Generosity and Gratitude

[Wavelength]

Wavelength followed, thankfully stable now and, with some energy in his system, his movements were pretty graceful and he didn't make a whole lot of noise when he moved, likely from his habits of sneaking around so much "I have two friends I trust there, besides Alex who I will be retrieving as soon as I return to base. Knockout, he's a medic who, originally, was an Autobot before he got reprogrammed, but he's still got that side to him, I can tell by how he acts. And there's Nightstorm, he's a bit of a lady's man but he's a good guy. I also wonder about Barricade, he doesn't seem to like being near the other Decepticons and he's always been pretty kind to be, a little standoffish but not hostile unless he's ordered to be. There are a few others like that, they stay on the outskirts and don't attack without a good reason." he explained as they walked before giving a bit of a chuckle "There's this one black and red bike bot who actually had it in him to flip off Megatron to his face, that one really is a Decepticon in name only, he normally just does his own thing, not very social though."

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack recognized Knockout's name, having heard of his arrival to Earth and subsequent death before his chassis went missing. "So that's what happened to him..." he murmured, then shook his head. "We gotta find a way to get as many as we can away from Megatron, freed from the Decepticons. They don't necessarily have to join us, but they shouldn't have to live in a cage under that tyrant's heel struts." he sighed, wishing there was something he could do to help. "You could stay, you know, once you get Perceptor's daughter out of there. I know he'd wanna meet with you n talk to you. You're all the family he has left, you n Alex." he offered softly, hoping to convince the young flier to stay, knowing he'd be safe here. "Maybe you could get some of the others to come with you, like your Alpha." he added.

[Wavelength]

Wavelength stopped dead in his tracks when Wheeljack mentioned him and Alex being the only family Perceptor had left. The small flier slowly looked at Wheeljack with a bit of a 'what did you just say' look on his face "Wait, what? I don't even know Perceptor, I know his daughter but she and I aren't related, it's just an emotional bond between us." he said to Wheeljack "Mind explaining a bit?"

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack nodded and sat down on the bot sized bench, venting a soft sigh as he gathered his thoughts. "I lived in Iacon before the war, but I went to Crystal City a lot. Perceptor n I had become friends, sometimes working together on projects. He lived there. Primus, it was so beautiful, a monument to what we had learned and what we could achieve as a race." He shook his head then, regathering himself, then continued. "He knew your real progenitors, your Alpha n his bond mate. When the attack came, he lost so much, so many friends, he barely made it out of there with your pod cradled close in his arms. He was distraught after that, forced to leave you somewhere he knew you'd be safe, hoping you wouldn't get caught up in the war. He wanted better for you." He then looked at Wavelength, his expression soft but sincere. "Your Beta, she was his true Sparked sister. He felt her and your Alpha die in that attack..." he told Wavelength. He knew the young mech had every right to know who his real family was, to have the choice that so many young mechs orphaned during the war were denied. "He confided in me, needing someone to talk to, someone who would understand his pain and why he did what he felt he had to do." he added, hoping Wavelength would understand.

[Wavelength]

Wavelength listened, a heavy sigh coming from him when Wheeljack finished. The young bot was silent for a while, beginning to pace for a bit. So he had living spark family, family that knew he was alive and he was never given the chance to get to know them. It wouldn't change how he felt about his true family, the one that had loved him for so long, if anything it made him a it angry with his spark family. He began going through it in his mind, if he had known he had living family he would have seeked them out, he wouldn't have rested until he found them, but, apparently, that feeling wasn't mutual. "My family is not among you. A real family wouldn't abandon their own and fail to look for them when they know they're alive. I know the Autobots were aware of me, so many of you recognize me, so. . ." Wavelength stopped hos pacing then, turning right to face Wheeljack "What the fuck stopped him from recognizing me?" he asked, the young mech who almost never swore looked a little bit livid. It wasn't at Wheeljack himself, it was at the fact that his spark family didn't go looking for him, had he known he sure as hell would have going looking for them. His face mask snapped into place then, covering part of his face as he turned away a bit "Thank you for telling me, it's not you I'm upset with." he said before he suddenly leapt upwards, transforming into his small plane alt mode and shot off, right away from the base, though his energy wasn't recovered well enough to sustain his own flight yet and he started losing altitude not long after getting beyond the base perimeter, not that he had managed to get very high to begin with.

