Last Sunset

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It is being brought.
It is being brought.
Oh, he's doin' somethin'...

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"Last Sunset"
Publisher Transformers Collectors' Club (online exclusive)
First published December 31, 2016
By Andrew Hall
Illustrations by Josh Burcham, Christopher Colgin, and Hosono Tomoya
Cover Casey Coller and Josh Perez (uncredited)
Continuity Shattered Glass, GoBots
Chronology 2015
Page count 33pp

To save their world, the GoBots will have to make the ultimate sacrifice...

Synopsis

One by one, the G1 GoBots wake up, repaired and recharged for their journey to the Caretaker, who will hopefully provide them with the key to saving both GoBotron and Solarbot's homeworld. Path Finder tries to convince herself she's made the right decision; Treds feels stressed enough trying to protect his team while trying to save their universes; Buggyman continues his insidious plots; Road Ranger wonders if they could take up residence on Earth; Bad Boy prepares to be sidelined once more; Small Foot still wonders about her dreams and what they mean; and Solarbot is only partially recharged, hoping to avoid combat. All are aware that the fate of their worlds depends on them...

At 6:00 AM, the GoBots gather in the Ironworks Base hangar, where Metalhawk waits for them. Opening the bay doors, he shows them the Micromaster Transport they've prepared, and introduces them to their pilot, the erratic helicopter Skyklik. Skyklik explains to them that he is an interdimensional refugee much like themselves; the Autobots found him after Ultra Magnus' attack on their base, with no memory of who he was or where he came from, treating him as one of their own. Man-O-War, as blunt as ever, questions Skyklik's abilities, and Path Finder concurs that with their mission being one of life or death, he might not be the best choice. Metalhawk reassures them that he is more than qualified to be their pilot, and Buggyman, having apparently taken an interest in the mysterious Autobot, quickly agrees. Skyklik promises that he'll do his best to help them save their worlds, with the matter settled, Path Finder begins to make a speech. With both Guardians and Renegades working to save their world, she feels that it is best that she chooses from both teams: Small Foot and Road Ranger, for their tracking skills, Bad Boy with his flight mode, and Buggyman for his drones. Small Foot is elated, but quickly realizes that this decision has sidelined Treds. Treds accepts Path Finder's decision, though is worried that they might get into trouble, a fear shared by Rest-Q, while Man-O-War once more insults the "useless" Treds. Path Finder tries to assure Treds, hoping they won't get into any conflict, but Metalhawk informs her some disturbing news: Stepper has vanished without a trace from his cell, indicating that the evil Autobots of this dimension might be looking for them. The Autobot commander advises them that they'll need the security, and surprisingly, Buggyman willingly gives up his seat, offering his autonomous drone R-Navi to take his place. With this settled, Skyklik has the others get ready...but what they don't realize is that Buggyman has ulterior motives. Recognizing Skyklik as the sleeper his master, Zero, sent to enable the takeover of Ironworks, Buggyman prepares to finish the job his amnesiac partner was meant to complete...

