Our
Master's Return
Moving on.
A large shadow loomed above Megatron. Tubing and artificial life all that bound him inside the mortal coil. Mortal not the appropriate word. The shadow shrank gradually. Selena perched to the tube connected to his chest. She ran her fingers on the plastic rubber. Her skin tingled. The lack of effort it will take to disconnect him. Send him spiraling to that special place in Hell just waiting for him. Or, she can dissect him wide open, and tear out his circuits cord by colorful cord. So many ways to end a life. A shame it can only be done once.
Selena's fingers fined to a dagger. Invisible fluttering streams slipped on, forming to a point at the fingertips. Shadows hued her dark crimson orbs. "An absolute eyesore."
"This will be the worst idea you've come up with so far." Selena bit her lip. Her fingers slowly balled to a fist. The energy fuming as a second set of knuckles. Breakdown meandered to Megatron's head, standing between Selena and her inevitable mistake. "You should come outside. Leave this alone. It'll be better for you that way."
"Why should I?" She snapped, her tone a low hum. "I command metal. Not the other way around!" She pushed off, landing roughly to Megatron's forehead. "This malignant cancer stomped me beneath his reign one too many times. Why shouldn't I eliminate him?"
"Because then you'll have to leave again. And we just got you back." Selena grit her teeth. Breakdown covered Selena's feet. She shot her glare at him, debating whether or not to send him through the wall. Regardless that he was making sense at the moment. The universe has done a 180. "Come on, Sel. Let's go top side. You could use some fresh air." Breakdown walked to the door, gesturing for the lady to exit first. Selena released a defeated breath. It'll be quick...Her words betrayed the feet walking her off Megatron. A simple kick. Thrust of a plam. A-THOUGHT! With her powers she can kill anyone and everyone who resides by the element she commands. Yet there she is. Arms folded, patience disintegrating in an inferno, floating for the deck. "And don't worry," Breakdown's pat on her back was like being rammed by a truck, "I won't breathe a word of this to anyone!"
"Thanks…" You won't be breathing if you do.
xxx
Back at the Autobot base, Rafael and Ratchet spiraled with questions about Bumblebee's sudden walk out the front door. Ratchet put him in power down. All of his motor functions and processor were shut down in hopes of ridding him of the nightmares he's suffering. Bumblebee wasn't supposed to wake for another 12 hours. Afterwards he was to be examined. Where did he think he was going in such a hurry?
Ratchet inspected the ground bridge computer, scouring recently set coordinates. Optimus's coordinates hadn't been used since his drop. So the arctic is out. Bumblebee opened the bridge to somewhere on Earth. To Ratchet's disbelief and nightmares, he found where Bumblebee opened the bridge.
"These are the coordinates for the site of our battle with Megatron's undead." That battle raged on within Ratchet. Each injury her endured throbbed during his moments of recollection. The day Megatron harnessed the Dark Energon - Unicron the Chaos Bringers blood - the forces in which he unleashed upon the Autobots broke free from the realm of fiction and impossibility.
"M-maybe we should call Optimus." Rafael weakening spine spoke for him. Optimus would know how best to help Bumblebee anyway.
"Optimus is busy preventing a polar ice cap from melting. We need to handle this on our own." Ratchet shared Rafael's desire to alert Optimus. He feared something worse may be afflicting the Scout. For Bumblebee's sake, Ratchet prayed it was merely his youthful spirit. That he was taking a walk to clear his head.
Ratchet opened the bridge. He prepared to make the jump to Bumblebee's last stop. He was saved the trip when Bumblebee entered on the other side. "Bumblebee?" Ratchet slowly beckoned, holding doubts the returning Scout was himself. "Where have you been?" Bumblebee ignored him. He sauntered languidly toward the ground bridge controls. Ratchet stopped by grasping his wrist. There's something in his hand. He forced Bumblebee's palm open. A dark Amethyst shard curdled his stomach. "Dark...energon?" There was another piece. In Bumblebee's other hand. A yellowish glow pierced his fingers. Bumblebee saw no point in hiding it. He opened his hand. A large chunk of yellow stone was in that palm. "But that's...uranium? Why do you need-"Bumblebee punched Ratchet's face, tossing the medic across the room. He collapsed by Rafael, horrifying the boy.
"BEE! What are you doing?!" Rafael shrieked. Again, Bumblebee said nothing. He approached the trembling human. Darkened optics pierced the shaking boy. "Bumblebee! Please!" Rafael turned to run. Bumblebee wrapped fingers to the fragile boy's torso. Rafael pried in vain at the fingers. "BEE! I know you're in there!" Bumblebee simply dropped him by the ventilation duct. Too high a drop for such a small human. Impossible for him to interfere. "You have to fight whatever's making you do this!"
