Well guys, here's a bittersweet moment. This is the last chapter of this story. After five years and some odd months of writing this story, it's kind of hard to see it go, but at the same time a relief. I want to thank everyone who read and reviewed this story from start to finish, it means so much to me. I appreciate all the feedback I got. The ending to this has been a long time coming and I hope you all enjoy it.

Chapter 45: We're in This Together

It was Primus that alerted them that the Omega Lock was missing.

The news spread around the base like wildfire. Everyone who was available reported to the command center to see of how they could be of assistance. Megatron and Optimus were there, Jessamine with Septimus, Starscream and Alexis with their kids, Lori, Vector Prime, and other various Autobots and Decepticons were there.

"How could it go missing?" Megatron demanded, "It was secured! We're the only ones inhabiting this planet, the rest of the Cybertronians are still refugees on Earth. Rad is in the brig, no one else could have possibly taken it!"

"Scattershot," Optimus ordered, "Review the surveillance cameras; see if anyone has left this base recently."

"Yes sir."

"How long do we have to find it?" Alexis asked.

"The black hole is extremely unstable at this point," Jetfire answered, "I reckon we only have a few more weeks until it swallows everything."

"We'll find it," Optimus said, glancing at them, "This isn't the end."

"Well, what are we going to do?" Starscream asked as Starlily suddenly began struggling his arms, wanting to be set down. He glanced at his daughter before setting her on the floor. Since transformer sparklings developed much faster than human children, their children were already beginning to crawl and roll around. He looked back to Optimus.

"We'll send out a few teams to search the planet," Optimus said, "If someone has taken it, they must not have gotten far."

However, before Megatron and Optimus could divide their men into search teams, a familiar cackle echoed from the rear of the command center. Everyone turned to see Rad standing there, a confident sneer upon his face. "Looking for this?" he asked as he held up the Omega Lock.

"Rad!" Megatron hissed.

"Who let you out of the brig?" Starscream remarked, stepping in front of Alexis and their children protectively.

"Take a wild guess."

It was Megatron that turned to Vector Prime and said, "It was you, wasn't it?"

"Your accusation is correct," Vector Prime replied as he went to Rad's side.

Megatron growled, "And let me guess, you were also the one who took Lori."

"I was."

"Vector Prime," Optimus spoke suddenly, "You gave Lori back, you are still good. You don't have to do this."

"I'm afraid he doesn't have a choice," Rad remarked and looked down when something suddenly bumped against his leg. A wicked smile spread across his face as he knelt down to pick up a curious red, white, and pink sparkling.

Starscream and Alexis felt panic jolt through them. "Let her go!" Starscream demanded.

"One of yours, I presume?" Rad asked as he cradled their daughter in his arms, "She looks a lot like you, Alexis."

"Let her go, Rad. There's nothing you could want with her," Alexis said.

"You'd be surprised," he replied as he let his optics land on Lori.

Lori noticeably stiffened, but Rad's gaze didn't go unnoticed by Megatron. The Decepticon leader stepped protectively in front of Lori in an effort to ward off Rad's lingering stare. "Don't get any ideas," Megatron warned.

"No need to be so protective, after all, Lori is mine."

If Rad hadn't been holding Starlily, Megatron would've taken out his machine gun and ended this here and now. "You are gravely mistaken," Megatron responded, scowling.

"Am I?" Rad asked as a confident smirk stretched across his face, "Lori, come to me, your rightful master."

Her optics suddenly darkened from their lavender hue to near black. To Megatron's horror, Lori stepped forward, pushing by him. "L-Lori?" Megatron remarked dumbfounded. He seized her by the arm, halting her advance.

She looked up at him with emotionless optics. "Let me go," she said in a flat voice that barely sounded like her own.

Horrified, Megatron looked to Rad, "What did you do to her?"

Rad let a soft chuckle escape his throat, "I believe she told you to let her go."

"No, never."

