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ArdentAspen — Rock Bottom
#darby #jack #prime #transformers #jackdarby #dragonformers #tfptransformersprime
Published: 2016-09-18 04:07:59 +0000 UTC; Views: 3167; Favourites: 30; Downloads: 2
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"Easy now," the lad murmured, though for all he knew there wasn't a soul to hear him, "Let's just get down that slope for starters. That's where she'll have gone, isn't it?"Gripping his battered old hand-me-down blade, he eased over the rocks, fervently praying that he would soon recover his companions, alive and well.
He was soon to discover that he was most certainly not alone in the half collapsed tunnels.
The dragon's wing had been pinned by the rock fall, wrenching his body sideways. His powerful claws had been put to use supporting his weight, clinging to vast stalactites while his legs scrambled for purchase. Hearing the human's sharp intake of breath, he curved his neck down and hissed.
"I suppose helping those less fortunate would be...completely out of the question," he said in a remarkably dry tone.
He got his answer when the boy raised his shield -- pitiful little thing, likely a hand-me-down from some long-dead foot soldier -- and the dragon snorted.
"If that is the case, you may as well use that sword to finish me." His eyes narrowed as he goaded the human. "I guarantee you will never have a better opportunity than right now."
When the boy did not step into range, the dragon began to grow impatient. "Well?" he snarled, "What are you waiting for? Think of the glory! Seize the day!" Remembering what little he had observed about the boy during recent days, the cunning creature baited his hook carefully. "Optimus would."
There. That got the human's attention. There was a flicker of astonishment across his tiny, scaleless face, as though he couldn't believe that anyone had actually noticed the way he idolized the leader of the Primean dragons. Megatron could feel the rocks pinning his wing shift ever so slightly. Now the boy would surely move to attack, putting him at a very convenient biting height. The mouthful of blood and bone would grant Megatron enough energy to break free of the remaining rocks.
"No." The human tightened his grip on his sword and slid further back into the shadows. "No, he wouldn't. Not like this." In an infuriating gesture of defiance, he turned his back on Megatron and resolutely resumed his descent into the lower levels.
The dragon ground his teeth in fury and tossed a final barb at the little mortal, gratified to see his shoulders tense as he left.
"I will be sure to share the details of our little conversation with Optimus...the day I rip out his heart!"
But the boy was well out of his reach by the time he had freed himself, leaving him to sulk and search the caves for his traitorous second in command.
Far below, Jack took long, deep breaths in a futile attempt to bring his heartbeat under control. He shifted his grip on his weapons and looked around. Arcee had to be here somewhere. A dragon like her didn't go quietly into the night, after all.
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Jack paused at the junction of two tunnels and sniffed. There. His heart leapt as he caught the musky scent of dragon and he tried not to be disapointed when he recognized the richer, greener smell of Bulkhead. Jack followed the draft of air down the tunnel to where a pile of rocks showed a recent cave in. Jack frowned and knelt, realizing too late exactly how unstable the rocks were. He let out a cry as the rubble shifted beneath him and slid away into the next cavern. Jack managed to leap to the top of a large flat rock and rode down the slide with no injuries. He heard the screech of a dragon and the sounds of rocks impacting on scaled flesh even as he recognized the massive bulk of Miss Miko's guardian. Jack leapt to the floor as the rock slide stilled and took in the situation.
Starscream was laying in the corner of the cave, half buried by the rock slide that Jack had unintentionally initiated. He was cursing in draconian and would be free in moments. Miko was draped over Bulkhead's talons. On her black staring blankly over at Starscream, her hand clutching her torn and dirtied tunic. Jack winced. Her ladyship's foster parent's would not be pleased. He pushed the idle thought aside as he focused on Bulkhead. The forest dragon had his mighty wingless shoulders braced against a great boulder that easily outmassed him. He was clearly the reason the rest of the ceiling of the cavern had yet to collapse. A trickle of pebbles bounced off of Jack's bare head and the youth raised his shield over his head.
"Jack!" Bulkhead ground out. "Get Lady Miko out of here!Now!"
Jack reacted instantly leaping down and holding his hand out to the frightened but determined girl.
"Come on! Come on!" He called out to her.
"Go Miko!" Bulkhead ordered his charge.
For once the strong-willed Lady obeyed, reaching her hand slowly up towards Jack's outstretched hand. Jack grew impatient and snatched up her arm, pulling her up beside him. He liked neither how flaccid her usually wire tight muscles felt nor how Starscream surged under the rockpile.
"We can't leave Bulkhead," Miko cried out, tears of frustration filling her eyes.
