Transformers: Apocrypha
The Following Story is fanfiction. I do not own the rights to the Transformers franchise. Those belong to Hasbro, Takara-Tomy, and any other relevant parties.
Apocrypha: noun, singular proper.
Biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of Scripture.
Writings or reports not considered genuine.
Late Middle English: From ecclesiastical Latin apocrypha (scripta) 'hidden (writings)' ,the Greek apokruphos, from apokruptein 'hide away'.
In the beginning, when the universe came into being, so too did Primus, God of Light, and his brother and eternal enemy, Unicron, God of Chaos. For eons, the two fought, causing such destruction that it threatened the very existence of the universe itself. In order to stop this, Primus designed a trap, luring his opponent to battle on the Astral plane, and then staging a false retreat, which lead to the spirits of both to become trapped into a pair of barren asteroids.
But not all would go to plan, as Unicron's mastery over Chaos eventually lead him to shape his prison into a new, mechanical body for himself, which allowed him to travel through the cosmos, wreaking havoc once more.
As a result, Primus followed his enemy, creating a body for himself out of his prison, but, knowing he was no longer strong enough to face Unicron on his own, used his powers to create thirteen beings who would help him in his fight.
Prima
Vector
Alpha Trion
Solus
Micronus
Alchemist
Nexus
Onyx
Amalgamous
Quintus
Liege Maximo
Megatronus
And one whose name was either lost or hidden.
To these Thirteen, Primus bestowed to each an aspect of himself, in the form of a Matrix, which resided in the spark chambers of each.
It was these Thirteen that would come to be called a "Prime".
With these creations, Primus succeeded in defeated Unicron, sealing him away and casting him into space. Primus however, weary from battle, turned his body into the core of a planet of living metal, and went into dormancy, entrusting the future to his creations, who began shaping their creator into a home, which became known as Cybertron.
Eventually, new life emerged from Primus' spark, and each rallied behind one of the original Thirteen, forming a tribe lead by each one.
And for a time, there was peace.
But it did not last.
Without Unicron to rally against, the Primes developed their own thoughts and ideals as the eons passed, and came into conflict with each other.
It was Liege Maximo, the Eleventh, who began the end of things.
The Prime of Deception, representing evil as good's natural counterpart, Liege Maximo desired power, but was not physically strong as Prima, the First, or Megatronus, the Twelfth. And so, using his natural talents as a master manipulator, began his plotting.
He convinced Prima that as the First, he should lead, causing Prima to believe the ideal that the strong should rule, and that no other was stronger than him. Nexus, the Seventh, followed him in this belief.
Pride.
He commissioned Solus, the Fourth, to make weapons, Relics, for the Primes, each tailor-made to the owner's specifications, and then pointed out how each one was better than the others made.
Envy.
He encouraged Megatronus, the Twelfth, to act on his feelings towards Solus, so that their love could be exploited.
Lust.
He suggested to Alpha Trion, the Third, and Vector, the Second, the idea of exploring the cosmos, creating colony planets, removing the source of reason for the others from Cybertron, for a time, so that their knowledge could be expanded.
Greed.
He encouraged Quintus, the Tenth, to experiment with creating other lifeforms in order to satiate his curiosity about their development, observing their growth without intervention.
Sloth.
He stoked the emotions of Onyx, the Eighth, and Micronus, the Fifth, who were prone to being blinded to rational thought when overwhelmed, leading to rash actions.
Wrath.
Alchemist, the Sixth, and Amalgamous, the Ninth, he didn't have to do much to, as their own desires drove them first and foremost without his interference.
Gluttony.
As a result of these machinations, it came to pass that a dispute occurred.
One of Megatronus' colonies was discovered to have been used by him and Liege Maximo to satiate his violent desires by taking the lifeforms Quintus had created for it, and pitting them against each other, armed with weapons Solus had crafted, in gladiatorial combat, under the pretense of testing them.
Furious about this event occurring without his authority, Prima held a meeting of his fellow Primes, with he and Megatronus arguing their case, ending with a vote.
If it was in Prima's favor, Megatronus would have his colony stripped from him.
If it was Megatronus', his colony would be allowed to remain under his control to do with as he wished.
The vote was cast.
Prima, Nexus, Alpha Trion, Vector, Quintus, and the one whose name was lost.
Megatronus, Liege Maximo, Amalgamous, Onyx, Micronus, Alchemist.
A tie, with Solus being the deciding vote.
It was spark-break that lead to what happened next, as with a solemn look in her eyes, Solus cast her vote against her beloved.
It was spark-break, and anger over being betrayed that lead to Solus' death at Megatronus' hands.
