Chapter Summaries

Excavator panicked as he realized Starscream had grown suspicious of Frenzy’s disappearance and Soundwave was on his way to Severodvinsk. After threatening Frenzy’s engineer and trying to distance himself from Frenzy, Excavator learned that Frenzy was about to return.

• Excavator recalled how he had hidden Frenzy’s departure from Starscream and helped cover for him.
• Starscream questioned Excavator about Frenzy and warned that Soundwave would soon arrive in Severodvinsk.
• Excavator went to the warehouse and kicked the engineer, threatening that Starscream would destroy the place and blame Frenzy.
• The engineer told Excavator that he had reported the situation to Frenzy and that Frenzy was about to return.

Excavator learned that Soundwave was coming to investigate Frenzy and feared a clash in Severodvinsk, but his worries eased when Frenzy returned with two powerful Decepticons. The chapter left Excavator facing the newcomers while Sun Cheng considered Russia’s military preparations and growing tensions with Georgia and NATO.

• Excavator learned that Frenzy was returning and feared the coming conflict between Frenzy and Soundwave.
• Excavator decided he would no longer risk his life for Starscream and would flee if danger threatened him.
• Frenzy returned to Severodvinsk with Pioneer and an unfamiliar, powerful Decepticon, startling Excavator with how strong Pioneer had become.
• Excavator left his warehouse and sensed that someone had locked onto him.
• Sun Cheng had given Russia equipment and support as it prepared for military mobilization and a confrontation involving Georgia and NATO.

Sun Cheng returned to Severodvinsk with Thunder and Pioneer, intending to make the port a secondary base while keeping his dealings with Excavator intact. He stopped Thunder from attacking Excavator and greeted him as he arrived, with Thunder still watching him warily.

• Sun Cheng landed in Severodvinsk with Thunder and Pioneer and asked Thunder about adjusting to his new body.
• Thunder detected Excavator and prepared to attack, but Sun Cheng told him that Excavator was not an enemy.
• Sun Cheng sent Pioneer to take over the naval port's management and defenses as he prepared to upgrade Severodvinsk into a secondary base.
• Excavator approached Sun Cheng, who greeted him and warned him not to bring bad news.
• Thunder checked the base records, found Excavator listed as a potential hostile, and continued guarding Sun Cheng closely.

Excavator warned Sun Cheng that Soundwave was coming to Severodvinsk, and Sun Cheng calculated that he would arrive soon. The chapter ended as Soundwave’s powerful presence appeared and he flew toward them at tremendous speed.

• Sun Cheng introduced Thunder to Excavator, who judged him to be a formidable warrior and bristled at his hostility.
• Excavator told Sun Cheng that he had handled matters for him but could not hide his actions from Soundwave, who was expected to arrive soon.
• Excavator revealed that Starscream had personally told him Soundwave was coming to Severodvinsk.
• Sun Cheng realized Soundwave had likely departed from the Decepticon base on the moon before them and was now approaching.
• Sun Cheng and Thunder sensed Soundwave’s overwhelming presence as he flew toward Severodvinsk at dozens of times the speed of sound.

Sun Cheng prepared for Soundwave’s arrival at Severodvinsk and chose not to shoot him down, hoping to avoid turning their personal grudge into a wider conflict. Soundwave landed in the naval port and immediately tried to probe the group’s minds, leaving Sun Cheng wary that he had already extracted information from Excavator.

• Pioneer detected a fast-moving object approaching Severodvinsk and identified it as Soundwave, but Sun Cheng ordered the defenses not to shoot him down.
• Sun Cheng warned the Russian military not to attack the incoming Decepticon and said his group would handle the threat.
• Soundwave crashed into the naval port, and Sun Cheng hurried there with Pioneer, Thunder, and Excavator, ordering the others not to provoke him.
• When Soundwave tried to probe their minds, Sun Cheng, Pioneer, and Thunder activated anti-electromagnetic interference systems and challenged him.
• Excavator activated his interference system too late, allowing Soundwave to obtain information from him.

Soundwave confronted Sun Cheng, recognized him as Frenzy, and demanded the AllSpark fragment he believed Frenzy and Onslaught had taken. Sun Cheng refused and dodged Laserbeak’s sudden attack, beginning the fight.

• Soundwave shut down the sensors after they failed to read Excavator and glimpsed information from his mind.
• Soundwave recognized Sun Cheng as Frenzy and realized Frenzy had become powerful enough to threaten him.
• Soundwave warned Frenzy against betraying Megatron and demanded the fragment Bumblebee had guarded.
• Sun Cheng claimed the fragment was with Onslaught and prepared to fight Soundwave.
• Laserbeak dived at Sun Cheng, who dodged and fired his wrist-mounted guns.

