GW1234:- I don't own any of the characters except from Adam and Megan :)

Chapter 16:He's back

Blitzwing sauntered into the control room on the Nemesis, his icy personality on show as it twisted in confusion.

"And where might Lord Megatron be?" He asked, his thick German accent echoing throughout the space. Breakdown turned from his conversation with a Steve and walked warily towards the newcomer, his fingers lightly twitching.

"Who are you?" It came out harsher than first expected, but Blitzwing didn't even flinch and was about to reply when a metal clang resounded and they all immediately turned towards the source.

Breakdown raised a questioning eyebrow "Knock Out, what's with the face?"

The pristine red mech's datapad was smashed on the floor and his optics were wide open, his jaw slack.

"B-Blitzwing?!" Knock Out stuttered. Blitzwing's face suddenly started to spin and stopped on one resembling a jack 'o lantern and he spread his arms out wide.

"Ooooh! No one told me my precious Knocky was here!" He squeaked childishly as he rushed forward and tackled down the medic. Knock Out tried to struggle out of Blitzwing's vice grip, only to be hugged even tighter by the mech.

"Hey, watch the paint!" He grunted irritably, scowling.

Breakdown watched his partner with an amused look fluttering within his golden optics. He folded his arms over his chassis and raised an optic ridge. However, he quickly grew bored and stalked out of the room, leaving the red mech to be crushed by the newcomer.

(Megan's POV)

It's been around half an hour since Sideswipe nearly knocked out Prowl, and I was only becoming more concerned as the seconds ticked by. He would occasionally freeze in place for a couple of seconds before returning to normal, a haunted look on his faceplate.

Prowl had since decided to go and help the others, as they had momentarily radioed in stating that Breakdown and that new decepticon-Blitzwing, I was told his name was- were attacking the Autobots. Of course, not only did Prowl leave, but the call forced Ratchet to reappear. I had refused to even glance in his direction out of shame, opting to remain close to Adam instead.

Everything became silent for a short amount of time, the only sound being pairs of pedes shuffling around. Turning to Adam, I was about to ask him a question when there was a sickening metallic crunch.

I twisted my body towards the source of the sound, only to see Sideswipe, and his fist was tightened around what seemed to bear a close resemblance to one of Ratchet's tools. His optics were dilated, as if in a trance.

"Sideswipe!"

The cherry mech jolted slightly, his optics returning to normal, and he looked over at Ratchet, who had a firm scowl on his face.

"I needed that!" He yelled. I couldn't stop the small laugh that escaped me, but it instantly died away the second Ratchet glanced over in my direction. Feeling shy, I hastily looked back towards Sideswipe, carefully ignoring the pair of glowing blue circles in the corner of my vision. Sideswipe was looking at the twisted piece of metal in his hands, confused. The heavy gaze suddenly lifted and footsteps clanked closer to the other mech.

"What has gotten into you?" Ratchet questioned. Sideswipe shook his helm, holding back a shiver.

"Nothing I'm sure, just a minor glitch…" He trailed off, knowing he wasn't convincing anyone.

"Are you sure?" I called over, brushing the hair out of my face. "You haven't exactly been…yourself, recently."

"Well, I have been seeing Megatron in my mind…." Sideswipe admitted, gauging Ratchet's reaction.

"You're seeing Megatron's face?" He repeated, sounding baffled. Humming for a moment, he gestured Sideswipe over to the large pod like device sitting in the corner of the secondary med bay. Though hesitant at first, Sideswipe did end up walking towards it, stepping in whilst Ratchet headed towards the controls to the left and began to type.

I had decided to place Sideswipe well before my current situation and also walked over, watching as his optics dimmed and he fell into stasis.

It was then that Sunstreaker stormed over, looking very irritated in seeing his twin offline.

"What the frag are you doing, Ratchet?" He all but snarled.

"Sideswipe's complaining of intermittent visions, waking nightmares if you will." Ratchet snipped back, putting the golden mech back into place.

"But, you said he was fine when you checked him over?" I enthused.

