Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or Mass Effect
AN: There's been some complaints and questions about Cybertronians using biotics, well, lets just say there will be answers to that, please persevere because there's a method to the madness.
Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime
Chapter 30: Virmire
Orion Pax, Optimus Prime, Nemesis Convoy, he wasn't sure which name or identity applied to him anymore. His Autobot friends called him Optimus still, and his Decepticon allies called him Nemesis, sometimes putting 'Lord' in his title. He wondered if such a title was something he requested, or if his reputation was so incredible that it was something they chose to call him. What information Soundwave could give him from Kaon's archives described an incredible champion of the arena, and a bot who rallied the impoverished of Cybertron into the Ascenticons. That name occupied his thoughts, made him wonder if he had originally stood for more than just vengeance. It reminded him of a quote of Earth: die the hero or live long enough to become the villain. Had such a thing applied to him and Megatron?
"Optimus," he heard Liara whispered beneath him. "Have you found anything?" she asked.
"Whatever encounters Decepticons may or may not have had with Reapers hasn't been recorded in their archives, and they've had very little interest in claiming any information from Prothean beacons. What the Decepticons do have are the locations of Energon rich worlds for possible colonisation, asteroids that can be mined for alloys as well as newly charted worlds, worlds that have sapient populations," Nemesis explained.
"They've made first contact with other new species?" Liara asked.
"In a way, they have at least observed new species, but not made contact, and at this point we don't know whether they've observed these species to conquer them or ally with them."
"What would you do?"
"Right now our only focus is on the Reapers, and on getting to Virmire to aid Shepard and her crew," Nemesis said.
He walked around Liara, moving down the corridor of the Junkion ship, seeing through the observation window the relay.
"I know I complained a lot and questioned you a lot, I only did that because I knew you would listen," Arcee said as she approached Nemesis.
"And what complaint do you have now Arcee?" he asked.
"No complaint, I just wanted to see if you were still the leader who listens to what your crew say, we want to join with Shepard again, to fight Saren and the Fallen and save the galaxy from the Reapers. But there is concern, are we Decepticons now? We certainly can't officially be part of the Autobot army anymore can we?"
"Not even Soundwave and Blaster can know that, but you're worried about whether I will protect the crew anymore, no matter what Arcee," he touched her shoulder as he spoke. "I will protect my crew and fight for our ideals as practically as we can."
"Winning doesn't matter to us Optimus, I just don't want to see anymore of my friends die," Arcee said.
"I shouldn't have split the team, I should have been there to help, I can't say whether or not Cliff Jumper would have lived but at least I would have been there. I made a mistake with consequences I am ashamed of, but that doesn't mean I can't live with it. You'll understand yourself when you lead a squad someday, a lot of the time it is about living with the decisions you've made," Nemesis explained and Arcee nodded.
"For now, I'm going to fight as hard as I can for my friends," she said.
She walked with Nemesis into the armoury. The Junkions had made an assortment of weapons from the parts they scavenged. Wing Dagger sported a new arm, one with a shield on the shoulder. He slid a blade out of his wrist and removed a pistol from the table he had in front of him. Bumblebee sported a gauntlet with a cannon that hummed as he armed and aimed it, and in his left hand a stinger type weapon sparked. Jazz took two staff weapons off of his table, suddenly splitting them apart into a pair of Nanchaku weapons with sparking spikes on the end. Warpath rotated the barrel of a minigun, Prowl tested an Energon bladed boomerang. Minicons attached a winged flight pack with rocket boosters to Jetfire's back. Arcee walked over to her table and took what appeared to be knuckle dusters, but out of the top of the devices she ignited a pair of plasma blades. Hotshot tested a pair of flame throwing gauntlets and Minicons reformatted themselves to become Blaster's cassette allies. Nemesis took his hand held weapons from the desk, an old fashioned Ion blaster and a rotary cannon. Even though the path blasters replaced the Ion blasters, the old weapons were reliable and had a better range.
'Hold out Shepard, we're on our way,' Nemesis thought.
