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'''Prologue:'''
'''Prologue:'''


Back in the 1980s, everyone’s talking about those big Transformers: [[Cobra]] weapon? Aliens? [[Noah Acton]], bored and grumpy on a holiday to [[United Kingdom|Britain]], gets a good close-up of them when the baddie robots attack the British Museum for the magic statue of [[Amenhotep III]]! Luckily the goodie robots see off those Decepticreeps with their powers and whacky puns, and save the Actons! Yay holiday! (In the sunken ''Victory'', [[Skywarp (G1)|Sky Warp]] isn’t too sure Egyptian magic to disable language skills is a smart plan but keeps it to himself. At least he picked up the [[Rosetta Stone]] on the retreat or, as he calls it, that handy paperweight)
In the 1980s, everyone's talking about those big [[Transformer]]s, uncertain if they're [[Cobra]] weapons, aliens, or whatever else. [[Noah Acton]], bored and grumpy on a holiday to [[United Kingdom|Britain]], gets a good close-up of them when the [[Decepticon]]s attack a British museum for the magical statue of [[Amenhotep III]]. The [[Autobot]] [[Mini Vehicle|Minibots]] fend off the Decepticons, and save the Actons. In the sunken ''[[Victory (ship)|Victory]]'', [[Skywarp (G1)|Sky Warp]] isn’t too sure using [[Egypt]]ian magic to disable language skills is a smart plan but keeps it to himself. At least he picked up the [[Rosetta Stone]] on the retreat or, as he calls it, that handy paperweight.
 
In the present day, the Beast Upgrade has dramatically changed the war: now the Resistance can forage for food, the old logistics about supply lines don’t apply and the fortress city of [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]] is now a viable target! As [[Lio Convoy (BWII)|Lio Convoy’s]] troops go for the infrastructure and the [[Micromaster]]s & [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] loyalists run a scorched earth defensive, [[Packrat]] is looting the [[Museum of Decepticon Heritage]]. Small objects are easy to pilfer but taking the legendary “Stone of Sky Warp” requires a sky sled, which gets him caught and a Micromaster patrol sicced on him. (Even as he dodges missiles, Packrat notices that the even loyalist Micromasters feel comfortable ''contradicting [[Builder of Cybertron|Builders]]'') He gets away and back to the “Antares Eight”, his creepy employers. But why do they want a hunk o’ rock?
 


In the present day, the [[Beast Upgrade]] has dramatically changed the war: now that the [[Resistance]] can forage for food, the old logistics about supply lines don't apply and the fortress city of [[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]] is now a viable target. As [[Lio Convoy (BWII)|Lio Convoy]]'s troops go for the infrastructure and the [[Micromaster]]s and [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] loyalists run a scorched earth defensive, [[Packrat]] is looting the [[Museum of Decepticon Heritage]]. Small objects are easy to pilfer but taking the legendary "Stone of Sky Warp" requires a [[sky-sled]], which gets him caught and a Micromaster patrol sicced on him. He gets away and back to the "[[Antares Eight]]", his creepy employers, and wonders why they would want a hunk of rock.


'''Act the First:'''
'''Act the First:'''


[[Overshoot]] and [[Stiletto]] have abandoned the [[Maximal Command Security Force]] since [[Burning Bridges|we last saw them]] and now work as [[Death's Head|freelance peacekeeping agents]]. The MCSF was losing ground (which Overshoot has mixed feelings about) but they’ve just abruptly vanished from [[Proximax]]. Overshoot and Stiletto are breaking in to find out why. What they find is the whole place was abandoned in a hurry, half-drunk oil left behind and all weaponry taken: the result of the mysterious “[[Dandelion Protocol]]”, orders to retreat to an unspecified redoubt. Left behind is a [[Darksyder]] Beast Pod and the duo use it to take Beast Upgrades, Stiletto as a DeathEagle and Overshoot as an armodrillo. That’s when some bizarre, glowing ''presence'' hits the upgraded Overshoot and tells him they’re “needed” somewhere…
[[Overshoot]] and [[Stiletto]] have abandoned the [[Maximal Command Security Force]] since [[Burning Bridges|traumatic events]] and now work as freelance peacekeeping agents. The MCSF was losing ground (which Overshoot has mixed feelings about) but they’ve just abruptly vanished from [[Proximax]]. Overshoot and Stiletto are breaking in to find out why. What they find is the whole place was abandoned in a hurry, half-drunk [[oil]] left behind and all weaponry taken: the result of the mysterious "[[Dandelion Protocol]]", orders to retreat to an unspecified redoubt. Left behind is a [[Darksyder]] Beast Pod and the duo use it to take Beast Upgrades: Stiletto as a [[DeathEagle]] and Overshoot as an [[armodrillo]]. That's when some bizarre, glowing ''presence'' hits the upgraded Overshoot and tells him they're "needed" somewhere…


[[File:CulturalAppropriation QuickmixMicroTrailer.jpg|upright=1.8|left|thumb|]]
[[File:CulturalAppropriation QuickmixMicroTrailer.jpg|upright=1.8|left|thumb|]]


And trundling through Proximax is a Constructicon convoy under the Autobot [[Hightower]], transporting Prisoner N626BG to [[Iacon]]; they’d had to evacuate after the local MCSF had deserted. The peak moment of vulnerability is the Hoist Metrospan, the cover-lacking bridge from southern Proximax to northern. [[Buckethead]] (former ‘bulk’ and current Decepticon Micromaster) questions the decision to use the bridge ''riiiight'' in time for the Resistance to attack. She takes command of the scattered crew and they fight a running retreat, but she decides to abandon the prisoner: he may be politically useful but she’s not risking comrades for some rando turncoat. Unfortunately for Buckethead her retreat took her right into [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]]! He’s too powerful and too fixated on torturing her to death, but she has one option: letting Prisoner N626BG out and having him run away as a distraction! Doesn’t work. Rampage decides to kill her first.
Meanwhile trundling through Proximax is a [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicon]] convoy under the Autobot [[Hightower (RID)|Hightower]], transporting Prisoner N626BG to [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]; they’d had to evacuate after the local MCSF had deserted. The peak moment of vulnerability is the [[Hoist Metrospan]], the cover-lacking bridge from southern Proximax to northern. [[Buckethead]] (former Macromaster and current Decepticon Micromaster) questions the decision to use the bridge in time for the Resistance to attack. She takes command of the scattered crew and they fight a running retreat, but she decides to abandon the prisoner; he may be politically useful but she's not risking comrades for some random turncoat. Unfortunately for Buckethead, her retreat took her right into [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]]. He's too powerful and too fixated on torturing her to death, but she has one option: letting Prisoner N626BG out and having him run away as a distraction. It doesn’t work, as Rampage decides to kill her first.
 
Stiletto and Overshoot arrive mid-battle, and Overshoot ‘knows’ they have to stop the fight and get Buckethead, Rampage, ''and'' the prisoner: [[Snapper]], left with a price on his head after [[Micro-Aggressions|betraying Grimlock]]! Stiletto distracts Rampage from his attack (“Oh, goodie, fresh scrap!”) while her comrade goes for the fleeing Predacon, who mistakenly thinks Buckethead had been looking out for him. Poor weary Snapper finds himself cornered and being told the entire planet is in danger and he’s needed to save it, and there’s just ''something'' in Overshoot’s optics that make him agree. Rampage, meanwhile, can smell ex-MCSF on Stiletto and he just ''hates'' those collaborators; why listen to her when he can play up the ‘scary mechannibal’ angle and intimidate her into being an easy kill? When Overshoot tries to stop the fight, Rampage ignores him too and when it looks like he might be overrun, sod it, let’s blow the whole bridge up so ''everyone'' falls to their death!
 


Stiletto and Overshoot arrive mid-battle, and Overshoot "knows" they have to stop the fight and get Buckethead, Rampage, ''and'' the prisoner: [[Snapper]], left with a price on his head after [[Micro-Aggressions|betraying Grimlock]]. Stiletto distracts Rampage from his attack while her comrade goes for the fleeing Predacon, who mistakenly thinks Buckethead had been looking out for him. Poor weary Snapper finds himself cornered and being told the entire planet is in danger and he’s needed to save it, and there’s just ''something'' in Overshoot’s optics that make him agree. Rampage, meanwhile, can smell MCSF on Stiletto, which he loathes. When Overshoot tries to stop the fight, Rampage ignores him and when it looks like he might be overrun, he decides to blow the whole bridge up so ''everyone'' falls to their death.


'''Interlude:'''
'''Interlude:'''


[[Vamp]] has done her duty and blended in with the local Predacons and built up a power base and her duty ''sucks''! Cybertronians ''suck''! But now she and her fellow [[Spatiotemporal Challengers|spaciotemporal refugees]] have the Rosetta Stone. The Stone itself is no biggie but the [[Confederation of Terran Worlds|Terran Federation]]’s technology ''is'', and this priceless Earth artefact might lure Terrans into a handy, tech-pinching ambush. [[Creepy]], who is, locates a trans-hyperwave caster they can seize while pretending to be Resistance, lure in the humans, and then use Terran tech to conquer the world!
[[Vamp]] has done her duty and blended in with the local [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] and built up a power base, despite her utter disgust of Cybertronians. But now she and her fellow [[Spatiotemporal Challengers|spaciotemporal refugees]] have the Rosetta Stone. The stone itself is nothing special but the [[Confederation of Terran Worlds|Terran Federation]]'s technology ''is'', and this priceless Earth artifact might lure Terrans into a handy, tech-pinching ambush. [[Creepy]] locates a [[trans-hyperwave caster]] they can seize while pretending to be Resistance, lure in the humans, and then use Terran tech to conquer Cybertron!
 