"Physically, but the experience he endured seems to be having a temporary effect on his phsyci, this induced power down should force Sideswipe's mind to rest and recover." He responded, his professional demeanour momentarily looking over the past and soothing me somewhat. At least he was putting his medical work before me.

The main computer then started to beep erratically, shortly followed by Optimus' voice.

"Optimus to base, we are in need of immediate assistance!"

Ratchet jogged over to the controls, pressing down a button and starting to speak.

"Sideswipe's in an induced stasis right now, but Sunstreaker shall be over momentarily."

"Affirmative, Optimus out"

The com-link disconnected and Sunstreaker walked over, seeming troubled between staying with his twin and following orders.

"Don't worry about him, Sunstreaker. I'll keep an eye on him." I smiled as I watched the edge of his mouth twitch up before he nods and runs into the groundbridge, which Ratchet has already opened for him.

As the portal closes I can hear Adam mumbling to someone on his phone, seemingly quite frustrated.

"Yes, but…I can take care of myself!" He sighed heavily, slouching. "Okay, I'll be back in a minute. Yeah yeah, love you too, bye." Adam lowered the phone from his ear and grinned sheepishly at me.

"I kind of need to go now…my mom wants me back so that she can take me shopping." He rolled his eyes.

"I'm assuming you want to groundbridge out?" Ratchet spoke up, an edge of bitterness in his voice. As Adam nodded my guardian typed in co-ordinates and activated the groundbridge once again.

Adam jogged over and gave me a tight hug.

"I'll see you again tomorrow." He whispered, and I nodded. Eventually releasing me, he ran straight into the groundbridge. I bit my lip in slight confusion.

"How do you know where he lives?" I questioned. Ratchet turned towards me and shrugged.

"I don't."

I wasn't sure whether to scold him or laugh at Adam's misfortune, so I remained quiet. The ensuing silence slowly grated on my nerves, though I relaxed a little watching Ratchet walk towards his broken tool. He picked it up, examining it. A small, irritated sigh escaped him and he turned to me.

"Megan, I'm going to the supply vault to see if I can find parts to repair this." His stare became slightly sterner "You know what that means."

"Don't touch anything." I responded in a half-assed tone. His helm tilted slightly in approval and he turned away, walking through the corridor.

It was when he left I realized that a giant weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I didn't feel as cramped up as I was when he was within arm's reach. As Sideswipe was still in stasis, I took the time to sit back and think of ways to apologize to my guardian; it wasn't fair to put him through something like that and then run away, hoping the situation would dissolve into dust. Of course, I never got what I had hoped for, and now I need to make up for my actions, even if it meant humiliating myself.

The sound of systems onlining and optics whirring made me turn my head towards the source; Sideswipe.

I called his name, confused, but it quickly turned into panicked shout as he slowly walked out of the pod and towards the groundbridge.

"Sideswipe!" I yelled, frantically waving my arms at him. It wasn't working; his optics were dilated like before and he seemed in another trance like state. My stomach tightened in unwanted guilt as he typed in a set of coordinates and activated the groundbridge.

Watching helplessly as he walked through, the rushed pedes of Ratchet approached from behind me.

"What did you do?!" He accused. I turned to face him, shocked.

"Nothing! Sideswipe just got up and-"

"He was in power down!" He interrupted "Where does he think he's off to?"

"Can't you check the computer? See if you recognize the location?" I suggested, a worried expression on my face. He seemed to think for a second before nodding.

"Maybe it can help us with discovering what is wrong with Sideswipe." Turning to the computer, Ratchet began to type. I dash towards the stairs, climbing up and reaching the console just in time for him to dig up the location.

"These are the coordinates of the site of our previous battle with Megatron's undead, where you were-" He cut himself off, not seeming that keen on bringing it up again and focusing on the one who had just walked out.

"Maybe we should call Optimus?" I asked, my anxiety making it seem as if there is nothing else we can do other than alert Prime of what's happening. Ratchet immediately shook his head in disagreement.

"Optimus is busy preventing a polar icecap from melting." He looks down, and I notice that his servo is firmly gripping the groundbridge lever, "We need to handle this on our own."

