Just to explain something:

From the Transformers Wiki, regarding movie-verse Starscream: "Starscream is a hero on the wrong side. Over the centuries he's come to believe both Optimus and Megatron have lost sight of what is best for the Cybertronian race, and simply pursue their own agendas."

I simply took that forgotten-by-the-movie facet of his character and ratcheted it up, hence his turn to good at the end of Book 18 and his continued heroics here.

SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR DISCLAIMERS

PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES

-CHAPTER START-

Decepticons. Dozens of them, all pouring out through the space-bridge linked to the far side of the Moon, wreaking havoc in the D.C. night before scanning various vehicles and slipping away through the chaos, bound for locations all over the world. In the midst of all this, Optimus chasing down and tackling Sentinel, only to be overpowered and pinned to a statue with a sword to his throat.

"The choice is yours, Optimus" the old traitor growled. "Let the humans serve us, or perish. …You're lucky I won't kill you now. I have bigger matters to attend to."

As the fallen Autobot walked away, Optimus staggered to his feet. "This isn't over…" he rumbled.

-SCENE BREAK-

"Renounce Optimus Prime and his followers, or face the consequences. The choice is yours. We await your reply."

That was the closing line of Sentinel Prime's proclamation to the leaders of Earth's nations: exile the Autobots. The United Nations replied with "No way in hell", but were all overruled as the governments of the world, acting in fear, promptly acquiesced to the ex-Autobot's demands. Worse, Sentinel made it clear that he would not give them the time needed for a DDF ship to arrive and pick them up; they were to be kicked off of Earth now.

Thus it was that Sam Witwicky and company found themselves at the space center, where the old Autobot ship Xanthium was strapped to a Saturn-V rocket and being prepped for launch. The mood was somber as everyone prepared to carry out the order to get rid of Earth's last, best hope against Sentinel and the Decepticons. Most of the DDF group had headed back to their hidden base to contact the rest of the organization and tell them what was going on; Twilight was at the space center, joined by a few others – Thane, Dinobot, and Mami – who'd been on standby at said base. Sam was acting… odd, but there was nothing to be done about it at the moment.

The massive rocket's booster engines roared to life, and the huge vessel was carried up into the sky on a plume of fire and smoke. But as it soared upward, initial booster rockets detaching, scanners detected something coming down.

"That's an F-18" Epps said. "The hell's it doing?"

"That's not a human aircraft…" Dinobot said. "That's Thundercracker!"

All the ground-bound people could do was watch helplessly as a barrage of missiles from the Decepticon flyer impacted the rising spacecraft, blowing it to bits in a massive explosion. Everyone stood in place, disbelieving horror rendering the control room utterly silent, which mirrored that of the rest of the world as they watched on their television screens. Mami collapsed to her knees. And then Seymour Simmons turned to Charlotte Mearing.

"That…" he growled "is what happens when you do what the Decepticons want."

-SCENE BREAK-

"I'm going to find her."

"Not alone, you're not. I'm comin' with you."

Everyone could scarcely believe it: a human collaborator working with the Decepticons, hiding in Chicago with Carly Spencer as a hostage. Now, as the world watched in horror as the Decepticons began their all-out assault on Illinois' capital to transform it into a fortress, killing every human they got in their crosshairs, Epps and Sam made ready to mount a rescue mission, joined by a small group of DDF volunteers.

"I'll contact my old NEST buddies," Epps said as he and Sam got into the former's car, "we'll get in there, grab your girlfriend, and bring this Gould guy in."

"We have managed to get a message through to the rest of the Dimensional Defense Force" Thane said. "They are busy, but they will likely send a task force within the next 24 hours."

"Why are you helping me?" Sam asked.

"Because…" Epps replied, as Dinobot cocked his heavy rifle, "that asshole killed our friends, too. And I wanna make damn sure he goes down in the same kinda flames they did."

-SCENE BREAK-

The convoy of cars arrived at a scene of devastation. Chicago was in ruins – buildings burned and crumbled, cars abandoned and wrecked, bodies and charred skeletons in the streets. Mami watched as a group of injured, frightened children ran past, trying to find a new place to hide. Thane closed a dead man's eyes. And Epps & his team stared out at the carnage.

"Your girlfriend's in the middle of all that?" Epps said.

A pair of F-18s flew in toward the city, only to fly right into the gunsights of a trio of patrolling Decepticon fighters, which blew them out of the sky.

"…I ain't goin' in there" one of Epps' team said.

"No-one's going in" Epps said.

"…I am" Sam replied, as he started walking. "With or without you, I'll find her."

"Sam!" Epps ran after him. "You're gonna get yourself killed! That what you want? You came all the way here just to die?!"

"She's here because of me!" Sam snapped. "It's my fault she's in this mess; I need to get her out!"

"Listen to me. If you go in there – and that's even if Carly's still alive – there's no way in hell you're ever gonna reach her!"

"So that's it then? We just give up?"

"It's over, Sam. There's nothing we can do. We can't get to her. I'm sorry, but it's over."

"Incoming!-!"

