A/N: *Edit* There was a very bad page-break mistake in this chapter, so I went in and fixed it. My OCD tends to do that to me.

Enjoy this next installment of "EOMF". A little action, a little plot building, and a whole lot of drama. Enjoy and let me know what ya think! Title is a shout-out to my good friend and fellow author "buddhabread." This un's for you, hon! Hope ya don't mind my purloining of your title ;)

Chapter Six: First Impressions

Warm, enveloping darkness. Ah, such warmth! Just like being back in her old apartment and snuggling down deep within the sheets. And Mom would come in and kiss her kindly good-night…and tuck the blankets snuggly around her little body…She could even hear the murmur of the television in the next room, soft voices talking back and forth…her Mom raising up and leaving, soft footsteps traveling away to pitter-patter within the living room…

Dull grayness would begin to seep into the edges of her vision. Was it dawn already? How quickly it should come! The murmuring voices from the television would raise and lower in volume. How odd that Mom would leave the TV on overnight. More feeble light and then a dull throbbing ache at the back of her neck. Why do I feel so sore? Blearily she cracked her eyes open. Dull, muted gun-metal greys, and rust browns filled her vision, until her eyes slowly adjusted and her vision sharpened. This isn't my room! She sat up quickly, instantly regretting such a sudden action. Her head swam and the dull ache flared into full-fledged pain. Maria instinctively raised a hand to the back of her neck, not that it would do her any good. When the dizziness subsided, rational thought slowly returned as well as the events of the past night.

She wasn't back in her old apartment's room, like she had imagined, but instead was in what appeared to be a large warehouse. Large iron girders ribbed the roof like a massive carcass as far as her eye could see; two short, grey walls perpendicular with one another obstructed her binocular vision. She seemed to be lying in one of the corners of this large building, separated from the main floor by cubicle walls. A thin felt blanket lay in her lap, a feeble, but efficient barrier against the chill in the building. Voices echoed off the walls from somewhere deeper within. She realized that her dream hadn't been completely off the wall; the voices she imagined that were on the television were actually voices she had been hearing in real life—another example of her subconscious playing tricks, no doubt.

Where the hell am I? What's going on here?

Maria was too far away to hear the voices clearly, but she figured that little problem could be remedied easily. She tossed the thin blanket off her hips and slowly stood to her feet, using one of the walls for stability. A small gap had been left as a crude doorway between the partition and the actual warehouse wall, so with stumbling steps, the young teen made her way out. She paused briefly allowing her grey eyes to adjust to the darkness and letting her ears pinpoint the exact location of the voices. There! That way. She walked softly as much to ease the throbbing within her head as well as to keep from being heard. Prawsky had brought her here; that much was certain. But why? Where was he now? And why clout her over the head? What the hell was that for? If he truly was a friend, he shouldn't have done that. In any event, her suspicions were on high alert.

Her eyes traveled curiously over what little she could see. There appeared to be other small partitions scattered here and there, none of them having been used for ages it seemed. Some had even toppled, or had been pushed out of the way, feathery cobwebs floating in the occasional draft that blew now and again. Dust hung thick in the stale-smelling air; it appeared the place hadn't been used in quite some time—it's present state only heightening Maria's suspicions and fear. As she crept forward her eyes began to distinguish several large shapes up ahead in what appeared to be the main floor of the building. Two large shapes were on the left while another remained on the right. All were massive, but fit comfortably within the confines of the warehouse. They even looked oddly familiar…and then as Maria drew closer, it hit her like a shock of cold water in the face. They were jets! F-15 Eagles to be precise, just parked idly within this abandoned warehouse, well, seemingly abandoned anyway. Mouth open in awe, Maria walked cautiously between them, circling one and then another, occasionally reaching out a hand to brush the finely painted titanium. It may have been dark, but even her eyes could distinguish that each jet was painted a different a color—one was grey, another dark blue and the third, the one on the right, nearly blent in with the darkness—it was ebony black. How odd. F-15s weren't usually so colorful unless they were used in air shows or something of the sort. Why were they here? Whose were they? So many questions, and so few answers.

