Haha!

You thought I'd forgotten about this? Yes, I actually did. I had writer's block for a while.

Took a quick leap into the My Hero Academia fandom and am still there, so I kinda out this one on hold, but I'm back now and have a LOT of stuff lined up, so stay tuned (*cough* for a few months because I'm terrible with deadlines).

Enjoy

"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?"

- Abraham Lincoln

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Mission

The first time I met Megatron was in Bee's dream. Then the second time, when he forced Bumblebee to revive him and nearly extinguish my spark. Then the third time, when he'd stabbed me with the Blood of Unicron.

And now, the fourth time.

He strode into base, but not with the caution you'd expect from someone walking into enemy territory. The warlord actually seemed confident.

Megatron grinned as he surveyed the place, "So, this is where the magic happens. Quaint."

Everyone but Ratchet and Optimus had their guns drawn. I stood with the humans, hidden by the cover of the hallway. It felt like the dark energon was finally fading from my system. I didn't want to aggravate it anymore than it already was by him being there.

Megatron's purpose for being in the base was simple: supply the coordinates to the center of the Earth and depart as soon as possible.

But as he was informing Ratchet of the coordinates, I found myself fixated by him. The purple streaks across his frame, the glowing Decepticon insignia on his chassis. How could he take the blood of Unicron so easily in his stride?

He turned back to the team, who all watched him in an even more vigilant way than I did. Megatron looked directly towards me, his stern expression stretching into a grin. I hadn't noticed, but at some point had moved out of the hallway's cover and further into the main room.

"I assume we are bringing the Enhanced," Megatron guessed.

"Her name is Silver Sun," Arcee snapped, "And she isn't going anywhere with you."

"Oh, come now," He rolled his optics, "It couldn't possibly hurt to take some extra fire-power."

Optimus was quick to step forward before my sister could get another say, "Silver Sun must still recover from the effects that your dark energon has had on her. However, if she wishes to join us on this endeavor, then I will not stop her."

He turned to me, half-sure of what he was asking. I looked at my sister, then Bee. Then stole a glance at the evil Decepticon they'd be travelling to the most remote part of Earth with.

"I'm going," I said quietly.

Bee stared at me in confusion, "But I thought you said earlier that the dark Energon-"

"I know what I said," I sighed, "But the stakes are higher now. I'm going."

Even though this was probably a bad idea, there wasn't a chance in Cybertron I was leaving my sister and team's fate to the person who'd tried to kill all of us on multiple separate occasions.

Optimus nodded, "Very well." He turned to the medic, "Ratchet, please prepare the ground bridge."

I noticed Optimus slip away to the hall where June, Fowler and the kids were, but assumed it was just to bid farewell for the time being.

"This'll be a story to tell," Arcee murmured as she walked over to me, all the while keeping her optics on Megatron, "Can't believe we're teaming up with him of all the Cybertronians in the universe."

I nodded in agreement, staring at the Decepticon, "Tell me about it."

This was going to be a long trip.

Not long after, Ratchet got the ground bridge coordinates locked on. Optimus returned, the humans following as we prepared to leave.

There was a lot I wanted to say. To quite a few of the people in the room. But there was no time for that. We were about to take on one of the most dangerous missions I've ever been on. One of the most dangerous - this story is far from over yet.

As the ground bridge hummed to life, Megatron gestured for one of us to go through. We were right to be scared after he'd managed to trick us so many times. My sister glared at him.

"You first," She said warningly.

He grinned and fake-bowed to her, "As you wish."

He was the first to make his way through the portal, followed warily. We went one at a time. Arcee, Bumblebee Bulkhead then me. I took a moment to pause and look back at Ratchet. Seeing his concerned face, I half-smiled reassuringly.

If I didn't make it back, I at least wanted to make sure the others did. But things don't always work out that way. I followed the others through the ground bridge, Optimus being the last one through.

When I reached the other side, I immediately felt a heaviness in both my spark and processor.

