It was nice to have a little normalcy every now and then. Rafael supposed it was good for him to get away from the hustle and bustle of the Autobots and the war they waged day in and day out. He loved that life, don't get him wrong, but he needed to remember his other life — the human one, lest he forget how to appreciate it on its own.

And that was why he'd agreed to go along with a school field trip for the day. Well, it was less of a choice and more of a mandatory assignment, but that didn't matter because Raf was enjoying it. He and his class had been ferried by bus to a national park hours out of town. The entire trip was for an upcoming school report for his science class, which followed the study of ordinary, boring things like trees, wild grasses, and other such articles of vegetation.

It was when he had strayed several metres from the main group to identify an unknown perennial bush in the rocky trailside that the blissful mundanity of the day was shattered.

The distinct crash of trees in the far distance down the valley had Raf snapping to attention. A grating, clanging rhythm superseded it. That sounded like metal... a Cybertronian transformation.

Raf cast a glance over his shoulder. No one in the group had paid it any mind, likely chalking it up to a falling tree. He gave the other direction a conflicted look. What if it were one of the Autobots in trouble? He knew he couldn't be of much help in the field, especially not without Bumblebee, or even Jack and Miko, but...

Raf's school book was left abandoned on the rocks, wind catching the pages.

It took him several minutes to descend the craggy hillside the science group had scaled, but he managed to avoid tripping on the uneven terrain and, with a wary sigh, ventured further into the trees.

He searched blindly for a while, listening intently for more Cybertronian sounds that never came. Doubt began to claw at him, but Raf's perseverance paid off when he was guided further by the sound of creaking wood and... taut cables? He rounded a thick tree trunk and—

Oh. So much for a normal day.

Staring back at his wide brown eyes were the sinister crimson optics of a Decepticon — a Decepticon who... did not seem to be of much threat at the moment, actually.

Around them, the trees had taken a beating, splintered and cracked, exposing dark heartwood to the air. Beneath the damaged trees was the Decepticon, coiled in thick, heavy-duty cables that were digging into and tethered to the trunks. The Decepticon was trapped. The lack of a lunge or blaster bolt to greet Raf had confirmed that.

Raf stepped forward. The Decepticon flinched against their bindings, attempting a feint to spook the boy in their hobbled state. It was strikingly clear that they were in a dreadful mood, with an aura so menacing it seemed to crackle around them like a crisp mirage.

They glowered at Raf. "If I wasn't caught in this snare... I'd kill you."

He gulped, feeling as torn as the trees. His gaze flicked down to the pool of neon blue energon catching the sheen of midday light through the canopy. It was growing lethargically beneath where a cable had cut into one of the Decepticon's transformation seams.

With a meek voice that he wished were more resolute, he answered, "If you stay in that snare, you'll... die."

Another step forward, more tentative than the last. Raf couldn't believe what he was doing.