History Fanfic / ToFuelTheGutteringFlame

* AdaptationalBadass: Among pretty much all of the characters who have apppeared in official media over the history of the franchise, Sentinel Prime stands out quite a bit as when compared to most modern interpretations of him, he is a true Matrix Bearer here rather than just having a fake one or being a [[WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated prick]] or a [[Film/TransformersDarkoftheMoon genocidal conqueror]].

[[caption-width-right:1000:Title Card by The-AnonyM0US3-Otaku]]

[[caption-width-right:1000:Let's Save the World]]

* CrazyPrepared: As part of Emirate Zeta's plan if Proteus tried to have him assassainated after revealing that he has transaction info for Proteus' hiring of the SoK, in addition to having at least 6 copies of the data, Zeta has 5 relays keyed to his spark and if he gets killed then to quote him "the moment my light goes out, every news organization on the planet will have the biggest headline to publish since the death of Nominus Prime.""

* DirtyOldMan: Despite the venerable Grand Dion being an eons-old War Titan, his insult duel with Tidal Wave consists of a lot of boasts about his previous sexual prowess, stories that leave the bridge crew guffawing and Catalyst and Senator Ferria blushing up a storm. Then Grand Dion starts talking about his experience with [[TwinThreesomeFantasy spark-sisters]] and Ferria [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere bails]] at top speed.

* FantasticRacism: Beastformers are apparently not well liked on Cybertron, primarily due to how much less mobile their alt-modes are compared to other cybertronians. They in turn hate fliers for just how mobile they are.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's quite a bit of this in the story at various points.

** In Spotlight 5 Part 1, we see one of the various Optimi fresh from Prysmos with Dion and Ariel at Atmosburn's Ener-Soup Kitchen and after sharing a story where said Optimi did something that the Big OP usually does (in this case liberating a mining camp full of child slaves and keeping a vault closed to shield them from a side effect of Sentinel going 1v1 against Dragotron) and Atmosburn gives him his old faceplate as the Optimi in question seemed "incomplete" and while Orion felt "much more complete, but still not fully ready" Dion mentions that Catalysis is holding a public rally and Orion's gaze falls intently upon the Autobot Sigil which signifies that there is quite the good chance that he is the future Optimus Prime that we all know and love.

* InVinoVeritas: Cat gets drunk during a ceremony that is celebrating one of her creations, and she ends up [[spoiler:making a public speech about how the planet isn't trying to fix the big problems and that she's going to start a daring expedition to the Plasma Energy Chamber in the hope of solving the energy crisis]].

** One of Shockwave's experiments involved tearing out a Mech's processor and running it as a Terminal unit. The Mech in question was named Mainframe, who [[YourDaysAreNumbered was terminally ill]] and wanted to leave behind a bigger legacy, with every Teletraan unit now having an echo of his data engram. The ''War forCybertron: Kingdom'' toy of the Autobot's ship, the Ark, includes an Autobot named Mainframe that transforms into the ship's computer console, Teletraan-1.

* PlanetOfSteves: Downplayed, but Catalyst ran into this problem when trying to search for Megatron. Turns out that Megatron, or some variant of it, is a very popular name among {{heel}} gladiators. She's run into similar problems looking into Soundwave.

*** [[spoiler:Apparently, the rumor of him surgically removing his emotional subroutines via the Shadowplay Protocols in order to think in pure logic was just that, a rumor. He says that while it's theoretically possible to rewire one's processor entirely for logic, it would put extra strain on one's primary processor, simplify one's thoughts, and attempting the procedure on oneself would be incredibly reckless, and his logical personality is purely due to meditation and mental discipline.]]

* YouAreInCommandNow: [[spoiler:After the altercation at the Infernocon hives, the tiny Princess Quintessa of Hive Heliotrope is the only surviving member of the royal family after all the others are killed by a nuke launched by the enemy Hive.]]

