Chapter Text
The battlefield was chaos. Explosions echoed across the charred landscape, casting jagged shadows against the towering forms of warring titans. Shards of metal and fire rained down like hell’s confetti. Amidst it all, the piercing roar of Optimus Prime's command cut through the destruction: "Autobots, fall back!"
You watched it unfold, your heart racing with the familiar panic of someone who had seen this scene a hundred times before. Except this time, it wasn’t just the movie screen at your local theatre that conjured the booming noises. This wasn’t some nightmarish dream conjured from the depths of obsession and nostalgia.
This was real.
And you were dying.
You couldn’t feel your legs, but the searing heat around you told you they were still there—probably pinned under a piece of burning wreckage. Above you, two titans continued their clashing in a storm of blades, guns, and fists, their movements shaking the earth on screen almost in time to the ones around you. Optimus Prime and Megatron were locked in their timeless dance of betrayal and hatred, just as you had seen before, ignorant of the damages happening outside their world and yet... it had not been them who had caused the wreckage around you.
As your vision blurred and darkened, a single thought burned in your mind: It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. This was supposed to be a fun time with friends watching the newest addition to the franchise as it celebrated its 20th anniversary. Not death and despair. The selfless part of you hoped they had made it out alive. The selfish part hoped they wouldn’t leave you to die alone, watching over metal giants as they fought for their own survival.
That was when the voice spoke. It wasn’t human; no, it was far too vast, too ancient, for that. It resonated in your mind like the hum of a starship engine, deep and full of purpose.
"Your spark burns brighter than most, child of another world. Do you wish to save them?"
Your breath hitched. Save them? Could you?
The answer was instinctive. "Yes."
"Then rise, bearer of knowledge. Rise, and change the course of the stars."
The darkness consumed you entirely.
When you woke, it wasn’t to the scent of scorched earth or the sight of metal giants. It was to the hum of machines and the distant beeping of heart monitors. It was to the blurry sight of white walls and soft fabric wrapped tight around your body.
It was to the knowledge that you had died and left everything you knew behind and a high-pitched mourning wail left your mouth at the thought of it.