Misaligned Gemini is a complete Transformers fanfiction by an Anonymous author on Archive of Our Own. It is set in a universe where Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were separated at their forging; Sunstreaker is forged to fight in the War of the Threefold Spark while Sideswipe's spark was left unforged for thousands of years until Sentinel Prime decided to give him to a scientist to raise. In the present day, Sideswipe discovers he has a twin and struggles to connect with Sunstreaker. The two attempt to navigate their familial relationship in a changing world that is about to be thrown into chaos and war by the Decepticons.
Misaligned Gemini can be read here
. It was completed on December 2, 2022.
Misaligned Gemini contains examples of:
- Abuse Mistake: Invoked. Upon joining the Decepticons, Sunstreaker intentionally drags a visibly beaten Sideswipe around in public and later strangles him into unconsciousness in front of Autobot-sympathizer prisoners in order to paint himself as a monster while Sideswipe is blatantly shown to not be sympathetic to Decepticons. note Sideswipe only realizes what Sunstreaker is trying to do after the latter incident and angrily tells Jazz and Moonracer that Sunstreaker did not abuse him when they imply it. Both are convinced but he knows others will not be.
- Against the Grain: When he is forged, Sideswipe is assigned to a scientist mentor by Sentinel Prime. He knows that career is not for him and fights to find one that suits him better by becoming a member of Security Operations. This causes his mentor to kick him out and leave him to grow up on the streets of Kaon. Sideswipe survives until he can go to the officers' Academy, which trains future Security Officers, Enforcers, and Senate Guards. There, he is still made an outcast due to going into a career that didn't follow the Prime's will. He endures egotistical and malicious classmates, sadist teachers who intentionally try to get him expelled, and isolation throughout his schooling. However, he manages to graduate just far enough from the top of his class to avoid any unwanted attention from those who would use him as "proof" that Cybertronians are freer than they really are. Even in Security Operations he receives odd looks and suspicion because he's from Kaon.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Sideswipe is an outcast at the Officers' Academy because he is 1) one of the few mechs at the school whose mentor was not in that field, 2) of a lower social class than the others, and 3) from Kaon. The other mentor-recommended students treat him like filth and the teachers try to push him to quit by treating him more harshly than the other students.
- Assassination Attempt: Megatron sends Deadlock, Doubledealer, and (Counter)Punch to kill Pyra Magna in the White Tower. It's actually a False Flag Operation meant to implicate the Autobots by leaving Punch (an actual Autobot) behind while the other "Autobots" flee. Punch is unable to prevent Starscream from "rescuing" Pyra Magna from the "Autobots" but prevents the Autobots from being framed by ensuring he survives long enough that the guards cannot get his body.
- Battle Thralls: The Decepticons take over Kaon and conscript many of its gang leaders, gladiators, arms dealers, other criminal syndicates, and civilians into their growing army. Some are eager to join up while others despise the new regime but have no choice but to fight for the faction that took over the city. They also forcefully recruit any civilian that works in their Headquarters. Their choices are to accept a Decepticon symbol, accept a slave brand, or die. Any who chooses the slave brand but then chooses to become a Decepticon becomes an Enslaved Grunt as punishment for not joining up sooner. Sunstreaker willingly chooses the Decepticon symbol when Pyra Magna joins the cause. Sideswipe refuses to join and is given the Slave Brand.
- Choke Holds: Skywarp, who is disguised as Jumpstream, grabs Sideswipe in a chokehold and attempts to snap his neck upon teleporting him and Sunstreaker away from Security Operations HQ. Sideswipe breaks free before he can do it.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Getaway stalks Sideswipe and attacks him in the twins' apartment after tricking him into returning while Sunstreaker is working at Shimmer's bar. He pretends to be a Decepticon interrogator and tortures Sideswipe for hours to see if he will break and betray his fellow Autobots. Sideswipe successfully resists torture so Getaway reveals himself to be an Autobot spy, saying he tortured Sideswipe like he tortured other bots that approached him for help but that Sideswipe is the only one that passed his test.
- Corrupt Politician:
- Downplayed. Both Nominus and Sentinel Prime do shady things in the name of "peace and stability". Along with keeping the Titansparks locked away and other implied crimes that Sentinel ordered Starscream dead for knowing, they intentionally separated Sunstreaker and Sideswipe in order to use the former as a soldier and the latter as an experiment. They lied to Sunstreaker and said his twin died so that he would not search for them. When Sideswipe was finally forged during Sentinel's reign, he was never told about his twin and lived in ignorance for megacycles. Nominus also let Pyra Magna take the fall for all the war crimes done in the War of the Threefold Spark, leaving himself and his new Senate with a squeaky-clean image.
