Chapter 1: A False Sense Of Security

Megatron sighed, gazing at the beautiful sight before him. A vast forest blanketed the landscape in shades of green and yellow. Mountains stood tall on the horizon, their snowy peaks visible even from a long distance away. Organic life flourished in every crevice, every valley, every curving river and sweeping plain. It was a wonderful view for someone who had seen so much death and destruction.

"It's no Cybertron, but... I think I can get used to it."

Megatron blinked and turned his head. Starscream had joined him on the cliff to admire the view. He smiled and placed a servo on the seeker's shoulder. "I miss Cybertron too." He said, his smile faltering a bit. He let his servo drop by his side and sighed. "But this is our home now. So far it has provided us with everything we need."

"What about the natives?" Starscream inquired. "I hope we aren't stealing resources from them."

"As far as I know, they do not require energon like we do. In fact, I'm not sure they are even aware of what lies below them." Megatron explained. "We will not infringe upon their privacy. I plan to simply coexist alongside them without them ever knowing we're here. It's for the best."

Starscream nodded in agreement, his wings twitching. "Shockwave discovered another mine today. I sent Dreadwing and Skyquake to check it out."

"Good." Megatron replied, folding his servos behind his back. "If we continue harvesting energon at this rate, our reserves should be doubled within the next day or so."

His comn link suddenly buzzed with an incoming transmission, prompting him to answer. <<This is Megatron.>>

<<Did Starscream tell you about the mine?>> It was Dreadwing. He sounded concerned.

<<The mine that Shockwave recently discovered, yes. What of it? Is there a problem?>>

<<There might be. Could you come down here and prove it isn't just my nerves acting up again?>>

<<Of course. I'll be there in a few minutes. Megatron out.>> Megatron lowered his servo from his helm and narrowed his optics.

"What's wrong?" Starscream questioned, having missed the entire conversation.

"Dreadwing believes he needs some reassurance. I'm going down to the new mine to check it out." Megatron replied, looking at his SIC as he prepared to transform. "You'd better come as well. I'm not sure what will be waiting for us when we get there."

"Alright, let's get a move on then."

***

It didn't take long to find Dreadwing. He was standing by the entrance of the mine with his twin, Skyquake.

"What is it that needs my attention?" Megatron asked Dreadwing.

"While we were scouting the cave system, we heard a strange noise come from one of the tunnels." Dreadwing explained. His shoulders sagged a bit and he sighed. "I wanted to explore further, but... my nerves got the best of me. Something didn't feel right."

Megatron was aware that Dreadwing had been on edge ever since they were driven from Cybertron. He couldn't blame him. Everyone was still reluctant to let their guard down, believing that the Autobots would just appear out of nowhere one day to wipe them out. Deep down, he himself was terrified of that possibility, but he couldn't let his team see it.

"That's fine, Dreadwing. You did your best." Megatron offered him a reassuring smile. "We'll investigate together." He said, walking towards one of the tunnels.

Once they were deeper in the tunnel, Dreadwing flicked on a light he had brought with him. It was pitch black. Megatron could hardly see the ground, let alone the walls of the tunnel. At one point, he was forced to duck down due to his great height. The ceiling was getting lower.

"There." Dreadwing said after a long period of silence. He pointed the light at a smaller tunnel off to the side. "The sound seemed to be coming from that tunnel."

Megatron nodded, lumbering over to the tunnel once he had enough room to stand up again. He peered into the seemingly endless space, his blue optics bright against his silver frame.

"Starscream, with me." He said, gesturing for Dreadwing and Skyquake to remain where they were.

Starscream nodded and took the light from Dreadwing. He cautiously followed Megatron into the tunnel, his wings twitching anxiously. He wasn't particularly fond of small spaces, especially if it was dark.

Halfway through the tunnel, the ground began to tremble.

Megatron steadied himself against the wall while he tried to figure out what was causing the ground to shake. Then, a massive explosion launched him forwards and sent Starscream crashing into his back. He hit the ground hard with a grunt, the sound of screeching metal filling his audio receptors until he came to a stop. Once the dust had settled, it became eerily quiet.

"Megatron?" Starscream's voice broke the silence.

"I'm alright. Where are you?" Megatron asked as he slowly pushed himself to his pedes. He spotted the seeker's bright blue optics and sighed in relief. "Are you okay?"

"I've been through worse." Starscream muttered, brushing himself off. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure." Megatron replied, his optics narrowing. The tunnel from which they came had caved in, rendering them trapped. "The tunnel's blocked. Unless we can find another exit, we're stuck in here until Dreadwing can dig us out."

Starscream groaned in dismay, his anxiety only worsening. "Great, now what?"

Megatron looked back in the direction they were originally heading, seeing that the tunnel seemed to grow wider towards the end. "I think there's another cave at the end of this tunnel. Let's continue exploring to give Dreadwing and Skyquake some time." He headed off down the tunnel again.

Starscream was hesitant, but eventually followed because he was scared of being left alone. In the back of his mind, he couldn't stop thinking about what could've possibly caused that explosion.