Title: Five Bots Series

Chapter: Prologue- And a Death of a Comrade (0/?)

Disclaimer: Don't Own Am Broke

Rating: PG-13 (Fav. character death, angst, violence)

Pairing/Characters: IronWill (if you look sideways), BeexSam/Mikaela (het more obvious then the robot!love squinting required for both), Ratchet, Jazz, Optimus Prime, and Starscream

Summary: Lennox's thoughts at the end and the promise the Autobots made to their fallen comrade.

Notes: Your allowed to cry actually if you didn't I would think something was wrong with my writing.

Will was on the brink of unconsciousness from the pain racking through his body. He was too familiar with these feelings: the dropping of his heart into his stomach. He had watch many of his comrades die from injuries inflicted in combat by the Decepticons. He couldn't feel his legs, he didn't know if that was because they were gone all together or that he had broken his back from the fall. The explosion caused by Starscream's attack had propelled him three feet into the air and away from his house. He had only cared about the child in his arms ignoring the damage he could cause to himself falling on his back from such a height.

His blurry and pain ridden mind tried to listen for his child's screams or feel her heartbeat she had to be alive. He heard someone as if far away yelling at him, calling his name a voice he had found quite soothing and tried to follow it back to consciousness. Ironhide had warned them about the attack; he had tried to get them to safety but Will wouldn't leave Ironhide to fight alone. He suddenly heard an ear piercing scream and tears broke from his eyes painfully falling down his burned face. He tried to open up his mouth but his throat was filling quickly with smoke and he choked. He tried to move but something was weighing him down. He could only feel the left side of his body and that was quickly fading as he again slowly fell into unconsciousness.

He tried to hold; he knew that if he let himself relax he would never return to daylight again. He thought about everything that had happened inside that house, all the memories that were burning to the ground. Annabelle's first roll, her first step, her first word all lost in one blast with his wife's screams echoing in his ears. He could hardly feel his body but he knew from experience that Ironhide was fighting nearby and that the ground was shaking from the heavy alien-robot's body as he lay dying. The only thing that seemed to be working were his ears; he heard something drive up, his vision was too blurred to discern any shapes but he recognized the banana-yellow color. Bumblebee had arrived, he heard other voices, the young teenagers who had discovered the Autobots, the ones who had become his families close friends after the Mission City attacks.

"Oh My God call 911 we have to get him to the hospital." A female's voice yelled out over the transforming of the camaro.

"They are coming, where is Annabelle and Sarah?" Asked the other voice as distinctive as the female and as familiar.

Will tried to open his mouth but all he could taste was bitter iron; he had a hard time talking. His throat was parched. Hazy figures came into his vision he opened and closed his eyes trying to adjust to the smoke, he finally realized it was his own vision that was not working. "Will, your going to be okay just hold on man." Sam's voice came to his ear as if he was far off in the distance. Will really wasn't paying attention to the voice something was touching his arm and pulling at him, he then heard the piercing scream; instinctively held on tighter to the warmth moving near his left arm. He couldn't die with out his daughter in his arms he needed to kiss her one last time, touch her face, and tell her he loved her.

With the last bit of energy he spoke. "Sam please...belle." It sounded like his voice was nowhere near his own body. All he cared about was feeling the weight on his stomach and looking up into his baby's face. Her eyes were wide in horror and fear, but as she looked at him he could see some semblance of understanding of knowing the truth about what was happening around her, she knew he was dying. The child then leaned forward and Will moved his lips with his last bit of strength to press against her cheek.

Sam watched the scene unfold tears making his vision blur. The child had leaned against her dying father and hugged him. As Mikaela tried to pull her away she struggled to keep near her father. She grabbed at his coat and shirt and finally got the necklace that hung around his neck. Sam bent down to help take the necklace off, the marking of Will's military background. He then placed Will's dog tags around the suddenly quiet four-year-old child's neck.

Everything happened so quickly after that, Sam and Mikaela could hardly remember the next 8 hours let alone the last 24. They had not slept trying to get Will's body to Ratchet who believed there might be a way to help Will. Finally as the body was placed on the metallic table in Ratchet's make shift lab and all the Autobots were sitting around in their mech modes watching Ratchet's hologram work, the two humans felt the exhaustion and emotions overwhelm them. Annabelle was remarkably asleep in Mikaela's arms and Mikaela leaned on Sam crying softly as Sam tried to keep a straight face however tears could be seen streaking his ash-dirty cheeks.

The Autobots were silent in their own way mourning one of their greatest allies. Will had been the best connection they had to the US government since Lieutenant Epps was unreachable in a foreign country for an undeclared length of time. Though the Secretary of Defense knew of their existence he had publicly denied that there were aliens and so had cut off all contact between himself and the Autobots, using Captain Lennox as the ambassador.

Ironhide glared silently into the dusty corner of the warehouse the Autobot's had claimed for themselves; his colleague worked on the body of the only human he had ever truly understood. When he was first assigned to watch over the Lennox family and work with Will he had been angry. He had told Optimus many times that it was a waste of time to work with the humans, that they would never understand the Autobots. However over the last four year he had come to respect Will and slowly understand the human he had promised his leader to protect. He hadn't understood his feelings for the man at first, but neither had Will. Their relationship had slowly turned intimate over the last year and a half. As Will lay lifeless on the silver table, pale-yellow in the single light of the warehouse, Ironhide finally understood what it meant to have a broken heart.