- The Senate itself is also extremely corrupt. Many Senators accept bribes from Enforcers, Decepticons, and criminals alike. Barricade was allowed to do whatever he wanted because he had so many Senators in his pocket. This allowed him to do a lot of damage when he joined the Decepticons.
- Dark and Troubled Past:
- Sideswipe is unknowingly separated from his twin and forged thousands of years after him, only to be given to an unfitting mentor named Drench. Drench kicks Sideswipe out and leaves him to fend for himself in the streets of Kaon, where Sideswipe almost starves. He becomes so desperate that he considers selling parts of his body to get energon, but is luckily found by a kind gladiator called Kick-Off, who helps him. Sideswipe joins the illegal gladiator matches in the Pits to get the energon to survive and barely avoids being roped into gangs or sold into slavery (or as parts). He manages to save enough to get into an Academy where he can then join Security Operations but a majority of his classmates and all his teachers shun him because he is someone whose "purpose" isn't to be an officer. They also mistrust him because he is from Kaon and treat him like scrap. Sideswipe graduates and gets the job he wants but remains ostracized due to the refusal of the veterans at the office to take him seriously. Sideswipe keeps his past to himself even when they lecture him about "not knowing what true suffering is".
- Sunstreaker is forged in the middle of the hellish War of the Threefold Spark without his split-spark twin and is immediately conscripted to join the ruthless Companions under Pyra Magna, who acts as his mentor. He is ostracized by everyone outside of his unit as he grows up in an immoral world, watching bots die by the thousands as his team commits atrocities for their cause. Nominus's government condemns the Companions as soon as the war is over and Pyra Magna becomes the Senate's scapegoat to ensure her Companions are not punished with her. Sunstreaker attempts to apply to become a mentor for his twin, only to be lied to that his twin died before they could be forged and implying that their connection to Sunstreaker killed them. Sunstreaker considers himself a monster and isolates himself. He spends years grieving and struggling to adjust to peacetime. Although he finds some semblance of peace in his art, he remains closed off, and maladjusted, and alone for thousands of years.
- Death Faked for You:
- Nominus Prime, Sentinel, Perceptor, and Termagax tell Sunstreaker that his ailing twin's spark extinguished in the Pyramid before they could finally be forged. Sunstreaker, who had been planning to mentor his twin since they could not be forged together, is left heartbroken and alone. Sideswipe is forged megacycles later by Sentinel's government and given to a scientist named Drench to raise. He grows up, unaware of the twin that mourns for him to the present day until Ratchet finds out the truth and reveals his twin's existence to Sideswipe. Sunstreaker is shocked to discover his twin's death was faked and angry enough that they lied about it that it's one of the reasons he joins the Decepticons.
- Sunstreaker strangles Sideswipe into unconsciousness in front of Autobot-sympathizer prisoners and orders "Meister" (Jazz) to throw his body into the smelting pools. He does this to get Sideswipe out of Decepticon HQ before he can really be killed since he has three strikes now while painting Sunstreaker himself as a malicious monster. Sideswipe is livid when he wakes up and realizes what his twin did.
- Dirty Cop:
- Discussed. When he is first hired, Sideswipe is shocked to find how many Enforcers, Senate Guards, and Security Officers in Iacon are being bribed by politicians, gangs, and criminals. He knew there would be some but just how many shocks him as he didn't expect the forces to be that corrupt. Sideswipe resolves to gather as much intel on them as he can so he can make their lives hell if the need arises.
- Barricade is specifically mentioned to be a former member of Security Operations who spied on them for the Decepticons and previously accepted bribes from politicians and criminals. He finds Sideswipe at Shimmer's bar and tries to threaten him with being exposed as an "Informant" only for Sideswipe to break his hands with his pile drivers.
- Electronic Speech Impediment: Skywarp's voice glitches out when Sideswipe stabs him with his thermal lance during their first meeting.
- Fall Guy: Punch aka Counterpunch is an Autobot spy working for Security Operations. He is exposed with the rest of them and the Decepticons attempt to use him to frame the Autobots for trying to assassinate Pyra Magna. (Un)luckily, Punch realizes what they are trying to do and escapes long enough that his body cannot be used as proof of the "Autobots'" actions before he is killed in the Sea of Rust.
