Sorry this took me forever; it was a while before I found the free time to watch the movie so I could write this. Also, I'm probably gonna be skipping and compressing things for ease of writing (and because I don't want to keep you guys waiting even longer); things will make much more sense if you've seen Dark of the Moon. Fortunately, I also found my copy of the novelization.
THE FOLLOWING THINGS ARE THE PROPERTIES OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS; I DO NOT OWN THEM AND MAKE NO MONEY OFF OF THIS VENTURE
Mahō Shōjo Lyrical Nanoha (Teana, various other characters) – 7Arcs
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni (Shion, the "Keiichi Crew") – 07th Expansion and Studio Deen
Shuffle! (Kaede Fuyō, Rin, Asa & Ama, Sia & Nerine, Primula) – Navel and Asread
Erika's New Perfume (Marie, Sarah, Erika, Timmy, Veronica) – Deviant-Art artist Lance the Young
Mai-chan's Daily Life (Mai, Kizuna) – Waita Uziga
Star Wars (Ahsoka, Cody, Rex, Force Unleashed cast) – George Lucas, Lucasfilm
Halo (Forerunners, UNSC, Sangheili Alliance) – Bungie and 343 Industries
StarCraft (multiple characters, events, and devices) – Blizzard Entertainment
Naruto (jutsu, abilities) – Masashi Kishimoto
Mahō Sensei Negima (spells, abilities, characters) – Ken Akamatsu
Kingdom Hearts (Keyblades, Heartless, Nobodies, Unversed, Aqua, other characters and concepts) – Square-Enix
Neon Genesis Evangelion (Mana Kirishima, other characters) – Studio Gainax
Elfen Lied (Kaede K., others) – Lynn Okamoto, Arms
Red vs. Blue (The Blood-Gulch Crew, the ex-Freelancers) – Rooster Teeth
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic – Hasbro, Lauren Faust
Transformers Film Series – Hasbro, Michael Bay
Transformers: Beast Wars – Hasbro, Mainframe Entertainment
Bishōjo Senshi Sailor Moon – Naoko Takeuchi
Digimon – Google and Wikipedia won't tell me who presently owns this franchise
Yu-Gi-Oh! – Kazuki Takahashi, Viz Media
Sonic the Hedgehog - SEGA
Gears of War – Epic Games
Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles – Columbia Tristar (I think)
Mass Effect – Bioware
Metroid - Nintendo
Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Gen Urobuchi, SHAFT
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES
-BOOK 19 START-
"We were once a peaceful race of intelligent mechanical beings. But then came The War – between the Autobots who fought for freedom, and the Decepticons who dreamt of tyranny. Overmatched and outnumbered, our defeat was all but certain.
"But in the war's final days, one Autobot ship escaped the battle. It was carrying a secret cargo, which would have changed our planet's fate. A desperate mission, our final hope…
"A hope that vanished."
-X-
"In the years since our arrival, our new home, Earth, has seen much change. Energon detectors guard its cities now. Long-range defense systems watch the skies. So now, we assist our allies in solving human conflicts, to prevent humanity from bringing harm to itself. We work in secret teams on various missions around the world. And all the while, we search for signs of our true enemies' return."
-SCENE BREAK-
Dimension TFM-7, Earth
Pripyat, Ukraine
LOCAL DATE: June 29, 2011 AD
A squad of NEST soldiers, all of them in armored hazardous-environment gear designed by Wheeljack to withstand truly incredible amounts of radiation and to provide protection in a fight, moved cautiously through the twisted wreckage deep inside the old fission plant. Accompanying them were two DDF personnel – Marie, who was wearing similarly radiation-proof full-body armor (though somewhat more streamlined in design), and Rattrap, who – being a Cybertronian – did not need any protection from the type of radiation that made Chernobyl so lethal to organics. They were here to investigate an artifact of potential Cybertronian origin brought to their attention by the Ukranian government.
As they moved through the wreckage, they found a large, curved machine that was holding a smaller, spherical component with several bundles of cut cabling attached to it.
"Optimus, we've got a visual" Col. Lennox radioed to the Autobot leader outside. "Looks like the object's clamped in some kind of a metal harness."
"This thing's container has Soviet space program markings on it" one of the soldiers said.
"Sir!" another one interrupted. "We've got an Energon reading! Big, and coming closer!"
The ground suddenly trembled.
"I don't think this is a Decepticon" Rattrap said. "No 'Con has this big an Energon signature. The only thing that does is… is… Aw, slag."
"What?" Marie asked. "What is it?"
