the air like a blade as they passed overhead, before performing a forward roll and returning to her feet. "How…? How did you dodge that?" the Con spat back as he turned around and faced his opponent, but was met with a kick to the face as Kat quickly countered, knocking him backwards as she readied her holo-blades. 'I learnt so from Myra, from our meld. Seeing the Asari's memories of her time learning from her Aunt Ser-Ket.' she thought as she sliced at the enemy's shoulder, earning a yelp from him before he swung his claws at her once more, making the Wrecker dodge his attack once more. '…For there were those who relied too much on their brute strength and rage, making them easy to take down for anyone who remained calm and collected.' she continued while performing an uppercut with her right holo-blade, just as the Destron clenched a fist and punched at her side. But even though her strike caught the side of the Con's face, his strike hit her dead in her side and winded the Woman the force of it sent her flying into the wall behind her. 'Damn it!' she thought while hitting the ground and slouching against it, feeling pain aching through her entire body as Hardhead wiped the blood from the cut on his face and licked it. "That smarted, you little Bitch…" he started to say before walking over to her slowly, taking note that the Wrecker was physically stunned. "…I had better finish you off before you get the chance to recover." The Con added as he then towered over the femme, reaching down at her with his claws while opening his mouth wide which revealed all of his razor-sharp teeth as he closed in to kill her.

CHAPTER XX The Infirmary had gotten just a little bit more busy as the rest of its staff had arrived and begun work, while Doctor Kaput and Nurse Beta were doing final checks on Evac and Tolae. "Okay, the results for both you and your friend are coming through now..." the Femme said as she looked at the holo-interface beside the Asari's bed, earning a curious expression from her as she saw the Nurse's eyes widen in return. "...that's impossible." she then stated in surprise. "What is?" Tolae asked with a knowing tone, already aware of what the results would likely say. "The scans say that you are both completely fine and that your nervous systems show no signs of damage or strain." "Believe me now?" the Asari asked, regaining the Femme's attention. "I have just never heard of such an occurrence happening with an Ardat-Yakshi...but yes, I believe you. I apologise." Beta replied with an empathetic tone, earning a nod from her patient. "I don't blame you for your reaction, my people are not very forthcoming with the fact that most Ardat-Yakshi choose to live in seclusion rather than act on their instincts to mate, sacrificing their freedom for the safety of everyone else. There is only a small percentage that does prey on others, mating with no regard or care that their actions kill and they are the ones that everyone remembers." she said back, gaining a look of understanding from the Nurse. "I guess it is easier to remember the bad rather than the good, which is why history always remembers the wars and not the times of peace that separated them..." the Femme replied, which made Tolae nod back in return as the former looked back at the latter's scan results. "...You must have a strong will to be able to keep your mating instincts in check, especially while you and Evac were having intercourse." "Well, there is nothing that would make me want to hurt Evac in any way. Nothing, whatsoever." the Ardat-Yakshi answered, bringing a smile to Beta's face in return. "He must really mean a lot to you." "Yes, he does. Evac means more to me than anyone I have ever known." Tolae then said with a smile, making the Nurse's own widen a little more in response. "Then you are very lucky to have found someone like that, one that can inspire you to do what the rest of us would think impossible." "Everyone has it in them to achieve the impossible, no matter what their background is." "Very true, and perhaps what you have proven here will one day help other Ardat-Yakshi live beyond the walls of the Lesuss Monastery." the Femme replied, which gained a surprised yet appreciative smile from the Asari. "I hope so too. Thank you." "You're welcome." Beta added before the pair were joined by Evac, who was walking with the aid of a holo-walking stick. "So how is my girl doing?" the Bot asked, gaining their attention as the Ardat-Yakshi gave him a loving smile in response. "Hey." she replied, while the Nurse stepped away and deactivated the holo-interface. "Tolae is fully healed and ready to go, as are you by the look of it." the Femme replied, while he took his lover's hand in his own and mirrored her expression. "That's great. The Doctor just gave me the go-ahead too, though I can't get into any fights for a while...except those that require the Eudora of course." the Pilot said back, earning a nod from Beta as she started to back away from the couple. "Okay, well you can both leave at your leisure. I wish you both well." she said, earning smiles from the pair in return. "Thank you, Beta." Tolae replied before then turning away and walking to the other side of the Infirmary, leaving the two lovers alone. "So, are you alright? I mean, Beta was a little tough on you earlier on." the Bot then asked with a slightly worried expression, which made the Asari smile as his concern only made him look cuter in her eyes. "I'm fine and Beta was only concerned for the well-being and safety of everyone on the Morning Hope since the idea of a well behaved Ardat-Yakshi must have sounded like a fairy-tale to her. But we talked and she understands the truth about those who share my condition, and even thinks now that what we did could one day help others that suffer with it in the future." Tolae replied, which gained an understanding smile from the Pilot. "That sounds like a good cause to get behind, one that I would be more than happy fo help with once this conflict with Vasir is over." he replied, which made the Asari look back with a curious expression. "What are you saying?" she asked though, in her heart, Tolae knew what he was saying, but needed to hear it to truly believe it. "When all this is done, I am prepared to leave the Eudora so that we can have a life together...perhaps travel the galaxy so that you can see everything you have missed." he said in a caring tone, which made her eyes widen as she smiled back at him. "You would do that...for me?" she replied, which made him smile back lovingly. "There is nothing I would not do for you, Tolae. And I want to spend the rest of our lives showing you...as long as you do as well?" Evac replied, quickly bringing a smile to the Asari's face as she looked back at him. "Of course I would!" she said back in a joyous tone while pouncing the Bot and surprising him, which made him fall back against the wall as they embraced and kissed, gaining the attention of Beta and the Medical staff who turned and looked back in surprise. But the Nurse could only smile in return before she started to clap, which was copied by everyone else as the sound of applause caught the lovers attention and pulled them out of the moment, staring back with embarrassed smiles as they acknowledged everyone. Myra and Kat then entered the Infirmary, equally surprised expressions appeared on their faces at the sight that welcomed them. But as they looked around the room at the applauding and smiling staff and saw the direction that they were all looking, before following their stares until their eyes fell upon their two friends. "Evac and..." the Spectre then said. "...Tolae." the young Shepard added as they smiled back, which was then noticed by both the Ardat-Yakshi and the Pilot who mirrored their expressions as they fully separated and walked over to them, while still holding hands. "Hey guys." the Bot said in return as the pair joined their Asari and Human friends. "You two alright?" Myra asked, earning a united nod from the two lovers. "We are better than alright." Evac then added before looking back at Tolae with a loving stare, which made her smile widen as she did the same. "We really are." "That's great news..." Kat started to say back, gaining the pair's attention. "...and we have some more." she added before gesturing to the young Darby, which made them look back to their leader. "Yes, we now have the backing of Autobot Command and they have also reactivated our previous titles in their ranks, as we all can bring the fight to Vasir." she replied, which brought a wide grin to Evac's face. "So that means I am a member of the Aerial-Bots again..." he started to say, only for Kat to cut him off. "Yes, I am a Wrecker once more and Myra has her Spectre status back." "Congratulations." Tolae replied as she looked around the group, her stare stopping at her lover as they smiled at each other once again. "Yeah...so I want us onboard on the Eudora now, because Vraz and I want to be ready for when Leviathan makes their move, will you be alright to pilot?" the Spectre then asked, gaining a nod from Evac. "Sure, my leg and arm are virtually one hundred per cent healed. Not that I need them to fly the ship, mind you." he replied. "Okay, then let's get going then." the Asari said back, before she and her friends left the busy Infirmary, with its staff already back to work. PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, Vasir stood before the massive view-screen in the CIC of the Leviathan, watching as it showed the positions of her forces as they began their attack on the colony of New Cybertron. A smirk was present on her face as her attention was purely on what was happening on the holo-screen, while Inferno walked up behind her. "Vasir, I hope I am not interrupting." he asked with a worried tone, but the Leviathan Leader did not even look in his direction as she remained focused on the screen. "That depends, do you have what I requested?" she asked with a flat tone as her smirk faded, which made the Con's spark beat a little faster in fear. "Yes, the lab has managed to synthesise this one injection of Project: Crimson Rage for use during this campaign." he stated while holding it out before the Asari, whose eyes widened in response. "Just one injection, that is all?" she said back in disbelief as she looked down at the injection device. "Well the formula is highly unstable and difficult to create, I am surprised the Labs even managed to make this one in the time they had." he replied with bated breath, wondering what her next action would be. "How will Leviathan's troops use enhanced biotics with just one injection? What am I supposed to do with that?" Vasir spat back. "I am sorry but that was all that could be produced at this moment, besides you still have your mass-produced army of Mechs to bolster your ground forces." he replied, which made her stare back silently. This made the Destron Leader gulp as he suddenly felt that his life was now in danger of being cut unceremoniously short, while Vasir narrowed her eyes at him. "Just give it to me..." she started to say whilst holding her right hand before her, to which the Con then placed the injection device as he tried not to show how fearful he was at that moment. "...and get out of..." she began to add once the device was in her hands, only for the view-screen to beep and regain her attention. "What is it?" the Asari asked, making the Krogan working at the Communication-station look over to her. "The fleet attacking New Cybertron reports that the Autobots have responded by calling for reinforcements, which should be jumping in momentarily." he said, making the Leviathan Leader glance over to the Salarian at the Sensors-station, but keeping her main attention on the view-screen as Inferno watched from behind her. "Show me." Then suddenly the view of the battle, which was from a top-down angle zoomed out to show more of the surrounding space as space-bridge portals appeared all over the area, and this was quickly followed by many scores of Autobot Cruisers entering the fight. "How many ships have the Autobots brought into the battle?" Vasir then asked with a tone to her voice that was both curious and knowing. "Over six hundred ships are present, Sir. They outnumber the five hundred and fifty-five that was sent to attack the planet." the Salarian replied, gaining a nod from the Asari as she smiled. "That is half of their overall fleet, excellent..." she started to say before turning her attention to the Comms-Station once again. "Send word to at least half of the Third Fleet and have them divert to New Cybertron to bolster of our forces there, while everyone else jumps to Earth right now." she added, gaining the attention of the Helm. "Very well, this one is setting space-bridge coordinates for the orbit of Earth." the Hanar then replied as it began to type on its holo-interface with its tentacles. "...and prepare the Leviathan's alternate mode..." Vasir added, gaining nods from the crew around her as Inferno decided to speak up as a confused expression appeared on his face. "What is it with this ship of yours?" the Destron Leader asked, which brought a thoughtful look to Vasir. "We are attacking that particular area as it currently has a weather system over it with the conditions for perfect dispersal of the plague over the entirety of planet Earth..." she then started to say while activating her holo-tool, bringing up an image of that area of the planet. "Leviathan was once a wreck of an old ship that was found on the planet Chaar, a relic of the Cybertronian Civil War. But we managed to rebuild and retro-fit it and thanks to its Synthetic Energon Core, we cannot only power it but also use its alternate mode." she explained, earning an inquisitive expression from the Con. "So what is Leviathan's alternate mode?" he asked, which brought a knowing look to Vasir's face. "I suppose you can stay and watch because I am sure we will need it at some point." she replied before turning her attention back to the helm. "Open a Space-Bridge vortex and take us to Earth." And then green swirling portals opened up before each and every ship who then flew into them, leaving the black void of space behind them as the same portals closed seconds after. PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, back at the Autobot fleet, both the Eudora and Vraz's shuttle left the Morning Hope's Shuttle-Bay as both flew towards the Supreme, whose main hull had a large rectangular hull that ended in a cone-like shape with a large cylinder-like engine connected either side of it. The latter docked with the large warship while the former stopped ahead of it, giving Myra and her friends a good view of the new Autobot ship. "That's a hell of a ship you've got there, Commander." Evac said as he looked up at it through the canopy of the Eudora's cockpit as he sat in the pilot's seat, tapping at the holo-controls around him. "It really is, but if the Leviathan's schematics are as accurate as they appeared back at Unity, then the Supreme is still dwarfed by it." Myra added as she stood just behind her Pilot with Kat at her side, while Tolae sat at the station on their left. "I will be arriving at the CIC momentarily, but I have already received word that Vasir's forces began their attack by laying siege to New Cybertron. Autobot Command responded by sending a larger fleet to defend it." Vraz replied over the Inter-com, gaining a worried look from the Autobot Spectre. "New Cybertron isn't exactly a big target, I'm sure that will only be a distraction from Vasir's real one." "I thought the same thing and recommended only the necessary amount of ships to be sent to defend the Colony, while the rest of our forces wait for the main attack to begin." the Commander said back, which made the Asari nod back in agreement. "Good call." "Well, it was the most logical choice...and I have just entered the CIC..." he started to say, only for Kat to cut him off. "So what does the Supreme have that can help it stand up to the Leviathan?" she asked with a curious tone. "Very well, I will show you what the Supreme can do while we wait for news of Vasir's actual attack...activate 'Guardian Mode'!" Vraz answered as the Eudora's crew watched as the Supreme suddenly began to change its form with parts shifting and folding in on itself, making the dreadnought's shape take on a body-like appearance as its right arm took the shape of a three-pronged claw, while it's left arm looked like a giant laser cannon. "It can't be?" Myra said in a faint voice as she watched as the Autobot-ship before them into a large yellow and red Cybertronian, with its head rising up out of its torso last with its blue optics glowing once it was in position. "Omega activated!" a mechanised voice then boomed via the Inter-com, while surprised expressions befell the Asari and her friends at the sight before them. "I give you Omega Supreme, the last Guardian of Cybertron." the Commander then stated as Myra and the others stared open-mouthed at the gigantic Autobot floating in the void of space ahead of them. "Omega Supreme has been brought back to life, thanks to the completed Synthetic Energon which now powers him." Vraz continued to say over the Inter-Com, but this earned a confused look from Tolae as she looked up at the Guardian from her station. "Is it me or is Omega staring at us?" she asked, gaining nods from both Kat and Evac in return. "Yeah, it certainly looks like that." the Human Wrecker replied, but Myra gently shook her head ever so slightly. 'No, he's not looking at us. Omega is looking at me, why?' she thought as she felt the blue optics of the giant staring back at her like he could sense something about the Asari who looked back with a confused expression. But before anything else could be said, Commander Vraz's voice spoke over the Inter-Com once again and caught everyone's attention. "Space-bridge portals have been detected in orbit around Earth, looks like Vasir is making her move." he said, making the Autobot Spectre nod back as her face became serious again. "Then we know where to go, Commander..." she started to reply, only for Vraz to cut her off. "Way ahead of you, Myra. I've just sent word for every ship in the fleet which is able to plot a course for the Home-world...Omega Supreme, revert to Dreadnought mode!" he then said, which made the Autobot Guardian transform back into its vehicle mode. "How does its transformation not kill everyone onboard?" Tolae asked as she witnessed it's changing, earning a knowing look from the Pilot. "I took a scan of the Supreme, it has a small crew which is located in both Main Engineering and the CIC. Now both these sections are unaffected by the transformation as that happens around them, so as long as the crew remain in either area, then they are safe from the ship shifting between modes." he replied. "That is interesting, but let's keep our minds on the task at hand." The young Darby then said, earning nods from the pair before turning her attention back to the Supreme which was once more in it's Dreadnought mode. "All ships to Earth!" the Commander then said over the Inter-Com as every ship in the immediate area, the Eudora included opened a space-bridge vortex before them and prepared to enter. Meanwhile, a fierce battle had erupted over the Earth as the forces of Vasir and the Autobots clashed, the ships of both sides firing everything they had at each in a barrage of cannon and torpedo fire. The Battle-ship Leviathan was in the midst of the action, dwarfing all the other ships around it as it slowly moved through the fighting towards the blue planet. "Vasir to all ships, I want you to cover us as we descend into Earth's atmosphere in preparation of releasing the Plague, keep the Autobots attention on you and away from us...make it so." the Leviathan Leader said as she watched the battle unfold on the massive holo-screen. "All ships have acknowledged your orders." the crewman at the Communication station replied, earning a nod from the Asari while Inferno stood behind her and looked up at the screen. "The Autobot Fleet defending Earth is not large enough to cause us problems." he observed, which made Vasir look back at him. "I expect the enemy to be sending reinforcements momentarily, not that it will do then much good..." she began to say before turning her attention to the crewman manning the Helm station. "...take us down to at least fifty kilometres above Earth's ground level, let's put an end to the Cybertronians at their source." Then as the battle continued with cruiser firing on cruiser, torpedoes and cannon fire impacting on each and tearing their hulls apart as the massive Behemoth started to leave its chaotic surroundings. But it was quickly intercepted by three Autobot ships who opened fire with their pulse-cannons, showering the Leviathan with gunfire. Its shields held firmly against the barrage as its particle bean cannons turned and targeted them, making the three attackers turn away as they started evasive manoeuvres. Though the Autobot ships were too slow as the Leviathan opened fire with red energy beams that cut through each ship, slicing them into bits that floated away and leaving the way clear for the Battleship to continue its descent. But as this was happening, several large Space-bridge vortices opened up as the Autobot reinforcements arrived, being led by both the Supreme and the Eudora as they all opened fire on the enemy fleet and took some of the heat of the remaining ships of the Earth fleet. "This is Vraz to all ships, keep these Leviathan cruisers busy as we and the Eudora take the fight to Leviathan itself." he said from his seat in the centre of the CIC as the crewmen stationed around him worked frantically at their posts. "Sir, the fleet acknowledged you and will see it done...we are receiving a hail from the Eudora." the Turian manning the Com-station then said, earning a nod from the Commander. "Put it through." "Vraz, this is Myra. Looks like the Leviathan is making its move…" the Autobot Spectre said, while the Fleet's leader watched the unfolding battle take place on his holo-screen as the ship shook from an impact with a torpedo. "Yes, I can see it from here. I have already told the rest of the fleet to contain Vasir's forces up here and that we would take care of her ourselves, so shall we?" he then replied. "Ready when you." the Asari said back, earning a slight smirk from the Commander in return as he returned his attention to the holo-screen. Meanwhile, Evac was now in full pilot mode with a holo-visor covering his eyes as he flew the Eudora between two enemy cruisers, who were caught in their own crossfire as they tried to shoot the smaller ship down. They were both heavily damaged and started to drift as Pilot pulled away from the pair and started to head after the Supreme. "We read you, Vraz, joining you now." Myra said as she stood behind Evac's chair and held onto the back of it, while Tolae smiled over to her Lover from her station. "Nice flying." she said with an impressed and caring tone, which made his cheeks redden slightly in return. "Thanks, but you haven't seen anything yet." he replied as the Guardian Dreadnought appeared on their right side as they began their joint descent into Earth's atmosphere. "We should be in the range of the Leviathan in twenty seconds." The Commander said back over the Inter-com, while Evac squinted at the clouded view on their other side of the glass canopy ahead of him. "My sensors agree with yours, Supreme. But it's so damn cloudy, I have no visual." he said back. "I don't see how any cloud cover could hide a ship the size of the Leviathan, it's the largest ship I have ever seen." the Autobot Spectre added as she looked out at the heavy cloud cover that the Eudora was passing through. "I am transferring my sensor readings to my holo-visor." Evac then stated as he typed on the holo-interface in front of him, making the holo-device covering his eyes change from yellow to green, bringing up a tiny HUD over his eyes as data started scrolling down either side of his eyes. "Evac, what do you see?" Kat asked as she joined Myra's side, just as the Pilot's eyes widened in response. "Pull up, Supreme, pull up!" he shouted while making the Eudora pull a hard-right, while the Dreadnought went the other way. Both ships then narrowly missed the Leviathan as they breached the last cloud, revealing that the behemoth was moving toward them. "It's targeting us both, evasive manoeuvres." Vraz then shouted back as Vasir's flagship opened fire with its cannons at them, with the Eudora pulling a barrel roll as the cannon fire flew past. Meanwhile, the Supreme's shields took a beating from the incoming fire as it turned away, firing back with its own in return. "Eudora, our sensors read that the Leviathan is at the correct altitude to launch the plague. We need to stop it now." Vraz stated over the intercom, which made Tolae look over at her own holo-interface as Evac pulled a loop de loop and a barrel roll at the same time, evading the enemy cannon-fire once more. "It's weapon platforms and turrets are too well shielded, neither of our ships has the fire-power to knock them out." the Ardat-Yakshi said, which brought a slight smirk to Myra's face in return as she saw the Supreme continuing to fire on the giant Behemoth. "Then we just have to knock them out of the sky, target the Leviathan's thruster ports and knock them out..." she started to reply, only for the Autobot Commander to cut her off. "...Yes, we will disable its main engines as they are not as well protected." "Then watch as it plummets to the ground below." Kat added, gaining a nod from her Asari Lover in return. "Exactly..." she started to say before turning her attention to Evac. "You'll have to get in close to properly target them." the Spectre continued, earning a thumbs up from the Pilot. "Just watch me." he replied before making the Eudora dive down and spin back around before firing its boosters and hurtle back toward the Leviathan. Meanwhile, Vasir could not believe her eyes as she watched the action continuing to unfold on the large holo-screen before her, as both Autobot ships were still in the fight despite the firepower being used against them. "Can someone tell me why that ship and Darby's are still in my sky?" she spat, gaining worried glances from the crewmen around her while Inferno stepped to her side. "If I recall the last time I saw our Intel on the Autobots, that large ship is their newest Dreadnought…" he started to say, taking the angered Asari's attention away from the others as the Sensors crewman nodded back while looking back at his screen. "…Yes, it's called the Supreme and is heavily armoured compared to the rest of the fleet that is engaging our own, but I have no other information on it as the rest of its file is classified at the highest levels." "That's impossible, my moles in the Senate had access to all Autobot Intel." Vasir spat back as Inferno walked over to the Sensors station and looked at its holo-screen. "…Not this particular one, they didn't. As it was controlled by Ser-Ket and Vraz." he said back, which made the Leviathan Leader narrow her eyes and return her attention to the massive holo-screen as it focused on the Autobot Dreadnought. "Target our particle beam cannons and fire at both of them. Take it and Darby out." "We can target the Supreme but not the Eudora…" the weapons crewman replied, making the Asari glare at him. "Why in the Goddess's name not!" "It's flying extremely close to our hull…" he began to say before the ship was suddenly shaken by external explosions, making them all look around with confused expressions. "What in the Allspark was that?" Inferno asked. "It's the Eudora, it's firing at our thrusters and disabling them." the crewman at the Sensors station reported with a worried tone, making the Leviathan Leader clench her fists which began to glow with biotic energy. "They are trying to cripple us." "We should launch our fighters and have them protect us." the Destron Leader replied, which made Vasir spin round and encase his throat in a biotic clamp as she stared at him with an enraged look as he gasped for air. "NO! This is Leviathan and it can destroy entire fleets by itself. It will not be defeated by two ships…" she spat before releasing him, making the Con fall to his knees and breath in heavily as she looked back at the Weapons station. "Fire our Flack turrets in a defensive pattern, that should deal with Darby's ship….and fire our particle cannons at the Supreme." PRIME EFFECT 5 "We got another one, great shooting, Tolae." Evac said with a joyous tone as he brought the Eudora into another barrel roll and pulled away from the smouldering ruin that was one of the Leviathan's thrusters, though not far enough to allow the vessel's turrets to get a lock on it. "Thanks, I am already locking on to the next one." the Asari replied as she typed away at her holo-interface. Myra and Kat, meanwhile, looked out of the cockpit's canopy to see the Supreme coming around for another assault at the enemy Battleship before suddenly two bright red particle beams fired at the Autobot Dreadnought, hitting its shields hard as everyone watched in wide-eyed shock. "Supreme, report. You alright over there, Vraz?" the Spectre asked. "Our shields are holding, thankfully. We have much stronger defences than our standard cruisers. Just keep your attention on the task at hand, we can handle whatever Vasir throws at us. Vraz out." the Commander replied before the Eudora suddenly made a sharp turn away as an explosion erupted beside them. "What the hell?" Kat asked before another exploded in front of the ship, making the Pilot veer the ship out of it's way. "Flack turrets. Vasir means business." he said as even more rounds were exploded in their path, making him evade each and every one of them while Myra looked over to him as she held on to the back of his chair. "Will this be a problem?" she asked, making him smirk in return. "You know me..." he simply said in return before pulling a double barrel roll as two more rounds exploded on either side of their ship. "…Get ready to fire at our next target, Tolae." he added, gaining a nod from the Ardat-Yakshi. "Locked and loaded." she replied as the target came into range. Meanwhile, onboard the Supreme, Vraz had gotten up from his seat while watching as the Eudora continued to run rings around the Leviathan's defences, with its flack turrets proving to be ineffective against the smaller vessel's manoeuvrability and its Pilot's skill. "Sir, the Eudora has disabled most of the Leviathan's thrusters…" the crewman manning the Sensors station began to report, before being cut off as the ship shook from another impact from the enemy's particle beams, making the interior lights blink on and off for a second. "Shields still holding, though another few hits and that will be the least of our worries." Another crewman said from his station, earning a nod from the Commander in return. "Then let's finish this. Helm, take us to the Leviathan's main engines…" he started to say before turning to the Weapons station. "…target everything we have on them." The crewman manning that station nodded back before returning his attention to his work, as the Supreme then evaded another particle beam blast as it flew towards the larger Behemoth's aft section just as the Eudora took out the last thrusters. "That's it, Supreme. All thrusters down. It's now or never." Myra then said over the Inter-com as the target appeared on the main view-screen just as Vraz looked back at it, gaining a look from the Weapons crewman once more. "Target's locked." he said, making the Commander smile in return. "Fire." With that, the Supreme opened up with all of its cannons and torpedo-launchers as it sent a barrage of weapons fire at the Leviathan's engines, all of which impacted against their target and caused a massive explosion that shook the entire ship, making Vasir's eyes widen in shock. "What the…?" she started to say, before being cut off by one of her crewmen. "Our engines have been disabled, we are losing altitude." he said with a fearful tone, which made Inferno look around in a panic. "What about the thrusters…?" he started to ask as his attention was caught by the sight of the Eudora pulling away on the holo-screen. "They have all been disabled too, we are in free fall…" the helmsman began to reply as he typed away at his holo-interface. "At this rate and direction, we will crash land on the continent called North America, southwest of the city of Las Vegas. I can do nothing else to alter or slow our descent." the Pilot replied, which made the Asari Leader bite her lip in frustration as Inferno spoke up. "We should transfer all power to the structural integrity and inertial dampeners." he said, making her look back at him with narrowed eyes. "No, we can do better than that…" she said before looking back at the Weapons station. "…Activate Leviathan's alternate mode, this day is still ours to take." she said, gaining a nod from the crewman in return. "They are going down." Evac said with a joyous tone, gaining happy faces from Myra, Kat and Tolae as they watched the Leviathan begin to fall on the other side of the Cockpit's canopy. "We did it." Kat replied before looking back at her lover, who nodded back. "Myra, our sensors show Vasir's ship will crash land just southwest of Las Vegas and I have already sent a message for the city to go to high alert." Vraz then said over the Inter-com, while the Asari looked at her Pilot's holo-interface. "We can confirm that. Once the Leviathan has come to a stop, I will then board her and make sure Vasir is dead." she replied. "Roger that." the Commander replied as the Spectre looked back at Kat and smiled, but before either could say anything, Evac's voice caught their attention. "Uh, Guys, what is the Leviathan doing?" he asked, making the pair and his Ardat-Yakshi lover look out to see the giant Behemoth begin to shift and change form as it fell, which made the young Darby's eyes widen in response. "No, it can't be…." she replied in a faint and worried tone.

