Battle Lines, Part 1

The Autobots and Decepticons regroup after the fallout of Bruticus' attack.

Synopsis

As Dion is being repaired afterBruticus' attack on theElite Guard's headquarters, his story is related. Before the war, he and his friendsOrion PaxandArielworked on the docks, and lived happy lives. That all changed whenMegatroncame onto the scene; Dion watched as his friends were gunned down by Megatron, and Dion himself is soon gunned down by theDecepticon grunts,falling into the embrace of death. However, Dion finds that life is not done with him yet, as the Elite Guard have reformatted him so that he may join their ranks. Dion bonds with his new comrades, in particular becoming good friends with fellow young cadetKup.Soon, however, Dion is once again jerked into the past, as his new friends are murdered as well, this time by the traitorousCombaticons...

As it turns out, however, Dion’s story has been related bySide Burn,who has impersonated the Guardsman in an attempt to pick upRoad Rageandanother fembot.His deception is soon ended whenProwlcalls him by name, revealing his true identity. The fembots and Prowl are disgusted by Side Burn’s actions, the latter noting that aside from the fact that impersonating an Elite Guardsman is a federal offense, the Decepticon attack onlyjusthappened. However, with Prowl’s lecture failing to get through to Side Burn, and more important matters at hand, he lets the issue go, and the two transform and head off to theHigh Council.

Meanwhile, atDeathsaurus's lair,Starscreamreports that Bruticus has destroyed the Elite Guard, and that the Combaticons are en route back to base. Starscream proceeds to ask Deathsaurus why he has given the Combaticons the honor of wearing the Decepticon symbol; after all, they're only using Deathsaurus to further their ambitions, and are bound to stab him in the back at some point. Deathsaurus tells his lieutenant that ambition makes the perfect Decepticon, unlike the stagnation the Autobots have had in their rule over Cybertron. Deathsaurus sends Starscream off toLyzackto ensure that the med-bay is ready for the Combaticon's arrival. Starscream is bemused by Lyzack's supposed timidity, and walks off, ready to crush the Autobot's will. An annoyed Lyzack places the dishes she was carrying on a shelf, right below a massive sword, muttering to herself about timidity...

At the High Council's Citadel,Magnumhas gathered the remaining Elite Guard members for an emergency session, focused on the security of the Autobots. Kup believes they should be out in the fields preparing for the next attack, but Magnum insists on all of the being here, to show the Council that the Elite Guard isn't finished yet.Thunderclashtells Dion that he still is injured and that he doesn't have to be here, but Dion insists, both for the comrades he's lost, and himself. Prepared to make their case, the remaining Elite Guard members are shocked when they walk in to find thatOptimus Primehas been appointed the new commander of the Autobots!

Featured characters

Characters initalic textappear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

Continuity notes

• This story takes place shortly after the conclusion of last year's "The Coming Storm"storyline, in which the Combaticons killed most of the Elite Guard members, and Dion gained the injuries he displays here.
• A "Paradron medic" appears as one of the Autobots repairing Dion; they (along with the planetParadron) appeared inTransformersepisode "Fight or Flee".
• Various scenes from cartoon episode "War Dawn"are recreated on the first page, including Dion socializing with his friends, and Megatron firing on them. In particular, you can spot five silhouettes in panel 3; presumably, these are theAerialbots,who were sent back in time by theKronosphere.
• Also seen in flashback is the Combaticons being introduced by Magnum, from "The Coming Storm: Part 2".
• Prowl transforms into an alien vehicle, despite having obvious Datsun vehicle kibble, much like the Transformers seen converting on Cybertron in "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1".
• Starscream became Deathsaurus's lieutenant in "A Team Effort".Also seen in that story was the death of the majority of remaining Decepticon Warlords inKaon,an event to which Kup refers.

Transformers references

• Both Ratchet and Ironhide are depicted in theirBotCon 2005"Descent into Evil" bodies.
• Orion Pax is holding a gun-like device on panel 2 of page 1; this isBarrelroller,a redecoed version ofRecoilfrom the Orion Paxe-HOBBYtoy, who represents a version of Roller from before Orion Pax was rebuilt into Optimus Prime.
• Road Rage was an e-HOBBY exclusive redeco ofTracks,using the originalDiaclonecolors.
• The waitress Transformer seen in this story is based on Side Burn's fellowRobots in DisguisecharacterT-AI.
• Prowl's relationship with Side Burn references hisRobots in Disguisecounterpart,who was Side Burn's brother.
• TheAutobot High Councilis based within theCouncil CitadelfromBeast Machines.
• Several generics in the crowd scene on the last page are colored based on pre-existing characters, includingWreck-Gar,Ratchet,Trailbreaker,andHubcap.