A/N: Just realized I uploaded the wrong chapter 8. Whoops... I fixed it now and I'm just gonna pretend that it wasn't left up for like, months. XD


Diana was absent-mindedly walking to her room while fiddling with her necklace. Other than her car, and the smaller things she'd gotten as presents, it was the only memento of her father. She had other pieces of jewelry but this one was her favorite, not just because of its personal importance but because of its beauty. She'd never seen another crystal shine quite like this one. It was a lovely sky blue, and in her honest opinion the true embodiment of the name. 'It could've dropped straight out of the clouds,' she'd always say when she was younger. The way it caught the light sometimes was also breathtaking. She closed her eyes and sighed, remembering the day he'd given it to her.

"How's it goin', kiddo?" Her father had just come in from the garage and Diana could smell the motor oil from her spot across the room.

"Hi, Dad. It's going good," she said, stopping her homework to beam at him. Even if he wasn't in a particularly good mood, he always made sure to be kind to her. She did the same in return. It was a sort of unspoken rule between them.

"You know what day it is?" he asked, walking to her.

"Uh huh!"

"Happy Birthday, Honey!" He picked her up and swung her around once before setting her back down in the chair. He hadn't been home that morning to tell her before she left for school so he made sure to make up for it now. "I'm sure you're excited for cake and presents and that party, but before all of that..." He paused and pulled out a small, carefully wrapped package from his back pocket. "I want to give you this now. It's a special present that you can open early, but only because it's your double-digits!" He ruffled her hair while handing her the item.

"Thanks, Dad!" Diana didn't hesitate to open it and was stunned at the blue crystal necklace that was sitting delicately inside the box. "It's so pretty," she said in awe.

"I thought you might like it. I thought of you the second I laid eyes on it. Now hurry and finish that homework. The sooner you do, the sooner you can start having some birthday fun." He watched her for a moment while she swiftly worked through her math worksheet before leaving the room.

Diana, like any nine-year-old, couldn't wait for later when she'd have her party and then become an official ten-year-old. Just the thought was making her burst with excitement. She had put the necklace on over her head, still being too small to have to use the clasp. She stopped working to admire it some more. It really was amazing, it was almost unearthly.

Looking at it now she saw no change. Where most jewelry would've long lost its spark this one did not. It was still the same bright and unbelievable blue, and even today it could still hold her gaze. The chain had never once lost its luster either. She often wondered how he had ever gotten such a thing. In her mind, all the pieces just weren't adding up...

"Ha! There you are!" Diana jumped and nearly fell over in fright. Twisting around she faced Spinner with wide eyes.

"What the heck are you trying to do, man?! Kill me?" She could still feel her heart pounding and vaguely wondered if he could hear it.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Spinner said with a sheepish grin, putting his arms behind his back and trying to act innocent. "I was looking for you." The grin morphed into something more devious.

"Oh no," she thought. "And what for?"

Spinner, for the briefest moment, debated on whether or not he should beat around the bush like he was originally intending or get straight to the point because Diana, despite all her kindness, wasn't the most patient of people (he found that out the hard way the last time he brought this up), so he figured short and sweet would be his best bet.

"You were on a date with Tezz when you were gone, weren't you?" As he said it he slowly began to back away in case he'd need a head start, but seeing Diana's still calm face made him stop.

"Yes," she sighed. "And what of it? He lost a bet." She put her hands on her hips and dared him to continue.

"You like him, don't you?" It wasn't said with his usual sarcasm, or even humor. It was a straight-forward and completely serious question, which surprised both him and Diana.

"I do," she said after a long pause. "I'll warn you right now, Spinner. If you start mocking me or making jokes or spreading rumors I'll-"

"Woah! Easy, easy, calm down." He raised his hands against her increasing temper. "I was actually going to at first, but seeing as how you're so defensive about it..."

"I'm sorry... I'm not trying to be defensive, it's just... Look, you got me at a bad time, that's all. I had some stuff on my mind. But really, please try not to make too many jokes." She gave him a light smile and he returned it. "I'll be the one to let Tezz know you found out. I don't think I can entrust that with you."

"Heh. Feel free. After the last time I even implied it..." He shuddered. "Now that was frightening. I bet even Krytus woulda turned tail and ran." They both smiled at the thought.

Just as they were about to part ways, Sage's voice echoed out of the intercom, telling everyone to meet her in the main area now. Diana and Spinner shared a confused look before complying.

Vert and Agura shut off the TV as soon as they heard the message and ran out into the Hub. Secretly, both were a little annoyed at the sudden interference, but it couldn't be helped. When they got there, Diana, Spinner, Stanford and Tezz were waiting, and the rest of the team was just catching up. Once they were together they stood waiting for Sage.

