Calvi and Zeke could only watch as the mutated titan slammed its head into the wall. It kept doing that when it realized it had no target or human to devour. It kept looking up at them from time to time, almost as if it was contemplating how to get up there, but it only growled in response as it stirred restlessly in the transformation room.
"It's been three days, and we have been unable to stop this creature from moving," Calvi groaned in irritation, "Why haven't you been able to control it?"
"I don't know," Zeke admitted.
Calvi leaned his body and placed his hands on the table in the room high above the titan. "We do need to find a way to kill it."
Zeke thought the situation over. He could ask Matthew for assistance, but even if he knew, it wasn't like Matthew would give it to him unless it benefitted the titan in the long run.
"The scientists haven't been able to discover any new information either," Zeke added, "Other than the fact our weapons don't work on it."
"How long can we keep this in here?" Zeke asked.
"As long as we can," Calvi declared, "We have no way of controlling it. Our best option is to hope this place does not collapse around us."
"Understood," Zeke said. Maybe he could ask about this to Matthew.
If he doesn't kill Magath, that is.
-------
Meanwhile
Megatron stared at the mainly empty room, save for the bed and the small cabinet drawer.
"It took us a while to set this up, but this should be enough for your needs," Magath remarked.
"At least I don't have to continue sleeping on Zeke's couch," Megatron proclaimed. Sometimes he pretended to sleep on Zeke's couch at certain times so that the humans would think he's sleeping. Or that he hasn't left the compound. So far he's been doing it for about two months.
"This should make you more cooperative," Magath assumed.
"Nothing you do will make me listen to you," Megatron declared, "All I want is my freedom."
Magath rolled his eyes in response. "When the war's over, you'll get it."
Megatron glanced over to see Magath leaving the room and shutting the door behind him. Megatron sighed and threw the bag on the bed. No window in the room. He actually would have liked that. Megatron then leaned against the wall and sat down on the floor. It's been two months since he's been a part of this stupid military, bidding his time and gathering information. It was extremely tedious.
As far as he was concerned, no one suspected a thing. He doesn't know how long he can keep it this way, but hopefully long enough to sabotage the energon project before it could continue. He needed to find a way to gain access to it without arousing suspicion. Reiner Braun has been avoiding him, which turns out to be a blessing in disguise. He's unsure if the titan shifter is suspicious of him yet, but he won't bother until Reiner chooses to speak with him. The other two were still confined within the research lab.
And then there was Zeke. He was still unsure if he could trust him. He said he wants to free the Eldian people, but…something just felt off. There was nothing Erwin or Kenny could look into at the time. Megatron was the only one gaining any information, and the ship Zeke promised to send was still being processed. They could only lay low for the time being.
Megatron sighed. He wished he could end this mission and just go back to Paradis.
"Megatron," Optimus called through his comm., "You do not have to respond, but I do require you to return to the island. Or…at least Hanji does,"
"It's been two months!" Hanji shouted on the other end.
"She requires an update on your progress and wishes for you to return and inform us of the information you've gathered on Marley Military," Optimus explained, "If there is a chance you can return without raising suspicion that would be helpful."
"Fine," Megatron quietly said before disabling the comm. He'll have to talk to Zeke to tell him to cover for him. But how would he be able to manage prolonged periods of time away from this place without raising suspicion.
Megatron sighed as he stood up. No matter. He'll figure something out. Right now, he has to go train those stupid warrior children.
--------
Porco grunted as Megatron rammed a staff in his guts before knocking him to the ground with it. He could see Colt rushing behind him, ready to throw a punch. Colt thought fast and ducked Megatron's swing, but the former warlord used to staff to pull him to his feet into a chokehold.
"Good reaction the first time, slow on the second," Megatron commented in his other vernacular. Megatron released Colt from his hold, and the boy moved to attack again. Megatron dodged his punch before tripping and pinning him to the ground.
"Wait until you're absolutely sure your enemy's guard is down," Megatron told him.
Porco rushed in to get Megatron off of Colt, but Megatron used the staff to trip him off of his feet.
"You keep falling for the same trick," Megatron scolded.
"I'm doing what Colt is doing!" Porco exclaimed.
