Transformers Prime: I am Allspark

City: Kaon

[70 Days After Megatron's Appearance]

"Master Megatron, isn't using Starscream for your plans too risky?" Barricade asked, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall.

Dreadwing, who was standing next to Barricade, couldn't help but ask the same question, neither of them feeling any kind of confidence with Starscream's possible constant presence. "I agree with all your decisions, but isn't it risky to trust someone like Starscream, a rat who only wants to take advantage?"

"I'm well aware of the concern that plagues you, but don't worry, Starscream was honest when he said he wanted to join the Decepticons, and even if it was a lie, Soundwave would have been the first to know." Megatron explained, looking out the window at the city while Soundwave silently worked on the administration.

Barricade and Dreadwing looked at Soundwave, neither knowing how to express themselves, but knowing his abilities, they could only trust their leader's words.

"But don't worry, Laserbeak is keeping a very close eye on Starscream." Megatron remembered the order he had given Soundwave to use his Minicon to keep an eye on Starscream.

"Where is he now?" Dreadwing asked, still feeling a certain suspicion of Starscream that he couldn't easily shake.

"With the injuries Starscream sustained, it would take him over 20 days to recover." Barricade replied, knowing how effective he himself was at giving his targets a good beating. " In a few days, maybe 2 or 3, the asshole from Knock Out will have him back on his feet."

"That's perfect. For the first major phase of my plan, I need to clear the streets of the Mafia, in every city without exception. Once I control all organized crime, I will eliminate them when they are no longer useful to me." Megatron looked at Barricade, remembering the agreement between them. "However, if the High Council attacks first, having these criminals as allies in the war will be more effective than relying on the inexperienced populace to fight. Just a countermeasure for the future."

Barricade sighed, he did not agree with using these criminals for the war, but they were necessary for now, but when everything was resolved, he would have Megatron's authorization to kill them all, one by one, in any way he saw fit.

"Fortunately, we have the resources to use these criminals effectively." Megatron took a collar that would immobilize a Cybertronian's ability to transform. The same collar he was forced to wear in the past during his time as a gladiator. "With a gun to their heads, they will always be loyal dogs."

***

Somewhere in Crystal City...

Pulver was repairing one of her ship's space warp engines, having some trouble because she hadn't done it in a long time, relying only on her memory of how ships were always repaired during the war against the Quintessons. Something she had to learn the hard way in this chaos.

Reaching for a screwdriver, she accidentally dropped it, letting it fall to the floor. Pulver looked at her left hand, saw that it was shaking involuntarily, and quickly grabbed her wrist with his other hand, trying to stop the involuntary spasm she was having.

She looked to her side and saw a materialized shadow of a Cybertronian, all darkness and dark clouds, with white and dead eyes that watched her accusingly, but that was all, as the only threat it could do was look at her, making an irritating and incomprehensible growl.

She didn't know if it was a figment of her imagination or a curse, but that person was one of the many people who had died because of her actions and decisions. She remembered it perfectly, every day like a nightmare she was cursed to remember.

"You're back." Pulver said, not even looking at the ghost that lived in her mind.

Every time she saw those shadows, she vividly remembered that night, that cursed night, when she participated in the War of the Primes, on a mission given by Megatronus Prime himself to capture the Allspark and bring it safely into his hands.

She remembers the battle, how many died, not just the soldiers, but innocent civilians, she remembers how the people she swore to protect were now dead because she chose sides in the war.

She looked down at her left hand and couldn't help but remember the feeling, clearly seeing the illusory Energon in her hand that didn't belong to her, but to someone else, someone she had to kill to further her mission.

She couldn't deny the feeling of confusion and disappointment when she managed to kill Zeta Prime in that battle. Even if she had to use external tricks to achieve such a feat, it was still her merit. Under normal circumstances, against a strong opponent, it would be cause for celebration among the Decepticon Knights, but in the War of the Primes, it was practically a mission in which honor and duty were lost, leaving only extreme violence, which torments her to this day.

At the time, she barely had time to process her deed, as she was standing next to her commander, the one under Megatronus Prime's command, and they both had to be quick before the war reached its full climax.

Pulver couldn't help but remember the commander of the group, he was her master's right hand man, but since Megatronus Prime had been banished to another dimension, she had never seen him again, nor did she even know if he was still alive after such a long time. However, since he was considered the strongest knight, it was hard to imagine him dead.

Pulver sighed and closed her eyes, taking a few seconds to forget about the bloody battle and let the ghost beside her disappear like the wind blowing away sand in the desert.

She decided to rest a bit, got off her spaceship and went to her living room to watch some TV while replenishing her body with the Energon supplies she had stocked up on.

When she entered the room, the first thing she saw was the Star Saber leaning casually against the wall as if it were just a simple decoration, as the shine of its blade was too eye-catching to simply ignore.

Pulver couldn't help but see her reflection in the blade, and she couldn't help but see herself back then, when things were so much simpler, when everything was headed toward an eternal peace that was cruelly destroyed.

"I miss those times." Pulver sat down and rested her head on the wall, her eyes seemingly lost in the past. She often stayed like that for a long time, questioning her actions or what she would have done differently if she could go back in time, a simple fantasy that she really wanted to be true.