Her curiosity sated for the time being, Maria continued on up the aisle, towards a narrow beam of light that could only mean a door. It seemed that was where the voices were originating. She had no idea what she'd do when she reached her destination; these people wanted her alive for something; they had to, otherwise why keep her around? Even one as naïve as she, knew she was nothing short of a liability. What in the hell was Prawsky playing at? If he was even still here? Nervousness and anxiety began to settle within her stomach like a heavy meal, weighing her down and making each step harder and harder to complete, but still she continued. The door was partially ajar. Standing off to one side, she gently listened for any signs of life. The voices were still present, but they seemed to be in yet another room.

Praying to God that the door wouldn't squeak, Maria carefully pushed it inward just enough for her to get through. She sighed internally and began to creep duck-style across the floor. Suddenly without warning, blinding florescent light flooded the room! Maria grunted in surprise and threw her hands up to help ease the glare, more than well aware of the sound of footsteps approaching, but she couldn't yet see to flee, her eyes having grown accustomed to near darkness. Once the light blindness had worn off she removed her hands only to hear a noxious, raspy voice come from directly above her.

"Didn't your creators teach you that it was rude to eavesdrop?" the voice snapped harshly.

Maria swallowed nervously, eyes dilated. I am so fucked!

Some time earlier…

"What in the name of Primus were you thinking, you dolt!?"

"What would you have had me do, Screamer!? They were trying to kidnap her! I couldn't just stand around and let that happen, not after the promise I gave Stinger."

"I knew that little Pit-spawn was gonna be more trouble than he was worth," Starscream snarled fiercely, slamming his holographic fists against the table.

"Hey! You agreed to give him the beacon too. In fact, it was your word or nothing," Skywarp countered, also in his hologram. After abandoning the car and taking to the air, he had contacted his wingmates and informed them of his intentions, which admittedly, hadn't gone much farther than rendezvousing at the old, abandoned warehouse located in Devil's Canyon, as the humans called it. It was aptly named too. The warehouse was part of a system of mines that had been abandoned in the early 1950s, mainly due to unavoidable and unpredictable methane explosions within the mines. Most of the shafts had been closed off to prevent methane from escaping and preventing any accidental casulties, but the entire area had a long history of bad juju. Dating back to the 1800s, even the Indians avoided the place saying that "bad spirits restless there." And now to this day, modern civilization avoided the nearly 750 square miles of desert terrain.

The abandoned site made an ideal rendezvous point for the trine, having discovered its potential on a late night patrol when they had first landed on Earth. Their delicate and considerably more advanced sensors had informed them that the methane threat, though still present, was minimal due to the cave-ins. And it was here that Skywarp had brought Maria. Thus far, Thundercracker had been listening quietly and Starscream, well, Starscream was more than livid.

"Do you have any idea what sort of position you have put us in?" said mech hissed. "W are in no position to care for a human youngling."

"Oh, right. And we'd be in a better position once she was taken," Skywarp retorted, throwing his hands up in a human sign of exasperation.

"Do we know where Stinger is?" Thundercracker interjected before the argument could gain any more heat.

"No. I don't at least," Skywarp admitted, blazing brown eyes never leaving Starscream's. "I saw where the beacon went off and I went to investigate. When I got there two fleshbags were roughing the youngster up, so I returned the favor," he finished with a shrug.

"Did you kill them?" Starscream asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, but I should have. The human's law enforcement was too close for me to finish the job. They might have taken them into custody."

"And you don't think you were seen? Either there or back where you concealed yourself?" the holormed Starscream pressed.

"No on both counts. And even if I was the fleshies could never trace me," Skywarp said smugly.

"That still leaves us with the problem of caring for her!" Starscream snapped, resuming his pacing across the floor. Suddenly Thundercracker spoke.

