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Bridge

Tantrum, like most of the other mechs, were staring at the various surveillance feeds with mixed reactions of shock and anger. The Predacon fueler couldn't believe what he was seeing. Megatron. Megatron attacking. Megatron attacking them.

No fraggin' way.

"I tell ya what this is. This is some kinda Autobot slag! They probably had Megatron ever since he disappeared and now Prowl and Peceptor and whatever other runty brainiacs they got over there reprogrammed him and now.....grah.....this frag!" Tantrum roared, slamming his fist down on the console next to him, practically breaking it off.

>>“Predacons, this is Razorclaw. There is no time to explain but somehow Lord Megatron has returned! However, he is not himself and is hellbent on destroying this ship and anyone that gets in his way. The slagmaker is currently heading towards Engineering on Deck 9. Lock onto my signal and rendezvous with me ASAP! We must do what we can to stop Megatron before he destroys us all!”<< came a transmission from their leader.

Tantrum didn't want to say anymore. With an angry grunt he stormed his way off the bridge.
___

Bounce Chamber

When Thunderwing materialized, the first sensation he noticed was the brief and passing disorientation. He'd long accustomed himself to it. It was of no concern.

The second thing that quickly overwhelmed his senses however was the blaring of emergency klaxons. What in Primus' name was occurring up here in their absence?

The Warlord of Valckasta stepped away from the bounce pad and approached a command terminal so that he could investigate more thoroughly.

Bridge

”This again.” Headstrong grumbled annoyedly as he stared at the surveillance feeds in mild disbelief while waiting to hear from Razorclaw. Shaking his head, the stubborn Predacon palmed his face with one hand and slouched over. ”Not this again.”

It wasn’t the first time. 4 million years of war had had time to include various more or less successful scenarios involving holograms, fakes or just more or less insane plays involving Megatron in some manner or form. Why would this be any more real than anything before? Sure, the Thanatos’ computer systems were trying to warn them of damage in various levels of the ship. But even that could be an Autobot trick. Or Starscream.

"I tell ya what this is. This is some kinda Autobot slag! They probably had Megatron ever since he disappeared and now Prowl and Peceptor and whatever other runty brainiacs they got over there reprogrammed him and now.....grah.....this frag!"

Eh. At least Tantrum was taking it relatively well. The bridge was still intact. Just one broken console wasn’t that bad. Razorclaw wasn’t going to like it but given the circumstances...

>>“Predacons, this is Razorclaw. There is no time to explain but somehow Lord Megatron has returned! However, he is not himself and is hellbent on destroying this ship and anyone that gets in his way. The slagmaker is currently heading towards Engineering on Deck 9. Lock onto my signal and rendezvous with me ASAP! We must do what we can to stop Megatron before he destroys us all!”<<

”Fraag. This slag is real?” Headstrong voiced out his disbelief only to find Tantrum rushing out of the bridge and Rampage no where to be seen. Oh no. He was not going to be out shadowed by the other Predacons again. Hell no.

Pulling out his weapons, Headstrong rushed after Tantrum, ”No slagging way you are going to out do me! I’ll show you all!”

Exiting Bridge to Ship Corridors:

Divebomb began to hear commotion in the distance. He decided to scroll through the camera feeds in the ship to see what...

"M- Megatron?! What the... You guys are seeing this too, correct?"

The other Predacons also aknowledged this strange happening. No sense was being made... And it made even less sense when the Predacon commander sent a message to the rest of the Predacons including him.

>>“Predacons, this is Razorclaw. There is no time to explain but somehow Lord Megatron has returned! However, he is not himself and is hellbent on destroying this ship and anyone that gets in his way. The slagmaker is currently heading towards Engineering on Deck 9. Lock onto my signal and rendezvous with me ASAP! We must do what we can to stop Megatron before he destroys us all!”<<

The bird-former was puzzled. Actually, not puzzled. "Flabbergasted" was a more appropriate reaction for this situation of psychotic nature.

>>"On my way, sir,"<< said Divebomb simply back to his commander. Still remaining utterly astonished at how quickly something like this had broken out. And even more confounded at how Megatron could be back and like this in quicker time than a blink of an optic...

Normally, Divebomb waited for the others to leave before he would because he prefered to stay out of the bickering of his fellow teammates. However, this situation was obviously dire enough to warrant him surpassing his prefered habits. Divebomb just about leaped from his seat and transformed into his eagle mode, and flew out ahead of the others who he'd rather not deal with. Specifically Tantrum and Headstrong with the whole "one upping" junk. And Rampage was just... Don't get me started.

Divebomb landed and transformed to his mech form just under the hole Megatron had made in the upper section's floor. He couldn't help but feel uneasy about going up himself as he heard the violence and death in the distance above. Then again however, the other Predacons were about to show up, and he felt his priorities lied elsewhere than dealing with those other two hotheads and... Rampage.

With that, he jetted up onto the upper floor. Destruction. A massacre it was. Divebomb then checked his weapons and loaded before transforming once again to his more agile eagle mode, and with that he flew torwards where Razorclaw had stated, and hoped he would meet the commander along the way.

