Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers or Mass Effect
Sorry but its another long chapter, but I had a lot of fun writing this guys. Hope you all enjoy.
Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime
Chapter 31: Powerlinx
The Junkion ship entered the Hoc system through the Mass Relay, and the team was ready by the time they reached the third Planet, Virmire.
"Get ready to "HENSHIN!" Wreck-Garr said.
The Junkions started playing 'super voyager' through the ship as they prepared for battle. Blaster pushed a few buttons on his chest, keeping them from playing the music. Sections of the ship opened to reveal rail gun ports and missile launchers. On entering the orbit of Virmire, they were targeted by Geth ships and fighters. Purple beams flew into the Geth ships, as Thunder Cracker and his team flew alongside the ship. Thunder Cracker transformed to robot mode, cutting a Geth fighter in half with his sword before he dragged it across the side of the Geth ship.
"All right Transformers, beginning our Arrival!" Wreck-Garr said.
"I LOVE THIS TRACK!" the Junkions chanted.
They drilled through the Geth capital ship and began to enter the atmosphere.
"SSV Normandy, this is Liara, we're bringing in reinforcements," Liara spoke over the radio.
"Doctor T'Soni," a voice replied back.
"Navigator Pressly," Tali said.
"Tali, are all the Autobots with you?" Pressly asked.
"Good to hear your voice again Charlie," Jazz said.
"We're coming to help," Arcee said.
"Just hold on a little longer," Blaster added.
"About time you guys showed up, I thought Shepard was going to have to save the galaxy without you," Joker said. "Not a moment too soon either guys, Ironhide's getting his cogs kicked down there and the Salarians are losing the advantage they had on the Vehicons earlier."
"Don't worry Normandy crew, we're bringing in back up!"
The Normandy crew widened their eyes at the voice they heard, and the Minicons let out beeps that were the equivalent of cheers. Convoy stepped up to the cargo door of the Junkion ship, nodding over his shoulder at his landing party. The hatch opened and the team began to sky dive, air and gravity hit them, and the flyers moved like tornadoes, decimating Geth fighters before they could attack. Joker flew the Normandy in, hitting some jet drones before they could hit Nemesis. He gave the Autobot leader a salute, one Nemesis returned. Activating rocket boosters on their backs and feet, the Autobots manoeuvred, aiming for their landing sites. Jetfire moved close to Nemesis, transforming and landing on jet drones to stab them with his blade. Wing Dagger, a flyer himself moved with Bumblebee and Arcee, slicing through the Geth drones trying to attack them.
"Bumblebee, Blaster, Prowl and Arcee, you're to support Chief Williams and the Salarians with Soundwave, Excellion and Demolisher. Jazz, Hot Shot, Warpath, you're with Impactor and me," Nemesis explained to his crew.
"And we'll be giving some good old fashioned aerial support," Jetfire added.
"Just like old times," Thunder Cracker said.
"Obviously not," Jetfire retorted.
He changed to robot mode, firing bursts from his rifle and bringing down some of the Vehicon jet drones.
"YOU NEED TO HURRY OPTIMUS! IRONHIDE WON'T LAST MUCH LONGER!" Liara yelled.
At that, Nemesis activated rockets on his boots, diving straight for where Ironhide was making his stand against the Fallen. The Junkion ship took a blast from Sovereign, the crew holding on tight as their craft took the intense beam it fired. At the gunnery ports, Rattrap and Cheetor opened fire on the Reaper, aiding the Junkions arming the other weapons.
"Time for fiction logic, guns work better when you scream AAAAGH!" the Junkions yelled as they unleashed flurries of minigun rounds on the Reaper.
Their attacks weren't effective, but their goal wasn't to kill the Reaper, only keep it away from the Normandy and its package.
"TILL ALL ARE ONE!" they heard Ironhide yell.
It was a distraction, and a rallying cry to signal an arrival. Nemesis landed hard on the ground, swinging and aiming his ladder cannon at the Fallen. The blue beam he fired sent the fallen prime crashing through the facility. Jazz landed and immediately went to car mode, igniting his boosters and crashing through some of the Geth in Shepard's way.
"Good to see you Shepard," he called out as he passed them.
Warpath and Impactor landed in their tank modes, squashing Geth and firing into the Vehicons. Shepard and her team got off of the floor, moving with Hotshot and firing their guns at the enemies in their way. Hotshot released streams of fire from his gauntlet, melting a Vehicon blocking Shepard's path. He then melted open the door, which Shepard's team used their jump jets to climb through. Geth Ghosts and rocket troopers were waiting, but Jetfire swooped down, shooting on the targets before they could attack Shepard.
"Normandy, we've got as good a place as any to put this bomb," she said.
"Roger that commander, bringing it in now, I'm going to need some more cover," Joker said.
"Don't worry human, we'll protect your little ship," Thunder Cracker said as he, Nacelle and Sunstorm moved into formation with the Normandy.
"So we're friends with Decepticons now? Okay," Joker commented.
On the other side of the facility, Ashley smiled as the Cybertronians began pushing the Vehicon forces back. Bumblebee fired his cannon, then rolled between two Vehicons, stabbing them with his new electric stinger. Stunned, the drones were quickly decapitated by Prowl's boomerang. As soon as the blade returned to his hand, Prowl fired his rifle in full auto. Arcee rushed forward, slicing through one target after another with her swords.
