Line #40 FanFic/Eugenesis


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/eugenesis.jpg]]
2
3	->'''[[DictionaryOpening Eugenesis]]''' (''n''.) The quality or condition of having strong reproductive powers; generation with full reproductive fertility between different species or races, specifically between hybrids of the first generation.
4
5	''Eugenesis'' is a ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' fanfic written by ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'''s writer James Roberts.
6
7	Set in the ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'' UK continuity, the story takes place in the year 2012, when the war between the Autobots and Decepticons is at a standstill, both sides poised for a big push. But outside the plotting and schemes of the Cybertronian forces, there are others with their own dark designs for the children of Primus, as elements of the Transformers' past long since forgotten return for their revenge.
8
9	One of the most well-known Transformers fan-fics out there, ''Eugenesis'' is a much darker view of everyone's favourite robots in disguise, and also [[{{Doorstopper}} very, very long]]. It's also not for the faint of heart, with some very grim and graphic sequences.
10
11	It's also part of the SharedUniverse produced by the group TMUK.
12
13	Can be found [[http://www.tfarchive.com/fandom/features/eugenesis/ here]]
14
15	It also has a short (''very'' short) follow-up named ''Telefunken'' which is included here for completeness' sake.
16
17	----
18	!!Tropes featured in ''Eugenesis'' include:
19	* AdaptationPersonalityChange: Springer goes from being a heroic Autobot to a junkie.
20	%%* AdaptationalVillainy: [[spoiler: Doubleheader.]]
21	* AIIsACrapshoot: [[spoiler:The apparent origin behind Primus and Unicron. They're just self-aware tech gone way out of control.]]
22	* AllThereInTheManual: A lot of backstory doesn't just come from ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'', but from other stories produced by the group TMUK.
23	* AmnesiaMissedASpot: [[spoiler:Turns out Thundercracker didn't get his memory wiped when he went back to the past.]]
24	* AnArmAndALeg:
25	** The Quintessons manage to shoot off one of Metroplex's arms with one shot.
26	** [[spoiler:Just before they leave Aquaria, Death's Head rips off one of Galvatron's arms, repayment for their [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel first encounter]].]]
27	* AntiVillain: Soundwave, going off his characterization from the Marvel UK stories.
28	%%* AnyoneCanDie
29	* ArmorPiercingQuestion: When Wheeljack points out most of Sygnet's inventions are used by the 'cons to kill, Sygnet just asks him what he thinks the Autobots do with his inventions. Wheeljack just changes the subject.
30	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: [[spoiler:What the Quintessons wanted, all those millions of years ago. Needless to say, it didn't work out.]]
31	* AteHisGun: Rung had posited Galvatron was likely to kill himself sooner or later. Soundwave briefly fears this is what's happened when he vanishes.
32	* BackFromTheDead:
33	** [[spoiler: Optimus manages to bring Rodimus back from the utter brink of death with the Matrix.]]
34	** [[spoiler:Springer dies of a drug overdose, but an out-of-control temporal portal brings him back to life. And his first thought is finding the next circuit booster.]]
35	* BadassCrew: Decepticon Squad 117, which is considered more dangerous than the Mayhem Attack Squad, helped abduct Spanner to make the Space Bridge, and has been led by several Decepticons of note, such as Soundwave and Straxus.
36	* BadBoss: Each side's stuck with crappy leaders. Galvatron's just sitting on his throne doing things that make sense only to him, Rodimus Prime is just vacillating, [[spoiler:and while Xenon, lord of the Quintessons is perfectly willing to kill his own people if the mood suits him, his underling Quantax is far worse.]]
37	%%* BadFuture: [[spoiler:From Optimus's point of view, the year 2012 is this. He has a point.]]
38	* BasedOnADream: In-universe. It's how Megatron got the idea of the Morphcore, and transformation in general. The Liege Maximo himself appeared to him in a vision and showed him the designs.
