[MOMENTS AFTER IRONHIDE IS DESTROYED]
[MAJOR LENNOX LETS HIS FAMILY KNOW ABOUT IRONHIDE]

Lennox jumped into the passenger side of the Humvee, and shouted at the driver, Wilitz, to get moving. "Head to liaison headquarters B. We need to get to air and ground commands, and it looks like we're going to have to initiate Def- con 2, maybe even 3!" Lennox took a deep breath, and let out a heavy sigh. In a matter of seconds, the game turned completely around. "How could we be so stupid!" He shook his head. Wilitz just gave a quick glance at his commander. Lennox stared blankly at the road ahead. But Wilitz knew better, Lennox was thinking like 10 steps ahead, he always did. It's why he survived this crap for so long. Wilitz decided to talk, to keep the awkward silence from setting in. "What do you mean about how we could be so stupid, Sir?" Lennox sat back in the seat, grabbed a tissue from his breast pocket, and tried to wipe the grime off of his face." It never occurred to me." Shaking his head in distraught, " We know many a Decepticon faction has rebelled and gone Autobot, but it never occurred to me that the same thing could happen, in reverse. Hell, we should have realized what could happen when we first encountered Sideswipe. He was on the edge of a sword for a bit! Ironhide even told me his own stories, how he...." Lennox stopped in mid sentence. In a rage, he hit the dashboard of the Humvee with considerable force. "SON OF A BITCH!" He roared, his tone betraying his feelings of anger and regret . " We should have seen this shit coming!" Wilitz could do nothing but just keep the vehicle steady. Everyone was feeling the weight of Ironhide. That was the fact of war. You rarely got to say good-bye. But the Autobots were like these indestructible warhorses, the thought that they could die was usually pushed to the back of ones minds. The thought of someone like Ironhide dying, was like impossible.

Lennox sighed heavily. "Pull over to the nearest gas station, I need to make a call." Wilitz looked at Lennox, a little puzzled. "Yes Sir, I see one up ahead!" He quickly pulled off the highway and into the parking lot of the gas station. Lennox got out, and headed right for the pay phone. Lennox knew he was breaking protocol, but this wasn't like it was back in Qatar, or Egypt, or Mission City. This was practically in his back yard, and while he had a duty to his country, he had a bigger duty as a husband and father. He wanted his family out of dodge. He slipped in the quarters and dialed the home number rapidly, trying to curt his breathing. His wife's comforting voice answered. "Hello?" she asked into the receiver. "Hey hon, listen!" Lennox started. He became conscience of the tears in his eyes. He brushed it off as just irritation from the smoke in the air, but the moment he heard his Wife's voice, he knew he wasn't kidding anyone, especially himself. "Thank goodness. I heard about what's going on it the city, what the hell is happening???" She was calm, but the concern and worry was heard through her voice. Lennox cleared his throat. "Listen, I don't have time to talk, just take Isabelle and head to that secret place we talked about. Don't tell anyone, just pack quick and get the hell out. You know the drill, no phones, computers, be on the look out for the symbols on cars you don't know!" He could hear her take a deep breath. "Is Ironhide going to come and take us this time like we planned, or you want me to drive?" Lennox knew this was going to be the hard part of Ironhide's demise. His voice was strained, and he knew it carried his emotion over the phone, quite well" You're going to have to drive, Sarah, Ironhide was killed!" The silence was deafening. He all of a sudden could hear Isabelle in the back ground. He guessed she was at the kitchen table, eating dinner. Her small little girl voice was definitely strained, she was very smart for an 8 year old, and she knew how to read faces and understand the tone of one’s voice. She would know this phone call was for something dreadful. "Who?" She asked her mom in an upset voice. Lennox knew Sarah didn't have to say anything, and then he immediately heard Isabelle's muffled sobs. Right then, his tears hit his cheeks as it finally hit home. His family was in danger, and his little girl's biggest hero, not to mention his best friend, was not going to be around to protect her, or give her that big, gruff bear hug Ironhide always gave her when he stopped by the farm. It pained him even more that he couldn't hug his little girl and give her this news in person. Soldiers really do sacrifice a lot. The thought of being a soldier snapped back into his sub conscience. He glanced at the Humvee. "Hon, I got to go, we'll have a time to grieve later, just get to safety first!" Sarah sighed again, and the crackle in her voice could be heard indefinite. “Yes, you be careful, and we'll make this right, OK Will!" Just before she hung up, Lennox felt another pain shoot to his heart as he briefly heard his wife try and comfort Isabelle. "Oh honey, I'm so s"....CLICK. The silence was cold. Lennox placed the receiver back in it's cradle and marched back to the Humvee, the mixed emotions of being a soldier, commander, a man who just lost his best friend, the realization that his wife and child could be in danger. It was a lot, but Ironhide would want him to continue, and he wasn't going to let the big guy down, even in spirit!

[MIKAELA IS NOT FORGOTTEN BY US]
[MIKAELA WITNESSES THE XANTHIUM EXPLODING]


Mikaela gritted her teeth, and held her breath far too long as she helped her father lower the newly rebuilt engine into the classic Chevy Camaro. They had spent a year rebuilding the beauty, at the request of a wealthy client. It was a fun project, and very rewarding in the end., as long as they didn’t let the engine damage the finish on the car, or itself get damaged, . Finally she let out a long sigh of relief as the engine settled perfectly onto it's mounting bed. She looked at her dad, and both gave out a laugh, and then she high fived him for a job well done. "OK hon, you earned your break, I'll finish up with the mounts, and then you can do the undercarriage work when you get back!" Mr. Bane told his daughter proudly.

