Well I promised Mrs. Optimus Prime that I would write this for her, and I think it was like...a year ago I made the promise. This story takes place after the 2007 movie, if you couldn't figure it out from the summary, and the rating will be bumped up to M later.

Disclaimer: Transformers and all related characters belong to Hasbro and not to me. All OC's belong to Mrs. Optimus Prime, with the exception of Sadie, Ryan, Chester, and Julia...who belong to me.

Chapter 1: Area 51

He turned it over in his hands again, the only fragment that was left. It was useless now, but the only reason he kept it was because it reminded him of his lost brother, the brother who used to be kind and who used to believe that freedom was the right of all sentient beings. But his brother had lost all sight of that when power became his weakness and ultimately led to his demise.

"Megatron…"

Optimus missed him of course, after all it had been his brother who had perished, no matter how dark and black and cold his spark was. But it was almost a relief to have him gone, the universe and humankind was safe for now. The autobot leader knew that there was still Decepticons out there, like Starscream and Barricade, and he knew it was only a matter of time before they showed their faces again.

He looked down at the Allspark fragment, all which remained of the Cube now. The thing that had given the transformer race their life had also brought an end to a life and to the long raged civil war. Optimus stroked a finger over its smooth surface. He knew he had better things to do rather than sit in his quarters and dwell on the past. He should just throw it away…

The Autobot leader was startled when the fragment suddenly started glowing, bathing the darkened room in a blue hue. Optimus was too stunned to let it go or take his optics off it. But the glow intensified harshly and he had to shield his optics from the powerful light. When the glowing finally stopped, he looked back down at his hand.

The fragment was gone.

"This can't be good," was all that Optimus could think.

College…it had been a colossal mess, but it had also been very worth her time. And it was amazing how quickly four years had gone by. College life had been interesting to say the least…from parties to school work to jobs and to relationships that didn't work…Elizabetta had enjoyed her time there. She was twenty-one, young and full of energy. She had majored in music education at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. Her hair was brunette, and her eyes dark brown. She was thin and short, only about five-foot-two, but she was the sweetest girl a person could ever meet.

At her college, she had a group of friends she hung out with. They got along well, and they had made many memories during their four years together at the college. Elizabetta, as much as she had loved college, was ready to be out on her own more than anything. She wanted to find that special guy, she wanted to start making more money than the measly minimum wage, and most importantly, she wanted to have fun while doing so.

It was the eve of her college graduation and her and her friends had decided to do something interesting that day since they didn't have any classes. For a couple weeks they had been planning to drive up to Area 51 since none of them had ever been there, and they were curious as to what could be there.

Area 51 had many myths surrounding it. It was supposedly the crash site of an alien spaceship. The United States Government declared the area a military aircraft base where they designed and tested out new types of aircraft. The only reason why it was such a big mystery was because nobody except the people that worked there knew what was there. And the efforts that had been taken to keep American citizens out was so great, there was reason to have people speculating as to what was there. Elizabetta wanted to satisfy her curiosity, and so didn't her other friends. They had watched shows about Area 51 on the Discovery Channel and History Channel and heard that the site was rumored to be abandoned. And oh how the posse wished it was, that way they might be the first ordinary citizens to actually sneak inside and see what was being hidden from the public.

At 6:00am, Elizabetta and her friends Sadie, Julia, and Ryan climbed into an SUV and her other friend Chester got behind the wheel since it was his SUV and he had made it quite clear that he didn't want anyone else driving it. Sadie, Julia, and Elizabetta sat in the back while Ryan sat in the front with Chester. It was over a two hour drive, and they had a number of things planned to do. They were going to visit a museum, and there was no telling how long that would take. And they hoped to just chill out at some of the local towns until dark, that's when they would attempt to sneak inside Area 51.