39	* BasedOnAGreatBigLie: [[spoiler: Every damn part of Cybertronian religion was made up by the Quintessons. The famous death-code everyone's afraid of? It's from an old software instruction manual's legal jargon. ("Something about intellectual copyright")]]
40	%%* BigGood: [[spoiler:Optimus Prime, duh]].
41	* BizarreAlienBiology: A lot of information is given on the exact nature of Cybertronian and Quintessonian biology.
42	** Scourge and Galvatron (and by implication, Cyclonus) are much more advanced than any other Cybertronian, which makes repairing them very difficult, and disabling techniques don't affect them as much.
43	* BlackComedy:
44	** As Soundwave examines the statues of former Decepticon leaders, he takes a moment to note [[OffWithHisHead Straxus' has his head and his body]].
45	** Blitzwing finds Sygnet experimenting on what's left of Scourge, and asks about him. Sygnet's response? "He's not going anywhere."
46	** At one point, Galavtron muses on a brightly lit torture chamber, just for the sheer hell of it.
47	* BlatantLies: [[spoiler:Galvatron tells a fabricated account of how he (or rather, Megatron) killed Optimus Prime, to Optimus Prime. Optimus doesn't believe him for a second.]]
48	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The Autobots take back Cybertron and the Great War ends for good, but a lot of people are dead, and the incredibly fascistic Star Saber gets his hooks into the Autobots and will proceed to pervert everything they ever worked for. And Unicron's still in the Matrix.]]
49	* BodyHorror: [[spoiler:Part of what the Quintessons inflict on the Cybertronians they capture.]]
50	** We get a description of a Cybertronian budding. It's anything but pleasant. Apparently the birther's whole mecha-biology alters itself for the sole purpose of producing the offspring, and it hurts worse than anything else. Even worse since it's happening to [[spoiler:Soundwave]].
51	** [[spoiler:Rodimus has a flashback to what they found "Downstairs". BodyHorror doesn't begin to describe what's done to the victims. The Autobots just decide to fill the whole place with cement.]]
52	%%* BrainInAJar: All that's left of the Quintessons Sevax, Jolup and Ryknia at the start of the novel.
53	* BringMyBrownPants: [[spoiler:As the Quintessons have him on a gurney, Thunderclash leaks himself.]]
54	* TheCaligula: Galvatron, as per usual. At one point he had over two hundred troops executed as part of a conspiracy to poison his drinks.
55	* CallForward:
56	** There is the occasional mention of Shokaract, and Point Omega, which were the subject of the early Botcon stories.
57	** The epilogue is filled with several. For example, Sygnet mentions he thinks that [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars "Axalon" is a good name for a star ship]].
58	** Wheeljack wonders out loud about future wars, and whether those fighting those wars will call themselves something other than "Autobot" and "Decepticon".
59	* CanonCharacterAllAlong: [[spoiler:The cultist who joins the Decepticon-revivalist movement is [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Tarantulas]].]]
60	%%* CanonForeigner: Many.
61	* CanonImmigrant: Rung, who will go on to show up in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMoreThanMeetsTheEye'', is mentioned here.
62	* CantTakeCriticism: Rather than take a lecture from Ratchet, Rodimus asks him a question deliberately designed to throw him.
63	%%* ChekhovsGun: The amplifying effect of the Sonic Canyons.
64	* ClandestineCover: Hard copies tend to obfuscate their connection to ''Transformers'' with abstract, indirect cover art.
65	* CloneAngst: [[spoiler: In the postscript, the revived Nightbeat reflects upon the fact that he's just a clone of himself, perfectly identical in almost every detail to his previous self, except he's a clone.]]
66	* CoolShip: The Ark's still around and still just as good as the day it was built.
67	* CombiningMecha: Grand Slam and Rain Dance can merge into Slamdance. [[spoiler:It's what saves Rain Dance's life.]]
68	* ComicBookDeath: Nightbeat survived his apparent suicide in ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2.
69	* ContinuityPorn: There's a lot of backstory and nods, including to Primon, a character mentioned in one piece of work sold at a convention and then completely forgotten.