"Silence. She's awake," he said softly, standing to his feet.

"How do you know?" Skywarp whispered, moving to the door.

"She touched me."

"Stay in here," Starscream commanded, "I'll take care of this."

Present time…

Maria then felt a rough hand grasp the back of her shirt collar and haul her up onto her feet. She stared fearfully into the unfamiliar ice blue eyes of a man, a man who looked well and truly pissed-off.

"Take it easy on the kid, Screamer," another voice, a deep baritone intoned from within the other room. The door opened wider to reveal two more silhouettes standing just inside the frame. They stepped out into the brighter light and Maria stifled a gasp as she recognized Prawsky being the third man. The one who had just spoken was every bit as large if not larger than her father's "friend." He wore a faded brown T-shirt similar to the ones favored by the military, ABU pants and black combat boots; his face was square, with a finely chiseled jaw and an impassive expression.

"And why should I?" the first snarled in that ear-jarring voice. He directed his attention back onto her. "Knowing our luck with humans, she'll be every bit as troublesome as her male creator."

Male creator? What the…? Is he referring to Stinger?

With a harsh fling, the first man tossed Maria across the floor, watching her sprawl painfully. She glared hatefully at the one called "Screamer," grey eyes leaping like white flames. She stood slowly to her feet eyes deviating from Screamer to find Prawsky.

"You!" she pointed accusingly, "Why'd you bring me here!? What the hell is going on!? Who are these bastards!?" She demanded in a tirade of questions.

"Well now, I was hoping you could tell us what was occurring Ms. Cline," Screamer spoke before Prawsky could get a word in edge-wise. His voice had lost its raspy snarl and was now as smooth as silk, but Maria didn't miss the way his eyes glittered like broken glass or the curious way one corner of his lips curled into a smirk. If he didn't look so downright menacing, the man would have looked rather attractive. Short cropped auburn hair had been trimmed into a classic crew cut; and his eyes were set in a handsome oval face. He had to be a pilot for one of the jets for he was wearing an olive drab flight suit. She couldn't quite make out the patching and she wasn't about to get closer to find out. Everything about this man screamed "danger" and Maria didn't let his good looks get the better of her judgment.

"Maria," Prawsky spoke, stepping beside the second man and throwing "Screamer" a warning look. "There's a lot that needs explaining…"

"I'll say! Just why in the hell did you knock me out and bring me here! And what's with those jets!?" She interjected, slowly backing away. From a previous, hurried observation there was a window directly behind her, old and cracked. She knew they weren't high above ground due to the shadows being cast about outside. It may prove to be her only way out. Any trust she had had in Prawsky had dissipated like water on a sidewalk in the heat of summer. This whole situation smelled bad and she didn't want to be a part of it. Primal instinct was beginning to kick in.

"Maria, let's sit down and talk about this," Prawsky said, holding his hands up in a beseeching manner.

"I say take her back to where she came from," Screamer snapped, folding his arms belligerently across his broad chest.

"Not helping, Starscream," the second man spoke up, his tone carrying an undercurrent of annoyance.

"Well…if that's the way you feel…" Maria said trailing off, her eyes darting behind her, "then, I'll just be going."

Thundercracker caught the quick dart of the girl's eyes and understood her intentions immediately. "DON'T!" he yelled, but it was already too late.

Maria pivoted on her toes, bent deep and flung herself through the feeble window, taking care to duck her head and shoulders. She easily penetrated the flimsy frame and landed painfully on her right shoulder, glass tinkling around her like a twisted form of rain. She felt numerous trickles of blood running down her arms, but there was no time to take stock now. She needed to escape, to get away from all this madness—this was all too much to contemplate, to understand. Scrabbling to her feet the teen bolted away from the building as fast as her tired legs could carry her, not daring to look back.

"Nice one, Screamer," Skywarp snarled, glaring hatefully at his wingmate.

"I am not the one who decided to jump out of a window," Starscream snapped back, arms still folded.

