Advent Calendar Day 4
Title: No Escape
Rating: T
Continuity: G1
Characters: Rodimus, Cyclonus, original human
Content notes: A very depressed, self-destructive, suicidal Rodimus Prime.
Summary: Rodimus just wants to get away.
Prompt: "To the dark side"
Optimus was the lucky one.
Not just because he was competent, revered, loved--everything Rodimus himself wasn't and never would be.
Optimus was lucky because he didn't have to do this anymore. Lucky to die in victory and go to the Matrix where he would never again be looked up to, never again be blamed, never again fail.
Of course he was dead because of Roddy's failure, and this, surely, was Hot Rod's punishment. This--all of this--all of this Rodimus was driving away from. All the Autobots that Rodimus was failing--!
When he'd gone out, taken his huge ugly ungainly Primely body onto the long mountain road, he'd thought he could just drive away, just have an "accident"--but he just couldn't, quite, do it.
He cringed from his trailer as it whipped around the tight corners, never quite tight enough--and slowed down for the cars full of staring humans, he could never, ever--suicide was one thing, but killing a human would be unforgivable.
He went the wrong way on a fork--of course he did, he always did--and plowed into a dirt drive, tires sinking in, not enough space to turn around...nowhere to go but forward, and forward he went.
It was a junkyard.
Fitting.
"Hope there's room for one more," he said to the wrecks, and turned off his engine.
He hoped he would never wake up--or if he had, he would wake up to find that the junkyard workers were doing their work, removing bits of him to be put to better use.
No such luck. "Autobot!" said the voice, and again, "Autobot?!"
A Decepticon? But voice was unfamiliar. Grudgingly, Rodimus turned his sensors on, curiosity getting the better of him. It was a human. An older man, who looked sort of like Daniel's Grandpa had--before.
Rodimus didn't say anything. Not even when the human poked him all over and looked under his hood. Kinda like Daniel's Grandpa...back when he was young and would barely stay still for a tune-up.
No problem staying still now. The only thing Rodimus was impatient for now was to have it all over with.
But the man finished and said, "Nothin' wrong with ya. What are you doing here, Autobot?"
"Nothing!" Rodimus said, patience suddenly all gone. "Everything is wrong. Just take me apart. Please."
The man jumped back, and Roddy regretted startling him--the man wasn't used to Autobots, of course. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"No, no, we've gotta get you back where you came from." The man shook his head. "We don't do Autobots here! Can't you just--I dunno, transform and turn around? Or is there someone I can call?"
Roddy sighed. He couldn't even belong in a junkyard. Maybe he should have tried Junkion.
"All right." Slowly, creakily, he transformed and walked off, giving a long lingering look at the junkyard. "Sorry, sir."
The man shrugged. "No problem. Just as long as you can get out right."
There was nowhere on this planet he could go, he realized, nowhere away from humans who would recognize him, nowhere away from responsibilities, nowhere he wouldn't be a burden.
He would have to leave Earth, but even a shuttle to Cybertron would require contacting the other Autobots, or the EDC, and he just. Couldn't deal.
Not with the Autobots or the humans, but maybe--
He sat on the side of the mountain, turned on a Decepticon frequency, and waited.
And waited.
Magnus would have been impressed, he thought, with how patient he was, before. Now--there was no more impressing Magnus. No more, ever.
He watched the spacejet as it descended, quickly, gracefully--thinking idly of how he would try to shoot it down, on any other day. He waited, quietly, as Cyclonus landed in front of him, gun aimed and ready--one shot, and it would be over. But Cyclonus didn't fire.
"What is this, Autobot?" Cyclonus looked him over suspiciously. "You say you have a deal."
Rodimus shrugged. Why wasn't Cyclonus shooting? There was no point in making deals with Decepticons, everyone knew that. No point in expecting them to keep them, anyway.
"I'm waiting," Cyclonus glanced suspiciously around them.
They were alone, as far as Rodimus knew. He was kind of disappointed they weren't surrounded. "No deal. Just me."
"I can see that," Cyclonus said, slowly. "But what do you want?"
"I want to go away. I don't care where. Just. Away from this." Rodimus looked down at the dirt. He would miss it, he thought vaguely--no other planet had dirt quite like this.
Cyclonus laughed. "Autobot--how stupid do you think I am? Bring you right where you want me to? No."
"Then shoot me," Rodimus said, staring up into Cyclonus' confused face, opening his arms to show him the huge flamey target..."
Cyclonus considered, and then--"No." With a roar of thrusters, the Decepticon was gone. Rodimus sobbed in frustration.
He didn't know how long it was he stared down the mountain, unable to either leave or to throw himself off--there were humans down there, he would hurt someone.
Another shuttle arrived, as he knew it would eventually. Sky Lynx, with Kup and Arcee and Springer and Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod's friends and Optimus' loyal Autobots, come to tell him he had to come home.
He didn't resist. There was no point. There was no escape from Hot Rod's punishment.