CHAPTER XIX Myra felt so relaxed as she lied on the bed beside a still fast-asleep Kat, who was gently snoring away to herself. The Asari woke up just a few minutes earlier and had just been watching her lover, noticing how cute she looked while curled up next to her. 'Kat looks so peaceful, I know how she feels.' the young Darby thought as a smile appeared on her face, making her sigh quietly in return. 'It's been so long, so very long since I have felt like this. And now Kat has twice made me... 'almost' forget our troubles and simply...relax, I wasn't even sure I could still do that.' she added before looking over to the holo-image of a clock on the wall to her right. 'It's Seven Thirty AM.' she thought before turning her attention to the window, which revealed nothing but the star-blanketed void beyond it. 'If it was not for that clock, you wouldn't even know that it is was already morning. I certainly miss having the Sun let me know when that is, perhaps Kat and I can do something about that together once…' she started to think before stopping as her eyes widened, earning a surprised expression from the young Darby as she lied back and looked up at the ceiling. She had never thought about the future beyond Vasir, not since her fateful Wedding Day two and a half centuries ago, a day that blanketed her life in darkness where the idea of a hopeful future was all but gone. 'I can't believe it. Has my recent experiences with Kat, our growing relationship really opened my eyes to the possibility of a future with her beyond now. It has been so long that I had long given up on the idea of such a thing, since I had to remain focused on Vasir.' she thought with a disbelieving look before her attention was caught by the sound of Kat stirring from her restful sleep, so Myra quickly put those thoughts behind her as she turned back to her lover who slowly opened her eyes and gave the young Darby a loving smile. "Hey you." she said in a soft voice, gaining a mirrored expression from the Asari as she smiled back. "Hey." she said back in a loving tone, which made the Human Woman's smile grow wider as they looked into each other's eyes. "Sleep well?" the Asari added, earning a nod from her lover who began running her finger over the soft blue skin of the other's hand. "Yes I did, though that maybe because I am sharing a bed with you." she replied with a coy tone, one that made Myra's cheeks redden slightly in response. "…I slept well too, which I believe was down to you." the young Darby said with a mirrored tone as she reached over and ran her other hand through Kat's chocolate-brown hair, making her close her eyes and sigh as she enjoyed the Asari's touch. "Mmm…that feels nice, brings back a memory which I find most welcome." she replied, which made Myra repeat her previous action, taking comfort in the reaction of her lover. "I know what you mean, after all, what we shared together still resonates strongly with me." she said with a warm tone, gaining a star-eyed look from the Human woman. "So, I am very much looking forward to us sharing many more moments like that in the future..." Myra began to say, noticing the sparkle in the other woman's eyes as she spoke. "...but there is just one thing that needs to be done first." she added, earning a nod from Kat. "I know, we have to stop Vasir...and we will together. You're not alone in this Myra, you have me, Evac and Tolae with you. And we will make Vasir pay for the part she played in Crosscut's death, as well as the murders of both your Mother and my Ancestor." This brought a slight smile to the young Darby's face, taking note of the confident expression on her lover's face. "Listening to you say it all like that, makes me feel like we have a chance." she replied, with the Asari remembering all the times Leviathan's Leader had slipped through her grasp. "Well, it's because we do..." Kat began to reply as a curious expression then appeared on her face, gaining a similar one from the Rogue spectre. "What is it?" she asked as the Human Woman then sat up a little while continuing to rest her head on her arm. "You've been thinking about the future, haven't you?... Of our future?" she asked with a hint of hope in her voice, gaining a nod from Myra who breathed a sigh. "I have..." she began to reply before her expression slowly changed to one with a small amount of guilt visible for her lover to see. "...but I can't help but feel..." she added with a worried tone, only for the other Woman to cut her off. "...you feel that you're betraying my ancestor by doing so." Kat said back with a knowing tone, but also with a sympathetic look which made the Asari nod back before sitting up and looking away from her. "You know 'he' would want you to be happy in the end, right..." she started to say while sitting up and placing her hand on the Rogue Spectre's bare shoulder, making the blue Woman look back and nod. "...so stop punishing yourself for wanting some happiness in your life, because you deserve some just like all the rest of us." "I know...it's just...hard for me to get used to it because of how long I have gone on without it, you know. I keep thinking that if I start to accept it, then fate or whatever will just come down and snatch it from me again." Myra replied as a slight smile began to grace her face as she stared back at Kat, who mirrored her smile. "You needn't worry, because I am not going anywhere. I am here for long haul, Myra. No matter how long it takes." she said back in a supportive and caring tone, one that made the Asari's smile widen. "Thanks for understanding, Kat." she replied with a relieved tone as the atmosphere between the two lovers began to lighten again, only for the Rogue Spectre's expression to change to a more curious look. "Anyway...you never did answer my question." she said with a similar tone, gaining a coy look from the young Human Woman in return. "And which question may that be?" she asked, feigning an unsure tone as she smiled back. "When did you start calling yourself Shepard?" Myra then asked, which made Kat reach over to the chair that was sitting beside her side of the bed and grab her utility belt which was lying on it. "Well..." she started to say before bringing her attention back to her lover, holding her belt in her hands for both to see. "...you don't remember this, do you?" she said while unsheathing her combat knife, gaining a nod from the Asari. "Yes, it's your favourite blade." Myra replied while looking down at the weapon. "I never told you this, but I was given this knife by my mother. She told me that it was a family tradition to pass this blade to the next generation of Masons who would serve in the Military, and so she handed it to me on the day I earned my insignia for the Autobots and joined the Wreckers." Kat said back, earning a surprised look from the young Darby. "I didn't know that. I mean, I kind of guessed that you were an Autobot. I mean, who from Earth wasn't, as they pretty much took over as Humanity's and Cybertronians' only military after the Reaper War." "Yes, that is true and I had some good times working alongside the likes of Broadside, Whirl, Carlo, Roadbuster and Topspin, just to name a few..." the Human woman replied with a nostalgic smile as she remembered those times. "...But that all changed when the ISF Senate decided to take a more active role in monitoring the Wreckers activities, as they had done with the Autobot Spectres over a century before..." she added with a slightly saddened expression, earning an understanding nod from Myra. "The Senate was trying to do the same thing before I went Rogue to pursue Vasir, I guessed the Autobots would eventually cave into their pressure like they did with everything else that the Alliance wanted." "Yes, so I left...and that's when I met you and the others, which is something I don't regret." Kat then added with a smile as she placed her hand on the bed between her and the Asari, with her lover placing her hand on top in a caring gesture. "Me neither." she replied as they looked into each other eyes once more before the Human then shook her head and gave the Rogue Spectre a slightly annoyed stare. "Getting back to this..." she began to say while gesturing to the knife, regaining Myra's attention to it. "...can you see the engraving on the blade?" she added while pointing at the intended spot on the weapon, gaining a nod from the young Darby. "I can, though too much of it has been worn off." she replied, earning a knowing look from Kat who then activated her holo-tool. "That's what I thought, but then I took a scan of the knife and used its programming to clean up and recreate what the engraving looked like before...which is this." the Human added before an image of the blade appeared looking completely new with the engraving easily visible, which made Myra's eyes widen a little as she read the words cut into the weapon. "J. Shepard." she said in a slightly disbelieving tone, which made her lover nod back in return. "Yes, this combat knife used to belong to my great, great, great grandfather and has been passed down through my family and has ended up in my hands." This gained a thoughtful look from the Asari, who continued to look down at the blade. "I remember John telling me about a knife he lost, which came as a real disappointment to him due to it once belonging to an ancestor of his before being passed down through his family to him." "Really? So it perhaps it was not your John but another Shepard from long before him. Kind of makes it interesting that my great, great, great grandfather once held this knife in a similar way to how I do now." Kat replied, which earned a nod from Myra in return. "Yes, and he had to have misplaced it while he was still married to your great, great, great grandmother. He must have meant a great deal to her since she kept the knife and continued to pass it down through her lineage, ending with it in your possession. I mean, for the blade to be as old as this now appears to be, and it is still in excellent condition, considering the length of time and usage." "I know. I made sure to keep it sharp and battle-ready. When my mother gave it to me, she said that this knife had been passed down through our family and every member who used it made sure to look after it, so I did the same." Kat said back, bringing a slight smile to the Rogue Spectre's face as she gave her lover a proud look. "John would be proud to know that his favourite knife was still being used within the family and that it is still an effective weapon now as it was all the way back then." "Thanks, Myra, I really appreciate that. And anyway, back to your question 'why am I using the Shepard name? Well, that is because John Shepard was family and I want to honour his name by carrying it alongside my own..." the Human Woman replied before the young Darby then handed her back the combat knife. "…So I will now be known as Katrina 'Kat' Shepard Mason. I mean, as long as you don't have any problem with it, of course." she then added, an unsure look appearing on her face as she looked at Myra. But the Asari merely smiled back with a caring expression, placing her hand on her lover's shoulder in a supportive gesture. "Why would I have a problem with that? You're John's family and are more than worthy of carrying his name, so I have absolutely no problem with that…., Shepard." she said back in a loving tone, which brought a smile to Kat's face in return. "Thank you, Myra." she replied before the pair began to lean in for a kiss, only to have their moment broken by the sound of the inter-com activating. "Myra Darby, this is Beta. Do you read me?" the voice of the Autobot Nurse spoke, gaining the two lovers attention as the Asari tapped her com-link. "This is Myra, what is it, Beta?" "I think you should come to the Infirmary, we have a problem." the Femme replied in a worried tone, which immediately brought a fearful look from the Rogue Spectre. "What! Is it my Aunt?" she asked back with a similar tone. "No, your Aunt is still in a coma but is otherwise doing well." Beta replied, which made both Women stare back at each other in confusion "So what is it then?" Kat asked, beating her Rogue Spectre to the question. "It's Evac and Tolae." PRIME EFFECT 5 A few minutes earlier and Beta was walking down the corridor towards the Secondary Infirmary so that she could start her shift for the day before her eyes suddenly fell upon a familiar person standing by the entrance to her work which brought a slight smile to her face. "Hi." Slash said with a welcoming smile as the Femme walked up to him with a curious expression, having noticed that the Dinobot was holding his right arm with his left and looking a little uncomfortable. "Hi, so what did you do?" she asked, feigning ignorance despite having a good idea of what he had done. "I was just doing my early morning workout with Grimlock and Scorn, with the three of us sparring in two on one bouts…" he started to explain before the Nurse then cut him off. "I thought there were four of you? Isn't there a Femme in your team as well?" "Yes, you mean Strafe. She is always supposed to train with us, but she is not what you would call a Morning person." he replied with a disappointed tone, while the Femme looked at his arm. "I see. Well, as far as your arm goes, I think you have basically dislocated it, but I will need to run a scan to be sure." she replied while tapping the doors control panel, which opened them and allowed the pair to enter. "I think you're right there, Beta, since Sharptooth can be a little too hard on us during training…" the Bot replied as he stayed at the Femme's side as they walked over to her desk and watched as she activated her holo-tool and ran a scan of his injury. "…as this time while we grappled, he pulled on my arm a little too strongly and then I swore I heard a loud pop and that was when the pain started. But that was then followed by a lot of laughter, as both Sharptooth and Scorn were nearly rolling on the floor while as I was on my knees and gritting my teeth as a white-hot pain throbbed between my arm and shoulder." This earned a worried expression from Beta as she looked up from her holo-display, looking directly at Slash. "They laughed at you?" she asked with a slightly disbelieving tone, which made the Dinobot offer a lopsided grin in return. "Yeah, but I have laughed at them both too in the past." he then replied, which made the Femme roll her eyes in response. "Men!" she sighed before returning her attention to her holo-tool, which brought about a coy smile from Slash in return. "...and you're right, your arm is dislocated. But this won't be a problem, I can pop it back into place." she then said with a professional tone, gaining a nod from the Bot in return as she then took his dislocated arm in her hands. "Thanks, Beta..." he started to say as the Nurse lifted it into a horizontal position, readying to pull. "...perhaps you let me thank you by having a drink with me...some time." he then asked, earning a surprised look from the Femme as she stopped what she was about to do. "Are you asking me out on a date?" she then asked, which made the Dinobot look back with a hopeful look, despite the pain he was still in. "Yes, I am. So can I buy you a drink some time." he asked again, which brought a thoughtful expression to the Nurse's face. "Well..." she started to say, noting that Slash's full attention was now on her before suddenly pulling his arm back sharply, gaining a painful grimace from the Bot as his arm was put back in place. "Sweet Jesus...that hurt, but thanks, Beta." he said back with a pained but appreciative tone, earning a smile from the Femme in return. "You're welcome. This should help with any further discomfort..." she began to reply before injecting a dose of Medi-gel into his arm, which brought a more relaxed look to the Dinobot's face. "...and yes..." she added, which snapped Slash's attention right back to her, as though he was hanging on every word she said. "yes?" he repeated with a curious tone. "...yes. When we get a free moment, I will have a drink with you." Beta replied with a smile, which brought a mirrored expression from the Bot. "Great, okay. So when do you think..." he started to say in an enthusiastic tone, which only made the Nurse's smile widen as she was about to answer. But her attention was caught by her holo-tool bleeping, making her look down as the device appeared around her forearm once again. "Wait a second, I am just getting the results for scans I took of Tolae yesterday evening before my shift ended." she replied, gaining a nod from the Dinobot in return as she brought up the data and began to read it. "Oh yeah, the Asari friend of Myra that Strafe and I brought in yesterday. How is she doing now?" he asked. "Tolae is doing fine now, in fact..." she started to reply before her eyes suddenly widened as a shocked look appeared on her face, one that was noticed by Slash. "What is it...?" he started to ask, only for Nurse to leave his side and rush towards the patient resting rooms just away from them. "We need to quarantine her right now." Beta stated in an alert tone as she reached the door, and she was about to open it before her eyes caught the sight of its interior through its small window. "By the Allspark..." she gasped, gaining a similar surprised look from the Bot as he joined her side and looked through the window. "Oh my..." he said as the two of them could see quite clearly that Tolae was lying with Evac on his berth, with the pair in each other's arms. A few moments later and both the Pilot and his Asari lover were sitting up on the berth with the latter covering her chest with some of the blanket, while the rest of it covered the former's privates as they found themselves staring back at Beta and Slash, with the Dinobot aiming his pistol at Tolae just as Myra and Kat entered the area. "Okay what's going on...here?" the Rogue Spectre said as her eyes widened once they fell upon the pair, with a similar look appearing on the Human Woman's face too. "Why didn't you tell me you had brought an Ardat-Yakshi on board." Beta then said in a slightly volatile tone, gaining the Asari's attention though her eyes remained pinned on her two friends sitting on the berth. "Well, I didn't think I needed to say anything, especially since Tolae was vouched for by the Lesuss Monastery because she could control 'herself'." Myra replied, before giving Evac a questioning look as he simply shrugged his shoulders in response. "This is a very serious matter as it appears that Tolae here cannot control herself, so I will br looking to have Doctor Kaput's authorisation to have her put in quarantine immediately…" she started to say before looking back at the Pilot. "…and how are you still alive? Since Asari records made available when we were members of the ISF do state that anyone who mates with an Ardat-Yakshi will be killed?" The room then went quiet as everyone stared at both Evac and the Ardat-Yakshi, who just glanced at each other with an affectionate stare before the latter turned her attention back to the Nurse. "That is not entirely true, evidently, since Evac and I just spent the night together." Tolae said, which only made the Nurse's expression. "But how?" she replied, which made Myra's eyes widen as she had then figured it out. "You didn't meld with Evac, did you? The two of you just had sex?" she asked, gaining a nod from both of them. "I never put any thought into whether that was possible or not, probably because it is such a natural part of how we Asari procreate." she said with a surprised tone, which made the Ardat-Yakshi look back with an understanding expression. "I would be lying if I said it was easy, as there was a temptation to meld…" she began to say, before looking over to Evac with a loving expression. "…but I controlled it because I care deeply for Evac and would never hurt him." the Asari added as she looked back at the others, gaining a knowing smile from Kat as the Pilot then spoke up. "I too knew the risks, but I trust Tolae with my life and knew that we would both be alright." he said, gaining a nod from the Rogue Spectre in return. "I'm happy for you both, though you did take a considerable risk with this. But since nothing bad came of it, I don't see any reason to quarantine Tolae. So you can lower your weapon, Slash." she said while looking over to the Dinobot who complied, but Beta did not look happy. "But…" she started to say, only for the young Darby to cut her off. "The law only applies to Ardat-Yakshi who murder those they mate with. But since that did not happen, then there is no problem. And I am sure Doctor Kaput will agree with my assessment too." she said back, which made the Nurse nod back reluctantly. "Very well, but I request that both Tolae and Evac are given a medical scan to be absolutely sure that there are and will not be any further complications." "I see no problem there. Evac? Tolae?" Myra then asked, looking over to the two lovers who shook their heads in unison. "No, we are fine with that." "Good, so now that…" the young Darby started to say when the inter-com suddenly activated as Vraz's voice spoke up. "Could Myra Darby please meet me in the Conference Room, Autobot Command are ready to give their answer." he said, earning a sigh from the Asari as she tapped her com-link. "I am on my way." she said before looking back at her two friends as they sat on the berth, with both of them nodding back. So the Rogue Spectre turned around and began to walk out of the Infirmary, while Kat gave the two lovers a supportive smile before following. "I knew there was something between Evac and Tolae." she then said as the pair left the room and began walking down the corridor towards one of the elevators, earning a slight smile from Myra. "Yes, you did. So you want to come and see how this goes?" she replied, which brought a smile to Kat's face. "Of course, I've got your back." she said back as they stopped outside of the elevator, with the Asari tapping the control panel beside it. "I know." she answered back with an affectionate tone as the doors then opened, which allowed the pair to enter before they closed behind them. PRIME EFFECT 5 A moment later, Myra and Kat entered the Conference Room to find the holo-forms of the various Autobot Admirals standing around the room with Vraz standing in its center. They all turned and looked at the new arrivals as the Commander beckoned them to him, with Kat feeling a little overwhelmed at the audience. "Welcome back, Myra, we are ready to conclude…" he started to say, only for Bludgeon to cut him off. "Who is that and why is she here?" he asked in his usual brazen tone, which brought a not so friendly stare from the Asari. "Kat 'Shepard' Mason is my XO..." the Asari started to say as she looked back at her lover with a proud expression, earning an appreciative and loving smile back before returning her attention back to the Admirals. "...and so has every right to be here for this." she added while giving Bludgeon a dagger-like stare, which made the Admiral look away. "Very well. So now that everyone is here, we can now move ahead with the matter at hand..." Nuwani then said, gaining a nod from her colleagues around the room. "...Myra Darby, for the longest time you have been pushing for this Command as well as the ISF Senate to take seriously the threat posed by Vasir and her Leviathan Organisation. But we turned our backs on you because the Senate did not believe what you had to say and thus this forced you to leave our ranks and pursue this on your own..." she started to say, gaining a thoughtful look from the Rogue Spectre as she looked to the ground and remembered that time. "...but with the evidence that you have brought to our attention, coupled with the facts that we Autobots are no longer affiliated with the ISF and that a number of its members are with Leviathan itself..." she continued, which brought a slight smile to Kat's face as she could see the way this was going, before looking over at her lover and noticing the hesitant expression on her face as she waited with bated breath for the rest of what Nuwani was about to say. "...Myra Darby, Autobot Command stands with you and shall take action against Leviathan. For it poses a real threat to not only our interests but also the entire Galaxy and we will respond to it." the Asari Admiral finished, which brought thankful smiles from both Kat and Vraz as Myra simply sighed and nodded in return, a slightly disbelieving look on her face before Admiral Lennox then spoke up. "Also when it comes to Vasir herself, we will leave her fate for you to decide. Because she has gone on for far too long without facing justice for what she has done to your family, so allowing you the opportunity to decide it is the least we can do." he said, earning an appreciative smile from the young Asari in return. "Thank you." she said with a slightly shaky tone to her voice, for Myra was still finding that this all felt a little to good to be true which could be seen all over her face. "That is not all, Myra..." Admiral Jones then added, gaining their attention as they looked over to her. "…as the Commander has something else for you too." So the Rogue Spectre turned to Vraz, who smiled at her. "The Admirals have given me their backing to reinstate your Autobot Spectre status, which is something your Aunt had always planned for you if the Senate ever listened. But since we are no longer a part of the ISF, then we will just go ahead with it. That is if you will accept it?" the Bot said while extending his hand to her, which made the Asari look over to Kat who nodded back to her. "Alright, I accept." she said whilst turning back to him and shaking his hand, which brought smiles to most of the Admirals around them bar Bludgeon who simply shrugged. "And of course those under your command can also reclaim their former ranks if they were Autobots previously of course." Lennox said, making Myra look over to him. "Yes, that is a good idea, as Kat was once a Wrecker and Evac a member of the Aerial-bots." "We will sort out those details as soon as this meeting has been concluded, but first we need to know where Leviathan will strike. Because your Intel stated that Vasir will attack us Autobots before making a move on the rest of the Galaxy, but where will that be?" Nuwani then said, which made Abrudas speak up. "We have our fleet split up into groups that are positioned at all of our colonies and outposts. But if Leviathan's fleet is really the size that Myra's Intel says and it attacks any one of them, then our forces will not be enough to protect them…" he started to say, only for Vraz to cut him off. "Then, in that case, we should have a fleet on standby and the Supreme should lead it. There is no way that our newest Destroyer should be left out of this fight." he said, which gained a nod from Nuwani. "Agreed and I think we should end this meeting and get on with preparing our forces for the coming attack, because who knows when Vasir will make her move." she said which made the other Admirals nod back before their holo-forms faded to nothing along which hers, leaving Myra, Kat and Vraz standing alone in the room. "Alright, I will have the Morning Hope set course for the Supreme's current coordinates and have the Seventh Fleet meet us there too." he said. "Alright, Kat and I will see if Evac and Tolae are ready to leave the Infirmary and then prepare the Eudora for launch…" she started to say, only to stop as the Commander held out something in his hand. "Very well, but don't forget this." he said as the two Women recognised the Autobot insignia that he was holding, which made the young Darby smile back and take it. "Thank you." she replied. "Okay then, let's get moving." Vraz then added, earning a nod from both Myra and Kat as the trio then walked out of the Conference Room and back into the corridor outside, with the doors closing behind them as the lights turned off and shrouded the room in darkness. Meanwhile, across the galaxy, Vasir walked into the Leviathan's CIC and looked around at the crew who stopped whatever tasks they were doing and gave her their full attention. "I have just received word from our other fleets positioned at spots around the galaxy, they are ready for the attack…" she said with a slight smile, gaining enthusiastic stares from the various crewmen around her. "…so the time for us to strike is now." she added, before looking over to the Salarian manning the Communications station. "Patch me into our entire fleet, all groups across the galaxy." she then said, gaining a nod from the crewman who then turned to his station and typed onto it's holo-interface. "You are on, Commander." he then said, which the Asari then acknowledged before looking back around the room. "Men and Women of Leviathan, this is Tela Vasir. Today is a momentous day, a day when we finally step out from the shadows and put an end to our enemies. Take heart in knowing that when this day is done, the Cybertronian threat will finally be over and the Galaxy will once more belong to us…"she said, gaining confident expressions from everyone around her. "…So I want the Third Fleet to jump to the New Cybertron colony and begin its attack, destroy everyone and everything in its sights. And while that distracts the Autobots, our remaining fleets will set course for the Planet that has been their adopted home ever since they destroyed their own World eons ago…" she added as a serious and hateful expression appeared on her face while she looked ahead at the main holo-view screen. "…Set course for Earth. It's time to wipe the Cybertronians from the face of the Galaxy."