Virmire
Ashley's HMWA rifle blared, pelting Geth and Vehicons with snowblind rounds, the heads of Vehicons froze and then blew apart under her gunfire. Beside her Trailbreaker fired his arm cannons and shoulder missiles. They had gotten into the base, and were pinned by fire from the Vehicon drones. Blast after blast flew into the ground, throwing some of the Salarians aside like ragdolls. Roulette drove in front of the STG, firing her duel neutron assault rifles, the barrels rolling as she bombarded the Vehicons. Shadow Striker charged her Nucleon rifle and sniped two Vehicons. She rolled out of the way of a Geth Colossus's blasts, giving Kirrahe and his men an opening to hit it with their sticky bombs.
"Vehicon air support is coming in, I can hear tank tracks too, Shepard, Ironhide, if there's anything you can do to damage their advance we'd appreciate it. But if it interferes with your infiltration…"
"We're already ahead of you chief," Ironhide said.
He fired his cannons at a refuelling centre, destroying the energon tanks that had also been integrated to refuel the Geth drones. Wrex planted explosives on the Geth Colossus legs and the stasis locked tank drones. Geth troopers on patrol were sniped by Garrus, who gave Wrex a salute. The Krogan cocked his shot gun, incinerating two Geth primes with his fire rounds. He cocked the shotgun again, unleashing a carnage rocket on a Geth Colossus's eye. Kaidan lifted two Krogan warriors off of the ground, leaving them vulnerable to Shepard's overload tech. She and Kaidan fired their advanced HMWP pistols at the remaining Geth troopers on the walkway in front of them. Garrus and Wrex jump jetted onto the walkway and followed after the humans. Sideswipe used his blades to cut open the garage doors.
"Shepard, you carry on through the main facility, Swipe and Ah will meet up with you when we can, blasted organics and their small sizes," Ironhide grumbled.
"More for us Ironhide," Shepard grinned as she and her team advanced.
They walked into a lab area, where Krogan troopers and Asari soldiers waited. Garrus overloaded one of the power conduits, the explosion spreading to the chemicals the scientists worked on. It caused a chain reaction that caught the Asari and Krogan in chemical explosions. Those who didn't have their barriers up were melted or burned by the chemicals. One of the Krogan charged at Wrex, who biotically threw him against the wall, before blowing off a chunk of his head with his shotgun. Garrus fired bursts from his Vindicator, killing some of the Asari before they could use their biotics. Shepard fired her pistol, killing two Asari before she slowed a Krogan's charge with a neural shot. Kaidan then finished the Krogan off with a few shots from his pistol.
"You, Alenko and Vakarian carry on to that Beacon, I will go straight to that lab and blow it to hell," Wrex said.
It took Shepard only a moment to consider it, "I trust you Wrex, see that it gets done," she said.
The Krogan grinned and let out a roar, running down the corridors of the base. Tank bred Krogan fired their rifles at him, but he covered himself with a biotic barrier and fired back at the Krogans with his Overkill active. The continuous barrage of rounds struck the tank breeds and Wrex amplified his charge with his biotics. Quickly drawing his shotgun, he shot a Krogan at point blank range, spreading blood across the floor.
Underneath the area Shepard and her crew stormed through, Sideswipe and Ironhide carried out their own rampage through the garage. Geth Colossi and Vehicon drones fell victim to their gunfire and blades. Sideswipe fired the missile on his shoulder, releasing an explosion that consumed several Geth and drones. Ironhide slammed his cannons into the ground, releasing a shockwave that threw some of the Vehicons back. His arms transformed into nozzles and he released liquid nitrogen on the Vehicon drones around him. Their armour froze, becoming brittle, enough for Ironhide to smash them with his fists. Sideswipe fired his blasters in a spin, hitting any target in his sight.
"Shepard, we haven't got much in terms of ways through," Ironhide said.
"Don't worry Ironhide, we've been fine so far," Shepard said.
"You had to say it Shepard," Garrus muttered as they walked into a room with two Vehicon drones inside.
Suddenly, the wall beside them was blown open and Ironhide rolled out, shooting both drones.
"Sorry about that, Ah got a little held up," he said.
Meanwhile, Ashley and her squad stormed through the base, planting explosives and setting them off as they did. She sniped a Geth ghost jumping between the rules and Kirrahe's men were able to bring down a Vehicon drone with their sticky bombs, before melting its face with inferno rounds. Geth drop ships flew overhead, letting out blasts on the Salarian squad. Trailbreaker though walked in the way, using a cargo crate as a shield. The sisters ran to Trailbreaker's side and fired on the Geth drop ship with a barrage of blaster fire. Finally the ship came down, not before it had dropped off a Colossus and a squadron of troopers.
