Transformers Prime: Project Predacon

The Call

The Instant Bumblebee Left

"Um. . . " I began, pointing towards the destroyed sand on the ground. "I think we're supposed to scour the ground roughly with our optics, not our frames." Smokescreen's helm popped out of the ground, how he had managed to dig a hole big enough to fit himself inside in just a few minutes was beyond me.

"Oh, I thought you guys meant like- dig in the ground and move the dirt. What are we looking for?" I took my optics off him for a moment, looking around and slowly making my way towards the direction Bulkhead and Arcee were.

"Well, if you were paying attention then you would know. We're looking for footprints." He hopped out of the hole briskly, bending over at a back-breaking angle to look at the already moved sand.

"Oh, so you think the 'Con's walked Summer away?" I didn't bother answering this, he was already annoying, why answer his questions and keep him interested? Out of the corner of my optic I saw him wipe sand off the side of his cheek plates, shaking his body like a dog would. I kept my composure as he got on his hands and knees and literally just dropped his face in the dirt, his wide optics disappearing in the sand. I kept the bubble of ridiculous laughter down when he sat up suddenly, getting to his feet and screaming like a crazed mech.

"SAND IN MY OPTiCS, SAND IN MY OPTICS!! HELP I CAN'T SEE!!!" He stood in one place, thank goodness, and rubbed his optics violently, letting out random screeches of annoyance and pain. I watched for a moment, then made my way over to him to help the poor sparkling out. I reached out for him and he dropped to the ground out of my reach despite not being able to see me.

"AHHHHHHHH I'M DYING!!! HELP, SOMEONE."

"Hold still for a second, I can't help you if you keep moving." The poor guy kept thrashing around on the ground, crawling in circles. I snatched his arm, rolling him onto his back and holding him down.

"Keep your optics closed and look up." I commanded. He shook his head, letting out a wail.

"HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!?!" He screeched in my hyper-sensitive audio receptors, which I managed to blot out. I forced his optics open and told him to look up, which he actually managed to do.

"You guys okay over there?" I heard Arcee yell from quite a distance away. I spaced out a bit, touching her mind for a moment.

"We're fine, Smokescreen managed to get sand in his optics. He's just making a big deal out of it."

"A little bit of sand made him shriek that much? Wish my days were as simple as that." I let out a small, mental chuckle before pulling away from her thoughts, then turned my attention back to Smokescreen, who was staring up at me with a tiny bit of lubricant in his optics, and no trace of sand.

"There you go, you're fine. Now let's try to actually look at sand that hasn't been moved yet, okay?" He nodded hastily and got up just as fast, wandering over to a spot that didn't have already moved sand. He was quiet then on, and I checked on everyone's status, Bulkhead and Arcee had a whole lot of nothing, Smokescreen and I were doing no better, Bumblebee had already picked up Raf and was on his way back, Optimus was putting together several coordinates and last but not least, Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus had yet to find- oh, oh wait. I was still in the middle of talking with Wheeljack when he found something, calling Ultra Magnus over and then yelling at the top of his lungs to attempt to get to Arcee and Bulkhead. Despite being half a mile away, I heard Ultra Magnus mention that he did have a comm, which he could use at any time very clearly. I didn't bother wasting time, so I transformed and was glad to see that Smokescreen had no problem climbing on. I made my way to Arcee and Bulkhead quickly, the ground quaking at my large bounds over tiny rocks and little shrubbery. They got on as well, Arcee with a bit of reluctance, mentioning that she didn't want to do any flying anytime soon. I obliged, flying would take a bit longer than running. In just a few moments I had arrived at Wheeljack's location, who was accompanied by an awfully grumpy looking Ultra Magnus. I craned my long neck to see what Wheeljack was looking at. Close to the Harbinger was one set of footprints and by the scent it was definitely Summer.