Okay, that's it. Book II is done. I have a very faint outline for a book III, but it's little more than a basic idea right now. I hope you all enjoyed it and thanks for the feedback, too. I'd love to hear what you all thought of the storyline overall (the third book will be more of a stand-alone story than the first two were, I think) and whether or not I managed my original goal: to tell an engaging Transformers story that remained as realistic as possible (considering we're dealing with alien space robots) and had a human lead.

Now have fun with the final chapter.

Chapter 18: Aftermath

Journal of Lt. Colonel Marissa Fairborn, Earth Defence Command
April 17, 2015

Silly me, thinking that travelling endless light years across space and being marooned on an alien world for over eight years would turn out to be the strangest experience of my life. Travelling back in time to the last Ice Age for a showdown with the Decepticon who crippled me and setting up history as I remember it in the process, now that was definitely stranger. As a matter of fact I do hope that this will remain the strangest experience of my life, period, as I really don't need anything that's stranger still. I'll happily live out the rest of my life without exploring any further levels of strangeness.

We had barely returned, naturally, when Brainstorm, Wheeljack, and Perceptor started discussing temporal mechanics and putting out theory after theory of how exactly this Skywarp paradox (as I've started thinking of it) could come about. Predestination? Were Shockwave and I always going to travel back in time in order to leave Skywarp there for humans to find 20,000 years later, give or take? Substitution? Was Skywarp always going to wind up damaged and braindead and we merely ended up replacing another event that would have had the same outcome? Or maybe we did change history and simply didn't notice because our memories adjusted? But then again, wouldn't that mean that the Marissa who travelled back in the first place came from an entirely different set of circumstances than I remember? Why would she have travelled back in time to begin with?

I think the big brains will end up discussing this for a long, long time. If fate is kind, though, it will remain a purely theoretical discussion, because Jazz decided (and Optimus Prime fully supported that decision after he was briefed) that the Time Bridge was far, far too dangerous to remain intact. We pulverized it, destroyed every computer that might possibly contain any design specs for it, and leveled the entire base as we left. There might still be backups somewhere, but hopefully the enormous energy requirements of actually travelling through time, not to mention the need for having transwarp affinity, will keep anyone else from messing with history.

Personally I feel as if I've come full circle in some way. Not too long ago I told Ian that I have a hard time remembering anything of my life before I was assigned to Project Utgard and first encountered Skywarp. It was such a monumental change of my life that everything before that seems trivial and unimportant. For nearly a decade Skywarp has been my near-constant companion, a part of me, practically a second skin. Ever since I first climbed into that giant metal shell I've seen so much, been through so much, have changed so much, that I barely feel like the same person I was before.

Now, though, I think it's finally time for me and Skywarp to part ways.

City of Iacon
Planet Cybertron
Earth Date April 18, 2015 AD

Marissa was sitting in a chair, half of her attention focused on Wheeljack and Ratchet working on the far side of the lab, the other half on the data pad in front of her. It seemed that the war for Earth was finally winding down. The death of Shockwave had put an end to the near-constant resource raids and while there was still a sizeable Decepticon force out there somewhere, the general consensus seemed to be that Starscream was taking time to consolidate his leadership and figure out where to go from here. Prowl estimated a 42 percent chance that the Seeker commander might present them with a peace offering of some kind. Whatever the case, though, it was quiet for now.

Earth could definitely use the breathing room. So much had changed in less than two years. Countries had collapsed, world views had shifted, and for the first time ever the human race actually had a sense of unity. In a way it was sad that it had taken an "us vs. them" situation to actually create an "us" in the first place, but sometimes bad things had to happen in order for good things to follow. From everything she had read and been told by Ian, the United Earth Government was a thing that would definitely happen.

She didn't doubt it would be an imperfect institution to begin with. No doubt there would be problems ahead, both between humans and also in the alliance with Cybertron and the Autobots. You couldn't completely restructure an entire world basically overnight and expect things to just work fine from here on out. A common enemy had united humanity, yes, but that didn't mean that centuries of grudges and hatred were simply gone and forgotten. They had been put aside for the moment, but Marissa was sure at least some of them would resurface quickly as soon as the outside threat was gone, or at least mitigated.