- Fantastic Caste System: Primes decide who mentors a newly forged Cybertronian. A Cybertronian's career is based solely on who mentors them rather than their own desires. If their mentor is an engineer, they will become an engineer. If their mentor is a scientist, they will become a scientist. Thus, the Prime decides what their career will be. Those who try a different career path like Sideswipe and a couple of his schoolmates are looked down upon and ostracized by those around them for going against the Prime's decision.
- Foreshadowing: Sunstreaker would have fallen into a pit of large metal spikes in the Sea of Rust if Sideswipe had not caught him. The latter comments that he would have been impaled on the spikes despite having military-grade armor. During his attempt to escape Doubledealer, Punch is not as lucky as Sunstreaker and is impaled on spikes in the Sea of Rust like Sunstreaker almost was.
- Frame-Up: The Decepticons, namely Skywarp, frame the Companions for the bombing at Security HQ and kidnapping of Sideswipe by having Skywarp pretend to be Jumpstream. Since Skywarp is believed to be dead and Jumpstream is the only known teleporter strong enough to teleport three bots with her, a hologram cover is enough to trick many into believing the Companions have turned on the Autobots, though Optimus and Prowl remain unconvinced of their guilt.
- Gladiator Games: Iacon used to have gladiator matches but they were banned after the War of the Threefold Spark. Once they became illegal, the Pits rose to prominence in Kaon, which continues a much more violent version of the blood sport along with allowing death matches.
- Government Conspiracy: Nominus and Sentinel Prime lock away the Titansparks in the Pyramid and ensure they cannot be forged. Nominus also dumps all of the war crimes committed in the War of the Threefold Spark onto Pyra Magna and her Companions to leave himself and his new Senate with a squeaky-clean image. Sentinel's orders to kill Starscream also imply that there are other conspiracies still being covered up.
- He Knows Too Much: Prowl fears that Sideswipe may be targeted for learning about being the subject of another of Sentinel Prime's cover ups. Sentinel's final orders being to kill Starscream, his own Head of Intelligence, only makes him more worried for Sideswipe's safety. Sideswipe later realizes that Getaway, a Spec Ops bot and one of Sentinel's top men, would have hunted down and killed him for his knowledge if he did not gain Getaway's curiosity by trying to contact loyal Autobots in Kaon.
- Impeded Communication: Sideswipe and Sunstreaker's comms and some of their other systems are messed up by the Sea of Rust's distorted atmosphere, preventing them from contacting anyone in Iacon. They are finally fixed when Sunstreaker joins the Decepticons with the other Companions but they still can't contact anyone outside of Kaon.
- Inciting Incident: Sunstreaker is caught in a scuffle with a few Decepticons and is taken in for repairs. Ratchet does a spark scan and sees he and Sideswipe are split-spark twins, setting the plot into motion.
- Jerkass: When Sunstreaker is told his twin is "dead", Termagax is more interested in his grief-stricken reaction than providing any empathy. Her expression never changes as Sunstreaker breaks down and flees the room.
- Lack of Empathy:
- Downplayed. Sunstreaker has no empathy for those he sees as obstacles to his goal and feels no remorse for enemies he's slain. While he is loyal to Pyra Magna and feels some connection with his fellow Companions, he does not go out of his way for any of them and is more angry about the hypocrisy of the Senate than upset about Pyra Magna's imprisonment. The only bot he clearly cares about is his twin, Sideswipe, and, more subtly, his fellow Companions. Anyone else is varying degrees of disposable.
- This is a common trait for Decepticons like Barricade, Triggerhappy, Overlord, and Megatron himself. They cheer and jeer as "Autobot sympathizers", a majority of whom are actually slaves, are brutally ripped apart by Decepticon gladiators as their execution.
- Made a Slave: When Sunstreaker decides to join the Decepticons, Sideswipe accompanies his brother but refuses to join. He is forced to become "hired help" which means he is enslaved, branded, and forced to work for the Energon Sciences Division. "Hired help" like Sideswipe are not paid, have no rights, are deprived basic safety equipment, cannot miss a shift without being whipped, and get three strikes on their brand before they are given to the Decepticon gladiators to be brutally torn apart. The Companions are horrified to realize that the other Decepticons think Sideswipe is their personal slave though they unhappily roll with it to keep Sideswipe safe since it gives them an excuse to attack any who "damages their property".
