Withered Hope

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You are now dead. Thank you for using Stop-and-Drop, America's favorite suicide booth since 2008.

Six mysterious travelers unwittingly end up on Axiom Nexus.

Synopsis

An old human man, flanked by one silver and one red mechanoid, addresses the mixed crowd. The white-haired doctor explains that the source of their universe's Cataclysm lies in another universe. On a screen, he displays video captured from the offending universe. Some event triggered by the transforming robots on the screen have done something to cause their timeline to split. This newly created universe, the doctor explains, is what's overwriting the GoBots' own universe. A team of GoBots must be sent to the new dimension to investigate.

In Axiom Nexus, New Arrivals Coordinator Silverbolt and subordinate Adventas witness a strange incoming stream that doesn't seem to be using Transwarp technology. This stream becomes tangled with another more usual stream carrying ten sentients. That is enough to push Silverbolt to order both streams brought in.

Six small Autobots and Decepticons stand on the platform, greeted by Silverbolt. The GoBots have disguised themselves in Transformer bodies. Silverbolt explains the circumstances to Path Finder, Small Foot, Road Ranger, Bug Bite, Treds, and Bad Boy. Not having landed where they expected, Path Finder requests an audience with Optimus Prime.

After spending hours in interrogation, Path Finder and Bug Bite are granted a presence before Optimus Prime and the Senate. Bug Bite explains their situation, and Megatron calls for Minister of Higher Dimensional Sciences Rhinox to comment. Rhinox quickly assesses the cause of the GoBots' Cataclysm to be the Unicron Phenomenon. Despite this, Megatron insists that the TransTechs cannot interfere in the fate of other universes. In addition, the TransTechs consider the population of Gobotron a potential threat to their Cybertron, refusing to allow the six to return home. As a consolation, the Gobotronians are left to live their lives in Axion Nexus.

Having lost Bug Bite in the Transwarp complex, the Gobots split up. Treads and Bad Boy search for Bug Bite, while Path Finder, Road Ranger, and Small Foot make their way to lodgings. Small Foot books some rooms at the Widow’s Café Cybertronian. Crystal Widow, the weary-souled proprietor, gives a grim outlook on the GoBots escape from Axiom Nexus.

The next day, Path Finder attempts to fly out of the city, but is easily waylaid by Beam Rider and Skyquake and sent back to the designated traffic lanes with a warning.

Treds and Bad Boy, still searching for Bug Bite, stumble across a murder scene. Cheetor and his security officers are investigating the corpse. Treds realizes that the robot was killed by Bug Bite's hand-blaster. Cheetor informs the two GoBots that recently deceased was in the employ of Cryotek. He asks them to come with him to Cryotek's bar, The Blue Deployer, thinking that they might glean some information from the visit.

After Crystal Widow finishes a conversation with a mollusk robot, Path Finder and Small Foot approach her. Although the barkeep still insists that there's no way for the GoBots to get out of Axiom Nexus so long as the TransTechs are keeping an eye on them, she does offer to help them acclimate to permanent life in the city.

Cheetor, Treds and Bad Boy enter The Blue Deployer and speak with Cryotek about his dead employee, Comet. Cryotek seems genuinely surprised about Comet's death, and doesn't have much information to offer. He mentions that Comet used to associate with the Malignus gang. Cheetor gives the GoBots a beacon and departs. Treds and Bad Boy decide to go looking for the Malignus gang.

Back at the Widow’s Café Cybertronian, Path Finder and Small Foot watch on as Airazor, a member of the Axiom Nexus Security Administration, converses with Crystal Widow. Her partner General Demolishor, with the Military Police, bursts in, preferring to hunt their quarry with more force. Airazor is miffed at Demolishor's lack of subtly. She suggests that the big TransTech brute ferret out their perp, the mollusk Escargon, by himself. The general stalks up the stairs, and moments later, the mollusk darts down the stairs. While Escargon frantically attempts to manipulate a box in his hands, Demolishor blasts a chuck of his head away.

