Hunt for the Thirteen

Order and Chaos

THEN

Megatronus's rage could be heard by all of the Thirteen.

Thirteen themself got there before the others. What they saw both frightened and enraged them.

Megatronus and Prima were fighting hard on the floor. Vector stood off to the side shocked beside Alpha Trion, who was frozen.

"What is going on here?" Thirteen shouted as they entered the lab.

The fighting primes froze, looking up to face their sibling. They both grimaced at their look of hurt and betrayal.

Liege Maximo walked in at that moment. Eyeing Thirteen, he handed them datapad with a chart on it.

Thirteen gasped and turned to Maximo. He nodded in agreement with their unsaid words, eyes shut in judgement.

"What is this?" They thundered as they waved the chart in Prima's face.

The other primes rushed in. All were shocked by Thirteen's reaction. They were usually so calm, quiet, kind and non-judgemental.

They handed the chart back to the others, who gasped.

"Which one of us is the most like Unicron?" Thirteen stuttered as they helped Megatronus off the floor. "Agents of chaos? What is the meaning of this brothers?"

They look to Prima, Vector, then Trion. The latter two look down in shame, unable to meet their eyes.

"Order." Prima responded, meeting his siblings glare.

"Order of what?"

"Goodness, the ones of us who are more like Primus. The natural order of things."

"Nothing about this is natural." Alchemist cried out.

"We need order." Prima defended. "We need it to defeat Chaos."

"If this is order," Thirteen began, voice calm but filled with disappointment, "if lining us up in a hierarchy of some made-up ideal of goodness, I would choose Unicron's chaos to your order, Prima."

Without another word, they stalked out of the lab, followed by Megatronus, Maximo, and Quintus.

"And if that hierarchy ever comes to power, Primus forbid, you would be the lowest brothers." They said to Prima, Vector, and Trion before leaving.

Then silence. The three fools stood in chastisment of their greatest sibling, while the others silently judged them.

"What is wrong with you?" Solus hissed.

"I only seek order..." Prima began.

"By saying Megatronous and Maximo are evil just because they aren't as shining or confident in their own goodness as you? I thought you were better."

The rest left, with Onyx and Nexus glaring at them as they went.

The three "holiest, smartest" primes stood alone.

Trion felt the waves of guilt hit his spark. Not only from Thirteen's words, but the look of betrayal on Megatronus' face.

Outside, Alchemist stood with Thirteen, looking to the sky.

"It has begun." He whispered.

"And we can do nothing to stop it."