He didn't have to tell her twice, Mikaela had been working since the wee morning hours of dawn, it was now nearing 4 in the afternoon. She ran across the grounds to the house, up the porch and into the kitchen to try and wash the grime away. She was busy drying her hands when she heard the TV in the living room. She thought she heard someone say Autobots. She rushed to the remote and turned up the volume. There was a reporter talking about an attack in Washington D.C., and then the screen changed from reporter to live footage of a motorcade making it's way to Cape Canaveral. But what caught Mikaela's eye were the lead and tail vehicles. They were, without a doubt, Mikaela's very special friends, Bumblebee and Optimus Prime. The reporter continued. "As you can see now, this motorcade is made up of all of the remaining Autobots that are here on Earth, and our leaders have decided, after the destruction in Washington, that they are just simply bringing more harm than good to our planet, so what we are seeing is their ultimate departure, from Earth!"

Mikaela gasped, and sunk onto the couch. Bumblebee is leaving? There was an attack on Washington concerning the Transformers? And, she thought with sadness, Sam didn't even bother to let her know? She held her head in her hands, completely distraught. Why should Sam let her know, she thought, she was so ugly with him in the end. She remembered, the last time she saw him, they were getting into another fight. She was getting mad all the time with him, he was never home, he was always studying, or complaining on how the Government wouldn't let him work with Nest. She was just getting sick of it. She was so pissed with him for his whining that one particular day, that in a rage to get physical with him, she accidentally stepped on Wheelie, insulting him for being in her way, and out of fury, kicked a soccer ball on the floor, hoping to nail Sam in the head with it, but instead ended up knocking out the new robot, Brains, right off of the sofa. After that, she had gone down stairs to relieve some of her stress and that’s when she came across Bumblebee.

He had opened his passenger side door. He was the one thing that always seem to have an open ear. Usually after talking to Bumblebee, it helped clear her head and she would go back to Sam and make up. But this time, Bumblebee had interrupted her, and blasted a rather familiar song on the radio. It was Kelly Clarkson's Already Gone. That was when it hit her. Bumblebee knew. She fell out of love with Sam, and he with her, which was the reason for the fights. Then Bumblebee had managed to sum up a phrase from the radio. "This is not a healthy relationship, for anyone, but I will always be your friend, whenever you need it. But in truth, I'll probably need you more. You would have made a fine warrior on Cybertron, with your raw talent". Mikaela finally had that voice of reason she needed. Bumblebee had convinced her to pack up while Sam was still at school, drove her to the airport, and bid her farewell, and he had added, he might be around from time to time, for a repair here and there.

But now, with this heart breaking news with the Autobots being exiled from Earth, she will now never see him again. He often would show up at the garage, for a new paint job, and he often would bring his sparring buddy, the intimidating Sideswipe. She had a blast when they did come over, often practicing moves, and debating famous Transformer fighters back on Cybertron, and who were the best sportsmen here on Earth, as well as what the best military was, best automobile, who was the fastest, or smartest…….etc.

The Autobots were now on the massive ship. She heard about the ship before from Sideswipe. But this was the first time she was seeing it with her own eyes. Her heart was in her throat as she watched the engines start, the infamous white clouds obstructed views of the shuttle, but she could hear the roar of the turbo boosters, and then count down from the ground techs. Then, as the shuttle lifted off, Mikaela realized, she never even got to say good bye. The cameras all watched the shuttle as it flew beautifully up into the air. Then, in a flash, an object darted towards the shuttle, and before Mikaela could register what was happening, the alien mechanical wonder was exploding, falling to pieces, and falling back to Earth. "Unbelievable, this is happening on live TV, the Autobots have been attacked in midflight, and, I am just stunned. The footage is painting a thousand words. I just can't believe it, but it looks like this is the end for the Autobots!" The reporter looked on into the lenses of the camera, and Mikaela felt like he was looking right at her. His face seemed to mirror what she felt inside. She was numb, dumbstruck, and felt weak.

Mikaela couldn't bare it anymore, she turned. She just realized, she must have risen from the couch while watching the events unfold. As she turned, she then saw her father standing in the hall. He was speechless. But, all Mikaela saw was her dad, who was always there for her when she needed him. The flood of emotions came with full force, and she ran into her dad's arms. Tears streaming, her voice completely cracked from the crying. "Daddy, he's gone, Bumblebee is gone!"

Mr. Bane could do nothing but hold his daughter as she broke down uncontrollably, for probably the first time in her young life.

 

Please continue.

 

[MIKAELA REMEMBERS THE AUTOBOTS]

Mikaela was lying on her bed, staring at the revolving fan on her ceiling. It slowly seemed to put her in a trance, and calm her shattered nerves. The trance drifted her thoughts to the past, when Bumblebee showed up for the first time at her father's new garage.

