Transformers fanfic - www.oneshallstand.com

The Return of Galvatron
By Mike Moskway
January 2007

Chapter 1: Emergence
Chapter 2: The Exodus
Chapter 3: The Burden Hardest to Bear
Chapter 4: Reunions and other betrayals
Chapter 5: Changing of the Guard
Chapter 6
Chapter 7: The Storm
Chapter 8: The Dawn
Epilogue

Chapter 1: Emergence

The storm had begun to pass. The wind and ice that once bit into his flesh began to recede. Nanuk breathed a sigh of relief and offered a prayer of thanks to his gods. He had been fishing for the better part of the day and was very ready to go home to his small Eskimo village. Little did he know what great event he was about to witness, an event that he would be part of whether he wanted to or not. He sat down and began to reel in the last catch of the day. Deep below him however something began to stir.

"The void...Time passes...how much time? Days, weeks, months? Years perhaps..."
"Time has no meaning where I am now..."
"Where AM I?"

As that thought crossed his mind, internal systems began to re-activate. Pain sensors besieged his brain with data. Wherever he was, he was cold, wet and somewhat paralyzed. He realized he is partly covered by the ocean floor. His exposed parts are encrusted with ice.The one thing that he understood above all else is the cold; the disabling, ultimately killing cold. He realized he's in the same place he's been for what seems like an eternity... at the bottom of Prince William Sound.

But for how long he wondered? How long have I been deactivated? He realized that now is not the time for contemplating... now is the time for resurrection, for escape.

With what seems like all of the strength he has left, he lifted himself out of the silt at the bottom of the sea. He rose through the icy water, expecting to finally see the sun after so long. His rise is stopped short by about twenty feet of ice. He contemplated this obstacle for but a split second. For that moment part of him is almost defeated, but then he remembered his destiny and how long that has been denied. No obstacle can stand before destiny, just like nothing can stand before THIS mechanoid.

Nanuk sat alone on the ice flow, his sled dogs near. He has just enough fish from the expedition to feed the village through the next month and he was very proud. He thought of his wife and small child as he pulled his parka back to catch the last rays of the sun as it set over the ice. How beautiful it was to be in a place not touched by progress he told himself. The plasma energy blast that exploded through the ice beneath him didn't register as he and his dogs were atomized along with the ice below.

A cold steel blue hand reached out of the icy water. He lifted himself out of the water that was to be his tomb. He looks to the West and saw the sunset. A more beautiful sight he has never seen.

"I have been away far too long" he tells himself. "They have forgotten. It is time... time for the world to remember... to remember the name of Galvatron!"

Thousands of light years away a familiar red and blue robot cried out in pain. "Are you alright, what's wrong?" Hot Rod asked as he rushed to Prime's side. "I sense a great disturbance in the Matrix" Optimus managed to whisper. "I fear something terrible has happened. It is as if a great terror has been released upon the universe". After helping Prime back into his command chair Hot Rod turned to leave. "Whatever it is, we'll deal with it like we always do Prime" he said as the doors slid open.

Optimus sat alone in his office for a few minutes, he could not shake the dreadful feeling. What he hadn't told Hot Rod was that this was not a new feeling, it was one he had known before. It was a feeling Optimus had hoped he would never feel again. "Something evil has returned, and this does not bode well for us" Prime said to himself. He spoke into his comlink "Prowl, get me Grimlock at Autobase. I fear we are all in serious danger."

Meanwhile on Earth: Ratchet had finally begun to repair the Ark. He had been severely injured after his fight with Starscream a year ago. A fight which had led to the Ark crashing into earth and his subsequent deactivation. Ratchet's internal repair systems had only been only to reactivate him a little over three earth weeks ago. His first item of business had been to attempt communication with his fellow autobots. Unfortunately for him, the only communications unit still able to be repaired was only capable of global scans. These tedious repairs were beginning to wear on him

"Dammit!" he exclaimed as a power cell shocked him and then fizzled and burned. "This might not have been so hard if the Ark had ever been retro-fitted from our FIRST crash on earth. This antiquated technology just can't handle the stress." Ratchet got to his feet. He had taken enough abuse trying to fix the transmitter today. As he looked at the unit he realized how odd his situation was. Not more than two years ago there had been over one hundred Autobots either stationed on earth or in the nearby systems. There had been at least two to three convoys sent to Earth every week. Yet no one had even come looking for the Ark much less to see what had become of him.