"We're all gonna die."
With almost no warning, a huge metal serpent with a claw-like structure for a head punched through the nearby wall, and was then joined by another, and then two more. And then, as they dove for cover and opened fire on the things attacking them, the soldiers realized they were not four large serpentine metal creatures, but the limbs of a single, very, very large synthetic life-form. One of them grabbed hold of the artifact and then withdrew, as everyone (except the poor sod who'd been torn in half by one of the tentacles) retreated for the exit.
"What the hell is this?!" Lennox shouted.
"A Driller!" Rattrap replied. "Cybertron's apex predator!"
Everyone (barely) made it outside just as the main snake-like body of the Driller tore its way up through the roof, dragging its way out and heading towards them. At this point, though, Optimus Prime rushed in, carrying a sword and shield from his trailer armory. He used the shield to block an attempt by one of the claws to crush Lennox, and then his glowing-hot blade severed the tip of the tentacle-claw carrying the artifact. The Driller's head, a massive lamprey-like mouth with countless grinding blades, roared and dove for Optimus, but Marie fired a Super-Missile shot into its mouth, damaging it and convincing it to back off.
Farther back along the Driller's body, near the deep pit it had emerged from, a 'passenger' compartment opened up to reveal a tall Decepticon with a single glowing red optic and a huge cannon for a right arm. He snarled as the Driller retreated underground, carrying him with it.
"Who the hell was that?" Lennox asked.
"That was Shockwave," Optimus replied, "one of Megatron's most powerful and vicious soldiers."
"And what's this thing he was trying to grab?" Marie nudged the spherical device.
"…It can't be" Optimus murmured as he got down on hands and knees to inspect the device closer. "This is an engine part from a long-lost Autobot ship."
"So what were the Soviets doing with it?" Lennox wondered.
"What, indeed…" Optimus rumbled.
-SCENE BREAK-
Accureta Systems Headquarters
Five Days Later
Sam Witwicky really did not care for where his life was right now. All the things he'd been through, saving the damned world twice, and here he was as a mailboy for some corporate mega-company. At least, though, he'd been made 'in the know' regarding the whole multi-dimensional coalition thing, and he'd recently got a pair of gifts from them just in case he found himself in the fray again – one of which was strapped to his left arm underneath the sleeve of his work-shirt, and the other stashed in a small holster on his right hip hidden by an active camouflage device.
Now, he stood in an elevator as it slowly moved down, returning him to his main work floor. Others had stepped off, leaving him alone with a short Asian man in glasses. As the elevator descended, the man sidestepped a bit closer.
"Sam Witwicky?" he asked in a harsh whisper.
"…Yyyeah…" Sam replied, confused.
The man looked and sounded a bit… desperate as he whispered. "I can't say everything, but I know who you are, what you've done. You need to warn your Autobot friends; the Decepticons are planning a trap for them."
Now Sam was listening, his heart-rate going up. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"My name is Jerry Wang" the man said, speaking quietly but quickly. "Like I said, I can't tell you everything, but the 'Cons are prepping for something big. They're assassinating humans who've worked with the American and Soviet space programs. Here…" He pulled out from his pants a bunch of rolled-up papers held together by a rubber band. "Here's what I got. You'll understand once you look at it. Your big friends are walking into a trap."
The elevator dinged as it reached the floor, and Wang hurried out, heading for his office. Sam waited several seconds, to just before the doors closed, to slip out and head for his own desk. Carefully, he unwrapped the parcel and spread the papers out, going over things, trying to connect the dots. After a few minutes, he knew he couldn't see the complete picture, but the vague outline he could see was rather worrying. He decided this needed a little more confirmation. He headed for Mr. Wang's soundproofed office, approaching quietly as he noticed the door open a tiny bit.
"I did everything you want!" Mr. Wang was heard shouting. "I swear, I didn't-"
"Jerry…" a second voice made itself known, speaking with faux-friendliness, "you know it's not nice to lie to me. Now… What did you say to Witwicky?"
"I didn't say anything!"
"You know, Jerry, you always have been my favorite~. But now, my superiors need me to… 'suicide' you~."
At this point, Sam had quietly uncovered the device strapped to his left arm, and drawn his other 'gift' from its cloaked holster. In a flash of movement, he activated the Kig-Yar energy shield gauntlet and forced the door open, seeing the condor-like Decepticon perched on Wang's desk. The little 'Con immediately turned and opened fire with its twin machineguns, only for the rounds to bounce harmlessly off the shield. Sam then brought up his other 'gift' – a Sangheili Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol – and returned fire as fast as his finger could pulse the trigger. Glowing green bolts of plasma crashed against Laserbeak's body, burning through thin armor as the birdlike Decepticon screeched in pain and anger. Laserbeak fired again, forcing Sam to bring his shield up, and then used the opportunity to escape through the window, flying off into the D.C. sky as fast as his injured body could carry him.
