It took them an instant to figure out what was going on outside once they left the cave, and Leo was more annoyed than angry right now as his eyes settled on someone he really didn't feel like dealing with at the moment.
"Prime!" Megatron roared at the Autobot leader from where he was perched on the next peak over. "I know you found the items of power! I want them! Then I will destroy Unicron myself!"
Raph just glared at him in astonishment. "He is sooo well informed...and yet he doesn't have a fucking clue... How did he even know anyway?"
"Because I told him, freak."
They all spun around to see Jeff of all people. His eyes glaring at them through the severely bruised face. Leo raised an eyeridge as he smiled with pride. Ty does good work. But what caught his attention, was the fact that he was sitting on top of a large...robot bug? They have bugs? And it was firmly entrenched on the side of the cliff.
"Insecticon!" Cris snapped the answer to his unspoken question. "It was probably them that was causing the quakes inside, because they were trying to dig their way in."
"Oh...aren't you the smart one. But yet not smart enough to figure out I was feeding the Cons information this whole time. Why do you think they never attacked you? They wanted you to find the objects, so they could take them from you. I even filled them in on the Jetfire flight. They had hoped to take it from you then already."
"They look like dung beetles." Mikey proclaimed, eyeballing the large creature.
Epps sighed in frustration. "Jeff, I knew you had issues, but this is low even for you."
"What's in the deal for you?" Will asked, crossing his arms.
"Simple." Came the evil grin reply. "I get Cindy."
"The hell you will!" Ty snapped at him even as he placed Cindy protectively behind him.
"You don't have a say in the matter turtle boy." Jeff smirked at him as a few more bugbots came around the cliff face above them. "I get her, or you all go rolling down the cliff."
Hide snarled at him and spun to take aim at the threats rapidly closing in from above.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you Hide. That ledge looks very unstable. On stray shot, or a large boulder, could send all of you tumbling down prematurely. Especially since my freinds here weakened the support to it." His eyes narrowed. "Hand me the gems, and Cindy, now."
"No." Ty spat back at him. Lavi had by now placed herself next to her brother and both of them glared at the man as they stood between him and Cindy.
"Well, I guess I'll have to persuade you another way. Hardshell, would you do the honors? Start with those two, maybe the rest will get the point."
The Insecticon made a chittering sound, then suddenly the ground gave way under the twins and Cindy. They had just enough time to push the red haired woman out of harms way and into the arms of Raph who was already fast approaching. But none of them were quick enough, not even Leo who was trying so desperately to reach them, and they slipped from view, falling into the empty space below.
Leo didn't hear Jeff's laughter, he didn't hear Megatron demand the gems again. He also didn't hear the startled shouts and cries of those around him. His attention was solely focused on that spot where his children disappeared.
He didn't slow when he reached the edge, but followed a silent prompt and stepped off and followed the twins down. Headfirst he fell, his arms reaching out for them even as he knew he wouldn't reach them. Not this way. Leo had feared they wouldn't need him anymore, that they outgrew him and he couldn't protect them. That was not the case, not anymore. He closed his eyes, reaching inside of himself towards that silent call that was pleading for him to hear. He connected with it, and when his angry eyes opened they were blazing with his inner fire. But also with something more. He could see the shock on the faces of the twins as those eyes began to glow a bright blue, then the rest of him. And their eyes grew even wider when the true extent of the power he had been given showed itself.
.
.
"You son of a bitch!" I screamed at Jeff, tears running down my face. My whole body was shaking as I glared at the man who just took my children from me, and my husband who had followed them over trying to save them. He was alive, that I could feel, but I knew any moment now that bond would come to a crashing end...and there was nothing I could do about it.
In a white rage I stormed over even as two more Insecticons crawled over the new edge they had just made.
"Vicky! Stop it!" Donnie grabbed me and pulled me back out of the way of those monsters, and I fought with him every step. "This isn't what Leo would want!"
