The Adventures of Sundancer
(Author's note: Hey Guys, this episode is called 'The dweller in the depths. Enjoy)
Location: ?, Cybertron
Her POV
I could barely contain my excitement as I made my way to the energy control room where I was meeting with the others, today was a very big day for me and Perceptor well mainly me but Perceptor was also excited. I knew this because he hadn't stopped talking about how glad he was we finally completed it and would finally get to use it. Finally, after so much research, long hours of no recharge and little to no energon, Perceptor's power core was finally complete. It would power Cybertron for generations to come, it truly was a remarkable creation and I was extremely lucky and proud to have helped with its development. I skipped past a couple of transformers who eyes me strangely but I didn't care, I was too excited to get to my destination; when I reached the door I knocked on it and heard an enter so I entered and spotted everyone was already there waiting for me so I hurried over to Perceptor's side who gave me a welcoming smile.
"Glad you made it Sundancer" he greeted and I grinned gently shoving him playfully
"you know I wouldn't miss out on today. Not after everything we put into it" I responded playfully before turning to watch out the large glass window which overviewed where the power core would be, Arcee and Magnus were also with us overseeing the installation while Rodimus was outside directing Springer where to connect the power core. We waited a few moments until Springer lowered the power core which connected instantly and I felt extremely giddy now that it was ready to be tested
"It's completed at last! This new power core will triple Cybertron's energy reserves" Perceptor exclaimed and I couldn't help but giggle at how excited the normally calm scientist was
"indeed it is Perceptor, but are you sure the city can handle the excess power?" Ultra Magnus questioned concerned and I tried not to roll my eyes because obviously we wouldn't have made something so important if we didn't consider all the variables and dangers. We were scientist, not idiots the only one who I would consider to fit into that category was Wheeljack. The thought of him sent a wave of sadness but I pushed it aside because today was supposed to be a good day not a sad one
"we have taken every precaution Ultra Magnus, but just in case there would be a power overload. Activating this lever will jettison the power core into space before an explosion can occur" Perceptor explained gesturing to the glass protected lever and I coughed as Perceptor jumped before he rubbed his neck sheepishly
"it was Sundancer's idea to incorporate it" Perceptor quickly added on and I grinned at him satisfied I wasn't going to let him hog all the credit after all.
"Look there is Rodimus and Springer's signal" Arcee pointed out as Rodimus and Springer were waving at the control booth from the ground Perceptor moved to the control panel pushing a few buttons,
"alright prepare for the fireworks" Perceptor stated as I moved to stand next to Arcee as Perceptor activated the power core which erupted in a bright fiery light before stabilising, there was no words to properly express how amazing it is so see a creation you help make be used for the first time, it truly was a special and big moment for me.
"Hey we did it!" I cheered excitedly as Perceptor smiled at me and the other 2 nodded agreeing with us
"this will power us for centuries and make us enough energon to make us Autobots completely self-efficient" Perceptor boasted and I couldn't help but shake my head since he really was getting ahead of himself but in a good way of course.
After a few more discussions I left with Perceptor to go over some minor details that we wanted to iron out make sure there wouldn't be any long-term damage to the power core. It was peaceful working in Perceptor's lab, so much so I missed my alert comm about the Decepticons invading the old part of Cybertron, I was really engulfed into this data pad that was left behind by the Quintessons which described experiments they had tried to make between organics and robots however I hadn't decrypted if they were successful or not. A few hours later Perceptor stood up urgently quickly gathering together some random papers before turning to where I was still sitting at the spare desk watching him concerned
"Sundancer I got to run this info back to the control room, just stay put here okay and lock the door" he informed me and I was confused on why Perceptor was acting so strange
"what is going on Perceptor?" I asked worried but he shook his head and gave me a comforting smile that didn't ease the strange feeling I was getting
"don't worry about it, just do as I say and lock the door behind me and stay quiet" he ordered me before looking at me one more time and disappearing out the door and into the dark hallways. I sat there for a few moments shaking off the weird feeling I got and walked over to lock the door like Perceptor requested when I heard something strange almost like a grumble of sorts which made me tense up because it definitely wasn't something a normal Autobot would make and I was wondered if maybe we had been infiltrated. I opened the door quietly before carefully peeking out to see nothing but a dark hallway on both sides, I shrugged thinking I was going crazy and was about to return to my work when I heard it again; I whipped my head around to see glowing red eyes and a familiar figure. I was now more annoyed than scared because if they thought this was a funny joke to pull I was not amused, I decided to confront him and whoever else he was working with to reprimand them for scaring me
"Springer is that you? If your trying to play a joke on me it isn't funny" I called stepping out of the safety of the room and into the hallway as Springer stepped into the little light, that was when I realised something was seriously wrong. Springer looked dead almost and was walking slowly towards me
"feed me" he grumbled and my eyes widen and I shakily pulled my blaster out of my subspace pocket and aimed it at him
"stay back, I don't know what is wrong with you Springer but don't make me shoot you!" I demanded but he kept coming forward.
