Editing Sand

{{episode|
|series=cybertron
|ep=17
|series2=Galaxy Force
|ep2=18
|title="Sand"
|japanese=灼熱のデッドヒート
|romaji=Shukunetsu no Dead Heat
|translation=Scorching Dead Heat
|image=Cyb_ep17_targeting.jpg
|caption="...It's everywhere, get used to it!"
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Aichi]], [[We've]], [[Tōkyū Agency]]
|writer=[[Kazuhisa Sakaguchi]]
|director=[[Fumiharu Kamanaka]], [[Megumi Sakai]] (asst. dir.) 
|animation studio=[[GONZO]]
|airdate=[[May 7]], [[2005]] (Japanese)<br>[[October 11]], 2005 (English)
|continuity=[[Unicron Trilogy cartoon timeline|Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''While Coby lends Hot Shot a hand during the penultimate phase of the great race, Sideways orchestrates a battle that pits Scourge against the power of Optimus Prime's Savage Claw Mode.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Cyb ep17 disguised coby.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.2|The pre-production [[Cobybot]] featured substantially thinner armor.]]

On [[Velocitron]], the third stage of the great race for the [[Planet Cup]] begins, sending the racers into the dangers of the deadly [[Diablo Desert]], full of quicksand vortices and sudden sandstorms. [[Coby Hansen|Coby]] wears a cardboard robot disguise to cheer [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] on from the stands, but once the race gets thoroughly underway, he boards [[Jolt (Cybertron)|Jolt]] and watches from the air.

Meanwhile, on [[Animatron|Jungle Planet]], [[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Megatron]] trains back up to full strength following his loss to Savage Claw Mode [[Optimus Prime (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]]. [[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]] observes [[Scourge (Cybertron)|Scourge]]'s desire to fight Optimus Prime himself and conspires to arrange the fight. The mysterious 'bot sneaks off and approaches [[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Leobreaker]], who is walking alone in the jungle while the other Autobots talk. Hiding his face, Sideways dons his Autobot [[insignia]] and claims that he needs help rescuing a comrade trapped underneath a rockslide in a nearby ravine. He runs off, and Leobreaker gathers the other Autobots, little realizing that Sideways has also summoned the Decepticons to the ravine with a fake message from Optimus Prime, claiming the Autobot leader wishes to battle Scourge.

[[File:Cyb ep17 dirt boss peeved.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Sadly, Dirt Boss never quite understood the concept of "ride sharing."]]

Back on Velocitron, pretty much every racer except the off-road expert [[Dirt Boss (Cybertron)|Dirt Boss]] is struggling with the desert course. [[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Crumplezone]] and [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]] get caught in a sandstorm, while Hot Shot attempts to take the most direct route by leaping over the quicksand pits. Unsurprisingly, the hotheaded young Autobot winds up trapped in one, but [[Brakedown (Cybertron)|Brakedown]] comes to his aid, throwing him a line and hauling him out of the pit. Dirt Boss spots this and is about to shoot the pair while they are distracted, but Jolt springs into action and warps his blasts right back at him. Dirt Boss briefly tries to snatch the [[Mini-Con]] out of the air in rage, but when [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]] comes roaring past, he quickly forgets the tiny Transformer and gets back into the race. He is driven into blind fury when Override reveals that she has added traction tires to her [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]], thereby usurping Dirt Boss's mastery of off-road terrain, and a fight breaks out between the two. Crumplezone and Ransack try to help their comrade, but Override leaps out of the path of their shots and they wind up blasting Dirt Boss instead. This gets him even ''angrier'', and he starts firing back, so they crash into him and knock him into a quicksand pit, then ignore his pleas and leave him trapped.

