Master of the House

After their reformatting, the amnesiac Maximals come face to face with the source of their troubles.

Summary
Underground, where the Vehicons have failed to look, the four Maximals gather. Under the teachings of Optimus Primal, the team try to relearn their new transformations. However, it is no longer simple command codes, but now requires emotional balance and deep concentration since their reformatting at the hands of the Oracle. Cheetor and Blackarachnia manage to use their technorganic transformations properly, but Rattrap still has trouble with his new body. But their time in robot mode is limited, as a rumbling shakes the chamber and a Mole Drone attacks the Maximals. The shock has forced Cheetor and Blackarachnia back into their beast modes, and they take shelter behind Primal.

Optimus leaps in front of the frightened Maximals and deflects the blasts, all the while explaining that they reverted because they lost their emotional balance. Primal destroys the mindless Vehicon with a blast of energy, but knows it's time to leave, hopefully to find a new base and continue their transformation lessons. However, his idea is met with mild rebuff by Cheetor and Blackarachnia. They believe that they should seek out any survivors and reformat them, using them to destroy the drones. But Optimus overrules them, saying they need to get a handle on their new transformations before they go out looking for trouble. They split up to search out a new base. Blackarachnia and Cheetor are paired together (real smart pairing them up, ya big munky), and Rattrap and Primal go the opposite way.

Cheetor and Blackarachnia (with some goading on Blackarachnia's part) decide to go topside. As soon as they clamber up from the caves, they discover that they are in Cybertropolis, the new capital of Cybertron after Iacon's destruction. But there is a problem; Cybertropolis should be home to "ten million Transformers", but the duo find it deserted, and Cybertron InfoCore has been deleted.

Before the pair can investigate further, they are attacked by Aero Drones, and plunge off the side of a building before they can slide to safety. As he runs, Cheetor attempts to transform, but he hasn't found his spiritual center yet and remains in cat mode. Blackarachnia traps two of the jets with her webs, but more arrive. Fortunately, Optimus arrives. He quickly transforms into robot mode and takes to the air, but is soon overwhelmed.

Cheetor and Blackarachnia manage to transform, and they quickly dispatch the drones, Blackarachnia using electrical "stinger" energy and Cheetor's scimitars. Optimus scolds Cheetor for disobeying orders, but is intruiged at their findings. Optimus orders the group to head to the Council Citadel, hoping to find answers. Rattrap moves ahead of the rest of the group but encounters Tank Drones. Optimus orders Cheetor and Blackarachnia to hold off the drones while he investigates inside. When he gets inside, he heads to the chambers of the Maximal Elders.

Reaching the council meeting room, Primal comes face to face with the leader of the drones&mdash;Megatron, now encased in a suit of control armor. He greets Primal cordially, and decides to "fill in" the gaps in Primal's memory. Megatron claims that he won the Beast Wars, and that he decided to remodel Cybertron into his own image, one of technological purity, devoid of organic life. Thus, he explains, came the Vehicons, sparkless Transformers who will serve Megatron and crush Primal's "mongrel" Maximals.

However, the Maximals manage to survive the Vehicons, their technorganic bodies and Spark-powered ingenuity foiling the mindless might of the drones. Frustrated by the Maximals' survival, and with some goading by Primal, the enraged Megatron breaks free of his harness and transforms into his Transmetal 2 dragon mode, deactivating the drones in the process. Primal and Megatron fight, but Megatron reconnects to his control harness and summons more Vehicons, mocking Primal all the while. The Maximals arrive, and barely manage to drag Primal away.

When the Maximals inquire about what happened, Primal tells them that this all happened because he failed to destroy Megatron. However, it is now up to Primal to correct that mistake.

Quotes
Optimus: "Free your minds, let go of old thinking, focus on the transformation within." Rattrap: "hoy...whats with all the hocus pocus? Just give us the command codes so we can transform already." Optimus: "It's not that easy Rattrap, the Oracle had melded us into a balance of both machine and living tissue. command codes and onboard computers are things of the past. Cheetor: "So what are we, robots or animals?" Optimus: "Both and neither." Blackarachnia: "Well that sure clears it up." Optimus: "The key is finding the balance in yourself, then and only then can you truly say...I am Transformed."
 * - Optimus teaching the Maximals how to transform in their technorganic bodies.

Rattrap: 'I am transformed, I am sooo transformed I cant even believe it!...ehhh" Optimus: Just let it happen, dont try to make it happen. (Rattrap tries to force himself transform) Optimus: Can you feel it? Rattrap: "Oh! I feel a breakthrough coming..."
 * - Rattrap tries to transform but fails.

Technical/Animation Glitches

 * Glitch

Continuity Errors

 * Blackarchania seems to know an awful lot about the Cybertron InfoCore even though she only activated on prehistoric earth during the Beast Wars.


 * Megatron is scarred across his right eye. Unless something happened to him between the end of Beast Wars and the start of Beast Machines, the origin of that scar is a mystery, which, to this day, has not been explained.

Transformers References

 * References

Real-World References

 * Reference