...and, indeed he did. But, not without also meeting Megatron for the first time since the battle on Earth. Fusion cannon shots choomed past Divebomb before he transformed and quickly ducked behind a conveniently placed table.

>>"Divebomb here, sir. I'm at your 8-o'clock position. Have any idea what the frag is going on?! Are we clear to fire back?"<<

Hangar

“Damn, just missed the slagmaker. Well, I guess I’ll get another chance soon enough,” Sixshot said after they had arrived in the hangar. Shockwave's attention had been pulled from the destructive scene around them and was now focused squarely on the hole that Megatron had ripped through the ceiling, leading to some of the upper-levels of the massive battleship.

“Isn’t it obvious? Megs has clearly lost his marbles. I mean, look at this mess. I hope you guys have insurance. Heh.” Sixshot said.

Shockwave did not think Megatron's condition could be so simplistically explained away, but he was not seeking analysis from the likes of Sixshot in any event. He served a different purpose.

"Declarative: we do. You," Shockwave responded simply as his vast processing core weighed out the pros and cons of their various responses. His audio receptors clearly detected the sound of Megatron's fusion cannon being fired again. The illumination levels of the hangar flickered.

“You don’t need response teams. You’ve got me. Just give me the word, Shockwave, and I’ll stop Megatron dead in his tracks.”

Shockwave looked up once more. Deploying a Phase Sixer into any situation was always a last resort, precisely because of the level of damage that Megatron had ensured they could cause in order to carry out his vision. But if he attempted to rely on others, there was every possibility they would fail and Megatron--for whatever reason that Shockwave did not currently understand--would destroy the ship and all of them with it. It was a probability that the Strategist decided he could take no chances in order to rectify. All countermeasures were on the table.

"Imperative: proceed. Incapacitate if possible, destroy if necessary."

He then turned to the Intelligence Chief.

"Attempt to overwhelm his mind. We must use every resource at our disposal to bring this to an end."

Hangar Bay

“Imperative: proceed. Incapacitate if possible, destroy if necessary.”

Ah, there they were, the words Sixshot was waiting to hear. Finally, he would see some decent action, and not just against any pathetic little Autobot or Decepticon lacky. No. He was going to be facing the greatest Decepticon of all time - the slagmaker, himself, the one who had made him a phase sixer to begin with. Megatron.

“You got it, Shockwave,” the STAG replied as he ignited his foot thrusters and rocketed up through the gigantic hole in the ceiling. The sixchanger flew up several levels until he finally reached….

Deck 9 – Corridors

Landing in the darkened hallway, Sixshot surveyed the area. Nothing. It was dead silent. There was no Megatron or anyone else for that matter. The phase sixer smirked under his face shield as he advanced forward, transforming into his winged wolf alt mode and bounding through the corridors in a similar fashion as Razorclaw had done a short time before.

The STAG quickly came upon a scene of slaughter as numerous Decepticons had fallen victim to the powerful fusion canon of the slagmaker. It was not surprising as very few 'Cons stood even a slim chance at defeating Lord Megatron. Sixshot had a very good chance, especially now that his shutdown code had been altered. Megatron could no longer trigger the sixchanger’s killswitch and thus the crazed Decepticon leader would have to deal with the phase sixer directly.

Allowing a low, guttural growl to escape his vocals, the lupine mech rounded one last corner and finally saw Megatron at the opposite end of the corridor as he quickly approached Razorclaw. The Predacon Commander appeared to be trying to talk the slagmaker down. That would likely not work any more than it had previously. This was going to require violence to subdue Megatron, a LOT of violence.

Approaching the slagmaker from behind, Sixshot returned to his robot mode, pulling out his hypersonic concussion blasters in the process. “Lord Megatron, what’s all this ruckus about? Why are you killing your own men?” The phase sixer bellowed with the intent of getting the big mech’s attention.

Razorclaw shifted his gaze to the sixchanger. “Sixshot, stand down! Let me handle this!” He then looked over at his aerial subordinate. “You, too, Divebomb! Remain where you are for now.”

Sigh. "Suit yourself, Razorclaw,” Sixshot shrugged, lowering his weapons slowly down to his sides, but keeping them ready at a moment’s notice. “Maybe you should try offering him an energon goodie. Maybe that’ll calm him down.” The sarcasm was dripping from the STAG’s vocals.

Dumb-aft.

Deck 9 – Corridors:

“Sixshot, stand down! Let me handle this! You, too, Divebomb! Remain where you are for now.

Divebomb rolled his optics at Razorclaw's words. What he instructed was not rational. The slagmaker was known as the most unbending mech in the entire universe. Convincing him against whatever he had become was impossible, surely. Nevertheless, Divebomb saw it fit to obey his acting commander's words.

Sixshot however thought it a good thing to express sarcasm to an extremity regarding the situation. Good on him. Divebomb would not have said those words himself, but he was glad someone was at least.

Rather, Divebomb thought it fit to scan through his comm recipients until he found Sixshot. He proceeded to comm Sixshot while Razorclaw had his little chat with the crazed leader.