The sun was high in the sky by the time the quintet pulled into the parking lot of the museum they had scheduled to visit. It wasn't as big as they thought it would be, just a nonchalant building located about a mile or so out of town. Stiff and getting sore the five people inside the car climbed out and stretched, squinting at the bright sun and then fanning their faces as a strong wave of heat hit them. But they laughed and chatted as they headed to the front door of the museum. Ryan led the way to the front door, escorting Sadie and Julia on either arm and reassuring Elizabetta that she could give him a shoulder massage later. Elizabetta merely shook her head saying, "Keep dreaming there buster."

Chester stayed behind momentarily to lock up his vehicle before he joined his group at the front door. Ryan was the one who opened it and the three girls stepped inside gasping at what they saw. Paintings of aliens, statues of aliens, supposed alien artifacts and pieces from alien spaceships. The ceiling was black and tiny lights that represented stars illuminated the ceiling as well as most of the museum. However, the creepiest thing about the entire museum lay behind the counter…and that was the person standing there.

It was a man, dressed in a military uniform. He had black hair that was neatly trimmed and a well-shaved face. He was slightly tan and rather muscular. Black beady eyes starred at the small group of college students, and just as the silent tension was about to burst between the group and the man, the man suddenly smiled and stated in a charming voice, "Welcome to my museum. My name is Ross; I can show you around if you like."

Sadie was the spokesperson for the group, "N-No that's fine. If we have any questions we'll ask."

Ross nodded politely and then Chester spoke, "I have a question though. What's up with the military suit?"

The man smirked, "I'm glad you asked. I used to work over at Area 51."

"Explains his oddity," murmured Julia to no one in particular.

Ross didn't hear her as he continued, "These things in the glass cases around you are what I've smuggled out of the place before I retired."

"And they don't know you've done this?" questioned Ryan.

"No, nobody ever comes here and I only took things they didn't care about," Ross explained, "that way they wouldn't come looking."

He noticed Elizabetta looking in on one of the items he had smuggled out, she couldn't tell what it was, it just looked like a piece of mashed up metal to her, she really wasn't sure of it's whole importance. The man came over to her and said, "Ah, that's a piece of the spaceship."

"Spaceship?" questioned Elizabetta looking up at him, "You mean an alien spaceship actually crash landed there?"

Ross nodded smiling, "Yes. There are more items downstairs if you wish to view them. There's a gift shop down there as well."

"Ooo," exclaimed Sadie, "I want to by myself a little glow in the dark alien keychain. Come on guys, let's go check it out."

And the crew went downstairs, but Elizabetta stayed upstairs as she continued to browse over the exhibits. Ross watched her as she did so and then asked her, "Would you like to go to Area 51?"

Elizabetta looked up at him and answered carefully, "My friends and I were going to drive past their tonight, just to see if we could see anything."

"Well you won't if you just drive by. Let me go with you, as an escort and guide. Perhaps I could get you in."

Elizabetta just wasn't a hundred percent sure if she could trust this guy. Sure he had all this fabulous stuff in his museum, but how was she supposed to know if it was authentic? And how was she supposed to know he wasn't lying? There was no way to trust him; she needed to talk this over with her friends, but most of all she wanted proof. Proof that he had actually worked at Area 51 before, proof that he wasn't making all this up, and proof that he was trustworthy.

"How can I trust you?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"Ah, that's a fair question," he replied as he sat on one of the countertops, "you see there's something in there that I really want."

"In at Area 51?"

"Precisely."

"What is it?"

"I'm not sure, all I know is that it's located just inside the boundaries of Area 51 and nobody has noticed it yet. I want to get it before somebody does see it, and tonight may be my only opportunity to do so."

"Why?"

"I needed transportation. Going with you kids will provide me with the transportation I need."

"And what if we get caught? They don't shoot us on the spot do they?"

"It depends. If you don't make it inside you will be arrested and placed inside a federal prison. If you do make it inside and they catch you, it's another story."

"They shoot you don't they?"

"Yes, and they will not hesitate to."

Elizabetta pursed her lips to the side and Ross continued, "If you get caught with me though they might keep you alive."

"How come?"

"They know me. They might wonder why I came back and with you…and then they'd shoot."

"So basically, if we were to get inside, don't get caught?"

