Do As I Say and Not As I Do

Log Title: Do As I Say and Not As I do

Characters: Centurion droids, Dust Devil, Zetar

Location: Underworld - Cybertron

Date: February 13, 2017

TP: End of Days TP

Summary: Dust Devil and Zetar search for Vector Sigma.

As logged by Zetar - Monday, February 13, 2017, 4:36 PM

Underworld - Cybertron

 * The unmapped, largely unexplored levels immediately below Cybertron's disused sewer system are known as Underworld, home to all sorts of horrible things.

Zetar emerges from a hand-made channel created to bypass the Trans-Organics, leaving them to encounter anyone unlucky enough to follow the Autobots down into the Underworld. Once he's free of the tunnel, Zetar transforms back into robot mode and turns back to Dust Devil with a smile. "Well, that took care of them!" he says enthusiastically. "Megatron is going to get such a surprise!" he laughs. Behind him, the wider passageway leads down further into darkness.

Dust Devil looks at Zetar. "When all this is over....just remember, do as I say and not as I do. I don't want ta hear about ya imitatin any of my antics. I have a reputation ta uphold. How far do ya think we are from our goal?":

Zetar nods at the advice, although it's not clear if he'll take it. "Not far," he answers. "If I'm correct, we should encounter the Centurion Droids soon -- assuming they're not buried in a cave-in. Want me to take point?" Zetar switches on extra lighting in his forearms, nearly blinding Dust Devil in the process. The harsh light illuminates well what's directly in front of Zetar, and makes the surrounding darkness look all the blacker.

Dust Devil gahs! "Watch the high beams. And I'd probably be ready to hop in front of you....or at least shield us. I don't think you'd like the attention the droids might put on you."

Zetar nods slowly, frowning. "So... I should lead, but leave you room for you to jump in if you need to?" Zetar sounds confused, but literally shrugs it off and takes point, dialing back his lights and going for more of a broad, low-power sweep rather than his initial focused beam. Before long, massive shapes take form in the darkness -- the large, still forces of the Centurion droids. Zetar holds up fast -- almost enough to make Dusty run into him. "Is that them?" he hisses to Dust Devil.

Dust Devil frowns as he sees them. "Yeah that's them. I don't know if they're active and if they'll see me as friend or foe. So be prepared ta run if we need ta. Or stay close if I raise a field. And no, I don't know which I'm gonna do first."

Zetar laughs nervously in the darkness, and lets Dusty take point. The droids don't seem to move -- if they're active, they give no sign of it. Many seem to be buried in dirt and rock from the cavern's ceiling, but the others have made no effort to assist them or dig them out. Instead, they simply stare opticless straight forward in rows and rows of potential destruction. Silence reigns throughout the tunnel -- only Dusty and Zetar make any noise.

Dust Devil slowly approaches one of the upright and seemingly undamaged ones. "Okay...here goes nothing. Vector Sigma....are you still operational? Alpha Trion?" He takes a step closer. "Are ya active Centurion....." He half glances back at Zetar, trying to make sure that he's staying safe.

The Centurion remains silent, neither confirming nor denying Dust Devil's queries.

"Any luck?" Zetar asks after a bit, inching ever closer to Dust Devil and the Centurion droids. If the protector drones mind, they give no sign. Behind them, nothing but rubble remains in the entrance to what once was the chamber of Vector Sigma. No normal Autobot could have survived such a cave-in, although Vector Sigma is no normal being.

Dust Devil sighs, "No answer. I'd have just been satisfied that Vector Sigma was operational under all that. But if Vector isn't online when we start the process...well he made it clear that he was an important part of this. This is where the room is. What would be your suggestion for getting inside."

"I'll dig," Zetar announces. "And dig CAREFULLY," he emphasizes. "Would you mind keeping watch?" he asks. "I wouldn't put it past Megatron to make short work of those Trans-Organics and then try to do the same to us." Without waiting for an answer, Zetar transforms again, and rolls forward, approaching the former chamber and doing his best to avoid the buried droids. "I'll let you know when I break through!" he yells back over the sound of his drill.