Sun Cheng, Thunder, and Pioneer fought Soundwave and Laserbeak in Severodvinsk, but Soundwave proved more dangerous than expected. Sun Cheng used a pulse grenade and revealed the base’s hidden electromagnetic weapons to force Soundwave to reconsider, leaving the confrontation at a tense standoff.

• Soundwave and Laserbeak attacked Sun Cheng, who ordered Pioneer and Thunder to return fire.
• Sun Cheng and Thunder coordinated against Soundwave while Pioneer engaged Laserbeak; Thunder struck Soundwave with a plasma bolt, and Soundwave blasted Sun Cheng back with his sonic cannon.
• Soundwave exploited Thunder’s lack of coordination and sent him flying, so Sun Cheng threw a pulse grenade that damaged Soundwave, Thunder, and nearby Decepticons.
• Soundwave demanded the fragment and threatened Thunder, but Sun Cheng refused and activated twelve hidden electromagnetic pulse weapons and a barrier over Severodvinsk.
• Sun Cheng warned Soundwave that four large pulse bombs in the naval port could destroy electronics within a thirty-five-kilometer radius.

Soundwave retreated after confronting Sun Cheng, who then considered whether Soundwave had noticed Thunder’s connection to Blackout. Sun Cheng had arranged for the Autobots to learn that Decepticons aboard the Mrs. Windsor were heading toward Megatron’s burial site, and the chapter ended with Vasilyevich arriving at the base.

• Soundwave recalled Laserbeak and left, while Sun Cheng watched him go and wondered whether he had recognized traces of Blackout in Thunder.
• Sun Cheng explained that he had traced four Decepticons aboard the Mrs. Windsor to Dylan Gould and concluded they were heading to Megatron’s burial place in the Mariana Trench.
• Sun Cheng sent Sam a letter and photographs of the Decepticons, expecting Bumblebee and the Autobots to prepare an interception before the ship reached the trench.
• Excavator asked whether to report the encounter to Starscream, and Sun Cheng told him to inform Sun Cheng first if anything happened.
• Pioneer announced that Colonel Vasilyevich had arrived.

Sun Cheng allowed Colonel Vasilyevich’s delegation into the Severodvinsk naval port after a Decepticon attack had been repelled. Vasilyevich met Sun Cheng’s newly revealed warriors, Pioneer and Thunder, and asked for details about the attacker and the status of Russia’s additional electromagnetic weapons order.

• Sun Cheng decided not to investigate how the Russians had monitored the naval port and ordered that Vasilyevich’s convoy be admitted.
• Pioneer opened the checkpoint, and Sun Cheng waited in the port with Excavator, Thunder, and Pioneer.
• Colonel Vasilyevich arrived with Russian soldiers and realized Moscow had underestimated the number of powerful Decepticons working with Sun Cheng.
• Sun Cheng identified Pioneer and Thunder as his elite warriors and said they had driven off the attacking Decepticon.
• Vasilyevich requested a detailed account of the attack and asked whether the additional electromagnetic weapons order was ready.

Sun Cheng questioned Colonel Vasilyevich about Russia’s plans in South Ossetia and considered how a coming conflict could serve his strategy. He left expecting the Russia-Georgia dispute and a renewed clash between the Autobots and Decepticons to occupy his enemies on two fronts.

• Sun Cheng asked Colonel Vasilyevich whether Russia was preparing to act in South Ossetia, and the colonel defended Russia’s military preparations as a response to NATO’s expansion.
• Sun Cheng recalled how Georgia, backed by NATO, had provoked disputes around South Ossetia and how Russia had begun military exercises and mobilization.
• Sun Cheng recognized that Vladimir could use the conflict to strengthen Russia and gain prestige, while Russia’s new military capabilities included equipment and technology supplied by Sun Cheng.
• Vladimir had ordered more electromagnetic weapons from Sun Cheng, offering uranium ore in payment because he feared possible Autobot involvement.
• Sun Cheng expected a Russia-Georgia conflict to draw American attention away from his operations, while another Autobot-Decepticon battle at the Mariana Trench would tie down his opponents further.

