#exarchon

The full anti-Ex force swoops in and meets the new Skywarp army.

Cyclonus and Slipstream encircle Exarchon and draw his fire (literally)

(cause he's an enormous fuck-you dragon at the moment)

not important but I like Skywarp's gay little gothy makeup. I checked and the clones don't seem to have those. progenitor drip

Sixshot gives the signal for Mindwipe to seize Exarchon's attention (Cyclonus transforming into root mode in the background in preparation)

Mindwipe succeeds! But he and the Titanspark are knocked away by Vortex. The spark rolls over to Pyra Magna, who picks it up.

Cyclonus shouts at her to open it, but she still can't ignore her moral scruples long enough to do so.

So Cyclonus rockets around, decks her in the face (chest?), takes the Titanspark, and makes a mad dash for Exarchon.

"FOOL! I'll take this debt then. One more's no heavier."

What exactly are these debts he's already carrying?

For surviving the war, must he keep it and the fallen's memory alive?

His debt, repay his life being spared by using it to keep the memory alive?

Or his debt, having failed to do so?

Debt means he owes something. In regards to the Titanspark, I think it's in reference to doing something so unethical, perhaps evil, that he's incurring a karmic debt in retribution.

Maybe not so literally a debt, but a burden in general? I imagine he actually agrees with Pyra Magna that this is a bad thing to do to an innocent spark, but unlike her, he can put that aside and take this moral hit.

A "it must be done, do it now, regret it later" approach because the alternative is worse than any philosophical debate or tangible consequence they could have about it.

Exarchon is "dazed", as Cyclonus put it, so I imagine any harsh words could snap him out of it. He instead plays into the idea Mindwipe had planted in Ex with very straightforward words and enticing him with an opening.

Cyclonus zooms around Exarchon, opens the container, and tells him "Now's the moment."

The past dazzles the future with this present.

Exarchon eagerly falls hook-line-sinker with what I can only imagine as a very Beast Wars Megs "Yessss..."

The black inky streams of Exarchon's very spark leak out of Deathsaurus and bridge the gap to the Titanspark in Cyclonus' hands.

They furl with such intensity, it's almost as if their sheer speed rushing into such a small target area are causing them to whip around, almost backlashing Cyclonus.

Rushing towards him and forcing their way into something in his hands, they're almost pushing against him like a vicious gust of wind. Like one would hold a shield against a dragon's fire breath, having to hold strong against this force pushing directly on something they're holding in front of them.

Cyclonus even has to turn away, teeth gritted and eyes clenched shut out of effort, or even perhaps the force is painful to face head-on, just like a gust of wind in your face.

The blackened Titanspark thunks to the ground before Onslaught. Cyclonus tells him to stand down, that specifically "No point dying now."

Very interesting choice of words, from this character in particular.

He doesn't want to kill him (i.e. fight any further), so he's telling Ons to stop by arguing on his terms. The person he was fighting for is defeated.

It's hard to articulate the kind of irony I'm sensing but something something, Cyclonus having been willing to die fighting on behalf of someone who's been dead, telling someone else that there's no point in dying now (because the one they fight on behalf of is defeated)

Onslaught drops his gun and Sixshot scoops up the Ex-Titanspark with plans of returning to Iacon with it.

Pyra Magna cleaves it right in two with her axe. Megatron will not get to toy with what power/abilities/opportunities an Exarchon Titanspark could possibly grant him.

It would be so easy to feign some outrage at her being unwilling to sacrifice the spark only to destroy it herself but the reason why, beyond the practical one, is kinda obvious. It's like Cyclonus and Ex-Provoke.

That WAS once an innocent Titanspark, but now it's been usurped. It's Exarchon now. Cyclonus already took care of the morally-fraught part, so now killing Exarchon? That's the easy part.

The War of the Threefold Spark is over.

The flames of the new war immediately flare as the anti-Exarchon forces fold in on each other on Autobot-Decepticon adjacent lines.

Sixshot attempts to rope Cyclonus into the Decepticons by association. He even has the gall to phrase it as "Our new war is waiting out there. With me, Cyclonus."

Bro. He was only here to kill Exarchon. He's only with you because Decepticons hold so much power and resources to do so.

You may be friends (or maybe not anymore), and you can understand him a little bit, but you don't fully understand him.

He's. not. much. for. groups. anymore!

Cyclonus hates fighting! He only set out looking for fights to pick because he was provoked first. He wasn't going to continue being a soldier wandering around for a war to fight once his goals were accomplished.

His career started with fighting against Exarchon, and it ended with killing him. That is IT.

The way Sixshot phrases it so idealistically, so dreamily like they're about to run off to live in a farmhouse together like SHUT UPPPP. It's ANOTHER WAR. THAT'S NOT GOOD.