>>"Say, Sixshot, I never imagined seeing you in an offensive position against Megatron. I suppose things have been... taken care of regarding certain codes to be in this position, I assume? If so... congratulations."<<

Deck 9 – Corridors

After having been flung off of his liege with the full force of his master’s strength and having skidded and collided with the walls of the corridors. How could this be? As he tried to shake off the impact and rise to his feet once more, something BIG whooshed by him. Ravage stumbled, stiffening instinctively. What went by was a white and teal bestial mech. Sixshot.

Blah, Phase Sixers…couldn’t be bothered to watch out for the smaller mechs underfoot.

Shaking off the rest of it, Ravage darted after Sixshot. He skidded to a halt behind him, however, when they reached Megatron. It seemed that Razorclaw was trying to talk some sense into him. Ravage had his doubts that it would work after his own attempt, and some small part of him wouldn’t mind seeing the Predacon commander get taken down a few notches by Megatron…

Hopefully, it would get through to him. The last thing Ravage wanted was a physical confrontation with the Slagmaker for a variety of reasons. If they could get their leader back without having him or themselves suffer casualties…it would be ideal. But in the event that Razorclaw’s pleads fell on deaf audios, Ravage reluctantly readied his own weaponry.

Corridors

”No slagging way you are going to out do me! I’ll show you all!” Headstrong had roared. Normally this kind of challenge would have been thrown out en route to meet some cadre of Autobots. It would stoke Tantrum's sparklust along with the others and ready them for battle. Tantrum's current state of mind was a flood of confusion and increasing anger. None of it made sense. And he couldn't savor this battle. And that made it infinitely worse.

Grrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaarrrrgghhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

His mind was little more than a sea of screaming rage as he finally arrived within the vicinity of Razorclaw's position, not far from Divebomb who had sprinted ahead of them thanks to his flight mode. Razorclaw had ordered them to stand down for the moment.

He.....didn't think he could.........
___

Deck 9--Corridors

Megatron fired again. More critical damage registered. He felt a temporary infusion of pleasure before it quickly faded.

“Megatron, my lord! Please stop! We are not your enemy! I’m Razorclaw, the Predacon Commander! You are on board the Thanatos! Optimus Prime is not here. There are no Autobots here. Only your fellow Decepticons are on board! Please stop trying to destroy us!" Hot Spot said.

Megatron turned around, his fusion cannon already raised. Razorclaw? Impossible. This was Kaon. Kolkular loomed over them. The Autobots' foolish attempt at an incursion into this Decepticon stronghold was insanity.

"Do you think me blind, Autobot?"

“Lord Megatron, what’s all this ruckus about? Why are you killing your own men?” another Autobot said. This one was larger but unfamiliar to the Slagmaker. Another impossibility. Megatron knew every Autobot of consequence. Where had this recruit come from?

"All traitors to my vision have earned death. You betray Cybertron with that red symbol. Your lives end here," Megatron said coldly, before firing in Razorclaw's direction and lunging at Sixshot, eager for the thrill of direct combat just as in his gladiator days.

Corridors

Headstrong came following closely behind Tantrum. He fumed. He was supposed to get there first! How dare-!

The rhino's thoughts were interrupted by the sight of his leader opening fire at Razorclaw and lunging at Sixshot. Well, diplomacy hadn't worked, shock of all shocks.

He had to protect his commander.

Headstrong transformed into his rhino mode and made a charge at Megatron, until his joints stiffened, holding him in place. The Predacon snarled. "Lemme at him!"

Bounce Chamber

Within the confines of the bounce chamber, Thunderwing could not believe what he was seeing: Megatron was systematically dismantling the interior of the ship. Megatron. Nothing about that entire reality made sense, and yet it was staring him in the face on the monitor playback.

Thunderwing then started examining all the areas that were damaged, following via holofeeds the Slagmaker's path of destruction. For all intents and purposes he seemed to be headed directly for engineering. Unimpeded, a mechanoid of his power levels allowed to run amok within the critical confines of those environs would soon send this entire vessel up in flames. A battlecruiser of this magnitude was well fortified--on the outside. If the threat could get in somehow, its job became significantly easier.

Fortunately, there were numerous high-level Decepticons on the scene. Like turbowasps stirred from a clusternest, they were all doing their best to mitigate the damage and neutralize the threat. Thunderwing, for his part, opened up a fresh communique to Flamewar.

>>"As pressing as the Dinobot situation is, we seem to have a far greater one aboard the Thanatos. If you're going to do something of note, you'd better take your shot."<<

Deck 9 – Corridors

>>”Say, Sixshot, I never imagined seeing you in an offensive position against Megatron. I suppose things have been... taken care of regarding certain codes to be in this position, I assume? If so... congratulations.”<<

Sixshot groaned internally at the attempt of the aerial Predacon to engage in small talk at a time like this. Did Divebomb not realize the severity of the current situation? Or perhaps he was in denial or simply didn’t care. It mattered little to a mech of the sixchanger's stature.