Sun Cheng showed Colonel Vasilyevich and the Russian delegation the Decepticons’ newly renovated Severodvinsk shipyard, where robots manufactured components with extraordinary efficiency. The visit highlighted the base’s growing industrial power and Sun Cheng’s determination to keep its most advanced robots and technology out of Russian and Chinese hands.

• Sun Cheng learned through the internal network that the reordered electromagnetic weapons had been manufactured in Severodvinsk.
• Sun Cheng led Colonel Vasilyevich and the others through the naval port’s defenses and into the renovated shipyard.
• Sun Cheng showed the delegation how industrial robots operated across six factories and produced components for shipment to South America.
• Sun Cheng noted that third-generation industrial robots had self-destructing power cores to prevent outsiders from studying them.
• Sun Cheng reflected that he had refused Russian and Chinese requests to buy robots, citing security risks and China’s need for time to absorb transferred technologies.

Sun Cheng showed Colonel Vasilyevich’s delegation electromagnetic shells designed for Russia’s BM-30 rocket launchers and quoted a steep price for the limited first batch. Vasilyevich accepted the terms and requested a field test, while Sun Cheng remained unaware that his name was being discussed elsewhere in the Indian Ocean.

• Sun Cheng led Colonel Vasilyevich and the others through the remodeled dry dock to inspect five armored vehicles and crates of ammunition.
• Sun Cheng explained that his engineers had completed electromagnetic shells compatible with Russia’s BM-30 multiple launch rocket system.
• Sun Cheng described how Russia’s battle against the Autobots and its tests of earlier electromagnetic weapons had driven Moscow to seek more weapons.
• Sun Cheng quoted a price of eight hundred thousand dollars per shell and said five hundred had been produced so far.
• Colonel Vasilyevich accepted the quote and asked to test the shells at a former military training ground.
• As Sun Cheng finalized the deal, people in the Indian Ocean began discussing his name.

Optimus Prime and the Autobots investigated the theft of two AllSpark fragments and feared Soundwave might use one to resurrect Megatron. He sent Ironhide’s team to guard Megatron’s remains in the Mariana Trench while assigning Bumblebee and Arcee to protect Sam and investigate the thefts.

• Bumblebee reported that Ravage stole the military’s AllSpark fragment, while the fragment hidden with Sam was also missing and the culprit remained uncertain.
• Arcee and Chromia urged the Autobots to focus on tracking Ravage, whose arrival suggested Soundwave was on Earth.
• Optimus Prime ordered Ironhide, Sideswipe, Skids, and Chromia to the Mariana Trench to protect Megatron’s remains and eliminate any Decepticons they found.
• Optimus Prime directed Bumblebee to return to Sam with Arcee, protect him, and investigate Frenzy and the missing fragment.
• Optimus Prime reported that Ultra Magnus had arrived with reinforcements and that Shockwave had gone missing, then told Bumblebee to cautiously seek more intelligence from Frenzy.

Ironhide led Sideswipe, Chromia, and Skids to the Mariana Trench to inspect Megatron’s remains, while the team’s anger over Frenzy’s past actions lingered. Sideswipe found Megatron’s body and killed a fish that sprang from the wound in his chest.

• Ironhide tried to calm Skids, whose twin brother Mudflap had been killed by Frenzy, before the Autobots secretly departed Diego Garcia Island.
• Ironhide ordered Sideswipe to inspect Megatron’s corpse with him while Chromia and Skids stayed behind to keep watch.
• Ironhide found Megatron’s remains on the Mariana Trench floor and showed them to Sideswipe.
• Sideswipe mocked Megatron’s fallen state and approached the wound in his chest.
• A strange fish burst from the wound, and Sideswipe cut it in two with his triangular blade.

Ironhide's team confirmed that Megatron's remains were undisturbed in the Mariana Trench, while Optimus Prime learned more about the Thirteen Primes and the Matrix of Leadership from Prowl. With The Fallen potentially seeking the Matrix, Optimus assigned Prowl to lead an investigation.

• Ironhide and Sideswipe confirmed Megatron's remains were still on the trench floor, then joined Chromia and Skids near the surface.
• Chromia advised Ironhide to report their findings and coordinate with the humans on Guam, and Ironhide arranged for the Autobots to patrol the area.
• Optimus Prime received Ironhide's report and summoned Prowl, who shared his knowledge of the Thirteen Primes and the Matrix of Leadership.
• Optimus Prime asked Prowl to lead a team to investigate The Fallen and search for the Matrix of Leadership, and Prowl accepted.