Bumblebee ignored his friend's plights. Ratchet, the scattered medic, was no longer an obstacle for him. He reactivated the ground bridge to a second destination. Rafael's voice begging him to return, Bumblebee was gone. The ground bridge closed behind him.
Rafael slouched in defeat. What was happening to his best friend? "RATCHET?!" Ratchet balanced on the stunted wall. Surprisingly he hadn't bent the ladder when he hit it. "Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine…" A sprocket or two loose, but he will heal. "More importantly, is Bumblebee? I fear the time spent in Megatron's mindscape is causing him to think like a Decepticon." A nightmare any Autobot fears becoming a reality.
"Bee's not a Con!" Rafael stated sternly. It's not in Bumblebee to be a Decepticon.
"Agreed." Ratchet opened his hands. Rafael climbed on, spanning his feet to keep his balance. "As of right now, we need to determine EXACTLY what Bumblebee intends to do with that shard." Ratchet meandered for the ground bridge controls, fully intending to track the Scout before he harms anyone else. That's when Ratchet stopped, a thought coming to mind. "The only one who knew of the Dark Energon...was Megatron." It was all laying bare as a dismantled puzzle. Pieces shot together, creating the picture Ratchet missed.
"Bumblebee has Megatron's memories?"
"Worse. Megatron is currently occupying Bumblebee's mind."
"WHAT!?" That couldn't be possible.
"How could I have been such a fool?!" Ratchet set Rafael on the platform behind the controls. "The cortical psychic patch acted as a two-way conduit! When Bumblebee returned to his own mind, Megatron followed."
"Megatron's been in Bee the whole time." Rafael sank lower than the ground, hanging on by the bars. "He's going to use the dark energon to hurt everyone."
"The dark energon I get. But why the uranium?" Ratchet couldn't place his finger on it.
A horrifying thought tied Rafael in knots. "Because that's Selena's weakness!" He jumped on the bars. Abject fear welled tears to the corners of his eyes.. "Selena's weak against Uranium! Megatron must be planning to hurt Selena!"
"Or looking for a leash for which he can use to control her. She was and is the Decepticons greatest asset. He has to keep her in line somehow." Not that a leash is needed to bind Selena to the Decepticons. Ratchet scoured the ground bridge computer, finding the set of coordinates Bumblebee accessed. "And now Bumblebee - Megatron," The name was a disgusting taste in his mouth, "Has bridged to nearly the same coordinates Optimus used." The time for idling is past. Bumblebee is going to come home, and Ratchet will expunge the devil from him even if it kills him. "Stay here…" He resignedly ordered, activating the bridge.
"No!" Rafael's tiny, deep voice halted Ratchet. "Bumblebee and Selena will be helpless against Megatron!" She doesn't want to see them. She wants nothing to do with them. Rafael will not let Megatron hurt Selena with Bumblebee's hands. "They both need me!"
Ratchet released a conceded sigh. "Of course they do."
xxx
The energon safeguarded by the arctic wasteland was nearly melted. Ice and snow reduced to rippling puddles. The focused, intense heat evaporated the water, leaving nothing as an obstacle to Starscream's ultimate goal. He threw his head back, howling with laughter. It was all so easy he could hardly stand it. In moments, his triumph will be at the palm of his hands, and the Autobots crushed within it.
"I love it when a plan comes together!" Starscream salivated.
"Do I need to get you a handkerchief?" Selena guffawed, riding Breakdown's shoulder. "You've been drooling for the last hour."
"Come to bear witness to a moment that shall go down in history?!" He pumped a fist. "Unleash you wish to spoil it with your cynical levity."
Selena's scouter alarm blared. She tapped her ear, extending the mod. Her brow knit grimly at two signatures approaching the Nemesis at break neck speeds. "Not if the Bots are going to spoil it." She spat. Knockout, Breakdown, and Starscream ogled her baffled. Selena pointed ground-ward. The three Cons peered over the ledge.
Fresh, snowy powder gusted in thick clouds on the ridged horizon. Bulkhead plowed the snow, riding the mounds and gaining speed on each dip. Arcee came roaring down a slope, launching to Bulkhead and powering on their assault for the Nemesis ship.
"Au-to-bots!" Starscream growled contemptuously. Of course, when he's so close, they choose to appear.
"Finally!" Breakdown set Selena to the ground. "SOME ACTION!" He planted a fist in his palm. he got in a running start. He sprang to a wing and then dove for the powder. Selena and the others marveled at his form. The way the wind parted around him.