- Marked to Die: Any "hired help" bot that is given three strikes on their Slave Brand is marked for death. They are claimed to be "Autobot sympathizers" and given to Decepticon gladiators like Overlord to be brutally torn to shreds. Sideswipe is given two strikes after Barricade targets and whips him for petty revenge. He is given his third by Barricade because he refused to plead for his life. Sunstreaker fakes Sideswipe's death and sends him away to save him.
- Mercy Kill: Deadlock chooses to shoot Punch aka Counterpunch when he is badly injured in the Sea of Rust before the approaching Rust Worms can reach him.
- Metaphorically True: In the past, Drench insists that Sideswipe is meant to be a scientist even though his frame includes natural pile drivers and battle programming. Later in life, Sideswipe realizes Drench actually alluded that Sideswipe was meant to be a scientist only because Sentinel Prime said so.
- Mistaken for Prostitute: Invoked. A Tower mech named Riddle maliciously calls Sideswipe an escort to try to get a rise out of him and get him arrested by the Tower guards. Sideswipe ignores him until Mirage gets Riddle away from him before apologizing to Sideswipe for what his friend said.
- Moral Sociopathy: Sunstreaker cares about two things: his twin, and completing his mission. Anyone who threatens either are an obstacle to be eliminated. This includes Pharma, who he kills for harming Sideswipe.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Sunstreaker knows that joining the Decepticons is wrong but refuses to acknowledge that. Even Sideswipe's disagreement and the fact that he and Sideswipe were caught up in a Decepticon attack on their apartment building where Triggerhappy shot an injured mech just to claim he was a Security Operations spy does not hold sway on his decision. His loyalty to Pyra Magna outweighs any of his reservations.
- Neck Lift: Landquake grabs Sideswipe by his neck after he accidentally spills Energon due to tremors and exhaustion that were a result of his whipping injuries. He silently holds Sideswipe there and lets him struggle to break free to let him know how easily he could hurt Sideswipe before throwing him out the door.
- Neck Snap: Bumper is grabbed and fails to break free when a hallucinating Jumpstream attacks him. She snaps his neck, but he survives. Barely.
- No Place for a Warrior: After the War of the Threefold Spark ended, Sunstreaker struggled with peacetime. He tried to find a purpose by becoming a mentor to his twin only to be lied to that his twin died before they could be forged. This left Sunstreaker aimless until he took up art out of stubbornness and a refusal to become a criminal like Nominus expected him to be. However, Sunstreaker never felt content in peacetime and jumps at the chance to reunite with his General despite her calling the Companions to join the Decepticons.
- Noodle Incident:
- Prowl once got his arm stuck in a maintenance pipe and had to call Ratchet to get him out.
- Sideswipe once turned Kup neon green for a prank.
- One Twin Must Die: Downplayed. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker are separately forged due to stigmas and fears about split-sparks and a fictitious connection to Exarchon. Drench's fearful reaction to Sideswipe's desire to become an officer rather than a scientist heavily implies that Sentinel was willing to order Sideswipe's death if he went against the Prime's plan for his life.
- Organ Theft: Cybertronians are often used for parts in Kaon if they are unlucky enough to be caught by dealers or can't pay their debts. It's easier to get a new part from them rather than go through official channels and Transformation cogs are particularly valuable in the black markets.
- Patchwork Fic: The fic takes elements from G1, the Marvel comics, the 2005 and 2019 IDW continuities, More Than Meets The Eye, Dreamwave, Fun Publications' Shattered Glass, and the original toy bios:
- The world and characters such as Termagax, Nominus Prime, and the Nominus Edict are primarily inspired by IDW 2019's Cybertron. Security Operations and its officers, such as Prowl, are also inspired by that continuity. Skywarp's sadistic prankster characterization is most heavily inspired by this series as well.
- The corruption of parts of the Senate, societal prejudices against certain Transformers and changing careers, and social concepts such as Conjunx and Amica Endura come from IDW's More Than Meets The Eye.
- Drench's coloring and position as a mentor to Sideswipe comes from Fun Publications' Shattered Glass. His scientist background is from G2.
- Kaon's infamous gladiator Pits, smelting pools, and Wretched Hive nature are from IDW 2005 and Dreamwave. Sideswipe comments that the city is one of the most dangerous places on Cybertron.
- Sideswipe's pile drivers, willingness to use underhanded tactics, and tendency to pull pranks calls back to G1 and his toy bio.
- Sunstreaker's sociopathic tendencies and Lack of Empathy are also utilized from his bio.
