EDITED 7/21/2017 Changed Centurion to Zeta, mainly to avoid confusion with the IDW character (who I may or may not have appear in stories).
PROLOGUE
-Years Ago-
"Who here as heard of the First Thirteen?"
Several hands in the classroom shot up. Smiling, Alpha Trion then said, "Who here believes in the Thirteen?"
This time, several became only a few.
The ancient Autobot chuckled. "I am not surprised. Despite being nearly as old as the Guiding Hand legends, the Thirteen are a bit more... difficult to put one's faith in, considering that two of them were quite immoral."
He beckoned to his students. "Who in this room would care to recount the legend of the Thirteen as they understand it?"
Of the seventeen Cybertronian in the classroom, only one stood up: a young mech with red and black armor plating.
Alpha Trion smiled. "Ah, Optronix. Please step in front of the whole class."
Optronix did so. Turning to face his peers, he took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.
"Before the dawn of time, there was The One, an extra-dimensional entity that maintained bother Order and Chaos. When the universe expanded, The One created two beings to explore and maintain it: Primus, the Life-bringer, and his counterpart, the Great Devourer, Chaos-bringer.
"Because of their clashing personalities, Primus and his brother waged a conflict that lasted eons. Knowing that there would no end to this war, Primus sacrificed a portion of his life to seal the Great Devourer within a metallic planetoid. He then used his remaining energy to bring life to a barren world- this one, Cybertron- and also to protect his still-pulsing spark.
"The first to walk upon Cybertron's blessed ground were the original Thirteen Transformers. From them would descend the Dynasty of Primes and the population of Cybertron as it is to this day. The names and roles of the Thirteen are:
"Prima, warrior of light; Vector, guardian of Time; Sigma, the recorder; Solus, the weaponsmith; Micronus, the conscience; Alchemist, the elemental; Nexus, the enigma; Onyx, the spiritual; Amalgamous, the trickster; Quintus, the scientist; the Liege Maximo, the manipulator; the Fallen, warrior of darkness; and finally, the Arisen, whose greeting hand united them as one."
Upon finishing, Optronix's speech elicited an applause from not just his peers, but from Alpha Trion as well.
"A marvelous presentation, Optronix," the old historian said. To the rest of the class, he said, "Whether you believe in them or not, there is something to be learned in the tales of the Thirteen... which we shall delve into tomorrow. Class dismissed."
The students began to depart, with Optronix being the last. Before closing the door, he looked at Alpha Trion and said, "Sir, do you believe in the Thirteen?"
The old Autobot glanced at him. "I prefer to keep my beliefs to myself until I trust someone enough so that I know they won't use them against me." He then smiled. "And I trust you, Optronix. And I will tell you that I believe in the Thirteen... though perhaps in different ways than you."
Optronix returned the smile. "All right. Good day, sir."
Once the door had closed, Alpha Trion walked up to his desk and brought out his datapad journal, typing in a single sentence at the very end of it.
Until I am proven wrong, I do believe I have found the one who will bring Light to the Dark.
DAYS OF DECEPTION
Part 2: Decepticons Rising
CHAPTER ONE
-Present-
Hands rattled bars. Fists banged on walls. Voices rung louder than the Sonic Canyons' machinery wells.
The Trypticon Prison was truly the last place Nightshift wanted to be, but work had to be done and someone had to do it. Leaning against the wall, the Autobot guard ignored the ramblings of the prisoner he was guarding, instead listening to music on his internal radio. He could still hear the loud screaming, but it had become a tolerable him thanks to the music.
Thus, he only paid his prisoner any heed when the rambling suddenly stopped.
Turning off the music, Nightshift waited a few minuted for it to start again. When it did not, he began to wonder if they were taking a stasis nap. Quietly and tentatively, he looked through the cell-door's small window.
The cell was empty.
Immediately switching on his comlink, Nightshift hastily cried, "Red alert! Prisoner 2-012 has escaped! Repeat: prisoner 2-012 has-"
"I'm sure they can hear you loud and clear."