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack could only shake his head. "I'm so sorry..." he offered. But when the young mech took off, Wheeljack tried to call out to him. "Wavelength, wait!" he hollered, then transformed and tried to follow on the ground. He realized the younger mech hadn't fully recovered yet, seeing him losing altitude, which for a flier was a very bad sign. <"Wavelength, it wasn't his fault. I didn't realize until you told me things about where you were from that I even put it together who you were. How was any of us supposed to know that you were the last bot Spawned in Crystal City, let alone Perceptor's lost nephew?"> he called to him, hoping to calm him down and maybe even bring him back to the base.

[Soundwave]

Soundwave was fiercely protective of Wavelength, and as such, he always kept very close tabs on his adoptive son's whereabouts and who he was with. He trusted that his son knew what he was doing, hoping to build relations with the Autobots in preparation for his later plans; plus, he knew the Autobots were unlikely to harm the young mech after what he did to save Jazz' life. He had been listening in on Wavelength's conversations, and when this one with Wheeljack took a turn that had so deeply upset the young bot, Soundwave moved to intercept his son.

Once Wavelength was far enough from the base that his own presence wouldn't alert them, he emerged from cover, letting the thrum of his Spark alert his son to his presence as he turned to face the oncoming Autobot who was chasing him.

[Wavelength]

Wavelength didn't keep airborne much longer, at the last moment transforming and landing on the ground, though he didn't stay upright, falling to his knees, back arched and his palms on the ground as he hung his head, fluid building near his optics. Why did they just abandon him? If they hadn't then would he have made that horrid mistake in his youth that made him fearful of himself and what he was capable of. When he got the com from Wheeljack he replied, trying to keep his tone even but failing to <"You don't understand, if I hadn't been abandoned I wouldn't have become such a monster."> he told Wheeljack as his optics closed, trying to choke back the tears. As strong as the young mech was, he was also very sensitive. Feeling Soundwave coming near he shook his head and sent just one message <"I'll be alright. Just need time Dad."> he told his adoptive father, hoping that it would ease his worry a bit even if Wavelength as far from alright at the moment, his processor going through so much at once. He didn't try to get up or remove himself from the area, he was still weakened a bit from what he had done and honestly didn't have the will to move right now.

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack was caught off guard by that statement, as well as confused. <"You're no monster! What you did for Jazz proves that, just as you tried to help save so many others. You're no monster any more than I am. You're an Autobot! Wavelength, please come back."> he replied, hoping to get through to the upset young bot. What he did not expect was to suddenly find himself face to face with Soundwave himself standing there in the road, clearly intending to cut him off and keep him away from Wavelength. "Oh slag!" he yelped and skidded, transforming to stop himself from running head long into the dark mysterious Communications Officer. "Easy now, I ain't gonna hurt the lil guy. I'm just trying to help. Okay?" he offered cautiously, still worried he'd be off lined for chasing Wavelength down, let alone upsetting him. The fact that Soundwave was there proved he kept close tabs on his adoptive son and was indeed fiercely protective of him.

[Soundwave]

Soundwave remained unconvinced on both counts, but first thing's first, he had to make sure that Wheeljack understood on no uncertain terms that he would not tolerate any harm to Wavelength, physically, emotionally, or otherwise. "Assurances irrelevant. Do not pursue further." he intoned, a dark warning indeed considering the fact that his entire array of sonic cannons were angled straight at Wheeljack and thrumming threateningly. That display made Wheeljack carefully retreat a few steps, not wanting to anger the powerful mech any further. Much to Wheeljack's relief, Soundwave merely turned away and strode towards his son, leaving the Engineer where he was, confident that the Autobot would pursue no further, and if he did, he could easily incapacitate him with little effort. He reached out to Wavelength then, extending a hand to him in silent understanding and offer of comfort.