Bulkhead and Arcee closed their ranks in a V formation. Breakdown crash landed right at their fork, throwing the Autobots off their wheels, and sending them tumbling. The two flipped into robot mode, pivoting to meet the Con Wrecker.
"A+ on the landing." Selena chortled.
"Care to join him?" Starscream proposed. "A treat for not being to enjoy yourself at the Naval Base."
"I think I will." Selena hung half her feet off the ledge. Cold winds wafted to her nose and ears. Sharp, burning pain clamped the scar on her scalp. "Ugh!" Selena staggered, her back pressed to Starscream's ankle. She clawed her cold ears, pulling her head down. "On second thought, fresh air might be a detriment to me."
"Haven't regained your love for snow yet, huh?" Knockout teased.
"My head hasn't. Mind me sitting this one out?"
"Not at all." Starscream swept a hand for her to leave.
"I'll see you guys back inside." Selena raced at top speed, returning to the warm ship.
"Is it due to injury, or is it a trauma?" Starscream whispered to Knockout.
"I'm not entirely sure." Knockout stroked his chin. "But Selena is a relatively easy person to read. If she is psychologically hindering herself, we will know." Starscream nodded in agreement. Although, in the back of his mind, he wondered if Selena really was back to her old self. She's too distracted lately.
xxx
"Grah…" Selena stormed the dark hallways, massaging her throbbing head. It was an unflattering welt by now. "Stupid scar. Why the heck does that hurt so much?"
"WHAT IN THE-!" Unconscious Decepticon troops littered the halls. Flying past them, Selena winced at the carnage. Chucks torn out, circuits ripped, limbs broken. By those dents in their armor, someone or something, tossed them like the chumps they were. "What the Hell happened in here!"
"HALT!" Selena stopped. Shadows projecting from the adjacent hallway tussled on the wall. "WHAT ARE YOU-GAAH!" The smaller shadow subdued a trooper. That trooper's offline body was thrown at the wall. Selena swallowed a large lump in her throat. She lowered herself to the dead Con. Those dents genuinely terrified her. A real monster trespassed on that ship. Or, better yet, a yellow colored scout disappearing around a corner.
"No way..." She darted after him. Coming to the next hall, she placed her back at the corner, peering around. There he was. Walking around like he owned the place. Selena's sadism lathered her tongue to her lips. It was too easy. She paused noticing a purple object enclosed in his hand. "Dark Energon. What are you doing with that, my Scout Friend?" Call the guards, or have the fun that's owed her? "Option two sounds way more fun."
Selena drifted into the hall. She stretched her hand. Bumblebee walked to an open corridor. Selena swung her arm. A thick strip peeled off the corner, snatching the dark energon from Bumblebee's grasp. The Bug spun, lunging for his shard. Selena snickered, flourishing her hand. The back wall sprouted wriggled tentacles. They wrapped to his neck and wrists. He thrashed violently. The ground left his feet. Selena swung both hands. The tentacles shrank. Bumblebee was slammed to the wall, dropping to his butt in a daze.
"Ooh. I hope that hurt worse than it looked." Selena strutted with her hands to her hips. Bumblebee stiffened at her malevolent grin. "Hey there, Bee. Nice to see you again." Bumblebee balanced to the wall, climbing to his feet. Hateful daggers locked to the malignant girl. "Man. You Bots keep making return visits, we may have to arrange living quarters for you." She stomped a foot. Nuts and bolts uncorked, alternatingly orbiting her. "It would be temporary of course. The idea of sharing this ship with you mutts makes me queazy!"
Bumblebee looked between her and captured energon. He was pressed for time. Dealing with this child was not on the schedule. (I will crush your arrogance!) Bumblebee dug his feet and charge. Selena bent her knees, drawing her arms in a full circle. Bumblebee's hands changed to his blasters. Selena threw her arms forehead. A hailstorm of nuts and bolts pelted Bumblebee, grazing his armor and drawing energon. Bumblebee guarded with one arm, firing blindly with the other. Hitting his mark paled to the endless vollies spilling his energon. The storm abruptly stopped. Selena was gone. Bumblebee drew his second blaster. He darted in frantic circles, watching the back of his back. (Where are you? Where have you...) The girl can fly. Bumblebee aimed to the ceiling. Nothing.
The floor caved. Bumblebee sank to his knees. "PEEKABOO!" Selena burst through the floor. An uppercut tore Bumblebee free. His head met the ceiling, and the ground met his back. He propped on his elbows. Trembling joints threatened to give. Selena's feet slammed his chest, pinning him to the floor.
