Withered Hope

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"Withered Hope"
Publisher	Transformers Collectors' Club (online exclusive)
First published	May 8, 2008
Written by	Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop
Illustration by	Matt Kuphaldt
Continuity	GoBots, TransTech, & Classics
Page count	47pp

Six mysterious travelers unwittingly end up on Axiom Nexus.

Synopsis

Day 0

An old man addresses the crowd of massive mechanoids and ordinary humans before him, having found the source of the Cataclysm destroying their universe. Questioned by an old ally, the doctor explains that using the Dimensional Interfacer, he has traced the fluctuations to the twenty second level, where a splinter timeline is subsuming their world. The leader of the other faction, Leader-1, is briefly aghast, knowing that the doctor was barred from ever using this technology ever again, but the doctor quickly counters, pointing out that the Cataclysm Survival Treaty states that use of technology is allowed, so long as it's used to save the population. Bringing up images on-screen of the race responsible for the fluctuations, the doctor points out that they are similar to the mechanoids, but with several differences, including an entirely mechanical biology; Leader-1's ire is raised when the doctor mentions abductions, but the snivelling doctor soon claims that it was only of the dead. The doctor's ally questions how this race was responsible, and the doctor explains that they've been engaged in a nine-million-year war, with later stages encompassing time and dimensional travel, which has caused the dimension threatening their home to branch off. The red robot declares that they must wipe out these mechanoids, but Leader-1 stops him, pointing out that even if it were viable, it wouldn't bring their home back. Leader-1 and the doctor advocate for exploration; the Interfacer will be able to send 5 or 6 scouts, after which the Interfacer will need more resources for improvement. With the breakdown of local reality, the Interfacer will need a week to charge, and they will be unable to observe their progress. Additionally, if this expedition fails, there will need to be a contingency in place to evacuate as many as they can save to a new universe. Another red robot demands to know what the mechanoids are called, and the doctor explains that they are Autobots and Decepticons from the planet Cybertron. With this, Leader-1 calls all units to the observatory.

Day 1

At Observation Station Fourier, Adventas reports to Silverbolt that there is an incoming stream signal, when a secondary stream signal suddenly tangles up with the first. Ordering all technicians to their stations, Silverbolt asks for a status report; Adventas notes that the first stream signal is a Malgus cluster signal, while the second one is unknown. With its trajectory not like any other ever reported, Adventas surmises that whoever or whatever is in the stream is not using transwarp technology, and could be one of the "intrusion entities" occasionally sent by the... "things" that live in transwarp space. Silverbolt orders him to bring in the first signal and leave the second, but Adventas is unable to, the tangling preventing any action but to bring them both in. Unwilling to leave any sentients floating in transwarp space no matter how dangerous they are, and with his curiosity piqued, Silverbolt orders Adventas to bring them both in, directing the secondary signal to the heavily armed Platform Thirteen. Flying off, Silverbolt is somewhat disappointed on arrival; the second signal contained a seemingly normal group of three Autobots and three Decepticons. A deeper scan, however, reveals that they do not contain sparks, and that they have signals giving off a false Cybertronian signature. Welcoming the group, Silverbolt assures them that despite the guns, they mean them no harm, explaining that there were a number of transwarp anomalies accompanying their arrival, personally noting that the word seems to mean nothing to the travelers. Silverbolt explains that they are on the city of Axiom Nexus on Cybertron, a hub in the multiverse; the mention of Cybertron annoys one of the Decepticons, declaring himself stuck with five morons. The leader of the group, a female named Path Finder, cuts him off, and introduces the rest of the group; the complaining science officer, Bug Bite; their scout, Small Foot; their maintenance officer, Road Ranger; their security officer, Treds; and their "bodyguard", Bad Boy. Path Finder notes that Silverbolt looks nothing like the robots she was expecting, and Silverbolt explains that he is a Transcendent Technomorph or TransTech, their version of Cybertron having never fallen to war. Path Finder, briefly unsure of what to do, requests an audience with the Optimus Prime of this dimension, to which a surprised Silverbolt responds that he will see what can be arranged.

Placed in a rather luxurious cell, all the GoBots save Bug Bite have returned from their interrogations. Treds is worried, thinking that they are in over their heads. Small Foot notes that she wasn't pressed too hard for information, but isn't sure that it's a good thing. Path Finder wonders what is taking Bug Bite so long; Bad Boy figures that he's sold out the others. Before Path Finder can think of an adequate defense for the Renegade scientist, a snarling Bug Bite is escorted back to the room by Silverbolt. Bug Bite informs the others that the security is top notch, and begins to get into an argument with Small Foot over their current conditions before Silverbolt re-enters the room, informing Path Finder and Bug Bite that they are to be brought before the Senate. Inside the hearing room, Path Finder are scrutinized by Optimus Prime and Megatron as the session reconvenes. Megatron inquires as to why the GoBots have left their home dimension. Path Finder begins, but Bug Bite interrupts her, using his scientific expertise to explain the situation. Their home world is affected by a process known as the Cataclysm; it began when the laws of thermodynamics began to break down, eventually causing a number of stars, including their universe's Sol, to collapse. Eventually, large areas of nothingness began to either obliterate or consume everything they came into contact with. Tracing back the source to the "twenty second" level, Bug Bite arrogantly claims that it is the TransTech's fault they are there. Ignoring Bug Bite's comments, Optimus Prime and Megatron call in an expert, as the holographic form of the imposing Rhinox, Minister of Higher Dimensional Sciences, fizzles in. Sent the data on the GoBots, Rhinox confirms that such a "Cataclysm" is possible, and proceeds to search for possible candidates for what universe is destroying their home. Bug Bite growls about them already knowing the source, but Rhinox explains that they have no idea what "levels" mean, and that the description of their home universe is nearly identical to thousands of streams. Even Path Finder is at a loss for words, Rhinox using terms like "severity of the situation" to describe her homeworld's destruction. Finding the source, Rhinox explains that it is a splinter universe recently created due to the actions of the Unicron Phenomenon. Rhinox's explanation of the entity shocks even Bug Bite, unable to comprehend the entities non-linear point of view. Rhinox proceeds to explain that Unicron's destruction, along with a few other factors, have caused the universe known as Primax 984.0 Gamma to splinter into a number of divergent streams, one of which affects the GoBots' home. The universe in question is Primax 207.0 Epsilon, which is different from the other splinters, its splinter of origin occurring before the others, and having happened much later than the others. Universes occupy a certain frequency that keeps them separate, but 207 Epsilon's frequency is identical to the GoBots' home universe; it has already consumed another splinter stream with an identical frequency, and has now been feeding off their homeworld. When Path Finder asks how to stop it, Megatron bluntly states they won't. The outraged GoBots insist that they must have the resources to save their world, but Megatron has Rhinox count the number of universes they have recorded destroyed: 1,176,325, with triple the number having been absorbed into other universes, and 487 already on the brink of extinction. Optimus Prime attempts to assure the GoBots, but his mention of security angers Bug Bite yet again. Megatron points out that they have attempted to disguise themselves as Cybertronians, and that they are desperate enough to allow their counterparts to Decepticons, Renegades, join their group. Path Finder explains that Treds is a Guardian assigned to watch the other two, but Megatron dismisses her statement, believing these GoBots may attempt an invasion. Path Finder confronts Prime, who sadly tells her that they did try to intervene once, only for them to fail. Megatron arrogantly informs Path Finder that his race was created for a higher purpose, to guard against the end times and the Unicron Phenomenon.