[Wavelength]

<"You don't know what I'm capable of."> he responded to Wheeljack, when Soundwave came near Wavelength reached for his hand, pulling himself right to his adoptive father's chest, much like a child in need of comfort which, in many ways, Wavelength still was, as much as he tried to hide it. "Don't be upset with him Dad, he did what he thought was best, but truth can hurt sometimes." he told Soundwave, keeping his fluid filled face pointed downwards. "I'm not done here yet Dad. . .but I can't stay away from Alex for long." he said, bringing a hand up to try to remove the evidence of those tears before looking up "Is there a way. . .a way to get her here? I'm too weak to fly right now. . ." he said, hoping Soundwave would get what he was asking of him "I have to know more. . .more about where I came from. I. . .I'll be alright. . .the truth just hurts." he said, those tears returning again as he spoke. "I can't hide in your shadow forever Dad."

[Soundwave]

Wheeljack watched the pair, but kept his distance and waited quietly to see what they would do.

Soundwave gathered his precious son in his arms and held him close, listening to his words and letting Wavelength listen to his Spark in an effort to sooth him. He gently laid his hand along Wavelength's cheek, his optics fading to their natural deep blue color as he looked at the younger mech. <"You are my son, I will always be here."> he assured Wavelength, knowing his son had to grow up eventually, but he also knew that there would always be times when he needed his Alpha, his father who cherished and protected him. <"Cyber Drone activated and deployed."> he told Wavelength then, knowing that his son knew exactly what that meant.

Somewhere in another state far to the south west, hidden within a shielded underground lair somewhere in the deepest reaches of Monument Valley, a sixteen foot robotic form lay dormant and unmoving. Suddenly all systems within the machine activated and the blue chassis lights glowed brightly in the darkness of the cave. Getting up, it looked to the entrance, then walked out and up to the surface. Once there, it transformed into a silver 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and sped towards the highway heading south towards Texas. This was not just any ordinary robot. This was a Cybertronian Cyberlink Remote Control Bio-Mech Drone, it belonged to Soundwave, and it was controlled by the powerful Decepticon as a literal secondary body. It had no life or mind of its own, it was literally a physical extension of himself, his will, his power, and it was one of the many reasons the others so feared him.

[Wavelength]

Wavelength gave a small nod, his arms around Soundwave as much as he could reach as he held on to his adoptive father "<Thank you Dad."> he sent as he gave a small sigh "I must keep my mind about me, I let my emotions get to me too much." he said, lessening his hold and looking up at Soundwave, holding back the tears of that upset "Don't worry Dad, when it comes to the Autobots, I got this. But I will let you know if I need help." he told his father, moving to step back a bit, though he was still a bit unstable.

Wavelength looked over to Wheeljack then, retracing his face mask again and giving just a small nod to the Autobot.

[Soundwave]

Soundwave nodded slightly, offering a gentle reassuring squeeze before letting him slip from his arms, though he kept one steadying hand on his son. He watched Wavelength for a moment longer before letting his optics shift back to deep red and he looked at Wheeljack, who cringed slightly under that cold and unyielding stare. "Soundwave always watching." he warned the Autobot, his voice that characteristic deeply modulated monotone that often made other mechs shiver, and though he really didn't want to let his son go, he knew he had to for the sake of his son's future and safety when Soundwave's contingency plan came to fruition. Soundwave needed to know Wavelength would be okay, that he would be safe if anything ever happened to him, as he feared if things went wrong with his plans, no matter the eventual outcome. He had taught Wavelength all he could, now it was coming time for the young mech to forge his own path, his own life. And Soundwave would watch in quiet pride and loving encouragement, with his arms always open should Wavelength ever need him.

Seeing the nod, Wheeljack nodded in return, though he kept his distance, not wanting to anger the young mech's very protective Alpha. If he didn't know better, he would swear Wavelength had been Spawned directly from Soundwave's own Spark, bond mate or no bond mate.

[Wavelength]

<"Love you Dad."> he said quietly before moving to walk towards Wheeljack, a bit unstable again because of his low energy levels and the fact he had tried to fly despite that. His body would need about two days to regain what he had lost and he didn't like that a whole lot, flying helped him clear his head and settle his emotions and the fact that he was still contending with what he had seen from Jazz wasn't helping his emotional and mental state very much at all. "I think there is much to discuss Wheeljack, and we've only touched the surface." he told the Autobot as he paused in his walk "But I don't want to draw attention in the base, I tend to show people instead of just telling them."