"Sorry I don't have a witty one-liner right now" Sam said to Mr. Wang, who was panting lightly from adrenaline. "I'm sure I'll think of an awesome one 20 minutes from now. …We need to get you out of here, to a safe zone, and then I need to get to NEST."
-SCENE BREAK-
Outside NEST HQ
35 Minutes Later
The hunk'o'junk on wheels made its way up to the gates leading into the "Department of Human Services", manned by two guards with concealed weapons. Jerry Wang had already been escorted to a DDF-run safehouse, and while there they had picked up a visiting member from another realm – what appeared to be an unusually large peregrine falcon sat in the back seat of the old car as it drove up to the gate.
"Sorry, sir, but this area is off-limits" a guard said.
In response, the 'falcon' in the back seat transformed, the two guards quickly recognizing her.
"Autobot business, boys" Airrazor said. "Let us through, please."
A few minutes later, Sam, Carly, and Airrazor found themselves walking down a hallway that supposedly led to a second-floor overlook in one of the facility's 'garages'; Wheelie, in RC truck form, was driving alongside them, Brains riding on top of him. They were accompanied by Colonel Lennox, who actually seemed a bit glad to see Sam again, and by a cold and dismissive government official named Charlotte Mearing who seemed decidedly not so. From what Lennox could tell them, the Autobots had recently recovered five "pillars" from a crashed Autobot ship on the Moon's far side… along with the stasis-locked body of Sentinel Prime, Optimus' predecessor.
The group entered the overlook, watching as down below Optimus Prime approached Sentinel's inert form, the Matrix of Leadership floating just above and in front of his outstretched hand.
"Sentinel Prime…" he said. "We bid you return."
He then shoved the Matrix into Sentinel's open chest compartment, infusing the old Cybertronian with energy. Sentinel Prime came alive as Energon flowed through him, his optics lighting up blue as he came back online. And then he lunged forward, acting on instinct as he pinned Optimus to the floor and drew one of his swords. The other Autobots quickly signaled the on-site soldiers to back off.
"Sentinel, wait!" Optimus shouted as he tried to stop the blade from cutting into his neck. "It is I, Optimus Prime!"
Sentinel stepped back as sense and reason returned to him, looking around at the other Autobots and recognizing his old student.
"The war…" he murmured. "The war!"
"The war was lost" Optimus replied, retrieving the Matrix. "Cybertron is now but a barren wasteland. We have taken refuge here on the planet Earth; its native sapient race, the humans, are our allies."
Sentinel was silent for a few seconds as he tapped into the Internet, information flooding his mind.
"My ship… we came under fire… The Pillars! Where are the Pillars?"
"You managed to save five of them, including the Master Control unit."
"Only five? We had hundreds!"
"Excuse me!" Director Mearing interrupted. "What exactly are these 'Pillars' you're speaking of?"
"They are advanced prototype technology," Sentinel replied, "which act in concert to form a 'space bridge'. They defy the laws of physics as humans currently understand them to move large amounts of matter through time and space."
"You're talking about a large-scale, interstellar-range translocation system?"
"Yes. It was to be used to transport refugees."
"Refugees, or divisions of soldiers, heavy weapons, maybe thermonuclear or antimatter warheads! You can't just bring weapons of mass destruction into our biosphere! You kinda have to clear customs first; a little matter called 'paperwork' that separates us from the animals!"
"I will overlook your condescending tone, bureaucrat, if you heed the gravity of mine: the Deceptions must not learn that the Pillars are here. If they do, it could mean the end of your world."
-SCENE BREAK-
Sam & Carly's Apartment
Next Day
After being coldly dismissed by Mearing as "just a messenger" and sent home with Bumblebee for protection, Sam had called in an old favor, while 'Bee had contacted the DDF base; most of the Dimensional Defense Force's forces were busy trying to hunt down bigger fish in other realms, but a handful of volunteers had crossed over to assist in investigations. Now, Sam and his group of allies – the eccentric yet savvy Seymour Simmons, Simmons' aide "Dutch", Bumblebee, Wheelie & Brains, Teana Uchiha-Lanstar & Subaru Nakajima, and Twilight Sparkle (it was still hard for Sam to believe that a 'my little' pony was so competent and powerful, even after he'd seen the DDF 'scrying footage', though the fact she was presently in her human form helped a little) – were going over every last scrap of data that Wang had given them, connecting every dot, seeing every pattern. Sam's boss had delivered data on Wang himself, another piece of the puzzle. The Decepticons were killing people who'd worked in the American or Russian space programs, especially those who'd done anything connected to the Moon's far side.