* YouRemindMeOfX: [[spoiler:Shockwave]] reveals that his decision to protect Catalyst was due to her reminding him of [[spoiler:Nominus Prime]]; they're both {{Workaholic}}s trying to carry the entire weight of Cybertron's survival on their shoulders and have a habit of overusing stimulants in a misguided attempt to work longer than is healthy.

CrazyPrepared: As part of Emirate Zeta's plan if Proteus tried to have him assassainated after revealing that he has transaction info for Proteus' hiring of the SoK, in addition to having at least 6 copies of the data, Zeta has 5 relays keyed to his sppark and if he gets killed then to quote him "the moment my light goes out, every news organization on the planet will have the biggest headline to publish since the death of Nominus Prime.""

** Per WordOfGod, Cat's alt-mode is based heavily on the Ornithopters from Franchise/{{Dune}}.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: There are several hints throughout the story that point to [[spoiler:Leobreaker actually being Shockwave in disguise]].
** He has several moments where he pauses when he's about to say [[CharacterCatchphrase a certain word]], then switches it to something else, as it would immediately tip the reader off if he overused that particular word (or several variants of it).
** His [[spoiler:Cyber Key Power]] does not take the form of [[spoiler:WolverineClaws like his [[Anime/TransformersCybertron original counterpart]]]], but takes the form of [[spoiler:a WaveMotionGun]], which is another hint towards [[spoiler:his actual identity]].
** He's also transfixed by the concept of taming [[Film/TransformersDarkOfTheMoon Driller Worms]].
** The only continuity that he's existed in is also the continuity that he's also [[spoiler:the upgraded form of Trailbreaker (his original name before it was changed to Overhaul)]], and [[spoiler:Trailbreaker]] is also on the expedition as a separate character.
** in Spotlight 5 Part 1, we see one of the various Optimi fresh from Prysmos with Dion and Ariel at Atmosburn's Ener-Soup Kitchen and after sharing a story where said Optimi did something that the Big OP usually does (in this case liberating a mining camp full of child slaves and keeping a vault closed to shield them from a side effect of Sentinel going 1v1 against Dragotron) and Atmosburn gives him his old faceplate as the Optimi in question seemed "incomplete" and while Orion felt "much more complete, but still not fully ready" Dion mentions that Catalysis is holding a public rally and Orion's gaze falls intently upon the Autobot Sigil which signifies that there is quite the good chance that he is the future Optimuus Prime that we all know and love.

* {{Precursors}}: The ancients were a species that existed before the current Cybertronians, being diplomats, builders, and explorers first and foremost in contrast to their modern brethren, and capable of technological feats that were far beyond even the Cybertronian empire at it's height. They left Cybertron to explore the universe billions of years ago and haven't been seen since, though the remnants of their civilization can be found all over the planet and it's layers.

** When Thunderwing goes after Six-of-Twelve, he informs the bot that "[[Franchise/RoboCop offline or active, you're coming with me]]".* TheReveal: During the fight against [[spoiler:Airachnid]], Leobreaker reveals that he is actually [[spoiler:[[TheDreaded Shockwave]]]].

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Proteus is certainly thinking this after [[spoiler: Catalysis Prime/Septima makes her entrance back to Cybertron's surface]] as he has no idea how to deal with [[spoiler: two Primes alive at the same time]].

* TheReveal: During the fight against [[spoiler:Airachnid]], Leobreaker reveals that he is actually [[spoiler:[[TheDreaded Shockwave]]]].

** When Thunderwing goes after Six-of-Twelve, he informs the bot that "[[Franchise/RoboCop offline or active, you're coming with me]]".

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Proteus is certainly thinking this after [[spoiler:Catalysis Prime/Septima makes her entrance back to Cybertron's surface]] as he has no idea how to deal with [[spoiler:two Primes alive at the same time]].

* {{Precursors}:} The ancients were a species that existed before the current Cybertronians, being diplomats, builders, and explorers first and foremost in contrast to their modern brethren, and capable of technological feats that were far beyond even the Cybertronian empire at it's height. They left Cybertron to explore the universe billions of years ago and haven't been seen since, though the remnants of their civilization can be found all over the planet and it's layers.

