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clean-casual-analysis · 8 months

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How I’d Ruin it: Transformers

Inspired by Tyrantisterror and his “how I’d ruin it” series, I’m doing one for Transformers. I’m gonna take this one step at a time, because I’m crazy about transformers and I got a lot of thoughts on what I would do if I had three phases of a comic book.

Part One: Lore

For the general lore of this hypothetical series, I’d lean into the Primus vs Unicron storyline. Ironically appropriate for my How I’d Ruin It, because I know a good number of TF fans who prefer the quintesson origin and want to return to it. Sorry fellas, I just think the thirteen primes are neat. We also take a look into the (possible) future of the cybertronian race at the start of phase two of the hypothetical comic. I’ll be dividing this lore into ages for simplicity's sake.

Prehistory: At the very beginning of the universe, there was an omnipotent being made of light with no name. This being, referred to by cybertronian historians as The One, had cosmic powers beyond space and time. With this power, it saw into multiple timelines and dimensions out of young curiosity. There were so many different lifeforms, all with their own cultures and beliefs. There was peace and war, creation and destruction. As its knowledge grew, so did its internal conflict. Why were these unique beings fighting over seemingly pointless things? Was it individual philosophy that sparked greed and violence, or was it differing beliefs that each species held? If they were to all unite under one banner, would they lose that which made them unique. Was it morally correct for such a perfected and powerful being as The One to judge and interfere with mortals? The One had become so confused and anxious from this internal battle, that its mind and body split into two separate beings. Primus, the great creator, adored and even envied mortals. Where The One was flawless and blank, these miniscule lifeforms were varied and colorful. These beings could change and grow. Even the smallest could evolve and transform into something beautiful. Then there was his brother, a being who hated these ununiformed and petty insects. He vowed to destroy and reshape these species into a singular kingdom of rigid order. No longer would there be conflict, for he would punish and unite all as their one God. He would be Unicron, the chaos killer. These cosmically powered twins became natural enemies the moment they were created, the following battle lasting for billions of years. The battle ended in a draw, Primus and Unicron were so exhausted that both entered a deep sleep. In this coma like state, meteors and other space debris formed around them to become seemingly dormant planets.

Age of Primes: Sensing that Unicron was regaining strength and reformatting his planet into a colossal body, Primus began to plan his defense. Not wanting a repeat of their last battle, Primus decides on a different approach. He creates the thirteen primes, incredibly powerful, autonomous robots with unique abilities. Together, these thirteen would prepare for the return of Unicron and become a sort of family through their training. After the deed is done and the chaos killer is defeated from the inside of his vast body, the thirteen are left to their own devices on the metal world of Primus. As his final act, the great creator formed the well of all sparks. It was here that new robots were created and the planet would be known as Cybertron. Thirteen tribes were created, each led by a different prime, which led to the foundation of cybertronian culture. Much like previous TF stories, the thirteen primes had a falling out due to the manipulations of one manipulative and ambitious prime. The primes nearly went to war with one another, until the near death of one of their most beloved siblings shook them out of their anger. Realizing that they were not the infallible gods that they thought they were, nearly all the primes either left Cybertron or merged with the planet’s inner core. Only one prime remained to overlook the planet’s development, Alpha Trion, who gave one of the mythical artifacts of primes (the matrix) to one worthy of leadership.

Age of Function: After receiving what would later be known as the matrix of leadership, the prideful but valiant Nova Prime unified the thirteen tribes into one civilization. What follows is the planet wide construction of cities and government. Because the masses were still freshly made and unsure of their purpose in this new world, Nova decided to create functionism. Each cybertronian’s alt-mode would determine their role in creating Cybertron. At first, when the species was still relatively small in number, this system served well in accelerating Cybertron’s society. But when the contruction was near its end their optics looked towards the stars, the inherent flaws of functionism reared its ugly head. The rigid caste system quickly led to class envy and great inequality among the masses. Despite Alpha Trion’s insistence in changing this system, Nova Prime ego wouldn’t allow him to admit his prejudice. As space travel was fully realized and Nova set out to discover new worlds to colonize, his pride at his species’ accomplishments leading him down the road of becoming a cybertronian supremacist, a terrible discovery was made. During the first great battle between Primus and Unicron, their blood splashed across the galaxy. Not only were energon crystals (formed from Primus’ blood) found on foreign worlds, but the blood of Unicron was discovered as well. Before he realized what it was, dark energon infected Nova Prime and a number of his crew. They became more aggressive, burned through their energon at an alarming rate, and began to hear whispers of a dark god thought to be dead. Despite his smugness and stubbornness, Nova knew what terrible things could happen if he became Unicron’s herald. The corrupted prime gave up the matrix to the unaffected cybertronians in his crew, took those who were infected and went into deep space in self-exile. • The Golden Age: The next cybertronian to own the Matrix was Nominus Prime. Although he was overly invested in his personal appearance/hygiene and was somewhat of an elitist snob, he also possessed a good moral framework and a kind spark. His first major act as prime was the elimination of functionism, making him both beloved and hated by many. Not long after, the cybertronian race began to colonize worlds with the strict policy of not claiming worlds with significant life on them. Seemingly every new colony world produced new subcultures and different kinds of cybertronian. Although Nominus arguably just piggybacked off of other leaders and inventors, this was an age of artistry and prosperity.

Age of Rust: Seemingly out of nowhere, a slow acting but fast spreading disease began to appear across the farthest colony worlds named cosmic rust. Metal skyscrapers began to crumble, citizens were falling apart in medical beds, space bridges were forced to shut down to stop the rust from spreading. This was the first major disaster that Nominus Prime had to face and he was utterly mortified. Then, when all hope of saving the colonie and their species was lost, a strange race of techno-organics appeared. These beings were the quintessons, five faced octopus like people who claimed to be the creation of one of the thirteen prime to aid cybertronians in understanding the organic side of the galaxy. They offered a cure to cosmic rust and asked to use the space bridges to help spread the cure. Desperate to end this nightmare, Nominus gave them access to the space bridges without question. Almost immediately, he would regret this decision. These were not benevolent geniuses, but black hearted and capitalistic entrepreneurs. Not only were they the ones who invented cosmic rust, but they had created a great number of gadgets, combat drones and weapons specifically designed to annihilate cybertronians. In the blink of an eye, the whole of the cybertronian race was conquered and enslaved. Nominus was publicly executed, the matrix was taken, and the cybertronians were sold as commercial goods or military hardware to all other species in the galaxy. This would go on for thousands of years, until a hardened soldier named Zeta began to lead a rebellion with the aid of Alpha Trion and a brilliant engineer named Termagax. The cybertronian uprising was slow and bloody, but through cleverness and determination the quintessons were defeated. The matrix was found, Zeta had become Sentinel Prime, and the cybertronian race was free.

Age of Restraint: When the dust settled and the quintessons were driven away from the colony worlds, Sentinel Prime and Termagax went to work on rebuilding their civilization. Sentinel, having seen their kind’s technological power used against lesser beings firsthand, initiated the Nominus Edict. Unless there was unanimous agreement of every senator of Cybertron’s cities and other colony worlds, no new colonies would be made, and no technology was to be shared with other alien races. While he had the wellbeing of both his race and all other alien species in mind, his time as both slave soldier of the quintessons and uprising leader left him scarred and paranoid. Through the cybertronian government, he enforced the law to a borderline imperious degree. Termagax grew to resent Sentinal Prime, believing that the cybertronian race could thrive in the galaxy if they weren’t so restricted. She formed the Ascenticon movement, a growing group of bots who not only wanted to explore the cosmos but cooperate with the organic races that they’ve distanced themselves from. This philosophical debate between security and isolation vs freedom and alien collaboration went on for dacades, neither side quite gaining significant ground over the other. Eventually, the exhausted and embittered Termagax stepped down as Ascenticon leader and gave the reigns to her protégé. That protégé was a quintesson mining slave turned gladiatorial champion named Megatron, who had big plans of his own.

Age of Civil War: Not long after becoming leader of the Ascenticons, Megatron began to fully preach his personal doctrine. He believed that the cybertronian race deceived themselves into believing that they shouldn’t be proud of their power. The gladiator fear mongered that another species like the quintessons would conquer them if they didn’t show their dominance. True galactic peace can only be achieved through tyranny. Many cybertronians, in the ascenticon movement and beyond, were radicalized by Megatron’s words of might making right. In short time, Megatron amassed an army and called his new empire the decepticons. The mad tyrant and his followers overthrew the government and imprisoned Sentinel Prime. But much to Megatron’s surprise, the matrix did not deem him worthy of being a prime. He angrily dismissed the matrix and the lineage of primes as outdated and weak as his empire rapidly grew. Alpha Trion, sneakily taking the matrix back, set to work on creating a counter resistance to this new militaristic regime. The elderly prime already had a perfect candidate for the next prime; a former ascenticon who disavowed Megatron’s violent means of peacekeeping despite once being friends with him. A young data clerk named Orion Pax, who believed Cybertron had a responsibility to aid to those who needed it, and that freedom was the right of all sentient beings. And so, Optimus Prime was born. This counter resistance, named the autobots, grew arguably faster than the decepticons did. Cybertronians across the galaxy could see Megatron for the warmongering tyrant that he is. The civil war, waging primarily on Cybertron, lasted for eons. It all culminated in Megatron seizing Vector Sigma, a supercomputer near the well of all sparks that gave newly formed cybertronians the basic history and knowledge of their kind. The decepticon leader planned to hack Vector Sigma to forcibly program his beliefs into every new cybertronian to be protoformed. Horrified by this assault against free will, Optimus journeyed to the core of Cybertron to do something unthinkable. Through communication with Primus, the great creator poured his life-giving power into a device known as the all spark. Optimus threw the all spark into a space bridge with randomized coordinance, and it was lost to the stars. Their home planet torn apart and essentially dead, the Great War began to spread across the galaxy like wildfire. Earth, rich with crystallized energon beneath the surface, is the latest battleground.

Age of Beast Machines (possible future): Manipulating Megatron through dark energon, Unicron is revived. The very first planet destroyed is Cybertron with his new herald Galvatron and an army of terracons. The chaos killer goes on a galactic rampage, consuming stars/planets and creating heralds to spread his influence. Scrambling to save the galaxy, the remaining autobots and decepticons join forces in an effort to slay Unicron. Against all odds, they defeat the chaos killer once and for all. But their victory is bittersweet. The galaxy’s remaining stars and worlds are few and far between. The night skies feel unnaturally blackened. Their war now made pointless, the remaining cybertronians join together in rebuilding on the planet earth and the one surviving colony world known as biosfera. With virtually no energon left, the first order of business was to create a new type of fuel. The scientists of biosera, a jungle world primarily made up of beast mode cybertronians, came up with an unorthodox solution. They would alter their biology and transform into a techno-organic race, flesh and metal fused at the cellular level. Through this technology, they’d be able to live off of solar energy, need minimal energon, and even be able to consume meat and plants for substance. While a good number were hesitant to make such a radical change, they had little choice. Slowly, the cybertronian race flourished once again. Once new generations were protoformed, two sections of one government began to spread across the stars. One group was the Maximals, scientists and explorers that aided young civilizations and researched the new galaxy. The other group were the predacons, the core military that fought off space pirates and crushed growing dictatorships. Although the two groups bickered amongst themselves over their clashing ideologies and methods, they still cooperated and respected each other. But rumors are circulating that a small handful of Unicron’s heralds are still alive. If they are, their willing to bend space and time itself to assure their fallen master’s ultimate victory.

Notes: This lore is a combination of Aligned, both IDW continuities, Beast Wars/Machines and a dash of Last Autobot Standing. One major difference is that Solus Prime survives in this continuity, but we’ll get to that in the next part.

#transformers #maccadam #optimus prime #Megatron #thirteen primes #alpha trion #Unicron #primus

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popculturebuffet · 10 months

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Transformers: More Than Meets The Eye Retrospective: Rememberance Day (Issues 12-16) (Patreon review for Brotoman.Exe)

Hello all you happy autobots! And welcome back to my long retrospective of Transformers More than Meets The Eye: The greatest comic about robuts in the known universe.

After a long road, a beetle themed detour and tons of tie ins, one shots and other needed stuff, we're FINALLY almost at the end of Season 1 and to help speed things along, Brotoman gave me some extra money to get through Dark Cybertron. That also means we have a pretty baked in schedule through april so here it is: After this review i'll be covering Remain in Light, the season 1 finale, next week. January is a recap of MTMTE's sister series Robot's in disguise. I volunteered for this one as I felt with Dark Cybertron relying heavily on RiD's history, I should reaquaint myself with it.

We'll then take another break for a Fizzarolli retrospective in Feburary, and then begin dark cybertron in may, with the plan to have it in two or three parts. After that barring any other side trips or what not, it's SEASON 2 BABY, the series best. It also means easing up a bit on the sidetrips: there's still two whole minis to go into and a christmas special but both are shorter and with our two issue schedule the pacing won't be as nettled.

As for the present these two arcs represent MTMTE hitting it's stride: The books always been good and these reviews have been almost two years of gushing. I have ocasional gripes but overal the series is just pure excellence. This is simply the best of the best: all the character and plot setup for the season paying off in the most awesome, heartbreaking and horrifying ways possible. These arcs are great, but I dreaded getting to them as they will rip your heart out of your chest guaranteed.

See while John Roberts built up an impressive cast of characters, almost all from characters' whose history before this could best be described "That one guy over there in the background" or "That transfomer you got at a yard sale that was a bitch to identify", he wasn't afraid to say goodbye to his creations, even the main characters, and got that this story.. needed life and death stakes.

It's how death SHOULD be handled in comic books: not a publicity stunt done half assed and undone in months, not a massacre to "raise stakes", simply when the story calls for someone to die.

So the question to those of you who haven't read it is simple: who dies tonight? Well i'll tell ya'll under the cut.

Before and After

Admitely these first two issues are less an arc and more two more standalones. As usual for MTMTE these are ripe for setup and Before and After feels like an out and out prelude to Reemergence Day, so the bundling fits.

Before and After has a unique structure, flashing both to the Autobots preparing for a strike on a Decepticon fortress on Sensenica. It's the first real Autbots Vs Decepticon battle we've seen: while there was one in Ratchet's arc, it was more a smokescreen for Pharma and Fort Max took them down quickly and messily.

Here it's an actual battle: a bunch of decepticons who shall remain nameless and largely unimportant to the overall scheme of things have been bleeding organic's dry for energy, so our heroes go down to stop it. For the sake of clarity i'm not going ot be covering the issue as structured as it's a lot.

The good news: our heroes are able to take the fortress, free the organics, save the day. The bad.. is there is a lot of injuries in the process, and that's the real intresting part of this issue: while the battle is neat, I often forget it and it really just kinda comes and goes: what's important.. is the after effect: Swerve, Rewind and Cyclonus were all horribly injured and we don't find out why till the tailend of the issue for the latter two.

For swerve.. he shot himself in the face while trying to figure out his gun while Chromedone and SKids fought a giant dinosaur. This guy is snapdragon and yes I looked him up on the grounds he fought two characters while transformed and apparently bathes in the blood of his enemies when he can't find sludge as he has a senstive butt.

So while this goes on it's down to Rewind and Tailgate. Tailgate is, allegedlys, a bomb disposal expert, and thus has to take out a bomb hooked to the organics with Rewind's help. Also of note is that Rewind and Chromedome are fighting.

Rewind is PISSSEEED Chromedome keeps hacking heads, while Chromedome is mad Rewind won't stay out of action. So naturally it's the perfect time for Rewind to go boom as the two little guys simply can't stop it. Rewind stays to mitigate the blast... and Cyclonus tosses Tailgate out taking the blast himself.

The prognosis for both.. isn't good. Rewind is a tiny bot.. and that means it's harder for him to bounce back from this, with Red Alert floating his Spark Jumping idea from his intro arc, a nice call back I honestly forgot about. Of course it'd crop up again and naturally, Chromedome is a spark type match for Rewind.

While Chromedome recovers from it as the process.. isn't exactly plesant. So while he recovers he talks to Tailgate. Chromedome admits when he's told Cyclonus still survivied that it's a shame... though what I like is when Tailgate asks him fi he really meant that.. he admits it.. but also admits he shouldn't of said it to Tailgate and apologizes, admitting thigns are just stressful. Tailgate calls rewind Chromedome's best friend

That flub aside, Chromedome admits that he's not #1 in his boyfriend's heart.. there's someone else, just above him.

So we get Rewind's backstory which as usual is important for later: Rewind was a member of what was called at the time "The disposable class". There aren't many left and it's easy to see why as the disposables were basically slaves, with Chromedome flat out admitting that's what they'd call them now. It makes him one of the oldest and is why he has a memory stick of all alt modes: he was made for just one purpose and that purpose was being a comically large usb drive.

This changed when Rewind met Dominus Ambus, Scientest, Doctor, Author Explorer and that one ex of your partners you can never live up to. Tailgate for his part says he hates the guy. That's a good friend tailgate.

