Wreckers: Finale Part II

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Tigatron cannot BELIEVE how much this guy costs on eBay.
"Wreckers: Finale Part II"
Publisher	Fun Publications
First published	November 30, 2007
Writers	Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop
Pencils	Guido Guidi
Inks	Guido Guidi
Colours	Drew Eiden
Continuity	3H Beast Wars continuity
Page count	35pp

The final showdown between the Wreckers and Cryotek determines the fate of Cybertron.

Synopsis

Several hours ago...

Above Cybertron, now a technorganic paradise, Quintesson leader Derodomontatus orders for the ships to descend. Crytoek cautions the Quintesson, but the arrogant five-faced alien believes that with the reformatting of Cybertron, most Cybertronians will be too docile to resist, and those that aren't can be tempted with promises of machine bodies. Cryotek simply expresses that he would prefer to not have his payment jeopardized by failure, and that the Wreckers are still out there. Derodomontatus scoffs, believing a small group could never defeat a whole empire...much the same as Megatron, Cryotek reflects. Reviewing recent events, including the manipulations of the Quintessons, and his agent Cyclonus' successful infiltration of the Wreckers, Cryotek knows there is still a chance of failure. And if the Quintessons do succeed, they are sure to betray Cryotek the second it is convenient. Interrupted from his thoughts by Derodomontatus, Cryotek smiles to himself, idly petting his pet Chro. Plans begin to form in the Predacon's head...

On-board the Wreckers' ship, tensions are raised. With Cyclonus having betrayed them, many of the Wreckers (especially Rodimus) believe Skywarp is the next to turn. Skywarp's demeanor certainly doesn't help; when Apelinq asks if they can go any faster, Skywarp states that if they do, the ship will explode, laughing at the thought. The former Seeker proceeds to mock the new crew member, the Quintesson Al-badur, who does not give in to Skywarp's goading. Apelinq is weary from the events of the last few days, and with the inexperienced Primal Prime leading the Wreckers into what seems like certain doom once again, he can only hope Prime knows what he's doing. Elsewhere on the ship, Primal Prime makes contact with Alpha Trion in another vision. Alpha Trion assures him not to worry about the technorganics; although the Oracle may have fooled them, Primus works in mysterious ways. Alpha Trion warns Primal Prime about the danger the Divine Light holds, but his connection begins to cut, leaving Primal alone in his chamber.

Arriving above Cybertron, the crew is shocked by the massive change the planet has gone through. Tigatron thinks it is beautiful, Rodimus and Arcee are reminded of Earth, Tap-Out is shocked, and Skywarp is disgusted. Skywarp points out the Quintesson ship over Polyhex; Apelinq tells him to avoid it, the Wreckers only possessing half a ship, and head towards the surface. Ramulus is eager to destroy some Sharkticons, but Al-badur believes the Quintessons are only a distraction, and that they should focus on Cryotek. When Ramulus accosts him, the Quintesson scientist grows furious, stating that while the Quintessons are vicious, they are repetitive, and the only variable they cannot account for is Cryotek. Ramulus is ready to kill Al-badur, but Primal Prime steps in, ordering the Wreckers to head for the largest group of ground troops, where Cryotek will surely be.

Now...

With the Divine Light placed within his spark chamber, Cryotek has been elevated to the power of the god. With only a few Wreckers standing in his way, Cryotek seems poised to win...but is shocked at what stands in front of him. Primal Prime and Apelinq, the former having taken a blast for the later, have been fused by the energies of Primus into a new being: Sentinel Maximus! Soon back to his arrogant self, Cryotek circles around Sentinel, proclaiming that after he kills him again, reality will be his for the taking. Derodomontatus objects, but Cryotek simply sics Chro on the Quintesson, the robotic bird tearing Derodomontatus apart. Cryotek lunges at Sentinel, and Cyclonus engages Devcon and Tigatron. Ramulus holds ranting the Quintesson up, and promises to spare the alien the embarrassment of defeat, pulling his fist back for the kill...