The enormity of the situation finally overwhelmed him. He slammed his hands down on the unit he had just been repairing as he yelled out in anger. To his surprise the lights on the transmitter flickered and life returned to the damaged unit. "FINALLY" he yelled, "now maybe I'll be able to get out of this mausoleum."

His joy soon turned to disappointment as his scans showed no Autobot signals anywhere on the earth. Not even a beacon satellite had been left in orbit. "Am I the last Autobot left alive on Earth?" he asked himself.

What Ratchet did not know was that during the time of his deactivation the Autobots had re-taken their home planet of Cybertron. The remaining Decepticon forces had been sent into exile with the return of Optimus Prime thanks to the help of the last Autobot. Unfortunately the Autobots had been so busy with their repairs to their home world, they had all but forgotten about the earth. They had not established any contact with earth in over a year. Even the GI Joe unit had given up hope that the Transformers survived.

Disgusted with his current situation Ratchet decided to attempt repairs on something useful. In addition to the communications equipment, he had been repairing a shuttlecraft that had somewhat survived the crash. The shuttle was space worthy, but as with the ark, it had no transmitter. He had hoped to construct a working subspace unit to use on the ship, but it was not looking too good.

He rounded the corner to the shuttle bay and stopped dead in his tracks. The tray of tools he had been carrying slipped out of his hands and crashed to the floor. He couldn't believe that what he was seeing was true.

"No... It can't be... You're dead..."Ratchet stammered.
"You have been busy Autobot" Galvatron said without even turning his head. "You may yet live to be of some use to me."
Ratchet slumped to the ground, all of the life seemingly sucked from his body.
"You can't be here...you're dead" he kept repeating to himself over and over.

Galvatron walked to the body of the helpless surgeon and lifted Ratchet's head with the palm of his hand. The helplessness in the eyes of his victim filled him with a pride he had not felt in ages. For one of the few times ever, Galvatron was pleased.

"Yes Autobot, I am very real" he said calmly. "Now is the time for the universe to remember terror... and that terror and destruction has but one name... Galvatron!"

********

Chapter 2: The Exodus

When we left off, Galvatron had returned from years of inactivity at the bottom of the ocean. He had stumbled upon the remains of the Autobot shuttle the ark, and its repairman. Ratchet had all but melted down when he had been discovered and had been cowering in the corner for over an hour. Galvatron, seeing that the autobot was of no consequence, had gone off to look around the ship.

Galvatron rounded a corner to what should have been the Ark's control room, but found instead a solid wall of debris.

"ARRRRGHHHHHHH" he yelled, "Nothing is where it should be in this god forsaken vessel. How shall I return to get the weapons I need if this ship is in such disarray."

Galvatron turned around and headed back toward the hangar bay where Ratchet still remained. As he walked he quickly realized that he had taken a wrong turn. Even though he had been deactivated for a long time, Galvatron had a detailed knowledge of the Ark's interior. This was both from his time on board the Ark before it crashed, and also as he was once Megatron before Unicron had twisted his body and mind.

He had just about decided to blast his way free of the ship when he passed a room he recognized as the Autobot repair bay. "Perhaps there is something that I may use inside" he thought to himself as he entered.

His optics grew wide with the sight in front of him. Two transformers could be seen against the far wall, one mostly purple and the other silver. The irony of the situation was not lost on him as one was Megatron his former self, the other his most hated rival Shockwave. Knowing he could do nothing for the two as they were, he picked them up to take back to the hangar. "Perhaps that miserable Autobot will be good for something after all" he said to himself as he turned to leave.

As he turned to leave he saw something he thought he would never see again. Anger filled his entire being and he dropped the two bodies he had been carrying. A familiar red and white frame could be seen poking from underneath a fallen support beam. Galvatron walked to the support beam, and with one hand ripped it off and threw it across the room. He plunged his other hand deep into the chest cavity of the fallen warrior and wrenched him from the floor.