"That's the problem," Megatron proclaimed, "You're predictable. Anyone with decent skill would be able to determine that and use it to beat you."
Gabi quickly raised her hand. "When will we fight you?"
"You three won't be able to last for a second," Megatron declared.
"But-,"
"Colt can barely keep up and Porco is a broken record," Megatron declared.
"Hey!" Porco shouted.
"You asked for this, and because you didn't start at the beginning, you are falling behind," Megatron declared as he stood up and hit Porco's head with the staff.
"Despite the fact you guys are training to be soldiers, you are kids," Megatron declared as he pointed the staff at them, "You're physically weaker than them, so it's better that I don't fight you. I don't want to kill you by accident."
"You're supposed to teach us!" Gabi exclaimed.
"Gabi," Falco warned.
"Then here's a lesson," Megatron began as he poked Gabi in the chest with the staff, "Patience. Be patient and you will learn. Dismissed. Go eat."
Porco helped Colt to his feet while Gabi grumbled in response. They all made their way to the inside while Megatron sat down on a bench and grumbled to himself. He hated being here so much. He's contemplated killing everyone here because he didn't want to be here, but what other options did he have right now. He also hasn't learned anything new in regards to Lionheart. No weaknesses to speak of for the available titan shifters, and the ship the Beast Titan promised to send would go in five months at best.
Megatron sighed to himself as he removed the jacket from his shoulders and set it on the bench. Luckily he was wearing actual human clothes to avoid any suspicion at the moment. He stretched his arms and took a deep breath. He was allowed a little bit of time to himself before he had to train those brats again. He figured he could use it to perfect Soundwave's techniques.
Megatron cracked his neck before getting into a fighting stance. He listened to the sounds around him before throwing a punch at the air. He then imagined an opponent in front of him before dodging their attacks. He flipped back before kicking behind him and getting back into another fighting stance.
He grabbed a wooden staff and swung it to his left before stabbing it in the ground and flipping in the air. He spun and swung it before skidding across the ground and dodging another imaginary attack.
---------
Calvi was working on some vital reports when he heard a knock at the door. The door opened and it was Magath that entered the room.
"I introduced Matthew to his room like you asked," Magath remarked.
"Good," Calvi responded without looking up, "How is he adjusting?"
"Hard to tell," Magath answered, "Matthew is not very open."
"I see," Calvi mused in response.
"Is that titan still alive?" Magath asked.
"Yes," Calvi answered, "We've been having trouble killing it. None of our own weapons have been working."
"Should we just call off this experiment then?" Magath asked with worry, "If we can't control one of these creatures, how would we control an army of them in battle."
"Killing it is our priority at the moment," Calvi responded, "If we can manage that, then we can continue experimentation. Annie Leonhart is still alive, after all. We can still study her to determine if we can use this energon for the actual titan shifters themselves."
Calvi stood up at looked out the window of his office. He noticed movement below and looked down to see Matthew spinning a staff in his hand before piercing the ground with it and lifting himself up to kick the air. Calvi noticed that Matthew's movements were swift and fast. He noted that they were movements of defense. Not offense.
Magath looked through the same window Calvi was and grimaced. "I don't understand why we let him have free reign. He's supposed to be a prisoner."
Calvi blinked in response. "He is still useful."
Magath was confused when Calvi walked out of his office, but quickly followed after him.
Meanwhile Megatron was practically dancing on air. He was pretending to dodge another enemy's attacks by remembering Soundwave's techniques. He moved left, then right, bent backwards before flipping and landing on his feet. He swung the staff in his hand and ducked before getting into a fighting stance.
"Matthew," a voice spoke.
Megatron chucked the staff at the direction of the voice. Calvi dodged it while Magath quickly ducked his head as the staff wedged its way into the wall.
"Holy shit," Magath whispered.
Megatron lowered his guard and stood up before walking past Calvi to where his jacket was. "What do you want?"
"I think a fucking apology is in order!" Magath shouted.
"It's rude to sneak up on someone," Megatron declared, "That was your fault."
"Excuse you?!"
"Matthew, I have a request for you," Calvi interrupted.
Megatron raised an eyebrow as he put on the jacket. "Depends."
"I have a project currently on hold due to…complications," Calvi chose carefully.