Cyclonus' pacifism aside, WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD—

Dude, Cyc is not gonna abandon his worldview to follow you into Hell again. Who do you think you are. You're not that good of a friend. I bet Cyclonus wouldn't even hallucinate you if you died.

He really tried being slick with it, too.

"No, I don't think so."

"You're so eager to get back to your precious war. Not me."

"I'm going to sit here for a while—maybe a long while—and enjoy the end of the last one."

Bold assumption he'd be on your side, as well, Sixshot.

He might enjoy war, or find solace in the Cons' ideological superiority, but actually Cyclonus doesn't care and also prefers it when things aren't fucking blowing up and people aren't getting killed all the time. Yes, he's crazy indeed.

FATE! OF CYBERTROOOOOOOOOOOON! The Autobots pack up the Ark with Cybertronian and organic refugees.

Landmine's group (I assume Team Drill-Fuck-Upper, name pending) showed up and Cyclonus with them. Nautica thinks it's strange he hasn't said a word since then.

He's clearly standing at a ledge in the background and watching the proceedings, "alone".

Cyclonus' questionable loyalties and associations leave him a murky figure to trust, at least for Road Rage. She's a bodyguard so it's just practical, healthy proactivity.

Hound's take is simple. People are here to leave. Cyclonus is here. He must want to leave. If he wants to, then he will. They're here to help people leave, not stop them.

"Saving people who want to be saved."

While he hasn't said a word to a real person, Cyc and the chorus are entertaining themselves.

The place isn't in a real uproar, but the visual scramble of bots getting the Ark ready and the passengers being herded aboard concerns Highfire. It seems kind of slapdash, doesn't it?

Grudge thinks the place is a prime target for a Decepticon attack, and with Cyclonus giving away his extendable sword and handheld submachine gun, he won't be able to fight back if it were to happen.

Reiterating that I believe the chorus are representations of thoughts and emotions, I assume these are worries Cyclonus has. Watching everything, feeling nervous about the rush and almost certainly impending Con assault.

Cyclonus reaffirms that he doesn't need weapons anymore. His war is finally over. He doesn't plan on fighting this next one. His goal accomplished, he tells them they can rest.

"I think I'm glad you stayed, but you can all go now..."

Leaving Cybertron, the war, his fallen friends behind... not to be forgotten, but to rest. It will simply be.

It happened, but there's no need to reopen the wounds.

The chorus dissolves away like smoke in the wind without smart comment, but Paragon remains intact. Cyclonus bids him to stay, just a little longer, "if he'd like."

Paragon asks if Cyclonus is really going to leave Cybertron. Just like that?

It's just a place, says Cyclonus. "Just memories."

They were what mattered. YOU (the chorus? Paragon specifically?) were home. YOU were home.

It's not about places or things. It was people.

It'll all still be there, in one form or another. But he's moving on.

"I'm just about ready to let the future happen now."

The past embraces the future.

After takeoff, Subsea and Geomotus bond as Cyclonus walks past them. That's really sweet but I'd love to see (more) interaction between Cyclonus and Geomotus. Or hell, all three!

Froid is seemingly the only person Cyclonus has opened up to about the exact nature and extent of his mental illness, and given that Geomotus often explains his deal, I think it would be cool for Cyclonus to reciprocate.

Geomotus' shapes help ground him in unfamiliar settings, and one could say that the chorus did something similar for Cyc.

(But mainly they just liked to be snarky.)

As Cyclonus makes his way through the Ark, Paragon asks where they're going. Cyclonus doesn't even know, and doesn't particularly care to ask. This is just a layover on his path to his next goal, Neutronia.

It was something Paragon always wanted to see, and any little goal that keeps Cyclonus going, he'll cling to and try to see it through.

Before, these were vengeful, violent goals, even if done for the greater good. Now he's just checking a box off his husband's bucket list.

Turmoil may have melted half the planet, but only half.

How notable that the planet Paragon wanted to see with Cyclonus as a post-war vacation was melted by the one who separated them. Turmoil only destroyed half of Neutronia. Turmoil separated them and destroyed half of them.

But there's that other half. There's still some beauty left to be seen in that other half, left to pick up the pieces.

It seems Cyc had this in mind for a bit, since he asked Paragon to stay longer "if he liked", and he did. Again, Paragon is actually an extension of him, so I think he stayed so Cyclonus could crystallize his intentions.

They'll see Neutronia together as Paragon wanted, and then he can go. Cyclonus will do what he so breezily dismissed long ago, when he didn't know their time together was about to end.

He's looking forward to it.

