I'm Not Dead Yet
Chapter one

All he could feel was the cold wrapping around his frame, the darkness' creepy crawlers tickling his armor as they crept along all of his nooks and crannies. He could see nothing, for his optics were offlined, and wouldn't function; he could only feel confusion and the liquid suffocating his frame. The flash of red and blue…the flames…the sword. If he was in some place cool, when before he was somewhere humid, how could he have moved without doing so himself? It was strange. Sure, he was a vicious Decepticon, but he only did what he was told, even if he hadn't been the fondest of Megatron…but had he really been killed by the Optimus Prime he hated over Megatron? It was impossible. He was a strong, skilled warrior. Somewhat of a barbarian, but skilled, and he could hold his own in a fight.

At least, that is what he thought.

One of his claws twitched and his chest rose, yet his optics still hadn't lit on. He could feel sand waterfall off of his chest armor as it rose, and things scurry off his frame. A bright light pierced through the darkness through gaps of his chest armor and a heavy sigh escaped his vents. At long last, one of his optics flickered to life, and he could see nothing but the darkness.

Where…was he?

His only working optic blinked and observed his surroundings. The only thing he could make out were overly-mossy rocks and the sand beneath him. As his chest rose and fell again, he could see bubbles come from the cracks of his armor and up to heaven knew where.

Water?

Why would he be in Earth's water? It was disgusting. The very thought of still being on this planet made his processor ache. He hadn't liked the looks of it from the very beginning, but he had to follow Megatron's commands, no matter if he despised his leadership or not. At least he was alive.

That was a start.

But, how was he going to get up, much less send a comm. link to his fellow comrades? The only thing he could do was make his chest rise and fall, and move and blink his optic. His arm wouldn't move. Slaggit, the Decepticon hissed in his mind, what am I supposed to do now?

Closing his only optic, he sighed. He wouldn't think that the Decepticons would be searching for him, because the Decepticons didn't watch each other's back, much less cared for any spark but his own. For them, it was survival of the fittest. No one cared for him, in the past, present, and he doubted, the future.

"Is that really what you really think, Bonecrusher?" asked a relatively calm, vibrating voice.

Bonecrusher's optic snapped open, and in front of him was a miniature form of a glowing blue mech that legend knew all too well.

"Primus?" he croaked and flinched. His voice sounded horrid. Autobots and Decepticons both believed in the God, Primus as much as they believed in the Devil, Unicron, and that was great. Even Bonecrusher didn't know why such a high and all-mighty power would even think to look or communicate with him. He was weak compared to this power, and he would defiantly admit to that.

The glowing blue mech tilted his head to the side, "Do you truly believe no one cares any of you, my mech?"

Bonecrusher didn't remember stating what he had thought, but even a Decepticon wasn't about to underestimate the power that of Primus.

Slowly, the tan Decepticon nodded his helm as best as he could, "Yes, Primus."

Primus tilted his head to the opposite, left side. "Tell me, Bonecrusher, do you know where you reside at this moment of time?"

"No, I do not." Replied the mostly destroyed mech.

"You lay in one of Earth's deepest locations; the Laurentian Abyss. This has been your tomb for three, long years. The Decepticons are currently losing the war, and new arrivals have come to this organic planet."

Bonecrusher blinked. Three years? How could he be awakened now?

"I have a task for you to accomplish, Bonecrusher," stated Primus as he floated gently in the ocean's current. "Are you willing to listen to what I have to tell?"

The Decepticon nodded slightly. What better did he have to do? Plus, this was a God he was talking to, how could he not listen to his wisdom or statements, much less not do his bidding.

"I will be generous enough to give you a new body, since your current form has been mostly destroyed." He laid out a servo, hushing the Decepticon, signaling he had more to tell. "I have an exception, as well. You will be given a two human months to learn a very important lesson in life, and it is not I who must tell you what that is. If you have not successfully accomplished your task, you will be sent back here, where you will rust and die in secrecy."

Bonecrusher was confused. "But, Primus, why can't you tell me?"

"I am not the one who must tell you. You alone will find out what this lesson is. I cannot help you any more after you transfer to your new body, you must follow the right trail, and listen to your spark more than your brain when it comes to choices," said Primus. "Will you comply?"

Bonecrusher had no other choice. It was either stay here and rot, dying a slow, quiet death, or surfacing to the organic world above.

No matter how much he despised the horrid organic creatures, Bonecrusher didn't want to be offline just yet, and Primus obviously needed him for something, if he was confronting the Decepticon now.

"Yes. I comply," he croaked after a moment.

Primus looked at him, serious in his frame, "Remember what I've said, Bonecrusher. Do not simply play around; find the one that will help you. She will be your Polaris star."