 


'''Act the Second:'''
'''Act the Second:'''


Everyone on the bridge survived the fall but their personal and ideological conflicts are likely to make them kill each other anyway, until Overshoot uses force of will to get everyone to quieten down: there’s a threat to Cybertron only they can stop and they need to go “down”. In order to calm things, Overshoot gets everyone to talk about themselves and, to general amusement, all of them have left some cause or group. This ragtag group of “[[Ex-Bots]]” start to follow him down. All the way down until they find themselves descending through ancient ruins that the later generations built over, ruins dating to the Age of Internment.  
Everyone on the bridge survived the fall but their personal and ideological conflicts are likely to make them kill each other anyway, until Overshoot uses force of will to get everyone to quieten down: there’s a threat to Cybertron only they can stop and they need to go "down". In order to calm things, Overshoot gets everyone to talk about themselves and, to general amusement, all of them have left some cause or group. This ragtag group of "[[Ex-Bots]]" start to follow him down. All the way down until they find themselves descending through ancient ruins that the later generations built over, ruins dating to the [[Age of Internment]].  


And then further. And further. Snapper has to give up climbing and is magnatised to Rampage’s galva-conductors, and then ''further still''.
At the bottom, they find the [[Oracle (BM)|mythical Oracle]]!


And at the bottom, the [[Oracle (BM)|mythical Oracle]]!  
The Oracle absorbs the receptive Overshoot into itself and grants him a vision of Cybertron in flames and chaos. But this is a ''necessary'' conflict, sweeping out a monstrous old order and restoring a balance, much has happened before and will later. In the distant future, [[Earth]] and Cybertron will once again be allies against a great threat and, in time, there will be a merger. But to prevent this being derailed, someone has to stop intruders from beyond, "the Spawn of [[Antares 3|Antares]]", from distorting the order of things!


The Oracle absorbs the receptive Overshoot into itself and grants him a vision of Cybertron in flames and chaos…. But this is a ''necessary'' conflict, sweeping out a monstrous old order and restoring a balance, much has happened before and will later. And in the distant future, Earth and Cybertron will once again be allies against a great threat and, in time, there will be a merger. But to prevent this being derailed, someone has to stop intruders from beyond, “the Spawn of Antares”, from distorting the order of things!
Everyone else is incredulous of the Oracle wanting the war and ''humans'' needing help, but "Spawn of Antares" makes Snapper remember [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]'s [[G-Virus]] came from that very group in exchange for information on the Terrans. With the threat seeming real after all, the crew head back up.
 
Everyone else laughs their butts off at the idea of the Oracle wanting the war and ''humans'' needing help, but the “Spawn of Antares” makes Snapper remember Grimlock’s [[G-Virus]] came from that very group in exchange for information on the Terrans. With the threat seeming real after all, the crew head back up. (On the way to battle and as everyone chats, none are aware how close Rampage comes to butchering them just for the hell of it. But he’s always felt uneasy about being in the Resistance, having only done so because he was following [[Magmatron]], and answering the Oracle’s call does ''not'' feel as bad)


[[File:CulturalAppropriation VampBladezVsStiletto.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Ssshhh! Don't tell Bandai about this!]]
[[File:CulturalAppropriation VampBladezVsStiletto.jpg|thumb|right|400px|Ssshhh! Don't tell Bandai about this!]]


Stiletto picks up an SOS about the Antares Eight’s attack on the old MCSF brand and the crew head out. Her recce flight sees two Micromasters desperately holding off the Eight until they transform into… into monster vehicles that she’s never seen before. Vamp and [[Bladez]] spot her right after killing the guards and attack! Luckily, the Beast Upgrade gives her the upper hand and she’s able to evade and hurt Vamp. Numbers almost overwhelm her before the others arrive. All seven of the monsters are easily handled by the…. Wait, hang on.
Stiletto picks up an SOS about the Antares Eight's attack on the old MCSF brand and the crew head out. Her reconaissance flight sees two Micromasters desperately holding off the Eight until they transform into monster vehicles that she’s never seen before. Vamp and [[Bladez]] spot her right after killing the guards and attack. Luckily, the Beast Upgrade gives her the upper hand and she's able to evade and hurt Vamp. Numbers almost overwhelm her before the others arrive. All seven of the monsters are easily handled till Creepy shoots Stiletto in the back. The Ex-bots are told to stand down if they want Stiletto to live, though it takes a few tellings before Rampage begrudgingly agrees. All five are lined up and when Overshoot admits to being the sorta-leader, Vamp shoots him through the chest. Rampage grabs Buckethead and Snapper before throwing himself off the tower's ledge but Stiletto is still there, paralyzed, watching Overshoot bleed out and die. Since the Cybertronians don’t have integrated antigrav like [[GoBots|they do]], the Antares Eight declare victory!
 
She has time to realise she miscounted before Creepy shoots her in the back. The ‘Ex-bots’ are told to stand down if they want Stiletto to live, though it takes a few tellings before Rampage begrudgingly agrees. All five are lined up and when Overshoot admits to being the sorta-leader, Vamp shoots him through the chest. Rampage grabs Buckethead and Snapper before throwing himself off the tower’s ledge but Stiletto is still there, paralysed, watching Overshoot bleed out and die. And since the Cybertronians don’t have integrated antigrav like [[GoBots|the Eight do]], they declare victory!
 
 


'''Interlude:'''
'''Interlude:'''
On the Terran craft ''[[Spooky Action at a Distance]]'', Captain [[Blix]] watches the broadcast by ‘Resistance members’ at the caster tower. That’s the Rosetta Stone in it! Well, they better go to Cybertron, eh?
On the Terran craft ''[[Spooky Action at a Distance]]'', Captain [[Blix]] watches the broadcast by "Resistance members" at the caster tower, recognizing the Rosetta Stone in it. To recover their cultural artifact, he mobilizes a team to go to Cybertron.
 
 


'''Act the Third:'''
'''Act the Third:'''
Rampage has no antigrav but he does have a heavy, armoured body that he can use as a crumple zone so his comrades survive the fall. A weary Buckethead is about to cut and run on the mission when Rampage turns out to be still alive, his regenerative powers just ''that'' good. But with two of them walking wounded and the Antares Eight outnumbering them even more, Snapper declares that while he tracks the Eight to base, his comrades need to find ''their'' old comrades and convince them to help.


Rampage has no antigrav but he does have a heavy, armoured body that he can use as a crumple zone so his comrades survive the fall! A weary Buckethead is about to cut and run on the mission when Rampage turns out to be still alive, his regenerative powers just ‘’that’’ good. But with two of them walking wounded and the Antares Eight outnumbering them even more, Snapper declares that while he tracks the Eight to base, his comrades need to find ''their'' old comrades and convince them to help.
At the Eight's headquarters, Stiletto is weighed down by the thought of [[Betabear|another partner]] dead. Best she can do now is get revenge as soon as they enter their [[Modifier]] to heal up. To stall for time, she claims to still be MCSF and while they only half believe her, she is able to manipulate [[Scorp]] into going for repairs and Bugsie into zapping her in a fury; once she plays dead by shutting her optics down, everybody leaves her to rot and she’s able to break free from her bonds. Bugsie notices her in time but in the quick fight that follows, Stiletto jabs a stylus through an optic and he falls dead with organic matter pooling out of the wound.
 
At the Eight’s HQ, Stiletto is weighed down by the thought of [[Betabear|another]] partner dead. Best she can do now is get revenge as soon as they enter their “Modifier” to heal up. (The lingo they use is so odd, who are these guys if they’re not genuinely Preds?) To stall for time, she claims to still be MCSF and while they only half believe her, she’s able to manipulate [[Scorp]] into going for repairs and Bugsie into zapping her in a fury; once she plays “dead” by shutting her optics down, everybody leaves her to ‘rot’ and she’s able to break free from her bonds. Bugsie notices her in time but in the quick fight that follows, Stiletto jabs a stylus through an optic and he falls… dead? With ''organic'' matter pooling out of the wound? Who ''are'' these guys??
 
A repaired Scorp finds the corpse and attacks her in a rage, but Snapper has arrived just in time to help. They fight off Vamp and Scorp into retreating, and in a quick check of the base they find a computer with gibberish names like “[[Fitor]]” next to lists of “Levels”, all under the file name Diaspora. Stiletto is left disquieted, more so when her flashbacks return but this time ‘’to a conversation she never had’’, where Overshoot is now telling her “the details matter”. That causes her to glance at a readout and see a countdown, and the two beast warriors flee before the base explodes!
 
Elsewhere in Proximax, the rebels and Constructicons are still fighting at the Sights & Sounds casino. Rampage and Buckethead head off to figure out how to get people to stop. All this teamwork makes Rampage want to punch things, but at least he gets to intimidate the arrogant [[Archadis]] so it’s not all bad. He informs Magmatron of the situation (and how the mission quietens his self-loathing for a few brief moments), and is sure Magmatron will ignore his ‘pet monster’ until the commander asks where they need to go. And so when Stiletto and Snapper make their presumed suicide run on the caster tower, they find a Predacon strike team engaging it!
 
Snapper gets dropped off on the tower itself to give the resistance a shot at storming it. [[Klaws]] and [[Hornet]] get blasted but Snapper goes down too, mocked that it doesn’t matter what he tried to do because the ''Monsters'' have reinforcements en route ''too'': seven more ‘Predacons’ under [[Odd Ball]], six of them combining into a gestalt called [[Monsterous]]!


