In her primitive city, she and other civilians watched Quientesson ships slowly descend from the gray skies in the distance. She only saw terror and heard silence, as the populace rapidly decreased. Everyone was fleeing. To where?

Her sire told her: "Only a fool could believe there is sanctuary somewhere in this damned world."

Was it true, though?

Merely less than half the city remained. Should they flee? Fight? No, not fight. The Primes urged them not to. Some of the last lines ever heard from Zeta Prime were broadcasted all over Cybertron, and they were this:

"We will take this war into our own hands. For a civilian, it is a mere speck of nothingness to Quientessons. They. want .us."

Maybe her sire was the fool; he chose to stay. They watched the city slowly collapse. No one was there to repair it. Everyone left. Militia formed and stayed here; twenty, she remembers, all mechs. Fools.

Whatever became of them? On the surface, their only help was to hope to face death and they could take it down. They didn't. They were mere specks of nothingness to Quintessons.

Maybe she was the fool. Fleeing to a subterranean sanctuary with only guilt overflowing her. Should she have left him? There, before she left for another, the last thing she saw at a corner was a sparkling, bundled in scraps. Its tiny servo clenched onto powdered rust, slowly pouring down. It wept yet went unnoticed.

Like clinging to something that would never return.

--------

When she got there, Y/n felt a strong sway of nostalgia. The surface, her old home. Nothing like what Iacon is. It was beautiful, where one could watch the night turn day and the day turn night without feeling bored. One could pass the time feeling breezes against their faceplate. Nothing like Iacon.

Amidst the jungle near the cave, she transformed, nimbly landing on the smooth ground. Y/n was astonished at the changed sight of her youth. Nobody around, ruins in the distance, only the sound of soft winds and the occasional grazing of deer. She remained silent, taking in all she could.

She heard a slight murmur coming from the cave. Was somebody there? Why would somebody be there?

Perhaps, she thought, for the same reason she was?

All of a sudden, a loud hum of an engine was heard above her. She recognized it.

Quietesson ships.

Quientesson ships?

The war is over-- why are they here?!

Dust spiraled around her, and she felt her spark drop. She needed to get out of here.

She frantically looked around. Deer ran in all directions to hide. Her optics settled on an opening engraved on the cave, far enough to fit. She ran towards it and got in. It felt uncomfortable, as the space felt claustrophobic. She crouched, hugged her legs tightly, and listened.

For a few seconds, the humming got louder before it suddenly stopped. Did they know she was here? Her spark felt like it was pulsating all over her body, she hugged her legs tighter, hoping for it to come to an end.

It did, and the humming was no longer heard. They have left. At least, only the area she was in.

Slowly, she stepped out of the opening, her optics raised towards the sky. She was relieved a little as she saw deer stepping out from other hiding spots in the jungle. Due to adrenaline, she felt lightheaded, stumbling as she walked away from her hiding place.

More murmuring came from inside the cave.

Wait, could it be...?

She activated the beacon again; she was right next to the cave. The red symbol was flashing even faster than when far away. As she stared at it, the flashing felt more intense and worsened her headache. She closed the beacon and looked up at the cave, trying to find an entrance. Not wanting to move from her spot, she couldn't find any. If she moved to the other side, there might be a Quientesson so silent. It might just be waiting to kill her.

Front somewhere near the front of the cave, two deer ran towards the side of the cave, close to where she stood. They began climbing, hopping onto each stable rock as if they'd been climbing it their whole life. What could they be looking for?

They got to the top, and an idea came to Y/n.

The roof!

She hesitated to transform, what if whoever was inside heard her? A quintesson? She climbed, to the best of her abilities, the same path the deer did. One ped on a small rock above the other on a larger one, her servos grappling onto the next set. The same pattern continued until she finally reached the roof. The murmuring got a bit louder, and she could hear it more clearly. Trying to listen, she felt herself almost slip. Quickly, she dragged her leg up from the final rock. A few pebbles fell as she did so. The two deer lifted their heads from an opening on the roof to look at her, and they ran. Y/n gazed at the opening the deer were looking through. It was large, like something big fell through it. As she got closer to it, she could hear someone speaking: whoever it was sounded like someone she'd heard in old archives. He spoke of Cybertronian legends, some of which her sire repeated to her and waved them off as made up. She knew they were true, though.

She peeped through the opening, and she could see a group of bots standing, listening to whoever was speaking. She recognized Orion, D, and B-127. The bot who was taken to sub-level 50, she remembers. No one knew those next ten sub-levels even existed! She recognized Elita. She is "stern and angry all the time," Darkwing would describe every time he was called to the headquarters, but Y/n knew it was out of following protocol.

What would they be doing here? It's dangerous for mining bots, only a miracle could save them. She finished observing once they left towards the other side of the cave.

The loud humming of Quientesson ships returned. Y/n panicked, they would be able to detect her a lot easier now. Without thinking, she threw herself into the opening. She landed on hard ground, but it was close enough not to get herself hurt. Once she regained her senses, all she heard was silence. She lifted her head over a rock in front of her, surveying her surroundings.

The bodies of the Primes were all she focused on. They seemed dusted, like the quartet of bots were looking at them up close. She saw a pair of blue optics some steps in front of her. She turned to see someone sitting on a rock, the one whom the optics belonged to. He was familiar. She gazed at him a little longer, activating the beacon again. The symbol pulsated against her face, making her turn it off.

The Prime...

The Prime seemed to have noticed the red flashing and slowly turned around. Y/n was too shocked to do anything. She finally recognized him.

Alpha Trion.