All Creatures Great and Small
Directors Edition
Chapter 4

Buffy looked at her sister. 'What the hell happened to you?!?'

'The same thing that's about to happen to you. Get over here, NOW!' Dawn dived behind Xander's car, firing her gun above Buffy's head. Xander didn't stop as he joined her and the other two behind the damaged car. Buffy looked over her shoulder as she ran to them, a twenty foot tall robot was bringing its rifle around. Just as she ducked behind the car Buffy could feel the heat from the laser blasts splintering the pavement.

'I take it that daddy isn't happy that you three just aced his little buddies.'

'That's putting it nicely human. What are they doing here and why are they after you two?' One of what Buffy guessed was the good guy's quipped.

'We don't know, they just attacked. It might be some thing to do with that light show. Buffy, is it?'

'Why do you keep asking me? No, I don't think so. Dawn what is going on?' Buffy flinched as another blast exploded against the car, sending it into the air for a split second.

The five of them looked to each other and ran for the wrecked building. 'A better question;' Xander asked.' Is where did all the emergency teams and TV people disappear to?'

'We are being shot at by a 18 foot tall robot from another planet. We were also hiding behind a car to stop him from hitting us. Another robot is about to smash him into pieces.

'As for Tv maybe they found some missing turtles to interview. Watch this!' Dawn pointed at the truck cab she and her two new friends had jumped out of. It was coming straight for them. Buffy watched as the front fell forward and a hatch opened on its' roof.

Being the Slayer for the better part of seven years had introduced her to a lot of strange and weird things. But never had she imagined a red truck cab change into a robot while jumping over her head. Everyone watched as it flew over them and punched the other one into the next state.

Dawn quietly laughed at the shape of Buffy's face. 'Thanks Prime! Mind giving us all a lift back to The Ark?' she glanced up. The Decepticon Tape deck had, with his little minions, flown away. Probably back to wherever their base was.

'Of course not Sunburst, get in.' he switched back to cab mode and opened the door for them.

Xander finally blinked. Buffy's face twisted some more and the two cassettes just looked at them. Somewhat absently Xander joked that five people wouldn't fit in the cab. 'Not a problem. Boys, would you mind transforming please.' Dawn held out her hands and the two brothers shrunk as they changed back into tapes, only this time they were the size of a normal cassette. Xander decided at that point to faint while Buffy stared at Dawn and the tapes on the dashboard during the silent drive back to The Ark.
Just passing Saturn the rogue planet passed through the outer edge of its rings. Even at this distance it's awareness scanned the surface of the third planet. There was so much life on this rock that if He was able to stop his foe He would gorge on the life energy and be, for a time, sated. If He could once again defeat his long time foe.

Xander was first of all embarrassed. He blamed it on too many shocks and the fight earlier but he still fainted when he saw two robots, Rewind and Eject, shrink into small tapes. The big red dude, Optimus Prime, had just finished describing Unicron. A year ago now he had "helped" stop the mad god Glory from destroying the universe. This sounded worse. One of the oldest of the old gods, not mad, not out of control, driven solely to destroy existence. 'From Buffy's dreams and Prime's description,' Dawn explained as one of the Autobots tweaked a panel on her back with something like a wrench. 'Unicron has found a way around the prison Primus made and is coming here.'

Buffy looked from her sister to Optimus 'So why didn't this Primus just destroy Unicron in the first place?'

'The battles between the two Gods were massive. It is told that whole planets were vaporised, suns were snuffed out and whole galaxies as the two of them fought. Even worse was that Primus wasn't certain he could defeat the dark one.' Prime was sitting at the table they were sanding on. His face plate moving and the two lighter parts of his eyes flipping between the three of them; himself, Buffy and Dawn.

'Sort of like squashing ants when you fight over an ant hill?'

'Exactly Mr Harris. Primus imprisoned both himself and Unicron in an effort to stop the accidental destruction of those he wished to protect.'

Buffy snapped on him 'And now the rematch will take place on Earth! What if we become "accidentally" destroyed?'

'Miss Summers, this is not the only inhabited world. At the risk of sounding callus, if this world is destroyed to save the countless others then it is with a great sorrow that it must be sacrificed.'

Xander made a quick decision, one he had often wondered would he be able to make again. 'The human race gone for the greater good. I'm sorry but I can't stand by and watch it happen. I agree…'

'Xander!!!'