On the trip to Argentina, Small Foot dreams once more, seeing the changed faces of the Guardians, much like her nightmare before. However, unlike before, she does not see the evil entity feeding off the chaos of their world; instead, the Guardians cheer, almost as if they are welcoming her home, and Small Foot feels hope that they might succeed. Small Foot suddenly wakes up to the sound of a voice coming over the transdimensional communicator, urging her to save her world. Small Foot and Solarbot talk, learning more about each other, while Skyklik nears the coordinates for the Caretaker given by Cliffjumper. Suddenly, Treds hears a loud clicking noise; Skyklik checks the ship's diagnostics to see if they hit something, and finds that the transport's fuel tank is malfunctioning. Small Foot notices R-Navi trying push its way out of a window, and just as she realizes what's happened, the ship explodes. Skyklik falls to the ground unconscious, with the GoBots following behind him, Bad Boy being the only one to stay in the air. Solarbot exits from Small Foot's body; with his power reserves running only at 30%, Solarbot slows their descent, knowing all too well that he will be unable to help in the face of danger. An angry Treds wonders what happened, and is soon given an answer, when the Autobot samurai gunman Drift confronts them, demanding vengeance for the loss of his partner Stepper! Road Ranger tries to approach him, but Drift fires two shots into the air, one as a warning, and the other to show off his skills, with R-Navi quickly falling to the ground. Solarbot tries to reason with the Autobot, but Drift explains he has no interest in him; while Stepper was little more than scum, he was Drift's partner, and so intends on taking the life of the GoBots leader in exchange. Path Finder begins to try to reason with the mercenary, but Treds quickly interrupts, claiming that he's their leader and the one responsible for Stepper's "demise," and that Drift will have to go through him if he wants the others. Drift laughs; he might have eliminated them all once, but after learning the ways of honor from the Decepticon samurai Gigatron, he has changed; if Treds duels him one on one, he will let the other GoBots go free. The others try to dissaude him, but Treds accepts. Up in the sky, Bad Boy watches as the others prepare to back off...when suddenly a heated bullet whizzes past him. As the other GoBots turn away, a shot rings out, and Drift lies on the ground unconscious.

Treds, unsure of what happened, is quickly praised by the others, but their celebration is cut short when Bad Boy returns, informing them their still a few miles away from the Caretaker. Having sustained damage and wary about other combatants, the GoBots elect to stick close to the ground, hoping that Skyklik is okay. Solarbot congratulates Treds for his luck against Drift, but Treds, believing he's never lucky, figures Solarbot had something to do with his miraculous victory. Solarbot tells the old GoBot soldier that he is lucky to have friends who care about him so much, and proceeds to explain that he used his powers to shift the heat resistance of the Drift's other bullet, returning it to the position from which it was fired. Treds laughs, realizing that Drift was right about never missing. A few hours later, the GoBots arrive at Cliffjumper's coordinates, but the ground has seemingly repaired itself, sealing away the sinkhole the Autobot encountered. Solarbot still feels the Caretaker's presence however, and soon the group feels the ground tremble beneath them, as a hole opens to the caves below. The GoBots enter, finding pillars adorned with five robots who combine into a single form; inspecting these pillars, the group awaken the Caretaker. The supercomputer greets the group, informing them that it has been watching them, and knows why they have come. Small Foot excitedly asks the computer if it can save their world, but the Caretaker simply informs her that it is linked to all realities, but will not save GoBotron or Solarbot's homeworld...because it is not the one who will do so. The Caretaker is not limited by linear perception of time; it knows what will happen, and that they will be the ones to save their world. The key to doing so is not with the Transformers, or with the Caretaker; it is within them, with Solarbot's heat generating abilities, the GoBots' self-regeneration capabilities, and most important of all, the changes their journey has brought about with them: their friendship, their courage, their self-sacrifice, must become one to save their worlds.

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Guardians Renegades Autobots Decepticons Others

Classicsverse

Shatteredverse

Shatteredverse

Quotes

"Hey, Skyklik. I’m Small Foot. Y’know, I wouldn’t have guessed you were a pilot...You seem, um..."
"Diagonal."

— Smallfoot and Solarbot say that alcohol and piloting don't mix.


"Commander Metalhawk, I must question whether this amnesiac, semi-functional Transformer of unknown origin is the best choice as our pilot?"

— Man-O-War, ableist or genre savant?


"Bad Boy, would you like me to attempt fusion with you? My contact with Small Foot was in fact coincidental, and is naturally not limited to females or Guardians."
"Uh... Yeeeeah..."

— Solarbot propositions Bad Boy.


"The time for my vengeance has arrived. Yurusarezarumonoyo!"

