After sending Soundwave's minicons to follow Sideswipe, Dino, Leadfoot and Drift back to their base. Barricade drives back to Nucleon. During the travel he accidentally hits some debris forcing him to transform out of his Cybertronian Police Cruiser and land on the ground in his robot mode.
"Uh…..SCRAP!" Barricade said in anger as he gets up while recovering from the impact. As Barricade begins to brush off the dust on his chassis he receives a transmission from Soundwave. During the transmission, static occurs from his damaged com-link and is unable to hear the whole message.
"Hello! Soundwave! You There! SCRAP!" Barricade said unable to hear Soundwave's transmission.
"So this is where you have been lately Barricade!" Stockade said surprising Barricade as he walked to him with another enforcer "Berserker".
"Stockade! Berserker! What are you two doing here?" Barricade asked.
"Starscream sent us here to make sure your spark didn't get extinguished!" Stockade said insulting Barricade.
"Very Funny!" Barricade sarcastically replied back to Stockade.
"I see you were struggling with your comm-link! Why is that?" Stockade asked noticing that Barricade couldn't hear Soundwave's message.
"Damaged…..from the crash!" Barricade explained looking away from Stockade in humiliation.
"Why? What did Soundwave say?" Barricade turned curiously asking Stockade.
"Oh so you want to know don't you?" Stockade asked messing with Barricade.
"Know What?" Barricade asked both intrigued and slightly annoyed by Stockade.
"He's Alive!" Stockade said.
"Who?" Barricade asked.
"Who do you think Barricade?" Stockade asked back.
"The Boss?" Barricade asked referring to Megatron as the enforcers refer to Megatron as the "Boss".
"Yep the Big Boss is alive! And soon we'll be reunited with him on the filthy organic planet he's in!" Stockade said.
"For the love of Primus YES!" Barricade screamed in complete joy.
"What do we do now Stockade?" Barricade asked.
"We need to return back to Nucleon, prepare our army for the attack on Kaon!" Stockade explained as they transformed into their vehicle forms and drove off.
At Kaon. Dino, Leadfoot, Drift and Sideswipe have returned to the Autobot base and head straight to the medical bay.
"Ay Ratchet! We got another trouble maker for you!" Leadfoot said as he carried Dino inside.
"Oh Primus!" Ratchet said in annoyance and exhaustion.
"Hound! Please fix up Dino I need to go…. Bury…. Sandstorm!" Ratchet said confirming to the Autobots that Sandstorm has passed away.
"Oh no…..Sandstorm!" Drift said in sadness.
"Poor kid!" Leadfoot said also deeply saddened by Sandstorm's fate. Everybody was silent for a moment until Dino asked about Bumblebee.
"Hey Hound! How's Bumblebee?" Dino asked.
"Oh he's good, Wheeljack is….."Hound said unable to finish his sentence as Sideswipe emerges from behind Drift and Leadfoot.
"Bumblebee?" Sideswipe yelled.
"What happened to him?" Sideswipe asked worried about his student.
"Stockade…..badly damaged his voice box!" Hound explained.
"We're…..doing the best we can to fix him!" Hound said about their process at repairing Bumblebee's injury.
"Wheeljack and Jolt have been working on a temporary voicebox! We will be able to understand him but he can only communicate through random sounds!" Hound explained.
"Oh Primus! Why would do this to poor Bumblebee?" Sideswipe said to himself feeling bad for the young scout.
"Oh hey Sideswipe!" Wheeljack said entering the medical bay noticing him. Hound looks at him and through eye contact informs him not to bother Sideswipe.
"Oh my bad!" Wheeljack said as he proceeded to walk inside the room where Bumblebee is resting.
"So Cliffjumper is dead! Bumblebee's voicebox is injured! I feel like I'm forgetting about someone!" Sideswipe said talking to himself yet again in grief.
"Hot Rod! Where's Hot Rod? Is he okay?" Sideswipe got up and in a panic asked everyone. They all looked at him with their heads leaning back and showing a terrified expression in their faces.
"Hot Rod is still functional!" Optimus said standing outside the medical bay behind Sideswipe and the others.
"Optimus!" Sideswipe said as he turned around in complete shock to see his former leader.
"It's good to see you Sideswipe!" Optimus said to Sideswipe relieved that he's back to the Autobot cause.
"You too….Optimus!" Sideswipe replied back with a slight reluctant tone in his voice.
"Sideswipe!" Dino said while being repaired by Hound.
"Go Ow….. Go explore the base OW…I'm sure the others missed you and want to see you again!" Dino said telling Sideswipe that he can leave the medical bay. Sideswipe agrees to this and leaves the medical bay to reunite with the others.