Anyways Ambus used Rewind as a memory drive but treated him kindly, giving him premium energon instead of the cheap stuff and realizing in the process that the disposables were just autbots and just as sentient as any other, and started campaiging for their rights. He seemed to succeed but trying to find a cure for Cybercocis he and Rewind left to find Luna 1, Cybertron's missing moon because like any missing thing of legend, you just gotta assume it has the cure for anything.

They failed, and what's worse they came back to a planet at war. All hell had broken loose and the two underwent the right of the autobrand.

So cut to years later in the war and Chromedome, already not having the best mental health for his years in psi ops and other traumas, has decided to unalive himself. Which is harder than it sounds for a transformer: their bodies are built to be nigh on indestructable and Chromedome can't really try sucicide by comabat as it'd put others in whatever unit he was in at risk. So instead he went to a relinquishment clinic, with what clinics left offering assisted suicide.

This ends up saving Chromedomes life as he hears a scream.. and it turns out to be Rewind who was checking the bodies. And that, dear readers is the main reason Rewind's on the lost light, the reason for the snuff film footage he got earlier: he's been looking for Dominus anywhere there's bodies in hopes of getting closure with Chromedome along for the ride. Dome assumes that's why he goes into battle.. but Tailgate has a more optimstic take: Rewind loves him and simply wants to be there to support him.

Either way things aren't looking good as it turns out chromedome's spark has a low yield. As he stated earlier he was born dry and thus dosen't hae a lot of ennermost energon. Ennermost energon is a brilliant concept: it's the energon closest to a bot's casing, their essence. Being robots, Cybertronians naturally run into a ship of thesus paradox oftne with most of their original parts long gone. The innermost energon is the part of them that's always there, the one part that, along with the spark itself, will always be then

So as a gesture of love when someone is dying, possibly may survivie may likely not, a bot puts a portion by them. Tailgate hearing this.. decides to do the same for Cyclonus. This being Cyclonus he's not only not quite dead, but an asshole about it, saying he dosen't care about tailgate they don't have a bond, etc... but in a touching moment instead of keeping up his abuse of the poor guy after smashing the jar.. he goes to help him pick it up. Despite trying to distance himself, despite trying to push Tailgate away.. they have a bond. And he can't deny that.. I mean he will, it's Cyclonus, he has the emotoinal maturity of a very angry stump, but he's at least TRYING to not be as closed off.

As for Chromedome he's not doin so hot and in his lowest moment a mysterious voice says something VERY prowl like: the decpitcons are still a threat and this proves it and there's something Chromedome can do to help. He wants to show him something in the basement.

Thankfully Rewind's alive, and of all people it was whirl who donated.. and whose uncharcatristically nice. It's almost as if he's hiding something and.. yup as we find out in the final pages turns out he locked the door to attempted murder cyclonus and Rewind got caught in it.

Cybertronian Homesick Blues

CHB is a fun issue, what SEEMS to just be some fun shenanigans and an excuse to make human forms for the cast.

So Mags is wound tighter than usual, having thrown several people, Swereve included in the brig for general nonsense.. which as Rodimus notes is all kinds of fucked up. I mean it'd usually just be two or three kinds, but they have dangerous criminals down there now along with Fort Max, who is dangerous but isn't out to hurt anybody anymore, so he's not exactly going to prison shank anyone.

Rodimus can see a problem coming and decides to help: the Lost Light's approaching Hedonia, a vacation planet ala Risa from Star Trek, but saying the quiet part loud. He asks Swerve to take him to relax, threatning the bar if he dosen't, and Swerve to his credit genuinely tries to bond with Ultra Magnus, bringing most of his close friends to help with the task: Rewind, Rung, Skids, Tailgate and Whirl. Whirl isn't exactly a close friend but you try telling Whirl he can't come and see how many limbs you have left.

Due to anti robot prejudice , our heroes can't enter EVERY section so they set up Holomatter Avatars to go into those sections and drink it up, having disabled Mags DiD chip. Said chip keeps fuel from hitting transformers at full impact, i.e. keeping them from getting plastered unless they WANT to get plastered.

Naturally as you can imagine Mags is going through something and is thus a pretty depressed/angry drunk and has a full on breakdown

It's very obvious that Ultra Magnus.. is having a crisis of faith. His whole point is to be unflinching unchanging and as seen in the Annual the idea of NOT being that is propsterous to him.. and now we see that even with his acceptance in that story.. ti's not easy. Change.. often involves a lot of backsliding first. Personal growth is not easy, take it from me, so naturally the idea of being more than the tight ass he's SUPPOSED to be is tearing the poor bot apart. He also takes it out on swerve saying people like him because he's funny and that he's shirking his responsibliteis iwth the bar plan, not beliving Swerve's half hearted defense of it... causing the little guy to open up.

It's a deeply painful sentence.. and one that's all too damn relatable. I often feel this way wondering if people like me for anlysizing shit and being mildly amusing or for me.

MOst of the rest of the issue is holomatter hyjinks, as our heroes are forced to cary Magnus, who accidently drank something REALLY strong across a human section in their disguises. The disguises.. are really neat, with special note to Tailgate as a baby, Rung's neat hat, Whirl as a murder child and my faviorite, Magnus.. using Verity's likeness. A nice little nod, make sme hope the two do actually meet again.

At any rate our heroes succeed, but we have some important story stuff before we move on to the main event: first I forgot how the story really started.. with Drift busting in to stop Cyclonus from.. singing. Turns out no one was in danger, it was just ancient cybertronian and beautiful, with Rewind recording it.. only to be hastily shouted to get out.

While this seems lke Standard cyclonus.. he was covering. Turns out Tailgate's stories about being in the primal vanguard, being important, all his big puffed up stories are a lie. He wasn't even bomb disposal, he's WASTE disposal, he was just able to bluff himself through the bomb just enough. It's all a lie. Yet it wasn't to feel special or anything.. it's for much more tragic, entirely understandable reasons.

It's a painful moment.. and an understandable one. He should've been found easily.. but got lost for CENTURIES.. and no one cared. No one noticed. It's not hard to see why the little guy didn't want to admit that. While cyclonus is right Tailgate can't keep lying forever.. he sees why he started it and sees that Tailgate might be the ONLY person who understands his pain, the only person who knows what it's like to wake up in a world that just left you behind and dosen't seem to have a place for you. So he teaches Tailgate how to sing cybertronian.

And from that heartwearming moment.. more depression as this issue was Swerve trying to commuincate with Blur.. only it turns out like Tailgate that was a lie. The two never knew each other, swerve only met him once with a plan and the bar is sipmly.. trying to fill the space with something. He also offers Ultra Mags to be roomy.. but Mags coldly shoots him down, saying their not friends. It's a pretty solemn ending to what SEEMED to be a wacky one off... and it's only going to get worse from here.

Rememberance Day:

We begin wtih the story of Overlord's birth. Two hapless minors find his, call it in and their superior calls for someone to come down. That someone is Three of Twelve, one of the functionist council, a loose council that preached functionism, aka alt mode dictates class, the kind of prick Dominus Ambus was rallying against. These guys will be important next season but for now he's just here to point out how important that is, give the guy who called it in an award and tell the miners they have 6 hours to live from the radation.

Overlord is a point one percenter. A point one percenter is a green spark found in the tiniest fraction of the cybertronian population. Said sparks are treasured and their wielders are often the toughest, most nigh unstoppable bots out there. It's why Overlord is such a juggernaught and why it took so much to bring him down on Garrus 9, as well as a retroactive reason why the deceiptcons he had under his boot didn't just revolt. Other phase sixers for scale include Fortress Maximus, Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime, Megatron, Scorponok, Shockwave, Tarn, Roller and of course, He, Grimlock, with Megatron weaponziing this fact, hence why so much of this list is purple.

We then cut to the finale of Last Stand of the Wreckers, just before overlord went boom.. and find an univitied guest; Chromedome. Turns out he's been going into Overlord's mind looking for something, and makes the fatal mistake of telling him about it, mostly becaues he needs to rummage. Overlord is a Phase Sixer, what Megatron would call in to finish off a planet along with most of those guys mentioned. As a result the only person whose really easlily pummled overlord.. is Megatron himself.

After a few more cups of punch to the face we find what Chromedome's after: the memory of Overlord's true birth. He was put in Megatron's fucked up super solider program, using a very unstable very rare Ununtrium, the same stuff used to make Sixshot. While Rossum, the tech and likely the person responsible for naming Rossum's trinity, pumps him full of goo. Megatron isn't AS suicidal as he sounds doing this sort of supervillian origin story, having had SHockwave throw in a killswitch. Overlord awakens.. and takes after his new dad, smashing Rossum's head as his first act of new life.

This seems to be the end: Rossum warned during the procedure the heat could kill him and the substance itself could kill Megatron: While he's currently assumed dead by the crew, Chromedome is sure he'll come back.. and is right as he returned towards the end of RiD season 1 and plays a key part in both Dark Cybertron and this series from Season 2 onward.

Then.. things take a turn. Overlord remembers where he met Chromedome before: the New Institute. Turns out Chromedome was a brainwasher, with Zeta Prime redubbing the insittute.. but not really changing it and using it for the same brainwashing. Overlord broke in in the early days of the decepticons and stole Trepan, who we met in Shadowplay.

And that theft is WHY Overlord now has taken control of the situation and is going into Chromedome's memories instead: turns out Overlord tried to dabble in mnemosurgery, thinking he could use it against shockwave and undue the killswitches. Megatron isn't stupid though and the second he got wind of what was going on killed Trepan. So while Overlord can't hack int oa mind, he learned enough to take it over, not helped by the fact that Chromedome is scared shitless of the guy , as anyone would be and despite his attempts to hide it, overlord easily picked it up.

So we instead go back to the day of loading.. and a conversation we hadn't seen. In a twist i'd honestly forgot but is entirley brilliant.. Prowl had already MET with Chromedome... and it was about Overlord. As for why he's in tact, Bumblebee has mercy and didn't want to abuse POW's, so he rebuilt the body.

Prowl's intrest is in making their OWN phase sixers: while most Autobots, Chromedome included, assumed they were just freak accidents of nature, Prowl is right about something for once: there's so many that are decipticon, WHY is that. So he wants to find out why, and wnats Chromedome to do it despite being a MASSIVE risk.

Chromedome, as you'd expect tells Prowl to go fuck himself in the poltest manner possible: the war's over, this really isn't necessary, and Rewind really woudlnt' want him doing this. Prowl then enters peak dickhead.. and for once actually suffers for it.

It's a horrible act that has legit consequences over in RID, leaving Prowl free to be brainwashed. Yet.. it's hard to feel too bad as Prowl was trying to blackmail his ex to do something highly shady and ENTIRELY not approved by the rest of Autobot High Command, something that would've likely destroyed Cromedome's relationship anyway. So it's a bad act.. but it's on a deserving victim and seeing Prowl crying no as he's abotu to be brainjacked is just.. so satisfying.

We then finally get the face behind this conspiracy: Drift. The last person you'd expect as he takes Chromedome to talk to Brainstorm. Brainstorm made the cell and is in on it.. but unlike Drift knows what a stupid idea this was, calling it project: total insanity and project :end in tears. Both accurate. The only people who know about this , as far as Drift says, are in this room as Shock and Ore did the loading but as we know both died horribly. Drift is the one who suggested the idea nd brings up the slow cell, Overlord's prison that slows down time for the user.. and that despite his best efforts to stop it, Chromedome's memory shows Overlord how to unlock.

Overlord locks Chromedome in and since, as Overlord figures out, Chromedome did this without anyone else knowing, Overlord now has a lead to go kill people. As he chillingly puts it "Run as fast as you can Chromedome, your already too late".

Under Cold Blue Stars:

Before we get to the tragedy above.. we have to get to the tragedy bellow: Chromedome escapes.. but thanks to the slow field it's been half an hour... and what he finds...

Yeah our heroes.. aren't doing so good. It's something that, despite reading this comic twice before this... had never registered; Overlord.. is strong enough to take on the ENTIRE lost light and WIN. It's taking EVERYONE they have just to hold him BACK. It does make perfect sense: not only is overlord a literal monster, able to tank hits he's spent his career wiping out planets and autobots and his last experince before this was months as the horrifiying dark god of his own planet, most of which was a game of "how many ways can I have my minons creatively murder and torture autobots?". Our heroes, despite their ragtag nature on paper, are GOOD, but their in tight quarters trying not to hit each other while overlord would gladly use one of them to smash through the others omniman style if he had a way to. He wants to kill EVERY , LAST, BOT simply as a warmup. He COULD leave to go find megatron, maybe by killing everyone on cybertron and using the bodies to spell out "HI DAD". But he just can't resisit the torture it'd put chromedome through. He's a sadist... while his main motive may be

He has hobbies.

So you may say to yourself: well, how did we get here, so we go back 30 minutes to the start of this rampage. We see Pipes again, who I honestly forgot existed and whose asking blaster if commuincations are back with Cybertron yet, and since Pipes intended recipient is a friend of Blasters, Blaster goes ahead and forwards it while Whirl, whose naturally there to blow shit up, mocks him.

I didn't think much of this... till Pipes runs into someone.. overlord, who gladly squishes him under his boots with Pipes getting a fairly effective and horrifying death: bleeding out, scrunched to hell.. he uses what little spark he has left for one last push to do the one thing he CAN do to warn everyone else

It makes me tear up.. and again, I FORGOT THIS GUY EXISTED. Roberts is just that good a writer, taking a character whose last major part in things was back in issues 3 and 4 and then NOTHING, and making you feel gutted the poor guy is dead... using what he had left to warn everybody.

So we then rewind again to where everyone was when the emergency alarm went off:

We start naturally with Rewind, whose worried about Chromedome and came to Brainstorm's lab to talk to him. Swerve's just here to accidently activate a meta bomb that gives him forth wall powers. Or make him thinks he has them, like with Deadpool it's left vauge. Rewind is wondering where his boyfriend is and is suspcious of Brainstorm since CHromey keeps saying Brainstorm's name.. though not in a sexy way but in a screaming it as he wakes up way. Brainstorm for his part, while very good at subterfuge to a point. .blabs about a secret project, wtih Swerve distracting them before the alarm goes off.

Rodimus is having Perciptor, the less fun genius aboard look at the map to the knights of cybertron and after having him dumb it down a few shades we get to the point: the thing can't be copied. This setup with the finale is interupted and we go to Rung, whose gone to Visit Fort Max. Max invited him down.. to apologize, planning to give a speech but realizing that was more for him and admitting the shock, waking up after garrus 9, he was in bad shape and genuinely asks if Rung can forgive him. And Rung.. instantly does. Not only has Rung been around for eons.. but he's a therapist. He spent the whole hostage situation trying to talk max down best he could. He can forgive.

Finally we have Skids wondering why Cyclonus is on the warpath.. thankfully JUST a metaphor, otherwise there'd be more than two corpses today, but he's mad Tailgate is hosting movie night at their place.

We end this catchup with Ratchet, whose pissed off Rodimus is being caviler about this, both because these don't go off for some reason.. and he made a joke about Ratchet's hands. Come on rodders.. that's way too easy. You can do better.

Drift is out and about to investigate.. and happens to benearbye as both bots see Overlord. We also get a really nice moment of bonding with the two, showing tha tbeneath their constant bickering.. they care about each other. More over time but we'll get to that. When Drift tries to get Ratchet to barricade himself in.. he refuses. He'll lock down the clinic.. but they fight and if needed die together. Ratchet calls Rodimus to get EVERYONE down there and tells him if he dosen't make it.. tell first aid he's ready and tell all his patients they'll have to make new apointments.

Thankfully one of the best characters in this comic dosen't go down swinging as everyone arrives to throw down. They do their best, but naturally their best bet is the only other .1%er they have... Magnus. And while he SEEMS to do well, pounding Overlord's face in as he heavily regrets not being there on G9 when everything went to shit.. only for that classic reveal that always means your fucked.

IT's a shocking, horrific moment as one of the main cast, one of their leaders and seemingly their best hope.. is down. Magnus hoped to make up for Garrus 9.

It's also why I feel last stand is necessary to read these books after this read througH: while you CAN without it, Overlord's appearnce just dosen't have the same impact till AFTER this.. and just how badly Magnus falls here dosen't. After feeling he was slipping more and more.. he once again fails.. this time in a way he simply can't cope with. And the consequences.. will not be great.

And not suprisingly "Sword through the chest" seems incuriable: his spark is detaached and while First Aid can slow it down.. he can't stop it, and while everyone else is trying their best.. they can't do much. So drift has Swerve give him the com to call for backup.. the one person whose NOT here.

So just as Overlord has Rodimus by the throat he makes the mistake of asking for last words.. as the natural "Till All Are One" you'd expect... sends him panicking .. and leaves him wide open for..

