Some army units find Snarl in the midst of a sandstorm in Nevada. Mirage, Trailbreaker, and Brawn save the humans from harm. It seems Snarl and his fellow Dinobots are suffering from some sort of madness, supposedly cause by many years buried beneath tar. Snarl attacks a secret human military base and the commander of the base decides in order to stop the threat, he'll have to blow up the base. The shock of the blast triggers Snarl to transform and then becomes unconscious before his fellow Bots. Meanwhile, in California, Windcharger, Gears, and Cliffjumper have the unpleasant task of finding Sludge in a swamp. Sludge is found by a female human first and befriends the Dinobot. Unfortunately, the Decepticons Soundwave, Skywarp and Scavenger find the Dinobot and human and then take care of the Bots. Later, the said Cons discover an injured Laserbeak who reports about an incident between humans and Slag. The Autobots Jazz, Ironhide, and Jetfire attempt to stop the humans from getting hurt. They manage to stop Slag and use Laserbeak to prevent damage to Jetfire. The last Autobot team which was to take on Grimlock are severely hurt and Optimus goes to do what he can for them. Meanwhile, a Con controlled Sludge is fighting his leader Grimlock. The fight leads to a lake, which fits perfectly with Primes plan. Prowl crash lands a electrically charged shuttle into the lake and the shock stops Grimlock. An explosion near Sludge shock him unconscious and the Dinobot Hunt is over.