"Buzzsaw, Frenzy, Ratbat, eject!" Soundwave's cold voice commander, his cassette allies flying from his chest.
"Rewind, Steeljaw Ramhorn, eject!" Blaster followed Soundwave's display, not to be outdone.
He ejected a red rhino, a gold lion and a black and white robot. This robot, Rewind, jumped between his mecha-animal companions, using them as mounts as he fired his pistol at the Vehicons. Steeljaw jumped, biting the drones whilst Ramhorn crashed through the Geth. Rewind then transformed into a miniaturised tank, unleashing machinegun fire on the Geth and Krogan.
Ironhide's vision cleared and he smirked, looking up at Convoy.
"Gotta say Prahm, not liking the new look," Ironhide said.
"Thank you for enduring as long as you did Ironhide, and I'm sorry, I'm sorry I wasn't here for everyone," Convoy said.
"You're here now Prahm, for our darkest hour, which is the time it counts the most, I got this for you," Ironhide smiled as he gave Convoy what he had been holding.
"The combination matrix, you've done well Ironhide, you're a good soldier," Convoy took hold of the device and then looked towards the hole he had blasted Megatronus through. "Jazz, Hotshot, come and pick up Ironhide."
"I can still fight Prahm," Ironhide said.
"I'm not a Prime, and you've done enough," Nemesis began running towards the building.
Vehicon drones tried to get in his way, but he quickly drew his rotary run and Ion cannon. Blowing both their heads off, he ducked and walked through the hole in the wall. He had thrown Megatronus into a storage building. Boxes and crates were loaded into the building, and Nemesis could make out the outline of parts for old vehicles. He walked over them, scanning the ground until he found Megatronus. Or rather Megatronus's body, he lowered his guns and looked at the fallen. There was no light in his eyes, and a hole in his chest, a hollow hole. Putting his guns back on his waist, he picked up the body and tore at the chest.
"Team, I have a good idea now of why 'Megatronus' was able to use biotics," Nemesis said.
Something shifted in the shadows, and Nemesis narrowed his optics, drawing his rotary cannon. Light shined off of the scope, and Nemesis walked across the room, ducking and shining his light through the gaps in the crates.
Megatron looked at the two intruders on his ship, one given the named Galvatron and the newest arrival was someone he only had a feeling about. The bot with the sword pointed his weapon at Galvatron, who glared back intensively with utter hatred.
"You have failed in your intended mission Galvatron, this is not your world, nor is it your escape from your fate," the sword wielder said.
"I will not go quietly back into the night Vector, I will scream and thrash before I submit to the will of time and destiny," Galvatron lunged at the newly named Vector.
Vector thrust his sword, but Galvatron ducked, the blade brushing against the side of his head. His fist slammed into Vector's face and threw him back, crashing into the wall. He grabbed Vector by his throat and lifted him off of the floor.
"I'll tear you apart with my bare hands," Galvatron snarled, tightening his hold.
Vector writhed before hitting the side of Galvatron's face with his sword pommel. Staggering backwards, Galvatron transformed, dodging the swipe of Vector's sword. He had taken on the form of a cannon, and quickly transformed again, kicking Vector in the jaw.
"ENOUGH!" Megatron yelled.
He ran forward, punching Galvatron so hard that he was thrown against the wall. Then he stomped on Vector's sword, keeping the warrior from lifting it up.
"You are both intruders on my ship, whatever struggle you have, take it away from here," Megatron said.
"Your fusion cannon will not work in this pocket of frozen time Megatron," Galvatron said.
"I don't just have my fusion cannon," Megatron flexed his fist as he spoke.
"Ah, you too enjoy ripping your enemies apart it seems, then perhaps we should join our forces. This may not be my world, but you seem set on a similar path, there is yourself, set on conquering the universe so that fools may not rule it and then there is your nemesis, he whom would lead the Autobots or any other faction against you, whom would unite the weak as if they had some kind of voice in their rule. Yet we both know the world is different, when you are weak, you have no rights and you are forced to submit to the rule of those above you. Even in supposed 'democratic' societies, those without a loud voice must consign to the will of the loudest, the strongest. True freedom is an illusion, one that Optimus Prime would have anyone believe. The law, society, honour, what is proper or right, the very history that chains people to their hatred or their ignorance, no matter how much understanding fools try to promote the universe will always be set against you," Galvatron explained.
"Are you done with the philosophical nonsense?" Megatron asked.
Galvatron grit his teeth together, tightening his fist and taking a step towards Megatron.
"You too one day Megatron will fall and be chained again, you will answer to the will of the chaos bringer," he said.
"Again you use legends to try and SHOCK ME!" Megatron yelled.
He and Galvatron slammed their fists together, both holding one another's arms as they grappled.
"I'm trying to warn you, you fool, no matter the reality you are an insect next to him, your ideals, your grasp for power a joke to his rampage," they slammed their head together, but even that didn't stop Galvatron's rant. "But together we could change fate; we could make it so that the Decepticons rule, so that the strong rule and insipid desires and sentimental ideals no longer chain individuals. All will call out 'ALL HAIL MEGATRON!'" Galvatron roared, knocking Megatron against the wall.
"You cannot be who you claim to be, because I will never allow myself to be ruled by another," Megatron retorted.
"Indeed," Vector Prime stabbed his blade through Galvatron's back.