"We need to get to the AA tower, then they'll consider us the biggest threat and we can take it out so that the Normandy can come in to support," Ashley said.
"Roger that," Roulette said.
There was a sonic boom and jet Vehicon drones came down from the sky, transforming and hovering over the assault team. They fired from their shoulders and arms energy rounds, scorching the ground and any Salarian unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast. Trailbreaker took a blast as he threw the cargo crate at one of the drones, crushing it. Then he fired his blaster and missile launcher, the latter getting destroyed by a tank drone's blast. Another blast slammed into his chest, burning his armour. Ashley fired a carnage rocket into the tank's cannon, destroying the barrel before Cog finished it off. The Minicons split apart, becoming blasters that Roulette and Shadow Striker fired at the jet drones.
"We're nearly through, keep going," Ashley called to her team mates as she led them forward.
Grimlock glared at the bot on the screen. The arm of his chair creaked from him squeezing it, and he heard the subtle shake of Snarl's hands. In the brig, Skar's fear was less subtle as he looked at the holographic display of Megatron with his eyes wide and metallic teeth grinding together. Since his actions in the Traverse, Megatron had gathered those loyal to him and repaired his body. His new form still had the grey, black and red colour scheme of his old armour, though it was bulkier, a cannon on his back, wheels on his legs and tracking on his shoulders revealing he had adopted a tank for his alternate form. The Decepticon leader narrowed his eyes at Ratchet, the corner of his mouth forming a smirk.
"So this is the one who desecrated Nemesis Convoy's body and mind. I always wanted to be a doctor," he mused.
"Funny, because I always wanted to be a power hungry despot," Ratchet retorted.
"Despot, I am no despot, Ultra Magnus and his kind continued to try to reform a system that proved it didn't work, a system repeated by these organics…it seems corruption and bureaucracy truly are universal. Sentinel Prime was weak, and because of that the sacrifices he made ended up costing out people even more. I make the decisions no one else can," Megatron explained.
"The destruction of worlds, outright cruelty without regard for honour or redemption?" Ratchet asked.
"I simply repay the treatment of the downtrodden with the same regard," Megatron countered.
"People like you always bring up how hard the world is for them, but at some point it becomes a fact that no matter how hard your life was or your intentions…you're simply using your past as some excuse, or worse, a badge that tells the world you have the right to be cruel," Ratchet explained.
"Perhaps you are right doctor, what is right cannot be measured by power alone…but power can enforce what is right," Megatron tightened his hand into a fist. "Commander Grimlock, it is a privilege to finally meet you, you will give me your prisoner. You may join me, run away or go back to Magnus and continue to be his pawn, whatever your choice afterwards you will give me your prisoner, or I will take him by force," Megatron explained.
Finally Grimlock snapped the rest to his chair.
"Snarl, lose this channel, team prepare for battle," he said.
"So unwise," Megatron shook his head before the line was cut.
"Grimlock, don't do this, he has with him combiners, they'll tear the ship apart," Ratchet said.
"Swoop, mute the doctor's cell," Grimlock said.
"Sorry doc, but the task force has its pride you know," Swoop shrugged his shoulders.
Grimlock stood and raised his sword, looking at his reflection through the red surface.
"Auto guns online, you'd better get to the turret control rookie," Sludge said.
"Already on my way sir," Skar transformed from his car mode, grabbing the bars of a ladder.
The young Autobot climbed up towards the turret at the base of the ship. Rotating the turret, he transformed the dome so that its cannons were active. Parts of the ship folded out, revealing additional guns.
"Perhaps it would be easier to just give the doctor to Megatron, but whilst I still have a spark I will oppose the disorder Megatron creates and test my raw strength against his," Grimlock said with determination in his voice.
On the Decepticon ship, the Combaticons walked with the Seekers and Constructicons whilst Megatron went to the armoury. He took his fusion cannon off of the wall and attached it to his arm. Then he took off of his hip a holographic projector, creating the image of Sixshot.
"Is this line secure?" Megatron asked.
"Of course Lord Megatron, Megatronus at the moment is commanding many of our forces to attack lost worlds. We have taken many, Elonia though was destroyed by an Energon Harvester and we are currently preparing for a campaign against Prysmos that is projected to produce many casualties," Sixshot explained.