A repaired Scorp finds the corpse and attacks her in a rage, but Snapper has arrived just in time to help. They fight off Vamp and Scorp into retreating, and, in a quick check of the base, they find a computer with gibberish names like "[[Fitor]]" next to lists of "Levels", all under the file name [[Diaspora]]. Stiletto is left disquieted, more so when her flashbacks return but this time to a conversation she never had, where Overshoot is now telling her "the details matter". That causes her to glance at a readout and see a countdown, and the two beast warriors flee before the base explodes.


And none of them are a match for a gestalt save for Magmatron in his tripartite beast mode and that’s not enough. Not unless they have their own gestalt.  
Elsewhere in Proximax, the rebels and Constructicons are still fighting at the [[Sights & Sounds]] casino. Rampage and Buckethead head off to figure out how to get people to stop. Rampage gets the attention of [[Archadis]], who brings Rampage before [[Magmatron]]. The Predacon leader is appraised of the situation and, despite Rampage's self-doubt, agrees to help. When Stiletto and Snapper make their presumed suicide run on the caster tower, they find a Predacon strike team engaging it.
 


Snapper gets dropped off on the tower itself to give the resistance a shot at storming it. [[Klaws]] and [[Hornet]] get blasted but Snapper goes down too, mocked that it doesn’t matter what he tried to do because the Monsters have reinforcements en route ''too'': seven more "Predacons" under [[Odd Ball]], six of them combining into a gestalt called [[Monsterous]]!


And none of them are a match for a gestalt save for Magmatron in his tripartite beast mode and that's not enough. Not unless they have their own gestalt.


[[File:CulturalAppropriation-MonsterousVsDevastator.jpg|thumb|left|400px|Appropriating ''[[Transformers: Combiner Wars (cartoon)|Combiner Wars]]'' and making it better.]]
[[File:CulturalAppropriation-MonsterousVsDevastator.jpg|thumb|left|400px|Appropriating ''[[Transformers: Combiner Wars (cartoon)|Combiner Wars]]'' and making it better.]]


Like, say, a group of Micromaster Constructicons who show up and can combine into a copy of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]!
In the nick of time, the Micromaster Constructicons show up and combine into a version of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]!


While everyone is distracted with the fight, Snapper connects wirelessly with his severed arm and shoots Bladez through the back. Now holding the high ground, he takes potshots are the Antareans and swings the battle back to the Cybertronians. While Monsterous is faster than Devastator and has it on the ropes, the ground and air forces win their battles and concentrate their fire on the now-alone gestalt. Devastator pounds the weakened, distracted foe and smacks him back into six Preds who all run away whinging.  
While everyone is distracted with the fight, Snapper connects wirelessly with his severed arm and shoots Bladez through the back. Now holding the high ground, he takes potshots at the Antareans and swings the battle back to the Cybertronians. While Monsterous is faster than Devastator and has him on the ropes, the ground and air forces win their battles and concentrate their fire on the now-alone gestalt. Devastator pounds the weakened, distracted foe and smacks him back into six components who all flee.  


Unfortunately, there’s still one foe left unaccounted for and the humans are already en route. Overshoot’s ghost is very unhappy about that.  But even though not going to the Allspark now could condemn him to eternal wandering or to the ravenous abyss, Overshoot chooses to remain: the task isn’t complete. So he goes back a few minutes to warn Stiletto, through her own memories, that the Antares base is about to blow, and then drifts to the present to follow his comrades. He uses a memory once again to warn her of a trap within the tower: Creepy with a weaponised transmission pulse that will kill Cybertronian and human alike! Stiletto disables him fast but Creepy is willing to surrender, willing to hand tech over. Overshoot knows he’ll become an invaluable monster and poison the planet is this is allowed. Stiletto hears his warning and slays the monster.
There's still one foe left unaccounted for and the humans are already en route. Overshoot's ghost is very unhappy about that; even though not going to the [[Transformers afterlife|Allspark]] now could condemn him to eternal wandering or to the ravenous ablyss, Overshoot chooses to remain: his task isn't complete. So he goes back a few minutes to warn Stiletto, through her own memories, that the Antares base is about to blow, and then drifts to the present to follow his comrades. He uses a memory once again to warn her of a trap within the tower: Creepy with a weaponised transmission pulse that will kill Cybertronian and human alike. Stiletto disables him fast but Creepy is willing to surrender and hand tech over. Overshoot knows he'll poison the planet is this is allowed. Stiletto hears his warning and slays the monster.


When the humans arrive, the Transformers hand over the Rosetta Stone. The humans, [[Una]] and [[Chak]], irritate the robots with their blasé, callous comments on the battlefield and are left shamed when Stiletto sneers that they can’t help being children when they’ve never known hardship. Una weakly promises maybe humans will reach out to the proto-races after the war.
When the humans arrive, the Transformers hand over the Rosetta Stone. The humans, [[Una]] and [[Chak]], irritate the robots with their blasé, callous comments on the battlefield and are left shamed when Stiletto sneers that they can’t help being children when they’ve never known hardship. Una weakly promises maybe humans will reach out to the proto-races after the war.


And Overshoot’s ghost knows he’ll never cross over as long as Stiletto’s alive and he’s fine with that.
And Overshoot’s ghost knows he’ll never cross over as long as Stiletto's alive and he’s fine with that.
 
 


'''Epilogue:'''
'''Epilogue:'''
Only Klaws remains of the Antares Eight but the scattered Transformers have a more important task: figuring out what to do with Snapper, who both the authorities and the rebels want as a prisoner. Rampage breaks the stalemate by declaring Snapper a member of the Ex-Bots and anyone who wants him, goes through X. That settles it and Rampage admits, distraught, that he can't follow Magmatron anymore, the Resistance's dirty war isn’t for him.


When Hightower asks if saving the planet was a one-time event or if there’s still a need, Stiletto has a vision of a pristine [[Crystal City]] and declares there's indeed a need: whichever cause is right out of the Builders and the Resistance, civilians are caught in the middle and she intends to look out for them. The Constructicons, hoping to ''construct'' for once, sign up for the Ex-Bots and so do [[Crazybolt]] and [[Bazooka (BWN)|Bazooka]]; [[Guiledart]] refuses to accept this until he learns that Snapper betrayed the Resistance by preventing a terror attack on non-combatants, at which point he walks too, as does Magmatron. Archadis and [[Sling]] return to the Resistance, the former disgusted.


Only Klaws remains of the Antares Eight but the scattered Transformers have a more important task: figuring out what to do with Snapper, who both the authorities and the rebels want as a prisoner. Rampage breaks the stalemate by declaring Snapper a member of the Ex-Bots and anyone who wants him, goes through X! That settles it and Rampage admits, distraught, that he can’t follow Magmatron anymore, the Resistance’s dirty war isn’t for him.  
Sights & Sounds proprietor [[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] abruptly turns on the news: the MCSF have just annexed [[Tagan Heights|Tagon Heights]] and renamed it the Maximal Nation, declaring independence and neutrality in the war provided nobody attacks them.


When Hightower asks if saving the planet was a one-time event or if there’s still a need, Stiletto has a vision of a pristine [[Crystal City]] and declares there’s indeed a need: whichever cause is right out of the Builders and the Resistance, civilians are caught in the middle and she intends to look out for them. The Constructicons, hoping to ''construct'' for once, sign up for the Ex-Bots and so do [[Crazybolt]] and [[Bazooka (BWN)|Bazooka]]; [[Guiledart]] refuses to accept this until he learns that Snapper betrayed the Resistance by preventing a terror attack on non-combatants, at which point he walks too, as does Magmatron. Archadis and [[Sling]] return to the Resistance, the former disgusted.
Meanwhile, buried in the Builders' systems, a malicious "digital entity" is enraged that the Terrans were not provoked into scorching Cybertron. He'd gone to all that trouble allowing the Antares Eight to learn about the Rosetta Stone! Still, there’s always his backup plan to get genocide: continuing to whisper into [[Galva Convoy]]'s ear...
 
The cheery love-in for the Ex-Bots ends when Sights & Sounds proprietor [[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]] abruptly turns on the news: the MCSF have just annexed [[Tagan Heights|Tagon Heights]] and renamed it the Maximal Nation, declaring independence and neutrality in the war provided nobody attacks them.
 
Meanwhile, buried in the Builder’s systems, [[Imperious Delirious]] is enraged that the Terrans were not provoked into scorching Cybertron. He’d gone to all that trouble allowing the Antares Eight to learn about the Rosetta Stone! Still, there’s always his backup plan to get genocide: continuing to whisper into [[Galva Convoy]]’s ear...
 
 
{{-}}


==Featured characters==
==Featured characters==
Line 189: Line 163:
*[[Oracle (BM)|Oracle]] (39)
*[[Oracle (BM)|Oracle]] (39)
*[[Screwball]] (47)
*[[Screwball]] (47)
*[[Lord Imperious Delirious|An entity]] (67)
*"Unique digital entity" (67)


'''[[Human|Terrans]]'''
'''[[Human|Terrans]]'''
Line 205: Line 179:
"Earth? The human world? I thought humans were the enemy?" <br />
"Earth? The human world? I thought humans were the enemy?" <br />
"CAN YOUR LEFT HAND BE THE ENEMY OF THE RIGHT? CAN THE LEAVES OF A TREE BE THE ENEMY OF THE ROOT?" <br />
"CAN YOUR LEFT HAND BE THE ENEMY OF THE RIGHT? CAN THE LEAVES OF A TREE BE THE ENEMY OF THE ROOT?" <br />
:-'''The Oracle''' and '''Overshoot''' make with the foreshadowing.
:—'''The Oracle''' and '''Overshoot''' make with the foreshadowing.


