As Autobot medic Ratchet tends to Optimus, Grimlock and a team of Autobots man shuttles to carry the AllSpark to the Spacebridge above Earth and back to Cybertron. Back at the Decepticon warship Nemesis, Megatron and his troops catch wind of the Autobots' mission and attack the five Autobot shuttles, destroying all of them. The shuttle mission is revealed to be a ruse for the Ark to finally launch uninterrupted while the Decepticons are distracted finding the AllSpark. However, Sky-Byte attacks the Ark with the Nemesis following afterwards. Though Cheetor manages to repair the Ark using the AllSpark's powers, the Spacebridge is seemingly destroyed by Shockwave, causing the crew of the Ark to change plans and head into deep space to return to Cybertron. Unbeknownst to the Autobots, Shockwave only destroyed a holographic version of the Spacebridge while the Nemesis departs for Cybertron, entering the real Spacebridge to get there first.
The Autobots throw a surprise party for Optimus Prime. To celebrate, Wheeljack makes AllSpark emitter badges for the revellers to commemorate their time on Earth. However, one of the badges falls into the hands of a captive Starscream, who proceeds to sabotage it and thus all other badges. As a result, the entire crew of the Ark, except for Teletraan-X, Optimus and Cheetor, go berserk. The three survivors confront Starscream, during which, Teletraan-X snatches the badge and deduces Starscream's plans. They later confront the berserk Autobots before Optimus destroys the sabotaged emitter badge, restoring all victims from their berserk state. After the incident, Optimus resumes the party, restoring the festive mood of the Autobots.