It was around dusk, and Mikaela was standing in an adjacent field, sipping on a Pepsi, enjoying the perfect California fall weather, when her ear caught the familiar growl of Bumblebee's engine. She smiled as he drove cautiously into the yard, and he was followed by a silver Corvette. "Ha-ha, I was wondering when you were going to stop by. I got word that Nest was in Southern California." Bumblebee flashed his headlights in response. Then her attention turned to the other car. "Whose your friend?" Bumblebee streamed his radio. "It's Sideswipe. You don't remember him from Egypt?" She somewhat recollects him. It was a crazy day, so long ago. She was more concerned about trying to help Sam get to the fallen Optimus, not paying attention to details of the other Autobots.

She had motioned the cars to follow. There was a section she had laid out in the blue prints when the lot was being built, that would hide Bumblebee, or even someone the size of Optimus, if he ever needed a place to just crash. As soon as they got to the spot, Bumblebee understood, and transformed, Sideswipe followed in suit. Mikaela was and will always still be in complete awe at these magnificent visitors to Earth. Sideswipe chuckled at the look on her face. "I guess it's something you humans never really do get used to, do you?" Mikaela smiled and got her bearings. "No, not really, not in my case anyways. So, what brings you guys here, need a tune up?" She smirked. Bumblebee and Sideswipe crouched, so they were looking at her at level view. "Bumblebee dragged me, since he can't talk, but he wanted to know, how come you didn't come to medal ceremony? You didn't even collect yours?" Mikaela's happiness turned into mixed emotions. Awards, medals, and the fact that Sam was going to be there, she just didn't want to deal with it. "I was invited, but I just didn't feel like going. The business is taking off, and my Dad is a great mechanic, he's just not so great with the paperwork, and...." She stared at the ground. "I just didn't want to deal with Sam."

Bumblebee kneeled forward, and put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and with the other hand, he held a box, and offered it to her. She took it, opened it, and did feel a bit flattered to see a medal, made out in her honor. But what really got to her, was Bumblebee came all the way across the country to give it to her. She nodded her head in understanding. "This isn't so much a medal from the Government, but from you guys, huh!" Bumblebee nodded back.
Sideswipe chimed in. "Optimus wanted to give this to you himself in person, but he's being dragged down by the bureaucrats, and he didn't want you to get involved with all of that. I hope you understand." She did. The Autobots were noble, and fought diligently for a species that may never truly accept them. As strong as they were, she sometimes felt sorry for them too. They lived cold, lonely lives. "I'm honored, and thank you. You guys coming to give this to me, it's, it is," she broke off, swallowing her words. She then walked forward and hugged Bumblebee, it was the only thing she could think of at that moment. Sometimes, words can't describe.

All of a sudden, the phone rang, knocking her out of her trance. She turned her head from the ceiling to the phone on the bedside table. Floods of emotion came back when she saw the box with the medal next to the phone. She sighed and picked up the phone. "Hello?" "Mikaela, is that you?" The little girl's voice was unmistakable, and her tone sounded distraught, like Mikaela's. "Hey Isabelle, how are you doing?" Mikaela's heart broke when she heard Isabelle start crying over the phone. "First, Ironhide, and now I just found out about Bumblebee. What are we going to do Mikaela?" Mikaela didn't know. She took a hard look at the medal. "First thing, I'm coming to meet you at Site B!"

 

I liked this a lot actually. This would definitely explain why Bumblebee hasn't talked to Sam in a while. I've always liked Mikaela more as a character than Carly.

 

I'm imagining Mikaela just sitting at a table drinking cofee for 5 minutes...

 

This a lot better than that Charles Dickens crap I had to read over the summer.

 

Great writing. And I can definitely see the characters speaking this dialogue, so you've got that down pat.
But whose Isabelle?

 

Sorry. I started to get into the Transformers fanfiction thanks to Ironhide1706, when he began Ironhide Remembered. I collaborated a stint, in where Lennox was telling his wife and daughter what happened to Ironhide, and his daughter is Isabelle.

Note: I put this part of the story in it's correct order, just before Mikaela is re-introduced.

 

A little about Isabelle Lennox

Isabelle Lennox got a jolt of new inspiration with Mikaela confirming that she was going to meet the Lennox family at the hiding spot. She had such a heavy heart upon learning of Ironhide's demise, and then seeing the rest of the Autobots get destroyed, but hearing her older friend on the phone gave her some hope.

Isabelle was William and Sarah Lennox's precocious 8 year daughter. She was only a year old when the Autobots came into her life. She wasn't fully aware of it though, until she was about 3, during a family BBQ. She vaguely remembered playing in the yard, her dad was setting the coals on the grill, and like always, was talking to the big black truck parked in the yard. It was then, the phone rang in the house, and dad made a mad dash for it. She was fine, until the flames started to get out of control on the grill. Some of the flames spat on the fall lawn, and caught the leaves on fire, and that was when the big truck transformed into a robot, picked her up in his humongous hands, and stamped the fire out with his feet. Then the creature bellowed in a great deep voice. "LENNOX, GET OUT HERE QUICK!" Dad ran out, and had his hands on his head in horror. He had a lot of explaining to do. But when your a kid as young as she was, you readily accept things you normally wouldn't with an older mind.