70	* CrazyPrepared:
71	** Evidently Unicron felt a pressing need to give Galvatron fantastic anti-viral systems.
72	** The Decepticons have hidden supplies and weapons in every nook, crater and cranny of Cybertron in preparation for their Last Big Push.
73	%%* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Frequently. [[spoiler: First Aid is one of the worst.]]
74	%%* CrypticBackgroundReference: Several.
75	* [[HumanResources Cybertronian Resources]]: The Empties of Cybertron aren't too picky about where and how they get their fuel.
76	* CurbStompBattle: [[spoiler:The Quintessons]] take [[spoiler:Autobot City: Earth]] quickly.
77	* DarkerAndEdgier: Far darker than any official ''Transformers'' media, and much darker than [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel the stories it's a continuation of]].
78	%%* DarkFic
79	* DarkestHour: In the epilogue, Perceptor and Red Alert muse on whether the darkest has actually come yet. Red Alert weighs in with his opinion that "The darkest hour is the next one. It's always the next one."
80	* DawnOfAnEra: What the epilogue deals with.
81	* DemotedToExtra: A lot of major characters from the comics aren't so important here, for various reasons.
82	%%* DeskJockey: Prowl. And it's all he wants out of life.
83	* {{Determinator}}: Galvtron. [[spoiler:The Inhibitor Chip is designed to permanently prevent transforming, but that doesn't stop him trying. He manages to break it, and transform, even if it does hurt like Hell.]]
84	* DittoAliens: Only the really high-up Quintessons can tell Cybertronians apart.
85	* DoingInTheWizard: [[spoiler:Primus, Unicron, the Matrix, the origins of Cybertron itself, all the result of science gone wrong.]]
86	* {{Doorstopper}}: Two-hundred and eighty two pages long.
87	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Motormaster blows himself up. Prowl exposes himself to Corroda Gravis.]]
88	* EndOfAnAge: The crux of the story is the beginning of the end of an era of Cybertronian history.
89	* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Eventually the Autobots and Decepticons decide to team-up to fight the Quintessons.]]
90	* EyesNeverLie: [[spoiler:Ultra Magnus spots the difference between the Optimus Prime he knew and the one he's looking at by the eyes.]]
91	* FaceHeelTurn: Sygnet and Skywarp used to be Autobots, at the beginning of the war.
92	* FantasticRacism: Some Cybertronians don't like those Constructed Cold, like [[spoiler:Nightbeat]].
93	%%* TheFatalist: Dreadwind, as always.
94	* FateWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:What the Quintessons have in store for the Cybertronian race.]]
95	* TheFightingNarcissist: Sunstreaker. [[spoiler:When he travels back to nineteen-eighty four, he's horrified to find his corpse. No wonder, his face has completely melted and collapsed in on itself.]]
96	* FlatEarthAtheist: Nightbeat denies the existence of Primus, despite having seen him, with his own eyes, not to mention being teleported across the universe because of Him.
97	* {{Flanderization}}: An In-universe version. Sygnet sees Galvatron as the worst aspects of Megatron amplified a thousand-fold.
98	* FlawedPrototype: [[spoiler:Nightbeat was one of the first Cybertronians who were Constructed Cold, but something apparently went wrong in his construction.]]
99	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
100	** The last chapter opens with a report dated three hundred years ahead from [[TheDragon Greatshot]] to [[KnightTemplar Star Saber]], which foreshadows what happens at the end of the story, but also mentions downscaled bots who seem to have [[WesternAnimation/BeastWars animal-based bodies]].
101	** In the epilogue, the Autobots mention they sent a copy of the Autobot Code to Star Saber, who sent it back with proposed 'amendments', a hint of what he'll do to the Autobots in the follow-up stories.
102	* TheFriendNobodyLikes: [[UpperClassTwit Mirage]] isn't popular with his fellow Autobots.
103	* FunctionalAddict: Springer is taking steroids. He stops being a functional addict at the worst possible time, managing to overdose in the middle of a siege.