Jack set his mouth in a grim line and pulled her into his shield arm and over his shoulder. All those summers of hauling hay payed off as her slight weight was no impediment to him as he ran from the cave. He knew that if any harm befell her guardian the Lady would likely hate him till the end of his days. But the favor of a lady was not a boon to be bought at the price of her life and he strode up the tunnel, only conserving his strength that he might make the journey back to the entrance in full without crossing path with the great Decpticonain leader. He purposely shut his ears to the taunts of Starscream that drifted up from the cave below him, though they made his blood burn.
"Arcee will save him, won't she?" Miko demanded once she had regained her breath.
"You and I just need to find a way out of here before Megatron digs himself out of there," Jack snapped pointing in the direction that he thought the ancient Dragon struggled.
"Megatron is here too?" Miko gasped, her voice still desperate and her breath labored.
Jack declined to answer, setting her down in favor of using his sword to pry away at a rock that blocked his path. They entered the next chamber as soon as the rocks rolled out of the way and Jack hissed a the sound of a scaled foot slamming into rock greeted them. He staggered back to defend Miko, raising his shield but as he drew breath to offer challenge his lungs filled with the scent of a swiftly flowing stream and the air right after a storm. He knew that dragon musk as well as his mother's face.
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Bulkhead could already feel his muscles giving out as Starscream scrambled free of the rock pile. The serpentine ashback knew better than to raise his wings in the cramped space, but he could not help a triumphant display of aggression.
"And then there were two," he taunted, coiling his long body to strike.
The forest dragon bared his fangs, even though he knew he had no strength to fight. "If you think I'm going to beg for mercy, Starscream," he growled, "forget it!"
The words seemed to strike the Decepticonian and his slid a cleansing lense over his scarlet eyeballs several times. The edge of one wing drew itself briefly over his skull in a preening gesture -- the time-honored behavior of ashbacks who have been embarrassed and do not wish to admit it.
"Er...yes," Starscream coughed, "Begging for mercy would be quite pathetic, wouldn't it?"
Never mind that that very morning had seen him shamelessly groveling at Megatron's feet in hopes that he would be spared. The Primean dragon didn't need to know that.
"Well," the slender creature regained his cocky demeanor quickly, "You're much more valuable to me alive. Imagine Megatron's appreciation when I not only rescue him, but deliver a Primean! I believe that would restore my stature quite nicely." Starscream's tail, almost twice the length of his body, flicked back and forth in anticipation, almost like a cat's. He pulled back in preparation to inflict a small blow -- not enough to make the forest dragon fall and crush them both beneath the weight of the boulder, but enough to leave a mark -- and froze. Two rows of needle-sharp teeth rested against his throat and the back of his neck.
"Don't move, Starscream," Arcee growled, though her words were a little bit harder to decipher than they might've been if she hadn't had the Decepticonian's neck clamped in her jaws. The fisher-dragon raised the fins over her ear canals in a casual greeting to the weary forest dragon.
"Hey Bulk."
"Hey 'Cee," Bulkhead returned with an exhausted smile.
"Now, I'm about to let go," Arcee returned her attention to her prisoner. "Wings down and raise your claws. Come on, up with them!"
Starscream glanced as far back as he could without further damaging his neck-scales and gulped. "B-but...but..." he glanced back at Bulkhead, then at the boulder, then at Arcee again and groaned as he let his wings fall.
***
It was startling how different the outside of the cave system looked. Lady Mikoto slid down from her guardian dragon's back, wobbling a little unsteadily as she landed. Arcee swooped out after them on gossamer wings and perched on an outcropping of rock. She bent her wings back and obligingly lowered one shoulder so that Jack could get down, then Bulkhead and Arcee turned as one to glare suspiciously at the mouth of the cave.
Arcee bumped up against Bulkhead in a friendly, relieved manner and tossed her head towards the entrance. "We could finish him, here and now," she murmured. No one really had to ask who she was talking about.
"A shame we brought no combustion-breathers with us," Bulkhead agreed.
Something passed over Jack's face, and he thought of what he'd said to Megatron. It had seemed like the right thing to say at the time, but doubt gnawed at him. Tentatively, almost fearfully, the boy raised a hand and laid it against Arcee's cool, dry scales.
"Would Optimus....finish...them?" he asked. If he'd understood the body language of fisher-dragons a little better, he'd have realized that his guardian's reaction was a wistful smile.
"No," she sighed, "He probably wouldn't. Not like this."
Jack jolted, hearing his own words echoed so easily. A weight seemed to lift from his heart and he nodded.
"But..." Miko frowned and peered up at the dragons. "Optimus wouldn't rescue them either, right?"
