Niave

Chapter 16: Their Fall from Favor

Lila frowned at the small slab of metal inside the box, which was void of any cool, glowy types of energon. A large, bold print inscription was written on the slab in the modern cybertronian dialect that the Decepticons use.

Surprise

Her frown deepened, but before Lila could think on it too much, the doors to storage room flew open and she whirled around. Megatron's optics were wide with fear and his gaze flickered to the crate. The next thing she knew, his blaster had been raised and she went flying through the air.

Lila cried out, gasping as her chasis screamed in agony. Only seconds after she'd landed, the supposed dark energon crate exploded, sending out a shockwave and a wave of heat that shoved Lila the rest of the way to the far wall.

Her audio receivers whined, coughing up static and loud screeches after the explosion. The lights flickered and sparks flew through the air, but even so, everything was hard to focus on as her optics flickered.

"-idiot!"

Megatron's helm appeared over hers. "I told you not to mess with it!"

His servos slid under her body and Lila groaned as she was lifted from the floor and pressed against his chasis. Faintly, she noticed streaks of energon on his chasis, and a large chunk of debris was wedged in his shoulder plating. She reached up slowly to touch it, for reasons unknown, but her chasis burned with the movement and she arched her back, gritting her teeth as silver lubricant formed in her optics.

"Knockout!" Megatron kicked in the door to the medbay swiftly. "Get your tools, now!"

Lila couldn't see the medic's face, nor could she understand his muffled words, but she could see Megatron's face as he laid her down on a medical cot.

He looked angry, but also... scared.

▪️◾◼⬛◼◾▪️

When she next onlined, Lila was slightly surprised to find herself still in the cybertronian body she'd been given by the staff. She tried to sit up, but her chasis screeched in protest.

Instead, Lila tilted her helm and looked around, frowning at the dim interior of a small room whose door was made of bars. Was she in a cell?

The theory was confirmed was she shifted and felt a tug on her wrist. The tug came from a thick metal band around her wrist and a chain connected it to the wall. Only that servo was shackled and her legs were both free, but it, combined with her wounds, was more than enough to keep her still.

Lila swallowed hard and lifted her helm, trying to get a good look at her chasis. It was a pitiful sight, as the metal was twisted and warped, but altogether even with her undamaged parts.

There was a bang and Lila's gaze snapped to the cell bars. A moment later and a familiar grey warlord was standing on the other side, looking down at her with barely contained fury raging just along the edges of his optics.

"I ordered you to stay away from dark energon," Megatron seethed. "You disobeyed a direct order."

Lila exhaled shakily as her mind caught up to past events. "You... shot me."

"If I hadn't of shot you, you would have been blown up. You're lucky the blast didn't hit any other cubes on your side of the room," Megatron stated. "Although, I'm starting to wonder if I should have let you blow up."

"Why did you try to blow me up in the first place?" Lila groaned.

"Because dark energon is off-limits to everyone on the Nemesis. The blast was installed to kill anyone who disobeyed my orders," Megatron informed her. "You are the second to think they could get in and you're lucky to have survived. Your mesh is too young to take such damages."