"I have discovered something unsettling," she began. "It appears I was correct about that factory; it was indeed shut down, a very long time ago."

"But everything was in standby when we were there," Sherman said, and the others who were with him nodded. "Everything kicked on after Diana penetrated the EM field with her whips."

"The fact that the factory was online is a very big problem. Battle Force 5, you must go back there and shut it down. And if you can't," she added, "then it will have to be destroyed." Everyone looked at her with varying degrees of shock. Older members of the team were astonished at the fact that Sage would ever suggest destroying a Battle Zone, while the newer ones were merely surprised and confused because they couldn't quite grasp the severity of it.

"What do you mean?" Diana asked. "What's the big deal about this factory anyway?" Everyone stared at the Sentient, waiting for a response.

"It's the factory that my people used to build the tools they created the Multiverse with." Now everyone was beyond shocked.

"You mean... the things on the conveyors..."

"Were most likely parts to the various equipment needed, yes."

"So whoever turned this thing back on wanted to build those tools again?" Vert was still trying to wrap his head around all this. It was just too much all at once, even for him.

"I checked what data I have on it and discovered that without a sort of 'key' to disable the safety mechanisms, one cannot build the Hyper Warp Cannon or any smaller machines."

"Hold on a minute," Spinner said. "The Hyper what now?"

"The very nature of that device is both amazing and highly destructive. If it were ever to fall into the wrong hands... whoever had it would be able to completely recreate the Multiverse or upset the very balance of it."

"What?!" They all shouted in unison.

"Now wait just a minute, Sage! Are you saying that your people had some space-warp-cannon-thing that allowed them to create the whole Multiverse, and afterwards they scrapped it because they didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands?! If you were gonna destroy the cannon then why didn't you destroy the bloody factory too?!" Stanford was well into hysteria now and his sudden outburst, though true, shocked the rest of the team.

"Didn't know he had it in him," Diana mumbled.

"S-sorry..." he muttered after taking a few deep breaths.

"It's okay, Stanford. Just try to keep your cool, alright?" Vert patted him on the shoulder, the most reassuring thing he could do right now.

"You are right, Stanford," Sage said. "Although the cannon alone was not responsible for the Multiverse's creation. We had many instruments we used, but the cannon was how we created the worlds of the Battle Zones. It allows one to create and manipulate dimensional space. In other words, you can create a sort of pocket dimension or adjust how existing ones are."

"If the Reds ever got a hold of something like that, I'd bet they'd do more than just visit Earth with it," Agura said.

"There would be no need. They could simply destroy everything if they wish, and then rebuild and reshape the Multiverse however they please."

"Yikes," Diana said. "We shouldn't be standing around here then, let's go get this done before anyone finds out about it." Everyone gave their approval but before they could move Sage stopped them.

"I do not have all of the data concerning the factory's security procedures. Some of it was likely wiped out or it is still in the other databases. We had it divided so that no one individual would be able to properly work the machinery. Security," she added hastily. "Multiple groups would have to give approval before it could be used. Because of this, I cannot tell you the exact methods for shutting it down. You will have to figure it out on your own." Vert nodded to Sherman, Spinner and Tezz, who nodded back. They knew what they had to do.

"Also, there is a possibility that Krytus may have some of the missing data. Before the war between Reds and Blues, the creation of the Multiverse had been a joint effort. He may know how to bypass some of the security systems, but he should not know how the factory works and, if we are lucky, where it is located."

"Oh great. 'Should?' That means there's a chance he does know about it. For all we know, he's probably the one who restarted it because he got the information from some tortured Diad." Spinner huffed and crossed his arms.

"Diads were not entrusted with such information," Sage responded. "Vert. You will need Tezz and the Cortez Brothers without a doubt." He nodded. "I also recommend bringing along Diana and Stanford. You may need the added firepower."

"For what?" Zoom asked.

"In the event that you fail to properly disable the factory, the security system will likely label you as intruders and try to eliminate you."

"Huh. Fantastic. Well, I guess we should get going." Diana, having letting off some of her stress through sarcasm, began making her way to her car. The others soon followed. Sage gave Vert the Battle Key and a Fuser before wishing them all good luck. As they sped off, she noticed the nervousness of the remaining team members. Not wanting to cause any sort of panic, she told them that it would be fine and that they should go relax but be ready to make a move. They hesitantly complied, but stayed in the area.

On the outside, Sage was as calm as usual, but on the inside she was a torrent of fear and worry. If they failed, they could always go back in later. What had her so concerned was that there was a possibility that Krytus knew about the factory or-even worse-was the one who brought it back on online. It was possible he could be trying to hack his way into the mainframe to see what sort of havoc he could cause with it.

