All too soon the magical ride ended, we had made it back to our camp. The bots were carefully set down, dragon wings beating mightily to slow the descent to where there would be no damage. Then the dragons settled on the ground nearby and lowered their wings for their passengers. Who were babbling in excitement and awe as they made their way down.

Leo's eyes were filled with amusement as he watched Lavi and Amy chatter their amazement when they hit the ground. Ari even went so far as to hug her father's neck before she slid down. That was actually a bit amusing since her arms covered just a small circumference of it.

I wasn't really as eager to climb down myself as I still sat up there my eyes lost in thought and wonder, but tinged with sadness. He seemed to sense that as his head tilted a little while he watched me. I so much wanted to talk to him, but I still couldn't. I was assuming that it had something to do with the magic that he had to use to hold this form. Another downfall to the whole thing, though not nearly as bad as the eventual outcome. Knowing that he would be taken away from me after he finished his task just added to my frustration about not being able to talk to him now. To me, those moments with him were wasted. Moments I needed to hold onto him as long as I could.

I took the time to gather myself by studying the dragons. Now I could do so with leisure since I didn't have Insecticons, falling rocks and ledges to worry about. There are many different pictures, drawings, carvings and who knows what else of dragons that folks have made over the years. And it seemed no two were alike really. I took what was in front of me and compared it to the numerous portrayals.

I guess the best way to describe Leo and his brothers is that they weren't "over dragonfied". Some pictures have the dragons covered in all kinds of spikes along with their horns. This wasn't the case here. Those two horns were the only two protrusions coming out of their heads and there were none on their bodies. Which I thought was nice, it didn't give them that porcupine look.

Another thing I noticed was their necks. They were long, don't get me wrong, but also not the overly long snake neck, again so commonly used. The best way to compare is to picture this. Imagine a horse as a dragon. Now, put a giraffe neck on it. That's about how most necks look on dragons. Here it was more like just take two regular horses necks and put them together end to end. Still long, but better proportioned.

And the heads themselves. Not really the long, narrow, bent in the middle snouts and lots of teeth showing around the edges that gave most dragons an evil look regardless if they were or not. They were more squared, with the back jawline clearly defined where it attached to the neck giving them all a more...noble look I guess you could say. And as mentioned before, their horns didn't stick up into the air, but followed the curve of their skull and flowed back past it. More streamlined with their heads.

Their bodies were well muscled, you could clearly make out the the ridges and ripples of them when the guys moved, but at the same time they weren't bulky. Which was a bit shocking considering how far a few Insecticons unwillingly flew earlier, especially that first one Leo whacked. There was obviously more power in those bodies than you would at first assume.

Overall, they were beautiful creatures that awed me again as I studied them. But their personalities still shone clearly through, that was very obvious.

"Daddy! Can you please light the fire?" Ari excitedly asked the orange trimmed dragon after she slid down. "Use your dragonfire! I wonder what dragonfire s'mores taste like?"

"Like regular s'mores." Thane rolled his eyes.

Mikey happily complied with his daughter's request, sending out a small spit of fire that immediately caught the already laid out wood and a happy Mikey fire was soon burning.

Ari giggled. "Thank you Daddy!" She quickly ran to her tent for her stash.

Mikey gave her a happy dragon nod as he bounced backwards like an overgrown, winged jack rabbit, so he wouldn't step on our camp gear, and causing mini earthquakes as he did...and smoothly crashed into Raph and knocking them both over.

Raph let out an angry roar and rolled back to his feet, and broadside tackled mikey as he was getting up, and they went rolling away in a giant dragon wrestling match.

Donnie let out a disdainful snort even as Leo's sides bellowed out from his huge sigh. Then he carefully swung his head around, gently picked me up and placed me on the ground before he turned and leapt onto the two struggling brothers. I watched, more than a little amused, as he tried to wrestle them apart, using his tail numerous time to smack the crap out of them even as his forelimbs were doing the same thing. Lots of smacks, thwaps, bobs, growls, swipes and finally Leo just got fed up with them, backed off and turned his entire body around and brought that tail in full force and connected, sending them both flying onto their backs with another earth trembling rumble. Then he placed himself between them, his large blue eyes glaring them down.

We all winced at that one.

"That had to hurt." Casey muttered.

Leo snorted in irritation before shaking his head and backing away again as two sheepish dragons got back to their feet.

Hide was also shaking his head. "I hope, for all of our sakes, this form isn't permanent. We may not survive long enough to face Unicron otherwise."

Caitlin snorted with laughter even as Donnie carefully walked over. Then he began to glow a soft purple and shimmered back into his turtle form. "It's not."

"Thank Primus."

Caitlin laughed harder.

Soon after, once he was sure his rambunctious brothers wouldn't act up again, Leo also shimmered back to his own form. And when he did that door in my head opened again and I could clearly feel his steady presence. He also had a very intense look in his eyes as he walked over to me, then pulled me close to him and kissed me, hard, right there in front of everyone. As if that wasn't enough to make me blush, his thought process clearly informed me that he wasn't going to stop there.

"Get a tent!" Mikey catcalled even as the others broke out in laughter.

