Time and Time Again

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"Jumpin' jetstreams!" Slingshot exclaimed after the Aerialbots saw the Stunticons transform into Menasor. "Aerialbots! Show 'em what you got!" Optimus called to the team of fliers. Before any of them knew what they were doing, the five found themselves transforming and combining. "No! It can't be!" Megatron exclaimed. "Surprise, Megatron! Meet Superion!" Optimus countered. This was a new experience for the Aerialbots and gave Silverbolt the chance to know what they're feeling and thinking. One of the first things he noticed was the fact that in the back of his processor, Air Raid was thinking of Skydive. "Menasor crush! Destroy!" The Decepticon combiner exclaimed. "Talk is cheap!" Superion said. And with that, the two started fighting.
—
"If it's all the same to you, I think I'll walk," Silverbolt said when asked if he was going to join his teammates in flying back to base. The battle had been won by the Autobots and Silverbolt had destroyed the key to Vector Sigma. While in the air, the fliers four decided on talking because flying in silence would've been boring. "Can you believe Silverbolt went and did that?" Firaflight asked. "I know," Air Raid jumped in. "Who knew he had it in him?" Skydive seemed to pick up Air Raid flying close to her, though she didn't really think much of it. "And to think he's afraid of heights," Slingshot stated. "He did come through when we needed him," Skydive said.
—
The first ones back at base were the fliers four. While Slingshot and Firaflight went off to do their own thing, Air Raid got a hold of Skydive's arm and said, "Skydive, wait!," before she could leave. Bright blue optics look at the mech in surprise. "What's up, Air Raid?" She asked. Was he... was he blushing? Arms soon found their way around her frame and a helm rested on her shoulderplating. At first, the femme was too surprised to do anything, but she soon started placing her arms around the red and white mech. As she was doing so, she heard him faintly say, "I like spending time with you." That made her pause for a moment. Really? Her? Not Slingshot or Firaflight? She hugged him tightly and refused to let go. Internally, Air Raid was screaming because the bot he's in love with was hugging him. "If you wanna start by taking things slow, then we can do so," Skydive muttered. Now it's Air Raid's turn to hug tightly. "Yeah. I'd like that," he said.
—
When the others arrived at base, Silverbolt immediately went to find his teammates. Where he found them? Rec. room. One of the things he noticed when he approached them was that Air Raid and Skydive were holding each other's servos, their digits intertwined. "Hi guys," the larger flier said. Multiple sets of optics look up at him. "Hey 'Bolt!" Firaflight exclaimed with a bright smile. Silverbolt placed a servo on her helm to show he'd heard her, earning a pleased sound from the femme. "What's going on with you two?" The Aerial commander asked Air Raid and Skydive. "We're taking things slow," Skydive said. A slight smile crossed Silverbolt's faceplate and he looked at the red and white mech. "So, you told her you liked her, huh?" At mention of that, Air Raid soon became flustered. And he's blushing. Both Skydive and Firaflight looked at him while Slingshot tried not to laugh at seeing his reaction. "I mean, I said I like spending time with her..." There was a pause as Air Raid looked at his commander. "How did you know?" Upon hearing that, Skydive smiled and hugged his arm. "I could tell when we were combined. She was in the back of your processor," Silverbolt informed. "Aww," Firaflight cooed. "You two are cute together!"
