IDW - Lost Light #18

Title: The Everlasting Voices Part 3: You Are Here

Written by: James Roberts

Art by: Jack Lawrence

Colours: Joana LaFuente

Letters by: Tom B. Long

Editor: David Mariotte

Publisher: Greg Goldstein

Plot

The majority of the crew have gathered under the giant Matrix in the Afterspark, along with the already dead friends, and prepare to ascend to the next level.

Meanwhile, at Ward Zero inside the temple, Rodimus, Drift and Ratchet are attacked by a group of Omega Guardian throwbacks, when they are joined by Magnus, who helps them take down the stone golems.

Downstairs, Nautica enters the Scavenger's cell, where the group insist that they are in Garrus-9, even pointing out a sign saying so...however Nautica sees the sign as an extract of the Primal Sacrament, also causing everyone else to see both, causing the illusion in the room to shatter, revealing a sign pointing to "M10". The group follow the sign and enter the room, explaining to Nautica where they are...

Now that the Guardians are dead, Ratchet examines the power source in the middle of the room, and believes that the organic aliens are powering it, and that tampering with it may reveal what is happening. Magnus receives a call from, Whirl, who is worried that the rest of the crew are about to die, having seen Nightbeat's previous painful ascension, which Magnus agrees with. Ratchet goes to destroy the power source, but is stopped by Drift, who asks him to consider that this IS the Afterspark, and doing this will damage it, possible sending them out of it forever....Ratchet considers this for a second, then throws a chair through the power source, destabilizing it.

With that, the room, and the temple all-together reshapes into it's true form, a medical suite, and the landscape of the Afterspark, including the giant Matrix starts to disappear too.

Ratchet recognizes the symbols and room as being Mederi, or at least an old facility, namely the original one created by the Omega Guardians millions of years ago, which is powered by telepathic aliens to use their powers to keep a patient happy and content...whilst they are being euthanized!

The group realize that they must have been in range of the artificial moon of Mederi when they abandoned Skip, and were drawn in, repaired for their comfort and placed into a state of artificial reality when they woke up. 

They were made to believe they were in the Afterspark due to Cyclonus' will to be sent there to reunite with Tailgate, leading to them having other past friends appear as well, just at the right time, to help them eventually pass on. Magnus has Whirl relay this discovery to the others, and to give them the chance to say their goodbyes.

The group are about to leave, when Nautica rushes into the room with the Scavengers, carrying the dead body of Axe, a member of the Circle of Light, whom they found inside "Morgue Ten", and she explains that there were hundreds more like him there. Rodimus now understands what has happened, he asks Drift to mark out a map from Cybertron to Mederi for him, revealing that it matches perfectly with their map to Cyberutopia....hey have arrived!

Rodimus goes on to have Drift look up the earliest Cybertronian patients to the facility, from just over 10 million years ago, with atrophosia, a disease like cybercrosis, caused by exposure to organics, causing them to go to the new and advanced Mederi, where upon arriving they are placed into the artificial reality, giving them their deepest wish, a paradise-like Cybertron. They engrave a map to this "Cyberutopia" into the Matrix, held by them, and send it back to Cybertron, hoping others will join them, not realizing that they are just inviting others to be euthanized in the process!

The crew, whilst happy to have closure on their quest, are now also feeling dejected for not having a mission now, and for it to end so mundanely, but they decide to head back to Cybertron...

At the "Ascension Point" the dead friends are slowly fading away, and Cyclonus finally admits his love to Tailgate, who feels like he is about to vanish too, the two embrace as everyone else is feeling terrible about this discovery.

Rodimus and the others arrive, about to tell the rest of the team about the truth of Cyberutopia, but are stopped by Whirl, who wants to give Cyclonus a moment. He approaches him, only top be shocked to see Tailgate still there! Somehow Tailgate is real and was sent to Mederi in the past. The team are happy with this one good ending, and decide to figure out what happened later, so they could at least have this moment....

Unfortunately at that moment, Fulcrum points out something horrible in the skies above Mederi, an army of Sparkeaters raining down on them...but not just Sparkeaters, they are Sparkeaters made from the Lost Light crew!!