Above ground, Cheetor is contacted by the Oracle while fighting Sharkticons, telling him he is needed elsewhere. Not wanting to abandon the fight, he watches Snarl save an unsuspecting Maximal from an Allicon. Cheetor notices something about him, but the leonine Maximal shouts for him to go. As Cheetor run off to the Oracle, Snarl demands a status update from Skydive. The reptilian Maximal informs his commander that T-Wrecks and his Dinobots have driven the eastern flank back, but more and more Quintessons are landing across the planet. At Ankmor, Judge Brinn leads his forces forward, looking forward to regaining Cybertron. Extempaxia, however, is concerned; with all the technorganic foliage around, the Quintessons cannot detect any Cybertronians. Regarding a piece of technorganic fruit, Extempaxia does not notice the Maximal cobra Night Viper sneaking up on him until it is too late. The scientist's screams attract the others, and more Maximals descend on the Quintesson forces. A furious Brinn orders his flamethrower troops forward, and Night Viper is scorched, shocking the other Maximals. Brinn laughs, and tells the Maximals in front of him that if they surrender, they might get new bodies rid of design flaws. Suddenly, Night Viper strikes the unsuspecting judge, filling him with cyber venom. Healing with energies obtained from Brinn's systems, Night Viper transforms, and as the judge's optics go offline, his last sight is Night Viper grinning over him, a crystalline blade unleashed from his arm...

The Wreckers begin to abandon ship, the engines having been taken out. Rodimus tries to stay behind, despite Arcee's pleas, but Skywarp knocks the Autobot out, telling Tap-Out to take him and get off the ship. Arcee gets Rotorbolt and Fractyl out of the med-bay, and the ground-based Wreckers descend using emergency landing packs. Watching as Skywarp seemingly sacrifices himself to take out an entire fleet of Sharkticons. Beginning to eulogize the Decepticon, the proceedings are interrupted by a still-alive Skywarp, having teleported out of the ship at last second. The annoyed group heads forward; Rotorbolt's advocates heading for Cybertropolis, but Rodimus, sensing what's going on below, has them begin to head for there. Suddenly, Cheetor meets up with the group. Excited to meet his idol, Cheetor quickly composes himself, and introduces himself to Rodimus.

Elsewhere, Overseer Rexian has come across a near-entirely technological area of Cybertron. Hoping to get a promotion from this discovery, Rexian is distracted from his thoughts by a group of entirely mechanical robots. The group claims to be ancient Decepticons freed from the prisons...but when one claims to be Thundercracker, every one of them begins to fight, all believing themselves to be Thundercracker. When the Sharkticon forces begin to advance, the Decepticons decide whoever kills the most gets to be Thundercracker. When one questions if there is a tie, they declare that they'll flip it and whoever loses, gets to be Dirge. Rexian attempts to escape, but one of the other Decepticons attacks him, convinced that he's Sinnertwin.

Back below ground, Chro transforms into crossbow mode, firing off bolts at the Wreckers. Devcon blasts him, causing the avian robot to transform back to robot mode, and as he divebombs towards Ramulus, the Maximal blasts the Deployer, destroying the small Predcaon. Ramulus snarls, asking Cryotek if that's the best he's got, to which the Primus-empowered simply responds by sending a bolt of energy to his pet, mutating him to massive size. Devcon and Tigatron strafe Cyclonus, while Ramulus jumps in beast mode to avoid the mutated Chro's mobile artillery mode. Ramulus asks Tigatron if he can use his Vok powers, but Tigatron is reluctant, not wanting to mix it with the energies of Primus already present in the chamber. Cryotek freezes Sentinel Maximus, but does not notice as Hyperlinq separates from Sentinel, unfreezing his larger body. The headless body of Sentinel strikes Cryotek, and unites with Hyperlinq in vehicle mode to ram Cryotek into a wall, crashing through to the other side. Cryotek uses his energies to reformat Sharkticon corpses into simulacrum of his old minions. Sentinel begs Cryotek to not use these energies, in case he attracts Unicron, but Cryotek dismisses the god as no longer existing.

Al-badur contacts Sentinel, and Sentinel demands for him to get to the point. Al-badur informs Sentinel that Cryotek is more than likely capable of killing him, and that there is an increasing chance that their battle will attract Unicron. Sending him coordinates, Al-badur instructs him to lead Cryotek there, and heads off to Maximus' location. The Quintesson stumbles upon a group of Maximals: Rattrap, Botanica, and Nightscream. The Quintesson tells the suspicious Maximals of his connection to the Wreckers, and proves his goodwill by using a device to taking out 33.7% of the Sharkticon forces, their access codes remaining the same from his time on Quintessa. Botanica uses her roots to connect to a communication line, and confirms that Sharkticon forces at Mount Megatron have fallen by the hundreds.