Everyone quickly took cover as a Decepticon fighter flew in, firing its guns at a pack of civilians, reducing them to ashes and charred bones. It went after the group next, forcing them into cover as their weapons fire bounced off its armor. Sam and Epps were pinned to the street as the hostile craft hovered less than a meter over them. It moved up and back, lining its main gun up to blast them to kingdom come… when suddenly an armor-piercing cannon shell punched clean through it, causing it to crash down on its belly a few dozen meters away. The injured pilot tried to pull himself out, but the hatch was stuck. The ground thudded with massive footsteps, and a huge spent shell casing bounced off the ground with a loud clang.

"We will kill them all…" Optimus Prime said with cold fury as he walked up. "Perhaps now the leaders of Earth's nations will finally understand that Sentinel and his Decepticons will never leave Earth alone."

Over at the crashed fighter, the Wreckers quickly tore the hapless pilot apart.

"H-How?" Sam said. "I saw your ship get blown up!"

"The ship?" Roadbuster laughed. "We were never on the ship, laddie!"

"We were hidden in the first booster rocket to separate" Leadfoot explained. "Splashed down in the Atlantic, just as planned!"

"Thing was an ancient piece of crap, anyways" Topkick said. "Never woulda made it past the mesosphere."

"The Decepticons aren't just wrecking the city for wanton destruction" Optimus said as the other Autobots drove up (except for Jetfire, who had headed over to link up with the humans at NEST). "They're making Chicago into a giant fortress, and ensuring nobody can see what they're up to."

"We need to find a way in there…" Sam's eyes fell on the fighter. "Bumblebee, can you fly this?"

The yellow Autobot moved his hand in a 'so-so' gesture.

"What is that? So-so? So you can 'so-so' fly it? …That doesn't inspire confidence, 'Bee."

"He'll do fine, kid" Leadfoot said. "Alright, boys! Let's get this enemy dingwig ship-shape top-tight ready!"

It only took around 10 minutes for the Wreckers to get the fighter in working order again. Slightly unsteadily, it took off and flew deeper into the city, bound for Trump Tower. While Sam and Bumblebee went off on their little rescue mission, the DDF group, Epps' group, and the rest of the Autobots drove through the city, being as stealthy as they could as they made their way further in (though the presence of Warpath, with his Scorpion tank alt-mode, meant they still drew plenty of stares from survivors). It was less than 15 minutes, though, before they saw Bumblebee's craft spiraling down from above, smoke trailing from its portside engine. They quickly made their way over to where the craft made its hard landing, arriving there just as Bumblebee was prying himself out of the vehicle, while Sam & Carly were holding each other in relief. Draped over one of the aircraft's wings and partially jammed into the damaged thruster was the headless body of Laserbeak.

"Well, that was thrilling" Carly said, a little breathlessly.

Sam's eyes, however, then fell on a small, damaged machine of obvious human origin. Epps disembarked from Optimus and ran over to join him.

"It's one of our UAVs!" he said. "Maybe…" He then leaned down in front of it, staring into the camera. "Flight control, do you copy? I say again, do you copy? Can you show if you see us – rotate, or something?"

After a few seconds, the camera ball moved down and then slightly up, focusing on him. Sam and Carly ran into its field of view.

"If you can hear us," Sam said, "this is ground zero! Sentinel Prime is getting ready to activate his space-bridge! He's planning to transport Cybertron here, to our solar system! He wants to use humanity as slave labor to rebuild it!"

"They're on top of a building by the Chicago River; it's owned by Hotchkiss Gould investments. Now, the master control pillar is in the southeast cupola. It needs to be destroyed or we're all as good as dead!"

"We need to move before the fighters spot us" Optimus said once the 'conversation' was done. "Wait here until we scout a route ahead."

"We got a rocket with us" Sam pointed to the launcher that one of Epps' men had brought along. "Could we use that to shoot down the pillar?"

"We're eight blocks away" Epps replied. "We've gotta get closer to have a shot."

"Not closer" one of the soldiers said. "Higher. We need a clear line-of-sight, maybe from that glass building."

"And it's across the river. Gonna have a hell of a time trying to sneak up."

"We've only got one rocket."

"One's all we need" Sam said.

-SCENE BREAK-

As Epps & his squad, Sam & Carly, Mami, and Dinobot made their way toward the damaged glass tower (Thane went with the Autobots), a flight of four V22 Ospreys and three donated SICON dropships made their way over Lake Michigan, approaching the ravaged city. Each was carrying a squad of soldiers wearing wing-suits, and in the lead Osprey was Col. Lennox along with four DDF additions.

"Let's hope Witwicky and Epps are still in one piece by the time we get there" Garrus said as he checked that his jetpack was firmly attached and functional, holding his helmet in his off hand.

"Witwicky's a survivor" Homura replied as she inspected the armored form of her outfit while checking her own thruster pack. "I can tell that much."

"Indeed" Silverbolt said. "The boy has a strong heart." The Maximal's expression grew dark as a holoscreen showed the devastation in the city. "…The Decepticons will pay dearly for the lives they have taken."

"Damn right" Rainbow Dash growled, standing ready in the new custom 'magitek' armor forged for her by Luna herself, and looking at the HUD on the visor projected over her eyes that showed the status of the twin 'thought-fired' machineguns mounted below and in front of her wings. "They didn't show all those people any mercy, so they won't be getting any."