In response, a low growl rose out of Bulkhead's chest and the stocky dragon turned away from the cave. "Let's go home," he rumbled, then bent his head to ever-so-carefully grasp the back of Miko's cape in his jaws, stalking away from the piles of rubble.
Arcee took one last look at the caves, as if weighing the wisdom of going back in, then shook out her frills and sighed again. Using one of the small hooks at the joint of her wings, she scooped up the young peasant who she'd been assigned to watch over and followed her companion back to their mountain.
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The sun was just setting over the desert when the dragons reached the entryway to their mountain. Arcee angled herself down and swept through the waterfall that shielded the entrance from prying eyes both human and dragon. Usually Jack would whoop and shout as the waterfall briefly parted for them, avoiding a drenching but today he only slumped against her neck. She noted with worry that his hands were trembling as they clutched at her.
Bulkhead followed behind them swimming through the pool at the base with Lady Mikoto perched primly on his shoulders, her dress safely above the swirling water. The cascade parted above them as well and dragons and humans alike passed into the cool interior of the cavern. The hallway was lit with braziers on the walls where humans would use torches. Bulkhead paused to consider one that was flickering and smiled, showing plentiful thick teeth, almost tusks, in his mouth.
"Hey Miko?" He called out, causing Arcee to pause and look back with an amused glance.
"Yes Bulkhead?" The young lady asked sweetly.
"Want to see something, fun?" Bulkhead asked, swinging his head around on the last word to give her the full affect of his toothy grin.
Miko held her hands up eagerly and giggled, foregoing dignity in the face of her excitement. Arcee heard Jack mutter something about children but felt him shift to get a better look so she angled her body so he could see.
Bulkhead picked up Miko by her cape and set her down on the far side of the entrance hall. Before she could protest he held up a talon.
"You will get the best view from here," he assured her.
He then lumbered over to the brazier and stood on his hind legs to scrape several of the black rocks that were stored on the shelf over the flame into the basket of the brazier. He then stepped back and fell onto all fours. Bulkhead stretched his neck one way and another before taking a deep breath and unleashing a brilliant green line of flame at the brazier. The rocks caught and flared before falling back the the steady, smokeless glow that the others showed.
"That is wondrous!" Miko called out clapping her hands. "How long can you make your flame? Why don't you use that in battle? Can you make the stream of flame wider?"
Bulkhead and Arcee chuckled and the forest dragon scooped her up and set her on his back again. They continued into the main caverns and Jack sat up straighter as they rounded the final corner. As usual Optimus Prime was bent over the memory crystals in the center of the caverns, carefully stoking the fires that brought the ancient information in them to life. His massive cobalt and crimson from stirred as Arcee and Bulkhead approached and his cerulean eyes traced over their forms, taking in the limp that Bulkhead tried to hide, the lacerations on his shoulders, the dust that hung over all of them, and the bright light of battle that burned in Arcee's eyes after every battle. Optimus quickly directed his attention over the humans and noted the fresh scrapes on their hands and the fatigue that clung to both.
"I take it that the mission was more complex than expected?" The Prime asked even as he relaxed on determining that none carried injuries.
"Some Cons showed up and things got a bit tense," Arcee admitted carefully, trying to figure out how to best phrase her report so as not to vex their already stressed leader.
"Jack faced down Megatron and told him what for!" Miko called out eagerly.
Arcee closed her eyes and hissed in annoyance at the impetuous girl's outburst. Optimus reared back in shock and his gaze which had been gentle and general up to this point suddenly focused with the intensity of the midday sun on Jack.
"Is this accurate Jackson?" Optimus asked, his voice suddenly, no louder, but full of deep meaning and sounds that humans only partly heard.
Arcee felt Jack stiffen as he tried to sit up straight.
"I did face the Decepticonian Lord Megatron," Jack confirmed. He shot a look at the Lady Mikoto. "But I hope that I spoke with the respect due to a dragon of his rank, enemy or not."
A look of sudden pain crossed Optimus's face and then was gone.
"That was wise of you then young one," Optimus said. "Now I expect that my warriors have much to report and you," his gaze flicked to encompass Miko as well, "could stand both rest and refreshment."
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"Optimus," the low, gravelly voice of their healer broke into the dragon's thoughts.
The huge Elder Tempest swung his long neck to focus liquid silver eyes on the smaller creature. "Ratchet" was not the dragon's true name. Rather, it was a mispronunciation of his name that one of his earliest students had coined and it had clung to him as tightly as scales. He was an old Cairn Wyrm, with powerful digging claws on his front feet and a shorter, more powerful tail than most larger beasts. Of course, his wings were smaller than average, putting him at a disadvantage for aerial battles, but that was not his area of expertise anyway. Ratchet was the little colony's healer and wizard, as well as serving as an occasional advisor to the Prime of their wing of dragons.
