Firehoses and Tiny Noses (Rescue Bots Fanfiction)

Epilogue: Life Goes On...

As soon as Salvage gave them the All-Clear, the two bots headed back into the trees, leaving the dinos alone once more. Once out of view, Quickshadow transformed into bot mode and assisted Blurr down the slope towards the ship, Salvage joining them shortly after.

They all looked over at the barricade of crates being used to keep Downpour stationary, her head resting on top of one wall and looking very bored. "...Wow." Blurr muttered.

"She was throwin' half the ship overboard!" High Tide defended, holding a sleeping Snowblast in one arm. "You know how the birdie was staring at me?"

"Yeah?"

"Turns out he was asleep with his optics open."

Quickshadow giggled, "Poor sparkling... Let's get home."

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"Heatwave, chill. It's only been a few minutes."

"A few minutes is enough." Heatwave paused in his pacing, "The sun's almost down and they still haven't contacted us." He turned back to the others, "Aren't you worried about Snowy, Blades?"

"I am...But I trust Quickshadow...If it had just been Salvage and Blurr, then I'd be a nervous wreck."

"Hmph...I guess you're right..."

Heatwave then looked up as the garage door opened, and gave a sigh of relief as all of the absent bots entered, his daughter included. Even better, the little brachiosaur looked about ready to fall asleep on her feet.

"Perfect..." He whispered, scooping her up into his arms. "...How'd the mission go?"

"Success, minimal complications," Quickshadow informed, turning to look at Blurr as he limped across the room.

"What happened to you?" Blades asked as he examined the speedster's favored leg.

"Baby triceratops nailed me in the shin..." Blurr admitted, letting Blades lead him over to where he could sit down.

"A triceratops?" Heatwave's optics narrowed, "You didn't mention that this mission involved taking these two to Dino Island!"

"Everything worked out, right?" Quickshadow informed, "You worry too much."

"Well in Downpour's case, it's my job to worry!" He then relaxed, "Just... Warn me next time..."

Blades smirked, and then took Snowblast from High Tide's arms. "Hi, Snowy..."

Snowblast cooed and then yawned, snuggling deeper into his parent's arms. "Aww...All worn out from your adventures."

"He didn't even do much," High Tide admitted, "He's a much less fussy sparkling compared to you, Mosquito."

"Hmph. What were you doing on the island, anyway?"

"The proximity alarm went off and so we went to check it out." Quickshadow explained, "Turns out it was just a fishing boat that was having engine trouble, so we had to keep the dinos from spotting them until they left."

"And we all got dino modes in the process." Salvage announced with a grin, "Now we're all triple-changers!"

"Great..." Heatwave murmured, "...Well then, I am going to put Downpour to bed...again...and then finish hosing off the mud that got in my joints."

Boulder chuckled as their leader wandered off down the hall, "Poor mech...He's exhausted."

"Aren't we all?" Blurr questioned.

"Well yes, but he's got a lot of responsibilities on his plate... I vote we all try to pick up some slack until he can catch up and get back up on his stabilizers again. We can all pull more weight, right?"

The other bots all nodded in agreement. "Good... I'm going to call up Bumblebee's team, just to see how repairs are going."

The bulldozer headed for the communications center, and after pressing several buttons, the screen flickered on. A few seconds passed, but eventually, Bumblebee's faceplate appeared.

Boulder! What a surprise, usually it's Blades calling us up.

"I know..." Boulder grinned, "...Just figured I'd check up on the situation there."

Whew...Well, it's been better, but it can certainly be worse. Most of the damage from the Decepticon Attack has been cleared out and repairs are being done on the buildings. The civilians are still kinda shaken up, but they haven't come at us with pitchforks yet, so...

"It's not your fault, though."

Isn't it though? Shockwave never would have attacked Crown City if it weren't to lure us out.

"Shockwave...Wow. Nobody ever told us who exactly ordered that attack."

Yeah...But he's been dealt with. Bumblebee's face fell a little, ...Flash hasn't really been the same since that.

"What do you mean? Was she hurt?"

Oh no, she was actually the one to take him down! It's just... Ever since she did so, she's been quieter... And asking questions I don't know how to answer, like if all Decepticons are bad bots.

"She's reached the point of working out which side she's on."

I guess so... I just hope she makes the right choice. I can feel the struggle in her spark like she's not sure who she believes.

"She'll make the right choice in the end, Bee. She's your daughter, after all, and you raised her right."

I guess you're right...Still, it's one of the things that keeps me up at night, wondering what all she's taking into account in order to make her decision... What about you guys?

"Well, Blurr, Salvage, Quickshadow and High Tide all have dino modes now, apparently. They went on a mission and just got back... Heatwave's tired out of his processor trying to run the team and keep Downpour in line, Blades and Chase are well...Blades and Chase."

How's Chase doing, by the way? The last time I saw him, he looked kinda... Dazed.

"Better... He's working through some things also."

Bumblebee nodded, More and more these days, our time is being taken up by not only work but relationships and family conflict... The everlasting struggle all sentient beings face.

"And yet, life goes on..."

Yes... Life goes on. Give the Burnses and the rest of the team my regards, but I should get back to work.

"Same here. Good to talk to you, Bee."

The Lieutenant's faceplate then disappeared again, and Boulder gave a hard exhale as a smile appeared. "'Til all are one..."

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A/N: And yet another fanfic draws to a close! I have another story to follow, but it jumps ahead in time quite a bit to when Snowblast and Downpour are much older, and some more sparklings have arrived by that time. 

@firestorm83 requested I write some oneshots detailing the arrivals of those sparklings and post them first, since my plans for those events wouldn't make up an entire story, so the first of those oneshots is mostly done and will be posted soon! Keep an optic out for it!

Until next time, have a wonderful rest of your week!