"Primus only knows how many mechs have wanted to after speaking with you. At least the human had the gumption," Skywarp growsed.

"Enough! Both of you!" Thundercracker roared, "We can argue over the merits of Starscream's conversationalism later. Let's just go and get the youngling before anything else happens tonight," he said dourly, grabbing Skywarp by the arm and shoving him towards the window. Throwing Starscream one last venomous look, Skywarp flickered out of existence and reappeared next to Thundercracker outside the shattered pane. Together the two holoforms took off after the girl listening closely to the sounds of her flight.

Maria continued to run despite the intense pounding of her heart and the burning in her lungs. Chaparral and sage brush whipped her face and tore at her arms--the desert; although where in the desert was anyone's guess. At this point in time Maria didn't care where she was so long as she had some distance between herself and them. Logistics could come later. Her flight soon brought her to a large drywash, a wet season run-off that had been carving through the desert for decades. Relieved for the change of pace, Maria began to carefully make her way down to the gully's floor, rock, sand and grit trailing behind her in a dusty plume. Once at the bottom of the gully, Maria glanced backwards up the embankment, listening carefully for signs of pursuit.

Silence…No wait. There! A sharp crackling within the brush. They were definitely pursuing. Turning once more, she began jogging up the wash, one ear to the rear, one eye to the front.

"We're not going to catch her!" Skywarp growled, crashing through the underbrush like a bull in a china shop.

Thundercracker stopped. "You're right. She's got too much of a head start and we're only driving her further away from us." He chuckled darkly. "Not the most ideal way to introduce Stinger's offspring to our existence, but I think one of us should go and fetch her back…the easy way."

Skywarp grinned. "I'll see you back at base." He stayed long enough to watch TC return the grin and then they both dissipated into the darkness.

Ten minutes. She had been running for ten minutes. By now her body screamed at her to stop, to take a pause, to do anything but run. Blood covered both arms from the numerous scratches caused by the chaparral and glass. One particularly nasty laceration stretched from her shoulder down her deltoid and across her bicep, nine inches long and deep into the muscle. Dark clots of blood coagulated around its edges but the wound still bled freely. It hurt like hell, but she ignored it—had to ignore it—just long enough until she could find a safe place to hide.

All of a sudden a dull roar filled the night sky, growing in intensity and loudness by the second. It was a sound that Maria had once loved, but now she feared—the thunderous roar of a low-flying jet. Ahead the arroyo was beginning to pan out and thick silt quickly replaced the courser rocks of the bed. She broke out into a sprint eyes straining to see any tell-tell signs of the aircraft. Her feet struggled in the deepening sand, but she still pushed onward. A dark blur grabbed her attention and she glanced sideways. There! Dug out from the embankment was a shallow depression carved from countless flashfloods during the rainy season; not really a cave, but not really an overhang, but it was a place to hide safely from overhead observation.

By this time the roar was almost deafening. The son of a bitch had to be almost overhead! But Maria could still not catch a visual. Desperately she dove for the shallow grotto and pressed herself as far back as she possible could. Silently she prayed she hadn't been seen, repeating it over and over like a sacred mantra.

It was then she heard the most curious sound—like hydraulics hissing, gears shifting and a whole multitude of other metallic, mechanical sounds. The roar from the jet engines was still deafening, but the sound seemed different somehow, like it was coming from a different direction.

Then the ground trembled immensely. Dust and small stones fell from the ceiling of her hideout. Her eyes widened with fear. Had it crashed? But there hadn't been any explosions. Now what was happening?

Another tremor. And then another. Another. More mechanical noises drawing closer and closer. Maria drew her knees up to her chest and bit the top of her knee cap to keep from whimpering her fear. Blood trickled down her arm to continue down her leg, pooling darkly at her feet.