Back at Nucleon, the Decepticon soldiers and seekers are training, they practice melee and firing their weapons with Barricade and Stockade being their strict training advisors. Inside the base. Onslaught, Soundwave and Starscream discuss their battle plans.
"Alright Decepticons, Megatron is expecting us to travel to Earth soon!" Starscream said.
"Soundwave any word from your minicons yet?" Starscream asked Soundwave.
"They haven't reported anything yet Commander Starscream!" Soundwave said.
"They appear to still be completing their task!" Soundwave explained the possible situation.
"Hmm Very Well!" Starscream said.
"Commander Starscream!" Nitro said running out of the laboratory.
"You need to see what Shockwave and I have done with the heavy iron blaster!" Nitro said explaining why Starscream must come to the laboratory immediately. The Decepticons entered the laboratory and are amazed by the weapons Shockwave has manufactured from a single cannon.
"Commander Starscream! Allow me to present to you the Heavy Iron Sentries!" Shockwave said giving the name of his invention.
"After a few days of duplicating the material this weapon was made out of, Nitro and I have been able to mass-produce large and powerful turrets!" Shockwave explained.
"Shockwave, Shockwave. You never cease to amaze us!" Starscream said complimenting Shockwave's work.
"How does it work?" Onslaught asked.
"They have limbs of their own, able to move from the one place to another and when given a command, there legs will transform into drillers that will dig through the ground and their guns can only be operated by the Decepticons themselves!" Shockwave said explaining how they work.
"But! There are limitations to their armor, depending on the amount of fire, they can still be destroyed!" Shockwave said explaining there one big weakness.
"I see!" Starscream said slightly disappointed.
"If you wish, I can modify them at bit more!" Shockwave said to Starscream.
"No, no we have no time!" Starscream said.
"We need to arrive to Megatron's coordinates as soon as possible!" Starscream said.
"We are still expecting results from Laserbeak and the rest of Soundwave's minicons!" Starscream continued talking. Outside the laboratory, Mindwipe overheard the whole discussion and was still angry and disappointed with himself over how Megatron is still alive.
"I can't believe it!" Mindwipe said to himself with an angry tone in his voice.\
"Megatron should've been dead! I shot him in his internal energon tank! No way he could've survived from heavy leaking!" Mindwipe said to himself.
"Unless…..Yes! Hooligan was with him, that wretched scavenger helped him recover!" Mindwipe said to himself realizing that Megatron wasn't alone.
"Great! Just Great! First I had to execute Megatron and then Starscream and…And Now…I need to terminate a Decepticon scavenger! Uh Why do my plans keep getting harder to accomplish?" Mindwipe kept talking to himself asking why nothing seems to be going his way.
"Oh nothing to worry about! I still have the hypnosis cog implanted into my cyber-cranium! I can manipulate my partners and my enemies to my own bidding! Soon I will destroy Megatron and Starscream and become the leader of the Decepticons!" Mindwipe said coming up with a new plan and mentioning how he can use his special ability to his own benefits. He then proceeds to here Starscream and Shockwave talking again.
"What's this?" Mindwipe asked himself listening to Starscream and Shockwave.
"Shockwave! During mine and Megatron's absence, The Decepticons staying here will require a leader. Since you can't make great inventions outside your laboratory, I figured you would like to stay!" Starscream said to Shockwave offering him command over the Decepticons stationed on Cybertron.
"Your reasons are logical!" Shockwave said.
"I will stay behind and take command of the remaining Decepticons!" Shockwave said agreeing on taking command of the Decepticons on Cybertron.
"To fill my slot on Earth! I will allow my assistant Nitro to go with you!" Shockwave said surprising the young Decepticon scientist.
"What? Really?" Nitro asked.
"Indeed! I have more assistants then you Nitro and both Starscream and Megatron will require as much back up as possible!" Shockwave explained.
"Thank you Shockwave!" Nitro said to his master
"So Shockwave will stay behind and Onslaught, Soundwave, Mohawk, Brawl, Nitro, Barricade, Blackout and Bonecrusher are coming with me. Stockade and Berserker will stay behind with you Shockwave!" Starscream said were all the superior Decepticons officers will be stationed.
"Commander Starscream!" Barricade said running into the room, Mindwipe who was standing in front of the entrance moved back trying not to get caught.
"The Decepticons! They're ready!" Barricade said.
"Excellent!" Starscream said.
"When do we strike?" Barricade asked.
"As soon as we get a report from Laserbeak, Frenzy and Ravage!" Starscream replied explaining the same objective over and over again.
