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Mount St. Helens

A funnel of light shot down through the darkened clouds overhead and struck the scorched ground near the volcano, leaving behind Hardhead in its wake. Immediately, the green mech could see that the area had become a complete wasteland as a massive plume of ash continued to bellow from what was left of the mountain. The sky overhead was as black as night with flurries of ash raining down across the devastated region. Where a forest once stood was now a sea of broken trees which had been knocked over like they were mere twigs. Their leaves were burned away as rivers of molten lava expanded in all directions from the crater. Hardhead’s armor would provide him with enough protection from the intense heat, but that would not last forever. Time was of the essence as the ground shook violently, and thus he needed to get moving if he was going to locate Prime before Ironhide saw fit to bounce him back to the Guardian.

Hardhead carefully moved towards the mountain, trying to keep his distance from the hot lava. As he proceeded, he received Prowl’s transmission from orbit regarding Perceptor joining him. The green mech sighed and opened a comm line back to the military strategist:

>>”I read you, Prowl. I’ll anticipate his arrival. Out.”<<

Hardhead didn’t like the tone in Prowl’s voice. It sounded like he was more concerned with these energy readings then in finding Prime. That certainly didn’t sit well with the war veteran as locating their leader should be the top priority. I don’t care if Perceptor needs my help with his scans or not. I’m looking for Optimus and that’s all there is to it! Hardhead thought as he reached what appeared to be a large chunk of the ‘Con Base. He immediately turned on his scanners, hoping to pick up any signs of Prime’s signature, no matter how faint.

Nothing. There was nothing but the strange energy reading that Prowl had mentioned. In fact, the readings were so strong that it would be near impossible to isolate Prime’s signature. “I’ll have to do this the old fashioned way,” Hardhead muttered to himself as he knelt down and began digging through volcanic rocks and debris, hoping to find any signs of the Autobots' fallen leader.

Mount St. Helens

At the exact location the funnel of light appeared when Hardhead bounced down a new light appeared. As the light vanished a figure was left behind. Perceptor took a moment to take a cursory scan of the immediate area in order to try and gather a baseline for what he would be looking for.

When the information he had gathered was stored in the CPU of the scanner, the scientist began to make his way to the epicenter of the explosion. While en-route he sent a communiqué to Hardhead, who he hoped was in the area.

>>”Hardhead, this is Perceptor. I am heading into the ruins of the Decepticon base. Once I have gathered as much information on the unusual energy readings and their possible origins we will have to vacate the vicinity; whether you have found anything or not.”<<

Mount St. Helens

As Hardhead heaved a huge chuck of volcanic rock to one side, he received Perceptor’s message over his comm line. Apparently, the green mech would be looking for Prime on his own as the Autobot scientist had other concerns than finding their fallen leader. Who cared about stupid energy readings when Optimus could be trapped under tons of debris just waiting to be rescued? The veteran soldier just couldn’t make sense of it.

>>”I hear you, Perceptor. Do what you gotta do while I look for Prime. Call if you need me.”<<

Hardhead steadied himself as another tremor shook the area. It was minor compared to some of the others he had felt in the short time he had been searching through the rubble. However, the quakes were likely to get worse before they got better as the mountain was still spewing ash and lava from the crater. Time was short and the green mech didn’t have the luxury to worry about what Perceptor was doing. Just as long as the scientist didn’t get in his way, everything would be fine.

Focusing his attention back to the task at hand, Hardhead stepped over a fallen tree and continued onwards, his optics covering a large swath of terrain for any signs of Cybertronian life. So far, however, there was nothing but a dead wasteland in front of him not unlike what Cybertron had also become thanks to their never ending war. It made Hardhead wonder if the same thing would also happen here on Earth. The very beginnings of which were readily apparent right in front of his optics. How long would it take before the entire planet looked like this? How long before Earth was just a dead husk that was no longer worth fighting over?

Hardhead's thoughts had strayed again, but he was quickly brought back to the here and now as he stumbled over something he had not noticed before. Looking down, the war veteran could see a metal object sticking out from under the wreckage of the Decepticon Base’s northern wall. He knelt down and wiped away the ash that was mostly covering it. What he found made his spark jump within his chest cavity. “A hand!” Hardhead exclaimed. “Hold on Optimus! I’m right here!”

The green mech was sure he had found Prime even though the arm in question was unrecognizable in both shape and color due to the damage it had sustained. It could very well belong to Megatron for all he knew, but Hardhead didn’t care as he grabbed a hold of the broken wall and lifted it up with all of the strength he could muster before throwing it aside. Underneath was what appeared to be a normal sized mech, covered with a layer of ash and dirt. Kneeling down again, Hardhead brushed away the grime before turning over the Transformer he had found.

It was not Optimus.

Hardhead’s spark sank back down into his chest cavity at the sight of some random dead ‘Con lying before him. “Slaggit!” The green soldier shouted as he stood back up. He was so sure he had found Prime only to be let down like this. Although, at least it wasn't Megatron, either. But that didn't give him much comfort. I’m not giving up! Hardhead thought to himself as he turned towards the ruins of the Decepticon Base. I’ll find him. I just know I will.

Putting the disappointment behind him, Hardhead tenaciously trudged forward across the volcanic landscape, still hoping that Prime was here somewhere just waiting to be found.

Mount St. Helens

Perceptor had carefully climbed down into the one of the lower craters that had been left behind when the Decepticon base had detonated. Taking careful steps in order to keep his footing, the scientist turned sniper took a final leap and landed on a solid sheet of metal, obviously what was left of an interior wall. Perceptor quickly removed the scanning device from an attaché. He turned the device on and made a few necessary adjustments before he began to record the readings.