God that felt good. It's not remotely over though as we find out why Fort Max had this opening: turns out Domey , while recklessly charging into a known mass murderer's brain, was still JUST smart enough to leave a trigger in there in case Overlord got out, something that would make him feel he was loosing which , since Overlord is deathly afraid of defeat, would send him spiraling. And in one of the best uses of a gag as a chekov's gun i've seen, only topped by something in next season's finale, he made it till all are one because Rodimus won't stop saying it.

As Rewind lays in shock,w ondering what the helld omey's been up to, Chromedome inacts plan b, asking Fort Max to drag overlord over yonder back to his cell. While Prowl is many things, most of them varations of rat bastard motherfucker, he IS prepared and made Overlord's cell detachable for if, or if your smart like Brainstorm WHEN this stupid plan backfired. Problem is there's a sword jammed in the way of the hatch... someone has to go pull it out.. and rewind is small enoguh, brave enough, and sad enough to pull it off, saying a tearful goodbye to cromedome as the pod detaches. To make matters even worse... Cromedome then has to blow the fucker up as he'd rather not leave the love of his life who was just about to leave him anyway with a sadistic murderer. And all that's left.. is

IT's one of the saddest moment sin the whole comic, and trust me there will be more and one of the best character death's i've seen. A big as screwup as bringing overlord aboard, a bigger one of him getting out.. it needed weight. LIke I said, Roberts knows it's best to kill a character when it's NECESSARy.. and Rewind going out lik ea hero sacrifcing himself so his friends and lover can escape, sadly bidding farewell knowing he's about to go through hell? It's a lot. It's a perfect sendoff to a great character, and a truly painful moment. Also if your wondering about the blood, Rewind took Chromedome's arm along with his heart.

The Gloaming

The gloaming starts with foreshadowing for the next arc: we see a bunch of ops with Ultra Magnus from the war.. but two things are off. The first is that he looks slightly diffrent each time.. and the second is he looks very dead at the end of each one.

This will make sense later but for now we're in the aftermath of overlord's attack: Drift is being repaired, and Ratchet is TRYING to repair mags.. but it dosen't look good. Using a death clock, a device that predicts how long a bot has left, he only has ten days at best and poor Tailgate breaks down over how unfair it all is: one friend is dead, another close to it...

And there aren't easy answers for everyone else either: Chromedome responds a little to Skids but it's very clear he's not remotely okay, while Rodimus has torn up his office. Rung tries to help.. but he's held back by the fact he dosen't know why Rodimus is REALLY upset: Rodimus thinks it's magnus, Rung thinks it's because he lost.. which is a good guess.. but it's not the right one. We'll find out why next time but for now with Rodimus launching an investigation into the incident.. he and Drift need to have a talk.

After that we get the funeral: Rodimus gives a wonderful speech as he's returned to the stars spock style pointing out how EVERYONE he met was better for having known him. Except Prowl, nothing can make that guy better> it's a sweet earnest speech.. which makes it odd that Rewind's actual partner.. can barely say a sentence.

Brainstorm notices.. and goes to confront dome. Not about the speech, most bots would likely chuck that up to bottling up his grief. But it turns out these two go back a ways.. and as a result we find out just WHY Chromedome has so little innermost energon and I really wish I could share the full scene as it's powerful and shows a more emotional side of the usually flippant Brainstorm we haven't seen till now: He knows what Chromedome's abotu to do and to prove it rattles off a bunch of names. All ones Chromedome dosen't recognize.. because they were all former Conjux Endura's. And after they died he wiped his memory of them to not deal with the pain. It's a hard reveal, and a well done one and throughly proves Rewind right about mnemosurgery being an addiction for him: After all grief is hard, loosing someone even harder.. if you had the option to just make that pain temporary it'd be incredibly tempting, near impossible to turn down. You loose the person.. but you also loose the knife in your gut every time you think of them and realize their gone. Sure you could say "Well i'd want to rmemeber them i'd want the pain" and the strongest among us probably could turn that down.. but it's harder when you have that option. It's why i'ts such a comeplling hook here and why the next part hurts so damn much

It fleshes out their friendship and Brainstorm a lot: he's had to watch his friend erase those he loved again, and again and again, tried and failed to talk him out of it time and again. All because he KNOWS what it's like to loose someone.. and that while the pain never goes away, it's better to have them with you. We'll get into how he knows that pain next time. For now the slug is the only reason history may not repeat itself.

So we get two scenes intercut: One is Rodimus before the rest of the crew.. as Drift takes full responsiblity for what happened and is stripped of his autobrand, banished and boo. It's a loss that hit harder this time as i'd gotten more attached to the guy, seen him nearly sacrifice himself, his deep faith, his argument flirting with ratchet.. it's hard to see him go even if he damn well deserves it after all this cost. There's no.. joy in this.. no catharsis. he screwed up, sure.. but it dosen't bring Rewind or Pipes back. It dosen't undue the pain and grief everyone has or fix anything. It's simply assining blame. I'm not saying Drift or a certain someone else we'll get to next time shoudln't be held acountable, but it dosen't make it easy to see him go.. or see Ratchet be the only one to comfort him showing that despite arguging constantly.. they ultimately were close as anyone could be. With this... Rodimus is alone, his command staff gone and it's not going to be easier to wear the crown going into the finale.

The other is a touching moment I can't really share in full here, two page spread and all, btu Rewind pieced together a message for Chromedome, knowing what he'd do if he was gone. He begs his partner to go on without him, that injecting will kill him.. and that he deserves to be happy. The New Institute isn't him anymore. And as one last note because he dosen't say it enough

It's a scene that's now become one of my faviorite: while it's hard to follow because of the various footage, when you put it all together.. it's a message of courage. Despite the guilt, despite the pain, despite al lthey went through.. rewind loved chromedome, as he was, for who he was.. and wants him to stay that way. To keep him with him. And so .. Chromedome , for the first time, sheethes his claws.. and chooses to live with the pain.

We then end on a cliffhanger: Ultra Magnus.. is missing. Someone stole him, he's just gone.. and if that wasn't enough.. Tailgate goes under the death clock light.. and dosen't have much time left.

If it wasn't obvious by now I love these issues: their heartbreaking, well done and read even better this time around: It's a tragic loss that's expertly crafted, and used entirely to push the characters forward, to really push them with one forced to leave, one seemingly kidnapped and one facing his own crippling issues.. .and finding the courage to live

Next Time: We finish season 1! If you thoguht things coudln't get worse for the lost light.. your wrong as they face an attempted genocide , a character we've seen named a lot but not actually met till now, an old foe and a cool as hell new one. Until then thanks for reading

#transformers #transformers more than meets the eye #comics #idw #james roberts #rewind #chromedome #rewind x chromedome #overlord #rodimus prime #ultra magnus #swerve

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istherewifiinhell · 3 months

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while im here, lets get this out the door. this one... is weird

[ID: An artificial life form that its in the shape of a large golden women's head declares herself. "...I am Auntie!" END]

tfuk arc Raiders of the Last Arc! getit? huh?? issues 18-21 early summer 1985.

Script: Simon Furman Art: Mike Collins and Jeff Anderson Colours: Gina Hart Letters: Richard Starkings (18,20,21) John Aldrich (19) Editor: Sheila Cranna Original Series Edits by Shelia Cranna and Ian Rimmer, Editorial notes and assistance by James Roberts, Collection Edits by Justin Eisinger and Alonzo Simon, Collection Design by Shawn Lee

my eyes may be skimming the preambles at this point but i caught glimpse of something like "weird they never reprinted this one" bud. ill tell u why. its not very good. its not, horrid. its pretty much just. oh yeah. this is a marvel tf comic...

which, if you trying to make the argument that all tfuk are unique and sophisticated and BETTER than the US ones, or just tryna make a dollar on the iconic stories.... you skip this one!!!

but in this house, we support preservation and revisiting of ANY art. including if it flops. and today that means you'll get a few black and white panels. huh? isnt that neat. you excited???

we'll get to it all. But first. Lets check out the funny pages.

[ID: The back part of a panel with crudely drawn Autobots and Decepticons floating about, being restrained. Its charmingly goofy. END]

[ID: Jazz firing off his flamethrower and saying "Let's see if Jazz can make things hot for you Soundwave!" Soundwave, a little singed but unbothered replying "Very impressive,but my armour's more than a match for your weapon…a pity the same cannot be said of yours..!" END]

are you two... flirting?

anyway, ill bite. who's autie...

As her troops fell, the computerised brain of the Ark swung into operation… Auntie, as she had been nicknamed, evaluated internal defences, calculated probabilities and finally arrived at the only logical course of action…

oh...

[ID: Optimus looking towards an Ark security camera thinking "It would be another matter if the ark's defences were active, but Auntie controlled those directly…" He opens the door to a dark room, declaring to himself "Auntie! Of course! Until now, we've merely used the basic computer functions of the ark, but Auntie was far more than that… She was the Ark! If I can get her to even a fraction of her operational capacity… END]

oh. the space ship is a woman. right

[ID: Caption box: And if Windcharger could have seen the tableau unfolding in the nerve centre of the Ark, he might have felt his fears justified. Auntie, who in scale is at least twice the height of Optimus or Megatron, using an unseen force to hold them captive. Optimus pleads reason: You must believe me Auntie, you brought us here from Cybertron and you were damaged in the battle with those murderous Decepticons... Megatron lying: No! That isn't what happened. As I've already told you, we were on a mercy mission. The traitorous Autobots sabotaged it - Forced you to crash. END]

correction. the spaceship is now a crazy women who might kill them all. awesome. lol. THANKS TF <3 what i always wanted >_>... (even if i do like the chance to see my guy's rhetoric strategies)

anyway pause all that we have a buddy cop adventure (no 20)

[ID: Splash page that includes the arc title and creative credits. Windcharger and Ravage walking the halls of the arc, arguing. Caption boxes: Alone, Ravage And Windcharger Are unaffected by Auntie's magnetic force… They eye each other suspiciously, each suspecting treachery, each distrusting the other they are sworn enemies these two… But today they are Allies! Ravage: This goes against my every instinct! I dislike working with others at the best of times... But to have to fight alongside a puny Autobot..! Windcharger: Silence, you aggravating creature! I'm as unhappy with the situation as you… but for now it's unavoidable. Just keep those sensors of yours alert for… END]

they really like ravage in these comics lmao.

[ID: Ravage gloating, with destroyed machinery flaming and smoking in his mouth, one paw raised to hold it. He looks over his shoulder to Windcharger saying "There, impressed?" Windcharger looks aggravated. END]

SMUG BEAST. are YOU flirting.

[ID: B&W panel. Both reacting to something unseen, Ravage in a ready stance, possible aggressive or alarmed. Windcharger, slightly behind him looking scared/startled. END]

he said NO PICKLES!

okay back to the hostage situation

ID: B&W panels. Optimus and Megatron still surround by a field of energy restraining them. Optimus his eyes glowing, says "You fool, Megatron! Do you think for a moment that she'll let one of us just walk away? She's playing with us. Unless we break free she'll slaughter us all!" Megatron has a brow raised: Oh… I see. Yes, you could be right. Well, in that case… I may be able to set us free! END]

ACTUALLY. hysterical. sorry i see any extremely funny megs moments and im like. how beast wars of him. i like other meg's too but. fgsdj. well...

btw he has a connection to a black hole? always has?? its from the toy box or smth idk

[ID: In colour again. Caption boxes: Optimus Prime and Megatron await the judgement of Auntie. But, while she considers her verdict, Megatron concentrates... A strange, unearthly energy flows around him, threatening to engulf him... But he is Megatron, and he will make the power serve him! In full body, Megatron is tensed in effort, teeth grit. A dark and sparkling energy wreaths around him.

ENTER: his dark magical girl era....

[ID: Caption box: Megatron lands well, Optimus Prime does not! Smaller drawings, Megatron lands daintily on the point of one foot, his arms raised above his head, somewhat like a dancer. Optimus plummets like a heap, landing on his side, thigh and forearm slamming into the ground. END]

LOOK AT THIS SHIT. lol

[ID: Tiny drawing. Megatron hands still raised, gracefully. One hand wreathed in glowing energy, being directed near Prime, still on the ground. END]

hes a beauty, hes a grace, he wants... to melt your face.

oh yeah anyway ravage gets auntie

[ID: Caption box: But Ravage is faster... Ravage leaping passed or perhaps INTO Auntie's open mouth as she screams "Nooooo" Ravage tearing into whatever golden mechanical workings make up her physical being. Caption box: And Auntie 'dies' for a second time. END]

cool. i love what we did here today. really valuable addition to the lore. and a win for feminism

and then windcharger launched megatron out of the arc thru the volcano and into space. no yeah. he can do that i guess.

its dumb, tho also funny. it hates women. its comics. GOODBYE.

[ID: Tiny drawing of Ravage pouncing. END]

#some shit #wifi reads cisformers #wifi blogs marveltf #everytime someone says 'tfuk dialogue is ALWAYS better than that clunkly stiff us stuff' u have to read this arc again #which is not to say it has nothing to like about it.#my god tho. the arts a little unclear to me but if this is another cause of a motherly cybertronian lifegiving figure dying #from penetration metaphor violence.... urghhhh #god. okay. comics. remember those? im still on this. <- litany to myself

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transformers-platonic · 1 year

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What the Autobots learned from the humans

The humans weren’t the only ones who learned from the experience. The Autobots learned as well. There are spoliers for Transformers Prime, especially key episodes so if you haven’t seen it, you may want to miss this one.

Optimus

- The most obvious is the concept of family as he told Ultra Magnus. The humans don’t act like the Autobots, sure the Bots banter from time to time, but I doubt that Optimus had the same experience with silliness or kids just being kids. I think this would help him relax and remember what they are fighting for, not just the next part of the fight.

Ratchet

- He saw humans as “Less then” before. With his experience with the humans, he had to take the time to know them as individuals and soon saw them as friends and watched them grow. Perhaps if he ever was on another planet, he would remember that other species have their own strengths as well and be less dismissive.

Arcee

- She learned how to let people in. Not just Jack, but also Miko and Wheeljack. With Miko, Arcee was honest about her struggle with what happened to Cliffjumper and allowed herself to be vulnerable, which she likely wouldn’t have done earlier in the series. In season 3, she advised Wheeljack not to block people out, explaining she learned from experience. I the first episode, she didn’t talk to the others about how she felt, she went for a drive alone. Now she may be more likely to admit if something is bothering her.

Bumblebee

- Even with the other cybertronians being able to understand him, Bumblebee didn’t speak up for himself. This is shown by when Arcee decided to go “on patrol” (it was clear she just didn’t want to deal with the humans), Bee went with her when Arcee told him to, though how he shown interest in being teamed up with Raf, he may not have wanted to leave nor did he question the rule. He also didn’t seem to think he was ready to be a warrior even when Optimus did so by how he was talking to Raf. In the end of the series, he directly confronted Megatron, landing the winning blow.

Bulkhead

- He seemed to struggle with his place on the team, telling Miko that Optimus never picks him to be in charge and the fact he apologized for bringing Miko despite the fact she snuck onto the mission and seemed worried when Miko stood up for him. With him politely arguing with Ultra Magnus about Miko’s involvement in the Wreckers, it shows that he learned to say what he believes.

Smokescreen

- At first, he saw the mission as a dream come true and had an idolized idea of the battle. He took reckless actions, believing it would work out naturally. Even though his line to Arcee, “Humans squish easily, I know that now.” sounds dismissive, it shows that he is realizing that the battle isn’t going to work out just because they’re right. He also shows this by deciding to save Optimus instead of being a Prime. He doesn’t tell the others about the choice until a long time later (and it’s not done as a form of bragging). He learned to take the mission seriously.

Ultra Magnus

- He learned how to adapt to a more family based team dynamic. Earlier on, he tried to force the other members of Team Prime to fit into the idea of what the groups on Cybertron were like. This was not working with the team. By spending time with the humans and the other members of Team Prime, he learned to relax. Yes, he was till very formal, but as shown by reacting with confusion but not annoyance when Fowler told them to bring their kilts, it shows he relaxed in his expectations. This also shows by how he admitted that it was good that Wheeljack brought Miko even though at first he didn’t like her coming and seemed to see humans as these weird species that don’t know the chain of command, now he sees the humans play an important role.

#transformers #tfp #transformers prime #maccadam #optimus prime #bulkhead #bumblebee #ratchet #arcee #smokescreen #ultra magnus #observation

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monocle-teacup · 9 months

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Hi! I am glad that someone is interested in my posts! I think it would be more comfortable to respond to your reblog this way, if you don't mind, of course.

- On the lack of a first name

I agree, this was most likely the original plan, but it seems to me that by the end of the season the authors decided to make a completely black-and-white morality, so they had to dehumanize Meridian, and revealing the name and the emotional scene between him and Alex would not help this new idea. I don't blame it on the need to develop the plot quickly, because literally one or two lines of dialogue would fix it. So it was the authors who probably decided to go this way.

-The circumstances around him losing his arm

I understand this, and what surprises me is that there was not a single flashback or further details about this fateful event in the character's life. For example, at the GHOST base, in addition to working for Croft, he was looking for a cure for himself. The viewer could be shown some kind of screen with X-rays or diagrams in the background, where we could see some additional structures that were added by Arachnamechs. That would be an interesting little detail.