CHAPTER XVIII It did not take long to reach the Medical Bay as Tolae was guided there by both Strafe and Slash, as the trio walked down one of the many identical corridors that ran through the length of the Morning Hope like a circulatory system. But as they reached the entrance, the young Asari looked at it with a confused expression, one that was noticed by the Dinobots. "Tolae, what is it?" the Femme asked with a curious tone, gaining the Ardat-Yakshi's attention as she pointed at the door. "This isn't the main Medical Bay." she said back, earning a nod from Slash. "No, that was heavily damaged during Myra's fight with the rest of Leviathan's hit-squad, plus most of its staff were killed as well. So this secondary Med-bay will take over the other's role as the ship's main Infirmary, once the rest of the equipment needed for it has been transferred and installed." "I see. Well thank you for the help, but I can take it from..." Tolae began to say as she reached with her left hand for the control panel on her side of the door. But as her finger came within an inch of its large white button, the Asari's strength suddenly left her body, which caused her to keel over. "Tolae!" both Dinobots said in unison, quickly grabbing the Ardat-Yakshi and stopping her from falling over. "I think your fight took more out of you than you realise." Strafe said back, gaining a nod from Slash in return. "Good thing Myra asked us to come too, or you would have had a close encounter with the floor." he added before tapping the button on the door panel, which opened the Infirmary's doors and allowed them access. "What's the situation?" one of the nurses then spoke as she approached the trio, noticing that they were carrying the nearly unconscious Asari between them. "We think she is just exhausted, but it would probably be a good idea to give her a full medical scan, just to be on the safe side." the Dinobot-Femme replied, which made the Nurse point to the berth just aways from her. "Get her on that bed over there and will see to her in a moment..." she started to say, gaining a concerned look from Slash as he and the Femme did just that. "Why can't you help her now?" "Because if you haven't noticed, we are kind of understaffed right now. Ever since some maniacs murdered our friends in the main Medical-Bay, it's taken the rest of us just to stabilise the man lying over there." the nurse spat back whilst pointing to her four friends, who were standing around another man lying on the berth next to them. Both Dinobots went quiet as they looked at what remained of the ship's medical staff, while Tolae looked over to a man lying on the berth similar to her own, her eyes widening as she recognised him. "Evac! Is he okay? Is he alright?" she asked with a worried tone to her voice, gaining the Nurse's attention as she turned away from the two Elite-Terracons and joined her side. "You know this man?" "Yes. His name is Evac and he is..." the Ardat-Yakshi began to say before stopping as her face relaxed a little, looking directly at the Pilot with a caring expression. "...my best friend." she added, which brought an encouraging smile to the Nurse's face as she could see what the other patient meant to her. "Well, you should know that your friend is going to be fine. All he has is a broken hand and leg, as well as some heavy bruising over his body. But he will be fine, we just have to take him into surgery to work on his broken appendage and limb first." she said back whilst activating her holo-tool and giving the Asari a quick scan, while the patient then lied back down and closed her eyes, just as Strafe and Slash walked up to the Nurse. "I didn't mean to cause offence, I am sorry for your loss." the Bot said back in an apologetic tone, which made the Nurse look back to him while her scan was still going on. "I am sorry too. It's just...Minerva was a close friend of mine, and those bastards killed her along with most of my colleagues." she replied before Slash put his hand on her shoulder in a supportive gesture. "We will get them and they will pay for what happened here, I know we will." he said back in a soft tone, gaining a slight smile from the Nurse in return. "Thank you..." "The name's Slash, I'm a Dinobot." he replied, while Strafe just rolled her eyes and looked back at Evac. "My name is Beta..." the Nurse began to reply, before her holo-tool beeped and regained her attention. "By the All-Spark..." she started to say as her eyes went wide in shock, earning similar reactions from the pair of Terracons. "What is it?" Strafe asked, beating Slash to the question as Beta looked back to her colleagues. "This Asari needs a neural stimulator, right now!" she shouted to her colleagues, ignoring the two Dinobots as one of the other Nurses left Evac's side and picked up a device shaped like a halo off the table next to them and brought it to Beta. "What's going on?" Slash asked as the two Nurses placed the item on Tolae's head and activated it, which began to bleep a soft sound and blink with yellow and blue lights. "My scans showed that your friend's entire nervous system was under a great amount of stress, with her brain on the verge of shutting down…" she started to say before gesturing to the device. "…so this Neural Stimulator should now stop that and give it the time to recover, but she will require a number of synaptic injections at key points on her body over the next several hours to ensure her nervous system makes a complete recovery." Beta replied before looking back at her colleague. "Please prepare the first set of injections." she then said, gaining a nod from the other Nurse who then left their side and walked over to the far side of the Infirmary. But before anything else could happen, everyone's attention was caught by a Bot in gold and green light-armour entering the room. "Doctor Kaput!" Beta said aloud with a relieved tone as the Doctor looked between both berths, before turning his attention to her. "Nurse Beta, what is the situation?" "We have a man with a broken leg and hand, as well as multiple bruises over his body…" Beta began to say as she gestured to the Man, gaining a nod from Kaput as he then looked at the Asari. "And what about her?" "…this Asari's nervous system was on the verge of total neural collapse, so we using a Neural Stimulator to stabilise her brain and were about to start administering the synaptic injections…" she started to continue, only for the Doctor to cut her off. "…yes, I know why. Alright then. Since your attention is now on this Woman, I will instead perform the surgery for this Man." "Very well, Doctor." the Nurse replied before looking back at the two Dinobots, who both looked a little out of place as the Infirmary began to look very busy since Kaput had entered the room. "It is probably best for you two to leave, for now. We will keep you and anyone else these two patients know apprised of their situation." she said, gaining a nod from the Bot as he gestured to unconscious Tolae and Evac. "Okay, we will inform their Commander and Vraz. Thanks for helping us with this. I know it's tough with what's just happened, but I know they will appreciate what you're doing." Slash then said with a slight smile, gaining a similar look from the Femme in return. "You're welcome, Slash." Beta replied before both Dinobots then turned around and left the room, allowing the Nurse to return her attention to her patient. PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, Myra was walking alongside two Terracons, who were carrying a full body bag between them as the trio walked down one of the Autobot cruiser's corridors. "Myra, there you are." a familiar voice spoke from behind which made the Rogue Spectre stop and turn round, only to find Commander Vraz walking over to her from the nearby elevator as its doors closed. "I take it that's Morinth's body." the Autobot Leader added, gaining a nod from the Asari in return. "Yes, these men are taking it to the Morgue back at the main Medical-bay and I am heading there to see Kat and my Aunt." "Well, I just received a message from there telling me that both are fine, your Aunt is currently being moved to the secondary Infirmary as we speak and Kat is with her, so you should probably head the other way." he replied before gesturing to the two Terracons to continue, while he and the Asari stopped. "Alright. Thank you for letting me know." she said back. "Look, I am going to be in a meeting with Autobot Command inside the next thirty minutes, reporting to them about everything that has happened recently..." Vraz said back, before the young Darby cut him off. "Okay, what does this have to do with me?" she asked back with a curious tone, which brought a knowing look to the Commander's face. "...I want you at my side when I do so that you can inform them about everything you saw back at the Leviathan base. We need to be prepared for when Vasir makes her next move, but I think Command will need a push in the right direction and that is where you come in." the Bot replied, which made the Woman shake her head in return. "Last time I tried such a thing, they never even gave me a chance to take a breath before speaking. So I have a hard time believing that this time will be any different..." "But this time you won't have the other Senate Members there pressuring to silence you, and I will be there to back you up one hundred and ten percent." the Commander said back with a confident tone, which brought a thoughtful expression to Myra's face as she looked away for a moment. "Well..." she began to say before returning her attention to the Bot, while numerous crew members continued to walk past the pair in the corridor. "...alright, I will be there. But they better listen this time, because I will not do this a third time." she then added with a stern and honest tone, earning a nod from Vraz. "They will listen, I will make sure of it. I will be in the Conference room, see you there." he said before walking away from the Asari, who in turn moved to the nearest elevator whose doors opened and allowed her to enter. "Infirmary." she then spoke out loud, which made it's doors close again before moving to the deck of her choice as her thoughtful look returned. 'They had better listen to me this time.' A few minutes later and Myra entered the Infirmary to find Kat waiting for her, a relieved look on the Human's face as her eyes met the Asari's. "There you are..." she started to say before the Rogue Spectre pulled her into a warm embrace, which she returned in kind. "...nice, I could get used to that." she added with a coy tone, while Myra simply sighed. "I'm just glad you're alright..." she started to say before pulling away just enough to look into her lover's face. "...and my Aunt?" "Ser-Ket is fine, the Nurses have already moved her into a private room over here." Kat replied as she pointed to the door behind her, so the young Darby walked over to it and looked through its window. "That's good to know, I didn't like leaving the two of you as I did." she said while staring at the peaceful-looking Ser-Ket through the glass, noticing how peaceful her Aunt looked as she slept. "I know, but that biotic upgrade you gave me did the trick." the Human replied with a smirk, regaining Myra's attention as she looked back to her friend. "I wasn't entirely sure that would work, but I wanted to give you something to tip the balance more in your favour." "Well, I am glad you did. Thank you." she said back while taking the Asari's hand in her own in a caring gesture, which made the other Woman smile. "Your welcome, Kat…" she began to reply before looking back at her sleeping Aunt. "...but now that I know that you are both alright, I guess I should get going." the Rogue Spectre replied, gaining a confused look from Kat as she turned away. "Where are you going?" she asked, mirroring her lover. "Commander Vraz has asked me to join him when he debriefs for Autobot Command, he believes that they should finally listen to what I have to say." Myra answered, though the tone of her voice did not sound very confident and Kat could not help but pick up on this. "Well, I hope they do. I mean I saw your memories too, Myra. I know exactly what you went through the last time you tried to get through to them about Vasir." "Yes, well maybe this time things will go better. I mean, I do have the current Leader of the Autobots at my side." the young Darby replied, earning a nod from Kat in return who had a knowing look on her face. "I guess, but Vraz is only in that position because Ser-Ket is currently unable to." "I'm not going to lie to you, I would rather face those Admirals with my Aunt by my side..." Myra said back, taking one last glance at her only remaining family. "But unfortunately that isn't possible, so I will take what I can get." "I can come with you if you want?" the young Mason replied, only for the Rogue Spectre to shake her head in return with a slight smile. "I really appreciate that, Kat, but I need you to find out where Evac and Tolae are and if they are okay since I have heard nothing since I had Slash and Strafe take her for medical treatment." "Alright, I can do that..." the Human Woman began to say, only for a Nurse to look in their direction with a curious expression, gaining the pair's attention. "Can we help you?" Myra then asked, trying to hide her annoyance with a calm tone. "I apologise, but I could not help but overhear your conversation, mentioning the names Evac and Tolae?" the Nurse replied in a professional tone, making both Asari and Human look at her with a surprised expression. "You know them? Where are they? Are they alright?" the young Darby then asked with a worried tone, but the Medical-Femme looked back with a calm expression. "Before I answer your questions, I need to know what your relationship is to both patients?" "They are our friends and teammates." Kat then replied. "Yes, and I am their Commander, Myra Darby." the Asari added, earning a nod from the Nurse in return before she turned her attention back to the other's friend. "I see...and you are?" "Katrina, Katrina…Shepard, but my birth name is Mason." Kat replied which gained a surprised look from her lover that did not go unnoticed by her, while the Nurse nodded in return. "Okay then. In that case, I can tell you that both Evac and Tolae will be fine. The former is still in surgery, though Doctor Kaput has informed me that they are nearly done. I, meanwhile, have been treating Tolae who is making a good recovery as well, though both will need at least twenty-four hours to recuperate." she said back, earning a relieved look from the two Women. "That's good to know. Thank you..." Myra began to ask as she looked at the Medical-Femme with a curious expression, which made her smile back. "Beta, my name is Beta." "Thank you, Nurse Beta." Kat then said, while the Asari nodded and smiled in return. "Yes, thank you." "I am just doing my job, but you are welcome. I will notify you when your friends are ready to leave." Beta replied before turning around and heading to another side of the Infirmary, leaving the pair to their own company as they began to move towards the exit. "So, since we know where Evac and Tolae are now and their current condition, Is there anything else I can..." the Human woman started to say, only for the Rogue Spectre to cut her off as they entered the corridor. "When did you start using the name Shepard?" she asked with a curious smile, which only made Kat mirror the Asari with a grin of her own. "Don't you have a meeting you need to get to?" she asked back with a coy tone, making Myra's smile widen a little more in return. "Don't change the subject, I'll go in...a moment." she said back, trying to sound commanding. But this only made her Lover's stare all the more coy-like. "You are so cute, but you have to go and meet up with Vraz for the talk with Autobot Command. But when you are finished, meet me in your quarters and I'll tell you..." she started to say before planting a soft kiss on the Asari's left cheek, which earned a sigh from her in return. "Okay, you win." she said back whilst not attempting to hide the warmth she felt from that kiss, making Kat cock her head in response whilst remaining coy. "I know, so go and show those Admirals whose boss." "Yes, Sir." the young Asari replied with a half-hearted salute before she then walked away from her Lover, who watched her go as she stood there. 'I hope they actually listen to Myra this time.' she thought before turning around, walking away in the opposite direction. PRIME EFFECT 5 Several minutes later and the Rogue Spectre walked up to a medium set of double doors at the end of yet another similar looking corridor, which was located near the centre of the Morning Hope. She held her hand up to the control panel beside the door, though only enough for her fingers to be just a few millimetres from the buttons as she took a deep breath. 'Okay, here goes.' she thought before sighing and pressing the button which opened the door and revealed the room's interior to her, which looked much larger than the doorway she was standing in would let on from the outside, it had a circular shape to it with ten circular pads around one and a half metres in diameter stationed on the floor in a formation that followed the shape of the room. "Good. You made it just in time." Vraz then said, gaining the Asari's attention as she entered the room and walked up to the Commander who was standing in the room's central point. "Well I just hope that this actually counts for something this time." she replied with an unsure tone, which brought a supportive look from the Autobot Leader as he could read that in the expression on her face. "Don't worry, this time they will listen." he replied before looking down at his forearm as his holo-tool activated and surrounded it, glowing orange as he typed a sequence into its keypad. And suddenly the room went dark as it's overhead lights dimmed and the circular pads began to activate, a light-blue glow emanating from the edges of each pad as a holo-image appeared over them. "Here they come…" Vraz then said as he and Myra watched as the Autobot Admirals all appear around them, dressed in armour and looking at the pair with stern expressions. "…Welcome to the Morning Hope." the Commander then said while the Rogue Spectre looked around the room, only recognising a handful of the new arrivals. "Enough with the pleasantries, Vraz. Why have you summoned this meeting?" a black-haired man with a pale complexion replied as he stood in his orange and green armour, earning the attention of both the Bot and Asari. "I am the acting Leader of the Autobots, Admiral Bludgeon. You would do well to remember that as you speak to me." The Commander spoke with a stern expression, though the older man simply shrugged back in response. "And…'acting' is the appropriate word, because you certainly are not Ser-Ket. I would much rather speak with our 'actual' Commander….and what is she doing here?" he then said while pointing a finger at Myra, who just copied the Admiral's previous look as she stared back at him with an unimpressed expression, whilst another Asari standing to Bludgeon's left spoke up. Admiral, please restrain yourself…" she started to say before looking back at the Commander, a questioning expression appearing on her face. 'Never met a bot with a more appropriate name.' Myra thought while the other Admiral continued. "…Despite Bludgeon's behaviour, I find that he does have a point. Commander Vraz, care to explain why you have this Rogue Spectre in your midst?" the Asari Admiral asked with a curious tone, while the others remained quiet. "Admiral Nuwani and fellow Admirals of Autobot Command, I have called this meeting today because of a very real threat that is in our midst. Not one that is focused solely on our own civilisation, but on the whole galaxy." Vraz said, which made the Turian Admiral standing behind him speak up. "And what threat would that be? Because the only news that is of relevance right now is that the Autobots have been relieved of their duties as the protectors of the Inter-Stellar Federation." "Yes, and it cannot be a mere coincidence that the ISF Senate sped up our exit due to the fact that we discovered a Leviathan Base on Unity Station, one that…." the Commander began to say, only for Bludgeon to roll his eyes in response. "So that is why this Rogue Spectre is standing in our presence because she has you believing in her Leviathan theory now. You know we should be focusing on the fact that we are no longer part of the ISF, not on this. Would you not agree, Xaaron?" he then said, looking over to the blonde Bot in gold and blue armour standing on the other side of the room opposite him. "That would be a more appropriate subject for this meeting, now that we are all here." he replied, only for the Nuwani to shake her head in return. "Despite that making sense, I do find myself intrigued to know what Myra Darby has now which would bring her back to us after so long in exile." This gained a nod from both Male and Female Human Admirals, who stood beside each other to the left of her. "Both Admiral Jones and I wish to hear out Miss Darby too." the man said, gaining a sigh from Bludgeon in return. "Admiral Lennox, you and Jones are here because you replaced Ahern and Goldfire just a few months ago, what makes you think you can dictate how this meeting plays out?" "In that case, we should vote on if we should hear out or Rogue Spectre here. So far it is Nuwani, Lennox and me for..." Admiral Jones then said, before Xaaron then cut her off. "...and Bludgeon and myself against, with only Abrudas left to vote." he said before gesturing to the Turian Admiral, who had kept quiet throughout the exchange as he stood there and listened. As the Admirals stood there and looked over to their colleague, looking at him with curious expressions as they awaited his vote. Myra just watched them all as they bickered between themselves, her anger was building up to exploding point as she clenched her fist and made it glow blue with biotic energy. "I believe we should arrest this Rogue Spectre and get back to the matters at hand." the Turian then said, making the young Darby grit her teeth. 'This is getting us nowhere.' she thought, while Vraz took a step in front of her. "Myra is here as my guest, so there will be no arresting her. Not since her crimes were against the ISF, not against us." "It does not matter, she is an enemy of the state and so will be held accountable for the crimes against her name." Bludgeon spoke up, but before anyone else could say anything, the young Asari's biotics flared up and illuminated the entire room as her entire person began to shine with blue light. "THAT'S ENOUGH!" she cried out loud, making everyone stop and look at her in shock as she glowed brightly with her power. "Wow..." Commander Vraz whispered under his breath as his friend slowly calmed down, with her biotics fading as the audience just watched while she stared back with an angry expression. "Now I came here because Commander Vraz invited me so that I can share my Intel and experiences in investigating Leviathan as I was chasing Tela Vasir across the galaxy. As you are well aware, she was responsible for the murders of my mother Liara T'Soni and my fiancée and fellow Spectre John Shepard. Now all I ask is that you allow me to show you what I have and then once I am finished, you can then choose to either help me or not. So what will it be, because I am frankly running out of patience?" Everyone just stared back at the Asari with shocked looks, especially Bludgeon before Nuwani then spoke. "Myra Darby, you were one of our best Spectres before your self imposed exile from the Autobots and the crimes you committed against the ISF thereafter. But as we are no longer a part of the Alliance, I see no reason to adhere to their rules. So if no one else feels the need to speak up..." she started to say before looking around the room, noting that the Admirals just remained quiet and nodded back. ...we will hear out your evidence. So, please begin." the Asari Admiral added as she looked back at Myra, who merely nodded back and activated her holo-tool. "Thank you." she replied before bringing up a large number of holo-images and in Intel reports, which floated around the Rogue Spectre as she began. PRIME EFFECT 5 At this moment, on the other side of the galaxy, the Leviathan floated in the middle of its ever-growing fleet, with more ships joining their ranks with each passing hour. Onboard the massive battleship, Vasir stood in the center of her large ready-room and looked at the large image being emitted from a holo-emitter in its centre. "So how is the synthetic-energon core, everything running smoothly?" she asked while looking at its holo-image before a voice spoke from the speakers in the ceiling. "The core is running at one hundred and ten percent, more than enough to run every system on this impressive ship of ours." a male voice replied, gaining a nod from the Leviathan leader. "That's good and what about Leviathan's speciality, can the core handle that too?" "It will handle that and everything else asked of it. In fact, the entire ship is now fully functional." the voice replied, which brought a smile to Vasir's face. "Excellent, keep me apprised to any further developments. Vasir out." she said back before tapping a button on the holo-image, ending the call and making the hologram change into an interface with several smaller screens hovering around it. 