"For the Visionaries perhaps," Megatron huffed.
"I have done what digging I was able to my lord, Megatronus is diverting much of our resources into searching other worlds. Communications have been sent to the Tripredacus council and the Vok, we've seen these Geth the Sol galaxy fears so much, and creatures called Collectors," Sixshot continued and Megatron scoffed.
"Perhaps I was wrong to have taken on his name," Megatron muttered.
He raised his head in confusion, Sixshot's hologram went still and the very aura of the room seemed different. Megatron removed a blaster from the wall display and let it go. But it did not fall; it didn't even float so perhaps it wasn't the gravity that had shut down. Then the room darkened and a grit pattern suddenly appeared in front of Megatron. He cautiously raised his fusion cannon, hearing in his receptors a clicking sound, much like a human clock. The grit pattern formed a robot that was Megatron's height, and a grey face plate with an eerily similar structure to his own. This new arrival's armour though was more elaborate than Megatron's, being purple in colour with grey highlights, a purple and grey pack was on his back with red marks on his hip and chest. The helmet had a subtle crown shape on it, and he used a smaller orange fusion cannon on the same arm.
"Perhaps then…" this Decepticon, as the mark on his chest indicated, spoke in a sharper voice than Megatron's. "It's time for you to change your name!" he grinned offering his hand to Megatron.
Explosions could be heard through the base. Shepard, Kaidan and Garrus carefully traversed a base that had been modified for those of Cybertronian height.
"You know this is actually kind of fun, now I know what it's like to be a Havoc soldier," Garrus gleefully said as he used his jump jets.
They climbed onto a platform where pens had been put. Much like pens from human zoos, indigenous creatures of different worlds had been put into groups. Some pens had in them creatures that were supposed to eat each other, yet all ignored one another. Shepard gasped when she came close to a pen that had Salarians in them.
"Didn't Kirrahe mention something about prisoners being taken?" Kaidan asked.
"Looks like we know what happened to his men," Garrus muttered, using his Omni-tool to hack one of the consoles.
"Saren, he's studying Indoctrination, we know that Sovereign is a Reaper so it would be likely that he'd start to be affected too," Shepard said.
"Hello, is someone there?" a voice asked.
Shepard and Kaidan turned the corner, seeing in a private cell a lone Salarian.
"Who are you? Alliance right? It tried to break me, but it couldn't, I beat it, I SHUT IT OUT!" the Salarian yelled.
"LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT! LET ME OUT!" the Salarian in the cell next to his screamed, blood soaking the wall as he head butted it.
"Come on, you can tell I'm not crazed or drooling like those people, they exposed me to their machines, their universes in universes and their prophecies, but they didn't break me," the other Salarian gripped his head as he spoke.
Shepard had never seen a Salarian cry before. Secretly she was the type to cry when just watching someone on a vid cry. Her instincts and training as a soldier though gave her the mindset in this situation to turn away, turn away from a tortured soldier on his knees, a soldier who would die to the nuke they were going to plant anyway. Wrex however chose mercy, opening the cell doors he encountered and gunning down the empty soldiers inside. He then threw multiple grenades across the lab, grinning slightly as an Asari scientist ran as fast as she could away from them. The plasma and high end explosives went off behind him as he walked out of the area.
"You carry on Shepard, I'll try to meet up with you when I can," he said.
"Me too Shepard, Ah found something I need to photograph," Ironhide said.
"What did you find Hide?" Shepard asked.
"Cybertronian artefacts, definitely ours, I'm not too familiar with my lore so I'll need to preserve these for Prahm," Ironhide stated, his optics clicking again and again as he looked over gigantic tablets.
Behind him Sideswipe finished cutting down a group of Vehicon drones.
"Area clear," he said.
"The Salarians and Williams are doing their jobs well," Ironhide grinned.
Ashley used her jets to jump onto a Vehicon's shoulder, and then shoot its eye with an Inferno round. Kirrahe and his men planted explosives on the Vehicon's legs, blowing them as Ashley jumped off. Whilst the Vehicon writhed on the ground, Ashley fired her shotgun at its face. She and the Salarians ran for cover when a purple and black jet hovered over them. The jet began to fire blasts from its wings, hitting the ground and forcing the strike team to run. Trailbreaker took two shots to the back before scurrying for cover against the wall. The jet strafed, dodging Roulette and Shadow Striker's return fire. Cog transformed and latched onto Shadow Striker's back. They fired together at the jet, who span on midair, generating waves of blue energy.