-The deal with him and Croft

Yes! I really like the way Meridian worked at these moments, his emotions and attitude towards Croft are obvious, as is her attitude towards him. My problem is that it looks like a puzzle with about 1/5 of the pieces missing. We understand what kind of picture should be in front of us, but the key point is missing. Meridian has been drafted and is supposed to hate the entire organization, not just Croft, but he's not trying to destroy the GHOST or kill other employees. Croft treats him not just as an employee who needs to be exploited to the last, until there is no replacement, as the head of a large villainous organization would behave. No, she does not feel such a level of inner hostility and does not show it towards other employees, only towards Meridian. I got the impression that there must have been a personal conflict between them, some specific event or series of events that made them hate each other. But here either the authors did not want to delve into this additional plot, or they did not come up with a reason.

I'm always up for chatting about Mandroid and other aspects of ES! It's actually quite nice to be able to actually discuss Mandroid's character deeper since IMO there's a lot to talk about.

The thing that gets me is that in the show's Production Bible, Mandroid's character description outright refers to him as a tragic villain. It's like the writers were afraid to actually explore this concept fully since that would go against the show's obsession with making humans that hate Cybertronians automatically terrible people.

There really needs to be a Battle of the Bay flashback not just for Mandroid, but so many other characters as well. Dot lost her leg in that conflict and it's when Megatron switched sides. But nope, the show was too busy bludgeoning the audience with the whole importance of family thing.

The thing about Mandroid is that from what's been shown he only goes after humans if they interfere with his plans (the Maltos) or in Croft's case, treat him like garbage. I see some fan content where it has him going after random humans when he just wouldn't do that. His main concern is Transformers not people.

I've made a post about this before, but IMO Mandroid and Croft are good foils to each other. If Mandroid is fire then Croft is ice. Croft is a very frigid person in general going by her interactions with Schloder and when she tries to arrest Dot and Alex. As ridiculous as her master plan of conquering Cybertron is, it does fit in nicely with her control freak tendencies. I mean, she has a personal army of mindless robots while Mandroid went out of his way to give the Arachnamechs personality. I have this headcanon where the two just instantly disliked each other upon first meeting.

#tf #tfe #transformers earthspark #tf earthspark #eartthspark #dr. meridian #mandroid #tfe mandroid #earthspark mandroid #analysis #agent croft #executive agent croft

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skylarkking · 1 month

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Now that I'm not stoned out of my mind from pain meds (for now) I believe I can share an AU of mine with some clarity and cohesiveness and also with a shameless OC x Optimus idea. It takes place in TFP BUT with changes to the lore for more depth. Infodump rambles under cut.

Basically wth the whole lore thing you have your original 13 primes but they aren't called that. Instead they are called the 13 Knights of Primus.

Basically the 13 Knights were servants of Primus during the beginning of time and they were responsible for maintaining Primus's relic, that relic being Cybertron itself. Primus granted the 13 Knights the ability to create in order to maintain Cybertron. However, Megatronus would discover that they also had the ability to destroy.

When this revelation was discovered, Primus's counterpart Unicron would emerge from his realm to investigate. Since Primus is the creator God and Unicron was the destroyer God, Unicron saw the Knights as a threat to his domain. After all, how dare the Creator make something that could destroy? It was an insult and a violation of their pact to keep eachother balanced (Primus creating things that Unicron can destroy and Unicron destroying things so that Primus could create).

In Unicron's fit of rage over the betrayal of his trust he too violated the pact by creating the 13 Heralds of Unicron. These heralds were counterparts to the Knights and they would become guardians of Unicron's relic (that being Earth). However the Knights would discover the Heralds and a battle between them would shake the cosmos in a way that would alter the very fabric of reality.

Each Knight that fell a Herald would follow. The amount of death and chaos from it would cause Megatronus to go mad from grief, resulting in him accidently killing Solus during an outburst where he pleaded for peace between the Knights and Heralds.

Solus's spark would become the Allspark and her body The Well of Allsparks, a permanent reminder of the tragedy.

This would trigger a series of events that would result in Megatronus being killed by one of the other Knights and becoming known as "The fallen." However, it would also cause a Herald to rebel against his brothers and sisters, earning him the title of "The Risen."

The Risen would actually stop the conflict by killing the other Heralds on his own. This of course angered Unicron so violently that Unicron attacked Primus's relic directly just to spite Primus, the remaining Knights, and The Risen.

Working together they would banish Unicron back into his realm and force him to go into a deep sleep. But not without a cost.

Since the Heralds were directly connected to Unicron just like the Knights were with Primus, The Risen would end up perishing in the calamity. However, his spark would not be destroyed.

Instead, it would end up returning to Cybertron after drifting among the stars for eons. Similar to how Optimus in the series is the reincarnation of the 13th original prime (in this AU the 13th Knight) The Risen would also be reincarnated.

Fast forward to pre-war Cybertron, The Risen would be reincarnated into a rather.... unique individual. I have yet to give him a name but I am leaning towards Emersus.

Emersus was mad in the eyes of the High Caste because of his rebellious and chaotic nature (blame the Herald heritage lol). He would often say things and do things that would purposefully expose the High Caste's corruotion and manipulation. They would perform Empurata on him, but that only made things WAAAAY worse. His "madness" would become even more voletile.

He would end up killing an Elite Guard member (at the time, the cybertronian version of a cop), and he would end up being sentenced to the Pits. He would climb up the ranks and meet Megatron, known at the time as Megatronus. The pair would duke it out and end up in a draw with both warriors exhausted and badly wounded.

After getting patched up Megatronus would speak to Emersus to find out more about him. Emersus would tell his story to Megatronus where he found out that they shared rhe same views of the High Caste and its corruption.

Emersus would befriend Megatronus and the pair would become a tag team in the arena. After some time Megatronus would introduce Emersus to Orion.

To say Emersus would go from IDW Whirl level energy to a flustered mess would be an understatement. Emersus wasn't sure what he felt for the archivist, but it was something.

That feeling would continue to grow the more the pair interacted with eachother. He kept the feeling in check for the most part and hide it deep inside himself, something he would end up regretting.

After another run in with the Elite Guard, Emersus would be put to trial and found to be guilty of an absorbent amount of crimes, most of which he didn't even commit. They would then banish him from Cybertron and launch him into space in a stasis cell.

That cell would drift through space and eventually crash in the artic circle on earth. Emersus's frame would fly out of the pod and bury itself in the deep snow and ice.

Fast forward millions of years, Emersus would be discovered by human scientists which then leads to a rather hilarious interaction between them and agent Fowler.

Basically the scientists were exploring an ice cave when they saw the one optic mech frozen solid with his head staring at them. Of course he couldn't see them as he was in stasis lock, but imagine you turn around in a dimly lit ice cave and you see a frozen one eye bot just staring back at you.

To say the scientists got quite the scare would be an understatement. Of course this discovery would send agent Fowler out and then the Autobots.

Ratchet would discover that Emersus was still alive somehow and the bots would manage to break him out of the ice. When Emersus was brought back to the base to thaw and hopefully be revived Optimus would stay close by.

The others didn't understand why their Prime (oh yeah, forgot to mention that those who inherit the matrix are still called Primes but that's after it was passed down a few times and the matrix is essentially the keystone to Cybertron but i digress) was acting this way and it wasn't until Ratchet brought it up that Optimus told them of their history.

Of course Emersus would do what Emersus does best and scare the slag out of the Autobots. He would shoot up from the medical berth screaming "NO! YOU CANT DO THIS TO ME! ITS A LIE!" thinking he was still back on Cybertron. He would then stiffen up with shocks of electricity and fall to the floor like a sack of hammers.

After everyone had calmed down from the rather terrifying outburst, Ratchet would run some diagnostics on Emersus and explain that, due to the long term deep freeze, a lot of Emersus's body and processor was badly damaged. Ratchet could try to fix what he could, but it would most likely only delay the inevitable.

Optimus being Optimus would ask Ratchet to try his best as Emersus was a close friend to him. Ratchet would successfully get Emersus fixed as best as possible and Emersus would eventually wake up again.

At first Emersus was confused and delirious from everything he had endured, but would snap out of it when he saw Optimus. Of course Optimus looked different from when he was Orion, but Emersus still remembered him.

The series would then kick off and Emersus would be the chaotic inventor (think Cyberverse's version of Wheeljack but with ✨️murder✨️ energy).

As the series goes on and approaches the episodes with Unicron, Emersus would begin to get nightmares that would progressively get worse until the episodes with unicron would cause him to stop recharging due to the intensity. These nightmares however were not nightmares at all, but instead were visions being sent to him by his old master.

Unicron would eventually capture Emersus to convert him back to his Herald and, because a mutual friend was in dire need, Optimus and Megatron would team up to save Emersus.

They would delve into the core of earth and find where Unicron was attempting to use his ancient relic to return to that domain.

Emersus however would be the obstacle in their way, taking on a twisted and horrifying form influenced entirely by Unicron. The pair would fight against their friend and Optimus would be the one to snap him out of it.

After severing the connection between the relic, Unicron, and Emersus, Optimus would revert to his pre prime state and Emersus would lose a ton of memory, so much so that he doesn't even remember Optimus at all.

Since he couldn't remember Optimus but remembered Megatron, he would follow him and Optimus out of there. The story would go through the usual timeline with the Orion Pax arc and Emersus would would follow alongside.

Of course Orion remembered Emersus and was confused as to why Emersus couldn't remember him. Megatron would use both of their ignorance to his advantage. Emersus became a sort of body guard while Orion became the archivist.

The pair would actually grow close yet again and the vehicons would gossip about how much calmer Emersus was around Orion. Megatron didn't like that his body guard was distracted and he forbeyed him from going near Orion.

This caused Orion to begin his suspicions that something wasn't right. When Orion found out the truth he immediately went to tell Emersus. The pair would work together to escape and Orion would be restored to Optimus.

Since then the pair would be even closer than before, but it would become rocky when Emersus rediscovers his true heritage again. He would become isolated and distant, often locking himself in his workshop to "prevent a monster from doing damage."

At this point Optimus would finally convince Emersus to at least allow him in. Emersus would break down for the first time in millions of years. Optimus being the cinnamon roll bean he is manages to calm Emersus down and the pair confess feelings.

Fast forward through the episodes and we come to the Omega Lock arc and Emersus is forced to surrender himself to Megatron along with the relics and keys. Emersus would be kept prisoner for the duration of the season 3 episodes involving Darkmount and would end up falling into a deep depression. In fact, it was so deep that his workings began to give up on functioning despite Knockout's best efforts to prevent it.

Emersus would have a mental breakdown similar to The Fallen that would result in him lashing out violently towards Megatron. Thw pair would be locked in what would seem like a mever ending duel ultil Ultra Magnus would enter and stop the whole thing. Or rather, he'd delay it since he was no match for Megatron and a pissed off Emersus. Look he doesn't like his death matches interrupted okay?

Anyway, resume fight and Emersus would end up losing after his body started to malfunction. But just as he was going to be deactivated BAM! In comes an upgraded Optimus and all hell breaks loose.

Emersus would end up going into stasis lock again and wake up in the new base with Ratchet and Optimus not far from him. It's then that Ratchet expresses his concern for Emersus's wellbeing as this second stasis lock almost killed him.

Emersus being the stubborn aft he is brushes it off. Speaking of stubborn afts, let's explain Ultra Magnus's dynamic with him.

Emersus does not like Ultra Magnus on the same level that IDW's Whirl hates him. In fact, Emersus almost beat the slag out of him when he commented how "an Empurata shouldn't be clinging to a Prime." It was such an angry outburst that it took Bulkhead, Bumblebee, AND Smokescreen to hold him back.

Thankfully the trio were able to cool his circuits and, after storming off muttering curses, Optimus would explain that Emersus and him were Conjunx Endura and that he needed to be more respectful.

Ultra Magnus would begrudgingly agree to not be an aft to Emersus and they would eventually learn to get along (kinda like how Wheeljack did).

Jump through the episodes and when we get to Ratchet getting kidnapped by Soundwave the duty of medic and inventor would land on Emersus and Raphael until they could rescue him.

When the final battle occurs, Emersus would unleash a pent up fury on the Decepticons alongside the other Autobots. When Megatron fell and Cybertron's lights were restored, Emersus would have one last stasis lock before dying in Optimus's arms.

They would meet again in the realm of the Prime's and that's how the story ends. I might write it, might not, but hey, if you've read this far then thanks for coming to my Ted talk lol.

#transformers #tfp #transformers oc #oc x canon #oc talk #tf worldbuilding #tfp optimus prime #tfp oc #long post #ramblings #transformers fanfiction #fanfic #gay fanfiction #fanfiction #fanfic brainstorming

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withloveoptimus · 2 years

Text

It's Prime Time Chap 1.

was posted on ao3 first but i wanted to post it on here too since I'm writing more lmao

this is a two-shot little story that may end up with its own series but who knows that may also change n e way onto the story

---

Chap One of It's Prime Time

Pairings: Optimus Prime & Reader (platonic), Smokescreen & Reader (platonic)

Summary: Optimus wishes to take you somewhere because he wants to spend quality time with you, and fun ensues.

---

You spent the day like any other, sitting at the base with the kids, either sitting around or playing video games, which would often get too loud and Ratchet would shout, “Quiet down! Some people are trying to work here!” which was of course like any other day at the base. You were eating snacks you brought as you watched them, occasionally playing when they asked but mostly watching.

As you stuff another chip into your mouth, your eyes wander before landing on your partner in crime, and guardian, Smokescreen. His back was turned to you as he was engaged in a conversation with Bulkhead, probably talking about past battles or something, and you were honestly happy that their friendship was getting better since they got off to a rocky start. Bulkhead was a good influence on Smokescreen, in his own way and they acted more and more like brothers. A “Bromance” as Miko put it when you two talked about it one time.

That did leave you with a few thoughts, like imagining those bro memes you would see and you had to keep yourself from laughing.

While lost in your train of thought, you hadn’t noticed Smokescreen walk over to the human area until a metal finger was poking you. “Oh shit!” You jumped, turning to the owner of said finger only to meet Smokescreen’s gaze, “Oh, hey Kachow.”

He immediately shoots you a look that only makes you laugh.

“C’mon, you promised!” He whined.

“I may have promised but your reactions are so worth it.”

You will never let him live down the fact that you walked in on him doing the 'Kachow!' in one of the empty rooms of the base, after having a Cars movie marathon with the kids. It took lots of bribing from him but you promised to keep it between the two of you–he would never know that you let it slip to Optimus and had to swear him to secrecy–, although you can't help teasing him with it.

He rolls his optics at your teasing but you know he isn’t upset if the little smile on his face is anything to go by. “Anyways,” You close the bag of chips and place them on the table, “what were you and Bulk talking about?”

There’s some shouting and you sneak a glance to see Miko doing a victory dance as she beats Jack, who watches in defeat, in one of the fighting games you brought. You can only laugh as she shouts, “In your face!” and Jack just sighs. Arcee, Bumblebee, and Raf watch in amusement, making comments here and there.

“Bulkhead was just sharing some battle stories,” Smokescreen says, excitement clear in his voice, and you turn your attention back to him. “just hearing about them makes me so jealous! I would’ve been so awesome on the battlefield back on Cybertron.”

You chuckle and decide to indulge your guardian, “Mind telling me some stories then?” You ask as you get up from the couch and walk over to where he was standing by the railing.

The grin you get in return is worth it and you can only smile as he picks you up and goes somewhere quieter.

—-

It was late night by the time the kids went home and you lounged on the couch, waiting on a certain Autobot leader, who was your other guardian. Smokescreen had offered to take you home but you declined, wanting to spend what little time you could with Optimus, seeing as he was always busy and you were kind of missing his company.

You were officially bored after attempting to keep yourself busy by doodling, reading some books you brought, or playing games. You were blaming it on Optimus taking so long doing whatever it was he was doing.

It's quiet, save for Ratchet typing away at the computer with his occasional grumbling.

An idea comes to mind and it might be a bad idea and maybe it'll piss off Ratchet but you're bored and it's Optimus' fault.

It's too late to back out now as you look over to where he is. "Hey, Grumpy?" You call.

There's no response and you aren't surprised.

"Doc Bot?"

He pauses but continues working.

"Mister Grinch?"

A heavy sigh and shake of his head and you're fighting the urge to just laugh.

"Rat–"

"What do you want?! Can't you see I'm working!" He finally snaps, and you howled with laughter. His reaction was totally worth it as he just watched you, utterly annoyed and ready to just send you through a ground bridge home. He fails to understand how Optimus deals with you.

It takes a bit for you to calm down, still a fit of giggles, but when you look at Ratchet again you're close to another laughing fit.

He's gone back to ignoring you, probably for the better, but he's frowning and grumbling about something. Just as you're about to open your mouth to say something, totally not to mess with him some more, you're being picked up.