"You may as well stay down, BUG!" She kicked him in the cheek. She grasped his collar, pulling him to her malicious smirk. "Inside these walls, on this ship," She drew a fist back, "Megatron himself would be at my mercy!"
Bumblebee's brow knit. (Enough of this!) He tossed an open palm. A beaming yellow glow reflected in Selena's horrified orbs. "NO…way..." In a split second her strength was sapped from her. She dropped to the floor like a ragdoll without strings. Her Scouter bounced away from her. She groaned wearily. Her lungs burned as she tried to breath. Tons on tons of pressure crushed her languid form. The harder she fought to so much as bend an elbow, the more intense the pressure became. She felt the floors caving to her form.
"Im...possible…" Bumblebee's trouncing feet vibrated the floor, agitating her tender body. He ripped the Dark Energon free. She locked defiant, enraged eyes to the boasting Autobot. Starscream hid the uranium. Not a scrap was left. He swore he got rid of it. "How...do you…" Bumblebee drew his foot up. Selena gaped in horror. For an instant, Bumblebee resembled Megatron. The foot slammed down.
xxx
Ratchet utilized the coordinates Bumblebee input to catch his trail. They were close to the ones Optimus used to reach the arctic. Ratchet warned Rafael to stay close, and to obey his order to the letter. The smallest misstep, and a friend will be lost.
With any luck, Optimus has yet to begin his retrieval of the primary lens. He will spy from a mile that all is amiss with Bumblebee. The Dark Energon in his grasp will be a dead giveaway.
To Ratchet's surprise, the ground bridge brought him and Rafael to a corridor aboard the Nemesis. "The Decepticon warship." He shifted to a defensive stance. Of all the places for him to end up. And with Rafael in tow. Ratchet stepped lightly. He was the sole person standing between Rafael and harm. No back up on the way. Decepticon's could be lurking around every corner. Or not.
Ratchet rounded into a corridor he believed led to the lab. The location of Megatron's vacant form. He and Rafael were thrown back in horror. The dead bodies of Decepticon troops riddled the hallways. One or two barely maintained consciousness. The rest lied in a pool of their own energon.
"Did Bumblebee do this?!" Rafael stared appalled.
"I fear Megatron's mind is dominant." The poor Scout may not even be aware he's being led to his doom. "And clearly he came here with one purpose. To use the Dark Energon to resurrect his own body."
"No! Bumblebee won't let him!" Rafael stood by Bumblebee, holding on to faith that he will beat him. "Like he wouldn't let Megatron hurt me back at the base!"
"I hope you're right."
"Uugghh..." A ghoulish moan sent chills crawling their skin. Ratchet put Rafael on the floor, throwing up his blades. He glowered at the subdued Cons. None of them were moving. "Hrm...ugh..." The voice was close. And it was familiar. One of the Decepticon leg fidgeted. A hand reached over, and a battered Selena pulled herself up and over.
"Selena!" Rafael bolted past Ratchet. The medic beat him to Selena. Gently he lifted her off the Decepticon and lied her down flat to allow proper airflow. Rafael propped her head on his knees. She was fading in and out. Her body was battered like a pinata. Rafael held her hand, hoping she would come back to him. "Selena! It's Rafael! Please, open your eyes!"
Selena's brow scrunched. Her eyes fluttered open. Everything hurt at once. "Raf..." She rasped. Rafael let tears of joy fall. He missed hearing her say his name. The moment rotted when she noticed Ratchet. "What the Hell are you two doing here?!" She snarled.
"Bumblebee's on board the ship. We're trying to find him!" Rafael summarized, ignoring that his pounding heart was about to burst out of his chest. "By the looks of it, he came this way."
"The smart one of the three, Ladies and Germs!" She sat up, bending a knee to stand. Rafael offered to help. Selena shoved him off her. "The Hell's wrong with your Bug?! This is the second time he's snuck on board."
"It's not Bumblebee! It's Megatron!" Rafael hissed.
"What?" Was that not a trick of her mind, then? The Megatron who shadowed Bumblebee...was the real deal? That's crazy!"
"He speaks true!" Ratchet implored her to heed them. "The cortical psychic patch acted as a gateway! When Bumblebee was disconnected, Megatron used the opportunity to possess him." Selena blinked with disbelief. "And, by your state," Thankfully no severe damage has been inflicted, "He used uranium he hid away." In the event he lost the shard he used to have in his hand. Breakdown's theory was starting to sound less crazy. But...could that really have been Megatron she fought? If it is, being booted off the ship might not such a bad thing.