==Notes==
==Notes==
* The encoded information in this story's chapter breaks is a full breakdown of the files of the Antares Eight glimpsed by Snapper and Stiletto. In essence, it name drops every single [[Guardian (GoBots)|Guardian]], [[Renegade]], or [[Rock Lord]] as part of teams investigating various Levels. It also confirmed a large stockpile of WMDs remain on Level 1 <strike>just like the old gypsy lady said</strike> just like the TransTechs were afraid of waaaaay back in "[[Withered Hope]]". Some of the various levels referenced in the Diaspora correspond to various universes within the ''Transformers'' [[multiverse]]... and without.  
* The encoded information in this story's chapter breaks is a full breakdown of the files of the Antares Eight glimpsed by Snapper and Stiletto. In essence, it name drops every single [[Guardian (GoBots)|Guardian]], [[Renegade]], or [[Rock Lord]] as part of teams investigating various Levels. It also confirmed a large stockpile of WMDs remain on Level 1 just like the TransTechs were afraid of waaaaay back in "[[Withered Hope]]". Some of the various levels referenced in the Diaspora correspond to various universes within the ''Transformers'' [[multiverse]]... and without.  
* Whither Megatron? Much like how what became of Optimus in previous ''Uprising'' stories is unclear, Megatron is entirely absent from the Generation 1-era flashback that begins this story, with Starscream apparently in charge of the Decepticons during their time on Earth. The story does refer to the "slagmaker" as leader without clarifying if it specifically refers to Megatron or Starscream.
* Whither Megatron? Much like how what became of Optimus in previous ''Uprising'' stories is unclear, Megatron is entirely absent from the Generation 1-era flashback that begins this story, with Starscream apparently in charge of the Decepticons during their time on Earth. The story does refer to the "slagmaker" as leader without clarifying if it specifically refers to Megatron or Starscream.
* The epilogue states it's been a year in-story since the evil figure started influencing Galva Convoy.
* The epilogue states it's been a year in-story since the evil figure started influencing Galva Convoy.
*Characters mentioned but not appearing include: [[Duran Duran]], [[Abbot and Costello]], [[Amenhotep III]], [[Simon Le Bon]], [[Lio Convoy]], [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]], [[Pounce]], [[Wingspan]], [[Primus]], [[Squawkbox]], "[[Wolfang (Predacon)|Howlinger]]", [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]], [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]], [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], [[B'Boom]], [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], [[Cybershark]], [[Preditron]], [[Ser-Ket (BW)|Ser-Ket]], [[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]], [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], [[Transmutate (character)|Trans-Mutate]], [[Getaway]], [[Fitor (GoBots)|Fitor]], [[Dumper]], and [[Galva Convoy]].
*Characters mentioned but not appearing include: [[Duran Duran]], [[Abbot and Costello]], [[Amenhotep III]], [[Simon Le Bon]], [[Lio Convoy]], [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]], [[Pounce]], [[Wingspan]], [[Primus]], [[Squawkbox]], "[[Wolfang (Predacon)|Howlinger]]", [[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]], [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]], [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], [[B'Boom]], [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], [[Cybershark]], [[Preditron]], [[Ser-Ket (BW)|Ser-Ket]], [[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]], [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], [[Transmutate (character)|Trans-Mutate]], [[Getaway]], [[Fitor (GoBots)|Fitor]], [[Dumper]], and [[Galva Convoy]].
*As in previous stories, several characters have bodies that are "virtual redecoes" of existing toys. Snapper is [[Brawl (WFC)#Generations|''Fall of Cybertron'' Brawl]], Stiletto is [[Dreadwing (Classics)#Classics 2|''Classics'' Dreadwing]], Overshoot is [[Armordillo#Beast Wars|Armordillo]], Vamp is [[Megatron (Armada)/toys#Cybertron|''Cybertron'' Megatron]], and Bladez is [[Unicron/toys#Cybertron|''Cybertron'' Unicron]]. The Constructicons utilize the [[Constructicon (Universe)|''Universe'' Micromaster toys]], and Rampage is his classic ''Beast Wars'' form. Monsterous is a recoloured [[Monstructer]] with [[Tripredacus]]'s head. While we never see the robots mods, Christopher Colgin has said Bugsie was visualised as ''Beast Machines'' [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] with [[Retrax]]'s head, Creepy is [[Scrapmetal]] with [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas']] head (fitting nicely the "spider" line about him before his death), Klaws is ''Energon'' [[Sharkticon (Energon)|Sharkticon]] with [[Venom (G1)|Venom's]] head, Hornet is a modified ''Animated'' [[Slapper (Animated)|Slapper]] who flies, Pincher is ''Energon'' [[Slugslinger (Energon)|Slugslinger]] with [[Manterror|the Man Terror's]] head, and Scorp is ''Energon'' [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]], while Vamp would have a [[Chop Shop]]'s head and Bladez has Beast Machines [[Thrust (BM)|Thrust's]]. Additionally, while not described in detail, Odd Ball would have been Rescue Bots [[High Tide]] with Armada [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust's]] head. Phew!
*As in previous stories, several characters have bodies that are "virtual redecoes" of existing toys. Snapper is [[Brawl (WFC)#Generations|''Fall of Cybertron'' Brawl]], Stiletto is [[Dreadwing (Classics)#Classics 2|''Classics'' Dreadwing]], Overshoot is [[Armordillo#Beast Wars|Armordillo]], Vamp is [[Megatron (Armada)/toys#Cybertron|''Cybertron'' Megatron]], and Bladez is [[Unicron/toys#Cybertron|''Cybertron'' Unicron]]. The Constructicons utilize the [[Constructicon (Universe)|''Universe'' Micromaster toys]], and Rampage is his classic ''Beast Wars'' form. Monsterous is a recoloured [[Monstructer]] with [[Tripredacus]]'s head. While we never see the robots mods, Christopher Colgin has said Bugsie was visualised as ''Beast Machines'' [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] with [[Retrax]]'s head, Creepy is [[Scrapmetal]] with [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas']] head (fitting nicely the "spider" line about him before his death), Klaws is ''Energon'' [[Sharkticon (Energon)|Sharkticon]] with [[Venom (G1)|Venom]]'s head, Hornet is a modified ''Animated'' [[Slapper (Animated)|Slapper]] who flies, Pincher is ''Energon'' [[Slugslinger (Energon)|Slugslinger]] with [[Manterror]]'s head, and Scorp is ''Energon'' [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]], while Vamp would have a [[Chop Shop]]'s head and Bladez has Beast Machines [[Thrust (BM)|Thrust]]'s. Additionally, while not described in detail, Odd Ball would have been Rescue Bots [[High Tide]] with Armada [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]]'s head. Phew!
*If you decode the cybertronix on the gunsight pic, you'd see it's fittingly Bazooka who's about to fire. Little details also show he was receiving messages from Magmatron and Crazybolt (with his partner being the top messager), he's been reading "A Whole World of Pain" by [[Simon Furman|Furmanator]], and he's been listening [[Love For Ever: Kimi wo Mamoru Tame ni|his anime's theme song]].
*If you decode the cybertronix on the gunsight pic, you'd see it's fittingly Bazooka who's about to fire. Little details also show he was receiving messages from Magmatron and Crazybolt (with his partner being the top messager), he's been reading "A Whole World of Pain" by [[Simon Furman|Furmanator]], and he's been listening [[Love For Ever: Kimi wo Mamoru Tame ni|his anime's theme song]].
*Jim Sorenson implied that the Antares Eight may be listing all the Diaspora bots in order to ''kill'' them. <ref>http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/135257-beast-wars-uprising-cultural-appropriation/?p=3398289 AllSpark.com Posted 09 December 2016 - 09:00 PM}: "Or a hit list..."</ref>
*Jim Sorenson implied that the Antares Eight may be listing all the Diaspora bots in order to ''kill'' them. <ref>http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/135257-beast-wars-uprising-cultural-appropriation/?p=3398289 AllSpark.com Posted 09 December 2016 - 09:00 PM}: "Or a hit list..."</ref>
Line 223: Line 197:
* On Page 52, "'''THE SECRET OF CYBERTRON AWAIT'''" should be either "'''THE SECRET OF CYBERTRON AWAITS'''" or "'''THE SECRETS OF CYBERTRON AWAIT'''."
* On Page 52, "'''THE SECRET OF CYBERTRON AWAIT'''" should be either "'''THE SECRET OF CYBERTRON AWAITS'''" or "'''THE SECRETS OF CYBERTRON AWAIT'''."
* Overshoot's name is misspelled as "Overshot" three times on Page 53.
* Overshoot's name is misspelled as "Overshot" three times on Page 53.
* Stiletto identifies Magmatron's Resistance cell as being "jurassanoid", except of them only Archadis and Guiledart have alt-modes based on Jurassic animals. Pretty much all of them are from the Cretaceous (except Sling, and his ''Dimetrodon'' alt-mode, ''Dimetrodon'' originating from the Permian era).
* Stiletto identifies Magmatron's Resistance cell as being "jurassanoid", except of them only Archadis and Guiledart have alternate modes based on Jurassic animals. Pretty much all of them are from the Cretaceous (except Sling, and his ''Dimetrodon'' alternate mode, ''Dimetrodon'' originating from the Permian era).
 


