A group of 3 miners have hit the big time -they've struck gold! As they cart out a large batch of it, they don't get to celebrate for long, as they get attacked by the Decepticons.

The humans run, but Soundwave sends out Laserbeak and Ravage to retrieve them. Megatron drops in and wants a report, so Starscream tells him they've captured 2 of the humans, but he'll destroy the other one.

The other one is on a radio trying to get assistance, but Megatron prevents Starscream from firing as he wants the human to get help. At the Autobot HQ, Optimus Prime picks up the distress signal on Teletraan I, and summons the Autobots. Most of them run as fast as they can, but not Gears.

Gears is annoyed as he wanted to lube his cable relays, and every time he tries to do it, something happens. Ironhide tells him action first, maintenance later. Gears tells him that's easy for him to say, his pulleys don't squeak! Bumblebee leaps over him and tells him the problem isn't his squeaking -it's his squawking! Prime fills in the Autobots on the details -the Decepticons are attacking a mining camp, so they're going in to stop them. The Autobots run out of their HQ, then transform and head out.

They arrive at the site and see the Decepticons below. The humans have been placed into an electrified cage, and Starscream tells Megatron they're secure. He wants permission to terminate them, and Megatron says their lives are no concern to him. But before Starscream can do anything, Prime fires a blast that knocks the two back.

The Autobots begin their attack and then regroup. Prime tells Megatron to give up, as he's lost. But Megatron transforms, and Soundwave fires him. His shot breaks the cage, and the humans escape. But as they run around trying to get out of the way, Prime says not to fire so they don't endanger them.

This gives Megatron the chance to try out a new weapon he pulls out. He fires a few shots at several different boulders, and Ironhide realizes he's energized them. The boulders drop down at great speed and send the Autobots flying.

Gears is spared however, but that's because Megatron wants him. He transforms again and Soundwave shoots around Gears, making him fall into a pit. Starscream wants to melt him, but Megatron smacks him out of the way and tells his Gears is a key part to his plan. Skywarp retrieves Gears...

...and the Decepticons retreat. Prime recovers just in time to see Gears being taken away. The Decepticons head to their new creation: the solar needle. Megatron tells Gears that he will help him pierce the fiery heart of the sun, to harness its power. Gears says he won't help Megatron do zilch.

Megatron asks Starscream to persuade the Autobot, so he shoots him with a null ray blast. This disable Gears, and Megatron says a secret sensor scan of all the Autobots had revealed that Gears alone had the special circuit he needed. Megatron retrieves the circuit, and Gears reactivates, but he's changed -he says he suddenly feels so good natured!

Megatron tells him this circuit must have also modulated his personality, but that can wait. He places the circuit inside part of the solar needle, and turns it on. It shoots a beam of energy directly into the sun.

The beam returns, powering up the solar needle and activating all of the energy receptors surrounding it. The result of this causes the entire planet to shake. At Autobot HQ, Prime orders everyone to secure the base, as rocks are falling down from above. He bets Megatron is behind this.

At the solar needle, Starscream orders the Autobot slave to fill energon cubes. Gears tells him sure thing, and fills a cube up. He's always happy to oblige, although he's not sure why. Meanwhile Megatron says it won't take long for Optimus Prime to find him, but when he does, he'll have a shocking surprise ready for him!

Prime and the other Autobots head back outside, and look at the sun. Prime tells them that Teletraan I has confirmed his fears -someone has tapped into part of the sun, creating a dangerous instability. Unless this can be stopped, the sun is going to explode in less than 2 hours! Prime has found out that Megatron is in Africa, and Bumblebee says Gears must be there. The Autobots transform and move out.

They arrive in Africa, but come across a thick jungle that they've got no choice but to go through. With no other options, Prime tells Jazz and Sunstreaker to laser them a road, and the two grab onto him. Prime drives forward, as Jazz and Sunstreaker keep firing to clear any trees out of the way. Back at the solar needle, Gears tells Megatron he should be very angry with him, he is an evil son of a retro-rat, but for some reason he just can't get too upset. Starscream gets really irritated and fires at him, but Megatron tells him no.

Starscream's shot hits one of the energy receptors, but bounces off it and goes back the way it came. It causes a big explosion that sends an energon cube into the needle's force field, which obliterates it instantly.

Megatron yells at Starscream, as he nearly destroyed the solar needle! If he makes one more mistake like that, and he'll permanently deactivate his bio circuits! Starscream screams at Gears to quickly fill those energon cubes. Gears says no problem, as he loves being a slave... or does he? He turns around and take a look at where his stolen circuit has been placed.

Meanwhile the Autobots get out of the jungle, and have to make a jump across a large ditch. They almost all make it, but Bumblebee nearly falls. Thankfully Wheeljack comes back and helps him up. The Autobots regroup and see the solar needle in the distance. Cliffjumper wants to start blasting, but Bumblebee says they can't, as Gears could get hurt. Prime says that to save the sun, they've got to take that risk.

