*Drum roll* And here it is folks! The end, the last chapter, the grand finale! I can't believe it's over. But there are some exciting things yet to come! The sequel is going to follow (roughly) the episodes of season two (though there are going to be some major adjustments) but it's going to branch off in its own little adventures with Val and various members of the group. It'll start just after Operation Bumblebee part two. Some things you might see: the Dinobots, the Loch Ness monster, Skyfire, basilisks, some Greek gods, Nemesis Prime, Viking zombies (don't ask), a stalker or two, ghost Breakdown (I was seriously pissed at how they killed him off in "Crossfire"), giant sea serpents, an army of Civil War ghosts (my Dad's a bit of a Civil War nut so I just had to add something about it), maybe a kraken (no Pirates of the Caribbean jokes please), and lots more.

Here's the last chapter, hope you like it.

I don't own Transformers.

As a human, I'd never liked check-ups. Actually just anything to do with doctors and hospitals in general I disliked.

If I caught the flu?

I'd just fix myself a bowl of chicken-noodle soup and down a shot of Nyquil.

If I sprained an ankle?

I'd bind it myself.

If I got food poisoning?

I'd campout in the bathroom for a few days.

If I got bitten by a rabid squirrel?

Ok, then I'd go to the hospital.

And it seemed that my dislike of all things doctor-ish hadn't changed with my new form. Which meant that I really wasn't all that comfortable laying on a berth while Perceptor and the Autobot medic Ratchet ran scans over me.

I squirmed a bit. "You done yet Doc?"

"I'll give you the exact same answer I gave you five minutes ago when you asked." Ratchet said while looking at readouts on a monitor. "No."

I sighed, my tail flicking in annoyance.

After my little family reunion, I sat down and told them my entire story, starting from my first meeting with Prima to when I awoke in my new form. I did leave out a few details like a certain drunken incident in Alaska (Optimus hadn't said anything about it and Lola and Zig-zag were wisely keeping their mouths shut). After I'd told them about the modifications to my frame, Ratchet had dragged me off for several medical scans. They were all particularly interested in my ability to produce my own energon, thus making me self-sufficient. Something that Cybertronians couldn't do.

"Are you don—"

"No." Ratchet growled. "And if you ask again I'll make sure the scans take twice as long."

This guy had all the bedside manners of a school of piranhas.

Before I could come up with a snappy comeback a loud bang echoed from down the hall. Smoke soon began to waft from that direction.

"Que!" Ratchet roared and stormed off.

Leaving me in the room with only Perceptor for company. I looked at him, he looked at me.

He sighed. "Just don't let Ratchet catch you."

I whooped. "Thanks Perce, I owe you."

I slunk out of the room and dashed away in the opposite direction of the smoke. I had just rounded a corner when I ran into some poor unsuspecting 'Bot, knocking them to the floor. The dark blue femme stared up at me.

"If you're trying to escape Ratchet you're going to have to be quieter than that." She said.

"Right, sorry." I said, offering a hand to help her up. "Lucky for me Que's got him distracted."

She took my hand. "Yeah I've heard about him. We'll be lucky if we live to see the next month."

Something registered in my mind when I looked at her paint job. A favor that I owed to a spirit.

"You're Arcee right?" I asked.

"Yes." She nodded.

"I uh have a message for you." I said, awkwardly rubbing the back of my head. It didn't help that I was almost double her size and had to look down at her. Sheesh, why did Primus and Gaea have to make me so freakin' tall?

"Message?"

I nodded. "From Cliffjumper."

Arcee's optics widened, her voice came out in a whisper. "Yeah, that's right, you talked to his spirit."

"Yeah, and before he passed back into the well of sparks he asked me to pass a message on to you."

"What is it?"

I sighed, trying to put Cliffjumper's message into nicer words. But then I figured that he'd want me to tell it as it was.

"Scrap happens." I said, grimacing slightly as I saw Arcee look taken aback. "He said that scrap happens and you shouldn't beat yourself up over it."

Arcee stared vacantly at me for a moment. Then, slowly, a sad smile spread across her face.

"That definitely sounds like something Cliff would say." She said. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I owed Cliffjumper big time. If it weren't for him, I would've never found the Nemesis."

Before she could respond I heard familiar footsteps echoing down the corridor: Ratchet was on the prowl.

"I gotta go." I said. "If Ratchet asks, you never saw me."

I took off down the hall. I wound through the corridors, not quite sure where I was going except that I had this vague sense I was heading upward. Eventually I reached a large hatch which I popped open and climbed through. I was on the roof of the base. Beneath me the Nevada desert stretched out into the distance, the sands turning a molten gold from the light of the fading sun. I walked to the edge, taking in the scents carried by the dry hot wind. In the distance, a lone coyote howled. It's call echoing over the landscape, mournful yet beautiful. I sighed contentedly. How odd: this place was the exact opposite of the rainy Washington I was so used to, yet it filled me with the same peace as any pine forest or foggy seaside could.