"The Dark energon in his hand..." Her knees knocked, standing her bruised form erect. "What's he planning?"
"It is going to resurrect his body."
No more needed to be said. Franken-Tron is not leaving that table! Not while she has a say in it. "We have to stop him!"
"Yeah!" Rafael jumped excitedly, hugging an arm to Selena's waist.
Selena hissed through her teeth. She shook her leg, kicking him off. He sat heartbroken on his butt, gazing up at her in confusion. "Do not misunderstand!" She jabbed a finger into his forehead. "Once this is over, you get off this ship!"
"But Selena-"
Selena hoisted him by the scruff of his collar. His reflection in her eyes terrified him. "I should kill you right now for showing your face here!" Rafael's cheek stung, half expecting to be struck again. "But lucky for you two," She threw Rafael against Ratchet, "I hate Megatron more than I despise you!" Selena flew for the lab. Rafael and Ratchet should have came to expect this sort of response. That didn't alleviate the pain. A little bit at a time, though. Rafael will melt the ice she shields herself in.
xxx
That blasted Magneetian! Her ferocity in battle has amassed quite the deadly blows during my absence. That I will reward her. But her boasting. Claiming to be able to submit me to her mercy. HA! I admire her tenacity. A very bold proclamation from one so young. And how like the young to be so arrogant. Challenging their betters. Unaware that they are severely outmatched.
Whilst I am host to your pitiful body, Scout, her declaration holds merit. But, ha-ha, once I reclaim my body, those who dared to lift so much as a pinky against me shall know the true meaning of pain and suffering. Starting with The turncoat who robbed my spark of the dark matter, and attempted to leave me for dead in the vastness of space. Starscream.
xxx
"I'm honestly surprised, Raf." Selena crooned, hovering above the clearly frightened boy. She smirked wolfishly at him, "I thought for sure you'd be done with me after what I did at the mall." Her chuckle sent shivers down their spines. She hasn't changed much in her sadism. She's as twisted as she is dangerous. And yet, in spite of her words, Ratchet and Raf saw something...softer.
"Bumblebee is too important!" Rafael dismissed her taunt, bracing himself as they drew closer to Megatron's hospital room. "Besides…" He raised glossy eyes to Selena, "How can I be mad at my friend?"
Selena nearly crashed into a low hanging beam. She was hurtled into a torrent of shock. Friend? Rafael, after everything she's done, still considers her...a friend? Why? How? No! Don't believe him! IT'S A TRICK! Her soft expression hardened, deflecting Rafael's precious words at the walls. He and this Bot only want to hurt you again! That's all they ever want to do! Rafael was an inch away from touching her face, reaching out to her like he was able to. "Touching words, Rafael." She latched a hand to his wrist, shoving the hand away. "A shame that frozen tundra iced over what little care compassion I had left."
"I don't believe that!" Rafael snapped. Ratchet was taken aback now. Rafael lowered his head, folding his knees to his chest. "I'll never believe that."
Selena shrugged off, hiding that it was false indifference. Thank you, Raf. She couldn't stop herself. "That's your choice. The world is easier to live in when you don't look for the tunnel's light." She flew ahead, pressing her back to the wall. Their dull conversation passed the time. The infirmary was just past those double set of doors. She motioned Ratchet closer, pointing silently inside. Ratchet and Rafael knit their brows, petrified of what was about to come.
The trio spotted the possessed Scout administering the procedure. Time was running out, and neither of them had a plan on hand. Bumblebee - Megatron - secured the Cortical Patch to his cranial port, and to that of the empty shell lying on the table. The Patch's system synced with the computer monitoring Megatron's vitals. The brainwaves spiked in spasms, registering the connected link. All that need be done now is placing the dark energon in his spark chamber. And he will be reborn again. But first, he slipped a uranium piece to the palm.
"You're sure that isn't Bumblebee?" Selena stressed.
"We've never been more positive of anything in our lives." Ratchet curled a vengeful fist. He surprised Selena and Rafael charging first.
Megatron heard him coming. Ratchet threw the first punch. Megatron easily dodged. The second strike was as pitiful as the first. Megatron's punch in his ribs sent him flying into the wall. (You should have stayed in your lab, Medic!) Megatron guffawed.
Selena gaped in awe. Bumblebee would never lift a finger against Ratchet. Even if he did, he doesn't possess the strength to level him. Least of all after taking on a fleet of Decepticons. "You really aren't the Bug. Then I have no qualms with this!" Selena stroked her badges, and clashed them together.
"Selena! Don't hurt Bumblebee!" Rafael begged.
