Editing Into the Abyss: Dark Cybertron Chapter 4

{{Comicstory|
|series=mtmte|issueno=24
|prev=Black Metal: Dark Cybertron Chapter 2
|next=Dark Cybertron Chapter 6
|seriesissue2=[[Dark Cybertron]]
|prev2=Winners & Losers: Dark Cybertron Chapter 3
|next2=Dark Cybertron Chapter 5
|caption=
|image=MTMTE24 cvrA.jpg
|title="Into the Abyss"<br>Dark Cybertron Chapter 4
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|date=[[December 4]], [[2013]]
|coverdate=December 2013
|written by=[[James Roberts]] and [[John Barber]]
|art by=[[Atilio Rojo]], [[James Raiz]], [[Nick Roche]], [[Livio Ramondelli]] and [[Robert Gill]]
|colors by=[[Romulo Fajardo Jr.]] and Livio Ramondelli
|letters by=[[Gilberto Lazcano]]
|editor=[[Carlos Guzman]]
|continuity=[[IDW Generation 1 continuity|IDW continuity]]
|chronology=[[IDW timeline|Current era (2013)]]
}}

'''The ''Lost Light'' deals with an aquatic Ammonite attack, while on Cybertron, Shockwave puts Megatron's space bridge to use.'''

==Synopsis==

In the depths of an alien ocean, the ''[[Lost Light]]'' finds itself surrounded by a huge army of mechanoid lifeforms. Illuminating their mysterious aggressors with a spotlight, the bridge crew are quick to observe that they are armed, have alternate modes, and are combiners, causing suspicion they may be [[Decepticon]]s. [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]—struggling to get the words out over the top of the showoff [[Brainstorm]]—deduces that the small 'bots are not natives of the world, but have followed the ''Lost Light''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s quantum slipstream there. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] attempts to communicate with the strangers, but in response, they open fire on the ship.

On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] requests a status update from [[Rattrap]] on the aftermath of the devastation of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]], but all that Rattrap can tell him is that the [[Necrotitan]]'s energy wave seems to have affected citizens entirely at random. Spying Starscream, [[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]] turns on him, reading from the ancient prophecy for all to hear and pointing to a dark blemish that has appeared on Starscream's chest as evidence that [[Primus]] has marked him for his role in bringing death to the city. Under the auspices of defending Starscream, Rattrap snidely remarks that his "boss" is running out of time...

Back on the ''Lost Light'', the Magnus and his men evacuate and seal the flooded bridge before meeting up with [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] and [[Getaway]], the former identifying their attackers as the omnicombinational [[Ammonite]]s. The crew decides to take the fight out into the water, deploying all their marine-equipped soldiers and vehicles, including the "[[Rodpod]]"—a submersible designed in the shape of [[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]]'s head that everyone (except [[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]]) is a bit hesitant about using out concern for Rodimus's reaction if they damage it. While individual troops take on the enemies at the ship's base (with [[Rung (G1)|Rung]] giving a particularly good account of himself in a staff-fight with one of the combiners), the crew in the Rodpod defend the ship's top-mounted fuel quills against a large swarm of Ammonites. The little 'bots react by combining into a huge, monstrous form, but this proves to just be a bigger target for the Rodpod, which blows it to bits.

In the [[Dead Universe]], Rodimus, [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] and [[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] discuss the progress (or not) of Rodimus's quest, whether or not he would return to Cybertron if needed, Starscream's election, and the sorry political history of the planet. When asked for his opinion on [[Nova Prime]], [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] looks up to reveal fluids leaking from his face, which he attempts to pass off as a product of the heat despite it being freezing. Cyclonus refuses Orion's medical aid... at which point [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] appears, encouraging them not to touch Cyclonus, and to listen to what he's go to say.

Back on Cybertron, at the feet of the Necrotitan, as the [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s recover from the wage and argue over what to do next, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] has [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] scan for any chatter from Iacon. With the Titan blocking all transmissions, he can detect nothing... nothing except the sound of [[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] screaming from miles away, as [[Shockwave (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Shockwave]] cuts his body open to access the [[space bridge]] within. Strapped to a table in Shockwave's [[Crystal City]] lair, Megatron questions Shockwave's motivations, but the cyclopean Decepticon remains unreadable, merely commenting that Nova Prime and [[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] are means to and end. Shockwave had hoped to offer Megatron the choice to comply willingly, but it is obvious the Decepticon leader has no intention of doing so, so Shockwave forcibly activates his space bridge, and Nova Prime begins to emerge through a portal that swirls out of Megatron's chest!

Meanwhile, the Rodpod has broken off from the rest of the battle, chased by the Ammonites, which have combined into a colossal marine mollusic to follow them. The pod dives into an abyss to try and shake off their pursuers, but as they dive deeper, they discover that the abyss is metal-plated, with what appears to be a broken pipeline protruding from its depths. A cursory glance from [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] quickly confirms the pipe's true nature, however: it is a severed retinal cable. The Rodpod hasn't entered an abyss—it's just entered the gaping optical cavity of a badly-damaged [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]!