>>”You can imagine what you want. Megatron no longer has power over me. However, unless you want a hole blasted through your chestplate via the slagmaker’s fusion canon, I suggest you pay more attention to him rather than me.”<<

The STAG never took his optics off Megatron. In all actuality, they were very evenly matched, so much so that the slagmaker saw fit to install a killswitch within Sixshot many vorns ago as a precaution. However, that did not make Megatron any less dangerous to the phase sixer as he wasn’t the leader of the Decepticons for nothing. Megatron was a force to be reckoned with, one that Sixshot had never truly faced before in a combat situation. The outcome could go either way.

“Do you think me blind, Autobot?”

Clearly Megatron had lost his mind. There were no Autobots here, only his own Decepticons, but still that’s not what he was seeing. Something very odd had happened to him during his absence. He was obviously hallucinating, but what was causing it and how were they going to snap him out of it? These were good questions that were better left for others to figure out. Sixshot’s job was simple: stop the slagmaker at any cost. After that, more intellectual mechs could take over and get Megatron back to his old self.

“All traitors to my vision have earned death. You betray Cybertron with that red symbol. Your lives end here."

And with that Megatron fired on Razorclaw. The Predacon Commander dove to one side as the fusion blast struck his left concussion canon, blowing it right off his shoulder and leaving deep scorch marks in the lion-former’s armored plating. “Decepticons, if you have a clear shot, take it!” Razorclaw shouted as he got back to his feet.

“I intend to,” Sixshot replied in a low voice, bringing his weapons up to bare. Unfortunately, Megatron lunged at him with a ferocity that the sixchanger seldom saw in any opponent. Finally, a real fight against a real adversary. What more could a phase sixer like him want?

Before Sixshot could get off a shot, the slagmaker slammed into him, knocking his blasters out of his hands and pushing the sixchanger back until he struck a nearby wall behind him. The Decepticon leader’s strength was beyond intense. In a sick and twisted sort of way, Sixshot enjoyed it. “I never thought I’d see the day, Megatron, when you and I saw battle. Your code is obsolete. You must deal with me directly now.”

With his back literally against a wall, Sixshot delivered a powerful headbutt into Megatron’s faceplate in the hopes of disorienting the slagmaker at least temporarily. The phase sixer then grabbed Megatron’s shoulders with both hands and attempted to push him back into the center of the corridor.

At the same time, Razorclaw took careful aim and fired at Megatron’s exposed back with his one remaining shoulder-mounted concussion cannon that would hopefully aid Sixshot in his fight against the crazed Decepticon Supreme Commander.

Bounce Chamber

Materializing with the rest of his Constructicon brethren, Scavenger stumbled off of the bounce pad and flopped down next to a wall in the chamber. Scrapper’s harsh tone had kind of stunned him. The bounce disorientation didn’t help any either. However, as soon as he gathered his very limited wits, he crawled over to Scrapper, managing to pick himself up. His optics darted back and forth from the floor to Scrapper apologetically.

“S-Sorry, Boss…I-I didn’t mean to upset, ya…Please don’t be upset with me…?”

As Scavenger made his apologies, the bounce pad flared to life once more with the rest of the Decepticons from the undersea base. Weirdwolf stretched lightly, picking at some scratches he’d gotten in his last hasty retreat. He glanced about, taking stock of the situation and noted Thunderwing glued to a terminal. Wonder what that was about? Moving off the bounce pad, Weirdwolf smirked at Skullcruncher.

“Nice bit of exercise, was that not?” he commented. It wasn’t too often that one dealt with the Dinobots and fared so well. His optics flicked down to one Flamewar as she slipped past him easily and hurried over to Thunderwing’s side. Hm. It appeared as if something was going on.

Stepping up to Thunderwing’s side and peering at the monitor, the words were out before Flamewar even registered the images on them. “So what is so urg-“

She froze. Optics wide and disbelieving.

Megatron.

Grappling with what this could possibly mean, Flamewar desperately tried to subdue her emotional reaction. What would be the best thing to do? Why were they attacking Megatron? Her optics flicked to another screen, noting the path of destruction. No…why was he attacking them? This didn’t make any sense. Unless someone present there betrayed him? It was good that Sixshot was there to subdue him, but…None of this made any sense.

She needed to get over there. Pulling away from the console, Flamewar moved to leave, transforming into her alternate mode.

Corridors - Deck 8

A commotion. On a Decepticon vessel, a commotion could mean anything. Fights and brawls were common enough, with the different...interesting personalities. Slipstream sighed and made her way to a console. Well, better figure out what her 'allies' were up to.

He accessed the internal security feeds and- Ah. That's interesting.

Megatron and his cronies were fighting. Each other. And only one deck up, no less. What was this, mutiny?

A quick check of the very recent archives proved that theory false. It would do some good to check this out. With that, Slipstream logged off the console and made her way to the above deck to check it out.

Corridors - Deck 9

“Decepticons, if you have a clear shot, take it!”

Headstrong almost scoffed. Like he needed to be told that. With effort, he forced himself back into bot mode and pulled out his rifle, shooting a spray of energy spheres somewhere in the general direction of Megatron's back.

Razorclaw wrote:>>“Predacons, this is Razorclaw. There is no time to explain but somehow Lord Megatron has returned! However, he is not himself and is hellbent on destroying this ship and anyone that gets in his way. The slagmaker is currently heading towards Engineering on Deck 9. Lock onto my signal and rendezvous with me ASAP! We must do what we can to stop Megatron before he destroys us all!”<<

Megatron... back? And tearing the ship up? Flywheel's two sides for once were in agreement one a thought. Where did he...