To her everlasting relief these things would be handled by people who were not her. Ian kept her in the loop, naturally, and took great pleasure in describing how powerful a symbol she and the EDC were for humankind, how much of a hero she was to young girls and boys across the world. She was certain that he just loved to make her blush. As long as she didn't have to stand in any political arena or give more TV interviews, that was fine with her, though. After a decade of near constant fighting, she was very much looking forward to a long, long period of rest and boredom.

As for the recent events, only a handful of people would ever know what had really happened. Optimus Prime, Jazz, and some other high-ranking members of the Autobots knew. General Abernathy and the members of the United Nations Security Council had been briefed. But that would be it. As far as everyone else was concerned, the combined EDC and Autobot forces had successfully assaulted a Decepticon base, which led to the death of Decepticon commander Shockwave. Reports to that regard were already being filed in triplicate. None of them would include the detour to the Ice Age. No one needed to know that it was possible to muck with time (if it actually was), lest someone might try and repeat it.

Her thoughts briefly returned to Shockwave and how he had lain before her, disabled and helpless. The situation had been somewhat similar to the battle of Nova Cronum where Optimus Prime had faced a disabled Megatron, who had practically dared him to land that one final shot. Prime hadn't done it; instead he had arrested Megatron and his trial would begin soon. For a brief moment Marissa had considered doing the same thing, but had then decided against it.

The fact that Shockwave was far more dangerous than Megatron had ever been had factored into it, yes. Plus the matter that they had been far from certain they could return to their proper time at all, not to mention take prisoners along. But in the end the decision had been made because Marissa wanted... needed Shockwave to be gone. He had done too much. To her, to her world, to his own people. He had been willing to risk destroying the entire universe just to get his way. Someone like that had no place among the living. And yes, the need for revenge had been part of it, too.

Did that make her a bad person? Maybe. Maybe Optimus Prime would have handled the matter differently. She wasn't Optimus Prime, though. And she could live with what she had done. And despite having gotten the distinct impression that Optimus Prime didn't fully agree with her decision, the Autobot leader hadn't pressed the point in any way. Neither had General Abernathy, for that matter, apart from a heart-felt "good riddance!". She doubted there was anyone who would miss the purple Cyclops, not even on the Decepticon side.

And then there was Skywarp, of course. And the decision she had made regarding him.

"We're ready," Wheeljack said, tearing her from her thoughts.

Getting up, she walked over to the two Autobots who were busy putting away their tools. She didn't doubt that they'd done their usual bang-up job.

"You sure about this, Marissa?" Wheeljack asked for probably the tenth time.

"Quite. I've been using this shell for a long time, but it's never really been mine. About time I return it to its rightful owner. Besides, I have little doubt you and Brainstorm can build me a new one, right?"

Wheeljack just nodded and pulled the lever. Energy surged through the power lines attached to the prone form in front of them where he had just finished installing Marissa's little souvenir from her trip through time. A moment later he was done and Ratchet stepped up next to the newly energized body, running his medial scanners over it.

"Everything looks just fine. The data tracks download Brainstorm took is incomplete, naturally, due to the damage, but everything else is in working order. The spark has taken. We can bring him online."

The last thing he remembered was the spectacle of the Space Bridge transit, followed by finding himself in unfamiliar surroundings. He'd had about a nano-click to take in the new environment (white, cold, untouched by technology, and with treacherous footing) before a blinding flash, followed by terrible pain, had eradicated his consciousness. Someone had shot him, he realized. And not just a scratch.

His optics flickered to life and showed him a metal ceiling. A moment later a familiar face came into view.

"How are you feeling, buddy?" Thundercracker asked.

Skywarp pondered this question. "I... I'm not sure. What happened? I feel like... my body feels off and I... did the experiment succeed? Where am I? How long was I offline?"

Thundercracker smiled and grabbed his hand in both of his own.

"You missed quite a bit, buddy. I thought we'd lost you for good. You were gone for over 2,500 Vorns… well, from my perspective. But a... friend... brought you home. You've got quite a bit of catching up to do, though. A lot has changed."

Skywarp smiled. Home. That sounded good. Whatever else had happened, he was sure he could deal. This was Cybertron after all. How much could really have changed in a mere 2,500 Vorns?

THE END

The adventures of Marissa Fairborn conclude in Book III: Peace in Our Time
The Cybertronian Civil War is over. Planet Earth is finally united. The remaining Decepticons are willing to negotiate for peace. All that is left to do is for the warriors on all sides to overcome ages of suspicion and mistrust and put down their arms for good. Easy, right?