"Biotics, but how?" Kirrahe looked up at the jet in shock.
"I don't know, but maybe... LOOK OUT!" Ashley yelled as a rocket came down from the sky.
She shoved Kirrahe out of the way, the resulting shockwave of the explosion sent her flailing to the ground. Her hair wildly slipped out of its knot and blood ran down her forehead. Coughing, she looked at a piece of shrapnel imbedded in her side. With a curse, Ashley raised her pistol and began shooting at the jet. A scoff echoed out of the jet before it fired on Ashley.
Shepard and her team carefully made their way towards a part of the lab that still had security in it. Geth Primes, Krogan tank breeds and troopers had filled the hall. It told Shepard that something of importance was here. A biotic surge threw one of the Geth against the wall, and Wrex emerged, holding the torn remains of a Geth ghost.
"Annoying little fucks," he snarled.
"Good to have you back with us Wrex, the tanks?"
"Gone Shepard, along with the research, not that I'd understand it if I did take it," Wrex muttered.
Moving forward, Shepard gunned down several troopers, whilst Garrus overloaded Prime's shield and left it vulnerable to Kaidan's throw. He then lifted the Geth Prime up and slammed it against the ground, the resulting shockwave knocking down the Geth troopers. Whilst they shot the downed enemies, Wrex shot two of the tank breeds before grappling with a third. The young clone slammed its head into Wrex's, a deadly attack when the Krogan used their full strength. Wrex was more experienced though in hand to hand combat, he knew the best way to take a hit to minimise damage, and to hurt his opponent too. Bracing himself and moving his head at just the right angle, the tank breed's head butt became detrimental only to itself. Then lifted off of the floor, Wrex slammed the tank breed down and stomped on its face hard. Again and again he stomped, letting out his rage and crushing the Krogan's skull. Shepard shot apart the last of the Geth and used her Omni-tool to open the door it guarded. The team entered the room, a semicircular chamber with a platform that overlooked a small area. Walking across the platform they saw two things, a holographic terminal and the remains of a Prothean Beacon.
"Damn it, looks like we won't be claiming any information from this one," Shepard muttered.
She Garrus and Kaidan walked over to the console, just to see if there was anything worth learning on it. Without even touching it though, the terminal went red and a massive red hologram appeared, the imposing silhouette of Sovereign.
"This is not good," Garrus said.
"You are not Saren!"
The voice seemed to fill their minds, making Shepard back away from the terminal. She knew any kind of defensive stance would be useless, but her body acted on instinct.
"What is that some kind of VI interface?" Garrus asked.
"Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance. Incapable of understanding," again the voice filled the room and the team with dread.
"I don't think this is a VI," Garrus said.
"No shit Vakarian," Wrex muttered.
"Sovereign, so Sovereign really is a Reaper," Shepard seethed.
"Reaper, a label created by the Protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they choose to call us is irrelevant, we simply are."
"Are you a Cybertronian creation or not?" Shepard demanded.
"Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation, an accident, your lives are measured in years and decades, you wither and die. Even the children of Primus are impermanent, yet we, we are the end, the final evolution, the meaning of existence in the universe."
"What are you talking about?" Kaidan asked.
"Your species is destined for extinction, all life is, we are the end of everything!"
"Whatever your plan is it will fail, you can't take on the whole galaxy," Shepard said.
"Confidence born of ignorance, this cycle has repeated again and again, the final phase will soon begin. He who is the beginning of the end will envelop your universe."
"What do you mean 'he who is the beginning of the end'?" Wrex asked.
"The cycle has repeated itself more times than you can fathom, organic civilisations rise and fall, evolving, slowly overrunning worlds once taken by the first ones, the thirteen. Each cycle saw an organic civilisation rise, and the weakening of an empire. Once the organic civilisation has risen to its peak, it fell, the cycle repeating again and again. The Mass relays, the Citadel, the technology, all our gifts to help organics rise to that the children of Primus would be weakened by their strength. Those whom could oppose the end have become weaker, whilst he has grown stronger, strong enough to finally carry out…the end!"