So, after a long talk, Dad's big black truck became Uncle Ironhide. Shortly thereafter, she would meet Uncle Prime, Uncle Ratchet and Bumblebee. As she got older, she would be introduced to the wacky but lovable twins, Skids and Mudflap, to the beautiful Jolt, and be a bit terrified of sleek Sideswipe. And, with the introduction to the other Autobots, also came to introductions to Sam and Mikaela. Sam was too crazy, she thought, but Mikaela was cool, and it was nice to talk to a girl amongst all of the males. Oh, but the day mom found out,well, Isabelle realized it just wasn't a nice thing to do, hiding secrets from your mother.

 

Wacky twins huh?! That's cute. Lucky Isabelle! It's good to read more of your story, hope for more soon!

 

Mikaela quickly packed up stuff for both her and her dad. She stuffed most of the items into the trunk of a souped up Mustang Shelby of her own. Her dad got into the passengers side, and she herself got into the driver's side, gunned the engine, and sped out the driveway.

"So", Mr. Bane started, trying to break the terrible silence. "How much of this car is actually of Earth? I'm not stupid, I seen you and that yellow robot tinker for hours on this thing!" And it was true. Actually, it was the first time he met one of the fabled Transformers for the first time in real life. He vaguely remembered coming across one of them ridiculous magazines spewing of alien or high tech robots that the government were hiding, but it still didn't prepare him for when he actually did see one. He was coming home from a night, playing cards with the guys. He seen the light on in the garage, and heard Mikaela talking animatedly with someone. He decided to see who she was talking to, and up to altogether. He opened the door, and was in complete terror, as he seen his daughter, working under the hood, on one side of the green muscle car, and then a gigantic robot, using light on his chest to illuminate Mikaela's work space, and he also handed tools to her as she asked for them. Mr. Bane burped in shock, and the yellow face looked at him, and in shock of it's own, jumped back, dropping a wrench on Mikaela. She howled in pain, and heaved out from the car. She looked at her dad, up at the robot, and back at her dad. "Look, Dad, I can explain everything!" What was he supposed to do, call the cops? He trusted his daughter above all else, so slowly made his way to her, and the robot.

Mikaela went on. "Ok, Dad, this is Bumblebee, he is an alien from a far off planet. His race is made up of living metal, so to speak. He's a secret of the government, and I swore silence of their existence. In return, this is how they granted both of our records expunged, and gave us the starting money for the garage. But, please believe me when I tell you, you can trust him. He can't speak, his vocal cords have been damaged, and me and another Transformer known as Ratchet have tried really hard to fix it. But we just don't have the means, yet. But, he can communicate sometime through the radio. But, come on, meet him, he's totally cool!"

Mr Bane walked forward, and slowly held out a shaking hand. The large robot knelt down closer to him, and gently shook his hand. It was weird. Bumblebee may be a robot, but when he shook the giant hand, it was warm, like a human's hand, or a dog's paw would be. He felt the life force thriving through that yellow robot, and it was strong, warm and inviting. "Uh, so, what are you two doing here?" Bumblebee motioned to the car. His radio churned. "Found in an old bunker. Gave it to my friend as a birthday present. When I can, I help her restore it, and add some new things as well, for protection!" Bane was a little skeptical. "Protection?" Mikaela cleared her throat. "While Bumblebee and some others will never hurt us, there are more of their kind that mean to do us harm. So, we've been fixing this thing so I can use it to get away from them, or if I must, meet them head on, if you know what I mean."

Mr Bane snapped out of the blast from the past. He now too, felt a little sad. That wonderful alien being, everything he did, was to help Mikaela. All he did as a father, was get her into trouble. "So, have you had enough experience with them weapons, in case we need them?" He asked his daughter. He not only remembered when Bumblebee helped Mikaela get the car performing beautifully, but he also remembered when the silver car came by, and helped arm it, and his daughter.

He was just sitting at home, watching the TV, when some headlight flashed into his home. They flashed again, and it got his attention, so he got up and went to the front porch. In the drive way was the yellow robot, in his car disguise, and next to him, was a silver car. "Uh, is this another one of ya?" Bumblebee beeped. The silver Corvette all of a sudden gave a strange groan, and transformed into a rather sleek looking robot, on wheels. He spun around real quick, showing off his blinding speed, then came closer to the porch. He may not be as big as Bumblebee, but there was something about him that screamed dangerous. Mr Bane was definitely intimidated by this one. "Is Mikaela around, we have something to show her?" He said in an equally intimidating voice. "Uh, she'll be back, she went to rent some movies. What is it you going to show her?" He was a little nervous. Bumblebee then transformed. His gentle face calmed Mr. Bane a little. He pulled out of his back, two huge cannons. Bane's calmness was erased with worry again. "What's this shit, and who in the hell are you?" He was getting nervous again. "I'm Sideswipe, Third in Command of the Autobots. After talking things over, Optimus Prime decided that Mikaela is in deserving of some weapons of her own, because he fears she could be a target of the Decepticons. These cannons are from my mentor, Ironhide. He rigged them so we could attach them to the car, and be used by Mikaela. Optimus has also granted me permission to format some swords that are specially crafted to harm Cybertonian skin, and Bumblebee and I will teach her how to use them. We wish we were here on brighter terms, but things are changing, and we must adapt ourselves, and most importantly, adapt the humans we trust the most to this change. I am very sorry, but your daughter is a vital part of our lives, and we feel it is our responsibility to protect her, and arm her against our threats." Mr Bane, felt weird, but was excited about this. He now couldn't wait for his daughter to get home. He wanted to see how those massive cannons worked. He was brought back to Earth again, when Sideswipe drew a sword, and twirled it effortlessly in the air. "You think my daughter would be good with a blade?" Bumblebee chimed. "You kidding me, she chopped a Decepticon head with a mere human construction tool. She would be absolutely amazing with some training from him here!" He motioned at Sideswipe. "Don't worry, I'll teach her well!"

