Author's note: This has been an idea of mine for a while, and after some encouragement from a friend on DA I'm finally writing it, please enjoy and feel free to leave suggestions because I only have the first two or three chapters planned.

Warning: Gore, lots and lots of robo-gore, this fic is rated for VIOLENCE!
Disclaimer: This fic is too messy to even claim that I am part of the TFA team.

Darkness of the Unknown

Preface

What had started out as a normal day would become known as the most tragic massacre in the Elite Guard history.

Autobot Academy was filled with hyper recruits just entering, and stoked cadets who would soon become full official members of the greatest band of Autobots to ever graduate. To greet them, senior members had arrived, but some had to be called back and only a few actually were there at the time of the tragedy.

And even fewer survived.

"Is this it?" Sentinel asked noting that only he, Jazz, and Ultra Magnus were present.

Ultra Magnus nodded, "Unfortunately, Blurr could not be reached, and everyone else had to return." He shook his head, "The graduates are going to be disappointed, but they'll have to live with it."

"Its alright, they've got the coolest and the strongest, they should at least appreciate that!" Jazz insisted, "Right Sent?"

The blue Prime put a hand on the ninja's shoulder, "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" he sighed.

"Oh Sentinel," Ultra Magnus chuckled, "it's just a friendly nickname, let him have his fun."

Sentinel rolled his optics, "Feh, whatever, the ceremony is about to begin, we'd better get out there."

The two others nodded and they headed out.

--

The first sign of trouble was an explosion. An instructor was sent to see what it was; they assumed it would be just a glitch in a computer that caused a malfunction, and a generator mainframe to blow out. But as only minutes went by, there came shouts, and more explosions; then the worst.

"We're under attack!!!"

Ultra Magnus gave the orders for the recruits to be evacuated, while everyone else prepared to defend the academy. Jazz and Sentinel stood back to back in the center of what had once been a combat simulation field. The ninja had all kinds or arsenal ready for battle anytime the offense began, Sentinel had his energy shield and lance out for both defense and attack. Now, there was a real battle going on, the two transformers looked over their shoulders at the other.

"What do you think Sent?" Jazz asked, "Decepticons?"

Sentinel trembled but held his ground, determined not to freeze up or get in the way. "I dunno, I've never heard of them attacking something with as many soldiers before."

"Maybe they've decided to try an offensive all-or-nothing." The ninja said, "Bet'cha we could take them."

Sentinel's trembling got worse, he had a very bad feeling about what was going to happen, and as he looked at his partner, he noticed for the first time that Jazz was trembling too, he opened his mouth to say something, but movement caught his attention first, "Behind you!" he warned.

With, before unmatched, swiftness and grace, Jazz vanished into battle, trying to fend off his attacker. But no matter how fast he executed his techniques, the figure he faced dodged them. Jazz gave him a quick look-over when they landed back on the ground. No insignia.

Whoever these guys were they were not Decepticons.

"Yo Sent!" he called, "I could use a little help!"

"Kinda busy!" Was the reply, Jazz risked a glance over his shoulder, where Sentinel indeed had his hands full taking on not one, but two of the mysterious intruders.

He turned away and barely evaded the onslaught of attacks issued by his opponent. The elite-ninja shivered. There was something about these guys… an evil that was beyond the Decepticons. He had the worst feeling that the time he had left the graduation hall would be the last time he saw the bright faces of those young recruits.

--

Ultra Magnus had never seen anything like it before. The attacks from their assailants; seemed to be random, as one would suddenly appear, and then dash away, while another arose to take his place, but there also appeared to a system. A well thought out and coordinated attack. He lifted his hammer to the sky, a lighting bolt appeared and struck the ground around him, more followed, but the attackers kept coming. Ultra Magnus glanced around, he didn't seem to be even fazing them, they watched their comrades fall with out so much as stopping to see if they were alright.

Defeating these guys will not stop the attack, he thought, I have to find the leader.

Easier said then done, they were everywhere, and before his optics he saw them cut down the young Autobots that had joined the battle, with brutality that would make even the notorious Decepticon leader Megatron gag.

Then he was surrounded again. This time there were three of them, two with guns and one with his fists raised for a hand-to-hand challenge. Ultra Magnus cleared them away, he felt like he was being watched, he glanced around again, to try and find the source of his uneasiness.Ah, up there. There was a mech standing on what was left of one of the buildings, observing him. Fire billowed behind him, the entire place was burning, but the flames appeared to be coming off the mech himself, rather than the chaos around them. Ultra Magnus called up to him, challenging him to come down and face him.

The mech pointed down to him, "Don't turn your back!" he shouted down at the Autobot leader.