Ironhide had been the most affected by Will's death out of all the Autobots; some knew the true reason why others just thought it was because a fellow soldier had died. Either way he had been outraged when he had not detected Will's heartbeat and had not followed Prime's order when he had been told to regroup. He had gone after the Decepticons intent on destroying every one of them down to scrap metal, it had taken the strength of Prime, Jazz and Bumblebee to hold him back and control him.

He sat in the corner brooding glancing only once over at the dead body of Will Lennox, sad and depressed. Ratchet was trying everything he could research to bring Will back but nothing was working. Will's body needed to be given back to the state for a funeral. However none of the Autobots were willing to part so soon with the body, they couldn't give up hope. So Sam and Mikaela were moved to a make shift human sized bed. The last thing Mikaela remembered doing before drifting off was covering the four year old to make sure she was not cold.

Sam woke up in the middle of the night trying not to disturb Mikaela he looked around. He was physically awake but mentally exhausted, the death of Captain Lennox hadn't sunk in yet. The Autobots seemed to not be around except for Ironhide who was still sitting in the corner brooding. Sam knew he wouldn't be able to go to sleep again. He knew something about how Ironhide felt; his father had died a few years back from a heart attack. He got up walking over to the large mech trying to make enough noise so that Ironhide would know he was coming. As he was about to touch his arm and try to get him to stare at something other then the dusty corner of the abandoned warehouse, he heard something behind him.

Ironhide reacted to the sound turning his head ignoring Sam and looking at the metallic table and the body laying on top of it. Only one light was left on in the building, it hung over the body with an eerie yellowish glow making the pale dead body look strangely gold in color. The lamp now swung slightly from side to side as if something had touched it.

"Sam there is someone over there." Ironhide voice sounded strange to Sam but he had no time to comment. Ironhide moved as his canons began to heat up. Sam quickly realized that things could turn bad really fast if he didn't stop Ironhide from doing something he would regret. So Sam ran in front of Ironhide and put his hands up trying to stop the giant robot.

"Ironhide stop, you wont do any good shooting now. I will see what it is and if I need your help I will call you." Sam said as calmly as he could. He heard Bumblebee coming into the building knowing the bot had felt his heart rate increase and his fear. He smiled reassuringly to Bumblebee who nodded slightly. Sam then turned around to find out what was crawling around the body of Will Lennox.

He went up to the table trying not to look too long at the frozen face of his friend. He heard the light jingling underneath the table and looked, smiling despite himself as he saw Annabelle playing with her father's dog tags. He then heard a voice behind him and almost jumped.

"I sense something electronic below his body, what did you find Sam?" Ratchet asked curious.

"Annabelle." Sam said kneeling down and helping Annabelle crawl out of the small space underneath the table. "She was playing with her father's dog tags." He said picking up the young girl in his arms and smiling as she leaned on his shoulder and hugged him close.

"Can I see those tags?" Ratchet asked.

Sam slowly slipped the necklace away from the sleeping child's hand and handed them to Ratchet's hologram that had formed in front of him.

"They have a computer chip imbedded inside of them. However I can't scan them." Ratchet said using his hologram to talk. "They seem to be only compatible with you, Ironhide." All the Autobots looked at Ironhide not as much in surprise as understanding.

Ironhide held out his hand and opened a small slot the size of the tags. Ratchet's hologram pressed the two tags inside the slot. All waited in anticipation for a few seconds. Mikaela woke up as a strange sound came from Ironhide as if through his truck form's radio. She walked over about to ask what was going on when suddenly a hologram formed in front of everyone in the form of Will.

"If you are watching this it means that Sarah and I have been killed leaving Annabelle with no close relations. This message is for my friends and comrades the Autobots, Sam Witwiky, Mikaela Banes, and Robert Epps." The hologram paused and seemed to look directly at Ironhide. "None of you are to blame for my death, do not take responsibility. Sarah and I knew the risks when we agreed to work with you." Ironhide seemed to shiver and the hologram hesitated as if loading another part of the message.

"I know Annabelle will be safe in your care, I trust all of you." The hologram scanned the audience of the five bots and two humans. "The government will try and take Annabelle away and place her in a foster family, I don't want that for her, I don't want her to go through the same thing I did." Will's voice faltered and they could see he was thinking about his past.

"The tags have sent a message to the government to tell them of my death and to allow Annabelle to stay with you. I believe she is safest in your hands. Sam and Mikaela I know you would be willing to help and stop your studies to care for Annabelle." He looked directly at the young teen couple, Sam still held Annabelle as she slept. "However I do not want you two to stop your school work to care for her. Mikaela you would be a great mechanic I hope you get the garage you always wanted. Sam what ever you plan to do with your life remember to keep your friends close. Understand that I would not be happy if you do not go to school, the best thing you can do for Annabelle is to go to school so you will be able to care for her when she really needs you two." He smiled as the two teenagers smiled back Mikaela stroked the sleeping child's hair out of her eyes and kissed her cheek softly. They understood what Will was saying and knew he was right.

The hologram turned to the Autobots. "I know you five, you will try everything to bring me back. My body and heart are not as strong as Jazz's." Will stated looking at the five Autobots. "I wish to be buried next to my wife, and I will always be watching over you." Will's hologram stepped forward and placed a hand on Ironhide's arm and then disappeared.

Notes Cont'd: I was almost tempted to write "and may the force be with you, always" I know its very old school Star Wars "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi your my only hope" but I thought it would be reasonable since Will had been around the Autobots that he would have some interesting gadgets to use. Plus it will be a plot device later on as well.