At a former industrial complex, Overseer Vashik cowers in fear. Much of his front has already been decimated by Predacon forces, and with a half-complete fortress city already being built, he was left behind as In-Saba Nur's team sneaked into the city. Suddenly, Vashik is attacked by the leader of the Predacons, Galvatron, who crushes the Quintesson. Galvatron's subordinate, Waspinator, informs his leader that the Quintesson forces have swarmed into the western canyon. Pleased, Galvatron tells Waspinator to inform his brother to proceed. As the tiny Predacon darts off, Galvatron picks up Vashik, and asks him if he know just exactly where he is. Inside the canyon itself, In-Saba Nur is pleased at his progress, but is shocked from his thoughts as massive steel walls emerge, preventing their escape. Suddenly, hot poring metal flows into the canyon, melting the unfortunate soldiers within, while the Predacons above blast those trying to escape. Galvatron carries Vashik with him, and shows the Quintesson the melted remains of his fellow forces. Telling him that he should be glad that his base metals will be used to rebuild Darkmount, Galvatron throws the screaming Quintesson into the smelting pool.

Rodimus and his group race to the underground, reuniting with several of their teammates. Cyclonus and Rodimus stand off, with the latter demanding for Cryotek. Cyclonus grins, telling them that those of whom he doesn't kill can die in the final stand against Cryotek. Ramulus threatens the large Decepticon, but Skywarp suddenly blasts the Maximal, blowing the floor out from under him and causing him to fall into the darkness below. Cyclonus explains that although Skywarp's personality has returned, he still controls his fellow Decepticon...which Skywarp always hated. Teleporting behind his former partner, Skywarp blasts him in the back, telling him he only ever followed one leader...and Cyclonus was never him. An angry Cyclonus calls for his Sharkticon horde, acquired from the Quintessons, to attack. As the battle commences, an angry Rodimus pulls Skywarp aside. Skywarp tells him that for now, they have a common enemy, and Rodimus lets him go, promising a reckoning. Cheetor, meanwhile, reunites with Tigatron. Cheetor throws his blade into Cyclonus' chest, and the shocked Decepticon commends him for his bravery. Suddenly, large bolts of energy fill the cavern, striking Tap-Out and Skywarp, and the two simply disappear, confusing even Cyclonus. As the battle begin again, Cheetor orders Tigatron to get to the surface for reinforcements. Initially reluctant, Tigatron relents, and heads to the surface.

Above ground, the Dinobots are counting their kills, giving points for style. Dinotron and Triceradon are briefly shocked when Retptron displays his bloodthirsty nature, using a Quintesson Judge as a club against the Sharkticons. T-Wrecks, meanwhile, takes care of the remaining Sharkticons. As the smoke clears, he notices Triceradon has disappeared, just like Striker before him. Radioing Longhorn, he inquires if it's a Quintesson weapon, and whether they'll use it again. Longhorn doubts it, with it acquiring a large amount of Sharkticons as well, and looks over at Snarl's Beast Rider, it's pilot having similarly vanished.

Arcee, reluctant to leave Fractyl, but knowing they need her below, is wracked with indecision. Rotorbolt promises to look after his fellow Predacon, but as Arcee rushes off to join the others, Rotorbolt contemplates turning off Fractyl's life support. Knowing that the Allspark is real, and feeling that a Predacon, even a scientist like Fractyl, does not deserve to die in such a weak way, Rotorbolt considers the ethics. Before he can do anything, however, Tigatron interrupts him. Tigatron attempts to heal Fractyl, but the Vok contained in his spark warn that if he does use them to heal Fractyl, this will be the last action they preform for him. Tigatron considers, and eventually, decides to let the aliens go free. Fractyl's body is healed by the Vok, and as he awakens, Rotorbolt tells him to be ready to be ready to fight.

Cyclonus blasts the ceiling as he takes his chance to escape, setting up a barrier between him and the Wreckers. Rodimus, however, manages to get under the barrier, and engages the Decepticon in combat. Savagely attacking each other, the two insult each other, with Rodimus mocking Cyclonus' need to follow leaders like the insane Galvatron, and Cyclonus mocking Rodimus about his feelings of unworthiness during his time as a Prime. As the two train their weapons directly on each other's chests, Cyclonus attempts to call Rodimus' bluff. Rodimus smiles, and the two fire.