Rating: T
Continuity: G1
Characters: Rodimus, Cyclonus, original human
Content notes: A very depressed, self-destructive, suicidal Rodimus Prime.
Summary: Rodimus just wants to get away.
Prompt: "To the dark side"
Optimus was the lucky one.
Not just because he was competent, revered, loved--everything Rodimus himself wasn't and never would be.
Optimus was lucky because he didn't have to do this anymore. Lucky to die in victory and go to the Matrix where he would never again be looked up to, never again be blamed, never again fail.
Of course he was dead because of Roddy's failure, and this, surely, was Hot Rod's punishment. This--all of this--all of this Rodimus was driving away from. All the Autobots that Rodimus was failing--!
When he'd gone out, taken his huge ugly ungainly Primely body onto the long mountain road, he'd thought he could just drive away, just have an "accident"--but he just couldn't, quite, do it.
He cringed from his trailer as it whipped around the tight corners, never quite tight enough--and slowed down for the cars full of staring humans, he could never, ever--suicide was one thing, but killing a human would be unforgivable.
He went the wrong way on a fork--of course he did, he always did--and plowed into a dirt drive, tires sinking in, not enough space to turn around...nowhere to go but forward, and forward he went.
It was a junkyard.
Fitting.
"Hope there's room for one more," he said to the wrecks, and turned off his engine.
He hoped he would never wake up--or if he had, he would wake up to find that the junkyard workers were doing their work, removing bits of him to be put to better use.
No such luck. "Autobot!" said the voice, and again, "Autobot?!"
A Decepticon? But voice was unfamiliar. Grudgingly, Rodimus turned his sensors on, curiosity getting the better of him. It was a human. An older man, who looked sort of like Daniel's Grandpa had--before.
Rodimus didn't say anything. Not even when the human poked him all over and looked under his hood. Kinda like Daniel's Grandpa...back when he was young and would barely stay still for a tune-up.
No problem staying still now. The only thing Rodimus was impatient for now was to have it all over with.
But the man finished and said, "Nothin' wrong with ya. What are you doing here, Autobot?"
"Nothing!" Rodimus said, patience suddenly all gone. "Everything is wrong. Just take me apart. Please."
The man jumped back, and Roddy regretted startling him--the man wasn't used to Autobots, of course. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"No, no, we've gotta get you back where you came from." The man shook his head. "We don't do Autobots here! Can't you just--I dunno, transform and turn around? Or is there someone I can call?"
Roddy sighed. He couldn't even belong in a junkyard. Maybe he should have tried Junkion.
"All right." Slowly, creakily, he transformed and walked off, giving a long lingering look at the junkyard. "Sorry, sir."
The man shrugged. "No problem. Just as long as you can get out right."
There was nowhere on this planet he could go, he realized, nowhere away from humans who would recognize him, nowhere away from responsibilities, nowhere he wouldn't be a burden.
He would have to leave Earth, but even a shuttle to Cybertron would require contacting the other Autobots, or the EDC, and he just. Couldn't deal.
Not with the Autobots or the humans, but maybe--
He sat on the side of the mountain, turned on a Decepticon frequency, and waited.
And waited.
Magnus would have been impressed, he thought, with how patient he was, before. Now--there was no more impressing Magnus. No more, ever.
He watched the spacejet as it descended, quickly, gracefully--thinking idly of how he would try to shoot it down, on any other day. He waited, quietly, as Cyclonus landed in front of him, gun aimed and ready--one shot, and it would be over. But Cyclonus didn't fire.
"What is this, Autobot?" Cyclonus looked him over suspiciously. "You say you have a deal."
Rodimus shrugged. Why wasn't Cyclonus shooting? There was no point in making deals with Decepticons, everyone knew that. No point in expecting them to keep them, anyway.
"I'm waiting," Cyclonus glanced suspiciously around them.
They were alone, as far as Rodimus knew. He was kind of disappointed they weren't surrounded. "No deal. Just me."
"I can see that," Cyclonus said, slowly. "But what do you want?"
"I want to go away. I don't care where. Just. Away from this." Rodimus looked down at the dirt. He would miss it, he thought vaguely--no other planet had dirt quite like this.
Cyclonus laughed. "Autobot--how stupid do you think I am? Bring you right where you want me to? No."
"Then shoot me," Rodimus said, staring up into Cyclonus' confused face, opening his arms to show him the huge flamey target..."
Cyclonus considered, and then--"No." With a roar of thrusters, the Decepticon was gone. Rodimus sobbed in frustration.
He didn't know how long it was he stared down the mountain, unable to either leave or to throw himself off--there were humans down there, he would hurt someone.
Another shuttle arrived, as he knew it would eventually. Sky Lynx, with Kup and Arcee and Springer and Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod's friends and Optimus' loyal Autobots, come to tell him he had to come home.
He didn't resist. There was no point. There was no escape from Hot Rod's punishment.