First Encounter:
Earth; July 21st 1983
Allegheny Mountains, West Virginia
"Would you guys get a move on! C'mon, we don't have all day you know!"
Herbert, a part-time camp counselor and full time biology college student scowled at the group of children he was trying to guide back to the campsite. One of three children had apparently convinced two others to dwell deep into the woods in hopes of finding the wild onions Herbert mentioned a day prior. The idiot responsible for this insubordination, Rylee, blinked sheepishly and nodded along with the other two idiots; Dylan and Ethan.
The three hurried along and dared not protest. Herbert made a mental note to himself to convince the camp director to expel Rylee from the camp. This was a school camp, and her parents hadn't paid a cent for their stupid daughter to be here, they'll surely be gladdened to take her back home and give her the lecture of her life.
'God, I hate children' Herbert muttered under his breath as he pulled a pair of clippers to clear away thorny bushes. Last thing he wanted was for the scent of cuts to attract wild animals or Lyme Disease carrying ticks.
"You think you're a man now that you're twenty?" The damnable girl sneered at him and the idiots following her jeered along. Herbert grit his teeth, but said nothing. He cleared the path and mentally cursed himself for accepting this job in the first place.
"Do you know where we're go-"
"-YES! NOW SHUT UP AND JUST FOLLOW!" Herbert snapped at the coward of a boy, Dylan. The timid boy whimpered and hurried along his two friends.
Herbert turned to clip the next set of thorny branches…
"Wait" he waved for the children to halt their movement.
"What's wrong" Rylee asked, but Herbert placed an index finger on his lips prompting the children to remain silent. 'Something sounds off" Herbert said quietly, his voice laced with caution.
BOOOOOOM
Herbert immediately tackled the children to the ground in an effort to shield them from the falling twigs and wood scraps. That had definitively sounded like an explosion, and in a place like this it could only mean there were illegal loggers around. He needed to get the children to safety right away, he didn't even want to think about what those loggers might do if they saw the stranded children.
"Get up!" Herbert ordered the group as he got up and removed the largest wood fragments that had cut into his skin- ignoring the exposed wounds. The children looked properly horrified.
"We, need to run, now!" He began jogging in the opposite direction of the explosion that came from the hills to their east and into the thickest woodlands to his left. The children followed, Ethan remarking that they are getting further from the camp now.
Herbert shook his head. He was no fool, getting to the nearest road and gas station was the right call to make. Besides, he perfectly knew his way around those woods and where Sammie's gas station was located at.
Get himself and the children to the gas station in one piece, call the police and fire department and notify them of what just happened.
"Umm… Herbert-"
"It's counselor!" Herbert corrected Rylee as they were running.
"Your leg is bleeding bad…" Herbert looked down and indeed the visible gash on his right leg was oozing blood slowly. His sock and boot covered in the sticky-drying blood.
'I know' Herbert whispered solemnly.
BOOOM
CLAANK
This time they stopped and hunkered down for the sounds to cease.
Except it never did. The sounds were getting LOUDER, and to make matters worse, they could now hear metal clanking and the sounds of heated metal sparks.
'Shit, shit, shit, shit' Herbert mentally cursed as he realized that things have gone south and they may not be able to make it out in time as safely as he thought they'd be. And his injured leg wasn't helping him either.
"Are we being attacked by Russia!" The timid boy, Dylan, practically squealed. Ethan shook his head, Herbert said a simple "No" and Rylee explained that the Air Force would be here by now if that was indeed the case.
Rylee, slipped her sling bag off her back and sat down next to Herbert as she pulled out a first aid kit. Dylan watched in nausea as Rylee and Ethan hurriedly cleaned, pressed, then dressed the wound.
Feeling grateful to the children for once in the three weeks that he has known them, Herbert uttered a weak thank you and accepted the hands outstretched to him to help him on his feet. He limped on Rylee and Ethan and the four began their desperate attempt at fleeing whomever was causing the destruction.
Birds and mammals were fleeing to the woods ahead of them. Herbert lowered his head as the children shrieked upon hearing tremors that were increasing by the moment- as though it were a series of earthquakes he fully know couldn't happen in this region. Something was terribly off, and he began to wonder if Dylan wasn't being so paranoid.
One thing for sure, he was slowing the children down, and it wasn't like there was any place for them to hide. He stopped limping. Head hung down, lips curled back into a pained frown…. He needed to be the responsible adult here.
"You kids run ahead-"
"NO!" came the combined response from the children. Even Dylan surprised him with what he said next:
"You scoured the woods to find us after we got lost, we can't just leave you behind!"
