Author's Notes: Imma back to kick some AS-tronomical stuff towards you! I know this is probably years late, but I feel the wait will be worth it! Decepticon fans rejoice! Autobots fans, grab some tissues. Shutup, sit down, and enjoy the ride! All hail Megatron! Note: If this sounds unfair to anyone, you may send your complaints directly to Megatron...wahahahaha! Enjoy!


Chapter 2: HE Returns!


The battle outside was intensifying, Autobots and Decepticons ripping each other apart without regret or remorse. Explosions decorated the air and parts littered the ground.

It was like something out of a horror movie or an old war film, the sight of the devastation would shake any freshman Cybertronian to their core. But it was the veterans,

those who have seen war and know it's smell, it's taste, it's feeling, it's psychologically taxing ways that prevailed on this field. Often it was the elite that tore the newbies to

pieces, and though it was taxing for Autobots, the Decepticon elite often found sadistic pleasure in taking life in the cruelest possible method. This often gave the side of evil

an advantage, the merciless onslaught of the Decepticons prevailing over the withdrawn, more preserved Autobots. This had changed in recent decades when Optimus Prime

witnessed the deaths of RC and Hot Shot at the claws of Megatron, and decided then that the Autobots, in order to achieve victory, must hold back no longer. Through this

sudden change in tactic and the betrayal of their leader Megatron at the hands of Starscream, the Decepticons were swiftly usurped, having been decimated on the fields

they once held under tyranny and malice. The moral of the Autobots renewed and the Decepticons on their last standing ground, victory was all but within reach for Optimus

Prime and his friends. However, the tide of battle was about to shift, more drastically than any sane tactician could imagine, as with the return of the Decepticon king will

come the return of decimation, chaos, and fear.

On the battlefield...

"Fight, friends! Keep pushing forward! If we can take this Decepticon stronghold, we'll be one step closer to overtaking the whole citadel!" Ironhide compelled his unit, aiding

them with his own arsenal of weapons in taking out one of the barracks towers of the Decepticon Citadel. The Decepticons were losing too many too fast to be capable of

holding their line much longer. "My fellow Decepticons, now is the time to stand our ground. For the memory of Lord Megatron, and the glory of Lord Starscream, we fight

until our last. Dying. Breath!" Commander Brawl did the same for his unit, backing up with his fellow Decepticons with strong armor and devastating firepower in order to

hold the battle line in hopes of possible reinforcements that he knew may not come. "Now charge!" "Charge!" The split tribes of Cybertron charged forward in unison, ready

to clash in the all to familiar slaughter fest that occurred in these conflicts. They were mere feet away from each other before, from out of the sky, came the harbinger of

death. Reverting from the sophisticated tank-jet into his monstrous humanoid form, Megatron landed with a loud crash that sent a hush over the entire field. Both sides

ceased their movement, their shouting, and the field became silent. All optics were focused now on this newcomer to the war field, anticipation welling up in both Autobot

and Decepticon alike. From the kneeling crouch assumed from when he landed, Megatron snapped his gaze to the opposing Autobots. He stood, his blood red optics scanning

the enemy's very sparks, growling to himself. A small chatter began to break the silence, chatter that only consisted of a name, whether followed up or leading up too, that

all had known to stand for terror. Megatron! "Decepticons!" Megatron addressed his minions. "Acknowledge your leader's return!" The Decepticons uproared with cheers of

delight for their master's return. The Autobot line shook with nervousness, as the Decepticon of their worst fears, who had long been gone, now stood before them, rallying

his troops as he did back then before the Autobot's inevitable defeats. Ironhide ran through the front lines and stood before Megatron, with apparent fear in his movement.

The uproar ceased on the Decepticon side. Megatron turned to face his challenger, the interrupter to his glorious return. "It...can't...be," Ironhide whispered to himself.

Megatron bore his razor sharp teeth at the sight of his old adversary and turned fully to stand before him full fledged. "If it isn't the Autobot arms dealer who thinks himself

a leader. Come to prove me real?" "Ha! That's right!" Ironhide put on a grin of confidence. Turning his back to the menace of Cybertron, he addressed his fellow Autobots.

"Friends, listen! We all know full well that the Megatron of the past, King of the Decepticons, is dead! His spark extinguished before our very optics, as well as those of our

leader, Optimus!" Chatter began once again on the Autobot side. "This Megatron before us now can't be the true Megatron, because we know in our sparks all too well that

death is permanent!" The Autobots gave an uproarious shout. "We know because we've seen our friends fall, their sparks extinguish before us, and that they will never

come back. What makes the tyrannical Megatron any different? He may have been a monster beyond all recognition, but in the end, he was still a Cybertronian! He was

mortal, just like us!" Another roar emerged from the Autobots. "This fake, this imposter to our greatest fears, has appeared for only one reason! And that is to demoralize

us! To strike fear where fear is NOT present! That is why, on the Decepticon's final ground, they threaten us with a ghost!" The Autobots moral was made clear, shining like a

sun that their commander had just disproven their worst fear. Megatron only stood and waited for the applause to cease. "Clearly, this doppelganger is a hologram...or more

a Decepticon experiment to replicate their leader! Regardless. He. Is. Not. REAL!" Ironhide threw his fist, aimed directly for Megatron's face. It made contact, but not with

the intended target. It was a countermove that resulted in Ironhide's fist being captured within the palm of Megatron's clawed hand, stopping the motion dead frozen.

Ironhide then noticed the chip in Megatron's chestplate that he was witness to Optimus bestowing. Realizing it was no imposter came to late for Ironhide. Megatron grinned

with his razor sharp teeth. His grip tightened on Ironhide's fist, the sound of crushing metal filled the air combined with a shout of pain from Ironhide. In one swift motion,

Megatron tore the fist's arm from it's owner, tossed it, and struck his own free clawed arm dead center through the Autobot commander, piercing through Ironhide's armored

chassis like paper and coming out of his back for every Autobot to see. "Believe me when I say that I am… Very. Real. None may usurp or mimic my power because there

are none worthy of it other than myself! For I. Am.," retreating his arm from the Autobot's body, it swiftly transformed into a large cannon which, when aimed through the

crosshairs directly into Ironhide's face, fired a huge beam that erased the Autobot from the waist up along with the unlucky Autobots standing directly behind him for a good

50 feet. The smoldering remains collapsed on the ground as the cannon smoked with death. "MEGATRON!" Fear had made it's return, and it was very real.

On the other front...

Optimus took his axe out of the lifeless chassis of Cyclonus and looked to the direction of Ironhide's forces. An uneasy feeling overcame him. "Optimus, whatsup?" It was

Cliff Jumper that raised the question to the visibly troubled Prime. "Something is wrong," Optimus broke into a sprint that none of his allies had witnessed since the days of

the quarreling brothers. He reached a small hill and saw the smoke rising from the battlefield a few meters away. Cliff Jumper quickly caught up, worried for the sake of his

friend and leader. "Prime, what is it?" "I recognize that stench." "What stench?" "...The stench...of death."