Deep within the ruins of Cybertron’s High Council chambers, dim light from unstable Energon veins flickered against the walls. Sentinel Prime’s daughter stood frozen at the edge, watching as D-16, his frame scarred and optics burning crimson, held the pulsing transformation cog of Megatronus Prime in his hands.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he said, his voice trembling with pain. “You shouldn’t see this.”

Glancing at her briefly, the last traces of D-16 flickered in his optics, but anger overwhelmed them.

“They lied to us—your father lied to us. Stripped us of our futures, called it destiny. No more. I’ll destroy this broken empire, even if it costs me everything.”

Holding the cog aloft, he looked to her once more, quieter now.

“Stay. Help me. Together, we can burn their lies to the ground.”

When she didn’t move, his expression twisted with bitterness.

“Of course. You still see D-16 in me. But he’s gone.”

With a roar, he slammed the cog into his chest. His frame convulsed and reshaped itself, jagged armor emerging as crimson light pulsed from his new body. When the transformation ended, the bot who remained stood taller, colder.

“D-16 is dead,” he declared, his voice deeper, resolute. “Tell them their time is over. The future belongs to me now.”