Some of the Autobots are flying through space, when Sky Lynx says his sensors have picked up a peculiar phenomenon in the next sector. Blurr gets hyped up, since so far this trip has been boring -it's about time they saw something peculiar, heard something peculiar, or even smelled something peculiar! Rodimus Prime tells him to put himself in idle. Sky Lynx gives them a visual: there is some kind of disc in space...

...and Galvatron is punching it. They also see a Quintesson ship nearby. Perceptor thinks Galvatron is meddling with something the Quintessons want him to leave alone, so Rodimus thinks maybe they ought to meddle with it. Rodimus has Sky Lynx head in.

Cyclonus tries to warn Galvatron they're in danger, but gets punched in the face. Galvatron says he'll learn the secret of this disc or die trying, but then gets blasted from behind by the Quintessons. Inside the Quintesson ship, one Quintesson asks what the status of the quadrant lock is. Another says that there's no significant damage, and they've arrived in time.

They decide to keep up their bombardment. But they then see they have an additional problem: Autobots. They start firing at them as well, so the Autobots depart from Sky Lynx and start firing back.

Sky Lynx fires at Galvatron, hitting him and making Cyclonus go after him. He then fires at the Quintesson ship, hitting that as well. The Quintessons say they have kept Zamojin locked in darkness for 5,000 years, and there it must remain -the Autobots mustn't be allowed to examine the lock! But another suggests they could be allowed to examine it -from the inside.

One of the Quintessons activates the isolator key, which opens up the quadrant lock. Perceptor says the disc is a seal on some kind of space warp. Galvatron sees this and gets distraught, as he found this, so it's his! He tells Cyclonus to stop them, and throws him at the Autobots.

But the Quintesson ship then passes by, which drags along the Autobots and Cyclonus with it. They are dragged through the quadrant lock, which closes behind them. The Quintessons find that the isolator key has short circuited, so if they don't find a replacement part, they'll be trapped in quadrant X forever!

They then are dismayed to find that the Autobots have survived, including Perceptor. One Quintesson says Perceptor is equipped with a universal emulator, which could serve in place of the isolator key. They decide to track Perceptor's descent, so they can then send the Sharkticons to retrieve him. Meanwhile, Perceptor tries to contact Rodimus and says he's in transformation paralysis, and can't return to his robot mode.

At one of Zamojin's cities, the natives see objects fall out of the sky. One of the Zamojins, Katsu Don, sees Perceptor fall, and goes out after him. Meanwhile, everyone else sees Rodimus, Ultra Magnus and Blurr fall into a forest. The Zamojins see this as a sign that the devils have returned, but this time, they will die.

Katsu Don finds Perceptor, but when he sees his Autobot insignia, he calls him Nijika. Meanwhile Rodimus recovers from his crash landing, but he didn't dent the tree he hit. Magnus says this planet has an incredibly dense molecular structure. They find Blurr, who has crashes into a boulder, nearby. They try to move him, but he's bent a strut, which is pressing on one of his sensory circuits, and it hurts a lot. To make things worse, the natives are coming, and they don't sound friendly.

Rodimus has to move Blurr, but Magnus raises a good question: what happened to Perceptor? Nearby, Katsu Don has taken Perceptor to his home, and prepares some tools. He uses them to cut out Perceptor's Autobot insignia. Perceptor says the universal emulator is behind his insignia.

Katsu Don removes it, taking the emulator with it. Meanwhile, the Quintessons have found out that Perceptor's last communication originated from some mountains, just outside the city of Tozin. They send a couple of Sharkticons out to retrieve Perceptor.

Katsu Don goes to the place where Nijika, the Sky-Dancer, is. He tells her he brings her a gift: her own countenance. He places the emulator onto her face, but he then senses danger and tells her he'll be back.

As he leaves, the emulator reacts to its new home, and it changes into a new face for Nijika. Katsu Don spots the Sharkticons heading his way.

