The race for the Apex Armor is on as Optimus' group head to Antarctica, as do Starscream, Thundercracker, Slipstream, and Sky-Byte.
- And Then What?: When Kallen asked what his future plans were after the war with the Decepticons, Lelouch realizes that he had been so devoted to caring for Nunnally and taking down Britannia that he never actually considered what to do after that.
- Badass Boast: When the two groups encounter each other and it's made clear neither has the Relic yet:Sky-Byte: Which would mean that we are on equal footing, were it not for the fact that you are all outnumbered two to one.Kallen: Yeah, you should have brought a lot more guys with you.
- The Bad Guy Wins: The Decepticons get away with the Apex Armor.
- Big "NO!": Starscream gives one when he's dropped into the ocean.
- Designated Girl Fight: Once again, the only two female Cybertronians (Elita and Slipstream) single each other out during the fighting.
- Flaw Exploitation: Once more Lelouch takes advantage of Starscream's arrogance to send him down a crevasse and into the Antarctic ocean.
- The Gadfly: Elita is particularly active this chapter with Kallen and Lelouch.
- A House Divided: The other Decepticons figure out what Optimus and Lelouch's group are planning to defeat Starscream, but do nothing to warn him because they don't like him.
- Internal Reveal: The Autobot-Black Knight Alliance learn of the existence of the Geass Canceller.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: The group eventually settle on just trying to drop Starscream to the bottom of the ocean once he gains the Apex Armor, as they have no way to damage him and will lose a battle of attrition.
- Necessary Drawback: The Apex Armor may grant its wielder Nigh-Invulnerability, but it also makes them heavier and unable to transform.
- The Reveal:
- Thundercracker has a Geass Canceller.
- Starscream is working on a plan with Schneizel to backstab Megatron.
- Ship Tease:
- Kallen directly asks what Lelouch plans to do once the Decepticons are defeated and subtly implies she wants to be with him when he does so. He later admits that he'd like that too.
- Elita helps the above mentioned couple and doesn't deny their suggestion that she has similar feelings for Optimus.
- The Starscream: After spending the entire story expressing no interest in replacing Megatron, this version of the Trope Namer finally shows that he is living up to his name — he has something planned with Schneizel that Megatron appears to be unaware of.
