Hammer (Cloud)

« Transformers Cloud: Spacetime World: Guardians of Time Chapter 2: Part 5 »
"Hammer" 鉄鎚 (Kanazuchi)
Publisher	e-HOBBY, TakaraTomy Mall
First published	March 27, 2014
Story by	Makoto Wakabayashi
Illustrated by	Nagi Miyako
Continuity	Cloud, Japanese Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity

Things take a turn as Cloud Starscream reveals his true nature.

Synopsis

With SARA in his grip, Cloud Starscream threatens to crush her if the Autobots move any closer... Optimus Prime attempts to diffuse the situation by pointing out that they all still need her, including Starscream himself, but the Decepticon is confident that he's acquired enough power from her and that he can seek out more energy as needed. All the while, SARA doesn't appear to react at all. Armada Starscream finds the entire thing a bit distasteful and cowardly, but Cloud Starscream just dismisses his critique and orders him to get back to digging out the Mini-Con, to which the Destron obliges.

With the Autobots at his mercy, Cloud Starscream fires his null-ray on Brawn, leaving the big Transformer in agony. In response to this, SARA finally acts up, showing sadness to Brawn's pain and flails around in Starscream's hand. Her eyes catch the glimpse of the other Starscream... Just as Cloud Starscream is about to finish off Brawn, he suddenly finds his arm holding SARA cut off! Armada Starscream, having sympathized with small, defenseless beings like the Mini-Cons before, found another object of sympathy in SARA. Cloud Starscream is unsurprisingly irate at this unexpected turn of events, but Armada Starscream explains that he couldn't let his counterpart's dishonorable tactic go unpunished and lets SARA rejoin her true protectors, sparking a bit of wonderment in Optimus at the infinite possibilities of the Spacetime World.

However, Cloud Starscream is able to regenerate his arm thanks to SARA's energy within him and transforms into tank mode. Brawn suggests that the Autobots and Armada Starscream team up to take on Cloud Starscream; the Destron is a little apprehensive at joining up with "Cybertrons", but sees the logic in uniting to defeat their common foe. While Brawn and Armada Starscream take care of the would-be ruler of spacetime, SARA resonates with the energy hidden within the ruins, forcing it to reveal a Mini-Con storage panel. After Armada Starscream identifies it as a Mini-Con, Cloud Starscream turns his attention on to it and attempts to grab the panel, but is knocked away by Brawn. In a fit of pique, Cloud Starscream decides the next best thing to possessing power is to destroy it so that no others can have it and bombards the area with his tank mode. When the smoke clears, the panel is revealed to be in fragments—a little life ended.

Armada Starscream is furious at Cloud Starscream's murder and chases him into the sky. Saving his best for last, he summons Swindle and powerlinxes with him to reveal his own null-rays. Cloud Starscream is blasted with his counterpart's amazing firepower and falls to the ground, where he is squarely knocked out by a hit from Brawn's Beat the Gong to the face.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

Other notes

• We can't exactly call it an error as it was presumably done intentionally for toyline synergy, but as with the previous chapter, the illustration depicts Armada Starscream with his Generations toy body rather than his original Armada cartoon/toy body despite the story being set in the actual universe of the Japanese Armada cartoon.

References

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