===Continuity notes===
===Continuity notes===
Line 232: Line 205:
* During their stay in the abandoned MCSF base, Stilleto finds a pack of cy-gars-ettes and starts smoking them in honor of a deceased friend, Wolfang, who Stilleto had served with as shown in one of the flashbacks of "Burning Bridges". She mentions his death was the result of some "Builder murder case", as was shown in "[[Trigger Warnings]]".
* During their stay in the abandoned MCSF base, Stilleto finds a pack of cy-gars-ettes and starts smoking them in honor of a deceased friend, Wolfang, who Stilleto had served with as shown in one of the flashbacks of "Burning Bridges". She mentions his death was the result of some "Builder murder case", as was shown in "[[Trigger Warnings]]".
* Snapper was arrested by the Builders when he turned on Grimlock's cell back in "[[Micro-Aggressions]]". Seems Hot Rod was able to keep his word about keeping the Predacon out of The Games. That the Constructicons are handling him would go with the fact Hot Rod, as mentioned in this story, was the one who convinced them to downsize.
* Snapper was arrested by the Builders when he turned on Grimlock's cell back in "[[Micro-Aggressions]]". Seems Hot Rod was able to keep his word about keeping the Predacon out of The Games. That the Constructicons are handling him would go with the fact Hot Rod, as mentioned in this story, was the one who convinced them to downsize.
* Buckethead's inner monologue reveals Thunderwing was the one who invented the Micromasters in this continuity, and that he was responsible for Overlord's short leadership of the Decepticons, something mentioned in "[[A Brush With Infamy]]". It's little surprise ol' Thunders is the one responsible for the Micros, given he's been mentioned to have tinkered in science already.
* Buckethead's inner monologue reveals Thunderwing was the one who invented the Micromasters in this continuity, and that he was responsible for Overlord's short leadership of the Decepticons, something mentioned in "[[A Brush With Infamy]]". It's little surprise Thunderwing is the one responsible for the Micromasters, given he's been mentioned to have tinkered in science already.
* Rampage met up with the crew of the ''Dinosaur'' in "[[Intersectionality]]". His inner monologue as he attacks Buckethead name-drops all the previously established leading members of the Resistance. He dismisses Cybershark as callous, as was demonstrated pretty aptly in [[Head Games]].
* Rampage met up with the crew of the ''Dinosaur'' in "[[Intersectionality]]". His inner monologue as he attacks Buckethead name-drops all the previously established leading members of the Resistance. He dismisses Cybershark as callous, as was demonstrated pretty aptly in [[Head Games]].
* The Renegades return, last having shown up in the beginning of "[[Micro-Aggressions]]", where they traded with Grimlock for information about the humans. Unsurprisingly, they've ignored the Dinobot's warnings about tangling with them.
* The Renegades return, last having shown up in the beginning of "[[Micro-Aggressions]]", where they traded with Grimlock for information about the humans. Unsurprisingly, they've ignored the Dinobot's warnings about tangling with them.
Line 240: Line 213:
===Transformers references===
===Transformers references===
* The flashback is one giant homage to the Generation 1 cartoon: The Decepticons pulling off another fiendish evil plan, the Autobots trying to stop them, the 'cons operating out of a sunken spaceship... Cliffjumper even uses one of the Cybertronian versions of common phrases that could be found through the first two seasons. Soundwave, meanwhile, is shown speaking more like he did in the comics, rather than his cartoon-self's distinctive speech patterns.
* The flashback is one giant homage to the Generation 1 cartoon: The Decepticons pulling off another fiendish evil plan, the Autobots trying to stop them, the 'cons operating out of a sunken spaceship... Cliffjumper even uses one of the Cybertronian versions of common phrases that could be found through the first two seasons. Soundwave, meanwhile, is shown speaking more like he did in the comics, rather than his cartoon-self's distinctive speech patterns.
* The Decepticons refer to their invention as the Egyptian Incantation / Autobot Destroyer, or EI/AD, a not-so-subtle reference to the old fan term for the cartoon's long string of villainous devices of the week.
* The Decepticons refer to their invention as the [[Egyptian Incantation / Autobot Destroyer]], or EI/AD, a not-so-subtle reference to the old fan term for the cartoon's long string of villainous devices of the week.
* Sky Warp remarks that he always bets on the leader, as he said in "[[Spotlight: Ramjet]]".
* Sky Warp remarks that he always bets on the leader, as he said in "[[Spotlight: Ramjet]]".
* Packrat notes the Museum of Decepticon History has a [[Legendisc]], the central plot device of ''Transformers Go!''.
* Packrat notes the Museum of Decepticon History has a [[Legendisc]], the central plot device of ''Transformers Go!''.
Line 262: Line 235:
* The decoded data says it was hacked from [[Renegade#Gong|Gong]] and [[Guardian (GoBots)#Tic Toc|Tic Toc]], who in "[[Ask Vector Prime]]" were introduced as powerful time-space bending guys.  
* The decoded data says it was hacked from [[Renegade#Gong|Gong]] and [[Guardian (GoBots)#Tic Toc|Tic Toc]], who in "[[Ask Vector Prime]]" were introduced as powerful time-space bending guys.  
* The [[Diaspora]] was first referenced in "[[Ask Vector Prime]]" as the reason why GoBots of the "[[Withered Hope]]" continuity were fleeing their native universe en masse.
* The [[Diaspora]] was first referenced in "[[Ask Vector Prime]]" as the reason why GoBots of the "[[Withered Hope]]" continuity were fleeing their native universe en masse.
* [[Guardian (GoBots)#Dumper|Dumper]] and [[Fitor (GoBots)|Fitor]] receive brief name-drops as Stiletto examine the Monster GoBot files.  
* [[Dumper]] and [[Fitor (GoBots)|Fitor]] receive brief name-drops as Stiletto examine the Monster GoBot files.  
* Stilletto is left confused by the constant mention of "levels" within the same files–as the ''GoBots'' cartoon established, GoBots refer to different universes as "levels".
* Stilletto is left confused by the constant mention of "levels" within the same files–as the ''GoBots'' cartoon established, GoBots refer to different universes as "levels".
* The GoBots use [[modifier]]s instead of [[CR chamber]]s to heal their wounds; in the cartoon, the Modifiers were devices that allowed the [[Renegade]]s and [[Guardian (GoBots)|Guardian]]s to adopt new [[alternate mode]]s.
* The GoBots use [[Modifier]]s instead of [[CR chamber]]s to heal their wounds; in the cartoon, the Modifiers were devices that allowed the [[Renegade]]s and [[Guardian (GoBots)|Guardian]]s to adopt new [[alternate mode]]s.
* Cybertronians are shocked at the GoBotic ability to fly while in robot mode, referencing how all GoBots, regardless of vehicle mode, were flight-capable. (One can assume, then, that the ''Transformers'' cartoon rule that all Decepticons could fly in robot mode doesn't hold true for the ''Uprising'' continuity.)
* Cybertronians are shocked at the GoBotic ability to fly while in robot mode, referencing how all GoBots, regardless of vehicle mode, were flight-capable. (One can assume, then, that the ''Transformers'' cartoon rule that all Decepticons could fly in robot mode doesn't hold true for the ''Uprising'' continuity.)
* While the dying GoBot reality of Gargent 984.08 Alpha is generally taken as the ''Challenge of the GoBots'' timeline, Sorenson refered to it as "a mix of toy and cartoon". <ref>[http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/135257-beast-wars-uprising-cultural-appropriation/page-4#entry3399122 AllSpark post on 11th December 09:12 AM]</ref>
* While the dying GoBot reality of Gargent 984.08 Alpha is generally taken as the ''Challenge of the GoBots'' timeline, Sorenson refered to it as "a mix of toy and cartoon".<ref>[http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/135257-beast-wars-uprising-cultural-appropriation/page-4#entry3399122 AllSpark post on 11th December 09:12 AM]</ref>


===Real world references===
===Real world references===
* Cultural appropriation is when a dominant culture adopts or borrows elements of a weaker or minority culture without considering contexts or people saying "please nah, bro". Often, the appropriators publicly enjoy their newfound "culture" while the originators are restricted from doing so. In this case, a priceless piece of human culture is literally taken by Sky Warp (albeit by accident) who doesn't understand its context and later Transformers, either ignorant or callous, associate it with him instead.
* Cultural appropriation is when a dominant culture adopts or borrows elements of a weaker or minority culture without considering contexts or people saying "please nah, bro". Often, the appropriators publicly enjoy their newfound "culture" while the originators are restricted from doing so. In this case, a priceless piece of human culture is literally taken by Sky Warp (albeit by accident) who doesn't understand its context and later Transformers, either ignorant or callous, associate it with him instead.
* Noah alludes to Abbot and Costello when observing ancient Egyptian artifacts, alluding to 1955's ''[[w:Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy|Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy]]''.
* Noah alludes to Abbot and Costello when observing ancient Egyptian artifacts, alluding to 1955's ''{{w|Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy}}''.
* In this 1980s, Duran Duran have to reassure people their song ''Union of the Snake'' isn't about Cobra.  
* In this 1980s, Duran Duran have to reassure people their song, "Union of the Snake", isn't about Cobra.  
* The [[armodrillo]] mechanimal is also a reference to the ''Ben 10'' alien [http://ben10.wikia.com/wiki/Armodrillo Armodrillo].
* The [[armodrillo]] mechanimal is also a reference to the ''Ben 10'' alien [http://ben10.wikia.com/wiki/Armodrillo Armodrillo].
*The Oracle notes that "ALL OF THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. ALL OF THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.", a paraphrase of a quote which originally appeared in ''{{w|Peter Pan (1953 film)|Peter Pan}}'' and was used to great effect in ''{{w|Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica}}''.
*The Oracle notes that "ALL OF THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. ALL OF THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.", a paraphrase of a quote which originally appeared in ''{{w|Peter Pan (1953 film)|Peter Pan}}'' and was used to great effect in ''{{w|Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica}}''.
Line 312: Line 285:


