Hey, Ina here. Sorry for not updating earlier! Gah!

Nobody reads this, anyway, though. :(

Outside the cell, a group of Conjures waited with Marui. They formed a loose circle around them and escorted them, with Barricade in the lead, in the direction they assumed was the Throne Room.

Before they left, Barricade offered Narzenim his arm with a bow. With a small smile, Narzenim accepted it and now walked beside him, talking with the Decepticon as the rest of the Autobots remained silent. Ironhide was rumbling in displeasure, hands clenching and unclenching; he was obviously tempted to try and get into a fight with Barricade who ignored him for the most part.

"I hope you are all hungry." Barricade told them mildly, opening the great door to the Throne Room.

Despite it being in enemy territory, the Throne Room was enough to make them stop and gape. For one it was huge; the biggest of the dragons they had seen could easily have fit in it all together and walked around comfortably. On a raised dais on the other end of the room, a magnificent throne of frosty metal sat; beneath it was a long banquet table behind a smaller table with seven seats. Conjures wheeled around, placing plates, goblets, utensils, and napkins at each chair before disappearing into a side door.

Barricade waved a Conjure over as he led the Autobots and Narzenim to the magnificent throne. "Where is Slash?" he asked it quietly.

"Apologies, Master Barricade, but this humble Conjure does not know." It said in its strange snarling voice.

Barricade grunted but waved it off to fulfill its duties. He stopped before the throne and released Narzenim's arm in favor of bowing to the man on the throne.

The man was handsome in a cold way; long silvery hair glittered on his head, but it was far from making him appear old in any way; he looked younger if not as young as Orion himself was. Ruby eyes glittered above pale skin, and like Whin, he had slit pupils. He was tall, with a slender, lithe build; his hair fell to his waist when braided and on his bangs were small white beads with glittering ruby spots. Bones in the shape of beads (or was it the other way around) hung from his hair and clicked as he stood; yet more bones glittered coldly on the necklace around his neck that formed an ivory collar around his neck.

"Lord Megatron." Barricade murmured respectfully and the red eyes flashed to the Decepticon, then to Narzenim and the other Autobots.

Narzenim inclined her head to him as he approached, suddenly seeming much older than she really was. Megatron smiled, all charisma, though his eyes glittered with a different light. "Great Seer, how kind of you to grace our halls." He said, giving a small bow. "And it is wonderful to see you, Brother, here."

Orion looked startled. "I don't know you."

Megatron laughed, a deep sound that didn't seem to match him. "We are all children of the Great Lords, are we not?" The Autobots looked confused while Narzenim's cold green eyes bored into Megatron's back. Megatron grinned and chuckled at their confused looks. "Surely you knew? After all, it came naturally to us. Didn't it, Slash?"

They turned to look at the newcomer and froze. Whin grinned back, eyes blood-red – like Barricade and Megatron's. "Yes, it did indeed." Her hair was braided with a multitude of beads – all made of bone – woven into them.

"Well, why don't we start eating?" Megatron asked companionably, clapping his hands. "I'm sure you're all famished after the long journey you've had."

Whin smiled. "I know I would be." she said, motioning them to their seats before seating herself beside Barricade across from them. "Lord Megatron, if I may ask, where is my sister?"

"On her way, my dear." Megatron purred, and Prowl wondered if he was the only one that caught the disgusted look in the woman's eyes. "Don't fret; you'll see her soon enough."

Whin tilted her head to the side and nodded. Food began to trickle out of the kitchen; Conjures placed plates of food in front of the Autobots, Prowl, and Narzenim, in addition to an empty spot. They also served the Decepticons and Whin before disappearing into the kitchen. Whin ignored the distrustful stares she earned as she stared out the door.

The door burst open and shouts were heard, both in the strange, guttural language Barricade and Whin had been talking in earlier, and the rough voices of the Conjures. Then there was a high keening sound and a Conjure - half dismantled - flew into the room where it writhed in obvious pain. Megatron, Barricade, and Whin were instantly on their feet, alarmed.

A tan and cream-colored form flew into the room, landing hard on her side and rolling to her feet, arms bound behind her back. Blood dripped from a corner of her mouth, and her left cheekbone was bruised. Various other bruises and scrapes were apparent through the tight-fitting, revealing clothes she wore. She leapt nimbly on a Conjure's back and kicked out at its head, sending the tear-dropped bone-and-metal thing skittering away.