Returning to the others, Path Finder is downcast. Bug Bite, meanwhile, sees an opportunity; with an invasion force, Bug Bite believes that they could obtain enough technology to solve their homeworld's destruction. Road Ranger points out that they could just send them back, but Bug Bite counters, pointing out that their transit form is unknown to the TransTech. Small Foot wonders that if the Interfacer is enough to worry the TransTech, what their other unique abilities will make them think, but is silenced by Path Finder and Bug Bite before she can name any. At that moment, Silverbolt enters again, and informs that that Prime and the others have made a decision: they will stay in Axiom Nexus. With the population of GoBotron far exceeding that of most Cybertrons, any possibility of them being converted to combat units worries the TransTech. Bad Boy accusingly asks them if they are to be detained indefinitely or executed, and Path Finder, while annoyed with Bad Boy's overzealous attitude, incurs. Silverbolt informs that Prime has managed to convince the others to allow the GoBots to live in Axiom Nexus, and takes the six to processing. Watched by heavily armed guards, and surrounded by annoyed mechanoids, organics, and those in-between, the GoBots slowly advance to the front of the line. Path Finder notices Bug Bite has gone missing, worrying her, and attempts to warn their processor, Doppler, of Bug Bite's escape. Ignoring her at first, an annoyed Doppler informs her that there's next to no chance that he did, and even if he has, without an i.d. bolt he'll be unable to do much. Later down the line, Bad Boy struggles as a TransTech medic tries to implant an i.d. bolt on him; Bad Boy tells her he'll rip his arm off, but she informs him that the i.d. bolt is tied to his nervous system, and will follow him across Axiom Nexus if need be. The medic "assures" him that when they eventually leave, the i.d. bolt will be removed to keep its technology out of primitive hands. After a few more incidents, the GoBots are dumped on the street. Path Finder declines the tour guide, not wanting to have Bad Boy get into an altercation with him, and instead asks for a data-con. Road Ranger is uncomfortable surrounded by the "unliving robots" but Path Finder assures him that the doctor's scans indicated that the Cybertronians aren't robots, but rather energy beings that need a shell to survive. Path Finder has the group split up; she sends Treds and Bad Boy to look for Bug Bite, while she, Small Foot, and Road Ranger ask around for a way out of Axiom Nexus. Needing a place to stay, Road Ranger points out the Widow's Cafe Cybertronian on a nearby public information kiosk. Deep in the undercity, with limited authority presence, Path Finder decides to send Small Foot to check it out, planning on looking around before testing border security tomorrow.

At the Widow's Cafe Cybertronia, Crystal Widow has her aide, Night Beat 7, play a song that someone she used to know loved. Unable to stand a few seconds of it, she goes back to her drink, before Small Foot comes in, asking for her help. Putting Night Beat 7 on break, she informs her that with 5 people, she can give them two separate rooms. Small Foot attempts to gain information on how to get out of Axiom Nexus, explaining they've been labeled "units of interest", but Crystal Widow bluntly informs her that as UOIs, there's no way out. Small Foot pleads with her, telling the technorganic Transformer that her world is dying, and a conflicted Crystal Widow mulls it over, before telling her she can't help the GoBots.

Day 2

The next day, Small Foot stays behind at the cafe to find information, while Treds and Bad Boy head out to find Bug Bite. Path Finder and Road Ranger head to the topmost level of the city. Road Ranger is worried about Small Foot, afraid she'll go off half cocked as usual. Path Finder reassures him, and tells him of the plan: Path Finder will get off world and try to find versions of any ally worlds, figuring that if the TransTech have dimensional travel technology, others must as well. Treds is in charge until she gets back, and if there is an orbital defense grid in place, he is in charge permanently. Transforming, she flies up, clearing the air traffic, when a TransTech voice buzzes over her coms, ordering her back to the ground. Ignoring the voice, Path Finder is suddenly tracked by a laser beam, following her every move. A tiny TransTech, named Beam Rider, suddenly shoots up the beam, and grips onto her, acting as a mode-lock. Shooting a laser beam back to the ground, Beam Rider rapidly escorts her back to the ground, where Skyquake informs the GoBot that she has been brought back unharmed, due to this being her first offense. Beam Rider informs her that if she had made it, she would have been destroyed by the orbital defense grid, and the two let her go. Returning to Road Ranger, she informs him of what happened. Road Ranger asks why she didn't use her FTL-drive, and Path Finder tells him that it's designed to be used in the vacuum of space, not in an atmosphere. The two head back to the Cafe, looking for more information.

