A/N:
"Words" = speech
'Words' = thoughts
"Words" = Bumblebee speaking (Bots p.o.v only)

Previously:

"Nevertheless, this warrants an investigation." Optimus stated. "Ratchet, Bumblebee, we shall go and scout the area." Ratchet was surprised that he was part of the scouting group, but understood Optimus' reasoning. If it was related to Dark Energon, no matter how faint, he would be needed.

"Arcee, monitor the Groundbridge." Optimus told her. Arcee nodded in response. She activated the groundbridge to the anomaly's last location, and the three Autobots walked through it.

Now:

They found themselves on the banks of a fast flowing river on the edge of a forest. Ratchet took out a scanner and scanned the area. "There's nothing in this location anymore, but there seems to be faint traces of the energy downstream." Ratchet explained. "Perhaps whatever the object is, it got carried away by the river?" Optimus suggested. "Who knows?" Ratchet replied. "So let's find out!" Bumblebee interjected, starting to head downstream.

They walked for several miles. Then, they heard distant and strange sounding yelps coming from up ahead. It confused them, but they continued on. After about 15 minutes they came upon a strange sight. A young girl stood on the beach of the river with her arms straight out in front of her, fists clenched tightly. As they watched, the girl collapsed to her knees, causing Ratchet to feel alarmed. There were three other young humans unconscious further up the bank, which caused alarm for everyone. They followed the girl's line of sight and saw something even stranger. They watched a small girl let go of rock that was in the middle of the river and latch onto the fur of the largest wolf they had ever seen. The wolf paddled quickly back to the shore. Ratchet noticed a faint trail of blood in the water. As the wolf dragged itself onto shore, the girl pushed herself off her knees and quickly moved to get the girl off the wolf's back.

Bumblebee dismissed the thought of the river surging faster once the girl got up as a mere coincidence.

The small girl let out a groan as she was set down on the ground. The other girl leaned over and presumably checked for breathing. She let out a soft sigh and looked up at the wolf. "S-she's... breathing. She's... ok." the girl said, before she completely collapsed onto the ground next to the little girl. The wolf let out a small whimper and nudged the girl with its muzzle. It was trembling, barely able to stay standing. Ratchet took a step forward, wanting to do something, but Optimus held out a hand to stop him.

The wolf clearly heard their movements, because it let out a roar and, despite its injuries, jumped over the unconscious humans to land between the Bots and the humans. It started growling, its hackles raised, it's teeth bared ('is that an extra set of canines?'); the message was clear: back off. But Optimus looked into the wolf's eyes ('Purple is not a normal optic color, is it?') and saw pure panic. Suddenly, one of the wolf's legs gave out, and it yelped as it collapsed. Ratchet and Bumblebee both looked desperately at Optimus, and he merely nodded.

The wolf tried to get up again, still "glaring" at the area the bots were at. Her front legs almost supported her weight, but the back legs collapsed again bringing its whole body down again. It let out a small whimper, and its eyes started to close. The Bots moved out of hiding and carefully approached the (mostly) unconscious group. The wolf slowly lifted up its head, focusing instantly on Optimus. It started whining earnestly. Optimus kneeled down in front of it and carefully rested a hand on its head. "Easy." he murmured to it. "We're going to get you to safety." The wolf seemed to understand his words, because it lowered it's head and fell into a deep sleep. Optimus frowned. 'Did it fall asleep because it was exhausted, or because it actually trusted me?' he wondered.

Ratchet carefully examined all of the humans and wolf. The older girl and the small girl they saw pulled from the river were mostly ok, a bit battered and scraped from their river trip, but ok. When Ratchet went to examine the other girl he gasped in shock. "By the Allspark! That shouldn't be possible!" "What's wrong Ratchet?" Optimus asked. "This girl... she has wings!" Optimus looked at the girl Ratchet was talking about. It was true. It shouldn't be, but it was. The young girl had large wings, although they did not look impressive while completely soaked. "I believe we have found the traces of energy we were searching for."  Optimus stated.

"Even if they weren't we can't just leave them here." Bumblebee stated, cradling the small girl they saw pulled from the river. "No we cannot." Optimus agreed. "We need to get these children back to base quickly." Ratchet stated, "This boy is in critical condition." Ratchet carefully picked the boy up, mindful of his injuries. Ratchet then carefully picked up the oldest boy. Bumblebee adjusted his hold on the smallest human, and then carefully picked up the other two girls. Optimus started to carefully pick up the wolf. "Optimus, are you sure?" Ratchet asked, hesitant. "The wolf is clearly trusted by these humans, and it, in turn, protected them. It is also in critical condition, and we should not leave it out here to die." Optimus explained. Ratchet nodded his assent.

"Arcee, we need a groundbridge." Optimus radioed. "Roger that." she responded. "And Arcee, contact Nurse Darby, we will need her assistance." Ratchet added. "What, why?" "You'll see." was the only answer she got before she activated the groundbridge.