104	* GhostCity: Lonium has nothing. And it wasn't exactly much to write home about before it got nuked into the ground. Even the motorways went around it. The only things left are massive amounts of craters and anti-Autobot graffiti. Oh, and [[spoiler:a tear in the fabric of space and time]].
105	* GodzillaThreshold: [[spoiler:The situation with the Quintessons is so bad that Prowl and Perceptor are perfectly willing to risk breaking time itself by sending Nightbeat back to before 1984 to revive Optimus Prime.]]
106	* GoMadFromTheRevelation:
107	** Wheelie's unique speech-pattern is speculated to be the result of reading Quintessonian religious texts. Ratchet apparently dismissed this as total coincidence. Given what happens later on in the story, though...
108	** [[spoiler:Implied to be the same reason the [[ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2 Liege Maximo]] turned out the way he did. He interfaced with the Matrix and learned the whole truth of its origins.]]
109	%%* {{Gorn}}: ''And lots of it.''
110	* HeelFaceTurn: Back in the nineties, several Decepticons defected to the Autobots, including Carnivac and Mindwipe.
111	* HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler: Whatever Red Alert saw the Quintessons do to the Autobot Medical Centre traumatised him into silence.]]
112	* HeroOfAnotherStory: Throwback, an Autobot who has been jumping from reality to reality, and has been banged up so much he doesn't look like he used to.
113	* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler:In Optimus's eyes, this is the condition of the Autobots of 2012. He might be right.]]
114	* HistoricalRapSheet: Sygnet has operated on several famous Decepticons throughout history, and is responsible for installing the weapons of several Decepticon leaders.
115	* HitYouSoHardYourXWillFeelIt: [[spoiler:When the Quintessons place the Matrix into a device designed to examine it, several Cybertronians across the universe either feel uneasy, or try to scream.]]
116	* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:In the epilogue, Rodimus is narrating how things have turned around, how Kup was revived by a lucky chance, that the Thunderclash that'd died was a decoy, that Metroplex was being rebuilt, that an all new brand of Nucleon had been created, one that can bring back the dead, cure the Inhib-chips and save Prowl from Coroda Gravis. It becomes increasingly obvious as this paragraph goes on that, nope, none of that was true.]]
117	* IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace: Slaughter City, on Cybertron.
118	* IgnoredExpert: The First Church of Primus warned everyone that Unicron would return and attack Cybertron in either 2005 or 2006.
119	* ImmortalImmaturity: Rodimus is several millennia old, and yet he still acts like a brash idiot, even though he's a Prime.
120	%%* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler: Bumblebee, Treadshot.]]
121	* InternalRetcon: General Ghyrik's last stand wasn't a one-sided ass-kicking, it was a heroic and bitter struggle for a true Quintessonian patriot. At least, that's what the rank-and-file Quintessons are told, thanks to some careful and selective editing.
122	* InsistentTerminology: Evidently Straxus would call the Harvester Units (machines designed to collect corpses and drag them to the nearest smelting pool) Sanitation Units.
123	* JumpedAtTheCall: Emyrissus eagerly accept the offer to try and assassinate Galvatron, no matter how long it took. Three years later, he's still waiting for the chance.
124	* KilledOffForReal:
125	** Several big-name characters on both sides perish during this story, including [[spoiler: Bumblebee, Trypticon, Powerglide, Treadshot, Thunderclash, Warpath, First Aid, Pipes, Motormaster, Wideload, Grand Slam, Rad, Rapido, Beastbox, Squawktalk, Sixshot, Kup, Tracks, Omega Supreme, Prowl, Grimlock, Doubleheader, and Rewind.]]
126	** Sideswipe apparently dies, but the sequel story reveals he survived.
127	** As far as Prowl's concerned, Optimus Prime has been dead since nineteen eighty-seven. The Optimus that led the Autobots from nineteen eighty-eight 'till two-thousand and five was just a clone.
