Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

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He was floating in space among the stars... There was nothing nearby: no planets, asteroids or other celestial bodies... Except one star that was relatively close... much closer than all the others. And for some reason Megatron's sure he understands what this place is and what must be here... or it will appear soon? In any case, somehow this unremarkable region of outer space is familiar to him...

"Silence... calm... emptiness... This how this part of space was like before Primus breathed life into it."

Megatron didn't even have to turn around, he was already aware of who was nearby. A presence that somehow ceases to surprise, although the former leader of the Decepticon movement has still not been able to come up with a logical explanation for what's happening to him. The silver mech turned his helm to the right and came face to face with his old comrade:

"You mean, before he created Cybertron?" the scarlet optics narrowed in disbelief.

Terminus nodded.

"So everything started here?"

An affirmative nod again. He and Megatron were watching trillions of cosmic particles attract to each other, forming a cloud that gradually becomes denser and rotated until it formed a geoid cosmic body, almost spherical shape. Then, as if in accelerated filming, the planetoid begins to grow in size and becomes overgrown with cities. The relief changes, more and more buildings appear, and within a few seconds Cybertron in its current form appears before the observers, along with two moons in its orbit. Megatron involuntarily opened his mouth at the sight of this metamorphosis.

"Everything started here," Terminus repeated the words of his comrade when the transformation was completed, "and here everything will end."

"Will end?" the silver mech didn't understand, but for some reason he immediately thought that it's about the physical cessation of the existence of their planet.

"Cybertron is in great danger, Megatron, and not only because of the war that is still not over. No," the miner shook his helm, "other forces involved here... you can't even imagine."

"What forces?" Megatron involuntarily remembered, the events at the Stellar-6 station, then on Yuntara, as well as his dream about the destruction of his home planet. Could it be...

"It's true, these are all links of one chain," Terminus confirmed his guess, "but the breach in the veil appeared even before. And not without your participation."

"The breach? What breach? In what veil?" Megatron was sincerely perplexed. What exactly did I do and when? Is it because of the war? Because of the revolution? Because...of my very existence? Wish he could force Terminus to stop speaking in riddles, but the silver mech is afraid that the ghost may leave him forever... And in the depths of his spark, Megatron doesn't want this at all.

"You will know. Not everything can be taken on faith, especially when you doubt yourself. But if you retreat, something irreparable will happen."

Links of one chain... Megatron locked the servos at chest level and turned again towards Cybertron. So close and so far... Is it really possible that the planet will cease to exist? I once wanted this... but another actually had a servo in it.

"But why me?" Megatron helplessly spread his servos, his voice trembled from a feeling of helplessness. "How can I influence something now?"

"Seek the answer in your spark, Megatron," the miner took a step towards him, his left index finger touching the red symbol on the Decepticon leader's chest, "in your special green spark, the true nature of which you have always feared."

"I don't..."

"You felt this threat before," Terminus interrupted, as if sensing that the silver mech wanted to object, to lie about his fear, "you felt it, but refused to believe. There's still time. You once told me that you want to change. Was the choice wrong?"

Told? The former Decepticon leader tensed. When did I say that to him? Was the choice wrong... These words... I remember them... but from where?

"The threat is real, Megatron," Terminus said with an extremely serious look instead of answering, "and time is running out. One planet will be followed by another... And so on along the chain. And, ultimately, what you saw in your dream," the miner extended his right servo towards the planet in front of them, "will become a reality..." He clenches his fist, and at the same time a white flash forms on Cybertron's surface, growing like a soap bubble. It becomes bigger every second, absorbing more and more new territories, and then...

...the planet explodes. The silver transformer doesn't even have time to understand anything before a light wave overtakes him and Terminus, and then... Nothing.

&Play the soundtrack while reading the next episode

His own frame seemed incredibly heavy and numb, the peripheral systems were responding with obvious reluctance, and it was difficult to move. Megatron adjusted his optics and moved his digits a little. Sensitivity was returning slowly, it seemed as if his helm has been squeezed by a powerful vice, but now its shape was returning to normal. With a quiet groan Megatron pulled his digits to his temples...