Dust Devil stands guard ovr Zetar. His dark optics focus on the dim light of the area and rests now and then on the brighter light coming from the hole that Zetar is working on. He tries not to voice his fear that they already failed the mission to save Cybertron. Every little noise has Dust Devil looking for Transorgs or worse. Megatron.

Zetar digs and digs, and then unexpectedly, there is light in the tunnel that isn't coming from his headlights. "Dust Devil! I see something!" he calls out. Zetar transforms into robot mode, and quickly but carefully pulls dirt and rubble away from the source of the light. "I think -- I think it's --" Zetar pulls back a large rock, and abruptly the cavern is bathed in light. Zetar leans forward.

"It's here!" Zetar says, voice low with awe. "It -- the casing looks damaged, but overall it's intact. Let me --" Zetar reaches in, and suddenly he himself is covered by a brilliant glow. "Oh! Oh! Oh, Primus!" he gasps, and falls backward. The glow remains for a moment and then starts to fade, but Zetar's optics continue to burn an unnatural yellow as he stares upward wide-eyed at Dust Devil. "Woah," he breathes.

Dust Devil bends over the mech, "Are you okay? What happened?" He looks from where the hole is to zetar. "Are you alright?" A frown appears and he prepares his forcefield in case the room has been destabilized.

Zetar blinks his optics, but they continue to glow unnaturally bright. "I... I think I touched it. Vector Sigma. It was like... Primus..." Zetar lays there still, staring upward, completely overwhelmed. "It's like, for a moment, I could feel all of creation. I... I don't know if I can get up." Above him, the cavern's structure seems to hold for now, but it looks like all it would take is the slightest cyberquake to bring it all down upon the Autobots.

Dust Devil nods. "Let me get an arm around ya and help ya stand. Yer still lookin a bit...off." The mech glances at Zetar's optics and then looks back at where Vector Sigma is supposed to be. "Well we need to know if Vector is okay or if Alpha is still there and what we must do next."

Zetar climbs unsteadily to his feet with Dust Devil's help. Through the opening Zetar made in the rubble, the cracked skin of Vector Sigma can be seen. Light spills through the fissures in its shell, so bright that it hurts to look at. Sigma is obviously still active, but damaged, and there is no sign of Alpha Trion. "I think we should dig out the Plasma Energy Chamber," Zetar says, optics burning brilliantly. "I think I know where it is," he adds.

Dust Devil frowns, again looking back and forth between the two entities. "Is there anythin we can do fer Vector? Or ya think we just need ta find the Plasma energy Chamber? I'm willin ta try whatever we need ta."

Zetar nods slowly. "I can fashion a shield mesh to protect Vector Sigma until we can dig him out properly," Zetar says confidently, his voice sounding as if it's coming from far away. "Then we can seek out the Plasma Energy Chamber. May I see your forcefield generators? Do you have any redundancy, or is it just one field producer?" Zetar flicks his glowing optics over Dust Devil, seeming to see right through him.

Dust Devil moves forward and clicks a seal that allows his chest plate to shift, "There's a modulator that allows me to warp my field. And I'm not sure if its a full redundancy or just a way to reroute the energy to strengthen the field. Alpha trion did some work since the last time I sat there and watched myself get taken apart. If we protect Vector, I suggest camoflaging your hole to buy us some time."

Zetar studies Dust Devil's forcefield generator several moments, and then nods. "Alright. I was hoping to build a temporary generator to protect Sigma, but I don't have the right parts and tools to create one here -- not without completely taking you apart." Zetar's tone suggests he'd considered it. "However, it's no matter. I can use materials here to build a physical protective barrier, and we can certainly camouflage it from others finding it -- that's an excellent idea." Dust Devil nods. "I'm sure there's some bots that would question why you didn't take me apart. But I fer one appreciate it. Lets get this party going.

