Shattered Trilogy

Chapter 1

Iacon, simply put, had become a massive battleground. Gallons of Energon spilled, gunfire raining downwards and upwards, and smoke from fires afar shrouding the streets in impossible darkness.

A group of Decepticon Seekers flew above a lone street, gunfire suddenly raining upon them from the ground. One of them was, unfortunately, shot. The doomed flier started their descent, trying to remain calm and regain control. However, it wouldn't come soon enough, as they crashed into an unstable building. The structure groaned and gave away, while the Seeker's condition worsened. They finally reached the ground, transforming after the initial crash. They yelled in pain, rolling, then stopping with their chassis exposed to the sky. Their optics darkened, intake gaping, and injuries on their frame smoking.

As the Seeker passed, a large figure padded up a nearby scrap hill. It was a bulky white bot, with black treads on his back, black shoulders and servos and pedes, and optics a light blue. He had a pointy red insignia in the center of his chassis – the opposite of the Autobot's traditionally purple insignia that struck fear into the Embers of many, and a thirst for violence in the Embers of many more. It was Megatron, the Decepticon leader. Another figure stumbled up the hill, grumbling and dusting off their torso. He was much smaller than Megatron, with his helm only reaching to the other's waist. He was a silver-colored bot, with little rounded audial horns atop his helm, and bored red optics. He was called B-127 by many, and he claims (proudly, at that) that no one knows his real name.

B-127 stared out at the battlefield with those bored optics. He glanced over at the hulking white bot, seeing him staring at something and frowning. The silver bot looked back out, tracing his line of sight, and spotted the Seeker they saw crash. A quick scan later, and B-127's HUD showed that they were deceased, and that's all he cared about. He could come back later and salvage what he could. Megatron's gaze broke from his fallen comrade, to B-127, and the silver bot quickly averted his gaze and pulled up a map on his forearm. The green glow faintly illuminated his face and chassis. After a moment of examining it, he looked up at the Decepticon leader.

"We're close, but 'Bots will be inbound for patrol soon." B-127 said.

"Understood. We must hurry, then." Megatron said.

The two stayed still for a moment longer despite the warning, then finally moved when they detected no dangers. B-127 led the hulking white bot down the street. Megatron looked around as they walked. He spotted abandoned storefronts that he barely recognized, buildings half-standing and half-crumbling, Energon staining the ground in large puddles. Comparing Iacon now to his first visit here felt like a slap to the face – everything was in ruin, the buildings no longer shined, and the Crystal Garden that he onced begged his closest friends and mentor to accompany him to didn't even exist anymore.

Megatron looked back down at the scavenger, who padded nonchalantly. He didn't even bother to look at the buildings. He was humming as well, faintly echoing into the night sky. The only sign that he was aware was the occasional lifting of his helm, stare at the sky, then returning to looking straight ahead.

"Scavenger, may I ask a question?" Megatron asked, being sure to keep his rumbling voice low.

B-127 shrugged and spoke, giving a similar nonchalant tone. "Fire away." He said.

The Decepticon leader almost hesitated to ask, "How long have you been in Iacon? You appear used to this... scene." He said.

"Been here as long as I can remember." The silver bot said, "Why, plan on movin' Decepticon HQ over here?"

Despite himself, Megatron smiled, then shook his helm. "I've lived in Kaon for most of my life. It was only a few vorns before the war that I began visiting Iacon." He said.