Delayed Planet Fall (Soundwave)

[Soundwave]

Soundwave looked to Superion then, wondering how much he should even say to the immense gestalt mech. /~"Soundwave seek survival. Soundwave thought Megatron fight for survival, freedom, Cybertron. Soundwave in error."~\ he said, shaking his head. /~"Perhaps no one help. Soundwave: hated, feared. Others seek Soundwave's destruction. If family survive, safe, Soundwave sacrifice self for family."~\ he added and turned away then, beginning to retreat from the larger mech, now that his hidden program was firmly in place, unknown and undetected by Fireflight, Superion, or the rest of the gestalt brothers.

[Fireflight]

Superion hummed in thought. He could understand, in part, where Soundwave was coming from. Were it possible, Superion would sacrifice himself to keep his brothers safe.

As it was, Fireflight was the one to speak up, Superion slowly retreating back into the bonds. {<"I don't think you're really all that scary.">} He chirped. {<"Megatron seems like the really scary one, and I don't think someone that scary could care about anyone else.">}

[Soundwave]

Soundwave paused, then looked back at Fireflight for a moment. He then lowered his head slightly. /~"Perhaps..."~\ he offered thoughtfully, then moved away, retreating from Fireflight's processor before disconnecting from him entirely. He could very easily hurtle the young bot towards the Earth's atmosphere to let him burn up without his transition mode's protective shell, and were he any other Decepticon, he would have. But Soundwave was not like the others and saw no reason for wanton destruction, especially when he needs certain mechs to further his own survival plans for his family. Once he had completely disconnected from Fireflight's neural core, he retracted his cyber tendrils, letting the young mech go gently and moved back away from him, letting him drift in a safe direction.

[Fireflight]

Superion pulled back completely as well, leaving Fireflight alone in his mind once more as he became aware of the real world once again. He stretched his limbs, wiggling his wings a bit to relieve some soreness, then turned somewhat to where he thought Soundwave might have gone. He gave a small wave and smile before transforming to his transition mode and heading for the planet's surface once more, though he did shoot off a message to Wheeljack, just a single word. <~"Incoming!"~>

[Soundwave]

Soundwave watched quietly from a distance as the young Fireflight headed Earthward, secure in the knowledge that the program was in place and well hidden, and with that young mech and his brothers went the hope of survival for Soundwave and his precious family. He cast a glance to the Autobot base, then looked towards the Decepticon base, to where Knockout was. That one didn't belong with the Decepticons any more than Wavelength did, yet there they were, trapped just as Soundwave was. ~"One day... Soon, all will be set right... One day, we will be free..."~ he vowed softly, for himself, his Symbiotes, his two young Sparklings, and for the mech he secretly loved yet could not have. At least, not yet...

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack had been working in his lab as per usual, attending to one of his projects. His optics suddenly went wide as a painfully familiar young voice echoed over the private coms and Wheeljack simply dropped his tools. <~"Fireflight?"~> he asked tentatively, then suddenly bolted from his lab, very nearly running a couple mechs down in his haste to get outside as he sent landing coordinates to his adoptive son. <~"Fireflight! I'm here! I'm right here! Oh, thank Primus you're okay! Are your brothers with you? Please tell me you're all okay..."~> he called urgently, looking up to the sky trying desperately to spot his incoming son, hoping the young flier would get the coordinates in time and land close by so Wheeljack could get to him quickly.

He hadn't seen them since he had been forced to leave them behind on Cybertron, and that day had been Spark wrenching for the Engineer, unable to see them one last time, unable to say good bye. Every day he prayed they would be safe, that when they were ready they would find their way to him, and he would be reunited with his young Sparklings again. Six others he had adopted as his own had died brutally by Decepticon hands, and the pain of losing those young Sparks still gnawed at his own Spark. But despite that pain, his desire for a family was stronger and he adopted these five young Sparks, willingly carrying each one within his own chassis as the Allspark released them, one by one. They all had hatched the same day and the joy of that day Wheeljack had cherished so deeply. If Fireflight had found Earth, the other four would not be far behind. One thing Wheeljack had made clear was that it was of the utmost importance that they stay together no matter what. It was vital for their survival that they stay together, and with Fireflight's impending arrival, Wheeljack's Spark soared with hope the others were close and he would be reunited with them at long last. "Please be safe..." he whispered out loud as he scanned the sky, hoping Fireflight would not damage himself upon planet-fall, and hoping the others would follow closely behind him.

[Fireflight]

Fireflight's reentry armor heated up immensely as he rocketed through the atmosphere. He'd received the coordinates before course adjustment was too late, and was on his way to land as close to Wheeljack as he safely could.

The result was him slamming full-force into the tarmac a safe distance away from Wheeljack, tearing up the asphalt ground that planes used. He unfolded from his transition mode, standing at his full height, red and white armor glistening in the early morning light as his light blue optics glowed. ~"DADDY!!!!"~ He squealed in excitement as he ran to hug his surrogate father, though he was still quite careful, knowing that Wheeljack was only half his height. ~"And no, we're not all together. We got separated, but we can still feel each other! We decided to meet back together here, so they should be along soon!"~

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack winced as Fireflight shredded a chunk of the tarmac when he landed, but was relieved to see Fireflight was okay. Hearing him squeal and call out to him made Wheeljack laugh and he hugged his young son tightly. ~"At least you are all alive and okay. Did you give them the coordinates so they know where to go? You're the first one to land on Earth. Primus I've missed you, all of you."~ he said and hugged Fireflight again. ~"I'm so sorry I had to leave without saying good bye, but I thought of you and prayed to Primus every day that all of you would be safe and that I would see you again."~ he offered softly, touching his forehead to Fireflight's in a gesture of affection. He wished he shared a Creation Bond with them, and that made him hug his adoptive son all the tighter, not knowing how such a thing could even be possible. It was something he would have to research, that was for sure, before asking them about it. He didn't want to get their hopes up only to find out it wasn't possible, after all. He looked to young Fireflight then, offering a fatherly smile. ~"Welcome home, my son, all six of you."~ he said softly.