He effortlessly beats one up, sending it crashing back. The other one tries but also gets easily beaten, and they both end up retreating. A voice tells him that was an impressive display. Katsu Don turns around and is shocked to see that it was Nijika who has spoken to him. But in reality, it is Perceptor, who has taken control of Nijika.

Meanwhile, the other Autobots are still on the move, but have to stop because of Blurr's injury. Blurr tells them to go and find Perceptor, as if they fix him, maybe he can fix his injury. Rodimus isn't sure if they should leave him, but Magnus isn't sure they have a choice. Blurr tells them to beat it, so they run off. But moments later, the Zamojins find him. One of them calls him devil spawn, and attacks.

Katsu Don explains that Nijika hasn't moved or spoken since the night of the devils, when the stars were stolen from the sky, and the light was taken from their minds. Perceptor wants to know more about the "devils". Katsu Don says it was long ago that they came... in the days when their city of Tozin itself glowed as bright as a star...

...and their guardian, Kodu Ri, had not yet descended into slumber. He explains that his ancestor, Niko Don, had invented a flying tower. The Empress explained that her people would take their first step to the stars. Niko Don said he wanted to ride in the tower himself, but the Empress wouldn't allow it. So instead, he has created their first voyager: Nijika, the Sky-Dancer.

Nijika boarded the tower, and said she would dance among the stars for Zamojin. The Empress asked for Kodu Ri to help them make this journey, as the Zamojins then emitted beams of light from their foreheads. These light beams were directed into the head of the statue. The Empress asked for Kodu Ri to open his heart to Zamojin.

This caused the statue to open up, but then, the scream of the devils was heard, as their metal beasts descended from the sky. The devils then attacked, raining destruction upon Zamojin.

Nijika was damaged and sent flying from the tower, which was then destroyed. The devils entered the heart of Kodu Ri, and made their guardian "sleep" by damaging him on the inside. And then, they were gone.

But the greatest horror was yet to come, as then the silver disc appeared in the sky, which swallowed the stars. This ravaged their planet, and Nijika was left damaged. With the light gone from his mind, Niko Don couldn't fix her.

Back in the present, Perceptor tells Katsu Don that the purpose of the quadrant lock was to halt his people's evolution. He explains that the "devils" are nothing of the kind. They're actually Quintessons, and for some reason they were terrified his people would reach the stars. He tells him to take him to the city, as they must warn his people that their enemies have returned.

The Sharkticons arrive back at the Quintesson's ship, and the Quintessons see how badly one Zamojin has damaged them. One Quintesson says one of them will have to go to the surface, but another one asks if he's mad -if Zamojins can do this to Sharkticons, what chance would they stand? Cyclonus, who snuck aboard their ship, appears and tells them by themselves, precious little. But if they share the secret of the quadrant lock with Galvatron, he may be willing to help them. He will go to the planet, but not alone. Unlike their Sharkticons, he's not stupid. The Quintessons are sure they can accommodate him.

Back on the planet, Rodimus and Ultra Magnus home in on the origin point of Perceptor's last transmission. But as they drive through the mountains, some Zamojins attack them. Rodimus ends up being pushed back off a cliff, and rolls over.

He transforms and saves himself, and says that was a barrel of laughs before transforming again and heading back up. Magnus transforms fires into the sky, telling them that he doesn't wish to harm them. They resume fighting, but back off when Rodimus appears. They retreat, but tell them they'll be back.

Rodimus brushes them off and asks Magnus if they can blow this popsicle stand. They head off and locate Perceptor, but realize his universal emulator has been taken. Magnus says the only thing they can do is find the missing piece. Rodimus asks what should they do -try the neighborhood universal emulator shop? Magnus recommends they try the city.

At the city, Cyclonus and a Quintesson have already arrived. A festival is taking place, and the Quintesson uses a tracker to find the location of the emulator, which he says is near. Blurr has been tied up above a molten pit, and the Zamojins intend to execute him. One of the Zamojins holds a stick with a Quintesson head on the end of it above the pit, which causes it to catch fire. He tells Blurr this is what will happen to him and all of the devils from the sky.