The Decepticon gasped, like a ghost the blade had phased through him, causing his body to glow.
"Even your previous self Galvatron once succumbed to trickery, to begging your opponent and blind siding him, this Megatron is different…perhaps," Vector mused.
Chronal energies began to take hold of Galvatron, the colour and details of his armour fading to be replaced by the grid that formed when he first appeared.
"No, I WILL NOT BE DENIED! I WILL NOT RETURN TO THAT WORLD!" he yelled.
Megatron got off of the floor, huffing as the other worldly intruder disappeared before his eyes. Vector sheathed his sword and nodded to Megatron before a clock appeared behind him.
"Vector Prime, one of the twelve Primes, he who declared himself guardian of time and all its possibilities," Megatron scoffed.
"Whatever the possibility you are still arrogant and prideful, or perhaps, perhaps this world is a shattered glass compared to others," Vector stated.
"What do you mean?" Megatron demanded.
"The future is always open, perhaps you will become as deceitful and cowardly as your counterpart, or perhaps you will be the hero your world needs," just as his prey had disappeared, so too did Vector Prime.
And time returned, Megatron was left alone, hearing the chatter of his men engaging Grimlock's unit. He looked at his hand and scoffed again, him a hero, him a coward? He denied those possibilities, accepting the truth of the world as he saw it. His ship pushed Grimlock's closer and closer towards another planet, closer and closer to its atmosphere. That was the strength of ruthlessness, the advantage of dishonour, which was the grim truth of all battles. But when Megatron launched out of his ship, firing the cannon of his tank form, he scoffed at something else.
"Galvatron?" he laughed inwardly.
"Combaticons combine," Onslaught called to his team mates.
"Constructicons, form Devastator," Scrapper commanded.
The combiner teams formed up, the massive Bruticus used Vortex's helicopter blade to shield himself from the blaster fire from the Coalition's turrets. Devastator punched the side of the ship, shaking it and making the crew stumble.
"Well, they won't surrender," Slug said and the other coalition members laughed.
"Auto pilot is out sir," Swoop said.
"We're moving a little uncomfortably close to that planet Swoop," Grimlock said.
"They took out our thrusters, we only have our main rocket booster intact," Sludge said.
"Snarl, Slug you're with me," Grimlock said.
He picked up his path blaster and moved with Snarl and Slug through the ship. Megatron fired at the ship's side, before transforming to his robot mode.
"Skywarp, activate your combination matrix," he commanded.
"Yes Lord Megatron!" the Seeker flew close to his leader.
His body transformed, head folding into his chest whilst his wing pack expanded. Green blasters and rockets extended from his flight pack and his legs folded together before snapping and connecting to his body. Skywarps arms collided together, the blasters expanding as they connected. Megatron flew into the mass of parts that Skywarp had become. The blaster connected to his free arm, and the new flight pack to his back. With the power link complete, Megatron flew across the side of the LSCs ship. He ignited a plasma blade on the cannon Skywarp's arms had turned into, dragging it across the side of the ship. Then he flew back and fired the cannons on his shoulder, combining the fire with shots from his fusion cannon. Explosions spread throughout the ship, catching Grimlock and his squad in areas they drove through. Rubble collapsed on top of Sludge in the bridge and Swoop moved away from his piloting post.
"Come on buddy get up, we need to get our ship out of here," the flyer said.
"Swoop, the slagging ship you gotta focus on that," Sludge said.
"No one left behind, besides we gotta prove we're better than Team Prime, no casualties," Swoop grinned.
Megatron fired again and again, flying directly into the ship. He dragged beams from his cannons in a wide arc, cutting through the walls and hitting fire control measures and power conduits. Explosions were triggered throughout the ship, already being ripped apart by Devastator and Bruticus.
"Just get wrecked SLAG IT!" Skar yelled.
He rolled the barrels of the turret, hitting Devastator in the chest. He was able to take off a bit of armour, but soon earned the attention of Bruticus. Bruticus slammed his arm into the turret, crushing Skar inside it. Megatron flew out of the ship, firing his cannons again before he cut his link with Skywarp, the Seeker returned to his jet mode and bombarded the surface of the ship. Snarl fired a rocket launcher from a hole in the ship, hitting Skywarp in the back and sending him flying back. But a shot from Megatron's fusion cannon flew in, hitting Snarl's side. Megatron flew into the ship, slamming his fist into Snarl's face and crashing him through the wall.
"MEGATRON!" Grimlock roared.
The head of the LSC drove straight into Megatron, transforming to robot mode and delivering a punch that further drove Megatron back. Megatron attempted to fire his fusion cannon, but Grimlock grabbed his arm and aimed the shot upwards. Bits of the ceiling came down and Grimlock slammed his head into Megatron's. Rattled, Megatron was left vulnerable to a slash from Grimlock's sword, a piece of his tracking fell to the floor and he was thrown against the wall by Grimlock.
"I've been looking forward to this, hoping we'd encounter one another, praying to Primus and the Oracle that I would one day face you in battle, AND THEN KILL YOU!" Grimlock yelled.