 

On the other side of the country, Isabelle and her mother, Sarah, were driving far from their little country farm in Virginia. They were heading to site B, which was in the Colorado wilderness, not too far from an Airforce base set up there. It should hopefully provide some cover and protection, if they could get there in one piece, and undetected.

Isabelle was getting tired of listening to the radio, all it spat out was disrespecting remarks against the Autobots. It really made her angry. If those lowlifes only knew how much those creatures sacrificed to keep the human race safe. She finally got fed up, and clicked it off. "So," she turned to her mother, who was driving, silently. Her face was pale, her lips pursed. "How long do you think it's going to take before we get there?" Sarah shrugged. "If we don't encounter any road blocks or crashes, we might get there in a day!" Isabelle nodded. When they did this run for training purposes, they were always escorted by Ironhide. He never obeyed the speed limits, and dared some patrol officer to try and pull him over. The trip didn't seem all that long. Her heart felt heavy again from thinking of Ironhide again. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to push back the tears. Her mind drifted off to when her mother first met Ironhide.

Isabelle was about 5. Their farm was located in a valley in between some mountains, and most of the time, it was serene landscape. But sometimes, it was home to some dangerous and spontaneous weather. One particular summer night, the wind was really kicking up into high gear, keeping her awake with fright. It didn't help matters that she had just watched some scary movie with her dad, and the images of the monsters were fresh on her mind. It was maybe around 2 in the morning when she finally drifted off to sleep, only to be jolted awake by the wind hurling outside, making creepy whistling noises. She had had it. She grabbed her stuffed bear, a blanket, snuck out of the house and crept up to the barn, where Ironhide was resting. Only if, little girls didn't get so scared and worked up over creepy crawly things, perhaps no incidents would have occurred. But life is never so easy. She opened the heavy barn door, and saw the silhouette of Ironhide's massive truck disguise, and made her way towards it. But that was when a stupid bat came flying out of the rafters, scaring the daylights out of her. Isabelle screamed bloody murder, flailing her arms wildly in the air to try and thwart off the attack. Ironhide himself was awaken, and quickly jumped into robot mode, flashing his high beams in the barn, illuminating it. He rushed to Isabelle in a worry. "What is it?" He looked around the barn, looking for what had scared her. "I think it was a stupid bat. I don't like them things. You could turn into a vampire if they bite you!" Ironhide chuckled. "Vampire, huh! So, what brings you up here so late?" He had crouched, and then sat down slowly. When he got comfortable, he picked up Isabelle and cradled her in one of his massive arms. Once she was settled, she told him about the scary movie, and how the wind and nightmares were keeping her up. "So, why not run to your dad?" Ironhide questioned. "He was the one that let me watch the movie. He thinks I'm being silly by being scared of a movie. Maybe I am." She shrugged, looking absent mindedly at her stuffed bear. "Maybe I just wanted another reason to sneak down here to visit my uncle Ironhide!" She tried that approach. He was always a sucker for it. He gruffed a laugh. "Well, maybe I'll just talk your dad into moving your sleeping quarters right in here!" Isabelle liked that idea. She finally drifted off to sleep, only to be abruptly awaken, and Ironhide as well, by her mother's blood curdling scream. Apparently, Sarah had woken that morning, and was beside herself when she couldn't find her daughter in the house. Her instincts of looking into the barn were correct, only they never prepared her to see her daughter, being held up 10 feet in the air, by some monster.
Ironhide held his arm out, trying to calm the hysterical woman. "Look, Mrs. Lennox, everything is fine!" Isabelle just looked incredibly at her screaming mother. Her dad finally rushed into the barn. "Oh dear, hon, everything is alright!" He tried to calm his wife down. She had long stopped her shrieks, but was still babbling, confused. "Ironhide, can you give Sarah back her daughter, maybe she'll calm down enough for us to explain!" Isabelle was totally content on staying in Ironhide's arms. They were a bit more inviting then her half crazed mom. But she didn't resist when he set her down, and then get scooped up by her mom. Dad lead mom outside by the arm, and she in turn, cradled Isabelle to follow along, the whole time not letting her eyes off of Ironhide, as he got up and followed them out of the barn. Isabelle guessed it didn't help matters much when he was finally able to stand to his fullest height. "Look, Sarah, let Bella go for a second, let me talk to you over here by the picnic table. I swear on my life, you can trust this guy. I would be dead if it wasn't for him, OK!" Dad had motioned her to go and stand next to Ironhide, while he gently took her mother away for some adult talk. Ironhide sighed. "Well, she was bound to find out sooner or later!" He winked at her.

