The Extraordinary Reformat
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| "The Extraordinary Reformat" 驚異のリフォーマット
(Kyōi no Reformat) | |||||||||||||
| Published in | Figure Ō No. 100 | ||||||||||||
| First published | May 24, 2006 | ||||||||||||
| Cover date | June 2006 | ||||||||||||
| Story | Hirofumi Ichikawa | ||||||||||||
| Pencils | Hirofumi Ichikawa | ||||||||||||
Synopsis
On Animatron, Optimus Primal explains to Backstop about his past: He and Megatron were eternal enemies during a war on their home planet. The final battle resulted in both their substances breaking down to their basic components to become one with the reborn world. Backstop is enamored with the tale, but asks... why are they both here on another world now? The details come easy—Soundblaster sought a successor and so tore their sparks out of Cybertron's own earth and brought them to this unknown area of space. The "why", however, is something Optimus would like to know himself...
The two reach an underground temple decorated with the Transformers' technology, where Optimus Primal thinks is a good location to access the information contained within the Golden Disk. Still holding the spirit of the explorer within, Primal is fascinated by the environment of Animatron, especially the psionic energy that wrapped the planet like an aura—explained by the temple's priests as the result of the Cyber Planet Key that was brought by Transformers eons ago. This information doesn't match Optimus Primal's own knowledge, but he already figured that he was in a universe unknown to him and shifts his focus to deciphering the disk with the priests.
Two days later, Optimus Primal hasn't seen hide nor hair of Megatron. He wonders if Megatron has already gathered all he needs from his previous encounter with the Golden Disk during the trial at Soundblaster's temple while Primal himself was distracted by questions about his past. His guess proves correct, as Megatron, armed with confidential data from the disk, is well on his way to becoming Soundblaster's successor. On Animatron, Megatron has managed to defeat Scavenge, the leader of a pack of dinosaur-like Transformers. Seeking to exploit the power of the Cyber Planet Key, Megatron decides to adapt to the current spacetime and does so by ripping off Scavenge's own key port and installs it on his left arm. Once connected, the port instantly transforms Megatron into an Animatronian-style Transmetal robot! He calls out to his nemesis that he is ready for the Zeonomicon now that he's acquired the "sacred crest"...
On the astral plane, Vector Prime has finally succeeded in cutting down Soundblaster's spirit. Desperate, he attempts to unite with his many other selves, but Vector Prime puts an end to his brother, although the vision of a "Beast of Time" that he saw in the process mystifies him.
The next day, Megatron attacks the underground temple with his army of predator-type Transformers. Optimus Primal quizzes the Predacon about his new appearance, to which Megatron is more than happy to show off, activating his Cyber Key to create a missile launcher that he uses to destroy the temple. Both sides fought, with it being the first day that the "Ignition phenomenon" occurred on the planet. Megatron reasons that the Zeonomicon must also have been a Cyber Key used by Soundblaster to power himself up and wonders just what Primal's been up to in the days leading to the battle. "Laying the groundwork for change", Optimus Primal just says with a shrug. Having already analyzed the Golden Disk, Primal knew that the Zenomicon would be granted in the final rite of succession when the Golden Disk was placed within an obelisk at the mouth of a volcano beyond the mountain range they were currently on.
Mocking his opponent's lack of a Cyber Key-compatible body, Megatron asks whether he like to hand over the Golden Disk before or after death, but the Maximal has already set plans in motion. Backstop shows up in the nick of time with a valuable treasure—Animatron's Cyber Planet Key! Having borrowed it from their amicable governor, Backstop tosses the key to Primal, who recognizes it as a fragment of Primus's essence and wishes not for its power, but the opportunity to break the chains of destiny on his very being! The key induces a reformatting of Primal's body, transforming it into an Antimatronian form, with a key receptor located on the end of his new hoverboard module. After returning the Cyber Planet Key to Backstop, Optimus Primal rushed to the obelisk, with Megatron swiftly following on a flying dragon steed.
After both disappeared from sight, neither were ever seen again by Backstop, and the conclusion of their confrontation was forever a mystery. But the rhinoceros feels like the dawn of a new day answers the question well enough.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Maximals | Predacons | Others |
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