Aboard the Quintesson warship the Paradigm, Admiral Krahulik watches in horror at the scenes below. Demanding for orbital bombardment, he dismisses the fact that their are troops still on the planet. Suddenly, however, the ship is fired upon by a reactivated orbital defense grid, breaching the ship core and destroying the ship. On one of the rocky satellites, Obsidian compliments Strika's skills, the former having rewired the orbital defenses to allow them for firing. Resolving to contact the surface, Obsidian declares that nothing will happen to Cybertron under their watch.

Rodimus wakes up, his chest having practically melted. Cyclonus, too, has awaken, and drags himself to Rodimus. He tells the former Autobot leader that while he always hated Optimus, he had respect for Rodimus, him being the element that finally forced the Decepticons off Cybertron. Promising to take him out cleanly, Rotorbolt interrupts the Decepticon, blasting him away from Rodimus. Rotorbolt shouts at the Decepticon, but with his loud rotors cutting out his voice, Cyclonus can't understand a word he says. Cutting out his rotors, he lands on the back of the Decepticon, and tells him that the explosion's for his betrayal on Archa Nine, and for making him repeat himself, he turns his hand into a plasma blaster, shooting the Decepticon straight in the face. Walking over to Rodimus, Rotorbolt is shocked by the injuries Rodimus has acquired.

With Cheetor partially buried under rubble, Devcon nearly has his head ripped off by Chro, but Arcee uses her webbing to pull the mutated bird back, allowing Devcon to blast Chro apart. Tigatron, Fractyl, Rattrap, Botanica, Nightscream, and Al-badur soon join the group, with Rattrap pleased to see Tigatron, although he doesn't allow his friend to get a single sentence completed. Al-badur notices the Vok have left Tigatron, and Arcee and Rattrap warily greet each other. Arcee carries Rodimus, barely functional, to the group. Nightscream breaks up the reunion, pointing out the threat of Cryotek, and the group heads off to help Sentinel Maximus.

On New Quintessa, Judge Heirodyus watches the footage of the Paradigm exploding. With Derodomontatus likely dead, controlling shares fall to him, and a pleased Heirodyus heads off into the techno-organic greenhouse. Admiring the beauty of so-called Quintesson creation, Heirodyus is suddenly interrupted by the two surviving Mutants, Icebird and Poison Bite. The Quintesson calls for his guards, but the Mutants use a newfound power to control the technorganic growth, spearing the guards with vines and attacking those who manage to escape. Heirodyus heads for the escape pods, but Poison Bite teleports to him, and Icebird barrels the Quintesson to the ground. His bear head melting into his body to reveal a monstrous face, Icebird is suddenly possessed by Primus himself, who thanks the Quintesson for his species's role in driving his children further, and the light from Primus burns Heirodyus away.

Gathering in the chamber, Al-badur explains that the armaments contained within, along with the Wrecker's help, will destroy Cryotek. Arcee, suspicious, tells Fractyl to stay with the Quintesson. Soon enough, Sentinel Maximus and Cryotek come barreling through the walls. Al-badur directs the Wreckers to hold Cryotek while he erects a force field to hold him, but the massive Predacon proves hard to contain. Devcon grabs him by the neck, while Botanica and Rotorbolt fire, but Cryotek shifts to robot form, and throws Devcon at Sentinel. Nightscream attempts to use his energy-draining fangs, but Cryotek grabs them and uses them to swing the young Maximal into Rotorbolt. Arcee, meanwhile, begins to remember an adventure that a few of the Autobots had gone on, involving a world accessed through a Quintesson portal. Yelling for everyone to get back, the Wreckers and Maximals manage to get out of range. Cryotek, too, attempts to escape, but is held back by Sentinel Maximus untl the two are trapped by a forcefield.

The treacherous Al-badur opens a portal to the formless dimension, and Cryotek and Sentinel Maximus struggle to escape from the portal's gravitational pull. The Wreckers and Maximals' weapons have no effect on the forcefield and are separated from Al-badur’s side of the forcefield. Rattrap doesn’t have any access panels to hack into and stop the process. Botanica, meanwhile, feels her energy weakening, the non-techno-organic nature of the chamber blocking her energy source. Cheetor orders Rattrap and Nightscream to take her to the surface, telling them they’ll stop Al-badur…somehow. A furious Sentinel Maximus questions why Al-badur has done this; with his brethren out of the way, along with the most dangerous of the Cybertronians, Al-badur now has access to Primus’ energies. With Sentinel Maximus and Cryotek elsewhere, Unicron's attentions will be turned from Cybertron, allowing Al-badur to turn it into the most powerful weapon in existence. Al-badur brags that he has accounted for everything, but Sentinel smirks, telling him the one thing he has forgotten: his species's tendencies of arrogance and hubris. Suddenly, Ramulus, who has survived his descent, punches the Quintesson. Falling into the forcefield, Al-badur lashes out as he is sucked into the portal.

