Transformers Beyond: Legendarium

by AtomicStudios101

From The One to the Guiding Hand, to the Covenant, to the Thirteen Primes, to the Quintessons, to the Golden Age, to the Age of the Functionists, to the Autobots and the Decepticons, and into the future. This is the story of the Beyondverse. (Revision!)

11. Chapter X: The Age of Rust

Quick Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, it is owned by Hasbro and TakaraTomy and any affiliated companies. This is nothing more than a fanfiction piece made for entertainment purposes for Transformers fans, by Transformers fans. I hope you guys enjoy it! Please support the official release!

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TRANSFORMERS BEYOND

LEGENDARIUM

Chapter X

The Age of Rust (Post-Golden Age)

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The Age of Rust was a period of Cybertronian history marked with by social and societal atrophy, as a demoralized Cybertron sought to recover from the failure of the Golden Age.

Approx. 65 million stellar cycles ago:

At a loss how to stop the Rust Plague as it spreads closer to the core sectors of the Great Cybertronian Empire, Guardian Prime makes a controversial decision as he orders Cybertron and its inner colonies to enter a self-imposed quarantine, destroying many Space Bridges and mining all space lane approaches so to effectively isolate them from the Empire's infected mid and outer territories. As a result, hundreds of thousands of colonies, such as Junkion, Eukaris, Novatron, Devisiun, Prion, Paradron, Omnitron, Gigantion, Aquatron, Mons Prima, Biosfera, Vinsi'vallok, Floron III, Dromedon, Goo 8739-B, Ettacron, Halcyon, Chaldron, Strontero, Izona, Jormungandr, Kambryar, Alpha IX, Comb, and many more, permanently lose with their homeworld, the inner colonies, and each other, with their fates following the Rust Plague left unknown. Only 14 colony worlds-Arduria, Velocitron, Caminus, Lithone, Carcer, Neutronia, Regulon IV, Combatron, Archon, Animatros, Probat, Lucifer, Cryadorr, and the Salvvatan System-remain in contact with Cybertron. With all of the Bridges shut down, the Space Bridge Network in orbit around Cybertron was left to crumble in the skies, however, only one was still believed to be operational, but it was eventually forgotten about by the Science Guild under the fear of accidentally bringing the Rust Plague to the planet.

Approx. 64 million stellar cycles ago:

With the loss of a large majority of the colony worlds, Cybertron almost instantly fell into chaos and panic. Without an continuous supply of Energon from the colonies, the planet's resources greatly diminished as the Cyber Planet Keys on the remaining colony worlds drew their power from the Well of All Sparks on Cybertron. Soon, the AllSpark was dying as the Cybertronians didn't have enough energy to replenish it and the holy relic was left to wither away within the planet's core, slipping into urban legend.

With the AllSpark largely forgotten about, lost beneath the planet's surface, and without a supply of energy regularly being harvested for it, Cybertron's energy levels were depleted to a dangerously low. The planet had already been overpopulated before the Rust Plague, only able to keep up with demand thanks to Energon shipped in from the colonies, but the remaining Cybertronian colonies didn't have enough energy for everyone in the Empire. Eventually, the planet's energy level dipped so low as to put it in immediate, mortal danger. This all resulted in the "Great Energon Famine," a famine that lasted for over 12 million years. Hundreds of millions of Cybertronians throughout Cybertron and the colonies dropped to the ground dead without a near-constant supply of Energon to keep them functional. The crime rate rose exponentially as those in power held on to large supplies of Energon at the expense of the common masses. In order to prevent the famine from escalating ever further, Guardian Prime is forced to place a restriction on Energon ratios of the average citizens and the number of forgings that were allowed. Many Cybertronian citizens were kept underfueled in order to save Energon for everyone and most new Cybertronians were constructed cold at synthesized hatcheries, as very few newborns were forged from hot spots over the eons due to the planet's low resources. It was a time of misery.

Approx. 52 million stellar cycles ago:

The Great Cybertronian Empire collapses as Cybertron's energy reserves become extremely low. The Senate and the Council of Ancients subsequently fell out of power. Guardian Prime establishes the Conclave of Representatives, a provisional government based in Iacon in order to keep peace and order between the city-states and the colonies following the Great Energon Famine. However, this new government doesn't last long as all the city-states quickly turn on each other, stockpiling any remaining Energon that they could find.

