Alarms suddenly resounded throughout the Nemesis, catching all by surprise. The door to the room opened, and a Vehicon appeared from the command centre.

" My Lord, we have intruders- the Autobots are here!"

" THEN DESTROY THEM!" Megatron bellowed with impatience.

Optimus prime...you are to late. I was too late....Soundwave thought, as he looked around, raising his helm. He cast a venomous optic over each and every Vehicon, and then Megatron as he continued to bark out orders. Then his optics flicked to the damaged station he used to work at.... He wasn't out of the game just yet.

Megatron turned back to the impetuous and spark broken traitor; but something had changed. He could sense it. The sounds of gears whirling and moving forced him to turn his back, only to see the automated defence systems online. Small gun turrets appeared in the room, and began to fire.

Vehicons fell to the floor, some fired back destroying several of them, leaving sparking wires hanging were the weapon once was. Megatron growled as he turned to face the controller- only to find he was gone. Megatron let out a anguished cry, as he forced Vehicons out of the way and stepped into the corridor. He looked left, then right, and saw Soundwave standing weakly down the corridor, waiting.

" You can't escape Soundwave!" Megatron called out.

"Why should I escape... when I am in control of the Nemesis?"Soundwave remarked.

" You can never defeat me, Soundwave, and you can not control my ship! Command, override!"

ACCESS DENIED.

"What?!" Megatron looked to Soundwave.

"Command override!"

ACCESS DENIED.

" I control the ship."

The sounds of the doors slamming shut around the ship resounded, as Megatron looked around, for the first time, a sliver of mortal terror appeared in his optics. The doors sealed of the work room, and shut of the corridor completely.

" And I will not allow you to hide behind you drones. IF you have any self respect, you will fight me with out aid."Soundwave stood firm as he prepared himself, finding strength in his anger and sorrow. Arcee...I will avenge you. I promise. He had to. He could feel a darkness creeping closer, and soon he would join the all-spark, and join Arcee. He had to summon the strength for one more fight. Just one more. Soundwave paused as Megatron suddenly began to laugh, from a casual style to a maniacal one.

" To think, all I had to do, was destroy Arcee? I was a fool to even contemplate letting her live so long...had I known you would be this strong, this resourceful, I could have found myself with a better warrior than the one I already had." Megatron laughed, as he approached Soundwave. " Very well, Soundwave, you can have you wish!"

Megatron ran towards him, and Soundwave forcing his frame against the odds, ran to meet the challenge. As Megatron brought up the sword, Soundwave managed dodge the blow, sidestepping to the left, and slamming him into the wall. Megatron recovered quickly and swung the sword out in a wide attack, catching Soundwave's waist, and the mech fell, his faceplates screaming with pain as Megatron stood, continuing to slowly dig it further into his waist. Soundwave could feel the circuitry and components within bleeding energon internally. Megatron mercilessly pulled out the sword, allowing the energon to flow out. Soundwave stayed down, overcome with physical pain.

I...will...fight...

But he couldn't. The weight upon him held him down, as if the universe had just caved in upon him. In a sense, it already had, with Arcee's passing. He looked up through bleary optics. Megatron was standing triumphantly. I will not die...I will avenge Arcee...Arcee...

The two mechs suddenly slid sharply to the left, banging into the opposite war. The entire ship seemed to lurch, as it groaned obeying the command; shut down.

Megatron looked to the injured mech.

"You would dare destroy my ship-!"

"If...I go down....your coming with me. You will pay for what you did to Arcee."Soundwave stated with all his strength, now vastly depleting with every drip of energon that left his frame. Megatron used the momentum of the ship to go for an attack; Soundwave only just avoiding it.

The ship suddenly jerked as it collided with the earth, catching on rocky outcrops, and scaring the green land beneath it. The lights and all its systems flicked of, leaving a moment of darkness. Everything seemed to have stopped, but it wasn't long before reality began to return. The emergency systems then powered up; the ship was lit with an eerie red glow, making the Nemesis seem only the more destructive.