In the ravine on Jungle Planet, Scourge confronts Optimus Prime, and a fierce battle breaks out between both sides. During the scuffle, Leobreaker spots Sideways watching the battle from the sidelines and recognizes him as being the one responsible for luring them there. Realizing they've been pulled into a trap, Leobreaker and Optimus Prime combine into Savage Claw Mode and quickly dispatch Scourge. The Autobots retreat before Scourge can recover, but the planet leader is pleased to have felt Prime's power. Sideways is a little less content at the brevity of the battle, and stands to leave when he is suddenly pounced on by Leobreaker!

[[File:Cyb ep17 interrogating sideways.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.2|Leobreaker does his best Tigger impression]]

On Velocitron, Hot Shot discovers that the line Brakedown threw him to get him out of the pit was a belt from his cooling system. Without the belt, Brakedown breaks down in the middle of the desert, and Hot Shot, Jolt and Coby try to come up with ways to get him to safety. Brakedown refuses to let Hot Shot carry him, and insists that the youngster leave him to be picked up by a rescue crew. Hot Shot acquiesces and heads off to the finish line, coming in fourth and last behind Override, Crumplezone and Ransack to qualify for the final leg of the race. As the race comes to an end, however, Red Alert makes a surprising discovery in the crowd when he comes across [[Reverb (Cybertron)|Reverb]] and [[Six-Speed (Cybertron)|Six-Speed]].

The captive Sideways is grilled by the Autobots, and "reveals" that he is an undercover Autobot operative who is trying to learn more about Megatron's goals. The interrogation is interrupted by a communication from [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]] to let Optimus know what has transpired on Velocitron, and Sideways uses the distraction to take his leave. Optimus is shocked to discover that Coby has come to Velocitron, as is [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]], who joins the conference call from [[Earth]] to tell Coby to get back there. Hot Shot requests that Coby be allowed to stay and help him in the final race, and Optimus Prime permits it. The stage is set for the grand finale!

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Override (Cybertron)|Override]] (3)
*[[Brakedown (Cybertron)|Brakedown]] (5)
*[[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] (7)
*[[Jolt (Cybertron)|Jolt]] (9)
*[[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] (10)
*[[Clocker (Cybertron)|Clocker]] (11)
*[[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]] (12)
*[[Reverb (Cybertron)|Reverb]] (13)
*[[Six-Speed (Cybertron)|Six-Speed]] (14)
*[[Optimus Prime (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (21)
*[[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Leobreaker]] (22)
*[[Snarl (Cybertron)|Snarl]] (23)
*[[Vector Prime]] (24)
*[[Backstop (Cybertron)|Backstop]] (25)
*[[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] (26)

|c2=
*[[Dirt Boss (Cybertron)|Dirt Boss]] (2)
*[[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Crumplezone]] (4)
*[[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]] (6)
*[[Megatron (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (15)
*[[Starscream (Armada)/Cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (16)
*[[Scourge (Cybertron)|Scourge]] (18)
*[[Undermine (Cybertron)|Undermine]] (19)
*[[Brimstone (Cybertron)|Brimstone]] (20)

|c3=
*[[Coby Hansen]] (8)

|c4=
*Race announcer (1)
*[[Sideways (Armada)|Sideways]] (17)
}}

==Quotes==
'''Megatron:''' "What? You think I'll lose to Prime?"<br>
'''Starscream:''' "No! I'm not saying that!  *''...I'm just thinking it.''*" <br>
:- '''Starscream''' being '''Starscream'''


"''Wish we had a cool wind right now...'' Never wish for wind in a desert!"<br>
"It happened because I wished for it?! Wow! Hey, now I'm wishing for a paved highway and a tank of atomic super fuel that can make us go ten times as fast! *pause* Erm... er... It doesn't seem to be working."<br>
"Just clam up and get moving."<br>
"''Now'' I'm wishing for a ''new'' partner!"
:—'''Ransack''' and '''Crumplezone''',  Velocitron's Laurel and Hardy


"Could you back off a ''little''? I'm allergic to cats."
:—Oh, '''Sideways''', you're such a card