"Leo..." I spun and collapsed against him, crying as I waited for that snap to happen in my head. And when it did, it wasn't what I was expecting. It wasn't a firm break, but a gentle closing of the door. I could still sense he was alive, but I couldn't feel him anymore. It was like the time I couldn't see his nightmare, something gently kept me away. This wasn't what his death would feel like...and hope began to fill me as I looked over towards the edge again.
The same time that happened, a bright blue glow was coming up over that edge. And it grew even brighter as a loud roar came from below. A roar of anger, and at the same time triumphant. A roar that was rapidly approaching.
Then, like a blue sun blazing, what burst up from below staggered the mind as we all gaped at it. My legs actually gave out at what I was seeing.
It was huge. If you stretched it out in a baseball field the snout could touch home plate as the tail tip reached the centerfield wall. The wings alone, green on the supporting frame while the membranes themselves were blue, could shade a fair amount of seats in the same stadium. The body was long, but very well muscled and was also green, Leo's green. The armoured under neck and belly was the same beige as his plastron. Powerful hind legs firmly dug into the side of the mountain as the massive thing landed and a clawed forepaw added to the support as it hung there. The long tail was thrashing violently as large, angry, ice blue eyes glared at Jeff from under reptilian brows. Eyes that were surrounded by blue scales that wrapped over the bridge of the snout and the pattern curved backwards and also colored the two graceful horns that flowed from the back of it's head. In the other paw, held protectively close to it's massive chest, were Ty and Lavi who looked very shaken and were holding onto each other. With a loud roar, the large head turned towards the two Insecticons on the ledge with us and a blast of fire came out of that mouth and swept them off. Then it carefully placed Ty and Lavi down, and they collapsed in the same shock I was feeling.
"It's Father..." Ty said in a breathless voice. "He's...a...
"Dragon..." I finished in wonder. "He's a dragon..."
Leo's wings flared out with another roar and he took to the skies, circling around again and headed towards the Insecticons above us. I couldn't shake the wonder I was still feeling as I watched him.
"Well now!" Mikey shook himself out of his stupor. "This should even the odds a bit, right Jeff?" Then without even hesitating, he ran off the edge of the cliff himself. We all scrambled to the edge and watched as he was surrounded by an orange glow, then shimmered into a slightly smaller version of Leo, except his eyeband, horns and wing membranes were orange. He let out a happy roar of excitement, and promptly smashed face first into the cliff when he tried to try his wings out and went tumbling down. Shaking the whole side of the mountain as he went.
Raph and Donnie exchanged their own boyish and excited grins, completely ignoring their bumbling dragon brother.
"You want the gems Meganuts?" Raph called out. "You're about to get them! But not the way you thought!" And they both leapt off themselves, and soon there were four dragons. Raph and Donnie easily glided away from the mountain and began their upward climb,
Leo crashed into the cliff above us, furiously digging his jaws and claws into the Insecticons that were now trying to scramble away. One lost it's grip and began to tumble down towards us, but his massive tail came around and crashed into it and sparks flew as the tail dented the frame before sending it flying far out away from the mountain. It went so far that when it finally hit, there was just a teeny puff of smoke to tell you where it landed.
"Ho-ly shit..." Cris breathed, then looked back up at Leo.
Then we all went to our butts and knees as the ledge finally gave way under us and we rode it down. The screaming just started when that ledge just as suddenly stopped, because Donnie was holding it up with Raph even as Mikey came shooting up from below, his wings tucked in slightly for speed.
Donnie's large head looked us all over a moment before he turned his attention to the mountain, his eyes glowed purple a moment and soon another ledge came ripping out of the mountain side, bigger and stronger than the previous one, and it easily held us up when he and Raph let their grips go. Then they flew upwards.
Raph flew the highest and towards the top, dipped inside the crater and came out with fire swirling around him before he came back down, and began sending massive fireballs from his inventory at various Insecticons.
Mikey passed some and when he did a massive gust of wind came with him and blew more than a few off the mountainside. Donnie finished those off by slamming large boulders the size of houses into them.
Leo flew downward after he dismembered the group he had been working on, his eyes searching intently, then hovered when he found what he was looking for. Moments later a part of the mountainside blew out as a large amount of water came out of the hole and he turned and redirected it towards the Insecticons that were dumb enough to come for us.
