Seriously cut into my sleep time on this one. I was literally at work, when there were no customers around, taking notes on what I wanted to happen in this chapter. Multi-tasking to the max! Enjoy you guys! Keep commenting and reviewing. It all makes me better.
Lightning flashed across the sky, briefly illuminating the rain-soaked landscape. Thunder clapped violently mere seconds afterward. None of this seemed to faze the Decepticons who stood at the base of the cliff staring victoriously at the last Prime who lay beaten on the ground.
Megatron circled Optimus like a lion circling its prey before pouncing in for the kill. Optimus tried desperately to remain functioning. His arms and legs were locked in place as his body tried to use all of its remaining energy to keep his spark from fading into oblivion.
Precious energon continued to flow from the gaping hole below Optimus's chest plates. Megatron stepped away from a stream of it that began to flow toward the river. He appeared disgusted, as if touching his own brother's life blood would contaminate him like a disease.
Megatron stuck the end of the staff under Optimus and lifted, violently tossing him onto his back. He stood over Optimus and stared onto his fading blue optics.
"I told you that as long as you fight for the weak you will always lose," he growled. "Your end is now Prime, and the rest of those parasitic Autobots will soon follow." He raised the staff over his head and prepared to drive it into Optimus's spark.
Optimus's vision was blurring. This was it. The end had come for him.
He waited for the final blow.
Suddenly, a rumble sounded in the woods. Megatron looked up in time to see a fireball fly out of the trees before striking him, forcing him to drop the staff and sending flying backward.
Optimus felt the heat of the fire and watched as Megatron was thrown away from him. Relief filled every fiber of his being as he felt himself slip closer toward stasis. Someone had come for him.
The Decepticons all stood and stared in shock as a massive creature emerged from the forest where the fireball had appeared. The creature was covered in thick, black, metallic scales. It walked on four powerful, muscular limbs. Two massive wings stretched half unfurled on its shoulders. Its tail reached twenty feet in length. Its head had a pair of horns protruding from the back with a line of smaller horns running along its jaw line.
It was a dragon. It was Jazira.
Her bright green eyes burned through the darkness, putting any Transformer's optics to shame. She growled at Megatron and the other Decepticons, baring her long, sharp fangs. Steam leaked from between her teeth into the night air.
She leapt forward and crouched over Optimus in a protective stance. Her attention was drawn toward the ground where the Fallen's staff lay in the mud. She dipped her head and picked up the staff in her jaws. Megatron could do nothing but watch as she clamped her jaw tightly, snapping the staff into pieces as if it were no more than a toothpick.
Megatron was furious.
He charged toward Jazira, his sword sliding forward from inside his arm.
Jazira knew she has to protect Optimus at all costs. But she had the element of surprise here. She braced herself, keeping a careful eye on the approaching blade. Megatron slashed his blade through the air towards her, aiming to behead her.
She lowered her head and intercepted the blade with her horns. She quickly gained the advantage by tossing her head to the side, thus casting aside Megatron's blade and throwing him off balance.
She took advantage of the moment and used the fire that burned deep within her to superheat her claws. She reared on her hind legs and slashed at Megatron. She tore through his armor with ease.
She finished her attack by leaping forward, beating her wings once to give her more speed and power. She slammed her body into Megatron, sending him crashing into Demolisher and Barricade.
She backed away from the Decepticons and returned to her defensive position over Optimus. Her eyes flashed as Starscream made a move to fight in his master's place. She barred her fangs briefly before she unleashed a powerful roar at Starscream. The bellow was loud and powerful.
That was enough to convince Starscream. He turned tail and took off into the night. Devastator and Barricade followed suit. They weren't willing to stick around a try their hand at defeating the creature anymore.
Satisfied with the result of her threat, Jazira dug her claws into the mud.
It was just her and Megatron now.
This time it was her turn to charge Megatron. She snarled and pounded toward her target. She lowered her head and aimed to stick her horns into Megatron's spark but Megatron grabbed her and pushed back against her. They struggled for a moment, each trying to gain the upper hand. Jazira used Megatron's momentum against him and relaxed the muscles in her neck. Megatron began to fall forward. The grip he had on Jazira's horns was released. In one swift motion Jazira pulled her head around behind Megatron, opened her massive jaws, and clamped down on the back of Megatron's neck.