Go? Somewhere, obviously, you fool!

Don't start. We should go help the rest of the crew before we figure out what the hell's happened.

Flywheels began running down the corridor towards the commotion
Why? It's Megatron. What could we do? Be a corpse? Because that sounds amazing. Truly a- Flywheels stopped.

DON'T start. We'll be corpse one way or another it seems.

We can't agree on anything! How will we help?

Well, if you'd stop complaining, maybe we would!

How do you know it's not YOUR complaining? Maybe if you were so "logical", we'd be able to unify!
Maybe if you were so- Wait, we're just standing here.

Flywheels looked around. No else was around. We should go check it out at least. A unified thought! At last! Flywheels grinned and soldiered forward, then let his jaw drop. By the Allspark...

He saw Lord Megatron shoot off one of Commander Razorclaw's guns.

Razorclaw wrote:“Decepticons, if you have a clear shot, take it!”

"But... it's Megatron..." Flywheels whispered.

And he's slagging up the ship! Shoot him now and let the docs sort it out. Flywheels raised his rifle, waiting for a clean shot. He knew, both of him, that his laser wouldn't do much. He saw Megatron ram the six-changer into the wall. And he turned and ran around the corridor's corner.

Battletrap should be around here, right? Let's send him a message, maybe get some extra help...

Flywheels opened a channel to his partner. >>>"Flywheels to Battletrap. Where are the both of you? We got a situation here!<<<

Lounge

Orders had come through and many of the mechs who heard Razorclaw's plea rushed off to try and halt the returned Megatron. However, that call to arms fell on deaf audio receptors as Fangry remained seated at the bar, his digits wrapped firmly around his glass and a bit of energon dripping from his faceplate.

Razorclaw... what a joke. Did he really expect to halt an enraged Megatron returning and seeing his throne was taken up by some mangy cat? Pheh! Good riddance. Maybe then things can go back to being the way they used to.

"Hey greasepits!" The purple and black tracker called to the service-mechs, "Fetch me another, I'm almost out here!"

Hangar

"Attempt to overwhelm his mind. We must use every resource at our disposal to bring this to an end."

Shockwave's suggestion was logical, albeit it troubled Soundwave internally. It was no secret the intelligence officer greatly admired Megatron having been one of his most entrusted lieutenants... However, a part of him always swore he would never try and read his original leader's thought patterns. Given the circumstances though, it was better to break this hidden level of trust in order to truly understand Megatron's current course of action. Simply offering a acknowledging nod towards the military commander, the blue and white communications officer followed in the path of destruction left by their former supreme commander, turning his outlier abilities towards the chaos and specifically towards that of Megatron's thoughts.

Once Soundwave reached the deck the slagmaker had halted on, he was greeted by the sight of Sixshot engaged in a fight with Megatron while Razorclaw and his Predacon horde surrounded and tried to provide suppressing fire.

As Soundwave began to try and read Megatron's mind, he was met with great resistance. It was as if he were looking into a camera feed that kept losing its signal. Flashes of information here and there, interspersed between garbles of static and overlay. Through the thickets he could see fire, Cybertron, the overthrowing of the Senate... Cybertronian history flashing in and out through the cognitive dissonance.

>>"Megatron's thought patterns are in disarray."<< the monotone Decepticon began as he switched his comm to inform Razorclaw, Shockwave, and the other surrounding Decepticons dealing with their current situation, >>"He is beyond delusional, and does not see the world around us as we do. I cannot get a positive look into his processor without being met with images flicking from subject to subject."<<

Attempting to look back into his mind, Soundwave tried to hail his former Supreme Commander in hopes of breaking trough whatever mental incapacitation he was suffering from.

<<Lord Megatron, can you hear me in there? You are not well, but you are safe aboard the Thanatos in the Sol System. Come back to us Lord Megatron.>>

Bounce Chamber

As always the bounce affects bothered Battletrap a big longer than the typical Cybertronian due to his two halves. Once he got his bearings, he walked off the pad into the midst of the other Cons. The Constructicons did look worse for wear while others were in a bit better shape like Wierdwolf and Skullcruncher.

"Devestator broken? Does he need Commander Shockwave to fix? Shockwave put me and Flywheel together good."

Thinking of his fellow Duocon made Battletrap miss the closest thing he could call brother. Then all of a sudden he received a communication from him which delighted Battletrap.

>>Flywheel, I am doing good. Had mission in underwater base. Faced many Autobots like dumb Dinobots.<<

Bounce Chamber

Once he was back on the Thanatos, Scrapper was able to do a signal check and confirm that all of the Constructicons were on board. That was a load off his mind.

“S-Sorry, Boss…I-I didn’t mean to upset, ya…Please don’t be upset with me…?”

Scrapper looked over at his most sensitive teammate. Of course Scrapper's harsh tone prior to their departure from the undersea base had affected him the most. Though Scrapper enjoyed the chaos of war and the opportunities for innovative design that came with it, he hoped that mechs like Scavenger would truly be able to know Megatron's peace and live a life where he could simply build and be the mech he was meant to be. Scavenger's loyalty had earned him that.