"Let me go," Lori repeated, "I must serve my master."

"Lori…" Megatron breathed, "He is not your master."

"He warned me about you. He said you were trying to steal me away."

"Lori, I would never—

"Lori, come here. Use force if you need to."

And she did. She punched Megatron away before going to Rad's side. Megatron felt sick as he watched Rad wrap an arm around her and pull her against him.

Optimus scowled, "What do you want, Rad?"

"You have 24 hours to surrender to me. Should you surrender, I will allow this universe to be saved. If you refuse, well, I'm sure Lori and this child will entertain me until the universe ends and we all die."

"Rad, it doesn't need to be this way," Alexis said.

He ignored her as he proceeded to open a dimension gate, "I will be back 24 hours from now. I expect an answer." And with that, he disappeared through the gate with Lori, Starlily, and Vector Prime.

"Scattershot, see if you can get a fix on either Vector Prime or Lori's life signal. We need to know where Rad is taking them and the sparkling," Optimus ordered.

"I'm on it," Scattershot replied.

"What are we going to do?" Alexis asked frantically, "We can't say yes, but if we don't—

"Rad isn't going to win this," Optimus said, "Rad is acting out of desperation. He has limited resources. He won't go far."

"The moment I get my hands on him, I'm going to rip him apart," Starscream remarked, clearly angry.

"If he does anything to Starlily…" Alexis couldn't finish.

"He's dead. No more leniency for him. Optimus, you should have never brought him here as a prisoner in the first place," Starscream spat, "Autobot leader or not, you should have killed him dead on the mark."

Optimus looked away. Jessamine put a hand on his shoulder before whispering, "This isn't your fault. You tried to be merciful. We'll catch Rad. This time we will make him pay."

He looked to her, thankful. He glanced at their son that she was cradling in her arms. Optimus knew he would do whatever it took to protect his family and friends. This wasn't the end. The universe would be saved.

"I got a fix on Lori's signal," Scattershot exclaimed suddenly, "Oh…this isn't good."

"Where are they?" Megatron demanded.

"It looks like Rad took them inside the black hole."

"And people think I'm crazy," Wing-Saber stated.

"Inside?" Alexis repeated.

"That's it," Starscream exclaimed as he went to open a dimension gate.

"No, Starscream," Optimus stated, "We can't just go in there without a plan. He won't hesitate to hurt Starlily or Lori in an effort to stop us."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Starscream asked.

"We should send a spy in," Jetfire suggested, "Someone to scope out the area. Rad wouldn't suspect that. Once we get an idea of what we're up against, we can send in reinforcements."

"I'll go," Megatron said, "I don't have children that I'm obligated to."

Nobody argued. Optimus looked to him before nodding and saying, "Alright. Be careful, Megatron. Report back to us the first chance that you get."

"Will do," Megatron replied before disappearing through a dimension gate.

"Somebody shut this thing up!" Rad remarked as Starlily wailed and struggled in his arms.

However, it was Starlily's cries that jolted Lori from her trance. She was walking behind Rad and Vector Prime when she shook her head, clearing the dizziness. She glanced around, nearly gasping when she saw Rad with Starlily. She didn't know what was going on nor did she recognize where she was. She racked her processor, trying to remember what had happened. Rad had come into the command center with the Omega Lock, Starlily had crawled over to him and picked him up…then after that it went dark.

Whatever happened, Lori knew she better act the part for her sake. If anything, she would do everything in her power to keep Starlily safe. Swallowing back her fear, she stated, "Master, I will take care of the sparkling."

Rad looked to her. He studied her for a moment before handing a wailing Starlily over to her. Since Lori was familiar to her, she ceased her wailing, whimpering instead. "Hush now," Lori breathed, "You're safe."

Vector Prime observed them before looking to Rad and asking, "Was taking the child necessary? We have Lori and the Omega Lock. Isn't that enough?"