She cried out as a heavy staff knocked her off the reeling Conjure's back and tumbling to the ground. There was a snap, and she broke the restraints holding her bound arms together; she snatched a pair of blades from the wall and slashed at the Conjures who raced over, supposedly to subdue her.

"What is this?" Megatron roared as a Conjure charged at her, only to meet its demise at the blades in her hands. "Stand down!" She didn't move, blades poised and red-orange eyes flashing from one to the other. The Conjures backed off, looking alarmed and even a little scared. Megatron walked up to the woman who slowly stood up out of her crouch. "I apologize, Lady Windtreader." he said as she turned to look at him, eyes still a solid red-orange. "I beg you to share a meal with us as friends."

Whin - the real Whin - scowled and without looking threw her two blades at the Conjures, ignoring their keening cries as it impaled them through their upper torsos. "Apologies mean nothing to broken ribs." she said in a low voice. She inclined her head. "Nevertheless, we accept your apology and the generous offer of a meal as friends."

She looked over at her look-alike and walked over, stopping when they were a foot apart. "Hey. Long time no see." the other said with a small smile. Whin nodded slowly, clasping her hand at the elbow warmly.

"Long has it been since we've seen you, sister." she replied as she sat carefully between Narzenim and Jazz. The latter noticed the dark band of scars around her left ring finger and stared openly. Whin stiffened as a Conjure came up behind her to pour a dark red liquid into her goblet. She gave a pained look at Megatron. "We're sorry, but we must decline; we have a different diet based on our particular needs." her hands were shaking and Narzenim put a small hand on the scarred, bloody arm next to her.

Megatron gave her a peculiar look. "We have never seen a Dragon - a wounded Dragon - refuse a drink of blood." he said mildly, lifting his own goblet and taking a sip. "Surely you are enough of a warrior to know the limitations of your own body?"

Whin scowled at him and drank the blood, holding back a shiver as she did so. The Autobots gave her disgusted looks and didn't touch their plates. At Narzenim's glare, however, they forced themselves to eat a little more.

"We forgot that you are not used to this type of diet." the Whin look-alike said, sounding genuinely apologetic. "It is strange for us to conceive the idea of cooked meat."

Whin gave a low rumble. "We don't put it past you; it is not an idea that we feel others would readily follow."

Barricade gave a thin smile. "That is true. It is not an idea that we would have thought of. For that, we apologize; Slash and I were supposed to plan this dinner, and we have failed."

Whin gave a thin smile in return. "We do not hold you accountable."

The rest of the dinner was held in silence, and when it was over, a squadron of Conjures rolled in, armed and wary of approaching Whin who was in a slightly better mood. She had an identical twin, who was a Decepticon; that was why they had thought Slash (her twin) was Whin.

Megatron gave them a particularly icy smile when the Conjures rolled in. "Why don't we go to the arena, now?"

Whin stood, bristling as the Conjures approached. Megatron waved them off as the rest of the Decepticons (according to Narzenim) appeared. Blackout was the tall, skinny man who looked like he stepped out of a book about the Aztecs. Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp were identical triplets, told apart by their hair; Starscream had red and dark gray hair, Thundercracker indigo and black, and Skywarp violet and black. Brawl was the man who was as massive as Ironhide, looking like a six-foot Paul Bunyan. Bonecrusher was even larger, nearly seven feet tall with scraggly bronze hair and jagged scars roping around his neck, face, and arms. Waspinator was the skinniest of all of them, pale and lanky. Frenzy and Rumble were the twin brothers they had seen earlier, pale with dark mops of hair on their head. Scorponok looked like he had Arabian ancestry, with reddish hair and tan-gold skin. Soundwave was a tall pale man, with soft violet hair and a blank, empty face.

The Conjures acted as guards and escorts, and in Whin's case, targets for her wrath. They had to resort holding a blade to her brother's throat to get her to comply, and even then they weren't in total control of her Slash and Barricade were forever hiding smiles, and judging by the growling snarls coming from deep in her chest, Whin was swearing up a storm.

They came to an arena with a deep sand pit at the bottom; it was nearly sixty feet deep before the smooth wall touched the sand. It looked like a coliseum, with a cage of thick, heavy bars made of what appeared to be steel. Megatron motioned and Soundwave opened a locked gate near the ice-like throne, and after pulling off the thick metal gauntlets on her forearms, carelessly pushed Whin into the arena.

"Whin!" Prowl yelped, watching her fall head over heels. She flipped and landed in a crouch, glaring angrily up at them. Then he yelled as he and Jazz, along with Narzenim, Orion, Ironhide, Bee, and Ratchet were pushed in as well. They would undoubtedly die.