"Starscream...." He said to himself, "Traitorous dog, I should have destroyed you years ago and ended this."

Galvatron removed one of Starscream's outer panelings and inspected his circuitry. He soon discovered that Starscream had simply gone into a sort of "stasis lock" after the crash, temporarily shutting down his systems. "A fresh infusion of energon should revive the traitor enough for me to enjoy this" he thought.

A panel on Galvatron's chest opened and a small tube exited and attached to a power coupling in Starscream's chest. What he was about to do was in fact very dangerous, mostly because it might have cured him from in fact being Galvatron. If Starscream was destroyed before betraying Megatron, then Megatron would not have been left for dead. To Galvatron however, this was not a reason to stop. Anything to stop the megalomaniacal Unicron from turning him into what he had become could not be a bad thing.

Starscream's optics glowed a faint red as his systems had begun to come back online. His internal sensors were not working, but he had the distinct impression he was being held by someone or something. He raised his head and as his vision began to clear he did not recognize the Decepticon warrior before him.

"Thank you noble warrior" he managed to say finally, "You have done the universe a great favor. You have returned the rightful ruler of the Decepticons to the realm of the living."

To Starscream's surprise, the other Decepticon simply glared at him with what appeared to be anger.
"Ruler of the Decepticons Starscream, this is bad comedy" Galvatron said with contempt.
"Megatron, is that you?" Starscream asked somewhat in shock.
"Here's a hint" said Galvatron as he lifted his arm cannon level with Starscream's ghostlike face.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Sounds of destruction filled the air as Galvatron unloaded plasma blast after plasma blast into Starscream's body, which had been torn from his hands after the second blast.

"HAHAHAHAHA" Galvatron laughed, "This is actually more fun the second time."

Only after Starscream had been reduced to smoldering wreckage did Galvatron remember his original mission, to return to Cybertron. He returned to the wrecked bodies of Megatron and Shockwave, picked them up under his arms and after a few twists and turns returned to the shuttle bay.

As he returned to the hangar, he easily spotted Ratchet who was still cowering in the corner he had been when he left. Galvatron laid the bodies gently on the floor and walked to the Autobot surgeon.

"Miserable Autobot, snap out of it!" he demanded, "I have need of your services."

Ratchet shook his head again and looked Galvatron in the face. Surprisingly, some of the initial fear and shock had worn off by this time and he managed to speak.

"Me... help you..... NEVER!" Ratchet said with defiance.

Galvatron ripped the Autobot from the ground with both hands clasped around Ratchet's neck. Normally he would have appreciated such valor in the face of certain defeat, but today he was not in the best moods.

"I am not ASKING you Autobot, I am TELLING you!" he said as he let go of the Autobots neck with one of his hands.

Ratchet felt at that same moment excruciating pain as Galvatron ripped off one of his legs and threw it on the floor. A moment later he was also lying on the floor next to his severed limb.

"Be glad I need your hands intact surgeon" Galvatron yelled, "Otherwise you would be beyond repair for your insolence. If you cooperate and assist me, you may yet live through this. Now get your miserable carcass over to those bodies and repair them."

As Ratchet began crawling over to the two deactivated Decepticons, Galvatron proceeded to recharge himself. It was an invigorating feeling to have fresh Energon after so long being deactivated. He had just finished recharging when Ratchet finally spoke.

"It cannot be done, I cannot repair Megatron myself" he said, "The ships repair chamber is the only thing that will be able to repair him."

"How long will that take Autobot?" Galvatron asked.

"At least six lunar cycles" Ratchet returned.

This was definitely longer than Galvatron intended to stay on this planet. He needed to find troops to return to Cybertron, not sit around on this dustbowl for at least three months. He decided to have Megatron repaired and return for him later. This would also keep Megatron safe and thus keep him safe as well.

"What about Shockwave?" he said after some intense thought.

"His condition is not nearly as bad" Ratchet replied, "I can repair him in a few hours."

"Well get to it weakling" Galvatron snapped, "And don't try anything foolish, I'll be watching you the whole time."