As Lennox explained the drop plan, Decepticon fighters began to emerge and attack from the city. An Osprey took a round that ripped its starboard wing off, sending it cartwheeling through the air and into the lake. One of the SICON dropships took a hit, but was able to make a water landing, being left adrift and stranded but intact with its passengers & crew alive. One fighter heading right for the lead Osprey was suddenly blasted by a pair of missiles, and the human crafts' pilots looked in surprise as an F22 Raptor with familiar markings flew alongside them in escort position, firing at the attacking fighters. Jetfire's SR71 Blackbird mode joined a second later, adding his missile launchers to the cause.

"…Why did no-one tell us Starscream switched sides?" Lennox asked.

"It was classified, for the sake of his maintaining deep cover amongst the enemy" Homura replied. "It seems he has finally decided to break cover and defy Megatron & Sentinel openly."

The surviving aircraft flew into the city, taking position beside Willis Tower, slowly hovering up toward the top to give the jumpers more altitude to glide from. Thundercracker flew in and started firing at them, damaging one of the SICON dropships, only to be chased away by Jetfire and Starscream. With the way clear, everyone deployed, splitting into different groups to reach different objectives.

Lennox's group – himself, six other men, and the four DDF personnel – weaved between and around buildings as they made for their objective. A trio of Decepticon fighters began pursuing them, firing their guns – meant to hit Transformer-sized targets – and missing; Silverbolt and Homura briefly 'fell' backward behind the lead pursuer, firing wing-missiles and an M19 rocket at it and sending it down in flames, before then moving forward to regroup with the rest of the 'flock'. They rounded a corner, flying toward a small gap where one skyscraper had collapsed leaning against another. With expert precision and timing, they all sped through the small gap. One of the pursuing fighters tried to follow, but was much too big to fit through the gap and was destroyed by the resulting crash.

As the airdrop team deployed parachutes and set down at their objective, the rocket team had finally gotten to a high enough floor of the damaged glass building to have a shot at the master control pillar. Seeing as the upper third of the building (which they were in) was leaning at almost a 10-degree angle due to damage further down the structure, every shift of movement or sound of groaning metal was nerve-wracking. Everyone's pulse went up as the building shifted a teensy bit.

"This was a bad idea" said the man on Epps' team who was carrying the rocket.

"Hey," Sam replied, "if we don't do what we came to do and take out that pillar, it doesn't matter – we're all dead. This is your shot, man! Make it happen!"

The big man swallowed his fear and shouldered the rocket launcher, preparing his shot… when suddenly the building began to creak and groan and tip a little more. Everyone grabbed hold of something, and one of Epps' men was able to look down out the window.

"They're shooting at the building!" he said. "Three hostile fighters, blasting at the weak spot below us!"

Before long, everyone had given up on trying to get a shot and were just focusing on keeping their footing. By the time the fighters stopped blasting the building, the top section was leaning by almost 20 degrees. And just when everyone started to relax, one of the fighters' Decepticon pilots decided to inspect the floor personally, leaping out of his aircraft and into the building while his autopiloted craft landed itself below. Everyone stayed silent and hidden as the hunched-over Decepticon hunted for them. As soon as the 'Con was in position, Epps threw a frag grenade and signaled for everyone to run. Wounded and stunned by the blast, the Decepticon was kept further off-balance by gunfire sent its way by the retreating soldiers as the group ran 'up' the building.

They shot out and jumped through the windows, sliding down the 'slope' of the building, and as they approached the break they shot out the windows ahead, dropping back into the building on a lower floor… and sliding helplessly 'down' the floor, heading inexorably toward the broken-out windows at the 'bottom'. Dinobot drew his drill-sword and dug it into the floor, catching himself and then reaching out to grab one of Epps' teammates, saving him. Sam grabbed hold of some loose cabling and then caught Carly, while most of the rest of the group caught onto support pillars or bolted-down desks. One man couldn't find anything to grab hold of and almost fell out… only for a golden magic-forged ribbon to race out and wrap around his torso, arresting his fall; Mami breathed a sigh of relief, already using another of her ribbons to secure herself to a pillar.

Unfortunately, however, a desk knocked out of place by a tumbling Epps fell out through the open window, plummeting down to the street far below… and right onto Shockwave's head. The powerful Decepticon looked up, his single glowing red optic zooming as he spotted and focused on Epps, who was looking down at him with panic.

"Aw shit, Shockwave's lookin' right at me!" Epps shouted.

Shockwave called out in Cybertronian, summoning the titanic Driller.

"And he's brought his pet with him!"

The massive mechanical beast roared and then dug into the building, emerging higher up and then diving back in, making its way up through the structure. Up above, the team frantically tried to get away from the windows and find something to hold onto, as the Driller soon reached the weak, damaged part of the skyscraper. It coiled around the weakness and began constricting, 'bisecting' the building until the top portion fell over, the top of it landing atop a neighboring building, preventing it from falling to the street far below. Inside, everyone hung on for dear life, and watched in horror as the Driller began to approach.