"I intend too." Leo calmly replied and picked me up and carried me off to our tent.

"What in the world has gotten into you?" I asked him once he put me down again.

He still had that same, intense look in his eyes when he gently pulled me to him. "I just...need you right now dear one."

I looked at him with curiosity. At first I had thought that maybe going dragon had somehow forced certain urges up, but I was quickly understanding that wasn't the case as his hand gently brushed my bangs out of my eyes. It wasn't that kind of need. When he kissed me again, it was soft and not as demanding as earlier. And his hands were extremely gentle, more so than usual, as he undressed me.

Completely bare I stood in front of him, still slightly confused over his behavior. His clothes and gear followed mine to the floor and he pulled me against him again, just holding me to him as his lips caressed mine. I finally understood when his mind joined with me. I wasn't the only one unhappy about our bond being blocked off with him in dragon form. He hadn't been able to reach me just as I couldn't reach him and he was trying to settle his unease by taking the time to reinforce our connection. Both in body and mind. He needed to feel me against him, in both ways. Hence us just standing in a close embrace in the middle of the tent.

When he was finally ready to move on he was still extremely gentle as he laid me on the floor of the tent, because our cots weren't big enough to hold two. This wasn't a desire filled event, but again a reassurance one. I laid under him as his gentle thrusts pushed in, soft and very slow. My body was completely relaxed, my breathing nothing more than a heavy panting whisper and Leo's churrs were soft, barely even audible in the quiet tent. His body covered mine almost completely and his presence in my mind just held me tight, not trying to force anything.

It was a calm lovemaking with neither of us trying to push for our climax and just wanting to keep this feeling of closeness we knew that climax would end. Because of that, this went on for a long while and the whole time we just focused on each other. Eventually, it did happen. And it wasn't a massive surge of feelings and body spasms, it was a gentle release. A mild ripple where usually tidal waves flowed. But it was enough to push us even closer together as we rode it out.

We were still tired afterwards, more from the duration than from the effort. But we were calm, relaxed and once again firmly entrenched in each other. Even then he didn't roll to his side and pull me against him like he usually does. Leo just shifted most of his weight off of me but still covered a decent amount of me as he draped himself over my body, still wanting that closeness.

I smiled gently at him as his eyes held mine, both of us feeling very content. Words weren't needed at that moment so none were spoken.

.

.

They came riding out of the darkness of night. Legends and tales had been told about them over countless eons, but none could capture the reality of them, because none ever saw them close up and lived to tell the tale. As immense as they were, they were even larger when mounted on their steeds of destruction. Metal, clawed feet easily climbed up the side of the volcano as they made their way up the side and found the now ruined and abandoned cave.

They reigned in their mounts, and they spat fire in their protest.

"We are too late." The lone female among them said in a hollow voice, her eyes black voids that looked around. "The ritual has been completed." Her metal wings twitched irritably on her back to hold her steady on the slope as she dismounted and knelt on the ground and scooping some rocks into her hands.

"So it seems Death." The largest one of them agreed, his red eyes glowing in anger a moment. "I had hoped to defeat the champion of this world before he came into his power. But he will perish all the same, just as all of the other champions have."

"You grow overconfident War." A third said, his eyes glowing a sickly green. "I feel something different about this planet. Something...odd about it's champion."

"Your opinion was not wanted Pestilence!" The large figure mounted on the largest beast snapped at him.

"But he has a point." The last spoke in a dusty whisper, his dirty brown eyes narrowing. "I sense something very odd myself with this one."

"It is enough to take precautionary measures." Death stood up, still holding the rocks in her hand. "That I do agree with Famine and Pestilence on."

"Very well." War finally reluctantly agreed. "Send out a stalker."

"My pleasure." Death agreed, her metal lips twisting into an evil smile. She tossed the rocks she held into the air and they spun around in a circle a moment before they floated down the slope. She quickly remounted and turned her beast to follow them and led the others until they hovered over a spot. Her dead eyes looked curiously at the broken and battered body lying before her. "The creatures of this world are pathetic and yet at the same time curious. The liquid life in these bodies carry iron in them from what I could tell from the small sample I found above on the guide stones. Not energon."

"Can you still raise it?" War asker her, his temper flaring again.

"Of course." She calmly replied. "Dead is dead, no matter what the species. Death is the same for all." Her hand raised and a dark, crackling energy formed around it before she pointed to the broken organic body on the ground and released it.

It stirred, and an empty wail coming from it as it rose to it's feet again. Eyes just as black as hers opened.

"You will do my bidding now, tiny one."

"Yes mistress."

"Do you know the champion of this world? And what he loves?"

"I do."

"Then go forth, and destroy it."

"May I ask a small boon in return mistress?"

Her empty eyes look amused. "You are the first to ask me such a question. What could you possibly want bad enough to risk me sending you back to the House of Death for even requesting it?"

"A woman. A woman whose rejection of me caused my fall into hell." A snarl found it's way onto that dead face. "I wish that she join me. Then Cindy will forever be bound to me."

"A simple enough request, and your motivation may improve if I allow it. It is agreed, do this task and this Cindy shall be yours."

All four were pleased by the eager, evil grin on the stalker as he turned and walked into the night.