I've finally finished up this story, only three more and I just wanted to get this over with as it's been haunting me like a few other TF pieces. I lost all my files sometime in 2019 and no matter what I tried, I couldn't restore them.

I actually want to do some extra AU stuff as a bonus for being gone so long. So once these pieces are all up, I might be doing that too.

All previous chapters have had a facelift as well as some more tweaking on how sparklings work/bonds work etc. So a refresher may be needed :)

Astrosecond: .498 seconds

Breem: ~8.2 minutes

Joor: ~1 hour

Deca-cycle: ~3 weeks

Nano-klik: ~1 second

Orn: 13 days

Solar-cycle: 93 hours (Cybertronian day)

Orbital-cycle: 24 solar-cycles/93 days (Cybertronian month)

Stellar-cycle: 20 orbital-cycles/480 days(Cybertronian year)

Chapter 11:

Introductions

"Such a sweetspark, aren't you," Acree cooed as she showed Resonate around the Cybertronian sector of the N.E.S.T base which connected to Teletraan-1 and introduced Resonate to any bots they came across during the tour, which was a lot considering most the Autobots were familiar with LightChaser had been eager to meet Resonate, or just the sight of a sparkling again after so long.

Optimus kept pace, not that the blue femme blamed the Prime. Not one bit. Acree was sure he would have already bonded with Resonate by now but to her surprise, hadn't despite having every right to do so. Maybe it was because she had a bond with Soundwave that Optimus was hesitant, not knowing how the other mech would take to learning such information.

Soundwave had always been a fair mech, but the bonding with one's sparkling could be seen as a slight unless absolutely necessary for the sparkling's safety.

Will chose that moment to come jogging through, "Optimus," there was hesitance and worry painting his tone, this couldn't be good, "We may have trouble about to crop up in the shape of Galloway."

Optimus stilled.

It had only been five months since the Fallen and Egypt and his resurrection.

Galloway was an issue to put it lightly. His xenophobia against the Cybertronian was obvious to any that looked. He had jumped at the chance of getting his way of shutting N.E.S.T down the moment Optimus had terminated.

Good thing? He was on his way out.

Arcee thanked Primus every day for that, but clearly, the human male was not making the process easy.

"What is he coming to complain about now?" Arcee questioned.

Will grimaced, "I think he may have gotten wind of Resonate somehow."

Optimus growled, his engines making a deep and threatening sound that had Arcee tensing, not having heard it in—in stellar-cycles. No, not since Bumblebee had his vocal processor damaged.

Thinking on her pedes, Arcee slipped Resonate back into Optimus's grasp. The sound was cut short as the sparkling chirped.

The growl soothed to a rumble.

Will relaxed below them and Arcee knelt, offering a servo for the major to climb onto.

"Perhaps a hallway is not the best place for this conversation?" she inquired.

Optimus wasn't in any state to be meeting with Galloway, not when his instincts and processor were all over the place with Resonate's return.

Resonate did not know what this thing was. Didn't understand what Orion and 'Cee were saying to it as it responded. She cooed inquisitively.

It was so strange—it wasn't that bigger than her!

They spoke and she whined in annoyance.

"Easy, little one," Orion soothed, "Humans cannot speak Cybertronian."

Hu-mans? She cheeped, unfamiliar with the word, it didn't…translate?

"They are organic in nature," Arcee added, "We are on their home planet."

Organic? How strange!

They spoke some more, and whatever it was didn't sound too good by the annoyance of Arcee and the hu-man's expressions.

But then her tanks rumbled, and she squeaked.

"Let's get you some energon, yes?" Orion hummed.

Yes!

They went all the way back to the med-bay where Ratchet was! The hu-man came too and they continued to talk. Maybe something important happened? Ratchet wasn't any more impressed with whatever they were talking about than 'Cee and Orion.

But Resonate had her energon and that's all that mattered to her! She spent some time with Ratchet when Orion and Arcee left with the hu-man. She cheeped and chirped with Ratchet, curious about how different this med-bay was to Knockout's.

"You're quite the curious one, Resonate," Ratchet stroked her back struts and she puffed up proudly.

She is! She likes learning! Frenzy and Rumble said she was just like creator with her curiosity!

Ratchet chuckled and set her on his shoulder letting her watch as he worked.

By the time sleep began creeping up on her, Resonate was back in Optimus' hold.

Sam, while no longer having his brain slowly turn to mush by the overwhelming information shoved into it by the sliver of All-Spark, had retained some knowledge. Nothing really all that important in the grand scheme of things but he had benefited from having all that stuff even now.

(Maybe it was the All-Sparks way of saying sorry? Because where before he was just above passing, now things seemed to make much more sense.)

Still, with the first year of college coming to an end, he and Mikaela were free to visit the bots again. After Egypt, after dying and seeing the Original Thirteen, after bringing Optimus back, Sam had been gifted a new view of the world. His guilt for how he had treated the bots with his desire for a normal life still ate away at him even months later.