It was all predicted and planned by Liege Maximo.
Thus the Schism of the Primes occurred.
And true war raged on Cybertron for the first time.
The war ended with Megatronus and Prima dead, having slain each other in battle. Megatronus' body was sealed away in an alternate dimension, his Matrix returned to Primus' core, so infected with his anger, grief, and darkness that it would never again emerge, denying a successor to the one who would from that point on, be known as The Fallen.
But things were far from over, and the bond of the Primes had been shattered.
And so a new age began.
Nova Prime succeeded Prima, his Matrix choosing the young but powerful commander upon Prima's death. While he did succeed in re-unifying Cybertron, Nova was a true believer of Prima's ideals to the extreme, so much so that he saw any other Cybertronian that did not follow him as inferior.
Disillusioned with this idea of unity under Nova's tyrannical rule, many of the Primes left Cybertron.
Vector removed himself from the timeline, retreating to the colony LV-117 in the Titan Tempo, before going outside time and space, vowing to prevent anything that would irrevocably damage a timeline that any version of him was present in, like the Schism that had happened in his original.
Only his Matrix, and his Relic, the Blades of Time, were left in this world.
Alpha Trion stayed on Cybertron, for a time, archiving the planet's history, both good and bad, from within the Titan Metroplex, so that the future generations would be able to learn from history, and not repeat it.
When he vanished, his Matrix did too, but his Relic, the Quill, which he used to cement the future of Cybertron, was found on his desk, a book next to it.
Solus' Matrix was taken by her tribe, a majority of which left the planet on her Titan, Caminus, vowing to never again set foot on Cybertron again, and to create a better world than the one they had left.
Solus' Creation Lathe went with them, but her Forge, which had been used to make weapons, was left behind.
Micronus and Onyx both left the planet, their tribes heavily discriminated against under Nova's regime.
Micronus left in the Titan Metrotitan, Onyx in Chela. Their Matrices and Relics still with them upon departure.
Alchemist left the planet briefly, but returned in his Titan Iaconus. His Relic was still with him, but as the Thirteen Primes faded into Legend, and cities were built and re-built the rumored resting place of the Prime was replaced with an Oil House run by a bot named Maccadam.
Nexus, who had seen what his support of both Prima and Nova had done, divided himself into his components, and vowing to help shape the next generation so that they would not wind up like his brethren had, each went with a different one of the colonies leaving the planet.
It was said that the part of him that left in his Titan, Devisiun, was the one that possessed his Matrix, while his Relic, the Enigma of Combination, went with another.
Amalgamous left in his Titan, Navitas, but due to his ability to take on any form, what happened to him, and his Matrix after that is unknown.
His Relic, however, he left to Alpha Trion, to pass down its gift to the rest of Cybertron.
Quintus had a sad fate. Leaving in the Titan Quintessa, he founded a planet and created a race called the Quintessons upon it. Possessing his curiosity but none of his morals, he was eventually torn apart by his creations in an attempt for them to figure out and replicate his powers over Life.
Warned by Alpha Trion before, however, His Matrix and Relic were secreted away well before the Quintessons tore their creator apart.
Liege Maximo's machinations were eventually discovered, and upon being confronted, rather than have his Matrix stripped from him, he removed his own Matrix from his body, and shattered it, contaminating the Well of All Sparks with his evil, so that future Cybertronians would be born with his wickedness.
He would be imprisoned on his Titan, Vigilem, and his tribe, horrified by his schemes, left the planet, vowing to become the wardens of their former leader. Maximo's colony, Carcer, became the only rest for the prison, stopping only to refuel, repair, and change out guards.
As for the Thirteenth Prime, he sacrificed himself in order to restore the balance of the Well of All Sparks, throwing himself into it to cleanse the contamination Maximo's wickedness had caused.
It was not fully successful however, and the Thirteenth emerged from the well, changed, without his memories, and destined to reincarnate whenever Cybertron was in danger, only to restore it through his death.
His Matrix, while inherited by successors, would always eventually return to him.
As for the Titans and Relics of Prima and The Fallen, only whispers remain.
It is said the Titan Emissary left Cybertron, turning his body into a living mausoleum for the body of his master.
Trypticon, The Fallen's Titan, was buried under the city of Kaon, just as his master's true name was buried under historic censure.
The Relics, the Star Saber and the Requiem Blaster, were said to be thrown to the stars.
And those who would emerge from the Well, their sparks filled with a hunger for power, cruelty, and self-serving desires, who were pre-disposed to evil due to Liege Maximo's lingering presence, would become known by a term that is well-known now, but not for the same reasons:
Decepticons.