128	* KillerRobot: A Guardian robot, [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel again]]. Apparently they're [[MadScientist Wheeljack's]] fault. Nightbeat encounters one that's gotten religious.
129	* KlingonScientistsGetNoRespect: Considering some of the things Decepticon "scientists" do, they're just lucky not to get lynched.
130	* LargeAndInCharge: Nightbeat's observation of the original, pre-Earth Optimus Prime, large and blocky, a staple of Golden Age design. He also notes that this meant Optimus was also dreadfully fuel-inefficient by modern standards.
131	* LaserGuidedAmnesia / LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:The Quintecons get their memories wiped, end up on Earth in the nineteen eightes, and will eventually wind up getting killed and having their brains replaced with... [[StableTimeLoop their brains]].]]
132	%%* LastStand: Kup, against an army of Sharkticons. [[spoiler:He doesn't make it.]]
133	* LooseLips: [[spoiler:Hosehead manages to tell a time-displaced Optimus Prime exactly how and when he will die.]]
134	%%* LossOfIdentity: [[spoiler:Part of the Quintesson's plan for crushing Cybertronian rebellion.]]
135	* MacGuffin: The Matrix, natch. [[spoiler:The Quintessons want to use it to recreate their race.]]
136	%%* MadeASlave: [[spoiler:What the Quintessons plan to do to the entire Cybertronian race.]]
137	%%** [[spoiler:What Unicron did to the Quintessons, along with making them unable to reproduce.]]
138	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: [[spoiler:The origin of Primus and Unicron. They're either gods, or the result of a programming mess-up and theft gone horribly wrong. Of course, the person who reveals the 'true origin' to us isn't the most trustworthy source around, but then again...]]
139	* MeaningfulName:
140	** [[spoiler: God. As in the Quintesson super-computer [[FunWithAcronyms Genetics and Ontological Deconstruction]], design to decode every last aspect of the Matrix, and figure out how to create life.]]
141	** [[spoiler:New Quintyxia, because it will be new beginning for the Quintessons. As for ''old'' Quintyxia, see below.]]
142	* TheMole: [[spoiler:Doubleheader is a Decepticon agent, assigned to assassinate Rodimus Prime, and no-one ever suspected a thing.]]
143	* MythologyGag: The First Church of Primus's prediction is that Unicron would either return in 2005 (as he did in [[WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie the movie]]) or 2006 (as he did in [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel the comics]].)
144	%%* NewEraSpeech: [[spoiler:Quantax's speech to what's left of the Autobots and Decepticons.]]
145	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:As it turns out, Nightbeat is the one responsible for the Ark not having information on the war, and its subsequent rebuilding of Autobot and Decepticon alike.]]
146	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: [[spoiler:Soundwave is the key to disabling the inhibitor chips, thanks to his telepathy.]]
147	* NoodleIncident: Apparently at some point Swerve and Pincher tried to create a copy of Optimus Prime. Whatever it was they did, they're still incredibly unpopular because of it.
148	* NoPaperFuture: The Autobots don't have paper, but they still have paperwork.
149	* NothingIsScarier:
150	** The old Decepticon fort on Earth is completely abandoned and stripped clean, with no-one having set foot there in well over a decade. The Autobots still don't want to linger.
151	** [[spoiler:We're never told what exactly happens "Downstairs", and that's probably for the best. But we do see some of the results.]]
152	* NotInThisForYourRevolution: Sygnet doesn't really care about the war. He just wanted recognition for his science, and would gladly have gone off with [[ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2 Jhiaxus and his lot]] had Ratbat not ''[[ShameIfSomethingHappened persuaded him to stay]]''.
153	* NotNowKiddo: Quantax refuses to listen to a soldier who is trying to tell him about something, even going as far as to kill the guy. Turns out he really should've listened.
154	* NotQuiteDead:
155	** ComicBook/DeathsHead repeatedly survives injuries that should kill him.
156	** [[spoiler:Thunderclash might have survived the Quintesson's experiments. Ultra Magnus certainly finds his brain intact.]]