Approx. 51 million stellar cycles ago:

Cybertron enters an age of factionalization and intercity warfare amongst the populace. Soon, a large number of citizens grew dissatisfied with Guardian Prime's lax reign and the strict energon rationing practices, dismissing the Prime's plight of trying to keep everything under control and blamed him for all of their problems. Chief among these dissidents was the charismatic Devron, a high-ranking officer of the Cybertronian Defense Forces stationed in Kaon. A radical Adaptologist, Devron believed that the Prime Lineage had become an archaic form of leadership, seeing them as the cause for Cybertron's stagnation and explained that the only way for the Cybertronian race to move forward from this age of strife was to eliminate the Primes and reform the government from the ground up, without the need of a single ruler who was ultimately decided on by supposed divine will. He started off as a minor annoyance to Guardian Prime's provisional government, but he became a concern when they realized he had millions of supporters across the planet, from both the civilian populace and the military forces. Among Devron's inner circle were warriors such as Ironhide, Silverstreak, Sideways, Stormdriver, Crowbar, and Widowmaker. This growing army called themselves the Destrons, naming themselves after the ancient Destron States that fought against the Quintessons in the Age of Wrath.

The Destrons eventually become an influential superpower on Cybertron as they gain control of the city-states within the Badlands, most notably Kaon, Tarn, Vos, Helex, Tesarus, Kolkular, Arken, Blaster City, and Slaughter City. They begin to expand their borders as they annexed several city-states across the planet, including Tyger Pax, securing the now-weakened Well of All Sparks, which they use its remaining power to create a new tithe of sparks to bolster their armies.

Approx. 50 million stellar cycles ago:

The Destrons led by Devron launch an assault on Iacon in the hopes of securing the capital while Guardian Prime was there. The Elite Guard was able to repel the Destrons and force them out of the capital, however, Guardian Prime was left fatally injured in battle. In his dying breath, Guardian passes the Creation Matrix down to his conjunx, Zeta, who becomes the mighty Zeta Prime. Zeta Prime reorganizes her former taskforce, the Protecton Guard, as the main vanguard force of the Cybertronian Armed Forces still loyal to the Prime Lineage, rallying hundreds of millions of Cybertronians under her banner against the Destron advance. Among Zeta's inner circle were heroes and other figures of great renown such as Alpha Trion, Beta, Steelheart, Nominus, Ratchet, Kup, Shockwave, Dai Atlas, Proteus, Xaaron, Traachon, Termagax, Thunderclash, Delta Magnus, Zeemon Magnus, Halonix Maximus, Big Bang, Hyperdrive, Terminus, Eucryphia, Obsidian, Strika, and Threnody.

Approx. 49 million stellar cycles ago:

Start of the Second Cybertronian Civil War: The Destrons conquer the neutral city-states of Decagon, Proximax, and Valvolux before extending their reach into the Tagan Heights, forcing the Protectons to respond to prevent them securing the resources of the Tagan city-states.

Supported by a large force of Omega Sentinels, the Protecton forces secure the Well of All Sparks at Tyger Pax and are besieged by the Destrons while other Protecton forces head south to counter the Destron expansion.

Approx. 48 million stellar cycles ago:

The Protectons struggle to delay the Destron advance into Crystal City and the Sonic Canyons while falling back from Dendrex and the Badlands.

Several city-states and other settlements heavily affected by the war band together to form the Free Cities, declaring independence from and neutrality towards both factions, a state of affairs that will continue even into the Third Cybertronian Civil War.

Around this time, Shockwave becomes part of an elite squad of military scientists and weapon specialists called the Devastators, developing new weapons and technology for the Protectons, including the further development into Triple-Changer/Multi-Changer technology. Among the Devastators' ranks is Strafejetter, who proves to be a capable weapons specialist and a good friend of Shockwave.

Approx. 47 million stellar cycles ago:

The Destrons attack the Torus Orbital States, crossing through Thunderhead Pass to take the Torus Heights, but their assault is countered by the amassed forces of the Insecticon and Arachnicon hives from the Sea of Lights, who swarm north to support their Protecton allies, causing the Destron advance to collapse.

Approx. 46 million stellar cycles ago:

Some Destrons begin to grow tired of this new wave of defeats against the Protectons and begin to believe that Devron's leadership was becoming unsuitable for the Destron cause of the reformation of Cybertronian civilization, chief among was one of his generals, Megazarak. Soon, Megazarak challenged Devron for leadership of the Destrons in a trial by combat, killing him and becoming the new Destron leader. Megazarak was a brutal and cunning warrior of absurd strength, however, he was held back by his unstable ego and the habit of killing his own soldiers under perceived slights.

In possession of powerful forces and having no qualms about sacrificing large numbers of his own followers, Megazarak launched a massive counterattack against the Protectons, raining destruction across the Protecton-controlled zones and their allied cities. During the Destrons' counteroffensive, Zeta Prime is killed in the Battle for Ankmor Park, briefly causing the Protecton war effort to falter without their Supreme Commander.

