The Laurentian Abyss, Deep Sea Floor.
Over ten thousand meters below the surface, a towering chassis lay silently on the lightless seabed, encrusted with rust and deep gouges. The frame was a ruin—missing chunks of armor and skeletal limbs, bearing the scars of the brutal execution that had ended its life. Strange deep-sea flora had taken root in the crevices of the metal, and two giant squids were wrapped around the head, partially obscuring a dull, lifeless mechanical eye.
A beam of light cut through the eternal gloom. Ravage, equipped with high-intensity searchlights, moved slowly toward the remains.
Splash—
Stirred by the artificial light, various deep-sea organisms scurried for cover, kicking up clouds of silt.
[ Lord Skygnaw, I have located Lord Megatron. ]
[ Good. I'm on my way down, Ravage. ]
Ravage's chest compartment opened, releasing the mini-Decepticon Scalpel, who scrambled onto the giant frame and began his diagnostic crawl. As Scalpel worked, Skygnaw descended through the crushing depths, followed by the Four Horsemen who were hauling the salvaged parts of the mid-tier Decepticon grunts.
During the descent, Skygnaw had spotted two human submarines lurking in the darkness. He didn't even have to move; Dirge fired two silent torpedoes, sending the subs to join the wreckage of the USS Nimitz on the ocean floor.
"Status, Scalpel?" Skygnaw asked as he reached the seabed.
The team surrounded the corpse, their internal lights providing a flickering sanctuary of clarity in the abyss. Deep-sea creatures fled like rats from a flame.
"Chassis is severely compromised! I need parts!" Scalpel shrieked after emerging from a gap in the chest plates.
Skygnaw nodded to Dirge. "Dismantle the drones."
In the original timeline, Megatron's resurrection required the sacrifice of the smallest Decepticon present. Skygnaw, knowing this, had no intention of letting his own men be turned into scrap. He had brought the "spare" bodies specifically for this purpose.
"Yes, My Lord."
The Horsemen brutally tore apart the mid-tier frames they had recovered earlier, tossing the components in front of Scalpel. Though the parts were damaged from the previous battle, they were more than enough to fill the gaps in Megatron's frame.
"With parts, I can mend him!" Scalpel rubbed his metallic forelegs together and began the frantic process of grafting the "knock-off" components onto the leader.
In the movies, Megatron's power always seemed to decline after his first death, Skygnaw thought, watching the medic work. Maybe it starts right here. Using a pile of low-tier drone parts to fix a Leader-class warrior... it's like putting a lawnmower engine in a supercar.
Soon, amidst the sounds of clanking metal and welding arcs, Scalpel finished his work. "It is done!"
He turned to Ravage. "The shard. Give it to me."
Ravage complied, vomiting the AllSpark shard from his maw just as he had with the micro-spheres earlier.
"With the shard, there is life!" Scalpel shrieked. He climbed onto Megatron's chest, located the extinguished Spark chamber, and drove the shard home.
HUMMM—
As if struck by a massive electrical surge, Megatron's body convulsed violently the moment the shard touched his Spark. Arcs of pure white lightning crackled across his frame, followed by a silent, invisible shockwave.
Thud-thud-thud—
The pulse knocked the Horsemen back several steps. Skygnaw braced himself, watching the movement. A moment later, two crimson lights flickered to life in the hollowed eye sockets. Megatron rolled over and stood up. Even under the crushing weight of ten thousand meters of water, his movements were effortless.
[ Soundwave. Report. ]
His first act was to contact orbit. Soundwave, ever the loyal servant, provided a detailed summary of everything that had transpired during the leader's absence. Afterward, Megatron scanned Skygnaw and his team before igniting his thrusters and surging toward the surface without a word.
"Lord Megatron, welcome back," Skygnaw said respectfully as they breached the surface. Behind him, the Horsemen bowed their heads low.
Megatron pulled a long strand of green seaweed from his jagged maw, his face twisted in disgust. "Those pathetic humans and Autobots... they left me in that wretched hole for far too long. I will make them pay."
"We await your command, Lord Megatron," Skygnaw offered his loyalty at the opportune moment.
"Soundwave told me everything, Skygnaw. You are our fourth Commander, and you oversaw my return. You will be rewarded, but not now."
Megatron paused, seemingly acknowledging Skygnaw's contribution to settle the hierarchy. "For now, I must leave this planet. You will lead the Decepticons on Earth. Remain in the shadows. Do not act without my orders, and do not engage the Autobots in open war yet."
A cruel, jagged smile spread across Megatron's face. "And as for Starscream... I have a debt to settle with him personally."
"Understood, Lord Megatron."
Skygnaw felt a surge of internal amusement. From Megatron's tone, Starscream was in for a world of pain.
...
Twenty minutes after Skygnaw and Megatron departed, several massive transport planes banked over the area. The ramps dropped, and Optimus Prime led the Autobots in a high-altitude jump directly into the sea.
Another twenty minutes passed before several plumes of water erupted. Optimus and the Autobots breached the surface, hovering in the air.
"The Decepticons are gone. And Megatron with them," Optimus said, his voice etched with worry. "They have resurrected him. The fires of war are about to consume this world once more..."
Ever since the news of the shard theft, Optimus had known this moment was coming. But he hadn't expected them to move this fast. He hadn't even had the chance to warn Lennox before the deed was done.
"Optimus, what do we do now?" Ironhide asked. "And what about this 'Fallen'? We still have no data on his origin..."
"The humans wanted us to leave. Let's see how they feel about that choice now," Sideswipe muttered, his tone carrying a hint of bitter satisfaction. When he'd first heard of the government's plan to evict them, he'd nearly come to blows with the NEST soldiers. Only Optimus's intervention had kept the peace.
"We go back," Optimus decided after a pause. "We must inform William of Megatron's return and plan our response."
...
"Megatron is back?"
Lennox looked stunned, as if he couldn't process the nightmare. Upon returning to base, Optimus had gone straight to him. Though Lennox desperately wanted to disbelieve it, Optimus gave the same grim confirmation.
"Yes, William. We haven't found his trail yet, which only means he is preparing something massive. Your home is in grave danger."
Lennox's composure broke. He turned and shouted, "Bruce! Get me the secure line to the Pentagon! Now!"
"When, sir?" a technician asked.
"NOW! INSTANTLY!"
"Yes, Colonel!"
"Optimus, excuse me. I need to report this. This is officially beyond NEST's pay grade."
...
When the report reached the Pentagon, the officers erupted into chaos, followed quickly by the five cabinet heads. An emergency meeting was convened in record time.
"Ahem," President Mitchell cleared his throat, breaking the heavy silence. "We all know Megatron has been resurrected. This meeting is to discuss our response to the inevitable Decepticon retaliation."
Now was not the time to argue about who authorized dropping Megatron into the trench or to point fingers. When survival was at stake, political bickering took a backseat.
"NEST has performed exceptionally well this past year," Mitchell continued, his tone full of praise. "Despite a few... minor hiccups, they have successfully suppressed Decepticon activity, forcing them to hide like rats in the sewers."
He spoke as if he hadn't sent Galloway to threaten them with eviction just the day before. For a politician, a thick skin and the ability to lie with a straight face were essential tools.
"...My recommendation is that we maintain our current cooperation with the Autobots and face this crisis together."
"Agreed." "Motion carried." "Seconded."
A leaderless rabble of Decepticons was one thing. A unified army under Megatron was quite another. The cabinet members knew exactly where the power lay.
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