{{episode|
|series=RiD
|ep=6
|title="The Secret of the Ruins"
|japanese=ギガトロンの襲撃!
|romaji=Gigatron no Shūgeki!
|translation=Gigatron's Raid!
|image=Thesecretoftheruins titlecard.jpg
|caption=This looks familiar...
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]], [[Studio Gallop]]
|airdate=[[May 10]], [[2000]] (Japanese) [[October 11]], [[2001]] (English)
|director=[[Yoshiaki Tsutsui]]
|animation studio=Studio Gallop
|written by=[[Junki Takegami]] (Japanese) [[Tom Wyner]] (English)
}}
'''Predacons attack.''' 
'''Invasion of the city.''' 
'''Sky-Byte finds ruins.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Secret of the Ruins Bullettrain in city.jpg|left|200px|thumb|I'm telling you the cafe is right around here!]]
In daylight, in the middle of [[Metro City]], [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] and his [[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]] attack, hoping to draw out the [[Autobot]]s. [[T-AI]] contacts the [[Autobot Brothers]], but can only find [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] and [[X-Brawn]], who report they're busy looking for [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] and [[Koji Onishi|Koji]], who've gone to explore some old ruins. T-AI orders [[Team Bullet Train]] into the city instead. The three trainbots transform and walk through the city towards the Predacons, who immediately attack with [[Gas Skunk]]'s acid breath. [[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] uses missiles to ignite Gas Skunk's breath, and the incompetent skunk runs around, frying his two teammates. From the base, [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] notes that the Predacons apparently aren't trying to heist some energy supply, and he is suspicious that the attack might be more than meets the eye.

[[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]], who wasn't at Megatron's attack on the city, explores a mountain range, looking for [[Payuma ruins|mysterious ruins]], which the Predacons learned about by using the [[psycho-probe]] to take the information from the mind of [[Kenneth Onishi|Dr. Onishi]]. Sky-Byte spies Side Burn, who is in the area with Koji to search for the same ruins, which Koji explains were left by the "Piyuma" Native Americans.

[[Image:Secret of the Ruins Sideburnkoji.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Koji, I can't see!]]
Koji and Side Burn find the ruins and enter inside on foot. Sky-Byte, who has followed the pair, fires missiles inside after them, trying to trap them inside. Side Burn detects the missiles in advance, and he tries to race through the cave (passing by [[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]], who also happened to be exploring the ruins). After he eventually dodges the missiles, Side Burn radios a mayday message to base for help.

The Predacon Trio continue to get beaten by Team Bullet Train. Megatron, tired of waiting for Prime, engages the Autobots. Instead of helping out in the city, Prime goes to aid Side Burn.

[[Image:Secret of the Ruins Skybyteoptimus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Jaws V: The Reconciliation]]
Sky-Byte, unaware that he's failed to kill Side Burn and his human friend, and also unaware that more Autobots are on the way, voyages into the ruins to find whatever made them so important to Dr. Onishi, assuming that it must be a source of power. Prime arrives and uses his [[Flying Fist]] to knock Sky-Byte down some stairs. Rather than fight Prime, Sky-Byte grabs the chest that holds the ruins' prize and races outside.

Megatron, hearing that Sky-Byte has completed his mission, calls off the urban attack. Instead of letting him escape unharmed, Team Bullet Train combine into [[Rail Racer (RID)|Rail Racer]] and deliver a solid punch. The wounded Megatron retreats in his jet mode.

Exiting the ruins, Sky-Byte runs into the Autobot Brothers. The three blast Sky-Byte, who drops the chest in defeat. Prime catches the chest. With both Predacon attacks over, the Autobots open the chest and discover the prize: a photo of Koji and Dr. Onishi that the doctor stashed in the caves last time he and his son visited them. But more importantly, in the frame of the picture, the Autobots find a [[Doctor Onishi's microchip|microchip]] that could advance the plot.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] (6)
*[[T-AI]] (7)
*[[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] (8)
*[[X-Brawn]] (9)
*[[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] (10)
*[[Rapid Run (RID)|Rapid Run]] (11)
*[[Midnight Express (RID)|Midnight Express]] (12)
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] (13)
*[[Rail Racer (RID)|Rail Racer]] (16)

|h2=[[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]]
|c2=
*[[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Dark Scream]] (2)
*[[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]] (3)
*[[Gas Skunk]] (4)

|c3=
*[[Dorie Dutton]] (5)
*[[Koji Onishi]] (14)
*[[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]] (15)
}}

==Quotes==
"It's the talking car. And guided missiles—but they didn't talk."
:—'''Kelly'''

"Now, Autobots... Let's see how you do against a real opponent. You'll soon discover that all your powers combined won't be enough to defeat me." 
"Do you talk this much all the time, or only when you've got two mouths?"
:—'''Megatron''' fails to intimidate '''Rapid Run'''.

