If this story was a movie, the ending theme would probably be Obsession by SeeSaw from .hack/Sign.

Disclaimer: Transformers belongs to Hasbro/Michael Bay.


Aboard the bridge of the Nemesis, the Decepticons aboard the bridge flinched at the instant they heard Megatron roar in rage.

"I am very disappointed in all of you!" thundered Megatron, "how could you not have noticed that Sentinel escaped?!"

"You were the last one to go down there," reminded Starscream, "and shouldn't Soundwave have spotted him somehow? He's not exactly fast or small."

"Not to mention the pile of dead Vehicons in one of the corridors," added Knockout, "last time I checked Sentinel, he was just weak. There is no way he could've escaped by himself, so someone must have snuck aboard the ship, taken out the Vehicons and freed the old mech while Lord Megatron wasn't around."

"And how would they get onboard without Soundwave detecting it?" objected Starscream, "I mean, we all know who would do that…"

The other Decepticons nodded in agreement.

"…but how would he do it?" continued Starscream.

"There's only one way to find out," replied Megatron, "Soundwave?"

Soundwave checked the cameras.

"Here, my lord," said Soundwave, "you'll want to see this."

Soundwave played back one of the recordings on the screen of the computer terminal for Megatron to see. In the footage, the Decepticon leader saw Optimus and the Autobots taking out the Vehicons after emerging from the space bridge and before racing through the corridor.

"So that must've been Optimus in the shadow," Megatron muttered to himself.

Soon, the footage ended.

"Decepticons," declared Megatron, "it looks like we'll have to get to Optimus as well if we are to get the AllSpark!"

"Yeah," reminded Starscream, "but there's one problem. None of the Decepticons put a tracer on him."

"Slag it," muttered Megatron.


The following day, Sentinel was still resting in his berth while Optimus, Arcee, Chromia and Elita went out to search for more AllSpark shards. Lennox and Ironhide took Bailey to her apartment to retrieve the food she had in her fridge and her pantry. After returning to the base, they proceeded to place the food into the new refrigerator and pantry. Prowl, Jazz, Mirage, Smokescreen, Bumblebee, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were busy finishing renovating the rest of the Autobots' living quarters. At the moment, Bailey started playing Kirby's Return to Dreamland, catching Sentinel's attention.

"What the frag is that sound?" groaned Sentinel.

"Sorry," exclaimed Bailey, "it's from the video game I'm playing right now!"

"Can you use headphones, please?" requested Sentinel, "the high pitches are screwing with my audials."

"Uh," nodded Bailey, "right."

Bailey paused the game and plugged in some headphones before putting them on. She then continued playing.

"Is that better?" asked Bailey.

"Yes, thank you," praised Sentinel, "now, back to my book."

Sentinel continued to read as Bailey continued to play her game. After a long while, Optimus entered the room.

"Bailey?" called Optimus, "we have more shards."

Bailey paused the game and took off her headphones before sprinting towards Optimus.

"Really?" warbled Bailey.

Optimus nodded. He pulled the shards out of his subspace compartment, allowing Bailey to use her bracer to absorb them.

"I guess there are still more out there, right?" smiled Bailey.

"Yes," nodded Optimus, "Wheeljack is currently working on finding more."

"Ooh, Snow," commented Sentinel, engrossed in the book he was reading, "you're in trouble now. Everdeen's pissed."

Bailey made a brief glance at Sentinel before focusing her eyes on Optimus.

"Is it me," asked Bailey, "or is Sentinel starting to like the Hunger Games series?"

"He started the first this morning," explained Optimus, "now he's on the third, and it's not even noon. He went through all of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings yesterday."

"Hey," chirped Sentinel, "there's great strategy advice in here, which was one of my old unit's specialties."

"Kinda fascinating," mused Bailey, "I read the Lord of the Rings trilogy in high school. I never read the Hunger Games, but my best friend Clayton did, and he told me about the story. And then I have my younger sister, who is still engrossed in this Twilight series. Even when the series is over, she still thinks this Edward guy would come for her someday. To make matters worse, she dragged me out to see their movie adaptations! Ugh!"

"Excuse me," paused Sentinel all of a sudden.

Sentinel reached out, dragged a large waste bin closer to his berth and puked into it, much to Bailey's surprise.