"Exactly," he said and looked her over briefly, "Am I permitted to come with you or not?"

Elizabetta hesitated, "Let me talk it over with my friends first."

"Talk what over with us?" asked Chester as the group returned from the downstairs, "This place is amazing."

Ross smiled, "I was wondering if I could accompany you tonight when you go to visit Area 51. I could act as your guide and there is something I wish to retrieve."

"The only problem is if we get caught we get shot," Elizabetta pointed out.

"God created us with two legs so that we can run very quickly back to Chester's car and make a hasty retreat," Ryan explained.

Elizabetta frowned. She wasn't sure if she liked the idea of all this suddenly. But then again the thrill of actually testing the authority of the personnel at Area 51 was gnawing at her. Just so long as she didn't go inside she would be fine and wouldn't have to worry about being shot. The last thing she wanted to do was die the eve of her graduation. At the dawn of her life…

"I say he should come with us," Sadie remarked confidently, "he could prove to be a very valuable asset."

Chester nodded agreeing, "Most definitely. I second Sadie's proposal."

Julia thought about it for a moment before crossing her arms, "I guess it wouldn't hurt anything. If worse comes to worse I'll just stay in the SUV."

"If Julia's in, then I am most definitely in," stated Ryan, placing an arm around the small of her back.

Julia shot him an annoyed look before leaning against him. Elizabetta sighed heavily, "I guess I've got no choice but to go along with you guys."

Ross smiled, "Don't worry, you're all in good hands now, I promise."

Elizabetta wasn't sure why, but she didn't trust Ross. He was friendly and everything, but there was just something about him that she didn't like and she had a feeling that she would find out tonight what it was. And she hoped it wouldn't come in the form of her looking down the barrel of a gun. She sighed heavily and looked back up just as Ross said, "You folks are welcome to stay here until nightfall. That's when we'll make our move."

Julia nodded, "Alright. Though we may sneak out for lunch and dinner and stuff."

"And see what they got for stores," Sadie added quickly, she obviously loved to shop.

"Did you find your keychain?" asked Ross amused as he came up beside Elizabetta.

Sadie nodded happily, "You bet I did. Can I pay for it?"

"Sure thing," Ross replied as he stepped behind the counter and sold the little alien keychain to the overly excited girl.

She thanked him and Chester stated they were going to head out for lunch. He invited Ross to come along, but Ross declined saying he was going to make preparations for tonight. Thus, the group of college kids left and headed back into town, deciding they would look around before meeting back at the museum with Ross.

It seemed that everyone but Elizabetta was hyped up with excitement and eagerness as they pulled back into the parking lot of the museum. She seemed to be the only one who was worried about the whole thing, but she couldn't hide the small amount of excitement she felt. She craved the adventure, and now she was getting it. And part of her was curious to see what was actually inside. Really the only thing she was worried about was getting caught inside. She didn't want to die…but then again she had to admit that her death would at least be interesting.

But if she managed to get a peek inside, if she managed to see what they were hiding, oh what a story she would have to tell! Sure, there would be people who wouldn't believe her, but she could just label them as jealous since they don't have any interesting story to tell. And she did have a camera in her pocket…if she could snap a few quick photos…then it would definitely be worth her time and worry.

Then there was Ross.

He was locking up the museum just as Chester parked the car. To make room for him, Ryan got out of the front seat and let him sit there, only so he could give directions to Chester easier. Instead Ryan climbed in the back and had Julia sit on his lap. The windows were tinted quite dark so that they didn't have to worry about anyone looking in on them. Especially since the sun was just beginning to set over the horizon.

Ross asked Chester if he would open the trunk, and Chester complied. Elizabetta watched out of the corner of her eye as he placed a gun inside as well as sack. It was quite clear to her then that he really was going to go after something…and that if anyone stood in his way he would exterminate him. She suppressed the urge to shiver as she heard him bang the trunk shut and then he got into the front seat. If he went inside…Elizabetta knew she certainly wasn't going in with him.

She swallowed hard as Chester started up the SUV and pulled out of the parking lot, heading for the infamous Area 51.