"We're all gonna die!" one of Epps' men screamed.

"Look!" Dinobot suddenly pointed out at the city streets below. "Down in the sky!"

"Is that a bird?" Mami wondered.

"Maybe a plane?" Carly supposed.

"No" Sam grinned. "It's Optimus!"

Sure enough, Optimus Prime – armed, thanks to his trailer/armory, with jet thrusters and two huge arm-mounted guns – came flying in, blasting the Driller with both cannons on full-auto. Parts came off of the beast, blasted out by the shots, and it roared and tried to swing one of its sawblade-tipped limbs at Optimus as he passed, to no avail. He flew up above the collapsed building, firing a few missiles to clear a path, and then dived straight down with blades out, punching clean through the Driller's neck. The beast's head collapsed to the street a second later, followed by the rest of it. Unfortunately, however, as Optimus flew away a grazing shot from an enraged Shockwave threw him off-course, doing minimal damage but sending him careening into a nest of cables, leaving him ensnared and hanging upside-down from a half-constructed building.

As Sam & Epps' group made their way down the shorter building's fire escape and hurried through the streets and alleys, hundreds of pillars were deployed from positions around the world, floating up into space and forming a grid. Meanwhile, the group came under fire as they approached a fork in the alley path; Epps and his squad went left, but Sam & Carly kept going straight. The couple soon found themselves in another wide alley, which included a slightly-rusty old school-bus. They stopped to catch their breath, hiding behind a hunk of concrete… and then an F-18 came swooping in, transforming into a Decepticon.

"Hello, kiddies!" Thundercracker cackled.

Sam & Carly immediately tried to run, but the sadistic Decepticon easily kept pace, enjoying the fear he was instilling in them and dragging out his 'fun'. Carly managed to get into cover, but Sam was still exposed. Thundercracker drew one of the swords that were built into his wings, raising it high… and was blindsided by a flying kick by another jet-form Cybertronian, one who Sam quickly recognized, except for the fact that his formerly-red optics were now purple.

"Hide, boy!" Starscream shouted.

Sam was happy to oblige, scrambling into cover as Thundercracker got back on his feet.

"Starscream…" he growled. "You betray Megatron?"

"There has to be a way to save Cybertron other than enslaving and extinguishing an entire sapient race" Starscream replied. "Besides, it's clear that Sentinel Prime is the one in charge, and it is a certainty that he will dispose of the Decepticons once they are no longer of use to him! He does not truly care about restoring Cybertron; he only wants to make himself into a god! He is mad with power, and is no longer what is best for Cybertron, for our race! That is why I choose to help stop him! If Megatron can be swayed to see reason, then so be it, but if not then he must perish as well. I will see Cybertron restored, but not under the control of a mad conqueror with a deity complex!"

"You would see our work undone, deny us our slaves?"

"I have seen the potential slumbering within humanity; I am curious to see it awaken. …And stop trying to pretend you're not at least partially in this for the slaughter, Thundercracker. I know you."

"…Heh. Heh-heh. Actually, this is good. Y'see, I've always wanted to see you scrapped, and now I've got the opportunity to do it myself! I'll send you straight to The Pit, and then Megatron will name me Air Commander!"

He then charged at Starscream, bellowing a war cry as he fired his wrist-mounted gatling gun while brandishing his sword. Starscream dodged and ducked around the shots and then slapped Thundercracker's sword-strike aside, countering with a kick to the leg and an elbow to the face. Thundercracker used his thrusters to jump backward, avoiding a burst of gunfire from Starscream's wrist-mounted gun, only to take a pair of missiles to the torso from Starscream's launcher. He snarled and drew his other wing-sword, dual wielding, but when Starscream charged him the other 'bot caught him by the wrists, stopping his swings, and then dealt a rising-knee/wrist-twist combo that relieved him of one of the blades. Starscream stepped back, now brandishing one of the swords and taking a stance. After a second, the two aerial-bots charged each other and locked blades. Meanwhile, Lennox and his squad had arrived and gotten Sam & Carly, and now stared in awe.

Starscream went on the defensive, blocking and parrying Thundercracker's strikes. After a short while, Thundercracker overextended on a thrust that Starscream sidestepped, and Starscream then quickly reached out and broke his arm, Thundercracker howling in pain and rage as his arm was left dangling, sparks coming out from where it bent at an odd angle. He'd dropped his sword in shock when the arm was broken, and Starscream now pressed his attack. Now Thundercracker was on the defensive, frantically trying to dodge Starscream's attacks and fight back with only one working arm. It wasn't long before Starscream scored a decisive hit, severing Thundercracker's left leg at the knee and then unloading on him with his gatling gun. Thundercracker slumped against a building wall, sparks and Energon leaking from him as he feebly tried to raise his gun against Starscream, only for it to be slapped away as Starscream pointed his missile launcher at his head.

"You always were a sadistic pain in the skidplate, Thundercracker" Starscream said.

He fired twice, scattering the contents of Thundercracker's cranial module all over the alley. He then stepped back from his former ally's corpse and turned to face the humans. He nodded to them, and then transformed and took off.

"Well, that was weird" Sam said. "Shall we keep going?"

