Transformers Prime: The Tesseract

Seven: The Race

Sunbeam ran as fast as she could, and it didn't take long until her and Jack were in third place, then second. Jack was surprised at how quickly they reached the first roadhouse, where the racers would stop, rest their dogs, and warm up before continuing.

"Sunbeam, maybe you should sit down and warm up for a second...Autobots don't do well in weather like this," Jack suggested. Sunbeam just bounced around and wagged her tail.

"Don't worry 'bout me! I ain't restin' 'til we win and get that prize money!" Sunbeam exclaimed.

"Yeah, I figured. Well, let's get going then," Jack agreed, standing up and putting his coat, boots, and mittens back on.

"Yeah!" Sunbeam replied.

They had only been running a short while longer when the wind began to pick up, and the snowfall became heavier. Jack looked around.

"This isn't good," he stated.

"Don't worry! I'll get us through it!" Sunbeam assured him.

"Maybe we should find shelter to wait out the worst of it," Jack suggested. Sunbeam nodded.

"Okay! I'll be on the lookout!" Sunbeam promised. "You shield your face!" Jack did as Sunbeam said, and Sunbeam looked around for shelter.

Suddenly, Sunbeam heard a loud rumbling sound coming from midway up the mountain they were running at the base of. She watched as a mixture of snow and ice rolled down the mountain in a fierce avalanche.

"Jack!" Sunbeam shouted, transforming back into a bot and using her body to shield Jack from the avalanche, ensuring that he wasn't caught up in it. This worked, and Jack remained unharmed even as the avalanche slowed to a stop. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. What about you? You were the one who took on an avalanche," Jack pointed out.

"I'm okay. C'mon, I think I saw a cave up ahead," Sunbeam coached, transforming back into a dog and leading him to the cave she had seen.

"Cozy," Jack remarked as he sat on the cave floor.

"I'll get some sticks for firewood. Didn't your mom give you a lighter?" Sunbeam asked.

"Yeah. It's in my pocket," Jack confirmed with a nod. Sunbeam nodded back and left.

She returned a minute later, carrying sticks in her mouth and dropping them on the ground for Jack to light. It worked. Soon, they had a steady flame going, and Sunbeam curled up with Jack next to it to keep him warm.

It took seven hours for the storm to pass, and Jack and Sunbeam immediately began on the trail again.

"I hope everyone else made it out alright," Sunbeam admitted.

"They probably did. They're more used to snowstorms than we are," Jack assured her.

Sure enough, they passed the other sleds and made it to the finish line in first place. Everyone cheered as they crossed the finish line, and June greeted the pair in tears.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" June exclaimed as she hugged Jack.

"I always am," Jack stated.

"Well, I'll always worry about you," June responded.

"Have you seen my son?! He was on the trail with you!" A frantic woman begged.

"No. What'd he look like?" Jack asked.

"Here's a photo. His name is Gavin," the woman showed Jack the photo. He shrugged. "Here! I also have a glove that he wears! It's from his father! He decided not to wear it today." The woman shoved the glove in Sunbeam's face, and she sniffed it. Jack sighed in exasperation.

"Alright, I guess we're headed back down the trail," Jack decided aloud, to which Sunbeam nodded. So, they resumed the trail in search of the young boy.

The scent led Sunbeam and Jack to a large laboratory, which was being raided by Decepticons. They were quick to notice that Starscream was holding Gavin hostage.

"Jack, go back to June and tell her what's going on...I can handle them," Sunbeam stated.

"Just don't die," Jack teased. Sunbeam laughed.

"Like you'd get rid of me so easy," she retorted. With that, Jack ran back to his mother and told her what was going on.

Sunbeam immediately sprang into action, running at full speed toward the vehicons and biting and tearing at them. This caused quite a few to retreat, which Starscream was not impressed with.

"Is this human a friend of yours?" Starscream asked, holding Gavin up in front of her like he was a toy. Sunbeam transformed back into an Autobot.

"Hand over the kid, please," Sunbeam requested. "Whatever ya want doesn't involve him, so let him go."

"I don't care about his involvement, I just want to use him to force everyone to do what I want," Starscream admitted with a sly smirk.

"Are you serious?! That's why ya took him?! Lame! Havin' a kid with ya won't make people listen! They'll just fight back," Sunbeam pointed out.

"They would be insane to try anything when I can crush them in one step," Starscream responded.

"That's gross," Sunbeam mocked.

"Shut up!" Starscream yelled. Sunbeam punched him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground.

"See?! Havin' a kid didn't make me do what ya wanted," she deadpanned as she stepped on his back. "Now let the kid go."

"Fine...you win," Starscream caved and let the boy go. This resulted in Sunbeam taking her foot off of him, and he stood and shot a missile at Gavin. Sunbeam saw this and pushed him out of the way as the missile hit the ground near her and threw her forward, as well as stabbing her with shrapnel. Gavin screamed and ran back, following Jack's path back to civilization.

"My, how the tables have turned," Starscream remarked. Sunbeam responded by stabbing a weak spot in his leg with a piece of shrapnel that she pulled out of her arm. Starscream screeched in pain and frustration, and Sunbeam got up and ran away, transforming into a dog so to be smaller and harder to find, and making it to the finish line of the race just before passing out. Everyone had left by that point, which was a good thing, because then they'd have to explain the ground bridge opening and Ratchet coming through and helping Sunbeam get back to base...again.