Characters

Autobot

Rodimus - Car

Drift - Car

Ultra Magnus - Vehicle Transport

Ratchet - Ambulance

Nautica - Submarine

Velocity - Race Car

Swerve - Van

Brainstorm - Jet

Tailgate - Car

Chromedome - Car

Rewind - Data Slug

Whirl - Osprey Helicopter

Rung - Photon Crystal Generator

Nightbeat - Car Dead

Perceptor - Tank Turned into a Sparkeater

Mainframe Turned into a Sparkeater

Hound - Jeep Turned into a Sparkeater

Hoist - Crane Turned into a Sparkeater

Trailcutter - Van Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

Pipes - Truck Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

Dominus Ambus - Turbofox Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

Original Rewind - Data Slug Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

Dealer - Rocket-Launcher Truck (Mentioned) Dead

Decepticon

Misfire - Jet

Krok

Fulcrum - K-Class Bomb

Crankcase - Van

Spinister - Helicopter

Nickel - Rocket Buggy

Skip - Space Shuttle (Mentioned)

Other Cybertronian

Cyclonus - Jet

Anode - Bi-Plane

Lug - Backpack Equipment

Roller - Truck

Axe - Jet Dead

Sparkeater Army

Quark - Electron Microscope Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

Springarm - Motorcycle Dead (Mederi Hallucination Only)

The Knights of Cybertron (Footage Only) Died of Atrophosia

Titan of the Knights - City/Space Ship (Footage Only)

Mortilus (Mentioned)

The Guiding Hand (Mentioned)

Ten (Mentioned) Dead

The Circle of Light (Mentioned)

Chief Justice Tyrest (Mentioned)

Other

Omega Guardian Throwbacks Defeated by Rodimus, Drift, Ratchet and Magnus

Telepathic Aliens Comatose

Original Omega Guardians (Mentioned)

Notes

• This issue marks the end of the "Everlasting Voices" storyline, and resolves a fair few long-lasting plots from the entire series
• This issue seems to hint at a possible budding relationship between Swerve and Velocity, with them subtly holding hands (look at the picture in the Characters section) and their flirty conversation at the start of the issue about how Swerve is better when he is being heartfelt.
• I find it a bit disturbing that Chromedome is holding hands with Dominus Ambus, along with both Rewinds...why is he so touchy with his Conjunx's ex Conjunx?
• Ultra Magnus throwing Rodimus at the Omega Guardian throwbacks seems to be a reference to the "Fastball Special" from the X-Men comics.
• The Mederi centers have been mentioned sporadically throughout Lost Light, but referring to the offshoot branches and not the original one, seen here.
• It's confirmed here that the Scavengers were never sent to Garrus-9, but rather to Mederi, furthering my opinion that the Magnificence is indeed one of the Guiding Hand/Knights of Cybertron, and it sent them to the planet to help out in the upcoming fight.
• So...is the Mederi Moon staffed by actual doctors, or anyone beside the Omega Guardian throwbacks? Otherwise those psychic aliens must have extremely long life-spans.
• Axe was last seen during Drift's original mini-series, as part of the Circle of Light, as mentioned here. This issue implies that he was also part of the team who went to search for the Knights on their own, and evidently "found them"
• The panel where Rodimus declares that they are in Cyberutopia is a direct remake of the scene in MTMTE #1 where he announces the start of the mission itself, bookmarking the journey.
• In the background of the footage of the Knights, we see them leaving a Titan, which we were previously told acted as "chariots" for them in the past. We can tell it's a Titan, and that it seems to match Metroplex's body-type due to the partially visible head, the chest and arm parts being visible and the general silhouette.
• On the banners held by the Knights we see the gear symbol used by the Grand Architect, confirming that the Knights did use the symbols for their "clans"
• Awww Cyclonus finally told Tailagte, the REAL Tailgate that he loves him...cute :)
• So, I'm going to go on a limb here and say that getaway probably used that Sparkeater gun of Brainstorm's on the Lost Light bridge crew or something at some point.
• I would be more upset that Nightbeat has been all but confirmed as dead, or that so many of the Lost Lighters we've grown to love over the years are now Sparkeaters, but since this continuity is ending a couple of months, it just doesn't seem worth it.
• The ending with the Sparkeaters raining down on the team really brings to mind Drift's prophetic dream from issue 1 of Lost Light huh? I mean if we assume that the Grand Architect is assumed, then that would add Worldsweepers to the mix, and add my below thoughts on Pharma being involved, then all we're missing is Grimlock!
• Okay, here's my big theory to answer the questions left over by the crew in this issue. I think that Tyrest and his crew of Pharma and Star Saber caused three of the four unanswered mysteries to happen. Tyrest used a code to make Ten start talking and also sent him the coordinates to send the crew to Mederi, Pharma did some science and made Ratchet start to randomly die, causing the need for Mederi in the first place. Finally, Star Saber may have used a transporter to abduct Tailgate from, Necroworld so he could leave him at Mederi, and cause him to be Euthenized, driving Cyclonus to madness.
• As I mentioned earlier, I believe the Decepticons were sent to Mederi by the Magnificence so they could help Team Rodimus to save the day, because the Magnificence is Epistemus, and wants to either help or stop the leader of the Grand Architect's crew, Adaptus.