All of a sudden, Isabelle became aware she was dreaming of the past. She could see herself play with Ironhide, and a little ways, her dad talking to her mom. It was so weird. Then, Ironhide looked from her dreamself, to directly at her. "Isabelle!" He talked. "Be aware of the black trucks. They are following you!"
Sarah swerved the car as Isabelle woke up in a fright. Her eyes were burning, her mind foggy as she tried to recollect what Ironhide just told her in the dream. Watch the black trucks. She unclipped her seat belt, turned around and looked out the back of the car window. Her heart jumped. "Mom, I think we are being followed!"

 

So, how are you all liking it so far? Believe it or not, I know where I am going with this now. At first, I just thought up things as I went along, but now, I got some focus that might be intriguing to some of you.

 

Have at it Orion!

 

At the persistent urging from Isabelle, Sarah turned quickly onto the first off ramp they came by. Isabelle was sitting back down, and using one of her mother's cosmetic mirrors to keep watch out from behind. To her dismay, the two black SUV trucks turned down the same ramp.

"They're still following us mom!" Isabelle was scared. She never came across a Decepticon yet. But with all of the detailed campfire stories that Uncle Ironhide and Uncle Ratchet told her, she never really wanted to meet any. She closed her eyes, and thought, what would Uncle Ironhide want her to do. She wondered if he would talk to her again. She sighed, she didn't have time to wait. "Mom, I think we need to pull into some restaurant, and we may have to ditch our car."

Sarah couldn't believe this was happening. It was almost as if this was all planned. The second that the Autobots were gone, they were going to have this kind of encounter. "Do you really think that it's one of those Decepticons?" Isabelle shook her head. "I don't know. I see two black SUV's that looked suspicious, and those were the ones that are still following us. It looks like there are two people per truck, but Uncle Ironhide said that the Decepticons have a huge ego problem, and think driving humans around is beneath them. But Sam also said that he was attacked by a Decepticon that used a hologram driver to blend in. But then, there is another possibility, they could be those rare pretenders!"

Sarah gritted her teeth to all of this information. She was a bit perplexed at what a pretender was. "So, what's a pretender?" Isabelle looked at her mother with wide brown eyes. "They are kind of like a real life version of the Terminator.!" Sarah groaned. "OK. Hon, this is what we are going to do, we'll stop at a diner. We'll have to leave everything, but we'll sneak out the back of the diner and run like hell!" Isabelle nodded. "Sounds good to me. I got some tricks up my sleeve that might help!" She put her hand over her mother's, reassuring her, as well as herself.
As soon as they got to the diner, Isabelle wasn't surprised to see the SUV's pull in. Her mom grabbed her purse, and Isabelle by the hand, and they walked to the diner. They let the waitress lead them to a booth, and as soon as she walked away, Isabelle and her mom glanced out the windows. The SUV's actually blocked their car, and four men stepped out of the trucks, and headed to the restaurant. "I can't believe this, they're not being very subtle at all, are they?" Isabelle exclaimed. "This just means it's our time to book. Quick, head to the back, we'll try and make a break for the back door!" Sarah told her daughter in a stern voice. They both got up and made a beeline to the cook's door. They dodged a bunch of bewildered staff, and pushed open the back door, and split for the adjoining parking lot. Sarah took the lead, holding onto her daughter's hand tightly. She was scared, but at the same time, she surprised herself at how calm and clear headed she was. This was all in thanks to Uncle Ironhide. He taught mother and daughter well.

As they ran down the street now, cars breezing by on the highway, Isabelle and Sarah were a bit relieved to see that the black trucks haven't gotten wise about their disappearance yet. Just then, Isabelle stopped in her tracks. "Wait, mom, over there in that parking lot. Come on, I have an idea." Sarah let her daughter lead to another packed restaurant parking lot. She ducked in between the cars, trying to hide from view, and then came to an older F-150. Obviously somebody's farm truck. Isabelle shook her hand free from her mother's grip, and then went to her belt, unfastened it, then removed the belt buckle. She opened it to reveal some small tools. "What are you going to do young lady?"Sarah asked in astonishment and horror. "What do you think I'm going to do mom?" She didn't wait for a response. She drove the picks into the lock, quickly unlocked it, then she pulled out a knife and tore into the wires under the steering wheel column. All Sarah could do was watch in disbelief. Her 8 year old daughter just picked a lock, and was now hot wiring the truck. "So, is this another little thing Uncle Ironhide taught you behind my back?" She didn't want to get angry, but sometimes, Uncle Ironhide got a bit carried away with all of the survival training. Isabelle finally got the truck started, climbed into the cab, and motioned her mother to follow, since she was too little to drive. Sarah got in, and while feeling guilty about the whole thing, backed the truck slowly, and turned it out of the lot. Once they got on the road, Isabelle took a deep sigh. "For starters, believe it or not, but it wasn't Uncle Ironhide that taught me this. Mikaela taught me!" She said proudly.

 

Everything seemed to be getting back on track. Sarah decided to try and stay off of the freeways and stick to the back roads. Luckily, she was able to do this, thanks to the road atlas Isabelle found underneath the seat. "All I know, is we need to get out of this town quick!" Isabelle told her mother, in a cheery voice. "It's broad daylight, and it won't be long before the owner finds out his truck is gone." Sarah nodded. "Yep, and them backwoods sheriffs are no picnics either!"