157	* NotSoStoic: Prowl actually yells at Rodimus and Thunderclash at one point. [[spoiler: He later snaps at Kup as well.]]
158	* NukeEm: A lot of Cybertron's surface has been nuked repeatedly.
159	* OffWithHisHead: Decaptation is the Quintesson's favourite method of killing someone.
160	* OhCrap:
161	** Chromedome, and then Prowl's reaction when they find two thousand Quintesson ships heading their way.
162	** [[spoiler:The reaction of every Decepticon around when they see Soundwave ''giving birth''. Even worse when they see what the newborn looks like: A Quintesson.]]
163	%%* OlderThanTheyLook: [[spoiler:Nightbeat, of all people.]]
164	* OnlyMostlyDead: [[spoiler:Rodimus just barely survives his assassination attempt. Most of his body is utterly gone, and he's out of action for the rest of the story.]]
165	* OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions: The re-appearance of Primus and Unicron caused the appearance of theo-scientists, who take an unnervingly detached approach to their species' origins. However, even they don't understand how the Matrix works. And everyone refuses to use their built-in kill-switches.
166	* PastLifeMemories: Galvatron remembers everything about his lives, both as Galvatron and Megatron. He even remembers things he [[KilledOffForReal logically shouldn't]] [[TimeyWimeyBall be able to]].
167	* PercussiveMaintenance: A Quintesson takes to kicking a non-compliant machine, despite knowing full well it won't work.
168	* PerpetualFrowner: Prowl never stops frowning.
169	-->'''Narrator''': "It was as if the corners of his mouth were somehow more susceptible to Cybertron's moderate gravity."
170	* PreemptiveShutUp: Soundwave to Sixshot, who is trying to engage in pleasantries. Soundwave's just there to kill him. [[spoiler:He succeeds effortlessly.]]
171	* PsychicLink: Soundwave is ''always'' connected to his cassettes. [[spoiler:This is how he knows Beastbox and Squawktalk died in the Polyhex Massacre.]]
172	* PsychicStatic: Soundwave can't read Galvatron's mind. He can recognise its presence, but he can't get anything from it.
173	%%* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: [[spoiler:Optimus manages to mix one with a rousing speech. The fact that the crowd of Autobots and Decepticons cheer anyway hurts him badly.]]
174	%%* ReassignedToAntarctica: Nightbeat's opinion of his reassignment.
175	* ReligionOfEvil: The Quintessons have a form of religion, which is just as twisted and creepy as they are.
176	* RememberTheNewGuy: Among the famous Decepticon leaders of years past is Scarab, whom we've never heard of before.
177	* TheReveal:
178	** [[spoiler:The Quintessons were enslaved by Unicron and turned into warriors. They can't help being violent sadists, their very essence was warped by It.]]
179	** [[spoiler:Cybertron used to be Quintyxia, the Quintesson's homeworld. The Matrix reformatted the place, and the Quintessons improved on it. And in order to keep the early Cybertronian workers in line, they made up Primus.]]
180	** [[spoiler:Unicron meanwhile, used to be Quiniad, the Quintesson's first colony world, and the result of a virus turned sentient and completely deluded.]]
181	* RiddleForTheAges: Apparently there were prototype Arks, which went missing. Nightbeat and Optimus Prime used to spend long hours pondering what'd happened to them.
182	* RobotReligion: Cybertron used to have one, but with the war and the return of Unicron their religion has splintered and fractured and schismed repeatedly.
183	* RoomFullOfCrazy: One of the walls of the old Decepticon base on Earth is covered in mementos of Shockwave's SanitySlippage.
184	* SanitySlippage: [[spoiler:Kup gradually gets more and more insane after Rodimus is injured.]]
185	* SealedEvilInACan: Unicron is [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel still sealed inside the Matrix]], and he can't be removed.
186	* SenseFreak: [[spoiler:The three Quintessons take a while to adjust to being in actual bodies again. Mention is made that they kept passing out from the sheer amount of sensory input.]]