“I can’t leave you alone, can I?” Optimus says as he sets you in his palm, using a finger to nudge your little body.

“What do you expect me to do, I was bored! And would you stop doing that–” You growled, attempting to bat his finger away.

Optimus looks to Ratchet, "I apologize for the disturbance, old friend." The medic only grumbles in reply, waving them off so he can get back to work.

You breathe a sigh of relief when Optimus pulls his finger away, you swear he and Smokescreen only do it to mess with you. Before you know it, you find yourself in Optimus' passenger seat.

"What took you so long, Big Red?" You inquire as he starts the drive out of the base.

He's silent for a bit. "I was taking care of some business. I apologize for making you wait so long, Little One."

You snort, “Any longer and I wouldn’t be sitting here right now.”

Optimus sighs, knowing all too well how much you love messing with Ratchet. The two of you could have your moments, but primus could you grind the poor Medic’s gears. The Autobot leader couldn’t even count on his fingers how many times he’s had to pick you up and take you somewhere else before Ratchet hauled you through a ground bridge. It’s even worse if Wheeljack is around.

“Must you mess with him so much?”

“Uh, duh! I do it out of love though so it's okay!"

That pulls a chuckle from him. “Out of love, you say?”

You nod, crossing your arms over your chest, sporting a huge grin. Any teasing from you was always out of love or just joking in general. Still, you weren’t the best at reading the room or reading people in general, so sometimes it went farther than you’d have liked.

It isn’t long before Optimus is pulling up to your home, the ride feeling a little shorter than usual and you can’t help but feel just a bit upset. You kind of want to ask him to drive around for a bit, just so you can spend just a little more time with him, but decide against it. You’d rather not keep him from his duties.

“Little One?” Optimus calls, worried at your silence and the slight change in mood. He decides not to mention the pout you were now sporting.

You shake your head, “Sorry, Big Red, I was just thinking.”

He hums, waiting patiently as you collect and calm yourself. You’re glad he let you do so, even if he could read you like an open book.

Once your thoughts are clear, you pat the dashboard, ready to say goodnight and let him be on his way but Optimus stops you.

“Before you go,” He starts, “I must ask something of you.”

Now that puzzles you. A little weird, you think.

“What’s up?”

He was silent for a moment, trying to piece together whatever he was going to ask. You’re silently hoping it isn’t anything too bad, your behavior has been good this week.

“I ask that you do not stay up late,” Okay now he is being weird, “I wish to take you somewhere, Little One. I do not know where, but we shall go somewhere.” He finishes.

And now he’s completely thrown you for a loop.

Of course, it wasn’t weird for him to take you places, there were a few times he had taken you on patrol if he wanted some company. Sometimes he’d even take you and the kids out if you had projects to do because he was hesitant to let Ratchet help with them again, though he would never say so aloud. So what was this all about?

“What?” Is all you manage to say.

"We'll be spending the day together." He simply says.

That is enough to bring back the grin you were sporting earlier and you have to stop yourself from squealing and kicking your feet. Your wishes had been granted and it honestly felt too good to be true.

"Really?!" You look at the steering wheel excitedly then pause, "You're not joking are you?"

He's a little offended you'd think he would joke about this.

"Of course not, Little One, I speak only the truth.”

You pump your fist in the air, “Fuck yeah!” Ignoring the silent reprimand for your profanity.

Optimus chuckles when you hurry to unbuckle yourself and open his door. “Goodnight, Big Red! Love ya!” You shout and dash to your front door, almost tripping in your excitement. You wanted nothing more than to hurry to your bed and sleep the night away. Although you didn’t think you would even be able to sleep with this much excitement, you were going to try.

Once you finally manage to open the door, you turn and offer your guardian a final wave goodnight before scurrying inside.

You find yourself rushing through your nightly routine, and just as you slip on a baggy shirt to sleep in, your phone buzzes on the nightstand. Sneaking a glance, you realize someone was messaging you. That someone being Optimus.

Big Red: Please be ready by ten.

Big Red: Sleep well, Little One, I love you.

You go to bed with a smile and a warm feeling in your chest.

#transformers prime #tfp optimus prime #optimus x reader #but it's platonic #reader is a little silly guys #adventures with optimus #ratchet #tfp arcee #bumblebee #fluff #like lots of fluff #no beta we die like cliffjumper #idk how to tag lmfao

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elendiliel · 1 year

Text

The Last Prime

Hold on to your hubcaps; this is a long one, as it covers the whole of "Predacons Rising". (I'm willing to repost it as shorter chunks, if that's more to everyone's liking. It's also on AO3 here.)

As usual, inspiration credits to @justawannabearchaeologist's "TFP Wheeljack in TFA" series. For the ending, I am also indebted to @novafire-is-thinking's ongoing analysis series "Who is TFP Optimus?" Both are highly recommended.

Here goes...

---

“We have endured many hardships and countless battles,” Optimus Prime declaimed, “but at last our home planet has been restored. We would not be standing on Cybertronian soil were it not for the valiant efforts of both those assembled here – including one from far away,” his optics rested on Glitch, who blushed and dropped her gaze to the ground; she hadn’t really done all that much, and certainly no more than her duty demanded, “and our absent comrades. Ratchet, who remains on Earth to safeguard our human friends,” Arcee laid a sisterly servo on Glitch’s shoulder, aware that the young medibot missed her friend and colleague, and was more than a little daunted by the prospect of filling his role, “and Cliffjumper, who made the ultimate sacrifice.” It was Glitch’s turn to put a discreet arm around ‘Cee, Cliffjumper’s partner. She knew his death had inflicted a wound on her comrade that would never fully heal.

“But on this day,” Prime continued, “at the dawn of a new era, we gather to bestow a special honour, one earned by Bumblebee through his bravery and devotion to the cause of peace, long before he rid the universe of the scourge of the Decepticon warmonger.” We hope, Glitch caught herself thinking. Megatrons, in her experience, were pretty hard to kill. “In the company of your fellow Autobots, in the presence of our creator Primus, the living core of our planet, and by the authority vested in me by the Matrix of Leadership,” Prime raised the Star Sabre, a relic of the ancient Primes Glitch had nicknamed Andúril, “Bumblebee,” Andúril touched Bumblebee’s left shoulder, then his right, as he knelt before his leader, “arise, a Warrior.”

As Bumblebee stood up, the rest of the team clustered around to congratulate him, even Glitch, though she was still a bit hazy on why the ceremony was such a big deal – or necessary at all. But then, her Cybertron had been officially at peace since before she came online – helium, before her CO came online – and its class system wasn’t as rigidly defined as that one had been before the Autobot-Decepticon war. While Elite Guard positions were very much sought-after by a lot of young ‘bots, they were, theoretically, open to anybot. And she’d never wanted one. She was more than happy to be a field-tech, a healer and protector, not a destroyer.

Unlike, say, Wheeljack. “Let’s get this party started!” The Wrecker lived up to his unit’s name, triggering explosives he must have planted beforehand in a statue of Megatron. Glitch had to admit to a certain satisfaction as the stone warlord was deconstructed joint by joint, but did Wheeljack have to make such a mess of everything?

Prime allowed them a few cycles of jubilation before speaking again. “I am sorry to interrupt your celebration.”

“Here it comes,” ‘Cee remarked.

“Primes never party,” Bulkhead added.

“You might be surprised,” Glitch murmured, thinking of another red and blue mech, who had a hidden talent for the guitar.

“But I must take my leave of you,” Prime carried on. So soon? Prime had fought at least as long and hard as anybot there, and more so than most. He deserved to enjoy some peace, at least for a while.

“Sir, may I ask why?” Ultra Magnus enquired.

“Though Cybertron is once again able to support life,” Prime began, “our planet is currently incapable of generating new lives.”

“Let me guess,” Glitch interrupted him. “We need the Allspark. I wondered when that box of tricks would enter the picture. And it’s probably safely out in deep space, where almost nobody can find it.”

“That is correct.” Prime wasn’t as surprised that she’d second-guessed him as might be expected. He knew how similar their realities were, in some ways. “I assume yours was hidden for the same reason.”

She hummed in assent. “Cooled the war down a treat, especially when Megatron buzzed off to look for it. And before anyone asks, we post-war ‘bots received our sparks from Vector Sigma.” She was aware that the ancient computer had a counterpart in that reality, but clearly it didn’t have that particular functionality. More’s the pity.

Bumblebee was all for retrieving the Allspark as a whole team, but Prime pointed out that they couldn’t leave Cybertron vulnerable to Decepticon remnants. He assigned Ultra Magnus to organise patrols and hunt down Starscream and Shockwave, and Bulkhead to start the rebuilding of the wrecked planet, prioritising a landing field for other Cybertronians who might come home. Only Wheeljack would go with Prime; he was one of their best pilots, and had wandered the galaxy for aeons before finding his way to Earth and the team. Glitch pulled him aside for a quick word as the party broke up, knowing better than to argue with Prime over non-medical matters. (Wheeljack was also much closer to her in height; sometimes she practically had to shout to get Prime’s attention.)

“Promise me you’ll look out for each other,” she said. “The Allspark may be the source of your life, but if my version’s anything to go by, for individual ‘bots it’s trouble with a capital T, R, O, U, B, L and E.”

“It can’t be that bad – can it?” At least Wheeljack was taking her semi-seriously.

“Let me put it this way. My Allspark nearly flattened the ‘bots it chose as its protectors, then almost got them killed again when Megatron found them. They were missing, presumed dead, for half a century.” A very long half-century for Glitch, who had had two close friends on that crew. Including her now-partner and boyfriend. “Megatron was in stasis and pieces all that time. Starscream tried to use it to level Detroit; it offlined Optimus trying to get rid of Screamer, then revived him. Its power also revived Megatron’s head and allowed him to create the Dinobots and Soundwave before putting him back together again. When he got his servos on it, Optimus had to disperse it to avoid disastrophe, and the fragments are still causing all kinds of chaos. Everything from haywire assembly lines to an immortal Starscream. And its reassembly killed Prowl. Shall I go on?” She could, for quite some time.

“No, that’s enough. I’ll have Optimus’ back out there, I promise, and we both know he’ll have mine.” Prime would always put his soldiers’ and friends’ lives first. Then something Glitch had said struck Wheeljack afresh. “Your Starscream’s immortal? I thought ours was a nuisance, but…”

“He certainly used to be. Most inconvenient in some ways, though I for one don’t actually want him dead. Jazz thinks he saw the fragment keeping him alive being pulled out when he and Prowl were reassembling the Allspark, but his shell was never found. And when it comes to that ‘bot – don’t count him as offline until you see the body, and even then you can still be wrong. Come to think of it, that applies to Megatron, too.”

“Not ours, I hope. Anyway, I’d better get going. Look after Magnus and Bulkhead for me.”

“Wilco.” The Wrecker and the field-tech went their separate ways, the latter hurrying to the ex-Decepticon warship the team was using as a base, suddenly dying to get to work.

***

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! How’re you gonna attach the cladding when the framing structure’s incomplete, huh?” Bulkhead’s voice, followed by a series of metallic clangs and clatters that sounded like something out of a slapstick comedy, must have carried for hics as Arcee and Glitch drove to the building site that was meant to be an air traffic control tower.

“Labour issues?” ‘Cee asked as she transformed beside her old friend. With the Autobots rotating between patrols and their individual duties, Bulkhead was having to work with a crew of Vehicon volunteers whose enthusiasm clearly outstripped their skills.

The answer was self-evident, so Bulkhead changed the subject. “Any news of our fugitives?”

“Just signs of recent scavenging in former Decepticon installations.”

“And the warship can’t detect their life signals?” Bulkhead looked to Glitch, now the team’s only tech “expert” on-planet, who had been making friends with the Nemesis ever since Megatron’s defeat.

“Shielded,” she answered briefly. “Working on it. Needed to spin my wheels, though, and get a vent of fresh – whoa!” Amply demonstrating why some of her teammates affectionately called her “the little monkey” when they thought she wasn’t listening, she scrambled up the side of the half-built tower to where part of the frame was likely to give way. A few nanokliks’ work with her built-in blowtorch, and the problem was solved. She all but jumped back down, eager to be on solid ground again, and rejoined her friends.

“Nice one,” Bulkhead said, appraising her patch job with a professional optic. “How’d you spot that?”

“I’ve done my share of construction work, back in Detroit.” She no longer said “back home”; she had three homes in two universes. (The others’ Cybertron wasn’t one of them, though – yet.) “Urban combat tends to get messy, and it’s only right that we should help fix the damage afterwards. Good PR, too. One learns to see problems before they become serious.” Especially if, like her, one had a talent for pattern-recognition – even at the expense of other abilities, such as face-recognition. “By the way – maybe cut the Vehicons a bit more slack. Not everybot has your expertise.” Bulkhead had been a labourer before the war, so-called “low caste”, protoformed for construction. She hoped she’d found a positive spin to put on that.

Either she had, or he’d hidden his reaction well. “I’m trying, but it’s not easy. If a mistake can be made, they’ve probably made it, even with the basic stuff. I know they can learn, but – honestly, I’d rather have a crew of Constructicons than these guys.”

“Scrapper would definitely help,” Glitch agreed, thinking of the Constructicons back in her universe. “’Specially if Snarl lent a servo as well. Maybe Mixmaster, if we could get hold of enough decent motor oil. Not Dirtboss, though. We’d have an Energon racket on our servos before we knew where we were.” She was partway through describing the diminutive Decepticon’s attempt to control Detroit’s oil supply when Bumblebee called her comm. “Glitch, we need you back here now. Magnus is hurt, badly. I’m sending a groundbridge.” Stars, that sounded serious. Oh well. That was what she’d signed up for.

It was serious, as even a preliminary scan made abundantly clear once she’d reached the Nemesis med-bay, where Magnus was already on her repair table. “Blimey, there’s a lot of internal damage here. Most of it pretty bad. Predacon? New one, I’d say.”

“Yeah, two of ‘em. How’d you know?” Smokescreen had been on patrol with Ultra Magnus, and was still hovering by his commander’s side, not quite blocking her light. Had Magnus been hurt trying to protect him?

“I do have optics. Scorching, impact trauma and denta and claw marks add up to Predacon, but the claw spacing and synth shape and size don’t match Predaking. I don’t suppose you got a good look at their alt-modes?” she asked out of vague curiosity, most of her processor focused on her patient.

“Another dragon and one kinda like a big winged cyber-cat. A griffin, I think it’s called on Earth.”

“We’ll have to find them, and quickly,” Bumblebee put in, having just returned from updating Arcee and Bulkhead on the situation. “How’s Magnus?”

“Not good. I can stabilise him, for now, but we need another medic if he’s ever going to recover fully. Call Ratchet in, or let Knock Out out. In or out, I don’t care, just find someone better than me.” She had already begun to fix Magnus’ most severe injuries, but only her centuries of training kept her servos steady. She’d been qualified for less than two stellar-cycles, and had spent rather less time than that in that universe. And Magnus’ wounds were worse than she felt she could handle alone. “In the meantime, clear out and let me deal with this mess.”

Bumblebee and Smokescreen obeyed without a word, and must have chosen Option A. A short while later, Ratchet barged in, medical kit in servo. The two medibots worked side by side, speaking only when necessary, until Magnus was out of danger and heading towards recovery.

“He’ll be all right,” Glitch confirmed, more for her own benefit than for Ratchet’s. “Thanks for coming at such short notice, and – sorry, for calling you in. I suppose I panicked.” Her first case as the team’s primary medic, and she’d dragged Ratchet out of his semi-retirement to help her. Not a good start.

Ratchet’s servo entirely covered hers. “You did the right thing.” She’d seldom heard such gentleness from either Ratchet, that one or her mentor back in Detroit. “You have talent, but a case like this calls for experience you simply haven’t had time to acquire yet. Trying to handle it yourself would have been the height of foolishness.” He smiled down at his junior colleague. “By the way, you did a good job on Smokescreen during the battle. And Optimus, while I was – elsewhere.” Specifically, aboard that very ship and in Decepticon servos. “Thank you for that.”

Glitch blushed in acknowledgement and gratitude. “Just doing my duty. Practically had to blackmail Prime onto the repair table, though. Is he always like that, or was he just worried about you?”

“Oh, he’s been that way as long as I’ve known him, and still has the temerity to lecture me about my Energon intake.” Rightly so. On at least one occasion, Glitch had had to resort to sleight of servo to make sure Ratchet was properly fuelled. He changed the subject with almost unbecoming haste. “Out of interest, how are you getting on with the ship’s systems?”

“Making progress, but Soundwave locked all the data storage up tight. And I’m still tripping a lot of alarm codes. Managed to detach them from the actual alarms, though.”

“Not a moment too soon.” Bumblebee had put his head around the door again. “If either of you can spare some time, we’re having a strategy meeting on the bridge.”

“Go,” Ratchet said. “I’ll stay with Magnus.”

“How’s the commander?” Smokescreen demanded the moment he saw her. He was clearly still beating himself up for letting Magnus be injured.

