Hey! Long time no see! I've finally found time to update again. So, I'll save the small talk for later. For now, on with the story.
Jazira stood in silence and stared at the television. She had given Lennox a full description of what had happened to Optimus, or at least as much as she knew, and given a brief overview of the damage he had sustained.
Lennox had immediately reached for his radio and called for Ratchet. The big mech now stood in the view of the camera as Lennox gave him a brief explanation of the situation before turning back to Jazira.
"Jazira, this is Ratchet, the Autobot's medical examiner." Lennox explained. "Ratchet, this is Jazira, she saved Optimus and drove Megatron off."
Ratchet's optics narrowed onto the image of the girl on the screen before him. He nodded to her and she returned the gesture.
"I'm pleased that I finally get to meet you Ratchet," Jazira said. "Although I had hoped that it would be under better circumstances."
Ratchet bent forward to get a better look at the screen.
"As did I Jazira," he replied. "I've heard a lot about you."
Jazira smiled slightly, then sobered.
"Enough about me," she said. "Let's get to Optimus." Ratchet nodded.
"Agreed," he said gruffly. "Could you move your camera over to him so I can survey the damage?"
Jazira obliged and grabbed the cordless webcam that sat under the television. She wanted to leave Optimus to his rest without any disturbances so she pulled a Bluetooth from a drawer and slipped it over her ear. She turned around and walked toward the recharging mech lying wounded behind her. She held the camera up so Ratchet could get a good look. She heard him curse on the other side of the line.
Ratchet's spark clenched with anger and hatred. He glanced down at Lennox to see him standing there with his arms crossed and jaw clenched tightly. They both made a mental note to give Megatron hell when he returned.
They were snapped back to reality when Jazira spoke.
"He hasn't been out long," She said. "I managed to patch a major energon line that was severed in his torso but I'm not sure what else I can do."
Ratchet considered her words before replying.
"He needs to be brought back to base for proper treatment." He said. "The damage is severe and needs to be taken care of soon." Jazira set the webcam on the desk and sat in the chair. She attempted to cross her legs but found it to be too painful. She settled for keeping both feet flat on the cement floor below her.
Lennox turned to Ratchet, looking frustrated.
"How do you propose that happens?" he asked "All of our planes big enough to handle his weight are trashed, not to mention the fact that he's on the east coast of the United States and we're out here on this friggin island. That's close to ten thousand miles." Ratchet frowned in frustration.
"I don't know Major, but I suggest we figure something out or we will lose Prime." The medic snapped.
Jazira watched the two sympathetically. It was clear that they'd been through a lot that night and they both needed rest.
"I'll do it." She stated firmly. Both the mech and the human on the screen turned to her and gaped. Lennox was the first to speak.
"Jazira," he said "Optimus weighs a few dozen tons. I know that you can fly long distances but the likelihood of you getting him here on your own is slim."
Jazira blinked. She was slightly taken aback by the Lennox's lack of faith in her. But she really couldn't blame him. It would prove to be a difficult task. But she was determined to succeed.
"Let that be your opinion Will," she replied "The Decepticons came here tonight with one intention; to kill Optimus. And I'll be damned if he dies while I have something to say about it." She turned her attention to Ratchet. "Get some rest Ratchet, you could sure use it." She turned back to Lennox. "Will, I will be there in 24 hours. Make sure your soldiers all know I'm coming so I'm not shot out of the sky." And with that, she ended the call.
With a loud sigh she pulled the Bluetooth off her ear and dropped it onto the desk, leaned back in the chair, and rubbed her eyes. She was tired and sore. But she knew she had to ignore it and prepare for the long flight. Getting cleaned up was the first order of business.
She rose from her chair and limped back to Optimus to check on him.
The Prime lay completely still, deep in recharge. She gave her patch job a quick check before going to her bedroom. She flipped the lights on to the bathroom and, for the first time since her battle with Megatron, she got a good look at herself. She was a bit of a mess. Her entire body was covered in dirt. Her hair and clothes were still wet from the rain, and her jeans were torn.
Cursing Megatron for ruining her favorite jeans, she turned on the shower. She chucked her dirty clothes into the hamper before stepping into the cool water. It felt so good to get the grime off. Once cleaned and dried, she threw her hair into a ponytail and slipped into some clean clothes. She settled for a grey tank top and black sweat pants.
She turned and gasped in alarm as she spotted a figure standing in her bedroom doorway. For a moment she prepared to lash out at the intruder until she took a closer look.
It was a man who appeared to be in his late thirties. His hair was dark, almost black, his clothes were torn, bruises covered his body, and a blood stain covered the bottom portion of his shirt. He was barely on his feet. One hand clutched his side and the other held onto the door jamb for support.
Jazira's muscles tensed as he met the man's eyes. They were a striking, steely blue.
She recognized those eyes.
"Optimus?" she breathed, taking a tentative step forward. He tried to take a step toward her but stumbled and began to fall forward. Jazira ran forward and caught him. She draped his arm over her shoulders and wrapped her arm around his waist to hold him up. She helped him to the bed where he lay down with a painful gasp.
Jazira sat on the bed beside him with one foot on the floor and the other beneath her.