"Whoa, I didn't know Cybertronians can get sick," muttered Bailey, "did I say something that made him puke?"

"You said the T word," answered Optimus, "he hates that stuff."

"Oh," commented Bailey, "so I'm not the only one who hates it!"

"No," agreed Optimus.

"It's the most ridikulus scrap I've ever heard," added Sentinel.

"Ridikulus?" pondered Bailey, "oh, you mean ridiculous! Wait, you like Harry Potter as much as my mom does? She read it to me when I was growing up."

"I don't know your ma," nodded Sentinel, "but yes, I like it. Too bad that glampire series isn't a boggart."

"Oh Sentinel, if only I was allowed to introduce you to my family," sighed Bailey, "I could ask you to convince my sister to grow out of that bullshit teenage vampire romance series."

"I'd probably scare them," objected Sentinel.

"Well," chuckled Bailey, "my older brother and my sister would freak out a lot if they saw you, and my mom, not so much. My dad, on the other hand, would probably be excited. He is a huge fan of mecha anime."

"Mecha?" pondered Optimus.

"It's an anime genre involving giant robots," explained Bailey, "for example, you guys."

"We're not technically robots," corrected Sentinel, "since we can think and feel. I guess you could say we are people in robotic bodies."

"Oh," agreed Bailey, "I guess I'll keep that in mind. If you'll excuse me, I'll get back to my game."

Bailey returned to her living space and put her headphones back on as she returned to her game. Just then, Wheeljack entered the room.

"Excuse me," asked Wheeljack, "but is Optimus here?"

"Get your optics checked then," suggested Sentinel, "look. He's right in front of you."

Wheeljack snapped his head towards Optimus.

"Do you need something?" asked Optimus.

"I found another hotspot for shards," answered Wheeljack, "well, they're scattered across London."

"Great work," praised Optimus, "we'll need the humans' help, though. We're one bot short."

"My pistons may be rusty," reminded Sentinel, not looking up at the data pad with his Mockingjay ebook, "but my audials are as sharp as ever."

"Sorry, Da," muttered Optimus.

"So," pondered Wheeljack, "what do you need the humans for?"

"To search the areas where Sentinel would be searching," answered Optimus.

Optimus led Wheeljack outside and wandered around the runway until they found Lennox, Epps and a few more soldiers. The Prime knelt down to their levels, catching their attention.

"Excuse me," interrupted Optimus, "but do you have a moment?"

"Yeah," nodded Lennox.

"We have found a hotspot for shards scattered in London," explained Optimus, "but with Sentinel still resting up, we may need some assistance in searching for the shards. Are you willing to join us?"

"Of course," nodded Lennox.

"Ok," mentioned Epps, "but what about the other Autobots?"

Just then, Prowl, Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia and Elita One showed up.

"We volunteer," declared Prowl.

"Thank you," smiled Optimus, "now, if you'll excuse me."

Optimus headed into the hangar and withdrew the Pillars from the vault. After bringing them outside, he set them up and transferred the coordinates into the Control Pillar.

"We'll arrive at the outskirts to avoid unwanted attention," advised Optimus.

As Prowl, Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia and Elita One transformed into their alternate modes, allowing the soldiers to hop in, Optimus pressed on the top of the Control Pillar, activating the space bridge.

"Autobots," announced Optimus, "roll out!"

"We're rolling!" replied Prowl.

Optimus led the Autobots through the space bridge, taking them just outside of London. The Prime shut off the space bridge with the small control before transforming into his alternate mode. The Autobots drove into the city and split up in search of the AllSpark shards.

Meanwhile, back at the base, Bailey finished clearing the Arena in Kirby's Return to Dreamland. After saving her progress, she turned off the game and shut off the TV. She then grabbed her 3DS and her headphones before inserting the game cartridge for Kirby's Triple Deluxe into the slot. She walked over to the berth, catching Sentinel's attention.

"Hey, Sentinel," requested Bailey, "can I join you?"

"Yes," nodded Sentinel.

Sentinel shifted slightly so one of his drapes hung over the side, the metal grate like a ladder to her. Bailey placed her 3DS into the pocket of her cargo shorts and put on her headphones before grabbing onto the drape. She climbed up until she reached the berth and then sat down next to his head as she pulled out her 3DS and plugged in her headphones. She began playing her game as Sentinel continued to read. After a while…

"Sentinel?" said Bailey.