As Optimus Prime addresses the Ark inhabitants, Cyclonus is standing front row.

"It is in us, and all those of good intent who could not come with us. In our minds. In our sparks. We are Cybertron. Every one of us. We are of it, and it is of us. We are called to the great task of remembering that. Embodying that. Preserving the story and the hope. Because I promise you there will come a time when we return to Cybertron. When we save it and renew it."

Now, that's something Cyclonus can get behind.

DENOUEMENT

Amazing how Optimus Prime and Cyclonus both came to the same conclusion. Now that's what I call a theme.

I personally feel refreshed by Cyc's mental illness not equaling violence or violent tendencies, instead quite literally minding his business and avoiding conflict.

Maybe it was utilized well in some other stories, but I'm glad they never try to play with reality, on if the hallucinations are real (ghosts) nor go back and forth to mess with the audience. There's no time for bullshit, they are explicitly a coping mechanism he uses to work through his grief and trauma.

These are DEFINITELY not how hallucinations work irl, but for story purposes it's an interesting concept and very compelling. There are plenty stories where characters are haunted by ghosts, or revealed to be hallucinating all along, but I can't recall a story that actively, without fucking around, has a character use and bounce off their explicitly unreal hallucinations quite like this.

It probably wasn't on purpose, but I'm fascinated by the sort of commentary on types of mental illness and their social perceptions.

Subsea's anxiety is kind of a joke. Not tastelessly so, but it's presented as a little silly, no? A springboard for a few jokes that another character helps him through, but ultimately doesn't alter much perceptions about him.

Geomotus is odd, but respected... because they need his skills (not to say this is conscious tolerance of his autism, and that they would treat him badly at the first opportunity)

Landmine was famed for his daringdo, but now has PTSD he constantly feels the need to explain, perhaps out of a need to justify himself and his feelings to others? He's mostly given grace and understanding, without too much reliance on pity. But he is otherwise a rational, kind and helpful person.

Cyclonus is by all means nonviolent, but because he's off-putting, confusing, totally asocial and scary looking, and the nature of his illness is on an intense level, he is regarded with suspicion/disdain/fear even though he hasn't done anything. He's a war hero from start to end, and while others' outlooks on him seem to soften or stop mattering, it never quite leaves him.

I dunno if I can really call it a trend, but I noticed this sort of popular take on Cyclonus...

Versions of Cyclonus that eschew his Unicronian Skywarp (or Bombshell) origins and is instead this separate, ancient character who has existed all along aside them, with his own history. It happens every so often, y'know. That's not the trend I mean.

I mean this sort of character revisionism, villain domestication if you will, where he isn't even a Decepticon, maybe Decepticon-adjacent, retroactively inserted into the timeline as an original Ark member and ends up surrounded by Autobots he is allied with.

He may be dark and edgy, and filled with hatred at times, but IDW2 Cyc's just a full-fledged hero. Avenging his wrongfully killed loved ones, and personally ending the war once and for all!

This is just like that post about how villains become heroes in later adaptations either because they've been so blatantly in the right that it can't be ignored anymore, or because fans love them so much and want to see the character succeeds that they... slide ever so closer to the heroic side of things.

People love villains! It's easy to! And you can have villainous protags! But there's a sort of mental disconnect between what they do and what people like about them that I feel results in a subconscious shift of characterization. Villainy usually gets in the way of a plot, and it might make relationships and dynamics fraught if they don't tone it down just a bit, y'know?

And who knows? Maybe future arcs would have maneuvered him onto a more violet path, for any number of reasons.

There's nothing wrong with these takes on Cyclonus, just something I've noticed. A lot of fan takes also go in this direction explicitly because both IDWs do.

Cyclonus is just THE breakout character, huh? I've heard even in the 80s, people who didn't like the movie/post-movie show still liked Cyclonus.

He hasn't had a (good) show appearance in quite a while, but he was an absolute breakout in IDW1. To the point that this neutral, Con-adjacent but Autobot-surrounded Ark member is the most popular, fan-influential and farthest reaching version of the character.

Let's not kid ourselves, IDW1 Cyclonus' popularity is why IDW2 Cyclonus managed to land this role and be one of very few prominent characters to get a complete arc.

All credit due, they didn't copy-paste IDW1, just used some surface-level recognizable traits while giving him an all-new story to follow.

IDW2 started off with Bumblebee as its basically protag, but then I feel like, especially with the growing prominence of Exarchon, that role kinda shifted over to Cyclonus. Like it's not just my bias, right?

So IDW2 was cut short. I'm not sure if they truncated what they had planned into whatever would fit in however issues they had left, or if they played out the plot as planned and found a good stopping point.

