Smoke coiled high above Mission City as sirens howled in the distance. The skyline burned—glass shattered, concrete torn apart by titanic clashes. In the chaos, Sam Witwicky sprinted through rubble, clutching the AllSpark Cube in his arms like it was life itself. Behind him, Bumblebee, half-destroyed, fired weak blasts at the oncoming Decepticons.
Above it all, Megatron roared, metal wings flaring, as he crashed down onto a rooftop, hunting the boy like a hawk closing in on a rabbit.
But the cube was no longer alone.
In a side alley, concealed behind broken girders and a flickering streetlamp, Shepherd Fox stood in silence, eyes glowing faintly blue. His breath was calm, unnatural. The Rift Core embedded in his chest pulsed faster with each footstep Sam took toward the final confrontation.
"Target energy spike confirmed," Alix whispered in his ear, her voice projected from the Core. "AllSpark signature reached critical resonance. Timeline moment approaching apex."
Shepherd stared at the Cube in Sam's hands. His mission was clear: extract the AllSpark, the Matrix of Leadership, and the artifact called the 'T'. He had already taken the glasses and bypassed Hoover Dam—but Prime and Megatron were still necessary players in this finale.
And they were about to collide.
The Clash of Titans
From the smoke emerged Optimus Prime, towering, righteous fury in his every step. Sam stumbled toward him, relief flooding his battered frame. But it faded the moment Megatron crashed through a building, snarling.
"GIVE ME THE CUBE, BOY!"
Sam screamed and ran again. Prime tackled Megatron into the ruins of a subway station. Sparks flew. Metal collided with metal, every punch from Megatron like a meteor strike, Prime struggling to hold his own.
In a lull, Prime shouted to Sam:
"You must destroy the Cube! Shove it into my chest! Sacrifice me!"
Sam froze, panicking. His heart pounded, tears welling. He raised the Cube, unsure...
The Rift Decision
From the side, Shepherd stepped into view—just as Megatron lunged forward.
"Not this time."
He moved fast, impossibly fast. The Rift Core flared to life in his chest, lighting the battlefield in streaks of neon blue. The Cube resonated violently as if recognizing him.
Sam's hand trembled. But before he could act, Shepherd swiped the AllSpark from his grasp, his touch syncing with its alien architecture instantly.
"Who—what are you?" Sam gasped.
Shepherd didn't answer.
Megatron charged—but it was too late. The Rift Core unleashed a surge of multidimensional energy, absorbing the Cube's frequency into itself. Reality bent around them. The air fractured like glass.
"Alix—NOW!"
"Rift Pulse—discharge authorized."
A beam of compressed Rift energy launched from Shepherd's palm, spearing through Megatron's chest like a lightning bolt. The Decepticon's roars turned into a digital scream of dying code. The AllSpark's power—channelled, directed, and weaponized—overloaded Megatron's spark core.
He collapsed in a heap of metal and flame.
Fallout
Optimus rose from the rubble, his armor dented and scorched. He stared at Megatron's corpse, then at the human who wasn't a human at all.
"You carry the AllSpark's echo," Prime said gravely. "You are... something else."
Shepherd met his gaze.
"I'm just passing through. But I needed this."
From the ruins, Sam watched in awe, completely overwhelmed.
"What... just happened?"
"You still saved the world," Shepherd replied, offering a small grin. "I just took a shortcut."
Exit Rift
Sirens drew closer. Helicopters whirred in the distance. The surviving Autobots regrouped around Prime. Soldiers from Sector 7 spilled into the city.
Shepherd stepped back as his Rift Core opened a portal, shimmering like oil over glass. He glanced once more at Prime and Sam.
"Tell your world to prepare. The Cube was just one piece."
The portal flared. Shepherd vanished.
Back in the crater where Megatron fell, Prime lifted a broken shard of the AllSpark—a remnant not absorbed by the Rift. His expression darkened.
"This war is far from over.