"If you're going to be that vague, I'm not doing it at all," Megatron declared.
"I'm trying to break this to you lightly," Calvi reasoned.
Megatron pointed to his face as emphasis to his stupid reasoning.
Calvi sighed. "I see your point, so I will be frank: We are conducting experiments using blood from the metal titan Optimus Prime."
"…and this concerns me why?" Megatron asked, not wanting to give away his eagerness for this human's stupidity.
"We've hit some complications," Calvi admitted.
"Sir," Magath pressed.
"We haven't made much progress, and we are worried that some of our men may be harmed during experimentation," Calvi continued, ignoring Magath.
"And why should this concern me?" Megatron demanded as he crossed his arms.
"We might need extra muscle," Calvi proclaimed, "And considering what I just witnessed, I think you would be perfect for this. With your fighting expertise, you could protect our men in the event experimentation goes south."
Megatron thought it over. "I want days off."
"What?!" Magath shouted.
"Why?" Calvi demanded.
"Because I know you're leaving shit out," Megatron declared, "You're making this sound less dangerous than it is, but considering the fact that you haven't made progress since when you first started this project, which I'm going to assume a few months, then that means that there's a body count or no progress."
"How did you know?" Calvi asked.
"When you gave me the bi-weekly salary," Megatron answered, "You had something going on but I just didn't know what. Now I know, and I don't want to get involved unless I receive more compensation. Because I don't want to die for a country keeping me here against my will."
"You cannot make demands!" Magath exclaimed, "You are our prisoner! You-!"
"How many days?" Calvi asked, earning a shocked look from Magath.
"One day a week," Megatron answered, "That day I get to go wherever I want whenever I want."
"Protect the generals today and I'll grant it to you," Calvi said.
"Fine," Megatron responded. He made his way over to the wall and pulled out the staff.
"Zeke will escort you to the building," Calvi informed.
"I'll be sure to let him know," Megatron commented as he walked back into the building.
--------------
Paradis
"You do understand we cannot trust this woman," Zackley reprimanded Hanji as Pixis poured himself some wine.
"None of us do," Hanji told her superior, "But we can still find a way to get help through her."
"Don't we have access to one of the most advanced ships in all existence?" Nile recalled, "It's Optimus Prime's technology."
"The ship, however useful, is still damaged," Hanji reminded, "We already have trouble with transporting materials. And Optimus, despite his infinite wisdom, is a soldier. He only has basic knowledge of mechanics and that can only get us so far."
"And Megatron is still in Marley?" Pixis recalled.
"He hasn't bothered to try and come back to give us an update on what he knows," Hanji groaned.
"But you are still managing to make progress," Zackley stated.
"Barely," Hanji admitted as she rested her head on the table, "While making Cybertronian blades for 3D gear use does create jobs, it's a long and arduous progress. The new gate is holding up just fine, so that's good. But the thunderspears haven't been perfected yet. I am hoping that whatever this 'Restorationist' group has in store, it is helpful."
"At the very least, we would have knowledge of Marley technology," Pixis added as he drank from his glass.
Zackley hummed in response. "When did you say that the Restorationists would be arriving?"
"I haven't been informed about that yet," Hanji admitted, "That's information that I need from Megatron."
"And he has to pretend being a human, so no contact unless absolutely certain it is safe," Nile added.
"That asshole could screw us over," Hanji mumbled under her breath.
"Commander Hanji, I do advise you refrain yourself from insulting him," Zackley admitted.
"I give no shits whatsoever," Hanji responded.
"It's like Levi's rubbing off on you," Nile commented.
"No, I've just been swamped with doing all this work," Hanji admitted, "Being a Commander sucks."
"Agreed," Pixis said as he raised his glass.
"Optimus was a Commander," Zackley reminded, "You could ask him for help."
"He's already helping me with the ship and making sure that Eren is okay," Hanji proclaimed, "I can't do that to him."
"And how is Eren?" Zackley asked.
"As of now, okay," Hanji answered, "Hopefully it stays that way."
-----------------
Marley Science Headquarters
"I don't understand how you managed to convince Commander Calvi to come to this experiment," Zeke whispered to Matthew as they walked down the hall towards the safe room above the transformation area.