“With time, and rest, he’ll make a full recovery.” Everybot else visibly relaxed at that. They’d probably have preferred to hold the meeting in med-bay, keeping an optic on the patient and making sure both medics were included, but had respected her preference for peace, quiet and privacy.

As it turned out, the meeting was almost over. Their obvious priority was tracking down the new Predacons, no doubt cloned by the still-elusive Shockwave. Glitch would love to know how he’d managed that in the absence of the Allspark; in her universe, Starscream’s various clones and the Lugnuts Supreme had had to be brought online with tiny Allspark fragments. But the other Starscream had cloned himself as well, without any of that. Interesting…

A question for later, though. Bumblebee had a couple of ideas for places to start looking, and Glitch had something important to say.

“I’m coming with you. Ratchet can hold the fort here; stars know he’s had practice. And given what happened earlier, you may well need a medic soon.”

“Actually, I was hoping you’d come along,” Bumblebee said. “I’ve a feeling the first person I want to ask could already do with your expertise.” Such as it was.

His “feeling” was borne out by the fresh Energon trail the scout soon found and followed to its source – Predaking. The wounded dragon-Predacon did not look happy to see them, and the sentiment was mutual; Arcee, Bulkhead and Smokescreen primed their weapons and Glitch readied her shields as Predaking prepared to flame them all, but Bumblebee chose a very different way to deal with the situation. Negotiation. He handled Predaking magnificently, first bluffing him into standing down with a fake Immobiliser, then politely enquiring about the new Predacons. Unfortunately, Predaking claimed to have no knowledge of them, and Glitch for one believed him. As the others started to leave the mighty warrior to brood over the remains of his forebears in peace, though, she looked up from her medical scanner, indicated the site of his still-leaking wound and asked, “May I?”

Predaking just looked bemused, so she explained herself a little further. “I’m a medic, and you’re hurt. With your permission, I’d like to change that latter state of affairs.”

Predaking studied her for a long moment. “You wear the mark of the accursed Autobots, but you do not smell like them, or like any other Cybertronian. You are different.”

“Too right I am. I’m from another universe, but I have some experience treating Cybertronians of this one. You all bleed the same – Predacon, Autobot, Decepticon or neutral.” She forced herself to meet Predaking’s burning yellow optics. “And believe me, if there’d been a way to save the other clones both from the Wreckers and from slavery to Megatron, I’d have done so. What happened was a tragedy, and I give you my word of honour, it will not be repeated on my watch.”

“You speak truth,” Predaking conceded. “As did the other medic, Ratchet, who may have been the first person to show me and my kind true respect. Very well.” He transformed back into his dragon-form, twisting around to display a long cut along one side, awkward to reach, but relatively simple to repair. She fixed it in a matter of nanokliks – it was sparkling’s play after treating Ultra Magnus – and, once she’d found a fuel line, injected a vial of Energon to replace that which he’d lost, before stepping back into his field of vision and bowing. “Until we meet again, Your Highness.”

“Should that prove necessary, little medic.” She chose not to be offended by that as she turned, transformed and raced away after the others.

She soon caught up with them on the way to Darkmount, Megatron’s former citadel, where Knock Out had apparently claimed they could find a list of Shockwave’s old labs. A modicum of hacking – Glitch was getting used to breaking ‘Con cyphers – proved the Decepticon CMO right.

“Well, whaddaya know,” Bumblebee said as Smokescreen messed around on Megatron’s throne and Bulkhead rebuked him. “Knock Out actually shot straight for once.”

“What’d you have to do, scuff his finish?” Arcee asked. Knock Out was notoriously, ridiculously vain, in contrast to Glitch, who was proud of her scratched servos.

“Close. Now, let’s download the data and get outta here.” Glitch was way ahead of him; she’d set the console up to copy the decrypted files straight to a transfer drive the moment she broke the cypher. Which was just as well; a flier, too small and fast to be Predaking, the wrong shape to be Prime, was headed straight for Darkmount. Nanokliks later, one of the last ‘bots any of the party had expected to see landed right in front of them. He was taller and bulkier than he had been just days before, and his optics and biolights shone purple rather than red, but he was recognisably Megatron.

Until he spoke. Whoever was using King ‘Con’s voicebox, it probably wasn’t its original owner. Megatron liked overdone rhetoric, but “minions of the Prime” was a bit much even for him. And “his” voice had extra harmonics that sent a shiver down Glitch’s backstrut as she readied her combat-capable tools. Why was she so tired all of a sudden?

Soon enough, the situation was made clearer. Megatron wasn’t in control of his body – Unicron was. The Chaos Bringer. Widely regarded as a myth in Glitch’s universe; very real in that one. Wait ‘til I tell Bee about this, she thought drowsily and almost nonsensically.

Somehow, she managed to keep pace with the rest of the team as they ducked and dodged Unicron’s fire, but they were clearly outmatched, and evac via groundbridge would require them to get away from their opponent. You’ve been around me too long, she thought hazily as Bumblebee led them, in vehicle mode, between Megatron’s peds, off a ledge and through a tunnel excavated by his blaster. That was the kind of stunt she usually pulled.

They raced through the abandoned corridors of Darkmount until ‘Cee called a halt, not a moment too soon. Ahead of them, the floor gave way to what looked like a deep pool of molten slag.

“What in blazes is that?” Glitch asked.

“A smelting pit,” Bulkhead told her, clearly not wanting to go into detail.

“For once, I don’t want to know.” Mostly because she could guess. All too easily.

Bumblebee barely had time to call for a groundbridge before a lilac explosion behind them announced Unicron-Megatron’s proximity – and threw them all into the air. Bumblebee and Glitch landed on solid ground, but the others ended up hanging over the smelting pit, a chain of terrified ‘bots.

As Bulkhead fought to keep Arcee and Smokescreen from fiery oblivion, Unicron landed Megatron behind him, shaping a pair of hook-like weapons for himself out of lavender light. While Bumblebee held his attention, Glitch climbed up his back, grateful for once for her small stature, and transformed her right servo into a laser scalpel, intending to sever the electrical connection between his right arm and his CPU. But either her fatigue-addled processor had miscalculated, or Unicron’s upgrades had changed Megatron’s internal structure. Where she expected a shower of sparks, deep purple liquid welled from the incision. Dark Energon, she just had time to realise before everything went black.

***

“What’re we supposed to call him, huh? Megacron? Unitron?”

“Really? That’s your biggest issue right now?” The familiar sound of Smokescreen and Arcee bickering greeted Glitch as she came back online. Somehow, they’d survived and returned to their mobile base.

“Megacron sounds better,” she put in, “but Unitron emphasises the fact that it’s Unicron driving the bus, so to speak. Either would work.”

“You’re awake.” Ratchet sounded more than a little relieved – to someone who knew him well. “How do you feel?”

“A little more stasis wouldn’t hurt, but all systems are nominal.” She’d run a self-diagnostic the nanoklik she returned to consciousness. “What happened?”

“It appears you are hypersensitive to Dark Energon. Simply being in Unicron’s presence may have been enough to weaken you, and exposure to that which flows through Megatron’s system caused almost immediate stasis. You’re lucky to be in such good shape after a fall like that, by the way.”

“I’m tougher than I look. And I did feel tired pretty much as soon as Unitron showed up – as though I’d just pulled three shifts in a row.” Her record was four. Not an experience she planned to repeat. “How did we get back here?”

“Ratchet opened a groundbridge above the smelting pit,” Smokescreen answered. “Just as the floor gave way under Bulkhead. Bee scooped you up and jumped right into it.”

“Bet that annoyed Megacron.” As the others moved on to debate their next move, and tried to contact Prime and Wheeljack, Glitch called up the results of a scan she’d made during the battle with Unitron – and a couple of other files. Fascinating… “Ratchet, would you mind providing a second opinion on something?”

“Not at all.” As Glitch sat up on a makeshift repair table that had been set up on the warship’s bridge, the Autobots’ current HQ, Ratchet seated himself beside her, leaning down to examine her datapad. “What am I looking at?”

“Megatron’s sparkbeat, recorded during his last physical exam. Before you ask, I needed access to the medical files in case any of the Vehicons were injured, and if Knock Out wanted to anonymise these data properly, he probably shouldn’t have called the folder “Big M”.” Ratchet conceded the point with a shred of a laugh. She switched to another file. “This is Unicron’s sparkbeat, pulled from your records of his last awakening. And this is a scan of the being currently walking around in Megatron’s upgraded shell. What do you make of it?”

“It looks as though – Unicron’s sparkbeat has been superimposed onto Megatron’s, somehow.”

“That’s what I thought. I think Megatron’s still alive in there. Maybe he couldn’t join with the Allspark because of Dark Energon shenanigans. Unicron’s in control for now, but Megatron’s pulled a Master at least once before. If we can reach him – maybe he’ll do it again.”

“Pulled a Master?” Glitch really had to stop making references the others wouldn’t get.

“Doctor Who. The Master’s another renegade Time Lord, Megatron to the Doctor’s Optimus, if you like. He wants to conquer the universe, not see or protect it, but occasionally he refuels more than his system can handle and has to team up with the Doctor to save his own circuits.”

“I see what you’re driving at. It might be worth a shot, but don’t pin all your hopes on that. Megatron has a strong will, but Unicron is a god.”

“And human mythology’s full of gods defeating each other, or being beaten or tricked by mortals. But I’ll keep all my options open.” Seeing that the others had stopped trying to contact the away team, she and Ratchet headed over to join them. “Any luck?”

“No response. Maybe they heard us and can’t transmit for some reason; maybe we’re on our own. Either way, we need to figure out why Unicron’s here.”

“And what he wants.” Bumblebee finished Arcee’s sentence.

“To destroy the spark of his arch-enemy, Primus.” Ratchet stated what should have been obvious.

“But that’s the core of our planet!” Yes, Smokescreen, we know.

As ‘Cee complained that the situation was unfair, and Ratchet responded in typically dramatic fashion, Glitch headed over to another console and resumed one of her projects. She had an inkling it, and the ship itself, would be needed very soon.

“In other words, life’s not fair,” she said from beneath the console when Ratchet had finished. “All the more reason to make our own fairness.” Hm. That gave her another, trivial idea.

***

“Crikey O’Reilly!” (Maybe Glitch had spent a little too long researching Earth culture.) “That looks like some seriously bad mojo.” (And a shade too long around Jazz, if that were possible.) Armed with the knowledge that Megatron was in some way still alive, the Autobots had just started tracking down his exact location – only to see an energy spike at the same position. Under the circumstances, probably a type of energy Glitch had encountered for the first time earlier that day, but knew about from the others’ stories. Dark Energon. At the Predacon burial ground. That and Unicron’s presence couldn’t add up to anything good.

Specifically, the most likely summation was an army of reanimated Predacon shells (why not more modern Cybertronians? Because they were more accessible, or more powerful?), heading for the Well of All Sparks to undo all the Autobots’ hard work.

“So what do we do?” Bulkhead asked.

“We put ourselves between Unicron’s army and the Well.” Bumblebee’s strategy was simple and sound. They couldn’t afford to wait for Prime, Wheeljack and the Allspark; they had to act, and the warship was their greatest asset.

“Glitch, you’ve been working on this ship since we took it over,” the newly minted warrior said to the field-tech. She had, especially in the previous few hours. It was better than worrying about the away team, or getting in Ratchet’s way as he monitored Ultra Magnus. “Think you can pilot it?”

“He’s a bit bigger than Moth, and I might have to stand on something to reach the controls, but a ship’s a ship. I’m not touching the weapons, though.” In her reality, no self-respecting Autobot used such things if they could help it.

“I wouldn’t ask you to. Bulkhead, can you be her co-pilot and main gunner?” And ready to take over in the event of further Dark Energon exposure, he carefully didn’t say.

“’Con engineering. User-friendly, right?” Particularly when an Autobot had spent days refining the controls – and adding in a few of her own.

Once Ratchet and Ultra Magnus had been transported to safety on the surface, the remaining ‘bots were soon on their way to intercept Unicron’s horde. Glitch had forgotten how much she enjoyed piloting. She was usually scared of heights, but flying a ship she trusted was fine. It didn’t make much sense, but that was often the way with her anxiety. She might have been a microgram rusty, though.

“Whoa, easy!” Bulkhead reached for the controls as she banked to port a little too sharply, sending crewmembers and loose objects sliding across the deck. “You’re flying a warship, not a cruiser.”

“Sorry.” She levelled out, never taking her optics from the instruments in front of her.

“Primary fusion cannons, null-rays, ion blasters – everything we need to stand a fighting chance against Unicron’s army.” Bumblebee listed off the ship’s complement of death-bringers. Glitch wondered idly what had become of the stasis ray she had seen mentioned in the team’s files. That was much more to her liking. Non-lethal, non-destructive and reversible.

“Should be able to buy a fair amount of time for the others to get here,” she remarked to Bulkhead as Arcee complimented Bumblebee on his leadership skills. “Before our circuits get fried.”

“Ah, c’mon! Where’s that famous optimism?”

“It opted out when I saw the scale of our problem. If Prime and Wheeljack don’t show up in time, the odds of our survival are slim indeed. I can’t calculate the probability that they will, and even if they do we’ll still be outnumbered – but I do like those odds.”

“I guess we can only try,” Bulkhead just had time to say before the most annoying person on the planet arrived on the bridge.

“Autobots!” Starscream, and a squad of Vehicons, levelled missiles and blasters at the crew. “Surrender this warship!” Everyone but Glitch turned to face down the intruders – then stopped short, for reasons she only understood when Screamer boasted that he had the Immobiliser, a device that caused instant, lasting stasis-lock.

“And in case you’re wondering, Smokescreen is in no position to come to your rescue.” Glitch could see Knock Out reflected in the viewport in front of her, wearing Smokescreen’s phase shifter. The young ‘bot had been fetching the Immobiliser and another relic, the Polarity Gauntlet, from the ship’s vaults; he must have been intercepted on the way back.

“Climb down and step away from the console,” Starscream commanded her, “or I’ll freeze you and simply drag you away.” Or, more likely, get one of the Vehicons to move her.

“Either use that thing or put it down,” she countered, digits still flying over the controls. “Waving that glowstick of destiny around just makes you look even more like an idiot.” Starscream wasn’t an idiot, she knew, but that was far from obvious. “But if you do use it and miss, you’re likely to hit this console and drop us all out of the sky. And if your aim is good enough,” she activated one of her custom settings, “good luck flying this ship with the isomorphic lock active.”

“Isomorphic lock?” the bewildered Decepticon asked.

“User recognition system I just finished installing. The controls will only respond to designated pilots. And I couldn’t add you or anyone else to the list and fly at the same time, even if you forced me.”

“Ah, Screamy won’t use the glowstick on any of us,” Bulkhead said from where the Vehicons had herded the other Autobots into the centre of a circle of ‘Cons. “He needs us if he’s gonna stand any chance of surviving Unicron.”

“You misunderstand,” Starscream told him, Glitch forgotten for the moment. “I do not intend to use this warship for battle, but for quickly getting as far away as possible from this doomed planet.” Someone was jumping to conclusions.

“Earth would be nice,” Knock Out commented, “now that Unicron no longer seems to be calling it home.” That particular Decepticon did seem to have a soft spot for that world, or at least its cars.

“Shut up!” Starscream lived up to the second half of his name. “Now, deactivate that lock and move away from those controls, Twitch,” the name’s Glitch, “or get stiff.”

“There’s just one thing you’ve overlooked.�� What was Bumblebee playing at? Oh well; at least he might have spared Glitch another round of trying to outsmart Megatron’s most cunning lieutenant. “That device you’re holding? Not the Immobiliser.”

In the viewport, Glitch saw Starscream take a moment too long to figure out whether or not the warrior was bluffing. In that moment, the Autobots counterattacked, taking down the Vehicons within nanokliks. Starscream lunged for Bumblebee, and somehow got the upper servo almost as quickly. “I will silence you forever!”

No! She turned, magnets and EMP generator sliding into place – just in time to see a flawless claw-tipped servo phase through the Seeker’s chest, take the Immobiliser and belt him into stasis with it.

“Now will you believe I’m joining the winning team?” Knock Out asked, still holding the remains of the broken relic.

“Knock Out! We needed that!” Ratchet’s common complaint was as good as a “yes” from Bumblebee.

“Wait – it – really was the Immobiliser?”

“Good riddance, if you ask me.” Glitch turned back to her console, but not before giving Knock Out a friendly smile. She rather liked the other medic, despite herself (and hated the idea of putting anybot in permanent stasis-lock). “And welcome to the team.”

***

“Are we there yet?” Smokescreen asked as he, Arcee and Knock Out returned from locking Starscream up. (And, owing to the deployment of Glitch’s best scraplet eyes, checking him over.)

“We’re right on schedule,” Bulkhead replied.

“And so is Unicron,” Bumblebee added.

“Let’s get his attention, then,” Glitch said, before sending the ship into a steep dive, and Knock Out skidding across the deck, the moment the gunners were in position.