Megatron roared in pain and frustration as Jazira slammed one foot into Megatron's shoulder to try to pin him down while she continued to crush his neck.
Desperate, Megatron flailed the arm that bore his blade, hoping to catch any part of Jazira's body. He was lucky and sliced a large gash into Jazira's thigh.
She yelped in pain and released her hold on Megatron, hissing. Having gained the upper hand again, Megatron rolled over and slammed his arm into Jazira's rib cage. She gave a strangled roar as she was thrown through the air, landing on her side a few feet from Optimus. She lay there, appearing to be unconscious.
Megatron rose to his feet, neck plates sparking. He walked to Jazira and held his blade just above her body, where her heart was.
"Farewell maggot." He snarled.
Jazira's eyelids bolted open and, quick as a cobra, she snapped at Megatron, shocking him.
She'd had enough. She opened her mouth and released a torrent of white hot flames toward Megatron. The fire hit Megatron full force in the face. He shrieked in pain. He backed away but Jazira got to her feet and pursued him. Again and again Megatron tried to back away and each time Jazira would follow, continuing to release the flames, burning Megatron. The heat began to melt Megatron's armor. He had no choice but to transform into his jet form and retreat back into space.
Jazira stopped breathing fire and spread her wings. With one mighty beat she was in the air. She tailed Megatron for a few seconds, roaring ferociously before backing off and stopping to hover on an updraft.
There was no point in her following him any farther. He would be back and she would have her chance then.
She watched the jet fly off as she began to descend; never letting her guard up until Megatron was completely out of sight.
She landed in the mud and folded her wings. Her green eyes closed as she released the hold she had on her power and she shrank back to her human form.
A whimper behind her caught her attention. She wheeled around to see Optimus lying in agony, still fighting stasis.
She swore under her breath and ran to his side. The gash in her leg was bleeding and throbbing, but she didn't care. She surveyed the damage. He was in terrible shape. Energon covered the rain soaked ground around him.
She went to his face and touched him tenderly. He was so cold. Optimus flinched at the sudden sensation.
"Shhhh." She whispered to him. "It's alright Optimus, they're gone now. You're safe." She began to stroke his face slowly and reassuringly.
Optimus struggled to online his optics. He managed to long enough to see the blurred figure of a young girl standing there. He couldn't make out her face but he knew that it had to be Jazira.
His optics went offline again and he began to tremble in pain. Jazira's eyes widened in panic.
"Optimus?" she said. "Optimus, talk to me."
Silence.
Fear flooded Jazira's thoughts.
He was hurt worse than she thought. He wasn't even able to keep his optics online, let alone speak. She had to get him back to her place and get him some help. But she wasn't sure how she would go about it without hurting him even more. She couldn't drag him. And she was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to fly with him. She would need to transform into a much bigger dragon than before and there wasn't enough space here for her to take off with that big of a wing span. She would have to get him onto her back.
She continued to stroke Optimus's face.
"I'm gonna get you out of here Optimus, ok?" she said. "But I'm gonna have to lift you." Another whimper escaped Optimus.
I know, I know it hurts," She soothed. "But you have to trust me on this. I'm gonna get you home and take care of you, alright?" She prepared to use her power again. She surveyed the cliff that she would have to scale to get back home. It was a steep climb.
She closed her eyes and her body began to change. Scales erupted all over her body, wings sprouted from her shoulders, her neck elongated, and a tail stretched forth. Her size, in comparison to Optimus, was slightly smaller, but the dragon she had transformed into was built for climbing and heavy lifting.
She nuzzled Optimus to prepare him for what was to come. She gently wiggled her nose under his arm, followed by his torso. She gently raised her head and attempted to worm her body under him as carefully as she could.
Jazira could hear every circuit in Optimus's body spark in pain. Optimus groaned as his broken body shifted. Jazira froze and waited for Optimus to relax a bit before continuing.
After about a minute Jazira finally had Optimus draped over her back.
Slowly, so as to not jostle him too much, she began to make her way back up the cliff and back home. All the while she continued to talk to Optimus in an attempt to keep him awake and aware.
"It'll be alright Optimus, just hang on."