"He said he wanted 'extra muscle'," Matthew told him in his regular voice, "He wanted me to protect the other generals in the event something went wrong."
"Do you intend to? Or are you going to make their deaths look like an accident?" Zeke demanded.
"I haven't thought about that," Matthew admitted, "That fool Magath seems like a great target."
"No," Zeke hissed as they arrived at the room. Zeke opened the door and was met with the glares of the other Commanders as they noticed him coming into the room. Zeke also noticed that some of those glares directed at Matthew. Matthew didn't seem bothered as he grabbed a chair and sat down, looking bored out of his mind.
"I don't know why a commoner like you is here for this," one of them hissed, "especially after your insubordination."
"It's not like I want to be here," Matthew retorted in his other voice.
"Enough," Calvi ordered as he looked through the glass to the transformation room, "Cover your ears."
Everyone in the room covered their ears except for Matthew. A loud explosion went off in the transformation room below. Zeke winced at the sound. He then noticed Matthew not affected on the noise. He still looked rather bored.
Calvi looked down to see the mutated was barely affected by the bomb. The titan regenerated its parts very quickly and now looked more irritated than ever. The titan began screaming and slamming it's face into the wall.
"We need to catalogue the regeneration time," Calvi declared, "It is clearly faster than a regular titan."
Zeke saw Matthew stand up and look through the glass down at the titan. He noticed the titan grimacing at the sight. He couldn't tell if it was out of anger or worry, but he did look ready to kill something, or someone.
"What is that?" Matthew demanded.
"The experiment we've been working on," Calvi answered, "A new form of a titan. If we can control it, then it can benefit us in the war."
"It doesn't even look like you can kill it," Matthew retorted, "How can you even control it?"
"Are you doubting Marley's might?" Magath demanded.
"There is a monster down there with blue veins," Matthew retorted, "I have every right to question your might."
The titan heard the arguing and looked up to see the humans there. It slammed its head into the wall below them, causing the room to shake.
"Shit!" one of the commanders swore.
Megatron looked down at the titan and its angry face as it continued to slam its face in the wall. It was going to destroy them all. He should just let it do that, but there was no guarantee that the Commanders would die in this situation. It was too controlled of a space. He needed to make it look like an accident, but he didn't know how.
Megatron gritted his teeth. The only option at the moment was to kill the titan.
"What exactly did you use to make that thing?!" Megatron demanded.
"It was the source of the metal titan!" Calvi shouted, "It was their blood!"
Zeke noticed Matthew debating his options before turned and stormed out the safe room.
"Where is he going?!" A commander shouted.
"I-I'll get him," Zeke stuttered as he ran out after him.
Zeke managed to catch up to Matthew, but he couldn't slow him down. "Matthew, stop! What are you doing?!"
"Your primitive weapons aren't going to work against that thing," Matthew declared in his normal voice, "Get me a vial of energon now!"
"What-?!"
"Now!" he barked at him.
Zeke rushed to get the energon while Megatron busted down the door to the weapon's room. He grabbed a match, a bayonet, a metal staff, and a grenade. Megatron attached the bayonet to the staff and bolted back towards the containment room. Megatron saw that Zeke was close behind him.
"The energon!" Megatron demanded as he switched to the other vernacular.
Zeke passed him the energon as Megatron opened the door to the containment room.
"What is the meaning of this insubordination?!" Magath demanded.
"Move!" Megatron shouted as he shoved Magath aside. Megatron stabbed the bayonet into the glass window, causing it to shatter to pieces. The former warlord then placed the makeshift spear in his teeth before jumping through the glass and into the transformation chamber.
"What the hell?!"Magath shouted.
The titan noticed Megatron's holoform falling and opened its mouth to eat him. Megatron pulled out the grenade and pulled the pin before throwing it directly into its mouth. The grenade blew up inside the titan, but also blinded Megatron. He stabbed the staff into the wall to slow his fall, but when he hit the ground, he felt pain go through his leg.
"By the Pits, why did you have to install pain receptors, Soundwave?" Megatron hissed. Megatron saw the smoke clear and the titan beginning to regenerate. Megatron quickly opened the energon vial and poured it on the bayonet. He lit the match and ignited the liquid, causing it to burn a bright blue.