There was a lot of darkness. A lot of bridges that I realised were actually veins. And the noise. The sound of Unicron's spark. I thought it was bad while on the surface of the world. Now we were right next to the origin of the call.

Megatron stood in front of us. The ground bridge faded shut behind us. My sister stepped forward scanning the chasm that surrounded us for any traces of danger.

She finally addressed Megatron, "So, how long before Unicron knows we're here?"

"Make no mistake," He muttered, being the first to edge further into the place, "He already does."

He wasn't lying about that. Once again, I felt uneasy. But continued to follow the others into the unknown.

--

The team continued along the twisting path for what seemed like hours but could've only been about twenty minutes. Nothing but silence. No one wanted to speak or have a conversation for fear of setting off some sort of alarm.

I wondered how close we were to his spark, but soon got my answer.

Once again the surroundings of the dark caverns were replaced by images, flowing through my helm one after the other.

The ground of the Earth tearing open into chasms of purple.

The chaos-bringer rising from his billion-year time-out.

And then the worst: The earth shattered to particles by the very being who'd formed it.

It returned to darkness, nothing but darkness. Then came the two purple optics glaring down at me.

You, descendant of Primus, will fall.

I supposed it wouldn't be Unicron without a threat to life as we knew it. Only this time, I planned to speak up.

"I-I don't think we will," I stuttered.

Not exactly the most insulting of burns. A laugh echoed from around me.

How quaint your deluded attempt is. I, Unicron, destroyer of worlds, will have no qualms in smiting you from existence. You and the ones you stand with.

I unsheathed my arm blades, "We'll fight."

And I look forward to seeing you try.

A rumbling sound came from behind me. I spun around to see another one of the stone minions the team was fighting earlier.

Not knowing any better, I slashed at it. I expected the thing to attack but it only raised its servos up in defence and backed away. I heard Unicron laugh from behind me.

How will you fight me when you are already fighting yourself?

I didn't understand what he meant until the darkness melted away to reveal that I was back in the cavern. My optics blinked back to life to see the team standing there, staring at me in worry and caution.

My sister stood in front of me, staring in shock.

"What? What is it?" I asked, genuinely confused.

Megatron merely stared at me, "It isn't just myself you need be concerned about."

It just then dawned on me why Arcee looked so apprehensive. That wasn't one of Unicron's creations I'd slashed at; it was her. I took a step back as I realised the gravity of what I'd done.

I could barely get my words out, "I-I'm sorry."

"Are you alright?" Optimus asked.

He took a step forward. I took a second step away. If Unicron could mess with my thoughts and perception, maybe I really was in over my helm. One thing was for certain: It would only get worse the closer I was to his spark.

"It's him, isn't it?" Arcee asked sternly.

I sighed, shaking my helm, "Just a sign that we're getting close. It's fine."

I really wanted to believe it. I didn't know what I'd do if any of the team got hurt by my actions.

The others looked skeptical, but continued on after Megatron. I followed after them at a safe distance, my sister beside me.

After going deeper and deeper into the caverns, trusting Megatron (never thought I'd say that), we finally emerged in the centre. And by centre, I mean the literal centre of the Earth. I guess this was his chassis. Connected to the rest of him by dark-energon infused stone was the final destination. His spark.

Each of us took a second to pause and stare up at the sight. But we were too close to saving this world to let doubt take over.

Bulkhead slowed down a little in front of me. He groaned and rubbed his helm. Bee stopped and looked at him in concern.

"You okay, Bulk?" He asked.

He nodded, "I'm fine, Bee. Just...woozy."

"The dark energon," My sister realised, stepping forward to help him move onward, "It's starting to affect him."

I would've helped, but my processor was somewhere else. My purple optics carefully scanned the area surrounding the bridge we moved across. Something about this felt too simple.

You have entertained yourself with the notion of defeating me for long enough, Thankfully there was no blacking-out this time, In the end, this world will be dust.