But if the story were to continue, Cyclonus' complete character arc means he gets relegated to background noise or leaves the story entirely. OR, he gets a new arc that (presumably) doesn't backtrack his first one.

You know what they say about offscreen deaths. No body, no death.

Oh, yeah.

What if Paragon somehow survived? Interesting potential new storyline, eh? Just an idea.

Having him turn out to be alive doesn't mean rolling back Cyclonus' acceptance of losing him. Maybe it reopens the wound. Maybe Paragon isn't what we nor Cyclonus expect. Jason Todd him?? Active, present Paragon characterization not seen through probably-true-but-definitely-rose-tinted optics! Maybe bonus characterization for the chorus even after they've disappeared, but from Paragon's POV. There's a few interesting directions to go with it.

Or y'know, Scourge can exist in IDW2. Maybe do something about that.

Or Cyclonus simply departs for Neutronia and other characters will get to be interesting and complex in his stead?

The TF wiki notes that the story ends where the '86 movie starts, Autobots on the moon orbiting a Decepticon Cybertron except Cyclonus is here.

Which is NOT to say that the events of the movie must or will happen, Unicron hasn't even been mentioned or referenced once that I can recall.

And Cyclonus isn't planning on staying on the moon, he has his own side quest to do.

AND the Autobots haven't even made contact with humans yet. Actually, it's a fair bet that humans haven't even finished evolving yet at this point.

BUT, if familiar events were to unfold, would fate have slot him back into being Unicron's thrall?

What if he goes out to visit Neutronia and comes back... changed.

And with a plus one.

Perhaps even manipulated via his hallucinations? Unicron taking the guise of Paragon to wring compliance out of him.

Perhaps, Cyclonus even breaks free when Unicron shows his hand too much and the ruse becomes obvious!

I have yet to read the side stories or specials aside from the Halloween special, which I own as a present from @malewife-overlord

so if those have any extra insight on Cyclonus and the chorus then those can be their own post, probably grouped together

I wrote everything under the read more in a kinda brain fog I hope it all makes enough sense

woulda been funny if Cyclonus tried to get over his dead boyfriend by making a pass at Ultra Magnus again

"We never found her body, but her injuries..."

Obviously, in order to memorialize the crater, even just basic reconstruction of Cybertron, the battlefield needed to be cleaned, and any survivors rescued. But this confirms Cyclonus and others went back after the dust settled to find her, but never could.

"Two megacycles ago" was the final battle of the Threefold Spark War. 2,000 years? Two million years? I'd bet on the latter mostly because tectonic activity is VERY slow.

Provoke had to be abandoned because it wasn't feasible to take the time to retreat with her in tow; she was on her way out if she didn't die instantly.

There wasn't any time to try and save her, so it's strange she shows signs of treatment.

Holy fuck dude I love Flatline so much. A very precious character.

He, too, wishes to preserve. For him, it's life, for Cyclonus, it's memory. Memories (and phantoms) were all he had.

Cyclonus mention in (mostly) unrelated issue! He and Jumpstream die in the Sonic Canyons in some awful fight "a long time ago", which was witnessed by this helicopter lady, Swift.

Interesting how significant Cyclonus' death is, to be mentioned here in the same breath as Jumpstream's own death which is far more relevant to the issue. I think this implies one action or incident in the middle of the fight killed them both, and/or they died together, at least in close enough proximity to be associated.

I would guess they could be associated if they were the only casualties of the fight but considering the world we see, that's unlikely. Prominent first deaths?

This information is presented under the assumption the mentioned fight was the original Threefold Spark War (which both Cyclonus and Jumpstream fought in) and this is an alternate current-time reality where Exarchon won.

This is quickly revealed to not be the case, she time-travelled. Exarchon was still defeated the first time, but his reemergence will create the future she saw. So the way things are going as of now, Jumpstream and Cyclonus have yet to die in the Sonic Canyons.

News has made it to Cyclonus this time, that Provoke woke up. How? Who said? Has he had his comms repaired so Flatline can call him?

Flatline is so happy for them it makes me wanna cry. The sweet pride in his eyes.

Cyclonus takes her hand and cradles her head with the other. He asks if she can hear him. She repeats his (full) name and stammers out "you fought"

He corrects her and says WE. Her, him, and "the others" fought Exarchon and won. He never thought she'd get to see it, but here she is.

His face is so... weary but happy. The face of someone so tired and about to collapse, but out of relief.

Squinting, not looking at him, she says "we... won..."

A break, and then we're back to another visit with Provoke. She says his full name as he tries to coax some memories out of her. Not necessarily out of suspicion just yet, but out of a desperation to reconnect. To connect at all with anyone who could possibly understand. She'd been through the exact same things as him, as she died at the eleventh hour.