Zeke and the other Commanders could only watch from above as Megatron got into a fighting stance.
"Is he insane?!" one of them shouted, "He only has one weapon! How is he going to defeat that thing?!"
Megatron rushed forward as the titan roared. He cut the wrist of the titan, causing it to catch on fire. The fire spread rather quickly through the titan's arm and it cried out in pain. Megatron stabbed it in the foot and climbed on top of it as the foot caught fire. Megatron ran to the nape of the neck and stabbed it right in the center. The fire continued to spread and the titan struggled and thrashed. The titan threw Megatron off its back as it continued to burn. Megatron skidded across the floor and slammed into the wall.
The Commanders noticed the titan growing weaker to the blue flames as it consumed its entire body. They turned to Megatron who forced himself to get on his feet, but he ended up falling to his knees and clutched his leg in pain.
Megatron saw the titan slowly reaching out towards him, trying to grab and eat him. He was then blinded by a bright light. When the light faded, Megatron saw Zeke's titan form step on the nape of the neck, effectively killing it.
Zeke pulled himself out of his titan form and climbed down to come to Matthew's aid.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" Zeke hissed at him.
"Shut up," Matthew ordered in his regular voice. Zeke saw him examining his leg with his hands before grabbing his dislocated ankle. He cried out in pain as he reset the ankle.
"You need to go to the infirmary," Zeke whispered.
"This is a fake form; my cover will be blown," Matthew reminded as he forced himself to stand, "Slag you, Soundwave."
Before Zeke could respond, the other commanders rushed into the transformation room to see the damage done. They turned their attention to Matthew, who looked rather tired and irritated.
"I want to go back to my room," Matthew told them.
The Commanders seemed to get the message and parted ways as Matthew limped out of the transformation room with Zeke following him. Commander Calvi turned back to the damage. This random man, who's only been here for two months, held his own against an experimental mutated titan.
"Sir, what do we do about this?" Commander Magath asked with hesitation in his voice.
Calvi grimaced. "Have the Eldians sweep it up."
-----------------------
Later
"Look, I know you don't want to, but you have to feign injury," Zeke told Megatron in his office, "There has to be proof of that."
"I can't be damaged in this form," Megatron reminded as he sat on the couch.
"I know, but you were slammed into a wall and had to reset your foot," Zeke retorted as he pulled out a bandage wrapping, "Just wrap this around your ankle when you have this form. That's it."
Megatron grumbled in response before gesturing to the bandage. "Give it."
Zeke tossed it over to Megatron before walking over to his desk. The former warlord began to wrap the bandage around his ankle. He found it pointless. The pain faded away and there would be no lasting damage. And while Cybertronians had to get a simple repair for something like this, humans would have to heal from this with extensive treatment and bed rest.
Megatron tied to bandage before setting it on the table. What a fragile species.
"What are you going to do now?" Zeke demanded, "They are going to demand that you explain yourself."
"I'll figure something out," Megatron answered.
The door to Zeke's office opened to reveal Magath. Magath seemed to look over at Megatron in anger and fear before turning to Zeke.
"Commander Calvi wants him," Magath stated.
Zeke quietly gulped. "Yes, sir."
"I need to rest my foot," Megatron retorted in the other vernacular.
"Get up," Magath ordered; however, Megatron could tell that Magath had hesitation in his voice.
Megatron smirked. "Fine then, carry me."
Zeke wanted to scream out loud while Magath was angrier than before.
"Excuse you?" Magath demanded.
"Well I hit my back against the wall and my leg is practically shot," Megatron reasoned, "I would need help to get to Calvi's office-,"
Magath stormed out the room, leaving Megatron feeling triumphant. A few minutes, Magath stormed right back in with a staff in hand.
"Use this," Magath ordered as he threw it at Megatron, "Let's go."
Megatron still felt satisfied as he got up and used the staff as support to follow Magath to Calvi's office. Meanwhile, Zeke clutched his chest in both relief and worry.
"I need more cigarettes," Zeke proclaimed.
--------------------
Megatron stepped foot into Calvi's office. He heard a click behind him and realized that Magath had locked the door. Megatron leaned against the staff in order to feign his foot injury. He noticed that Calvi was looking through his papers before looking up at him. He could see that there was a mixture of anger and jealousy in his eyes.