"Welcome back," said the painfully familiar voice of the old medic, making Megatron almost jump. Or rather, it seemed so to him, in fact, he only was able to jerk sharply and raise his helm slightly. "Hush, hush, lie still," judging by the steps, Ratchet came almost close to him, "during this journey we've already barely pulled you out of Unicron's clutches once, kid, but I see for you one time was not enough."

"Don't call me that," Megatron snapped automatically, wincing from weakness. There was no desire to look at the doctor... no matter how he got into this situation.

The red-and-white Autobot just grinned sadly:

"Yes, you are no longer the timid miner I knew before the revolution." Ratchet looked thoughtfully at the ceiling, and then again at his patient and not too confidently objected to himself: "Or maybe you are. In any case, you still remain to be a stubborn piece of slag. How are you feeling?"

"What happened to me?" Megatron quietly clarified instead of answering. Another attack? The last thing he remembered was a video conference with Prime and his assistants in the meeting room, then... Then some kind of nonsense... fragments... danger... Terminus...

"Are you wondering how you ended up in the medical bay or what was the reason for it?" The medic paused for a second, and then said: "The neuroblockers. We removed them before the rust completely penetrated your CPU. The surgery lasted five and a half hours, another eight - you were in recharge."

What... Rust? Megatron felt as if the surface he was lying on begun to move into a vertical position, and he was about to end up on the floor. Optics opened on their own, and a mixture of fear and misunderstanding froze on the faceplate. Standing above him on the right side, Ratchet was piercing him with a stern gaze.

"Why didn't you tell me right away," the medic said and, putting the servos on his belt, turned his look to a monitor nearby. It wasn't a question, but more of a condemnation. And it almost seemed to the silver mech that Ratchet... cared?

Megatron looked around. They were in the Lost Light's medical bay, Megatron himself was lying on one of the four berth to the left of the entrance door, wires from a monitoring device were stretching to his left servo, also on the left, moving his head, Megatron also felt the connected wires from the screens at the head of the berth, he I finally reached his temples and discovered that the helmet was missing. A new wave of fear gave the silver transformer the strength to rise and move away slightly. Ratchet was still watching him silently.

"For what?" Megatron asked dully, looking into the void. Self-diagnosis didn't reveal any system errors for the first time in a long time, which was strangely unusual. No extra circuits were found either. It's good... and bad at the same time - they got into my head again... they didn't kill me, why? They could... "I didn't ask for this."

"Wish I could hit you hard, but medical protocols won't allow it." The Autobot doctor defiantly shook his right fist. Megatron glanced at him in disbelief: Ratchet is not a pacifist, although he is an experienced medic, he is also a warrior, he can hurt when he wants.

"This is not an answer."

Ratchet ex-vented heavily, went to the table and returned with some kind of datapad. He collected his thoughts for a few seconds, and then said:

"Somehow, the neuroblockers installed around your CPU began to spontaneously collapse, which is strange. Last time I checked they were down but stable. Megatron," the senior medic practically hovered over the silver mech, "is there anything you want to tell me?"

The silver mech lay down again, the fatigue still remained:

"I don't understand you."

"Fine, I'll ask differently. Did you do anything that could have damaged them?"

"Like hitting my helm against a wall?" Megatron closed his optics and quietly ex-vented. Even from a distance, he felt the negative tension of the medic's EM field. "No. Nothing like this." He really wouldn't want Ratchet to start asking how they were even installed. "Only in the underground city I again... immobilized the enemy. Just like that evening when we were attacked."

Ratchet straightened up with displeasure and pursed his lips.

"I see." He said briefly. "Rest now. Since the neuroblockers have been removed and your head circuits are completely cleared of... the destructive substance, there is nothing to be afraid of. But I intend to keep you under observation for a couple more days before you can return to your duties as captain." The Autobot medic pressed some sequence of buttons on the console on the right and walked away from the platform.

Megatron felt his systems gradually sink into recharge, but he had no strength to resist it at all. Just like arguing with the red and white Autobot. But he still decided to ask one question:

"Ratchet, wait." Megatron rose up on his elbows and saw the senior medic stop and turn his helm in his direction questioningly. "You said 'rust'..." he shuddered from suddenly remembering the words from his nightmare, "how did that happen?"

