Broken Circle
by Phantom
Prologue

Optimus Prime beamed down at the massive throng of Cybertronians gathered before him. Rodimus and Megatron flanked him on either side. Since he was reputedly the best public speaker, he had been elected to share the news, the result of many weeks of harried and intense debate. Time and again it seemed like this would never come to pass, but at last everything had been resolved. "Autobots and Decepticons, members of the Alliance," he began. "It is my great honor and happy duty to inform you that a permanent peace treaty has been signed between the Autobots and the Decepticons. The civil war is officially over!" His next words were drowned out by a raucous cheer.

Unnoticed in the shadows, a lone figure scowled. His worst fears were being realized. Fortunately, he had prepared well for this eventuality. "The sky is falling," he murmured into his communicator. "The sky is falling."


Chapter One

Nearly two months later, Megatron sat in his private chambers atop the highest spire of Darkmount, admiring the splendid view. The proud fortress once again stood majestically, a testament to Decepticon engineering. Still, none of this would have been possible without Autobot materials. The Alliance had been a most unexpected development. Neither side had ever thought it possible to trust the other, but Unicron had united them in a common purpose. And, even more astonishingly, their loose affiliation still held. Make no mistake about it, there were days when Megatron simply wanted to throttle the Primes, take up arms once more and seize the planet. But such fits of pique were thankfully few and far between. He was under no illusion as to exactly who controlled the planet. The Autobots had also provided some badly needed assistance, saving the Decepticons from certain destruction at the hands of Unicron's minions. At that point, they had been at the Autobots' mercy, dependant on them for energy and materials. With the help of their former enemies, they were able to restore the fortress to working order. Since then, the Decepticons had strengthened their presence on the planet, creating other structures such as bunkers and generators.

Megatron allowed himself a slight smile as he sipped at his Energon, his laptop open before him, displaying the latest news of the quadrant. It felt very good indeed to be back on Cybertron. The planet had been dealt several brutal blows by Unicron that would take a very long time to repair, but it was a challenge that he met head-on. This planet belonged to the Decepticons every bit as much as the Autobots. The repairs on the planet and enhancement of the security measures seemed to content their warrior race, at least for the time being. The Constructicons especially seemed to be in their element.

He turned to his laptop, enjoying another long swallow of Energon from his cube. A bright flash in the corner of his optic caught his attention. He turned his head, dropping the cube and leaping to his feet as he saw a bright fireball reach for the heavens. An explosion! He activated his communicator and called for his disaster recovery team, already making his way down the many floors of Darkmount.

Rodimus arrived on the scene a short while later with his own team. "What's going on?" he asked, looking a bit winded. "What happened here? Why is the area roped off?"

Megatron gestured to Soundwave, who was meticulously gathering evidence. Rodimus was slightly surprised to see the Decepticon communications officer. Soundwave must really be an incredible jack-of-all-trades, his unique and versatile skills indispensable in any number of situations. "Our weapons depot has been sabotaged."

"Sabotaged?!" Rodimus echoed in shock. The depot was meant to arm Autobot and Decepticon alike. Who would want to sabotage it? "Are you sure that it wasn't an accident? Maybe there was a spark that ignited the ammunition."

"Not much chance of that," Scrapper said grimly. He was quite chagrined at the destruction of the depot – the Constructicons had been particularly proud of it. He held a partially melted and exploded object. Rodimus looked closer, then gasped. It was clearly a bomb casing.

"Commanders!" Scavenger called, his voice quavering nervously. He knew that he was viewed as something of a nuisance, even by his fellow teammates, and thus hesitated to call attention to himself. But this was important! "I think you'd better take a look at this."

Rodimus Prime and Megatron alike carefully ducked under the red tape that cordoned off the blast area, picking their way around debris and other pieces of potential evidence, trying their best not to disturb the crime scene. "What *is* that?" the young Prime breathed as he rounded the corner.

Megatron stared, dumbfounded. On the ground, very close to the building and partially obscured by chunks of the fallen wall, roof, and melted and twisted weaponry, was a large scorch mark. After allowing Hook to photograph the area, Scrapper and Scavenger carefully cleared away the rubble, revealing a perfectly round burn mark.

"Is that natural? Perhaps part of the explosion?" the Deception leader inquired.

"Not likely," said Hot Spot, bending over to trace the mark lightly with a fingertip. The Protectobots, like the Constructicons, had also had more than their fair share of examining such explosion sites. "This type of incendiary device would not leave such a circular mark. Besides, the device was found within the depot, while this mark is outside, and part of the wall still stands between it and the bomb."

Blades appeared and knelt by his commander's side. "This was made deliberately, most likely before the explosion occurred."

Rodimus rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a headache coming on. There was always something going wrong! "Why is it here?"

Megatron frowned. "It's a sign. A message of some sort."

The young Autobot groaned. "Terrific. But what does it mean?"

Megatron had no answer for that.