"No promises!" She twirled her staff, darting head on for the false Scout. With a rabid roar she flipped above his head just as he turned. She spun her whole body, landing a direct hit to the side of Bumblebee's head. He staggered and bumped the computer, regaining his balance. The absolute rage toward Selena's interference burned hotter than the sun. If you really are Megatron, then I can feel warm and fuzzy inside putting you in your place!" She aimed her staff challengingly. Megatron squared Bumblebee to her, planning to rectify his mistake from earlier. He should have killed her where she lied. Selena's staff spun viciously like a disc, inches above her fingers. She twisted back and unwound, letting the disc fly. Megatron bent backwards. The staff cast a breeze as it missed. It buzzed a deep graze in the wall, becoming stuck. Selena swooped under and appeared at his bent back head. She hammered two fists to his face. The ground indented on contact. "I cannot tell you how long I've wanted to do this!" She stomped. A slab bounced Megatron upright. Selena spun a roundhouse kick. Balled chunks ripped from the floor, bowling Megatron at the base of the operating table. "To pay you back for stepping on me like an insignificant bug! It was my fond hope you'd perished in that explosion!" She hungrily licked her lips. "The silver lining: I get to reconcile for that debacle!" Megatron pushed up onto his feet. He pulled on his body's thigh, spitting up energon leaking within. His lifeless left palm was a beacon. "I don't care whose body you occupy!" Sawblades, sutures, drills, needles - the infirmary tools ascended with Selena. Megatron grasped the palm, retrieving the rock. "I'll send him and you to that special place in Hell before you become whole!" She lifted her arms. The tools erect to attention.
(I think not, CHILD!) Out of the blue, Megatron leaned forward. He broke through the summoned tools. He touched the uranium to Selena's neck. She howled in agony. The skin burned and blistered. Her weapons bounced on the ground, out of her control. Megatron crushed her in his grasp. Inside Bumblebee's mind he was cackling victoriously. He dangled her by the shirt. Then with a swift punch he smashed her into the ground. (Just as arrogant as Starscream.) He glanced back at his real body.
To his dismay, Ratchet disconnected all but one of the life support tubes. "Farewell, Megatron!" Ratchet pulled the final tube from his spark chamber. Megatron ran and flipped the medic over his shoulder. Ratchet's back meeting the floor took the wind right out of him. Megatron dragged him back on his feet. Three punches and the medic was discarded painfully to the walls.
"RATCHET!" Selena shrieked.
(Two pitiful bugs attempting to overstep me. How pathetic.) He lifted his foot over her Selena again. (How about I remind you of YOUR place!) Selena closed her eyes.
"BUMBLEBEE, NO!" The foot stopped. Bumblebee moved it aside. Rafael threw himself in his path, arms spread protectively in front of Selena.
"Raf…" The aghast girl trembled.
"Remember who you are, Bee! Remember me!" Rafael screamed to the Scout still inside. He knows he's there. He's been fighting. He still is. "I know you always listen to me! No matter what!" Bumblebee's heard quivered. Abysmal optics jostled wide to innocent blue and back. Selena watched the Scout fidget, able to see him fighting within himself. Megatron is a powerful being. He won't let Bumblebee go without a fight. Never has she been happy to hear him beep and bleep. That baby face glad to see Rafael. "That's right, Bee. It's me!" He got him.
Selena pat Rafael on the back. "Good work, Raf." Rafael gave her a thumbs up.
(UN-BE-LIEVABLE!) Megatron's control will not be hindered by a bespectacled human child. He poured his being into the Scout's overwhelmed mind. His iron grip ripped into his processor. Bumblebee put a hand to his head. He could feel him. Megatron was trying to take control. Bumblebee thrashed about, fighting to keep him back. He stomped furiously, wrestling the specter within him. Selena embraced Rafael and dragged him from harm's way. The pain split Bumblebee's head open, dropping him to his knees.
"Bumblebee!"
"Rafael, no!" Selena ran after him.
Rafael touched Bumblebee's arm, shaking it. "Bumblebee! Answer me!" Bumblebee's head tilted up. Blackened optics met the boy.
"RAF!" Selena tackled. Megatron's backhand effortlessly swatted both. The two skipped on the metal, colliding with Ratchet. Rafael wiggled free of Selena's arms. She was dazed, but alive. If Bumblebee reunites the Dark Energon with Megatron, she won't be alive much longer. None of them will.
"Bumblebee! Stop!" Rafael shouted once more, cradling Selena.