- Polar Opposite Twins: Sideswipe is a friendly, sociable, talkative, empathetic, and streetwise mech who grew up on Kaon's streets after his ill-fitting mentor kicked him out. He forges his own path in life and refuses to be what others demand he be, up to and including refusing to join the Decepticons but living in their base in order to remain with Sunstreaker and try to convince him he can leave. Sunstreaker is a standoffish, anti-social, quiet, cold-sparked, and military-minded soldier whose mentor-figure cared greatly for him. He is completely loyal to Pyra Magna and is content to remain a soldier, despite being forged to fight with no choice in the matter, and joins the Decepticons without question once he learns his General has allied herself with them.
- Possessive Wrist Grab:
- Barricade's modus operandi is to grab his victims and yank them off the ground, holding them dangling by their wrists. He does it to intimidate his victims while flaunting his strength. This proves to be a bad idea when Sideswipe activates the pile drivers in his arms and shreds one of Barricade's hands the first time he tries it on him. The second time Barricade is a Decepticon while Sideswipe is a slave with two strikes so Sideswipe cannot fight back. Barricade beats Sideswipe before holding him up by his wrists and giving him his third strike.
- Invoked by Sunstreaker, who often grabs Sideswipe in a possessive manner and drags him around by his wrist in public to show that Sideswipe is unwilling and paint Sunstreaker as a possessive captor who sees his twin as his possession.
- Psycho Psychologist: Froid is a psychologist who subtly makes his patients' mental states worse to see what happens or to give himself the satisfaction of making them more violent. Sideswipe recognizes the type of psychologist Froid is and takes measures to avoid him by any means necessary.
- Rabid Cop: The Enforcers in Kaon are infamous throughout Cybertron for how cruel they are to anyone they see as a criminal. It's common for them to beat, arrest, and shoot bots for simply being out on the street at night. Finding shelter is at the top of Sideswipe's list of priorities when in Kaon not because of the weather, but so they aren't outside at night when the Enforcers go on patrol.
- Reverse Arm-Fold: Despite being a civilian youngling at the time, Sideswipe often stands like a soldier with his arms behind his back. Drench hates when he stood like that since it was another sign of his connection to Sunstreaker, who was a soldier in the War of the Threefold Spark.
- Robot Kid: Downplayed. Cybertronians are forged in frames and receive upgrades in stages until they reach their majority. Sideswipe recalls being surprised when his pre-final upgrade includes unlocking the intrinsic pile drivers he didn't know he possessed. Cybertronians that have not yet reached their majority are called "younglings". They are not born like organic life and emerge from the Pyramid with many adult-like faculties but still need to be taught, grow mentally, and learn from their mentors.
- Separated at Birth: Sunstreaker is intentionally separated from his split-spark twin, Sideswipe, when he is forged because Nominus wanted a powerful warrior for his army. Later, Nominus and the scientists keep Sideswipe from him to see how twins grow when separated from each other. Sunstreaker is told his twin died, and Sideswipe does not find out he even has a twin until long after he reaches his majority.
- Serial Killer: Radon, the mech responsible for branding the Decepticons' slaves, is implied to be one. He picks out bots from those he has branded, hunts them, captures them, kills them, and takes pieces of them as "trophies". He takes an interest in killing Sideswipe when he is branded but Sprocket kills Radon before he can even try.
- Slave Brand: In Decepticon HQ, "Working Class" bots are branded with an altered version of an old slave symbol that identifies them as property. It includes the slave's occupation (scientist, stocking, etc.) and a shanix symbol to indicate how much monetary value they are worth. Sideswipe is given one after he and Sunstreaker go to HQ so the latter can join the Decepticons. He notes that the brand is higher than the usual placement of symbols so that if the slave cracks and does join the Decepticons, they will still be labeled a slave. It is also deep enough that it is burned through the armor and into the dermal layer beneath which prevents it from being buffed out.
- Sickly Child Grew Up Strong: Downplayed. Sideswipe had energy problems when he was younger. It was bad enough that he often had trouble finding the strength to get out of bed in the morning. It's implied to be a mix of his small spark struggling to power his frame and his depression at being separated from his twin and forced into a job that brought him no joy.
- Sociopathic Soldier:
- It's mentioned that Quake is a straight-up Psychopath type who is completely dissatisfied with peacetime. He fights for the Decepticons to kill and sate his energon-lust.