"Are you saying you're not a network like the Geth? That there is an intelligence behind your actions? A will, who is he, this beginning of the end? How could he have survived for so long?" Shepard demanded.
"There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own, you cannot even imagine it, it is beyond your comprehension, I am beyond your comprehension, he is beyond your comprehension. He is Unicron!"
Megatron glared at the intruder, the bot whom seemed to transcend space and time itself. Even if his fusion cannon wouldn't work in this pocket of time, he still had his bare hands.
"You have ten seconds to get off of my ship," he said.
"Oh that anger, that ruthlessness, I remember it well," the intruder laughed.
"Who are you?" Megatron demanded.
"A friend, you and I will be very close one day Megatron, for one day you will fall in battle with Optimus Prime and fall under the control of the great destroyer god."
"Unicron," Megatron scoffed, then he laughed at the bot. "I hope you have more than ancient legends to impress me, though I admit this Optimus Prime intrigues me, do you believe Convoy will take on that name for good?" he asked.
The intruder rubbed his chin in deep thought. Frustration crossed his face and he looked over Megatron's body curiously.
"What is the year in this Sol system?" the intruder asked.
"2183, now who are you?" Megatron demanded, slowly losing his patience.
Megatron's answer seemed to anger the bot, who let out a frustrated roar. There was another click of a clock and the space behind the intruder shifted, taking on an inverted colour as a figure suddenly appeared. The effect passed, revealing a jet based Cybertronian with silver and purple armour, his face plate was blue and he carried a glowing blue sword.
"That's enough Galvatron!" the new arrival pointed the sword at the now named intruder, who glared at both his enemy and Megatron.
Ashley looked up in shock, seeing Trailbreaker standing in front of her. He was using his own body as a shield, taking Megatronus's blasts. One blast ripped through his arm, blowing it off before another cut through his knee. He extended his arm, preventing himself from crushing Ashley, who continued shooting defiantly at Megatronus until her pistol overheated. A roar escaped the Cybertronian jet and Megatronus turned, generating a sonic boom as he flew towards what had angered him.
Shepard and her team looked at the hologram of Sovereign, finally there was some clarity on the Reaper's purpose. And they now had a name to their singular enemy too. He who is the beginning of the end, Unicron.
"I don't know about Unicron, but you're just a machine, and machines can be broken," Shepard challenged the construct.
"Your words are as empty as your future, I am the Vanguard of Unicron's rise, this exchange is over!"
Suddenly the windows behind them shattered and the wall was torn open. Sovereign's form faded, replaced by Megatronus and his snarling face. The wall behind Shepard and her team was blown open and a red truck drove by them, an arm extending and clothes lining the fallen Prime. Ironhide transformed as he and Megatronus slammed against the wall outside the chamber. Megatronus shoved Ironhide against the wall and then drove his lance through his shoulder, drawing a yell of pain from the weapon's expert.
"IRONHIDE!" Shepard yelled.
"GO SHEPARD! FINISH THE MISSION!" Ironhide roared.
He punched Megatronus across the face, driving him back. Megatronus twirled his staff around and rushed towards Ironhide.
"KEEP GOING SHEPARD DON'T WASTE IT!" Ironhide dodged and blocked the swipes of Megatronus's lance, the energon blades cutting his armour.
He tackled Megatronus and they crashed through one of the buildings. Sideswipe drove around the corner, opening his doors for Shepard and Kaidan.
"I can take a quick way around to the AA control tower, and the ideal spot to signal the Normandy, Ironhide has given me the order to help you so that's what I'm going to do," Sideswipe explained.
"Go Shepard, we'll get there on foot," Garrus said and Shepard nodded in thanks.
She and Kaidan climbed into the red car, which span its wheels before taking off. Megatronus attempted to fire his wrist blaster at Sideswipe, only for a missile to hit his chest. Ironhide slid his missile launcher into his back and ran at Megatronus, dodging a thrust of his lance and delivering a punch to his opponent's face. He grabbed the horns of Megatronus's helmet and slammed him down onto his knee. Running backwards, he built up his momentum and threw Megatronus across the building. The fallen Prime got off of the floor, flexing his fingers as blue energy swept through his arm. He threw crates and shards of metal at Ironhide, forcing the weapon's specialist to shoot them down with his cannons. Ironhide glared at his opponent's, tightening his hands into fists.
