Megatron was busy training by himself in the gym. He was working on his kicks. “97! 98! 99! 100! All right, let’s work on the left…”
“YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNG WARRIOR!” called Alpha Trion’s voice.
“…When did HE get here?!” Megatron muttered to himself as Alpha Trion burst through the door.
“Listen to me, Young Warrior! This war is pointless! Heed me now and learn! If you stuff your head under the blanket and fart, you will have vivid nightmares!” Megatron just stared at the ancient Transformer.
“…Okay, right though you are, you’re clearly lost, old mech,” he remarked as he began his left foot kicking routine.
“This coming from the young boy who’s forgotten the real threat here?”
“Alpha Trion, I’m busy! Get out!”
“You DO want to beat Unicron, don’t you? Training by yourself won’t accomplish that goal, neither will stewing about what Galvatron said or fighting him despite the fact that he’s the wiser of you.”
“WISER OF US?!” Megatron then gave the surviving member of the Thirteen his full attention. “I’ve spent the better part of a two-year journey to this planet and five years on this rock fighting an oppressive faction and you tell me that the one who told me that what I’m fighting for is pointless is the wiser of us?!”
“Those were not his exact thoughts, and you know it! Consider his position! He and Rodimus are some of the last Transformers in their time! Everything both factions fought for, gone in an instant! Everything YOU fought for was turned to dust by Unicron’s hands! …Quite frankly, it sounds like you could use a little time among Autobots to recenter yourself because your time as Decepticon Lord has done ill towards you.” Alpha Trion then left the gym and left Megatron alone.
“…You’re wrong, Old Mech. Being the Lord HAS done me good, a TREMENDOUS amount of good!” Megatron then began his punching drills.
Blaster was keying in commands to increase scrutiny in the base. “Dude, will you relax!” protested Teletraan 1. “You’ve got our sensory network so sensitive; it’ll go off at the drop of a dust particle!”
“If that particle drops on a Terrorcon, I want to know about it,” replied Blaster.
“You’re too cautious!”
“And you’re too relaxed!” Just then, the warning system flashed. Blaster traced the origin to the space probes. His optics widened when he saw the image. It was a massive spheroid ship, roughly the size of the moon, with focusing lens at the front and a Decepticon symbol on top of the lens. Blaster’s optics widened in horror. “…Warworld!” he breathed.
“That’s funny,” muttered Teletraan. “The Warworld’s giving off Autobot transponder codes. It’s almost like…oh no!”
“Deathsaurus!” gulped Blaster. The comms then pinged.
“It’s Soundwave.”
“Open a channel!” Soundwave’s face then appeared. “Decided to call Deathsaurus, huh?!”
“Warworld’s presence: not requested,” droned Soundwave. “They have ignored my hails.” Soundwave sent all the relevant data as proof of his words.
“That doesn’t make sense,” muttered Blaster as he finished combing over the data. “If it’s Deathsaurus, why’s he ignoring you guys?”
“Leaders must be informed.”
“One of those rare moments where I agree with you. You tell Megatron, I’ll tell Optimus.”
“Agreed.” The call ended and Blaster headed to Optimus’ office.
Optimus, Megatron, Starscream, Jazz, Bumblebee, Thundercracker, Cliffjumper, and Skywarp were sitting in a field in vehicle mode while their holo-forms were surrounding a landing site for Deathsaurus and his troops to beam down. They soon got their wish. A number of heavily-armed Decepticons appeared in a blue light. Their leader, a Decepticon with jet kibble evoking a griffin, surveyed the scene. “Deathsaurus, you are not needed here,” growled Megatron. “Your Warworld would actually destabilize the whole operation. Leave at once.
“…An Autobot addresses me?” scoffed the jet-con, Deathsaurus.
“I am Megatron, the Lord of the Decepticons! Now leave Mobius!”