(There were bots he had yet to properly meet!)

Even if Optimus had said he didn't see any fault in Sam's previous desires, it didn't stop the guilt.

After everything he'd gone through, Sam had been reelevating some things in life. Like what he wanted to do. Mikaela had already been offered a job at N.E.S.T as a mechanic and while Will had originally been joking about getting Sam on as an Ambassador for the Autobots, it had become something more serious as of late.

With Galloway on the way out (thank God-slash-Primus) and his replacement decided, Optimus had voiced his desire to have an ambassador of his own that understood them more. That would have an easier time expressing the Autobots desires where the other party might be intimidated by a one-on-one with Optimus.

Apparently, Optimus saw Sam as the perfect candidate.

("While young, you have shown your dedication and strive to do what you must, Sam. I would not be here today if not for you. The All-Spark chose to bestowits knowledge to you for a reason, the Matrix revealed itself to you for a reason. Do not think so lowly of yourself.")

Sam didn't feel like he had done anything worthy of such faith, he's destroyed the original All-Spark casing and while Optimus had said such power couldn't simply be destroyed, just change forms, it didn't suddenly make the fact he had done so redundant. He had felt the pain the All-Spark had felt when Sam had shoved the cube into Megatron's chassis. Could hear those final countless thoughts that ran through Megatron's processor before he had offline.

(Sam doesn't want to think about just what he had heard, probably couldn't even remember them completely, just a jumbled mess of emotions and desires and loss. A part of Sam believes Optimus when he says Megatron is redeemable because of it.)

When Bumblebee had arrived to pick him and Mikaela up, the bot had been eager to get a move on. Excited about something he wouldn't spill until Sam and Mikaela got to base.

However, hours later, they do and it's to a flurry of activity.

Bumblebee transformed around them, and they ended up in his servo as the yellow and black Autobot hurried along into the Teletraan-1 part of the base.

"Can you tell us now?" Mikaela laughed.

Bee just grinned, "You'll see. You've not gonna believe me unless you see."

Now if Sam's curiosity wasn't already piqued, it certainly was now.

Of course, that surprise turned out to be a tiny Cybertronian.

A sparkling, that remaining knowledge told him, and Sam was freaking out in amazing.

Mikaela was already cooing over the little indigo and white sparkling before Sam even managed a word.

"How?"

"She was found in a newly uncovered stasis pod!" Bee chimed as the femme whirled back at them, reaching a servo out to touch Mikaela's face.

"What's her name?"

"Resonate," Optimus smiled.

She chirped at her name, blinking orange optics up at the towering mech.

"Can she understand us?" Mikaela questioned.

Bumblebee shook his head, "No. She doesn't have the understanding or space for instant information yet. But like human babies would, she'll be able to pick up phrases and piece together meanings naturally."

"That's amazing," Sam mumbled, "Do you know whose she is? Was she by herself?"

Optimus vented, "A number of us already knew Resonate, but her aunt took her and ran upon Resonate's carrier's passing. She wound up with her creator sometime after that and was jettisoned by him."

"And you know who this creator is?"

"Uh," Bumblebee peered at Optimus as if asking for the go-ahead, "It's Soundwave."

"Not what I was expecting," Mikaela breathed.

"But Soundwave isn't really all that violent, is he?" Sam inquired, "What with his cassettes. He doesn't do much fighting. He's never been one for front lines, so to speak."

"You are correct," Optimus nodded, letting Resonate slide off his servo to sit on the ground and get closer to Mikaela who happily let the sparkling explore her face, "Truthfully, Resonate's discovery correlates with some Decepticon behaviour prior that we had not been able to make sense of."

"So they were looking for her?" Mikaela confirmed. Optimus nodded.

"What's the plan then?" Sam questions, that knowledge being extremely useful at this moment, "If I'm interpreting the information right, she's got a bond with Soundwave. That distance isn't good."

Optimus vented once again, "Indeed. Current standing, we will wait for them to make contact with us. If Resonate deteriorates or becomes stressed from the distance, we will act swiftly. But what that action is, is still up for debate."

"Not everyone agreeing to give her back?" Mikaela piped up.

"It's complicated," Bumblebee chirped, "Resonate could possibly be one of the few sparklings left. Of course, there's a possibility bots have found homes out in the stars and thrived but for us? Resonate's existence means a lot, to those that knew her before or not. But to keep a sparkling from their parents is very frowned upon, even among those that line with the Deceptions. Not even most Cons are that horrid."

"What about—" Sam hesitated a beat, "What about Megatron?"

"He falls into that selection too," Optimus dipped his chin, "He is only cruel to those that can fight back. He could never even think to raise a weapon to an undefended youngling, let alone a sparkling. It is also likely, considering Megatron's friendship with LightChaser, that he cares deeply for Resonate too."

That gave a lot for Sam to mule over, he turned back to Resonate who was giggling as she fiddled with Mikaela's hair who was grinning.