"It can't hurt anything," Rad stated, "If she becomes too burdensome, I'll do away with her."

Vector Prime looked back to Lori, who was gently rocking Starlily to sleep. Rad followed his gaze before smirking and approaching Lori. Lori tried to keep from panicking as he tilted her face towards his. "My pet," he breathed, kissing her helm, "You'd make a beautiful mother."

Lori didn't say anything. With a sigh, Starlily fell asleep in her arms, clinging to her. "Alexis, I promise I will give up my spark to keep Starlily safe," she thought.

"Vector Prime, take the child. Do not wake her."

"Yes sir," Vector Prime replied as he carefully took Starlily in his arms.

"Keep guard at the entrance, make sure no one comes in," Rad commanded.

Vector Prime nodded before heading back towards the entrance of the black hole to keep guard. Rad looked back to Lori and when she saw the look in his optics, she wanted to die. No, she didn't want Rad to know she was no longer under his influence, but did she have to do this?

Megatron took in his surroundings. Everything seemed to be made out of rock, and he assumed it was because of space debris and remains of the other planets that the black hole had devoured. There were fires burning, causing eerie shadows to flicker across the endless rock formations. He figured he was at Lori's last known position. However, since he didn't see anyone around, he knew that they had moved. Without any other options, Megatron walked deeper in the black hole. If things went according to plan, he would end this here and now.

The Decepticon leader didn't have to walk far when he heard voices. He pressed himself against a rock before peering around it. He felt anger boil through him when he saw Rad and Lori standing there, Rad standing way too close to his mate.

"It's about time I got you alone," he heard Rad say, "Those times you came to visit me in prison, they weren't enough."

Megatron suddenly felt sick. Lori had visited him while he was in the brig? Those four months he had been away, had Rad actually managed to sway her over to him? Was this really so? Had Lori voluntarily gone missing and Vector Prime simply took the blame for it in order to cover up an affair?

Megatron shook his head, trying to dispel the thoughts. "No," he reassured himself, "There's something else going on. Lori would never willingly leave me."

"Master?"

Rad chuckled as he pressed her against a rock face. "You're mine, Lori," he exclaimed.

"No, stop!" she yelled.

Megatron snarled. No one had the right to do that to his mate and Rad would not get away with it. He stepped away from the rock face. No one had said he couldn't reveal himself…

Rad chuckled lowly, "I see your programming wore off again. No matter, you will—

"Programming?" Megatron remarked as he stepped forward, an ugly glare on his face, "I knew you did something. Now release Lori, or else."

"So you came to bear witness," Rad stated as he turned to face the Decepticon leader. He wasn't sure how he got past Vector Prime, but he decided not to question it.

"I came here to stop you," Megatron clarified.

"Alone?"

"I don't need an army to stop you."

"Unwise," Rad remarked and waved his hand.

Megatron didn't have time to react as tendrils suddenly came out of the rock beneath him. They wrapped around his arms and legs, preventing him from moving as they held him captive. "No," Megatron breathed as he looked to Lori, "Let her go!"

Rad watched at the Decepticon leader struggled to no avail. "Looks like you get to watch," he said, grinning darkly.

"Unhand her!"

But he didn't, and Lori couldn't get away as the same tendrils slipped around her wrists and ankles. And, no matter how Lori struggled and pleaded, there was nothing she could do to stop Rad as he defiled her in front of Megatron.

Starscream paced the floor of the command center as he waited for any word from Megatron. Since the situation was dire, they had entrusted Thunderwing and Skyblast's care to Thundercracker and Skywarp while he and Alexis concentrated their efforts on recovering their daughter.

Likewise, Optimus and Jessamine entrusted the care of Septimus to Jetfire so they could help recover the Omega Lock, Lori, Vector Prime, and Starlily.

"Something must have happened," Starscream finally mused, "Megatron should've reported back by now, he left hours ago! By the time we hear from him, that is if we hear from him, Rad will be back here demanding an answer."