Popular assumption amongst the 2019 IDW heads (read: 3, 4 people?) that Provoke was probably his closest friend out of the group, so this desperation must be tenfold.

It's too much, too soon (or that's the excuse she's going with) so as he refreshes her on their friend group's history with Highfire dying in Yuss, she interrupts with her desire to see all that she's missed. That everything is coming back "piece by piece" but she needs time. And says he's not helping.

Cyclonus sits in the spot lighting, Provoke is just kinda. glowering in the dark right next to it. The screen she's looking at glows so she doesn't need it, but...

Cyc plays it off, knowing he must be overstepping. But he's troubled enough once he leaves that Paragon soothes him. Assures him he needs to have patience.

Gridlock remarks how good it is to have a soothing presence like Paragon instead of the volatile Provoke as part of the chorus.

Highfire, who was one of the first to openly suggest adding Paragon, must be regretting it a little bit because she openly says things aren't turning out as she'd hope they would if Paragon joined.

[If I could just take a personal aside, since "real Provoke" is here [clears throat] I think about if Cyclonus has ever worried what the real life chorus would think/feel about his coping mechanism. That they'd disapprove, think he's creepy for, essentially, mentally playing dolls with them as the dolls. Insulted at how their image has warped in his mind ("am I really that mean?" etc) and the possible tastelessness of their literal appearances reflecting their deaths.]

[I like to headcanon that Cyclonus is, or rather was insecure about his looks. It fits him now that he's all aged, rugged, and with cornered-animal level rage and apathy that could flatten a mountain, but you have to realize he's probably looked approximately like he does now since he chose his alt mode as a newlyforged. That is an intimidating look for someone to be walking around with, especially a baby. So I think being seen as "creepy" "scary" "intimidating" (plus the lack of expression headcanon) has been an insecurity for him and hindered (or he believed it hindered) his ability to make friends.]

[So finding a group that not only doesn't care and even likes how he looks would be big for him. So it would be a deep wound to Cyclonus if the chorus finally bent this too-good-to-be-true dynamic to its breaking point. Hit their tolerance limit for him. They'd finally think he's creepy like everyone else.]

[Everyone else already treats him like this. A creepy, untrustworthy, messed-up guy, an annoyance at best. He didn't even do anything wrong yet. He just minded his business and wanted to be left alone. He ran from fights. He's in need of some goddamn help and all people can focus on is looks and how much they don't like/understand his actions that literally don't affect them.]

so like anyways this is a good thing to think about if you want to learn how to cry on command

By the way, Gridlock's head wasn't a one-off cameo. It's a common background presence anytime the scene shifts to Termagax in her House. She actively handles it in #36 as they're cleaning up her trashed lab.

Ruckus, who's been laying comatose, practically brain-dead, in the same room as Provoke this whole time has woken up.

Provoke tries to argue that there must be some wiggle room for this to happen, that Flatline can't just definitively say it's impossible... but he persists, and has to at least examine the hell out of Ruckus to figure out how this happened.

Ruckus and Provoke lament, saying that she thought "two would suffice" but clearly

EXARCHON MUST BE THREE ONCE MORE!!!

Shock! Awe! Bitch !!!!

I'll miss you, Flatline. You were so cool, and very sexy. I only read half of Dark Cybertron from IDW 2005 so idk how much screentime you got there but you definitely had your foot in IDW 2019's door.

It'll be explained in more detail eventually, but yes, Provoke did die that fateful day and was somehow usurped by Exarchon. Laying dormant and clinging to life.

This analysis is Cyclonus+chorus-centric so anything we could've gotten from "real Provoke" before is obviously null and void. But pardon me if I do just analyze Exarchon a lil bit (it's dumb I promise)

Catching up on what he missed while buried. Understanding the current form of his enemy, I assume.

I imagine he was going to use Provoke's miraculous recovery as a foot-in-the-door argument to make Ruckus' recovery seem more legit. But his understanding of medicine is lacking, underestimating Flatline's expertise, and his determination. And perhaps forgetting even if Flatline accepted it anyways, he'd still have to examine the hell out of him. He's his doctor.

Flatline should want to understand how Ruckus recovered out of scientific curiosity and primarily to help others with his condition, like Kaskade, who's still brain-dead right next to him.

I was under the impression Exarchon had a compulsion to spread, to want to be three at all times. Either he doesn't, or had to actively restrain himself for the sake of subterfuge. He thought just two "would suffice for now"

On a level, I understand how suspicious three people acting different could be, let alone previously comatose ones, but wouldn't immediately claiming three and spreading out be more advantageous?

