Chương 16: LOG-016.

"Keep the supply carts moving!" Transition through the spacebridge had been smooth, alongside the deployment of search parties to actually locate the precise coordinates of the Omega Lock.

"Transport group three reports a deficit in energon. Rerouting auxilliary lines from groups six and eight." It was an inevitable outcome. Eventually, one of the Seeker squads stumbled upon the image I'd disseminated amongst the Nemesis' crew. In turn, they alerted the rest of us, signalling their success. I was among the first to touch down on the dusty, metallic surface. Many followed. Soon enough, a veritable encampment had been set up around the ancient device, with the Nemesis hovering a ways above it.

With no Autobots to contend our control of the area, we were able to take our time.

"Shockwave!" I turned from inspecting Predaking's newly sharpened claws to look at Megatron, the silver mech flanked by Dreadwing and Soundwave respectively.

"Yes, Lord Megatron?" The warlord gestured to the Lock in the distance, brow plate quirked upwards.

"How much longer must I wait until this weapon is repaired? I tire of this idleness." I pat one of the Predacon's wings as he got up to go wander around. Probably to watch the Vehicon workers do their thing.

"The Omega Lock will be fully operational within projected parameters, my Lord." I paused, giving the trio what I hoped translated into a meaningful stare.

"Due to the sheer amount of cybermatter required for the process, we will likely only have one shot at reviving Cybertron." Megatron frowned for a moment, seemingly in thought. Then he nodded.

"Very well, continue your vital work. I shall await the relic's activation." Our leader turned to walk away, Soundwave promptly following behind him. Dreadwing chose to stay put, walking up to me instead.

"I-" He paused, staring at a distant Predaking throwing around a beat up piece of scrap metal to the amusement of a pair of Zakus and several nearby Vehicons.

"Ahem. I would speak to you regarding the matter we discussed prior to our transit to cybertron." Nodding, I gestured to a nearby prefab structure.

"Of course. Follow me." I idly inspected the structure as we passed through it's single entrance. A sturdy thing, mostly used to keep the delicate equipment within it safe from the occasional dust storm. Also a place that offered a measure of privacy. As I leaned against a wall, Dreadwing closed the door behind him, finally electing to speak now that we didn't have to worry about prying audio receptors.

"Do you... still believe that Megatron is compromised?" I nodded, tilting my head towards the direction the warlord had gone.

"There is a small chance that he is not, but I have never been one to take overly large risks. You heard him yourself, didn't you? He called our homeworld's salvation a weapon. Why would we aim a weapon at Cybertron?" Dreadwing frowned, crossing his arms.

"A good point. Very well, I assume you have things planned out in the event that he proves to be ill of mind. Care to fill me in?" We ended up spending the next hour in that prefab, discussing our plan for disabling Megatron in between my own remote calibrations of the Lock's systems.

The time had come. Everyone had been assembled, with the Nemesis staffed by a skeleton crew of troopers. Lines upon lines of vehicons stood in parade formation, my own Zakus standing ahead of them. All of them were my creations, some older, others younger. The officers of the Nemesis took a place of honour of course. Knockout stood next to me, helping with the final few system checks needed to ensure the Omega Lock would fire without blowing us all to pieces.

Dreadwing and Soundwave also stood either side of Megatron, the silver mech himself standing on an upraised podium that a pair of workers had hastily set up. If anything, he looked like a politician holding a rally. One that had a giant glowing sword magnetised to his back, but my point stood. Even Predaking was sat on his haunches, surrounded by several insecticons, Shrapnel among them. Long story short, it was quite the turn out. It wasn't every day you revived a dead world after all.