Elizabetta bit her lip when she heard Ross tell Chester to turn off his headlights as he drove down a narrow stretch of road. She looked out a window and could barely make out a sign that said "No trespassing beyond this point…violators will be jailed."

She quickly looked away from the window…she had to choose a window seat. What if one of the guards was feeling restless and decided to shoot at them and the bullet came in right through her window? She sighed heavily, it had been her own choice to get herself into this mess, and none of her other friends seemed to be worried. Elizabetta just guessed they had put their entire trust in Ross…something she still wasn't ready to do.

After driving for about ten minutes, Ross instructed Chester to pull off to the side of the road, which he did, and turned off the vehicle. Ross then turned and looked at everybody, "Alright, if you're caught in this area, they'll jail you for a very long time. However, if you want to you can go inside with me, but if you get caught, they'll kill you. Does everyone understand that?"

Sadie's hands began to tremble, "W-Well then…I think I'll just watch you guys."

"Yeah same here," Julia remarked.

Ryan crossed his arms, "One of you three women has to go outside."

Both Sadie and Julia pointed at Elizabetta who looked back at them annoyed, "I see what kind of friends you guys are."

"Oh come on," Chester remarked, "we're all going to get out and at least one of us besides Ross is going to go inside."

"Does anyone volunteer?" Ross asked, but nobody did.

"Let's choose a number between one and fifteen. Whoever guesses closest to the number goes inside," proposed Julia.

"In that case, I will choose the number," declared Ross and he thought for a moment, "Alright, I got it."

"I'll go first," Sadie stated, "Um…twelve."

"Three," said Julia.

"Fifteen," guessed Ryan.

"Nine," was Chester's guess.

"Um…I'll go with five," Elizabetta said.

Ross grinned, "Five was my number."

Elizabetta thought she was going to do a number in her pants when she heard Ross say that, "But…I don't want to go inside."

"Then you shouldn't have guessed his number," Ryan exclaimed and then added, "besides, we'll all be right here supporting you. And Ross has a gun, he'll protect you."

Elizabetta knew her friends weren't going to let her out of this, and she knew she had no choice but to go when Ross came over and opened her door. He said, "Just stay close to me. You'll be just fine. I've done this countless times and nothing has ever happened. We're not going to go very far inside."

Slowly she climbed out of the vehicle and she shot a threatening look to Ross before pointing a finger in his face and saying, "If I get shot, I will kill you."

He grinned, "If you get shot you'll be dead."

"We'll see," she said as she closed the door as quietly as she could behind her.

Ross got his bag and his gun out from the trunk before he closed it and then he said to the group that was still inside the van, "If we're not back in half an hour you need to leave."

Chester nodded, "Alright."

Ross took Elizabetta by the hand and started leading her through the dark to what she presumed was a way into the military base. She walked as quietly as she could, along with the man, and it wasn't very long until they came upon a slight hill. Ross whispered to her, "Once we get over this hill, we'll be inside. And just inside is that thing that I want."

"Where are the guards though?"

"I don't know, so just stay low and stay quiet."

And the two of them proceeded to climb up the hill quietly and swiftly, until they got to the top and peaked over and down into Area 51. Elizabetta felt disappointment run through her. There were just a few large buildings, some vehicles and semi trucks. She saw an airfield and a really large hangar not too far away from it. She had wanted to see a spaceship…but she guessed that wasn't going to happen.

"Can you fire a gun?" whispered Ross suddenly.

"No," she replied still looking around.

"Alright, you see that disc down there?" Ross asked pointing.

"You mean…that one with the funky writing on it?"

"Yes that's it. That's what I'm after," he explained, "I need you to go down there and get it for me."

"What?!" she whispered harshly, "Why me?"

"Since you can't fire a gun, I'll shoot anyone who comes near you."

Elizabetta didn't have to look in a mirror to know her face had paled. It was all she could do to swallow as she looked to Ross like he was mad, "I'm not going in there."

