Ratchet verifies the death clock's scan of Tailgate, sadly confirming that the little 'bot has a fatal case of cybercrosis, brought about by nothing more than old age, which will kill him in just over three days. As the medic details the stages of the disease, including blindness, paralysis, and memory loss, Tailgate flees the medibay in a panic, racing back to his quarters, where he explains his news to Cyclonus. Cyclonus stoically advises Tailgate to make his peace and face death boldly, but then leaves the room in silence, and stops in the hallway to observe his reflection... which he almost punches in a sudden, furious rage, only to stop and instead tear gouges in his own face with his claws.

Examining security footage to determine what has become of the missing Ultra Magnus, Rodimus, Ambulon, and Blaster observe as the comatose Magnus suddenly sits bolt upright with impossible speed and appears to float to the shuttle bay. Mainframe reports that the signal from the shuttle Magnus left in has been detected, and the Lost Light sets course after it, soon finding that it leads through a colossal wormhole. Rodimus informs the crew that the ship will be going through the portal, giving anyone who wishes the option not to come, but nobody takes it. The ship enters the portal, and what lurks on the other side proves beyond imagining: the lost satellite of Cybertron, Luna 1, alleged home to the answer to every question, found at last.

As Rodimus waits in his quarters, morosely examining unread messages from Ultra Magnus on his datapad, Perceptor enters to report his preliminary findings: a lifesign scan, amazingly, suggests the moon is home to a billion lifeforms. Rodimus handpicks a small team to join him on the first expedition to the moon, confidentially informing them that all he really wants to do is find out what became of Ultra Magnus: Rung (to fill Magnus's role and tell him things he doesn't want to hear); Brainstorm; Whirl (in case there's any fighting to be done, though Whirl suspects it's positive discrimination); Chromedome (who Skids urges to search the moon for a solution to his lost memories); Ratchet; and Cyclonus, for his familiarity with the creation myth that Luna 1 is part of. Cyclonus agrees to come only on the condition that Tailgate gets to accompany them, desiring to give his tiny friend a great experience before his death, but he cautions Tailgate to disabuse himself of the notion that the moon may hold a cure to his condition. Swerve begs to come along, citing his metallurgical skills, but Rodimus refuses, accusing him of having abandoned that function to be a bartender.

Leaving the Lost Light under the stewardship of Fortress Maximus, the Autobots head down to the moon and deploy in M.A.R.B.s. They soon discover Magnus's shuttle, smashed open from the outside-in, but when Rodimus hops off the M.A.R.B. to examine it, his feet touching the moon's surface for the first time, the incredible happens: the entire moon lights up, as a billion sparks suddenly flare to life all over its surface. Luna 1, it transpires, is a gigantic "hot spot", a field where sparks are born, that has been fertilized after an ages-long wait when Rodimus touched it. As Rodimus wonders if the Matrix-half he is carrying could have been responsible, the other Transformers look in wonder on the field, the like of which Chromedome remarks had mostly ceased to be by his lifetime, since he was "constructed cold". Tailgate has heard this term thrown around a lot without understanding it, and the others explain that Chromedome was created using the energy from an extant spark, as opposed to "forged", born in a hot spot (which Whirl is eager to point out he was). Cyclonus calls the group's attention to a spark glowing green, which Brainstorm recognizes as a "superspark"—a vanishingly rare, insanely powerful Point One Percenter—and immediately begins excavating it over Perceptor's horrified protestations. Everyone discusses whether or not t

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