Back at Kaon, all the Autobots are welcoming Sideswipe back to their ranks, although seeming happy on the outside. In the inside he is still grieving the loss of Sunstreaker, walking in the halls of Kaon reminds of him of his original missions as a scout, watching his close friends and brother die at the hands of the Decepticons. Sideswipe tries to get his mind of it and notices both Bumblebee and Dino walking inside the command center.
"Bumblebee!" Sideswipe said in happiness. Bumblebee replied back saying hello to his former teacher but Bumblebee was only able to communicate through random high pitched noises.
"Bumblebee? Why do you sound like that?" Sideswipe asked.
"It's his temporary voicebox, I didn't have enough materials to let him speak fluent Cybertronian so he can only communicate through noises which are easy to translate!" Wheeljack explained to Sideswipe.
"Don't worry Sideswipe!" Dino said.
"Even with the new voice, he's still the same Bumblebee inside and out!" Dino said complimenting Bumblebee and comforting Sideswipe.
"Yeah I guess!" Sideswipe said.
"By the way where is Hot Rod?" Sideswipe asked wanting to know about his other surviving student.
"Well…." Dino was unable to finish his sentence as Optimus interrupted him.
"We sent Hot Rod to Earth to find Megatron!" Optimus said.
"You did…..WHAT?" Sideswipe asked in anger.
"We have recently heard that Megatron is alive through a beacon that he sent through Earth's solar system. We sent Hot Rod to find Megatron and to spy on him and not engage but so far we haven't heard anything from him yet!" Optimus explained Hot Rod's mission.
"You mean…Hot Rod is possibly dead?" Sideswipe asked assuming another one of his students has passed away.
"We don't know, when we sent him to spy on the honor-less Decepticon but when he arrived on Earth via. The space bridge….his life signal was lost!" Drift explained.
"For now we don't know where he is but Hot Rod is tough, he has been through worse!" Hound entered the room with Ratchet explaining what Hot Rod has been through during the war.
"Optimus! May I ask…Why do you keep SENDING YOUR SCOUTS ON SUICIDAL MISSIONS?" Sideswipe in anger asked. During the argument Optimus and Sideswipe were having. Laserbeak, Frenzy and Ravage have managed to get inside the base and began the rest of their mission.
"Okay here's the plan!" Laserbeak said to his brothers.
"Frenzy you will go hack into the command center's mainframe. Activate the space bridge and shut down all of his computers!" Laserbeak said to Frenzy.
"Okee-Dokee!" Frenzy replied back and head to the location of the mainframe.
"Make sure they can't turn off the space bridge!" Laserbeak reminded Frenzy.
"Ravage!" Laserbeak said getting the one-eyed jaguar's attention.
"Release Reedman and go with him, The Autobots own mini-cons and a few soldiers will go to explore the perimeter because once Frenzy shuts down their computers….The alarms will go off. I need you and Reedman to take out any Soldier or Minicon!" Laserbeak said as Ravage ran off.
"I will keep an eye on the Autobots through the holes on the walls, I will communicate through the comm-link and tell you what they're planning!" Laserbeak said to his comrades through the comm-link. While peeking through the holes inside the command center's walls. Laserbeak watches as Optimus and Sideswipe argue over how Optimus treats his scouts.
"I cannot believe this how you treat your scouts!" Sideswipe said to Optimus in anger.
"My brother would still be alive if it wasn't for you!" Sideswipe continued talking in anger.
"Sideswipe, I….." Optimus tries to explain but is unable to since Sideswipe is still yelling at him.
"I don't even think you're worthy of being a Prime!" Sideswipe said to Optimus.
"That's enough both of you!" Ratchet said getting between Optimus and Sideswipe.
"Interesting!" Laserbeak said as he watched and heard the whole argument.
"For…Forgive me Optimus!" Sideswipe said after calming down.
"No need to apologize Sideswipe! I understand how you feel, you are still grieving the loss of your brother!" Optimus said understanding what Sideswipe was going through.
"Oh When I see Starscream again! I'll…"Sideswipe said before being interrupted by Optimus Prime.
"Trust me when I tell you Sideswipe! Revenge is not the way!" Optimus explains.
"Oooooh what is this?" Laserbeak said as he continued to listen to the conversation. During his patrol, Frenzy was hacking through the command center's mainframe, activating the space bridge and shutting the Autobot's any means of de-activating the space bridge.
"Ooooh Hack! Hack…..Oooooooh….HACK!" Frenzy kept talking to himself sounding like the psychotic Decepticon he is. While hacking, Frenzy is startled by a noise near his area. He would take his right hand of the mainframe and aim his sub-machine gun at whatever was coming his way. He would listen to the carefully at the footsteps and would hear a few growls. Realizing that it's only Ravage he proceeds to hack the mainframe.
