"Every time I hear your voice, it reminds me of your arrogant, reckless little stunt!"
"You killed me, boy, and in doing so, you crushed the hope of our entire race."
Megatron stepped forward, shifting several metallic appendages to pin Sam Witwicky firmly to the surgical table. He let out a cruel, jagged laugh. "I am going to make your death a long, agonizing process. But first, we have work to do."
"Let me go!" Sam writhed, struggling with every ounce of his strength, but it was like a fly fighting a spider's web.
"Scalpel! Examine this inferior specimen."
"Understood, Megatron."
As soon as the words left Megatron's mouth, a medical microscope at the head of the table began to twist and shift.
"I'm coming for you, little fleshling!" Scalpel shrieked. He hopped onto Sam's chest, his twin yellow bulb-eyes staring directly into Sam's pupils. "I am the doctor! Look at me!"
"When I ask, you answer!"
"No!" Sam thrashed his head from side to side.
"It seems you don't want the easy way. You prefer the painful way." Seeing Sam's refusal to cooperate, Scalpel pried his mouth open and screamed, "Brain-bot!"
"Here, Master," a parasitic mechanical creature scurried out from the shadows.
"Crawl in there. Let's see what's rattling around in that skull!"
"Yes, Master."
"Stay away! You ugly bug—mph! Mmmph!"
Following Scalpel's forceful lead, the Brain-bot scurried into Sam's nasal cavity, burrowing deep into the neural pathways toward his brain. Instantly, Sam's eyes rolled back uncontrollably, and several tiny mechanical tentacles flickered out from his nostrils, dancing wildly in the air.
Seeing this, Mikaela collapsed to the floor, her composure finally breaking into a sob. "Sam! No!"
She truly believed she was losing him forever.
"Silence, woman!"
Annoyed by the noise, Skygnaw leaned down, his massive frame casting a terrifying shadow. "Keep quiet, or you'll be next on the table."
Mikaela's sobbing stopped instantly, replaced by a sharp, terrified gasp.
It didn't take long for the Brain-bot to finish. It scurried back out, exiting through Sam's mouth.
"Blargh!" Sam spat out a mess of vomit and white foam.
"Gah! Filthy creature!" Scalpel leaped back, narrowly avoiding the spray. "Brain-bot, over here."
Scalpel grabbed the parasite, downloading the memory fragments it had extracted. Moments later, a projection flared from Scalpel's chest. Alongside distorted images of Sam's memories, jagged, fiery-red Cybertronian glyphs leapt from the screen, arranging themselves into a specific data stream.
Skygnaw stepped forward, his optics locked onto the characters. He recorded every single one. In the original history, these symbols pointed toward the tomb of the Primes and the Matrix of Leadership. However, what Scalpel had extracted appeared to be only a partial map.
"Aha... there it is."
As the projection faded, Megatron nodded with grim satisfaction. "The Essence. It has indeed been absorbed into his mind."
"Megatron, to get the full data, we have to take the brain out," Scalpel suggested with clinical coldness.
"Wait, the brain?" Sam lifted his head, staring at the tiny Decepticon on his chest. "What do you want my brain for?"
"Oh, that is a question I don't mind answering," Megatron sneered, sounding almost pleasant. "In the parlance of your planet: I'm letting you die with your eyes open. You have something in your head that I need."
"No, no, no... that's not funny..." Sam shook his head frantically, his voice cracking. "I know you're mad because I... you know, killed you. But that was a misunderstanding! I'd be upset too if someone killed me, but give me a chance! I think we have time to... to improve... our rel—relationship—"
Before Sam could finish his plea, Scalpel pried his mouth open again. One of the medic's metallic forelimbs shifted into a small, high-speed medical drill.
"Five seconds. I only need five seconds!"
Scalpel stared at Sam's forehead, calculating exactly where to cut to keep the brain intact during extraction.
"No! Help!"
Just as the drill bit was about to pierce Sam's skin, Skygnaw's sensors flared. He snapped his head up. "Lord Megatron! The Autobots are—"
CRASH!
Before Skygnaw could finish, the warehouse roof shattered into a million fragments. A red-and-blue silhouette dropped like a god of war, slamming into Megatron and pinning the leader to the floor.
"WHO IS THIS?!"
Simultaneously, the roar of engines erupted within the factory.
VROOM!
