Ugh, how many times must I apologise for the fact that I haven't updated a story in Primus who knows how long? I suppose I should blame Birth for that one. It's such a distacting story, really. *rolls eyes at herself* But here is the chapter you've all been waiting for. How will Jasmine react to the fact that her friend has secrets that he's been hiding from her since they had met? Oh, you'll see. :P

Chapter 10:

Secrets and Regrets

It was a long and painful moment as Jasmine continued to stare at the thick, glowing, blue liquid that leaked out from the bite marks where the Doberman dog had bitten. She didn't breathe nor say a word as every aspect of her being remained frozen at the sight of what she was seeing. The strange liquid was oozing out like pus from an infected wound, making it shown to her instead of the Doberman's owner that was pulling the howling animal away. The pleading look in Tim's eyes brought her back into reality as she rushed into the truck and began to search for a med kit that she recalled Jason storing away inside its glove box. Once she found it, she hobbled back over to Tim and began searching for any bandages that would be able to prevent the injury from bleeding any further.

"Jasmine, please," Tim tried to say, "there's no need to treat it. It doesn't affect me like you think it does."

But the young woman ignored him as she started cleaning the wound carefully with a dab of disinfectant, making Tim flinch from the touch and a barely noticeable shudder from the truck beside her. She then wrapped it up carefully in a bandage, earning a strange creaking noise of metal from behind her. Nothing mattered more to her than tending to her friend.

As she put the disinfectant back in the med kit, she placed it back in the truck's glove box and turned to stare at Tim with a calm look in her eyes. "You owe me a huge explanation, Mr. Tim Primo," she huffed angrily, folding her arms across her chest. "And when I mean by huge, I mean a very big explanation."

Tim nodded his head slightly in response. "Yes... you do deserve an explanation as to why I bled blue blood instead of the normal red you are used to seeing," he said softly. "However, we cannot talk here. Too many are listening in and I may speak of things that they really should not even be hearing. Please get in the truck, Jasmine. I'll help you in and we'll go somewhere where we will not be overheard."

Jasmine chewed her bottom lip and she quietly made her way over to the truck where Midnight was waiting patiently for her master to get in. With the assistance of Tim, Jasmine was securely seated in the truck's passenger's seat. She watched Tim cautiously as he opened the door to the driver's side, climbed in, and ensured his seatbelt was on. Much to her surprise, he didn't even bend over to ignite the truck's engine. Instead, the truck started by itself as Tim sat back and let the truck drive by itself.

"How did you...?" Jasmine squeaked, her mouth agape.

"All will be answered momentarily, Jasmine," a voice echoed from the truck's speakers that sounded a lot like Tim's voice. The voice used a deep baritone that Tim used; only it had a bit of a metallic tone to it and was a lot deeper than it naturally was. She eyed Tim that sat beside her while he was staring emotionlessly outside the truck's windshields, her eyes never straying from the man's face.

All the while she stared at him, she hardly became aware of the fact that the truck was taking her somewhere she hadn't even been before. The only thing that she did notice was the fact that Midnight had climbed into her lap and was panting excitedly. She was forced to take her eyes off of Tim for a moment when he suddenly flickered out of sight. Jasmine jumped out of surprise, and she would have broken through the roof if she had not been locked down by her seatbelt (which had suddenly tightened its hold on her).

"T-Tim?" she stuttered. "W-where are you?"

There was no answer as the truck mysteriously continued to drive itself while Jasmine's fears grew stronger and she was forced to tighten her grip on poor Midnight, who was wiggling in vain to get away from her master's choking hold.

"Jasmine," the voice from the speakers spoke up again, this time it was a bit fatherly, "you would do well to lessen your hold on Midnight. I believe from the way you are holding her, you are cutting off oxygen to her windpipe."

When she realised what she was doing to poor Midnight, Jasmine released her hold on the puppy. Midnight gave off a whimper of relief and she turned to her master, looking up at her with soft brown eyes, and then licking her on the nose. Jasmine responded by carefully wrapping her arms around her tiny body, whispering her apologies. Midnight wagged her tail happily and gave a little yip to let her know that there was nothing to forgive. The distraction was enough to prevent the young woman from paying attention to her surroundings and forgetting about the fact that Tim had just vanished out of thin air until the truck came to a sudden halt, thus causing her to glance up in puzzlement.