The small flutter in my chest was enough to convince me that my guardian was actually including me in these events, instead of forcing me to sit and watch from the side lines. I was going to grasp this opportunity as tightly as I can, and refuse to let go.

Ratchet pulled the groundbridge lever, and the bright swirling lights were activated once again. He spun around on his heel, walking towards the portal. I was readying myself to jump over the railing when Sideswipe suddenly made his appearance.

"Sideswipe? What have you been doing?" Ratchet can clearly see the look of anger on the warrior's face, his small wings pointing upright. Just as he is about to walk past, Ratchet and I both spotted a glowing purple substance in his hand. He grabbed Sideswipes arm, holding it in a firm grip. It was enough to make Sideswipe momentarily relax his fingers. My eyes widened as he revealed a sharp, jagged piece of rock.

"Dark energon?" Ratchet questions in disbelief. I watch in horror as Sideswipe pulls his fist back and slams it into Ratchet's face, sending him flying back. With a grunt, his back crashes against the bottom of the console. As Ratchet tried to slowly haul himself up, my fear was replaces with an unbelievable amount of anger, my body flinching up tightly in wariness as I glared.

"Sides? What are you doing?!" I fumed. His head snapped towards my, his gaze easily piercing my harsh one and forcing my resolve to crumble in sudden fear. My heart began to race as he made a path straight towards me. Ratchet seemed to notice this and I saw his optics widen in panic. He tried to speak but all that escaped was a small groan, proving that he was still quite disorientated.

I tried to back away, but his servo wrapped around me in an uncomfortable grip. Feeling my feet leave the floor, I began to bang helplessly on his metal plating.

"Sideswipe, please!" I begged, my stomach dropping as he flung me onto the edge of the ventilation shafts. Quickly standing up I continued to shout at him.

"I know you're in there! You have to fight whatever's making you do this!"

My words went unheard by Sideswipe as he steadily marched back into the groundbridge. The moment his form disappeared again I heard another groan, slightly louder than the previous one. I quickly looked over, watching with slight relief as Ratchet stood back up.

"Ratchet! Are you okay?!" My mind was furiously pounding as I had allowed to get so worked up over my guardian that I could feel a headache forming.

"I'm fine." He brushed my concerns off. He opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut again as he approached me. I shivered slightly as the unsuspected scan washed over me. About to protest, I kept it to myself at the small amount of relief and reassurance which glinted in his optics.

"More importantly is Sideswipe; I fear the time spent in Megatron's mindscape is causing him to think like a decepticon." Ratchet mused, stopping in front of me. I frowned at him, agitated.

"Sides' is not a con!" I exclaimed.

"Agreed." He responded, holding out his servo. It took me a moment to realize what he wanted me to do, and I jumped down onto it, steadying myself as he began to move again.

"But," He continued "we need to find out exactly what Sideswipe intends to do with that shard." He suddenly froze and I wobbled slightly, casting a questioning glance in his direction.

"The only one who knew of the dark energon was Megatron." He ended his sentence with a firm scowl.

"Sideswipe has Megatron's memories?!" I found it difficult to believe what Ratchet was implying.

"Worse. Megatron is occupying Sideswipe's mind." He explained briefly.

"What?" I restrained the shout which was bubbling in my chest, my hatred for Megatron deepening considerably.

"How could I have been such a fool?!" He criticized himself. The comment may not have been much, but the trickles of regret in his optics made me frown. Surely he didn't really think that he was to blame?

"Rat-"

"The cortical psychic patch acted as a two-way conduit. When Sideswipe returned to his own mind, Megatron followed." He placed me down onto the platform, searching some files on the computer.

"And now Sideswipe- Megatron, has bridged to nearly the same co-ordinates Optimus used." Ratchet then pulled the lever, activating the groundbridge, and turned towards the swirling portal.

"Stay here." His stern tone surprised me, but his words made my stomach boil with anger.

"No. I'm coming with you." I stated, marching towards the stairs. A giant hand blocked my path, and as I looked over I saw and irate Ratchet attached to the appendage.

"You can't, Megan, it's too dangerous." He argued, giving me a light shove backwards. I stood my ground, a firm scowl now on my face.