"You're not Cybertronian, you're certainly no Prahm!"
Megatronus suddenly raised his hand, and a biotic aura enveloped Ironhide. He was thrown from side to side, up through the ceiling and then across the facility. Ironhide landed on several Geth colossi before slamming against a wall. Megatronus flew over Ironhide, throwing his lance through Ironhide's right hand, pinning him to the ground. He landed and kicked Ironhide in the chest, grabbed him by his head and bashed it against the wall. Ripping his lance free he grabbed Ironhide by his neck and took to the skies.
"Shepard we're pinned, Chief Williams is wounded, as is Trailbreaker," Ironhide heard Kirrahe's voice over the radio.
"Geth drop ships have been destroyed in orbit, I think someone's coming Shepard," Joker said.
"Look up at the sky, that definitely isn't a council ship," Wrex added.
"We've shut down the AA tower, Joker, bring the Normandy in," Shepard said.
Ironhide could hear them, fighting, trying to fulfil their mission. He looked up and saw the silhouette of a Cybertronian ship, before Megatronus brought him to the ground. Slamming him against water, Megatronus stuck his lance into Ironhide's belly and twisted it around. Ironhide's yell filled the air, the crunch of his armour as Megatronus tore at his chest plate and helmet.
'Just a little more,' Ironhide thought, shielding himself with his arm.
He hit Megatronus's chest with a burst of liquid nitrogen, but there wasn't enough fuel left in him. Ironhide shielded himself with his arm, but the lance cut through his wrist.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" he heard Shepard yell.
'Just take a little more Hide,' the Autobot thought.
Shepard, Kaidan, Garrus and Wrex hit Megatronus with a barrage of rounds from their rifles. The fallen Prime, whatever he was, brushed them aside with his biotics.
'Just keep going a little more,' Ironhide looked up to the sky, at the figures diving towards the base.
His eyes brightened when he saw them, Bumblebee, Jazz, Arcee and Optimus.
'Soon, we'll fight together again, all of us, team G1, team Prime, even you Ratchet!' Ironhide smiled.
Megatronus grabbed the combination Matrix on Ironhide's chest, ripping it out. Ironhide defiantly grabbed Megatronus's arm and head butted him. A flurry of rounds then hid Megatronus's back and he turned, spinning his lance to block Sideswipe's attacks. Sideswipe drove at full speed before transforming and swinging his blades at Megatronus.
'The leader we held on for, the leader we hoped for is here, Prahm, Optimus Prahm,' Sideswipe was bashed aside by Megatronus, pinned against the wall with his lance.
'Optimus, Ah can be proud now, Ah don't have to be afraid any more, of myself, of the future. You taught me to believe that ah could be a leader again, that there was a leader still worth following in this old bot,' Ironhide thought.
Megatronus fired at the figures in the air, before turning to Shepard and her team.
'Just a little more, hold on just a little more,' Ironhide thought.
He looked towards Megatronus and rose from the floor.
"SLAG IT!" Ironhide yelled. "TILL ALL ARE ONE!"
His roar drove Megatronus's attention away from Shepard. Instead the fallen pulled his lance out of Sideswipe, drawing a yell of agony from the racer. Shepard looked towards Ironhide, shaking her head as he was punched to the floor again.
"No," she whispered.
"Such heroic nonsense," Megatronus aimed his cannon at Ironhide's exposed spark.
"TILL ALL ARE ONE!"
The battle cry was followed by the bang of several figures landing in the facility. One of them, the one in black armour landed just behind Megatronus, making the fallen widen his eyes. He looked over his shoulder, just as Nemesis balanced the ladder like construct on his shoulder, aiming it at Megatronus.
"Get away from my weapon's specialist," he said.
Suddenly, a blue beam burst out of the ladder, slamming into Megatronus's chest. The force of the blast pushed Megatronus back, slamming him repeatedly into the walls of the facility. Finally the beam stopped and Ironhide chuckled.
"Ah really need to get me one of those!"
Next Chapter 31: Powerlinx
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, the surprise appearances and revelations.
Next time its Shepard vs Saren, Nemesis vs Megatronus and Megatron vs Grimlock in all out battle.