Editing Dark Birth

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Cyberverse (cartoon)|Transformers: Cyberverse]]'' ep 24
|image=Cyberverse-DarkBirth-FoundTheMoonCheetah.jpg
|caption=Bumblebee practices his "B-list celebrity at a convention photo-op" pose.
|prev=Trials
|next=Parley
|title="Dark Birth"
|airdate=[[August 31]], [[2019]] (Australia/NZ)
|production company=[[Allspark Animation]]
|writer=[[Randolph Heard]]
|animation studio=[[Boulder Media Studio]]
|director=[[Ehud Landsberg]]
}}

'''The Autobots attack Megatron, believing he has the Allspark, while Starscream creates a terrible new army.'''

==Synopsis==
''On the [[Moon (moon)|moon]], [[Megatron (Cyberverse)|Megatron]] hurls [[Starscream (Cyberverse)|Starscream's]] limp body from the ''Nemesis'', certain he has finished the traitor for good. The ship departs for earth, but Starscream's optics slowly blink back to life to see [[Cheetor (Cyberverse)|Cheetor]] looking down at him. Cheetor takes off for parts unknown, leaving an open [[GroundBridge]] behind. Seeing the new opportunity offered to him, Starscream cackles...''

Aboard the ''[[Ark (Cyberverse)|Ark]]'' Cheetor explains that he was once one with the [[AllSpark]], but was brought to [[Earth]] and given his bestial form to act as the AllSpark's guardian. For many years, Cheetor traveled through the GroundBridges with the AllSpark before one day encountering [[Bumblebee (Cyberverse)|Bumblebee]] and [[Windblade (Cyberverse)|Windblade]] in the desert. Since then, he has continued to observe the [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s, hoping they would achieve peace so he could bring them to the AllSpark. The Autobots speculate that with the Decepticons now in possession of both the AllSpark and [[Vector Sigma]], Megatron could reprogram the AllSpark to create an army of beings of his own design. Knowing the risk this poses, [[Optimus Prime (Cyberverse)|Optimus Prime]] decides that they must take the fight to Decepticons. On the ''Nemesis'', Megatron fumes over Starscream's theft of the AllSpark and Vector Sigma, and declares he must be stopped.

In the abandoned missile silo, a fanatical Starscream gloats over his new prize and boasts to the other [[Seeker (Cyberverse)|seekers]]. Thinking he had been terminated by Megatron, Starscream believes his [[spark]] traveled to the AllSpark and returned, and that he is destined to bring about an era of peace and return their race to the AllSpark by terminating all other [[Transformer]]s. [[Slipstream (Cyberverse)|Slipstream]] attempts to convince the others of Starscream's madness, but the others have completely bought into Starscream's claims. To demonstrate his power, Starscream uses the AllSpark to bond a nearby excavator to himself as his new [[spark armor]].

[[Shockwave (Cyberverse)|Shockwave's]] attempts to locate the AllSpark prove ineffective, so he instead decides to search for Vector Sigma's unique frequency. Before he can begin, the proximity alarm blares: Optimus and an army of Autobots have arrived to storm the ''Nemesis'' and retake the AllSpark. With Shockwave needing more time to find Vector Sigma, Megatron orders his troops to attack. While the others keep the Decepticons busy, Cheetor, [[Hot Rod (Cyberverse)|Hot Rod]] and Bumblebee infiltrate the ship in search of the Allspark. Cheetor cannot sense its presence and believes the AllSpark may have abandoned him for his failure, but the others reassure him. After a brief scuffle with [[Clobber (Cyberverse)|Clobber]] and [[Lockdown (Cyberverse)|Lockdown]], Cheetor comes to a realization and demands to speak with Optimus and Megatron immediately. Back at the silo, [[Acid Storm (Cyberverse)|Acid Storm]] continues to program Vector Sigma, but their attempts are not working, and Starscream begins to grow impatient. While the two argue, Slipstream attempts to grab the AllSpark, but Starscream notices her and knocks her aside. Helping her to her feet, Starscream teases that she has no idea what he can really do with the Allspark...

