Untold Adventures on the Nemesis

Dark Energon - Chapter 4

Summary: Danny is woken by a strange sensation in his core.

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Notes:

A short drabble which was originally going to be in "Adventures of the Decepticons' Pet Ghost." But I ended up scrapping it. I thought I would post it here for you to enjoy anyway.

As always, this chapter is not canon.

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Danny's eyes flickered open, his body tense. A strange, deep, and unsettling sensation surrounded him. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes and glancing toward Starscream's berth. Thankfully, the Seeker was still recharging soundlessly. Whatever this feeling was, it had only woken Danny.

Danny rose to his feet and walked to the edge of his makeshift shelf, stretching his arms above his head and rolling his shoulders to shake off the unease creeping down his spine. It was like an itch deep in his core. Familiar and yet... nauseating.

He frowned. If it was bothering him this much, he might as well figure out what was causing it. It was not like he was going to get back to sleep anyway. Danny turned invisible and floated through the walls of Starscream's quarters and into the dimly lit hallways of the Nemesis. The sensation grew stronger with every turn he took, almost like a magnetic pull leading him through the corridors.

He followed the trail until he reached an energon storage bay. The doors stood slightly ajar, and Danny phased inside, still cloaked in his invisibility. His eyes immediately locked onto the mech in the center of the room.

Megatron.

Danny hovered closer, his curiosity overriding his sense of self-preservation. The Decepticon leader stood with his back to the door, his massive frame illuminated by the faint purple glow of something in front of him. Danny tilted his head, narrowing his eyes at the strange crystal that was floating in a protective tube. The crystal was easily the size of Megatron himself.

It looked almost like energon—but not quite. It was purple, and its energy seemed to pulse faintly as though it were alive. Danny's stomach churned. This had to be what woke him up. The sensation pouring off the crystal was suffocating like death itself had been condensed into a rock.

Why had Megatron opened the tube? Was it toxic to Cybertronians? Did they have to keep it locked away because of that? Danny turned to look at Megatron again, only for his eyes to widen when he saw that Megatron was holding a broken shard of the crystal in his servo.

Danny hovered closer, his gaze locked on the crystal in Megatron's servo. The corrupted energy radiating from it made him feel sick, but at the same time, a twisted part of him felt drawn to it. It reminded him of ectoplasm, but it felt wrong in a way he couldn't put into words.

His eyes flicked over Megatron, who seemed completely entranced by the crystal. The warlord's vents were deep and measured, and his optics were glowing an eerie purple instead of their usual crimson. With a sliding transformation, he opened his chest plate, revealing the pulsing glow of his spark.

Danny's eyes widened. With deliberate care, Megatron placed the crystal into his spark chamber. As soon as it settled inside, the casing closed with a loud clunk . Megatron groaned in what sounded like pain, and dropped to one knee with a clang. His frame momentarily radiated that same energy the crystal gave off before it slowly tapered away.

Megatron gained enough energy to stand and flipped the large switch, causing the case to close back up. The glass—or whatever that stuff is—slowly lowered back down, covering the crystal again.

Danny gasped, nearly losing his grip on his invisibility as the sudden absence of the crystal's energy left him reeling. He floated to the side, steadying himself against the wall. The nausea ebbed away, replaced by a strange clarity and... strength? Danny blinked, flexing his fingers experimentally. He felt lighter somehow, as though some unseen weight had been lifted.

Megatron straightened, his optics still glowing faintly purple, and turned to leave the room. Once the room was empty, Danny let out a shaky exhale and glanced back at the massive crystal encased in the protective tube.

His gaze lingered for a moment before he shook his head, turning and phasing back into the hallways. Whatever it was, he wasn't going to figure it out tonight.

Still, one thing was certain—he needed to ask Starscream about it tomorrow.