"You told me to remember I was part of a team. You're right. I can't do this alone, but the team's got my back."
:—'''Hot Shot''' makes  a spark-felt request to Optimus to allow Coby to stay on Speed Planet

==Notes==

===Differences with ''Galaxy Force''===
*''Cybertron'' cuts down every piece of transformation stock footage in this episode, by removing the "pose against the faction insignia" ending shot of each.
*As Leobreaker mutters to himself, ''Galaxy Force'' and ''Cybertron'' go in two completely different directions: ''Galaxy Force'' has him comment to himself that destroying Megatron would get things over with much faster, while ''Cybertron'' has him ''chastize'' himself for his reckless battle-lust in the previous episode.
*As Hot Shot is struggling with the sandy terrain early in the race, ''Cybertron'' has Coby and Jolt call out to him, and Hot Shot expresses his surprise at the two being on Velocitron. In ''Galaxy Force'', he doesn't notice them, and doesn't discover their presence until after Brakedown collapses.
*Rather than wish for "a paved highway and a tank of atomic super fuel," ''Galaxy Force'' just has Crumplezone wish for rain, not because it will help them win, but because he thinks he can control the weather, after the wind whipped up when he wished for it.
*When Hot Shot suggests carrying Brakedown to the finish, ''Galaxy Force'' sees Brakedown feign indignation at the idea of the youngster giving him a "piggy-back ride" in order to encourage Hot Shot to leave him behind. In ''Cybertron,'' he doesn't play any such games, kindly but firmly insisting Hot Shot leave him behind. Both versions also have him highlight his age, but where ''Cybertron'' merely had him remark he's been through worse and won't be responsible for dragging Hot Shot down, ''Galaxy Force'' has him observe with black humour that the destruction of the universe that the Autobots are seeking to protect "isn't a big deal" to him, since he's already lived a long life, but that it is the young 'bots like Clocker whose future Hot Shot must preserves by continuing in his mission.
*Additionally, the piggy-back is Coby's idea in ''Galaxy Force'', but Hot Shot's in ''Cybertron''.
*While minor, there are two very funny quips in the scene where Leobreaker (Ligerjack) pounces on Sideways (Noisemaze) in '' Galaxy Force'' that are rewritten or eliminated in ''Cybertron''. In ''Galaxy Force'', 1. Immediately after Ligerjack lands on him, the lion-bot angrily asks Noisemaze "Where is your buddy who was pinned down now?!" (referring to the initial story the crafty bot told him to get the Autobots to follow) to which Noisemaze answers "Right here!" while pointing to himself.  2. After Noisemaze tries to talk his way out of trouble, Ligerjack recommends that he just eat the liar.  ''Cybertron'' strikes this bit and replaces it with the equally funny "I'm allergic to cats" line.

===Continuity errors===
*Optimus Prime expresses amazement at the notion of two Transformers combining as he and Leobreaker did, having apparently forgotten the entirety of ''[[Transformers: Armada (cartoon)|Armada]]'' and ''[[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)|Energon]]'', where many characters, including himself, did it like it was going out of style. This error is a result of ''not'' modifying the ''Galaxy Force'' script (since the series was not originally scripted as being a continuation of those series), but would later be justified by the [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|Transformers Collectors' Club magazine]] storyline, "[[Transformers: Cybertron: Balancing Act|Balancing Act]]", in which it was explained that the disrupting effect of the [[Unicron Singularity|black hole]] also caused memory glitches and changes of personality in the Autobots.

===Transformers references===
*Sideways drops the quote from his toy packaging while watching the battle: "Whoever loses, I win!"

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2005 — ''Transformers: Galaxy Force'' — Vol. 05 ([[Victor Entertainment]]) — Japanese audio only.<br>
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2008 — ''Transformers: Cybertron'' — The Ultimate Collection ([[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]])<br>
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''Transformers: Cybertron'' — The Complete Series ([[Shout! Factory]])

[[Category:Cybertron episodes]]