'Everything is coming together nicely. All there is to do is make sure all my fleets are ready.' the Asari thought before having her attention drawn to the door behind her opening up, making her turn around to see Inferno enter. "You're back, I hope your mission was a success?" she began to say before noticing that the Con was on his own, which made her look back with a confused expression. "…Where is Morinth?" This made the Destron Leader stare to the ground as a worried look appeared on his face while sighing in response. "Vasir…" he began to say before turning his attention to the Asari, who just stood there and looked back at him. "…I am sorry to say that Morinth did not make it." Inferno added with as much of a sincere tone as he could muster since in reality, the con had left the Ardat-Yakshi behind. But Vasir just looked back at him and narrowed her eyes before tapping her com-link, turning away from him as she did so. "Communications, this is Vasir. Patch me through to one of my operatives onboard the Morning Hope, if there are any left of course." As the Leviathan Leader stood there and waited, the Terracon could feel himself getting nervous as he watched her. 'Oh scrap, please tell me there were no other operatives on board.' he thought before the Asari began speaking again. "Yes, this is Vasir. Can you give me a report on our strike against Eudora's crew that just occurred….." she then said as the room remained deathly quiet, with Inferno feeling his spark beginning to feel cold as he awaited his Boss's next move. "…I see, thank you." she then answered with a toneless voice, making it hard for the Destron Leader to guess her next move. But the Asari just stayed quiet for a moment after deactivating her com-link, which made Inferno feel even worse as that short passage of time felt like an eternity. 'Well, what is she going to…' he began to think before Vasir suddenly spun around and grabbed him by the throat with her biotics, pulling him up into the air as the blue energy glowed around her hand and his neck. "Did you think I would not find out?" she asked with a venomous tone, while the Destron Leader dangled before her and grasped at his neck frantically. "I…gh.." he tried to say back as he felt his throat slowly be crushed which only made the furious Asari to squeeze her fist a little more, making him splutter and gasp for air. "I knew the two of you didn't see eye to eye, but why in Goddess's name did you leave her behind?" she spat while Inferno's face started to turn a light shade of blue, which made her release him from her biotic grasp. The Destron fell to the ground and collapsed as he took several deep breaths, trying to recover as Vasir stood over him. "Are you going to keep me waiting, Inferno, because you know I don't like that?" she added as the Con slowly got onto his knees and looked up at her. "…You're right, I…didn't like her…but she wouldn't…follow orders…and was…never much…of a team player. She…went after three…of Myra's friends…on her own." he said back between deep breathes, earning a nod from the Leviathan Leader as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes, and managed to kill one whilst injuring the other two, which puts her in a better position than you doesn't it. Since you failed to kill Darby, her friend Mason….or even her comatose Aunt. How do you even explain yourself there?" she shouted at him, making the Terracon feel very small in her presence as her eyes glowed with biotic energy as she stared daggers at him as he raised his hands in a submissive gesture. "It was…my plan to take…Darby out first, in a coordinated attack. Once she was dead, the others would be easy targets as they would come to assist her. But Morinth and her loose cannon-like ways ruined that option, Leviathan is better without her…" he answered, feeling his breathing come back into control as he was almost grovelling to the Asari. "…you know this too. Our operation will go much more smoothly without her ruining it all with her Ardat-Yakshi ways…" he said which made Vasir grab his throat with her biotics once again, though only with half the strength she used before. "Maybe you're right, but I make the decision to cut people from 'my' operation…" she began to reply, kneeling down in front of him so that she could look him in the eyes. "…not you. So if you dare do something like this again…I will cut out you from Leviathan myself, do we understand each other?" she asked with an ice-cold tone, which made Inferno nod frantically in return. "…yes…yes, I understand." he replied before the Leviathan Leader let go of his neck and turned away from him as he fell back onto his hands and knees. "Good, now get out of my sight and see if 'Project: Crimson Rage' is ready." she ordered, gaining another nod from him as he got to his feet and began to back away from her. "Yes, Vasir, it will be done." he added while keeping his eyes on her as she looked at her holo-interface. "Then get out of here." Vasir spat, making the Con turn around and leave the room at a brisk pace, leaving her on her own once more. 'If I did not need the help of him and his Terracons, I would kill him right now.' the Asari thought as she looked over the reports and Intel appearing in the smaller holo-screens. 'I really hate Cybertronians.' PRIME EFFECT 5 Several hours had passed before the meeting with Autobot Command had come to a close, with Myra feeling as tired mentally as she did physically while walking down the corridor towards her quarters. 'Well, that went as well as expected, I only hope that they take it seriously.' she thought as walked past two crewmen, who were heading in the opposite direction. But she found a smile slowly gracing her face as her eyes fell upon Kat, who was waiting outside of her door. "There you are. I was beginning to wonder if you were coming back." the Human Woman said with a relieved tone as the Asari approached, reaching for the door control panel as she stopped beside her lover. "You haven't been standing here all this time, have you?" she asked as a slightly worried look appeared on her face, though Kat simply shook her head in response. "No, I have been waiting in my own quarters. I just came and checked to see if you were back once every other hour, so how did it go?" "Well…" the Rogue Spectre began to say as she tapped the door control, opening the door and allowing the pair access as they then walked into the room. "…the reason I was gone so long is that the Admirals wanted to know everything." "Everything? You mean the entire time you were working in exile." the young Shepard replied with a confused look, while her blue lover sat down on the edge of the bed and nodded as the door closed behind them. "Yes, everything to do with my pursuit of Vasir…for the past two hundred and fifty years." "But that's good isn't it…" Kat then asked as she sat down beside Myra, placing her hand on the Asari's in a supportive and caring manner. "…it means that they are taking it seriously, doesn't it?" she added with a glimmer of hope to her voice, though the young Darby merely looked away for a second and sighed. "I hope so. I mean, I have a feeling that Nuwani believes me, as well as Lennox and Jones, but I am not sure about the others." "Wasn't Nuwani a member of Autobot Command back when you first approached them about Vasir, after what happened at your wedding?…" Kat then asked, gaining a nod from the other Woman. "…Yes, she was and I had a feeling that she believed me back then too. I mean she was friends with my Mother and I had worked alongside her at one point during my early Autobot career, but she like Ser-Ket must have been overruled by the Senate." she said before giving off a yawn as her eyes-lids started to feel heavy, something did not go unnoticed by Kat. "I have a feeling that things will be different this time, but right now you could do with some rest." the young woman replied while gently helping the Asari to lie down, earning a nod from her in return. "Yeah…you're right there…" she said back with yet another yawn, which made Kat smile at how cute her lover looked as she began to curl up on the bed. "…will you stay?" Myra then asked while looking up at the Human, whose smile widened. "With you? Of course. There is nothing that would pry me from your side." she answered in a soft tone, which made the Rogue Spectre smile back as she fought to keep her eyes open, something that had become that much harder the moment her head had come in contact with the soft and comfortable pillow of her bed. "Hold me." she replied, earning a loving stare from Kat, who then climbed onto the bed and lied next to her Lover. The pair then wrapped their arms around each other as the young Darby rested her head on the other's shoulder, slowly allowing themselves to fall asleep as they both enjoyed their warm embrace. Meanwhile, in the Infirmary, Tolae awoke to find herself lying in one of the private patient rooms. The lights were dimly-lit and only offered a little illumination to her surroundings, but it was enough for to see that she was lying on a Medical berth with a light-weight sheet covering her body, while dimly-lit holo-screens either side of her pillow showed her heart rate and current condition of her health. 'Well I am feeling much better.' she thought while glancing at the second screen, before noticing that another bed was just away from her. 'Is that who I think it is?' the Ardat-Yakshi added as she sat up and looked over to the other bed, seeing another person lying on top of it. So she got off the bed and was about to walk over to the other berth, but not before noticing that all she was wearing was a white hospital gown that was open at the back and giving her a slight chill. 'I don't think so.' she thought before taking the sheet off her berth and wrapping it around her, covering up the gap. 'That's better.' So with that done, the Asari began to walk over to the other patient's berth, though as she got halfway between her bed and the other one, her eyes widened as she recognised the person lying on it. 'Evac!' she thought before finding herself rushing to his side, only to see that he was comfortably asleep with his own bed-sheet covering his body. This made Tolae smile as she looked down at him, taking note of his calm and relaxed expression as he lay there sleeping. 'He looks so peaceful like that.' she thought before her attention was caught by the two holo-screens that surrounded the back part of his bed, much like her own. 'His heart rate is steady and his injuries are virtually healed, that's a relief.' she thought with a sigh, before reaching down and placing her hand on his in a caring gesture. But then, as if sensing her touch, the Bot opened his eyes and looked up at her with a warm smile appearing on his face. "Hi." he said in a soft tone, which made her smile back in return. "Hi." she said back, unsure of what else to say as the Pilot took her hand in his own and gently squeezed it. "I'm alright, Tolae, the doctors repaired the damage done to my leg and hand." he said while holding up his once broken hand for her to see, which gained a nod from the Ardat-Yakshi as a look of worry and relief appeared on her face. "I'm so relieved to hear that…" she started to say as her eyes began to well up, which did not go unnoticed by the Bot. "…because when Morinth attacked you and hurt the way she did….I nearly…" she started to say before looking down at the edge of the berth, which made Evac take her hand in both of his like it was the most precious thing in the world. "I know. I thought I was a goner too…" he started to say while gently caressing her hand, making the Asari look back up to him as a single tear ran down her cheek. "…I shouldn't have gone at Morinth like that, but…" he added, only for the Ardat-Yakshi to nod and cut him off mid-sentence. "I know why you did what you did, Evac, and you were right too. Crosscut deserved justice for what she did to him, not only with enthralling him against his will and having him kill us but also in killing him." she replied. "He did break free of it, I knew that bitch could not make him hurt us, he was our friend after all." the Pilot said back with pride in his voice, earning a nod from the blue woman as she looked down to see that he was still holding her hand in his own. "…So I guess since we are both here and Morinth isn't because you caught up to her and made her pay." Evac then said with a knowing look, which brought a slight smile to Asari's face. "Yes…yes, I made sure that Crosscut was avenged, as well as everyone else that monster had killed during her lifetime." "That's my girl." the Bot then said with a sparkle in his eyes, one that nearly took the Ardat-Yakshi's breath away as she blushed in response while coyly looking away as a smile graced her face, which only made his smile widen. "…What?" she said back, trying to sound surprised by his admission. But he simply replied by gently pulling the Asari closer to him, making her lean over the bed as her face was drawn closer to his. "You know, I mean that, right? You are my girl." he replied while looking up at her beautiful face, taking note of her blushing cheeks as she stared back at him. "…I know, and despite what I said before…I have come to care for you just as much, which is why I was afraid to…" she said back, her eyes still welled up as more tears threatened to be unleashed upon her blue skin. "It doesn't matter, none of it does…" he started to say as he leaned in close towards her, with the pair feeling each others breath on their skin. "…I know there is a reason that we shouldn't be together, but I don't care about it and neither should you, because I know we can make this work." he added while Tolae simply continued to look into his eyes, seeing his resolve and his passion in his stare and hearing it in his words as he brushed his fingers against her cheek. 'Evac, he has such belief in me. It makes me feel like I can do anything…and I want him just as much as he wants me.' she thought, closing her eyes and enjoying the touch of his fingers on her skin, which felt like tingles of electricity. "I want that too…" she began to say, which made the Bot cup her face in his hands despite the slight throbbing he felt in his still-recovering hand, earning a slight moan from the Asari as she enjoyed his touch. So he closed the distance between them and pressed his lips against hers with a gentle and caring kiss, which felt like a surge of energy between the two for a long moment as Tolae closed her eyes and melted into the kiss. Evac then pulled away just enough to look the Ardat-Yakshi in the eyes as the need for air surfaced between them. "I trust you with my life, Tolae. You are everything to me." he then said with utter clarity to his words and his expression as he stared into her eyes, making them widen in surprise momentarily before she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a passionate embrace, pressing her lips against his with enough force to make him moan into the kiss. But he returned the favour before putting his hands on either side of her slim athletic figure, before lifting her onto the bed to straddle him. This gained a cry of surprise from the Asari before they resumed kissing while letting their hands explore their upper bodies, feeling every inch of each other through their gowns. They never stopped their kissing as they did this, not until the bot had his hands around the Asari's back and under the open end of her gown, feeling her bare back against his hands which made her gasp in surprise. The pair then looked into each other's eyes as Evac took hold of each end of the open back of the gown before she then nodded, which made him rip off the gown in one move, exposing the Asari's blue body to him and earning a surprised yet loving smile in response. "Nice." she replied as he then kissed her on her bare neck, earning a soft moan from the Asari while he then made a trail of kisses down her collar bone, towards her breasts which he then took in his hands. This gained a shiver of delight from the Ardat-Yakshi as he then kissed and licked her left nipple while gently massaging the right, making Tolae almost bite her lip as she was awash in the sensations this created. 'By the Goddess, this is amazing...' she thought before managing to regain some control, focusing her biotics on the Bot's gown and making it glow a light blue before ripping it off in a similar fashion to how her lover had, which made him look back with a mirrored reaction. "Wow." he said in response as he also noticed that the bed-sheet too had left the berth, leaving the pair completely naked with the Asari on his lap. "You like?" she asked in a coy tone as he looked her up and down, letting his eyes drink in as much of her natural beauty as he could before looking back into her own, only to notice that she was eyeing up his own toned body in return with a big smile on her face. "You bet I do." he replied eagerly, to which she wrapped her arms around him. "Kiss me then." she said in what might have sounded like an order, but it was something he could do without any persuasion as he pulled her back into a passionate embrace and kiss, pressing their bodies together as their tongues playfully wrestled in their joined mouths. But as the pair were fixed in this moment of bliss, the Ardat-Yakshi felt not only her own building desires as her body reacted to all his touches and kisses but also the need to bond was slowly coming over her. 'No, Evac is right. I can hold this back...for him...for us.' she thought while pushing that feeling to the back of her mind and focused instead on the pleasures that the pair were experiencing at this second. But this did not last long as the Asari was pulled out of the moment by something else, making her pull away just enough to look back at her lover. "What is it?" he asked with a slightly confused tone while she looked down at his crotch, which instantly made Evac blush in return as Tolae stared down at his nearly erect member. "Oh...yeah, well you do have that effect on me." he added with a smile, gaining a coy look from the Asari as she reached down with her left hand towards it. "Let's see if I can really get it going because you have already got me going." she said gently while suddenly teasing him by stroking her index finger from the base of his member, all the way to its tip and all while it was glowing with biotic energy, which felt something like static electricity to the Pilot, making his member go fully erect in a second. "Oh my god!" he almost cried out in surprise, letting go of his lover and using his hands to steady himself on the berth as the sensation travelled through his body. But suddenly Tolae was pulled out of the moment as she witnessed Evac grimace a little as he looked down to his recovering hand, having put a little too much pressure on it and this made her remember his other injury too as she glanced over her shoulder in the direction of his leg. But the Pilot noticed this and gently cupped the left-hand side of her face with his hand, bringing her attention back to him as they looked into each other's eyes. "It's okay, I can handle it. I don't need my legs right now anyway." he said with a light tone, disarming Tolae with his smile as she found herself smiling back. "Okay." she replied before suddenly surprising him by lifting herself onto him, letting his member enter her. This action brought on the most surprising reaction from Tolae as she looked into Evac's eyes and moaned out loud, gaining a similar if more controlled look from him. "This is your first time?" he asked, knowing full well what her answer would be. Tolae, though, merely nodded as her body shivered on his lap, which made the bot wrap his arms around her in a secure yet gentle embrace. "It's alright, I'm here...I've got you." he said back gently, before slowly raising his lover up and then back down on his member, earning another softer moan from her in return. So Evac then continued to do this, giving the Ardat-Yakshi time to get used to what she was feeling as they made love. 'By...the...Goddess, this is...I want more.' she thought before placing her hands on his shoulders and taking control of the movement, which made the bot's smile widen as he too enjoyed the sensations and building feelings that they were creating together. The two lovers continued with this for several minutes, getting heavy breaths from both as neither wanted to stop while their skin started to sweat as their bodies tried to keep up with their actions. Also, their heart-beat monitors were sounding far less calm, with the pair's pulses speeding up as they closed in on their respective orgasms, like two volcanoes readying to erupt. Tolae suddenly let go of her lover's tightly toned shoulders and put her hands behind her, letting her arch her back and make the thrusts quicker and more pleasurable. But she could also feel the need to bond coming back to her and at this point, she was close to exploding as exhaustion was ready to take her. 'I can't fight...it any...longer, I have to...let it happen!' she thought as she came to the brink of orgasm, as both that need and her instincts became entangled and hard to separate. So just as she dropped down onto Evac's pulsing member one last time, which made her whole body shiver as her orgasm ruptured throughout it. This made Tolae throw her head back and cry out loud in pleasure as she stared up at the ceiling, her eyes going black for an instant as she tore her focus away from her lover and concentrated on her own body. Then a few seconds later, Evac followed suit as his own orgasm took hold, closing his eyes as he moaned out loud before the Asari pulled herself back to him and the pair embraced again, both panting heavily and visibly shaking from their climax. The bot then opened his eyes and looked back at his lover as they held each other, noticing the surprised look on her face. "What's wrong?" he asked with a curious tone, which made the Ardat-Yakshi smile a little as she looked into his eyes. "You're…okay." she replied with a surprised tone, making Evac smile back with a bemused expression before pulling her closer to him as he kissed her cheek. "Of course…I'm okay, that…was…amazing." he replied with a breathless tone before resting his head on her shoulder, with the Woman following suit as they embraced each other's sweaty and still slightly shivering bodies. "…Yes…yes, it was." she replied with a relieved yet loving tone before letting out a sigh as the pair sat on the bed in each other's arms, just listening to each other's breathing and the sounds of the holo-screens around them.

