Once Optimus came out of the Repair Bay, he met with everyone else to see Rodimus, Galvatron, and Silver off. “So, this is it, huh?” he remarked. “I have to say, it’s been a wild ride.”
“No kidding!” agreed Silver. “Now that we’ve got something to beat the Unicron of our timeline, we actually have a shot to survive and thrive!”
“…Optimus,” muttered Galvatron, “I know you aren’t the one of my time, but I need to say that I’m sorry for what I’ve done.”
“Remember, Rodimus Unicronus caused your version of me to go nuts,” reminded Optimus. “If he’s anything like me, I’d say he would forgive you. I would.” Galvatron then hugged Optimus, hiding his face so his brother from another time couldn’t see his tears. It was initially awkward, at first, but Optimus got over it and reciprocated. The hug then ended as Galvatron wiped his eyes.
“Hey, Future Me!” called Hot Rod. Rodimus then turned his gaze toward his younger self. “Believe it or not, you helped me get a lot of emotional baggage off my conscience. I know we had a rocky start, to put it lightly, but I know you’ve changed me for the better. So, do me a solid, will you? Wreck your Unicron’s scrap!”
“That’s the idea!” chuckled Rodimus.
“So,” Sonic asked, “how are you guys gonna get home?”
“With this,” answered Silver as he pulled something out of his pocket. It was a hexagonal jewel with no points whatsoever.
“A Time Stone!” breathed Amy.
“The last one,” explained Silver. “Similar to a Chaos Emerald, but it only controls time instead of time and space. One call of Chronos Control and we’re off!”
“Since Unicron destroyed Cybertron,” continued Galvatron, “we’ve been imperiled by a black hole that threatens to destroy the universe. We’ve determined the cause to be the absence of Primus, so the absence of Unicron should close it up.”
“That’s what the Primes of my Matrix told me,” confirmed Rodimus. “So, with our versions of the Three Powers, we’ll get rid of our Unicron and his Terrorcons, send them into the black hole, and then the Gaia of our time may heal the planet since we’ve lost our Chip.”
“So the Gaia of your time is still alive, is she?” mused Gaia. “Excellent. The circle can be restored easily.”
“Here, you’re gonna need these,” called Tails as he handed Silver the devices that formed Unicron’s energy cage.
“Thank you,” bid Silver. He and his Transformer friends then looked on. “You guys are the greatest. Don’t ever give up the fight against evil.”
“You got it, Silver!” promised Optimus. The three time-travelers then drew their weapons, with the Skyboom Shield having compressed itself into a form Silver could use, and Silver held up the Time Stone.
“CHRONOS CONTROL!” The three were then caught up in teal light, then vanished to return to their time.
“…Well, that’s enough time-travel for this zombie,” muttered Cliffjumper.
“Cliffjumper,” called Gaia, “you have suffered much and wish to be restored to a fully living body, wanting to escape your undead fate, right?”
“Yep.”
“…If you are willing, I can give you a proper body.” Cliffjumper’s optics flickered.
“You…You’d do that for me?! But I’m made of metal!”
“Refined earth, unrefined earth, it matters not. I can restore you to life. In return, you must continue to fight against evil as you did in the past.”
“Sounds like a fair bargain to me! I accept!” Just as she did before, Gaia raised her arms and summoned a green circle beneath her.
“Restored to true life, to continue to grow!” she chanted. A green light then enveloped Cliffjumper, then died after a few seconds. Cliffjumper stood still, then his optics switched back online. Instead of purple, they were Autobot blue! Cliffjumper then tried to take his head off and cheered when he couldn’t!
“I’M ALIVE!” he cried in happiness. “WHOO HOO!”
“All right!” cheered Bumblebee. Ratchet then rolled his optics. Gaia saw this and patted his shoulder.
“I will not resurrect the dead so willy-nilly,” she promised. “Besides, my own medical skills are terrible. Yours, on the other hand, are the greatest of all Cybertronian doctors.”
“…Well, at least I outshine a Goddess in THAT regard,” muttered Ratchet as he took some comfort in that.
“There’s one more loose end that needs tying up,” called Optimus. He then approached Bumblebee. “Bumblebee Stinger, you have gathered all anti-Unicron forces and led them in my absence. You kept morale up and you sought solutions to problems that helped us to victory. I can think of no greater reward for you-” he then pulled out the Forge and converted it into its familiar Magnus Hammer shape- “than to promote you to Magnus.”
“…Me, sir?!” gulped Bumblebee. “You want ME to replace Ultra Magnus?!”
“I can think of no worthier candidate. Remember, you DID gather even Decepticons. I think you’ll be the one who can help me achieve peace with them. And I mean PEACE, not just quiet.”
“…Well, my first duty IS to Prowl, right now,” answered Bumblebee.
“What are you hesitating for?” asked Prowl. “You’re the perfect bot for the position!”
“…Prowl, it’s been an honor to have been commanded by you.” Bumblebee and Prowl then shook hands.
“I was honored to have you under my command, Bumblebee Stinger.” Bumblebee then turned to Optimus.
“I accept!” Optimus then handed the Magnus Hammer to Bumblebee and the little scout was enveloped in blue light. “SWEET PRIMUS!” yelped Bumblebee. The light then faded, and a more mature looking bot took Bumblebee’s place. He had black bee stripes on his back, a gold paint-job, and a dark-gray helmet.
“…Bumblebee?” asked Cliffjumper.
“I feel different,” remarked the bot. It was still Bumblebee’s voice, no mistake. “Someone get me a mirror.”
“Got you covered,” replied Teletraan. A mirror then popped up from the floor and the bot got a good look at himself.
“…Holy Scrap!” he breathed. “I’m better than ever! Check out the paint-job! I’m gone beyond just being plain old Bumblebee! I’m a gold bug! …Gold bug…gold bug! I think I found my new name as Magnus! Everyone, from this day forward, I shall be known as Goldbug Magnus!”
“Congratulations, Bu…Goldbug Magnus,” bid Cliffjumper.
“Welcome to the Command Corps of the Autobots, Goldbug,” wished Optimus.
“Thank you, Sir,” replied Goldbug.
“I see the weight of the position has gone and made you grow shorter,” snarked Arcee. Goldbug flinched, then turned to Arcee with a forced smile.
“Arcee, you got it all wrong!” he said through clenched dental plates. “You’re supposed to say, ‘That upgrade’s made you grow so tall, Goldbug’!”
“Why would I say something clearly untrue?”
“I’M STILL TALLER THAN YOU, PINKY!”
“And the Napoleon Complex is still there,” sighed Optimus. “All right, I know we’ve earned the victory celebrations here, but the Decepticons have offered no indication that they want to call off hostilities with us. I hate to remind everyone, but we’re still at war with the Decepticons. With Megatron missing, however, we have a chance to talk to them. Once Blackarachnia and I are married and we’ve had the reception, we’re going to make attempts to parlay with the Decepticons and find Megatron. Hopefully, we won’t need to fight any longer. If Eggman’s taken control of the Decepticons, then we should have an easier time of things.”