I knew I couldn't shoot my friend so I let out a small scream before turning on my heels and bolting in the opposite direction towards the control room, I kept looking back to see Springer with a Sweeps who was also zombified and they were catching up quite quickly. I was so focused on running away and looking behind me I barely noticed I had crashed into Ultra Magnus, I hadn't seen him yet and started to struggle thinking he was also zombified.
"Let me go!" I yelled struggling in his strong arms before I felt Ultra Magnus let me go enough to turn me around, I realised it really was just him and Arcee and both were also quite freaked out but relived I was okay and I was also relieved to see friends who were not trying to eat me or whatever was wrong with Springer
"you guys...what in the pit is going on!" I demanded furious and also freaked out because I had no clue what in primus was going on as we heard groans coming from the direction I had come from, Ultra Magnus grabbed my wrist and pulled me into a sprint with Arcee right next to us
"no time to explain... we got to get to the control room asap" Ultra Magnus responded and I nodded hopping that Perceptor and Rodimus were okay. We kept running until we reached the wider part of the hallway before we transformed since it would be faster and picked up speed to get to the control room before the energy vampires got to us first.
After a few minutes which felt like a life time as we crossed Cybertron's surface towards the power plant, a familiar comforting building came into view as Ultra Magnus lead the way through the door and transformed which I quickly followed stumbling a little since it was rushed as Perceptor and Rodimus turned to us surprised that we had barged in like Unicron was after us and at this point in time it really felt like he was. I spotted Perceptor and felt a great relief wash over me causing me to rush forward and hug Perceptor tightly which he returned
"Perceptor, I'm sorry. I was going to lock the door but I heard a noise and it sounded like Springer but it wasn't and oh god what is going on!" I asked panicked as he hushed me softly while rubbing my back trying to calm me down
"it's okay Sundancer, I shouldn't have left you there. That was my mistake" he apologised and I shook my head knowing at the time he was just trying to keep me out of harm's way and continued to let him comfort me as I tried to calm my processor's down
"the Decepticons let loose some sort of living energy leach and anything it touches becomes an energy sucking vampire as well" Ultra Magnus quickly explained the situation, finally getting my processors and thinking under control I loosened my grip on Perceptor knowing now wasn't the time to freak out. I stepped away from his safety and walked back over to Arcee who gave me a reassuring smile which I returned.
"we got to destroy that thing before Cybertron becomes a dead husk" Rodimus stated as the groaning got close, I let out a yelp as the doors were being broken down and immediately backed up as our zombified friends and Decepticons spilled into the room.
"Kup, Wreckgar, Springer!" Rodimus yelled but Arcee shook her head upset
"they can't hear you Rodimus" Arcee stated backing up a little
"they are suffering from a unique form of energy depletion, making them into energy leeches themselves" Perceptor analysed as I backed up till I felt the wall behind me causing me to trip over and land on my butt, I turned to realise I had somehow backed into a corner and the others were more to my left leaving me trapped between a wall and energy vampires. I felt a hand wrap around my ankle and let out a scream as I realised one of the sweeps had gotten close enough to me to grab me as I felt all my energy getting sucked out; I could barely hear the yells of the others over the feeling of feeling the darkness creep up on me until I felt a hunger take over me. I felt so hungry for energy and my eyes locked onto Arcee, Rodimus, Perceptor and Ultra Magnus who were watching terrified of me now and trying to keep the other energy leeches at bay; I stood up and slowly inched forward with the others craving the energy that they were producing. The hunger I felt was insatiable and it drove me forward to feast on my friends if only to lessen the feeling.
"oh god Sundancer, what are we going to do!" Arcee exclaimed, Perceptor had shifted towards the controls behind them
"a massive power surge should bring their imbalance back to normal! We need to form a chain" Perceptor explained as he changed his hand before using his other to grab Arcee's as they formed a 4 bot chain.