"We need to get leverage on him," Optimus remarked.

"Leverage," Alexis mused to herself as she remembered something Rad had told her.

"I gave you a home, I gave you my heart, I gave you the opportunity to be my equal, and you left."

"Alexis?" Starscream asked, looking to her.

"I have an idea," she remarked.

"What is it?" Optimus asked, giving her his attention.

"Rad's always been after me," she said, "If I turned myself over to him before he came back—

"I won't allow that," Starscream growled.

"Hear me out, Starscream. I could distract him long enough so that you guys could free the others and get the Omega Lock. I'll do whatever it takes to get Starlily back; I know you would do the same."

"He'll kill you, Alexis!"

"I won't let him."

"I'll go with you," Jessamine said, "Rad wants me dead, too. You shouldn't have to do this alone."

Alexis looked to her, "You'd do this?"

"I think it's the least I can do," she replied before looking to Optimus, "And don't try to talk me out of this."

"We'll shadow you and Alexis then," Optimus said, "Starscream and I. We'll send the rest of the troops to recover Vector Prime, Lori, and Starlily."

However, Starscream wasn't so sure. He looked to Alexis again before saying, "You don't have to do this."

"It's going to be okay, Starscream," she replied, "We're in this together. All of us."

"She's got that right," Jessamine stated, "And we're all coming out of this together. This ends now."

"Alright," Optimus said, "Hotshot, Override, Landmine, Leobreaker, Mudflap, Wing-Saber, you're coming with us."

"Yes sir!" they replied.

Lori slumped down to the ground when Rad and the tendrils finally released her. She was bleeding, trembling, her body aching and tingling from overloading unwillingly. Rad was determined to reduce her to nothing in front of her mate, and he had all but killed her in order to do so. She didn't dare look at Megatron as Rad walked away, satisfied and much more relaxed. Her breathing was staggered; whimpers escaped her throat even when she tried to force them back.

She felt dirty, she was covered in her fluids, in Rad's. She waited until Rad disappeared out of sight before she squeezed her optics closed. Unable to fight it anymore, she sobbed, her soft cries breaking Megatron's spark.

It was one thing to rape her once…but to humiliate her in such a way in front of the person she cared about the most…Lori wasn't sure if she had ever been in so much anguish, in such burning pain.

"Megatron," she managed to say as she found the strength to meet his gaze, "I…I didn't mean for this to happen…"

"I know, Lori," he breathed, hating how broken her voice sounded, "He was controlling you with some kind of programming."

"It wore off though, but I pretended it didn't so I could protect Starlily."

"Lori…I am sorry…I told you that Rad wouldn't hurt you again—

"I still love you."

His gaze met hers and he felt the love between them that could not be broken. "Lori," he breathed again, "If you are able to, help me get out of here so I can hold you…help me get out of here so I can kill Rad right here and right now."

Finding strength in his words, Lori picked herself up off the ground and limped over to Megatron. She used her sharp claws to rip the tendrils apart, freeing the Decepticon leader. He immediately took her in his arms and wiped her tears away; feathering kisses over her face as he told her how much he loved her.

"Let's go," he said as he took her hand, "I'll make sure Rad never hurts you again."

And together, they went off in search of Rad.

Vector Prime looked at the sleeping bundle in his arms knowing that Starlily didn't deserve to be a part of this. What was this part of him that craved protecting the innocent? His name was Vector Prime; he was the guardian of time and space. He was the one who had informed the Autobots and Decepticons of the Omega Lock and Cyber Planet Keys. Once upon a time, he vowed to protect Cybertron, to defend it and all who inhabited it. He protected and defended the humans.