Megatron stopped abruptly, searching the area ahead of us. I guessed he recieved a similar warning. He turned back, face serious as always.

"He is preparing to expell us," He stated.

As if on cue, a series of sharp buzzing noises began forming all around us. The sound was almost familiar. Almost like a rabid screeching.

The echoes ricocheted off the walls, making it difficut to pinpoint where exactly they were appearing from. At first, I couldn't get a good look at what was hunting us. Then we looked up.

Oh scrap.

Everyone's weapons were drawn and ready as swarms of insecticon-like creatures shot towards us. They all had the same purple glow in their frames.

This time, I was less hesitant to join in with the team, firing at the creatures as they grew closer to us.

"What are these things?" Bee yelled between shooting.

"Given that we are in Unicron's body, it stands to reason that these are some sort of anitbody," Optimus guessed.

They continued to screech as one by one we shot them down. My aim normally wasn't good, but there were so many that shooting in almost any direction would've hit at least one.

What we didn't realise was that they were coming from two directions.

One was able to catch my sister off guard, tackling her off balance and sending her flying.

I immediately stopped, trying to reach out to catch her, "Arcee!"

Luckily, she caused the antibody that attacked her to crash into a bridge below and continued firing at the others. Thank Primus, because that was a long way down.

I was about to go back to fighting, but noticed Bulkhead struggling. The dark Energon must've been getting to him worse than we thought. Bee only just managed to catch his servo as he stumbled over the edge of the bridge. I began to rush to help them, but through all the commotion, I'd let my own guard down.

I heard a screech from behind and turned back in just enough time to see yet another antibody zooming towards me. I held up both arms to block, knowing there was no time to shoot at it. It locked it's teeth around one and dug them into my metal skin.

The pain was so surreal that I couldn't think as it threw off my balance, attempting to make me fall off of the bridge. My feet scraped against the stone as fought back to little effect.

My emotions began to heighten yet again, but I knew it'd be too dangerous to release the charge with the team being this close in proximity.

Two shots fired and it finally let go.

I clung to my limp arm, looking over to whoever had fired the shot. It was Megatron. He gave me a quick glance before resuming to fight. I stared at him in confusion, quickly snapping out of it at the realisation of my arm currently bleeding out.

"Autobots, towards the central chamber!" Optimus ordered, then calling to Arcee.

My sister nodded and made her own way up as we charged for the entrance to Unicron's spark. We made it inside the outer chamber, the archway sliding shut behind us, blocking out the remaining antibodies.

By now, the beats were loud enough to block out my hearing. I watched as Optimus followed Megatron into the metaphorical belly of the beast. Something urged me to go with them, but a servo on my shoulder drew me back to reality. Bee looked at me in concern.

"Sil, you should rest. You're injured," He told me, glancing at the wound.

It should've been stinging, like it was before. But the sparkbeats overshadowed it. I nodded and sat down against a wall, acting like I was relatively fine.

My optics suddenly felt heavier. I struggled more and more to keep them open. Arcee must've noticed, because she came over to check on me, shaking my shoulder when I didn't respond.

Pretty soon, everything around me faded to black.

I felt my body moving without me ordering it to do so. My arms transformed, one into blaster rifle, the other into a blade. But no matter how much I tried to see, I couldn't bring myself back to reality.

There were distant calls to me. I couldn't make out what they said, but guessed that it must be Arcee.

Eventually, my sight began to slow recover, flickering back and forth like a broken TV. I saw glimpses of the chaos around me. Bee and Bulkhead were fighting the antibodies as my sister lay bleeding on the ground in front of me. My optics widened in horror. I still felt Unicron pulling the strings.

He raised my right arm and transformed it back. I watched as he made me summon my power, but I managed to restrain it. My other arm shook as I broke it free from his grasp, trying to pull my other arm away.

I looked up and saw 'Cee clutching her bleeding leg. Maybe it was the pain in trying to fight, or the fact I'd tried to unconsciously hurt her causing tears to find their way into my optics.

