-1It didn't help much that the first person Jazz encountered upon returning to the Ark was Sarah, still in the form that reminded him so much of the Decepticon he had just left behind. Rumble hadn't needed much repair after all, not after the large amount of energy her terror had sent flooding into him. "Hey Jazz, have you seen Megatron around? He said he had some stuff to finish up, and you stayed behind too, so I figured he'd be with you." Rumble, once again seated on her shoulder, looked to Jazz and asked the same question. "Where silver one go?" It was all he could do not to break down and confess everything on the spot. The urge to do just that was powerful enough to make him feel as though his spark was going to spontaneously explode in his chest. His mind whirled, and an alibi came to him. "He said he wanted some time alone, to think over past events and the like. He said not to worry about him no matter how long he took. I think he'll come back when he's good and ready to, and not a moment before." It just about killed him inside when she nodded cheerfully. "All right." She believed him. She trusted him.
It had been a long day, she realized as she transformed back into her human form and prepared for bed. The sun had already set, plunging land and sky alike into darkness as the pale, wan moon began to rise. Pausing, she spent a few moments standing at a window and staring out into the night, wondering what Megatron was up to out there. A moment later she was in motion, heading for the commons area to see if he'd come back yet. Halfway there, she stopped herself. Why was she worried? Jazz had said he needed some time to himself, and he wasn't the type who would be in any sort of danger at night. She'd check to see if he'd come back in the morning. The day's events caught up with her and she drifted off into silent slumber… Her dreams, however, were anything but peaceful.
…Split in half, she screamed at the heavens, screamed because she was alone, utterly alone, dying out here because he'd left her, curse him, he'd left her… Face down in the dust, she was crawling, no, not even crawling, dragging herself along, refusing to just give up although it was so tempting to do so, she was in so much pain that she found herself almost welcoming the thought of death… Memories swirled around her, names and faces from long ago, so very long ago, voices calling out to her, accusing her of terrible things… Legions of ghosts surrounded her, bodies in various states of ruin, torn in half, shredded messes of mangled metal and sparking wires, long dead yet horribly alive and closing in, intent on doing to her as she had done to them because she could never escape her past, could never make up for the crimes she had committed… She was sorry but they didn't believe her in the slightest, refused to even consider that she might be telling the truth, and she was helpless to do anything more than beg for mercy, the mercy she knew she wouldn't receive… "No… no… don't… please…"
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…" He had to be dead because they were all around him, ghosts of all those he'd killed, billions upon billions, civilian and not, gathered around him in legion after legion, rank after rank, each and every one of them waiting for a chance at him. Megatron lay prone in a huddled mess, shuddering as a thin veil of weak sparks erupted from the wound on his back. Unable to continue for the moment, he was trying to recover at least a little of his strength, but the pain and terror he felt thwarted that. Shielding his face with his hands, drawing away as far as he could, he could barely even recognize his own voice as he begged for mercy, the mercy he knew he had never shown. "Please don't… Please… I'm sorry… for everything…" Voices echoed in his dimming mind. "You, who were always without mercy, now plead for it? We all thought you were made of sterner stuff…" The ghosts closed in, dead faces twisted in evil grins, flexing fingers in anticipation of ripping him to shreds. "You can't escape what's coming, Megatron… Just like you can't escape your past, or the crimes you've committed." The fallen, half dead Decepticon recoiled as far as he could as they came closer still, shaking his head slowly. "No… no. I tried to…" The sound of mocking laughter made him feel as though his sanity was slipping away, slipping away just like his life. "You tried to seek forgiveness for your sins? Fool! The lives you took will forever be on your head, and your guilt will follow you as long as you live. You will never make up for what you've done… And you'll never be forgiven! Never!" Tormented inside and out, clutching at his head as if to try to block out the words he felt solely in his mind, or to tear his cursed memories out by force, Megatron threw his head back and screamed his anguish into the night sky.
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Spending the night alone with only your guilt for company is NEVER a nice experience.