187	* ShameIfSomethingHappened: Sygnet reveals that the only reason he's still a Decepticon is because Ratbat pulled this on him.
188	* ShellShockedVeteran: [[spoiler:Sixshot was badly scarred by the last Quintesson invasion. So much so that he refuses to fight the current one. It gets him killed by Shockwave.]]
189	* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler:Soundwave realises Rev-Tone has a tracer implanted in him, and puts him out of his mercy. He nearly gets killed by the Autobots. Either way, it's too late to stop the Quintessons finding them.]]
190	* ShoutOut:
191	** The name of Megatron's pre-war journals? ''[[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler My Struggle]]''.
192	** The epitaph for the epilogue has a quote from Music/{{Morrissey}}'s "Girlfriend in a Coma".
193	* SketchySuccessor: Prowl has a gut feeling that putting Springer in charge might be a bad move. The follow up stories prove him right in all the worst ways.
194	* SnapBack: That massive restoration of Cybertron at the end of ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'' didn't last very long. In twenty years, Cybertron's managed to get ''worse''.
195	* SomethingOnlyTheyWouldSay: [[spoiler:Galvatron realises Optimus really is Optimus when he keeps his word and releases Galvatron.]]
196	%%* StableTimeLoop: [[spoiler:The origin of the three 'Decepticons' the Quintessons find.]]
197	* StatingTheSimpleSolution: Apparently it wouldn't be that difficult for someone to just go to Vs'Qs and retrieve Optimus Prime's body, and yet no-one seems to be in a big hurry to go.
198	* StrappedToAnOperatingTable: [[spoiler:The Quintessons have been abducting Cybertronians from both sides and experimenting on them. During the story, they take Galvatron and Thunderclash as well.]]
199	** Blitzwing stumbled upon [[CloningGambit Project: Rebirth]], which involved a poor sap named Lancer being ''nailed'' to an operating table. He's still haunted by it, twenty-six years later.
200	* SurprisinglySuddenDeath: [[spoiler: Grimlock gets shot and killed midsentence while talking to Ultra Magnus]].
201	* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Haxian appears to kill himself, and when Siren and Death's Head investigate, he promptly explodes.]]
202	* TemptingFate: Invoked and Lampshaded. Centurion says he's going back to Earth once everything's over. Sygnet helpfully points out that people who say that tend to die.
203	%%* ThoseTwoGuys: Quark and Rev-Tone. [[spoiler:They don't make it.]]
204	* TimeAbyss: A Quintesson can last seventy-million years before dying of old age.
205	* TimeTravel: Neither side has time-travel technology since the Time War (no, not that [[Series/DoctorWho Time War]]) four years ago.
206	* TranquilFury:
207	** Kup, when he hears a particularly dry report from Prowl, quickly and calmly shoots the nearby speakers.
208	** [[spoiler:Soundwave's reaction to birthing a Quintesson: "Get me a gun."]]
209	* TransformingMecha: The Lithonians and Junkions are mentioned, and the thing that distinguishes Cybertronians from all other 'mechapolymorphic' races is how fast they transform.
210	* TwistedChristmas: The bulk of the story takes place around Christmas 2012. [[spoiler:The Quintessons invade Cybertron, beat the Autobots and Decepticons and start up their concentration camp on Christmas Day.]]
211	%%* TyrantTakesTheHelm: Prowl hates the idea of Grimlock and his supporters being in charge again.
212	* UngratefulBastard: Soundwave has been nothing but loyal to Galvatron, and the cause in general, but Galvatron [[BadBoss still wants an excuse to kill him]].
213	* WarIsHell: And don't you forget it. Lots of tropes typical of Transformers fiction get subverted or cruelly denied, and there's a lot of messy deaths, and a mention that Cybertron used to be a thriving culture, which is completely gone.
214	* WeHaveReserves: [[spoiler:As long as one Decepticon dies, Xenon is perfectly willing to lose half his air force in the attempt.]]