-Mini-Break-

Soundwave felt satisfaction as he looked at the quartet of prisoners he and his men had taken – Bumblebee, Mirage, Wheeljack, and Ratchet. He'd sent a report to Sentinel Prime, and now he had just received a response: execute. He chuckled evilly as he gave the signal to his underlings, and as one they drew their weapons and pointed them at the captive Autobots. One of the Decepticons stepped forward, charging his weapon and pointing it at Wheeljack's torso where his Spark was… when all of a sudden, a 90mm explosive armor-piercing cannon shell hit the 'Con in the back of the head, blowing his head to bits.

Soundwave and his cronies were caught completely off-guard as Warpath and Ironhide came charging in, firing their big guns. Three more Decepticons went down before they knew what hit them, and Barricade quickly transformed and retreated as fast as he could drive. Soundwave ducked into cover and returned fire, keeping the two Autobots' heads down, but then a hand gripped his shoulder and turned him around. The barrel of Bumblebee's arm cannon, 10 inches from his face, was the last thing he ever saw.

As Soundwave's headless body toppled to the ground, the nearby bridge lowered, and Lennox & Epps' group crossed over as quickly as they could. While the six Autobots headed out to regroup with the rest, the human-led group continued through the city, heading for the building where the master control pillar was located. Soon, it could be seen, letting out rapid pulses of energy. Behind them, one of the Decepticon's airships began dropping fighters and plummeting from the sky, heading for the river, but they paid little mind, so focused on the increasingly-active pillar.

"We have to hurry!" Sam said. "It's about to-"

Too late. A bright beam of bluish-white energy shot up into the heavens from the master control pillar, activating the hundreds of subordinate pillars in orbit, which generated their own beams that combined with the controller's. The converged beam raced out, and halfway between Earth and the Moon a rift opened in reality. From it, a gigantic planet, at least four times Earth's diameter from what could be told by observation, began to gradually emerge. Soon, Cybertron's face filled the skies over the Western Hemisphere. Decepticons began to converge along the road that ran past the target building.

"Now what're we supposed to do?" Epps said as he and the others observed the gathering of hostiles. "Even with all the Autobots, I'm not sure we can get past all that."

"We may not have to" Garrus spoke up; even with the species difference, the smile on his face was plain as day. "I just received word over the comm. that we've got some major help coming."

"What kind of help?" Sam asked.

As if on cue, there was a sudden flash of light and burst of noise from above. Everyone looked up as a massive, 1600-meter starship, gleaming silver with glowing blue lines running along it, emerged from slipstream space above the city. The Starshot was here. What's more, it was flanked by two more ships – the UNSC Charon-class frigate Forward Unto Dawn, and the Phoenix League-owned Behemoth-class battlecruiser Striking Hammer.

"That kind of help" Garrus replied.

The Decepticons stared up in shock at the interlopers, and two of their airships began to ascend toward the three starships, charging weapons, only to be hit by a barrage of pinpoint-accurate fire from the three ships' point-defense guns, the sheer magnitude of fire causing fatal damage. The two 'Con ships plummeted in flames, plunging into Lake Michigan, while dropships and drop-pods began to emerge en masse from the starships. A large Midchildan/Forerunner teleportation circle from the Starshot appeared amongst the Lennox/Epps/Sam group, and from it emerged a sizeable group of people: Gamma & Sigma Teams, the rest of the Maximals, and the rest of the Puellae.

"By Primus…" Optimus Primal said as he looked up at the sky. "It really is this realm's Cybertron…"

"We don't have much time" Sam said. "If that planet makes it all the way through, Sentinel will take command of all the Decepticons still on it and enslave humanity, use us as labor to rebuild the planet."

"Where's Optimus Prime?" Teana asked.

"Last I saw him, he was tangled in a bunch of cables, hanging upside-down from a construction site. The Wreckers were tryin' to cut him loose."

Primal nodded. "I guess I'll have to do until he gets here" he quipped. Then his whole body glowed as he increased in size dramatically, soon towering over the others. When the glow faded he was in his 'Optimal Optimus' form, as tall as his ancestor/namesake. "Our forces are engaging the Decepticons throughout the city," he said, "but the bulk of them seem to be concentrated here, near the control pillar. We'll need to push through them to get to the pillar."

"Right" Lennox said, as several more DDF hard-hitters arrived. "Let's send 'em to the scrapheap."

-Mini-Break-

Sentinel Prime stood tall atop the human tower, as next to him the master control pillar thrummed with power. Above him, Cybertron continued to gradually emerge through the space bridge. Below, many Decepticons gathered in the streets, celebrating 'their' victory. He was ever-so-slightly worried about the trans-dimensional interlopers now engaging his forces in the outer areas of the city, but they were still just humans, and they wouldn't dare fire down on the city when there could be survivors hiding anywhere; what harm could they cause? …And suddenly, his attention was drawn to a series of explosions down below on the street, as Decepticons began to fall.

