-1You thought the trouble was over? Think again!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Off to the side, some distance away, Megatron interrupted them. "You still need repairs, Barricade. You too, Rumble. Ironhide, Jazz, go with them. I'll finish up here." It took quite a bit of effort for Barricade to transform, but he managed, and soon a very badly battered cop car stood alongside two more cars. Sarah didn't bother transforming since she wasn't too sure about whether Rumble had the strength to climb back out of her cockpit. Instead, she cradled him in her arms and took off in her normal form. "Yes, Sarah, you are better than this," Megatron said as he watched them leave. He turned to face Starscream just as the other Decepticon raised his head in time to behold his former leader's cannon in his face. "…But I am not." The last thing Starscream ever saw was the look of utter resignation on Megatron's face and the sorrow in his eyes.
The watcher was almost surprised. Almost. The Decepticon had admitted to still being the same as he always was, had carelessly taken another life. The realization of the simple fact that it was just the two of them drew a smile. Here was the long-awaited chance to end it, to make sure justice would finally be served. There was no way Megatron could possibly see the gun being aimed at his utterly defenseless back… A dark joy filled the watcher, an alien feeling that should not have been there because the enjoyment of such an act was without a doubt something reserved solely for Decepticons. Odd feelings aside, a job needed doing. Justice would finally be served with this single shot, right here and now.
There was no warning, no chance to brace himself as he was struck in the back, right between his shoulders, an expert shot obviously meant to kill… A silent gasp escaped Megatron as the sensation of burning, of melting metal and charring circuitry, ate into him, slowly radiating outward from the point of impact. What felt almost like a surge of electricity crossed with a wave of blistering heat surged downward into his lower body; his legs, everything below the impact site, blazed with sudden heat before seemingly ceasing to exist. Paralysis, he realized even as he crashed to the ground. The blast had cleaved his central motor relay system in half, right through the middle. Half his body had been rendered completely useless until he could get repairs. His claws dug deep furrows into the dirt as he gasped in agony, feeling the wound burning deeper and deeper into him, closing in on his spark chamber… I'm going to die, he thought as he began to shudder. Eyes closed, face twisted in a grimace that bared his fangs, jaw set to hold back the scream he felt trying to form in the back of his throat, he lay still and waited to die.
The pain began to diminish as the heat began to die, burned circuits and severed wires cooling. The damage was severe, life-threatening at best, but at least it would go no further. He didn't know how long he could last without help, and he didn't want to find out. A shadow fell across him. It took almost all his remaining strength to raise his head and look up at just who stood over him. Pain dulled his vision and his thoughts, so it took him a moment to recognize the shadowed figure. "…J…Jazz?" The Autobot smiled. "None other," he said. A weak smile took shape on Megatron's face in response to Jazz's smile. "…Jazz… somebody…" The smile left the Autobot's face. "…shot you? You think I can't tell?" There was a long pause. "…Help… me…" Megatron begged, in too much pain to really mind how undignified he sounded. Jazz's smile came again, this time twisted somehow, mocking, hateful. "No," he said. The look of shock on the Decepticon's face was utterly priceless in that moment. "Not after what you did." Megatron shook his head slowly, starting to understand. "But… I thought…" Jazz scoffed, seeming like someone else entirely in that moment. "You thought you were forgiven? You thought you'd atoned? Well, guess what. You haven't. You never will. As long as you live, you can never be forgiven. Some deeds can't be made up for… only avenged!" He paused. "You killed me, Megatron. You tore me apart and left me to die. I think it only far that I get to do the same to you." With that, he turned away to leave. "Goodbye, Megatron," he called over his shoulder just before he transformed. "I hope you enjoy death as much as I did." A Jazz took off for home, a momentary feeling of doubt passed through his mind. This couldn't be the right thing… It wasn't the Autobot way to seek revenge. No, not revenge, he reminded himself. This isn't revenge. This is justice. He had this coming, after all the lives he took. He only has himself to blame. He didn't have to listen hard in order to hear the desperate pleas coming from behind him, didn't have to look back to know that the fallen Decepticon was futilely reaching out to his receding form. Hearing those cries made the doubt return tenfold, but again he ignored it. The feeling would fade away in time. All he had to do was keep telling himself that what he was doing was right, that he was administering justice rather than taking revenge. After a while, he just might believe it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not everybody would willingly accept a change of heart from anybody. And if the person in question just happens to be the leader of the bad guys…