Rattrap and Nightscream return to the chamber, having gotten Botanica to a safe position, and her vines bring Rodimus to the chamber. Arcee tries to stop Rodimus from exerting himself, ready to use her energon webbing to get over to the other side. Cheetor refuses to have her do this, knowing that even Cryotek and Sentinel Maximus are barely keeping themselves from being sucked in by the portal. Fractyl interrupts, explaining that the Divine Light in his chest appears to be a condensed energy matrix on Primus’ wavelength. Realizing what the Predacon is saying, Rodimus and Cheetor use their status as Matrix Templars to try and suck the energy from Cryotek and place their hands on the forcefield. As the energy is sucked from him, Cryotek uses his powers to convert the wall behind into a mechanical scorpion, which Arcee takes out. Arcee begs Rodimus to not use his power, knowing that it’ll kill him, but Rodimus continues on. Cryotek revives Cyclonus’ corpse and attempts to find out how the two are draining his energy. Suddenly realizing, Cryotek pries the Divine Light from his body, shattering the crystal. With the connection point destroyed, Cheetor and Rodimus cannot suck anymore of Cryotek’s energy away. Sentinel shouts to Ramulus to shut off the portal, and the Maximal resorts to smashing things when he can’t read the controls. Cryotek attempts to force Sentinel into the portal. Knowing that if Cryotek manages to escape, he still has enough power to control Cybertron, Sentinel cuts his thrusters, and grabs the Predacon’s arms. Cryotek is still straining, but Sentinel uses his Transfer Interlink to create a massive anvil, forcing both him and the Predacon into the portal. Ramulus manages to turn it off, but he is too late…

Above ground, Longhorn and the Cybertronian forces close in on the fleeing Quintessons. As the ship lifts off, a Maximal and Predacon place payloads on the wings, jumping off to join the rest of the troops. The ship explodes, while other Quintesson ships escape, only to head straight into the planetary defense system. Below ground, the Wreckers and Maximals gather around the dead Rodimus. Fractyl tries to have Tigatron use his powers to revive Rodimus, but Tigatron sadly informs him that with the Vok gone from him, there’s nothing he can do. Fractyl attempts to console Arcee, but the female Autobot simply sighs. Looking at her synthetic flesh digits that replaced her steel hands so long ago, Arcee reflects that death for a Cybertronian is simply another change, and that they shouldn’t give up hope because Rodimus is gone. Arcee and Fractyl take Rodimus off to the secret gravesite of fallen Autobots, promising to return this time. The group begins to return to the surface, and Cheetor can’t help but feel he’s in a similar position to what Rodimus once held. Nightscream assures him that Cybertron’s in good hands. Soon, the wave of seriousness is over, and Nightscream, Rattrap, and Ramulus race to the surface to try and get any Sharkticons that remain. Rotorbolt questions Botanica as to what exactly she sees in Rattrap, to which she casually responds that he makes her laugh.

In the void, Cryotek attempts to reach out to Al-badur. When he makes contact with the Quintesson, the alien simply disintegrates, unable to hold his form together in this realm. Cryotek, too, would be ripped apart, were it not for the remaining energy of Primus he held. Spotting Sentinel Maximus, he heads towards his foe, and the two prepare for battle…until a voice tells Sentinel he is need, and the Wrecker vanishes. Cryotek is content to wait, knowing that time passes differently here, but is unsettled. He feels…something with him in the void.

Atop Mount Megatron, Rook reports on the successful repelling of the Quintessons. Watching as Cheetor and the others emerge from the underground, Rook questions him as to what happened down there. Before Cheetor can answer, Nightscream shoves pass, telling a rather biased version of events, and attempts to have the ladies call him before Rattrap yanks him away. Rook attempts to interview Devcon, but the bounty hunter walks away, prepared to leave Cybertron. Rattrap tries to convince him to stay, but it’s a new world that doesn’t need Devcon anymore. Hoping to reconnect with the "lizard", Devcon flies off, disappearing in the sky.