Herbert's brown eyes shone in both shock and admiration. He smiled sadly. He knew that he shouldn't let the children stay in this area, and the trees behind them were shaking heavily as they now could clearly hear crossfires… The Russians indeed..
"Rylee… Lead those two idiots away from here… NOW!" He screamed at the girl hoping that she'd listen and guide the lesser experienced children away from here. He tried again "This an order from your counselor, get out NOW!"
The girl was on the edge of tears with water welling up in her eyes. Dylan was outright crying, and Ethan was gasping in horror. Finally, and thankfully, she nodded and helped Herbert to the ground despite the two boy's protests.
"We'll definitely bring back help!" She said shakily as the tears streamed down the terrified girl's cheeks.
Herbert nodded and smiled weakly. 'Brave kid', he complimented her in his mind. "Now go" he ordered her. She turned around hesitantly and grabbed a shoulder on each of the boys and shouted to them to run.
Herbert's sad smile quickly faded when something happened to make him feel as though the world had stilled around him. A missile flew right above them- he clearly saw a purple head shaped ensign printed on it. The children halted, Rylee tackled the boys back and yelled something that he couldn't hear for his ears were ringing terribly from the loud rocket sound.
The missile exploded a little ahead and he felt his head lighten as a result of the shock wave from the explosion. Nausea then dread quickly overtook him once the cloud of smoke and wood dust cleared a little. He turned to his left to the children with minor cuts and scrapes, but they were alive and unharmed.
They were all far from safe however.
He could smell the smokes of the fire that had just ignited ahead. His heartbeat hastened tremendously and his blood ran cold when he heard a booming- yet raspy metallic voice behind him
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
The tremors…. Herbert realized the instant he braved to turn his fear stricken face around.
They were footsteps..
A pained choke escaped his sore throat as his mind desperately tried to grasp exactly what he was looking at.
Some kind titanic winged humanoid with a metal like exoskeleton. The creature staring him down had a pair of crimson red eyes affixed to him. It seemed to have a face, but it looked as though it was hidden behind what he could describe as a snow white face mask, and its head seemed to be protected by some sort of cherry red helm that had two protruding fins at its head. Its body looked slightly curvaceous with its hourglass-like form. Cherry red hip 'v' shaped plating ended off at the creature's pale gray mid thighs but was open on both sides of its hips forming some sort gladiator-like kilt at a distance even though the plating was clearly attached to its hips and upper thighs. Its long and lithe pale gray legs ended at its knees with cherry red and white armored 'boots' that had what seemed like back pipes in the shape of clawed spikes and two (weapons?) attached on both sides of its 'boots'. Its abdomen was covered in snow white plating with two maroon streaks running down its body and crossing at its midsection then crossing out into its hips and disappearing into the gladiator kilt-like plating. At the upper section of its abdomen was yellowish orange bulge that reflected light off like it was made of a glass like composition.
The winged creature was holding a long broad sword in its right arm, which like its legs, was mostly 'exposed' save for the cherry red gantlet-like armor from the elbow down to its clawed hand. Its other arm was fully 'armored' with no thin pale gray surface visible. Instead, its arm was clad in heavy boxy snow white armor that supported the weight of a weight of an elongate triangular shaped weapon that ran the length of its arm that ended with another clawed hand.
But its wings, those massive white appendages that extended out of its back and ended with a curved tip. A single red streak ran down the center of each wing and halted at the familiar purple ensign before resuming to end of the wing. There was an appendage beneath its left wing that resembled the broad sword it was already wielding in its right hand.
An untrained eye would think they were looking at a robot, but Herbert was certain that this creature that stood over thrice his own standing height was something else entirely.
It looked majestic, yet deadly.
It approached him, sword ready to strike.
"You saw too much" it simply said before raising its sword to bring it down on him.
'hmmm-'
The winged creature halted and both it and Herbert turned to the direction of the whimpers.
Herbert felt his heart sink. The creature just saw the unconscious children-
"Ple-a, please… do-don't" Herbert begged weakly.
Something in the creature's crimson eyes glowed differently. It was looking directly at the children.
"Th-they didn't… see you" Herbert begged again, his eyes welling up with tears of worry. The last thing he wanted to see before he died was for the children to be maimed by this creature of death.
It just continued to stare at the children, seemingly immobile.
To Herbert's horror, Rylee's eyes cracked open, fully seeing the creature before her. She looked so terrified, she couldn't scream… However, it wasn't truly the winged creature she was looking at. No, it was rather what was standing in the woods ahead.
A laser shot fired, burning through the air.
The winged creature dodged it, but both it and Herbert realized that the burning plasma was about to hit directly next to the children- they were going to be incinerated!
"AUUUUGH!"
A guttural cry escaped the wing creature, their back and wings sustaining heavy burns from the plasma shot while its body laid hunkered in front of the children.