The medic was silent for some time, it was difficult to guess what he was thinking about, but Megatron could see with what force the Autobot's digits squeezed the datapad he was holding.

"We'll come back to this later, once you arewell." He finally said, for some reason especially quietly. "There are otherquestions that I would like to ask you. For example, HOW these neuroblockerswere installed."

These words and the look that followed them made Megatron's insides sank. The medic knows everything, even though he wasn't there... He must know of course. An order from Prime to do as it was done. How else? It's a test... he's wondering if I'll break. Start complaining. This won't happen.

But Ratchet didn't wait for an answer. After some intense eye contact, Megatron lay back down, signaling that the conversation was over, and the medic walked away, leaving the Decepticon alone. Soon the silver mech's systems succumbed to external influences, and he didn't notice how he fell into recharge. He dreamed of a peaceful pre-revolutionary time, when his friendship with Orion Pax was just beginning...

&Play the soundtrack while reading the next episode

Previously Rodimus would've been happy if someone had told him that he would be the Lost Light's only captain, but now he was tormented by an unpleasant, bad feeling, as if he had been sprinkled with slag. The Prime's student himself couldn't understand what was tormenting him since the accident when Megatron was urgently sent to the medbay. The entire medical staff of the ship was called, the surgery lasted about five hours. No one knew what exactly happened, only later the first captain received information from Drift that it was because of neural suppressors installed in Megatron's head in prison. The racer himself wasn't allowed to stay during the surgery, but, according to him, the senior physician couldn't calm down after that for a long time.

"Ratchet is very angry," he later shared with Rodimus, Tailgate and Whirl in Swerve's bar, "I haven't seen him so furious for a long time." Drift folded the servos on the table and glared at the energon cube in front of him. "Something very bad happened there."

Whirl and Tailgate looked at each other in confusion. Megatron wasn't a friend to any of them, most of the team was openly against his participation in the expedition, and the rest were tolerantly neutral about this news. They feared him and preferred to avoid him; during the past fights almost all of Optimus Prime's associates got the impression that only the Autobot leader could defeat this renegade Point One Percenter completely and irrevocably. And there were no suicides among the team members. Behind his back, of course, they whispered, voiced their fantasies about ridding the world of the damned Decepticon... But that's all.

Although Megatron himself held his distance from anyone unless absolutely necessary, and he was rarely seen outside the bridge. The silver mech didn't quarrel with anyone (except for Rodimus), didn't threaten anyone, and actually didn't at all look like the tyrant that Starscream described him as. Some team members communicated with that mech personally, and then passed the information along the chain...

Now Megatron has become part of the team, and thanks to him they managed to find the first artifact of the Ancients, the existence of which until recently was evidenced only by ancient texts and Optimus Prime's visions... Be that as it may, without Megatron they wouldn't have been able to do that, and now seeing him suffering...

"That's why Mags is so angry?" the first captain finally drawled. Rodimus knew that Ultra Magnus had spoken with the chief medic after the surgery, and just one look at the blue and white Autobot made him want to run away.

"But he will live, as I understand it?" Tailgate asked as indifferently as possible and took a sip from his cube. Something told him that if the second captain's condition had been critical, there would be... a different atmosphere on the ship.

"Yes," Drift nodded and felt some relief from his confirmation, "Ratchet said he's out of danger."

"I don't even know if this is good or bad," Whirl grinned and, leaning back in his seat, crossed his servos over his chest.

"Hey, you weren't there, you don't know..." Tailgate suddenly began, but the impersonal one quickly objected with a little pressure:

"I was here, and we got hit too. And also saw that strange anomaly in the orbit that almost crushed us."

"Megatron said that the planet Yuntara was attacked," Drift remembered and, under surprised glances, quickly explained: "Ratchet said those were his last words before he passed out in the medical bay."

"Whatever the crazy mech may think," Rodimus drained his cube in one gulp and then threw into his mouth an energon candy from those on the tray nearby. "Who knows..." He suddenly shuddered at the call from the bridge on the internal comm. "Yes?" The red-orange Autobot put two digits to his left temple. "Got it, Skids, I'm on my way now." And he got up from the table: "Well, work is calling, it's time to go to the bridge. Don't know yet for how long I'll have to work for the two of us." And left the bar. Drift followed him.