- Sunstreaker is a downplayed example. He has no empathy for enemies and sees non-combatants as an irritation that gets in the way of his goal. However, he fights his war-forged instincts and tries his best to function in peacetime; first so he can become his twin's mentor and, when his twin "dies", then out of pride because he knows Nominus expects him to cause trouble like Quake.
- Street Urchin: Sideswipe grew up on the streets after being kicked out by his mentor as a youngling. He resorted to stealing to survive and barely escaped being recruited by gangs or cut up for parts. He eventually went to the gladiator Pits of Kaon so he wouldn't starve. Being a gladiator gave him Energon, a place to rest, and kept him off the streets until he reached his majority and could go to the Officers Academy.
- A Taste of the Lash: Under Decepticon rule, slaves in Kaon are threatened with whippings if they are late for work, waste Energon, or misplace their keycards in Decepticon HQ. Barricade pretends that Sideswipe lost his keycard despite Sideswipe having it on him. He drags Sideswipe out into the courtyard and whips him with an electro-whip until he falls into stasis. Sunstreaker and Pyra Magna witness the assault but she prevents him from interfering. Sunstreaker realizes his General has truly changed for the worst after she refuses to use her influence to stop the unjust punishment. This act causes him and the other Companions to turn against the Decepticons.
- Theory Tunnel Vision: There is an affliction called "Parasitically Amassed Spark-Energy Disease", which is the result of split-spark twins having massively uneven parts of the spark. Sunstreaker has seven-eighths while Sideswipe has one-eighth of the spark, which practically guaranteed Sideswipe to have P.A.S.E.D. However, Sideswipe functions just fine. Sunstreaker is unable to see that Sideswipe is a healthy, strong mech due to Nominus Prime and Termagax's insistence that Sideswipe's spark is weak. It's also a scientifically proven fact that it is extremely rare for twins with the smaller spark-half to be completely healthy like Sideswipe is. As a result, Sunstreaker still believes being near Sideswipe may cause his twin's spark to weaken and extinguish. He takes any sign of pain or discomfort as proof.
- Trapped in Villainy: Sunstreaker and the Companions quickly come to regret joining the Decepticons after Sideswipe is whipped by Barricade, who punishes him knowing he did nothing wrong. They cannot leave because they've joined an army and if they abandon the Decepticons they will be deserters and hunted accordingly.
- Twin Telepathy: Downplayed. Twins can sense each other and their moods at all times unless their bond is blocked. Sunstreaker keeps his end of the bond blocked because he formerly thought Sideswipe was dead and presently refuses to open it out of fear of hurting his twin. As a result, Sideswipe only has rumors to go on and isn't sure how telepathic the bond is supposed to be. When the bond is finally opened the twins can hear each others' thoughts and emotions.
- Twins Are Special: By some, split-spark twins are revered and treasured for being a "miracle of Primus". By others, they're despised and shunned for being "abominations" that spit in the face of Primus. Split-spark twins are a rarity on Cybertron and no one knows how a spark divides into two bots. Some think it's the will of Primus, others believe twins are an omen of bad luck. After Exarchon, negative stigmas against twins (calling them violent, insane, unstable, etc.) became the norm and many still hate split-sparks in the present day. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe are careful not to let anyone know they are split-spark twins because of this.
- Unperson: Downplayed. Sideswipe is completely erased from Security Operations’ systems by Jazz to protect him when Soundwave hacks their server and gets the information on all of Security Operations’ agents, both current and former. All of their spies and many innocent bots whose only crime was formerly working for the organization are hunted down and killed. Sideswipe slips under the radar only because of Jazz’s actions. Anyone who tries to look him up will only find information about him from his time in Kaon and earlier.
- Villains Love Entertainment: Thundercracker's motivation for letting Sideswipe and Sunstreaker stay in his territory is because he has the feeling they'll be entertaining for him. He mockingly compares Sideswipe's situation (being forced back into Kaon after successfully leaving) to a tragic movie and looks forward to what will happen to him next.
- What If?: What if Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were Separated at Birth by the previous Primes and grew up separately?
- Wretched Hive: Kaon is a polluted wreck of a city complete with gangs, black markets, illegal gladiator pits, and smelting pools used in executions. Bots from other cities look down on those from Kaon and find them suspicious due to them being from "the city of criminals and thieves". The Decepticons easily take control of Kaon and make it their base due to the amount of criminals and thugs that are eager for the opportunity to kill Autobots and those not in the Decepticon faction.