After three earth hours Shockwave sat up and Ratchet was finally finished with his repairs. Galvatron strolled over to the Decepticon and helped him to his feet.

"Query" Shockwave's monotone voice mumbled, "I appear to be on the remains of the Ark, repaired by an Autobot, but I do not recognize you stranger."

Galvatron considered his words carefully. Although he was far stronger than Shockwave, he knew how powerful an ally he could be, but he was not to be trusted. Galvatron decided discretion was his best course. There was of course no need for Shockwave to know everything.

"I am Galvatron" he said at last, "I had come to Earth in search of any Decepticons not destroyed on Cybertron. I had found you and Megatron deactivated and used this filthy worm to repair you."

"Where is Megatron?" Shockwave asked.

"I have put him in repair" Galvatron replied, "He is currently too damaged to be of any use to us."

"A pity" Shockwave said as irritably as his voice could manage.

Sensing an opportunity, Ratchet had been repairing his leg while the two Decepticons talked. He knew he could not hope to overpower either of these great warriors and decided instead that fleeing was definitely a better option. Slowly he managed to hobble towards the shuttle. A smile crossed his bruised and battered face as he reached the stairway to the barely operating shuttle.

"Thank the Matrix for a little luck" he thought to himself as he climbed the first stair, it would be his very last thought.

At that very moment both Decepticons, still involved in their heated discussion swung their arm rifles and fired, leaving Ratchet a pile of smoldering rubble. They hadn't even turned their heads. .

"FOOL!" Galvatron shouted, "You almost let him get away with our only transport off of this mudball of a planet."

"Interrogative, did I not fire in tandem with you?!" asked Shockwave in disbelief. "Now, if you are ready to leave let us proceed."

"Yes, let us leave this miserable mudball behind" said Galvatron after he regained his composure.

It was a simple task for Shockwave to pilot the Autobot shuttle out of the earth's atmosphere. Galvatron had questioned letting Shockwave be the pilot, but he was still in need of recuperation after so many months inactivity. He would just have to kill Shockwave later if he got out of line he thought as his mind wandered to bigger and better things. He stared out the cockpit into space as they passed out of the atmosphere, leaving the Earth to its own devices.

During Ratchet's attempted escape, Shockwave and Galvatron had been discussing plans for their "revival." As it turned out, Shockwave's Decepticon resistance movement spread much further than the small group he had led against Scorponok. On a distant planet, very near Cybertron, he had constructed a base of operations and what had been the beginning of a small army of Decepticons loyal only to him. By Shockwave's calculations he and Galvatron, with the help of his men, may in fact be able to re-take Cybertron and destroy the Autobots. But that was only if...….....

A sudden jerk of the shuttle brought Galvatron back from his daydream. He put his hands against his seat and steadied himself as the shuttle performed evasive barrel rolls. Shockwave was shouting something at him, but he could not hear it over the alarm claxons. He could smell the burning ozone from the laser that had struck the shuttle. He felt Shockwave's hand grip his shoulder... "If only he would speak clearly!!!" he thought to himself. Shockwave turned to the back of the shuttle and began to run, yelling to Galvatron. Galvatron was able only able to make out two words "shuttle and... explode!"

Chapter 3: The burden hardest to bear

A tall mechanoid slowly crawled through the underbrush of the jungle. His normally vibrant colors now disguised by the mud that seemed to coat his entire body. He moved quietly and with purpose toward an enemy that he could not see, but knew was there nonetheless. All he had to do was get to the edge of the clearing which was about 20 meters ahead, and he would have a fighting chance. A fighting chance against who however was his next question.

"How do I get myself into these messes??" Hot Rod muttered to himself as he crawled forward, his mind wandering to the events of the last day and a half.

When they had arrived on Serpentus 5, he had been in command of a small platoon of Autobots. They had gone on for hours with little or no resistance from their enemy. They had been overconfident, but that was to be expected. Anyone who honestly thought that pairing him up with the likes of Kup, Blurr, Springer, Nightbeat, and Smokescreen was a good idea seriously needed their head units examined. They had been totally unprepared for what had happened. They had been going at a record pace toward their objective, a small Decepticon outpost in the jungle, when Kup had simply disappeared. They had spent the better part of a day looking for him. Unfortunately that was only the beginning of the downward spiral into the abyss that he had experienced.