'I haven't finished Buffy. I agree that it must be done but I can not let you fight without help. Whatever I can do to help I will.' In the years that followed meeting Buffy, fighting vampires and other demons he had done things he never dreamed of. Now he was throwing himself in the battle between good and evil again. This time on a scale he couldn't even imagine.

'You beat me to it, every thing he said goes the same for me. I was chosen to defend this world but the universe is more important. I'd like to save both if we could though.'

'Alexander Harris, Buffy Summers. I once thought that humans were a simple selfish race. While Sunburst has shown me that you can be stronger than us in spirit you have shown me that your race can match us in conviction. I think I will never understand humans. If your kind is destroyed the galaxy will lose a truly unique race. Unfortunately there is nothing more you or anyone else can do.'

'What about this merging thing, you said that Dawn was now a part of you. Could we do the same?'

'I do not believe so. We both are vessels for trans-dimensional energy. You are not. It may be possible for you to bond with other Autobots if you want, only not in powermaster form.'

'That might not be a bad idea, hey Xander imagine the damage I can do to demons with a robotic suit of armour on!'

'It could be cool, I just don't like being a battery that's all. Reminds me to much of The Matrix.'

'What did you say?'

'Sorry big guy. Not your Matrix I'm talking about the film with the leather coats and guns' Xander didn't know how "human" these Autobots were but Prime's laughter was a good sign.

'Then you might want to become a head or target-master.'

'A what and a what?' Buffy was still perfecting her confused look

'A Headmaster is when you have the ability to become a transformer's head, while a Targetmaster is their weapon.' Prime smiled at them. Xander wasn't sure how without a mouth he could do that, but he did.

'Dawn! We need to talk.' Buffy caught her sister just outside the briefing room.

Sighing Dawn tuned around. She had hoped to get out of there before Buffy had a chance to catch up. 'Yes Buffy?'

'What happened just then, Is that what you did? How could you agree to fight without asking me first?'

Dawn looked down on her older sister. 'I got shot by an oversized geek with a ray gun Buffy. I need this suit until my body heals, I though I might as well help out when I can. You guys weren't slow on volunteering, why should I be?'

'You haven't finished school yet, that's why not!'

'You were fighting demons my age...'

'What; two?'

'Low blow much?'

Her sister grabbed her by the arms 'Dawn, you haven't lived yet. I said I'd show you the world...'

'Yep; five minutes at the bronze then a quick lesson on fighting. Good job'. Shaking Buffy's grip easily Dawn flashed two thumbs up in a perfect imitation of Spike. 'That's not the world Buffy, that's no even a corner. Look at you, you fight to save the world but forget what your saving. '

'That's not true.'

'Of course it is. You don't live, your whole life evolves around slaying. Your a weapon Buffy, now so am I. The only difference between the two of us is I know what I'm fighting for. Do you?' With that Dawn walked calmly away.

On her display she switched to a back view. Xander had taken Buffy's hand and stopped her following. Not for the first time Dawn silently thanked him for being a rock beneath Buffy's feet and left.

Optimus Prime watched from the table, his advanced audio pickups hearing everything. You did it again. Involved children in our war.' Ratchet accused him.

'Old friend; if they are going to inherit this universe don't you think they should have some say in it?'

The gruff medic hadn't thought of that, Optimus watched the idea sink in, nodded and silently left himself

By evening Buffy and Xander had decided to become Targetmasters and Headmasters, respectively. Both their soon to be partners had already agreed and they were about to tell Dawn and Prime. Walking through the massive silent doors they saw the two watching a monitor screen the size of a house.

On it was a broadcast of live news '… just about to pass Mars. The rogue planet is said to pass close by, scientists believe that it may not hit but that the damage to our world could mean disaster. Once again; a planet almost the same size as our own is passing through our solar system, we have an image from the Hubbell space telescope to show you now. My God… it's… what is…?'

A huge orange and yellow planet was shown. There were two curved, yellow, spires facing the camera. To Buffy they looked like pincers or claws. In between them was a huge crater like a gaping mouth rimmed with jagged mountains.

Prime and Dawn looked at each other. This was Unicron. The size and shape of a planet. Prime could only mutter one thing. The title of Unicron, something he had not said to his smaller friends. 'The world eater.'

End chapter 4