Following the death of Zeta Prime, the Matrix Templars safeguard the Creation Matrix until they chose Nominus, who has proven himself worthy as its next bearer. Now as Nominus Prime, he rallies all Protectons from across the planet and launches a counterattack against the Destrons, liberating their city-states and turning them into fortified strongholds in preparation for another enemy assault. The Protectons gain several stunning victories in the south, such as the Battle of Tesarus, led by a battle-hardened officer in the Elite Guard named Sentinel Zeta, who is a direct descendant of the long-departed Sentinel EnN, a war hero of the early Quintesson Wars.

Approx. 42 million stellar cycles ago:

As the Protectons quickly regain the upper hand in the war, Megazarak sends wave after wave of his own men at the enemy to slow down their advancements into Destron territory, sacrificing his people without care for the prosperity of anyone other than himself. Recognizing that their loyalty, valor, and hard work amounted to nothing but his own personal gain, the Destron leader's senior commanders conspired to end his reign. In the end, Megazarak was so consumed by his egomania and dismissive of his underlings, he failed to see the threat growing around him.

During the Battle of the Plurex Flats, Megazarak led the Destrons in an assault on the Plurex energon mega-refinery. However, the attempted raid quickly degrades to a suicide mission as the mega-refinery was heavily defended the Protecton-aligned forces of the Elite Guard. As the Destrons suffered heavy losses, one of their senior commanders wished to abort the mission and sound a full retreat, only for him to then be torn in half by Megazarak in front of the troops to make an example of him for his "insolence". This finally broke the straw in the camel's back as the Destron soldiers abandoned their insane leader during the tail-end of the battle, giving Elite Guard Commander-in-Chief Delta Magnus to slay Megazarak. While they were free from Megazarak's insanity and egomania, the Destron war effort began to falter as the remaining Destron commanders vie for control.

Approx. 40 million stellar cycles ago:

Several staggering Destron defeats in the eastern and southern fronts, including the Protecton liberation of Kaon, causes the remaining Destron commanders to put aside their differences and appoint a young but skilled officer named Trannis as their new leader. Even with their new leadership, the Destrons are unable to regain the offensive: bitterness, backstabbing, and bickering between their leaders hampers their efforts of repelling the Protecton advance.

Approx. 37 million stellar cycles ago:

As the Second Cybertronian Civil War continues to spread thin across Cybertron, the fighting begins to lessen as the planet's energon stores became heavily depleted. The great battles of old were no more, reduced to mere skirmishes of a few dozen Cybertronians at most. Protectons and Destrons drifted from city-state to city-state, capturing territory and any energy that's left for their respective factions.

The Battle of Valvolux: A young soldier within the Protecton-allied Cybertronian Defense Forces named Magnum valiantly leads his forces against the Destrons occupied in Valvolux, encouraging the populace to rebel against their oppressors. This allows the Protectons to break up the Destron lines in the planet's southern hemisphere.

Approx. 34 million stellar cycles ago:

Obsessed of improving the Cybertronian race's adaptability during these troubled times, Shockwave attempts to advance his experiments of replicating Triple-Changer technology onto normal Transformers. He experiments with the T-Cogs of two Protecton soldiers, Flywheels and Battletrap, turning them into the Duocons, which turns out to be a partial failure due to their consciousness being split into two vehicles. Undeterred, Shockwave continues his development of Triple-Changer replication in hopes for a success.

Approx. 32 million stellar cycles ago:

Nominus Prime eventually grows tired of the war and all the senseless violence, bringing his complaints to Iaconian Senator Alpha Trion within the Iacon Hall of Records. He explained to the old sage that he was looking into old Cybertronian historical records, hoping to find the fabled AllSpark, believing that he can use its power to unite Cybertron in a new era of peace, prosperity, and freedom. Feeling motivated for the first time in millions of years, Alpha Trion offered to help Nominus on his quest. Alpha Trion explained to Nominus that if he wanted to find the AllSpark, he must first enter the Ignition Chamber, which is at the very core of the planet. When asked if he knew the correct way to search for the Ignition Chamber through the underground passageways, Alpha Trion, suffering from information creep, sheepishly admitted that his memories were a little foggy.

Gathering a small group of loyal followers including Sentinel Zeta and Magnum, along with a young Protecton soldier and member of the Iaconian Nobility named Ginrai Pax, Nominus Prime and Alpha Trion journeyed down into the Well of All Sparks in Tyger Pax and scoured the depths of Cybertron for the Ignition Chamber.