It was late when they gave up the search for Kup, so it was decided they should make camp. During the night Hot Rod had volunteered to sit the first watch while the others camped. He remembered he had gone to walk the perimeter when he heard the explosion. He turned and ran full speed back toward the camp, just in time to see Blurr come flying by him yelling something about Decepticons. Hot Rod had attempted to stop him, but he was just too fast. When he finally returned to the camp he found what little shelter they had built in flames, and everyone else had vanished. Hot Rod felt an icy lump form in his throat; Decepticons do not take prisoners! He spent the rest of the night trudging as quietly as possible through the jungle, getting very caked in mud in the process.

The second day on the jungle planet hadn't been much better for the young Autobot. He had not been able to raise any help through his wrist communicator, and the only thing he had to position himself was the location of the Decepticon base. He had no idea where the shuttle they had landed in was at this point. He knew everyone he had come with was probably dead. This was not a thought that filled him with joy by any means. The only thing he figured he could do at this point was to complete his mission, destroy the Decepticon base, and hopefully contact some reinforcements. He stalked through the jungle for more than six earth hours before he finally reached his objective.

"There doesn't seem to be much movement at all" Hot Rod said quietly to himself, a bad habit he had picked up some time ago. He looked through his binoculars at what was definitely a Decepticon base, although it definitely had seen better days. The Decepticon symbol that hung over what was definitely the command center was tarnished and somewhat overgrown with foliage. "Only an Insecticon could find this place a good home" he thought to himself absently. Then something behind the command center caught his eye. He saw the front of what appeared to be a shuttlecraft, and it was definitely a new addition to the scenery judging by the look of it. Hot Rod decided that would be his first target, and hopefully his ticket off of this world.

After sneaking around the edge of the clearing to the rear of the base, Hot Rod had a good vantage point of the shuttle. He had discarded his earlier presumption that the base was empty however. Although he could not see the rear of the shuttle, he could see the legs of two guards standing watch and could hear talking coming from inside the command center. He had silently drawn his twin blasters, and was ready to attack when the blade of an all too familiar energo sword sliced into the earth in front of him.

"What took so long warrior?" a gruff and familiar voice asked.

The next sounds that Hot Rod heard were the sounds of bullets sliding into chambers. He had been so busy trying to assess his situation that he had walked right into a trap, although it was a trap he had not expected.

"I surrender...… oh great thunder lizard" Hot Rod said in a mocking tone. He then felt himself lifted easily off of the ground by the Dinobot leader's great strength. He found himself face to face with his "adversary" and his troop of Dinobots, all with weapons aimed at him.

"You do good to get this far" Grimlock said with his usual nonchalant tone. "You do good, but not great. Me track you for better part of night and day, and you not even realize"

"What the hell is this anyway?!" Hot Rod demanded angrily, pointing his index finger a little too close to Grimlock's faceplate. "I thought we were here to destroy some Decepticons, not for some war game!"

"This isn't a war with the Decepticons anymore lad... Wars end..." Kup's familiar voice came from behind him.

"I should have known you were in on this old timer!" Hot Rod shouted as he spun to face his mentor. "I thought you were dead!" he screamed, "I was going to take out every Decepticon on this planet to avenge you guys."

At that moment a powerful hand gripped Hot Rod's shoulder. "You do well to know revenge not solve anything" Grimlock said to him. "Should have been aware of what following you, Decepticons would have slagged you long before. You lucky we not them."

"But there aren't any more Decepticons Grimlock" said Hot Rod. "You should know that better than anyone else. You were the leader of the attack on Klo. Wasn't it you and Optimus Prime who sent Bludgeon and his band running with their tails between their legs!? Why, we haven't even heard a peep out of a Decepticon in almost a year now except for the stragglers who didn't leave Cybertron with the rest."

"Yes lad, but we must always be prepared for the unseen," said Kup, who laid a hand on Hot Rod's other shoulder.

