Disclaimers: Transformers are owned by Hasbro.

I make no monetary profit from my fanfic/fanart.

Summary: Optimus Prime needs some down time. Mindwave created by Seawave.

Author’s note: This fic was born out of the first chain letter I ever received. I know not who sent it to me (although I have the usual suspects ;), or what to make of it at the time – I was about 14. It told me I had to send it to a bunch of people with in 96 hours. If I didn’t, I’d get bad luck and if I did, good luck. I knew it was a load of scrap & the only good thing to come out of it was this fic ... at least something useful came out of the waste of paper and postage stamps – Eep! This was before e-mail even ... ;) & I put the thing in the paper recycling too! I get inspiration in the strangest of places ;)

Rating - PG

~~~~~~~

NINETY-SIX HOURS

Optimus Prime was busy repairing a damaged monitoring camera in one of the corridors in Autobot headquarters. Mindwave, another Autobot, came to him.

"Optimus ..."

Optimus Prime looked down.

"Yes, Mindwave?"

Mindwave held up a broken video tape.

"Can you fix this?" he asked, sadly. "It has my favourite 'Lassie' episodes on it."

"Hold on a minute, Mindy till I finish this. It won't take much longer."

Optimus then accidentally electrocuted himself. He jerked his hand away.

"Are you all right, Optimus?" asked Mindwave, concerned.

"I'm fine, Mindy, a little shocked, that's all."

Mindwave smiled. Optimus then finished repairing the camera, climbed down and knelt beside Mindwave. He took the video tape from his hands and carefully rolled the tape together, showing Mindwave what he was doing.

"How did it break?" he then asked.

"I don't know," said Mindwave. "I was playing it and ... well it just broke ... "

"Sounds like your video needs repairs," said Optimus. "I'll take a look at it."

"Thanks, Prime."

Optimus Prime then stood up and walked to Mindwave's room with him. He then repaired his video. Mindwave thanked him again. Optimus smiled. Mindwave then put the video into the machine and began to watch 'Lassie.'

Optimus Prime walked to the main control room, to find that Teletraan I was malfunctioning.

"Prime ..." said Ratchet, kneeling beside Teletraan, "I've tried everything and Teletraan's still not functional. Can you take a look at him? Figure out what's wrong?"

Optimus Prime nodded, then knelt down and peered inside Teletraan. He took a while, but found what was causing the malfunction. He reconnected a few loose wires and repaired a few broken circuits. Teletraan then flicked to life.

"Great" said Ratchet, smiling, "now we can monitor Decepticon activity."

Teletraan scanned a wide radius with his sky spies, but could locate no Decepticons.

Optimus Prime then closed the panel and stood up. He began to walk to his room.

Three Autobots, Slag, Warpath and Brawn came to him, all with malfunctioning weapons and all wanting Optimus Prime to repair them. Optimus would rather not repair weapons, as he hated violence, but knew if the Autobots had no weapons, the Decepticons would take advantage of that, destroy them and then take control of the Universe. Optimus took the three guns and began to repair them. They were rather easy to repair and Optimus wondered why the three Autobots hadn't done it themselves. He then returned the weapons to their owners. They eagerly took them and walked away. Optimus without even receiving a `thank you,' began to walk to the energon storage room. He was quite hungry. A lot of other Autobots came to him, all wanting him to repair broken or malfunctioning pieces of machinery of theirs. Optimus wanted a little time to himself, but said nothing and repaired all his friends things. They then took them, without even thanking Optimus. Optimus said nothing to them, because he knew they hadn't meant to hurt him. He then carried on walking to the energon room. He then opened the door to it, walked inside and picked up an energon cube, but then saw a bowl of molten platinum, which he preferred to energon. He was very hungry and it was a great sight for sore optical sensors. He picked it up and was about to start drinking, when Cliffjumper burst into the room.

"Prime ... Prime ... You gotta come quick ..."

Optimus wanted to drink the platinum, but put the cube down and followed Cliffjumper to his room. Cliffjumper wanted him to repair his computer, who's hard disk had just crashed. Optimus felt reluctant, but said nothing and began to repair it. He was quite low on energy and didn't realise he'd connected a few of the wires wrongly. He then connected the last few wires and stood up.