Bad Boy and Treds, meanwhile, have made more progress. A small robot informs the pair that he spotted Bug Bite talking with someone in Reclamation and Commerce District 3. Heading there, the two find a crime scene investigation surrounding a recently washed-up body from an artificial lake. Treds decides to investigate further, and the security commander, a TransTech named Cheetor, recognizes him. Treds asks Cheetor if they know what happened, and after hearing his description, places his palm on the victim's back. The blast wound matches his open palm; Treds realizes it must have been Bug Bite who murdered him, having to be right behind the Transformer to kill him with an open palm blast. Cheetor asks Treds and Bad Boy to consider protective custody, but when the two refuse, he asks them to call them if he finds them, and for one favor. The dead bot, named Comet, worked for Cryotek at The Blue Deployer. He asks the pair to accompany him to the bar, figuring they might find some information there. Treds reluctantly agrees, and heads off with the TransTech cop, while the other officers load up the body.

Returning to the Cafe, Path Finder briefly watches as Crystal Widow talks to a customer, a Maximal snail named Escargon, who asks the technoganic spider to tell anyone looking for him that he's at The Blue Deployer. Greeting Crystal Widow, Path Finder compliments her establishment, and attempts to ask her for ways out again, and if anyone can help them. With the most capable mech she knows recently deceased, the only other person she knows that is unsavory enough to do it is a cop, and that she won't accept just any bribe. Conversing some more, Crystal Widow inadvertently reveals that she knows Path Finder and her friends aren't Cybertronians.n incredulous Small Foot questions her how she knows, worried that everyone there can tell. Crystal Widow informs the pair that she can sense their energon flow is different from that of Cybertronians, not being used as a primary fuel source, and that she has the unique ability to sense energon, which she seems unwilling to talk about. Crystal Widow offers to get them jobs that can get them a permanent place to stay. Unable to prod any more information out of her, Path Finder asks Crystal Widow for a fuel list.

At The Blue Deployer, Treds and Bad Boy watch as Cheetor heads back to greet Cryotek. Surprisingly, Cryotek gives no indication that he knows why Cheetor's here, unfortunately meaning that he most likely has nothing to do with the murder. Cheetor informs Cryotek that Comet has been murdered, and asks if Comet had made any new friends. Cryotek tells the TransTech officer that Comet had met a new arrival looking to make money, and since he didn't have the strength for Black Shadow's old job, the bot was guided around by Comet. The only other individuals that Comet had any connection to were the Malignus Revolutionaries, but that was a while back. Cryotek promises his full cooperation with the police force, and Cheetor leaves with the two GoBots. Leaving them after they refuse police protection again and giving them a signal device, Treds decides to try and find these "Malignus", being the only lead they have.

Back at the Cafe, the Inspector Crystal Widow mentioned earlier, Airazor, enters. Greeting her friend, Crystal Widow asks why she's here, while the GoBots marvel at how humanoid the machines are. Airazor informs the technorganic spider that she's here because of the recent murders of a few couriers, and that she's now a member of both the Freelance Police Legion and the Axiom Nexus Security Administration. Crystal Widow is surprised, not expecting her to go "legit", which Airazor laughs at. Airazor informs her that security suspects one of her boarders is involved, and that the TransTech Military Police has also assigned an officer named General Demolishor to investigate, who decides to enter at that exact moment. The contemptuous and bigoted TransTech orders everyone down, while the annoyed Crystal Widow asks him if he has a warrant. Demolishor tells her that MPs do not need one, while Airazor, exasperated by Demolishor's loudness, tells him the suspect is upstairs. Heading up, Demolishor calls for Escargon, the Maximal snail from earlier, who runs down from the opposite end, pounding on a small metallic object in panic. Airazor tries to stop him from fleeing, but Demolishor shoots the Maximal, destroying much of his head and killing him.

Elsewhere, Treds confronts five of the Malignus, currently playing a scraps game, asking them about Bug Bite. The leader of the group, a red sports car, tells him to buzz off, and Bad Boy, pushing Treds out of the way, starts a confrontation with the Malignus. Starting out as verbal sparring, the two soon begin to fight, as the smaller Renegade uses his size to avoid the Malignus' grasp. Back at the Cafe, Demolishor orders everyone to their seats. Airazor, angered, asks him why he used lethal force, to which the TransTech simply replies that he was "disciplining" the Maximal. Demolishor goes to look for some passes that Escargon was supposedly carrying, but Airazor, authorized to do so, tells him she found nothing on him. With the Maximal dead, and his memory core destroyed, they have nothing to go on. Picking up the device Escargon attempted to use, the two examine it, while across the room, Path Finder recognizes the device as an Astro-Beam, presuming that Bug Bite used it to get out of processing. Airazor calls in the body to Hoist, who's already busy on the Comet case, while Demolishor demands to know if anyone in the room knew Escargon. Ignoring Crystal Widow, Demolishor heads straight for the GoBots, recognizing them as units of interest, and demands to know if they knew him. Small Foot tells the TransTech officer they didn't, but Demolishor doesn't believe her, and grabs Road Ranger by the throat when he tries to intervene. Demolishor, having scanned both him and the Astro-Beam, recognizes the connection between the two, but Airazor argues with him, distracting him enough to allow Road Ranger to get away from his grasp. Arguing bureaucracy with the TransTech, Airazor eventually brings up the fact that under their laws, the GoBots are considered drones.

Bad Boy and Treds leave the Malignus, the former having bonded with the gang after the fight, and head off to where the Malignus saw Bug Bite heading: a body shop named Swindle, Swindle and Swindle. The two head inside, and are greeted by one of the Swindles. Initially unwilling to answer Treds' questions about Bug Bite, due to "confidentiality", Swindle begins to reach a button. Treds threatens him with calling the TransTech police using the signal device given to him by Cheetor. Upon hearing mention of Cryotek's name, Swindle becomes somewhat more receptive, extorting 150 credits out of the pair. Bringing them around back, Swindle shows the pair the parts Bug Bite left behind. With most of unique components gone, Treds inspects the parts, finding them to be quantum stabilized. Treds explains to the confused Bad Boy that the Astro-Beam doesn't rely on dimensional transfer; rather, it uses quantum superposition principals, which doesn't need transwarp to occur, and that these parts will stay here after the effects wear off. Swindle informs the pair that Bug Bite paid extra for privacy, but the Decepticon is able to check the inventory for what parts he did have. Modifying himself into an Autobot scout design, Bug Bite also obtained a Decepticon signal transponder and command codes, along with a gutted Wave Crusher to disguise his inbuilt flight powers. Armed with this information, the two head off, though not before Swindle extorts them some more, Bug Bite having used the Astro-Beam to teleport out before fully paying.