The Autobots fire at the solar needle, but their shots are bounced off back at themselves by the force field. They retreat, and Megatron says it seems the Autobots enjoyed his force field surprise!

Prime says they've got to get around the energy shield before the sun explodes, but Bumblebee asks how. They can't get around it, and they can't get over it. Prime says there's one hazardous possibility: Megatron's force field dome has one weak spot, which is the hole where the sun energy enters. If they could block that opening... Ratchet tells him nobody could survive up there, not even him. Prime says it's the only way to stop Megatron, but Ironhide says he's more expendable, so he'll go.

Before they can argue, Cliffjumper decides he'll be the one to go, and zooms off before anyone can stop him. He launches himself and makes contact, and is zapped, but he breaks the force field. The Autobots move in, and Cliffjumper is revealed to have survived.

He regroups with the other Autobots, who arrive inside the solar needle, but the Decepticons are gone. Just then Gears appears, and bashes Wheeljack out of the way as he tries to get his circuit back. But Starscream stops him and says he should have destroyed him when he had the chance. Before he can fire, Bumblebee rams into him from behind.

Soundwave sends in Laserbeak and Ravage to attack, but Bumblebee manages to kick Ravage off of him. Gears thanks him for the assist, and tells him isn't this a fun fight?

Prime confronts Megatron, and tells him he must stop this madness, as his solar needle is causing the sun to self destruct! Megatron refuses to believe him, and throws him towards one of the energy receptors. Gears sees this and fires a blast at the receptor...

...which damages it, and only causes Prime to lose his gun. But the receptor sends out energy everywhere, blasting back some of the Transformers. Megatron tells Gears he'll pay for that and transforms, as Soundwave fires him and knocks Gears down.

The Autobots have rounded up the other Decepticons and made them surrender, but Megatron tells them all to hold it. He has his fusion cannon pointed at their leader, and tells them to throw down their weapons, unless they want Prime to be nothing more than a shadow in their memory banks. Prime tells them not to listen to him, and to destroy the solar needle. But they drop their guns.

Megatron tells Prime he's lost, and the universe is his. Prime warns that there won't be a universe as the solar needle is going to make the sun explode in a matter of astro seconds. Megatron still refuses to believe him, and tells Gears to repair the solar needle. Gears says he's happy to be of service, and despite Prime's objection, he goes off to complete the task Megatron set him -he doesn't want Megatron to feel bad after all. Ironhide asks Megatron what he's done to Gears -he's made him nice! Megatron explains about the circuit and its link to his personality, but now Gears is his slave. Megatron orders the Decepticons to prepare to terminate Prime.

Prime asks Megatron to give a condemned mechanism one last request, and Megatron says he will -as long as he's quick about it. Prime asks Gears if he would do him a favor now. Gears responds that he thought he'd never ask, and promptly pulls out a gun. He shoots at the energy receptor...

...causing it to send energy everywhere and make the Transformers stumble. With Gears back on their side, Prime orders the Autobots to go and get the Decepticons, and the fighting resumes.

The Autobots quickly gain the upper hand, and Gears throws Starscream into Soundwave. The Decepticons decide to retreat without waiting for Megatron, and Prime tells him that his troops have deserted him. He wants Megatron to turn off the solar needle.

Megatron says never, and he'll destroy the universe first. Prime kicks him so hard he goes flying, but he doesn't come back and instead retreats. Ironhide tells Prime not to let Megatron get away, but Prime says they've got no time, as the sun is set to explode in less than a minute. He meets up with Ratchet and Wheeljack, and rips off a panel...

...revealing the solar needle's power source. Prime says to restore the sun's equilibrium, they've got to bypass the solar needle's memory. Wheeljack and Ratchet agree, and tell him he needs to disconnect that wire -as they proceed to point at 2 separate wires! They can't decide who's right, and with no time left Prime grabs the wire Wheeljack was pointing at and pulls it out. Luckily for everyone this was the correct wire, and the solar needle deactivates. Prime says the sun has been stabilized. All that's left to do is to destroy the solar needle. Before they do that, Gears says aren't they forgetting something?

Prime retrieves his special circuit and is about to give it back, when Trailbreaker comes over and says the Autobots have had a vote -they've decided that they prefer Gears the way that he is now! Gears threatens to start kicking transistors if they don't give the circuit back, so Prime decides to place it back inside him.

The moment he does this, the Gears they all knew is back -and immediately complains about when they are going to roll out of here, as this jungle humidity is giving him a cramp in his chronometer. And his pulleys are squeaking again! Prime says they'll blast the solar needle and roll out. The Autobots plant explosives, and Gears gets the honor of detonating them.

Bumblebee tells Gears he must have gotten a bang out of that, to which Gears starts moaning about what a blast like that does to your sequential camshaft. As Gears continues to grumble, the other Autobots transform and roll out -leaving Gears to realize he's been left behind. He transforms and goes after them.