"But isn't that what you wanted?" Whirl casually noticed him in the back, and then his only eyepiece fell on the empty cubes of energon left by both racers: "Hey, who's going to put away the dishes after your?!" But neither one nor the other was in the bar anymore.

"Did something happen, or you just decided to rid yourself of Whirl's company?" Drift caught up with Rodimus in the corridor. Problematic bot, sometimes he can overreact.

"One doesn't exclude the other," Rodimus grinned as he walked. "In fact, Skids asked to come in quickly... Says a message came from Cybertron. Marked as important."

"Then I'm with you, if you don't mind?"

"Sure. Although, I can't even imagine that this could be important, I... We have everything under control. Yes. It's unlikely that Boss Prime," at these words, the first captain's faceplate warped for a moment, "is interested in how our former enemy is doing, or they found out WHAT almost killed us when leaving Yuntara. Would be good, but..." The red-yellow Autobot stopped for a moment and, casually waving his servo, walked on: "No, it's some kind of nonsense, I'm sure."

"Have you already visited him?" Drift asked in a lowered voice when they found themselves at the elevator.

"Whom?" the confused Rodimus, pressed the elevator call button.

"You know," Drift entered the opened doors after him.

"Is it so necessary?" Having pressed the desired button, the Prime's student shrugged. "This combat drone of ours, whom only Mags understands, is stomping around outside the medical day..." He rolled up his optics and muttered thoughtfully to himself: "How do those two communicate with each other, I wonder? With signals or something?" Again, a glance towards Drift: "And this Decepticon henchman also hangs out right next to him. I'm a captain, actually, I have duties." And proudly walked out of the elevator.

The racer couldn't help but chuckle quietly at the red-and-yellow bot's back. How can Rodimus know that Ten and Ravage are actually guarding Megatron? Unless he personally tried to visit him. An outsider might think that the Prime's apprentice didn't care, but Drift knew well this bot's character and understood that despite his personal hostility towards Megatron, Rodimus cared.

The message from Cybertron turned out to be a real shock. Rodimus was wrong about only one thing: the message was really important...

The first thing Megatron felt when he came online again was the presence of a familiar EM field somewhere nearby. Ravage? There's someone else around too... Opening his optics, he again saw the familiar environment of the ship's medical bay around him, but now all the diagnostic instruments were disconnected from the frame. Like at the Stellar-6 station, he remembered, means... that's all?

Megatron stood up and then sat down again, which immediately attracted not only the cybercat's attention, who, as it turned out, was sitting next to the medical berth, but also both doctors' as well: Velocity and First Aid.

"Megatron?" came from below.

"Captain," the green femme medic quickly jumped up to him.

"Megatron... Ratchet, he's awake," First Aid said a little further away.

Both medics immediately appeared nearby, and their boss also came out of the inner office. Still sitting on the berth, the Decepticon grabbed his helm and swayed slightly. He was still feeling weak, but not as before. Even the helmet's back in place. He can even try...

"I know you can't wait to escape, but for now I kindly ask you to show prudence," said the senior medic who also approached the berth.

Megatron gave him a dissatisfied glance, Ratchet returned him even more stern one that didn't require any objection. The red and white Autobot had a distinctive feature: no matter who came to him as a patient - friend or foe - first of all, it was a mecha who needed help. Even now, Ratchet hasn't betrayed either medical protocols or his principles. Megatron couldn't speak for all doctors; he didn't often seek help.

In general, the medics agreed that they could already release their patient from under their supervision. As long as he follows their recommendations, of course. Megatron felt much better, despite some still unpleasant sensations. For the first time in a long time self-diagnosis didn't detect any foreign mechanisms in the frame. It was so... unexpected and...

Suddenly, the front door opened, and three more mechs entered the medical bay: Ultra Magnus, Rung and... The silver mech's systems tensed at the sight of the mnemosurgeon Chromedome. And so much so that the lights in the room began to flicker and the medical equipment began to malfunction. It was unexpected. It seems that now that the neuroblockers have been removed, it may be difficult to contain the surges in the energy field. This had often happened to Megatron before, despite all attempts at self-control. Rung made a mental note to look into this matter.