"But- you said I could go with you earlier! You can't just change your mind now!" My cheeks turned pink from my show of emotion, and before Ratchet could talk back I quipped "Plus Sideswipe is a close friend; he needs me!"

He seemed ready to argue back, but his optics softened slightly and he sighed, holding his servo out again.

"Of course he does."

Smiling, I jumped down and he placed me onto his shoulder, walking through the portal in silence.

Jumping out, he steadied himself and froze in place. My eyes also widened at the familiar area.

"The decepticon warship!" Ratchet exclaimed in a hushed whisper. Running around the corner, he stopped again at the sight of several vehicon troopers lying dead, scattered down the hallway.

"Did- did Sideswipe do this?" I asked, my blood running cold.

"I fear Megatron's mind is dominant, and clearly he came here for one purpose: to use the dark energon to resurrect his own body." Ratchet replied gravely. I shook my head, closing my eyes.

"No. Sideswipe would never let him; he'll fight back!" I said stubbornly.

"I hope you're right." Ratchet nodded, continuing to walk down the corridor.

The warship was eerily quiet, the only noises being Ratchet's movements and the faint hum of the engine. I could feel the blood pounding in my ears, thoughts suddenly catching up with me. Maybe we can stop him, maybe it's too late. Surely there was multiple ways to simply disrupt the connection before the warlord can re-join his body…but what would that do to poor Sideswipe?

"What if the patch doesn't work properly, and Sideswipe loses his mind to the back of Megatron's…." I faltered, voice cracking. Ratchet tilted his head in my direction, his facial features radiating reassurance.

"Everything will be alright, okay? We just need to get to Sideswipe and take him back to the base."

I nodded slightly, staring at him. He was quick to break the gaze, turning another corner. More corpses were littered along, and Ratchet brought his servo up and gently curled it around me, manoeuvring me to the floor. Before I could take point he stepped in front, indicating for me not to move. His pace had slowed drastically and it was then I could hear slow clicking sounds from the room to the right. Ratchet snuck up as agile as he could and peered around the corner. It was then I made my move and ran in-between his legs, using his pede for cover. My hand grazed along the metal, signalling him that I was below.

The scene played out in front of me as if I was in a cinema. Sideswipe had a glowing purple tube of some sort stuck in the back of his head, the other one connecting to the berth, where the comatose decepticon leader lie.

A soft growl echoed from above me and before I knew it Ratchet had lunged forward, running towards Sideswipe at a rapid pace.

"Don't hurt Sideswipe!" I stressed, stepping forward with a wild expression on my face.

"That's not Sideswipe!" Ratchet grunted back. He got in close enough to swing at the possessed mech, but Sideswipe was quick to dodge. He tried again but missed by a mile and only ended up knocked into the wall. At any other point in time I would have laughed at Ratchet's major loss of pride, but I was fully aware of the situation, and how I needed to try to do something. Just ad Sideswipe twirled the shard of dark energon in his fingers, I ran forward, screaming his name.

Stopping a few feet away, I quickly breathed "Remember who you are Sideswipe; for god's sake remember me! You do listen to me sometimes, so please just listen now!"

Relief washed over me as his optics returned to normal, though I began to sweat as they seemed to change state every half second. A couple seconds of agonizing torture later, Sideswipe was the one sending a look of confusion in my direction.

"Megan? Is that you?" He queried. I grinned brightly, moving closer.

"Yes, that's right, it's me!" I had to refrain the laugh in my voice as I hugged his foot.

My joy was short lived, however, as Sideswipe suddenly began hissing in pain, bringing a servo to his head and clutching it tightly. I narrowly missed being squished as he fell to his knees.

"Sideswipe!" I screamed, running closer and grabbing his arm. Te red metal was cool to the touch, and I could feel many small dents which were easily identifiable as battle scars.

Staring at his head, I anxiously waited for him to lift his head, and when he did, it was clear that Megatron was once again under control. Within a quick moment I was flicked away, flying across the room.