He held his sword out with both hands as Megatron rose. The Decepticon commander folded out a sword from his waist. Both warriors roared before slamming their blades together. Megatron widened his eyes for a moment, feeling that Grimlock had more weight to his blows. He blocked another strike from Grimlock and stumbled into the wall. Grimlock thrust his blade, turning it as Megatron tilted his head to avoid it. The blade was imbedded in the wall, but the edge of it glowed before Grimlock moved it across the wall, trying to cut Megatron. Rolling to the side, Megatron swung his sword at Grimlock again, this time the Autobot commander parried and then slammed his head into Megatron's. He swung his sword and slashed off part of Megatron's shoulder armour.
"You would have astonished the crowd in the arena," Megatron said, parrying Grimlock's sword before hitting Grimlock's face with his pommel.
He followed up with a swing at Grimlock's head. At the last moment though Grimlock ducked and sacrificed the left horn of his helmet. Then he tackled Megatron, crashing through the wall and throwing him across the corridor. Megatron's sword clattered to the ground and he rolled onto his knees, looking towards Grimlock.
"I would have dominated the arena, but I was made for one purpose, BATTLE MEGATRON! KILL MEGATRON!" Grimlock gripped his sword with both hands, reminiscent of the Earth samurai.
"A product of the Cybertronian council's cast system, create a bot and give it a specific purpose in society," Megatron scowled as he got off of the floor.
"Why should I apologise for that? What's wrong with everyone having a clear cut role in society? This life, it completes me, this role is what I live for," Grimlock snarled before rushing towards Megatron again.
Virmire
Nemesis stalked the warehouses of Saren's facility, looking for his prey. Even with the battle going on outside, he knew he had to kill…whatever had assumed the Fallen's identity. Everything else was secondary, thinking of how far this conspiracy went was secondary, he just had to kill his enemy. The light from the barrels of his weapons scanned the crates and gaps between them and his receptors picked up on sounds, local pests that may have gotten in and the muffled explosions and gunfire outside. Still he focused on finding his enemy, fingers itching the triggers of his guns.
"Who are you really?" he asked, intending on adding a voice to things he could track.
"You didn't think that all of the species were wiped out by the Reapers during their cycles did you?" a voice that had only a vague resemblance to the Fallen's echoed nearby.
Nemesis turned the corner and fired his ion cannon, lowering it to see the remains of a Geth trooper.
"The Reapers only destroy," Nemesis retorted.
"Of course they do, they wipe out disgusting organics and the synthetic species created by the organics," he heard the voice again, above him this time.
A Geth Stalker, he shot it with his rotary cannon and then walked across the warehouse, carefully looking behind some of the crates.
"You're affected by indoctrination, but I wonder did a part of you actually believe that once?" Nemesis asked.
"It doesn't matter what I believed, it doesn't even matter what the truth really is. All that matters is that I serve him, that I implement his grand design, the destruction of all life that is not him, the destruction of Primus and all his creations," the voice explained.
"You won't succeed, there is an entire galaxy of advanced species out there," Nemesis said.
"Really? You're relying on that argument? Come now Cybertronian you know as well as I do that this cycle could be the easiest for the Reapers, previous cycles fought just as hard and still failed, they could have been more tolerant, more advanced, more united in their ideals and military, and yet still they failed. So what makes you think a galaxy so divided by politics and principals can stop him?"
"It didn't have my team," Nemesis said.
A laugh echoed through the warehouse, Nemesis scanned the ceiling, shooting possible places that speakers could have been located. The laughter died down slightly, becoming more like an eerie whisper.
"How arrogant, there are always beings like you, great leaders, paragons of their time," the whisper continued and Nemesis honed in on it.
He walked around a set of boxes all put into a row. Then he found it, a creature was what it could be described as. A horned beast with a skull plated head, long maw open and snarling at Nemesis. The diminutive alien wore a type of organic purple and black armour with a skull belt across its waist.
"THEY STILL FAILED!" the pretender roared, firing its double barrelled blaster at Nemesis.
Nemesis shielded his face before shooting back with his rotary gun. A biotic aura surrounded the pretender as it jumped through the gaps in the crates.
"You're nothing special," it suddenly charged biotically, crashing through a window on the ceiling.
"Shepard, I'm sending an image through Teletran 1, this is our enemy," Nemesis said.
"Roger that Prime, designating target as Skullgrin," Shepard said.
"Really?" Kaidan raised his eyebrows as he and a few of the Normandy technicians set up their bomb.
"Skeletor was taken," she grinned.
Her feet splashed across the water as she walked away from the bomb, Garrus and Wrex at her side. They looked to the sky, watching a few of the jet drones. But those drones were quickly shot down by Jetfire, who transformed and saluted Shepard's team.
"We'll still need a few minutes to set this up Shepard, you get to Ashley and extract her team," Kaidan said.
"They've got back up," Shepard said.
"So has Kaidan, so don't worry about a thing Shepard," Jazz said.
"We've got his back," Warpath said.
"Didn't think I'd get help from a Decepticon," Kaidan muttered.
"Didn't think I would help an organic," Impactor retorted.
"All right people let's move out, try not to do anything stupid while I'm gone LT," Shepard said.
Kaidan gave her a salute before she ran with Wrex and Garrus. Vehicon drones landed across from Kaidan's group. Jazz quickly drew his nanchaku, striking hard and spreading pieces of the Vehicons across the water. Warpath and Impactor both transformed to tank forms and fired at the drones in the air. On the other side of the facility, Ashley supported Kirahe and some of the other wounded Salarians. Bumblebee drove around the team, creating a dust cloud. He transformed and jump kicked one of the Vehicon drones, then fired his stinger, passing electrical shocks through several Geth Primes and hitting a Colossus. Arcee swung her plasma blades, cutting the damaged Colossus apart. She cut down two more Vehicon drones and joined the defensive line with the Salarians.