They drove out of the farm town, and were now going at a real good clip on a long winding road. Isabelle was enjoying the scenery. Rolling hills, cows and horses dotted the lands for miles. It was starting to get dark when they seemed to be approaching another city. The lights sparkled in the dusk. Sarah cleared her throat. "We might as well, we're going to need gas!"

They pulled into a gas station. Isabelle got out to stretch her legs. "Mom, is it alright I go get something to drink from the store?" Sarah rummaged into her purse, and pulled out some cash. "Just be careful!" Isabelle, exhausted from the fright of flight, staggered into the brightly lit convenient store. She made her way to the sodas when all of a sudden she felt light headed. She hung onto the shelf, trying to stay awake. Just then, she heard Ironhide's voice. "Kill the plastic, you're being tracked! Go to the red building at the end of the street. You must hurry, you're being tracked right now! Your mother!" His voice left off with a flare of panic. Isabelle got her bearings, and rushed out to her mom. She now saw what Ironhide was hinting at. "MOM, NO!" she shouted. Sarah looked perplexed. "What?" "They can track us using that credit card!" Isabelle cried!. Sarah grew stiff and cold with fright. She stopped pumping and threw the card into the trash. "How can I be stupid, I never, I'm sorry Isabelle!" She looked horrified.

"It's OK mom, look, get into the truck, I got to tell you something." Sarah screwed the cap back on the gas tank, waited for Isabelle to hot wire it again, then jumped into the cab and took off. "Look, Sam told me that when he was trying to save Uncle Prime when he got taken down by the Decepticons, he was spoken to by dead Transformers in a dream. They told him how to use some artifact to jump start Uncle Prime's heart. Well, I've been getting spoken to by Uncle Ironhide. He told me about the trucks on the highway, and he just told me about you using the card!" Isabelle looked at her mother dead in the eyes. All Sarah could do was look back. She put a gentle hand on Isabelle's cheek. "Look, mom, I'm not making this up, and I'm not crazy!" Sarah sighed. "If you told me this 5 years ago, I'd say it was just your imagination, but knowing that you were half raised by a 25 foot tall alien robot, I believe anything now!" Isabelle closed her eyes in relief. "The credit card wasn't the only thing he told me. He said to keep going on this street till we see a red building." Sarah nodded. "Red building, huh. Well, let's go find it!"
They drove a bit, but it was hard to make out the buildings in the darkening sky. Sarah then noticed a brick building, which are usually red, and pointed at it. "You see anything interesting?" Isabelle shook her head. "Maybe we need to go check it out?" Her mother eased up next to the entrance, and that was when they were broadsided, hard. It shoved the old timer truck into the chain link fencing, and bounced the girls around in the cab. Isabelle got her bearings first, and saw the vehicle that hit them backing up, getting ready for another go. "MOM, we got to go, NOW!" She shook her mom who was still discombobulated from the impact. Sarah pushed Isabelle to get out on the passenger side, and she followed her daughter. She stumbled out of the cab, being tugged hard by Isabelle who was trying to get clear of the truck. "Mom, hurry, I think they're going to ram it again!" Sarah got herself together to look back, and just then, the black truck screeched it's tires, and let loose, plunging into the F-150 with all of it's might. Both girls ran as fast as they could away from the crash site. Isabelle hauled her mom towards the brick buildings. She noticed a small alley way in between two structures, and figured it might be too narrow for the SUV to get through. She led her mom to it. Unfortunately, her worst fear became a reality. The SUV drove towards them, blinding them with the headlights, and just when it looked like it was going to hit the buildings, it transformed into a massive robot, and easily slid through the alley. "RUN!" Sarah screamed at her daughter. They ran as fast as they could down to the other end of the alley, but then they slid to a halt, as a sporty looking car blocked their exit. The black robot's lights shone off of the car, revealing it's hue to be a metallic orange. It gunned it's engines. "Mom, this doesn't look good!" Sarah grabbed her daughter, feeling helpless now that they were trapped. She hugged her as the smaller car sped it's way into the alley towards them, at full speed. The robot on the other side just stopped. Apparently it was just going to be a spectator to the Lennox carnage that was about to come.

 

These are great,Orion! I can't wait to see more.

 

You could definitely be a writer. This is great stuff and I would be one of the first in line to buy your novel.

 

Isabelle buried her head into her mother's chest. She never imagined going out like this. The sporty car flashed it's high beams, and she took a one last peak of the car as it barreled down upon them, and just when it should have smashed into them, it catapulted up in the air, over them, and slammed with a deafening screech into the robot. The black smashed into one of the alley walls, all crumpled, and the orange sport car landed smoothly, only to transform into a very aerodynamic robotic body. Isabelle and Sarah could just watch in horror.