[Fireflight]

Fireflight nodded as he shot the coordinates to his brothers, along with a warning about the tarmac. He smiled as he hugged Wheeljack, then looked at his surrogate father to ask the question a few of them had been wondering. ~"Why didn't you say goodbye?"~ His optics had a twinge of sadness to them at the memory of suddenly finding out by hearing that Wheeljack was gone. ~"We looked everywhere for you, and were even afraid that the Decepticons had gotten you..."~

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack brought up a hand to touch Fireflight's cheek plate, a remorseful look on his own face before he lowered his gaze. ~"I had no choice, no time to say good bye. Several of us were called at the last Klick and I had to go. I was supposed to be on a particular evac shuttle and it was called to launch so suddenly... I had no time to gather all the tools I needed outside the most essential I had on me, and I had no time to even think, rolling fast for the shuttle before it launched. It wasn't til I was on the shuttle that I could even sit down and I felt like my own Spark had shattered, afraid I would lose you and your brothers because I was pulled away without warning. I tried to get word to you n your brothers... I tried, hoping I'd see all five of you flying escort for the shuttle. I wanted to stay, Primus knows I wanted desperately to stay with you, or at least bring you with me, but I couldn't..."~ he replied, his voice softening to almost a whisper before he shuddered slightly. ~"I didn't want to go without my Sparklings..."~ he repeated faintly, holding onto Fireflight. ~"Please... forgive me..."~ he added and shivered, crying quietly in Fireflight's arms as he rested his head against the larger yet younger mech's shoulder. It had torn Wheeljack apart to leave them behind; they needed him, they needed their father and yet he was forced to leave them behind, unable to even get word to them to follow him, to take to the skies and follow his shuttle out into space away from their dying home. Fireflight didn't need to have a creation bond with Wheeljack to see how much it hurt his father to leave them, the pain was clear enough.

[Fireflight]

Fireflight listened, relaying everything through the bond he shared with his brothers about why Wheeljack had suddenly left them. ~"I knew it couldn't have been because you didn't love us anymore! We tried to follow, but it was so long after you'd left, we didn't know which way to go, which is bad because space is big. Reeeeeaaaaallllyyyy big! So, we waited until another message came through, and we followed it as best we could, and the we all got separated. We tried to stay together. We really did..."~ He hugged his father closer, though not too tightly.

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack lifted his head and looked at Fireflight in shock. Did some of them think he had just abandoned them? Did they resent him for leaving? ~"Fireflight, no... Primus no, how could I not love my little Fly Bots? I carried each of you, one by one, within my own chassis. I watched you all hatch from your pods together, I raised you, took you all on your first flight together... Oh Primus help me... I wanted so much... You have no idea how desperately I want to..."~ his voice trailed off then, his hand clutching his chest, over his Spark. How could he tell them his own Spark's deepest desire between himself and the Aerialbots he nurtured and cared for like his own? As far as Wheeljack was concerned, they were his Sparklings, Creation Bond or not, Silverbolt, Air Raid, Slingshot, Skydive, Fireflight, and Superion were Wheeljack's Sparklings and the engineer would die before he gave them up. He had felt the same way about the other six, the ones he had lost before the Allspark gave him the Aerialbots. He then thought of Jared, the one Sparkling, the one child that was truly of his own Spark, the only one truly bound to him, and he closed his optics, letting out an involuntary cry of anguish. That one single bond with his true born son made the white and blue mech crave a creation bond with Fireflight and his brothers all the more, to make his family truly whole.

[Fireflight]

~"Want to what?"~ Fireflight tilted his head in some confusion as to what Wheeljack was trying to say. ~"The others will be here soon, dad. They're coming, and I told them that you're actually here, and you didn't want to go. They know."~ He nuzzled the side of his faceplates against the top of Wheeljack's helm lightly. ~"We'll all be back together soon."~

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack held onto Fireflight, remaining quiet for a few moments trying to calm his Spark as much as he could. When he finally looked up at Fireflight, his optics were bright with emotion he was trying to contain. ~"I... I can't explain right now... just, please know that I've always cherished you and your brothers, always loved all of you. I just... I wish you could truly know how much I've missed all of you."~ he finally replied softly. He feared mentioning wanting a Creation bond with them, afraid that doing so would get their hopes up only to be hurt and disappointed when Wheeljack discovered he couldn't make it happen. For now he just closed his optics and rested his forehead against Fireflight's, content to know that one had finally found him and that the other four were close, soon to arrive.

[Fireflight]

~"I can tell how much."~ Fireflight replied, trying to comfort his surrogate father. ~"Even if we're not connected, I can still tell. Don't worry. We're not going to go to any new planets without you."~ He held onto Wheeljack, though he slowly started to stand up as he held on. ~"I think we might want to move a bit, in case someone needs to use the landing strip."~