First Shot/An Eldritch Shade of Blue

Prologue: Spooky Scary Sky-leton
Default characters: Mami Tomoe, Dipper Pines, Scout, Noble Six

In the ruins of Fortress Maximus, Noble Six uses his sniper rifle to get a good look at the blue skull eternally burned into the sky, a reminder of the apocalypse that ruined the world. He and Dipper discuss what happened, with Noble Six choking up about the loss of his comrades. Scout warns the other that more Azurlings are arriving, and they head into battle, severely outnumbered. Despite their best efforts, the Azurlings break into Fortress Maximus and activate its Energon reactor, destroying the survivors and their home.

A disembodied voice narrates over a simplified sequence of slides showing the apocalypse. Two years ago, a blue being appeared in the sky and drew a skull with its many arms, igniting its deadly powers and causing an apocalypse. Survivors existed across the world, living in forts and surviving on what little food was left, but the spawn of the being in the sky still searched for them, wiping them out bit by bit until the only remaining stronghold was Fortress Maximus, an ancient Cybertronian who gave shelter to those who needed it. Once again showing the fall of Maximus, the narrator decides to defy their job and help rewrite time to go in the heroes' favor.

Chapter 1: Farmers' Market
Default characters: Mami Tomoe, Dipper Pines, Scout, Noble Six

Noble Six spots an Azurling horde advancing towards the outer areas of Fortress Maximus, beginning to harvest metal from his hull. Mami and Scout volunteer to help stop them, while Dipper comes along trying to find out why the beings wish to harvest resources, especially since they've never displayed a need for anything before. Upon arrival at the outer area, Scout discovers several of the beings creating scrap metal armor, with the group horrified at the implication of sentience. They quickly try to fend off the beings.

After a tough fight, the Azurlings are wiped out for the time being, though they still managed to wear down Fortress Maximus and the area is considered unsafe for the time being. Dipper tries to examine the remains, but is stopped by Mami, who says the last time someone tried to closely examine the remains of Azurlings, they ended up dying painfully, succumbing to something akin to radiation poisoning. Dipper sighs as the group walks away, glancing back at the shards of Azurlings.