The black con picked itself up, reached out an arm and transformed into a cannon. It fired, but the orange robot dodged it easily, leaped forward and grabbed the arm. They struggled for a moment. The black con was bigger in height and bulk, but the orange Transformer had this aurora about him that hinted he was more experienced, or skilled. A grappling hook streamed out of the orange bot's arm and he quickly wrapped it around the cannon, and with a quick and skilled move, he back flipped, leaning his weight against the wire. This action caused the black con to flip out of control, and actually rip his cannon arm right off. The orange bot grabbed the cannon, and aimed it above Sarah and Isabelle's heads. Isabelle looked in confusion. He shot the cannon, and the projectile flew over their heads in a hot breath of air, and as Isabelle's eyes followed the fireball, she watched as it crashed into another black and green bot that had tried to sneak up on them from the other side of the alley. As it fell down, four figures jumped out. They were robotic, but Isabelle guessed they were the humans from the diner. One of her guesses were right, they were pretenders. One of them reached their own arms out and aimed it at the orange bot, who was still dodging fireshots from his foe. He might have lost one arm, but the other one was still working very well, and was just as armed. All of a sudden, two of the smaller cons blew apart. Isabelle looked over the fallen black and green bot, and saw a bright green car speeding towards the fight, shooting at the little cons and the big con with it's own roof top machine gun. But the dreaded feeling was leaving Isabelle, because she recognized this car! "It's SKIDS mom!" She exclaimed excitedly. Her mom was apparently a bit occupied by the bigger fight going on their right. She turned quickly towards the left, and saw Skids transform from his little car disguise and into his robot form. He rushed forward and wailed onto the black and green car, and then back flipped and smashed two of the smaller cons heads together with a satisfying crunch.

Both girls then heard a strange "SHINK" sound. They turned back to the right. The orange bot clasped his hands together. They bonded, and then a massive 10' blade shot out. He heaved it hard into the midsection of the black con, and with a very violent thrust, shredded the con vertically. Fluids spilled out, his spark exploded and caught on fire, and his eyes lost it's red illumination as the enormous blade made it's way through the chest, neck, and finished splitting him nearly completely in half. The orange bot then took a step back, retracted a part of the blade, disengaged his hands, and then with them free, he took the one blade that he was still wielding, spun swiftly on his wheeled feet, and used the momentum to slice the con at the waist, turning him into 3 pieces. He nudged the black con, and seemed please that the con was finally dead. Then, with a sudden burst of speed, he raised his armed hand, and flung the sword through the air, over the girl's heads, and sliced right through the black and green con that Skids was fighting, completely taking out his spark. "Awe man, you know, I had that one! I was just toying with him!" Skids called out. The orange con relaxed his shoulders, retracted his wheeled feet to the back of his calves so he was back to regular feet, and walked towards the girls. He darted a sharp look at Skids. "We don't have time for playing, we need to get the job done quick!"

As he approached the girls, Isabelle took in this robot. He was bigger than Skids, much bigger. About the same size of Bumblebee she guessed. His head, now that she looked at it, his facial features reminded her of Sideswipe, but he had a helmet similar to Uncle Primes. She could smell the burnt metal and other materials smoldering off of him from the battle. And as he got even closer, he emitted enormous amounts of heat. All of a sudden, her mother changed her position from hugging her daughter, to pushing her to the back, protecting her. The orange bot seemed to understand the distrust. He stopped, and then he kneeled so he was more eye level with them. "I am so sorry I wasn't here soon enough. When you lost them back at the little town, you lost us as well!" "Sarah nodded, but was still a little apprehensive, "So, uh, are you an Autobot, I hope?" She asked. The orange bot gave a gruff chuckle. "Yeah. I apologize again. You may or may not have heard of me, but I am Sunstreaker, brother to Sideswipe. I was hidden from your world leaders by Optimus, and after their exile, you can now see why!" Isabelle felt more confident, and slowly emerged from her mother's shadow. "So, how many more of you are on our planet?" Sunstreaker rubbed his chin, and she thought it was funny. It was a curious human gesture, one that reveals someone thinking. "I know just a few myself, but knowing Optimus, he's probably got Autobots stationed all over the world. I am your guardian, in a sense, because Ironhide had asked my mentor to watch over the Lennox family." Sarah and Isabelle sighed, both showed their sorrows at Ironhide's demise. ""So, you heard, Ironhide was killed, even before the shuttle blew up, right?" Sarah asked. Sunstreaker shook his head. "No, actually I didn't. He died before the explosion you say?" He asked in surprised. Isabelle nodded slowly. "My dad watched the whole thing. He called, told us Uncle Ironhide was killed and that we had to leave town, ASAP." She blinked her eyes, trying to hold back tears. Sunstreaker rose, and gave a great sigh. "My mentor will not be happy about this. We're aware of the Xanthium, and the second that went airborne with the entire crew, that was when we got our signal that our mission to your safety was to begin. Awe, but Ironhide being killed before the Xanthium, damn!" The orange Autobot seemed to be distraught. He shook his head in dismay. "Heads are going to roll for this one!" Isabelle was confused. "Why?" "Well, that's because my mentor is Armorhide, Ironhide's brother, and he don't take kindly to Decepticons killing his comrades. He's going to beside himself when he learns of his brother's fate!" Skids came up behind them. "Yeah bro, you're going to have to break this news to him!" Skids gave a longing look at he Lennox girls. "Because, you see, Ironhide may be one bad ass muther f!"/"EH-HEM!" Sarah cut off the robot before he could finish his crude sentence. "Yeah, like I said, Ironhide may be a badass, but he look's like a fuzzy little kitten to his brother!"

 

So, what do you all think about my little surprise!