Blurr wonders how hot the hot tub below is -hot enough to unbend a strut, maybe? Cyclonus then calls out and says to burn Blurr now, but the Quintesson tells him to not draw attention to themselves. However, Cyclonus yells out for vengeance now, and the crowd sides with him, calling out that the devils must pay. Cyclonus laughs and tells the Quintesson he doesn't understand mob psychology. The crowd chant for Blurr to burn.

But then the Empress commands them to hold, as Kodu Ri has sent them a wondrous ally. Perceptor tells the crowd that the devils who they fear are in fact mortals from another world. And the stars are not gone, but are merely hidden from them. Lastly, their prisoner is not their enemy, and they will need his help if the Quintessons attack again. The Quintesson yells out that the doll is possessed, and they shouldn't listen to it. However, this gets the crowd riled up, and they charge towards Nijika.

The Quintesson says he didn't mean for that to happen, but Cyclonus calls him a fool and tells him to summon his ship. Cyclonus quickly dashes forward and is able to get to the doll first. He takes Perceptor and heads up, but Katsu Don grabs his legs. As he heads towards the ship, he fires at the Zamojins.

He gets inside the Quintesson ship, along with Katsu Don. Katsu Don lets go, but one of the Quintessons uses a device to shock him. He tells Perceptor to do exactly as he demands, or the Zamojin will perish. He wants the universal emulator, and Perceptor has no choice but to give it to him. In doing so, Nijika is lifeless and faceless once more, and falls down.

Another Quintesson calls Nijika garbage, and throws her out of the ship. He also decides to put Blurr out of his misery by shooting the rope, causing him to fall into the pit.

But as he sinks, he says that this stuff is good and warm, nice and hot... just right for getting the kinks out! Meanwhile, the Quintessons finish using the universal emulator to fix the isolator key, and are ready to leave. But Blurr then shoots out of the molten pit...

...and lands right in the Quintesson ship, causing one of the Quintessons to drop the key. Cyclonus is about to fire on him when Ultra Magnus tackles him from behind. Rodimus also boards the ship and frees Katsu Don, but he goes crazy at the sight of the Quintessons. He's about to fight them, but Rodimus throws him...

...right out of the ship. The other Transformers all leave, but Blurr picks up the universal emulator before he departs. The Quintessons tell them that there's nowhere to run - they'll be trapped in this quadrant forever!

As the Transformers land, the ship heads out. Cyclonus says they can't strand him here, so he goes after it. The Empress has picked up Nijika and says that last time they took the stars... what will they take from them this time?

Blurr installs the universal emulator back into Perceptor, who transforms and tells her that they aren't taking anything. They're about to learn the joy of giving. As the Quintesson ship heads into space, the quadrant lock breaks, and the stars suddenly return. The light returns to the Zamojins, who are able...

...to direct their light to Kodu Ri. Kodu Ri opens up once more, and the Zamojins head inside. Perceptor says that their technology is apparently powered by star light. It's no small wonder why the Quintessons wanted them locked away. In time, their capabilities will be as limitless as thought itself.

The Zamojins work on repairing the damage the Quintessons did to their guardian long a go. With the quadrant lock broken, Sky Lynx flies towards the planet, whilst Cyclonus finds Galvatron, and the two Decepticons leave. On Zamojin, fireworks light up the sky.

Sky Lynx lands in front of the Autobots, and Perceptor tells Katsu Don that his ancestor built a spacecraft -will he continue his work? Katsu Don tells him he and Nijika will meet again... out among the stars.

NOTES

-The Secret Files segment for this episode is about cassette Transformers.

-It's not clear as to why the quadrant lock breaks at the end. Perceptor's dialogue hints that he did something to sabotage it, but if that's the case it's never shown or mentioned as to what it was he did. It's possible a scene explaining it was cut.

-Another oddity I have to mention is that Cyclonus and the Quintesson just waltz into the Zamojin festival and nobody cares. The Zamojins are meant to hate the Quintessons, so they should have torn the Quintesson apart the moment they saw him.