Megatron completely refused to let the mnemosurgeon approach him, despite statements that he was also directly involved in the surgery to remove neural suppressors from the silver transformer's head; no one messed with his memory banks. But now it was necessary to conduct a general examination before releasing the patient...

Took a long time to persuade him however... But in the end they agreed that Chromedome wouldn't even touch him. Would they have been able to convince him if it weren't for Rung... Megatron still had a suspicion that maybe that's why they had invited the ship's psychotherapist, guessing what his reaction would be? And another question - why did they invite Magnus?!

It's about to take seven days for the Lost Light to reach Imano, and Ratchet insisted on another two or three days of rest for Megatron, but if he really can't wait to return to his duties as captain, it can rbe educed to one. The silver mech agreed that one day would be enough, he already felt useless doing nothing. Almost three days offline, Rodimus has probably already claimed the ship as his property...

And as soon as he thought about it, as they say, 'remember the sun - here comes its ray', when a message came from the first captain via comlink to some team members to gather in the meeting room, an extremely important message came from Cybertron. Drift, who already knew about everything, called Ratchet as well. Rung also came... just if anything. Surprisingly, no one was against it. No invitation was sent to Megatron, and his appearance became a surprise ащк the red-and-yellow Autobot.

"I thought you're still unconscious..." he muttered under the dissatisfied gaze of the former Decepticon's red optics. "Seriously, Megs... If I knew, I would tell you as well... It's important." Rodimus hastened to retreat and get straight to business. "I ask everyone to sit down. News came... let's say..."

"What happened?" Ultra Magnus asked calmly when everyone took their sits at the table. There were only nine mecha present.

"Remember, we sent a message to Yuntara about that strange ship, and they said that they didn't notice anything?"

"Well, yes," the big white-blue Autobot confirmed with a nod.

"So..." the first captain scratched the top of his head with a grinding sound. "The answer has come... so to speak. Only from Cybertron."

"Rodimus, be brief," Megatron interrupted impatiently. Something bad has happened... The Decepticon felt it. And the Prime's student wouldn't chew slag if everything was fine.

&Play the soundtrack while reading the next episode

Skids took a remote control from a small shelf on the wall under the large screen and pressed a button showing a satellite image of a large cosmic body and many small asteroids around. It looked like some kind of uneven sphere with an impressive part missing.

"What is this?" Rung took off his glasses and reset his optics.

"The planet Yuntara. A few hours after our depature."

There was a tense silence. It seemed to Megatron as if the ship had begun to slowly spin, and he was about to be pressed against the wall under the influence of centrifugal force.

"Yuntara?.." Ratchet asked hoarsely.

"Yes. Two-thirds of the planet's burned out almost completely," Skids brought up space images on the screen, "the crater covers a quarter of the entire surface. Whatever it was, it came from outer space. And it's clearly not an asteroid."

"Surprising that Yuntara is still in its orbit," Perceptor added in bewilderment, "given the force of the impact..."

This wasn't the goal, flashed in Megatron's mind, to bring the planet out of orbit - to affect the entire system, if considered on a global scale, and the power wasn't enough. The images from the dream appeared again in his memory. The impact really came from space, just as he had observed.

"How did you know about this? Megatron?"

"What?" he stared at Ratchet with undisguised suspicion. How did HE... know this? If not...

"Right defore the surgery," the senior medic didn't look embarrassed or guilty at all, "you told me that Yuntara was attacked. I didn't attach any importance to it back then..." Here something similar to a feeling of guilt flashed in Ratchet's gaze. But only for a moment. "How could you know what was happening there?"

"Are you accusing me of something?!" He already felt offensive. Although... what to expect from Autobots.

"I didn't say that!" Ratchet raised his voice.

"But thought so, yes?"

