Author's Note: In a way this is my farewell to part one of this story. These are the main questions that have come up throughout, and I thought I'd post the answers here at the end so anyone could look at them. I really hope you've enjoyed Drifted Sparks Reimagening. See you next time!

Drifted Sparks Reimagining

Q & A

1. What does this story have to do with the original Drifted Sparks Series?

The title is Drifted Sparks Reimagening (DSR for short) because this really is a reimagening of my original Drifted Sparks series (DSS for short). The only thing DSR has in common with DSS is the basic concept of the Maximals returning to a modern Earth (then 2000, now 2008) after the Technorganic War and having human forms. The similarities really end there.

2. Are you the same Silver Spider that ____?

Yes, I'm that Silver Spider from years back. I go by Silver Spider or SilverSpiderTM2 and as far as I know, no one else goes by any variation of that, at least not in any fandoms I participate in.

3. What prompted you to go back to Beast Wars fanfics after 8-some-odd years?

I was talking to a friend of mine on LiveJournal about this and kept saying how if I ever had a chance, I'd go back and clean up DSS, make it more realistic, darker, grittier. Because I really did like the basic idea (BW characters as humans in the modern world), but I was only 13 when I wrote it. It was my first fanfic. I look on it now with some fondness but mainly I cringe at how... bad it is ^^; So I decided to do a complete rewrite, paying more attention to realism and trying to keep the characters more true to themselves.

4. When/where is the story set?

For the most part, DSR takes place on Earth in modern time (ie 2008). I even make some references to current events, most notably some modern movies. This makes the story slightly AU from the established G1 oriented timeline, since we know from the animated Transformers movie that in 2005 (when Unicron attacked) the Earth of G1 is very different from what it is now. The Unicron attack still happened in 2005 but I'm saying that as far as human civilization is concerned it still looks like it does now with no outlandish futuristic stuff. Also in my story, the Autobots left Earth and humans alone soon after the Great War was one. By the time the Maximals arrive on Earth at the start of the story, there are no more Autobots there though their influence is certainly felt.

5. Sector 7 and the related humans are in this. Is this a crossover with the 2007 movie?

No, this isn't a crossover. This is still a continuation of the G1-BW-BM timeline. I explained a little in the first chapter that S7 was introduced in. Since the story is already slightly AU by making 2008 look like it does now instead of what G1 creators thought it would look like, I figured why not? Sector 7 here plays a similar but slightly different role it did in the movie. Here, they were established soon iafter/i the Great War started (so they've been around since 1984), and their job is to learn all they can and keep an eye on Cybertronians.

6. Where are Botanica, Rhinox, or [enter Predacon name here]?

That's a two-part question. The Preds (aside from Tarantulas, Rampage, and now Megatron) are not in this because we (me the author and Megatron the Pred leader) simply don't need them. After the Technorganic war, Megatron is at a point where he realizes he'd rather rely on his own wit and strength than massive numbers of subordinates that may or may not be trustworthy.

The question about Botanica and Rhinox comes up a lot in reviews. To put it simply, I'm being selfish. I know for a fact I would not be able to write Botanica well since I never got the feel for her in BM. Oh, I like her well enough, but I wouldn't know where to begin writing her so I feel that bringing her in would drag down the story. In my mind, when Optimus gave them a choice to come to Earth or not in the beginning of the story, she chose not to go. In a total cop-out (yes, I recognize that's what I'm doing) I'm having all the other characters just ignore her past presence and not mention her at all. Same goes for Rhinox, though Rhinox not being there is easier to explain away since he died in the middle of BM and seemed at peace staying in the Matrix.

7. Is anyone else expected to arrive?

No. As of the end of this part of the story, the cast for the rest of the fic is set. I don't want to say it's set in stone because things change, but as of now, I have no plans to bring any other past characters into this.

8. Why is Nightscream so young (barely 13-looking) in this? I thought he was at least 17 in Beast Machines.

Nightscream's age here is the way it is for a reason. In BM I saw his rather unique interaction with the rest of the group, being a) the only character not to have participated in the Beast Wars and b) being the youngest, and I really liked it. Sorry, I like Nightscream. I know a lot of fans don't, but I never thought of blaming a kid for acting like a kid, especially after all the shit that happened to him. Let's not forget that he actually iwitnessed/i the genocide of all of Cybertron. Sorry, I'm getting distracted...

Anyway, my favorite moments were when he interacted with Blackarachnia ("Revilations" 2 and 3 and "Technorganic War II: The Catalyst") and Silverbolt ("Spark War" eps, "Endgame" eps, and most of S2). It always seemed to me that they had a parental sort of streak in them towards him, even separately and especially on Silverbolt's part (he affectionately called Nightscream "son" in "Sparkwar" Pt. 1). I wanted to explore those relationships in DSR, and it was easier to do it if Nightscream was a little younger.

9. Blackarachnia and Cheetor are siblings? Wtf...

Similar reasoning as above. Cheetor and Blackarachnia were fairly close in the Technorganic War, especially in the first half of the series. In fact it was BM that made me look at Cheetor as more than just a kid. I like that he stood up for her (even to Silverbolt), not expecting anything in return. Again, I wanted to explore their relationship more, but I didn't want anyone thinking that it was interfering with the established canon (ie Blackarachnia/Silverbolt). One of the reasons I didn't like Cheetor in Beast Wars was because he messed with my ship. In hind sight, this decision may or may not have served its purpose since everyone (characters and readers) know there's no real blood/mech-fluid relation between them ^^;

10. OMGWTF is up with that ending?! Is Optimus crazy releasing Megatron?!

You'll see...