"You just have to go down the hill a little ways. You're smaller than me and it will be harder for them to spot you."

"Any idea how heavy that thing is though?" questioned Elizabetta quietly, "What happens if I can't get it back up the part of the hill I go down?"

"I don't think it's that heavy, now go," he ordered, pushing on her shoulder.

Frowning, Elizabetta prepared for a bullet to hit her as she slowly made her way down the hill. The disc that Ross wanted was no more than halfway down the hill…and the hill was totally engulfed in darkness. They couldn't have picked a better night to come…the moon was hidden behind the clouds yet it provided enough light for Elizabetta to see where the disc was.

It felt so odd knowing that she was actually inside the well renowned Area 51. That she was actually inside a place that was so heavily guarded and so shrouded by mystery…yet if it was so heavily guarded, then why was she inside? She hoped the disc really wasn't a bomb…she hoped that some sort of alarm didn't go off when she touched it…she hoped that some gun wouldn't pop out of nowhere and shoot her if she so much as breathed on it. But if something did happen to her, she could at least blame Ross since it certainly hadn't been her choice to go inside in the first place.

She reached the disc and carefully looked it over. It looked just like the Phaistos Disc except the writing on it was totally different. Instead of animal, people, and other various items being the symbols on it, it looked like some sort of crazed out computer font. Like the Wingding and Symbol fonts that were on her computer back in her dorm. Whatever it was, she couldn't make it out. The disc wasn't very big either; it was just smaller than a hubcap. And after examining it carefully for any sort of booby trap or alarm, she slowly reached out and grasped it.

Elizabetta felt her breath catch in her throat when the symbols on the disc suddenly began to glow in a blue hue. If someone saw the disc, she was as good as dead. She quickly grasped it with the other hand and went to pick it up, but suddenly the glowing intensified and she watched in stunned horror as the symbols suddenly began sliding up her arms and down her back. She had absolutely no idea what was going on when without warning a giant blue beam of light shot up into the air and an annoying ringing noise suddenly sounded. She attempted to look back at Ross but her head was frozen…and as she tried to move the rest of her body she realize that she couldn't…and she was helpless as the blue beam came back down and hit her. Her body was engulfed in the light for a few moments before it faded away and everything was silent. Elizabetta was shaken, but she was alright, and she knew she had to get out of there and fast.

But when she looked down the disc was gone.

Alarms blared behind her suddenly and Elizabetta quickly got up and stumbled her way back up the hill and back to Ross who was looking at her wide-eyed, "What happened?"

"I…don't know. We just need to get out of here right now," she stated urgently.

Ross glanced down at his watch, "We lost our ride, it's been about thirty-five minutes."

"Then we start running really fast," she suggested fingering the cellphone that was in her pocket.

"It was up this way," came a foreign male voice suddenly from just down the hill a little ways.

Elizabetta went to run, but Ross held her back and took out his gun. He got ready to fire it as Elizabetta slinked away from him and when she was quite a distance away, she turned and was nearly blinded by a white light. She thought for sure she was caught when she heard a male voice say, "Identify yourself."

"Elizabetta Sanders sir," she replied in a voice just above a whisper, "whatever you do please don't shoot me."

"Were you the one who sent out the beacon?" he asked.

"Beacon? You mean that giant blue beam and that ringing noise?"

There was a sinister laugh and the light disappeared. Elizabetta nearly peed her pants when she realized she had been talking to none other than a giant robot. She took a wary step back as she asked, "Who are you? Better yet what are you?"

"I am Starscream, leader of the Decepticons and a transformer from the planet Cybertron." he said sadistically, "And before you ask, my purpose here is retrieving you."

"W-Why?" she questioned slowly stepping backwards away from Starscream.

"Your energy readings are off the charts," he explained, "just like the Allspark's."

She didn't know what the Allspark was but nonetheless his words caused her eyes to widen in shock and surprise. As she backed away from him though, her foot suddenly dipped and she almost fell backwards but managed to retain her balance. Glancing behind her she saw she had backed herself up right to the edge of a cliff…she looked back at the robot only to see him reaching a hand towards her. She cringed, praying that he would not hurt her. Suddenly a voice called out from behind the robot, "Starscream! Leave the human alone!"

