Our episode opens with a repeat of the Transwarp explosion (more Optimus bits flying at the camera! a leg this time!). We see the Quantum wave travel through space.
In the Axalon, Rhinox says the temporal wavefront should hit Cybertron in a few cycles. Except you are four million years in past Rhinox. So what you really mean is that Cybertron will detect the wavefront in "a few cycles... Plus 4 million years". Okay, I've been putting off talking about this, but we can't avoid it now.
Talking about time travel inconsistencies is hard, because Time Travel rarely ever makes sense. Always involving some paradoxes or logic holes. In Beast Wars this comes as a reliance on San Dimas Time. An hour in the past equals an hour in the future. This explains why everyone acts this episode like they are running short of time, when in fact they'd either have four million years OR Cybertron's reinforcements would already be here, and in fact would have arrived LONG before both sides realized the wave traveled in time and space (Since logically they'd arrive when the Quantum wave originated, right? Why show up an arbitrary number of months later except for San Dimas Time?). This also explains why the probe from, well, The Probe didn't appear during the pilot, but several months later.
Anyway, the Maximals celebrate as they are going home. We get some banter as each character reacts to the news (including the first mention of Strippers on Cybertron I know of).
Megatron's reaction is not so pleased. Expecting a Maximal security force to drop on your project can ruin one's day. Blender Butt informs him that the interrupted attack on the cavemen has caused them to scatter in various tribes. Eliminating the humans is all but impossible now. Megatron notes he has but one option left, and this option is Blackarachnia, but it is a gamble.
Silverbolt flies and meets up with Blackarachnia. She pretends to mug him, but really, he's willingly delivering her a graviton generator. He tries to tell her to rejoin the Maximals, that if she does so in time, she'll be safe when the Maximal rescuers arrive. She wants nothing to do with this, especially being reprogrammed as a Maximal. The two kiss.
Sentinel is on full alert as Silverbolt returns. Optimus expects Megatron to try something in desperation, like taking hostages. He prays it's all he tries to do. Rattrap asks Silverbolt where he was, and through innuendo, Rattrap shows he knows about Blackarachnia and him. Eventually it leads to a fight, which Optimus interrupts, only to be himself interrupted by a Predacon attack. Oh, we learn that Maximal sensors are so bad, you can avoid being spotted by crouching under a rock as the visible, slow moving beam sweeps the area.
We see the Maximals did beef up security, as Optimus said they would in Code of Hero. But these are no use. Soon enough the guns are destroyed, and Rampage's massive firepower takes out the shield. And still no sign of any Maximal rescue. Things look grim... Meanwhile in orbit, a transwarp jump point opens, the Transwarp cruiser arrives cloaked, heading towards Earth. As the Maximals watch their defenses fail, weapons fire rains down on the Predacons. Blender Butt is confused as they can't see who is attacking, but Megatron reacts with recognition. He orders a retreat, saying it is time to up his wager.
The Maximals are just as confused, wondering what happens. Who helped them? Their answer comes when the cruiser uncloaks and land, though they know that is not a Maximal vessel. And it's Optimus' turn to show recognition. He orders Sentinel offline. The top hatch of the Axalon opens, and laser beams sweep the area as the Maximals ready their weapons.
Ravage explains he shot the weapons so no one would shoot him. He introduces himself. Ravage, did not never heard of hailing? The Maximals did that. You could've answered. Covert Agent Ravage explains that the quantum wave was weak, and only the Predacons could detect it, and that the Maximals should understand why they'd prefer to handle this. But he offers his help in taking out Megatron before bringing them back to Cybertron.
At the Darksyde, Blackarachnia uses the gizmo Silverbolt gave her to finish her pet project. It involves a stasis pod. Megatron calls her and she hides her gear. He tells her they missed her at the battle today, and she brushes him off. Of course, Megatron is being WAAAY to polite about this, and it should set off all sorts of alerts. He tells her to get to her station, for he expects a visit from Cybertron. He gives Waspinator a secret order, and Blackarachnia looks on, noting that "This is it."
Aboard Ravage's ship, the Maximal ready for battle. Ravage notes that the ship is their primary advantage, but they have another. An alarm blares inside Tarantulas' lair and he rides out to the Darksyde, just ahead of the cruiser.
The Predacons ready for battle, Megatron telling Blender Butt not to bother with the scanners. The Cruiser drops the Maximals. Cheetor manages to kick his own ass. A fairly impressive fight ensues, with Rampage managing to even damage the cruiser, only to be caught in the Cruiser's gunfire as it turns against him.
Blackarachnia, using a converted stasis pod as a rocket sled thing, flies out of the base. Optimus orders Silverbolt to shoot her down, in case she's going where he thinks she is, but Silverbolt can't bring himself to do it. Blackarachnia escapes the fight, as does Waspinator.
The cruiser rains fire down on the Darksyde, and Megatron tries to keep the fight going, but the computers shut down, as do communications. Loops of Energy are thrown at him, binding him to his chair. Ravage uncloaks, holding him at gunpoint as the Maximals secure the Darksyde's control room.
Megatron lets out a Big "NO!", as the Maximals smile at their seeming victory in the Beast Wars. To be Continued...
- Ravage's character model is based of Transmetal Cheetor's, with a retextured version of Tigatron's beast mode face. He has both Predacon and Decepticon logos.
- Maybe Fan Wank on my part, but Ravage's ship is black and very bird-like (its landing gear looks like talons). I like to think of it as a reference to Ravage's fellow cassette bot Laserbeak.
- The Tripredacus Council members' names come from the script. They are named after the component of Tripredacus, a combiner toy released as part of the Beast Wars toy line. Because of the short time to make their model and the fact they look nothing like their toys, Hasbro asked the writers to not have them named during the episode itself.
- If you want to know, yes the Maximals had their own counterpart: Magnaboss. His components are named after G1 characters (Prowl, Ironhide and Silverbolt). Comics would establish that they (As Magnaboss) lead the Maximal elders, and are in fact the three Autobots rebuilt as Maximals. Magnaboss is also my favorite Beast Wars toy.
- I want to address a particular thing I've alluded to before: In the comics and the Expanded Universe of Beast Wars, it's a matter of fact that all surviving G1 character were rebuilt as Maximals/Predacons (Backed up by a line Optimus mentions in Beast Machines). Optimus' line in this very episode however makes it clear that it was not the intention of the creators of Beast Wars. Ravage was supposed to be the exception. This is further backed up by Megatron's line in Other Visits that he was going to Cybertron to conquer the Maximals and the Autobots (As we'll find out, if he just wanted to destroy the Autobots and thus change history, he wouldn't have bothered preparing to go to Cybertron). It seems pretty clear the original intent was that surviving Autobots and Decepticons still existed, but retired, and remained members of their original factions.
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