—
Some time after initially meeting Skyfire, Firaflight found herself on the way back to Cybertron with the rest of her team, as well as Optimus, Ratchet, Ironhide, and Wheeljack. And what was with them saying that they shouldn't look up to the Decepticons? Even Silverbolt was saying that. Silverbolt of all mechs. She didn't seem to realize she was distracted by her thoughts until Slingshot sent her a comm. ::Hey, Cybertron to the red jet about to crash.:: Huh? Seems she just now noticed the building and just narrowly missed crashing into it. "You need to pay attention to your surroundings," Skydive said when she rejoined her fellow fliers. "I know, I know. I'm sorry," Firaflight apologized. The conversation soon shifted to the Autobots and Cybertron before being attacked by Starscream, Thundercracker, And Skywarp. Before anything could be done, Slingshot transformed and landed on the ground, the others minus Silverbolt following suit. "Wait! We just want to talk for a minute!" They hadn't heard what was being said between the trine, but the three transformed and landed nearby. "Okay buddies, we'll talk. What do you want to know?" Starscream asked as they approached the fliers four. "I want to know why Optimus Prime thinks you're evil," Slingshot said. "That old rust bucket doesn't know a thing about Decepticons. Stick with me. I'll teach you some things about the Decepticons, all right," Starscream lied, though the fliers four didn't pick up on it and followed the seekers. "I don't believe this!" Silverbolt exclaimed when he saw what went down. The Aerialbot commander reported to Optimus before going after his teammates. He hadn't heard Ironhide's comment of them trying to switch sides.
—
The seeker trine brought the fliers four to an abandoned building that appears to have its roof blown off. Silverbolt transformed to root mode and ran after them. He overheard Starscream saying, "Why don't you have a seat over there and I'll tell you all about it?" "No guys!" The Concorde exclaimed, resulting in the others looking at him in surprise. Well, minus the seekers of course. "Don't you see it's some kind of trap?!" He asked as he joined his team. Before anything could be done, the combiner team found themselves being taken to the past. Once there, they looked around in awe. "Sure looks different than the Cybertron we were just on," Firaflight pointed out. "Because we're in Cybertron's past," Skydive stated. When the sound of receding pedefalls reached their audials, the fliers four looked to see Silverbolt walking away. "Where are you going big brother?" Slingshot asked before trailing after the larger flier. The other three gave each other confused looks before following the two. "Going to try and find a way to get back to our time," Silverbolt said. Blue optics looked over shoulderplating. "You know, sometimes I wish you guys would just listen to me. I'm disappointed in you." And with that, Silverbolt looked forward again. Slingshot paused at what was said and for a moment there, Firaflight could've sworn she saw hurt spread across his features when she looked at him. Knowing he would refuse, she left him alone and didn't ask if he was alright.
—
"The Decepticons. Boy, this'd be a great time to get to know 'em!" Slingshot exclaimed. "You've just got to learn things the hard way, don'tcha?" Silverbolt asked and walked away from his adoptive brother. Slingshot looked at Silverbolt's back and once again, there was the hurt on his faceplate that no bot noticed this time. They'd met Orion, his girlfriend Ariel (of which Air Raid happily admitted that Skydive was his after Orion said Ariel was his), and his best friend Dion. They also saw Megatron flying overhead. Air Raid smiled brightly and placed an arm around the black and red femme. A smile crossed Skydive's faceplate and she leaned against him. For whatever reason, the team of five had left the energy docks. Exploring, maybe? Soon enough, Silverbolt realized what was going on and said, "Guy, come on! We have to get back to the energy docks!" The other Aerialbots looked at him in confusion before taking off after him when he started running. When they got to the building at the energy docks, they saw Orion, Ariel, and Dion laying on the ground unmoving. "No!" Silverbolt exclaimed as he found himself at the red and blue mech's side, holding him and having a servo on his helm. "Orion! Orion, speak to me! Speak to me!" He didn't, however, and instead his helm turned away from the gestalt leader. Blue optics looked at the other fliers. "We need to find someone to help him." While Silverbolt got a hold of Orion's legs, Slingshot wrapped his arms under Orion's. Once they had him off the ground, they walked out of the building to find somebot to help.
—
They'd managed to find someone to help, but didn't seem to realize it's Alpha Trion. They had convinced him to repair Orion and told him of Ariel needing repairs as well. One at a time, he'd said. With nothing else to do at the moment, the five fliers sat outside Alpha Trion's workshop and waited for him to finish. Slingshot and Silverbolt sat near each other, the other three nearby. The three played a game to pass the time. "How much longer are we gonna have to wait?" Firaflight asked after what seemed like forever. "Just cool out, he'll tell us when he's done," Silverbolt said. The door to the workshop opened and there stood Alpha Trion. All five jets stood up and looked at him. "Well, it's finished. You may not recognize him. He is no longer Orion Pax. He is the first of our new defenders... Optimus Prime." Upon revealing who he is, five sets of optics widen. They knew him! Holy slag they knew him! "I was wrong, my friends. I admired Megatron merely because he was powerful. I failed to see how he used that power," Optimus said. "Haha, it's ok," Slingshot said with a smile. "We've all made the same mistake." The newly rebuilt mech led the others to the battlefield after confirmation that Ariel would be rebuilt, though the fliers left at a certain point to go do something else.