As Lennox's team launched a demolition-charge-assisted surprise attack on the Decepticons from the sides, the coalition's main force attacked down the street, led by Optimus Primal and the Autobots. Sam made his way through the chaos as best he could, occasionally firing overcharged shots from his plasma pistol at Decepticons' faces, leaving them stunned to be finished off by the others. The Decepticon known as Barricade suddenly found himself surrounded by dozens of Mami's summoned muskets, along with a Tiro Finalé cannon pointed at his head; they all fired at once, the high-velocity magic bolts tearing through the Decepticon's body from all directions, and his lifeless, mangled form toppled to the ground. The PLF's Sgt-Maj. Mel Johnson was seen to blast out one 'Con's eyes with her dual blaster pistols, and then clamber up it and slice its head off with a Sangheili plasma sword.

And then Optimus Prime joined the fray, flying in and using a small Decepticon as a landing pad. He moved forward, a whirlwind of destruction, using his arm-mounted cannons and then his twin hot-blades to strike hapless Decepticons down with grace and ease. He drew close to Shockwave, who was frantically trying to take down some of the humans peppering him with heavy armor-piercing rounds. Prime rolled under a cannon shot sent his way, and then brought his heated blade down, vertically bisecting the fearsome Decepticon warrior in one swing. As the two halves of Shockwave began to fall, Optimus grabbed hold of the right half's arm cannon, pointing it at the control pillar up above and firing. Despite Sentinel Prime's best efforts, the device was knocked out of alignment and then tumbled over the side of the building. The translocation paused, Cybertron's partially-transported face hovering in place in the sky.

"Sentinel!" Optimus shouted. "Get down here!"

"Optimus…" Sentinel snarled. "You forget your place." He drew his blade, leaping off the roof and digging it into the side of the building to slow his fall, jumping off and hitting the ground with a thud from 40 feet up. "I bring you Cybertron, your home, but still you choose humanity."

"You were the one who taught me that freedom is everyone's right" Optimus replied as he drew his heated-blade axe. Then he charged, the blade clanging against Sentinel's shield, and then leapt back to avoid a retaliatory strike from his fallen mentor's sword. The two Primes flew into a hectic duel as the other Decepticons were mopped up.

Suddenly, a barrage of crimson energy bolts came flying in at Optimus and Sentinel. As they were Primes, their total immunity to all magic-, chakra-, and Force-based attacks protected them, but it still got their attention. And then a pair of telekinetically-thrown cars came soaring in at them, followed by a barrage of debris, forcing them into cover. The culprit soon emerged, clinging to the side of a building with staff in hand, the reddish glowing portions of her armor pulsing with power.

"Eve…" Optimus said.

"She bears the energy signature of The Fallen" Sentinel said. "What is she?"

"She was a captive of a corrupt human government in another Realm. The Fallen rescued and empowered her; his influence, combined with her experiences, have led her to desire the extinction of humanity. She is after me because I killed her master, and is likely after you because your enslavement of humanity would prevent her from exterminating them."

"She is so lost in darkness and hatred that she would kill over seven billion beings for the actions of a few thousand?"

"Yes…" Optimus replied, a hint of sadness in his tone.

Forming an energy blade from the tip of her staff, Eve leapt down and began charging at the two Cybertronians… only to be intercepted by a flying kick from an armored human bearing the Phoenix League crest on her armor's chestplate.

"Do what you have to do with Sentinel, Optimus" Melody said, activating two plasma swords. "I'll deal with her."

She rushed at Eve, pushing her back. Optimus' observance was cut off as he barely noticed and avoided a sword-swing from Sentinel, quickly getting back into their fight like nothing had happened. After several seconds of this, a pillar of light shot up into the sky, and Cybertron continued to slowly emerge; someone had reactivated the pillar.

The fighting continued without significant change for another minute or so. Then, however, something unforeseen and very significant happened. Up in space, a fleet of 10 TSAB vessels emerged from transdimensional slipspace, all of them fitted with special gear. What's more, they had recently made limited contact with The Ark in the UNSC's home universe, and Mendicant Bias was standing by to help. The ships all fired their Arc-en-Ciel cannons on a new setting at the same point along the portal beam, creating a slipspace rift that the beam went into… and Mendicant created another rift that returned the beam to realspace, way out beyond Mars' orbit. Instantly space-time "hiccupped", and the portion of Cybertron that had emerged over Earth vanished and reappeared out where the portal beam's new convergence point was, continuing its gradual emergence point out there. At this point, a radio transmission was sent out for all to hear.

"Attention, Decepticons: We, the Dimensional Defense Force, hereby offer to assist voluntarily in the rebuilding of Cybertron. Lay down your arms, and we can restore your home together. All we ask is that you cease pursuing aggression against the Autobots and organics, so that we may all rebuild Cybertron together, as partners and equals. Renounce war against us and the Autobots, and you can share in the prosperity and freedom from pointless war; continue to seek our destruction or enslavement, and you will meet death. The choice is yours."

Around the city, a handful of Decepticons responded by laying down their weapons… but Sentinel Prime had ensured that the vast majority of 'Cons present in Chicago were those who would never accept peace with Autobots or organics, and they continued fighting, some of them even killing most of those who attempted to surrender. Sentinel himself continued his attack on Optimus Prime and the Autobots.

"Sentinel, stop!" Optimus said. "It's over! The humans want to help us!"