"I don't think it's a matter of the 'Cons lookin' for something" Simmons said. "I think… they've got somethin' to hide."
"But what?" Twilight wondered. "We've already found the Ark and rescued Sentinel Prime; what else could there be?"
It was at this point, however, that Carly came home. As Sam went off after her to do damage control, Brains spoke up: two "missing" cosmonauts were alive and well, nearby in Atlantic City.
-SCENE BREAK-
Russian VIP Club
70 Minutes Later
The group (minus Subaru and Twilight, who were waiting outside with Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Mirage, and the Twins, just in case) made their way into the club, where music played and drinks flowed. It didn't take long to find their 'targets', seated with a pair of fancy-looking ladies with (Teana noticed) concealed handguns.
"So…" Simmons said as he sat down. "Agent Seymour Simmons, Sector Eight, formerly Seven. We know who you are, cosmonautchiks. You were supposed to travel to the far side of the Moon. …And then it all got shut down. A shame. The question is… why?"
Teana put a hand on his shoulder upon noticing the guards' hands drifting towards their guns.
"Look" she said to the cosmonauts. "I'll give it to you boys straight, since we don't have time to play around. The Decepticons have been killing people from NASA and the Soviet space program, all of whom worked on things involving the Moon's far side. We think the Decepticons have something there they want to hide, and we think you two can help us find out what."
The two ex-cosmonauts shared a look. "Follow me" one of them said to the group as he got up, leading them to the back room.
They found themselves gathered around a table, as the other ex-cosmonaut pulled a manila folder out of a safe. An Omnitool link allowed Twilight, Subaru, and the Autobots to look & listen in.
"America was first to sent man to Moon," the first man said, "but USSR was first to send camera. In 1959, our Luna-3 take pictures of far side, sees nothing. But in 1963, Luna-4 sees-"
"-strange rocks" the other man finished. "Here, look at picture."
The image showed hundreds of small, cylindrical objects scattered about, which Sam quickly recognized.
"I know these" he said. "They're not rocks; they're called 'Pillars', and they're components for some kinda FTL teleport system the Autobots were working on back when the war was confined to their homeworld. We've got five over at NEST now, including the Master Control unit."
"The Decepticons must've raided the ship before Apollo-11 even got there" Simmons said. "Took the pillars, hid 'em, used humans to keep 'em hidden."
"This doesn't make sense!" Sam said. "If they found the ship and have all those Pillars, why'd they leave Sentinel Prime there? I mean, if only Sentinel can use them…"
He stopped, trailing off as realization dawned on him.
"He's the one thing they still need" Teana said it for him. "They left him there on purpose."
"…We gotta find him" Sam got to his feet. "We gotta find Sentinel now! They're coming for him!"
-SCENE BREAK-
I-66
25 Minutes Later
"Witwicky, I thought I told you not to call this-"
"Mearing, listen to me! The whole thing's been a giant set-up! The Decepticons wanted Optimus to find Sentinel Prime, because his Matrix is the only thing that could revive him! Sentinel's the key; he's what they're after. We're escorting him back to NEST now. The Decepticons want the space-bridge, and they need Sentinel for that!"
"But we have the Pillars at NEST!"
"Mearing, you have five Pillars! I just learned that the 'Cons have hundreds! You've played right into their hands! The Decepticons are coming for Sentinel Prime!"
Seven vehicles sped down Interstate 66: Sentinel Prime, in his fire-truck vehicle form, led the pack, followed by Bumblebee (carrying Sam), Sideswipe (with Teana), and Mirage (carrying Twilight), and then with the Twins and Dutch & Simmons' luxury car (also carrying Subaru) bringing up the rear. As they made a beeline down the freeway, cars moving out of their way, they received company: five black Chevrolet Suburbans coming up behind them, police lights flashing.
"Cool" Simmons said. "We get an escort."