After an undetermined period of time, the Protectons finally found the gates to the Ignition Chamber, guarded by the Keeper, who's been guarding the planet's core for eons. The Keeper refused to give them access to the AllSpark, as he condones their kind for perpetuating the war, which has brought nothing but devastation upon Cybertron. He tells Nominus Prime that if he wishes to possess the AllSpark, he must earn it through a trial by combat. So, the two fought hard, with the Protectons watching from afar in amazement, but Nominus has proved his worth by helping the Keeper from a predicament when he could have easily took advantage. So, the Protectons were allowed to pass, entering the Ignition Chamber where they found the long-lost AllSpark, left in a dormant state after eons of neglect.

The Protectons unearthed the AllSpark, bringing the artifact up from the underground to the surface at the city-state of Simfur. Shockwave and Strafejetter use experimental devices called Pillars, reverse-engineered by the Devastators from ancient Space Bridge technology of the Golden Age, that'll warp time and space to teleport energy from Cybertron's sun Hadean to the AllSpark. Nominus gambled that a small amount of solar energy would be enough to revitalize the AllSpark. However, their actions would be noticed by the Destrons led by Trannis, who believed that the Protectons' actions were an act of madness that would bring further destruction to their world. This prompted an attack by the Destrons at Nominus Prime and his followers, confronting them at Simfur. During the resultant battle, the Protectons held the Destrons at bay so the Devastators could continue their work on the Pillars without any interference. Thankfully, the operation was a success as the Devastators were able to teleport a portion of the sun's energy into the AllSpark's superstructure, reawakening it. The AllSpark's revitalization flooded Cybertron with new waves of energon that touched every reservoir and hot spot across the planet. The Well of All Sparks shined once more as new generations of Cybertronians emerged from the Well.

End of the Second Cybertronian Civil War: Upon the Protectons' success at reviving the AllSpark, the Destrons stopped their attack, acknowledged they had been wrong and then asked Nominus Prime what he would do now that he possessed the most valuable and powerful artifact on Cybertron. Nominus Prime replied that the AllSpark didn't belong to either Protectons or Destrons, but it belonged to all Cybertronians, and that they only wanted peace, not power. Impressed by this act of genuine benevolence, the Destrons laid down their arms and signed peace accords with the Protectons at Simfur, finally bringing an end to the war.

Seeking to atone for their lack of trust, the Destrons would build a beautiful temple around the AllSpark at Simfur. This temple would be known simply as the Simfur Temple.

Although the war was over, Cybertron was left broken and ravaged by the war. In order to maintain the reconstruction efforts, the Cybertronian Guilds convince Nominus Prime to institute the rigid caste system of Functionism, somewhat based on the old Patterner Movement's ideals of a perfectly-ordered society, among the population to ensure Cybertron's stability. Functionism declared that one's role in life was determined by one's alt-mode. One's alt-mode was what decided whether they were part of the privileged elites, the common masses, or anywhere in between. The Council of Ancients was reformed and reorganized into the Functionist High Council to oversee the caste system and its mechanics. While the reinstated Cybertronian Senate handled the day-to-day realities of life on Cybertron, the Functionists, led by Nominus Prime's former advisor Steelheart, were dedicated on tracking a Cybertronian's position within the caste system.

In the next following ano-cycles, once much of the infrastructure between the homeworld and the colonies has been stabilized, Nominus Prime establishes a new form of interstellar government: the Republic of Cybertron. In the first days of his reign, Nominus gives up much of his centralized power as Prime to give more freedom to the city-states and the colonies, though he remains in the office of Supreme Commander, which is now subordinate to the Senate.

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The history surrounding the Great Energon Famine and the Second Cybertronian Civil War is based on the pre-war history established for the live-action movie continuity in the Transformers: Foundation comic.

Devron is originally appeared as a statue in the Decepticon Hall of Heroes during Starscream's coronation in The Transformers: The Movie (1986). Him and the other ancient Decepticon leaders seen the Hall of Heroes were originally meant to be revived by Unicron as Galvatron's new troops according the film's early script, given that Devron heavily resembles Scourge.

The Protectons are the good guy faction in the short-lived 1985 animated series Robotix and its related toyline, which would then be acquired as a property by Hasbro, allowing the Robotix continuity to take place in its own universal cluster, the "Xobitor Cluster", within the official Transformers universe.

Megazarak, not confused with MegaZarak (the Japanese name for both G1 and Energon Scorponok), is a merciless and insane Decepticon who originates from the 2001 Robots in Disguise continuity introduced via the Transformers: Universe series that ran from 2003 to 2005.

Introduced in the IDW G1 2005 continuity, Nominus Prime was presented as being a corrupt and militant douche, like all the other IDW Primes before Optimus. Here in the Beyondverse, he'll be based on his counterpart from the IDW 2019 continuity, where was a Prime with good intentions...that often led to bad results.