"Never!" Sentinel roared, his optics turning from blue to red. "These disgusting organics dare to call themselves our equals?! Ludicrous! They are our slaves, and they will either bow to us, their masters, or die!-!"

Over by the pillar, Dylan Gould stared up at the sky as he realized he was in trouble. If the Decepticons won, Cybertron would be saved, and he would be spared when the 'Cons harvested humanity for slave labor. If the Autobots won, Cybertron would still be saved, but he would likely be locked up for the rest of his miserable life. Well, maybe if he could convince Witwicky to-

His thoughts were interrupted as Sam, way too angry from what Dylan had done to Carly to give the man a chance to surrender, charged him again while drawing something from his belt that the DDF had given him upon arrival: a Sangheili plasma sword, which he activated and then rammed through Gould's chest. The man gasped his final breath as Sam yanked the blade out and then kicked him off the debris mound to fall to the street below.

In another area, Megatron sat against a building, staring up at the sky, his sensors allowing him to 'see' Cybertron emerging at its new translocation point. He had heard the transmission as well, and didn't quite know what to think of it. Thoughts old and new swam through his mind. And then his attention was drawn to a lone female human clambering atop some nearby rubble to face him.

"Was it all worth it?" Carly asked. "All this work to bring Sentinel back, and yet he clearly has all the power. It's almost tragic, really; your Decepticons finally on the brink of reaching your goal, and yet it's he, not you, who's leading them. Look at what he's reduced you to!"

Before Megatron could respond, another figure arrived, flying in and transforming to land in front of him.

"Starscream…" Megatron said. "You have the gall to show yourself after betraying me?"

"I was always on the side of Cybertron, and of our species as a whole" Starscream replied. "And I know that if Sentinel Prime succeeds, he will dispose of most of the Decepticons once they outlive their usefulness to him, and then enslave the rest alongside the humans. I would rather die free than live a slave. …For the longest time, you have lost sight of what is truly important, ignoring Cybertron to focus on this war against Prime and his Autobots. When I first joined you so long ago, you still had Cybertron's best interests at heart, but you threw that away. Ever since The Fallen got his clutches on you all those millennia ago…"

"Cybertron's safety is all I care about at this point."

"Then get off your skidplate and do something to secure that safety! The humans and other races of the multi-dimensional alliance have offered to help rebuild our world; we do not need to follow Sentinel's plan of enslavement anymore! He cares not for restoring our world, only for making himself the god of it! We need to end this fighting if our race and our world are to survive. You were once the Protector of Cybertron, tasked with defending world and race from people who would threaten it – people like what Sentinel has become! Remember who you once were!-!"

-Mini-Break-

Optimus fought tooth & nail as the duel between him and Sentinel took them to an area next to one of the bridges that crossed over the Chicago River. After all the fighting he'd done today, he was starting to become affected by fatigue, whereas his fallen mentor was still going strong.

"You were always the bravest of us!" Sentinel said as he blocked Optimus' axe strikes with his shield. "But you could never make the hard decisions!"

Sentinel managed to slam Optimus into a bridge pillar with his shield, stunning him, and then knocked away his axe and sword.

"We were gods once! All of us! But here…" He raised his sword to strike. "There can only be one!"

Suddenly, a roundhouse kick from behind and to the side hit Sentinel Prime in the head, knocking him aside. Optimus looked up at his rescuer, and felt shock as he gazed at a familiar face, now with purple optics instead of red.

"Get up, Prime" Megatron said as he pulled Optimus to his feet. He then turned to Sentinel. "I will not allow Cybertron to fall under the control of one such as you. …I was and am the Lord High Protector of Cybertron, sworn to defend our home from those who would threaten or exploit it. Your delusions of godhood over our race will not come to pass!"

Megatron then drew his plasma shotgun while Optimus retrieved his axe, and the two rushed at Sentinel. Despite the fact they'd been fighting each other for so long (or perhaps because), the duo managed to work in concert with a surprising level of coordination. But still, Sentinel beat them back. He moved with a speed and fluidity that belied his age and his fury, and it took Optimus & Megatron everything they had to keep from being forced onto the defensive. Optimus was slammed into a building wall hard enough to go partially through it, left in a stunned state as Sentinel drew his acid-rust blaster.

But then, a sliding kick from Megatron knocked Sentinel down and away, losing his grip on his weapon. Optimus jumped up to his feet, snatching up the cannon and pointing it at Sentinel. The fallen Autobot barely had time to register the sight before a blast hit him in the 'stomach' area. He doubled over, holding a hand over the rapidly-growing hole in his torso. He then looked at his former protégé.

"Optimus…" he said. "All I ever wanted was the survival of our race. You must see why I had to betray you."

"You betrayed more than just me" Optimus replied. "You betrayed the spirit of the Autobots, betrayed everything you once stood for… and in so doing, you betrayed yourself as well."

Another shot was fired, blowing Sentinel Prime's head to rusty bits. The corpse toppled to the ground, rapidly rusting away.