Narzenim was an eagle, screeching as she wheeled around them. Then they stopped abruptly and slid down what looked like a transparent red slide to land in a mound of sand just beside Whin. After tumbling into the sand, the shot up in time to see the slide dematerialize, flowing like scarlet snakes into Whin's outstretched arms where it disappeared. She looked down at them with a semi-amused smirk as Narzenim circled lower to land on her shoulder.

Both watched as they hauled themselves to their feet, looking around frantically. "Where are we?" Orion demanded, glaring at Whin who shrugged, looking at Narzenim.

"In the Arena Pit." the hawk said, becoming a spotted leopard and balancing on her surrogate mother's shoulder and head. Whin looked up at the top of the arena to Blackout who stood at the edge of the drop. "They want you to fight." she added, looking down at Whin with her emerald eyes. "They want us all to fight."

Ironhide snarled. "You know I'll fight." he clenched and unclenched his hands as the gate across the arena ground open and Blackout grinned down at them. A squadron of ten Conjures came out, though they were of a different design; they picked delicately across the sands with snowshoe-like feet. An extra pair of arms armed with spikes and razor-sharp claws glittered as they walked toward them.

"How are we supposed to fight that?" Ratchet demanded as Narzenim and Whin herded them toward the corner furthest from all the doors.

Whin stepped forward, hands clenched. She stretched mockingly, a wide grin across her face. She turned and looked at him with red-orange eyes. "Well, you just wait; we'll get you guys some weapons to fight with." she told them in that particular voice from before. She flashed them a quick grin that bared sharp ivory fangs. She beckoned at the sand beside her; it rose and flashed red before resting in her reaching hand, a long glass blade.

She swung it experimentally before with a savage roar, leapt at the Conjures. The first was too preoccupied with stepping delicately to see the nearly-invisible blade slice deep into its chest; it fell with a grinding wail, taking down the Conjure beside it. Its flailing blades made short work of the second Conjure. Whin crouched beneath the powerful swing of the third Conjure and ran it through with her blade. She cried out in pain as an energy weapon grazed her arm and with a quick slice, took the arm that held the weapon; she kicked it toward the group behind her as she took out the fifth Conjure. The sixth Conjure was slightly smarter; it stomped hard on the glass blade, shattering it.

Whin grinned. Her hands glittered red and she slammed hard on its stomach, sending it flying back into two other Conjures, taking them out with its flailing claws and spikes, and its massive weight. She leapt onto the back of the ninth Conjure, ripping off a clawed arm and then its upper torso before leaping at the last of the creatures, slicing at it with the improvised weapon. When the last fell, she turned to grin crazily at the group behind her.

She reached down and picked up the weapons in the limp grasps of the Conjures, throwing them toward the group over her shoulder. "Good enough for ya?" she asked, ruby eyes twinkling.

Ironhide hefted the weapon. "How do these work?"

"Just point and pull the trigger." she replied with a smirk. "Now heads up; we have a tougher battle to face." she jerked her head upwards toward Blackout who was changing before their eyes.

His skin became pebbled and thick in bright, poisonous colors; his belly was a sickly green color while his back was brown. His brows were orange, with the undersides of his wings being brilliant scarlet and the tops of his strange wings sapphire. He stood on his legs, tail balancing him, spreading his wings wide; he had no forelegs like the other Dragons they had seen, though he stood nearly eight feet tall at the shoulder. He leapt into the air with a ringing cry that sent shivers up and down their spines. "Come, Ranthanoss! Let us fight!"

Then, to their surprise (and horror), Whin's own from began to twist and writhe. She grew larger and larger as her skin turned red and gray-silver on her stomach. Her scales became armored, and before their very eyes, she became the red creature they had seen before. With a thunderous roar, she leapt aside as Blackout dove at her. With a powerful paw, she slammed him into the wall as foot soldiers marched out of the gate, weapons leveled at the stunned group.

Narzenim roared and becoming a spotted cheetah, raced across the sands toward them. At the last minute, she became a saber-toothed tiger and landed in the fray, fangs and claws flashing. Whin turned her head and watched carefully, ignoring the wailing Blackout pinned beneath her claws. She roared something and picked up the writhing Dragon; Narzenim leapt aside as he was catapulted into the squadron.