"Ashley we're on our way to you now, anyone seen Skullgrin?" Shepard asked.
"Definitely not going to call it that Shepard," Ashley said.
"I found what was left of it Shepard," Nemesis's voice came through the radio.
"Did you get him?"
Nemesis knelt by the broken apart remains of Skullgrin, he could see that there had been a large amount of nerves and arteries within Skullgrin's body. Yet there were no bones and though the organs had been functional, they were still pumping, almost as if the body hadn't accepted death. He looked at the cables running through the facility, seeing that a large amount of energy was flowing into one of the buildings. Nemesis quickly ran through the door, hearing the familiar sound of a Cybertronian transforming, and then the whirl of something powering up. He looked up, seeing the enlarged form of a red and black armoured Cybertronian. A portion of its chest glowed like burning magma, an effect that passed to its eyes and mouth. Raising his hands, the Cybertronian yelled in pain before rushing towards Nemesis. An enlarged hand grabbed Nemesis's head, the other hand crushing his rotary cannon before they both crashed through the building.
"Call me Necrotronus, the ideal of Prime, fit only to die for HIM!" the monster yelled as he flew Nemesis through the facility.
Convoy felt his helmet breaking, felt Necrotronus crushing the armour on his arm. He was able to punch Nectronus and bring up his ladder cannon. Nectrotronus however rammed his fist through the cannon, smashing it apart. He ripped off part of Nemesis's chest armour and threw him, sending him crashing into the warehouse below.
"And die all of you will, the Cybertronians, the humans and all the organics, every last one of you," he transformed, taking on the form of a demonic jet.
Strafing through the facility, the jet unleashed barrages of missiles and blaster fire, all of them resembling molten rocks and lava streams. Hotshot's gauntlets were melted onto his arms, causing him to scream in agony before he took cover. More missiles struck where Kaidan was setting up the bomb, making Warpath grab a Vehicon opponent and use it as a shield, protecting the Lieutenant.
"Shepard, the Fallen is right on us, I've got no choice," Kaidan said.
"What are you doing Lieutenant?" Shepard asked.
"Activating the bomb, get to Ashley and extract her team," Kaidan said.
"No Kaidan, they're focusing their forces on us, that was the whole point of our attack, Shepard go and help Kaidan and drive that thing away," Ashley explained.
"If we can keep this 'Pretender' here until the bomb goes then the Reapers have lost one of their lieutenants in this galaxy, it's the right call to make Ash," Kaidan said.
"There's no choice here," Shepard muttered. "Optimus, Nemesis, whoever you are let's get everyone out of here!"
Necrotronus raised his fist towards Kaidan, only for Jazz to grab his wrist with his hook. The pretender pulled Jazz towards him, holding both his arms and legs. There was a creaking sound as he began to pull, and Jazz yelled in agony. Suddenly there was the rev of an engine, and a black truck slammed into Nectrotronus's back. Nemesis transformed, revealing he had abandoned his upper armour and helmet, and that underneath that extra layer of armour was his original blue helmet and silver visor.
"Now that's Prime," Jazz said, slamming his nanchaku into Necrotronus.
Just as Nectrotronus turned towards Jazz, Nemesis launched his fist at him like a rocket. It was just an extra layer of armour, but it made for a great projectile to push Necrotronus back. Nemesis followed it up with a kick to Necrotronus's face, a kick so hard that it broke apart the bulky boot that Nemesis wore. Then he delivered a second kick that threw Necrotronus into the wall.
"Jetfire I need you down here now, we're going to use the combination matrix," Nemesis said.
"And I'm the lucky volunteer am I? All right, just hold on," Jetfire dived through the facility, strafe firing at the buildings and any fuel sources he could find.
"Not so fast," Necrotronus said, rising as Nemesis took out the combination matrix.
The Fallen shielded himself however as Warpath fired at him.
"Do it Prime," he said.
Nemesis threw the matrix upwards and activated thrusters on his back. As Jetfire came down, he transformed to robot mode and threw his blaster at Nemesis, a part of his chest also came off and attached itself to Nemesis's back. Both transformed, Jetfire splitting apart, his body and arms joining with his legs to form a winged lower body. Nemesis folded, becoming a bulky upper body. The legs and body linked just as the combination matrix imbedded itself in the chest of the new form, becoming the Autobot symbol. Suddenly a head popped out of the top of the body, black with gold V's forming the mouth plate and gold antenna sticking out of the side.
"Now isn't that a sight," Kaidan muttered, looking up at what he could only call Jet Convoy.
Nemesis's personality though still remained in control, and he targeted Necrotronus. Swooping down, he grabbed Nectrotronus by his head and smashed him through a wall. Necrotronus roared in anger, igniting his back rockets and flying with Convoy across the sky. He fired blasts of lava from his fists, and Nemesis countered with shots from his enhanced Ion blaster. Orange and red beams slammed together in the sky, bolstering the morale of the Autobots and Shepard's crew.
"Joker, meet us at Ashley's position, whoever's piloting that giant drill ship, be ready to extract Kaidan and Jazz's team," she said.
"We've got incoming," Wrex said.