Finally everything stopped—the tremors, the noises everything went silent as if someone had flipped a light switch. But Maria didn't move; it couldn't be safe, not yet. And then she heard the voice—an oddly familiar voice, but it resonated across the desert landscape and had a bizarre digital ring to it.

"I know where you are."

All the blood in her veins froze over. Her heart began to buffet her chest cavity; it beat so hard it hurt with a dull throb. Maria cringed back into her hidey-hole pretending to not have heard.

"Maria, don't make me pull you out," the voice spoke again, an unmistakable warning in its undertone.

She gasped when she heard her name, realization slapping her across the face. With shuddering movements, the teen crawled from her hiding place, every nerve on a knife's edge of sensitivity. As she scrabbled out, eyes straining in the darkness, she saw nothing at first…that is until the voice spoke from directly behind and above her.

"Now, was all that running really necessary?"

Maria spun around ready to fight, but all her aggression quickly evaporated as she faced Skywarp for the very first time. Her mouth gaped open and she trotted several steps backwards before tripping over some loose rubble and falling on her ass. She still continued to backpedal, eyes never leaving the monstrous sight before her. Skywarp sat crouched over the arroyo, hands hanging idly between his legs. Two massive cannons crossed over his arms, gleaming menacingly in the feeble starlight. With a sudden jolt of horrid understanding, Maria realized that the jet she had heard and tried to see was this thing. Massive triangular wings blocked a large portion of the sky; the large, rectangular air intakes crowned the shoulders. This thing, this robot, for she couldn't think of a more comparable term, was the jet. It had to be.

"Who or what are you?" she asked in a trembling voice, grey eyes never deviating from the ruby red lenses that comprised the giant's eyes.

The robot chuckled, an odd sound in the desert night. "Let's just say, I'm a good friend of your father's, but you know me better as…" and all of a sudden his holoform flickered in front of her and winked, " Prawsky."

She jumped as if she'd been shocked, going as pale as a ghost. "What? How? You! Him!" Half asked questions began to pour from her mouth as fast as she could draw a breath.

"Relax, kid. I'm not gonna hurt you. If I really wanted to you'd be dead already." Skywarp was monitoring her vitals and cringed as he sensed her heart rate spike. Oops. Wrong choice of words. "Never mind that last bit, but I do need you to come back with me."

"What!?"

"I said, 'I need you to come back with me,' to base. You're injured and I have things that I need to talk with you about your creator," Skywarp repeated somewhat impatiently. Time was wasting and Starscream's mood probably wasn't improving.

Maria began shaking her head. "No. No way, man! There's no way I'm going anywhere with you or Prawsky or any other human, image, person-thingy you create. Just…just leave me alone!" she said emphatically.

It was plain even to Skywarp that the human was entering shock. Her feeble biological systems had already undergone some extreme stress from earlier in the day; that, coupled with her crash through the window, her mad flight through the desert, and now this impromptu introduction with his true form-- he was honestly surprised that she was still functioning. His readings were also telling him she had lost a vast amount of blood as well—not a good thing. He remembered what Stinger had looked like back in Latveria when he had been grievously injured. He knew he needed to get that flow stopped and soon.

"I wasn't asking you, fleshy," he replied aggravatedly. "You're coming with me whether you like it or not." One giant foot landed within the arroyo, feet from Maria's struggling body. She scrambled to her feet and tried to run, but she was sorely out-classed and out-matched. The starlight disappeared as a massive hand enclosed around her, forcing Maria to her knees. She felt the large metal digits wrap around her body and dig into the sand beneath her knees.

Sudden weightlessness assaulted her senses as she felt herself lifted high into the air. She screamed, she bucked, she kicked but it was all to no avail. This metal giant had her helpless within his grip, her life literally in his hands. The stress and blood loss proved too great.

Skywarp felt her struggles lessen and then cease altogether. He opened his palm briefly to see that the human femme had off-lined—temporarily of course. Her vitals were erratic but stabilizing. It was just as well; at least now he could take her back without listening to her fuss and scream within him. With a longsuffering sigh, the black Seeker placed the human gently within his cockpit and secured her. With bitter irony, Skywarp reflected on how he first met Stinger. Her father took their first meeting so much better than this. On that thought, he transformed and rocketed off back towards the base.