Treds and Bad Boy find the Malignus gang. A red sports car Malignus quickly sets off Bad Boy, who finally gets to show off his fighting prowess. Bad Boy gains the upper hand against the feisty car robot.

Airazor berates Demolishor for using such extreme methods, remarking that now they can't interrogate him about the location of the "passes". Searching the body, she finds the device he was holding. Path Finder and Road Ranger secretly recognize it as an Astro-Beam, realizing that Bug Bite must have used the device to escape the Transwarp complex. Demolishor recognizes the GoBots as "machines of interest" and accuses them of trading the device for the passes. A brief altercation is ended by Airazor distracting Demolishor with the legal technicalities of arrest.

Bad Boy, Treds, and the Malignus gang have buddied up, having earned a respect for each other. The car Malignus suggests that Bug Bite may have gone in for upgrades. The two make their way to Swindle, Swindle, and Swindle and discover that Bug Bite has adopted a new body. He seems to have used an Astro-Beam to escape the Transwarp complex, a temporary teleportation device that would return Bug Bite to the Transwarp complex eventually. Treds explains that Bug Bite has transferred the effect of the beam to his new parts.

Meanwhile, Airazor succeeds in convincing Demolishor that, since the GoBots have no sparks, they are property belonging to Crystal Widow. Demolishor storms out of the café in search of Bad Boy and Treds instead. Path Finder contacts the other two and warns them about Demolishor before hurrying off with Road Ranger.

Airazor explains that Escargon attacked some couriers and stole the passes they were carrying. The passes are no-questions-asked tickets out of Axiom Nexus. Airazor senses something in Crystal Widow and warns her not to not get involved, then flies away. Small Foot thinks Widow was holding the passes for Escargon, but Widow says she doesn't have them. Widow laments her life, stuck in Axiom Nexus, away from all her loves ones. Small Foot admonishes Crystal Widow for her pessimism, encouraging her to take an active roll in bettering her life and her world.

Treds and Bad Boy flee from Demolishor. Bad Boy wants to call Bug Bite and warn him, but Treds explains that Bug Bite must be gone by now. The Astro-Beam's effects have returned him to the Transwarp complex, and with the pass he got from Escargon, he would have left Axiom Nexus hours ago. Demolishor advances on the two GoBots. Bad Boy is knocked out, and awakens to find Path Finder and Road Ranger. Treds and Demolishor are gone. Path Finder calls Treds but Demolishor picks up. He demands they turn over the passes that he still thinks the GoBots bought from Escargon. Path Finder determines that he's waiting in the Heap.

The Gobotronians arrive at the Heap, a massive field of refuse in the under-levels of Cybertron. After avoiding a few hazards, they free Treds from Demolishor. The large TransTech advances on the small cyborgs, but from nowhere, Crystal Widow arrives and encases Demolishor in an energon lattice. She extends her claw, using her energon manipulation powers to cause an energon blade to pierce his chest.

But even that cannot stop Demolishor, who blasts Widow. Road Ranger pelts the general with so much energy from his hand blasters that the GoBot's hands explode. A fierce battle ensues, with both Demolishor and the GoBots receiving damage. As a final valiant effort, Path Finder gathers scrap metal in her arms and engages her faster-than-light drive, stopping within five meters of the general, but releasing the scrap, shredding Demolishor. Severely wounded, Demolishor still plunders forward. Just as Path Finder is about to be crushed, Cheetor rushes to the rescue.

Another legalities-based conversation ensues that results in Demolishor's arrest. In regard to the passes, Demolishor was never authorized to have the passes issued or retrieved. Cheetor and Airazor agree that it's easier to say the passes were used than to deal with the resulting investigation, so the GoBots are awarded a free ride out of Axiom Nexus. Treds asks how Cheetor knew about the altercation. Bad Boy speaks up sheepishly, admitting that he's the one who called for help, using the signal device Cheetor gave him and Treds. Airazor hands over the passes and the Bug Bite's Astro-Beam that was confiscated from Escargon. Small Foot offers her pass to Crystal Widow, but Widow refuses, acknowledging that the GoBots' mission if of greater importance. Widow slyly calls in Airazor's bar tab so the GoBots can afford to get fixed up at Swindle, Swindle, and Swindle.

