Standing on the flight deck of the Nemesis, he raises his remaining arm, calling on his troops to rise up and defeat the Autobots once and for all. He turns to view their work, the carnage of the wrecked base…
A sharp jolt of pain through his chassis. He looks down, finding the Star Sabre buried in his chest. He feels heavy, gripping the sword and trying to pull it out. Falling. Everything fading to black…
The first step nearly sends him falling forward. His spark reels and whirls as it works to move his massive frame. Had he always been so heavy?
No matter. One step turns into two. Three. He stumbles into a table, sending instruments onto the floor, but he doesn’t fall. His denta grind together. Focus. Upright again. His stride is more even now. It looks easier. That’s the important thing.
Five more steps. Slow your ventilation. Make it more natural. Do not show weakness. Ignore the pain. Set your shoulders. Forward.
He reaches the door standing tall. Now to find the others.
Soon enough, the little dragon begins to get dizzy. The magic has run its course and dictates that he returns to the medbay from whence he came. He gives his metal Tug-of-war one last nuzzle for good measure, rubbing against his chest where the glowy thing hides.
A smoke cloud overtakes his little form and transports him back to Pharma’s medical bay. He grows and shifts back into his usual metal frame, taking a few moments to regain consciousness. He’d been a beast…
And now he was not.
Pressing back on the berth, the warlord tests out a few new hydraulic lines by sitting up. The room spins, but he forces himself to remain upright. His vision stills. There. He sits on the edge of the berth for a few moments, preparing himself.
Both feet are planted on the ground, and Megatron raises to his full height. He focuses on the wall ahead of him, ignoring the slight wobble. For the first time since his defeat, he was standing under his own power. Ventilation going pretty hard, slightly unstable. But standing.
Megatron lays with his back to the wall. The walk had taken more out of him than he would admit, leaving his massive chest heaving from the effort. He could only glare at Predaking, growling if he came too near but otherwise the grey dragon remained quiet.
The young predacons are quite curious about the new arrivals, and true to his word, Megatron doesn’t even swish his tail at them. He lets them as near as they dare to come, too tired to shoo them away.
*…He is alone in the medbay with a medic he’s never met tweaking wires at the back of his helm. The clasps for his helmet tighten and lock defensively. Unacceptable.*
Pharma is forced to partially suspend Megatron’s frame to gain access to the warlord’s back, which still bears the exit wound of the sword. The medic wonders how the frag he survived the blow, let alone without immediate medical attention… He’s never worked with dark energon before. Would it be worth the Decepticon’s wrath to take a sample of the crystal in his chamber…?
Aware that he was upright now, Megatron still swims in a delirious darkness. How much longer…
*He wakes up on the floor, optics struggling to come back online and unable even to lift his helm.*
By Primus’ core, did the ship crash? Ugh…
*The diluted remnants of the party god’s blood are still in his systems. This should be interesting.*
At least the last time he was berth-ridden he was unconscious. This is infuriating. All he can do is lay here fighting off nightmares recharge, thinking about his ship and his troops and the Omega Lock in the hands of the Autobots while everyone believes him to be offline… It turns his tanks. He has to do something, anything!
Apparently Overlord knew of a medic from his universe that would be able to repair him, but they weren’t getting there fast enough. Every cycle spent immobile on this berth was another cycle for Optimus to reclaim Cybertron unopposed. Another cycle that his Decepticons were left without a leader…
A burst of pain tears through his spark. He had to calm down… His usual level of intense emotion was too much right now. Even focusing on his hatred was denied to him. What was he meant to do now!? Gaaa-aaah…
Calm.
After days of forcing himself to remain alert, Megatron finally succumbs to recharge. It’s for the best and will allow his spark and processor alike to rest and begin repair-
Nevermind the nightmares he’d been seeking to avoid.
Megatron's back up 