No. Hacking it in that way was impossible. There were just too many fail safes and protocols which would not allow any sort of machine to be built without the proper access. With the data split bringing it back online was about all Krytus could do at the moment. Unless he had gotten a hold of the override key, in which case he'd be free to do whatever he pleased. But it had been missing for ages, allegedly destroyed and if not then likely floating in some distant corner of the Multiverse where no one, not even she nor Krytus, would ever manage to find. There was just no way...

It was nighttime on Vandal and Grimian was using the darkness as a cover while he made his way deep into the forest. He'd been traveling further and further away from the camp these days; Kalus was beginning to get suspicious of him and his disappearances. Constantly saying he was out hunting wasn't working anymore, especially when he had nothing to show for it. Cursing the leader, he fiddled with the communicator until Krytus appeared in front of him in all his anger.

"This had better be good, ape," he growled. "I'm growing tired of the useless information you've been giving me lately." Grimian gave his apologies, but on the inside he was snarling at how hard it was to please both rulers. He often wondered why he'd ever gotten himself into this mess. Was ruling the Vandals really worth it?"

"I'm waiting," came the impatient remark.

"Oh. Yes, Krytus. I've found something I think you'll be quite interested in."

"Let's hear it then."

"On their last attack, the Vandals came across a factory." He waited to see if Krytus was going to cut him off and yell. He didn't, which meant that he was interested. "I bribed some info out of the disloyal ones and found it matched the description of one once mentioned in Sentient history." At this Krytus laughed.

"What could you possibly know about the history of my kind? I never told you of any such thing. You weren't researching to find some sort of weakness, were you?" His voice changed from mocking to a low and angry growl, mirroring his sudden change in mood at the implication of Grimian trying to escape their little 'agreement.'

"What? N-no, Krytus. I just-"

"We'll discuss that later, ape," he snapped. "But thanks for the information." Krytus fizzled from existence and Grimian cursed himself for saying anything. It was in his best interest that what he just told the Red Sentient was valuable. The large ape walked back to his vehicle and drove off to the camp. It was also in his best interest to return before Kalus noticed his absence.

Inside the walls of the Vandal fortress, passers-by chuckled to themselves as they passed Hatch's lair. Some small explosions and crashes could be heard, followed by whining from the insectoid. He was working on finding something, anything, that would be of use to the Vandals in their next attack. He was currently mixing together some sort of potion, his fifth one, that would hopefully give them super strength. Laughing quietly at his latest concoction, he went to hand it to one of the Vandals sitting across the room. The blue-grey shark looked at Hatch fearfully, then the cup, and then the other three. They looked away and one of them shoved him forward lightly, making him the victim. He took the potion and chugged it all at once. At first, nothing happened, but then he started gagging and eventually flopped over, still spitting out the drink.

"Hm. I wonder if I could turn this into some sort of poison," Hatch muttered to himself as the others ran outside. When the Vandal stopped suffering he got up and staggered out as well. "Oh... Back to the drawing board, I guess..." The roar of an engine caught his attention, and he recognized it as Grimian. Getting an idea, he ran out to meet him, snickering all the way.

Grimian leapt off his ATV and was heading to his quarters when Kalus approached.

"Where have you been?" he asked, clearly unhappy.

"Uh... I was out, uh-"

"Hunting?" Kalus narrowed his eyes. "Either you're the worst excuse for a Vandal ever, or you're not really hunting." The leader finished with a low, menacing growl, watching the ape for any sign of lying. Just before it got any worse, Hatch broke in.

"Captain Kalus!" he shouted, stepping between them. "He was out looking for an ingredient I needed for my newest spell."

"Oh really?" he asked with suspicion.

"Yes. I needed this... This burr!" he proclaimed, pulling off the spiky ball that had caught in Grimian's armor. "It's a key ingredient. Ah, thank you for getting it, Grimian."

"Uh, yes. You're-you're welcome... Hatch. Glad to be of assistance." Both Vandals were doing their best to hide their nervousness. Kalus looked as though he'd skin them both at any second, before growling and stalking away.

"You owe me," Hatch said quietly as the Vandal leader grew distant. Grimian shot him a look of utter disdain before sighing.

"What do you want?" he asked, annoyed.

"Help me with a way to stop the sub creatures, or I'll tell Captain Kalus the truth." Grimian glared at Hatch before complying. He had to give the little roach credit, for someone not normally accustomed to blackmail, he was pretty good at it. The two went into Hatch's lair.


A/N: I am really sorry about how long it took me to update this. Don't worry, I've got no intention of leaving it forever unfinished. I will get this done. I've figured out what I want to do for the whole story and while it won't be super long, I'll think it'll turn out good. Also, I know the name for the cannon was pretty lame, and it'll probably change once I think of a better one. If anyone has any better ideas, let me know. As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.