Groaning, I sat back up, ignoring the stinging pains within my abdomen, noticing Ratchet behind the decepticon warlord. Whilst he was distracted with me, the medic must've snuck up from behind. He clutched at the single large cable feeding into Megatron's chest, and obvious life support.

"Goodbye, Megatron." He sneered, yanking the cable out. Sparks flew everywhere, several shades of a magnificent purple and blue. I stared in awe, only to hear a huge scrape of metal beside me.

Looking over, I saw Ratchet lying on the ground, clearly close to passing out. My heart wrenched painfully in my chest as I wanted nothing more than to run over to his side, but Sideswipe was slowly approaching Megatron's body with the dark energon shard. It seemed as if Ratchet's actions were in vain, and I shakily stood up, straining my middle.

"Sideswipe" I called weakly, my voice cracked from emotion. He paused in his tracks, slowly looking over his shoulder towards me. Bringing up the shard, his glance moved between it and me before he finally settled his optics, leering.

"Sideswipe can't hear you anymore."

For a split second, my emotions began to yet again conflict. I wanted nothing more than to be back with Sideswipe, the only way for that to happen was to allow Megatron to revive himself. However, the Autobot warrior was fierce, determined, brave...we all knew that he'd willingly sacrifice himself for the sake of keeping the decepticon leader offline. It was a battle of will, of what there is to lose; my friend or the war.

Sucking in a breath, I hastily made my mind up and began to sprint forwards.

"As much as I want Sideswipe back, I can't let you get your own body back!" I leapt onto the cable, desperately tugging at it to come loose from Sides' head. He began thrashing about, trying to make me lose my grip, but I refused to relent. I had to try, no matter the consequences. He caught me off guard when he quickly whipped to the left, and for the second time in a space of minutes I was airborne.

However, instead of the solid metal floor, I made contact with a pair of yellow servos. I didn't even have time to thank him as the next thing I knew I was being placed onto the ground, watching Sunstreaker leap towards his twin. He managed to pull the cord out of the back of Sideswipe's helm and drag him backwards, but it was too late. The shard of energon melted into Megatron's chest, and a couple of seconds' later blood red optics illuminated the room. Stiff limbs creaked as Megatron slowly stood up, the noise enough to wake Sideswipe up from his trance. He fell into his twin's arms and they, along with me, moved backwards.

I yelped as I felt a force drag me even further away and soon ended up staring at red and white metal. Peering over from behind Ratchet's leg, I watched as Megatron glared at us before snapping his head upright, his chest heaving lightly as he prepared to speak out.

"Decepticons, your rightful Lord and Master has returned!" The cold and menacing tone echoed throughout the ship, and it didn't take too long for a bunch of Vehicon troopers to march into the doorway, effectively blocking us all in.

After a tense moment, Megatron slowly began making his way to the door, the troopers beginning to part. Ratchet shifted so that I was away from any potential shots fired, but that didn't prevent the scrutinizing gaze of the decepticon leader.

"Finish these pests. I have my own extermination to perform." He stared for another moment before finally leaving the room. Not a second later the Vehicons began to shoot at us, one narrowly missing my hair. Ratchet was quick to react, grabbing me and swinging under the table, where the metal acted as a barrier. I watched with mild amusement as the twins unleashed a fearsome battle cry, lunging towards the attackers.

The adrenaline was rapidly pounding through my veins, excitement and fearlessness overpowering the pain and tiredness I was sure to be feeling soon. I couldn't prevent the smile from resting on my lips as a headless corpse smashed against the wall to the right of us, falling limply to the floor. It was then a familiar sensation crawled up my back, a pleasant feeling. The meaning made my smile widen.

Of course Ratchet would be double checking for any additional injuries. Maybe one day I'll swallow a coin; that'd be sure to freak him out in the best possible way. It was then all of my guilt came crashing back in multiple waves. After my unexplainable actions and trying my best to avoid the subject and the mech, he was still focused on protecting me, preventing any major harm from being inflicted. And I still didn't have the guts to apologize. I seriously do not deserve him as my guardian, or even as a friend.

