Holy crap guys! Long time no see! I missed you all! My work schedule has been INSANE leaving me with literally NO time to write most days. Plus, I've been stuck in a writing rut; for sure my worst enemy. But have no fear. Soon it will be winter and things slow down in the winter time. So I'm hoping that will give me more time to think and to write. For those of you who have voted on the pole I put out in the last chapter, thank you very much, I'm keeping a tally. For those of you who haven't, hop to it! Every day that goes by that I don't post another chapter is another chance for you to vote! =D But anyway, enough of my rambling. Back to the story.
It was noon on the island. The warm ocean water sent foamy waves toward the beach that crashed over the sand. A light sea breeze blew the dry sand about. The beach was completely abandoned…save for one being. A yellow Autobot stood completely stoic on the beach with his optics on the sky, unwavering.
Bumblebee had not only volunteered to watch for Jazira and Optimus's approach, he had practically begged for the job. To Bumblebee, Optimus was, as humans would say, a father figure. After the young mech's creators perished in the Great War, Optimus had taken Bumblebee in as if he was his own. And now, Optimus was hurt and it would take a keen eye to see what approached on the horizon. The quicker the Autobots and the rest of NEST knew of their arrival, the sooner they'd be ready to get Optimus into emergency repairs.
Back inside NEST's main hangar, Ratchet was rushing about preparing sick bay with every tool he would need to repair Optimus. Ironhide was cleaning his weapons in preparation for battle should Decepticons follow Jazira and Optimus. All remaining Autobots were aiding their allies in cleanup from the attack the night before. So, in all reality, Bumblebee was one of the few who were available to keep watch.
A black speck in the distance caught Bumblebee's attention. His optics widened in excitement as he focused on the shape. His shoulders sagged as closer investigation revealed it to be no more than a seagull.
Growing anxious, he began to pace up and down the beach, all the while continuing to watch the horizon. He began to think back on everything he'd heard about the mysterious girl that possessed the strange power to transform into dragons. He knew very little about what a dragon was; there were no such creatures on Cybertron. Upon searching the internet for information, he discovered that they don't really exist on Earth either. Some believe that they did exist once; others believe them to by nothing more than a myth.
Bumblebee probed deeper into his search. Dragons, is seemed, were giant lizards that could fly on powerful wings and breathe fire. Some religions believe them to be a sign of evil, and some cultures believe them to be creatures that brought good luck and symbolize justice and strength. He found source after source telling of what dragons were believed to be like but no matter how hard he searched he could find no record of a dragon named Jazira that lived on the east coast of the United States.
Questions began to flood Bumblebee's processor. Why would this girl ask to join the Autobots? How did she manage to defeat Megatron in battle as Major Lennox had said? Would she truly be able to get Optimus across two oceans and a continent as she had claimed? What if she was caught? What if she had become exhausted and fallen into the ocean taking Optimus with her?
Just as that thought was processed, Bumblebee's optics caught another shape in the sky. He squinted, focusing in on the shape. It was much larger than a seagull. It had wings, a long neck and tail, four legs, and a large blue and red mass on its back.
Bumblebee chirped and whistled and jumped up and down with relief that Jazira had gotten Optimus home safely. But as he watched, he became still.
Jazira's altitude seemed to be fluctuating dramatically. Her flight patterns would dip and rise again over and over as if she was slipping, then climbing back up. Her head was dipped, her neck and tail drooped, and the silver scales and white mane of hair that ran down her back appeared to be stained a deep red in places. However, they did not appear to have been followed.
Bumblebee turned and sprinted back to base. He didn't take the time to transform, nor did he stop to wait for the gate to the perimeter fence to open for him, he merely jumped it. He didn't stop until he reached the main hangar where Ratchet was bustling about with Ironhide and Sideswipe close by.
Desperate whines, chirps and whistles echoes through the building as Bumblebee sprinted inside. Not even his fellow Autobots could understand what he was trying to say. Ratchet placed a hand on Bumblebee's shoulder as the youngling bent over, braced his hands on his thigh plates, and cycled air through his vents at an alarming rate.