The colorful Dragon screamed as he landed with a dull crunch, serpentine tail lashing everywhere, causing pandemonium in the squadron's ranks as they tried to get out of the way of the tree-trunk-sized tail.

Whin turned and snarled at them as Narzenim loped back. "You're all idiots." she growled in a deeper than usual voice. "Just because I am a Dragon doesn't mean I can always protect you. You have to learn to fight on your own."

The darkness pulled at the Pit, blurring the dull red mound behind them. They could only tell it was alive by the heat it generated, the low rumble in its chest, and the movement of its sides as it breathed.

"Do y' think it's true?" Jazz asked his partner quietly, pulling the blanket close; it was cold in the Pit, and the warmth of Whin's side and the blanket were the only things that kept it at bay. Not to mention the warmth of having Jazz sitting so close to him.

"Hmm?" Prowl asked, dazed and tired. They had such a strange day. It was eerie to see two women who looked almost exactly alike fight with swords and spears. Whin, of course, wielded the spear-like weapon, and Slash fought with the swords. Then have said women transform into massive creatures (Whin red, Slash dull gold) and with one taking to the air (Slash), fight fiercely.

"About your real mother." Jazz said, turning his head to look at the other man. "Do you think it's Whin?"

Prowl sighed, leaning his head on Jazz's. "I don't know what to think anymore. I don't even know what's going on here."

Jazz turned his head in Orion's general direction. "Hey, Boss-Man? Can I explain?"

Whin's breathing hitched and she rumbled, shaking her head, eyes squeezed shut. Narzenim, a snow leopard on her back, leapt off the edge and ran to her head where she spoke quietly with her, stroking the scaled nose. Whin gave another low rumble, almost like a moan and turned her head away from them. Then followed the unmistakable sound of retching and the emptying of someone's stomach contents, only they could feel her heaving behind them.

"What's wrong with her?" Ratchet asked, getting to his feet. Everyone was awake now, and looking worriedly at Whin who was giving low rumbles, head still turned awkwardly.

Narzenim looked up from her place near the Dragon's shoulder. "They're not used to drinking blood." she said simply. "It throws their entire system out of whack. I'm surprised they lasted this long, actually."

Whin gave a low rumble, turning her head to reveal blood-red eyes. "Anyone get the Mark of the thing that hit us?" she groaned in a deeper-than-the-one-she-used-before voice.

Narzenim patted her shoulder and part of her exposed neck. "Yeah. Dragon Spyglass."

She snarled. "I'm gonna kill that bastard." then she gave a low moan and turning her head, retched again.

There was a loud clanking from above, and in the flickering light of the torches above, they saw Slash poke her slender head over the edge. Seeing Whin retching, she leapt gracefully off the edge, circling lower on near-silent wings.

Even if it was in the dark, Prowl gasped at his first sight of her. Well, first sight of her when she (apparently) wasn't trying to kill them or Whin, and without having others try to kill him. Her wings were bat-like with a tuft of soft feathers near the leading edge, blending into smooth bronze-gold membrane. She was serpentine, and much, much smaller than Whin; perhaps two feet taller than Prowl himself at her slender shoulder. She looked sweeter than Whin who only looked fierce; a cute pony to a lion with blood-stained teeth.

The moment she landed, she was "human" once more, ignoring the threatening growls of Ironhide and Jazz; their weapons had died out a while ago, and after seeing her hold her own against Whin who had single-handedly flipped Barricade on his back - while he was in Dragon form and she was in "human" - they were wary of approaching her. She stood with cat-like grace and walked over to the massive maroon head, kneeling in front of her deep chest, putting her ear to the ashy gray plate armor there.

"What the hell did they do to you?" she growled, clutching her stomach as Whin retched again. "This isn't only from drinking blood." she looked at Narzenim who was crouched beside her. "Well? Any ideas?"

The girl's reply was in that strange, guttural language, and when she was done, Slash rocked back on her heels, surprised. Then she switched to English. "There's a blade stuck in her side; I need someone's claws to get it out."

Slash got over her surprise and looked at Narzenim in surprise. "Why can't you do it? Aren't you a Shapeshifter?"

Narzenim nodded, motioning for her to follow as she climbed up the scaled side. She motioned for Ratchet to follow too, and he did so warily. "I may be, but the blade is in pretty deep. This is mostly what is making her so sick; the blade is poisoned and the longer it's in, the more it'll make her sick. Ratchet and I will hold the wound open, and you pull the blade out."

Red eyes regarded them, glowing in the slight gloom. "The hole is tiny." she pointed out. "There is no way we can fit our claws in there."

