They fought tirelessly on. All four knowing what was at stake if they faltered. The night sky lit up with their fire, time and time again. Making it seem like there was a colored lighting storm if you looked in from a distance. The roars were the thunder that accompanied it. The ground shook repeatedly as those massive bodies slammed drones into the ground then taking to the air again in their strange dance.

And the elements also lent their own part to this storm, aided by the dragons. The wind howled as it sent these invaders flying through the air, where more often than not boulders would come up to meet them. Strands of fire and water weaved around in graceful patterns before slamming into their foes. And teeth and claws flashed in the strange light caused from this combined effort, tearing yet even more drones to pieces.

Unicron's forces may have the number advantage, but the dragons had more heart and plenty of experience facing large numbers.

Donnie landed, turned his form broad side and brought his tail around slamming it into a drone. That drone became a missile that hit the one behind it as as Mikey came in low over his brother, orange fire leading. The youngest turtle crashed into the middle of the small group. His head snapped forward, picking one up and flinging it back and forth like a dog shredding a newspaper before throwing what was left off to the side. Leo came in a banking dive and landed on top of another one, his feet slamming into it hard enough to where it cracked apart in the crater that had formed under it. He rolled out of the way for Raph, who came skimming just mere feet over the ground, his eyes angry as he used his body as a ram, crashing into drone after drone before he banked up again, leaving torn apart mechanical bodies parts everywhere behind him.

Leo hovered in the short break of the fight, his eyes looking skyward at that menacing globe that was still approaching. He was seriously hoping that the Autobots were having an easier time with their job...though he seriously doubted that. With a heavy sigh he focused on the dwindling pile of drones and let his head dip down to lead his body in yet another dive.

.

.

Hide barely had time to scramble out of the way of the crash that happened where he stood just a moment before. "Watch it you overgrown pile of scrap parts!" He thundered at the culprit.

Grimlock just snorted at him before he turned that massive metal head around and snapped up another antibody and crunched it.

It had been like this almost from the moment they stepped of Omega and entered farther into Unicron's body. Swarms of the strange creatures seemed to come out of nowhere to engulf them in force. Still the stubborn bot pushed on, following Optimus as he led them on even as he fought his way through the swarm.

"At least these little fraggers don't put up much of a fight." Sideswipe cheerfully noted as they moved on. "Sunny is getting good target practice out of it."

"Don't call me that!" Sunstreaker snapped at his brother, aiming the last of his latest volley at those wheeled feet.

"Hey!" Sideswipe somehow managed to get his feet out of the way even as his blades tore through a pair of antibodies. "Watch the friendly fire! You are going to get us yelled at when we get back!"

"Move you glitches!" Hide snapped at them. "You can annoy each other later!"

"Not ta mention annoy Hide." Jazz snickered as he passed the fuming weapons specialist.

"Did I ask for your opinion?"

"Didna have ta." The small silver bot replied over his shoulder.

Not even the battle hardened Ironhide was past the occasional youngling moment, a fact that was proved when he mimicked Jazz before he resumed his attacks on these buggers. "Smartaft..." He then mumbled as he blasted one that tried flying for his face.

Sideswipe was right, these things really didn't put up much of a fight, but their sheer numbers made them a major annoyance.

"This is almost too easy." Mirage said as he caught up with Hide.

Suddenly the flock of antibodies veered off, hovering as if they were waiting for something.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Chromia muttered as she and her sisters watched not far away.

"Aw come on..." Sideswipe scoffed. "What could these little things do? Tickle us to death?"

Bumblebee was chirping frantically as he pointed repeatedly to the group in from of him. They turned to look to see their little tormentors coming together...and connecting, forming a much larger creature.

"You have to be fraggin kidding me..." Hide rubbed his face after he looked up at the creature that now towered over him. They were combiners...go figure... "Move!" he snapped and the bots scrambled into motion again. "You!" Hide snapped at Sideswipe as they quickly ran now. "I'm about to weld yours and Mirage's mouth plates shut!"

"I didn't do anything!"

Hide just glared at him, his blue optics seething before he turned and fired some grenades at the now much larger antibody closing in. That one went down but there were still plenty more to take it's place.

"I wonder if all of those explosions is giving Unicron heartburn..." Sideswipe mused as he skated along.

"Will you just shut up!"

"Keep movin'!" Jazz shouted from up ahead now. "Boss bot ain't slowin' down and he's gonna need some cover!"

The Dinobots at least seemed happy to have bigger targets to munch. Grimlock especially. Probably because he finally got past the appetizers and the main meal was served. He was happily stomping along and crunching the new antibodies as he went. Slug was helping his leader, ramming his tri horned head into these things, knocking them directly in the raging tyrannosaur's path. Bumblebee took a safer route, he climbed up on Strafe and they were taking a higher route. The yellow mech was happily waving at his companions as his ride passed by over their heads. Strafe was busy himself, both heads removing any antibody heads that came in his path while Scorn kept pace with them, tearing the bodies apart as they fell.