Zetar nods and looks around, gathering materials which he stacks next to the opening he'd made. He then takes out his tools and builds what looks like a small honeycomb over the exposed area of Vector Sigma. Working quickly, Zetar keeps adding layers until Sigma is fully protected, and then seals the hole with more debris, closing off the light and camouflaging the access point he'd created. Once it's done, he turns to Dust Devil, his optics seeming to glow even brighter in the darkened cavern.

Dust Devil grins, "Okay follow me over here." He then pulls his hands in and uses his fan systems to blow the lighter debris around, covering foot prints and laying an undisturbed layer of dust all over. "Hopefully that will help a little. Now what do we need ta do?"

Zetar watches Dust Devil literally cover their tracks, and nods his approval. "Excellent," he says calmly, his voice retaining a strange, echoing quality. "Now we find the second chamber. It isn't far. It was created to originally power Cybertron, before Cybertron was Cybertron. Now it will be used to power Cybertron again." He transforms again and takes the lead, drilling through the rubble in a new direction.

Dust Devil follows and does his best to make it a bit less obvious where they are traveling. "Are ya sure yer okay? I'm kinda responsible fer you not being allowed to be dead and all when we hopefully get back ta the bots."

"I feel better than I ever have, Dust Devil," Zetar insists, continuing to dig through the rubble. "I can see things I've never seen -- I know things I can't know -- it's just amazing. It's hard to explain what happened to me. Still, I'm fine. You don't have to worry about me." Zetar slows, and backs out a bit to widen the tunnel. "This is it," he says confidently. "Stand back." Zetar transforms, and starts shoring up the passageway.

Dust Devil does as asked. He isn't the digger. But he is good at looking at things from all sides. Something is up. And he knows that its important that the plans move forward for the good of their world and their people.

Zetar carefully reinforces the tunnel, and widens the free space in front of what looks like just another rock face. However, once he's through, he runs his hands along the side of the rock, barely touching it, if at all. Suddenly there is a small click, and the rock face opens and moves aside, revealing a large chamber on the other side. Within the large room is a silver dome, covered in glowing red lights. The entire compartment crackles with energy. "There," Zetar says simply. "We are here."

Dust Devil's dark optics widen and he raises a hand to shield from the energy. "You did it! Yer gonna be a hero." A smile appears on his face. "Just think. We can save Cybertron. I'm glad you came!"

"I am as well," Zetar says strangely. "Don't try to enter the chamber. The plasma acts like a severe ionic storm -- your circuits would be fried in moments. The Quintessons were able to enter the chamber, but not any of their minions -- they'd be destroyed, and as would we. We'll have to find another way to activate the chamber." Zetar's optics continue to glow brightly as he examines the electric room.

Dust Devil says, "But Zetar...we're not meant ta activate the chamber. A room no mech can enter....And a key. We need to bring the owner and key here. They're supposed ta do this. That's the only thing I can figure. We all get ta play our parts."

Zetar slowly turns to Dust Devil, looking at him oddly with his brightly glowing optics. Finally, he nods. "Yes. You are correct, Dust Devil. We should close the chamber and report back. We can bring the Key here once we figure out the next step. I'm sure this is the means to restore Cybertron. We just need to figure out how." He turns and waves his hand over the edge of the archway. Gradually the rock face closes, and soon the room is once again sealed off from the tunnel.

Dust Devil smiles again. "We need ta get back quickly." He is doing his best to make the area look undisturbed with his little dust storms. "What's the best direction back and I think we need ta radio as soon as we're capable of. Nothing exact, but so certain people have the gist. No matter what, we need ta make it back and tell them....or at least you do. Okay? Somethin happens, get back ta Prime and them."

Zetar nods quickly. "I will, Dust Devil. But don't worry. I'll get you back safely. Let's go." Zetar transforms again, and starts once again to dig -- this time, towards the surface.