Much to her surprise, they had stopped at an unusual place, a place she had never even seen before. Or maybe it was a place that she never even noticed before. The truck had parked itself beside a huge oak tree that overlooked a beautiful piece of land with hills and trees in the distance, followed by the sun as it was beginning to set, creating a variety of different colours, ranging from bright yellow to dark purple. The truck then opened its passenger's door and carefully tilted slightly on its opposite side to help Jasmine get out. She managed to grab her walking stick and slid out, but not before she picked up Midnight and settled her beside her feet.

Once she was safely out of the truck, the massive vehicle seemed to make a shuddering noise as it backed up a few meters until it left her standing alone beneath the tree. Then, it came back to her and its front bumper nearly touched her knees.

"You are wondering my reason as to why I brought you here, yes?" the truck asked.

Jasmine remained silent, uncertain as to how to answer the vehicle's question. She still wanted her answer on why Tim had bled blue blood instead of the natural red she was used to seeing, and why he had suddenly disappeared without a trace in the world. It had left her dumbfounded and nervous, but it also left her feeling doubtful.

The truck seemed to make a heaving noise, blowing air out of its smoke stacks almost as though it was sighing. "Jasmine, the reason why I brought you out here was because what I am about to show you must never, ever be given to another human. I must have your word that you will never tell another soul."

She sighed and nodded. "You have my word," she answered quietly.

"Then please remain where you are and... try not to be frightened," the truck said in a tone that made Jasmine feel less frightened and more comforted by the fact it meant her no harm. "What you are about to see will change things between us."

Before Jasmine could give her reply, the truck started shifting metallic parts in a variety of different directions. They kept on changing and moving as gears clicked and hydraulics hissed. From beneath the truck emerged a pair of humanlike legs, each foot was paired with two large toes to support the giant's massive weight. The legs grew taller until a torso began to form with the arms spreading themselves outwards and a pair of hands with at least five digits stretched and flexed. The windows of the truck shifted to rest on the chest and the smoke stacks rested in between the upper arms and shoulders, acting as a form of connection between them. Then finally, a familiar head complete with cyan blue lens focusing eyes, strange humanlike lips, metal pieces in the middle of the face that looked strangely like a nose, and tall antenna with a twisting disk in the middle of each one completed the transformation.

The metallic being then carefully got down on its knees and drew close to Jasmine, its soft blue eyes gazed into her own with a warm, kind, and comforting presence that immediately put her soul at ease. The being was so strikingly familiar and yet, so alien at the same time. Unexpectedly, she reached a hand out to the being, her arm stretching to its length until her fingers brushed against the lips of it.

"It's really you," Jasmine whispered as realisation entered her brain. "You're the one who pulled me from out of the wreckage. Even though I was barely conscious, I could make out almost every aspect of your form. Except... all I saw was the outline."

The robotic being's lips pulled into what Jasmine thought were a smile. "Then you are not afraid of me?" it asked in a deep baritone voice that she identified as male.

She pulled her hand away as she felt tears trickling down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away in an attempt to hide her joy over the fact that she had found her saviour, but it was all too much. "At first, I was," she answered honestly. "But all this time, you've been right underneath my nose, and I didn't even know."

She took a deep breath and looked into the giant's eyes once again.

"I do believe my saviour has a name, does he not?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow teasingly.

The robot pulled away, his smile never once leaving his lips. "Yes," he answered, "my name is Optimus Prime. I am an autonomous robotic organism from the planet Cybertron – or Autobot for short. I and my men have been on your planet for only six of your Earth months."

"That's a fitting name for someone like you," Jasmine replied as she looked up at him with awe and wonder. "I knew my saviour was big, but I never knew that he was this tall."

Optimus seemed to understand that her neck was getting a crick, so he bent down on one knee and extended his hand out her, offering her a place to sit on. She did so, but not before she picked up Midnight and settled her onto her lap as the massive Autobot stood up to his full height and he was looking at her at eye level. Jasmine continued to stare into his eyes, her own never leaving his, and for the moment, the both of them felt at peace.

Then, Jasmine broke the silence, asking, "Does Jason know about your existence?"

Optimus said nothing for a moment as he turned his head away from Jasmine, looking at the sunset behind her. He seemed to be in deep thought about something on whether or not he should consider giving her the truth or not. He then turned his head to look at her, his twisting optical lenses shrinking and growing along with his thoughts.