Back at the Cafe, Demolishor is annoyed, considering Airazor's objections moot if the GoBots aren't alive. Airazor informs him that the landlord of any Class 4 rental location like this one can impound any property for rent due, even if said property owns their self. Airazor counters Demolishor's objections that the GoBots are cyborgs, the law currently saying that anything with less that 12 percent organic matter cannot be counted as organic. Further countering that court decisions consider that drones are able to own themselves, Airazor asks Widow if she intends to enforce her client's lien. Widow asks Path Finder if they have their money, and Path Finder lies that they don't, to which Crystal Widow responds in the positive. Demolishor objects, claiming he can get a search warrant, but Airazor informs him that he'll need one from the Offworlder Government as well. Angered, Demolishor takes his aggression out on the bar, before leaving, deciding to focus on the others until he can get a warrant. As he leaves, the worried Path Finder messages Treds, telling him that Demolishor is on his way to find them, and that they need to try and find an officer to escort them to the place where all 5 were last together. Ordering Small Foot to stay behind and find information on the passes, Path Finder and Road Ranger drive out after their companions. Small Foot demands Airazor to tell her what she knows, but the inspector refuses to talk to her. Crystal Widow, however, demands to know as well, guilt tripping Airazor with all the "favors" she had done for her. Airazor has her get everyone else out of the room, and informs her that the passes are used by black-ops that allow them to walk through dimensional gates unquestioned. Airazor tells Crystal Widow not to get involved, and flies out. Small Foot demands that Widow give them the passes, but the incredulous Widow simply tells her that she doesn't have them, grabbing an intoxicating energon drink to put herself into shutdown. The nihilistic technorganic tells Small Foot she should have stayed home; now she's like Crystal Widow, stuck in a place that's away from everyone she ever knew and loved. Small Foot calls her out for her selfish misery, and the angered Widow informs her she isn't the only unit of interest; Widow is one as well, and her friendship with Airazor is an attempt to get herself home before the world eventually ends. Undaunted, Small Foot refuses to give up hope while there is still some left, and drives off after smashing Widow's bottle with her tow winch.

Bad Boy, having lost the signal device at Swindle, Swindle and Swindle, attempts to radio Bug Bite for help. Treds tells him it's no use; Bug Bite presumably had a compensator to shift the Astro-Beam effect to his new parts, and with that compensator, could use it to speed up the process and escape from Axiom Nexus. Suddenly, a shockwave rips through the ground, sending the two GoBots flying into an alley wall, as Demolishor orders them to stand down. Bad Boy and Treds fire their hand-blasters on the TransTech, but his self-repair systems quickly fix up the minor damage they cause, and he grabs the flying Bad Boy, throwing him at Treds and knocking him out. When he comes back online, Treds is missing, and the others, having followed Demolishor's disturbance, help him up. Path Finder attempts to radio Treds, but the General answers instead. Holding Treds hostage, Demolishor demands for the passes in 20 cycles, and sends Path Finder his co-ordinates before cutting off. Noting that the General's location is at the Heap, a lawless zone, Path Finder says that they're on their own. At the Heap, Demolishor bends the captive Treds' main cannon, preventing him from firing. Treds insists the others don't have the passes, and attempts to goad the General, realizing that what he's doing is illegal. Treds is threatened by the large TransTech, but the Guardian takes a small measure of hope, knowing a nervous opponent is bound to mess up. The other GoBots walk though the Heap. Bad Boy wonders why they just don't fly, and Path Finder points out that it makes them a target. Suddenly, a massive creature walks over a nearby hill, and corrodes some of the old machinery, eating it. Path Finder decides it would be safer to fly. Demolishor, meanwhile, takes pot shots at other various creatures, thinking to himself that it would be more efficient to wait for some creature to kill them and then get the passes. The GoBots, flying high after an encounter with a group of makeshift arrow-wielding mechanoids, manage to put two and two together; Bug Bite stole those passes and modified his body form to get to the twenty-second level, the TransTech none the wiser.

Arriving at the co-ordinates, Demolishor orders the GoBots to hand over the passes, Treds held in his arm. Path Finder begrudgingly throws him a box, but the empty container turns out to be a distraction, as Treds pours his blasts into Demolishor's hands. Shocked enough to let him go, Demolishor is met with blasts from the other GoBots. Bad Boy rushes over to Treds, and attempts to free him, but while his hand blasts hurt Treds, the binders holding him remain undamaged. Demolishor advances towards the GoBots, but is suddenly hit by a bottle of high-grade energon that splatters all over him. Crystal Widow arrives in her spider-mode, demanding that Demolishor get his hands off of them, and transforms, using her abilities to form Energon bonds. Demolishor laughs, telling her that he can break the bonds easily, but Crystal Widow knows this, and crystallizes his energon flow. As his parts grind together, Crystal Widow impales him with an energon crystal. Thinking the TransTech incapacitated, Crystal Widow goes to help the GoBots, but the General's back up Zodiac energy fuel system allows him to revive in seconds, blasting the technorganic spider. Road Ranger pours his blasts into Demolishor, declaring himself a man, and continues the output until his arms explode, blaster energy still coming from the stumps. Demolishor knocks him back, but Bad Boy leaps on him, blasting open palms into various spots, slowing his self repair systems. Road Ranger watches as Crystal Widow uses the nearby energon to heal herself. Telling her to get into fighting shape and giving her his energon, Road Ranger opens up his chest, screaming. Demolishor throws Bad Boy off him, but Small Foot catches him with her tow cable, and they both transform into vehicle mode. Small Foot uses her towline and drives in circles to bind the TransTech, while Bad Boy, along with Path Finder, strafes him. Bad Boy comes flying down after Small Foot's sixth lap, turning to robot mode to knock him down. The GoBots try to run to Treds, but Small Foots cable suddenly pulls taut, as Demolishor transforms into his monstrous vehicle mode. The GoBots attempt to rush forth, but Demolishor's self repair systems render most of their attacks useless, and the tank shoots down Small Foot and blasts off Road Ranger's left leg. Crystal Widow transformers into spider mode, and attempts to gather what little energon there is from the pipes and the dead. Bad Boy leaps on top of Demolishor, but two massive tentacles burst forth from the tank, smashing into Bad Boy's face and destroying his optics. The Renegade panics, but Treds tells him to convert to vehicle mode, where his sensor net is still active. Demolishor ignores his and Path Finder's strafing runs, and inches toward Small Foot, grabbing her and pulling her towards his vehicle mode grinder mouth. Small Foot struggles to get free, and Road Ranger demands for him to let go of her. Using his flying system, he spins himself, and throws his removed power pack into Demolishor's mouth. The blast surprises the TransTech, and he lets go of Small Foot, who flees. Road Ranger is soon blasted in retaliation, and his systems shut down, attempting to preserve his brain. Treds, meanwhile, spots Crystal Widow, and asks her for some of her energon. Crystal Widow gives him some, and is surprised when his chest turret begins to heal, the GoBots having self-repair systems. Treds blasts Demolishor before he can grab Small Foot again.

