The darkness of the mines enveloped everything. Heavy mechanical noises, drops of moisture pattered on the metal floor, and the air was thick and smelled of grease and cyber-mining dust.

Optimus… then still Orion Pax, but already with the strong, solid aura of a future leader… hadn't appeared here by chance.

An experiment with a prototype time portal, an untested energy field design, a strange anomaly in Cybertron's core—and here he was, torn from the present, in the past. In the mines, where the light of dim spotlights softly reflected off the damp walls, where you were still just a young miner with fiery red optics and shining hair beneath your helmet.

You were focused: gravity gloves gripped the crowbar, muscles tensed as you pulled out another piece of rare mineral. Tiny wings were still visible on your back—they were almost rudimentary, barely noticeable—no one could have guessed back then that they would become your strength.

Optimus watched from the shadows: he was seeing you for the first time. Small, but determined. And even then, you possessed that steely resolve that would later make you a Decepticon.

"You..." he whispered to himself, almost involuntarily, when you noticed movement in the shaft and looked up.

Your optics—full of curiosity and caution—met his. He felt a strange swirl of emotions: a habit of fighting, but not yet forged in war, a trust you hadn't yet known, and a hint of anxiety.

"Who are you?" he heard your clear voice through the reverberation of the shaft.

Optimus took a step forward, careful not to startle you. His voice was quiet but confident:

"My name is... I'm Orion. I... just got lost."

You raised your eyebrows, slightly skeptical. The crowbar was still in your hands. But your gaze wasn't hostile—it was curious.

"Lost?" you asked, tilting your head. "Nobody just shows up in the mines."

Optimus took a step closer, but didn't invade your personal space. He wanted to study you: every gesture, every movement, every line of your youthful, strong posture.

"I know this sounds strange," he said quietly. "But I feel like I was meant to find you."

You frowned slightly. What did this mean? Why was he looking at you so... strangely? And why was there a tinge of anxiety mixed with curiosity inside?

You lowered the crowbar, relaxing your fingers slightly, and took a step toward him. In the darkness of the mine, his armor and your glittering optics created an almost magical reflection of light.

"And I... I usually decide who to meet," you said evenly, but with a slight smile you rarely showed to adults.

Optimus smiled back slightly, a rare thing he allowed himself in his everyday life, and in that moment, he realized: this was not yet a war, not yet pain, not yet what they would all experience later.

"Then," he said quietly, "let's just get acquainted."