"Amazing isn't it? How the landscape can change so much. So beautiful."

I turned to see Gaea standing beside me, the same height as me.

Well she was a goddess, I guess it wasn't very goddess-like to have to crane her head back to talk to anybody.

"So uh what brings you to Nevada?" I asked.

"Well, to begin with, I brought a few of your friends with me." She said.

"Friends?" I asked.

Gaea nodded and waved her hand. Two images appeared in the air before us, one was a spider, the other a cat.

"Anansi and Bast!" I said.

The spider clicked a greeting and the cat purred.

Gaea smiled. "Yes, they seem to have grown quite fond of you. When they discovered that you lived they requested to be contracted to you again. If you choose to have them, of course."

"Sure." I said, watching as etchings appeared on my armor as the spirits took their place. "So this means I'm still a Spiritus?"

"Of course." Gaea said. "You are a descendant of the Firsts, you will always be a Spiritus no matter what form you take, and it is your duty as a descendant, and now as the dragon, to keep the balance between this world and the other side. Which leads me to my next bit of news."

I suddenly had a sinking feeling. "This isn't going to be as nice as the first news, is it?"

"That depends on how you look at it." Gaea said. "There are going to be some changes."

"Oh crap, you're not gonna go all vengeful-force-of-nature-bent-to-wreck-havoc-on-an-ungrateful-humanity, Day After Tomorrow sort of thing, are you?"

That seemed counterproductive after everything I'd been through, but I didn't know how a goddess's mind worked.

Gaea laughed. "Though that may seem a bit tempting sometimes, no I'm not going to do that. What I meant to say was that when I gained full control of this world, some, shall we saw, doorways were opened into the other side."

"Zombie apocalypse?" I croaked, imagining thousands of ghost floating back to their corpses.

"No, no, no, the dead are staying dead." Gaea assured me. "No, it's just some ah beings will be entering this world."

"You mean monsters?"

Gaea sighed. "That's a derogatory name. They are simply creatures of the other side. Powerful spirits, some are even gods. Some already live in this world: the Loch Ness monster, the Yeti, sea serpents…"

"Gremlins?" I joked. Gaea fixed me with a look. "Sorry, continue please."

"Not all of the creatures mean harm." Gaea said. "They will live peacefully among humanity. Others, however, are not so gentle. And it is your duty as a dragon to keep those creatures in line or banish them back to the other side."

"Why can't you do it?"

"I'm only a single goddess." Gaea sniffed. "I can't be everywhere at once."

"Isn't being everywhere at once one of the requirements of being a god?" I asked. Gaea fixed me with another look. "Sorry."

"Regardless, it is your duty to keep the balance." Gaea said. "I'm not allowed to get too involved."

"Alright, so monster hunter," I said. "Got it. I'll just add that to my list of other titles that include: spirit seer, M.E.C.H fighter, and Decepticon butt-kicker. So how do I get started, are you going to give me some clues, or did this new form come with a monster GPS?"

Gaea smiled. "You must simply keep your eyes and ears open."

"You mean wing it? It's a good thing I'm an expert at that." I said.

"You'll have everything you'll need right here." Gaea said, pointing at my head and my spark. "You'll do fine."

"Well that makes one of us who believes in me." I said.

"Oh there are many who believe in you." Gaea said. "Especially a certain Prime."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

Gaea simply winked and disappeared in a breeze.

"Hey, wait a second!" I shouted into the air. "You can't just leave after telling me that! I want an explanation! Hello? Come on, that's not fair!"

"Why are you shouting into the wind?"

I spun around to see Optimus standing by the roof entrance.

"Oh you know, just talking to an incredibly cryptic and annoying goddess." I said. "The usual.

"I cannot say that I am surprised by that answer." Optimus said.

He came to stand beside me. My spark sped up a bit.

"So did Ratchet send you up here, or are you escaping from any mayhem that Que and Zig-zag may have caused?" I asked.

"Neither." He said.

I waited for him to continue but he just stood there, gazing out at the horizon.

"Uh so why are you up here then?"

Optimus frowned a bit, eyes expressing confusion. "I am not entirely sure."

"I guess you just missed me so much that you went to look for me." I joked, sort of.

"No that is not it." Optimus said quickly, almost stumbling over the words.

I frowned. "Then why are you here?"

"I suppose I am here to formally welcome you into the Autobot ranks." Optimus said.

"Uh thanks, but I would've been happy with just a card." I said. I reached out to jokingly slap Optimus on the arm but he stepped away.

I frowned again and took a step towards him. He took a step back.

Another step forward. Another step back.

Forward. Back.

"Ok, what's with the distancing thing?" I demanded.

"What?" Optimus asked, avoiding eye contact. He took another step back.

"That right there!" I said. "We've been through so much crap together and now you're treating me like I caught robo-chicken pox! What gives?"

"It is nothing." He said. "I just do not think it is professional for us to keep up this…attitude between us."

"What are you talking about? We're friends."

"Colleagues." Optimus said.

