Lizard: Ya know, now that I've started actually finishing stories I've found that it's a surprisingly bittersweet occurence ;-; It's almost like saying goodbye to an old friend...well, not quite and that was really rather cheesy, but it is kinda a sad thing.

Anyways, I hope you all have enjoyed the ride (I certainly have ;)) and I thank every one of you for reading! And a very special thank you to all of my reviewers, especially to Faecat and DramaStar-Mel for sticking with me through to the end ;) You guys are the best!

As a side note, if anyone is interested in a series of oneshots with the "future 'bots" in it just for fun, let me know! There's a poll on our profile about it, so come and be heard. Obviously, it wouldn't be a serious story, nor would it probably be that popular due to the dreaded OCs, but hey, if a few people are interested, I'll write it!

And now...On with the epilogue!

Coming back was a shock, not just the actual action of time-travel, but also the sudden feeling of everything being "normal" again. They were thrown immediately back into the life they had left, with no recovery time, and only each other to confide in. But, they managed, and time wore on, slowly healing whatever wounds their experience may have opened.

"It's almost the day the attack is supposed to happen," Chromia observed, lounging in one of the chairs in Prowl's office.

Said tactician thrummed and smiled slightly, "Yes, but this time we'll be ready."

Ironhide, sitting next to his mate, snorted, "You can fraggin' bet we'll be ready, once I'm done whippin' this batch o' mechs inta shape."

Bluestreak winced, a member of that particular "batch," "Yeah, I think we'll definitely be ready with all this training and stuff because I know I've learned a lot, and even if they won't admit it the twins have gotten better at shooting, though I think they were pretty good to start with and the exercises are really hard, but that's good because-"

"Blustreak."

"Yeah Prowl?"

"We understand."

"Oh."

Ironhide chuckled a bit and they lapsed into silence as he and Prowl continued to read the reports that Ratchet had given them. Chromia was running boredly through some updates and information from Elita-One, and Bluestreak, sitting up against the wall, was absently cleaning his sniper rifle.

"A machine built to fire energy into the core of a planet with t

he sole intent of causing a massive explosion," Prowl mused, pausing in his reading.

Ironhide rumbled, "Pretty fraggin' incredible, considerin' what they had ta work with."

"True, but I suspect they may have kept many of the best materials specifically for this purpose," the tactician pointed out, "Not to mention with the ship obviously irreparably damaged, they could easily have taken parts from it as well."

The weapons specialist thrummed thoughtfully, "I suppose that makes sense."

Technically, the hefty data file wasn't a report so much as an explanation of what the others hadn't caught, namely anything scientific in nature. The five had unanimously decided that no one else was to know of this particular venture, and they stored it away deep in their memory files. They did, however, use their newly gained knowledge, and Prowl suddenly and "inexplicably" changed his tactics to more aggressive, Ironhide insisted on more intense training, Chromia demanded more weapons for the femmes, Ratchet started pushing Wheeljack to learn more than just basic first aid, and Bluestreak took his own lessons more seriously. This orn, however, four of the five had managed to sneak in some time apart from any listening audios.

"So…they knew all along?" Bluestreak asked a little sadly.

Prowl nodded, "I suspect that with that amount of power they were able to destroy or at least severely cripple the entire Decepticon fleet. It was a brilliant strategy, if only the loss wasn't so great."

Bluestreak vented. He was becoming less depressed now that they were back, but a noted drop in his exuberance had a few others concerned. His fellow "time-travelers" were also quieter, more thoughtful, and perhaps gruffer, but it wasn't quite so pronounced. Of course, in the hectic life of warriors there wasn't a whole lot of time for concern.

As the silence in the room stretched on yet again, Bluestreak had to break it for his own sanity.

"How different do you think it'll be now?" he asked rapidly.

Several surprised optics flashed up to his faceplates and he shuffled uncomfortably.

"I-I mean-"

"No, we know what you mean," Prowl interrupted calmly, "I believe we were all just trying to think how to respond."

"Hard to tell, kid," Ironhide rumbled, rubbing the back of his helm, "So far it's lookin' good, but we don't know when somethin' might go to Pit. I guess we'll jus' have ta wait an' see."

Chromia nodded, "And keep an optic out for trouble, now that we know it's out there."

Bluestreak nodded, faceplates drawn in concentration, "Maybe I shouldn't, but I kind of miss the others. You know, the ones from the future and I was just wondering….if we'll ever see them again?"

An awkward silence met that and several uncomfortable glances were exchanged before Prowl spoke up.

"We…don't know, Bluestreak. However the chances are…slim."

The crestfallen expression on the gunner's face made him wince internally, but it wasn't in his programming to be very good at comforting, so he remained silent.

"Well," Bluestreak murmured, "That sucks."

'Where are you four?' a voice suddenly snapped through an internal comm. that transmitted to only those in the room.

Prowl immediately responded, 'My office, currently. May I ask why, Ratchet?'

'Good, stay there.'

The tactician twisted his mouthplates in a faint show of annoyance but didn't comment further. Several breems later, the medic strode purposefully in and waited for the door to slide shut before speaking.

Optics glinting pleasantly the mech grinned broadly at them, "I have some news I'd like to share with all of you."

He paused and Ironhide growled in irritation, "Get on with it, Ratch."

Their CMO grinned all the wider, "You may recall that just before our little adventure Bluestreak was supposed to tell me something regarding a request from Blaster."

"Yes?" the word was drawn out in an unspoken warning.

"Well, I found out he wanted to talk to me about the sparkling we found in the aftermath of the last attack," he stated matter-of-factly.

This brought several confused stares.

"What about him?" Chromia asked slowly.

An even wider grin, "You'll never guess the little one's designation."

"What is it?" Bluestreak asked, looking about ready to burst from anticipation.

Ratchet's grin broke into a full-blown smile.

"Echoclick."

"Nobody can go back and start a new beginning,
but anyone can start today and make a new ending."
-Maria Robinson