Bad Boy, charred, wonders how much Demolishor can take. Path Finder orders all the GoBots away from him, and she lands, picking up nearby garbage. From fifty feet away, the others watch as Path Finder stands her ground. Demolishor laughs, and converts to robot mode, thinking her options exhausted. Suddenly, Path Finder appears in two places at once, as she activates her faster-than-light drive. A thunderclap rips through the air, and the GoBots watch as Demolishor, ripped apart by the garbage, flies backwards. Treds rushes to his white-hot commander, and has Crystal Widow plug his systems into Path Finder's. The energy flows into Path Finder's repair system, and Treds is overjoyed as she weakly opens her eyes. Suddenly, Demolishor, ripped apart but not down, throws Crystal Widow away, and blasts Treds and Bad Boy. Standing over the weak Path Finder, Demolishor converts his hand into a blade and thrusts it downward, but Cheetor speeds through and grabs the Guardian, ordering Demolishor to stand down. Initially pleased to see the commander, Demolishor is aghast as other officers surround him, and Cheetor arrests him for assaulting drones with Class-10 military weapons. Protesting that they are not alive, the arriving Airazor points out that he also assaulted Crystal Widow. Demolishor protests that Cheetor is not able to arrest him in the Heap, but the security commander tells him that it's a little known fact that the Freelance Police Legion have jurisdiction there... which Airazor just so happens to be a member of. Demolishor claims that he is the victim for being attacked, but Cheetor asks if anyone saw the altercation, and Crystal Widow claims she found Demolishor attacking them first. Outraged, Demolishor is suddenly hit in the face by a muffler, and the Malignus group that threw it drive off, to Bad Boy's approval. Cheetor "realizes" that the Malignus must have attacked Demolishor, and calls in Stungun to round up the usual suspects. Cheetor informs the general that Megatron is very interested in talking to him, as he can't remember authorizing any transfer or retrieval of the passes. Panicked, Demolishor begs Airazor for a civil trial, but the Inspector informs him that she doesn't have the authority to do so, and the disgraced general is led away. Bad Boy is unable to understand why they didn't kill him, and Path Finder tells him it was justice, directing the blind Renegade to them. Road Ranger's wounds are healed by Crystal Widow, and the two share a laugh. Cheetor pointedly tells Airazor that he suspects that Escargon had moved the passes before he had died, and that it would be easier for everyone involved if they had been utilized. Airazor reluctantly agrees, and is told to get GoBots repaired, a few days remaining before they can be impounded. Before driving off, Cheetor tells Airazor that Stungun seems to have "misplaced" his i.d. bolt-remover. Airazor tells Path Finder that this isn't the first time Cheetor's done something like this and that his job is safe, while Bad Boy sheepishly admits he was the one who called Cheetor, having kept the signal device with him all along. Airazor hands over the passes to the GoBots, having swiped them from Escargon's corpse. Small Foot, however, notices that there's only five, and volunteers to give her pass to Crystal Widow so she can go home. Crystal Widow declines, her troubles far lesser than Small Foot's, and tells the Guardian that she'll survive. Treds asks if they can get repairs at Swindle, Swindle, and Swindle, and Crystal Widow calls in Airazor's tab, smiling for the first time in a long time. Small Foot asks Airazor why she's so cheerful all of a sudden, and the Maximal tells her that everything's worked out; the GoBots can complete their mission, Demolishor has to answer for his crimes, and Crystal Widow finally has hope again.

Day 3

On another universe's Earth, Dreadwind drags a prone Weirdwolf and a headless Bug Bite back to their ship after their failed assault on Megatron's headquarters. Placing Weirdwolf in a CR chamber, Dreadwind wonders if Megatron will even bother killing him, when a sudden flash a light deposits the GoBots. Dreadwind assumes they're here to kill him, but the others ignore him as they notice the headless body on the floor. Matching the bodyshop's specifications of Bug Bite's new body, a voice suddenly rings out from the supposed corpse. Road Ranger thinks the body has turned into a monster, but Bug Bite, getting up slowly, insults him; he put his brain behind his windshield. Why would you design yourself to have the most important part of your body in a vulnerable spot? Placing a new head on himself (which Dreadwind points out doesn't match the rest of his body's color), Bug Bite is questioned by Path Finder. Bug Bite informs her that he traveled back in time 15 years, intending to stop the Cataclysm before it occurred by killing Megatron, who the scientist believed is the source of the disaster. Only finding an empty Autobot ship in Canada, Bug Bite took to space and joined up with the main Decepticon forces, until learning that Megatron was alive on Earth. Taking a crew with him to attack, he failed, leading to this moment. Treds asks him why he didn't try calling home, and Bug Bite tells him that he didn't dare risk causing a paradox by contacting home before it happened. Deciding to continue their mission, Path Finder is shocked when Bug Bite informs her that the sensor net has picked up other GoBots; enough time has passed back home for an Interfacer to charge...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Our race was created for a higher purpose. What we do, we do to prepare for the true finality... the end of not merely our universe, but of all creation. The Unicron Phenomenon seeks to consume all that ever was and ever will be. We have faced it and bested it once, as have other Transformers from other universes. But it will return. It is beyond time, and will try again after consuming other realities. We must be ready. We must survive, and must always be there to stand against the nothingness Unicron seeks to bring about."
"Sounds more like self-interest than 'greater good'."
"Only because you imagine that there is a difference."