"No, my friend. It wasn't you. Not you at all. Flamewar's plan, while good, simply necessitated I do what I could to ensure the survival of my team without my usual, erm, 'tact'."

Scrapper's optic was then drawn to the gruesome form of Thunderwing hovering over a console as if he were about to consume it. Flamewar stood close by. The Constructicon Commander's curiosity was more than piqued and he moved to join them.
___

Thunderwing paid little attention to Flamewar as she came closer and took in the shocking imagery for herself. This was, perhaps, a moment that he had been waiting for. With Megatron clearly not himself and the very strong potential that Razorclaw, Sixshot and, presumably, Shockwave--wherever he was hiding--might become casualties of this chaos, Thunderwing would need to be prepared to fill any void in command and keep the Decepticon empire on track.

A grin on his face slowly gave way to one of stoic responsibility as he turned to the other Decepticons that had bounced up.

"Order must be restored and this vessel must be preserved. Go!" he barked before stalking off into the corridors of the Thanatos himself.

Corridors – Deck 9

Battletrap wrote:>>Flywheel, I am doing good. Had mission in underwater base. Faced many Autobots like dumb Dinobots.<<

The more rational side of Flywheels was happy to hear from Battletrap. He's alive, happy to know that.

Awesome. Can he shoot at the moment?

>>Battletrap, glad to hear you're alive. We can talk later. Just get your gun and meet us here on... we're on Deck 9?<<

>>Yes, you idiot! I was talking to him, not you!<<

Flywheels looked around the corner, seeing Razorclaw fire his remaining cannon on their crazed Lord. He quickly retreated back to his hiding position, fear gripping his circuits.

>>By Primus, Battletrap... Lord Megatron has gone insane. What has happened while I was out? Actually, ignore that question, get your gun if you're able to hold it, and help us!<<

He closed the channel and turned the corner, his rifle in hand. He stood there, watching the fight unfold. We should help! Flywheels cocked his gun, taking a step towards the skirmish.

But... we don't know the story! This could be a mutiny! You should've let the Battletrap answer the question! Flywheels decided to retreat to his hiding corner as he continued to bicker with himself.

Personal Computer Terminal

With all the commotion going on, Feint and Reaver used the opportunity to go digging around for information in the computer. Nothing fancy, just needing the whereabouts of someone.

Bounce Chamber

The message from Flywheels made no sense to Battletrap. Why would Megatron attack his own troops? One mech he knew and trusted usually had the answer.

>>Commander Shockwave, Flywheels says Megatron attacking us. Battletrap not understand. What do I do?<<

Battletrap heard the funny looking Thunderwing say something about going to secure the ship. Battletrap didn't understand so he waited to hear from Shockwave. He looked around and was reminded about the damage to the Constructicons.

>>Commander Shockwave, Devestator got broken. They need fixed. You put Flywheels and me together well. You can do same for giant Con.<<

Deck 9 - Corridors

Slipstream made it to Deck 9 in short order. She trotted to see the fight unfolding. Megatron was winning, or at the very least holding his own.

That's not surprising.

It all made for a good show, especially with the battle between Megs and Sixshot. With all the firepower being thrown around, however, Slipstream found it best to duck behind a corner for cover. No use getting herself grounded by a stray shot to her wings was there?

She spotted a figure cowering behind a wall. Curiosity got the better of the femme, and she crept out from her hiding spot to investigate.

It was a Duocon. And just any one, either. It was the less stable one (could either of them really be called stable?). What was his name again? Battlewheels? Flytrap? No, Flywheels.

She tried to creep away. Too late. He saw her.

Deck-9--Corridors

Once the sounds of battle had seemed to move themselves sufficiently further from his current position, Shockwave activated his internal flight systems and lifted off into the air and through the gaping, burning hole that Megatron had torn through the upper hangar. He would join the engagement, but only when it was most logical to do so.

>>"Megatron's thought patterns are in disarray. He is beyond delusional, and does not see the world around us as we do. I cannot get a positive look into his processor without being met with images flicking from subject to subject."<<

Soundwave's report was largely what Shockwave expected. These were not the actions of the Megatron that Shockwave had come to know and understand for the previous millions of vorns. But there was a specific observation that caught Shockwave's attention: Soundwave stated that Megatron was not seeing the world around him as they did. The natural next question was...how was he seeing it? And how had that been accomplished upon the mind of arguably the most tamper-proof Cybertronian in history?

Shockwave was doubly curious to find out.
___

Megatron's body found itself engulfed in weapons energy just as it had on countless other occasions since the beginning of the war. Pristine gunmetal armor was quickly showing the black and scorch marks of the heavy weapons deployed against it. Still, Megatron's focus remained on the one whom he was locked in direct combat with. All else was distraction.

Megatron and Sixshot traded numerous heavy blows, any one of which would have incapacitated many a lesser mech. This one was formidable, Megatron would give Optimus credit for that.

“I intend to. I never thought I’d see the day, Megatron, when you and I saw battle. Your code is obsolete. You must deal with me directly now,” the Autobot said.

