Metamorphosis (Cloud)

Now ascendant, Megatron grants his followers boons.

Synopsis

On the surface of Cloud Spacetime, five figures see the terrifying, gigantic column of light emerging from the Underground and rush towards the battle. In the complex below the Colosseum's ruins, Megatron observes the handiwork of his power. Shockwave, having been used as the conduit of his master's power, collapses to the ground, all of the battles and backup plans up to this point finally taking their toll on his life. Optimus Prime claws himself out of the rubble and catches Megatron's attention. The Decepticon leader summarily ignores his nemesis and, not wanting to lose such a valuable soldier, takes out his small sword and uses it to channel energy into Shockwave, reviving the mad logician. Optimus is shocked by this show of power—the ability to reignite a dead spark—but doesn't spend much time thinking about it as he soon falls over unconscious. Shockwave moves to exterminate the Autobot, but Megatron belays the attempt. No, he'd rather Optimus alive just so he can helplessly see the fall of the Spacetime World he vowed to protect. Still in the mood to gather more troops, he orders Soundwave to release Starscream from the dimension gate generator and the arrogant Decepticon is forced to bow his head to his superior. He cannot face Megatron... yet. Megatron delightfully senses somebody nearby: SARA.

Above ground, many Autobots and Decepticons were caught in the blast. Brawn and Dinobot were protected by a barrier from SARA, but the sheer power causes her to faint. The baffled Deadlock is confused why Ironhide defended him from Megatron's blast. His savior collapses as Deadlock growls that this won't stop him from killing the Autobot, but he reconsiders and lowers his gun. No point in killing those who can't hear you at the moment, or so he says. Astrotrain recomposes himself, and is begged by Thundercracker to help Skywarp, who's lost half of his body and is on the verge of death. Brawn, wondering if he should flee with SARA, is cornered by Astrotrain, but is saved by an unexpected source: the Wreckers! Perceptor called them in to assist and it looks like they've arrived before things can somehow get worse. They rush to the basement to find Optimus Prime and Hot Rodimus.

Megatron, having had a taste of SARA's power, wants more. Shockwave, determining that he can open dimension gates with Megatron's power, suggests destroying SARA in case her power is used against Megatron's will, only to get a fist to the face. Megatron knows his power is yet incomplete and SARA still remains the highest priority. Hot Rodimus finally brings himself out of the rubble; Shockwave aims his gun, but Megatron gestures him to cease. He has more than plenty power and wants to have a bit of fun.

Aboveground, the Decepticons find themselves beaten back by the Wreckers. But their battlefield dominance is interrupted as Hot Rodimus shoots right out of the hole and crashes to the ground. Megatron makes his entrance emerging from the hole, putting terror into the hearts of Autobot and Decepticon alike. Spotting SARA defended by Dinobot, Megatron calmly walks towards his treasure. The Wreckers attempt to pour firepower on the tyrant, but he simply uses a flash of his Fusion Blade to send the five flying away. Nevertheless, they've got spunk and get up quickly. The amused Megatron is interrupted when Thundercracker begs his lord to save Skywarp. Curious to try the limits of his power, Megatron takes out his smaller sword and thrusts the blade into Skywarp's chest—he'll incorporate the genes of another organism to replace what was lost or create new life with his own hands. After a flash of light, Skywarp's body shifts, disintegrates, and contorts itself into a new monstrous form, taking after a shark. Thundercracker asks his renewed friend if he's alright, to which the reimagined Decepticon breathes a sight of relief now that he's "clawed [his] way out of hell". When Megatron orders him to attack the Autobots with the power he granted, the shark introduces himself as Hellwarp and promises to send the Autobots to the hell he came out of.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

• From this entry on, Cloud World (クラウド世界 Kuraudo Sekai) is almost exclusively referred to as Cloud Spacetime (クラウド時空 Kurado Jikū). Whether this is an intended change or an overlooked editing error is unclear.

Transformers references

References

• "Metamorphosis" at e-HOBBY
• "Metamorphosis" at TakaraTomy Mall (archived)
• Machine translation of "Metamorphosis"