Then Rad came along and robbed him of everything. His mentality, his personality, his soul constantly wavered between who he was and who he wasn't. Rad's reprogramming always won, always maintained control, though Vector Prime had won out a few times. He didn't bring Unicron; he returned to the Autobots and Decepticons in an effort to save himself, he had given Lori back…and now…

Vector Prime didn't believe Rad would ever restore him to who he really was. The reprogramming had ruined him, forever. It was irreversible. There was nothing that could be done. He knew he no longer was nor could he ever be Vector Prime again. However, he wasn't Rad's reprogrammed slave either.

"Vector Prime!"

The time and space guardian looked up only to see he was being approached by Hotshot, Override, Landmine, Leobreaker, Mudflap, and Wing-Saber.

When they stopped before him, it was Landmine that said, "I'm not sure whether to call you a traitor or a victim."

"I assure you, my intentions are true—

"Oh really?" Leobreaker remarked, "How about you hand over Starlily and prove just how true you are."

And to his surprise, Vector Prime did hand over Starlily to Override. "You came without Optimus and Megatron?" the Prime asked.

The others exchanged glances before Hotshot said, "They're already inside."

"This will not end well," Vector Prime remarked before turning and heading onto the black hole.

Wing-Saber looked to the others, "I've got this. Get Starlily back to the base."

"You sure?" Landmine asked.

"Someone needs to tell Alexis and the others that Starlily is safe, I can fly, I can get there the fastest. Meet us back at the base." And with that, Wing-Saber disappeared inside the black hole.

"Rad, where are you?" Alexis shouted.

"You don't want to use the element of surprise?" Jessamine asked.

"It wouldn't give us much of an advantage."

"True," Jessamine replied. She knew that Optimus and Starscream were following at a distance behind them. They would be the surprise.

And like a ghost, Rad suddenly came into view with the Omega Lock in hand. He wore an amused look on his face as he said, "I'm not sure what you two were thinking by coming here alone."

Alexis wasn't sure if it was a good sign that he didn't have her daughter. "I came here for Starlily," she said, "Where is she?"

"She is safe, for now. You know what you have to do to get her back."

"What about Lori?" Jessamine asked.

"If you really want to know, when Megatron revealed himself, I felt it appropriate to punish both of them. You should've seen the look on Megatron's face when I had my way with Lori in front of him."

"You sick creep!"

"Please, I don't have time for name calling. What's done is done. Now I hope you did not come here to try and persuade me into letting the others go and returning the Omega Lock. You should both know by now that there's nothing left to talk about. You will surrender or the others will pay."

"Rad," Alexis said, "I know it's me you want, it's me you've wanted all along. I left you, I chose Starscream over you, I destroyed everything you ever worked for, everything you wanted. It's me you want gone. No one else needs to be dragged into this. It's between you and me."

"It's far too late to say that, Alexis. A long time ago it was just you and me. Now it's just me."

"I don't think you ever moved on, Rad. Why else would you take things this far?" she asked as she took a step closer to him.

Rad leveled his gun at her and Alexis heard it hum as it charged up. "You left me when I needed you the most," he said, "I can't let you get away with that."

"Return my daughter and you can do with me as you please," Alexis said.

"No, Alexis!" a female voice suddenly shouted, "Starlily is safe, Vector Prime has her!"

Rad, Alexis, and Jessamine all looked to see Megatron approaching with Lori. The Decepticon leader wore an ugly look on his face as he aimed his machine gun at Rad. "You," he growled, "You are finished."

From their hiding place, Optimus and Starscream watched the situation unfold. Optimus looked to the Decepticon second in command before saying, "Well, we can't let Megatron have all the fun."

However, before they could reveal themselves, Vector Prime and Wing-Saber approached them. "We've been looking all over for you," Wing-Saber said, "Override took Starlily back to the base, she's safe."

Starscream looked to Rad before drawing his sword, "Then it's time to end this." And he revealed himself, Optimus following him.

Rad felt slightly nauseas when he realized that in addition to staring down the barrel of Megatron's gun, he had been surrounded. Starscream, Optimus, Jessamine, Alexis, and Lori all had weapons trained on him as well, and when he tried to open a dimension gate, he realized that his enemies had set up some sort of interference so that he couldn't.