"Calm down Bumblebee." Ratchet said "What's wrong?"
Bumblebee looked up at the medic and emitted three words from his radio; a famous line from Legolas in Lord of the Rings.
"He is here."
The attention of every human and Autobot in the hangar snapped toward the yellow bot. Ironhide retracted his cannons and strode up to Bumblebee.
"Optimus is here?" he weapons specialist asked him. Bumblebee could only nod.
There was a nanosecond of silence before the hangar erupted into chaos. Lennox shouted orders for the soldiers to get out and make room for an injured Optimus and possibly an injured dragon as well. As the building cleared, the Autobots and a few select humans followed Bumblebee back to the beach.
They watched as the massive silver dragon approached. Jazira was in terrible shape. It was clear to everyone on the beach. She could barely stay airborne and appeared to be struggling to keep Optimus from sliding off her back.
T only took a matter of minutes for Jazira to finally make it to the beach. With her last ounce of energy she glided over the last few feet of water and attempted to land on the strip of beach the soldiers had cleared for her. But her exhaustion finally won her over and she collapsed to the ground from about twenty feet in the air. Optimus's weight came down on her with a crushing force and snapped several of her ribs, forcing her to give a strangled howl of pain.
Ratchet and Ironhide rushed forward and lifted their limp leader off Jazira and laid him in the sand beside her. Optimus was in stasis lock but was still alive.
Sending a brief thank you to Primus, Ratchet wordlessly motioned to Ironhide to help him get Optimus to the hangar and motioned Bumblebee to stay with Jazira. Within minutes the CMO had Optimus lying on the medical berth with multiple energon lines hooked to his broken body. The repairs would likely take all day and most of the night but Ratchet hoped that he would be able to bring the last Prime out of stasis lock by morning.
Back on the beach, Lennox and Bumblebee were trying to help Jazira. The scales on her back had been shredded by Optimus's armor and many of the muscles in her shoulders had either been torn or severely strained. The ribs that had been broken when she crashed were preventing her from breathing properly and the gash on her leg lay infected against the rough sand.
"Bumblebee," Lennox said to the yellow mech. "Go get Ratchet back down here, she needs to be treated." Bumblebee turned to leave but a loud whine from Jazira stopped him.
"Bumblebee…no!" she panted. "Ratchet…needs to…care for…Optimus." She looked at Bumblebee with pleading eyes. "You can…help me."
Bumblebee approached Jazira and knelt beside her.
"How can I help?" He asked in his own voice which seemed to be improving. Jazira raised her head off the ground to him, grimacing as the movement made the pain in her shoulders worsen.
"You must open my…wings so…they can catch…the sun." she explained.
She was lying on her side, one wing partially unfolded, resting on the sand and the other lay crumpled beneath her. With much hesitation, Bumblebee reached for her wing as if she might attempt to bite him. Jazira merely laid her head against the sand again and clamped her eyes shut.
Bumblebee gently pulled Jazira's wings out until they were completely unfurled and lay stretched out beside her. Lennox looked confused.
"Now what?" he asked. His question was answered almost immediately as a cloud drifted past to reveal the sun.
Then, with a dazzling brilliance, the webbing on Jazira's wings began to shimmer. As the glowing grew brighter and more intense, the light seemed to travel from her wings to the rest of her body.
"What's happening?" Lennox exclaimed. Jazira's eyes opened slightly. No expression of pain remained on her scaly face. Only bliss and relief remained.
"I am absorbing the sun's rays and converting it into energy." She purred. "Soon I will be back at full strength." She turned to look at Bumblebee. "Thank you Bumblebee," she said gently. "I owe you one."
Bumblebee's facial plates lifted into a smile. He was so relieved that his oldest friend Optimus, and his new friend Jazira, were on the road to recovery.
Wow, that was a long time coming. Again, I'm really sorry this one took so long. I hope you guy's hadn't given up on me. Love you all and or now I'll peace out. I'll try really hard to get the next chapter in sooner.