* Level 22 has been established as [[Primax 207.0 Epsilon]], the [[Fun Publications]] ''[[Transformers: Classics#Fiction|Classics]]'' stories. This was home to the first GoBots infiltration way back in 2007's "[[Games of Deception]]" and the cast listed are the ones sent there in that story, "[[Withered Hope]]", and "[[Spatiotemporal Challengers]]" (though it has since [[Invasion (issue)|blown up]] and the crew gone [[Primax -408.24 Epsilon|elsewhere]] so the Monsters' info is outdated).
* Level 22 has been established as [[Primax 207.0 Epsilon]], the [[Fun Publications]] ''[[Transformers: Classics#Fiction|Classics]]'' stories. This was home to the first GoBots infiltration way back in 2007's "[[Games of Deception]]" and the cast listed are the ones sent there in that story, "[[Withered Hope]]", and "[[Spatiotemporal Challengers]]" (though it has since [[Invasion (issue)|blown up]] and the crew gone [[Primax -408.24 Epsilon|elsewhere]] so the Monsters' info is outdated).
* Level 44 has been established in "[[Echoes and Fragments]]" as somewhere in the [[Viron]] cluster (or possibly the whole shebang), AKA [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 franchise)|2001's ''Robots in Disguise'']].
* Level 44 has been established in "[[Echoes and Fragments]]" as somewhere in the [[Viron]] cluster (or possibly the whole shebang), AKA [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 franchise)|2001's ''Robots in Disguise'']].
* Nearly every known GoBots toy or character is accounted for in the above roster, although there are several errors and missing names:
* Nearly every known GoBots toy or character is accounted for in the above roster, although there are several errors and missing names:
** Scratch appears twice on the list, in Level 72 and Level 77. It's possible one of these was meant to be "Stretch", an alternate name for the missing Renegade Tux.
** Scratch appears twice on the list, in Level 72 and Level 77. It's possible one of these was meant to be "Stretch", an alternate name for the missing Renegade Tux.
** "Tailspin" on Level 69 is presumably the Renegade Twinspin.
** "Tailspin" on Level 69 is presumably the Renegade Twinspin.
** Bug Bite is not listed on Level 22, possibly because he has gone rogue from his infiltration unit.
** Bug Bite is not listed on Level 22, possibly because he has gone rogue from his infiltration unit.
** Leader-1, Cy-Kill, Zeemon, Doctor Go, and Zero are confirmed still in the Gargent universe from ''[[Sunrise]]'' and ''[[High Noon]]''. It seems highly likely that the "main guys" (Turbo, Scooter, Cop-Tur, and Crasher) also remained behind with the leaders, as well as the missing Rock Lord leader Boulder.
** Leader-1, Cy-Kill, Zeemon, Doctor Go, and Zero are confirmed still in the Gargent universe from "[[Sunrise]]" and "[[High Noon]]". It seems highly likely that the "main guys" (Turbo, Scooter, Cop-Tur, and Crasher) also remained behind with the leaders, as well as the missing Rock Lord leader Boulder.
** Other missing GoBots include Tork, Flytrap, Throttle, Blockhead, Jeeper Creeper, and Spoons.
** Other missing GoBots include Tork, Flytrap, Throttle, Blockhead, Jeeper Creeper, and Spoons.
** Although from a different Gargent universe, the Level teams also match with details from the universal stream of the Cy-Kill from [[Renegade Rhetoric]]. Major Mo and the Robo Rebels operate together, and the previously unnamed RoGuns and Machine Robo toys are also present.
** Although from a different Gargent universe, the Level teams also match with details from the universal stream of the Cy-Kill from [[Renegade Rhetoric]]. Major Mo and the Robo Rebels operate together, and the previously unnamed RoGuns and Machine Robo toys are also present.

Revision as of 17:54, 12 December 2016

« Transformers Timelines
text story 		»
« Beast Wars: Uprising »
"Cultural Appropriation"
Publisher Transformers Collectors' Club (online exclusive)
First published December 9, 2016
By Jim Sorenson and David Bishop
Art Josh Burcham and Christopher Colgin
Continuity Beast Wars: Uprising
Chronology Circa 2389
Page count 59pp

It's up to Rampage and a gang of misfits to defend their universe from extradimensional invaders.

Synopsis

Prologue:

In the 1980s, everyone's talking about those big Transformers, uncertain if they're Cobra weapons, aliens, or whatever else. Noah Acton, bored and grumpy on a holiday to Britain, gets a good close-up of them when the Decepticons attack a British museum for the magical statue of Amenhotep III. The Autobot Minibots fend off the Decepticons, and save the Actons. In the sunken Victory, Sky Warp isn’t too sure using Egyptian magic to disable language skills is a smart plan but keeps it to himself. At least he picked up the Rosetta Stone on the retreat or, as he calls it, that handy paperweight.

In the present day, the Beast Upgrade has dramatically changed the war: now that the Resistance can forage for food, the old logistics about supply lines don't apply and the fortress city of Kaon is now a viable target. As Lio Convoy's troops go for the infrastructure and the Micromasters and Predacon loyalists run a scorched earth defensive, Packrat is looting the Museum of Decepticon Heritage. Small objects are easy to pilfer but taking the legendary "Stone of Sky Warp" requires a sky-sled, which gets him caught and a Micromaster patrol sicced on him. He gets away and back to the "Antares Eight", his creepy employers, and wonders why they would want a hunk of rock.

Act the First:

Overshoot and Stiletto have abandoned the Maximal Command Security Force since traumatic events and now work as freelance peacekeeping agents. The MCSF was losing ground (which Overshoot has mixed feelings about) but they’ve just abruptly vanished from Proximax. Overshoot and Stiletto are breaking in to find out why. What they find is the whole place was abandoned in a hurry, half-drunk oil left behind and all weaponry taken: the result of the mysterious "Dandelion Protocol", orders to retreat to an unspecified redoubt. Left behind is a Darksyder Beast Pod and the duo use it to take Beast Upgrades: Stiletto as a DeathEagle and Overshoot as an armodrillo. That's when some bizarre, glowing presence hits the upgraded Overshoot and tells him they're "needed" somewhere…

Meanwhile trundling through Proximax is a Constructicon convoy under the Autobot Hightower, transporting Prisoner N626BG to Iacon; they’d had to evacuate after the local MCSF had deserted. The peak moment of vulnerability is the Hoist Metrospan, the cover-lacking bridge from southern Proximax to northern. Buckethead (former Macromaster and current Decepticon Micromaster) questions the decision to use the bridge in time for the Resistance to attack. She takes command of the scattered crew and they fight a running retreat, but she decides to abandon the prisoner; he may be politically useful but she's not risking comrades for some random turncoat. Unfortunately for Buckethead, her retreat took her right into Rampage. He's too powerful and too fixated on torturing her to death, but she has one option: letting Prisoner N626BG out and having him run away as a distraction. It doesn’t work, as Rampage decides to kill her first.

Stiletto and Overshoot arrive mid-battle, and Overshoot "knows" they have to stop the fight and get Buckethead, Rampage, and the prisoner: Snapper, left with a price on his head after betraying Grimlock. Stiletto distracts Rampage from his attack while her comrade goes for the fleeing Predacon, who mistakenly thinks Buckethead had been looking out for him. Poor weary Snapper finds himself cornered and being told the entire planet is in danger and he’s needed to save it, and there’s just something in Overshoot’s optics that make him agree. Rampage, meanwhile, can smell MCSF on Stiletto, which he loathes. When Overshoot tries to stop the fight, Rampage ignores him and when it looks like he might be overrun, he decides to blow the whole bridge up so everyone falls to their death.

Interlude:

Vamp has done her duty and blended in with the local Predacons and built up a power base, despite her utter disgust of Cybertronians. But now she and her fellow spaciotemporal refugees have the Rosetta Stone. The stone itself is nothing special but the Terran Federation's technology is, and this priceless Earth artifact might lure Terrans into a handy, tech-pinching ambush. Creepy locates a trans-hyperwave caster they can seize while pretending to be Resistance, lure in the humans, and then use Terran tech to conquer Cybertron!

Act the Second:

Everyone on the bridge survived the fall but their personal and ideological conflicts are likely to make them kill each other anyway, until Overshoot uses force of will to get everyone to quieten down: there’s a threat to Cybertron only they can stop and they need to go "down". In order to calm things, Overshoot gets everyone to talk about themselves and, to general amusement, all of them have left some cause or group. This ragtag group of "Ex-Bots" start to follow him down. All the way down until they find themselves descending through ancient ruins that the later generations built over, ruins dating to the Age of Internment.

At the bottom, they find the mythical Oracle!

The Oracle absorbs the receptive Overshoot into itself and grants him a vision of Cybertron in flames and chaos. But this is a necessary conflict, sweeping out a monstrous old order and restoring a balance, much has happened before and will later. In the distant future, Earth and Cybertron will once again be allies against a great threat and, in time, there will be a merger. But to prevent this being derailed, someone has to stop intruders from beyond, "the Spawn of Antares", from distorting the order of things!

Everyone else is incredulous of the Oracle wanting the war and humans needing help, but "Spawn of Antares" makes Snapper remember Grimlock's G-Virus came from that very group in exchange for information on the Terrans. With the threat seeming real after all, the crew head back up.

Ssshhh! Don't tell Bandai about this!

Stiletto picks up an SOS about the Antares Eight's attack on the old MCSF brand and the crew head out. Her reconaissance flight sees two Micromasters desperately holding off the Eight until they transform into monster vehicles that she’s never seen before. Vamp and Bladez spot her right after killing the guards and attack. Luckily, the Beast Upgrade gives her the upper hand and she's able to evade and hurt Vamp. Numbers almost overwhelm her before the others arrive. All seven of the monsters are easily handled till Creepy shoots Stiletto in the back. The Ex-bots are told to stand down if they want Stiletto to live, though it takes a few tellings before Rampage begrudgingly agrees. All five are lined up and when Overshoot admits to being the sorta-leader, Vamp shoots him through the chest. Rampage grabs Buckethead and Snapper before throwing himself off the tower's ledge but Stiletto is still there, paralyzed, watching Overshoot bleed out and die. Since the Cybertronians don’t have integrated antigrav like they do, the Antares Eight declare victory!