He nodded. "Yes, Jason knows of my existence," he replied. "I went straight to him the moment I learned about your recovery in the hospital. I felt responsible for what had happened to you and I wanted to extend my regret for ever letting Starscream harm you."

"Wait," Jasmine cried as she held up her hand, halting Optimus, "you're saying that jet that attacked me and Silverflame was one of your own?"

Optimus remained silent as he cast his gaze to the ground, suddenly finding it far more interesting than looking into the eyes of his charge. He took a deep intake of air before exhaling it and he seemed to pluck up the courage to look into her eyes again. "Starscream was not one of my own," he answered honestly, although his voice was sullen. "He is a Decepticon that wants nothing more than the destruction of the planet that you call home. He attacked you, Jasmine, because he mistook your truck for me. That is why you're the way you are."

Jasmine's hands tightened their grip on Optimus' larger hands. She suddenly didn't feel very well and she wished that her stomach would just puke. She turned her head away from him, closing her eyes tightly. Midnight made a whimpering noise as she attempted to lick the young woman's face, but Jasmine shoved her away as her vision blurred with tears. Silverflame was dead all because of an identity crisis.

"Jasmine, look at me," Optimus whispered, causing her to look back at him again. He lifted a hand and used a finger to wipe her cheek in a comforting manner. "I wish very deeply that I could go back in time and change everything that caused your paralysis. I cannot help but feel that I am responsible for what has happened to you. I would do anything to make you better again, even if it extinguished my spark."

"But Silverflame is dead because of you!" Jasmine cried angrily, the tears falling faster. "If you didn't have those stupid flames, then I wouldn't be like this and my truck would still be here. Now the only gift my father gave to me is gone and it's all your fault!"

For the first time, Optimus was dumbstruck by the human's outburst. He didn't know what to say in response to her anger. Instead, he listened as she punched him endlessly on the hand, screaming and shouting while shedding tears. She continued to cry out until she suffered a seizure, causing her to shake violently and she tasted blood in her mouth. It took her a full minute to realise that she had bitten her tongue in the process. She felt Midnight nudge her shoulder and curl up beside her in an attempt to provide some comfort.

There was nothing Optimus could do except stroke her back with his index finger to let her know that he was here and that he wasn't leaving her side. He felt that he owed himself to the human for what had happened to her.

When the seizure finally passed, Jasmine realised she had begun to sweat and was badly shaken from the experience. She spat to the side, the blood coating the grass beneath the gentle giant. She pushed herself up and wiped away the dried salt streaks on her cheeks, and she noticed her nose was blocked with mucus. Optimus continued to eye the young woman with compassionate optics that left her completely astounded.

"I am sorry for your loss, Jasmine," Optimus whispered softly, his tone sullen. "I truly am. If there was anything I could do to make things right between us, then I would with all my power."

Jasmine frowned as she chewed her bottom lip, taking a deep breath to calm her trembling body. She didn't know what to say to the giant being that had saved her life. Yes, she was eternally grateful and that she finally got to meet him in person. However, the fact that it was because of him being similar in paint design and truck model just made her feel angry and upset at the exact same time. She wasn't sure what to say or do as she continued to stare at him and she leaned against his fingers, her gaze never leaving his soft look.

"Tell me," she said for the first time since her seizure. "Why do you care so much to even help me after my accident?"

Optimus' lips formed into a tiny smile that surprised her completely. "As I said to you, Jasmine," he answered, "I felt responsible for your accident. Every innocent being that gets caught up in our war will never be able to live a peaceful life. You didn't deserve to get involved in the war that has been raging for millions of years."

The young woman tilted her head to one side as she petted Midnight's head gently, earning a little bark from the black puppy. "If it makes you feel any better and if you want to get a burden off your shoulders, Optimus, then I accept your apology. I've spent the last several weeks drawing you in the way I thought you might look like. I just never thought I would get it right the first time nor did I expect to know that he would be right underneath my nose."

Optimus let off a deep, rumbling chuckle that vibrated through his hand, causing Jasmine's spine to tingle and the hairs on her arms to stand up on end. He then brought his head closer to her and Jasmine no longer felt nervous. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his face as wide as they could in what she would call a hug. She then pressed her lips to his nose, earning an expression that left her confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing," Optimus her answered. "I did a bit of research on the World Wide Web and human females usually kiss someone to express affection for someone. Is that what you had intended?"