Shepard looked up, seeing a platform of some kind. On that platform was Saren, his seemingly glowing eyes set on here. Geth drones were either side of him, unleashing barrages of the same phasic rounds that killed Jenkins. Garrus took one out with his sniper rifle, an excellent shot. But he grunted as Saren created a type of biotic flash with his hand. Wrex used a warp to weaken one drone, leaving it vulnerable to Shepard's rifle fire. Then the Krogan fired a carnage missile at the platform Saren stood on. It hit, but the Spectre wouldn't be killed so easily. He jumped, leaving a trail of biotic energy behind him. His eyes were still set on Shepard, a predatory roar escaping his maw as he tackled her.
"SHEPARD!" Garrus yelled.
She ignited her jump jets, redirecting their path towards a nearby window. Shepard pushed on Saren's head, making sure he was the one through the glass first. The glass shattered, shards of it scratching Saren's head. He yelled in anger as they landed, grabbing Shepard by her neck, he dragged her across the ground before lifting her up. Turian muscle and bones were a lot tougher than humans, but even they couldn't typically lift someone up by one hand. That kind of feat could be accomplished by Saren's robotic arm though, always hidden during his holo-calls, Shepard finally saw it up close. Dangling her out of the window, synthetic muscles strained across the arm, a type of modified Geth appendage. Shepard felt it tighten through her armour, the only thing preventing her neck from breaking. She activated the Omni-blade on her tool and thrust it towards Saren's face. At the last moment however he sacrificed his Geth rifle, stopping the blade inches from his nose.
Saren was ready to drop Shepard when she activated her jump jets again. She delivered a kick that knocked Saren back and launched herself up to the pipes above her. Grasping them she jumped onto another ledge, taking out her pistol. Recovering from the brawl she looked up and saw Nemesis and Necrotronus locked in a midair grapple. A type of energy axe ignited out of Nemesis's hand, a blade he used to cut off part of Necrotronus's helmet. Grabbing the arm, Necrotronus flew them towards the ground, dust and rubble being the only thing Shepard could see when they landed.
"Garrus, Wrex, proceed to Ashley's position, Joker you carry on with extraction, Nemesis when you're done with your playmate you come and pick me up," Shepard said.
"It'll be close Shepard, try and make your way back to us," Kaidan recommended.
"Go with the Autobots Kaidan, I'll be fine," Shepard said.
"Be careful Commander," Kaidan spoke with more concern in his voice than superior officers probably would have liked.
It still made Shepard smile though, a smile that faded when she heard the familiar hum of the platform Saren had used. He flew up to her on another Platform, throwing biotic blasts at her. Shepard ran as fast as she could across the walkway, jump jetting it across to another rooftop, shooting back at Saren. He returned fire with his pistol, both their shields wavering before Shepard dived for cover. She sat with her back against the crate, pistol raised and looking out at Saren, the spectre landing across from her.
The Autobot ship was a wreck, flames had spread throughout it. Ratchet heard the screeches and crashes of battle, and the sound of blaster fire. He lowered his head and sighed with remorse.
"More than anything, I wanted to be a doctor," he whispered.
The door opened and Slug was suddenly thrown into the brig. His shoulder armour was broken and sparks were coming out of his leg joints. Ratchet widened his eyes as Scrapper, Hook, Blast Off and Swindle came into the brig. Slug tried to lift his blaster, only for Scrapper to slam his foot into his arm.
"Look what we found here, the prize," Scrapper said, throwing Slug to Blast off and Hook.
They pulled on Slug's legs, the creak of his limbs and joints echoing through the brig. Ratchet heard the Autobot's screams and suddenly slammed his fist into the wall.
"TAKE ME WITH YOU!" he yelled. "Let him go, let all of them go and I will go with you, no fight, no tricks," he said.
Blast off and Hook looked towards Scrapper, who nodded his head. They threw Slug against the wall, giving his knee a kick for good measure. Ratchet raised his hands as Swindle deactivated the barrier.
"Lord Megatron, we have the package," Scrapper said.
The message reached Megatron, but he was too busy try to dodge Grimlock's wild slashes. He jumped back, his hand folding into his wrist. A ball slammed into the ground, attached to a chain, then energon spikes popped out of the ball. Megatron swung his flail at Grimlock, knocking him back. Grimlock regained his bearings and ducked and blocked the strikes from the flail.
"This fight is over Grimlock," Megatron said.
"It isn't, not until one of us is dead Megatron, I don't care about the medic, after you're gone everything will be different," Grimlock said.
"The rebellion will not end with me, so long as corruption continues to exist in this galaxy, in ours, then there will continue to be individuals abandoned by the system," Megatron explained.
"I don't care," Grimlock retorted.
He blocked Megatron's flail again, then caught the chain on his sword. Megatron widened his eyes before Grimlock tackled him, lifting him off of the floor. He dragged Megatron's head through the ceiling and threw him into the recreational room. There, Swoop and Snarl were already locked in a gunfight with the remaining Constructicons and Combaticons. On the bridge, Skywarp shoved a blade through Sludge's back, pinning him to his console.
"Carrying out next objective Lord Megatron," Skywarp whispered.
Snarl was hit by a blast that took off his arm, his blaster sliding across the floor. Megatron crawled away from Grimlock, feeling the cracks and dents on his armour. He noticed the fallen blaster and then grit his teeth together, hearing the hum as Grimlock heated the blade of his sword.