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Car Robots''===
This episode's ''Robots in Disguise'' dub was completed prior to 9/11, but it was not set to air until a few days after the tragedy. Due to several scenes involving the mass destruction of buildings by the Predacons, the episode was promptly pulled before it reached air and underwent extensive re-editing and re-dubbing to make it appropriate for broadcast. Consequently, the episode did not air until much later, well into the multiple-episodes-per-week schedule the show was keeping at the time. The original English version of the episode has never been released in any form; this list notes all the differences between the original ''Car Robots'' episode and the heavily-modified second ''Robots in Disguise'' version.
[[Image:Rid_ep6_deletedscenes.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
* The changes begin right away. The whole opening scene of the ''Car Robots'' version of this episode is original animation, depicting Megatron crashing through a building in [[Wikipedia:Shinjuku|Shinjuku]] late at night. Crowds of terrified onlookers watch as he declares that he will make them all kneel at his feet, after which the Predacon trio pop up on the roof of a building, then leap down. Gas Skunk unleashes a gas attack, melting and corroding a building, and the scene ends on a shot of the city's skyline, as black smoke rises up from it. This scene was almost entirely replaced for ''Robots in Disguise'', and a new opening was created by recycling clips of Megatron's arrival from "[[Battle Protocol!]]", sans any destruction. The only pieces of footage to survive from the ''Car Robots'' version of the episode are the cityscape, the Preadacons leaping down and Gas Skunk attacking; even the end of his attack is cut short, so as not to reveal the damaged building.
*In ''Car Robots'', Gas Skunk implies he ''could'' shoot gas out his butt if he wanted to, but chooses not to for decency's sake. ''Robots in Disguise'' plays it as him forgetting he's not a real skunk for a second.
*''Robots in Disguise'' once again replaces the Japanese toy ID numbers of the Autobot Brothers and Team Bullet Train with their names. The Spy Changers are briefly seen scrolling past, and ''Robots in Disguise'' just deletes their ID numbers without bothering to replace them.
*Everyone is just sort of... more... ''pissy'' in ''Car Robots''. Prowl is annoyed at Side Burn's disappearance, X-Brawn thinks he's chasing red sports cars, Optimus laments "I can't do anything with these guys!" and T-AI moans that the brothers' timekeeping is poor. In ''Robots in Disguise'', they have the decency to be ''worried'' about Side Burn, and Prowl suggests calling up Team Bullet Train to stand in for them while they search.
*As Team Bullet Train is summoned, ''Robots in Disguise'' adds a quick shot of the member select program screen before each character appears, with their names flashing. Got to remind the kids at home which toys to ask for!
[[Image:Rid_ep6_rockpaperscissors.jpg|right|thumb]]
*Railspike's intro scene is mirrored in ''Robots in Disguise'', which him driving across the screen from right to left, instead of left to right as we was in ''Car Robots''. The same is true of the scenes of the Predacons gathering on a rooftop, and Dark Scream spotting the Bullet Trains approaching.
*''Robots in Disguise'' adds one of its CGI POV targeting shots as Gas Skunk prepares to fire on the trains, and another as Railspike fires back.
*After Rapid Run and Railspike give each other a thumbs-up, ''Robots in Disguise'' cuts out a short scene in which Midnight Express mistakenly believes they're playing rock-paper-scissors, and gets yelled at by the others. The joke is repeated a little later into the episode, after the trains take down the Predacon trio, and is again cut from ''Robots in Disguise''.
*The first rock-paper-scissors gag is followed by a [[scene transition]] that involves an Autobot symbol quickly filling up the scene and receding; it's the first time it has been used in ''Car Robots'', but it will be seen again. ''Robots in Disguise'' mostly excises these and uses its own CGI scene transitions, as it has been doing since the first episode.
*In ''Car Robots'', Sky-Byte perches himself on a rocky peak and scans the horizon. ''Robots in Disguise'' added a commercial break just before this, so the panning shot of the skyline is moved to ''before'' Sky-Byte sits down, to serve as an establishing shot for anyone just joining the show after the break, rather than as Sky-Byte's POV.
[[Image:Rid_ep6_kappa.jpg|right|thumb]]
* ''Robots in Disguise'' cuts a short scene of Japanese wordplay when Sky-Byte first sights the entrance to the ruins. In ''Car Robots'', the Payuma ruins are known as the real-life [[Wikipedia:Cappadocia|Cappadocia]] ruins, and Sky-Byte takes the name at face value, beliving it must have some connection to the mythical Japanese water monster known as the [[Wikipedia:Kappa (folklore)|Kappa]]. In two deleted shots, he mistakenly recalls the name as "Kappa's Navel" and "Kappa's Plate", imagining them in his patented comedy thought bubbles. The gag runs on into his flashback, where Megatron believes it's called "Kappa's Bellybutton", causing Sky-Byte to facefault, a brief action also cut from ''Robots in Disguise''.
* Sky-Byte's flashback to Megatron giving him orders is also quite heavily altered for ''Robots in Disguise''. In ''Car Robots'', Sky-Byte asks Megatron why he is attempting to conquer an insignificant planet like Earth, prompting Megatron to tell him that there is [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|something important]] hidden somewhere on it (thought the implication is that even Megatron doesn't know exactly what it is). In ''Robots in Disguise'', they just talk about prying "secret information" from Doctor Onishi's brain. The flashback is also shortened for ''Robots in Disguise'', as a long downward panning shot of the Megastar is removed.
* Side Burn and Koji's conversation about the ruins is shortened down for ''Robots in Disguise''. The ''Car Robots'' version also carried on the "kappa" gag, as Side Burn mispronounces "Cappadocia" as "[[wikipedia:sushi#Makizushi|Kappamaki]]", a kind of sushi roll with cucumber (he says he prefers tekkamaki, literally an "iron roll"). For ''Robots in Disguise'', this was changed to him mispronouncing "Payuma" as "pie humor," which he considers his preferred style of comedy.
[[Image:Rid_ep6_POV.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*Yet more POV shots! ''Car Robots'' includes some POV shots of its own, one when Sky-Byte watches Side Burn and Koji, and two more as his missiles track them. ''Robots in Disguise'' replaces them with their now-standard CGI efforts.
*Yet ''another'' POV shot is added to ''Robots in Disguise'' a minute later when Midnight Express targets Gas Skunk with his rifle. After he successfully blasts the Predacons, ''Car Robots'' has Midnight Express be very happy with himself, as it's his "first win". Railspike and Rapid Run give him a thumbs-up, and he sags, believing he has lost another round of rock-paper-scissors. The sag is cut from ''Robots in Disguise''.
*In a rather obvious cock-up, ''Robots in Disguise'' takes shots of Megatron's shadow looming over the Bullet Trains, and of the trains looking up at the villain in claw mode, and moves them to ''after'' he transforms into dragon mode, creating a visual continuity error.
*In ''Car Robots'', Optimus thinks that the mayday signal causing his chest to glow is chest pains caused by worrying! Ha!
*One last time for now: ''Robots in Disguise'' adds a CGI POV targeting shot as the Autobot Brothers prepare to fire on Sky-Byte.
*Scenes that ''Robots in Disguise'' extends with looped and repeated footage include:
**Optimus asking T-AI to activate the member select program.
**T-AI doing so.
**Prowl telling T-AI they can't find Side Burn.
**Prime telling T-AI to call up Team Bullet Train.
**Railspike and Rapid Run watching as Midnight Express stumbles through traffic.
**Rapid Run and Railspike's banter about Railspike's aiming abilities.
**Rapid Run giving Railspike a thumbs-up.
**Prime remarking that something smells bad.