Sparks and debris flew as Melody and Eve continued their fight. Melody had over 15 years of combat experience, along with the 'knowledge dump' that affected her in her first trans-dimensional jump, but even so she was barely breaking even against the angry Lucavi who wielded The Fallen's power. Her two plasma swords clashed against the unbreakable staff and the energy blade that extended from its tip, while she also had to keep a constant eye out for telekinetically-thrown objects and teleport strikes.

Finally, though, Eve made a mistake. Driven by her uncontrolled anger, she went for a follow-up attack when it would've been wiser to back off for a moment or try another angle, and ended up overextending her blow. Melody immediately and ruthlessly exploited the split-second opening, an upward swing of one of her blades cutting partially through Eve's right wrist, loosening her grip on the staff enough for Melody to kick it away. Then, Melody stabbed her other plasma blade clean through the center Eve's upper chest, and then swung upward, bisecting her upper torso, neck, and head vertically. Eve's body fell backward, landing with a thud and a rattle of armor. Starting at the cut and slowly spreading, her body was dissolving into red-orange particles that drifted and faded away, with her staff doing the same.

"Rest, victim of the Confederacy" Melody said sadly. "If things had been different, Eve, we probably could've been friends…"

Back at the bridge, Optimus and Megatron stared at each other.

"I'm tired of all this, Prime" Megatron admitted. "All this fighting has brought nothing but destruction, never truly accomplishing anything. It needs to end, for our species' sake. I will order all Decepticons still loyal to me to stand down, including those who are still on Cybertron. We will not pursue further hostilities against you or the humans; any Decepticons who defy this order of mine will meet swift and harsh justice. We will rebuild Cybertron, with or without help, and when we are done we will call for you and yours to return home, if you choose to."

"It will be difficult getting many of them to listen to you" Optimus warned.

"Oh, don't worry" Megatron punched his palm. "They will listen. Starscream and I will ensure that."

"Well, that's good" said a small voice. The two turned to see a pair of tiny Autobots climbing out of the Chicago River. "This whole war bit's gotten kinda stale, y'know?"

"Wheelie…" Optimus said. "What were you and Brains doing in the river?"

Brains pointed to the wrecked Decepticon battleship in the water upstream. "We did that" he said. "Snuck aboard, ripped important-lookin' stuff out 'til she dropped. We rode her down; we survived the crash, they didn't."

"We had to do somethin' to contribute" Wheelie said. "We ain't big enough to be any good in a straight-up firefight, so…"

"That was surprisingly courageous of you" Megatron remarked.

"Yeah, thanks. It was kinda fun, too."

-SCENE BREAK-

Next Day

Things had mostly calmed down, with everything being explained to the public. Cybertron sat comfortable in its new orbit between Mars and the Asteroid Belt; no-one was quite sure how the huge mass didn't at all affect Mars' or the asteroids' orbits, or how it possessed habitable warmth that far from the Sun, but most chalked it up to 'ancient mystical Cybertronian tech' and left it at that. Megatron and those loyal to him had taken up shop there, where the charismatic (and terrifying) leader had quickly set to corralling the 'Cons there into following his new decrees; those who resisted, hell-bent on war against the Autobots and humans, were incarcerated or eliminated. The DDF's engineers and big-shots were collaborating, working out a detailed reconstruction plan for the giant mechanical planet.

Aboard the Starshot, in the portside lounge, Gamma & Sigma Teams were either relaxing or (in the case of Teana and Aqua) going over after-action reports. By some miracle, not a single Autobot had fallen in battle, though there had been a few close calls. The girls' activities were halted as Colonel Holland walked in, saying "at ease" before they could even stand up to salute.

"I've got news, girls" he said. "We know where we're headed next. We've identified the location of something that can either give us another card to play against the Dark Voice, or tell us where to find something that can do so. A lot of the DDF's big names will be joining us there."

"Where to, sir?"

"We're going back to Belka."

-SCENE BREAK-

Unknown Forerunner Site

A bright point of red-orange light came into being, multiple small same-colored particles revolving around it. The particles converged, taking a humanoid form. After several seconds, an armored figure dropped to the ground, landing in a kneeling position with her staff in hand. She heard footsteps, and looked up to see a massive synthetic being, at least 10 feet tall, silver with deep blue 'running lights'. It had a rifle-looking thing in one hand and a glowing blade in the other. Its body looked vaguely insectoid, with a carapace-like design, and a pointed helmet covered a glowing blue face.

She stood tall, glaring up at the mech. It snarled and lurched toward her, and she blocked it with her staff. But then, a pulse of energy raced out from her staff, flowing into the mech. Its lights turned the same red as the lights of her armor, and it stepped back, taking a subservient pose. Several more of the blue-lights mechs emerged from the shadows, hissing at her, but then she banged the bottom of her staff against the ground, unleashing a wave of power that 'turned' them all. As one, the crimson-lit war-droids bowed before her.

Overlooking her new cadre of Promethean Knights, Eve allowed herself a grin.

-BOOK 19 END-

Next Time, the DDF heads to Belka, in search of ways to head off the Dark Voice and Xehanort before their plan(s) can progress further. What will they find when they explore the ruins of the TSAB's predecessors? Look for Book 20, Ancient Worlds, in the Nanoha fics section.