Narzenim said nothing as her finger became a shimmering blade. It sliced through the armored hide and widened the hole. Whin's side twitched and she rumbled, lifting her head to look at them, eyes unfocused. Hands human once more, she and Ratchet pulled the skin apart, revealing the dark hole and the pale glimmer of a blade deep in the bloody abyss.

Slash sighed and reached for the blade, own claws extended. As she grasped it delicately, Whin gave a low rumble, shoulder twitching. Slash yanked it out and flung it into the wall, hand bloody. "Is that it?"

Narzenim nodded. "She should be fine soon. You don't by chance have any water, do you?"

Slash tilted her head to the side. "We'll come back later with Barricade to bring you some." she promised. "Lord Megatron gave no orders for anything sent to you, so we'll have to sneak them in for you." there was a particular way she said it that had the wary Autobots staring hard at her. Narzenim thanked her and with a nod, she leapt into the air as a Dragon, flying out through the gate which closed tightly behind her.

Later, Prowl would have to wonder how he managed to fall asleep after such excitement, but he didn't know and it really didn't matter. He just knew that he was gently shook awake by a small hand on his shoulder. When he opened his mouth to speak, a hand closed over his mouth, startling him; he looked up in the light of a floating, glowing sphere that gave off a soft pale-blue light and saw the bright green eyes of Narzenim staring down at him.

She held her finger to her lips before taking her other hand off Prowl's mouth. "Get dressed." she told him in a soft whisper, tossing a bundle of clothes at him. When he didn't move, a scowl crossed her face. "Hurry." she snapped, still whispering, and surprised, he leapt to his feet. He had never seen Narzenim really angry, but she looked pretty scary when she was irritated, as she was now.

His movement jostled Jazz awake, and Narzenim clapped a hand on his mouth as he yelped, falling to the side. She repeated the motions she had with Prowl, shoving another bundle of clothes into his hands as she tossed the blanket to Slash who caught it silently and began to fold it. She put a finger to her lips when they moved to shout and motioned for them to change. A soft scuffle on the side alerted them, and they turned to find Narzenim, a gorilla, holding her thick black hand over Ironhide's mouth as he struggled either to shout out or to leap at Slash.

"Be quiet." Narzenim snarled quietly, and he stilled slowly. "She's helping us." when he stilled, she climbed off him and nudged awake Bee and Orion. Bee took it in stride while Narzenim had to restrain Orion once more. "Go change." she ordered them in a curt whisper. They stared at the heavy clothes in their arms; it was cold weather wear.

"What's this for?" Prowl asked in a low whisper.

Slash was the one who answered; Narzenim was at Whin's side trying to wake the slumbering Dragon. "It's snowing hard outside." she told them simply. "Whin would never forgive us if we allowed you to get hypothermia."

Prowl sighed and backed away. There were only three females in the Pit with him and the others, one of which was unconscious. He could live, and it wasn't like the other two were paying any attention anyway. He pulled off his shirt, wincing as a spot on his spine below his shoulders stung as if it was burned.

A callused hand made him jump, and he turned to find Ironhide staring at him, shock evident on his rough face. "Ah don' b'lieve it. Th' girl's right."

"I usually am." Narzenim told him loftily, walking over. "Now what has your panties in a wad?" she turned Prowl roughly and swore when she saw the two tattoo-like Marks on his back. "Slash, get Whin up; we need to get out of here ASAP." she called over her shoulder. "Be careful when you pull on your clothes." she told Prowl seriously. "It'll be sensitive for a few days before feeling normal."

"If I wake her up as fast as I can, then she…" Slash trailed off, looking worried. Narzenim shook her head.

"No time, Slash. I can handle her." the woman looked dubious. "Look. Either you believe that I'm the Seer, or you don't. Pick one now."

The other sighed, kneeling beside Whin's head. Her hands glittered with silver-blue light and when she touched the Dragon on her dark forehead, she leapt to her feet, snarling. Then Narzenim was at her head, small hands on either side of her nose. "We need you, Ran. I know you can hear me." glittering ruby eyes flashed and a low growl threaded its way out of the ivory fangs just below the girl's slender hands. "Stop it." she told him sharply. "I know Whin's not up yet, but we need you so we can escape. Prowl's Mark is Activating, and we need to get out of here fast." she let go as Whin tossed her head and sat on her hindquarters.

Slash was staring at Whin. "I've never gotten Volly to do that before." she told the girl in awe. "He never listens to me."