"That's it, I'm outta here" yelled Hot Rod as he shook both hands off of him. "If you two want to spend your time tracking ghosts, you go ahead... but leave me out of it!!" With that, he stormed off towards the shuttle. Kup was about to go after him when his arm was caught in a grip he knew he couldn't escape.

"Let him go" said Grimlock.

"I can't just let him go like that" said Kup. "That boy is too hot headed for his own good. Why when I was his age..."

"You not his age any more" interrupted Grimlock. "Me think he ready for more responsibility, maybe that make him calm down and grow up."

"You can't be serious" said Kup in surprise. "I've done my best to bring Hot Rod up to be a valuable member of the Autobots. I've even hoped that one day he might be able to take a position like Prowl, or maybe even take over training when I'm gone..."

With that last statement Kup trailed off. He had experienced the lackluster existence that was retirement once in his life. The thought of doing that again filled him with dread. "No," he thought, "better to die on my feet... hopefully with a blaster in my hand." However even Kup realized that was a fleeting possibility if what Hot Rod said earlier was actually true. If the Decepticons truly had retreated never to return, what good did these exercises actually do?

"You lucky he not bootlicker like Prowl" said Grimlock mockingly. "You do good job bringing Hot Rod up. He have fire in eyes me not see in a long time. No, Prowl never be more than assistant to Prime's glory. Me see Hot Rod becoming general... maybe more."

Grimlock trailed off as he said this. He looked towards Hot Rod, who had caught up with Springer and Blurr. All three warriors seemed to be making light of the situation they had just been in. He could see the light return to Hot Rod as they talked. He then looked back to Kup, who was staring at him blankly. He shrugged his shoulders and began again.

"We dying breed Kup" Grimlock began. "Since we created many millennia ago, all we know is war. Even Optimus Prime in all his wisdom not really know peace in long time. Me lead Autobots few times now, but not ready for peace myself. Me wake up every day thinking of where next Decepticon attack come from, but no attack come now for a long time."

"I understand what you mean Grimlock" began Kup, "but we can't stop preparing for..."

"DO you understand Kup?!" said Grimlock irritably. "Me not know if you understand, but do know this. We dying breed Kup. If Decepticons really gone, then there be no more need for warriors like us. Maybe it time we leave future to young Autobots... maybe Hot Rod be part of that. He good warrior, have good head on shoulders... know when time to talk, and when to fight."

Kup stood with his mouth open at what Grimlock was saying. This was partly because what he had heard was true, and partly because he had not been able to bring himself to believe it. He could only listen and wonder where this was going.

"In the end, me make decision" said Grimlock after a few seconds. "Me second in command of Autobots under Optimus Prime. Me make Hot Rod my field commander, hopefully teach him something about himself. He destined for great things, me know that! He just need confidence in himself and training. I make sure he more than soldier with brain like Prowl, me make him true leader. You agree with decision Kup?"

Kup considered his answer for a few seconds. He was beside himself that the mighty Grimlock seemed to be asking for his opinion, much less his approval. He knew the answer, and it was one that made him very proud.

"Yes" he said. "I think the lad IS ready for some responsibility. Young punk, maybe this will straighten him out yet!"

Kup couldn't help but smile as he said this; and even though no one could see it, Grimlock smiled as well under his faceplate.

"Good, it decided then" said Grimlock in as happy a tone as he could manage. "Now lets get off this jungle planet and get back to Cybertron, tell Prime news."

With this last statement, the two warriors walked back to the shuttlecraft to round up the other Autobots and leave the planet behind.

Chapter 4: Reunions and other betrayals.

Astrotrain couldn't believe his luck. He had been left circling this miserable piece of slag of a planet called Earth for months now. He had come here to try and contact any remaining Decepticons, but had been astonished to find absolutely no Transformer transmissions coming from the planet whatsoever. He had been ready to pack up and go home, when he had stumbled on something wonderful... an Autobot shuttle trying to leave the Earth.

He had been surprised that the shuttle had not noticed his presence in the beginning. He had gone in for a close look at the shuttle, close enough that any good pilot should have noticed. He had been very surprised with the shuttle's condition since it appeared to have seen better days. It almost looked like someone had pieced it together with spare parts... very old spare parts. Nevertheless, the shuttle belonged to the Autobots, and therefore must be destroyed. He was incredibly disappointed when only one laser blast brought the shuttle into a tailspin, and subsequently exploded.