“I don’t recall following anyone who would hide behind an artefact similar to the Matrix.” His optics then rested on Starscream. “Ah, someone who knows things about how Decepticons should be.”
“You mouth-breathing imbecile! DO YOU KNOW WHOSE PLANET YOU’RE ON?!” roared Megatron.
“All hail Starscream!” replied the soldiers.
“…Your soldiers seem confused, Deathsaurus.”
“Out of my way.” Deathsaurus shoved Megatron aside and approached Starscream. “It has been too long, old friend.”
“…They hailed me,” mumbled Starscream.
“News has reached us about the planet’s situation, and we figured we could get a proper Decepticon to rule us in the process.”
“I told you, your presence is…!” Megatron then saw the business ends of the soldiers’ guns.
“Thank you, gentlemen,” said Deathsaurus as he turned back to Starscream. “We need a sensible Decepticon at the helm, Commander Starscream. …Or, should I say EMPEROR Starscream.” The phrase echoed in Starscream’s head.
“…You want ME to command YOU?” he asked.
“Indeed. Let’s be honest, the Seekers, as they stand, don’t stand a chance against Unicron. We need to gather the strongest Decepticons and prepare for one last fight when he wakes up.”
“Your Warworld is too excessive for battle against Unicron and Starscream is HARDLY strong!” roared Megatron.
“You misunderstand me on both counts, boy,” replied Deathsaurus. “I do not intend to use my Warworld for battle, but for quickly getting worthy Decepticons as far as possible from this doomed planet! And while he’s not physically strong, he IS charismatically and mentally strong. I have enough brawn but could use a little more brain to balance it out. Besides, I also need Skywarp’s knowledge and the other half of Starscream.” Starscream’s optics then widened.
“…You’re not…seriously suggesting…?!” he squeaked.
“Relax, you need to transform into him only once.”
“NO! YOU’RE CRAZY! YOU’RE FRAGGING CRAZY!”
“Come on, Screamer!” protested Skywarp. “This is probably you’re best shot at a cure for your condition!”
“NO! I…I WON’T BE ABLE TO…!” Starscream’s sentence just stopped in personal fear.
“We have something to help that other side be more visible to everyone,” offered Deathsaurus. “With more eyes on him, he could be controlled!”
“NO, SLAGGIT! …I mean, I was before but…that was the past!”
“LISTEN TO YOUR SPARK, MECH!” shouted one of Deathsaurus’ soldiers. “If not for us, then do it for yourself!”
“…You do realize…without me keeping a lid on him, once he’s free of me…there’s no holding him back!”
“Sometimes a mad-mech must be brought to crazier heights in order to be sane,” replied Deathsaurus.
“In other words, sometimes the best way to deal with a mad-mech…is to send in another mad-mech!” simplified Skywarp.
“…THAT’S A STUPID PLAN!” shouted Thundercracker.
“Exactly! A stupid plan for a stupid man!”
“Are you high?! In fact, are ALL of you high?!”
“I must agree with Thundercracker,” called Megatron. “With Unicron, we need as many soldiers as possible! Now, I still say the Warworld is a tad much, but you have my permission to join us.”
“I just need to call in more Autobots to balance things out,” supplied Optimus. “We ARE in the middle of a truce.”
“And could someone explain what’s going on about other halves?!” called Bumblebee.
“Starscream has a second personality that takes over his body,” explained Thundercracker, “a solar-power wielding Covenant thumper by the name of Sunstorm. Whenever he takes over, all reason is lost. Sunstorm believes he’s Primus’ Messiah.”
“…Glad I never met him.”
“With Sunstorm having a separate body, though,” replied Deathsaurus, “his power will be decreased! You will exist as two people and he wouldn’t be able to kill you without sacrificing his own Spark.” Starscream’s mad expression then faded as the upsides were lain at his feet.
“…Never in my life have I wanted something so much and never known until I received it!” A grin then appeared on Starscream’s face. “Who’s with me in leaving this doomed mudball?”