— Drift


"Take a moment to reflect on the events of the past three days, from your own limited viewpoint. You began your journey, braving hardship to come into contact with the Transformers. In doing so, you met one another. In just three short days, an infinitesimally small unit of time even by the standards of Earth, you have grown and changed. Shared experience has made you different beings than when you left your homes. Now, the answer you seek is not within the Transformers, or my computer network. It is within each of you, the Gobots and Solarbots. Now, the time has come for you join together and return home."

— Caretaker


"Optimism. That’s what I brought to the team. When I left my little town to join the Guardians, that’s all I had with me. Instead of going off to war, I believed I was setting out on a great adventure. Just like when we left on this mission together. If I could bring just a little light to everyone, then that was enough for me."

— Small Foot makes a big last impression.

Notes

  • Characters mentioned but not seen include: Ultra Magnus, Bug Bite, Stepper, Cliffjumper, Gigatron, Musashi, Blaster, Screw Head, a combiner and his five components, Zeemon, the entity, Wheeljack, and the Seacons.
  • This is the last prose story released by Fun Publications under the Transformers license, as it was posted on the very last day they held it. Indeed, within the last 20 minutes, at least within the Eastern Time Zone.
  • The members appearing in this story were determined by fan-vote via hashtags on Facebook From November 23 until November 31 of 2016.
  • Buggyman volunteering to stay behind so that Treds can go on the mission is apparently a reference to the Japanese fans and the American fans polled wanting slightly different characters for this story.[1]
  • Drift says that he changed personalities completely when he came to Earth. This is a reference to his completely different, Deadpool-inspired personality from his toy bio and previous club stories. How this lines up with his past with Gigatron is…unclear.
  • Skyklik disappears from the story, never to be seen again.
  • We never learn what Small Foot whispered to Path Finder.
  • Drift's Samurai Gunman schtick is a reference to the anime Ninja Slayer.[2]

Errors

  • There is no November 31. But reality itself was breaking down, so we can forgive them, I guess.
  • The transition break on the top of page 28 should be a line up, on the bottom of page 27.
  • As in the previous chapter, the name "Buggy Man" is spelled as such with a space despite being rendered "Buggyman" in the first two chapters. Which of the two is the "correct" spelling is unclear.

Continuity notes

  • Stepper was swallowed up by a random interdimensional portal in the previous story. He was noted to work with Drift in his toy's profile card from BotCon 2015.
  • Gigatron and the Musashi Sword were previously mentioned in "Invasion Prologue".

Transformers references

GoBots references

Other references

  • Shatteredverse Drift’s martial art of Kita Kyushu is a reference to Kitakyushu, a city in Japan.
  • Drift's Sakamoto Rifle is a reference to either Ryōma Sakamoto, Japanese revolutionary, or Hayato Sakamoto, the Japanese Transformers writer…or both.
  • Gigatron's Musashi Sword is a reference to Miyamoto Musashi.
  • Drift makes a habit of speaking some random Japanese throughout the story:
    • Detekiyagattana (出てきやがったな): I came out.
    • Yurusarezarumonoyo (許されざる者よ): You are not forgiven.
    • Hayamaruna (早まるな): Do not be hasty!
    • Hyakupatsu, hyakuchu (百発, 百中): 100 shots, 100 hits
    • Taishitamonda (大したもんだ): What a big deal.
    • Taiyo-no-ko (太陽の子): child of the sun.
    • Me ni wa Me (目には目): an eye for an eye
    • Katakiuchi (敵討ち): revenge
    • Bureimono (無礼者): rude person
    • Gigatron-dono (ギガトロン殿): Lord Gigatron
    • Sadame (定め): destiny…also, judgement, law, regulation….

References

  1. ↑ Post by Hydra (Andrew Hall) on The Allspark Forums, 2016/12/10
  2. ↑ Post by Hydra (Andrew Hall) on The Allspark Forums, 2017/01/01
  3. ↑ Post by Hydra on The Allspark Forums, 2017/01/03
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