Megatron stopped near his body. He faced the Scout to the boisterous boy. A long moment of silence. The Dark Energon's glow at its zenith near its soon-to-be host. "Bumblebee, can't hear you anymore!" Selena, Ratchet, and Rafael petrified in place. The uranium was re-placed to Megatron's palm. Bumblebee lifted the dark energon. The trio closed their eyes. It one fell swoop he stabbed it to the gaping hole in Megatron's chest. The crystal fragment absorbed into his spark chamber. Systems aggressively reactivated, shaking Megatron's husk radically. Vitals spiked, circuits sparks, and fluids flowed. Ratchet, Selena, and Rafael watched helplessly on the sidelines as Megatron's body reanimated itself. Bumblebee was edged away to give room. For the longest period of time there was just noise. Bumblebee temporarily lost consciousness, able to prevent himself from falling. Then, for the first time in months, Megatron's eyes opened.
"No..." Rafael breathed. The tyrants scaling shadow rose, looming taller and taller over the staggering Autobots. Bumblebee, finally back in control, was sucked into the fear. He and Ratchet retreated until the wall met their backs, trapping them at the mercy of the arisen phantom.
The frigid weather robbed by the lens transferred to Selena's quivering form. She and Rafael wrapped their arms to each other. Eyes wide in utter terror, subconscious tears spilled to her chin. She couldn't move. She couldn't breath. She couldn't speak. All she could do...was stare. The awesome shadow of Megatron blanketing her. "It was you..." In her crimson orbs, Megatron - revived, rejuvenated, and reborn - shuffled his stiff figure.
Hearing the raging commotion, and following the trail of dead bodies, Decepticon troops stampeded into the lab. They all stopped at the doorway. Disbelief and awe tilted their heads to their arisen master.
"DECEPTICONS!" Megatron's shallow grave voice howled. "YOUR RIGHTFUL LORD AND MASTER HAS RETURNED!"
Selena dug her palms, scooting frantically in vain to escape him. And far from Rafael to so focus does not fall unto him. "It was really you..." Megatron acknowledged her meek tone. Her shaking form a welcomed gift to his reawakening. "You were...inside BUmblebee...the whole time." Megatron strode to her, swaying balled fists. The wrath he is to exact upon her was in those fists. "That's why your brainwaves stopped." Megatron kneeled over her. Darkness poured from his husky, malevolent grin. The pulsing of the dark energon in his chest pounded her body. "You're really alive."
"Indeed I am, Dearest Selena." He remembers my name? "And what a pleasure it is to see you when I first wake." Megatron scooped her up by the waist. She planted her hands, futilely edging away from his teeth. His chuckle reverberated her whole body. "What a bloodthirsty and vicious child you've become in my absence. Put me in my place? Place me at your mercy?" Selena's words erupted her stomach to her throat, "Were those not your words?"
"I...I...I mean, that is-" Fear tied her tongue. Abject fear turned her boiling blood to dense ice. Death stared her straight in the eye.
Megatron let her fall. She hit the floor with a thud. The thumping floor vibrated. Megatron meandered on his way, throwing the Autobots and Rafael a scathing glare. "Finish these PESTS!" Bumblebee flinched. "I have an extermination of my own to perform."
Starscream! She left her Scouter in the hallway. There's no time to get it! Selena locked eyes with the frightened Rafael. Turning so her back faced the approaching troops, she mouthed, "Down there..." And pointed to the opening near the floor. Before Rafael had a chance to reply, the Decepticons opened fire. "MOVE IT!" She rocketed straight up, bursting through the Nemesis' numerous levels. Doors will only slow her down. It was a race against time. Troops yet to witness Megatron's recovery were startled by her breaking in. "Gotta reach him! Gotta reach him!"
KABOOM! Hot shockwaves piercing the hull tossed Selena aloft. The ship shook asunder. The corridors echoed blaring alarms. The ship suffered significant damage. By the force of the blast, it was near the tail. Where the lens was located. "Don't tell me…"
xxx
Knockout burst from a cloud of black smoke, choking at the fumes that snaked into his windpipe. He swatted his arms, chasing the clinging smoke away. The stains to his finish were going to be murder to remove. Rumbling below caught his ear. The floor was thumping at his feet. he took a couple steps back. Selena erupted out. Briefly she floated, then let herself collapse. The whole world was spinning like a top. Her head hurt before. It was killing her now. The smell of smoke brought her back.
Leaning up on her hands, a tower of black smoke stacked to the sky. "Whoa…" The stump was all that remained of the turret. As for the lens. The glass was scattered everywhere. "Hope the observatory has insurance."