Nightshift had mere seconds to look up before darkness consumed him.
* * *
"Is he still alive?"
"Just barely," First Aid replied. "I may be able to jump-start him with a compatible V-positive spark."
"I'm V-positive," said security officer Stopgap. "I'll volunteer."
"Thank you, Stopgap," said Chief Switch Blade of Kaon Security. Once First Aid and Stopgap had left with the unconscious Nightshift, he turned to his deputy, Nitrostreak. "Who was the escaped prisoner?"
"Number 2-012, Decepticon Flamewar," Nitrostreak replied. "She was very loyal to the Decepticon cause, which is why she didn't throw down her arms at the end of the Great War."
"A loyalist, huh?" Switch Blade scratched his chin. "Dispatch a squad to find her. Going by her name, we might be seeing a lot of fires."
"And severed heads," Nitrostreak said. When Switch Blade gave him an odd look, he hastily added, "Er, I've heard... stories from the older bots."
"Well," the chief murmured, "there just may be some truth to them."
* * *
"Sir, prisoner 700-25 has escaped!"
Chief Checkpoint of Iacon Security blinked. "How is that possible?" he demanded. "Iacon has the next best security after Trypticon Prison!"
The young officer standing before him, a yellow-armored mech named Tigertrack, shrugged. "She just... isn't in here cell."
Checkpoint sighed, rubbing his helmet's crest. "Dispatch a squad to find her. Iacon is an easy place to get lost in."
Tigertrack shifted his feet. "Er, there's something else, sir. Apparently, the prisoner scribbled something on her wall."
Checkpoint raised an eyebrow. "What does it say?"
* * *
Decepticons forever.
Depth Charge shook his head in incredulity at the writing on the wall of the empty cell he was standing in. It had belonged to a Seeker named Skywarp, who had been captured by Altihex Security five months ago, arrested for the assassination of High Councilor Decimus.
To the officer standing beside him, Prowl, Depth Charge said, "Did the security camera catch any footage of his escape?"
Prowl shook his head. "It cuts out for a cycle, during which he vanishes. He must have had something built in to him to temporarily disable it."
"But surely the guards outside would have caught him," Depth Charge said. "And there doesn't seem to be any hidden escape routes. It's as if he teleported or something."
"I'll ask Nightbeat to look into it," Prowl said. "He is an exceptionally good detective."
"He won't be doing it alone," Depth Charge said. "You and Tumbler will be assisting him."
Prowl nodded. "Understood." Glancing at the writing, he added, "It would appear that the assassinations were only the beginning."
"Yeah," the Altihex Force chief muttered. "You could put it that way."
* * *
Ultra Magnus skimmed through the reports he had received from all of the branches of the Security Force. Iacon, Kaon, Altihex, Kalis... the list was too long for him to keep track of. Setting down the datapad, he looked up at the two Autobots standing before him: Red Alert, director of the Security Force, and Zeta, Ultra Magnus' second-in-command.
"This is bad," the Elite Guard commander said.
"Glad you agree," Zeta said dryly. "What do you suppose we do?"
Ultra Magnus leaned forward in his seat. "Well, five months ago, Optronix reported that he had a conversation with five Decepticon warlords. If we managed to find them, we should be able to quash the threat before it can escalate."
"Does he know the names of these warlords?" Red Alert asked.
"Only a few, but he provided detailed descriptions for the rest." Ultra Magnus brought another datapad and viewed its contents. "They seem to match those of warlords Trannis, Gigatron, Zardak, Deathsaurus, and Straxus."
"Highbrow should have some data on them," Red Alert said. "I'll speak with him and report in a few mega-cycles."
"And then what?" Zeta asked. "Do we scatter our forces across the galaxy? What if the data is false or outdated?"
"We work with what we have, Zeta," Ultra Magnus said. "The Decepticons must not be allowed the chance to rebuild their empire."
"Not unless we give it to them," Zeta muttered as he walked out of the office.
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