—Megatron teaches Path Finder about the TransTech.

"So you can't help. All right. What about the cop? That's a public official... what's the appropriate bribe?"
"Heh... If you can't help the Inspector's 'luck' at the roulette tables, furnish her apartment or provide her with a handsome companion you won't get far down that road."
"Handsome... Why would a machine...?"
"You're young yet, aren't you, sister?"
"I'll have you know I'm in my thousands!"
"Ahh... youth is more than a body frame, girl."

—Path Finder and Crystal Widow discuss the robotic birds and bees.

Small Foot: "Even the non-technorganic female ones look like that."
Path Finder: "I remember when I was built like that."
Road Ranger: "You were never built like that. You were just as boxy as any of us."
Path Finder: "I meant when I was organic."
Road Ranger: "Yeah, so did I."
Path Finder: "Jerk."

Road Ranger: "Anyone get the feeling we're being watched?"
Small Foot: "Frankly, yes. I looked this place up in that data-con we got."
Road Ranger: "Yeah?"
Small Foot: "The first words on it were 'Stay out unless you really want to die.'"
Bad Boy: "Lovely."

—'The GoBots discover that the Heap is not a nice place.

Notes

• While it had already been started by 2007's "Games of Deception" and e-HOBBY's stab at GoBot homages in 2004, this story really kicked off the trend of GoBots appearing in less mainstream Transformers fiction. Greg Sepelak stated in 2016 that he regrets writing this.^[1]

• Characters mentioned in-story but not seen include: Optimus Prime, Megatron, Unicron, Primus and his avatar, a corrupted Matrix, Herr Fiend, a robot dinosaur with a pterodactyl on his shoulder, a ramshackle mechanism, a Lithonian guide, the Monster Renegades, an unsavory figure, Black Shadow, Crossblades Primax II, Destron-5, D. Drone, Tankor, Scooter, Stungun, Thundercracker, and Dreadwind's Swindle.

GoBots continuity notes and references

• As you might expect, what with this being a GoBots story, there are quite a few references to various characters and concepts from the Challenge of the GoBots cartoon.
• None of the characters in the prologue are named, save Leader-1, but it's fairly obvious who's who. The doctor (only referred to as "Doctor B" by Bad Boy) is Braxis, a semi-regular character from the cartoon that was a Renegade ally; the red, blue, and silver GoBot mechanoid is Cy-Kill, the Renegade leader; and the boisterous red GoBot who pounds his fist is Turbo, Leader-1's second-in-command.
• The Dimensional Interfacer and the concept of "levels" comes from Challenge of the GoBots two parter "Invasion from the 21st Level", where Braxis used it to summon an insectoid race that ended up attacking both Guardian and Renegade. It is noted that Braxis was forbidden from ever using the machine again; in the end of the second part, Turbo blew up the Interfacer and scared off Braxis from constructing another like it.
• The GoBots physiology is noted throughout much of the story, including their internalized hand blasters utilizing "power packs", their organic brains, their uniform ability to fly, and their self-repair systems. The first three concepts showed up throughout the show, although the self-repair systems only showed up in a few early episodes. Also name-dropped is their home planet of Gobotron.
• The GoBots sent to Axiom Nexus are the e-HOBBY G1 GoBots. Never named on package, their identities are derived from early marketing material, which used the names until Takara realized that it was a possibility that Bandai (the creator of the molds used by Tonka for GoBots) could potentially sue them for the use of the names. The bio for the group indicated they were traveling to find a way to save their homeworld, which was threatened by disaster, a plot point heavily featured here.
• Bad Boy calls Bug Bite an "underworld freak"; Bug Bite was one of the GoBots living in the GoBotronian underworld, as seen in the episode "The GoBots That Time Forgot".
• Treds is noted to be a Guardian posing as a Decepticon; his e-HOBBY toy was labelled as a Decepticon, presumably in reference to his toy using the rarely seen Renegade faction symbol, despite being sold as a Guardian.
• Bug Bite refers to the Guardian's "friendly guise"; the Guardians were labelled as "Friendly Robots" in the GoBots toyline.
• Bug Bite notes the technology hiding the GoBots' unique attributes was designed by Super GoBot Herr Fiend, the Renegade's resident mad scientist. Strangely enough, for a cartoon-based universe, the name of his toy is used instead of his actual in-fiction name: Doctor Go. Later on in the story, Path Finder mentions how Scooter, the young Guardian who stars in the show alongside Leader-1 and Turbo, is responsible for their radio upgrades.
• Path Finder misses the feeling of being in the cockpit of a Command Center, the standard Guardian ship.
• Small Foot notes that the Monster Renegades are similar to technorganics.
• Path Finder notes Road Ranger didn't see much action back at home; Road Ranger only appeared in a few sparse episode of the cartoon, and when he did, it was usually as a background character.
• The Astro-Beam was a regular plot device used in the cartoon; it essentially filled the role of a space bridge, allowing both sides to summon help from GoBotron. The Astro-Beam was usually depicted as a small projector-type device on wheels, contrary to its depiction here; this is presumably the portable version seen in "Guardian Academy".
• Bad Boy notes that the Astro-Beam wears off in 48 hours; this was established in the episode "Steamer's Defection", though in practice, it ended up wearing off whenever the writers felt it was convenient.
• Bad Boy groggily claims that a narlie stole his money as he wakes up; narlies are small animal creatures from GoBots' sister toyline, Rock Lords.