The sounds of high-fives distracted me as the twins cheered about their small victory. Ratchet clambered out of the hole, making sure to not jolt me in any way. We all exchanged glances just as the ship began to rapidly shake, the loud whirring of a machine being broken echoing throughout the vessel. I clutched onto Ratchet's hand as the vibrations continued, but when it eventually settled I sighed in relief, loosening my grip.

"The hell was that?" I questioned, scanning the room in confusion. Sideswipe merely shrugged.

"No clue. But I think we should bail before any more Decepticons close in on us."

The three Autobots nodded in agreement and ran out of the doors and through the endless hallways. The amount of times we had swerved left and right was enough to make me feel queasy.

Eventually we found the exit, much to the relief of all of us. The moment we stepped outside, however, all I wanted to do was run back onto the Nemesis, where the temperature was at least a low average. Goosebumps immediately pricked up against my skin and m teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. Sunstreaker turned to me and snickered.

"You look like a windup toy."

I resisted the urge to throw a cuss in his direction, too cold to even lift my arm. A scan from Ratchet left almost no reaction on my part, the freezing temperatures numbing.

He glanced at the twins, speaking softly.

"We should hurry; she may fall ill if out here much longer."

Their mouths set into hard lines and they turned away, scouting a way forward. Ratchet followed closely behind, holding me up to his chest as we travelled. The warmth of his spark was enough to keep me conscious, my body curling towards the heat. Using the time of silence to my advantage, I thought about the impending danger and threat that the Autobots would have to face with Megatron back in action. I smiled to myself, lamenting over how bad Starscream was at taking control of situations, and I'd be right in thinking that it gave them a well deserved break from the true horrors of war. Of course now, the battle for Earth and Cybertron had truly just begun.

I could feel my eyes beginning to droop, exhaustion and pain breaking through the ice barriers which had set in place the longer I remained in these temperatures. Eventually I just succumbed to the darkness, wishing nothing more than for the war to already be over.

(Time Skip)

Voices were murmuring in protest. Another one, sterner, whispered with finality. My eyes fluttered open just in time to see the twins pouting as they dragged themselves out of the room, which turned out to be the med bay. I shifted slightly, pulling the blanket which was covering me closer to my body, warming myself up as much as possible. My stomach was slightly sore, but other than that I was just tired. I mumbled to myself about my habit of losing consciousness and then flicked my eyes upward, seeing Ratchet standing a couple of feet away from me, a fond smile directed towards me. I returned it, but then remembered my previous thoughts back on the warship and it fell, revealing my uncertainty and mild panic.

"How is Sideswipe?" My voice croaked, dry from the lack of speech on my behalf. A small scoff escaped him, his head lightly shaking.

"He's back to normal...well, normal for Sideswipe." I choked a laugh, twisting my body to sit up.

"Well that's no good. Change him back; I liked it when he hardly talked." I joked, beaming as the medic's lips curved into a genuine smile, one which was rarely on display. A yawn escaped me before I could stop it, and I assumed that by now it must be pretty late at night.

"Can...can you take me home please?" It all came out as a rushed sentence, my face flushing as I stumbled over words. Without a word he walked over, picked me up and walked out of the med bay. He paused at the exit of the base to transform down, and I pulled myself into his interior, my senses slightly blurred.

The silence that occurred was much unlike the others which had taken place today; this one was agonizingly painful. Thousands of words were burning on the tip of my tongue, needing to be released.

Without warning I felt my mouth begin to open, forming a single word, but then I lurched forward as Ratchet immediately braked, skidding sideways. I gasped heavily as the wind was knocked out of me, looking out of the window. All I saw was a black van, speeding away. It had obviously driven passed carelessly, not realizing that Ratchet was there. Speaking of him, he was cursing loudly through the radio, both about the van and me.

"Hey, it's fine, neither of us were harmed. It was more than likely a bunch of idiots driving around without a second thought." My words sounded a lot better in my head, but I had to attempt to comfort him. He was taking me home, after all.

"That's not the problem." He ground out, clearly agitated. I tilted my head in confusion. Since when was this a problem? I relayed my thought to him, and grew concerned as he sighed heavily.

"That van...it had initials on the side.

Initials that spelt out M.E.C.H."