Interlude: On the Terran craft Spooky Action at a Distance, Captain Blix watches the broadcast by "Resistance members" at the caster tower, recognizing the Rosetta Stone in it. To recover their cultural artifact, he mobilizes a team to go to Cybertron.

Act the Third: Rampage has no antigrav but he does have a heavy, armoured body that he can use as a crumple zone so his comrades survive the fall. A weary Buckethead is about to cut and run on the mission when Rampage turns out to be still alive, his regenerative powers just that good. But with two of them walking wounded and the Antares Eight outnumbering them even more, Snapper declares that while he tracks the Eight to base, his comrades need to find their old comrades and convince them to help.

At the Eight's headquarters, Stiletto is weighed down by the thought of another partner dead. Best she can do now is get revenge as soon as they enter their Modifier to heal up. To stall for time, she claims to still be MCSF and while they only half believe her, she is able to manipulate Scorp into going for repairs and Bugsie into zapping her in a fury; once she plays dead by shutting her optics down, everybody leaves her to rot and she’s able to break free from her bonds. Bugsie notices her in time but in the quick fight that follows, Stiletto jabs a stylus through an optic and he falls dead with organic matter pooling out of the wound.

A repaired Scorp finds the corpse and attacks her in a rage, but Snapper has arrived just in time to help. They fight off Vamp and Scorp into retreating, and, in a quick check of the base, they find a computer with gibberish names like "Fitor" next to lists of "Levels", all under the file name Diaspora. Stiletto is left disquieted, more so when her flashbacks return but this time to a conversation she never had, where Overshoot is now telling her "the details matter". That causes her to glance at a readout and see a countdown, and the two beast warriors flee before the base explodes.

Elsewhere in Proximax, the rebels and Constructicons are still fighting at the Sights & Sounds casino. Rampage and Buckethead head off to figure out how to get people to stop. Rampage gets the attention of Archadis, who brings Rampage before Magmatron. The Predacon leader is appraised of the situation and, despite Rampage's self-doubt, agrees to help. When Stiletto and Snapper make their presumed suicide run on the caster tower, they find a Predacon strike team engaging it.

Snapper gets dropped off on the tower itself to give the resistance a shot at storming it. Klaws and Hornet get blasted but Snapper goes down too, mocked that it doesn’t matter what he tried to do because the Monsters have reinforcements en route too: seven more "Predacons" under Odd Ball, six of them combining into a gestalt called Monsterous!

And none of them are a match for a gestalt save for Magmatron in his tripartite beast mode and that's not enough. Not unless they have their own gestalt.

Appropriating Combiner Wars and making it better.

In the nick of time, the Micromaster Constructicons show up and combine into a version of Devastator!

While everyone is distracted with the fight, Snapper connects wirelessly with his severed arm and shoots Bladez through the back. Now holding the high ground, he takes potshots at the Antareans and swings the battle back to the Cybertronians. While Monsterous is faster than Devastator and has him on the ropes, the ground and air forces win their battles and concentrate their fire on the now-alone gestalt. Devastator pounds the weakened, distracted foe and smacks him back into six components who all flee.

There's still one foe left unaccounted for and the humans are already en route. Overshoot's ghost is very unhappy about that; even though not going to the Allspark now could condemn him to eternal wandering or to the ravenous ablyss, Overshoot chooses to remain: his task isn't complete. So he goes back a few minutes to warn Stiletto, through her own memories, that the Antares base is about to blow, and then drifts to the present to follow his comrades. He uses a memory once again to warn her of a trap within the tower: Creepy with a weaponised transmission pulse that will kill Cybertronian and human alike. Stiletto disables him fast but Creepy is willing to surrender and hand tech over. Overshoot knows he'll poison the planet is this is allowed. Stiletto hears his warning and slays the monster.

When the humans arrive, the Transformers hand over the Rosetta Stone. The humans, Una and Chak, irritate the robots with their blasé, callous comments on the battlefield and are left shamed when Stiletto sneers that they can’t help being children when they’ve never known hardship. Una weakly promises maybe humans will reach out to the proto-races after the war.

And Overshoot’s ghost knows he’ll never cross over as long as Stiletto's alive and he’s fine with that.

Epilogue: Only Klaws remains of the Antares Eight but the scattered Transformers have a more important task: figuring out what to do with Snapper, who both the authorities and the rebels want as a prisoner. Rampage breaks the stalemate by declaring Snapper a member of the Ex-Bots and anyone who wants him, goes through X. That settles it and Rampage admits, distraught, that he can't follow Magmatron anymore, the Resistance's dirty war isn’t for him.

When Hightower asks if saving the planet was a one-time event or if there’s still a need, Stiletto has a vision of a pristine Crystal City and declares there's indeed a need: whichever cause is right out of the Builders and the Resistance, civilians are caught in the middle and she intends to look out for them. The Constructicons, hoping to construct for once, sign up for the Ex-Bots and so do Crazybolt and Bazooka; Guiledart refuses to accept this until he learns that Snapper betrayed the Resistance by preventing a terror attack on non-combatants, at which point he walks too, as does Magmatron. Archadis and Sling return to the Resistance, the former disgusted.

Sights & Sounds proprietor Jackpot abruptly turns on the news: the MCSF have just annexed Tagon Heights and renamed it the Maximal Nation, declaring independence and neutrality in the war provided nobody attacks them.

Meanwhile, buried in the Builders' systems, a malicious "digital entity" is enraged that the Terrans were not provoked into scorching Cybertron. He'd gone to all that trouble allowing the Antares Eight to learn about the Rosetta Stone! Still, there’s always his backup plan to get genocide: continuing to whisper into Galva Convoy's ear...

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Maximals Predacons Builders Renegades Others

Terrans

Quotes

"THE DAY WILL COME WHEN EARTH STANDS SIDE-BY-SIDE WITH CYBERTRON, TO FACE ADVERSITY BEYOND GOOD, BEYOND EVIL, BEYOND IMAGINATION."
"Earth? The human world? I thought humans were the enemy?"
"CAN YOUR LEFT HAND BE THE ENEMY OF THE RIGHT? CAN THE LEAVES OF A TREE BE THE ENEMY OF THE ROOT?"

—The Oracle and Overshoot make with the foreshadowing.

Notes

Errors

  • On Page 13, "Predacon" is misspelled as "Predicon".
  • On Page 18 is the phase "we need to focus on next steps." A "the" ought to fall in between "on" and "next".
  • At one point on Page 35, Screwball is referred to by the narration text as "she" rather than as the gender-neutral pronoun of "ze".
  • Page 36 contains the mistyped phrase of "Then there was there was the awful wrenching of the abrupt crash into the ground below."
  • On Page 52, "THE SECRET OF CYBERTRON AWAIT" should be either "THE SECRET OF CYBERTRON AWAITS" or "THE SECRETS OF CYBERTRON AWAIT."
  • Overshoot's name is misspelled as "Overshot" three times on Page 53.
  • Stiletto identifies Magmatron's Resistance cell as being "jurassanoid", except of them only Archadis and Guiledart have alternate modes based on Jurassic animals. Pretty much all of them are from the Cretaceous (except Sling, and his Dimetrodon alternate mode, Dimetrodon originating from the Permian era).

Continuity notes

  • In the opening flashback, Noah wonders if the Decepticons are connected to Cobra, the bad guys of Transformer's sibling series G.I. Joe, which were previously mentioned in the cybertronix text of "Head Games".
  • Continuing on from the previous Uprising story, Megatron's Beast Upgrade has spread like wildfire.
  • Stiletto and Overshoot's story continues on from "Burning Bridges".
  • During their stay in the abandoned MCSF base, Stilleto finds a pack of cy-gars-ettes and starts smoking them in honor of a deceased friend, Wolfang, who Stilleto had served with as shown in one of the flashbacks of "Burning Bridges". She mentions his death was the result of some "Builder murder case", as was shown in "Trigger Warnings".
  • Snapper was arrested by the Builders when he turned on Grimlock's cell back in "Micro-Aggressions". Seems Hot Rod was able to keep his word about keeping the Predacon out of The Games. That the Constructicons are handling him would go with the fact Hot Rod, as mentioned in this story, was the one who convinced them to downsize.
  • Buckethead's inner monologue reveals Thunderwing was the one who invented the Micromasters in this continuity, and that he was responsible for Overlord's short leadership of the Decepticons, something mentioned in "A Brush With Infamy". It's little surprise Thunderwing is the one responsible for the Micromasters, given he's been mentioned to have tinkered in science already.
  • Rampage met up with the crew of the Dinosaur in "Intersectionality". His inner monologue as he attacks Buckethead name-drops all the previously established leading members of the Resistance. He dismisses Cybershark as callous, as was demonstrated pretty aptly in Head Games.
  • The Renegades return, last having shown up in the beginning of "Micro-Aggressions", where they traded with Grimlock for information about the humans. Unsurprisingly, they've ignored the Dinobot's warnings about tangling with them.
  • Vamp mentions having heard Ser-Ket complaining about humans and not being able to spread her wings, something the Predacon also did back in "Head Games". Ser-Ket thought they were just pals that hung out but here we learn Vamp was grooming her as a potential Antares Eight mole in the Resistance, and Ser-Ket did indeed join the rebels in that story.
  • Among the visions Overshoot sees are Optimus Prime launching the Ark and Thunderwing discovering the Underbase, the latter of which was established in the previous chapter.