Confused for a moment of what Primus had meant when he'd said 'she', but it faded quickly when he saw Primus' image begin to blur, and he could feel himself drift away from his body. In a blink of an eye, everything went pitch black, darker than it was in the abyss.

His body suddenly jerked awake and his scarlet colored eyes shot opened, a gasp escaping his lips. His fingers curled around the sheets around his body in shock. His vision was somewhat blurry, but it was getting better by the second. His lips were slightly open and he could see the fog of his breath in the oxygen mask over his mouth. The man warily looked around the unfamiliar territory, his knuckles white from the grip of the white, thin sheets.

Where was he?

"Doctor, he's awake!" called a voice from the doorway.

The man's eyes snapped to the female in the doorway. She was a thin, somewhat pale girl looking to be in her early twenties or very late teens. She had blonde hair that was short and had jagged edges for her tips, her right eye was completely covered by a thick side-bang. She wore a baggy black shirt over a scarlet colored long-sleeved shirt, also wearing baggy, ripped-at-the-knee cargo pants along with skater shoes. Her eyes were the color of dark-violet, and the man wasn't sure if they were real or not.

A doctor rushed inside, shocked as much as the girl was. His hair was the color of light brown and it was curly. Glasses rested on top of his nose and he wore a simple lab coat with a light green colored polo shirt underneath. He wore black slacks and leather loafers. His eyes were an unusual, bright shade of blue as he looked at the man with surprise.

"Mr. Donnelly," began the doctor, "good-afternoon."

The man looked confused, he knew not of this 'Donnelly' person. In fact, for the moment, he didn't know where or who he was, but he knew he had been awake just a few minutes ago. Not knowing what else to say, he asked:

"Who are you?"

This time, the girl stepped up, "You don't remember, Andre? The car crash? It doesn't ring a bell?" she had an Australian accent.

He looked at the human female. She seemed familiar somehow, as if he'd talked about her, or have heard of her before. His scarlet colored eyes observed her face with interest. Freckles dusted her cheeks and she wore heavy black eyeliner and mascara, a single dark purple ring pierced through her left eyebrow. He shook his head. Now this female was calling him 'Andre'. The name didn't, whatsoever, ring a bell in his mind.

She tilted her head, coming to his bedside. She looked at him with concerned, yet relieved dark-violet eyes. "It's me, Andre. Tatem," she smiled a sweet smile. "Your best friend, you don't remember me?"

Tatem. So that was this strange girls' name. Hesitantly, he shook his head, "No… Where am I?" he asked, looking at Tatem with concerned eyes.

Tatem sighed, as if she saw this coming, but she kept her smile, "You're in the hospital, Andre. You've been in here for about two and a half years, in a coma. I thought you'd never wake up!"

Andre tilted his head. A coma? Two and a half years…almost three… "What…has happened?" he asked curiously. He might as well been filled in, even if he couldn't remember anything.

Tatem began: "Well, you and I were driving to Mission City back from our trip to Idaho to see your parents for the fourth of July. Then, all of a sudden, a Decep- umm, I mean, a car ran into us. You got hurt pretty bad, Andre, and the doctor wouldn't think that you'd make it." She smiled, putting a warm hand on his clenched fist, "But I knew you'd still be alive. You've always got out of bad situations."

His fist unclenched. He knew in his heart that this girl wasn't about to inflict any harm on him. He didn't know what she was talking about, but he had nothing more to do than listen to her Australian accent tell him things he had not known.

"Tell me…Tatem…how old are you?" Andre asked after a moment.

"I'm twenty-two," she replied, "I was nineteen when we got in the wreck. That means you're twenty five."

Andre Donnelly looked at her, his scarlet eyes studying her features. Her black shirt was so baggy that he could see her collar bone and the tips of her shoulders. A dog collar circled around her slim, pale neck, with a series of charms sticking on a few rings. The one that grabbed his interest the most was a blue heart that looked to be made of a blue-tinted diamond. With the slightest bit of hesitation, he brought his hand to her neck, fingering the beautiful blue-tinted jewel.

Tatem smiled her sweet smile, putting her slim fingers on his wrist, "Do you remember that charm, 'Dre?" she asked, calling him by his nickname. "You gave it to me my freshman year while you were a sophomore." She paused with a laugh, "You could never leave me alone, and gave this to me because you thought I was the prettiest girl in school."

Andre tilted his head, looking Tatem in the eyes while she talked. Her Australian accent was so easy to listen to; he wasn't surprised that this 'Andre Donnelly' gave her this charm. His brain was sending him a warning, but he didn't know what it was for. He felt as if he shouldn't have been here, shouldn't be staring at this girl, or even acknowledging her. He felt that he should be somewhere else, searching for something, being under the command of someone. But he was comfortable right here for the time being. Maybe he'd look into this 'Andre Donnelly' more, and possible get to know this young woman, Tatem, a bit more as well. That could be good. It could benefit him either way.