"Optimus? She asked again. "What's happening Optimus? What's wrong?"
He reached for her and grasped her arm. He moved her hand onto his chest. There was no heartbeat.
"Holoform…" Optimus managed to say. Jazira nodded in understanding. The man before her was just a type of hologram meant to relay Optimus in human form.
Jazira rubbed her hand up and down over his chest. He closed his eyes and she felt his muscles relax. The small strokes comforted him.
"Optimus, you should be resting." She whispered. "We won't be here for much longer. Then I have to get you back to Ratchet."
Optimus's eyes opened a fraction. He reached for her hand. His grip was weak and icy cold.
"Ja…zi…ra…" he moaned. Jazira leaned closer to him and squeezed his hand comfortingly.
"I'm right here." She soothed. Optimus began to shake.
"Cold." He said. Jazira frowned.
"Alright," she replied. "Get your holoform turned off and save your strength. I'll see if I can get you warmed up a bit." Optimus nodded and his holoform flickered slightly before disappearing completely.
Jazira jumped off the bed and rushed back out into the garage. She approached Optimus and put a hand on his armor. He was indeed very cold.
She focused her strength and transformed into a large red dragon. Her scales rippled orange in the lights above her. He opened her wings to reveal shinning golden webbing. She crouched next to Optimus and draped a wing over him. Warmth radiated from every scale on her body. The warmth felt wonderful to Optimus and he welcomed it gratefully.
"Your temperature regulation processor must have been damaged in battle." Jazira said.
It wasn't long before Optimus felt the pull of the darkness again and Jazira watched as he drifted back into recharge.
Deciding to allow Optimus more time to rest, Jazira settled on the floor completely, resting her head on his chest plates, displacing more warmth. She closed her eyes and dozed lightly.
An hour later she was roused by Optimus shifting beneath her. She lifted her head and stretched her neck. Her forked tongue curled and her jagged teeth gleamed as she yawned.
She looked down at Optimus who onlined his optics.
"Better?" Jazira asked. Optimus nodded in response.
She snorted slightly, satisfied with herself.
She rose to her feet.
"Ready to go home?" she asked. Optimus blinked. The term 'home' seemed to describe several places for the Autobots now, but he knew that she meant Diego Garcia.
He nodded grimly.
She shut her eyes and changed into a much larger silver dragon. Her wingspan reached about seventy feet and her overall height reached around forty feet. A mane of long, white hair ran from the back of her head to her tail. A long ivory horn protruded from her nose and her scales had softened.
She crouched beside Optimus again and tucked her wings tightly against her body.
Then, just as she had before, she wriggled her nose under Optimus and gently helped him onto her back. Optimus managed to help her at times. She situated him so his helm rested up on her shoulder blades where the soft mane was thickest before getting to her feet.
She looked outside. The rain had ceased and a thick layer of fog now covered the landscape. She snaked her head around to address Optimus.
"I need you to hang on as tightly as you can Optimus," she said gently. "If at any point you feel that you need me to stop and let you rest, don't hesitate to say so."
He responded with a nod before wrapping his servos around Jazira's neck.
"Go." He said.
Jazira turned to the open door and opened her wings slightly. She stepped out into the crisp night air. As soon as her wings were clear of the doors she snapped them open and began to bound toward the trees. She pumped her wings a few times but Optimus's weight held her to the ground. She pumped harder and more rapidly and leapt toward the sky. She slowly started to climb. Her muscles strained and her breathing became labored as she desperately tried to gain enough altitude to clear the tree tops. With a growl, she gave one vicious wing beat that was enough to get her over the evergreens and into the sky.
For the next several hours she struggled to climb, to gain altitude, to get to the clouds and out of sight. Finally, she reached them and leveled off. The condensation from the clouds collected on her scales and ran down her neck. She shivered at the sensation.
She found a strong updraft and let it carry her along so she could try and recover from the exertion.
She looked back at her passenger whose grip on her neck had loosened. His optics were dull from exhaustion and pain. She tried to relay reassurance through her gaze.
'You'll be home soon Optimus,' she thought as she turned back to face the night sky. 'I just hope my strength holds out.'
Back on Diego Garcia, Lennox and Ratchet were striding side by side through the main hangar. Ratchet had already attended to the few Autobot and human injuries. That was the only thing he considered positive about the whole ordeal: there were few injuries and no casualties. The Decepticons did what they intended to do and didn't stick around.
Will had given the order to have all uninjured soldiers and all Autobots report to the main hangar for a debriefing of Optimus and Jazira's situation.
Lennox climbed up the ladder to the communication platform and turned to his soldiers who had gathered below.
"Alright everyone listen up!" she shouted over the crowd. Everyone fell silent.
"We've got a situation…"
Hey! Look at that! I got another chapter in! Hope you guys liked this one.
I saw TF3 several times. I've been walking around the house quoting the epic lines from the film. Haha. I just can't believe that they're making us wait until November to release the DVD. Kinda makes me pissed. I hear there will be lots of cool deleted scenes.
"Your leaders will now understand. Decepticons will never leave your planet alone. And we needed them to believe we had gone. For today, in the name of freedom, we take the battle to them!" =D