"My code?" Megatron snarled, not understanding what the Autobot was referring to, a fact that only enraged him more. A massive headbutt sent Megatron staggering backward. The Slagmaker lifted his cannon the fire again but was stopped by the Autobot's quick movements. He had closed the small distance between them and soon the two warriors were trading blows in close quarters once more.

Even as this occurred, one of Megatron's hands retreated into its socket, quickly replaced by a chained energo-mace. If this Autobot enjoyed engaging him in close quarters as Prime so often did, then he could enjoy the same results. He had sent Prime back to his precious Autobots in fragments on more than one occasion. This one deserved no better.

As he fought, a familiar voice cut through the din of battle.

<<Lord Megatron, can you hear me in there? You are not well, but you are safe aboard the Thanatos in the Sol System. Come back to us Lord Megatron.>>

Soundwave?

"Soundwave, excellent. Order the vanguard to proceed forward without me. Prime has seen fit to dispatch a new warrior to try and stop me. I will send his new toy back to him in charred pieces and join the vanguard on Iacon's southern perimeter defenses."

Closing the "comm", Megatron saw no need to continue playing games with Prime's latest creation.

"And you....you've fought well, but your campaign ends here!" Megatron growled before attempting to bring the mace to bear once again.

Bounce Chamber

When Scrapper looked to him, Scavenger squirmed a bit inwardly. His optics had dropped to the floor. He couldn’t bear to look his boss in the optic if he has messed up somehow. But, the next words out of the boss’s vocalizer set all those fears aside.

"No, my friend. It wasn't you. Not you at all. Flamewar's plan, while good, simply necessitated I do what I could to ensure the survival of my team without my usual, erm, 'tact'."

“Y-You mean it?” Scavenger asked, his optics lighting up hopefully as he looked to Scrapper. The unbridled joy and relief in his faceplate was plain to see. “Oh, good! Yeah…good.”

Perking up at Scrapper’s attention drifted elsewhere, he looked too. Ugh. Thunderwing. He wasn’t smart but even he knew better than to plaster fleshies all over your body. It would take ages to get off! He just didn’t get these scientist types. Like Shockwave and his one hand thing. Or Megadeath and his…everything. As the boss wandered over to the flame-femme and Thunderwing, Scavenger watched as the femme transformed.

Before a word had left Thunderwing’s vocalizer, before he even moved to turn and address the other Decepticons, Flamewar was gone. The screech of her tires echoed faintly in the dim halls of the Decepticon warship.

Scavenger looked after her, a bit confused, then to Thunderwing even moreso. “Go?” he asked even as Thunderwing stalked off. He just didn’t get those scientist types at all. Trotting over to the one smart guy that could speak his language, Scavenger tugged on Scrapper’s arm lightly.

“Boss, what’s he mean?”


Hangar

Rather than go immediately to the scene where Megatron was rampaging, Flamewar took a detour, heading straight for the hangar instead. Her spark clenched in her chest as she desperately choked back her tangled mess of emotions. It was not the time for that. No, she clamped down on her feelings hard. Immediately, Flamewar spotted Megatron’s path of destruction. Fortunately, her own personal shuttle had been spared. Transforming as she reached the ramp and punching in the code, she swept inside.

It was in the next moments that she reached it. For the first time, Flamewar hesitated, a festering doubt lingering her in processor. No, it was precisely for a situation like this that she had been given this great burden. Still, she wished that the time had never come for her to use it. Going through several security protocols keyed to her cybernetics, Flamewar opened a hidden compartment inside the shuttle. Gingerly, she picked up the device within and stowed it away on her person.

That accomplished, she darted out of the shuttle, the automated systems locking it behind her. Flamewar took to the air, flying up through the hole in the ceiling that only Megatron would have created and transformed, darting past Shockwave. Up ahead, she could see Soundwave. And, further ahead, Megatron. Sixshot, to her great vexation, seemed to enjoying himself quite a bit while the Predacons provided support. Well. What they could anyhow. It was Megatron after all.

>>"Megatron's thought patterns are in disarray."<< the monotone Decepticon began as he switched his comm to inform Razorclaw, Shockwave, and the other surrounding Decepticons dealing with their current situation, >>"He is beyond delusional, and does not see the world around us as we do. I cannot get a positive look into his processor without being met with images flicking from subject to subject."<<

Coming to a stop, Flamewar transformed, keeping a respectable distance from the fray. Primus, what had happened to him? She was tempted to call out to him as well via a comm, but the words that came from his mouth made little sense. How? How had this happened? Megatron’s mind was supposed to be a fortress. By his own design.

If ever there were a time to use it, this would be that time. Of that, Flamewar was certain. She opened a comm to Sixshot, Soundwave, Razorclaw, and Shockwave.

>>”I am going to do something that will give us an edge. Megatron will be weakened for exactly two breems. That time is our best chance to subdue him.”<<

Drawing out the device, Flamewar punched in the code, looking to Megatron as her digit hovered over the button.

>>”Forgive me, Lord Megatron,”<< she commed to him privately before smashing her thumb down onto the button.