Inputting a final system check to confirm that the requisite energon and cybermatter were connected and accepted by the relic, I gave Megatron a nod even as I stood up and strode over to stand behind him, between Dreadwing and Soundwave. The mech stared at the assembled army, letting the tension build up, before finally raising a fist. The stolen Prime's servo, to be specific. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

"Today, we stand upon a precipice! The end of this war! And the ultimate victory of the Decepticons!" Megatron remained silent for a moment, letting the resounding cheers of the troops echo across the encampment. Then he slammed his fist down against the podium, drawing silence from the assembled crowd once more.

"I have been told that the Omega Lock may fire only once, due to it's dependency on an inherently limited amount of cybermatter!" He spread his arms to the sides, as if presenting a grand image.

"Thus we shall use our one chance wisely! We shall aim this glorious weapon upon the Earth! Cyberforming it's surface!" I noticed Dreadwing's sharp glance at me, but I shook my helm, remaining silent. Not yet.

"I ask you! What are we if not conquerors!? Why revive one world, when we can rule two?!" At that, I began to step forward, walking around a now openly glaring Dreadwing.

"We will destroy the worthless organics that scour the planet's surface, we will harvest the world for additional cybermatter! And we will finally be rid of Optimus Prime and his wretched Autobots, once and for all-!"

"No." Megatron whirled around, snarling.

"You dare question me, Shockwave? I presumed you of all Decepticons would see the logic in this plan!" I shook my helm, even as whispers rung out across the assembled crowd.

"There is no logic in your course of action." I raised my voice.

"It has been confirmed that the Earth is merely a shell! A layer of crust surrounding the body of the Destroyer! Unicron! We all know this!" Megatron reared back as I pointed a digit at him.

"Such an act will revive the Chaos Bringer! You ask if I see logic in your reasoning? I don't! I see the vile influence of Chaos! I see that your mental faculties have been compromised by the Destroyer!" For just a moment, Megatron stood silent. Seemingly shocked. In the corner of my vision, I noticed Soundwave tense, the silent mech's thin servos clenching into fists. Then Megatron roared, knocking the podium aside and unsheathing the dark star saber.

"No one questions me! No one!" His voice took on an almost fanatical tone as his optics glowed a dark purple, in tune with the weapon clutched in his servos. I noticed Knockout duck behind the Omega Lock in the background. Smart mech.

"I am Megatron! Lord of the Decepticons!" The mad warlord raised the saber above his helm, snarling. Behind him, I saw Dreadwing reach for his minigun, staring at Soundwave. Just as the corrupted gladiator prepared to bisect me, the spymaster gave a single, quick nod.

"NONE WILL QUESTION ME-!" That's about as far as he got before a hail of fire erupted from Dreadwing's weapon, slamming into Megatron's back. The silver mech whirling around with another snarl.

"You dare-!" Then I shot him, aiming for his left knee joint. Megatron fell to a knee, even as he swung the saber, unleashing a wave of energy that forced Dreadwing to duck and blasted several prefabs apart. I took the opportunity, charging forward. I pulled out a small injector from my subspace, clutching it in my servo.

"Restrain him!" Despite the insane fury clouding them, I was pretty sure I saw genuine betrayal in his optics as several of Soundwave's tentacles lashed forward, wrapping around the gladiator.

"Soundwave!? Has madness befallen all of you!?" The silver mech thrashed back and forth, even as Dreadwing also rushed forward, wrapping his arms around our very pissed off leader.

"It is you who has fallen to madness my Lord! Do not resist this, we are trying to help you!" I slowed down, raising the injector, the formula inside priming itself. With luck, it would weaken the gladiator enough to let us capture him alive. I knew that Soundwave would accept nothing less. Megatron continued to thrash, even as he realized the army watching us had all gone silent, watching the spectacle in shock.

"TREACHERY!" The rabid mech was forced to kneel even lower as Soundwave and Dreadwing both piled their weight on top of him. I raised the injector, aiming for the back of his neck. An area with less armor than the rest of his thick frame.