Just one strafing run was enough to draw Unicron’s Terror-Predacons away from the Well – and towards the ship. Glitch should have been terrified, but as a power surge pulsed through her circuits, analogous to a human’s adrenaline rush, all fear was burned away. She didn’t even feel the buzz at the back of her head that distinguished reasonable fear from the product of her cross-wired processor. Twisting, turning, diving, soaring, almost dancing between the undead Predacons like a young, less skilled Hera Syndulla or Powerglide, anchored to her console by the safety straps on her legs usually used by human riders, she even found herself struggling not to laugh.

Not everybot was amused, though. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Knock Out asked, clinging for dear spark to an unused console.

“Oh, relax. I learned from Omega Supreme’s mentor.” Her Ratchet, to be exact, who was also her mentor. Might that make her Omega’s sister in some way? Now that would be weird.

“I’d never have guessed. You fly like a Wrecker,” Bulkhead remarked.

“Thank you.” Coming from one of the last of the black-ops unit, she knew that was a compliment.

At that moment, the conversation was interrupted by a ship-shaking impact, which must have done some serious damage. “One engine is down,” Bulkhead reported. “It can be jump-started, but not without compromising our shields. We don’t have any other spare power.”

“I do.” Glitch had prepared for that possibility. She tore a couple of wires from beneath their console, flipped open a panel on her own forearm and crosslinked the two systems before even she could think twice. “Good grief.”

“You OK?”

“Fine. It’s just – more intense than I expected.” The connection she had forged wasn’t a full gestalt powerlink, like a combiner’s, but it still flooded her processor and frame with sensation. With an ordinary ship, she’d probably have gone into shutdown or meltdown almost immediately. As it was, though, it was a simple matter to direct power from her own systems into the inactive ones, giving them the spark they needed to start up again.

While she was distracted by that, a reanimated Predacon she and Bulkhead hadn’t managed to avoid slammed into a viewport right by Knock Out, who jumped back, yelling, “Zombie-‘Con! Zombie-‘Con!”

Bumblebee and Smokescreen moved in front of him, weapons at the ready, but they needn’t have bothered. A burst of yellow flame incinerated the mobile corpse, and a few others.

“Predacon,” Glitch said to herself with more than a little satisfaction.

But even their new allies couldn’t be everywhere at once. Despite Glitch’s modifications to their shields, despite her tweaking the engine burn to turn even their drive plume into a weapon, the ship started to take critical damage faster than she could compensate for it. They couldn’t stay in the air much longer, but Glitch had one last SD card under her plating. Almost by sheer willpower as much as by using the failing thrusters, she placed the ship directly above a flock of fliers. “Brace for impact!”

The warship dropped like the proverbial stone, its fall cushioned by several squashed Terror-‘Cons, skidded on their spilled fuel, and finally came to rest bare mechanometres from the Well of All Sparks. “Everybot all right?”

“Nothing a little carnauba wax won’t fix up.” Really? That was Knock Out’s priority?

Glitch bit back the sassy remark she wanted to make, focusing on the bigger picture. “I wish I could say the same for the Justice. It’s going to take weeks to get him back in the air.”

“You renamed the Nemesis?”

“Of course. The old name was too negative. Revenge is never good, but justice can be – especially if it’s restorative, not retributive.”

Mercifully, Knock Out chose not to get into that argument, though he did his best to start another one. “I say we leave it here to rust, if we even survive what’s coming.”

“Over my cold, offline shell! This is a Cybertronian we’re talking about here!” Knock Out looked surprised and confused. “You didn’t know?”

“Know what?” Bulkhead asked, still recovering from the crash.

“This isn’t just a ship. He’s a Metrotitan. Trypticon, to be exact. Stasis-locked, but alive. I recognised the general layout and file architecture from my Omega Supreme,” all the Omega Sentinels, really; they had been her sparklinghood obsession, “and did some digging.” That was how she had coped with the powerlink. Even in deep stasis, Trypticon’s mind had shielded hers. She vowed to repay him by bringing him back online.

If she lived, that was. The fight wasn’t anywhere near over, and the greatest danger was yet to come. She disconnected herself from Trypticon, then had to brace herself against her console as her systems registered that she was running on fumes. She’d prepared for that, too, and withdrew a canister of green liquid from a hidden drawer below the controls, consuming the contents in one go and making a face. It tasted worse than boot-camp rations.

“Is that Synth-En?” Knock Out was right to be wary. He’d once been soundly beaten by Ratchet under the influence of an early version of synthetic Energon.

“The stable one, yes. Shockwave didn’t have time to destroy his manufacturing facility, though he locked the controls up tight. I had to ask very nicely just for one dose. But if this doesn’t counter the effects of Dark Energon exposure, nothing will.”

Luckily for her, it did. Even outside the protection of the Justice, with a trail of Dark Energon staining the ground, she was still ready for battle as the Autobots (including one recent defector) lined up in front of the Well, the Predacons – Predaking, another dragon and an ursagryph, easily mistaken for a griffin; Smokescreen had been nearly right – landing behind them, all braced for the fight of their lives.

“Stick close to me,” she said to Knock Out, indicating her shield with one magnet. “Finish protector.”

“I’m never going to live that down, am I?” Knock Out seemed resigned to the fact. “Speaking of finishes, yours could do with quite a bit of work.”

True, but… “Don’t have time. And I’m still surprised you do.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And if we both get out of this alive, at least let me do something about your hands. They’re painful to look at.”

Glitch spared a brief glance for the offending components. Yes, they were scuffed, but she liked them that way. They showed that she worked for a living; that she wasn’t some spoiled upper-class sparkling or privileged academic. If fixing them up would make Knock Out happy, though… “All right. When we survive this.”

Her optimism wasn’t universal; after all, as Bumblebee pointed out, they were the last line of defence for the Well and the planet. Not the safest role in the universe.

“I would recommend leaving that,” Predaking “suggested”, “to those more suited for the task. Skylynx! Darksteel! Allow nothing to enter the Well!”

Without another word from anybot, the three living Predacons transformed back into their alt-modes, leaped over the Autobots’ heads and charged their undead ancestors. Their flames held back the horde of Terror-‘Cons for a little while, but there were just too many of them; Predaking and his new subjects were swept into the Well, still fighting denta and claw to slow the advance of Unicron’s army.

“Really? This is how it ends?” Bulkhead asked in disbelief.

“We’re not losing our planet,” Bumblebee declared. “Not without taking Unicron with it.” One recently reawakened deity sharing a body with a very angry and independent ex-gladiator against seven extremely determined warriors, six of them fighting for a home they had only just regained, the seventh fighting for her friends. One almost had to feel sorry for the Chaos Bringer. Almost.

The power surge that had carried Glitch through the dogfight was fading at last, followed by the Synth-En’s most obvious effects, allowing fear to take up residence in her processor once more. She ignored it with the ease of long practice. She didn’t stop climbing because she was scared of heights, or making friends because she was scared of losing them. And she certainly wouldn’t back down from a battle because she was scared of dying and leaving her loved ones. All the same – that would be a really good time for the away team to show up.

As if on cue, Magnus’ ship (borrowed by Wheeljack), the Iron Will, swept overhead. The relief in Bulkhead’s voice was shared by the whole of the party as he said simply, “Optimus.”

“I never thought I’d be so happy to see that big rig,” Knock Out added.

“Expeditionary fighting vehicle,” Glitch corrected with her volume turned down low. Knock Out clearly didn’t know Prime had scanned a new alt. (Two new alts, technically, but his dinoform was supposed to be a secret.)

Prime himself disembarked from the Iron Will in midair, flying straight for Unicron, but the dark god fired on the bigger target first. A spear of purple light hit the retreating spacecraft right next to one of the engines, knocking it out of the sky.

“’Jackie!” Before anyone could stop him, Bulkhead transformed and drove off to check on his downed joint-best friend. Arcee tried to follow, but Glitch held her back as she and Knock Out exchanged glances. One medic had to go with Bulkhead and one had to stay behind, but which should be which?

“You go,” Knock Out said. “Wheeljack’s not exactly up to speed with recent developments.” He was right; even injured, the reckless Wrecker would probably attack the ex-‘Con on sight.

“Copy that.” Glitch transformed and raced away towards the crash site, sparing as many prayers as she could for all her friends.

By the time she reached the wrecked ship, Bulkhead had already found Wheeljack and was about to try to move him. She hadn’t arrived a moment too soon. As she knelt beside her patient, she kept thinking of Ultra Magnus lying dented and leaking on her repair table, and her inability to save him by herself. This isn’t like that. Ratchet said you have talent, and Wheeljack’s tough. You can do this.

“You’re lucky,” she told the white sports car once her preliminary scan had finished. “Not many ‘bots survive a crash like that with mostly superficial injuries. There’s still some internal damage, though, and you seem to have hit your head pretty hard, so stay off your peds for a while.” To Bulkhead, she added, “We’d better take him and the Allspark outside before this mess gets any worse. But next time, wait for a medic before trying to move a casualty if possible.”

“I’ve been worse,” Wheeljack informed them a little vaguely as they ‘bothandled him out of the ship, the Allspark in its glowing, floating container trailing behind.

“I’d hate to see that,” Glitch shot back before realising that she had – after Wheeljack’s and Magnus’ fight with Predaking that had cost the commander a servo and his signature weapon. Wheeljack hadn’t quite had time to repair the Forge of Solus Prime before setting off to retrieve the Allspark. He’ll have time soon.

Especially with Prime back in the game. The Autobot leader chose that moment to arrive, unharmed and not visibly grieving; the others were probably fine, then, and holding Unicron’s attention.

Wheeljack cut straight to the chase, as befitted a sports car. “So, how’re we gonna get that thing to safety?” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the Allspark.

“By the only means available to us,” Prime replied, “under these most dire of circumstances. The very survival of our species on this or any other world depends upon it.” He outlined his plan; Glitch calculated that it would almost certainly work, and the bait-and-switch element appealed to her, but her spark dimmed to a flicker as she realised what the consequences would probably be, and when he met her optics and gave her a barely perceptible nod, it was practically a single photon.

Nobot else had any better ideas, though, and Prime’s plan didn’t need her, so as he and the Allspark flew back to the Well, she concentrated on things she could do. Fixing Wheeljack and returning to the others.

They got there just in time to see Unicron pry the Allspark’s container from Prime’s servos, having shot him out of the air. “I shall devour your Allspark whole!”

Quite the reverse, as he realised when he opened the container. “What? A trick!” They were the last words he spoke in Megatron’s body; the vessel forged for the source of Cybertronian life, emptied of its former contents, pulled his “anti-spark” out of his stolen shell and sealed it away, hopefully for good. Nanokliks later, a fusillade of explosions echoed up from deep in the Well, indicating that Unicron’s Terror-‘Cons couldn’t “survive” without him. The planet was safe at last.

Megatron’s frame had crashed to the ground as Unicron left it, but as Prime began to explain what had happened to the other Autobots, and Starscream (must have escaped in our crash) turned up like the proverbial bad shanix, he started to get up again, his optics a familiar red once more (though his biolights remained purple). Starscream heaped praise on his master, sounding rather like his alternate’s sycophantic clone, but Megatron’s reaction was somewhat unexpected. When his SIC referred to ruling Cybertron, Megatron refused. Quite forcefully.

“Because I now know the true meaning of oppression,” he said when asked why, after exchanging a long glance with his former friend Prime, “and have thus lost my taste for inflicting it.”

Starscream tried to bluster his way back to familiar ground (or air), but Megatron was having none of that. “The Decepticons are no more, and that – is – final.”

“A sensible Megatron,” Glitch remarked. “Wonders really will never cease.”

Megatron’s optics eventually sought her out, standing in the shade of the Wreckers. “Ah, the visitor from another universe. Tell me, what became of my counterpart in your reality?”

“Last I heard, he was still in prison, having been defeated and captured – by a maintenance crew.” And a few friends of theirs, but she chose to keep things simple.

“A maintenance-?” Megatron stared at her in disbelief for an uncomfortable moment. Then he threw back his head, and a sound rang out that had not been heard from the warlord in many, many stellar-cycles. Great peals of pure, genuine, joyful, sparkfelt laughter.

***

Once again, the Autobots (including Knock Out) gathered under Cybertron’s sun, this time at the edge of the Well of All Sparks. Once again, Prime was making a speech. And once again, it was a bittersweet occasion, though only two people knew why. Unicron was imprisoned, his army had disintegrated, Megatron, Starscream and the Predacons were literally in the wind and Shockwave wouldn’t try anything until the odds were in his favour. Only Prime and Glitch were aware of or suspected the full cost of that victory, though the former was about to change that.

“In order to both protect the Allspark,” he began, “and secure Unicron’s defeat, it was necessary for me to empty the vessel’s contents.”

“Into where?” Bumblebee asked.

“The Matrix of Leadership.” The repository of the wisdom of all past Primes, housed in the current Prime’s spark chamber. Not wholly unlike another Matrix in Glitch’s favourite television programme, she thought, trying desperately to distract herself from what she knew was coming. “As such, my own spark can no longer be separated from the multitude of others within me.” There it was.

“Are you telling us,” Ratchet now also knew what Prime had to do, “that you are now – one with the Allspark?”

“Heh, that’s what you say when someone kicks… the…” Smokescreen’s voice trailed away as he came to the same conclusion.

“Exactly,” Glitch said, her voice already heavy with sorrow.

Smokescreen rounded on her, suddenly furious. “You knew? And you didn’t say anything?”

“It’s not something one drops into casual conversation. And – I hoped, for once, I was wrong. But after what happened to Prowl – I’m just surprised it’s taken this long.” Her predecessor back in Detroit had donated his own spark to complete a partially reassembled Allspark, which had killed him instantly.

“To not return the Allspark to the Well,” Prime managed to get them back on track, “would be to prevent future generations of new life from existing on Cybertron.” Which, after everything they’d gone through, was unthinkable. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. “My quest must be completed.”

“Optimus,” Ratchet objected, “I didn’t return to Cybertron to save a life only to lose the one I care most about.” Glitch hadn’t even considered the effect on her colleague of losing his Amica. She resolved to be there for him, as much as he and her processor allowed, for as long as he needed her.

“Ratchet’s restored planets!” Bulkhead pointed out. “He’ll find a way to save you!”

“We can turn to Vector Sigma, just like we did before,” Arcee chimed in.

Prime was immovable. “Because the Matrix must now be relinquished with the Allspark, it cannot be restored, or passed down to another. But while this may very well mark the end of the Age of Primes, leadership can be earned with or without the Matrix.” Too right. There was no such thing in Glitch’s universe, to her knowledge, but Cybertron still functioned – mostly. Her own Optimus Prime had no ancient relic on which to call, but was growing into a great leader nonetheless. “And in my view, you have each acted as a Prime.” Steady on!

As his gaze fell on Knock Out, the medibot managed a self-deprecating, “Well, I never really had the best role models.”

“You have them now,” Glitch told him, her optics sweeping across the assembly. Three fierce warriors, three loyal and brave Wreckers, one dedicated doctor – and, of course, the leader who had stood by his people through thick and thin, fighting side by side with them, caring for each and every one.

“As even Megatron has demonstrated on this day,” Prime continued, “every sentient being possesses the capacity for change.” He turned away, towards the Well, activating the stabilisers on his jetpack – then turned back to say one last thing. “I ask only this of you, fellow Autobots.” Yes, that includes you, a brief glance at Knock Out seemed to say. “Keep fighting the noblest of fights.”

“You can count on us to keep the peace.” Bumblebee spoke for all of them, as he so often had since regaining his voice.

Reassured, Prime turned away again and flew high into the air, before letting himself fall directly into the Well. Every optic remained fixed on the shortcut to Primus even after he had vanished and every ‘bot there heard his voice once more – over comms, or in their heads? It was impossible to tell. “Above all, do not lament my absence, for in my spark I know that this is not the end, but merely a new beginning. Simply put, another transformation.”

Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine, Glitch thought as she and her friends watched a multicoloured multitude of sparks rise from the Well. But the words of an even older, even wiser character than the Doctor felt more appropriate. I will not say: do not weep, for not all tears are an evil. She couldn’t cry, but at such times she often wished she could.

For the others’ sake, though, she kept it together until she was in the privacy of her tiny room on the Justice, had put some music on (a human piece, Elgar’s magnificent setting of Newman’s poem The Dream of Gerontius, describing a soul’s journey to the Christian afterlife) and had fired up her terminal (a faithful-as-possible copy of the ones she had left behind in Nevada and Detroit and on her Cybertron) to pour her feelings out into her own music. Before she could make a start, however, a file caught her optic. It hadn’t been there before, and was entitled, “For Glitch.”