Even Sides and Sunny were struck speechless as they watched the carnage taking place around them. And Hide wasn't much better. Bee was cheering wildly as Jolt, Prime and Jazz quietly watched.
The humans of the group were trembling in awe as dragon fire, elements and teeth and claws flashed around us.
Jeff was knocked from his pet in the middle of the scuffle and had the misfortune to hit the ledge we were on, with a loud painfull grunt. Ty's eyes narrowed in anger when that caught his attention, and he moved in. That was a repeat of the campsite fight all over again, except Ty firmly kicked him over the side of the ledge when he was done. "Have a nice trip!" Ty called after the human as his shrieks rang out to unsympathetic ears.
"He deserved that one." Epps grumbled to Will.
"Yup." Will calmly agreed.
Soon enough the four dragons ran out of tinker toys to play with and landed around Prime, their claws once again slamming into the rocks and digging in for secure holds on the slope. Then glared up at the Con leader who was staring back in disbelief.
"I do believe the holders of the gems made their wishes very clear Megatron." Prime told him. "They are of no use to you, for they have been bound to my comrades. And they will fight you to keep ownership of them." His facemask snapped shut. "And so will I."
"Now is not the time of my choosing Prime." The Decepticon sneered back. "But I will have them." Then the big chickencon turned tail and ran.
Raph let out a snort of irritation, the steam from it forming around his nostrils as he folded his red wings in.
"Yup, that one is Raph." Cris smiled up at him. "I can tell even without the colors."
Dante was looking around, still shaking a little as he took in the now drastically changed mountainside. "Someone is going to be very mad at us for messing up their mountain. I vote we get out of here. Very fast."
"Not likely going to happen 'very fast' cousin." Ty reminded him. "It took us almost two days to get up here."
Leo had apparently already thought about that. He straightened himself out on the side of the mountain and carefully reached out and lowered a wing down. Then that head large enough to crunch a car came around and gently nudged Ty towards the wing, then he nudged Lavi and Amy.
"You want us to get on?" I asked him, that awe rising up again along with a rush of excitement.
His head gently nudged me next. I couldn't follow that request, not yet. My hand reached out, shaking, and I gently laid it on his nose between the nostrils. "I...can't believe that's really you..."
A gentle rumble came from his throat as he carefully pushed into my hand. I smiled at him, stroking that spot a few times before I turned and carefully climbed up his wing and settled myself down.
Once the humans had been all loaded up on the dragons, the pushed off of the mountain and took to the air. Then they circled around and began to pick up Bots as they passed by. Mikey took a firm hold on Bee and Jolt, and Raph got the twins.
"Watch my paint!" Sunny snapped at him.
"Screw the paint Sunny!" Sides laughed. "This is pretty neat!"
Donnie took Jazz and Leo somehow managed to lift Prime and Hide. That made me shudder. The sheer strength of them was...just wow.
That wow factor was quickly lost as we flew on. And another wave of awe hit me. I was riding on a dragon...a friggin dragon! This had to be the most awesome thing ever!
The four dragons glided effortlessly through the air, despite their immense size and their burdens. Side by side they flew, calm, peaceful as the wind passed under their wings. Even grumpy ol' Raph was serenely gliding along with a flap here and there to keep him in the air. It was just like my vision I noticed with a start. The landscape below was so beautiful as we passed, the mountains slowly moving around us.
In my vision, Cait had been crying, but here she wasn't the only one as tears welled in my eyes. Nothing could describe this, nothing could match it. Nothing would ever compare to this. Besides the wedding and the twins, this had to be the most special thing Leo has ever done for me. And the faces around me and on the backs of the other dragons echoed my sentiment. Even Cris was calm as she leaned forward on Raph's neck, her hands stroking his neck softly.
Another difference was that there were no fireballs this time. We were allowed to enjoy this moment with them, and that for some reason gave me hope that maybe we did have a chance after all to save this beautiful planet we live on.