The water was murky and deep, surrounded by steep cliffs that had been worn down by time and water, the very water that promised the biggest catch.
And a monster.
The line dropped with a soft ker-plunk, the bobber bobbed, the bait dangled and wiggled in the water temptingly, but there was no bite. The big fish were scared by something bigger.
The false bait held no interest for the monster waking up from its nap, but it didn't ignore it. It nosed it gently, taste-tested. It was terrible, there was a hook, and it wasn't its usual food. But the human baiting it was getting its interest, and that might be a supplier of food. Even through the murk, the monster could see the blue veins on the human.
Blue meant food.
Its tank rumbled. The monster bit the false bait off the line and rose from the water, roaring. Its optics dimmed against the bright sun and it watched the humans run in fear. Not food, the monster decided. Just irrations. The monster lowered its massive body back into the water and laid in wait, hoping for food. When it settled, it nosed a clutch of five eggs back under its wing.
ooo
Optimus didn't get a lot of distress calls that didn't involve Cybertronians, so when he received one involving a film crew getting attacked by a "dragon", he figured that they mistook a minnow for the beast of legend or something. But when he met with the man that had seen the beast, he realized his mistake.
This man, he knew, was brave. He had taken on the world's biggest and baddest river monsters. If something massive had come onto his line, he wouldn't have backed down quickly. He would have probably gone swimming with it to drag it to shore, not hightail it as fast as he could from the lake where he had encountered the beast.
Mr. Wade invited Optimus into his garage and the massive Prime found himself surrounded by tackle, rods, and lines. Rows and rows of tackle boxes for various fish and beasts surrounded him and Optimus scanned them while the human told his tale of the beast.
Optimus frowned at the information he was given. What had attacked the nice Mr. Wade and his film crew was not a minnow, or a sturgeon. It was a Predacon.
The Prime asked the human if he could lead him to the lake, and the human cheerfully did. It was in another country, but Optimus had no trouble managing that. Just as a precaution, he took Bumblebee and Ultra Magnus, which meant that Wheeljack and Bulkhead had to tag along. The Wreckers didn't go without their leader, and their leader did not go without his team. It was a guarantee, and if it was indeed a Predacon that had attacked the River Monster crew, then Optimus was glad to have the explosive-loving mechs around.
They arrived to the lake without incident. It looked like a small lake, but Jeremy told him that it was deeper than it looked. Optimus tried to peer through the murk, but it was impossible, so he started to walk into the water.
It was warm, soothing even. His pedes moved rocks around and weed tangled around them, but that wasn't what worried him.
The water was quickly rising, he found, and even though Earth's gravity was different to him, water still had the same effect. He ducked his helm and he found himself quickly in the lair of the beast that had attacked Jeremy and his crew.
Rocks were arranged in a nest, and right in the middle was a clutch of three eggs. Optimus knelt and he touched each one. Then he lifted them and trudged his way back to the shore where his team and the humans waited. He let Jeremy see the eggs, then he stored them in his trailer after wrapping them firmly with rags and warm blankets to keep them from breaking open and spilling embryoes. He wasn't a scientist, but he knew that the eggs weren't quite done developing. He was surprised that the mother was gone.
He left the lake, believing that the mother had been taken down or crippled. That was the only reason why she would have abandoned her eggs, Optimus thought, and he thought he was doing the right thing.
ooo
The monster returned, settling into the lake and heading straight to the nest. She had moved two eggs to a new location. She couldn't risk her babies being discovered and taken from her, not after she realized that humans were around.
Her optics widened when her eggs were gone and she tore apart the bottom of the lake, hoping that her eggs would turn up. When they didn't, she bolted and went back to the mountains where her two eggs had been stored. She was losing motivation to care for the eggs that were only months away from hatching. Her kind would be continued, if only she would get over her depression to keep her eggs warm.
ooo
Optimus, after studying the eggs with his oldest friend Ratchet, discovered that the three eggs he had found were going to be mechs, except for one. The one that was to be a femme was weaker, and Ratchet thought that it would die before it hatched. Optimus wanted to get the baby out of the egg immediately, but he resisted. He would more likely damage the fragile thing instead of healing it.
Ratchet kept the eggs close and changed the temperature regularily, hoping to change the genders, but they were already decided. They would not change, which was disappointing.
They already had three mechs: Predaking, Skylynx, and Darksteel. If the mother was dead, then there would be no femmes left. The Predacons would surely die out.
Optimus watched Ratchet fuss over the eggs, then he went to return to the lake. He Bridged there, hoping to find evidence of the mother. He did. The nest was destroyed in a rampage and Optimus realised his mistake.
ooo
The femme Predacon sniffed her cold eggs, then padded to the back of the cave. She wasn't interested in them anymore. She wanted the three she had lost, not the two she had. Sometimes, the sun would shine just right that the babies would be illuminated. They were femmes, and they were strong and healthy. But their carrier didn't seem to care. She wanted her sons and her other daughter. She laid her helm down on the floor, sighed, then got up again. She went back to the lake, laid down on the shattered nest, and fell asleep. Had she returned to the nest just minutes earlier, Optimus would have seen her, but he did not, and so she was left to mourn her young.