On New Quintessa, Icebird watches as several terrified Sharkticons gather in front of him. Poison Bite asks his comrade if they should put them out of their misery, but Icebird refuses. Gathering the Sharkticons, the two begin to glow, and the Sharkticons begin to feel unfamiliar emotions: hope and joy.

Elsewhere, Sentinel Maximus is greeted by a familiar sight: Windrazor, who managed to survive his home realities destruction when Apelinq pulled him through his transwarp portal, sending him to the Allspark. Serving as a spirit guide, Windrazor informs him there is a bigger threat than Cryotek and says goodbye to his friend. Materializing in front of Vector Sigma, Sentinel is greeted by two ancient mechanoids. Recognizing one as Alpha Trion, something tells Sentinel that this isn’t the Trion he knew. The other mechanoid sparks memories that Sentinel shouldn’t have. Sentinel looks around him, and remarks that he feels strange.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots/Maximals	Decepticons/Predacons/Vehicons	Others
Apelinq (4) Rodimus (6) Primal Prime (8) Alpha Trion (9) Tigatron (10) Arcee (11) Tap-Out (12) Ramulus (13) Devcon (14) Sentinel Maximus (16) Cheetor (17) Battle Unicorns (19) Snarl (20) Quickstrike (22) Che (23) Skydive (24) Night Viper (27) Buzzsaw (28) Hammerstrike (29) Rattrap (35) Botanica (36) Nightscream (37) Longhorn (48) Stampy (58) Rook (59) Windrazor (60) Alpha Trion (61) Vector Prime (62) Safeguard (63) Dinobots Dinotron (43) Triceradon (44) Reptron (45) T-Wrecks (46) Terrranotron (47)	Cryotek (2) Chro (3) Skywarp (5) Cyclonus (15) Rotorbolt (30) Fractyl (31) "Thundercrackers" (33) "Sinnertwin" (34) Galvatron (39) Waspinator (40) Megastorm (42) Obsidian (51) Strika (52) Slapper (57)	Quintessons Derodomontatus (1) Al-badur (7) Sharkticons (18) Allicons (21) Brinn (25) Extempaxia (26) Rexian (32) Vashik (38) In-Saba Nur (41) Krahulik (50) Heirodyus (53) Others Vok (49) Oracle/Primus (56) Mutants Icebird (54) Poison Bite (55)

Quotes

"My dear Derodomontatus, a contract is simply an agreement bound in law. In order for it to have binding power, you must be capable of enforcing it."

—Cryotek tells Derodomontatus that he's dead.

"Desssign flaw? No, no, no... It'sss a feature, ssstupid."

—Night Viper doesn't mind being incinerated.

"Prepare plasma arrays for orbital bombardment."
"But what of our forces still remaining on the surface?"
"I am certain our brethren will appreciate our proactive solution to the unexpected impediment to our forward progression in this unparalleled business opportunity."

—Admiral Krahulik totally went to PR school.

"What?"
"I said, that was for stabbing me in the back on Archa Nine! And this... this is for making me repeat myself!"

—a dying Cyclonus and a vengeful Rotorbolt

"Goodbye, Heirodyus. I will call your people to meet me again the next time I have need of an evolutionary crisis."

—Primus, Lord of Light, wise in all things...turns out to be something of a smartass.

"I have known quite a few geniuses, Quintesson. I have killed quite a few of them, in fact. Your inclusion in their number speaks poorly for all of them."

—Cryotek doesn't think much of Al-badur.

"I... I don't know how! I don't fraggin' read Quintesson!"
"Just start hitting things!"
"That's a language I understand!"

—Ramulus and Sentinel Maximus

"Even when you were a bug, I hated your stinkin' circuits."

—Skywarp

Notes

• Characters name-dropped but who do not appear include: Megatron, the Vehicons, an "ancient horror", Shokaract, Optimus Primal, Thundercracker, Dirge, Tankor, Scorponok, Tarantulas, Unicron, Dinobot, Thrust, Backslash, Silverbolt, Blackarachnia, "Fish-bug", Cyclonus' previous form, Striker, Megatron/Galvatron, Optimus Prime, the Targetmasters, the "bird lady", Merdane, Ultra Magnus, and the "lizard".
• The text story's title image is taken from the description of the final splash panel from the unpublished Wreckers #4.