Maybe him asking "for more time" wasn't just about catching up on history and mimicking a realistic recovery time for his shell, but also regaining the strength he needed to usurp others.

If he was the Fourfold Spark, Kaskade would probably be allowed to appear again.

GRIDLOCK!!!! Drawn by herzspalter, that's so sick!!!

Interspliced between Optimus talking to his immersant mentor Codexa, are flashbacks to Cyclonus and his friends.

They're REAL and ALIVE here, so pay extra attention. [points at you. YES, you.]

Tagan Heights, early in the war.

It looks like Highfire and Gridlock are here (far off to the right) but don't speak.

Paragon and Cyclonus are planning on what to do/where to go after the war. Paragon wants to go to Neutronia to see the prismatic crystals, but Cyclonus thinks it's too far and wants to go somewhere closer.

I think it's notable he doesn't have any idea where to go himself, so while he puts down Neutronia as "too far", he asks Paragon for another idea fitting the criteria of "closer".

Ooh, are those some unadventurous, homebody tendencies I see already?

And underlying indecision, handing off his desires and choices to another?

Grudge, exercising genre-awareness, says making future plans is asking for trouble. Paragon accuses him of jealousy and Grudge quips back. Just some joshing between friends~

Provoke basically supports Cyc's conclusion, saying Turmoil melted half of Neutronia.

Bitch, how do you melt half of a planet? Melt a planet, PERIOD? Paragon is just as confused as I am.

Cyclonus shrugs off this horrifying tidbit with a "Too bad. Worry about it later." because they've got company. They all assume position and fire.

Scene fast-forwards past the middle of the war, because Highfire is already dead.

Hydrax Plateau.

Cyclonus traverses across a battlefield littered with Skywarp clone bodies, shouting for Paragon. Hey, his gun is designed just like his gun from the cartoon!! wauw

Turmoil (as previously mentioned) is someone working willingly with Exarchon, and has taken POWs, including Paragon. He's taking off with them, and apparently there's no hope of catching up and immediately rescuing them even as they watch his ship leave.

Paragon now missing, Highfire dead. Those are the only losses.

Until Gridlock's head is cored right through like an apple. His body scarcely hits the floor before the rest of the group return fire.

Provoke asks if it must've been one of their "new weapons". Cyclonus just shouts he doesn't care and to TAKE THEM APART! This WILL come up later.

Fast forward to the final battle of the war: outside Iacon. This means everyone but him and Provoke are dead. Paragon is still captured.

Cyclonus is taking cover behind a wrecked tank. Is that someone's dead body? It's not gray. Somebody dying, or knocked out? Or just a non-sentient tank?

He seems shell-shocked. Provoke grabs his shoulder and it looks like he's frightened even though his back is covered. Probably zoning out and disassociating before she scared him back to reality?

Cyclonus is already starting to act out of it. Speaking abstractly, prompting Provoke to take him seriously and remind him the Titans are off-limits after they had to obliterate a usurped Croaton. Her telling him it's over after this, he clings to the word "over".

Very close to a breaking point.

The Seekers (formed to fight against the Threefold Spark and his Skywarp army) clear a path for them and Provoke guns for it while Cyclonus still stands there... askew... weak, unsure body language.

Provoke is shot clean through the chest. The lights in her eyes go out as she lays on the ground and Cyclonus tries running to her. A missile at his heels launches him over and away from her, onto his front.

He growls to kill them all as he gets up, in front of allies Shadow Striker and Quake. Shadow denies him this and says to fall back, regroup, and then move back in with Strika's team later. He only manages sentence fragments as they argue.

No time to argue or convince him, Shadow Striker and Brawn catch him under the arms and drag him away for his own good.

Something broke.

With an inferno around Cyclonus, a melted Grudge appears and says the whole war has been a mess. (He himself being a puddle on top of a body.)

A partially disintegrated Highfire agrees but she couldn't speak much to that, because she only lived till the middle of it.

Provoke, chest cored out, says it's okay. She puts the burden of ending it on Cyclonus' shoulders. He'll take care of it for them, so it will be okay.

"You with me, Cyc? You with me?"

He's clearly horrified by what he sees. A speechless, dawning horror.

Paragon died after the war ended, so his death was not what prompted Cyclonus to start hallucinating. His capture likely contributed to the mental strain, however.

Back to reality: Cyclonus is barging into Swindle's. In order to stay open under Decepticon regime, all non-Decepticons are banned. Cyclonus falls under that banner, but just brushes past Roughstuff cause he's just checking something.

Having visited Provoke so often, Cyclonus has likely talked with Flatline about the other people in her room. He recognizes Ruckus entering the building and was aware of Flatline's prognosis for him.