If Unicron wanted to use the charge to shoot at something, he'd make me regardless. And until I was out of their way, it'd only make fighting the antibodies harder for them.

"'C-Cee," I breathed, looking at her optics, "I'm s-sorry."

Without thinking twice, I pointed my servo towards the remaining antibodies as the swarm tried to break further into the chamber. I let Unicron fire.

I watched as they became engulfed in the charge, letting out screams of pain. I didn't care. I just needed to protect the others from them, myself and the power I'd hated so much. There was no chance I'd let Unicron use it to hurt my family.

The tiredness sank in immediately after.

I remember Bee catching me as I fell from the exhaustion. But most of what happened after is a blur. Just a lot of screaming and panic as I lay on the ground.

Some time later . . .

My optics slowly flickered on, but my body felt stiff and incapable of moving. The first thing I saw was the roof of the base. Did that mean we did it? Was Unicron gone?

The wound on my arm was practically invisible now. And I didn't feel any other presence in my mind but my own.

I groaned as I sat up, wondering where everyone was, "H-Hello?"

My voice sounded like a hoarse whisper. I really must've been out for a while. I cleared my throat.

"Hello?" I called a little clearer and louder.

I was about to get up and look for the others myself when a familiar yellow and black blur appeared around the corner. Bee's optics were widened as he rushed towards me and scooped me up and a tight hug.

"Bee!" I chuckled, hugging him back.

"Primus, Sil," He didn't move from his position, "You had us all scared."

"Scared? Why?"

He at last backed away from the hug, but his servos rested on my arms, "Silver, you were out for a week."

My optics widened, "A week? As in seven days?"

He nodded, "Ratchet didn't know what to do, since you weren't responding to any of the medicine he was giving you, so he put you in induced stasis. But...you didn't wake up when you were supposed to. He said we just had to wait."

I sighed, "Well, I'm fine now. What about you? Are you okay?"

"Better now that you're awake," He half-smiled under his mask.

"And the others? Arcee?"

This was where he hesitated.

"We're all fine. Arcee and Bulk are on patrol right now. But when we went after Optimus...I don't know. Something weird happened. He willingly went with Megatron. Didn't even respond when we called after him."

Worry immediately struck as I realised our leader was missing.

"Is he alive?" I asked, my tone growing more serious.

Bee confirmed, "His life signal hasn't extinguished. But we can't track it. Megatron must be keeping him on the Nemesis."

"Then I guess it's time to get back to work," I stood up from the medical berth and began heading for the main area.

"H-Hey, before you do, uh, you should probably know something..."

I didn't stop walking, "What do I need to-"

"Hey, Silly!" A cheerful yet mockingly familiar voice called as I entered the main area.

I looked to my right, to see who spoke. The answer immediately made my spark drop.

Standing in a circle near the hallway were three people I never wanted to see agin. The buff electric-purple and orange mech who'd first spoke smirked at me. Trailblaze.

Next to him was the timid demeanour of the pale-pink coloured two-wheeler femme. She tried her best to avoid optic contact with me. Lunova.

The one on the end was the one I least wanted in that room. The four-wheeler femme with a red frame and yellow highlights offered a smile. But a smile couldn't make me forget all those years of torment. Firestar.

Bumblebee awkwardly scratched the back of his helm behind me, "Um...new recruits?"

Firestar looked to the other two before strutting over to me, her bright blue optics staring me down as she did so. She extended her hand for me to shake.

"Long time no see, Silver Sun."

--End of chapter--

Alright, if anyone has questions, or can't remember who these three are, go ahead and ask 'em in the comments. Basically, high school bullies returned.

Contrary to what I say sometimes, I do have a story, just it often takes a U-turn in a new direction, but we're back on track now and writer's block is gone!

Serious note: Hope ya'll are staying safe during the apocalypse. Don't go outside for anything that isn't absolutely necessary.

'Til All Are One,

GreyroseLegacy