Continuity notes

• The opening scene with Cryotek aboard the Quintesson ship is actually set before the very beginning of "The Wreckers: Finale Part 1". The very next scenes set aboard the Wreckers' shuttle on their way back to Cybertron are set during the middle of Part 1, after the scene of the Wreckers arguing over the validity of the message about Cryotek working with the Quintessons, but before the scene of their arrival on Cybertron. In the unpublished script for Part 1, the former ends at the text label for Page 16, while the latter begins at the text label for Page 19. A good reading place to insert the shuttle scenes would be right before the text label for Page 18, immediately after the Rusty Mace's crash-landing on Cybertron but before its crew properly joins with the other Maximals in the fight a little bit later.
• Many events from The Wreckers are recapped in the opening section of the story, including the tasks of the Mutants and Dinobots in "Departure", and Cyclonus' betrayal in "Betrayal", and Al-badur joining with the Wreckers in "Disclosure". Additionally, Apelinq remembers his role in Point Omega in "Terminus".
• Technorganic fruit previously appeared in Beast Machines episode "Forbidden Fruit".
• Cheetor refers to his days at the MCSF acadamy, mentioned in his BotCon 2006 bio.
• Among Cryotek's false Predacons is Backslash; he first appeared in "Theft of the Golden Disk", working as one of Cryotek's enforcers.
• The story gives a name to the plant world that Botanica and crew were studying, seen in "Home Soil": Regalis V.
• The disappearance of Skywarp, Tap-Out, Triceradon, and Snarl (see errors), plus a contingent of Sharkticons, is due to them being kidnapped by Unicron. The latter would be freed in the Universe story "Escape", while Skywarp would not be seen again until a one-panel appearance in a flashback in "Revelations Part 2", among Unicron's forces.
• Rodimus refers to Galvatron as Cyclonus's old master from the era of the Great War, in keeping with the reference in "Possession" to Galvatron, but "Terminus" showed Megatron as one of the denizens of J'nwan. Guess Galvatron got his old name and body back by the end of the Great War?
• Obsidian and Strika were launched into orbit near the end of Beast Machines, in "Endgame Pt. II: When Legends Fall".
• Arcee and Rattrap act awkward around each other, in reference to their relationship as great aunt and nephew, as mentioned in "Transmutate".
• The formless dimension, along with the Quintesson banishment chamber and Merdane, originated in the Sunbow The Transformers Season 3 episode "Madman's Paradise". The evil presence within that dimension calls to mind the beings mentioned in the bio of Universe Ramjet who tortured Ramjet in a formless void.
• Windrazor was last seen at the conclusion of "Terminus". For Apelinq/Sentinel Maximus, it has only been a few weeks or months, but for real-world readers, that story concluded almost 8 years earlier, with no information on Windrazor's fate.
• The last part of the story is a re-telling of Sentinel's arrival on Unicron Trilogy Cybertron in "Balancing Act" from his point of view.

Transformers references

• Cryotek notes Sentinel Maximus uses Headmaster technology.
• Multiple toy only characters show up, including Quickstrike, Skydive, Longhorn, Che, Night Viper, Buzz Saw, and Hammerstrike, all of whom are from Beast Machines. Injector, meanwhile, is from the Beast Wars toyline.
• Snarl uses his toy's "punching action" gimmick to extend his arm forward and drive his claws into the eyes of a Sharkticon.
• Ankmor Park first appeared in the previous club prose story, "The New World".
• One of Cryotek's creations is a spider-legged mechanical head that transforms into a simulacrum of Megatron. It is based directly on the Robots in Disguise Megatron Megabolt toy, which itself was originally designed for Beast Machines as a toy of that Megatron's flying head fortress.
• "Pre-reformatting synthetic-flesh cyborgs"—the Cyborg Beasts from Beast Wars II—are noted as part of Galvatron's forces. Their description of "pre-reformatting" also relates back to how Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo were originally perceived as taking place chronologically before the events of Beast Machines (which may actually be true in this story's continuity), instead of long after (per the official Japanese Generation 1 cartoon timeline).
• Darkmount and the smelting pool first appeared in Marvel's The Transformers issue #17.
• Galvatron and Megastorm come from Beast Wars II, Stampy originates from Beast Wars Neo, and Slapper comes from Robots in Disguise.
• Rodimus sees his cosmotron [sic], a Cybertronian body part from The Transformers cartoon episode "Divide and Conquer".
• Chro is called a vast predatory bird, referencing the oft-used Furmanism.
• For the first time ever, Poison Bite makes use of his teleportation ability mentioned in his original toy bio.
• Icebird's "robot-mode" head is used in this story to represent Primus speaking through him as his avatar.
• When Rodimus dies, Arcee hopes to see him again someday "when all are one."
• Rook reports from the "Cybernet Space Cube", from the rebranded Generation 2 cartoon. This was a reference/gag that Glen Hallit had wanted to put into an issue of the Wreckers or Universe comics, but was ultimately unable to when the license was revoked and both comic series were canceled.
• Windrazor's new role as a "spirit guide" echoes the tech specs function of the Robots in Disguise Air Attack Optimus Primal toy, which described him as an "Autobot Spirit Guide".

