Okay, this isn't exactly one of the old stories I mentioned in my last From The Archives post but rather an unused concept for the Thirteen in my Transformers Regenerated universe. I've decided to post it here for prosperity (and so I can refer to it for future story ideas).
THE THIRTEEN: ORIGIN
The beginnings of the Thirteen dates back to the earliest days of the Silver Age, around nine hundred thousand years ago. The population of Cybertron had been divided into several houses and ruled over by Primon, the Lord High Protector of Cybertron.
While Primon was a benevolent ruler, his trusted confidant and advisor Trachis, the Liege Centuro, was known to be manipulative and his influence over Primon grew stronger as the Protector became older. At first, Trachis' manipulations manifested as sudden changes to the law and stricter government policies. It wasn't until the Curtailment Act did eyebrows begin to rise.
Under Primon's rule, all Cybertronians with beast forms enjoyed freedom among society. The Curtailment Act robbed them of that right, however, as all beast-formers were forced to stay within the borders of the city-state of Corumkan, home of House Primal.
Other minorities were affected by the act as well. Dimunitive Minicons from House Micron were secretly sold into slavery and Shifters from the Mutacon tribe were relentlessly harassed. The other Houses simply turned a blind eye to this, but one lone mech saw the injustice of it all and sought to do something about it.
Virtus Pax traveled from his home city of Tyger Pax to Apophenia, ruled by the prestigious House Decimus. There he spoke with his trusted friends Decimus Vectorum and Alpha Trion over the current state of affairs. Being Primon's scribe, Trion informed the other two of his suspicions about Trachis. After hearing this, Virtus decided a rebellion was in order.
Trion was enthused by the prospect, having long detested the recent corruption, while Vectorum was doubtful. However, he complied when Virtus brought up the possibility of recruiting Beta Elitus, the blacksmith of Venix, who could forge weapons for them to use.
Once they had recruited Beta, Virtus led his company to Ankmor Park in Gygax, where he had learned news of an uprising by the Minicons against the slave traders. Allying with Modus Micron, Virtus and his companions brought down the Malignus cartel and captured their leader, Ariex. They soon learned that Ariex, a member of House Primal, had been coerced by another party to trade Minicon slaves so that his own kind were not treated in kind.
With this news, the company set out for Corumkan. Upon reaching a small settlement called Iacon, the now-five were ambushed by assassins sent by Trachis, who had learned of their activities. After a heated battle, the company found shelter at a refueling station ran by a mustachoid mech and occupied by five others.
Vectorum instantly recognized the tender as a member of House Ambus and was surprised to find such a prestigious bot running a lonesome bar. The tender, named Ebrius Ambus, admitted to being disgusted by the corruption which ran in his family and had seceded from it. After hearing of Virtus' endeavor, he agreed to join their party.
Having overheard their conversation, the bar's five patrons approached Virtus in the hopes of joining. At first Virtus declined him, after learning their leader Nexus was a scion of House Maximus like Trachis and thus a possible ally of the Liege Centuro. However, Nexus revealed to him that Trachis was not actually of House Maximus, instead having worked his way into the House through bribery and other sinister means.
In actuality, Trachis belonged to a cult who worshipped Mortilus, the god of death. The cult's aim was to topple the Cybertronian government and send society into chaos, all as a sacrifice to their deity. Upon learning of this, Virtus agreed to let Nexus join the company, especially once Nexus and his four friends demonstrated their ability to merge into one entity.
Now seven strong, Virtus led his followers to Corumkan. Arriving at the gates of Castle Trypticon, the ensemble were confronted by the guards, who suspected them of ill intent. However, the presence of Modus convinced them to let the company in, knowing the Minicons were as much a victim of oppression as they themselves were.
The seven were then escorted to the throne room of Onyx Primal, the Predaking of Corumkan. He listened to the company's story and was enraged to hear of his people's involvement in the Minicon slave trade. He eagerly agreed to aid Virtus and volunteered his own forces to strike at the capitol.
As the gathered rebellion set about preparations, Virtus received an unexpected visit. A Shifter going by the name of Adaptus (after the god of infinite shapes) approached him, claiming to have been following him and his company since Gygax. He told Virtus that it had been Trachis' cult that had bullied Ariex into the slave trade in an attempt to further divide the Houses. Adaptus also claimed to know all the ins-and-outs of the cult and offered his knowledge to Virtus, to which the leader agreed.
While Virtus had his talk with Adaptus, other developments occurred among the other six. Alpha Trion had decided to adopt a beast mode to express his acceptance of beast-formers, and to protect his House by taking the name Alpha Trizer. Decimus Vectorum, meanwhile, decided to seek out his old friend Maxa Quintus to provide much needed brains to the present brawn in their group.
It was on the eve of the strike on Castle Primon that the company received one last surprise. Under the others' notice, Nexus had summoned the head of his house, Liege Centuro Tyran Maximus. When Tyran arrived, Virtus and the others were livid, knowing Tyran to be one of the ones responsible for corruption within House Maximus.
While Virtus refused to let Tyran join, Nexus implored him to reconsider. Corrupted as he was, Tyran was nonetheless a highly influential figure in Cybertronian society. If the people witnessed him in aiding the rebellion, they would instantly rally behind them.
Despite Virtus, Vectorum, Alpha, and Beta being vehemently opposed to the prospect, they were outvoted by the others, with Modus being the deciding vote. Once Tyran had been allowed into the ensemble, he introduced to them two warriors he had brought with him: a traveling duo who had been fighting the spread of crime long before Virtus. One was another member of House Maximus, named Autonomous. The other simply called himself Megatron.
At last, the Thirteen had been formed. With the weapons Beta had forged for them and Onyx's beasts supporting them, they were finally ready to bring forth long overdue change.
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