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]] (2)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ratchet]] (3)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (4)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (5)
*[[Brainstorm]] (6)
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (7)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (14)
*[[Getaway]] (15)
*[[Whirl (G1)|Whirl]] (16)
*[[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] (17)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailcutter]] (18)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Waverider]] (19)
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (20)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (21)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (22)
*[[Rung (G1)|Rung]] (23)
*[[Atomizer]] (24)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Rodimus]] (25)
*[[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] (26)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Orion Pax]] (27)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (28)
*[[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] (29)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] (31)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (34)
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (36)
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (37)
*[[Prowl (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Prowl]] (40)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Bumblebee]] (41)
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (42)
*[[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (47)
{{!}}}
|c2=
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (32)
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (33)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (35)
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (38)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (39)
*[[Megatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Megatron]] (43)
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (45)
|c4=
*[[Ammonite]]s (1)
*[[Rattrap]] (8)
*[[Starscream (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Starscream]] (9)
*[[Scoop (G1)|Scoop]] (10)
*[[Tracer (Nebulan)|Tracer]] (11)
*[[Holepunch (G1)|Holepunch]] (12)
*[[Sky-Byte (G2)|Sky-Byte]] (13)
*[[Necrotitan]] (30)
*[[Metalhawk (Masterforce)|Metalhawk]] (44)
*[[Galvatron (G1)/IDW Generation 1 continuity|Galvatron]] (45)
*[[Nova Prime]] (46)
}}

==Quotes==

"Underwater! Lucky for us the ''Lost Light'' was built as a '''submarine''', eh, '''Perceptor?'''"<br>
"Is that true?"<br>
"Yep."<br>
"Really?"<br>
"Yep."<br>
"'''Really''', though?"<br>
"No."
:—'''Brainstorm''' and '''Perceptor'''


"They've got alt modes, they're armed and they can combine. They're '''Decepticons''', aren't they? Miniature Decepticons."<br>
"'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>Minicons,<nowiki>'</nowiki>''' anyone? No? <small>Suit yourselves.</small>"
:—'''Ultra Magnus''' and '''Brainstorm'''


'''Hardhead:''' "Hey, I'm not judging!"<br>
'''Rodimus:''' "You '''are''' judging. Orion, he '''is''' judging."<br>
'''Orion:''' "Stop judging, '''Hardhead'''."


"Look what that '''Titan''' did to us! How long do you want to '''stare''' at it?"<br>
"I'm with the '''dog'''—"<br>
"Cat."<br>
"—whatever."
:—'''Ravage''' and '''Prowl'''

==Notes==

===Continuity notes===
*Ultra Magnus is about to introduce himself to the Ammonites as the Duly Appointed Officer of the [[Tyrest Accord]] before stopping himself mid-sentence, following his departure from the position after the events of the "Remain in Light" saga in issues #[[Remain in Light 1 of 5: The Fecund Moon|17]]-[[Remain in Light 5 of 5: This Calamitous Life|21]].
*Magnus refers to the "[[Ambus Test]]", explained in a footnote to be "A universally recognized question-set designed to detect sentience in mechanical lifeforms." This'll be one of the tests created by Magnus's brother [[Dominus Ambus]] that were described in [[Before & After|issue #12]].
*As explained in a footnote, the Ammonites previously appeared in [[Little Victories|issue #22]].
*Also footnoted is Rodimus's reference to the effects of [[Tyrest (G1)|Tyrest]]'s killswitch, seen in [[Remain in Light 4 of 5: Arm the Lonely|issue #20]]. Hardhead was indeed shown to be one of the switch's victims in that issue.
*Chronologically, Metroplex last appeared in the ''[[The Transformers: Ironhide|Ironhide]]'' mini-series in 2010, heading off into the depths of space. 

===Transformers references===
*While listing the aquatically-skilled members of the ''Lost Light'' crew, Magnus name-drops [[Aquastar]]. This character was one of the Japanese-exclusive human [[Masterforce Warrior]]s, but like ''Robots in Disguise'' bit-parter [[Zetca (G1)|Zetca]] before him, this version of Aquastar would logically be a Cybertronian, rather than an Earthling.
*Prowl mistakes Ravage for a dog, something that's not uncommon in both the fandom and some pieces of fiction.

===Real-life references===
*The Ammonites live up to their name by combining into a giant [[Wikipedia:Ammonoidea|Ammonite]] to pursue the Rodpod.

===Trivia===
*Artist breakdown: As with preceding chapters, Rojo draws the scenes on Cybertron and Ramondelli covers the Dead Universe. The three ''Lost Light'' scenes are divided between Nick Roche, James Raiz and newcomer Robert Gill, in that order.

===Covers (3)===
*'''Cover A:''' Ratchet, Skids and Rung fend off the Ammonites, by [[Casey Coller]] and [[Joana Lafuente]]
*'''Sub cover:''' The [[Mini-Con Assault Team]] by [[Phil Jimenez]] and [[Romulo Fajardo Jr.]]
*'''Cover RI:''' Shockwave torments Megatron, by [[James Raiz]] and [[Josh Perez]]
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*"[[Dark Cybertron]]" checklist, highlighting [[Dark Cybertron Chapter 5|''Robots in Disguise'' #24]]
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==External links==

*[http://tformers.com/transformers-more-than-meets-the/21920/news.html Preview]