"All right; I'm finished, but don't expect me to do this ever again! The smell is absolutely disgusting!" Thundercracker grumbled loudly, faceplates scrunched in an obvious sign of displeasure. His joints were beginning to ache from having been locked in position for so long and the smell of burnt flesh hung heavy in the air. The blue Seeker had been crouched over the tiny human female's body for the past hour, tediously repairing the damage wrought by her mad flight through the sagebrush.

"See? I knew studying human anatomy would come in handy some day," Skywarp chirped from Thundercracker's right. He was sitting benignly against the wall of the warehouse, legs stretched out before him, thrusters crossed. His optics shone brightly with mischief.

"Considering you never once opened the data file," Thundercracker replied, withdrawing his sautering torch back into the index finger of his right hand. He took a step back and then neatly folded down into his alt form, the transformation giving him some temporary reprieve from his crouched position. The warehouse was spacious, but it didn't quite provide the height needed for any of the Decepticons to stand completely erect. Therefore, due to the circumstances, it was much more comfortable for the Seekers to use their holoforms. "Ideally, I should have used sutures on her flesh, but this will have to do," Thundercracker added, his holoforms studying his handiwork with intense hazel eyes.

Maria still laid unconscious, thank Primus, otherwise they would have had to have held her down. The deep gash that had cost the girl so much blood was now sealed; a dark, blackened strip of flesh stretched from her shoulder and down her arm. There was no doubt it would scar. There had been three other cuts that had required the same attention, not nearly as long, but no less deep. Thundercracker had spent more than half his time picking miniscule (to him anyways) pieces of glass from the wounds before he could even begin to repair her.

"Looks good to me. At least she's not leaking her red vital fluids all over the place. I'm never gonna get that gunk out of my cockpit!"

"Quit your whining. At least she didn't purge her tank in you. Be grateful for that at least," Thundercracker retorted. "I'm gonna move her into the room. You gonna sit out here all night or are you coming with me to partake in Starscream's charming conversational skills?" he asked sarcastically while stooping to pick up the unconscious Maria. He easily lifted her with his thick, muscular arms; it was almost like cradling a bundle of flowers, she felt so light to him.

Skywarp merely grunted in response, but he did transform back into his alt mode, holoforms flickering to life beside his wing brother. "Still seething?"

"It's Starscream," Thundercracker replied drolly, shouldering his way through the door. Starscream glared stormily from his spot across the room, feet propped on an old, battered table, arms stubbornly across his chest. Thundercracker laid the human down against the base board and then resumed his seat to the left of Starscream, eyes hooded and emotionless. It was hard for Skywarp to gauge how TC felt about this situation; thus far he had wisely avoided taking a direct stance for either him or Starscream. It was probably for the best.

Suddenly Starscream dropped his feet to the floor and stood up. He made his way to the door. "And where are you going, O' fearless leader?" Skywarp sniped, purposely using one of the more snide comments Starscream directed at Megatron.

"Out. Away from you two," he growled. "I need some quiet time to think how we're going to get out of this mess."

With that he walked out and slammed the door behind him. Jet turbines were heard firing up, as well as the raspy, shriek of the protesting mechanical bay doors opening. A mighty roar filled the quiet night and then slowly died away, silence resuming its reign.

"Is it just me or is Starscream more cranky than usual?" Skywarp asked, but a short snore was all that he got in reply. Surprised, Skywarp glanced over to see Thundercracker's holoform sound asleep, feet propped on the table, arms across his muscled chest, head lolled back and mouth open. It seemed the mech was firmly within the depths of recharge.

Skywarp snickered to himself. Who knew that holoforms could snore? He cast one more glance in Maria's direction before deciding to slip off into recharge himself.