"No more Grimlock," Megatron turned, his hands raised in surrender.
Grimlock stopped, his optics underneath his visor narrowed.
"I surrender, my ship is yours, as is the glory for my arrest," Megatron said.
"Pathetic Megatron, those who have no mercy have no right to plead for it," Grimlock growled.
"We agree then," Megatron reached for the blaster.
"No you don't Megatron," Swoop dived towards him.
Again Grimlock stopped, watching the smaller bot try to wrestle the gun from Megatron's grip. Swoop was slammed against the ground however, Megatron wrapping his arm around his neck and pulling him close. Grimlock raised his sword, but hesitated, Swoop's eyes pleaded with him to strike whilst he still could. But he was too late, a shot rang out and four screams echoed through the ship. Ratchet was dragged in, seeing the shot rip through Grimlock's head, shards of his visor and pieces of his helmet scattering across the floor. He heard Swoop scream in horror, Grimlock's roar of pain, and then he heard Megatron.
"FALL! FALL!" Megatron yelled, ruthlessly firing at Grimlock.
He blew off sections of Grimlock's belly and waist, hitting his head again. Megatron shot Swoop in the chest and threw him aside, focusing on Grimlock. He fired, hitting Grimlock's arm joint until the appendage was hanging off. Grimlock's sword pressed against the floor, even as Megatron burned his knee caps.
"STOP IT MEGATRON!" Ratchet yelled.
Megatron's hand shook and he lowered the weapon, stepping back calmly to avoid a defiant swing from Grimlock's sword.
"Not done yet, never give up," Grimlock snarled like a beast.
Ratchet was horrified by the amount of internal circuitry coming out of Grimlock's head. The bot sluggishly tried to swipe at Megatron, but after that he seemed fit only to leant against his sword.
"Kill you, kill me," there almost seemed to be a begging tone to Grimlock's voice.
"We're leaving," Megatron said, turning away from Grimlock.
His allies had already wrecked the other members of Grimlock's team, leaving them wounded.
"Wait, take them with you, Grimlock's men are valuable soldiers of the Autobot forces, you could ransom them for weapons, energon or even a ship," Ratchet explained.
Megatron ignored the medic and walked away with his troops, dragging Ratchet behind them. Skywarp had set the ship on a collision course with the nearby planet. If the Lightning Strike Coalition weren't melted in the atmosphere, they might die on impact, or remain until their sparks finally gave out. Grimlock's other arm broke off and he slammed into the ground.
"Kill Megatron, I swear," he snarled, the inside of the ship beginning to heat up.
He looked at his team mates, all of them dying or trying to crawl to some kind of vane safety.
"Me swear…I swear…Megatron, Megatron…me Grimlock kill you!"
The Autobot ship however fell, and the Decepticon ship flew away, Megatron's objective completed.
'That's all that matters,' he thought, looking at his hands in disgust. 'You were the victor in the arena so many times not just because of your savagery, but your ruthlessness!'
Though still, Vector Prime's words echoed in his mind.
"Even your previous self Galvatron once succumbed to trickery, to begging your opponent and blind siding him, this Megatron is different…perhaps!"
Virmire
Nectrotronus slammed his fist against Nemesis's, the two shattering the glass on the windows around them. He blocked Nemesis's axe with his arm and punched him across the face. But Nemesis turned, hitting Necrotronus with his ion blaster. Transforming to his jet mode, Necrotronus fired at Nemesis with a barrage of blaster fire. Nemesis kept his arms crossed, fighting through the flurry and then thrusting his axe. He cleaved through Necrotronus's wing, the pretender transformed with part of his side missing. His head was grabbed by Nemesis, who dug his fingers in through the armour, ripping off his face plate.
"My god will avenge me," 'Necrotronus' weakly said.
"To the pit with your god," Nemesis retorted.
The plate on Necrotronus's chest popped off, transforming into the red and black pretender robot. Before it could escape however Nemesis swung his axe down, cleaving through both the pretender and its false Prime body. Nemesis deactivated his axe and kicked the remains of the body. He looked up to the sky, seeing the Junkion ship and Normandy ascending.
"There are still Vehicons on the field, is the bomb secure?" he asked.
"Yeah about that Optimus, I'm pretty sure I'm not making it out of this," Jazz said.
"What?"
"I knocked down Warpath, who was pretty insistent on doing the whole 'guard the bomb for redemption thing'," Jazz stood over the bomb, shooting at any Geth or Vehicon that came near him.
"No, we're all getting out of here," Nemesis said.
"You'll never make it Prime, oh sorry my comm. Is down," Jazz spat out a kind of static sound, continuing to guard the bomb.
On the roof across from the bomb sight though, Shepard continued her confrontation with Saren. She stood out of cover and let out a few bullets on Saren's shield, before ducking to cover again, a silence passing between the two Spectres.
"I applaud you Shepard, my Geth were utterly convinced the Salarians were the real threat, an impressive diversion. Of course it was all for nothing, I can't let you disrupt what I've accomplished here, you can't possibly understand what's really at stake," Saren explained.
"Sovereign and its kind destroyed the Protheans, what else is there to understand?" Shepard asked defiantly.