"What?" replied Sentinel.

"When we first met," clarified Bailey, "Optimus said that you were his dad, right?"

"Indeed I am," confirmed Sentinel.

"Then," asked Bailey, "who was his mom?"

Sentinel visibly flinched, much to Bailey's confusion. She paused her game so she wouldn't get distracted.

"She was…..a Seeker named Alnai," sighed Sentinel, "my first, and thus far, my only true love. I haven't taken another mate since she died at the battle of Kestix. Optimus never knew her. She never even got to hold him or see him, thanks to the fraggin' Cons. I had to be surgically reformatted, with no anesthetics or painkillers, on the field so he could be transplanted into me. It saved his life, but it was the most pain I've ever endured in both spark and body. But, it was for her; her dying wish was that I save our second child. I don't regret breaking the law to do it."

"You really miss her," murmured Bailey, "don't you?"

Instead of answering, Sentinel set his data pad aside, covered his face with his hand and started crying, muttering in his native language.

"I'm sorry!" exclaimed Bailey, "I didn't mean to offend you!"

Sentinel removed his hand and projected an image from his optics of a red and gold femme Seeker, which his hand reached out to touch. Bailey realized that he was not offended; he was sad.

"Sentinel," whispered Bailey.

Bailey set her 3DS aside and took off her headphones. She gently placed her hand on Sentinel's face. His body shook with his sobs, but one blue optic acknowledged her. In an effort to comfort him, she gently brushed her hand along the smooth wires that made up his beard. The huge tears rolled slowly over her hand, and one of his hands was pressed into his aching spark. Bailey reached out and tried to wipe away his tears, but her hands got wet in the process. Sentinel shuttered his optics, clearly in pain, but a special kind of pain. After wiping her hands on her cargo shorts, she grabbed her 3DS and her headphones and climbed onto Sentinel's chest.

"I'm…sorry," Sentinel muttered, his body still shaking.

Smiling, Bailey leaned over and placed her hand on his face.

"It's ok," assured Bailey, "maybe we can watch a movie sometime, so you can feel better?"

"Like what?" asked Sentinel, "I don't want that….that witch to see me like this. She'd never understand, and it hurts enough without her…hatefulness."

"I understand how you feel," replied Bailey.

Bailey set down her 3DS and her headphones and hugged Sentinel's face. Smiling, he gently stroked her back with his finger.

"Now," reminded Sentinel, "about that movie…"

Bailey released Sentinel from her embrace.

"I have the extended edition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy on DVD," suggested Bailey.

Sentinel's face lit up.

"Okay," grinned Sentinel, "who is your favorite?"

"Uh," answered Bailey, "Frodo Baggins. He is so cute for a hobbit!"

"I have to side with Sauron and the orcs," admitted Sentinel, "they remind me of my own people."

Bailey burst into laughter for a brief moment, much to Sentinel's confusion.

"The villain I admire is Sephiroth," responded Bailey, "but he's from Final Fantasy 7, which happens to be the most popular installment of the Final Fantasy franchise. He has his own badass theme music."

Sentinel gave her a blank stare.

"Er, English please?" requested Sentinel, "why was that funny?"

"Oh, that," explained Bailey, "you said that you liked Sauron. He's the villain of the Lord of the Rings, but I can't blame you for liking him. As for the Final Fantasy franchise, it's a popular role-playing video game straight from Japan."

"Aren't there any from…..your country of origin?" asked Sentinel.

"It's kinda hard for me to explain," admitted Bailey, "anyway, I'll just save my progress on my game and then I'll pull out the DVD. Is that ok?"

"Yes," nodded Sentinel.

Bailey snatched her 3DS and saved her progress on her game. After turning off the 3DS, she put it back into the pocket of her cargo shorts and held onto the headphones as she climbed down the drape. She then searched through one of the boxes and pulled out 3 boxes containing the DVDs.

"Ok," announced Bailey, "I found it!"

"Great!" replied Sentinel.

Bailey pulled out the Fellowship of the Ring and inserted the DVD into the Playstation 3. Sentinel slowly sat up, walked over to Bailey's living area and knelt down to her level.

"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" asked Bailey.

"Yes," answered Sentinel, "I've stood and fought off a horde of Cons with most of my innards hanging out of me."

Bailey began playing the movie.