Continuity notes

• The concept of universal streams, having had a brief mention in previous TransTech story "Gone Too Far" are heavily expanded upon here. See "Transformers references" below for more information.
• The signal stream that the GoBots transit gets entangled with is noted by Adventas to be a Malgus Cluster stream; coupled with comments in the script reading "Bee in the City", this is presumably the stream containing Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Sari Sumdac, who arrived in said script reading.
• A white-and-black TransTech reconvenes the session; presumably, this is TransTech Prowl, seen in the "Transcendent" storyline.
• Unicron's destruction in issue #75 of the original Marvel The Transformers comic, along with that of Primus and his avatar, Xaaron, and that of the Dark Matrix, are believe to be the cause of the many splinter universes from that stream.
• Path Finder sees Silverbolt several times in processing; presumably one of those times is during Skyfall, Landquake, and Breakaway's arrival in "Transcendent: Part 1". Cheetor notes that he saw Treds and Bad Boy in processing; he too was at the scene of the three red-and-blue Cybertronian's arrival.
• An "ancient, ramshackle mechanism" gives the GoBots their I.D. cards; this is presumably Nitpick, previously seen in "Gone Too Far".
• Cheetor, Airazor, Cryotek, Stungun, and the Malginus Revolutionaries all previously appeared in "Gone Too Far". Widow's Cafe Cybertronian, too, was briefly name dropped in the story, and was almost entered by Jackpot and Hubcap while they were on the run.
• Crystal Widow notes that the most unsavory character she knows was murdered at an illegal rally he held recently; this is Gutcruncher, who was murdered in "Gone Too Far".
• Cryotek notes he needs someone to replace Black Shadow's old position; Black Shadow died in "Gone Too Far".
• Swindle, Swindle and Swindle would feature prominently in the following story, "I, Lowtech". The Swindle in this story is either Swindle the Second or Swindle the Third.
• Crystal Widow refers to demon and light gods when talking about how she ended up on Axiom Nexus, presumably referring to the Universe War.
• The events of the epilogue take place after BotCon 2007 comic "Games of Deception". Bug Bite was decapitated by Megatron's fusion cannon, while Weirdwolf was blasted in the midsection by him, details that are reflected here. Bug Bite also recounts his travel to the past from that comic and his bio.

Transformer references

• Among the offworlders seen in story, those that are previously existing characters include:
  • Crystal Widow, a toy from a Kmart exclusive Universe two-pack.
  • Night Beat 7, a Real Gear Robot from the 2007 movie toyline.
  • The officers, in particular, are a collection of characters in various obscure bodies. Hoist is the Generation 1 character, using his first Universe Spy Changer toy, redecoed from Robots in Disguise X-Brawn.
  • Blastcharge is the Beast Machines Vehicon in his Universe colors.
  • The first Prowl is the Beast Wars Transmetal 2 owl, in his toy's black variant colors.
  • The second Prowl is the Generation 1 character, in his Machine Wars body.
  • The third Prowl is the Armada Mini-Con, in his Exdimensions toy colors.
  • Escargon is a Maximal snail from Beast Wars II, created by Shōji Imaki as an example for a character design contest in Comic Bom Bom, a Japanese magazine.
  • Generation 1 Decepticon Swindle.
  • Turbo, the leader of the Malignus, is one of the Bat-Robôs, a South American exclusive Generation 1, licensed from either Fujisho or Ertl, and originally sold as Powertrons/Pow-R-Trons. Turbo is specifically in his red coloration here.
  • Jipe, Pick-Up, and Dirge (the latter only barely showing up in the illustration, identified by one of his claws) were all previously in "Gone Too Far". Camero, meanwhile, is a different one from the Camaro that appeared in that story; this Camero is blue and yellow, while the one that appeared in "Gone Too Far" is dark purple and lavender.
• Silverbolt notes that the bodies used by the GoBots are bodies used by small mechanoids in most baseline Primax universes.
• The TransTechs have cataloged 15,962,782 universal streams, and they have a sophisticated classification system for all the timestreams they have cataloged. Each universe they mention refers to a specific existing Transformers continuity. The classification listing begins with a noun that describes the continuity family, a number which refers to the date of origin (in the real world), and a Greek letter that indicates the form of media. For example, the "Primax 984.0 Gamma" thread refers to the Generation 1 U.S. Marvel Comics continuity, the first issue of which was cover-dated September 1984.
  • Primax—the Generation 1 continuity family.
    • Primax 984.0 Gamma—The main Marvel Comics continuity.
    • Primax 207.0 Epsilon—The Classics continuity, a splinter timeline of the Marvel Comics continuity that was created by the Club based on the toys of the Classics toyline. It is noted to be far more recent that the other splinter timelines (as most of those were created back in the late 80's and 90's under the original Marvel Comics series) and its splintering is noted to be earlier than the others, presumably in reference to fact that Classics ignores the Marvel UK material. It split off about 16 years after the others; 16 years took place between the publishing of the first Classics story and the end of the original Marvel comic.
    • Primax 1291.0 Zeta—The "Another Time & Place" text story continuity, a dead-end splinter thread of the Marvel Comics continuity, which is noted to have been subsumed by Primax 207.0 Epsilon.
  • Tyran—the live-action film series continuity family.
    • Tyran 707.04 Delta—The movie itself and its sequels. This stream is noted to splinter a lot, presumably in reference to the sheer amount of merchandising that accompanied the release of the film, including a variety of books-a Gamma stream splits off of it during the story.
  • Malgus—The Animated continuity family. Malgus arrivals are noted to be rare; presumably, it being the main cartoon at the time, Animated characters were considered "off-limits" for use by the Club.
• Rhinox uses vorns before switching to Earth years; vorns are a unit of time introduced in the Marvel The Transformers comics.
• Doppler notes that the walls of the processing center are rheanimum-reinforced; rheanium is a metal density-and-durability-improving gas from the Marvel Generation 2 comics.
• The tour guide offered to the GoBots is a Lithone, the alien race seen at the beginning of The Transformers: The Movie.
• The GoBots are given a data-con; data-cons come from the Armada video game.
• Road Ranger gives a Transformer that passes by a mistrusting glance; the Transformer's description (an "orange-and-black striped jet-robot") identifies him as Generation 2 Cyberjet Hooligan.
• Path Finder and Road Ranger regroup in Tripredacus Square, named for the Beast Wars combiner.
• Various bits of Cybertronian language shows up throughout the story. Some of them are references (see "real-world references" below for more information), but most of it are just signs and meaningless letters.
  • The Ancient Autobot (A font based on characters from The Transformers episode "Cosmic Rust") outside of the Cafe simply states the establishment's name, as does the Decepticon Graffiti (a font based on graffiti seen in Marvel The Transformers issue #23) on the SS&S logo. The Maximal Cybertronix on Airazor's transfer hologram is just the letters "dfsd" repeated over and over.
• Treds notes that one of the Malignus (presumably Pick-Up) looks like Small Foot; Small Foot and Pick-Up are both redecoes of Generation 1 Gears.
• Turbo calls Bad Boy a sucker-punching scraplet; scraplets are a metal-eating parasitical species introduced in the Marvel The Transformers comics.
• A number of easter egg-filed treaties and court cases are brought up, including:
  • The Furmanite Treaty, named for the unstable substance introduced in the first BotCon comics, "Ground Zero", itself named for Transformers author Simon Furman.
  • The Archworld Treaty.
  • The Pyrok Protocols, possibly named for the unreleased Visionaries character.
  • The case of Crossblades Primax II V. Destron-5. It's unknown whether the Crossblades is the Generation 1 Autobot Pretender, the Fun Pub-original Maximal, or someone else altogether. Destron-5, meanwhile, is named for the Japanese designation for Decepticons.
  • The Leasee-Tenet Act.
  • The case of D. Drone V. Tankor. Both characters are from Beast Machines, and presumably refer to a similar event to the one seen when Rhinox (freed from the Tankor shell program) reprogrammed Megatron's Diagnostic Drone to be loyal to him.
  • The Pax Cybertronica, named after the similar Pax Cybertronia from Beast Wars.
• Swindle offers Treds an Electrum Card membership; electrum was a super-strong substance seen in The Transformers episode "The Golden Lagoon", and is presumably analogous to a "Gold Card".
• Swindle notes that Bug Bite used the C1186-P0019 design; this is the real-life product number for the Classics Bumblebee toy. The Wave Crusher was the ski-trailer accessory sold with that mold (although Bug Bite's bio calls it a "Tidal Wave"), and the X-03 custom add-ons are in reference to a fan-made custom upgrade kit for the Classics Cliffjumper toy, giving him additional weaponry.
• Airazor is noted to be speaking Cybertronix (the Cybertronian language from Beast Wars), confirming that it is both a written and verbal language.
• Zodiac energy comes from the Zone franchise.
• When Bug Bite fixes himself up with a replacement head at the conclusion of the story, he remarks that he has failed to "match the shade" on his new noggin, referring to the fact that the Bug Bite toy's head is a distinctly brighter, whiter color than the rest of its body.