Herbert gasped, his jaw line stiff.
The creature that was about to kill him had shielded the children with its own body.
The creature that fired the shot stepped ahead, and it looked more intimidating to Herbert than the winged creature. The massive blue eyed titan of a creature, a blue and red humanoid with a glowing blaster trained at the winged creature.
Herbert didn't know exactly how much adrenaline his body pumped to get him up. He ran so fast towards the winged creature, stood in front of them, and faced the red and blue titan with hate filled eyes. At the very least the winged one was considerate enough to protect three helpless children, this titan didn't care if it hit the wrong target.
"BAAACK OFFFFF!"
The titan froze in place, its 'pupil' rings shrunk.
Herbert didn't want this titan near the children, he screamed at it again.
"LEAVE IT AND THE CHILDREN ALOOONE!"
Three different whimpered cries were heard. The children, they were all awake!
The winged creature enveloped its arms around them, and the titan caught glance of a human child behind one of the winged creature's wings.
Something in the titan's eyes changed in the very same manner with the winged creature. It looked horrified, Herbert noted, as though it had just walked into a murder scene. The glow in the titan's weapon died off.
'Did it just… disarm its weapon?'
Herbert felt pained murmurs behind him and turned to see the winged creature shaking like a leaf from pain.
"What have I done…"
The titan behind Herbert spoke. Herbert turned back to it and glared hard.
"TOO FUCKING MUCH YOU BASTARD" he swore at the titan.
The titan was about to say something when a radio transition picked up from the titan's left arm
::Prime, is everything alright on your end? Is the Death Angel nearby?::
Herbert glanced up at the winged creature that had turned its head to look at the titan with panicked eyes.
The titan remained silent.
::Prime?::
Finally it spoke back to the 'creature' on the transmission line.
::Negative, Prowl, I have no visual on Starscream::
Starscream gasped in confusion, and so did Herbert.
'Did this tit- did Prime just… Let the- Starscream be?'
The radio transmission line broke off. 'Prime' and 'Starscream' stared at one another with perplex. Neither said anything until the children in Starscream's arms began crying.
"Starscream… you should go"
".…. Fair enough, Prime"
Starscream turned around and gently laid the three crying children down next to Herbert. The children quickly clung back to Starscream's arm.
"Don't leave us with that monster! Please, don't!"
Hilbert heard a pained wince from Prime's direction.
Starscream chuckled darkly despite the pain and shook its head. "He wouldn't harm you" It said as it looked back at Prime who was gazing at the five of them with guilt ridden eyes. Starscream stood up shakily. Prime stepped ahead with an outstretched arm to help it, but it swatted his hand away.
"Do Not Touch Me"
Prime backed off, muttering a silent apology to Starscream.
"Wha… what the hell!?" Herbert blurted out, he was dangerously close to having a panic attack. Starscream looked down towards him and the children with hollow eyes.
"... Trust me, he won't harm you"
Starscream, limping on its sword, opened a transmission line:
::Starscream to Skywarp, I need you to bridge me for a short distance from the coordinates I'm sending you. I want you to warp me out right after::
::Star… Is everythin-::
::JUST DO AS I SAY::
::R-r-right. Receiving coordinates n-now!::
It took three seconds for Starscream to de-materialize from where it was standing. Herbert had counted the seconds.
And his world turned to white noise as a panic attack took its hold on him.
::Optimus to Ratchet. I need the immediate presence of human medical professionals at the base and a ground bridge direct to base::
::What the slag happened Optimus!?::
::…. Crossfire that resulted in four human witnesses::
::Red Alert to Prime. I'm on Ratchet's transmission. When did the crossfire take place and with whom?::
::I did not have clear visual. All I know is that a plasma shot of mine accidentally injured a band of humans I wasn't aware were present there..::
::…. I see… Any sighting of the Death Angel?::
::No, none::
::Understood and documented.. Sending ground bridge to your coordinates now. Jazz is contacting the Federal Bureau to notify them of the current situation. A full report by both you and the humans is required upon their recovery::
::Understood; Red, Ratchet. Prime out::
Optimus Prime cut the comm transmission and sighed painfully. He turned to face the three younglings and their now lucid caretaker, Herbert. Optimus fully explained to the group that he was going to falsify the report and asked them to act along when the time came for them to report the events that just took place.
If his fellow soldiers knew of the injuries he had afflicted upon the Seeker, they would have set out to finish the job before the Seeker could recover. Optimus knew that the Seeker had a high death warrant on the Autobot watch for being the single most lethal Decepticon. But Optimus was no Decepticon, and had he killed the Seeker right then and there, he would have become no better than Megatron.