"Bullshit. You and Ratchet are colleagues." I said. "What we have isn't that. I'm not even sure you can call it friendship anymore." Why the heck was he acting like this?

"There is nothing between us." Optimus insisted.

My optics narrowed. "You're afraid."

"What?"

"You're afraid of what this is, of what this is becoming." I said. "You were hurt when I died and now you afraid."

"I am not afraid." Optimus growled.

Like lightning I moved to stand in front of him, hands clamping onto his shoulders to prevent him from moving away. I stood on tiptoes, bringing my face close to his.

"Prove it." I whispered.

I sealed the distance between us, pressing my lips against his. He stiffened for a second then his arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me tightly against him. The kiss became deeper as need and longing made themselves evident. Optimus's hold on me became almost painful as he pressed me closer. My spark began to warm and I could feel Optimus's doing the same, sending a sensation of pure pleasure through me. Too soon though, it ended. Optimus pulled himself away, staggering back a step.

"I should not have done that." He said though his eyes stilled showed the excitement and longing in them. "That shall not happen again." He seemed to be saying it more to himself than to me.

"Challenge accepted." I said.

"What?"

"If there's one thing that I know for sure it's that everyone in this world needs to love and be loved by someone." I said. "You're no exception to that rule Optimus Prime. So I'm not going to give up. I'm going to keep teasing, and taunting, and tempting you until you admit your feelings."

"You will not succeed." Optimus said though his voice lacked confidence.

"Oh I know it won't be easy." I laughed. "You can be an incredibly stubborn 'Bot when you want to be. But I'm stubborn too."

I walked toward the edge of the cliff.

"Where are you going?" Optimus demanded.

"Don't worry, I'm not leaving you." I said, smiling when he scowled. "I just need to make a temporary retreat before a certain grouchy medic finds me and carts me off for more tests."

With that I jumped off the cliff, flipping and transforming as I fell. My wings snapped open and I shot upward. I looped through the clouds, feeling the cool condensation against my armor. Roaring, I poured on as much speed as I could. The landscape became nothing more than a blur beneath me. This new form and this new life, with all its ups and downs, were going to fit me just fine. The future was a wonderful blend of excitement and the unknown. And I was going to face it head-on with claws drawn and fire in my spark.

And I would always remember to be Valiant.

The end…for now.

For those of you who were hoping that Val and Optimus would get together at the end, sorry but that won't happen until later. I know, I'm evil. Mwuahaha!

So now Val is gonna have to fight Decepticons, M.E.C.H, and a whole bunch of monsters. Oh what fun. Oh, and besides Anansi and Bast, Val is also going to have those two wind spirits Zephyros and Euros on her team (I just had to bring those two goofballs back). I'll hopefully have the sequel up in a week or less. What's the title? You'll know it when you see it *grins evilly*.

Now it's time for some responses and major thanks to my amazing, astounding, absolutely awesome readers.

primesgirl4: Hope this chapter has enough Val and Optimus alone time for you. : ) Though I'm not planning on the other 'Bots getting pretender programs, they will definitely be using holoforms in the sequel (once Que invents it, that is)

kukuiopunk: Aww shucks you're makin' me blush, thank you so much. And yes, I am a proud Gargoyles fan. Brooklyn is my favorite. : )

Sailor Shinzo: Don't worry, I didn't forget. : )

janit3443: Hmm, I see you've caught the Surfin' Bird plague. I am a victim of it too. Just a few weeks ago I was at my friend's house playing that Wii dance game. They'd set the song chooser at random; it was my turn to go up and guess what song came on? Surfin Bird by the Trashmen. Needless to say, I lost that round because I was too busy trying not to rupture my lungs from laughing.

GalaxyWarrioress1234: Hope this chapter saved you from exploding.

Luna636: I'll try and get the sequel up as soon as I can, but the next few days are gonna be busy for me helping my family prep for the holiday and all. I'll do my best though.

TheChippedCup: Yeah, she reminds me a little of the Dinobots too (which might be a little advantage when she meets the Dinobots in the sequel) But I've grown so used to her image that I don't really think about it. The only problem I had was choosing her height. Initially I'd thought of her being Arcee's height (like you said) but then I realized that she'd need size in her advantage when she faces some of the creatures and 'Cons in the sequel.

And thank you to: Transformers' Baby, Ms. Sideswipe, AlexisOptimus, Jazz-Transformers, Luna Prime-Awesomeness, Invader Ivy, EvilPurpleCookiePenkeyMonguin, Autobot Fixit, wheeljacksgirl, Manderss.x.x, DemonQueen007, Moment-Of-Reason, hoshigakisakura, Black Stars Girl, bee-rox98, TheLoveDov, Devil-O-Angel, and Answerthecall. All of your reviews and support have meant a lot to me, hugs and energon cookies for everybody. I hope that you enjoy the sequel as much as Valiant Spirits. I think I'm gonna start to cry now *sniffle*.

Goodbye until the sequel!

—Wolfwitch94