Narzenim peered at her as she pulled on her thick jacket and quickly folded the blankets on the cooling sand. "He listens to you more than you realize." she said at last. "He's just as caring and compassionate as Ranthanoss, you know. When he doesn't listen to you, it's because he knows you're doing something stupid. He tries to protect you, you know." she tied the bundles of blankets together with strips from the tunic she had been wearing earlier, tossing a bundle to Slash who caught it. "Now we need to leave."

Slash nodded. "'Cade's taking care of the guards." she said, pulling open a large metal gate. "He'll meet you at the end of the hall. Ran and I have to take another exit; he'll never fit through this door."

"Why can't she just change back?" Ratchet asked, confused.

Slash shook her head. "It's not that simple; Ranthanoss is in control now - her Dragon side, if you will. He doesn't have the power to make the shift."

"Whin won't wake up until a few hours from now." the Dragon said in a deep baritone voice that was definitely masculine; not the deep voice - that was distinctly female - that Whin had used earlier. Red eyes glittered, staring hard at them. "Ensallidus cannot keep waiting in the hallway. You should hurry."

"He's right." Narzenim said, motioning for them to follow. Orion, Ironhide, and Jazz faltered. "What now?"

"I don't trust them." Orion told her, looking down his nose at her. His men had told him that he could be very intimidating when he wanted to be, and he wanted to convey that to Narzenim.

She reacted much differently. Her emerald eyes snapped at him, and he found himself taking a step back. "I know that you thought the Seer to be male. I understand that. I know that you thought the Seer to be older. I understand that too. More than you know. What I don't understand is why you don't trust the Seer regardless of age and gender." she motioned to the still form of Slash standing nearby. "I met her at dinner tonight. We have known each other for four hours if you include the Pit fight and the lost time between now and the dinner. She trusts me unconditionally, just as Barricade does. Why can't you?"

"How do you know we're not being led into a trap?" Jazz asked, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I trust you, but I don't trust them."

Slash looked away and walked over to Ranthanoss who growled. They disappeared through a different door, and the Autobots were left alone. "If you don't trust them now, how will you react later?" Narzenim asked dryly. "Now come on. If you want to live to see tomorrow, you'd best follow." with that, she led the way down the hall. Bee, Prowl, Jazz, and Ratchet followed her; Ironhide and Orion traded weary glances before following behind them at a light trot.

Barricade, true to Slash's word, was waiting for them at the end of the hallway. "Quickly. We don't have much time." he told them gruffly, leading the way down the hall at a quick trot. "Slash and Ranthanoss are at the gates waiting for us." he told them as they crossed a snowy courtyard. "As I'm sure you can imagine, Seer, Ranthanoss isn't very happy about this."

The Autobots blinked in the sudden brightness of the snow, and were thankful (to some extent) to find that it was still dark. Ranthanoss and Slash waited for them at the enormous gates to the fortress, the former looking very uncomfortable in the heavy leather harness he/she wore. Especially the bridle-like contraption around his/her head.

"It was the best we could find." Slash explained as she wrapped white rags around the metal buckles so they wouldn't shine in the bright moonlight or shock Ran's scales with the cold. "Get on." Ranthanoss bent his/her legs and they clambered on carefully as Barricade (to their surprise) helped them to strap in. Narzenim sat on Ran's neck, just in front of his/her shoulders, holding the reins. Prowl and Jazz were on either shoulder with Orion, Ratchet, and Ironhide on his/her back.

Ranthanoss stood and shook himself, ignoring the yelps of his passengers. "It's cold." he rumbled.

Barricade laughed. "Come on, Fire Dragon. Surely you can survive a little cold?" Ranthanoss snorted though he sounded amused. "Now you guys head North. When you reach the river, follow the water East. A few miles down there will be a place where you can safely cross. Cross and head North again."

"Don't stop no matter what." Slash told them. "Stop only when you reach the border of the ice. I'll cover your tracks, but eventually Lord Megatron will notice you're gone. I know you guys can make it if you leave now."

Ranthanoss turned his great head and looked at both of them, grumbling in that strange language they had. Both looked surprise but at his growl nodded. "Thanks. For everything." Narzenim told them softly. "We will see each other again." she smiled. "It will be very interesting times, to say the least." then she kicked her heels into Ranthanoss' shoulders. "Let's go, big guy. We need to get out of here ASAP." Ranthanoss lurched back then leapt forward, kicking up snow as he loped away.