CHAPTER XVII Morinth lunged at Myra with a biotic blade, making the Rogue Spectre create a shield with her own biotics and bring it up to clash with her opponent's weapon, which made blue sparks fly out in all directions before the pair pulled away. "Give up, Morinth. There is no way out of this for you." the young Darby tried to reason as the Ardat-Yakshi attacked again, clashing her blade with the other's construct once again as she stared back with a hateful look. "Never! I'll die first, but I'll be sure to take you with me!" she spat before pulling back from Myra and quickly following through by creating what looked like biotic tentacles. The Rogue Spectre's eyes widened in surprise at Morinth's creations which then thrust towards her and attempted to immobilise the Asari by wrapping themselves around her. But the young Darby instinctively re-created her own biotic-blades and cut them down, but the Ardat-Yakshi simply created more and unleashed them upon her enemy. Myra though dodged the attack and spun around before firing a biotic blast that hit Morinth and knocked her to the ground. "Enough!" But the Ardat-Yakshi quickly recovered as she used her biotics to spring herself back on her feet, which surprised the Rogue Spectre in return. "I say when it is enough…" she replied defiantly as Sharptooth and his teammates joined them in the shuttle-bay, making her look over Myra's shoulder which gained her attention. "…and the more the merrier." Morinth added as an evil grin appeared on her face, while the Dinobots stood took positions on either side of Myra and readied themselves for a fight. "Looks like you could use our help after all." the lead-Terracon said, which made her shrug her shoulders while never taking her eyes off their enemy. "Okay, we take this 'scum' together then." Strafe said with relief in her voice, gaining nods from both Slash and Scorn as they activated their holo-claws which extended over their own already sharp ones. "…This should be interesting…" Morinth then said as her biotics began rippling over her body, which made Myra clench her fists and make her own energies show up visually around them as she knew what was about to happen. "…COME ON THEN!" the Ardat-Yakshi then screamed as she fired a blast of blue energy at the group, but before the Dinobots even had to dive out of its way, it was suddenly stopped in its tracks by a similar energy blast. Sharptooth and his friend's eyes widened as they stared looked on with impressed expressions, for Myra stood before them and her actions were mirroring their enemy. She was focusing her biotic energies back and holding Morinth's at bay, creating a ball of bright blue light in the centre of their attacks. "I've got this. Now get her!" the Rogue Spectre shouted, gaining nods from the Dinobots who then launched themselves at the Ardat-Yakshi. But as the Elite-Terracons lunged at her, Morinth broke off her energy blast and performed a biotic charge out of harm's way, letting Myra's own attack carry on and impact the force-field protecting the interior from the vacuum of space beyond it. "Oh...scra..." Slash began to say, before noticing its red-light absorbing the blue energy, and for a moment, had a purple glow to it before returning to normal. "...never mind." he added before turning his attention to Morinth, who created an energy wave and launched it in him and his team-mates direction. "Get out of its way!" Myra shouted, but the Dinobots had been wrong-footed by their previous charge and were unable to dodge the energy wave which hit them and slammed them into the wall. This gained a worried look from the Rogue Spectre as she was the only one left standing at this moment, which made the Ardat-Yakshi smirk in return. "These 'Dinobots' are no challenge for me, so I will easily kill them once I am done with you." she said before firing another several energy blasts, all of which Myra dodged by using quick bursts of her biotic charge which made her look like a blue-blur between the biotic blasts that were fired at her. "Stay still, Bitch!" the Ardat-Yakshi spat before suddenly felt her face come into contact with a blue fist, which knocked her back onto her arse. "Like that is going to happen..." the Rogue Spectre replied as the Dinobots recovered, joining her side once more. But despite being in their beast-modes, Sharptooth and his team-mates had this time equipped their rifles and trained their sights on Morinth. "She tries anything or even looks at us funny, pump her full of bullets." the Lead-Bot said, gaining a unified nod from the others as Morinth looked up at the group. "You should kill me, considering all that I have done." she said at them with an almost goading-like tone, which made Myra narrow her eyes as she stared back at her. "Oh, believe me, I would like nothing better than to end your life, Morinth..." she replied while holding a glowing fist at the Ardat-Yakshi, who could only smirk as she could see the conflict on her adversary's face. "...but you will tell us everything you know about Leviathan first." the Rogue Spectre added, before looking over at Sharptooth. "Any chance you have a biotic-Inhibitor on you or do we have to wait for security?" This gained a smile from the Dinobot Leader, who then unclipped a small rectangular device from his utility belt and held it out to Myra. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do." he replied in a gratified tone, which made Morinth's smirk grow wider. "You think that thing scares me because no matter what you do to me. I'll never betray Vasir to you!" Morinth spat back, gaining a knowing look from the Rogue Spectre in return as the Dinobot Leader placed it on her arm, which made it activate with a pulsing light in its centre as it connected to her skin. "Really? After your friends left you behind like that, probably by her orders too." Myra then said, which made the other Asari narrow her eyes in return. "No! Vasir would not have given that order, this was Inferno acting alone." the Murderer replied, which made Scorn smirk as he looked at Strafe and Slash. "I think I can understand why he did that..." he started to say, earning a curious look from Sharptooth as he looked back to Myra. "Look, if Morinth isn't going to tell us anything, then I can't see any reason for keeping her alive any..." he began to say before being cut off by another female voice, coming from behind them. "I have to agree with that." Tolae said as the Ardat-Yakshi was suddenly enveloped in biotic energy, making her float off the ground as she tried to struggle against it. This made everyone look back to see Tolae standing at the entrance, with her right hand glowing as she held it out before her. "Tolae,...what are you doing?" Myra asked, gaining the other woman's attention. "I am ending this, especially after everything she has done, everyone she has killed. I know you understand me on this, so why keep her alive?" she said with conviction layering her voice, one that the Rogue Spectre recognised all too easily, for she had heard herself speak the same way about Vasir. 'Tolae means Samara, her daughters and Matriarch Jethra. People who were very close to her, I can certainly understand that.' she thought before nodding back, as a supportive expression appeared on her face. "You're right..." the young Darby replied as she stepped out of Tolae's way, but everything was cut short as everyone's com-links activated. "This is Commander Vras, I have it on the ship's internal sensors that you have Morinth contained. I mean her life signs say that it is someone completely different, but since you are all surrounding her then I can take it that you have the right person, right?" he asked, gaining a nod from Myra as she tapped her com-link. "That is correct, we have her contained." "Then, in that case, I want Morinth taken to the brig and held there until I can question her." the Commander said back, which earned a wide-eyed look of shock from Tolae as she turned her attention to the Rogue Spectre. "We can't, Morinth deserves to die." she replied, making Myra stare back at her with an understanding expression. "Vraz, Morinth won't tell us anything. She has already said as much to us..." she began to explain, before the Morning Hope's Captain cut her off. "And you're just going to take her word for that, I want her under lock and key." "Vraz, I know you are following the rules here. But those were written by the Alliance, the same Alliance that kicked the Autobots out. I don't think we should be following those anymore, and I can tell you for certain..." she started to say before looking over at Morinth, who stared back with a knowing look on her face. "...Morinth will not betray Vasir to us, so there is no point in keeping a dangerous murderer among us..." she carried on saying, gaining a relieved nod from Tolae in return. "...especially one that should have been killed already for the crimes she has committed. So we should carry that sentence out now." Myra then finished, before everything went quiet as they waited for the Commander's answer. "…Okay, you're right, Darby. I will leave it up to you then." Vraz then replied a little hesitantly, gaining a nod from the Rogue Spectre in return. "Thank you, Commander, and besides, I doubt Morinth knows as much as I do about Vasir's plans." This made the Ardat-Yakshi look at her with an expression that was both confused and annoyed, but Myra ignored her and turned to Tolae in return. "If anyone deserves to do this, it is you, Tolae." she then said, which made the other Asari stare back with an appreciative look before returning her attention to her quarry. "Thank you, Myra." "So how you going to do this?" the young Darby asked as she gestured to their prisoner, while the Dinobots stood around them with their weapons pointed at her. But Tolae just kept her focus on Morinth, not even looking at her friend as she spoke. "I'm going to make her suffer in the same way that most of her victims died, which will require her to be held down." the Asari replied before letting go of the murderer, who fell back to the ground. "Slash, Scorn, hold her down." Sharptooth then said while pointing at Morinth, gaining a nod from both Bots as they then grabbed the Ardat-Yakshi's arms and held her in a kneeling position as Tolae walked up to her and knelt in front of her, making the other Asari smirk as she looked at her enemy. "Aww, you want revenge for what I did to Jethra, Samara and her daughters? That is sweet…" she started to say, which gained a hateful stare from Tolae who clenched her fists tightly and gritted her teeth as she listened. "…but you are nowhere near as strong as I am in that respect, because unlike you, I have been killing using my mind for centuries and you, you only did it once. I revelled in the deaths of those I killed, while you were scared of what you could become. ...You sicken me." Morinth spat, gaining a smirk from Tolae in return. "Enough talk, let's get started." she replied before closing her eyes and focusing, making the Murderer start to laugh. "…You want to try this? Okay then, I'll play along." she then said before closing her eyes too and mirroring Tolae, before both Asari then opened their eyes and revealed them to be pure black. "So now what do we do?" Strafe then asked with a confused look on her face, gaining similar looks from the other Dinobots as they watched the two Asari staring into each other's eyes. "Now we wait." Myra replied as they stood there, waiting to see which one would be the first and only one to reawaken. PRIME EFFECT 5 Tolae opened her eyes and found herself surrounded by darkness, which completely blacked out the area around her. 'Okay…wasn't expecting this.' she thought as flashes of light suddenly appeared in the sky some distance away, revealing the barren and simplistic surroundings for a split-second at a time. "What else could you possibly have expected then?" a familiar feminine voice spoke from behind the Asari, making her turn around to see Morinth standing there with an evil smirk on her face. "What? How did you know what?" Tolae asked with a shocked expression, making the other Ardat-Yakshi chuckle in response. "Are you serious? Do you not know how our people's ability to meld works?" This made the younger Asari narrow her eyes as she stared back at her adversary, earning a wider grin from Morinth as she shrugged her shoulders. "Okay, then I will share some knowledge with you…" she said back while beginning to walk around a confused and angry looking Tolae, like a predator with its prey. "…Our minds are currently joined, yours and mine. This environment…" she added while gesturing to the blackness that surrounded them. "…this is just a representation of the limbo that our thoughts exist in, a bridge…of sorts between our consciousnesses." Suddenly the ground began to shake with the strength of a severe earthquake, like something beneath the ground that they were standing on was awakening. This made both Asari stumble a little as thunder boomed and lightning scorched the sky overhead, illuminating their surroundings, with each and every flash bringing a shocked look to Tolae's face. "What in the Goddess's name is happening?" "We are Ardat-Yakshi, Tolae, what do you think our poisoned minds are doing right now to this environment?" Morinth replied in a worryingly calm voice as she stood there and gestured around them, regaining the younger Asari's attention as her eyes widened in recognition of what her foe meant. 'We are destroying each other's bodies via our meld.' she thought as the lightning and thunder became continuous along with the earthquake-like shaking of the ground beneath their feet, before noticing the Murderer nodding back at her. "Yes, that's it." the Murderer added with a gleeful tone as she nodded back, earning a slightly fearful look from Tolae. "Stop reading my thoughts." she spat back. "Then speak freely, we can't hide anything from each other in here…" the older Asari said back while pointing at her temple. "…and it's not like we have a lot of time." "Because our meld is slowly killing us, is that it?" Tolae replied, clenching her hands into fists as she stare at her enemy. "Exactly. Time runs at a slower rate in this limbo, but in the real world our bodies are dying." Morinth answered, still with that calm demeanour to her voice and actions. "Then I guess we should waste no more time then!" the younger Asari then spat back before thrusting her fist forward at her fellow Ardat-Yakshi, only for nothing to happen as Morinth began to laugh hysterically in return. "…Oh…my, that was…priceless…" she tried to say between her laughing, while Tolae looked first at her fist and then back at the murderer with a confused expression. "What?" "Our biotics are useless here, since we are in each other's minds and not in the real world. So the only option for us is the old fashioned way..." she started to say, clenching her own hands into fists and taking a defensive stance as she spoke, earning a mirrored reaction from Tolae. "...so let's just get this over with, face me!" Morinth then spat, making the younger Asari snap, gritting her teeth as she lunged at the murderer with a punch. But the older of the two women blocked the punch and countered with a jab to Tolae's face, which disorientated Tolae, so Morinth then followed that with a second punch to her side. "Arrgh!" the younger Ardat-Yakshi yelped, while the thunder and lightning continued to crack and flash across the sky, while the earthquakes forced the two to separate and give Tolae a chance to recover. So she took a deep breath and ignored the pain pulsing from her side, while Morinth just smirked back. 'Forget the pain, it isn't real.' she thought, earning another chuckle from her adversary. "Oh, I will make it real." she said back before rushing at the younger Asari, throwing several punches and kicks. Tolae even managed to block the first few, but before she could counter, Morinth hit her in the stomach with a punch. This caused the better Ardat-Yakshi to grunt as she felt sick in her stomach, but then she felt another fist hit her face and send her to the ground. "You are not much of a threat to me, are you..." Morinth then said aloud, which made Tolae look back up at her as a small trickle of blood ran down her face from her nose. 'I hate you!' she thought, knowing full well that the older Ardat-Yakshi would hear her. In fact, this made her Adversary's smirk grow wider as she watched Tolae try to get back to her feet, though her side, stomach and face felt awful. "That's it, come on now, you can do it." Morinth said in a goading-like tone, gesturing at the younger woman as she watched. "Shut your mouth!" Tolae spat back, making the urderer feign fear as she mtook a step back from her. "Oh, I am 'so' scared..." she said back, whilst the pair's surroundings continued to be devastated by the storms around them. "...how about you get off the ground and make me." she added, which made Tolae's eyes narrow as she pulled herself of the floor and then instantly attacked again. This time with a left-hand punch that Morinth immediately blocked with her right, only for the younger Asari to swing her right arm at her enemy who then ducked under it and followed that with an uppercut, which connected with the other Ardat-Yakshi's jaw and sent her back onto her back. "So this was your plan, a one on one fight with me inside our joined heads with the Winner taking all...?" Morinth said with an unbelieving tone, shaking her head as she did so while Tolae rolled onto her side and spat a little more blood onto the rocklike ground. "...because I think I would have rather faced Myra, for she can fight." she added while the younger Asari recovered and got back to her feet, though she was aching in several spots all over her body now. "But you know what, I have a better idea for you." Morinth then added with a completely casual expression on her face, but Tolae ignored this and lunged at her with another punch. But this time a hand came out of nowhere and grabbed her arm, stopping the young Asari's attack and making her look in that direction. "No, it can't be..." she began to say as her eyes widened, for standing there with her arm in his grip was a Krogan she recognised almost instantly. "Krayal!" she said, her voice breaking slightly as he looked back at her. "Tolae." he said back, before releasing her arm from his grip as he looked at the surprised and confused Asari. "I...how...are you here?" she asked with a shaken tone to her voice, completely forgetting that Morinth was standing just away from her, as her attention was now completely on her lost Lover. "I have always been here..." Krayal started to say before his eyes narrowed as he stared at the Asari. "...ever since you killed me." This made Tolae's eyes widen as she looked at him with a horrified expression, making her step back in response. "...No...no, it was an accident, I didn't..." the young woman began to say back, only to be cut off by the Krogan. "If we had not met, then I would still be alive. Do you not agree?" he said back, his voice becoming more venomous with every word spoken. "...I...I don't..." she stammered as her eyes began to well up, for she was in complete shock at what was happening and was at a loss for words. "You should face facts Tolae, you are a killer. one that should have been put down the moment you murdered me, ripping me away from my friends and family." It was at this point that three more Krogan appeared at either side of her former lover, all giving her a hateful stare that made tears run freely down her face as the storm continued around them. But it no longer mattered for Tolae, as the thunderclaps and quakes had been drowned out by what was happening to her now since she recognised these new arrivals as Krayal's Parents and younger Brother. "You stole our son away from us, from his rightful place with his own people. And then you took his life, like some parasite." the Father said in an angry tone, while the Mother gritted her teeth while staring at Tolae with a hateful glare. "We will never see our son become his own Krogan, or have a family of his own. You ripped out the heart from our family and tore it to shreds, we hate you for what you did to us!" she said to the crying Asari, who fell to her knees and sobbed while the little Krogan just stared at her with a fearful expression. "Where is my brother? Why did you kill him?" he said back in an innocent and confused tone, which only made Tolae's guilt and pain pile on her soul even more. "I didn't mean to, it...it was an accident, I didn't know...didn't know what would happen. I wish I could take it back..." she tried to say back, before crying some more and looking at the ground as she hung her head. "...I am...sorry." But as she openly sobbed there on her knees while the drowned out storm continued to ravage the limbo around her, the young Asari felt someone touch the bottom of her chin and raise her face up. So Tolae opened her eyes and found herself looking directly into Krayal's own, with the Krogan cupping her face in his hands. "That's not good enough. I want you to mean it...so see it all again." he then said before the Ardat-Yakshi suddenly found those terrible moments playing out before her eyes once again, making her feel every emotion leading up to that one mistake that defined her life. From her first meeting with Krayal, to their courtship and the moment they fell in love, all the way to the moment she killed him. The young Asari experienced it all in its raw and uncompromising form, making her break down even more. "By the Goddess. I am sorry, I am...so very sorry." she cried, her tears running freely down her cheeks and dripping onto the ground beneath her as she looked at the dead-Krogan's face. "I know...there is nothing...I can do to make it...right..." she began to say, only for Krayal to cut her off. "But there is..." he said back, making Tolae's eyes widen a little in response. "What...what can I do?" she asked, a tiny glimmer of hope in her voice. Hope that she could still repent, that she could make up for what she had done. "...you can die!" Krayal then said just a second before the Asari suddenly felt a blow to the back of her head, with the force of the hit knocking her onto the ground on her side. 'What…the…hell…was that?' she thought as her vision blurred, while the back of her head ached with sharp throbbing pain. "Seriously, just say your thoughts out loud…" Morinth then answered, making Tolae look up to see the murderous Ardat-Yakshi standing with Krayal and his family around her. "…by the way, it was me." "Get away from them!" the younger Asari spat, while trying to shake off the concussion she was currently feeling. 'It's not real pain, ignore it.' she thought while slowly getting back to her feet, much to her adversary's surprise. "You can stay down, there is no more need to fight me…" she replied before gesturing to their immediate surroundings, which were completely and totally devastated by the storm and quakes. "…as your time is now over." the Murderer added, which brought a worried look to Tolae's face as she looked over at the ravaged and desolate environment. "No, I will not quit." she replied in a defiant tone, making Morinth shake her head in response. "But you've got nothing left, even those you cared about want you dead." "No, that is not true…" the other Ardat-Yakshi began to say, before looking over to Krayal and the other Krogan. "…I don't know what you have done, but I do know that Krayal and his family did not act like this to me. I certainly do not remember it like that, so I will not accept it now." she added, making the Murderer smirk somewhat as she stepped away from the Krogan. "Oh, yes. That…" she started to say before waving her left hand before Krayal and his kin, making them fade away. This earned a look of sadness from Tolae as she watched them disappear for a moment, for even though they were now gone, her guilt would always remain. "…I kind of tampered with your memories of that pathetic Krogan and his family, because it is quite easy to do…if you know how, of course." "Why! Why did you put me through that?" the younger Asari spat, the tone of her voice filled with anger and grief which made Morinth's smirk grow into a full-fledged smile. "Why? Why not, It was so easy to do since your memories are falling apart as we speak, plus it made for a good distraction." Tolae's eyes suddenly narrowed at that comment, making her stare back at her adversary with an inquisitive and knowing expression. "You were distracting me, making me drown in my own pain and grief so that I would no longer have the strength to fight you. Just as a way to waste time, so that we both die in here." "You have to admit, it was a good plan. And it has worked a treat since the hour is now nigh. So just accept that it is over, and let oblivion take you." Morinth replied, but Tolae just clenched her fists and gritted her teeth in return. "No, I will not. Because I am not going to give you the satisfaction of taking me with you." she started to say, before suddenly Myra, Crosscut and Evac appeared and joined her side, with the Pilot taking her hand in his. "What's this? Bringing in some memories to help you fight me?" the Murderous Adrat-Yakshi replied with an unimpressed tone, which brought a smile to Tolae's face. "Yes, because my friends give me strength." she said back, which only made Morinth burst out into laughter. "Seriously…you're using the power of love against me, that is 'so' pathetic." she said back whilst trying to control her laughter, but the younger Asari merely continued to smile as she looked at her enemy. "No, not just that. Because have you forgot, our minds are joined and you gave me an idea." she said back before looking over Morinth's shoulder, making the Murderer's eyes widen in shock as she looked behind her and saw Samara, Rila, Falere and Jethra appear and walk towards them. "You murdered my friends, people I cared about….but there are so many others…" Tolae continued as even more people, made up of nearly every species in the galaxy appeared and joined the Superintendent, the Justicar and her daughters as they stared at their killer. "…and they want justice." the younger Asari then finished, which made the memories then rush at Morinth and beat her down. The Ardat-Yakshi tried to fight back, but could not defend against so many as everyone crowded around her and punched, kicked and hit her body. Tolae simply watched for a moment before the massive angry mob of memories then stopped and took several steps back, revealing the Murderer to be bloody and beaten as she lay on the floor. This made Tolae walk over and kneel down beside her as Samara, Myra and the others watched while the overhead storm and quakes suddenly stopped. "You…can't…beat…me." Morinth said through the pain and agony she was feeling throughout her body as blood trickled from her mouth and dripped down onto the ground. But Tolae just looked down at the murderer with a blank expression, taking in how bloodied and bruised her face was. "I already have…" the young Asari then started to say while grabbing the sides of Morinth's head, moving her thumbs over the other Ardat-Yakshi's eyes while her own turned black. "…now die!" she then added before pushing her thumbs into her adversary's eyes, making her enemy scream out in agony. Everybody just stood and watched as Tolae gouged her Enemy's eyes, with blood gushing out from between her thumbs as she pushed them in further when suddenly Morinth's body began to glow with a bright blue light which blinded the young Asari as she continued. Samara, Jethra, Rila, Falere and the other many victims of Morinth all began to glow too as the light touched them before suddenly they disappeared along with the Murderer's body. This left Tolae on her own with just Evac, Crosscut and Myra standing around her in empty limbo. "It is finally over, she is dead." the young Asari then said before looking up at Crosscut, who simply smiled back before he too then faded away. This made Tolae smile as a white light then appeared and enveloped her, making everything else disappear. "Tolae?" a familiar female voice suddenly spoke, making the young Asari open her eyes and find herself standing over Morinth's body as it lay on the floor before her. "Tolae, are you alright?" the voice spoke again, making Tolae look to her right and see Myra staring back with a worried expression, so she nodded back in return. "Yes, I am alright, just a little light-headed," she replied, gaining a sigh of relief from the Rogue Spectre. "Thank the Goddess. When Morinth died, we thought she had taken you with her." she said back before gesturing to Strafe and Slash to her side, with the two Dinobots quickly doing so. "Strafe and Slash will escort you to the Medical Bay for a check-up." "That won't be necessary. I said I am okay." Tolae quickly replied as she shook her head, but Myra simply stared back with a friendly smile. "I could order you to, but I would rather not do that to one of my friends, so please go as a favour to me." "Okay, I will go." the young Ardat-Yakshi then replied with a sigh. "Thanks…" the Rogue Spectre began to reply before her smile faded. "…I heard about Crosscut." she added as a look of sadness and regret appeared on her face. This gained a mirrored expression from Tolae, who nodded back in return. "Yes, I am sorry that I could not stop Morinth from killing him. But I did make sure that she paid for that, along with everyone else that died at her hands." "Good, I appreciate that. Now you better get to the Medical Bay, Evac is waiting there for you." the Rogue Spectre then said with a slight smile, which made the younger Asari's eyes widen as she nodded back before leaving her Leader's side and exiting the Shuttle-bay along with Slash and Strafe at her sides. Myra, meanwhile, turned back and looked down at Morinth's corpse, her slight smile still present. 'That's another failure, Vasir. What's next your move?'