On Earth, in an alternate universe, Dreadwind drags two bodies into a ship. A flash of light heralds the arrival of the five GoBots, who recognize one of the bodies as Bug Bite. The headless form get up, briefly scaring everyone, before attaching a replacement head to his shoulders. Bug Bite explains that he traveled 15 years into the past, looking for this universe's Megatron. Believing him to be the cause of the Cataclysm, but only finding a crashed ship in Canada, Bug Bite bided his time. In lieu of his recent, unsuccessful attempt to overthrow Megatron (in service to the avoidance of the Cataclysm), Bug Bite agrees to return to the original plan with the other GoBots. And, a new group of GoBots has just arrived...

Stats

Writers: Greg Sepelak and Trent Troop
Pagecount: 47pp
Originally published: online exclusive for the Transformers Collectors' Club on May 8, 2008
Illustrations: Matt Kuphaldt

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Others

Quotes

Notes

Errors

  • On page two, "calmed" is mistyped as "clamed."

Transformer references

  • As you might expect, what with this being a GoBots story, there are several references to various characters and concepts from the Challenge of the GoBots cartoon.
  • The basics of GoBot physiology are repeatedly noted, including their organic brains, race-wide robot-mode flight systems, built-in weapons systems which operate on "power packs" and self-repair capabilities.
  • While Leader-1 is the only GoBot outside of the main cast of the story who identifies himself by name, Renegade leader Cy-Kill and Turbo are easily recognizable by their descriptions.
  • "The doctor" who delivers the address that opens the story (later referred to as "Doctor B" by Bad Boy) is Doctor Braxis, the evil human ally of the Renegades.
  • The GoBots' "level" system for classifying parallel universe originates in the two-part cartoon story, "Invasion from the 21st Level", in which insectoid monsters from another dimension are brought into the GoBots world using the "Dimensional Interfacer" device that plays a role in this story. The GoBots classify the Marvel Comics continuity as the twenty-second level.
  • The Astro-Beam is a space bridge-esque teleportation system used by both the Guardians and Renegades to transport their troops from Gobotron to Earth.
  • The TransTechs have cataloged 15,962,782 universal streams, and they have a sophisticated classification system for all the timestreams they've cataloged. Each universe they mention refers to a specific existing Transformers continuity. The classification listing begins with a noun that describes the continuity family, a number which refers to the date of origin (in the real world), and a Greek letter that indicates the form of media. For example, the "Primax 984.0 Gamma" thread refers to the Generation 1 Marvel Comics continuity, the first issue of which was cover-dated September 1984.
  • Tyran - the Movie continuity family
  • The GoBots only wind up on Axiom Nexus after being caught in the wake of a group of dimensional travelers from the Malgus (Animated) family. As the story notes that travelers from Malgus are rare, this particular group is presumably Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Sari Sumdac making the trip seen in "Bee in the City".
  • Cheetor and Cryotek both make reference to the death of Black Shadow, which happened in the previous prose story "Gone Too Far".
  • When Bug Bite fixes himself up with a replacement head at the conclusion of the story, he remarks that he has failed to "match the shade" on his new noggin, referring to the fact that the Bug Bite toy's head is a distinctly brighter, whiter color than the rest of its body.

Real-world references

  • "Withered Hope" is a song by They Might Be Giants. References to They Might Be Giants are one of Greg Sepelak's trademarks.
  • Based on his description, the robot that Treds and Bad Boy question on the whereabouts of Bug Bite is (a version of) T-Bob, the neurotic kid-appeal robot character from M.A.S.K..
  • Bug Bite announces that "the jig is up, the news is out, they finally found me", a line from the Styx song... "Renegade". See what they did there?

References

  1. ↑ Malgus was only mentioned in the story without revealing the continuity family it represented. "Bee in the City" would later confirm it was the Animated family.
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