Chapter Text
The ruins were empty.
No supplies remained.
Energon was getting scarcer and scarcer. It was no wonder he hadn't found a T-Cog in a long time; most of the survivors had gotten rid of theirs to save on Energon consumption.
'Well, there goes my dream of being able to transform for once...' The blue mech thought dismally. He hadn't been consuming as much Energon as he needed to stay fully active either, but it wasn't because he was starving. Oh, he was starving, but he had a bigger plan in mind for what little Energon he had manage to scrounge up.
Picking up the last few cubes of the glowing blue element, the mech ran back to his little hideout underground. The emergency entrance was just a basic slide that had a concealed door to it. The mech slid open the door and jumped in, just as the door slid shut and locked behind him.
Reaching the bottom of the slide, the mech landed on his butt, grunting as soon as he hit the cold floor. He got to his feet with a grunt and picked up his small sack of Energon cubes. The small living space was spartan and bare. Only a mat signified it was lived in. But what it lacked in personal items, it made up for in one large structure that sat at the end of the small room. Tools lay scattered about, with bits of metal and wiring shown on the floor and hanging from the walls. In the left corner of the room was a large machine that pulses with blue energy. The Energon convertor was almost fully powered up. The last few cubes needed to power it were in the sack the blue visored mech had with him
Walking over to the convertor, the mech took out the three measly cubes and slipped them inside...
There was no beep to signal the convertor was ready to be powered on.
"Aw, just great..." The mech groaned out. "That's just my luck, isn't it?"
He kicked the convertor. "It seems I'll never have enough to power this dang thing on..."
Looking back at the structure, the blue mech scowled. "So much for my plans to change things... I can't even find enough Energon to turn this darn thing on!"
The room began to shake, throwing the blue mech into a panic. "Oh no... Not now... Don't tell me they found me now..."
Glancing back at the structure again, the blue mech knew it was his one and only chance, but he didn't have enough... Energon... 'Wait! That's it!'
Looking down at his own body, the mech had a crazy, but most certainly, suicidal idea. "If I can't find enough Energon on the surface, maybe I can find enough inside..."
He grabbed a couple of transfer hoses and a coupler to hook to the Energon convertor, as well as a transfer module he had scavenged some time before for medical purposes. Walking to the convertor, the blue mech hooked the transfer hose to himself and then to the transfer module. The coupler was hooked to the convertor, and then the second hose was hooked to the module and convertor.
"Alright, let's see if this will work." The blue mech said before he flipped on the transfer module. Almost immediately, the blue mech felt weaker as his Energon was transferred to the convertor through both the hoses and the coupler. But to hear that signaling beep of the convertor being at full power was more then enough to convince the mech his risky move was worth it.
Staggering, the blue mech shut off the transfer module and disconnected the hose attached to his body. He made his way, wobbly, to the structure, which was waiting, pulsating with silent power. A shaky hand reached up and pushed the 'on' button. The structure beeped. Grabbing a lever, the mech tried to push it up to activate the structure, but his weakened state made it virtually impossible. Still, he wasn't about to fail now, not after all he had done. With some extra effort on his part, the blue mech was somehow, with a burst of artificial adrenaline, able to push the lever from its down position to the up position.
With a click, the lever locked into place, just as the structure began to hum with power.
The room began to shake even more. The blue mech knew he was running out of time.
The structure flashed, a swirling vortex opening in its center.
The hidden door was blown out. He could hear enemy forces coming down the slide. Staggering, he hobbled towards the opened portal.
"Halt! In the name of the Quintesson Empire! Miner S-8990, you are to come with us to deem if you are worthy!" One of the former Trackers boomed as it landed at the bottom of the slide on its feet, gun aimed at the miner.
"Heh... Sorry, no can do, goldie..." The mech, S-8990, replied back before raising up his middle digit on his hand. "But I ain't got the time to stick around!"
As the Tracker aimed at S-8990, the blue mech heaved himself into the portal, which then promptly overloaded and blew up...
S-8990 fell through a swirling vortex, a rainbow of colors and scenes from varying parts all around him. It was too much for him to bare to watch. He was already feeling weakened from the Energon transfer to power his one chance of changing things. But just going through the vortex was draining him even more. It was making everything ache, from his processors down to his limbs.
Time hadn't been on his side before, but maybe it would be now...
That was the last though S-8990 had before he was spat out of the vortex and hit the ground. Then, all went black...
100 stellar cycles before The Betrayal...
A magnificently armored mech was standing outside the main structure of their base of operations. Clad in gold and silver armor, with a helm shaped a lot like a crown and wise blue optics, in his hand an ornate blue energy axe outlined in gold, this mech was Zeta Prime, leader of the 13 Primes, rulers of Cybertron.
The powerful, but benevolent ruler looked over as something caught his attention. In the distance was a cloud of dust in the air.
"What seems to be troubling you, old friend?" A voice off to his left asked. The leader of the Primes turned and saw his comrade, Alpha Trion, coming up beside him. Ornately decorated in purple and gray armor, with sagely blue optics and a cape hanging off his back, the Keeper of Knowledge for the Primes was not much for fighting, but he was deadly when pushed to it. His beastly alternate form, when combined with his dust and particle manipulation, made even the Quintessons fear taking him on in a straight fight.
"There, in the distance." Zeta Prime announced. "Something has hit near our base."
"Should we send the High Guard to investigate?" Alpha Trion questioned.
"No." Zeta Prime replied, turning down his fellow Prime's suggestion. "The Guard is needed here more than ever. I shall go to investigate alone."
"Are you sure that is wise, Zeta, old friend?" Alpha Trion intoned.
"Rest assured, Alpha, I am more than capable of handling myself." Zeta reassured his comrade. "It will be just a mere scout mission and reconnaissance, so I doubt I will be in any real danger."
Alpha Trion hesitated, but in the end, he gave a nod. "Very well, but do not drop your guard."
With a nod, Zeta Prime left to investigate the mysterious cloud in the distance...