The way he's speaking to Ruckus implies he thinks something is suspicious about how quickly Ruckus joined the Decepticons. Or at least finds it tasteless.

"Ruckus" is very dismissive of him. He's not even looking at Cyclonus, just making an annoyed face. Gruffly says he's learning what he missed.

Apparently Cyclonus has been keeping his word about giving Provoke time and space. He hasn't visited in a while and is asking Ruckus if she's still at the center. He's asking him instead of checking in person because he doesn't want to bother her.

Swindle escorts Cyclonus out with an arm around his back and side like he's helping grandpa back to bed.

I think this is what people mean when they say "something is rotten in the state of Denmark"

Cyclonus returns to the center, looking a little... confrontational.

oh hey look there's Kaskade

Cyclonus did in fact linger by that doorway for a bit. Maybe he used to do this a lot, because he says the old Provoke would have noticed him doing so. Now he's sounding suspicious, accusatory almost.

He's making a nuisance of himself. Bothering 2/3s of Exarchon. "Provoke" just snips "I'm not fully recovered. Obviously."

"Provoke" tries to go back to her screen, but Cyclonus doesn't go away. Obviously frustrated, she asks what he wants and reminds him she's trying to relearn the world.

He reaches out earnestly, concern plain on his face. Yes, history. Politics. But what about memory? Of course, his concern is memory, of him and their friends.

She capitulates and rattles off their names as a compromise. Implying that she has been recovering her memory, just slowly.

He wonders where Flatline is, celebrating Ruckus' recovery? "Provoke" says she doesn't know, doesn't need his care anymore.

I don't know what she means considering she's still got an entire hole in her chest still. I assume this means the broken windshield is a cosmetic thing that doesn't affect her health, the actual damage underneath being completely patched up prior. She still looks rough, though. Again, cosmetic.

She's still staying in the center despite this, so pretending she's not possessed by some eldritch space horror with ulterior motives, is she functionally homeless, too? Excellent bet that where used to she lived has changed hands, likely been destroyed. Otherwise unavailable or inaccessible. Not too strange to remain here even after she's all patched up, in that case.

Cyclonus' face is soft, but pained. He opens up even more and confirms a previous point: he thought they all died, but suddenly he wasn't alone anymore. He has her. All he's had was memory, but now there's a real, tangible person in the same boat as him.

"Provoke" sympathizes and pleads for a little more time. I don't think Cyclonus was even trying to set her up for a factual trap, but she ends up claiming Highfire, Gridlock, and Grudge all received funeral pyres.

Outside, Cyclonus broods with his chorus. As they always do, they spell out what he's thinking: She's too formal with him, using his full name all the time. She and Ruckus are strangely... in sync with their goals (Grudge wonders if it's just coincidence). She said Gridlock received a pyre when his body was essentially donated to science.

Ever constructive, and bidding proactivity from Cyclonus, Paragon asks if she's ever said anything she couldn't have just parroted from Cyc or the archives. Asks Cyclonus if any of this feels right to him.

Unrelated. But Cy-Kill's really hot here. Who gave him that cy-gar.

After a break, we now know what Cyclonus' answer to Paragon would be. No. He's staking out the center from the roof of the building across it so he can confront "Provoke" when she leaves.

Side note, the art and whoever did the word bubbles seem to be not in comunicado. The dialogue doesn't gel well with what is visible. So I'll make some assumptions, marked with asterisks.

Grudge is getting impatient. Cyclonus points out there's nothing else he'd be doing. Highfire* jokes that being dead frees up your schedule like that.

Grudge responds with a rather profound concern: the planet's wartorn, and they don't know what'll happen to them if Cyclonus ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Cyclonus says they'll finally rest. All of them.

"Provoke" emerges, spotted by Gridlock. He quickly expresses a bad feeling and Cyclonus outright tells him to shut up, leaping off the roof and landing behind her.

When she addresses him via full name, he finally corrects her. But she brushes past it like it's nothing and asks what he's doing. He's honest and she calls him obsessive. He calls her out on all her fuck-ups. The nickname, Ruckus' recovery, Gridlock's pyre.

And worst of all, the one she just made right now. She called him obsessive. Either Cyclonus kept an eye on the real Provoke back in the day, or did something similar and she never faulted him for it.

[Aside, taking this as evidence that Provoke wouldn't judge him for talking to the chorus.]

"Provoke" tries to just say people change, but Cyclonus calls her out on it, wanting to get to the bottom of this. She rhetorically asks if he's stubborn, and he calls her bluff.

"You tell me. You know me. Don't you?"

"I wish you'd just stop. But very well. An education in how much change is possible."

Exarchon drops the entire act, his spark leaking out of Provoke's chest and lunges for Cyclonus!