Transformers references

  • The flashback is one giant homage to the Generation 1 cartoon: The Decepticons pulling off another fiendish evil plan, the Autobots trying to stop them, the 'cons operating out of a sunken spaceship... Cliffjumper even uses one of the Cybertronian versions of common phrases that could be found through the first two seasons. Soundwave, meanwhile, is shown speaking more like he did in the comics, rather than his cartoon-self's distinctive speech patterns.
  • The Decepticons refer to their invention as the Egyptian Incantation / Autobot Destroyer, or EI/AD, a not-so-subtle reference to the old fan term for the cartoon's long string of villainous devices of the week.
  • Sky Warp remarks that he always bets on the leader, as he said in "Spotlight: Ramjet".
  • Packrat notes the Museum of Decepticon History has a Legendisc, the central plot device of Transformers Go!.
  • Stilleto mentions she used to annoy the late Wolfang by calling him "Howlinger", the original Wolfang's Japanese name. See what she did there?
  • The symbol on the side of Snapper's prisoner transport is the proto-faction symbol first used by Shockwave in the Dreamwave G1 comics. Author Jim Sorenson has stated that this symbol was designed by Hot Rod, presumably as a way to foster cooperation amongst the Builders, but never really caught on.[2]
  • Overshoot chooses an armodrillo as his mechanimal beast mode, which is naturally based on the beast mode of Armordillo.
  • The Predacon HUD display is reminiscent of the player's HUD in High Moon Studios' Cybertron games.
  • Snapper swears by "Prime's Ion Blaster".
  • The gang's descent into the lower levels of Cybertron and subsequent discovery of the Oracle is a shot-for-shot recreation of the scene from "The Reformatting". Overshoot plays the role of Optimus Primal, first triggering the legendary supercomputer and subsequently experiencing a series of mystical visions.
  • Buckethead references the "Age of Internment" from Dreamwave continuity but unlike in that story, the event happens pre-Great War here. Presumably this was a time under the Quintessons.
  • Alpha Trion holds a quill.
  • Gigatron is an inhabitant of some long ago era, as was the case in the Dreamwave continuity.
  • Thunderwing created the Decepticon Micromasters in Marvel UK story, "A Small War".
  • The Oracle refers to an upcoming struggle for Cybertron as being "beyond good, beyond evil, beyond imagination", paraphrasing the tagline of the original animated movie.
  • The future vision of Earth and Cybertron merging is a technorganic world, as seen at the end of Beast Machines.
  • Highline is mentioned as being a subject of empurata.
  • The final section notes a "unique digital entity", which was the term used for the Transformers' creator in Armada. His "primal scream" is a reference to the title of issue #61 of the original Marvel comic series that introduced Primus.
  • Under the spelling of Tagan Heights, the region was established in previous fiction as a major industrial area. Taking it over is a huge deal!

GoBots references

  • The decoded data says it was hacked from Gong and Tic Toc, who in "Ask Vector Prime" were introduced as powerful time-space bending guys.
  • The Diaspora was first referenced in "Ask Vector Prime" as the reason why GoBots of the "Withered Hope" continuity were fleeing their native universe en masse.
  • Dumper and Fitor receive brief name-drops as Stiletto examine the Monster GoBot files.
  • Stilletto is left confused by the constant mention of "levels" within the same files–as the GoBots cartoon established, GoBots refer to different universes as "levels".
  • The GoBots use Modifiers instead of CR chambers to heal their wounds; in the cartoon, the Modifiers were devices that allowed the Renegades and Guardians to adopt new alternate modes.
  • Cybertronians are shocked at the GoBotic ability to fly while in robot mode, referencing how all GoBots, regardless of vehicle mode, were flight-capable. (One can assume, then, that the Transformers cartoon rule that all Decepticons could fly in robot mode doesn't hold true for the Uprising continuity.)
  • While the dying GoBot reality of Gargent 984.08 Alpha is generally taken as the Challenge of the GoBots timeline, Sorenson refered to it as "a mix of toy and cartoon".[3]

Real world references

  • Cultural appropriation is when a dominant culture adopts or borrows elements of a weaker or minority culture without considering contexts or people saying "please nah, bro". Often, the appropriators publicly enjoy their newfound "culture" while the originators are restricted from doing so. In this case, a priceless piece of human culture is literally taken by Sky Warp (albeit by accident) who doesn't understand its context and later Transformers, either ignorant or callous, associate it with him instead.
  • Noah alludes to Abbot and Costello when observing ancient Egyptian artifacts, alluding to 1955's Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.
  • In this 1980s, Duran Duran have to reassure people their song, "Union of the Snake", isn't about Cobra.
  • The armodrillo mechanimal is also a reference to the Ben 10 alien Armodrillo.
  • The Oracle notes that "ALL OF THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE. ALL OF THIS WILL HAPPEN AGAIN.", a paraphrase of a quote which originally appeared in Peter Pan and was used to great effect in Battlestar Galactica.
  • "Protimax grid Nealed" is named after (in)famous Transformers fan Neale Davidson.

Level up!

The decoded data informs us:

18 FROM THE FILES HACKED FROM GONG AND TIC TOC. LEVEL 11 -- FITOR, PSYCHO, STALLION, DUMPER, PUMPER, VANGUARD.

17 LEVEL 16 -- ZIG ZAG, CROSSWORD, RUBE, POCKET, JIGSAW, TIC TAC, JAW BONE, RIB CAGE, HIP BONE, TAIL BONE

16 LEVEL 22 -- PATH FINDER, REST-Q, TREDS, SMALL FOOT, ROAD RANGER, MAN-O-WAR, BAD BOY, BUGGY MAN

15 LEVEL 29 -- BULLET, APOLLO, HI-WAY, JACK-ATTACK, DECKER DECKER, VAIN TRAIN, LOCO, BREEZ, POW WOW

14 LEVEL 34 -- MAJOR MO, SUPER COUPER, BENT WING, RAIZOR, TAIL PIPE, MAGMAR, STONEHEART, BRIMSTONE, SPEARHEAD

13 LEVEL 39 –- CHAOS, RE-VOLT, TRAITOR, STEAMER, WRECKS, TRI-TRAK, STAKS, TWISTER, SNOOP

12 LEVEL 44 -- PISTOL, SHOTGUN, RIFLE, SCOPE, SQUIRT, BLADES, WARPATH, TANK, SCREW HEAD, SPOILER

11 LEVEL 51 -- ACE, DART, NIGHT RANGER, BOLT, SPARKY, WRONGWAY, GUNNYR, SLICKS, CRAIN BRAIN

10 LEVEL 59 -- TOMBSTONE, SLIMESTONE, STONE HOOK, SABERSTONE, GOOD KNIGHT, ROYAL-T, DOZER, HANS-CUFF

09 LEVEL 63 -- BEAMER, SKY FLY, GUIDE STAR, DEFENDOR, MACH-THREE, FLIP TOP, DESTROYER, WATER WALK

08 LEVEL 69 -- SOLITAIR, FLAMESTONE, SUNSTONE, ROCK ROLLER, STINGER, TAILSPIN

07 LEVEL 72 -- SKY-JACK, CLUTCH, VON JOY, BLASTER, DIVE-DIVE, SPY-EYE, STREET HEAT, SCRATCH

06 LEVEL 77 -- BULLSEYE, MOTOSAN, SCRATCH (again?), SPAY-C, HEAT SEEKER, STICKS N STONE, ROCKSHOT

05 NOTE -- LARGE STOCKPILES OF DRONES REMAIN IN LEVEL ONE. BOOMERS (INCLUDING RUMBLE AND BLAST

04 MODELS) POWER MARCHERS (INC. RIDGE RUNNERS, HITCH HIKERS AND QUICK STEPS) ZODS AND DACTYLS. SCALES

Of these:

  • Level 22 has been established as Primax 207.0 Epsilon, the Fun Publications Classics stories. This was home to the first GoBots infiltration way back in 2007's "Games of Deception" and the cast listed are the ones sent there in that story, "Withered Hope", and "Spatiotemporal Challengers" (though it has since blown up and the crew gone elsewhere so the Monsters' info is outdated).
  • Level 44 has been established in "Echoes and Fragments" as somewhere in the Viron cluster (or possibly the whole shebang), AKA 2001's Robots in Disguise.
  • Nearly every known GoBots toy or character is accounted for in the above roster, although there are several errors and missing names:
    • Scratch appears twice on the list, in Level 72 and Level 77. It's possible one of these was meant to be "Stretch", an alternate name for the missing Renegade Tux.
    • "Tailspin" on Level 69 is presumably the Renegade Twinspin.
    • Bug Bite is not listed on Level 22, possibly because he has gone rogue from his infiltration unit.
    • Leader-1, Cy-Kill, Zeemon, Doctor Go, and Zero are confirmed still in the Gargent universe from "Sunrise" and "High Noon". It seems highly likely that the "main guys" (Turbo, Scooter, Cop-Tur, and Crasher) also remained behind with the leaders, as well as the missing Rock Lord leader Boulder.
    • Other missing GoBots include Tork, Flytrap, Throttle, Blockhead, Jeeper Creeper, and Spoons.
    • Although from a different Gargent universe, the Level teams also match with details from the universal stream of the Cy-Kill from Renegade Rhetoric. Major Mo and the Robo Rebels operate together, and the previously unnamed RoGuns and Machine Robo toys are also present.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/135257-beast-wars-uprising-cultural-appropriation/?p=3398289 AllSpark.com Posted 09 December 2016 - 09:00 PM}: "Or a hit list..."
  2. ↑ Post by Jim S on the Allspark Forums
  3. ↑ AllSpark post on 11th December 09:12 AM
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