In Darkest Knight

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-in Lightest Day!

Blackarachnia is finally able to revive Silverbolt, but he doesn't seem too happy about it.

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Summary

As the big floating head, Megatron's newest body, drifts overhead, Nightscream searches through a derelict region of Cybertron for his former friend, the organic Savage/Noble. However, his search is cut short by Jetstorm and Thrust.

Back at the Maximal base, Rattrap talks to Blackarachnia about his newest invention, combining a spark extractor with a DNA scanner. This process, he hopes, could someday be used to restore any of the captured sparks they recover into Transformer bodies. Primal and Cheetor arrive, wondering what's happened to Nightscream. Nobody has seen him for a while, so the team head aboveground to find out where he's gone. However, Blackarachnia has a lingering fascination with Rattrap's new device.

The Maximals find Nightscream surrounded by a back of cycle drones and other Vehicons. A fight to rescue their young member begins. Cheetor uses his blades to glide through the air, fighting the Sonic Attack Jets all the while. Rattrap outraces several more cycle drones. Cooking up her own plot, Blackarachnia places Rattrap's device on Jetstorm, hoping to free his spark and reformat him.

Megatron, in his gigantic head, uses his gravity beams to capture Optimus and Cheetor, ending the conflict quickly. Nightscream is left behind, at the mercy of Thrust. Luckily, he is protected by Savage/Noble, who uses both of his tails to damage Thrust. Rattrap sees the strange dragon haul Nightscream's unconscious body away and, suspecting Savage intends to consume the younger Maximal, follows.

Blackarachnia leads Jetstorm deeper underground. The jet crashes through one of her webs and into a pool of organic fluid. With the general restrained, the DNA scanner Blackarachnia placed onto him activates and begins to detect local fossils. The scanner passes by several other bones before locking onto a suitable candidate: a skeleton of a prehistoric, condor-like creature. After a painful metamorphosis, the Vehicon once known as Jetstorm is destroyed, and the Maximal Silverbolt is reborn. He becomes aware of himself and is surprised by his new, technorganic form. Shocked, disgruntled, and angry, he flies out of the cave in which he was brought back, leaving a confused Blackarachnia behind.

Confronting the renegade Maximal atop a skyscraper, Blackarachnia discovers a change in her lover. Instead of the corny, phrase-spouting 'bot of prehistoric Earth, this new, angry Silverbolt loathes himself. Blackarachnia tries to remind the Maximal of the heroic personality he used to be, but Silverbolt (who is no longer silver) no longer has any connection to those ideals that once defined him. He comes along with Blackarachnia on a trip to rescue Optimus Primal and Cheetor not out of concern for his Maximal pals, but only as a way to confront his former master, Megatron.

Nightscream awakens in an abandoned warehouse, now serving as Savage/Noble's "den". The creature, in his "Noble" form, provides a metallic apple for Nightscream to feed on. Noble has lost his former mental skills, but still seems to like Nightscream and remember him. Rattrap tries to rescue Nightscream quietly but catches Noble's attention. Confused, Noble shifts into his Savage form, causing Nightscream and Rattrap to cheese it.

Inside of the Grand Mal, Cheetor and Optimus are interrogated for information on the Oracle and how Megatron can use it to manipulate the Sparks he holds captive. Blackarachnia and Nightscream arrive in the same chamber, where Megatron manifests an image of himself, a hologram of the Grand Mal made out of floating masses of data. He explains why he selected Silverbolt's spark to be made into a new general: He believed Silverbolt's sense of honor would let him stay true to Megatron's Vehicon ideology. Blackarachnia argues, hoping Silverbolt understands that friendship and love are more important.

Silverbolt rejects Megatron's dogma and transforms into his new robot mode. His throwing blades heavily damage Megatron's insides. Freed, Primal orders a retreat, but Silverbolt feels it would be better to fight and die. Blackarachnia uses one of her abilities to stun him so she can drag him out.

Rattrap and Nightscream are still running from Savage when they find Thrust and his drones standing in their way. The Maximals let Savage take care of the drones, while Silverbolt tosses away Thrust into the water. Primal welcomes Silverbolt back into the Maximals, but the bird just leaves the Maximals, not yet ready to be part of the team. Nightscream argues that Savage/Noble still has the qualities of a good guy inside of him, and Primal decides that the best thing to do is to wait.

That morning, sitting on a skyscraper, Blackarachnia and Silverbolt have another discussion, in which he reveals how he enjoyed being a Vehicon, without having to follow his code of honor. Despite this, Blackarachnia is still ready to reach out to him, and together they return to the Maximals.

Quotes

"Nothing noble about us!"
"But savage? We can do that!"

—Thrust and Jetstorm

"I thought you losers were out of business!"
"Guess again, bat brain! We're back on the winning team!"

—Nightscream and Jetstorm

"You break 'em, you brought 'em, pussycat!"

—Jetstorm

"What do you want from us?"
"Oh, nothing much. Just every bit of data on the Oracle to better understand how to fully exploit the precious sparks in my possession. I anticipate that extracting this information will be slow, painful, and, regrettably...fatal."

—Optimus Primal and Megatron

"Where are you going? Do you have any idea what I went through to get you back again?"

—The answer, Blackarachnia, is, "You stole hardware from Rattrap, then kidnapped Jetstorm and brainwashed him."

"Don't listen to him, Silverbolt! He turned you into a monster!"

"I gave you strength. I gave you power."

"We gave you friendship. I gave you my heart."

"I gave you purpose. I gave you life!"

"You... gave... me... NOTHING!!"

-Megatron, Blackarachnia and Silverbolt.

Stats

Writers: Steven Melching
Original Air Date: March 1, 2000 (YTV); September 2, 2000 (FOX)

Major Characters (in order of appearance): Grand Mal, Nightscream, Thrust, Jetstorm, Rattrap, Nightscream, Optimus Primal, Cheetor, Megatron, Savage/Noble, Silverbolt

Notes

• Vehicons are a superstitious and cowardly lot.
• Silverbolt's beast mode came out the way it did because there happened to be some condor fossils nearby when he was being reformatted. So as far as the story goes, it's pretty coincidental that he had bird attributes in his alt mode during the Beast Wars. And it's also a coincidence that Noble looks so wolf-ish. All right.
• Regrettably, this episode has nothing to do with Green Lantern.
• Remember how in Revelations Part III: Apocalypse, Optimus said that changing Rhinox against his will is no better than Megatron? Well, either Blackarachnia doesn't or it's okay when it's Jetstorm/Silverbolt has a new toy out.