Real-world references

• Ankmor Park is noted to have been a chemical processing facility before the reformatting; its namesake, the city Ankh-Morpork from the novel series Discworld, had a running gag about the city's high pollution levels.
• In-Saba Nur is named for Marvel Comics villain Apocalypse's real name, En Sabah Nur.
• Struck by Unicron's bolts, the text describes Tap-Out and Skywarp "screamed and were suddenly silenced," a quote from Star Wars.
• Admiral Krahulik is named after Mike Krahulik, one of the creators of the webcomic Penny Arcade.
• Cheetor thanks the Wreckers for helping to defeat Chro, glad that they "showed up before this cat was eaten by that canary." This pun is in reference to the title of the 1922 John Willard play (or any of its film adaptations) The Cat and the Canary.
• Rattrap calls Tigatron "Tigatron the Barbarian", in reference to Conan the Barbarian.
• Arcee remembers the events of "Madman's Paradise" being described to her as a world of wizards and warriors and dungeons and dragons, referencing the platforming video game and the RPG of the same names, respectively.
• Ramulus calls Rattrap "Cheesy Rider," in reference to the 1969 independent drama film Easy Rider.
• Botanica's response to Rotorbolt as to what she sees in Rattrap is a quote from the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
• Icebird remarks that he and Poison Bite are not godless killing machines, in reference to a recurring joke about bears by Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report.

Errors

• Yes, the first half is titled "The Wreckers: Finale Part 1" while the second half is titled "Wreckers: Finale Part II". Sigh.
• Page 2: Mish-mash, not mish-mashed
• Page 17: Cyclonus hovered in the tunnel between the Wreckers and their goal. His missiles trained on the warriors before him.
• Page 18: "the chamber it up"
• When Skywarp, Tap-Out, Triceradon, and several Sharkticons all vanish, having been abducted by Unicron, Snarl is also indicated as having suffered the same fate, if not literally stated as such.. However, Snarl's official profile included in "Abduction" (set a year after this story but published four years before) states otherwise, describing his life on Cybertron during the year set between Beast Machines and Universe.
• Page 23: "I said; that was for..." Colon, or comma, but not a semi-colon.
• Page 27: "arctic" not "artic"
• While mourning Rodimus, Arcee says that he will be with friends like Optimus. "Terminus" showed Optimus Prime as one of the inhabitants of J'nwan. So perhaps Arcee considers living in J'nwan to be death, she doesn't know Optimus is still alive, or Optimus no longer retired to J'nwan in the revised version of history. (Of course, the real world reason why is that Simon Furman wrote the Omega Point storyline with the Marvel comics in mind, while everything else from 3H was written to have the cartoon backstory.)

Trivia

• This story is said by Derodomontatus to occur nearly one Cybertronian week after the reformatting of Cybertron in the final episode of Beast Machines. At first glance, this statement is at odds with both "The Wreckers: Finale Part 1" (in which Rook said that the invasion began just under "three deca-cycles", or three months, after the planet's reformatting) and "Disclosure" (in which a War Journal entry written by Apelinq likewise mentioned it had been "deca-cycles" since Apelinq passed command of the Wreckers over the Primal Prime). However both of those statements were rather ludicrous; with just how tightly-knit the events of both Beast Machines and The Wreckers have been, there is no way that either could span the length of nearly three months (especially not The Wreckers, which instead only spans a few days). This story changing the timeframe to "barely a week" after the reformatting makes for a much easier pill to swallow, basically fixing the timeline of The Wreckers by retconning away the ridiculous claims of the two preceding chapters.

External links

• "Wreckers: Finale Part II" at The Official Transformers Collectors' Club