The eastern wall exploded inward as a black pickup truck and two sleek sports cars smashed through the brickwork. Blackarachnia, lurking in the corner, immediately engaged the three vehicles, while Starscream lunged at the intruder pinning Megatron.
The factory dissolved into pure, unadulterated chaos.
"Skygnaw! Save me!" Scalpel shrieked.
The battle had erupted so suddenly that the tiny medic had nowhere to hide. In a fight of this intensity, a stray pede-step would turn him into a pancake.
Skygnaw glanced at Blackarachnia holding back Ironhide, Sideswipe, and Bumblebee, then at Starscream rushing to help Megatron against Optimus Prime. With a swift movement, he reached down and scooped Scalpel into his palm.
"Thank you, Skygnaw!"
Scalpel looked up with genuine gratitude. He felt immensely lucky. Back in the lab, he had modified an info-chip to monitor Starscream, but he never expected that choice would lead to being saved by a Commander-class warrior today.
"Decepticons! Counter-attack!"
Caught off guard by Optimus Prime's ambush, Megatron scrambled to his feet and barked the order. He had intended to extract the boy's brain and use him as bait to draw Optimus out, but he hadn't expected Prime to kick down the door first.
Optimus, wielding his ion blaster and plasma cannon, fired in a relentless alternating rhythm, momentarily suppressing both Starscream and Megatron at once. Skygnaw tucked Scalpel into his chest compartment, watching the skirmish with a calculating eye. Compared to when he first woke up in the Hoover Dam lab, Megatron's combat strength had dropped significantly.
"My Lord."
Dirge and the Horsemen flew into the warehouse, hovering near Skygnaw. "My Lord, more Autobots are appearing outside. Should we engage?"
"Carnage, take the others and block the perimeter," Skygnaw commanded. "Dirge, stay with me."
The Autobot elite were already inside; those outside were likely only high-tier scouts. His Horsemen could handle them.
"Yes, My Lord!"
Skygnaw and Dirge moved toward the center of the fray. Blackarachnia, in her spider form, was weaving a chaotic web of silk and venom, keeping Bumblebee and the others at bay with practiced ease. Starscream and Megatron were double-teaming Optimus, but the Prime simply kicked Starscream across the room and continued his barrage.
Seeing the leader struggling, Skygnaw deployed his weapons and stepped in. "Lord Megatron, allow me."
Megatron was clearly no match for Optimus in his current state. If the leader fell again here, the timeline would spiral out of control.
"Get back!"
Optimus swung his ion blaster like a club, knocking Megatron aside, before pivoting toward Skygnaw. He raised his plasma cannon and fired a high-density neutron burst. "Skygnaw! You are the one who took Sam!"
There was no mercy in the Prime's attack. The factory echoed with the thunder of high-yield explosions. Amidst the carnage, the source of the conflict—Sam—had been momentarily overlooked by the giants.
"Hide, Mikaela! Move!"
Seeing the Autobots, Sam forced his trembling legs to move. He rolled off the metal table and scurried through the smoke toward Mikaela and Leo, who were huddled in terror under a steel staircase.
"Go! Go! Go!" Sam hissed, grabbing Mikaela's hand. "Now's our chance! Run!"
He pulled her toward the exit. Leo, realization finally hitting him that he'd been left behind, scrambled after them. They dodged falling masonry and shattered glass, weaving through the industrial ruins until they burst out of the warehouse.
BOOM!
Knocking Megatron back once more, Optimus noticed Sam's successful escape. He immediately signaled for a tactical withdrawal. "Autobots! Retreat! I will hold the line!"
"Move!" Ironhide roared, ignoring a venomous strike from Blackarachnia. He shouted to Bumblebee and Sideswipe, "Bumblebee! Sideswipe! There are more Decepticons outside! Get to Sam! He's clear!"
"Copy that!"
Bumblebee and Sideswipe transformed mid-stride, roaring through the hole in the wall to intercept the three humans running for their lives.
CRASH!
The battle continued outside. At the factory gates, Skygnaw's Horsemen were locked in a stalemate with Jolt and the Twins. Since they were all high-tier warriors, the four-on-three skirmish was a brutal, grinding deadlock.
"Try this!" Skids shouted, using Mudflap as a springboard to vault into the air. He slammed a heavy kick into Catastrophe, sending the Horseman tumbling back into the dirt.
30+ chapters are available now and daily updates! @patreon.com/AgentTwilight