"Yes, my friend?" Optimus understood that Ratchet was concerned about something, else he would not have left his cave.
"Did my ancient ears hear correctly, friend? Jack's Son faced Megatron?" A hint of disbelief twined with outrage, and stubby wings quivered.
"It would appear so," the larger dragon sighed.
"But that is most unwise! I'd have thought the human had more sense than to heedlessly make himself known to an Elder Dragon!" Ratchet stomped one forepaw and the thick claws sparked against the stone. "He is absurdly fortunate that he was not eaten!"
"Indeed." Optimus's voice fell into a murmur that no human would have been able to hear. "I am uneasy with the whole affair. But I will not censure him for his actions -- not without knowing the context of the report."
Ratchet's pebbly jaw worked for a moment, grinding sharp canines together, then he relented. "Bah, I suppose that is fair. Now, what's become of Bulkhead there, and will I need a spell to counteract the damage or shall ordinary measures suffice?"
"I have not yet heard their reports, old friend." For just an instant, Optimus sounded amused. With a grunt, he pulled his legs under him and heaved himself upright. Sitting now, his skull barely brushed the ceiling of the cave, and velvety red wings wrapped like a cloak around him.
Arcee and Bulkhead recognized the posture as being ready to hear their reports and hastened to comply. As the smaller dragons each took seats before their wing's Prime, a tiny figure trundled into the cave, tugging a wooden cart behind it.
"There you are!" Ratchet said in an affectionately scolding tone -- quite unlike his normal bluster -- "And just where have you been, my lad?"
Rafael was Ratchet's pupil -- his two-leg hatchling, Bulkhead and Arcee liked to joke behind his back -- in both healing and magic. The youngest and weakest of many siblings in a very poor family, he'd decided that climbing the mountains alone to seek his fortune had been a better option than remaining at home where there was never enough food and he wasn't considered useful.
All in all, he'd been terribly fortunate to come across a Primean fledgling and not a hungry beast.
"I went to trade for some sheepskins," the lad announced cheerfully, "Now you've got bandages if you've need of them."
"Hullo, little fellow," Arcee waved her iridescent facial frills at him. "What did you trade with?"
"Well, most of the coneys Bumblebee and I caught yesterday," Raf admitted sheepishly. He cringed at the decidedly disapproving look Ratchet gave him.
"Those were meant for drying and storing to feed you this winter," Ratchet grumbled under his breath, but he couldn't refuse the sheepskins. Human companions -- Prime refused to allow the wing to think of them as servants as many other wings did -- were very useful for acquiring supplies the dragons couldn't make for themselves, and the sheepskins would be a welcome addition to his medical supplies.
"Oh dear. Bulkhead, you're going straight to the springs the moment this report has finished!" Ratchet interrupted the forest dragon's description of the cave in and Miko's close brush with asphyxiation.
"I'll go put the sheepskins next to the pools," Raf offered, dropping his cart. Arcee sniffed the medicinal herbs in the cart and gagged.
"Well I'm glad I'm not the one who tried to hold up a cavern on my back!"
Bulkhead heaved a gusty sigh, sending little embers dancing along the floor.
"Arcee," Optimus frowned and bent his head slightly. "Tell me how you came across Megatron in the abandoned nesting site."
Arcee flattened her wings against her back and bobbed her head. "Aye, Prime. It was quite by chance, I assure you. The boy and I caught an unusual scent near the old nesting hollows. When we rounded the corner we discovered Megatron and Starscream -- the former very obviously preparing to eviscerate the latter."
Optimus reared back and blinked slowly. "That...took longer than I expected."
"Indeed," Arcee agreed. "One would have thought he'd have grown tired of Starscream ages ago! But as it happened, he did not appreciate the intrusion. We exchanged flames, and the ceiling proved too weak to withstand our breath."
The female fisher-dragon huddled down, looking small and contrite. "It was my fault, Bulkhead and Miko getting buried."
Bulkhead snorted incredulously, earning a baleful glare from their healer.
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I'm very tempted to draw Arcee as a dragon, so there'll probably be at least one more of these haha
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Thanks! Now I wonder what dragon Arcee looks like...
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Actually, an artist drew some 'Bots and 'Cons as dragons. I think it was either AuroraLion or JazztheTiger.
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I'll have to take a look
I based Megatron's design on the Neondragonart books (from which the Flight Rising game came, I have discovered), but there's like a ton of dragon "breeds" in those books to choose from
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Hmmm
That'll be an interesting sight
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