Suddenly, another women, who looked similar to Tatem, sauntered into the medium sized, single person room. Her hair was half up in a ponytail and half down so that her curly dirty blonde locks could cover her shoulders. Like Tatem, freckles dusted her cheeks and she wore a fair amount of mascara, eyeliner, and brown eye shadow. She had icy blue eyes and a few diamond earrings hanging from her ears. She wore a simple, low cut, silky, blue shirt and fading skinny jeans, sandals on her feet. She had tanned skin from being in the sun and a cute smile similar to Tatem's. They must have been sisters.

The woman didn't immediately look at Andre when she sashayed into the room, "Tatem, Ironhide is-"

She was cut off when she saw Andre…awake.

Her hand rose to her lips in shock, "Oh my God, Andre! I didn't think you'd be awake, it's been two and a half years!"

Tatem smiled as she looked at the newcomer, "Isn't it great, Maggie? I told you he'd wake up."

Something in Andre's head clicked when he heard the word 'Ironhide'. A flash of black and glowing blue optics and an echoing battle cry, his cannons exposed. Andre slightly furrowed his eyebrows. What did that mean?

The two girls had the same Australian accents, similar facial features, and the same slim build. Andre was almost positive that they were sisters, or closely related.

Maggie walked over to where Tatem was at and put her hands on the railing, smiling. "Hey, you. I see you've finally chosen to wake up, we were all worried about you after you got in the car crash. Strange things, right?"

He hesitantly nodded, looking at his oxygen mask. He observed the fog when he exhaled, and saw how it clung to the edges, and quickly evaporated. That word 'Ironhide' stuck in his brain and he was so close to figuring out what it meant; it was at the tip of his tongue, just a millimeter away, but he couldn't reach it. Looking up at Maggie, he asked: "What is this…'Ironhide' of which you spoke of…Maggie?"

Tatem gave Maggie a somewhat worried look and Maggie sighed.

"There's a lot we need to fill you in on, Andre," said Tatem softly, "and a lot we need to get you to remember. But," she paused, "we might as well tell you what happened while you've been in your coma."

Maggie looked at the Doctor, who had his hands behind his back and nodded, "Yes…there are some things we need to fill you in on indeed. But, I'm sure you'd like to stretch out a bit and get to know these two again before we get started on that."

Andre nodded. That doctor's voice. It seemed all-too familiar. It was making his head hurt, that he couldn't identify anything, but he kept it to himself for the moment. The doctor looked to Maggie and Tatem, nodding.

"I will go and speak with the others and tell them that you will be down later, since you have business to attend to." Said the doctor.

"Thanks, Ratch'," said Tatem, looking back at Andre, smiling. Ratchet again nodded and left the room, gently closing the door behind him.

Maggie brought up a chair by Tatem, and sighed, putting her hands in her lap. Looking at her younger sister, "Well, Tae', where should we start?"

She shrugged and looked to Andre, "What would you like me to tell you, Andre?"

He tilted his head. What was he supposed to ask her? He suddenly realized that he knew nothing about what he looked like. He decided he'd might as well ask her, "What do I look like?"

"Oh!" she said, "I'll be right back, I'll go get a mirror," said Maggie as she got up and rushed out of the room, leaving the two completely alone.

"Tell me, Tatem," he said slowly, "What I really want to know is who this 'Ironhide' is."

She tilted her head, her thick side-bang unmoving. She half smiled, "If you're worried I'm in a relationship, you'd be wrong. You were always picky about the men I dated. Anyways, Ironhide is a good friend of my sister and I. You may not believe me at first, but he's a living robot from a distant planet."

Living robot from a distant planet.

He couldn't be…

Andre looked at his hands, then at the ceiling above him, and finally Tatem's young face. His mouth was open slightly.

No, he couldn't be here…

It was all making sense again. The water, the sand, the glowing blue light…

Designation: Bonecrusher. Mission: Revive Megatron and Retrieve the Allspark. Faction: Decepticon. A message seemed to roll in front of his eyes.

He looked to Tatem, confusion, shock, and disbelief in his scarlet colored eyes. There were small traces of a growl when he asked, "Why am I here?"

Authors Note: So here it is, as I promised on my other story 'The King and the Bee' here's my newest, and complete chapter of 'I'm Not Dead Yet'. I do not own Transformers; I own Tatem Marconi, and yes, she's Maggie's younger sister. Later chapters will be longer, and you get to see this 'Andre Donnelly' past a bit more as well. I hope whoever reads this enjoys this, and please review if you favorite or story alert this.