Even Hide was grateful for the clear path this gave him and the others. Maybe these big brutes were good for something besides using him for a chew toy afterall.

The down size to this was the smaller antibodies that didn't get damaged we free to form another giant one. Like there weren't enough of them floating around. They made progress distance wise but battle wise they were barely denting the surface of what was coming at them.

"There!" Arcee pointed to the opening of a large chamber ahead of them, the soft glow illuminating their way now. "That has to be it!"

The spark chamber. They were closer than Hide thought they had been.

Optimus didn't slow his advance, his optics set firmly on that target. Until the chamber snapped shut on him before he could enter it. Suddenly the bots found themselves in a precarious situation. Blocked off from their target and a horde of internal defense mechanisms closing in. And if that wasn't enough...the whole thing began to shake.

"Now what..." The obviously irritated Ironhide spat out as he struggled to keep upright and blast the gaggle closing in on them.

"He knows we are here." Optimus calmly answered. "And knows what my intent is."

"You mean he hasn't figured it out by now?" Sideswipe asked incredulously. "Is the biggest threat to the universe really that stupid that he didn't know this is where we would be heading?"

"No." Elita replied in a thoughtful tone, standing close to Prime. "But maybe something else had him occupied. Or someone..."

Hide couldn't ponder that cryptic statement because he found himself in the undignified position of sitting on his aft with the next series of lurches and shakes. And the sound of Sideswipe laughing filled his audio receivers. Hide would have popped him if everything would quit shaking long enough for him to get his aim right. Then it suddenly dawned on him on why the whole place was shaking. "Scrap..." he brought a servo to his helm in frustration. "The fragger is transforming..." In his bot form there was nothing to stop him from opening his chest plates to pick them out.

That same realization kicked in on all the faces around him and Sideswipe spun to the closed chamber behind them. "We gotta get in there! Now!"

With Grimlock already trying, and not succeeding, it seemed that task might be a bit hard to do.

Hide vented in frustration that just kept growing. He hoped at least those obnoxious reptiles were having better luck.

.

.

It was times like this when I really wished my life was normal. You know, the kind of life where the worst thing you deal with is midlife crisis and menopause... Nooooo... Here I was running around like a damn roach trying not to get squished by a damn flyswatter after you flick the damn kitchen light on.

"Shit!" I skidded to a stop so quick I fell on my ass as a foot slammed down in front of me, then I was reverse crab walking like a boss to put some distance between me and that stomping foot. You have no idea how happy I was to look up and and see the ol' Hatchet take a humongous buzzsaw to that thing. Until the pieces started falling towards me. With a yelp I decided I might want to try a mode of transportation quicker than the crustacean crawl, rolled over, scrambled to my feet and jumped as far as I could away, right before a detached arm hit where I had been a moment before.

When I looked up again I met the eyes of a very annoyed dragon as it tried to herd everyone towards it, and everyone decided that trying to run around like ants was a better idea. The only ones left in it's protective presence was Ty, Cindy and the two medics. I actually felt bad for the poor thing as it lifted me up and plopped me next to my son. Then it tried to grab Thane who was charging the nearest bot...with his arm still bandaged. It missed the hard headed young turtle by about a foot as Thane kept going.

I saw those massive jaws clench as it tried again and again to round up these stubborn beings that just wouldn't sit still, then it let out an irritated snort. What came next was a deafening roar loud enough to make me cover my ears, and I wasn't the only one I noticed. Everyone, and bot, had stopped and looked at the dragon. It glared around and pointed a claw at the ground in front of it before slamming a tail on the ground for emphasis. Even Ratchet knew better than to argue with that by now very irritated dragon and moved closer to it.

It nodded in satisfaction when he finally had all of it's charges rounded up. Those golden eyes then settled on the bots closing in before they started to glow.

"What's it doing?" Emily asked, taking a moment to look away from Ty.

Will shook his head in reply. "I'm...not sure..."

A golden globe surrounded the huddled group and our enormous protector. That noble head was held high now as it looked out with disdain at the creatures closing in, those eyes still holding that glow. Those eyes then narrowed right before the globe around us shot outward like a bullet. The even circle slamming into the ranks of big bad bots that pretty much had us pinned, and disintegrated them on contact. Not knock them over or blow them to bits...just straight up poof, gone, little pieces of metal flakes falling gently to the ground disintegrated them... Ho-ly mother fucking shitballs from dragon hell... Did someone have a net to catch my eyeballs? Because they were about to fall out...

I stared long and hard out into the now deathly quiet clearing. Not a word was spoken by anyone. My eyes then wandered up to the dragon who had put up another globe around us as it now calmly laid back down on it's stomach.

It took a couple of tries before I could get my mouth to work again. "Um...I don't know about the rest of you...but my happy ass is staying right here..."

Nods of agreement echoed my statement from everyone there.

Author's note: ok, this time I blame the long update on writer's block. I can't stand writer's block. Still not full happy with this chappy, but I'm honestly tired of batting this back and forth in my head -_-