Eventually one of them was bound to go senile.
Alpha Trion, the Old One, is from a universe where the Decepticons were defeated long ago. He surely seems like a nice old man like all the others, but wait until you meet his ceiling of mutilated corpses!
Fiction
Timelines
Alpha Trion was assigned to three newcomers to Axiom Nexus, Skyfall, Landquake, and Breakaway, and instructed to help them acclimate to their new dimension. However, after Breakaway was abducted right under their noses by mechs unknown, Transcendent: Part 1 Alpha Trion revealed his real plan. He revealed that the TransTechs that ruled over the city were an untrustworthy and manipulative lot, and that there were personality inhibitors broadcast through satellites in this Cybertron's orbit. Furthermore, they had a habit of abducting certain mechs of interest, and were likely probing the slag out of poor Breakaway somewhere. Skyfall and Landquake began to feel uncomfortable, so Alpha Trion tried to reassure them. He led the two to his room full of ceiling-suspended Transtech corpses. Transcendent: Part 2
For some reason that didn't work. Alpha Trion's helper, Topspin, arrived to explain, and noted that none of these corpses were actually dead, and that their sparks were kept safe elsewhere. These were nothing more than their experiments in trying to help mechs escape Axiom Nexus, as its inhabitants' bodies are tagged. Speaking privately with Skyfall, Alpha Trion gave him his own sword for safekeeping. It once belonged to a Decepticon named Slaughter, and though it can influence terribly the thoughts of the bearer, Alpha Trion believed Skyfall had as strong a spirit as himself. Should Alpha Trion fall, Skyfall must keep it. Transcendent: Part 3
Toys
Timelines
- Alpha Trion/Weirdwolf (souvenir add-on, BotCon 2007)
- Accessories: Sword, missile, Cyber Planet Key
Old people can't drive, but they sure can fence.
- A bagged set of Alpha Trion and Weirdwolf was released at BotCon 2007 as a souvenir set add-on, limited to 1400 pieces. Alpha Trion was a retool of Cybertron Vector Prime, redecoed in purple, white, and red, plus a new head.
- Alpha Trion transforms into a large cybertronic space cruiser with "solar panel" wings, his shape seemingly taking cues from both the Beast Wars starship Axalon and the Star Wars Sith Infiltrator. His nosecone has a spring-loaded missile launcher at the tip. Inserting his Cyber Planet Key (painted gold to resemble the Key to Vector Sigma) does not activate any sounds, unlike Vector Prime's toy. He comes with a Mini-Con partner named Beta Maxx. Alpha Trion has the more flexible translucent plastic parts (for safety reasons) of the Hasbro version of the mold.
It should be noted that identifying this toy as specifically representing this Axiom Nexus-residing version of Alpha Trion is technically a retcon (in the same manner that "Sonic White" Soundwave has been retrodesignated as the heroic Shattered Glass version), as the figure was originally released over a year earlier than the design's appearance in Fiction, and there is no indication of this backstory or characterisation in the actual toy's included bio. It is not known whether he was actually intended to represent the original G1/Classics-verse character or possibly even some other multiversal iteration of the character. It is possible, however, that somewhere in the bowels of Texas someone knew this storyline featuring a disturbing version of Alpha would eventually be forthcoming, and produced the toy with this identity in mind. Egg... or chicken?
Notes
- Turns out that this disturbing Alpha Trion IS the very same "Old One" that Shattered Glass Optimus Prime mentions teleporting into another world. However, Alpha Trion's description of a post-war Cybertron doesn't mesh with the timeline presented in Shattered Glass ('cause he lied), though it would explain why Alpha Trion's home universe was described as dangerous...'cause it IS.