"Is there a reason you wanted to see me?" Megatron demanded in his other vernacular.
"You know damn well why!" Magath shouted behind him.
Megatron rolled his eyes. "Whatever do you mean?"
"I must say, what you did today was impressive," Calvi began, "You managed to do something that we've been struggling to do for the past two months. You held your own against a titan, a new type of titan, and managed to discover a weakness against it."
"I appreciate the flattery," Megatron stated, being cautious about where this was going.
"How were you even certain that the titan's blood would work?" Calvi asked.
"I wasn't," Megatron admitted, "I just thought of fighting fire with fire. Sometimes that works."
"Well it managed to do enough damage to weaken the titan," Calvi continued, "It is impressive, and I do thank you for that. However...,"
Megatron watched Calvi stand up and grab a sheet of paper. "It says nothing here that you went through military training. Yet you managed to fight a mutated titan all on your own. Is there something you're not telling us?"
"What exactly do you want to hear?" Megatron asked.
"Where did you learn how to fight?" Calvi asked, "But…I want to know if you've been keeping secrets."
Megatron's gaze was unwavering to Commander Calvi. The titan could hear Magath rustling behind him, but he wasn't sure about what he was doing.
"What exactly do you want to hear?" Megatron asked.
"Depends on your answer to the first question," Calvi answered.
Megatron debated his options. What exactly would he be able to say? What lie would be convincing enough to hold some truth? An idea came to his mind: just tell them the truth.
Megatron sighed in response. "I was forced to fight in underground, illegal death matches."
Megatron was glad when Calvi's expression turned to one of surprise. Good. That wasn't an answer Calvi was expecting. Megatron looked behind him to see Magath just as surprised.
"Illegal?" Magath questioned.
"Death matches?" Calvi questioned, "Since when."
"Since I was a teenager," Megatron lied, "It was meant for sport and entertainment. Sometimes I would fight humans; other times I would fight vicious animals that wanted to eat me. No prior training before the fight too. I was thrown straight into the lion's den. I barely managed to escape it with my life."
"T-that has to be a joke," Magath stuttered.
Megatron partially lifted up the shirt to reveal some of the scars on his body. "I can tell you in detail how I got each and every one of my scars. I guarantee you'd throw up after three."
Magath felt sick to his stomach as Megatron lowered the shirt. Meanwhile, Calvi seemed to be deep in thought.
"I can see why this was never brought up under your record," Calvi stated, "Well…I suppose you did earn that day off. You might need some extra time to recovery considering your leg."
Megatron looked down at the bandaged ankle and rotated it. "This isn't the worst injury I've gotten. I'll be fine in a day or so."
"But in regards to your day off, you will have to take an escort with you," Calvi declared as he went back to his desk.
Megatron scoffed. "An escort?"
"To ensure you won't escape," Calvi reasoned as he sat down, "You've only been here for two months. We don't exactly trust you yet. You wouldn't want Marley to hunt you down for breaking the law, would you?"
Megatron wanted to go over there and snap his neck. He wanted to kill the both of them. He could, and he might be able to get away with it. But he couldn't risk that. He wasn't trusted, so others would suspect that he was involved in some way. He couldn't risk his identity. Not yet.
"Fine," Megatron grumbled.
"Good," Calvi said, "You're dismissed."
Megatron limped towards the door and stopped to stare Magath down.
"I want to be left alone for the rest of the day," Megatron stated.
"Fine," Calvi relented.
Magath grimaced as Megatron walked out the door. He quickly shut it and turned to Calvi.
"You've managed to find an impressive person," Calvi remarked.
"I'm starting to regret giving him the option for training those devils," Magath hissed.
"Because of him, we now know how to kill a mutated titan," Calvi declared, "We might just have an advantage against the island after all."
Magath sighed. He just hoped this whole situation didn't blow up in his face.
-----------------
Later that night
Megatron made sure to lock the door to his room before flying back to Paradis. He was assuming that his day off would be tomorrow, so he hoping that no one would bug him. He'll be back there in the morning, but at the very least, he needs to actually be in his bipedal mode. He was sick and tired of pretending to be a human.