He was caught off guard when a fist suddenly slammed against his face. He fell to the ground stunned as he heard Starscream say, "This is long overdue." And he kicked him, hard.

Rad rolled onto his back and thought about fighting back, but he knew he would never stand a chance. Starscream gave a low chuckle, "You know, Rad, when you betray everyone around you; you have no one left to turn to. No one is here to save you."

Rad desperately scrambled to his feet, wiping the oil that was dripping from his lip. His optics darted around wildly. "No," he growled "It can't end like this!"

"You knew this day would come, Rad," Optimus said, "I never thought it would be this way. You lost sight of everything you were, of everything good you could have become."

"This isn't over!"

"Give it a rest," Megatron remarked, "You must face what you couldn't destroy."

"You can't do this to me!"

"Do not sicken us by begging for your life after you know very well what you did wrong," Starscream said, "You're the one who has to stand here now, before your ex-wife whom you abused, before the woman you raped, before the woman you tried to murder, and before their extremely pissed off mates who wish to do nothing more than dismantle your mainframe until there is absolutely nothing left of you."

"As unfortunate as it may be, you have to die," Megatron added, "There is no avoiding it."

"Alexis!" Rad growled, "Out of everyone here, you're the one who knows me the best. You were the one that married me. You were the one that loved me. You know who I am. You can stop this."

"I thought I knew you, Rad," she said, "I have no sympathy left for you after what you've done to my friends, the people I care about the most…after what you've done to me. When I vowed my life to you I didn't know how black your soul was. I don't love you anymore. It's over for you. This is how it's going to end."

Rad snarled and whirled around, "Lori?"

"Don't ask me to save you," she hissed, "Not after what you did to me. You never succeeded in destroying me, but now I will have the pleasure of watching you die."

He growled, "Jessamine, you couldn't possibly have forgotten the life I promised you…"

"The life you promised me is the very life you destroyed," she replied, "And on top of that, you tried to take my life away. My life meant nothing to you and your life holds no value to me. This is your fate."

In desperation, Rad threw the Omega Lock and the others watched horrified as it tumbled into a bottomless chasm. "The Omega Lock!" Wing-Saber shouted, "If anyone tries to go down there and retrieve it, they'll never make it back out!"

Without a word, Vector Prime stepped forward. For a moment, he offlined his optics. He gave a silent apology to all those he had hurt, to those he had betrayed because of the reprogramming. He gave a silent prayer for peace, a silent prayer for hope. And in his spark, he said goodbye. Death was the only way to escape Rad's never ending enslavement. And he would go down not as a traitor, but as a guardian, as a savior.

And, before anyone could stop him, he traded his life for the recovery of the Omega Lock.

Wing-Saber watched as Vector Prime's body disappeared and was replaced by that of the Omega Lock. With a heavy spark, he picked up the ancient relic. "It shouldn't have been you," he whispered as he looked back to the others.

Optimus restrained Rad as Starscream and Megatron attacked him. Wires ripped, sparks flew, armor cracked and creaked, glass broke, Rad screamed as the two Decepticons ripped him apart, limb from limb, refusing to show any mercy. And, when Rad could no longer move, Optimus released him, letting the broken mech whimper on the ground.

"Let's go," Optimus said.

"You're…letting me…live?" Rad groaned.

No one answered him as they walked away.

The feeling of peace was unlike anything anyone had ever experienced. After the starships had transformed into the super weapon known as the Ark with the power of the Omega Lock, Primus fired the weapon into the black hole. The mass collapsed inwards on itself before spiraling into nothing, carrying Rad along with it.

Autobots and Decepticons alike pumped their fists into the air, shouting cries of victory, shouting cries of peace.

Alexis and Starscream took their daughter back from Override, proud smiles on their faces. To their relief, she was uninjured. However, they weren't so happy when Skywarp returned with Skyblast. Especially since Skyblast suddenly had the same paint job as his uncle.