215	* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:The Quintessons see themselves as this, seeing as they're restoring Cybertron's grandeur and solving its historical energy crisis. They really, really, really aren't.]]
216	** [[spoiler:Except Xenon, who really does want to end the Quintesson's war-like ways.]]
217	%%* WeUsedToBeFriends: Wheeljack and Sygnet.
218	* WhamEpisode: The last chapter, specifically the part involving the Quintesson base on Aquarius is one massive WhamEpisode.
219	* WhamLine: "I asked if you ever wondered what it was like to die." - [[spoiler:Doubleheader.]]
220	** "We want you to bring back [[spoiler:Optimus Prime."]]
221	** "Ever since Unicron captured the Progenitors, we've been a warrior race." Suddenly the perspective on the Quints is changed.
222	** Galvatron ran to the edge of the walkway and stared at the bodies. He recognised them. - [[spoiler: "Them" being the new Quintessons.]]
223	** Seconds later, we get this: "I ask because you seem to think we're younger than you are. And because you seem to regard "Primus" and "Unicron" as different things."
224	** [[spoiler: "Do I have to spell it out for you? The Masters called this software P.R.I.M.U.S."]]
225	* WouldBeRudeToSayGenocide: [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel The Straxian Holocaust]], where [[AxCrazy Straxus]] killed a large swath of Cybertron's already depleted population for whatever reason he could find.
226	* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: [[spoiler:Quantax decides that once New Quintxyia is settled, the Sharkticons will be recycled en-masse.]]
227	* YourHeadAsplode: [[spoiler:Optimus Prime utilises Frenzy, Thundercracker and the Sonic Canyons (known for their amplifying effect) to invoke this on the Quintesson army.]]
228
229	!! Telefunken contains examples of:
230
231	* BadFuture: As bad as it gets. The Autobots have turned into fascists, and the Decepticons have turned into Unicron-worshippers.
232	* BlatantLies: Rodimus Prime is in fine health.
233	* DisproportionateRetribution: The Unnamed Autobot notices the turrets of Iacon face inward. Star Saber's reaction? Declare him an anarchist.
234	* DoingInTheWizard: What Autobot High Command and its theoscientists and timeliners are doing, along with everyone else, so that the "One True Origin" of the Cybertronian race is basically derided.
235	* FakeMemories:
236	** The Neogens were given these as a survival mechanism. Apparently one of them was given every fake memory possible. The Unnamed Autobot can't remember what it was. [[WhamLine Kip, or Kap]], he thinks.
237	** Newborns have these as well. The Autobots have improved on Prime Nova's old ideas. The new Neogens have brilliantly crafted false pasts of incredible depth and complexity. Such Neogens as [[spoiler:Tarantulus.]]
238	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The Unnamed Autobot mentions rumours of scientists huddled over their work muttering about "''[[WesternAnimation/BeastWars Maximised'' speed, ''maximised'' efficiency]]", and that one Newborn who realised what he was took off and started a new sect, with a name based on that phrase...
239	* ItsAllAboutMe: The least of Star Saber's problems. Even when the other Autobots are worried about a possible resurgence of Unicron, Star Saber is annoyed they're putting their faith in prophecy, rather than ''him''.
240	* OhCrap: The final line mentions that, thanks to Unicron influencing the Matrix, the Matrix Flame is burning ''black''.
241	* SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: A lot of Autobots who are still alive are thuggish or threatening to their own people.
242	* StartMyOwn: Whether intentionally or not, Ultra Magnus has managed to create a small cult of Quintesson worshippers, thanks to what he learned on Aquaria.
243	%%* StartOfDarkness: For [[spoiler:Tarantulas.]]
244	* TheBusCameBack: The Unnamed Autobot is from Aspects of Evil, a short storyline from the tail-end of ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel''. This story is the framing device for that story.
245	* UnPerson: Several Autobots protested against one of Star Saber's acts, and mysteriously "vanished".
246	* WhamLine: "What's his name again?" [[spoiler:"Tarantulas."]]

Context FanFic / Eugenesis