"Frenzy! Are you done?" Laserbeak asked Frenzy demanding an answer.
"Allllllllll…..ALMOST!" Frenzy said.
"Just one more bbbbbbbbbb….Button to push!" Frenzy continued talking.
"Annnnnnnd…..NOW!" Frenzy said as he activated the Space Bridge and the alarms. The Autobots would notice the alarms and wonder what is going on.
"Optimus! The space bridge has been activated and we can't shut it down!" Wheeljack ran into the command center.
"By the Allspark!" Optimus said in complete shock. Bumblebee would proceed to point at Laserbeak and tell Optimus where he is through his noises.
"Laserbeak! TAKE HIM OUT!" Optimus said ordering the Autobots to execute Laserbeak.
"Hell Yeah!" Hound screamed as he picked up his gun and fired at Laserbeak.
"OH SCRAP!" Laserbeak said clearly afraid as Hound started firing at him. Laserbeak would fly further into the walls to avoid being hit.
"I miss using this gun!" Hound screamed in happiness as he hasn't used his guns in a while.
"Damn it he headed straight to the mainframe!" Crosshairs said.
"Mini-Cons after him!" Crosshairs ordered the mini-cons to follow Laserbeak.
"Ravage, Reedman, Frenzy! Take out the Mini-cons, I'll contact Starscream and inform him of our success!" Laserbeak ordered his brothers to take out the Autobot mini-cons.
"Laserbeak to Soundwave! I repeat! Laserbeak to Soundwave!" Laserbeak said as he contacted his master.
"Soundwave responding!" Soundwave said answering Laserbeak's call.
"What is your status?" Soundwave asked.
"We have activated the Space Bridge and shut down their systems!" Laserbeak said as the Decepticons heard in relief.
"Now is the time to strike!" Starscream said in happiness.
"Optimus if Laserbeak and his brothers have entered here! There is no doubt the rest of the Decepticons are coming!" Drift said.
"Optimus we need to take those slagheaps down now!" Dino said to Optimus, Optimus begins to think and looks at Sideswipe.
"Starscream is obviously coming with them, if this is truly to be our final battle I want to go down avenging my loved ones!" Sideswipe said to Optimus convincing the Autobot leader to get ready for battle.
"Autobots gather outside the command center and arm yourself for battle!" Optimus said as the Autobot soldiers left the command center with their weapons and got into battle-ready positions.
"If this is in fact our last fight then I'm honored to be fighting by my closest of friends!" Optimus said staring at Dino, Sideswipe, Bumblebee, Ratchet and Hound as they grabbed all their gear and prepared for battle.
Inside the walls of Kaon, the Autobot mini-cons are patrolling their area searching for Soundwave's minions.
"Any sign of them Brains?" One of the mini-cons asked Brains.
"NO! Shut up!" Brains responded telling his partners to be quiet.
"Wait! I hear something!" Brains said as he heard one of Soundwave mini-cons coming their way.
"Oh Fu….." Brains said as he jump-scared by Ravage and has his right leg torn off.
"Uh! Slag it!" Brains said reacting to Ravage losing his leg. The panicked Mini-cons fire at Ravage and Reedman who quickly dismember and kill the mini-cons.
"You scrap-heap! You Cowardly Pussy-Cat!" Brains yelled at Ravage insulting the mechanical one-eye jaguar. Ravage would slowly turn around growling at the injured mini-con. Ravage would then slowly open his jaw, exposing his razer-sharp and jagged teeth as he aggressively snarled.
"What are you doing Ravage? We don't have to for this, Starscream and the rest of the Decepticons will be here soon!" Laserbeak said stopping Ravage from delivering the fatal blow. Ravage, Laserbeak, Frenzy and Reedman would proceed to leave Kaon and reunite with Starscream.
"The three of you hide! I will fly and lead Starscream to their location!" Laserbeak ordered Ravage, Frenzy and Reedman to stay behind as he would fly away from Kaon to reunite with the Decepticons. The Autobot soldiers would proceed to stand still in their positions, waiting for Starscream to arrive with his army.
"Where…..Where are they?" One of the soldiers asked.
"I don't know! I'm getting creeped out by this!" The other soldier replied.
"Would you too scrap-heads zip it!" Crosshairs said standing in front of annoyed by their paranoia. The Autobots would proceed to wait for the Decepticons to arrive, having their weapons fully loaded and ready to fire. Just when it seems nobody has arrived yet. A missile flies from a far and hits the Autobots….