===Animation or technical errors===
* After Side Burn ditches the missiles and transforms, the smoke around his feet appears to move backwards and forwards.

===Continuity errors===
* Optimus Prime describes Sky-Byte as "very clever." Though compared to the Predacon Trio, he probably is!
* Dark Scream's "center laser" acts as a freeze-ray whereas it's never been used as such before.
* Speaking of Dr. Onishi, he has his glasses back — they were left behind when Megatron kidnapped him back in [[Battle Protocol!]].

===Transformers references===
*Doctor Onishi is subjected to the mind-reading psycho-probe, a callback to the mind-reading device from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode "[[The Girl Who Loved Powerglide]]". It is even noted to run at 90,000 volts per scan, as the original did.

===Real-world references===
* Images in Dr. Onishi's mind include the Statue of Liberty, Arc de Triomphe and London's Tower Bridge.

===Trivia===
*One of the few factoids known about the original dub of this episode was that it featured Dorie Dutton making a reference to "robo-terrorism of the mid-1980s". Dorie's dialogue had to be re-recorded to remove this line when the episode was redubbed, but evidently regular actress [[Tifanie Christun]] wasn't available, as T-AI's voice actress [[Sandy Fox]] is performing the role.
*This episode shows one of the only times a Transformer has switched to robot mode while carrying a human passenger. Rather than being squished to death, Koji is ejected. The same thing happens in "[[The Human Element]]". [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] survived inside [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] during his transformation in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 4]]," but was not ejected.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Transformers: Car Robots'' — Vol. 2 ([[Pony Canyon]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Volume One ([[Maximum Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 1 of 2 (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Evil Intent (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Special Edition 2-Disc Set (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise / Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation / Action Man'' (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Season One (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Ultimate Collection (Maximum Entertainment)

==External links==
*[http://www.ridforever.info/transformers-transcripts/rid-episode-06-the-secret-of-the-ruins.php "The Secret of the Ruins" on RiDForever.info]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret of the Ruins}}
[[Category:Robots in Disguise episodes]]