CHAPTER XVI The situation was extremely tense in the damaged living quarters as Evac and Tolae stood just away from Morinth, who held a tight grip around Crosscut's throat with her biotic construct. "Why are you doing this?" the Pilot asked, which made the murderous Ardat-Yakshi's smirk grow a little wider. "Why? Because I want to, and also Vasir wants you all and Myra out of the way." she replied casually, which made both Evac and his friend's eyes widen in shock. "Myra and Kat!" he said back, gaining a nod from Morinth. "Yep, Inferno and his friends should be dealing with that Darby-bitch any time now..." she added, before noticing the worried looks on the pair's faces. "...but I would be more worried about yourselves right now." Tolae then suddenly narrowed her eyes and smirked back in return, which did not go unnoticed by her fellow Ardat-Yakshi. "Why should we? Since the way I recall it, the last time we fought, it was you who ran away from us." the Asari said, making Morinth bite her lip as she narrowed her eyes. "I ran from Myra, not you. I can handle you guys all on my own." "Alright, then put your money where your mouth is and prove it. Let Crosscut go and face us." Evac then added, having cottoned on to what his friend was trying to do. This brought a thoughtful smile to the Murderer's face as she stood there, all the while continuing to hold Crosscut in her biotic grasp. "I have a better idea…" she started to say before holding her right hand towards the pair, making it glow biotic energy as she looked toward her prisoner. "…Crosscut, how much do you want me?" the Ardat-Yakshi asked as she blinked, making her eyes turn black. This horrified both Evac and Tolae as they watched their enthralled friend looked at the Murderer and smiled, completely ignoring the fact that she had his throat in a vice-like grip. "I want you….with all that I am." the Bot replied in a dull monotone-like voice, which made Morinth's smile widen as she glanced back at the others. "Would you kill for me?" "Yes, I would kill anyone for you." Crosscut said back with no hesitation, which only made the Pilot and his Asari friend's expressions become more worried at how much control the Murderous Ardat-Yakshi had over him. "Prove it. Kill them for me. Do that and I am all yours." Morinth said in a seductive tone, lowering her left hand and releasing the Bot. He looked at her and nodded before upholstering his pistol and aiming between Evac and Tolae, much to their horror and her amusement. "Crosscut, it's me Evac. Surely you recognise me pal?" the Pilot asked as the Murderer stepped back from the Bots, smiling devilishly as she watched events unfold before her. "Of course I know you, Evac, but nothing will stand between Morinth and me, not even you." Crosscut replied coldly as he re-aimed the pistol at his friend and began to tighten his finger around it's trigger. But just as the Bot pulled fired his weapon, Tolae suddenly brought up a biotic shield directly in front of Evac, which made the bullet riochet and return to the guns. The fire hit the pistol's barrel and exploded, making Crosscut drop it as he yelped in pain. The Asari then used her biotics to spring the Pilot's own pistol out of it's holster and up into the air, gaining a surprised expression from Morinth in return. "Evac, catch!" she shouted, which the Bot did so as he caught the gun perfectly with his left hand and fired it directly at the Murderer, a confident smirk on his face while doing so. But Morinth managed to deflect the shot with her own blue energy barrier, making her chuckle back. "Nice try, but surely you..." she began to say, only to be stopped by the sight of Tolae performing a biotic charge that smashed through the other's barrier and tackling the murderous Asari to the ground. 'That's my Tolae.' Evac thought before turning his attention to Crosscut, who was cradling his hurt hand with his other one. "Crosscut, have you snapped out of...it?" the Pilot asked, only for the other Bot to look back with narrowed eyes, while also gritting his teeth. "You ruined it!" the dark-haired man spat before lunging at his friend, making Evac go on the defensive. But he was so shocked at Crosscut's rage and hatred toward him, that he failed to block the first punch which connected with his jaw and sent the Pilot to the deck. Meanwhile, both Ardat-Yakshi were too busy fighting each other to notice as the brainwashed Bot then knelt down beside the other and then put his hands around Evac's throat and started to choke him. The two blue Women, meanwhile, had surrounded themselves with biotic energy, which they then launched at each other like whips made of blue light. There was a sound of what could only be described as thunder each and every time the lashes cracked, and every time the attacks collided with each other, there was a flash of blue lightning that shown around the interior of that room. But Crosscut and Evac were both unaware of this, as the former was more focused on ending the life of his friend after being forced to believe that the latter was his enemy, tightening his grip around the other Bot's throat even more tightly as though he was trying to crush it with his hands. "You will die for ruining mine and Morinth's moment!" he spat through gritted teeth, while the Pilot continued to gasp for air as he struggled against his friend's grip. "If...you...really...think that then...do it...because you will...never...forgive yourself...for killing...one of...your...best friends." This made Crosscut pause for a second as he looked down at the other man, whose face was slowly turning purple from lack of oxygen. "...I forgive...you." he said while letting go and resting his arms on the floor, which made the dark-haired Bot look down at him with a confused expression. "For what?" he asked while loosening his grip a little as his anger started to wane, which made Evac breath heavily in return. "…for...all...your...snoring…." he said back, which instantly made Crosscut's eyes widen in surprise. "But that wasn't me, that was you!" he said back, making the Pilot smirk slightly. "And he's back!" The dark-haired Bot smirked back before then narrowing his eyes and turning his attention toward the two Asari, their light-show of a battle still continuing with every strike and blow. "That Bitch!" he spat before noticing Evac's pistol lying on the ground nearby, so he reached over and picked it up. "Crosscut, wait!" the Pilot managed to say, despite his shortness of breath while his friend though ignored his plea as he got up and aimed the gun at Morinth's head. "Morinth!" he shouted with an enraged tone, gaining both hers and Tolae's attention as they stopped and looked in his direction. "Crosscut?" the other Asari said back with tone made up of relief and confusion, but while her focus had shifted though only for a moment. It was enough for their adversary to take advantage of as she then hit the Bots friend, knocking her to the ground with a biotic punch before looking back at Crosscut, who instinctively pulled the trigger of Evac's pistol and fired a barrage of bullets at the Ardat-Yakshi. But Morinth simply smirked before suddenly creating a powerful biotic barrier between herself and the dark-haired Bot, which caught the bullets in it's energy-field and disintegrated them before everyone's eyes. "What?" Crosscut simply replied with a shocked tone, while the Murderer just looked back at him through the blue-light barrier, a look of disdain on her face. "What a pathetic attack that was..." she started to say, before then raising her glowing hands up at the energy-field which started to shatter and reform into more shapes. "By the Goddess..." Tolae began to say as she along with the Bots looked on with wide-eyed expressions as they recognised it to be a dozen sharp blades, ones that looked like javelins. "...Now die!" Morinth then continued before thrusting her hands forward, which immediately sent the biotic blades hurtling at a shocked Crosscut. He didn't even have a chance to move before the razor-sharp pieces ripped through his body, making blood spray out of the exit wounds on his back as they then impacted the wall behind him. "CROSSCUT!" Evac shouted with a horrified expression, while the Murderer simply sighed in return as she shook her head gently. "That wasn't the way I wanted to kill him, but it will have to do." she said smugly, which gained the Pilot's attention as he narrowed his eyes and glared at the Ardat-Yakshi. "You're going to die for that you Bitch!" the Pilot spat while activating his holo-blades, gaining Morinth's attention as looked back at him. "Oh, I do like 'dirty talk'…Evac, is it?" she replied as the Bot got back to his feet took a defensive stance, all the while Tolae was just starting to recover. "…okay, give me your best shot. Let's see if you can me 'feel' it." she added while mirroring Evac, which gained a shocked look from the other Asari as she looked up at the pair. "Evac…don't face her a…." she started to say as she tried to sit up, only for the Murderer to look back with an annoyed expression. "Stay out of this…." she said back before swiping her glowing right hand back at the other Ardat-Yakshi, hitting her with biotic energy that knocked her back onto the ground. "…this between me and your friend here." But while Morinth's attention was elsewhere, Evac took his chance and lunged at her with his weapons. This took the Murderer completely by surprise as the Bot sliced at her arm, drawing blood as the blade cut deep into her flesh. "Arrrgh!" she cried out, stumbling backwards while clutching at her bleeding arm. If Evac was surprised at this, he did not let it show as he followed through with a swing of his other holo-blade, making the wounded Ardat-Yakshi go on the defensive as she let go of her hurt arm and blocked the attack with a biotic shield. 'I've got to help Evac!' Tolae thought as she recovered and began to get back on her feet, for she knew that despite her friend's valiant effort that Morinth would regain the advantage. After all, she had centuries of combat experience compared to the brave Bot, who despite his valor and eagerness to protect his friends was just not correctly equipped for the fight he was in. So as the Asari slowly got back to her feet, the Pilot was still on the offensive, swinging his two holo-blades at Morinth. And she was doing all she could to just keep him at bay, using her boitics to block and deflect each attack as her energies surrounded her arms like armour. Evac then noticed that his constant attacking was weakening Morinth, as her counters were slowing down and she was breathing heavily. So he decided to end it and swung both his blades down upon the Murderer, who just brought her arms up in time to block them, with just millimetres of air between her head and the energy-constructs of the blades. But before Morinth had the chance to push back, Evac quickly kicked her in the chest and sent her falling back against the wall behind her, with the Woman slamming hard against it and making her drop her guard. "Face it, you've lost! Just accept that it's over..." he started to say as he stood over the Ardat-Yakshi, raising his right holo-blade as he glared down at her with a hateful stare. Suddenly he found himself lost for words as Morinth looked up at him with a smile, which caught him off guard. "Really? You really think so." she said back, earning a surprised look from the Bot. "What?.." he started to ask before it suddenly dawned on him what she was doing, so he thrust the blade down at the Asari. But she simply smirked back before bringing up her glowing hands, creating a biotic construct around his blade and hand, stopping it in mid-motion. "How?" the Pilot said in a confused and surprised tone, while Tolae's eyes widened as she saw this. 'I knew it.' she thought while Morinth got back to her feet while keeping both her hands clenched as her blue energies surrounded them. "I was never in any danger from you…" the Ardat-Yakshi began to say before tightening her fists, which then made a cracking sound from within Evac's hand and caused him to grimace in pain as she broke it. "Evac!" his Asari friend shouted back, but she was then surprised once more as the Bot threw thrust his other blade at the Murderer. But Morinth was too fast for that, dodging the attack before kicking down at his right knee and breaking it in one swift action. "Arrrrgh!" he cried out before falling onto his back, while his and Tolae's adversary stood over him and looked back at latter with a smile. "…as I was saying…" she started to say once more, before looking back at the Pilot who was lying on his back with a broken hand and leg. "…you never posed any danger to me, though you did give me a nice cut here." she added while gesturing to the wound on her arm, before then creating a blade from her biotic energies which appeared in her hand. "But the fun is now over, oh and Tolae…" Morinth continued, glancing back at her fellow Asari who was just about back on her feet. "…you to watch me kill someone you care about, and perhaps you will see what it truly means to be an Ardat-Yakshi." she finished before kneeling down beside the disabled Bot, holding the biotic blade over his chest. "Time to die, Cybertronian." she then said with finality to her words before thrusting the biotic blade down at Evac's chest. "NO!" Tolae then screamed as her fear and rage suddenly sent her biotics into overdrive, making her body glow extremely bright before unleashing an energy blast that hit Morinth and sent her through the wall and into the corridor behind it. "Evac!" the Asari then said in a worried and caring tone as she rushed to his side, not even looking through the hole in the wall at the Ardat-Yakshi who was slowly recovering amongst the debris around her. "Evac, you going to be alright." she said, while the Bot cradled his broken hand in his other arm and looked up at her with a firm expression. "Don't let….her… get away…" he replied in a pained tone, breathing heavily between his words. This earned a nod from her in return before she looked up to see Morinth get back to her feet and start to run, limping as she moved. So Tolae got up and gave chase, leaving Evac to lie there while he rested his broken hand on his leg and tapped his com-link with his free hand. "I need a medic…" he started to say before being cut off by the Morning Hope's alarm system activating, which blared out its siren around the ship as he turned his attention to Crosscut's body just aways from him. "I'm sorry…Crosscut." he said in a regretful tone before the pain in his hand and leg caught up with him. PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, moments earlier on the other side of the Autobot ship, everything looked nice and quiet outside the Medical Bay as two crew members walked past its closed entrance. But suddenly an explosion ripped open the doors, flinging the two people against the nearby wall like rag-dolls as the alarms began blaring and the sprinkler system activated, raining water down on the fires that had erupted due to the blast. "What….the hell…was…" the man said as he slowly recovered, only to but cut off by a bullet to the head. His female companion screamed out loud as she saw his body go limp as it fell to the ground, which was when her attention turned to who had fired the shot. "Stinking Autobots!" spoke an angry voice from a man that looked an awful lot like a Terracon, until a grey-skinned Turian gained his attention while firing back into the heavily damaged Infirmary. "Inferno, we have to fall back. That alarm is going to bring more Autobots down upon us." he said, while the Destron Leader turned his attention back to his comrade and the purple Asari who were firing their rifle and biotics respectively at the Human woman and Asari, who were protected by the latter's blue energy barrier. "You leaving so soon? I thought you were here to kill us or does Vasir only want you to test us?" Myra asked back in a sarcastic tone, earning a narrowed eyed stare from Inferno in return as he took a step toward the pair. But he was suddenly stopped as the Turian turned and held his hand out at the Destron, stopping him. "No, there is no need for you to stay and get caught. We will cover your withdrawal, now go!" he said, which regained the soldier's attention as he nodded back. "Kill at least one of them, good luck." Inferno replied before making a run for it down the corridor. "We have to stop him." the Rogue Spectre then said, while she and Kat watched their adversary disappear out of view. "Yeah, so go and get him." the Human woman replied, which made the Asari look back at her lover with a concerned expression while she continued to keep the barrier up between them and the other two enemies. "You can handle the Turian, but not a biotic, Kat." she said back with a worried tone, but Kat merely smirked as she switched her pistol to her left hand while then equipping her combat knife with her right. "I can handle myself, you know that, Myra." "But…" Myra found herself replying before her Human lover cut her off. "He has to pay for all of this…" she started to say before gesturing to all the dead lying before them, including Doctor Minerva. This made Myra glance back behind them to see her Aunt still sleeping peacefully on her berth, having been protected this entire time by the younger Darby and her friend during this fight. "Okay, but I am not leaving you without at least a chance against her." the Asari replied before reaching with her free hand and touching Kat on the shoulder, which made the Human Woman gasp as she felt a sudden shock pass over her body. It felt like static electricity on her skin as she found her entire being covered in the same blue biotic energy that her lover could control at will, it had even covered both her rifle and combat knife. "Wow…" she said in return while looking down at her body, which glowed a shimmering blue. Even the Turian and his Asari partner could not help but look surprised at what had just happened before them, while Kat then looked back up to Myra, their eyes meeting as the Rogue Spectre gave her a caring look. "Kick their asses." she said with an affectionate tone, which made her lover smile back confidently. "You know I will." Myra then nodded back before turning her attention towards the two enemies, who took notice of this and readied themselves. But the Asari merely smirked back before flexing her hand in a stretched out way, which made the biotic barrier expand outwards and hit the Turian and his comrade. The former was knocked against the wall behind him, while the purple Asari was simply made to stumble a little as she had erected a similar energy field around her body just a split second before the barrier had reached her. But before anything else could be done, Myra suddenly performed a biotic charge and disappeared in a blue flash as she left the war-torn room, leaving Kat with the two Leviathan Agents. "Alright then, who's first?" the Human Woman said as she pointed her rifle at the pair while holding her knife in a defensive pose, earning unsure looks from the enemies before they then attacked her. The Asari fired a biotic blast at Kat from her glowing fists which made the Human dive out of the way, going into a forward roll as the energy projectile exploded harmlessly against the wall. But just as she came out of the roll, ending up in a kneeling position, Kat's eyes widened as she noticed that the Turian had kept his aim on her the entire time, making him smirk as he began tightening his finger around the weapon's trigger. "Nice try…" he started to say before then emptying his gun's clip and sending a barrage of bullets at the Human, which made her close her eyes and exhale as she waited for death to take her. Suddenly she felt the bullets impact harmlessly against the biotic energy that encompassed her being, making her open her eyes and look down at the flattened bullets lying at her feet. 'Okay, that is cool.' she thought before then instinctively firing her rifle back at the enemy, making him dive out of the way as the glowing blue bullets hit the area behind him. Kat then kept her finger on the trigger and turned her weapon in the direction of the Asari, who created another barrier between herself and the Human. But the purple-skinned Woman suddenly gasped in shock before looking down at her armoured torso at what looked like three bullet holes, which gained a confused expression as she placed her left hand over them. Both Kat and the Turian both watched with curious looks as the Asari then pulled her hand back to reveal that it was soaked with her blood, making the enemy's eyes widen more before turning her attention back to the Human Woman as her biotic barrier faded away. Then the Asari fell to her knees as blood began to pour from her wounds, which made the Turian hold his hand up to her. "No!" he shouted as his comrade's body fell to the ground, while Kat looked back at her rifle. 'Myra charged my bullets with biotic energy too.' she thought before her attention was caught by the Turian looking back at her with a hateful stare. "You are going to pay for that." he said with a poisonous tone before activating his holo-blade on one hand, while dropping his gun from his other. Kat followed his lead, throwing her rifle aside before switching her glowing combat knife to that hand as she took a defensive stance. But just as she did that, the grey-skinned Turian charged at her and swung his holo-blade at her. This made the Human Woman dodge the attack and counter, which gained a similar reaction from her enemy as he stepped to the side as the blue-lit blade narrowly missed his body. So he then followed through with a thrust of his melee weapon, cutting through the air as it moved for Kat's stomach. But she brought her combat knife down and sliced through the holo-blade, it's biotic energy cancelling out the glowing orange as she then grabbed the adversary's arm with her right hand. The Turian's eyes widened as the Female Soldier then while holding on to his arm, moved under it and twisted it behind his back before stabbing him in the chest with her combat knife. "Wha…." he managed to say as Kat held the blade deep in his chest before his eyes then closed and his body became limp. So she then dropped his corpse to the floor and looked down at her free hand and combat knife, which slowly went back to normal as the biotic energy dissipated. 'Doesn't last forever then.' she thought before tapping her com-link, turning her attention back to the matter at hand. "Vraz, this is Kat. Please respond?" she said, before the familiar voice of the Morning Hope's Commander spoke back. "Kat, what the hell's going on down there?" "We are under attack by Leviathan Agents masquerading as Autobots. Please send troops and a medical team to this location." "Will do and I am also locking down the ship, but what about Myra?" the Commander replied. "Myra will be fine, just tell your men to stay out of her way." Kat said back before deactivating her com-link and looking back at the unconscious Ser-Ket, a slight smile appearing on her face. "Don't worry, I will stay with you until the medics get here." she said before picking up her rifle and reloading it, dropping the empty shells to the ground as she then stood beside the comatose patient and waited for help to arrive. PRIME EFFECT 5 As the alarms blared all over the ship, Inferno bolted down one of it's corridors as he made his way back to the shuttle bay. He turned a corner and came upon a group of Autobots and by the looks of them, had been ordered to patrol the area. "Halt or we will kill you where you stand!" one called out as the rest of the group aimed their rifles at the Destron Leader, who ignored them and looked back down the corridor he had just run through. 'No sign of that Asari Bitch...yet.' he thought before turning his attention back to the Autobots, with their guns trained on him. "Drop your weapon." the lead Bot said along with a gesture, which made Inferno glance down at his rifle. "You mean this?..." he began to say with a smirk, which earned confused looks from the soldiers. "...okay." he added before then opening fire on the enemies, tearing through the group with a hailstorm of bullets. "Stupid Autobots." he then said with a slither of satisfaction in his voice as their bodies fell to the ground in a heal before him, before the Destron tapped his com-link as he continued past them. "Is the shuttle still secure, we are going to need to leave very soon?" he asked. "The entire ship has gone into lock-down, but we have managed to keep this shuttle-bay free from the protocol so far, though there is no guarantee that it will stay that way for long." one of the Leviathan Agents spoke back, gaining a nod from Inferno in return. "Just be ready, I will be there shortly..." he began to say before going quiet. "Sir, what about Morinth? Sir, Sir?" the Agent replied with a more heightened tone, but the Destron Leader had already come to yet another stop. A surprised expression appeared on his face as he came face to face with four Terracons that he had not expected, with them looking back in a mirrored way. "Sharptooth, that's Inferno!" the yellow and light blue armoured Bot, gaining a nod back from the Leader as his eyes narrowed in return while the Femme in the light and dark blue armour sniffed at the air. "Yeah, that's the traitor alright...I can smell Ser-Ket's scent coming from him." This made the Destron Leader grit his teeth and activate his beast-mode, making his body alter itself and become more feral. "Get out of my way!" he spat, showing his sharp teeth whilst doing so. "I don't think so, Dinobots maximize!" Sharptooth then roared before activating his own beast-mode, with the others doing the same. "You think the four of you stand a chance against me? You never had one in the past, what do you think has changed?" Inferno asked, which gained what looked like a smirk from Sharptooth in return. "No...just her!" the Dinobot Leader replied as he pointed behind the rogue-Terracon, making him turn around just in time to see an Asari appear at the far side of the corridor from him. 'Shit, it's Darby!' he thought before looking back at the Autobots, who all readied themselves for a fight. "Alright, let's do this." he growled while gritting his teeth, before launching himself at the group with his claws bared. This made Sharptooth, Slash, Strafe and Scorn all dive out of the way as the Destron Leader landed between them and smashed his fist into the deck, crushing the floor panel beneath him. But before he had a chance to recover, Scorn roared and slashed at the Con's back. This gained a loud hiss of pain from Inferno who quickly turned around and backhanded the Dinobot in the face, knocking him to the ground. Slash then charged in and swing his clawed hands at the enemy, hoping to get his attention as the Destron loomed over his teammate. But Inferno suddenly spun around and caught both the Bot's hands in his own, which made the enemy smile as he looked at the surprised Slash. "I think not." he said before pulling the Bot into the air and swinging him into Sharptooth, knocking them both against the nearby wall. "Ugh!" they both grunted before falling back to the ground, which just made Inferno's smile even wider as he looked down at them. "You bring shame to the Dinobot name, I always knew Ser-Ket had bad taste." he gloated before noticing that Myra was almost on top of him, but just as he was then getting ready to face the Rogue Spectre, someone else caught his attention. "It's not over yet!" Strafe cried out before launching herself at the Destron Leader, activating her jetpack to give her extra power. "Strafe….No!" the Asari shouted, but the Dinobot-Femme had already collided with her enemy and digging her claws in his sides, gaining another grimace from him as she carried him through the air to the other side of the corridor, smashing them both into the wall of a T-junction. "Errrgh." the Femme spluttered as she tried to get back to her feet, but Inferno was already back on his and grabbed her by the throat and pulled the Dinobot into the air before ripping some parts out of her jetpack. "That hurt…" he said with an annoyed tone while looking at Strafe, before noticing Myra and the other members of the Terracon Team recovered and heading his way. "Hey, Sharptooth…..catch!" Inferno then shouted before hurling the Femme at the group, gaining shocked looks from them all. But Myra reached out with her hand, which began to glow as her biotics then surrounded Strafe and brought her momentum to a standstill. "Thanks." the Femme replied with an appreciative tone as the Asari then gently let go and allowed the Dinobot to land on her feet beside her. "Your welcome…" the young Darby began to say, before turning her attention to Sharptooth and the others. "...I'll handle Inferno." This gained a nod from the Dinobot Leader who then stepped back from Myra, with the Asari looking back at Inferno who was about to run again. "Oh no you don't!" she said before waving her left glowing-hand in front of her, which suddenly fixed the Destron to where he stood as biotic energy pinned his feet to the floor. "What the….!" he spat, gaining a smirk from the Darby in return. "Your mine." she said with finality to her words before performing a biotic charge, slamming into Inferno while his attention was elsewhere. At the same time, his feet were released and so the force of Myra's hit sent him back into the wall and created a large dent where he hit it. "That's got to hurt." Sharptooth joked as he and the other Dinobots joined the Asari as she stood over Inferno, with the latter staring down at the defeated Destron Leader. "Inferno, you are not going anywhere. Because you are going to pay for the part you played in what happened to my Aunt." she said in a stern tone, which earned a smile from Inferno as he looked up at her. "Ser-Ket got what was coming to her, I just wish I could have finished the job." he replied with a poisonous sting to his voice, which made the Rogue Spectre clench her first so tight that the biotic energy that began surrounding it began to glow very brightly. "Speak again and I will do more than dislodge a couple of your ribs, I swear I will." she said back, which just made Inferno sigh in return. "You promise…" This made the blue-skinned Woman grit her teeth and raise her glowing fist in the air, readying to strike her enemy where he sat. But suddenly she and the Dinobots were suddenly hit by the corridor-wide biotic blast, knocking them all to the ground and gaining a surprised look from Destron Leader as he looked in the direction that the attack had come from. "Can't be?" he said with a disbelieving tone as he looked upon Morinth who stood just aways from him, looking a little worse for wear herself. "What are you waiting for, run!" she spat, gaining a surprised nod from Inferno before he climbed to his feet and ran in the opposite direction towards the tertiary shuttle-bay. The Ardat-Yakshi then performed a biotic charge and sped past Myra and the Dinobots as they recovered, but the young Darby was the first to get back to her feet and spotted the blue blur as it passed her. 'Morinth!' she thought before giving chase, just as Sharptooth recovered and looked over to her. "Myra, wait up!" he shouted as his teammates got onto their feet, but the Asari was already on her way. Back in the shuttle-bay, the two other Leviathan Agents were already aboard the shuttle and warming it's engines as Inferno entered the large room and ran towards the shuttle. "Get us in the air!" he spat as he climbed into the hatch, making the two soldiers almost jump out of their seats before nodding back and began interacting with their holo-interfaces. This made the engines fire as the shuttle left the ground and began turning around, just as Morinth entered the area. "Hey, wait for me!" she shouted, but Inferno merely smirked and gave her a wave before closing the hatch, making the Ardat-Yakshi's eyes widen in shock as she watched the shuttle then fly through the force-field separating the ship from the void outside and out of the Morning Hope, before disappearing out of sight. 'That bastard left me, I should've left him to die.' she thought before her attention was caught by the sound of footsteps getting closer, so the Asari turned back to the door and readied herself for battle, making her entire body glow with biotic energy. 'If I am going down, I am going to take as many of those fuckers with me!' Suddenly, Myra ran through the doorway, only to come to a stop as she was surprised by what was waiting for her. For there was no shuttle in here or Inferno, only a glowing Morinth who was staring back at her with a hateful look. 'She has been left behind!' the young Darby quickly thought, before her attention was caught by the other Asari. "Come on then you Bitch!" the Ardat-Yakshi then spat with her venomous tongue as she charged at the Rogue Spectre, who took up a defensive stance and prepared to face her enemy.