Now, another tangent I've been waiting to make. And this is going to sound very familiar.

Cyclonus has been picking away at 2/3s of Exarchon, dogging Provoke, demanding information that Exarchon cannot provide. He was too close already, and getting closer to the truth. Why didn't Exarchon get rid of him sooner?

Sixshot has an excuse. Being the one who ran the base under the memorial crater and later seen to be reluctant to fight Cyc, Sixshot must have been the one to order he be left alone despite being a potential liability. A "leave him alone, he'll leave us alone" sort of assumption.

As shown later in this very issue, shells Exarchon usurp drop dead when he transfers his spark. He's not opposed to taking Cyclonus' shell when push comes to shove as we'll see. There seems to be no defense against Exarchon's spark aside from keeping a distance. If he just wants to kill Cyc, all he has to do is possess him and then find a new host. Then you got Exarchon in a body (probably) much healthier than Provoke's, standing in front of the corpse of a problem solved.

Or, again, very grim, for the sake of subterfuge, usurp him, fly somewhere remote and kill himself. Exarchon's other shells will be unaffected and he'll be free to pick another third.

Or just usurp him and keep him as his new third shell. It's the ultimate insult to Cyc and I'd probably cry, but that's neither here nor there.

If the problem is leaving behind Provoke's dead body... Dude. you're the center owner now, and a doctor. You can make something up. Or just hide the body and never speak of it again.

Also, Kaskade is right there.

All of these were possible during those chill talks they had where Cyclonus was vulnerable, emotional, guards down.

Cyc would have been much a less conspicuous host than either of the coma patients. He's already a weirdo who shrugs everybody off! And this is sad to say but I don't think many, if any, would have noticed a difference. He's often running off to god knows where doing god knows what; Exarchon would be doing much the same.

But Exarchon decided to wait till the last possible moment to try any of these.

I don't profess to have a brainpower greater than a guy who can maintain attention and coherency across three completely separate people when I can barely maintain my one singular self. But I just have suggestions if he ever needed a secretary, personal planner, or something.

So yeah, Exarchon attacks or whatever. [kicks rock] [pensively skips one across lake]

Grudge suspects that this really isn't Provoke, which Paragon of all the chorus shouts at for the inanity of the statement. Highfire cheers Cyclonus on, begging him to get up.

Cyclonus grabs the handle of his extendable sword and extends the blade right through Provoke's old wound, who screams in agony. She reverts to Exarchon's god-complex fate and destiny talk.

Grudge expresses disbelief it could be Exarchon. Gridlock demands Cyclonus get up. Paragon just says "Cyc, please..." which may either be more gentle encouragement or worry for his well-being. Highfire decides life's gotten weird enough, it may as well be Exarchon at this rate.

A security officer rounds the corner where Exarchon had stumbled over to. She immediately blinds him with her fingers like a ninja, steals his gun, and pops his cap off with his own gun. This is awfully sexy of her. Who said that.

No matter how quickly she dispatched that lucky poor guy who doesn't even have a name or TF wiki page, Cyclonus took the opportunity to close the gap and plunge both of his hands into Provoke's chest. He has one thing to say to her.

"Exarchon?"

She smiles and hisses an affirmative.

He rips out her spark chamber with a "Welcome back." through gritted teeth.

This fucking prick just made Cyclonus watch his best friend die all over again. I can't imagine it felt good to do any of this, even though he had to.

Later, Cyclonus has cleaved Provoke's spark chamber in two with his sword. He's slumped over, kneeling next to it. Looking... as he usually does. But somehow... neutral.

Paragon kneels by him and asks if he's okay. Grudge says he must be, from killing Exarchon. Gridlock isn't sure what pronouns to use, first him, then her. (I used she so we wouldn't have the Gay Fanfic Problem)

Provoke rejoins the chorus. The illusion is broken, so her part in his guilt is unresolved. If anything, it could be worse now since all these previous attempts at closure were false, and he just watched her "die" at his own hand. This adding of a hallucination may come off as an alarming hint to Cyc's state of mind, so Paragon asks again. Is he okay?

He says he's fine. He's better than fine.

Cyclonus has found another "somebody". His purpose. His reason for why he survived. The reason why he's alive, and will live for.

The somebody who's truly responsible for all this. Why they all died. Who ruined his life. Cyclonus worried Exarchon wasn't truly dead, now there's an almost hope attached to it, like the opposite of a double-edged sword. Exarchon does live, but that means Cyclonus can now make him pay.

He's pretty sure he's got a lead on who could be another Exarchon. He doesn't know Flatline is now one of two. His first move is finding Ruckus.

Cyc will take care of it for them.