The Mysterious Temple in Space

Beast Wars Reborn #1 »
Mysterious.
"The Mysterious Temple in Space" なぞの宇宙神殿 (Nazo no Uchū Shinden)
Published in	Figure Ō No. 97
First published	February 24, 2006
Cover date	March 2006
Story	Hirofumi Ichikawa
Pencils	Hirofumi Ichikawa

Optimus Primal and Megatron mysteriously awaken in a mysterious temple under mysterious circumstances.

Synopsis

A robot mostly covered in black fur emerges from a stone sarcophagus in a mysterious structure resembling a temple, with no memory of who or what he is. Another sarcophagus opens to reveal another robot with reptilian features, in a similar state of amnesia. Once the two see each other, the newcomer demands to know who the furry robot is, something he doesn't know himself. The first robot's onboard computer soon comes up, telling him his name is Optimus Primal and that he is a Transformer. As he wonders what that means, his companion discovers his own T. rex form and transforms. He then announces his name to be Megatron. Though they have no memories of their past, they do feel a connection; Optimus wonders if Megatron was once his friend, but the reptilian robot's curt behavior makes him suspicious.

Optimus and Megatron begin studying the temple, realizing it is actually an advanced construct despite its ancient appearance. Megatron finds an exit and, when he leans out, suddenly discovers they're in a ship traveling at high speeds through space! Though it doesn't appear at all airtight, the structure has air breathable by organic life-forms. Megatron and Optimus begin looking for a data terminal. Optimus wonders about the nature of the vessel, but Megatron is concerned only with making sure he has the upper hand when they do figure out what's going on.

At last, they find a terminal, which Optimus accesses. He soon finds a record of two Transformers being created and their Sparks being transported into their bodies. He realizes they have no memories because they were just born—or, rather, reborn, as their Sparks seem to remember each other from before. Unfortunately, the terminal has no data about where the sparks came from. He does, however, find a "Central Shrine", which appears to hold all the information and control of the area. When he shows Megatron an image of the room, though, the Predacon fixates on one image—a Golden Disk lodged in a hexagonal pillar—and bolts. Primal, caught off-guard, soon follows him.

As they dash through the ship's many rooms, Optimus notices that space and time are changing around them; walls and floors begin to warp, and in one room, a strong wind almost forces them back. These phenomena culminate when they enter the Central Shrine and suddenly find themselves on what resembles a different planet, surrounded by ruins and wrecked robots—who promptly get up and start lumbering towards them. Primal suggests falling back, but Megatron realizes that the zombies wish to feed on their Sparks, and notes that the entrance they used before has vanished behind them, leaving the exit in front of themselves beyond the zombies as their only option. Megatron promptly transforms into T. rex mode and begins ripping through the zombies. Primal, however, is unwilling to fight at first. But when the zombies begin swarming him, the pain and shock take over, and he transforms into gorilla mode, tearing into his antagonists. Once the zombies are felled, the two robots turn to each other, filled with primal rage and ready for battle. However, they soon regain control and return to robot mode. Megatron walks toward the Golden Disk, while Optimus wonders to himself whether he should treat Megatron as an ally or trust the animal instincts of his beast mode, which gave him a very different impression.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the multiverse, Primus senses what's happening aboard the strange vessel and prepares to dispatch his messenger through time to deal with it...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Stop right there. Anyone who attempts a handshake with me will end up missing an arm."

—Megatron lets Optimus know who he's dealing with.

"I’ll let Optimus go about solving riddles. What will matter is which of us has the upper hand when the truth is revealed."

—Megatron, true to form

"These are production records for the birth of Transformers. It’s no wonder we have no memories. We were just born from those capsules today!"
"And yet, I feel as if I know you from before. Why might that be?"
"Take a closer look. There in the supplemental information for the latter half, it says 'Memory file, skip upload.' We were not 'born', but in fact artificially reborn!"
"Yet despite this incomplete state, our sparks remembered each other."
"The records list no data of where our sparks were taken from. Still, there is no mistaking that we had prior lives before being summoned here, and at someone’s bidding those lives have been altered!"

—Optimus and Megatron exposit (and explain the story's title).

"The Golden Disk…!"

—Megatron reverts to his old habits.

"An abominable plot is unfolding. Now my messenger must make the voyage through time…"

—Primus likes talking to himself, apparently.

Notes

Transformers references

• Obviously, Primal and Megatron were the leaders of the Maximals and Predacons throughout the Beast Wars. What is less clear is whether or not these are the actual Primal and Megatron, as indicated by Primal's statement that they were just born.
• There's another Golden Disk? And Megatron's out to steal this one too?! Geez.

Real-world references

• The flying temple is stated to resemble two pyramids connected together, and Optimus and Megatron awaken from stone sarcophagi, both things related to the tombs of ancient Egypt.

External links

• Translation of "The Mysterious Temple in Space" at the Allspark