On Cybertron, Bumblebee carries Megatron toward Iacon. The Decepticon leader does not seem especially hopeful of their chances in defeating the Necrotitan razing the city, given that they can't kill it since it isn't alive, but Bumblebee interprets this as a desire to not fight at all; in actuality, Megatron explains, he seeks to put saving the populace ahead of fighting their enemy.

In Iacon, Starscream has thrown in the towel, and congratulates Rattrap on out-scheming him. Rattrap, however, isn't very interested in taking charge of a burned-out city, and has allied with the combined Autobot and Decepticon forces under Prowl and Soundwave's command. Recognizing that Shockwave is relying on them in-fighting, Prowl takes charge of the situation and decides to play things logically, organizing the treatment of the wounded, the evacuation of the survivors, and a counter-strike against the Titan by Ironhide, Arcee, and the Dinobots.

Within Metroplex, Getaway defuses the standoff between his crewmates and the newly arrived Nautica and Chromia by observing that the two female Transformers are also wearing Autobot insignias. As the Ammonites come smashing into the room, the two females lead Ultra Magnus, Ratchet, and Brainstorm back up the cable they entered the room on, while the others hold off their attackers. On the way, Nautica recognizes Ratchet from her recent studies; the medi-bot attempts to raise the subject of their gender, but Chromia's nonplussed response convinces him to table the matter. Following the arrows on Metroplex's walls—painted by Chromia and Nautica—they arrive in Metroplex's left shoulder blade, now housing his relocated brain module and Nautica and Chromia's leader, Windblade.

In the Dead Universe, Nightbeat leads Orion Pax's team through a Sweep horde to the chamber holding Kup. As the weakening Cyclonus stands guard, the others set to work freeing the old-timer, and Rodimus explains to Orion the meaning of the numbers on his hand. After he revealed to his crew his role in the presence of Overlord on their ship, he invoked the Crisis Act and had them vote on whether or not he should stay on as captain; the majority voted for him, but 89 wanted him out, and he carved the numbers on his hand as a personal reminder. Instead of the "standard Optimus pep talk" he is expecting, Rodimus is instead greeted with scorn from Orion, who angrily points out that if he was actually ashamed of his actions, he would have simply resigned, and that he only invoked the Crisis Act because he thought he would win. The team subsequently sets Kup free, but just as the old 'bot is giving a speech about how he's ready for anything, Nova Prime appears, hurls the unconscious Cyclonus into Kup, and challenges Orion to a showdown.

Windblade explains the current situation to Magnus's team; infected with the alchemical virus, Metroplex transported himself to the alien planet they are now on, knowing its oceans would slow the disease's spread, then relocated his brain to hide it from any subsequent attempts on his life. As she and her team are only recent arrivals themselves, Windblade has been informed of this by Metroplex himself, who communicates in patterns of color and light that flash on his brain—the trio are actually members of Thunderclash's crew who came to Metroplex's aid at the request of Alpha Trion, who was unable to help his longtime partner because he was "close to finding the Holy Grail". Remembering the Lost Light's own previous encounter with Thunderclash and how they used its quantum engines to give his ship the Vis Vitalis a power boost, Magnus organizes a repeat of that procedure, with Metroplex as the recipient of the quantum energy. Using the alien sea as a conduit for the energy, Magnus tries to wake Metroplex, calling on him to use the ship's power to teleport them all home.

Things aren't going too well back on Cybertron, where doctors Flatline and Fixit are arguing, the attack on the Necrotitan isn't even r

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