Jasmine giggled. "No," she replied. "That kiss was a lady's way of saying thank you."

The Autobot Commander lifted an optic ridge. "You humans have an odd way of expressing gratitude," he said, shaking his head. "But if that is the way you wish to do it, then it is fine with me."

She smiled and nodded as she picked up Midnight and cuddled her gently, while Optimus watched with a knowing optic. She gently stroked the puppy's head and burrowed her head into the soft, youthful fur. Midnight wagged her tail furiously as Jasmine petted an itchy spot, causing her to lift a leg and react accordingly.

"She seems to like that," Optimus rumbled.

"Animals like it when you give them a good scratch in a sensitive spot," Jasmine chuckled as she continued to pet Midnight. "It just shows how much that they enjoy being coddled by their owners."

As the sun continued to set, Jasmine brought Midnight closer to her chest and she leaned against Optimus' fingers, her bright eyes gleaming in the sun's fading rays that began to change the sky's colours. Together, all three watched as it vanished behind the hills and left behind a starry night sky and a cool blanket of darkness. It wasn't long before a full moon rose to replace the sun. Its bright moonbeam illuminated the land beneath it, making Optimus appear to be a statue of silver and black.

Jasmine stretched her good arm and yawned tiredly, earning a deep chuckle from Optimus.

"I think it's time that we headed back home," he said. "You are tired and it has been a long, stressful day for all of us. Besides, I think Midnight deserves to see her new home."

The young woman pursed her lips into a pout, which Optimus wisely ignored. No doubt she would become stubborn if he didn't act soon. He carefully got down on one knee as he placed her back on solid ground, and then transformed into his vehicle mode. He leaned on his side and brought out his hologram. But instead of the human she was used to seeing, standing right before her was a smaller version of the Autobot commander himself.

Jasmine blinked in surprise as the 6'8 tall mech gave off the familiar smile she was used to seeing. "Do not be afraid, Jasmine," he said in his natural baritone voice. "This is merely an experimental hologram of me that I have been working on with Ratchet for a long time since my arrival on Earth. It seemed plausible that I would... give it a test drive."

She couldn't contain the laughter in her voice as she picked up her walking stick with Midnight tucked beneath her good arm, and she limped over to Optimus. He extended his left hand out to her in a gentlemanlike way – all the while taking her walking stick into his right, along with Midnight – and she took the offered hand. She was surprised at how warm and life-giving it felt compared to his natural form. Optimus then led her over to his truck form and helped her up the difficult step. He then helped her strap in and handed her walking stick and Midnight.

The hologram then phased out and reappeared beside her. However, it was not his smaller version of himself, but rather the human hologram she knew as Tim Primo. "Avoiding suspicion?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Optimus nodded. "Yes," he answered. "Whenever I use this hologram and we are in public, it would be wise to call me Tim. However, when we get back to your home, I shall use my other hologram when I am interacting with you and Jason inside the house. It is only natural that you wish to talk with what I really look like."

"I understand," Jasmine smiled. She then frowned. "Jason hasn't seen your other hologram?"

He shook his head as the engine roared to life by itself. "No, although I suppose he is used to seeing what I look like. So it is without a doubt it will not bother him at all to see the, uh, smaller version of myself."

Jasmine let off another yawn, and Optimus smiled knowingly at her. "Look, I'm not tired," she protested. "I just have a lot to absorb into my brain."

"Then you will do well to rest your eyes until we get back home, Jasmine," Optimus answered. "We Transformers can go weeks without recharging if we do not use a lot of energy or if we have to travel far in certain conditions. Do not worry, I will wake you when we arrive home."

She looked ready to protest again when another yawn escaped from her mouth, earning a chuckle from her guardian. She muttered inaudible words stubbornly, but she knew that he was right. To her surprise, the seat lay back in the form of a bed and it softened itself to give her more comfort. It suddenly grew warm in the truck and she had to thank Optimus for being so kind in wanting to make her sleep as comfortable as he possibly could.

"Rest, Jasmine," Optimus' voice from the speakers whispered. "All will be well. I promise."

"Thank you, Optimus," Jasmine replied as she turned on her side, closing her eyes. "Thank you for everything."

A hand rested on her head and it stroked her hair gently, removing the strands that got in the way of her vision. The feeling was so nice that it caused Jasmine to drift off into a warm and comforting darkness.