The Master Sword Is in Danger!!



It's Chromedome and Daniel to the rescue when the Decepticons kidnap Wheelie and ransom him in exchange for the secrets of the Master Sword. But are the Autobots ready for... the Duocons?!


 * English/Malay dub name: "Crisis on Planet Master"

Detailed synopsis
The Decepticons have vanished after their previous defeat, and with a search turning up nothing, the Autobot Headmasters speculate that they may have left the planet. However, Fortress and Highbrow are sure that they are still on Master, as it is the only planet that can provide them with the materials used in the construction of Battleship Maximus, that they might create a weapon of equal power. Pointblank compliments Highbrow's sharp mind... before trashing his combat ability.

Deep beneath the surface of planet Master, Scorponok is holed up in a massive cavern, where the Decepticons have assembled a large amount of machinery to process ore. By luck, after escaping underground at the end of the previous battle, they have discovered the minerals necessary to create the powerful alloy G-Metal. Even so, sheilds forged from his metal will still not strong enough to stand up to the Master Sword, and Scorponok put into motion a plan to learn the secrets of the sword.

On Battleship Maximus, Daniel is playing video games when Wheelie puts forth his latest idea - now that they are on planet Master, he will undergo the rigorous Headmaster training process, and become a Headmaster himself! Daniel is insulted when Wheelie points out that he'll always be better than him because he's a Transformer, and Daniel goes to bed in a huff. When Daniel rises early the next morning to do his chores, Wheelie is nowhere to be found, but Daniel is not concered. In truth, Wheelie has simply decided to start his training with a run, but while out in the desert, the ground gives way beneath the young robot's feet...

A short time later, concern over Wheelie's absence is mounting aboard Battleship Maximus, with Daniel's indifference having vanished. As the Autobots meet to search for him, however, a tranmission is recieved from Sixshot, who reveals that he has captured Wheelie and will drop him in acid if Fortress does not provide all the data on the Master Sword within three hours. While Pointblank advocates rejecting the demand, writing Wheelie off as a necessary sacrifice of war, Fortress is undecided. Daniel attempts to rescue Wheelie on his own, and Chromedome agrees to help him; Highbrow finds them before they leave, but allows them to go, upgrading Daniel's video game gun into a genuine blaster just in case. They depart hidden aboard the Trainbots, with Highbrow covering for them by saying that the Trainbots are just going on reconaissance, just as Fortress announces that he will give in to the Decepticons' demands. Highbrow is then forced to admit that Chromedome and Daniel have gone to rescue Wheelie.

Chromedome and Daniel, meanwhile, have successfully evaded the Horrorcons and entered Scorponok, where Daniel is able to use his small size to sneak under infra-red alarm beams and turn them off. Chromedome uses his telepathic powers to pick up Wheelie's brainwaves, and they discover the room in which he is being held - only Daniel can pass through the door's anti-Transformer sensor, and after deactivating it, he and Chromedome free Wheelie. Concurrently, Battleship Maximus sets down outside, and Fortress is about to hand a disk containing the Master Sword data over to Sixshot when Chromedome bursts out, revealing that Wheelie has been freed. With all bets off, the Headmasters and Targetmasters of both sides emerge for a firefight, during which Scorponok orders his two newest warriors in battle - the Duocons! In the midst of the confusion that these two fast-moving, rapid-firing warriors create, the disk is blasted from Fortress's hands, and is grabbed and passed like a football across the battlefield from faction to faction, until Battletrap finally seizes it, and the Decepticons pull out with the secrets of the Master Sword in their hands.

Aboard Battleship Maximus, Pointblank apologises for allowing the disk to fall into enemy hands. Meanwhile, Chromedome, Daniel and Wheelie are being reprimanded for leaving the ship without permission by being made to to scrub it from stem to stern. Chromedome is particuarly irate, running up and down the halls with a mop, but the other Headmaters placate him by praising him for saving Wheelie's life.

Stats
Original airdate: 19th February 1988

Featured Characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Animation and/or technical glitches

 * When the Duocons return fire on the Autobot Targetmasters, their blasts are Autobot-orange, instead of the traditional Decepticon-purple.

Transformers references

 * Daniel's video game light gun first appeared in "Find MegaZarak's Weak Spot!!" Highbrow previously gave it an upgrade similar to the one seen in this episode, turning it into an actual weapon, in "Mystery of the Space Pirate Ship".

Miscellaneous trivia

 * Before this episode, the Malaysian dub titles were at least derived from the actual Japanese titles, iffily translated in some way. However, from this episode through until the final two-parter, they abandon all pretence of even trying to translate the Japanese titles, and just slap random (if not inappropriate) titles on 'em.
 * Hey, it's the Duocons in their animated series debut!
 * The insert song Decepticon Song in Praise is used for the second time in the series as the Duocons enter the fray.