—
They were at the energy docks. They'd seen the cargo transports Megatron had and were planning on how to get rid of them. "Oh! I know!" Skydive exclaimed. "Charges! We can blow them up!" "Good idea, Skydive," Silverbolt said before the Aerialbots went and found charges. Air Raid smiled at the femme. "You know, you're pretty smart," he told her. Skydive shrugged a bit. "Meh." And there's the moment of hurt. "Wow, that was harsh. I think that's the first time you've turned down a compliment," Air Raid said. She looked at her lover. "Sorry, I just don't see how I could be smart," she admitted. "This is the last of them," Silverbolt was saying. "Wait until they're all inside, then blow it up." Skydive then hurried to the larger mech and pointed towards the door to show warriors. "Wait! Look! The warriors are blocking all the doors!" She exclaimed. "There's no way we can get out before the fuel stockpiles explode!" "We can't let the Decepticons win!" Silverbolt said. "Yeah, if they win this battle, they win the future, too," Slingshot stated. "Do it Slingshot!" Silverbolt shouted. Aiming for one of the charges, Slingshot fired. It caused a chain reaction of explosions that blew up the fuel. Luckily, the fliers were pulled back to their time before they were caught in it.
—
When they landed in the present, the four that had come with them were fighting Megatron and the seeker trine, as well as a decapitated Guardian Robot. After pushing the giant back, Silverbolt shouted, "Aerialbots! Transform into Superion!" And then the five transformed and combined, taking on the Guardian Robot almost immediately and managing to destroy it after chucking it into the air and having it crash onto the ground.
—
After everything was done and they were back on Earth, Firaflight took it upon herself to approach Silverbolt. She knocked on the door to his room. "Come in," the voice on the other side said. The femme entered the room and found Silverbolt sitting at his desk. "Oh, Firaflight," Silverbolt said when he saw her. "What brings you here?" "I wanted to talk to you about something you said earlier," she said. When he didn't say anything, she continued. "When you said you were disappointed in us, I noticed Slingshot in particular stop in his tracks and he looked hurt." That seemed to have caught the Aerial off guard. Why would... "It's just that before you all realized the threat of the Decepticons, you didn't seem to want to listen to me," Silverbolt countered. "Him more than the rest." "But that's the thing," Firaflight continued. "I think Slingshot looks up to you and just wants your attention. The fact that you have been directing it elsewhere and then said that really upset him. He just doesn't want to admit it, right Slingshot?" She smiled and looked at the mech that had been standing close to the door. Said mech froze like a deer in headlights, moreso when Silverbolt looked at him in surprise. How had she known that he wanted his brother's attention? Or that he was even there? A sigh escaped the visored aerial and he approached the two. "Yeah," he said meekly, directing his gaze elsewhere and his lower lip component sticking out in a pout. Underneath the visor, coolant pricked the corners of his optics. "She's right." Awww, Silverbolt internally cooed at the reaction. Getting up, the large flier walked around his desk to stand in front of Slingshot. An orange faceplate looked up at him, that same sad pout still there. Silverbolt got to Slingshot's level and wrapped his arms around the smaller mech. Orange optics widen and coolant fell from them. Sure enough, arms wrapped around Silverbolt and Slingshot cried softly. Neither seemed to notice Firaflight leave. "I'm sorry, Slings," Silverbolt murmured. "Didn't mean to hurt you. I'll do better, I promise." Upon hearing that, Slingshot couldn't help but cry harder and hold tighter. Now Slingshot's been picked up and carried to Silverbolt's berth to cuddle and maybe recharge if it got to the point.