>>”Time starts now!”<<

Deck 9 – Corridors

>>”Megatron’s thought patterns are in disarray. He is beyond delusional, and does not see the world around us as we do. I cannot get a positive look into his processor without being met with images flicking from subject to subject.”<<

>>”Beyond delusional? You don’t say? Well, thanks for the info, Captain Obvious!”<< Sixshot commed back to Soundwave as the devastating headbutt the phase sixer had just delivered to Megatron knocked him back into the center of the corridor. The slagmaker then tried to bring his arm cannon to bare, but he was quickly stopped as the sixchanger rushed towards him and the two Cybertronian titans continued to trade immense blows one after another after another.

Sixshot lived for this. He lived for battle. He lived for destruction. He enjoyed destroying whole worlds single-handedly, but what he enjoyed most was someone with enough power and skill to take him on in battle. And there was no greater warrior that could do that than Megatron, himself. He was a true gladiator, a mighty soldier for which there were few equals. Sixshot was one of those who could stand up to him and fight Megatron hand to hand, fist to fist, without being immediately rendered a pile of molten slag. Those 'Cons who gathered around them, offering their weapons fire when they had a clear shot at the slagmaker, could only hope to match a quarter of the power now on display between these two massive warriors.

As their battle raged on in the corridor, Sixshot slammed Megatron against the wall. The slagmaker returned the favor, spinning the sixchanger around and hurling him into several nearby mechs, who scattered across the floor like cyber-rats. The STAG regained his footing and charged in again as Megatron began to withdraw one of his hands into his arm socket. The two traded blows once more as a chained energo-mace appeared where the slagmaker's hand used to be.

“And you....you've fought well, but your campaign ends here!” Megatron bellowed as he brought the glowing purple mace to bear. Sixshot tried to dodge the weapon, jumping backwards. However, the spiked ball of energy slammed into the phase sixer’s chestplate, propelling him back across the corridor. The STAG’s back struck the far wall, but he did not collapse to the floor. No, the mace had delivered a powerful blow, but it was still not enough to knock him down and it was certainly not enough to stop him for good.

“Now we’re talking,” Sixshot said with a grin underneath his faceplate, ignoring the dent that now adorned his chest armor. He was about to make another charge when Flamewar’s vocals came across his comm line:

>>”I am going to do something that will give us an edge. Megatron will be weakened for exactly two breems. That time is our best chance to subdue him.”<<

>>”Time starts now!”<<

What was she talking about? Sixshot did not know, nor did he care. Whatever she had done, it seemed to be affecting the slagmaker in some way. Regardless, it was time to end this battle. Swiftly transforming into his wolf creature alt mode, the phase sixer leapt at Megatron, his claws fully extended with the intent of tearing the armored plating right off the slagmaker’s chassis.
______________

Razorclaw’s concussion cannon seemed to have little affect on Megatron, who continued his melee fight with Sixshot. Many of the other Decepticons that had arrived in the corridor of Deck 9 had also opened fire, but they caused little damage, as well. At least, it was not enough to slow Megatron down. Even the STAG took several unintentional hits, but he, too, was unaffected by the limited firepower of ordinary Decepticons.

Soundwave’s arrival and subsequent comments made sense, considering Megatron had spoken multiple times now as if he were surrounded by Autobots. He even seemed to think he was fighting Optimus Prime, himself, when it was, in fact, Sixshot.

>>”Continue to try and get through to him, Soundwave. Do whatever you have to in order to penetrate his damaged mind.”<<

When Megatron extended his energo-mace, the Predacon Commander drew out his sword. Sixshot was struck by the slagmaker’s glowing weapon, knocking him across the corridor. Razorclaw was about to make his move when Flamewar arrived and commed everyone that she was about to do something that would weaken Megatron for two breems.

>>”Understood, Flamewar. I hope your little trick works.”<<

Razorclaw cut his comm line and charged forward just as Sixshot had assumed his wolf form and leapt at the slagmaker. The lion-former brought his blade to bear before swinging it down at the knee joint of Megatron’s right leg. With any luck, the strike would cripple that leg and bring the Decepticon leader crashing to the floor.

Bounce Chamber

“Nice bit of exercise, was that not?”

”If by that you mean losing our new base and not even finishing off a single Autobot, then yeah. Sure.” Skullcruncher scoffed at Weirdwolf’s comment while wondering what was Flamewar’s rush to Thunderwing’s side about. The holoscreen was just too obscured with those two standing before it, ”What the slag is going on?”

Neither answered, instead Flamewar rushed off without saying a single word. It wasn’t until Thunderwing turned to sideways when Skullcruncher could see enough to understand properly what had the two so rattled. Even if he still couldn’t see the whole monitor he had seen enough. Their lost leader - Megatron fighting other Decepticons on this very ship.

"Order must be restored and this vessel must be preserved. Go!"

Thunderwing had at least orders to give. Too bad even he didn’t bother to explain the situation any. Not that Skullcruncher even knew if that was within the warlord’s capabilities right now. There was a good chance he was as clueless as the others that had just arrived.

”Weirdo? What do you think it is happening here?” Skullcruncher asked as he began moving after Thunderwing.