Perceptor kept his optics glued on the view screen while he carefully maneuvered around the debris. Just as he started to take another step he paused. Perceptor’s optic ridge rose in curiosity while he tried to determine the just what the readings could mean. Intriguing.

A few moments later he started back on his trek and continued to pull in even more unusual readings. Once he was satisfied that he had recorded everything he could, Perceptor carefully packed up the scanner and began to make his way back to the wall of the crater. He was half way up the wall when the earth shook from another seismic tremor. With only one hand to grip the rocky surface, Perceptor lost his grip and fell back into the crater. His back hit a shredded piece of metal tearing a sizable hole in his lower back.

The sniper let out a hiss of pain before pulling himself up and off the implement. Perceptor rolled away from the area and tried to stand, however part of the surface of the crater wall began to broke away causing a sizable boulder to crash down and land on Perceptor’s upper thigh.

“Agh!”

He tried desperately to push the boulder off, but the combination of pain his back wound made it nigh impossible. After several attempts he finally decided to conserve his energy and contact Hardhead.

>>”Ugh….Hardhead, I am in need of your assistance. It would seem I am in a very precarious position. I am sending you my coordinates now.”<<

Mount St. Helens

Hardhead continued his search for Prime, overturning several large boulders, chunks of mangled metal and splintered trees in the hopes of locating their fallen leader. Optimus had to be here somewhere and the green mech was determined to find him no matter how long it took. He didn’t care about the increased seismic activity or the rivers of lava that flowed around him. The heat was intense and had even begun to scorch his outer armor as he drew closer to the volcano. But, he persevered through the tough environment as he had on countless other worlds where the climates were far worse than this.

As he ascended a ridge, Hardhead received a call for help from Perceptor followed immediately by his coordinates. The war veteran grumbled aloud as he knew that no one was around to hear his audible displeasure. “Of course he needs my help. Why wouldn’t he? Anything to stop me from doing what I came down here to do!” The green soldier reluctantly opened a comm line back to the scientist turned sniper:

>>”Hold tight, Percy. I’m on my way. “<<

Hardhead clicked off his comm and made his way towards the lower crater where Perceptor's signal had originated from. Once he reached the top, the grumpy veteran looked down to see his red comrade trapped underneath a large boulder. Shaking his head in disbelief, the large warrior climbed half way into the crater before letting go of the side and leaping the rest of the way to the bottom.

Hardhead landed with a thud directly next to Perceptor, giving his fellow Autobot a half-hearted smile. “Look at what you’ve gotten yourself into, Percy. I hope these energy readings of yours are worth it,” the green mech said as he grabbed a hold of the boulder and carefully lifted it off of Perceptor’s leg. Tossing it aside, Hardhead looked back down at the scientist/sniper and extended his hand to help him up. “Think you can walk on your own or do I have to carry you out of here?”

Mount St. Helens

Perceptor grimaced when Hardhead finally arrived and addressed him by that hateful nickname that seemed to follow him everywhere. Not wanting to upset his would be savior, Perceptor simply nodded at Hardhead’s query on the energy readings he recorded.

The scientist/sniper bit back a hiss of pain once the boulder was finally lifted from his thigh. Slowly he raised his head and looked down to access the damage. He slid his hand over the dented and crumpled metal. Letting out a sigh of relief he finally reached up and took hold of Hardhead’s extended hand.

“Agh, those readings were indeed…agh…vital.”

Perceptor pulled himself up only to groan in pain; his hand reaching around to his back. He slowly brought his hand back around covered in energon and fuel. His optics moved from his hand to Hardhead before he fell to his knees.

“I…think I will need more help than expected.”

Mount St. Helens

Hardhead grabbed a hold of Perceptor’s arm and helped him to his feet as the scientist informed his rescuer of the vital nature of the readings. “I’m happy for you, Percy. Now, let’s get the slag out of this hole so I can continue looking for…” The green mech’s words trailed off as Perceptor fell to his knees, clearly weak and in pain from an injury he had sustained on his back. “Looks like I’ll be carrying you,” Hardhead commented as he bent down and carefully picked up the Autobot sniper, slinging him over one shoulder. He then turned back to the wall of the crater and began his ascent, which took longer than normal for the large ‘Bot mainly due to the extra weight he was carrying, not to mention the increasing number of tremors from the still erupting volcano.

Hardhead finally reached the top of the crater and rolled Perceptor onto the ground above, which allowed the green mech the pull himself completely out of the hole. Once on solid footing, Hardhead again picked the injured scientist up in both arms and carefully headed away from the fiery mountain. “Once we’re at a safe distance, I’m setting you down and alerting the Guardian to bounce you back for repairs. I’m gonna stay here as long as I’m able to search for Prime,” the war veteran said plainly as more quakes then rocked the area, which made it difficult for him to continue moving. Hardhead kept his balance, however, and eventually reached the coordinates where they had originally bounce down to.

The green warrior then opened a comm line up to the Guardian: >>”This is Hardhead. Perceptor is injured and needs an immediate return bounce for repairs. I want to remain behind, however, to finish my search. There’s still more ground to cover. Acknowledge.”<<

Without waiting for a response, the veteran soldier placed Perceptor down on a large rock in anticipation of the eventual bounce. Hardhead hoped that he would be allowed to stay and continue looking for Optimus, but something deep within his core processor told him that he would likely be transported back to the ship with the scientist/sniper whether he wanted to or not.