Elizabetta looked out only to see four more giant robots advancing upon her and Starscream. The leader of the Decepticons seemed to forget her as he momentarily turned and hissed, "Optimus Prime, I should've known you would show up…you always seem to know how to crash a Decepticon's party."

Optimus ignored his comment as he went on to say, "Just get out of here Starscream, you're outnumbered four to one."

"Alright, but this human is coming with me."

"That's what you think," said a black transformer as he suddenly tackled Starscream.

When they landed on the ground, they caused it to shake so bad that Elizabetta fell off the edge of the cliff. Optimus heard her scream and quickly went to her aid. He reached the cliff just as he heard guns fire and he looked over, just in time to witness the bullets deflect off Elizabetta's skin. Stunned, he quickly reached down and grabbed her with a hand before she hit the ground and issued a retreat knowing that whoever had fired upon Elizabetta would be coming for them soon.

Seeing he was defeated, Starscream made a hasty retreat himself as the Autobots scattered and chose to meet up later. Optimus looked at the shaking and trembling female in his hand and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yes…" she replied, "I'm only trying to figure out why I'm not dead."

"As am I, I saw those bullets hit you," he mused, but quickly changed topics, "I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. I, as well as the rest of the Autobots, do not wish to harm you. We believe that freedom is the right of all sentient beings and we will do what we can to protect you from harm."

"W-Wow," she stated, "thanks then…I guess."

"Elizabetta!" called a male voice suddenly, "Elizabetta where are you?!"

"Ross," she breathed.

"You know this male?" Optimus asked looking in the direction the shouting was coming from.

"Yes," she answered as Optimus set her on the ground.

And suddenly Ross was upon her and questioned, "Elizabetta, there you are! Where have you been?" He looked up and saw Optimus standing there and took a wary step back, "And what the devil is that?"

"Optimus Prime," Elizabetta answered, "other than that I'm not sure."

Optimus ignored the humans comments and suddenly spoke, "Elizabetta is your name?"

"Yeah," she answered.

"According to my scans your emitting energy readings that are as high as the Allspark's…"

"What is the Allspark?" she asked.

"It's what gave life to us transformers. Not long ago the only remaining shard of the Allspark went missing."

"What are you insinuating?"

"I'll explain later at our base where it's safer. However, until we figure out what is going on with you Elizabetta, you must stay with us."

"But my college graduation is tomorrow…I have to be there!" she protested in a whine.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to miss it," he explained.

She crossed her arms, "You know, you said freedom was the right of sentient beings. Well, since you consider me as free, I wish not to be involved with you and your kind at all. I only wish for a ride back to Las Vegas for my college graduation tomorrow."

Optimus sighed heavily seeing she did have a point, "Elizabetta you're going to need protection from the Decepticons. I have a feeling that they will stop at nothing to get you."

"I said I want don't want to be involved with your kind! Just find me a ride to Las Vegas!"

Optimus saw that arguing with a human female was getting him absolutely nowhere. "Alright," he said and he transformed into a Peterbilt semi, stunning both Ross and Elizabetta.

"I see why you're called transformers now," Elizabetta remarked as she climbed inside him, Ross following after her.

When they had their seatbelts fastened, Optimus closed his door and started off towards Las Vegas, using satellite technology on the internet to guide him. As he went along, he noticed the humans inside his cab were rather quiet and when he scanned their vitals he realized that they were both sleeping. Using the opportunity, the Autobot leader sent out a message through his comlink.

"To all Autobots, rendezvous in the human city called Las Vegas. I am taking Elizabetta there now, she does not wish for our help," he said and then added, "but I have a feeling that very soon...she will be."

And so that is the end of chapter number one...I hope you guys enjoyed it and leave a nice review on the way out. And I guess I'll leave a teaser for the next chapter just as a special treat.

Teaser: College graduation...and Decepticons in the audience.