Real-world references

• The stories title comes from the song ""Withered Hope"" by They Might Be Giants. References to They Might Be Giants are one of Greg Sepelak's trademarks.
• The song Crystal Widow listens to in the prologue is indicated by the Ancient Autobot on Night Beat 7's display to be "As Time Goes By", a song most well know for appearing in the 1942 film Casablanca.
• The Ancient Autobot on Crystal Widow's drink in the prologue reads "FINGAL RICK" in reference to the film Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, which, aside from being riffed by author favorite Mystery Science Theater 3000, heavily involves the film Casablanca in its plot.
• In general, the transit passes plot and Widow's Cafe Cybertronian are homages to Casablanca.
• Observation Station Fourier is presumably named for French mathematician Joseph Fourier. Observation Station Heterodyne is named for the signal processing technique.
• Adventas' name comes from one of the conjugations of the Latin word "advento", meaning "to arrive".
• Silverbolt and Adventas note that there are things of pure malice that live in transwarp; presumably, these are the Lovecraftian Elder Gods, which have previously been implied to exist in transwarp in several other Fun Pub stories; Silverbolt is worried that the stream containing the GoBots could potentially hold an "avatar" of one of these entities.
• Bad Boy notes that the last time he saw Bug Bite, he was talking to a robotic red dinosaur with a pterodactyl on his shoulder; these are Deadeye and Cricket from Tomy toyline Starriors.
• Doppler is named for the Doppler effect.
• Beam Rider is named for the missile guiding technique.
• One of the officers at the crime scene is Truancy-bot, an...overbearing robot from a strip of The Perry Bible Fellowship webcomic.
• The robot that Treds and Bad Boy question on the whereabouts of Bug Bite is (a version of) T-Bob, the neurotic kid-appeal robot character from Kenner's M.A.S.K..
• Courtesy of Matt Kuphaldt, Comet has a reindeer alt-mode, in reference to one of Santa Claus's reindeer who shares the name.
• Airazor's transfer hologram has the silhouette of Max's head from Sam & Max on it; the Freelance Police Legion takes its name from his and his partner Sam's profession.
• Semiconscious Bad Boy muttering "Narlie's got my money" references Finding Nemo, where an unconscious Dory mutters "Sea monkey's got my money..."
• Bug Bite announces that "the jig is up, the news is out, they finally found me", a line from the Styx song "Renegade". See what they did there?

Errors

• The GoBots and GoBotron are almost consistently referred to as "Gobots" and "Gobotron", lacking the camel case spelling of their names.
• On Page 2, "calmed" is mistyped as "clamed". This was eventually corrected.
• On Page 17, "Tripredacus Square" is mistyped as "Tripdedacus Square".
• On Page 22, "Haven't" is mistyped as "Haven's".
• On page 28, Treds and Bad Boy are referred to as "the two Renegades", despite Treds being a Guardian.

Other trivia

• Creatures spotted throughout the story include:
  • A long-necked cross between a reptile and fungus.
  • An ambulatory tree-stump that speaks in an eldritch language.
  • A creature that look like a crocodile with a beetle shell back, a conical mouth that splits into four flaps, and a pair of tentacles extruding from each cheek that eats metal.

References

1. ↑ Allspark Forums, 17th March 2016: "I regret Withered Hope. "M "No, Not Joking" Sipher"

External links

• "Withered Hope" at The Official Transformers Collectors' Club