Before Ultra Magnus could question him he found himself the target of more grunts, which he again had to fight off. But he was getting tired, he couldn't keep this up long, even the great Ultra Magnus had his limits. Two more appeared, he risked a look back at the mech on the building before, but the stranger had vanished.

He fought them off for minutes that stretched on like hours. He panted, heaved, and energon leaked from his body. Still they had him surrounded, but as he sank to his knees, unable to stand any longer, they did not try to finish him, but merely kept him isolated. Then they dispersed all together. Their system of fight-and-flight still applied apparently.

But he was wrong.

A black shape appeared in the corner of his vision, to quickly for him to respond. But thankfully he wasn't alone.

"Ultra Magnus Sir! Watch out!" Sentinel Prime threw himself between Ultra Magnus and the assailant, his shield brightened and extended with energy, creating an unbreakable barrier between them.

Ultra Magnus pulled himself off his feet and uttered a quick 'thank you' behind his back, as he tried to fend off three more attackers. Then he heard Sentinel scream. The Autobot leader could not bring himself to turn around, as he heard the sound of tearing metal and Sentinel's scream as it became a whimper.

Ultra Magnus was forced from the Elite Guard commander's side as the attack on him continued. They pushed him through the camp, and the ancient Autobot, saw the dismembered scrap of Autobots who had earlier been considered the best of their class. All of them… offline… it made his spark ache. The Autobot leader tried to continue the fight, but he'd lost his strength, and after all he'd just seen and heard… his will to fight.

He collapsed in front of the entrance to the Autobot Academy, quivering like a beaten dog, he looked up once more and saw the mech from before, engulfed in flames, standing before him. Energon spilled from the Autobot's lips as he wanted to say something, but the world was falling apart around him. Ultra Magnus knew this was the end for Autobot Academy; he shut off his optics, and let himself fall into oblivion.

The last thing he heard was a cruel laugh.

--

However it was not the end of Ultra Magnus. He woke to someone calling his name. His optics on-lined and he blinked slowly. The elite-ninja Jazz held him.

"Ultra Magnus sir! Thank Primus! Can you stand?" The cyber-ninja cried in relief, the ninja was leaking from several fractures in his armor and his visor had cracked allowing Ultra Magnus to see one baby blue optic.

Ultra Magnus waved him off, and with a little effort, managed to get to his feet. He looked around him, at the bodies and wreckage. "W-what happened…?" he asked.

"Th-they just left, they were attacking one minute and retreating the next." Jazz panted, "Aw Primus! Who were they? What did they want? Primus…!" he trembled into himself.

"Are there any other s…survivors…?" Ultra Magnus asked, afraid to even dare hope.

Jazz nodded and pressed a button on the side of his helmet, "Yeah, I'm still getting a reading on Sentinel's energy signature, he's probably back that way a little…" he said point the to the direction Ultra Magnus had last seen the Prime.

"C…come on, we have to seen if he's alright." He said weakly, and started to limp to the north east sector of the ruins.

They traveled slowly, both of them limping and having to stop for rest. They did not stay in one place for very long; everywhere there were lifeless cadets that still wore their final facial expression of terror and pain. They felt as though those offline optics were staring into their sparks, trying to regain their lives by draining the energy of the living. Puddles of spilled energon made the ground treacherous; they almost slipped in the liquid that powered their bodies. But the horrors of what they saw before them were nothing compared to what they would see next.

"He…should be around here…somewhere…" Jazz panted as they split up to search for him. Suddenly he gasped, "Sentinel!"

Ultra Magnus turned to where Jazz's cry had come from, limping as fast as he could. Upon seeing the elite guard commander he doubled over and heaved what was left of the energon he'd had only minutes before the attack, and cried silently to himself for the pompous Prime.

Sentinel's entire left arm had been severed and lay before him, still holding his shield electricity crackled at the socket. Sentinel's optics were shut off, and energon ran down his face from them like tears, as well as from his nose, and the corners of his mouth. His entire body was covered with deep scratches and dents. But worst of all was that he was pinned to a rock. A glowing blue sword kept him trapped, and as they moved closer the ninja and the leader, noticed with dismay that it wasn't just any sword.

Sentinel was half standing, half sitting against the rock, skewered to it with his own lance.

Jazz reached out and put a had on Sentinel's shoulder, blue optics online for a moment, and his mouth opened to say something, but all that came out was a gag and energon, "He's alive." Jazz sighed, and looked his friend in the face, "Don't try to talk, alright? We're going to get you down." He turned to Ultra Magnus who nodded.

"Don't move him too fast," he guided, as he took hold of the lance and tugged gently on it, Sentinel gave a short shriek of pain, "Its in deep, I'm sorry Sentinel Prime, this is going to hurt a little…" with that warning he yanked the lance free, Sentinel screamed in agony and dropped now no longer pinned, Jazz caught him.