CHAPTER XV Commander Vras entered the CIC of the Morning Hope, before looking around at the bridge-crew who all stood ready at their stations. "Is everyone on board?" he asked to the dark-haired Femme to his left, gaining a nod from her in return. "Yes, Commander. Airlocks are sealed and we are ready to get under way." "Very well. Communications, inform Unity-Control that we are about to leave, I am certain they will be glad to hear that..." the Commander then said, before looking ahead at the Turian manning the terminal at the front of the room in front of the large holo-screen. "...Helm, clear all moorings and engage aft-thrusters." he added while walking over to the Captain's chair, which was located in the center of the large oval-shaped room and sat down in it. "Moorings cleared, engaging thrusters." the Pilot replied, while the Blonde Bot at Communications looked over at the Commander. "Unity-Control acknowledges, but that is all that they will say." This earned an annoyed look from the Autobot-Leader as he shook his head in return, before looking back ahead. "Very well, let's not waste any more time here then. Helm, take us out." he replied, earning a nod from the Turian-male as he typed on his holo-interface. "Yes sir, here we go." he replied as the Cruiser pulled away from the station's outer-docking section, before firing it's main engines and headed away at full sub-light as it left Unity in its wake. "Once we pass out of the System's edge, plot a Space-bridge jump to the Seventh Fleet's location in the Exodus Cluster." Vraz then added to the Pilot, who nodded again before the Commander just sat back in his chair and watches his crew work around him as the Morning Hope continued to fly away from Unity as it ventured out of the system. Meanwhile, in the tertiary shuttle-bay, Morinth and Inferno exited their vessel to find a group of Autobot soldiers waiting for them. But this group was made up of a Grey-skinned Turian-male, a Volus, a Krogan, and a purple-skinned Asari. "So this is the team Vasir said would back us up? Only four people?" the Ardat-Yakshi stated with an unimpressed tone, which made the other Asari step forward. "We have been working as double-Agents for Leviathan for a long time, with myself being the longest at four hundred years. You're not going to find anyone with more insider knowledge and expertise than us, and we aren't exactly thrilled to be working with you...Morinth." she said back in a hostile tone, before turning her attention to the Destron. "But you Commander Inferno, we await your command." she added, gaining nods from the others in quick succession. "Very good, now do you know where the targets are at this moment?" he replied with a smirk, as he could feel the annoyance and anger rippling from his Partner while she stood beside him. But he and the others continued to ignore the Ardat-Yakshi, with the Turian activating his holo-tool and bringing up a map for them all to see. "Currently Myra Darby and Katrina Mason are currently in the Medical-Bay with Commander Ser-Ket..." he started to say, making Inferno's eyes widen in surprise. "Ser-Ket still lives?" "Yes, Sir. The Commander is in a coma though her condition is stable." the Turian replied with a nod, which brought a smile to his face. "Good, so we can take out the Asari, her Aunt, and her Human friend in one go. What about the others?" he asked, which made the Turian look back at his holo-tool. "The Bots called Crosscut and Evac are with the Asari known as Tolae in the ship's Rec-room, along with thirty or so of the crew." "Really don't feel like fighting through this Autobot crew just to kill our targets…" Inferno began to say as a thoughtful look appeared on his face as he went quiet for a moment, which earned curious looks from the rest of the team other than Morinth, who just stood there with a bored expression. "…Okay, you and you with me..." Inferno then said as he pointed at both the Asari and Turian, who both nodded in return. "...and our targets are those in the Medical-bay." he added before looking over at Morinth and the other two Agents. "Morinth, you will take the other Agents and find a way to take out the remainder of Darby's crew." This immediately gained a disgusted reaction from the Ardat-Yakshi, before she began to leave the shuttle bay whilst shaking her head. "I don't need any help to deal with Darby's friends, keep your friends with you." she said back with a venomous tone, which just brought a smirk to the Destron Leader's face as he turned back to the others and ignored Morinth as she walked out of the room. "Okay, you two stay here and keep a watch on our shuttle, because we will need a fast exit ready and waiting for us once our mission is complete." he said. "Yes sir." both said in unison, before taking positions on either side of the shuttle while Inferno looked back at both the Turian and Asari. "Let's go." "Wait. You should know before we head out into the rest of the ship that we have made alterations to the internal security system." the purple-skinned Woman then said, gaining the Con's attention. "What kind of alterations?" "The internal sensors would usually recognize you and alert the rest of the crew to your presence, especially in Morinth's case. But we have wiped hers and your records from the Morning Hope's databanks, replacing it with temporary programming which will instead read you as standard crewmen." the Turian added, which made the Destron Leader smirk back as he gestured to the doorway. "Very good, now let's get moving. Darby isn't going to get herself killed…not without our help." PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, Myra and Kat were in the Medical-bay, standing beside the Asari's comatose Aunt who was lying on the berth in front of them, hooked up to several machines. The young Darby looked down at the sleeping Ser-Ket with a worried expression, which did not go unnoticed by her lover who took the blue Woman's hand in her own and gently squeezed it. "Your Aunt's going to be fine Myra, she has the best care and she is a fighter." she said in a caring and supportive tone, which brought an appreciative smile to the Rogue Spectre's face in return. "I know, Kat, but as I look down at my Aunt now…" she began to reply while turning back to Ser-Ket, the smile disappearing as quickly as it appeared as her eyes fell upon her Aunt's still form. "…I can't help but feel I am cursed in some way." she replied with a guilt-tinged tone, one that made her lover look back with a worried expression. "Myra, you really need to stop blaming yourself like this. Because what happened to your Mother, to John…and now Ser-Ket were in no way you're fault…" she started to say, making the Asari look back at her. "…they were Vasir's fault and hers alone. Don't burden yourself with something that is not yours to bear, because it will only continue to eat away at your heart…" the Human Woman continued as she looked into her lover's blue eyes, which were just as focused on her own. "…and that means Vasir will win once again." "I know what you're saying, Kat, really I do. But what if something happens to you, I don't think I could..." the young Darby began to say as her eyes began to well up and her voice started to shake as her growing grief threatened to overcome her, which Kat recognized instantly, pulling the Asari into an embrace in response. "It's alright, I am here with you and that is not going to change..." she said back in a caring and supportive tone while holding her lover close to her, feeling every inhale and exhale of Myra's breath as she slowly started to calm down. "I'm sorry, I thought...that I...had a handle...on this." the young Darby began to say between breaths, her voice still shaky as she felt herself on the abyss, with only Kat there to hold her in place as she rested her head on her lover's shoulder. "Myra, you buried all of this grief and misplaced guilt within yourself for how long now, covering it with your growing anger as your hatred for Vasir drove you forward. But that alone could never be enough to keep you going forever, as I can see now..." she continued to say as the Asari just stood there in the Human's arms and listened, her eyes bordering between not crying and just letting go. "...but you have me now and if it will help, then let yourself go. I will not hold it against you as I know that everyone needs to...once in a while, I will just continue to hold you close...never letting go." Kat finished which made a tear run down Myra's cheek before she just started to crying openly, embracing her Human-lover even more as she let two hundred years of pent-up grief and anguish go in one long cry. Kat though just held the Rogue Spectre in her arms, running her left hand down the back of of the Asari's head in a soft and caring fashion. This went on for a minute or so as the young Darby sobbed into the shoulder of her lover, while her comatose Aunt slept quietly next to them. "Kat..." Myra then said in a soft and less shaky tone, breaking the silence that had hung around the pair in that room. "Yes, Myra?" the Human said back as she held her lover, feeling the Asari's breathing calming down on her chest. "...thank you." "You're more than welcome." Kat replied with a smile while they remained in the embrace, as a more comfortable silence descended around them. "Well now..." an unknown male voice then spoke out from the doorway, making the pair look over to see a Caucasian Man, a Turian and a purple-Asari standing there and looking back at them. "...isn't that an interesting sight?" he added as the two women separated, staring at the new arrivals with mirroring looks of confusion. "Who are you?" Kat asked, whilst Myra wiped the last remaining tears from her face. "Yes, what she said." she added as she finished and looked at the trio, taking note that they were carrying weapons. This made the unknown Man glance either side of him, gaining a nod from both his companions before the Turian raised his weapon and the Asari powered up her biotics, which they then aimed at the Human Woman and Rogue Spectre, gaining shocked looks from the pair. "We are 'friends' of Commander Ser-Ket and are here to ensure that she dies today...alongside the two of you of course..." he added while equipping and arming his own weapon. "...for the glory of Leviathan." This made Myra and Kat both narrow their eyes at the enemies as they stood between them and her sleeping Aunt. PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, Evac, Tolae, and Crosscut were sitting at a table in the Morning Hope's rec-room having a drink, while members of the Autobot crew sat around them in their own groups. "Crosscut, what is it?" the Pilot asked as he and his Asari friend noticed the other Bot looking over at the multi-alien crew sitting around them, a puzzled expression on his face. "I was just wondering since the ISF decided to cut ties with the Autobots, then how come they are still a number of alien crew-members like the Turian, Asari, and Salarians that we have seen on this ship?" "Well I spoke to one or two of them earlier and it appears that they personally do not agree with what their own Governments have chosen to do, choosing instead to continue working in the Autobot ranks." the Ardat-Yakshi replied, gaining a nod from Evac in return. "That makes sense, I mean it's not like us Cybertronians have been living up to the bad name that the ISF Senate has labeled us with." Crosscut gave a slight smirk to that line while looking past his friends to the table behind them where two Turians and an Asari were sitting. "It's good to know that not all the galaxy has bought into the crap that the Senate has been selling, that there are still good people out there." he added before his face became thoughtful which gained a curious look from Tolae. "I'm sensing a 'but' coming this way." she replied with an inquisitive tone, which made the Bot nod slightly. "I can't help but think that back to what Myra said about Leviathan, that they have played a part in turning the Galaxy against the Autobots. Surely that means that there could be those amongst it's ranks, working secretly against our kind's interests, possibly helping Leviathan." This brought mirroring expressions from both Evac and his Asari friend as they listened to Crosscut, who glanced around the room one more time before returning his attention to the pair. "I guess, though it's a bit of a morbid way of thinking about those around you." Tolae replied while looking slightly taken aback by his comment, which earned a regretful look from Crosscut. "Sorry, Tolae, I didn't mean that we shouldn't trust anyone who isn't Cybertronian or Human. It's just that everyone in the galaxy is against us now, Myra said that even members of the Senate have sided with Leviathan. That doesn't leave us with a lot of allies does it." the Bot said back, which made Evac place his hand on the Ardat-Yakshi's in a supportive and caring gesture as he looked over at his friend. "That's true, which makes it a victory for us that there are those that still want to fight at our side, and not following the questionable actions that their own Governments make." This brought a slight smile to Tolae's face as she looked over at the Bot, who could not help but mirror her expression as he stared back. This made Crosscut feel a little awkward as he noticed the pair's behavior, even taking note that the Asari was softly stroking the other Bot's hand with her thumb. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply..." he started to say back in an apologetic tone, only for the pair to look back at him. "It's alright, I know you didn't mean it in that way, Crosscut. It's just once you start questioning those around you, how long until you no longer see your friends and only enemies." Tolae replied with an understanding tone, which gained an embarrassing smile from the Bot in return. "Thanks, Tolae, I hope..." he started to say back, before a blond-haired Caucasian Femme suddenly stopped at their table. "Hello, can we help you?" Evac asked with a puzzled look, while the newcomer stood there and looked at them all with a blank expression. "I am sorry to bother you, but I need help with the terminal in my office. It isn't working as it should be." she asked, which made Tolae narrow her eyes slightly. "Don't you have technicians who can make repairs like that for you?" "Yes there are, but I have been unable to get in contact with them. Please come and help me?" she said back with a monotone-like voice, which gained unsure looks from both the Asari and the Pilot. "Well...the latter started to say before Crosscut suddenly cut him off as he got up from his seat. "Don't worry, I can deal with this." he said while joining the Femme's side, which made his friends just stare back in confusion. "Wait, you're going?" Evac said back, gaining a knowing look from the other Bot in return. "I won't be long, should be an easy fix..." he started to say while giving the pair a telling wink. "...so you two should just stay here and talk, I'll be back." This made the Pilot nod back before his friend waved and left the room with the Femme, earning bemused looks from Evac and Tolae. "Were we making him feel uncomfortable?" the Asari asked with a curious tone. "We must have been, though I can't see why. We are just friends, after all, right?" the Bot said back in a similar tone, gaining a worried look from the blue Woman, which he noticed instantly. 'Oh boy, did I just put my foot in it again?' he thought before taking a deep breath and then exhaling while Tolae watched. "What did I do?" he asked with a slightly confused tone, which made his friend look away for a moment. "I can't help but get the feeling that you are upset with me...about when we almost kissed." she said, which made the Bot's eyes widen in response. "Wow, you just come out and say it." he replied in a surprised and taken aback tone, which made the Asari look back in with a similar expression. "Well, I don't know how else to talk about it, since social skills were not exactly a necessary requirement at the Monastery. So all I can do is just come out and say it as it is, and if that is a problem for you..." she then started to say with a slightly hostile touch to her voice, which made Evac raises his hands up in a submissive gesture as he cut her off mid-sentence. "No, it's certainly not a problem for me..." he began to say in a more calm and supportive tone, which made Tolae just watch and listen in return. "...in fact, it's refreshing for me to see that quality in a woman since most I have met in my life are not so upfront." the Pilot added, which made his friend look back with a curious expression. "Do you mean Myra?" she asked, gaining a nod from him. "Well, Myra is a prime example of that, yeah." "Do you 'like' her?" the Ardat-yakshi then asked, which brought a surprised look from the Bot. "Well as a friend, yes. But not in any other way, since the only person I am interested in is sitting directly in front of me." he replied with an honest expression, which caught Tolae off guard. "...What?" "Yeah, I just said it. I can be upfront too, just like you." Evac then added, which brought a slight smile to his friend's face that she could not help. "...I, I don't know what to..." the Asari began To say in return, but the Bot cut her off as he places his left hand on top of her right in a supportive and caring gesture. "You don't need to say anything, for I know you feel the same way about me..." he began to say, keeping Tolae's attention on him as her eyes remained fixed on his own. "...as I felt that back in the Eudora's cockpit, during our trip through the nebula." the Pilot continued, making the Ardat-Yakshi nod back in agreement as she listened to his words. "But that doesn't mean that I was not hurt in some way by you calling our almost kiss a 'mistake' because that is certainly not what I would have called it." This though, made Tolae look down at the table. As though she could no longer look Evac in the eyes as a guilty expression appeared on her face. "Evac, I would never intentionally say something to hurt you, and for that, I am sorry. But you must understand, this..." she then began to say l, whilst gesturing between them with her hands. "...this cannot go any further, because if it did. If we crossed that line, then it can only end with me killing you...and I could not bear that...not again." Tolae added as her eyes slowly began to well up, which earned a pained expression from the Bot, having noticed this as she looked back at him. "I am sorry Tolae, but there is something I want to say. Because since our last talk and 'that moment', I decided to do some research." Evac replied as he then quickly activated his holo-tool, bringing up the image of several articles that caught the Asari's attention. "I know that Ardat-Yakshi kill because their nervous system dominates and overpowers their respective partners, which is completely opposite of what should happen when an Asari joins with them..." As the Pilot spoke, Tolae found herself staring between him and the articles with an inquisitive look. 'He certainly has done his homework, and it is all for...me.' she thought as he continued. "...so what would happen if you just didn't do that, just didn't join your minds and nervous systems?" This made the Ardat-Yakshi gently shake her head in return, which earned a confused look from the Bot. "Do you realize how hard that would be, because the act of 'bonding' is the most natural act for an Asari to share with someone their care 'deeply' about..." she began to say, with the last few words standing out to Evac. 'She cares deeply about me, the feeling is mutual.' he thought as she carried on speaking. ...and it's not something we can just stop, especially since it is a part of how we reproduce. Do you really wish to risk your life on whether I could hold myself back?" the Asari then asked with a questioning look, earning a knowing expression from him in return. "The way I live my life has me risking it every single day, and I can tell you in all honesty, that we could both die tomorrow in battle. And it would pain me more if that happened and I knew that we had wasted a chance to see where 'this' could lead first..." he added while pointing between the two of them, all just as Tolae listened intently to his words. "...and I think that would be the biggest tragedy of all. So yes, I am more than willing to risk my life on you...because I trust you." he then said, which made the Ardat-Yakshi's eyes widen as she heard him say that last part. '...I trust you.' she thought as his words repeated in her mind, making her feel that warm glow in her heart once more as she looked down to see his hand still holding onto her own gently. "...I..." she started to stammer as shyness suddenly came over her, while a slight smile appeared on the Bot's face as he noticed her cheeks reddening a little. "I know you would not do anything to harm me Tolae, hell you have saved my life once already. Isn't that proof enough that we could make 'this' work? Isn't it worth a shot?" he asked, which brought a thoughtful look to the Asari's face. "I...I need to think about this, please...give me some time to think this over?" she then replied, which made the Pilot nod back. "That's okay, take as much time as you need." he said back, before looking toward the exit that Crosscut had left a few minutes earlier. "What is it?" Tolae then asked, noticing the concerned look on her friend's face. "I can't help but feel that Crosscut should be back by now, it wouldn't take him this long to fix that woman's Terminal." he replied, earning a nod from the Ardat-Yakshi in return. "He even said as much himself, didn't he." "I think we should go check on him, just to be sure." Evac then said as he stood up and pushed his seat under the table, making the Asari do the same as she looked back with a confused look. "Why are you worried, we are on an Autobot ship after all?" "I don't know, but wasn't that Woman acting a little 'iffy'?" the Bot said back, which made Tolae shrug her shoulders. "I..I guess so, I just thought it was because of the stress." she replied, whilst the Pilot activated his holo-tool. "Well, either way, I just want to see that he is alright and we can do so with this." he said back while gesturing to the orange holo-device around his right forearm. "You're tracking him?" the Asari asked, gaining a nod from him. "The whole team has a tracking beacon programmed into their holo-tools, I even put one in yours while you were on board the Eudora. Just to make sure you were you safe, but anyway he is this way, so let's go." This brought a smile to the Woman's face as she then followed the Bot of out of the Rec-room, taking the exit that their friend had used earlier. The pair did not have to walk very far as they traversed one of many similar-looking corridors that made up in the interior of the Morning Hope, coming to a half-opened door that stopped Evac in mid-sentence. "Once we know Crosscut is alright, we could..." Evac began to say before his eyes fell upon the sight in front of him and Tolae. "Okay, that looks kind of ominous." she said as the Bot looked at his holo-tool's interface, which brought a worried look to his face. "And it gets worse..." he started to reply, gaining his friend's attention as she looked over to him with a similar expression. "...as Crosscut's beacon is coming from in there." he added before deactivating his device taking the hold of the door with both hands, preparing himself to push the door open fully. But just as the Bot was about to begin, the door was suddenly enveloped in blue energy which made him let go and look to his Asari friend who had raised her right glowing hand towards it. "Allow me." she said before moving the hand to the right, which made the door slide completely open and grant them entry. "Thanks. Now I know who to call when I need help opening the pickle jars." Evac then replied in a joking yet appreciative tone, gaining a confused smile from Tolae in return. "Pickle Jars?" "I'll tell you later, come on." he gestured as the pair then walked through the doorway, finding themselves in a dimly lit room. "Okay, this isn't making me feel any better." the Bot said as he looked around the room while its lights flickered on and off, which made it difficult to see the interior they were standing in. "I think I can help with that too." the Asari replied before clenching her right hand into a fist, making glow with biotic energy as she held it up in the air, making the darkness retreat into the corners of the room. But what the light revealed made the pair's eyes widen in shock, for the Woman that had come to their table for help was lying on the ground before them. "What in the Allspark?" Evac said aloud before he knelt beside her and checked for a pulse while Tolae looked around the room and saw that it looked like a war had been fought in there, as the furniture was all over the place and some of it was broken. "Damn it. She's dead." the Pilot then said, regaining the Ardat-Yakshi's attention as he took his hand away from the dead woman's neck and stood back up. "We should call this in." his friend then said in a worried tone as she reached up to her com-link, earning a nod from the Bot before his attention was caught by a slither of light coming out of a gap in the door which was further into the room. "This is Tolae, can anyone hear me?" the Blue Woman then said as she tapped her com-link, only to hear static in return. "I can't reach anyone..." she began to say before being cut off by the sound of the door at the entrance suddenly closing, which made the pair turn back to it just in time to see a blue energy fade away around the door, which looked eerily similar to how Tolae had opened it earlier. "What?" The Pilot then asked with a confused tone, before another female voice spoke. "Of course you can't reach anyone..." This made both the Bot and Asari turn around to see the lights activate and brighten up the room, almost blinding them as they squinted their eyes in an attempt to adapt. "...since I have erected a damping field around this room." the voice continued to say as the pair noticed two figures walk into the room at the door at the far side, abet blurred due to their recovering vision. "Who's there? Who said that?" Tolae asked, which gained a chuckle from the unidentified Female. "You know who I am, Tolae, I doubt you could forget me that easily." This made the Asari's eyes widen as the blurred figure came back into focus, revealing the new arrival to be another Asari who was now recognizable. "It's you..." Tolae began to say in a surprised voice, though her words were tinged with a building anger, which made the other Woman's smile widen more. "...Morinth!" "Yes, it's me." the murderous Ardat-Yakshi replied, while Evac's eyes fell upon his friend standing next to her in a trance-like state. "Crosscut! What have you done to him?" the Bot spat back in a worried tone, which made Morinth look at him with a devious smirk. "Well...nothing yet, I had to wait for you two to get here. But now that we are all together, the party can finally start." she replied in a cryptic tone, gaining angry stares from the pair. "What do you want, Morinth?" Tolae than asked as she slowly clenched her hands into fists, while the Bot did began to reach down to his holstered pistol at a similar pace. "To kill you all of course, why else would I be here." the Ardat-Yakshi replied in a bemused manner, before noticing the pair's actions and so raising her left hand up for the pair to see, with it in cup-holding gesture and glowing with biotic energy. "Not so fast, or else I snap your friend's neck earlier than planned." she then spat, as what looked like a collar made of biotic energy suddenly appeared around the hypnotized Crosscut's neck, making him choke a little. "Crosscut!" Evac replied in a concerned tone as both he and Tolae in their tracks, making Morinth stare back with a dark smile. "That's better, now there is a game I want to play with you and it's called...who wants to die first?"