"Where in Primus have you been?!" Knockout roared. "LOOK AT THIS!" He displayed the disgraceful tarnishes to his beautiful finish. "Do you have any idea what I had to go through to get my finish to glisten like this?" Selena hadn't heard his self absorbed ravings. "Great! Now I'll have to call in for a-"
"WHERE'S STARSCREAM?!"
Knockout's tirade cooled on the breeze. Desperation glossed Selena's eyes. "What's wrong?" He put fingers to her shoulders. They were shaking like a running motor. And she was bruised. "Selena, what's happened?!" He urged her tight lips to spill what they are hiding.
Selena took a deep breath. She clamped trembling fingers to Knockout's. "MEGATRON WALKED OFF THE TABLE! HE'S ALIVE!" Her composure spilled with her tears.
"HE'S WHAT?!" Knockout staggered back. "When?! How?! Who?!"
"I'll explain later! Scream's in trouble! WHERE is he?" Knockout pointed up. Starscream was looping the cloud, plunging to a headlong dive. Awaiting helpless at the end of that dive was a wounded Optimus. "When did he get here?"
"Apparently I need to learn to watch the rear more thoroughly." Knockout scoffed. Selena's not the only one who would need to explain.
"MEGATRON'S GREATEST MISTAKE," Knockout and Selena rushed to the edge, "WAS EVER ALLOWING YOU TO LIVE, PRIME!" A separate set of engines shrieked from behind. Selena whipped around. A second jet shot from the Nemesis.
"STARSCREAM!" Selena cried. Starscream didn't hear. Optimus was at his mercy, dead to rights. The bane of all Decepticons will die by his hands, and songs will be written on the one triumph Megatron himself was too incompetent to achieve. The finned tip of his nose seconds from piercing the Prime.
The second jet came from the blue, ramming Starscream off course, and taking him back to the ship. Optimus, Arcee, and Bulkhead glued their optics, sensing the impending doom on the horizon. Knockout faced the opposite direction, too squeamish to watch what is to come. Selena tried to hide behind her fingers, refusing to watch. Hearing screeching pounds jostle the ship opened her fingers.
Starscream was thrown to one of the Nemesis' wings. He choked on the air. Megatron changed into his robot form, towering dangerously over his treacherous second in command. "Lord...Mega...Megatron! You're…" Starscream choked on his bruised pipes, and on his Master's apparent rage. "YOU'RE HEALED! Praise the Allspark! It is a miracle!" He used what grease was in him to shine Megatron's pride.
"Oh, it will be a miracle alright, Starscream!" Megatron spat his name, stomping it like filth. "IF you survive what I have planned for you!" Starscream wasn't talking his way out of this one. He switched to jet mode. Megatron used one hand, snagging him by the tail. With all his recovered strength, he swung Starscream over and slammed him hard onto the wing, pounding him into his meekly robot form. "MY GREATEST MISTAKE?" He threw Starscream's pontification in his face. "Oh, I've made a few! But there is one I do not intend to make again!" His hand grabbed Starscream's chrome, dragging the objecting Seeker to his doom.
"No! Master! NOOO!"
xxx
Selena cupped her cheeks. One by one, the pieces crumbled. The world she created with Starscream - the realm in which he is master, and she his second - was falling with the ice weakened by the fiery assault.
"Boy is he in trouble." Knockout forced a chuckle, itching his cheek nervously.
"We all are, you moron!" Selena snarled.
"Not necessarily. Unless, of course, someone were to tell tales to the returned Lord."
"Meaning what?!"
"Let's just say that things will go much more smoothly for you," He pressed a finger in her chest, "And your Seeker, if neither of you breathe another word about our little coupe." He mockingly extended a pinky, flashing her a menacing grin. "Okay? Okay." He pat her on the head, and strutted inside to begin feigning his innocence in the matter.
Knockout thinks he's clever. But Selena has been able to read between his lines since the day she met him. True, Starscream and Selena can divulge the entirety of the coup planned a few days ago. Including all those involved. But to do so now, whilst the ship is in disrepair and disarray, bode ill tidings in the near future. Starscream's life currently hangs in the balance. As for Selena, the planet wasn't nearly big enough for her to hide. Megatron will eventually find her. And her punishment will begin. So, for the time being, she will remain silent. Let Megatron and Knockout believe they have won. Not even they are invincible. It is merely a matter of winning the waiting game to snuff their sparks.
The only bearable thing about this whole day, is that Rafael escaped safely. This time. "Too many close calls, kiddo." A loving smile erased her trepidation. It was wonderful to see Rafael again. He seemed to be doing fine, all things considering. She hugged her hands to her elbows, releasing a despaired sigh. "How much longer before I can't save you?"
Till next time