"Can you walk?" Jazz asked. Sentinel twitched a bit, that was a stupid question really, "Help me." He told Ultra Magnus.

They moved Sentinel to an upright position, and slung his remaining arm around Jazz's shoulder. Ultra Magnus picked up his other arm and did his best to help support Sentinel's injured body.

"Its going to be alright Sent, we'll find help…" Jazz said trying to sound reassuring. Sentinel made a noise, but it was unclear whether it was supposed to be some kind of response or another cry of pain.

They limped onward. Passing the bodies and leaving the reek of death behind them as they escaped the ruins of Autobot Academy, they put the cursed land behind them and trekked toward anywhere. At first Sentinel was able to put one foot in front of the other and at least move with them, but as time passed, his pace got slower, and slower, until his feet just dragged along the ground. Finally Ultra Magnus told them to stop and rest.

"We can't keep this up." he said as they eased Sentinel to the ground. "We need to leave him."

Jazz looked up at his leader in surprise, "But-!" he argued.

"He's fading fast, and slowing us down. He's not going to make it even if we do manage to reach a medic." Ultra Magnus reasoned, "I'm sorry there's noting we can do, his condition is getting worse." He nodded to Sentinel who started to cough up more energon.

Jazz gazed at him a moment then turned back to Ultra Magnus, "But Autobots never leave anyone behind…" he whimpered.

Ultra Magnus shook his head, "There's no time, we have to warn everyone else…find out who… or what that was and… and Sentinel's too badly injured, we shouldn't have even taken him down from the rock, I'm sorry, get some rest and be ready to keep going in fifteen -no- make it ten minutes, we need to keep moving." He turned his back to emphasize that there would be no arguing.

Jazz sat down next to the Autobot commander, "Hey, Sent?" he whispered softly, there was no response other then another coughing fit that spewed energon across both their chassis. Jazz sighed and put a hand on Sentinel's knee, "Listen, I don't know if you can hear me, but I'm sorry for all the times I teased you about your fear of organics, and I really wish that you'd trusted me with the story of why…and I'm sorry that when everyone made fun of you for your clumsy mistakes, I never came to your defense…" Jazz felt tears run down his cheeks as he found more and more things to apologize for, and they fell faster when he saw them start fall from Sentinel's optics too. He could hear him Jazz smiled lightly and decided to move on to a more cheerful subject, but those only made him feel sadder. He spoke a one side conversation with the fallen Autobot for the entire time he had to rest. "…And I'm sorry that we have to leave you here…and well that's it I guess…" he finished with a choke; he stood up as Ultra Magnus told him it was time to move on.

He started toward his leader when he felt a tug and turned his head back to Sentinel again and found that he'd lifted his remaining arm to take his hand. "D…Dun…" Sentinel murmured, "…D-don't leave m-me…dun wanna to be a…alone…" he coughed again, more violently.

"Jazz!" Ultra Magnus cried, "Come on!"

Jazz glanced up at him, "Can't we wait until Sentinel passes…?" he asked, his voice trembled with misery.

Ultra Magnus shook his head, tears visible on his face but not audible in his voice "I wish we could, but there's no time."

Jazz looked back at the bot on the ground, "I'm sorry Sent, we have to go…"

Sentinel held him tight, "D…Dun wanna die…" he croaked.

"I'm sorry…" Jazz said again and shook Sentinel off him.

"J-Jass…" The blue Prime groaned, "D-…do something for me then… tell...tell Optimus something…"

Jazz nodded, "What?"

"T…tell Optimus…I don't hate him…"

"Jazz!"

"I'm coming!" Jazz called over to him, "Alright, I'll tell him, now you just lie here real still and I'm sure you'll go on peacefully…" he turned away and sobbed silently for his fallen comrade as the last words he'd hear from him croaked out once more.

"Puh-lease…Dun wanna die…"

Jazz picked up his pace and walked at Ultra Magnus' side. The two of them could not keep back tears as they left Sentinel further and further behind. "We'll grieve for him properly later…" Ultra Magnus whispered.

"Yeah…" Jazz said needlessly. They walked on in silence.

But as they went farther and farther away from Sentinel, something else drew closer, something that had a plan for the dying bot.

"Dun wanna die…"

Author's end note: Cliffhanger! Yeah, that was extremely painful to write, admit it even if you don't like Sentinel, that made you cry. Please review with your questions and comments, flames will be used to cook breakfast.

Editor's note: Gosh, no wonder she needed encouragement to write that, even I had to choke a little. As warned above, flames are not accepted. Don't worry about where this is going Zaerith always has a plan.