* {{Precursors:}} The ancients were a species that existed before the current Cybertronians, being diplomats, builders, and explorers first and foremost in contrast to their modern brethren, and capable of technological feats that were far beyond even the Cybertronian empire at it's height. They left Cybertron to explore the universe billions of years ago and haven't been seen since, though the remnants of their civilization can be found all over the planet and it's layers.

* Precursors: The ancients were a species that existed before the current Cybertronians, being diplomats, builders, and explorers first and foremost in contrast to their modern brethren, and capable of technological feats that were far beyond even the Cybertronian empire at it's height. They left Cybertron to explore the universe billions of years ago and haven't been seen since, though the remnants of their civilization can be found all over the planet and it's layers.

* DidntSeeThatComing: [[spoiler:Sideways]] is completely blindsided by [[spoiler:Catalyst's ascension to Catalysis Prime]], much to his displeasure.

* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: [[spoiler:Leobreaker]] believes that Cyber Keys are bestowed to those who achieve enlightenment rather than it being earned simply through faith and piety.

* GreatOffscreenWar: The Great Lithonic War is one of the main reasons that Cybertron is in the state it is. It started when one of the [[WesternAnimation/ChallengeOfTheGoBots Rock Lords]] destroyed the Gobot's planet of Gobotron (possibly by accident), resulting in Cybertron declaring war on them for attacking their protectorate.

* {{Jobber}}: Maxima is [[https://forums.spacebattles.com/posts/101143392 a gladiator version]] of this.

** Grimlock. [[spoiler:Which makes the revelation that he's Catalyst's mentor all the more astonishing]].

* MeaningfulName: Catalyst is a fitting name for a researcher working with Energon. It also fits her unique ability, which is to literally act as a catalyst for chemical reactions, provided that she understands how the reactions work.

** The [=TEKTRON=] crew are [[{{Expy}} expies]] of [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Avalanche]]. Also, [[spoiler:Airachnid's]] attempted assassination of [[spoiler:Catalysis Prime]] is a recreation of Aerith's iconic death.

*** [[spoiler:When Perceptor asks him why he surgically removed his emotional subroutines in order to think in pure logic, Shockwave says he did no such thing; his demeanor is purely due to mental discipline. When asked about the Shadowplay Protocols that he designed to curtail the violent emotions of criminals, he says that while it's theoretically possible to rewire one's processor entirely for logic, it would put extra strain on one's primary processor, simplify one's thoughts, and attempting the procedure on oneself would be incredibly reckless.]]
*** [[spoiler:A first-generation Shadowplay subject tried traveling back in time to prove that religion was the cause of Cybertron's ills (albeit unsuccessfully), which is a none-too-subtle jab at IDW Shockwave's temporal shenanigans after the events of ''Dark Cybertron''. According to him, all the idiot managed to do was construct a molecular disintegrator that disassembled half his chassis, and Shockwave had to euthanize the rest of him before he could "rejoin his other half in the distant past".]]

* ThisIsGonnaSuck: Proteus is certainly thinking this after [[spoiler:Catalysis Prime/Septima makes her entrance]] as he has no idea how to deal with [[spoiler:two Primes alive at the same time]].

* TheReveal: During the fight against [[spoiler:Airachnid]], Leobreaker reveals that he is actually [[spoiler: [[TheDreaded Shockwave]]]].

--> '''Leobreaker/[[spoiler:Shockwave]]''': Your existence was allowed by my deliberation. My unwillingness to commit to the complete extermination of a geneline, no matter how wretched, gave your progenitors the opportunity to escape. My mind was clouded then, the true path was not revealed to me, and my actions....were ''most'' [[spoiler:[[CharacterCatchphrase Illogical]]"]].

-->'''Scissorsaw:''' SAY I'M TOO HEAVY ONE MORE TIME YOU SCRAPLET!\\