"Enough!" the Ultra Magnus intervened before the old medic could reprimand the former Decepticon leader like an insolent sparkling. And Ratchet had something to say about this. "Megatron, no one is accusing you." In return was only complete disbelief, and Magnus, having ex-vented heavily, decided to try again: "I repeat, no one is accusing you or other Decepticons of anything. We just want to understand what's going on... Neither of us understands a thing going on, and if you can help somehow to figure this out..." The blue-white Autobot leaned forward, keeping his optics on his former ward, "then help us. Please."

He's joking, right? What can I... How can I tell them the truth? How to explain something that I myself don't understand. First the Key, now this... Does this mean that the physical destruction of Cybertron is also possible? That ship... How can I tell them this? How to explain? What's happening to me?

"Megatron," Rung suddenly called him, the therapist didn't raise his voice, but everyone fell silent in shock, "say what you wanted. This may be important."

"I..." the silver mech clenched his fists and lowered his helm.

"The threat is real, Megatron, and time is running out. One planet will be followed by another... And so on along the chain. And, ultimately, what you saw in your dream, will become a reality..."

Terminus... These are his words from the dream... Too many things don't add up, and at the same time fall into place. How so? My visions are a side effect of the Fool's Energon and other chemicals. Or not? Maybe not at all? The Key... dreams... premonitions... warnings... fears...

"Megatron?" Ravage, who also came along with the silver mech, called.

"I..."

Come on, my spark, it's...

'They will be afraid of you. But won't consider crazy.'

And what is worse? Only now there's nowhere to retreat. Who can explain what's happening to me? What is this? They are already afraid, so what do I have to lose? The given opportunity, because they are enemies...

"I saw it happen," Megatron admitted miserably, not looking at anyone, but clearly understanding their reaction.

The faceplatess of those present stretched out in surprise, a tense silence hung in the air, and only one mecha, whom no one was looking at, smiled barely. His pale blue optics sparkled approvingly, but no one saw it behind the opaque lenses of his glasses.

* * *

&Play the soundtrack while reading the next episode

It is just beyond everything. He survived the attack on Stellar-6, the team managed to deal with capture groups twice, and now this. The First Key has been obtained, but events don't go according to plan. Prowl walked back and forth across the dark office and stopped at the picture window.

It's already night. No point in contacting him now, it will only create more suspicion. With a slippery slag like Starscream, always have to be on guard. Now they have one goal. Almost. It's not that the seeker wants to get rid of his former ruler, but rather wants to retain power. A nonentity... But he has the necessary connections, and Megatron has enemies even in the Decepticon clan. Nobody likes traitors. So why not send punitive forces on the hunt?

The head of the security service returned to his desk, activated the console and displayed information about the person he was looking for. There was also an image on the left. Tarn is the leader of the Decepticon Justice Division, a group that hunts fugitive Decepticons. Great, the officer grinned at himself, exactly what's needed. Tomorrow he will talk to the defector to arrange a meeting. There is still time, in a standard move the Lost Light will reach the planet Imano in approximately one space week; if the Peaceful Tyranny uses hyperdrives, then the DJD will get there much faster.

Of course, there is a risk... This group may find out about the Matrix. But maybe that's even good? They'll get even angrier. Prowl leaned back in his chair and laughed, clenching his fists and imagining this situation in every detail. All that remains is to take Megatron from them, dead or alive. Of course dead is more reliable, but getting the living mech will be much more interesting...

Soundtracks (with chapter episodes):
1) Hunger Games: Mockingjay pt.1 OST – District 8 Hospital; (conversation with Terminus)
2) ATOM RPG Trudograd OST - City Blocks; (awakening)
3) Hunger Games: Mockingjay pt.1 OST – District 12 Ruins; (conversation in the Swerve's bar)
4) Fallout OST – Follower's Credo; (Megatron learns of the attack on the planet)
5) ATOM RPG Trudograd OST – Port; (Prowl decides to send the DJD on the hunt)

P.S. The episode about the meeting of Megatron and Terminus is partly similar to the episode of chapter 9 of my fanfic 'Sailor Saturn: Guardian of Silence', where Hotaru sees herself and the destruction of Earth in her dream. But these 2 fanfics are not related to each other, I didn't think about one while writing another, so to speak...

So far, some characters, for example, Chromedome, Whirl and others, haven't received much attention, but they will still show themselves. For now, more about those who most often interacts with the main character.