"Oh well," said Astrotrain to himself. "Guess they don't build shuttles like they used to..."

A sudden fusion blast brought Astrotrain back to reality in a heartbeat. He turned his sensors back to the scene of the explosion, and was more than surprised to see two figures flying from the debris. Both seemed to be Transformers, one large and purple, the other mostly steel blue... and flying toward him screaming in rage!

"DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE!!!" screamed Galvatron wildly as he flew toward his attacker. "Not even Primus himself can stop me this time!!"

Astrotrain had just enough time to transform and load his weapon when Galvatron's hands wrapped around his throat and began to squeeze the life out of him. It may be true that no one can hear you scream in space, but Astrotrain would have proved it wrong if he could. Galvatron did not seem to notice that the fellow he was killing was a fellow Decepticon. He didn't see much at all at that point. The madness that had once overcome him had returned with a vengeance, and Astrotrain was its unfortunate victim.

"Galvatron, stop!!" yelled Shockwave as he reached to pull the maniacal warrior off of Astrotrain. "He is a fellow Decepticon... an ALLY!!"

At this last statement Galvatron loosened his grip on Astrotrain's neck. This however was only with one arm, which he swung full force into Shockwave's chest, sending him spinning end over end. Shockwave, unaccustomed to such treatment, leveled his x-ray laser with Galvatron's head and prepared to fire.

"Astrotrain is under my command you maniac!" yelled Shockwave. "He is part of the group of renegade Decepticons I told you about. Perhaps he can tell us what happened to the rest of the Decepticons here on earth!"

The next few moments were incredibly tense. Galvatron cared for nothing, except the destruction of the enemy before him. Shockwave's words echoed in his mind "he is a Decepticon..." His hand loosened as his sanity returned. The action was not from any sort of caring or feeling, more from a sense of disgust. His grip loosened on Astrotrain's throat and he forcefully threw Astrotrain head over heels into Shockwave. Although his thoughts were jumbled, Galvatron remembered the history that he and Shockwave shared, and this would not happen again.

As he drifted Galvatron became lost in his own thoughts. Yes, it was true that he had once again lost control. Once again the madness within had broken through his calm precision. He knew that if left unchecked, this demon would eventually consume him, but he would not, could not let that happen. He was the ultimate warrior, forged in the fires of the dark god Unicron. He was he ultimate destroyer, he was...

"GALVATRON!!!" screamed Shockwave irritably, subsequently rousing Galvatron from his musings. "Come now, Astrotrain has briefed me on current events. Now we go to find my army."

"Your army" Galvatron muttered to himself. "We shall see Shockwave. We shall see."

The two decepticons then boarded the transformed Astrotrain to begin their long journey. As he settled into his seat, Galvatron knew that Shockwave's usefulness was rapidly coming to an end.

Later:

Thousands of years passed, or at least that was how Galvatron had felt during his journey. He had humored Shockwave by listening to his seemingly endless tirade. He droned on and on about the "glorious new order" he was destined to create. How he would crush the Autobots where Megatron had failed so many times before. How he... oh, what did it matter? Galvatron had turned off his audio receptors decacycles ago. Shockwave hadn't even noticed that all of his ramblings had fallen on truly "deaf ears."

"Let him talk" Galvatron thought to himself. "Each word brings him closer to his destruction."

Galvatron had finally found a way to amuse himself. He had begun to imagine ways to dismember his companion when he noticed Astrotrain had entered a planet's atmosphere. He had thought the planet was but a smudge on the view screen, alas this was a planet, although not a far cry from his original observation.

"I am beginning planetfall now Commander Shockwave" Astrotrain's voice echoed over the internal intercom.

"Welcome home Galvatron" Shockwave said at last. "Welcome to Charr."

"Fabulous" said Galvatron sarcastically as he stared at the grey muddy landscape in front of him. "I can't wait to see the health club."

Shockwave either didn't hear the last statement, or he chose to ignore it. Astrotrain continued his descent in silence.