In the ''Nemesis''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s hangar, the battle rages on, with Optimus and Megatron locked in combat. The fighting is suddenly interrupted by a powerful roar from Cheetor, who reveals that the AllSpark is not on the ship at all, making the fight pointless. Megatron begrudgingly reveals that Starscream stole the AllSpark for himself, and Cheetor admits that Starscream likely escaped death by following him through the GroundBridge. Megatron curses Cheetor, claiming he has no idea what he's done. Meanwhile, in the silo, Acid Storm finally finishes the reprogramming. Starscream declares this the beginning of a new era and activates Vector Sigma, watching as its energies intersect with that of the AllSpark. As the new program takes hold, The AllSpark creates the first of his new army: a [[Scraplet|small, aggressive insectoid]] creature. Starscream laughs maniacally as he is surrounded by more and more of his new "children", much to Slipstream's horror.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Cheetor (Cyberverse)|Cheetor]] (3)
*[[Hot Rod (Cyberverse)|Hot Rod]] (4)
*[[Bumblebee (Cyberverse)|Bumblebee]] (5)
*[[Windblade (Cyberverse)|Windblade]] (6)
*[[Grimlock (Cyberverse)|Grimlock]] (7)
*[[Optimus Prime (Cyberverse)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
*[[Autobot]] soldiers (20)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (Cyberverse)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Starscream (Cyberverse)|Starscream]] (2)
*[[Shockwave (Cyberverse)|Shockwave]] (10)
*[[Soundwave (Cyberverse)|Soundwave]] (11)
*[[Shadow Striker (Cyberverse)|Shadow Striker]] (12)
*[[Decepticon]] soldiers (13)
*[[Acid Storm (Cyberverse)|Acid Storm]] (14)
*[[Thrust (Cyberverse)|Thrust]] (15)
*[[Thundercracker (Cyberverse)|Thundercracker]] (16)
*[[Slipstream (Cyberverse)|Slipstream]] (17)
*[[Nova Storm (Cyberverse)|Nova Storm]] (18)
*Generic [[Seeker (Cyberverse)|seekers]] (19)
*[[Clobber (Cyberverse)|Clobber]] (21)
*[[Lockdown (Cyberverse)|Lockdown]] (22)
*[[Laserbeak (Cyberverse)|Laserbeak]] (23)

|c4=
*[[Teletraan-X (Cyberverse)|Teletraan-X]] (9)
*[[Scraplet]]s (24)

}}

==Quotes==

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*The episode begins with a clip from "[[Bad Moon Rising]]" of Megatron tossing Starscream after his seeming execution, before showing what happened to him after the ''Nemesis'' departed.
*Cheetor mentions watching Bumblebee perform a "strange ritual" in the desert, referring to his performing donuts around Windblade back in "[[Fractured]]".

===Transformers references===
* [[Scraplet]]s are a race that first appeared in [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|the Marvel comic]], though they would remain an obscure one-off menace until they made their on-screen debut years later, in the ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' episode "[[Scrapheap (episode)|Scrapheap]]." ''Cyberverse's'' Scraplets are physically based on their ''Prime'' counterparts—vaguely insectoid creatures with massive, toothy mouths. They're also much larger, reaching about the height of Starscream's knees.

===Real-world references===
*Starscream tells Acid Storm that "Time is the fire in which we burn." This is a line from the poem "Calmly We Walk Through This April's Day" by {{w|Delmore Schwartz}}; the line was also famously used by [[memoryalpha:Tolian Soran|Tolian Soran]] in ''[[Star Trek]]: Generations''.

===Trivia===

===Animation and technical errors===
*Starscream uses an excavator as armor, but the actual toy depiction is a bulldozer.

===Foreign localization===

==Home video releases==
*TBA

[[Category:Cyberverse episodes]]