CHAPTER XIV It was still early when Myra woke up, finding herself lying on the bed in her room at the Autobot-base on Unity Station, with the Asari looking around the dimly lit room to find that she was the only one there. 'Oh yeah, I remember Kat went to her room not long after we...' she thought before being reminded of what happened between them that night, which brought a half-smile to the Rogue Spectre's face. 'I can't believe I let 'that' happen, especially since we were only supposed to view my memories. But then again, it did...feel right.' she thought while looking over to the window, making her smile widen as a warm feeling built up in her heart, for Myra did harbour a very strong affection for Kat, more than she had initially realised and the fact that they had both showed it in the way they did, made the Asari feel happier than she had felt in an extremely long time. But even though the memory of what the pair had shared the previous night warmed her heart, there was still a lingering feeling which made her smile fade somewhat. For Myra knew that she still had unfinished business, something that had to take precedence before the Asari could even begin to think about anything else. So she sat up and tapped her com-link. "Kat, are you there?" the Rogue Spectre asked in a soft voice, before waiting in silence for a reply. But the young Darby did not have to wait long as a familiar voice spoke up, which made her smile widen some more. "Yeah, I am here, Myra." she replied, though with a tired-like tone. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." the Asari said back in an apologetic manner. "Don't be silly, I was already awake…" Kat began to reply coyly, which earned a happy sigh from Myra. "...and I was thinking about you." she continued, which the Rogue Spectre could not help but smile at as she listened before looking at the time on her holo-tool. "I see..." she said in a coy-like tone, whilst staring down at the orange interface. "And since you're already up, I thought we might be able to talk as we still have some time before Yikrah is supposed to call for all for us." "Alright, I will be round in a moment." Kat replied, before ending the link on her end, earning a sigh from Myra as her smile diminished once more, turning her attention to the door to her room. 'I wonder how she is going to take what I have to say?' the Asari thought as she waited for her door to chime, which happened in just a moment. So the Rogue Spectre got off her bed and walked over to the control panel beside it and opened the door, revealing the Human Woman who smiled back as their eyes met. "Morning." Kat said, earning a nod from the Asari who smiled back while gesturing for her to enter. "Hi." Myra replied as her friend walked through the door and passed her into the room, before stopping at the window again which immediately reminded the Asari of the previous night. "So we are going to have 'the talk' now, right?" Kat then asked as she turned and looked at the blue Woman, gaining a surprised look from her in return. "Well, yes...but how do you?" she started to ask, only for the Human Woman to cut her off. "Because we agreed to hold the talk until we had a restful sleep, as we were both kind of tired from everything we went through at the Leviathan Base let alone our 'eventful melding' last night." Kat answered with a knowing smile, which made Myra nod back. "Yes, eventful is one way of putting it." she replied with a mirrored smile, which earned a caring expression from the Human woman in return. "You should do that more often..." she began to say in a sort of cryptic tone, gaining a confused look from the Rogue Spectre. "What do you mean?" "Smile, you should smile more." Kat then replied, making the young Darby blush a little. 'Myra's just too cute.' the Human thought as her own cheeks reddened in response to her friend. "Okay, so I will go first…" the Asari then said while sitting down on the edge of the bed, gaining a curious look from her lover. "That doesn't sound too ominous." Kat replied as she sat down beside her, which made the Rogue Spectre look over to her with a knowing look. "I want you to know that I do not regret what we did last night, not for one moment." "Well, what did we do exactly? Because I thought we were just sharing memories…" the Human Woman asked back, which made Myra look back at her as she continued. "…I mean, I too don't regret what we shared, but perhaps you can explain it to me?" This made the Asari smile back slightly at her friend's curiosity, taking the Woman's hand in her own. "You are right, we were supposed to simply share memories through the melding of our minds. But like I told you doing the meld about wanting to be more than friends with you, but holding myself from pursuing it due to…" she started to say before stopping, which made Kat take over. "You mean because of the guilt you were feeling." "…That's right, but then when I saw your ancestry…" Myra began to say, which brought a knowing smile to her lover's face. "Yeah, that was a shock for both of us." she replied, earning a nod from the Asari. "…I simply let my instincts take over, I guess we both did, didn't we." she said, whilst stroking the top of Kat's hand with her thumb. "I know, I mean I confessed to you that I wanted you. So when you kissed me like that, I just let myself go with it…..and it was a really good kiss." the Human woman replied coyly, which made Myra blush a little more. "It was good for me too." "But we were making love while we were in the meld, right? Because that is something else I will never forget." Kat asked, making Myra nod back with an affectionate smile. "Yes, what we experienced was the two of us...becoming 'bond-mates'. It's something that happens very rarely between Asari and their partners who decide to join each other through something other than love-making, which is why it was only experienced in the mind." she explained, earning an understanding expression from the Human in return. "I see, so you're saying we are now a...couple?" "Yes, that would be the correct description..." Myra then replied as her smile faded a little, which did not go unnoticed by Kat. "Why do I feel that a 'but' is about to come in?" she asked with a slightly worried expression. "...well like I showed you last night, I want you the same as you want me. And I want to see where 'we...us' can go, and the fact that you're related to my late fiancée is a bonus." the Asari began to say, which made her lover gently squeeze the other's hand affectionately in her own. "But there is something I have to see through first..." the Blue Woman continued, earning a nod from Kat as she looked back with a supportive expression. "I understand, you have to stop Vasir. Well, we can do this together, as I now have a personal reason to stop 'her' myself." "You mean because John was your great-great-great Grandfather." Myra replied, earning another nod from her Human friend. "Yes, it was as much a surprise to me as it was for you when we found out last night. So when I went back to my room, I did some research into my ancestor. And now that I have gotten to know what kind of man he was, through the information on the Network and from what you let me see and feel from your memories, I want to make Vasir pay for what she did to him and you even more..." she answered, gaining an appreciative smile from the Asari before looking at the ground with a regretful expression. "...I just can't believe that I forgot about it." But the Rogue Spectre responded by gently squeezing her hand whilst continuing to stroke it with her thumb. "Don't blame yourself for that, you were just a child when your Grandmother told you that. You can't be expected to remember every single detail of what happened during your childhood." she said back, which made Kat smile back. "Thanks, Myra." "You're more than welcome, Kat." the Asari said as the pair just looked into each other's eyes for a moment like they were taking in every detail in the other's eyes. "So, we take down Vasir...and then see where this takes us." Kat then said while gesturing to their hands, as she then moved her fingers in-between the Asari's, brushing her soft skin against the blue but equally if not more soft counterpart. "Yes, that sounds like a plan." Myra replied while turning her attention to their hands as they continued to move slowly against each other like in a dance, before looking back into her lover's eyes which made Kat's smile widen. "Would a kiss be out of the question though?" she asked, earning a mirrored expression from the Rogue Spectre in return. "I don't see why not." she said back as they both then began to lean towards each other, closing their eyes as they anticipated their lips meeting. But just as they were about to kiss, feeling each other's breath on their skin, the door chimed and brought them out of the moment, gaining a disappointed look from both women. "I guess that is Yikrah at the door." Kat said, not trying to hide her disappointment. "Yeah, but I wonder what would happen if we just ignore her." Myra replied before the door chimed once more, making the Human Smirk and chuckle in return. "I think she will continue to press the door chime." "Well, let's not keep her waiting then." the Asari replied as she got stood back up and walked over to the door, followed quickly by her lover as the door opened to reveal the Drell female. "Oh, Myra, have you seen Kat? Because she isn't answ..." she began to say before noticing the Human Woman standing behind the Rogue Spectre, gaining a wide-eyed look from the Autobot Agent. "...oh!" she added, earning a smirk from the two lovers as they stood in front of her in the doorway. "Morning." Kat replied, which then gained an embarrassed smile from Yikrah in return. "...Morning. Well if you are ready, Myra, I can take you back to see your Aunt?" "Yes, we are ready." the young Darby replied, earning a nod from Kat as the Drell then gestured to the pair. "Alright, then please follow me." And with that, the three women left the room and headed down the corridor towards the Medical Bay. PRIME EFFECT 5 Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, Vasir's shuttle flew out of the event horizon of a Space-bridge portal, which closed as quickly as it had opened while the small vessel flew toward a large fleet of ships ahead of it. "Morinth, we are here." Vasir called back to the Ardat-Yakshi who was in the aft of shuttle, gaining a grunt from her as she sat up on the bench and got to her feet. "About time, it's taken long enough." she replied while walking back into the cockpit to join the older Asari and the two pilot-Mechs. "That's because this fleet that I have built was under orders to jump to a new system every few hours on a pre-set pattern of jumps so that the Autobots would not detect them. It only took us a while to find them as we were further behind in the list of coordinates." Vasir then said, gaining a knowing look from Morinth. "A while? It took all night to catch up to them, surely you could have signalled them to stop and wait for us to catch up?" she answered back, which made the Leviathan Leader look back as she noticed the annoyed tone in her companion's voice. "This fleet is also under orders to keep a communications blackout unless a ship enters their proximity and transmits the correct code." she replied before turning back to the Mechs, who were concentrating purely on their flying. "Send the code." the Asari then said, gaining a nod from the robot on her left. "By your command." it spoke with its synthesised voice as Vasir then turned back to the Ardat-Yakshi, narrowing her eyes in a cold stare. "I hope you're not trying to make me question my decision to bring you along, or I could throw you out into the cold void outside?" she asked, which made the younger Asari's expression change to a more worried one. "...Oh, not at all. In fact, since it was quite hard for us to find it and we knew what we were looking for, I am more than certain that the Autobots would never find it. Morinth then replied in a grovelling-like tone, which made Vasir smirk in return. "That's better, now get up here if you want a good view of the 'Leviathan." she then said while gesturing for the Ardat-Yakshi to join her side, who did as she was told and stepped up to her Boss as she stood behind the pilots. "Alright, but how impressive can it...by the goddess!" she then said as her eyes widened, making the Leviathan Leader's smile widen as they stared out of the shuttle's canopy. For suddenly a ship appeared before them that dwarfed the rest of the fleet, even blotting out the star of the system they were in as it passed between them and the burning ball of gas. "That ship is massive..." Morinth began to say, as she saw the dreadnoughts and cruisers were completely overshadowed by the Battleship. "...it must be nearly the same size as one of the Reapers that attacked the galaxy five hundred years ago." she added with a wide-eyed stare, which made the older Asari shake her head in response. "The Leviathan is actually the same mass and size as Harbinger, who history states was the lead-Reaper and the largest in the Reaper fleet." "That ship looks like it could take on the entire Autobot Navy on its own, and still have more fire-power for something else." the Ardat-Yakshi marvelled as their shuttle started heading for what looked like landing-bay on its port-side directly ahead of them. "Code has been confirmed, we are clear to land." the Pilot-Mech on Vasir's right then said, gaining the Asari's attention as she nodded back. "Very good, take us in then." she replied. And with that, the shuttle flew past several cruisers, all pf which completely overshadowed the smaller vessel. But as they closed in on the Leviathan, both Asari could not help but feel overwhelmed by the massive battleship as they got closer to it. Morinth simply looked on with a shocked expression, while Vasir's smile widened considerably. Once the shuttle had landed, the two blue women exited the vessel and walked across the large bay to find Inferno waiting for them. "Welcome aboard the Leviathan..." the Con began to say to his Boss with a smile, which disappeared as he noticed the Ardat-Yakshi standing beside her. "...oh, I did not realise that you were bringing 'her' with you?" he then added, gaining an annoyed look from Morinth. "I was invited." she replied, though the Destron Leader ignored her and kept his attention on Vasir, like he was expecting an answer from her. "Morinth saved my life back on Unity, so she has earned herself one more chance." the older Asari said back, gaining a nod from Inferno in return. "Very well." "But you didn't just meet us here to ask me that, did you?" Vasir then asked, making him shake his head in response. "No sir, we have received some Intel that I thought you would find interesting." "Alright, what is it?" Morinth then asked, beating Vasir to the question, which then gained a cold stare from the Destron before returning his attention to the Leviathan Leader. "Well...it appears that the Autobots are being forced to leave Unity station, just as you hoped they would be." "Excellent, which means that their new security force must be ready to take over." she replied with a smile, gaining another nod from the Con. "Yes, Vasir, and your troops within its ranks are ready to act on your orders." "Good, but we will reserve giving the go-ahead to them until after we have taken down the Autobots at their source. And is there anything else?" the older Asari then asked. "Yes, the Rogue Spectre 'Myra Darby' and her friends have been arrested and are being held at the last Autobot outpost. They are due to leave with the Autobot withdraw on the Cruiser 'Morning Hope', which will be the last Autobot ship to leave Unity today." Inferno replied before both he and Morinth then noticed a thoughtful expression appear on their Leader's face. "Vasir?" the Ardat-Yakshi asked with a curious tone, which made the older Asari smile back. "This could work to our advantage...and after how close that Darby-bitch came to stopping me on Unity, I would like nothing more to have her taken out of the equation." "Very good sir, how should we proceed with that?" the Destron Leader asked with a mirrored expression to that of the Ardat-Yakshi standing with them. "Inferno, I want you on this mission..." Vasir then began to say, only for Inferno to cut her off. "Very good, my Destrons and I will be able to handle..." he started to say in a confident tone, only for the older Asari to cut him off in return. "No, I need you and...Morinth for this mission." she replied, earning shocked looks from both of them. "You want me to work with him!" the Ardat-Yakshi replied with a venomous sting in her tone, while the Con simply looked dumbfounded at her. "But what about my team?" "Devron can take command while you are gone, I need you both for this..." Vasir started to say back, as a serious and cold expression appeared on her face while looking at the pair. "...and I need you to settle whatever issues you have with each other, because I want my best to deal with Myra and her friends while they are in a place that I have some control over." "And how do we do that? I mean we can't just walk into the Autobot Cruiser and assassinate them while they sit in their cells." Morinth then said in a questioning tone, gaining a knowing smile from the Leviathan Leader in return. "Of course you can, or did you forget how we got away from Unity...?" This earned a look of confusion from the Ardat-Yakshi as she stared back, so Inferno decided to speak up. "That's because Leviathan has Agents inside the Autobots ranks, and they have helped to ensure that our plans to discredit the Cybertronians have continued to be successful. That is how we heard about Darby and her friends, from one Agent among a team currently on the 'Morning Hope'." "Yes, so the two of you will head to that ship and my people on the inside will get you onboard so that you can then take care of Myra and her friends." Vasir added, gaining a nod from Morinth and the Destron Leader, though the former's was a little less enthusiastic. "Alright, so when do we leave?" she asked. "Immediately, once the shuttle has been readied for you..." Vasir replied before taking a step away from the pair and towards the exit, which had opened as it detected her proximity. "...so don't fail me, meanwhile I will begin preparations for our attack on Earth." she then added, before walking out of the open doorway. Leaving the other two standing there as they gave each other distrusting looks. PRIME EFFECT 5 Back at the Autobot Base on Unity station, Myra, Kat and Yikrah entered a briefing room to find Evac, Crosscut, Tolae with Commander Vras. "Hey guys, have a nice rest?" Kat asked, gaining a very enthusiastic nod from Crosscut as he started pointing at the other Bot. "Yes I did because I wasn't in the same room as the serial snorer." he said with a somewhat joyous tone, gaining a surprised stare from Evac in return. "No fair." "How is your Aunt, Myra? Is Ser-Ket alright?" the other Asari then asked, ignoring the two Bots as they started to argue with each other. "I've just been into the Medical Bay to see my Aunt, she is still in a coma but Doctor Minerva told me that she should make a full recovery." the Rogue Spectre replied with a relieved tone, gaining mirrored reactions from around the room. "That is good news, I am glad to hear your Aunt will pull through..." Commander Vras said back while Kat gave Myra a supportive smile, which she then returned. "...But I guess we should now get to the more pressing matters..." he continued, gaining a nod from everyone as a holo-sphere then appeared in the centre of the room. "So we Autobots are to leave Unity Station via orders of the Senate, who no longer believe that we are good enough to defend the interests of the Inter-Stellar Federation despite our five hundred years of service." "And this hasn't been a knee-jerk reaction or something similar, this decision has been a long time coming." Yikrah then added as they all stood around the holo-orb, which gained a confused expression from Evac. "I understand what has happened, I mean I have seen the news...we all have..." he started to say, earning a knowing smile from Kat to Myra. "...but what I don't get is how quickly it has all fallen apart, it just doesn't seem possible." the Bot continued, which then regained the Rogue Spectre's attention. "Oh it's not only possible, but it was also well-orchestrated...and Vasir was the one behind it." she said, earning a nod from Vras in return. "Yes, both Ser-Ket and I have long believed that Vasir was leading the secretive Leviathan group, but we never thought that she had a base here on Unity." "Wait, you guys had your suspicions about Vasir...and yet did nothing about it?" Crosscut then asked with a surprised look, gaining the Commander's attention. "That is because we did not have any solid evidence to back us up since the Senate did not believe in 'Leviathan's' existence. And with how they had treated Myra when she tried to reveal the truth about Vasir and her group, Ser-Ket knew that the only way to convince them would have been with complete undeniable proof." "I doubt that would have worked though..." Myra then spoke up, making everyone turn their attention to the Asari. "...because when I managed to infiltrate the Leviathan base here on Unity, I managed to become part of the audience that Vasir was addressing." she continued to say, while everyone in the room had their attention entirely on the young Darby as they listened to her. "And it was more than heavily implied that 'she' had not only Agents all areas of the Federation, but Senators who had secretly allied themselves with her and Leviathan." The entire room went quiet, as the Rogue Spectre's friends, Commander Vraz and Yikrah all looked back at her with stunned expressions. "Well...I think that would explain how the Senate has managed to kick you Autobots off Unity if a number of the Senate are siding with Leviathan." Kat then said, gaining a nod from the Autobot Commander. "That is the only plausible way this all would have happened, and since we will no longer be tied down by the ISF's regulations and oversight, I think that it is only fair that we go on the offensive against Vasir." he said, which brought a confident smile to each face looking back at him before the Bot then turned his attention to Myra. "Can we debrief you on everything you saw while in the Leviathan Base, as it would finally give us something to work on towards that goal?" The young Darby looked over to Kat, who gave her a supportive smile in return. "Of course I will." the Rogue Spectre replied as she then looked back at the Commander. "Good, and there is something else I want to go over with you. It was your Aunt's idea and considering the current situation we now find ourselves in, I can't think of a better time for it." he replied, gaining a confused look from the Asari in return. "What are you talking about?" she asked, which made the Commander smile back as he was about to answer her. But Vras was quickly silenced as his and everyone's attention turned to an Autobot-Turian, who entered the room and looked over to him. "Sir, the Senate has brought their deadline forward and we have to vacate this base and the station now." he said, gaining a reluctant nod back from Vras in return. "Very well, then please notify all remaining Autobot personal and have them board the 'Morning Hope' in preparation to leave." he replied, earning a salute from the Turian who then turned around and left as the Commander looked back at Myra and the others. "I apologise but it seems that our hosts have decided that we should leave now, so we will have to continue this meeting on board my ship." the Eudora crew all nodded back sombrely as Vras walked past them all and stopped at the room's entrance. "Now if you will please follow me." And with that Myra and her friends joined the Commander's side and left the room, as they like the rest of the Autobots at the base prepared to leave the station. Meanwhile, in the vacuüm of space outside of Unity, a shuttle entered the system via a Space-Bridge portal which quickly disappeared as the small vessel approached the Federation Capital. In the shuttle's cockpit, both Morinth and Inferno sat at its controls as they looked out at the station through the glass canopy in front of them. "This is Unity-Control, we have you on approach. Please state your ID and reason for arrival." a male voice then spoke over the intercom, which made the Con tap a button on his holo-interface. "This is the Shuttle 'Tydirium', we are due to dock with the Morning Hope. Our passcode is zero-four-zero-five-zero-one-two-zero-zero-eight." It then went quiet for a moment as both the Ardat-Yakshi and her reluctant partner waited for a response, while the station and their primary target continued to grow larger as they closed in on them. "Code acknowledged, your access point will be the tertiary docking bay st the Morning Hope's aft and a tram will be there on your arrival...'Victory Leviathan'." the voice then spoke once more, gaining a smile from both the Destron Leader and his colleague as their shuttle then continued onwards towards the Autobot star-ship and its unsuspecting passengers.