Megatron arrived at the neutral ship and transformed into his bipedal mode before walking inside. He just wanted peace and quiet; he didn't want to deal with anyone else.
Megatron heard clatter down the hall and immediately pulled out his sword. He slowly approached an open door and saw that Optimus was typing something on a keyboard while he was refining energon.
"What are you doing here?" Megatron asked.
Optimus turned to see Megatron at the door. "I could ask the same to you."
"I needed a break," Megatron declared as he walked over to observe the refiner.
"It took a few hours to get it to work," Optimus explained, "But now, we have liquefied energon."
Optimus passed Megatron a cube before returning to his work. Megatron picked up the cube before opening it and taking a sip.
"Well, it is better than chewing it," Megatron admitted, "Does the mad scientist know about this?"
"I intend to tell her tomorrow," Optimus responded, "I was working on fixing this after sunset. She had a meeting with the other Commanders and wanted to monitor the set-up of the military camp site."
Megatron grunted in response as he continued drinking his energon.
"Do you have any news in regards to Marley's project?" Optimus asked.
Megatron sighed. "I have complicated ones. Their Commander asked me to be on the project for extra muscle and protection."
"And?" Optimus pressed, worried about what he was going to say next.
"At the time, I was given little options, so I fought an energon infested titan using the liquefied energon from Lionheart's spine," Megatron explained.
"In the holoform?" Optimus demanded.
"What else am I going to use?" Megatron hissed, "The good news is that energon-based materials can weaken these mutated titans, but this is information that Marley knows as well. They will most likely use this to their advantage down the line."
Optimus thought this over. "Did you kill the titan with the energon?"
"No, the energon weakened it and the Beast Titan established the killing blow," Megatron explained, "Lionheart's actual spinal fluid may have affected the creature's complete corruption. My guess is that it would have to be completely pure energon, or a direct attack to the nape of the neck in order to kill it."
"How fast was regeneration time?" Optimus asked.
"Without energon, I counted ten seconds," Megatron explained, "That was when I threw a grenade in the creature's mouth. With it, I wasn't able to gain that information."
Optimus looked over at the completely refined energon. "If Marley has complete success with these experiments, we have to manipulate the 3D Maneuver Gear to hold energon based weapons."
"I thought you were already modifying that weaponry," Megatron recalled.
"We've made blades based off of the metals on this ship," Optimus explained, "But that alone is not enough."
"I doubt that your precious humans would be able to pull that off in such a short amount of time," Megatron proclaimed.
Optimus sighed in response. "You said Zeke Jaeger would send a ship."
"That creature estimated five months," Megatron reminded, "But it will most likely be longer due to their war."
Optimus turned his attention back to the computer. "What is the status of Annie Leonhart?"
Megatron finished his energon, knowing exactly where the conversation was heading. "As far as I know, Lionheart is still alive. They haven't made any plans to replace her, so I'm assuming that is the case. Meaning that she would've had the energon in her system for six months."
Megatron noticed a mix of relief and worry in Optimus' optics as he began typing. Megatron set the empty cube back on the table. "How long ago was it when you injected your pet?"
Megatron noticed anger in Optimus' optics, but it quickly faded.
"Not long after you informed us of Marley's experimentation," Optimus answered, "But with barely functioning equipment, we only have Annie to go off of in regards to this situation."
"So…don't kill Lionheart," Megatron assumed, "Fine. I do have full intentions of ensuring the other creature's death because of the dark energon."
"Understood," Optimus said. He just hoped that Eren would be okay, and that the energon wouldn't kill him.
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Eren kept staring at his eyes in the mirror. He could barely see any green in them. All he saw was the blue of the energon. He pulled his skin down to get a better look at it, but all he saw was blue. But he wasn't concerned about his eyes. He was more concerned about what he saw. That image of Optimus' corpse; it made him want to puke. What even was that? That wasn't real, was it?
Eren shook his head and shut his eyes. No. That was just an hallucination. A side effect of the energon. He should tell Hanji or Optimus about this. Maybe they can do something about it.
Eren opened his eyes and jumped back when he saw an older version of himself in the mirror. He rubbed his eyes and looked in the mirror to see his own reflection. What was he seeing?! What were these images?!
What was going on with him?!