"No! Intervention!" I stabbed downwards, quickly pressing down on the device's trigger. The effect was immediate, Megatron's face lagging for a moment as the serum travelled throughout his energon lines, inducing a sense of lethargy. For a moment, it seemed the plan had worked perfectly. Then his optics blazed with a deep, violet glow." NO!" A clenched fist slammed into Dreadwing's faceplate, sending the warrior flying several meters backwards.

With one side free, Megatron took the opportunity to grab Soundwave's tentacles, using them to swing his most loyal follower to the ground. Soundwave had just a second to raise a servo before Megatron stomped on his chest, snarling." You I will deal with later." I stepped backwards, charging my cannon as the gladiator levelled a seething glare my way.

I fired, and in a flash my shot was absorbed as Megatron grabbed the dark star saber, shielding his frame with the glowing weapon and beginning to rush forward, barrelling towards me.

"Shockwave! You will pay for turning them against me!" I had less than half a second to brace myself before a wave of energy blasted into me, forcing me on my back. I tried to get up, only for a heavy weight to settle atop my frame.

"Treachery!" I reeled as a fist slammed into my helm, my optic cracking slightly, distorting my vision.

"Disloyalty!" Another punch, the cracks spiderwebbed further. My processor was practically screaming warnings at me." Nothing will save you now!" I could barely make out my attacker's malicious grin as he raised his fist to finish me off. There were only so many high power punches a helm could take after all. Especially from Megatron of all bots. I just groaned quietly as his fist began to descend. Fuck. This was it, wasn't it? I... hadn't been good enough. Time seemed to slow. The world began to darken.

And yet my dented audio receptors just barely picked up the sound of... transformation? Oh well... at least I... tried..

"NO!" Megatron looked up at the distinctly feminine voice, only to be thrown off of me as a clawed fist slammed into his faceplate. The sound of struggling continued, out of my range of view. Slowly, I managed to tilt my helm forward.... Oh. Well. At least I knew why Preda... king had seemed far sleeker compared to my human side's memories.... I was an idiot. Seriously, how had I missed that? The large femme was locked in a contest of strength against Megatron, the pair fighting over the dark star saber.

The disbelief on his dented faceplate would almost be funny. If he wasn't slowly beginning to overpower my creation. Just as it seemed he was about to gain the upperhand, I noticed a flash of red dart behind him. A crackle of electricity ensued as Knockout jabbed his staff into Megatron's lower back, forcing the warlord to flinch in clear pain. It was all too much. The toxin rampaging throughout his body. The hits he'd taken from me, Soundwave and Dreadwing.

The sheer amount of energy he'd likely spent overpowering us in a last ditch attempt at victory. And finally, Knockout's attack from behind. Predaking (Predaqueen?) wrenched the saber towards herself, even as she planted a pede against Megatron's chest and pushed. The silver mech fell, his stolen arm still attempting to hold on to the dark star saber's handle. The Predacon wasn't having it. A pair of clawed servos wrapped around the red limb and pulled. The metal groaned. It bent.

And it finally snapped with a tortured shriek as the surgically attached hand was ripped clean off, digits still wrapped around the unholy blade it had helped create. The victor stared at Megatron in clear distaste for a moment, before snorting. With both servos, she raised the dark star saber up-"It's over." -And promptly snapped it over her armored, spiky knee. The tinkling of crystal shards echoing throughout the area as they fell to the ground.

That's when my onboard medical systems finally decided that enough was enough, beginning a forced shutdown. At my concerned grunt, the predacon whirled around, racing towards me. I idly noticed a smugly smirking Knockout staring down at Megatron, even as a tired looking Dreadwing strode past him, clutching a pair of stasis cuffs and staring at Megatron's missing limb. Soundwave was slowly being helped up by Zero and a Vehicon with a bit more initiative than his still shocked brethren. [SYSTEM CRITICAL. BEGINNING EMERGENCY PRESERVATIVE STASIS.] Yeah yeah. Whatever. The last thing I saw before my vision went dark was a pair of concerned, golden optics.