And then the closest one shifted form, and now it was a Decepticon sprinting right behind the car, quickly closing in. It reached into the convertible and yanked Simmons up, tossing him over its shoulder. Subaru immediately leapt out, bounding off the Decepticon's head and conjuring her Barrier Jacket mid-flight, using a burst of speed to catch Simmons and then roll to a stop, drop the dazed man off, and then speed up in pursuit as she shifted her BJ to her Mark-7 Mjolnir armor, Mach Caliber going into overdrive as she rolled alongside Skids & Mudflap. The five transformed Dreads leapt over a fallen freeway sign and gave chase, intent on catching Sentinel.
Teana had already transformed at this point, immediately firing blasts of destructive magical force at the pursuing Decepticons as Sideswipe swerved to dodge a burst of gunfire. One of them tried to leap onto Bumblebee, who braked and allowed the Dread to sail over him; then, the yellow Autobot's weapons unfolded from his vehicle form's roof, opening fire on the stunned target, to some effect. Sideswipe and Mirage's guns joined the cause, focusing fire on Bee's target, and soon the 'Con went down, having taken one too many hits to its Spark.
The four remaining Dreads continued their pursuit of Sentinel, one pulling ahead. One that was bringing up the rear staggered and stumbled as a magic-based concussive shot from Twilight blasted it in the leg, and this gave Subaru time to leap up its back and bring a full-power Vibration Shatter down on its head. The now-headless 'Con corpse began tumbling to a stop, Subaru having already leapt off and rolled ahead. Another Dread swung its claws, capable of tearing tempered steel, at Mirage, who found himself vanishing and reappearing a few dozen meters ahead in a burst of magenta light; Twilight then teleported herself up onto Mirage's roof and sent a wave of mana bolts flying back at the off-balanced Decepticon, which gave Skids & Mudflap time to catch up, blast him in the back, scamper up, and flip forward into the air over the Dread's head, the two firing simultaneous cannon shots down that blew the 'Con's head to bits.
"Nobody messes with the twins!" Skids shouted as he and Mudflap high-fived in midair, before shifting to vehicle modes as they landed and continuing pursuit.
The battle moved to city streets as Sentinel sped down an off-ramp and headed for NEST HQ, the two Dreads pursuing him. As they neared the gate, however, the largest of the Autobots dropped in from out of nowhere into the Dreads' path. They transformed to meet him and tried to slow down, but their momentum kept them going, carrying one straight into Jetfire's axe, bisecting it mid-torso. The other one was clotheslined by the massive Autobot, being sent tumbling end-over-end down the street. The Dread rolled to its feet, snarling as it drew its weapon, but then a cannon shot blew its head open. Ironhide stepped out, nodding to Jetfire, who nodded back before stomping on the head of the half-a-Decepticon trying to crawl at him.
"Really don't make 'em like they used to, do they?" Jetfire said.
Everyone hurried into the NEST base's lot, getting out and getting ready.
"Ironhide, Lennox," Sam shouted, "you've gotta protect Sentinel! He's the key to all this!"
"Yes…" Sentinel Prime said as he transformed. "Indeed I am. What you must realize, my Autobot 'brothers', is that we were never going to be able to win the war. For the sake of our race, of our home, a deal had to be made… with Megatron."
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Sentinel spun, acid-rust blaster being drawn and pointed at Ironhide. He fired… and Ironhide vanished in a burst of magenta light, the lethal shot passing through where he'd been an instant before, and reappeared several meters away. Twilight collapsed to her knees, tired, but had enough air in her lungs to shout out one word that knocked everyone out of their stupor:
"TRAITOR!-!"
That seemed to set everything in motion; Ironhide and Bumblebee immediately opened fire on Sentinel, who quickly brought his shield to bear, blocking the shots. He returned fire, and the two veterans threw themselves out of the way.
"We've gotta get out of here!" Jetfire shouted. "None of us can take down a Prime!"
Twilight and Teana both began charging power.
"Wait, don't!" Sam stopped them. "He's a Prime! That means he's completely immune to all forms of offensive magic-, chakra-, or Force-based techniques! All you'll do is draw his attention! There's nothing any of us can do to hurt him. We need to stay out of his way, and warn the others!"
Teana growled, but acquiesced, nodding and backing down as Sentinel shifted form and drove into the NEST base proper, the Autobots firing a few shots as they scattered out of his way. Several minutes later, a black and red fire truck drove out onto the road and sped away, carrying five large metal storage cases and leaving behind the decimated wreckage inside NEST's headquarters.
As Optimus arrived, learned the gravity of the situation, the depths of the betrayal, it was all he could do not to weep from guilt. Sentinel and the Decepticons had set a masterful trap, and he'd fallen for it hook, line, and sinker.
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: the second half