As we moved forward for our prey, Perceptor stuck his hand into the control panel which released a power burst and I felt the hunger dissipate until I felt my energy returning. I blinked as my body felt sluggish but also rejuvenated, I turned to see the others who were infected were also back to normal; I stumbled a little and felt arms wrap around me and I realised it was Rodimus who had grabbed me to keep me stable. I turned and flashed him a grateful but tired smile as we re-focused on the Decepticons who were equally as confused which was a good distraction from my spark beating wildly in my chest due to how Rodimus was holding me so protectively
"what happened?" Cyclonus asked, Springer, Wreckgar, Kup and Magnus were ready to bash their heads in even if the former 3 were still exhausted after the whole energy vampire thing.
"That's something you tell us" Springer shot back as the Decepticons back up
"let's get out of here!" Scourge ordered and they quickly took off escaping Cybertron for now. Rodimus let me go once he was sure they were gone and I stood up properly still feeling sluggish but functional; Perceptor quickly checked us over and confirmed we just needed a good recharge and some energon to feel good as new thankfully. But it still left the major issue of the giant energy leech the Decepticons had released
"okay so we stopped the vampires now what do we do about the giant leech?" I asked as we watched as it easily batted away some Autobots once it broke through the ground.
"Look at the size of it now" Arcee comments as we watched it get closer to Perceptor's power core, not quite sure what we could even do in this situation
"it's feeding off any energy it can get and keeps growing" Ultra Magnus added and I realised what it meant if it reached the energy core and I'm pretty sure Perceptor did too since he tensed
"if it latches onto the power core, there will be no stopping it!" Perceptor added concerned as Rodimus turned to look at the small red lever on the control panel
"alright then we get rid of it" Rodimus suggested and we were all surprised since it was a pretty decent idea but still risky at the same time.
"You mean jettison it into space!" I demanded not wanting to have to shoot our invention into space but Rodimus looked at me firmly and I backed down
'it's the only way" he responded and I sighed knowing what he said was true and it was the best outcome, I felt Perceptor lay a hand on my shoulder and I knew it be okay we would just make a new one later.
All we could do was wait and watch the security feed until the leech got close enough for us to put our plan into action, I ended up having look away so I didn't have to see the Autobots being nothing but toys to the massive energy leech as it batted them aside like they were nothing. Oh yeah I was going to have my hands full when this was over; something I was not looking forward too since all I wanted to do was get some recharge and energon. Finally, the leech came into view just as it had attached itself to the power core, the moment it did that Rodimus turned to Perceptor and me
"do it now!" he ordered and Perceptor punched the glass before pulling the lever, this activated the rockets beneath the power core which shot it into space with the energy leeched attached
"and don't come back now you here" Wreckgar added as the leech and core disappeared from view. Kup monitored its progress and once we were sure it had left the atmosphere, they started to celebrate; I slumped down against the wall exhausted from all the excitement, fear and of course getting my energy sucked out that I had experienced in the last few hours. I barely noticed Perceptor sitting next to me as I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes
"it sucks we had to get rid of the core" I grumbled and Perceptor laughed a little
"I know but we still have the schematics, and we can always build it better now that we don't have to deal with an energy leech wrecking our work" Perceptor responded and I hummed in acknowledgment before letting myself think about Jazz and Mirage back on earth and was wondering how they had been since it been awhile since I had visited; on my next day off I decided I would go visit them, but for now all I wanted was some energon and recharge.
I was happy in the end though, losing the core was tough but my friends were all okay and that was all that mattered, I snapped out of my thoughts while opening my optics when I heard Rodimus speaking
"I wonder where it's going to end up?" he questioned and Springer laughed slinging an arm around his shoulders "who knows maybe it will get returned to sender" Springer joked which everyone laughed at and I felt myself relax against Perceptor again knowing that everything was going to be okay and that we were all still here and not energy vampires.
(AN: And that is that, these next couple of chapters are shortish since I never intended them to be a part of the original work that I had already had set out so I'm kind of just rolling along with it all. I did enjoy this chapter; I was tossing up between having Sundancer join them in the tunnels but I figured that her being left behind then running into a Springer vampire would be alright way to bring her into the plot so I went with that. There is only 2 more episodes to go with 1 more custom before this books finale which I'm super excited about. Without further ado don't forget to Review and Fav)