"Skywarp…" Starscream seethed.

"What? I call him Mini-Me," Skywarp replied with a sly grin.

However, for Megatron, the relief was short-lived. Lori's injuries gravely concerned him and he took her to the med bay the moment he knew the black hole was destroyed and Rad was gone. He held her hand tightly as Red Alert examined her and proceeded to fix her injuries. He ran several scans in order to determine just how Rad initiated mind control over her and quickly discovered the hypnosis program. He proceeded to delete it before reading the results of a few more scans.

The medic startled both Megatron and Lori when he suddenly shouted, "Lori!"

"What?" she exclaimed, shocked at his tone of voice.

"Why haven't you come here sooner?"

"What do you…mean?"

"You're pregnant."

A heavy pause filled the room. "Pregnant?" Megatron breathed as dread suddenly filled him, "You mean…with Rad's child?"

"What? No!" Red Alert exclaimed, exasperated.

"No? That means…" Megatron remarked, a sudden bubble of sheer elation welling up inside him.

"Do I really have to tell you how sparklings are made? Lori is over four months pregnant. Just over four months ago, Megatron, you left for Giant Planet. It would make sense that you and her spark bonded before you left. It is impossible that Rad is the father, especially since he never spark bonded with her."

Megatron was beaming, a grin stretched so wide across his face that it hurt. He immediately seized Lori in his arms, hugging her tightly. He didn't have to be told to know he was the father.

"So that's why you said I looked fat," Lori exclaimed as she hugged him back, "But you know what this means? I'm going to be a mother; you're going to be a father…"

You're going to be a father.

It was he, the mighty leader of the Decepticons, who wept with happiness.

A few days later, after the refugees returned to Cybertron, Primus summoned everyone forward, claiming he had an important announcement. Once everyone was gathered, Primus used Jolt in order to communicate with everyone.

"My fellow Cybertronians," he began, "After many centuries of war and destruction, our world is finally safe. At our darkest hour, Megatron and Optimus Prime came together and set aside their differences. Together, they proved that friendship and courage can overcome all obstacles. It was they, with the help of their warriors, who saved this universe and brought it peace. And now, a new golden era has begun."

Victorious cries emanated from the crowd.

"Despite his past, Megatron has managed to prove he's changed. His love for Lori is undying and he has made countless sacrifices to prove himself a true Cybertronian. It is him, along with Optimus Prime, that I appoint to be the High Commanders of all of Cybertron. And, I hereby appoint Jetfire and Starscream as Vice Commanders."

Alexis smiled as she lightly elbowed Starscream. He looked to her as she whispered to him, "It looks like everyone is getting the happy ending they always wanted."

Starscream returned her smile as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him. He wasn't sure what it was that had brought them back together, whether it was luck, fate, or love, but what was meant to be finally was.

After the universe had been saved, Sideways disappeared once he realized that Planet X had not been restored. The changes that had been made to the future from their visit to the past, they were irreversible. Carlos would stay, his life traded for Rad's. And, while Lori's family believed she was dead, she would always have the opportunity to return to them if she wished and prove to them that she was not. However, that probably wouldn't be any time soon since she and Megatron were making preparations for the birth of their daughter in a few short months.

"I love you, Alexis," Starscream breathed, thrilled that he would finally be able to live in peace with her and their children.

"I love you, too, Starscream."

Alexis closed her optics. It had been a long road home, a passionate road home, but she was finally where she belonged. With everything to look forward to, she opened her eyes and looked up at Starscream. With a gentle sigh, he pressed his lips to hers.

She could hardly wait to begin her happily ever after.

The end. I hope you guys liked it. I kind of left it so that there could be a sequel just in case I ever want to write a sequel to this story, but at the moment I am not planning one. Let me know what you thought and thanks to everyone once again for sticking with this story for so long.