She ran a virus scan (one can never be too careful), then opened it. It was a text file, written in an old Cybertronian dialect, laid out like poetry or song lyrics. From the little she understood, she knew they would fit her nearly-finished “Song for Cybertron” perfectly. They captured not just the joy of finally seeing the planet restored and Cybertron’s intrinsic beauty, but also the long aeons of conflict and darkness that preceded that restoration, and the countless Cybertronians who would never see it, those whose shells still lay beneath their world’s new surface and those who had fallen far away. All of them, regardless of faction. Skyquake, Dreadwing and Breakdown would be remembered, just like Tailgate, Cliffjumper and Seaspray. All Cybertronians bled the same – within one universe, at least.

The lyrics were simply signed “OP”. Optimus Prime or Orion Pax? she wondered. The firebrand archivist or the gentle general? And did it matter? They were aspects of the same person, the same spark under different armour. She had fought alongside Optimus Prime, and talked late into the night with Orion Pax. She knew she would miss all of him, whatever he – or she – might want.

When had he written them? According to the file’s embedded metadata, it had been created after Bumblebee’s warrior ceremony, most likely after Prime and Wheeljack left Cybertron, and added to her terminal while she was helping transport Ultra Magnus to the Well. With so much else to worry about, he had taken the time to set words to her music – having first got hold of her draft, somehow. Ratchet had access to all her files, and would do a great deal for his Amica; he’d probably copied it at some point after she casually mentioned that she was writing a song that was crying out for words she couldn’t give it. Prime had obliged – as a farewell gift, it had turned out. “Stars, Orion…”

As the great baritone Bryn Terfel thundered out, “Proficiscere, anima Christiana” – an ancient prayer over the dying – she finally opened her composition software and began a new piece. One that would tell the story of a young ‘bot who dared to look beyond the limits set for him, to dream of a better world, and to work with – not merely for – the oppressed in his unjust society, using his higher status to help them where he could. Who humbly accepted rank and responsibility for the sake of his people. Who, when war came despite his best efforts, knew the names and stories of all his Autobots, and regretted every death, even those of enemy soldiers. Who stayed kind and hopeful even in exile, ceaselessly protecting the organics on his new homeworld – and exacting retribution when one of those in his special care was hurt. Who would tear off a Decepticon’s door to save a human he didn’t know, and give up most of his memory for a planet not his own. Who had remained an Autobot at spark, even when tricked into believing he was a Decepticon. Who had, at last, sacrificed that spark for his renewed world, and whose legacy lived on in the people whose sparks and hearts he had touched.

Though he had told them not to mourn, her spark didn’t even listen to her processor at times, let alone to anyone else. She did grieve for him and the hole he’d left in so many lives, and the piece reflected that. A lament for the last Prime.

#transformers prime #transformers animated #fanfic #tfp optimus prime #autobot oc #tfp wheeljack #tfp arcee #tfp bumblebee #tfp bulkhead #tfp smokescreen #tfp ratchet #tfp knockout #tfp starscream #predaking #tfp unicron #tfp megatron #misplaced medic au

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transformers-mosaic · 1 year

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Transformers: Mosaic #484 - "Looking Into The Abyss: 1. The Lost Expedition"

Originally posted on May 17th, 2010

Story, Letters - Franco Villa Art - Ibai Canales Edits - Zac DeBoard

deviantART | Seibertron | TFW2005 | BotTalk

wada sez: We end this batch of reruns with a related two-parter by Villa, which oddly I don’t think was ever reposted for The Lost Seasons or under his own Generation One imprint...? Still, he posted some useful commentary on both TFW2005 and Seibertron: “‘Lords Of Kobol’: a nod to the new BattleStar Galactica tv series. Maybe Nebulos is a lost Colony, like Earth: it does have a past of battles between organic human beings and Artificial Intelligences. Mindwipe's interest in talking to dead Transformers comes from his G1 Marvel Profile (mr Budiansky?). ‘Revelation’, mr. Furman? The Paradron Colonizers are the same fleet who left Cybertron in "Fight Or Flee" (Season 3 of the G1 Cartoon). Now we're implying that someone went after them... but this new expedition never reached Paradron. They fell on Nebulos, instead, and died horribly. But WHO where them? The answer in Part 2. ‘Arielon’ and ‘Are you alive?’ are two more nods to BSG. In its past, Nebulos was rich of Energon. We explored the same concept (and the same era) in our "History Repeats" Mosaic, where the time-travelling Autobots and Decepticons were forced to become Pretenders, in order to survive the deadly Raw Energon fields on Nebulos. This story is set in Sunbow cartoon continuity, and takes place after "The Rebirth": hence, the presence of Vorath and Hot Rod being in synch with the Matrix (as he was Rodimus Prime in the previous season).” Italian version below.

#Transformers #Transformers Mosaic #Maccadam #Sunbow Transformers #The Transformers: Generation One #Franco Villa #Ibai Canales #Zac DeBoard #Mindwipe #Vorath #Hot Rod #Optimus Prime

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melishade · 2 years

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What if starscream in AOP ? I dont think he's gonna be a threat, still be a bootlicking sycophant

TFP Starscream was really done dirty by the end of the TFP series. As he was then, he would not have been much of threat.

RID2015 Starscream on the other hand!

Look, I bag on RID2015 a lot, as do many others in the Transformers fandom. It was a C show at best, but attaching itself to Transformers Prime did it no favors long term. But RID2015 Starscream was a highlight because he wanted to take over the world and get revenge on Megatron and everyone else who did him dirty. Cause let’s be honest: Starscream got screwed over and was left to die at the hands of the Predacons. On top of all the abuse that he’s gone through in the show. Doesn’t mean Starscream is a good person. He’s a piece of shit, but I am all for someone getting revenge on their abuser. And Megatron was the abuser. So I was with Starscream screaming:

A shame Megatron didn’t show up in RID2015, but considering how it went, probably a good thing.

Fun note about me, If I’m actively rooting for the villain in a show to win, it means the show’s writing is not good.

So TFP/RID2015 Starscream. Let’s get to it:

TFP Starscream survives the Predacons, but is left mortally wounded to the point where the Autobots take sympathy and get him a new form to keep him alive. But the minute he wakes up, he knows he’s not going to get off that easy. So he escapes, hijacks a ship and books it off Cybertron. He still wants to get his revenge on the Autobots because they were dicks to him too, but he doesn’t have the resources to take them down. So he gets them.

He hires bounty hunters like he did in RID2015, goes to Earth to try and find any additional resources and ends up coming across the Dark Star Saber like he did in the show. And then goes on a mad hunt trying to find Megatron, since he’s top priority at the moment. He has no army, no ship, nothing. Megatron in theory, should be all alone. Prime opportunity to find him and kill him. Takes about two years for Starscream to find the AOT world and he orders the bounty hunters to scope it out because they picked up some interesting signatures. And the bounty hunters come back with footage of Zeke’s titan transformation and his desolation of Marley Military.

Starscream...is on the fence about this. On one hand, Zeke is very powerful. On the other, the abomination of an organic has energon in his system which is bringing back...memories. But through other intel, Starscream finds out about Optimus supposedly being alive and Marley being against him and his allies and Starscream is completely on board with that shit. He might not be able to kill Megatron right now, but Optimus clearly the next best thing. And to kill his human allies on top of that too, oh that’s just the cherry on top!

So he decides to lend his aid to the next battle and makes up a lie saying that Optimus Prime, is a known criminal to Cybertron and he and his bounty hunters are trying to locate him and arrest him for crimes against Cybertron and the Decepticons. Starscream shows off the powers of the Dark Star Saber and the might of the bounty hunters, and uses his greatest weapon, his silver tongue, to convince Marley to form an alliance.

Marley Military is completely for this. Four titans, one who seems to know more about the dark energon better than anyone, and they want to get rid of Optimus? Oh it’s like a gift from the heavens. Starscream is still picky and choosy about the information he wants to give, and holds the humans at arms length. He’s learned his lesson with MECH and his T-Cog to not trust the insects. The Dark Star Saber resists him like in RID2015, but he makes sure not to let the Marleyans know. He’s also sending spies to learn more about the power of the titans. Even though this power was strange and greatly revolting, it was still power. And he needed that if he was going to take revenge and rule the cosmos, better to control it than have it be used against him.

Two people don’t buy this. Zeke Jaeger and Reiner Braun. Pieck is suspicious of him, but she herself doesn’t have enough information to go off of in order to make an objection. Zeke and Reiner do. All the times Reiner has been in Optimus’ presence before he revealed his identity as the Armored Titan, he was...really kind to them. To everyone. Whether or not the Prime knows the truth about the outside world, he still wishes to defend the island. He offers opportunities for peace. That doesn’t sound like someone who would be a criminal. If he was, would it be penance?

Meanwhile Zeke is suspicious because of the way Matthew (or Megatron’s alias) has always talked up Optimus. Optimus was someone who didn’t betray his morals, stuck to his guns, chose honor and protection of others. And Zeke remembers very vividly how Optimus demanded that Zeke turn the Eldians back into humans.

So both of them know someone’s lying, and they talk about this in private. They don’t know if they should trust Starscream at all. And Reiner knowing the truth about the island also makes him even more suspicious about Starscream in his mind. So instead of Zeke keeping Starscream a secret from Megatron like in the Shockwave Timeline (AKA The Dark Timeline), he does decide to tell him, with Reiner present.

Megatron sees Reiner come in with Zeke in the titan shifter’s office and is using his fake voice, but then Zeke tells Megatron about Starscream and he immediately gets serious. Freaking Reiner out because Megatron switches back to his regular voice and realizes: Holy Shit! This is the Flying Titan! Zeke immediately covers Reiner’s mouth to prevent him from screaming and also tells Megatron about there being three others and Starscream having a purple sword. And Megatron’s now worried, because he realizes that Starscream has the Dark Star Saber. So they need to go, RIGHT NOW! Megatron tells the both of them to get Pieck because he’s aware of how closely monitored Porco and Annie are right now. And he needs to get as many has he can out of Marley as possible. Reiner does not want to agree with this, but Megatron is stating that he doesn’t have a choice because Starscream is trying to get power and weapon is his silver tongue and he is merely buying his time with this.

Zeke agrees, Reiner isn’t sure if he should. Because it’s not just fearing Megatron, it’s also leaving his family behind. And Megatron tells him that Starscream won’t give him a choice once he’s aware. They need to leave while Starscream isn’t. It causes Reiner to reluctantly agree, despite his better judgement. But they don’t know how to get Pieck to even agree to this. Megatron decides to make this easier and get Pieck alone before knocking her out. Zeke and Reiner are mortified, but Megatron likes “It’s either me or Starscream. Take your pick.”

They make their escape in the night, trying to get to one of the ships that were sent to Paradis, but someone caught them trying to flee and Starscream just happened to be in the area. A little amused at the humans turning tail and going traitor. He assumed the brainwashing was full proof. Oh well. He can finally test the powers of the Dark Star Saber on Zeke. He’s not complaining. And Starscream straight up attacks and nearly destroys the ship, but Megatron deactivates the holoform and blocks the attack from hitting the ship, greatly damaging his shield and hurting his arm. And Starscream is in a brief moment of shock before saying:

And immediately goes feral and attacks Megatron. Zeke has to hold a gun to the captain’s head and tells him to drive, causing him to reluctantly do so, and as they are all fleeing, Reiner can only watch Starscream and Megatron battle it out on the ground. Megatron notices the damage and takes it up to the sky, where Starscream immediately follows. And Starscream doesn’t engage in small talk or gloating. He just wants Megatron dead right now! And Megatron is noticing the change in character. The calmness with the hint of insanity in his optics. The optics of someone who has nothing to lose. This is serious! And he’s already having a hard time dodging the Dark Star Saber. And Starscream actually sees the concern in Megatron’s optics and it only fills him with glee. Megatron was fearful because of him! GOOD! He wanted Megatron to fear him! He wanted Megatron to tremble and beg! He wanted Megatron to suffer after everything he did to him! Megatron does get a few good shots in, and notices for a brief moment that Starscream is struggling with the Dark Star Saber.

Starscream notices the ship a good ways out and throws a stream of energy at it. Reiner braces for death, but Megatron ends up intercepting it and taking the brute force. His shield gets cut in half and his arm gets cut off while he get a pretty nasty wound in his side. Starscream is stunned by the act of selflessness while Megatron plummets to the bottom of the ocean. (Has a habit of doing that, doesn’t he?) Reiner is left stunned at the act while Starscream is currently processing. He...did he kill Megatron? No, he should probably confirm that. But...he bested Megatron. He brought fear in Megatron’s optics. He brought the mighty Megatron to his knees. And even if Megatron came back, he had the power to kill him.

Starscream darkly chuckles before he fully laughs like a maniac, earning the attention of everyone on that ship and everyone that survived on shore.

“HOW DOES IT FEEL, MEGATRON?!” Starscream shouts at the water, “How does it feel to be at my mercy?! How does it feel to be bested by someone who you belittled?! Abandoned?! I devoted my spark to your cause, and you threw what I had to offer away! Well no more! I succeed where you fail, master! This galaxy will me mine to command and control! The people will remember the name Lord Starscream!”

Starscream turned his attention to the ship and pointed with the Saber. “Run while you still can, humans! There will be no place in this universe where you will be able to hide from me! You are all powerless at my hand! I’ve won!”

Reiner is just in a state of horror as Starscream continues to laugh with unhinged glee. A few days later, the ship arrives on the island and Optimus and Eren are about to do their thing, when they see Reiner coming out to surrender. Eren’s shocked but ready to kill him, but Optimus immediately tells him to stand down, because something is clearly wrong. Why is he here? Both take notice of Pieck yelling at Zeke and demanding what the hell is going on, and some of the Marleyans on that ship are fucking swallowing their pride and asking for the island’s help. And the Survey Corps and Optimus are literally wondering what the fuck just happened?

So we’ll call this timeline The Revenge Timeline, which include:

-Starscream dismantling the governments, holding the world hostage, bending the power of the titans to his will. All that jazz. He doesn’t like the place, but killing both Optimus and Megatron here would be the perfect symbolism and start of his own empire. Why Starscream hasn’t attacked the island? He’s heard about the powers of the Founding Titan and the Rumbling and decides he needs more intel before tackling such a power. Sure the Dark Star Saber would be able to cut down a Colossal Titan, but cutting them down in sheer numbers would be difficult.

-The Warriors in an uneasy alliance with the island, but explain everything that they know about Starscream. Optimus then gives a run down to everyone on who Starscream is, his position in the Decepticon fold, and his numerous history of backstabbing and betrayal. But he laments that the Dark Star Saber is a problem because that blade was made to counteract the Star Saber, and the Star Saber can cut a mountain in two with a single blow.

“So why target Megatron?” Hanji asked, “Wouldn’t he want to rally behind his former leader?”

“Starscream and Megatron’s relationship is...strained at best,” Optimus replied.

“Meaning fucking morbid,” Levi concluded, “Let me guess, this Screamer guy wanted revenge for Buckethead’s shit attitude.”

Optimus reluctantly nodded his head.

“It’s not fucking hard,” Levi adds.

-Speaking of Megatron, they have no idea if he’s alive or not, but they gotta try and proceed as such without him because Starscream is clearly not going to wait to enact his plan. Hanji tells Ymir to train in her Sharkticon form to try and find Megatron, since Reiner reported he was in the water. And half of them don’t really want to look for Megatron. It’s very reluctant.

“We need to find Megatron,” Optimus declared.

“...should we?” Levi asked.

“YES!” Hanji yelled.

“Okay, but must we,” Levi corrected.

No one likes him. He’s the Grade A asshole and this is all his fault, but they need the extra manpower, so Ymir trains to search the deep to find him.

-Pieck is pissed off at Reiner and Zeke because she was taken without her consent! No, she doesn’t care if it saved her life! They left their families at the hands of that titan! She cannot forgive them, and refuses to talk to the both of them for a while.

-The 104th still hate Reiner, but do ask: how did he and Zeke know Starscream was lying?

“He said that Optimus was a criminal,” Reiner answered.

All of them:

Sorry, Optimus Prime?! A CRIMINAL?! AND Y’ALL FUCKING BOUGHT THAT?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!

-Meanwhile, Starscream’s holding prisoners, keeping slaves and forcing them to do his bidding and make more technological advancements for his new army. Marley eagerly hands over Eldians to do the job and save their own necks. Slaves are implemented with shock collars and threats to their homes being destroyed. So the Warrior Cadets are currently worse off right now, forced to build Starscream’s arsenal.

-Porco is an interesting case, because Starscream notices that every time he holds the Dark Star Saber close to him, Porco reacts negatively. Now Starscream would chalk it up to dark energon just being toxic, but he’s the only human he’s noticed to have such a reaction. Porco’s analyzed and oh...he has dark energon in his system. No doubt because of Megatron, but to have Porco as a mindless creature under his control with the power of the Dark Star Saber, Starscream would be invincible with the powers of the Colossal Titan at his side. The power of the transformation alone makes Starscream giddy.

-Arcee and Wheeljack do make it to that world, but not because they were trying to get the word out that the war was over, but because they were after Starscream. The Autobots didn’t want him causing problems for later.

(I don’t pull from RID2015 very often, but RID2015 Starscream was really the only aspect that I liked and the only story that would really work here at the moment.)

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