"I know that Sovereign spoke to you Shepard, revealed to you the existence of what the Cybertronians call the chaos bringer, you of all people should understand what the Cybertronians are capable of. Imagine for a moment what a Cybertronian god would be capable of, they cannot be stopped."
"From the name chaos bringer, I can't help but think this Unicron is more a devil than a god," Shepard said.
"Do not mire yourself in pointless revolt, do not sacrifice everything for the sake of petty freedoms. The Protheans tried to fight, but they were utterly destroyed. Trillions dead, but what if they had bowed to the Reapers, as my allies did? Would the Protheans still exist? Is submission not preferable to extinction?"
"It sounds to me like you're trying to convince yourself Saren, what about your allies? They pretend to be the Fallen? Another alien? How far do their abilities go?"
"Now you know why I didn't initially go to the council when I learned of Sovereign, who else could be a servant of the Reapers in disguise?" Saren asked.
"We'll find out, because I'd rather die than allow myself to be enslaved by those monsters," Shepard said.
"We organics are driven by emotion instead of logic, we will fight even though we cannot win. But if we work with the Reapers, with Unicron, if we make ourselves useful, think of how many lives could be spared. Once I understood this, I joined Sovereign, though I was aware of the dangers I had hoped this facility would protect me," Saren explained.
"You're afraid Sovereign is influencing you, you're afraid he's controlling your thoughts," Shepard said.
"I've studied the effects of Indoctrination, the more control Sovereign exerts, the less capable the subject becomes, that's why they use the pretenders, part mechanical, part organic, programmed with memories to make them truly believe they are who they are pretending to be with one difference…they have a specific objective programmed into them," Saren explained, his gaze and resolve seemed to waver for a moment.
"So for all you or I know, you could be one of them," Shepard said and Saren rubbed the side of his head.
"No Sovereign needs me to find the conduit, their creations are incapable of downloading information, but the transformation from ally to servant can be subtle, I will not let it happen to me," Saren said.
"Well I'm not like you, whether you're really you or not, either way I would rather die fighting than live as their slave!"
"I'm not doing this for myself, don't you see, Sovereign will succeed it is inevitable. My way is the only way any of us will survive. I'm forging an alliance between us and the Reapers, between organics and Unicron, and in doing so I will save more lives than have ever existed," Saren explained.
"You won't save anyone, and it won't be that easy, because trillions of people all over the galaxy hold on to a basic belief, a hope, that freedom is more than just a privilege given to a few, it's a right all sentient beings have even you Saren," Shepard explained.
"It is…it's too late," Saren walked to the edge and tipped back.
Shepard ran out over, firing her pistol at the cybertronian jet that rose from the ledge. She saw Saren in the cockpit canopy and kept firing. But with a sonic boom that threw her back, the jet took off.
"Optimus, Jetfire, I could really use that extraction," she said.
Nemesis blasted down two jet drones that tried getting in his way. He swooped towards the building Shepard was on. She took a running jump and leapt off of the edge, landing on Nemesis's back. He grunted slightly as she imbedded her Omni-blade in his armour, it of course wasn't deep enough to penetrate, but at least could make a good make shift hook.
"We're not done yet Shepard," Nemesis said.
"Thirty seconds," she warned.
"Not without Jazz!"
"I know, so punch it Prime!"
Jazz broke his nanchaku finishing off another Vehicon, his visor partly cracked as he looked up at Nemesis.
"You can't go out like a boss when this bot's around," he muttered.
"JAZZ!" Nemesis yelled.
Jazz fired his grappling hook, catching Nemesis's arm. He pulled the old racer off of the ground, their hands locking.
"No one gets left behind," Nemesis said.
"Damn straight as humans would say," Jazz grinned.
Nemesis ignited his rockets, flying higher and higher. He poured more power into them, Shepard held onto the antenna on Nemesis's head, checking her Omni-tool.
"Fifteen seconds, we're still not out of range," Shepard said.
"Then we'll just have to outrace an explosion," Jazz said.
There was a crunch on Nemesis's back. Shepard looked towards the seeker jet, Thundercracker opened the cockpit canopy.
"Get in human, you might not survive what happens next otherwise," he said.
She jumped into the seat, the canopy closing just as she strapped in. Thundercracker's lower form transformed, his afterburners expanding whilst he attached to Nemesis's back.
"I may not be as fast as Skywarp, but in the skies, nothing is faster than a Seeker," Thundercracker said.
He ignited his rockets, increasing Nemesis's speed. Shepard could feel the intense G's hitting her, her ears popping, blotting out the explosion behind them. They climbed higher and higher, the facility an afterthought to them. What Shepard did wonder was the sudden burst of emotions she felt as the sky shifted from clouds to stars.
'Is this what the old astronauts felt?' she wondered.
Looking out of an observation lounge was nothing in comparison of the view she had of Virmire, and the grand explosion on its surface.
"Shepard," she heard on her radio.
"Ashley," she said.
"Everyone is accounted for Shepard, we all made it out," Kaidan said and Shepard smiled.
"The council might say otherwise Optimus, and you might not feel it yourself, but that was damn fine heroics out there," she said.
"It's not Optimus…"
"Don't even bother trying to correct us," Shepard chuckled.
She rested her head back, enjoying the calm, for as long as it would last.
Next Chapter 32: The Pretender conspiracy
There it is, the revelation and the next arc.
Next time Shepard and her team regroup at Pinnacle station and Nihlus delves deeper into the Asari secrets.