The silence was broken all to quickly; in the commotion, Megatron's sword had fallen out of his servos, Soundwave looked up as he realised his proximity to it. He reached out a servo, but he could not grab it. It was just out of reach. He looked over to Megatron, about two metres away, and saw him recovering. As he stood, Megatron turned his gaze upon Soundwave, then to the sword. They locked optics once more, Soundwave struggling to keep them open. Both knew the next move would decide it.

Arcee...for you...Soundwave suddenly took the initiative, forcing the last strength he had, just reaching far enough-

"NO-!"Megatron cried out, but he stopped as a sudden pain flowed through his frame. He looked down to see the blade, dripping with fresh energon. HIS energon. The blade had struck better than Soundwave had hoped; it was almost as though he could sense the closeness of Megatron's spark to the very blade; as if its energy flowed through the weapon itself, leaking like energon. He watched the shock on Megatron's face. It wouldn't bring Arcee back- nothing would- but he felt his spark lighten. For everything he had made Arcee and him suffer, it was a punishment that sufficed. A small smile appeared on his face, suddenly let his grip go, and fell to the ground. The darkness was calling, and he knew on the over side, he would find Arcee.

Megatron continued to stare in shock, as he fell down on to one knee. With his left servo, he pulled the sword out, painfully. No one but Optimus Prime had ever come this close...no one.

Voices and fast paced footsteps alerted him to others, and then he heard the unmistakable voice of Optimus Prime.

Megatron forced himself up; least his mortal rival saw him in such a weak state. He found for once his own actions futile, as he collapsed back to the ground. The pain in his spark chamber was growing, as was his rage. He looked to Soundwave, the mech was silent as he always had been, and un-moving. All this...because of you...because of your pathetic emotions...

Everything was coming undone before his optics. His ambitions, his plans, his ship, his very spark...it was all falling into ruin. But my legacy...others will.... His thoughts drifted to all those who would seek to take his place. Anger coursed through him. No one can take my place...they are all fools! It can not end like this....It will not end like this.....Optimus...Prime...I will...destroy you all....His final energy fuelled his anger and hate for only a moment, holding on to his everlasting ambitions and twisted realities, before his cruel spark ebbed away into darkness. No tomb would grace his frame; and for all those he had hurt and killed, his inglorious ending satisfied them all, as they rejoiced.

Laser blasts rang out as they collided with the metal doors, ripping the metal apart. Bulkhead stepped through first, pushing with all his might making the holes large enough to climb through. However, he stopped in his tracks.

" Watch the paint work you infernal bug!" Knockout's voice suddenly rang out, with Bumblebee returning the comment with furious beeps as he forced the captive through. To think I would end up having to lead them here...Megatron's going to have my aft for this- The remaining thoughts never materialised, as he paused beside Bulkhead. Following them, came Bumblebee and Optimus Prime.

The scene was unbelievable, almost mythical to the point it couldn't be believed.

Optimus seemed to with hold his own surprise. And looked to Soundwave.

" We need to get him back to base immediately."

Bumblebee and Bulkhead spared glances, then rushed to Soundwave's side, both tentatively supporting the mech.

As the ground bridge appeared, Bulkhead and Bumblebee supported Soundwave's frame as they hurried through the ground bridge.

Optimus turned to see Knockout still caught in shock.

"The war is over Knockout. There is no need to fight."

The red mech was shook out of his reverie, but seemed to have hardly had an sudden realisation. Knockout looked to the prime.

" Don't get your hopes up." Knockout scowled, as he turned and left.

Optimus shock his head, but he had expected as much. The war wasn't over. There were those who would take Megatron's place...but today was a victory of an estranged short. He looked over to Megatron's lifeless shell. All those years they had fought...believing it would have been him to extinguish his spark...And yet it had been Soundwave's own servo...

So it all came to this...old friend. One shall rise....and one shall fall...