Optimus Prime faced U.S. anger after deploying Autobots to patrol the Mariana Trench without authorization. President Cheney's administration debated confronting the Autobots but ultimately chose to send an envoy to negotiate and restore patrols near Guam.

• Optimus Prime told William Lennox about the unauthorized patrol, and Lennox said he had to report it to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• Cheney convened senior officials after Lennox's report, as Washington reacted amid growing hostility toward the Autobots and preparations for the secret Cemetery Wind unit.
• Voit explained that the Autobots had learned the Decepticons planned to use the stolen AllSpark fragment to revive Megatron.
• John confirmed that Ravage had stolen the fragment but said U.S. intelligence could not independently verify the Autobots' account.
• Pace proposed sending an envoy to negotiate with the Autobots and restoring Guam's patrols to protect Megatron's corpse.
• Cheney approved the proposals and left the unresolved Autobots problem to his likely successor.

After the Autobots learned Optimus Prime had agreed to let the U.S. military command their patrol, their disagreement delayed their rendezvous with the American fleet. Meanwhile, Ravage arrived aboard the Mrs. Windsor and joined four Decepticons in launching an attack on the U.S. fleet to clear the way to revive Megatron.

• The U.S. Navy assembled a patrol fleet at Guam under Colonel Bibert Lumbarton and sent it to the Mariana Trench region.
• Ironhide, Skids, Sideswipe, and Chromia learned Optimus Prime had ordered them to accept American command, and Sideswipe refused to join the fleet.
• Ravage landed on the Mrs. Windsor as it entered the Mariana Trench region, where four Decepticons had been disguised as vehicles.
• A Decepticon announced that their operation had been exposed and that Soundwave had ordered them to destroy obstacles and revive Megatron.
• Ravage and the four Decepticons transformed, entered the sea, and swam toward the U.S. fleet.

Sun Cheng learned that Decepticons had attacked an American fleet near the Mariana Trench and feared they were trying to revive Megatron. After ordering Yuri’s people to investigate, he reconsidered the attack and suspected the Americans might have stopped patrolling the region for a reason.

• Pioneer showed Sun Cheng satellite photographs of several suspected Decepticons attacking American warships.
• Sun Cheng recognized the attacked ships as American vessels and realized the photographs came from the Mariana Trench region, where Megatron’s body lay.
• Pioneer explained that the photographs had been uploaded from New Zealand to one of the base’s darknet forums, likely using a meteorological satellite obtained by Yuri.
• Sun Cheng ordered Yuri’s people to keep monitoring the area and gather more detailed intelligence.
• Thunder suggested destroying Megatron’s corpse, but Sun Cheng refused to risk confronting him again.
• Sun Cheng remembered that American warships had stopped regional patrols six months earlier and began to suspect there was more to the attack.

Sun Cheng realized the U.S. had resumed patrols near the Mariana Trench because Autobots might have learned that Megatron was hiding there. Pioneer confirmed that Ironhide, Sideswipe, and other Autobots were fighting the Decepticons in the trench.

• Sun Cheng reviewed satellite evidence showing the U.S. had reduced its patrols near the Mariana Trench to a single nuclear submarine before recently sending a fleet back.
• Sun Cheng concluded the renewed patrols meant either the Decepticons had stolen an AllSpark fragment from the Americans or the Autobots had believed his warning about Megatron.
• Sun Cheng ordered Pioneer to contact the base and ask Phantom to awaken a satellite to confirm Autobot involvement, and to warn Sam that the Decepticons were plotting to revive Megatron.
• Pioneer reported that Yuri had not sent updated photographs, then said he would contact the base and Bumblebee.
• After more than an hour, Pioneer confirmed that Ironhide, Sideswipe, and the other Autobots were fighting Decepticons in the Mariana Trench.

Sun Cheng learned that Ravage and members of the Demolishor Team, including components of Devastator, had invaded the Mariana Trench to recover Megatron’s remains. He assessed the threat posed by Devastator and concluded the Decepticons’ operation had failed after the Autobots repelled them.

• Sun Cheng identified Ravage among the Decepticons photographed near the Mariana Trench and confirmed that Long Haul, Mixmaster, and Scrapper had also arrived.
• Sun Cheng worried that Devastator could overwhelm his forces, especially if Starscream produced several of the combiners, though their heavy energy consumption might limit their lifespans.
• Sun Cheng learned that Ironhide and Sideswipe had helped defend the Mariana Trench against the five invading Decepticons.
• Sun Cheng saw that Ravage had escaped while the other invading Decepticons disappeared, indicating that the Decepticons’ operation had failed.