"It's finished." he said.

Cliffjumper nodded and then turned it on. It seemed to be working perfectly. Cliffjumper smiled and carried on with his work. Optimus then walked out of his room to the energon room. His vision was hazy, as he was very low on energy. He looked for the cube of molten platinum, but couldn't find it, so slowly drank an energon cube.

During the next few hours many other Autobots all came to him wanting him to repair various devices and other things. Optimus Prime really wasn't in the mood, but said, " leave them with me. I'll see what I can do. "

Optimus then sat at a desk in a room and began repairing them. Some of them took him quite a long time. He worked through the night. He had repaired most of the machines and devices his friends had given him.

A few minutes later, the Autobots came to get them from Optimus Prime. Optimus gave them the ones he had repaired. He was still busy repairing the few he hadn't finished. He was sick of repairing, but said nothing and calmly worked on, making sure he was doing everything correctly. He then went to get an energon cube.

When he returned from the energon room, he drank some of the energon cube and continued working on the few devices he still had to repair. Some other Autobots came to him to get their devices.

"I haven't finished them all yet" he said. "There's s still a few more I have to repair."

Optimus then took a sip of his energon cube.

"What?! You're not finished?! But I gave it to you yesterday!"

"Silverbolt, I've had a lot to do."

"But this is just one little thing."

"Yes, but all the 'little' things I've had to do add up."

"But you couldn't've had that much to do ..." insisted Silverbolt.

Optimus Prime paused and then said, "it won't take long."

He took a few minutes to finish it. He handed it to Silverbolt and continued repairing the other devices which he had not yet completed.

The other Autobots later came in, all demanding their devices and were quite angry with Optimus Prime for not having finished them. Optimus too was angry. He had done so much for them and they didn't seem to care, but he felt more hurt than angry.

They don't realise they're overestimating me and they don't realise the all work I've done ... he thought to himself.

He tried not to feel angry and finished repairing the devices as quickly as he could. The Autobots then took them without a word of thanks to Optimus. He tried not to feel upset, but couldn't help it.

They're taking me for granted ... he thought, sadly, sitting n the room. I know they don't realise they're hurting me. I don't mind helping them, but they're expecting me to do everything and all at once. They don't seem to realise that a lot of little things add up and I also have my own things I want to do. I am never selfish and would always help a friend, but some of the things they gave me to repair, they were quite capable of doing themselves. They don't seem to realise that I have my own work to do as well as theirs. I cannot do all the Autobots' work in a few hours ...

Optimus Prime them began to write a list of what he'd repaired in the past 96 hours.

He paused. He looked at the paper and wrote:

I have repaired over 80 different machines, devices and so on without a rest for 96 hours in total. If I have to repair another thing, I'm going to scream.

Optimus Prime then looked at his list.

"How can they expect me to do all this and `be quick about it' as well? ... I wish they'd realise that I'm not a mindless machine. I'm not perfect. I can't do everything. I too have my own things I want to do. I'll gladly help my friends, but they seem to be using me. I know they don't realise they're hurting my feelings and they probably don't realise all the work I've done. I can't be angry with them for what they don't know ... I wish they would realise ..."

He felt hurt and felt he couldn't tell his friends about how he was feeling. He wasn't sure they'd understand properly.

"Some of them will understand " he thought," I don't know why, but I feel I just can't tell them."

Optimus then put his face in his hands and stayed in the room for a while.

A few minutes later, he stood up, still feeling upset.

As he was walking to his room, blast shook the headquarters.

"An attack!" exclaimed Optimus. "That's all we need."

The Autobots were not in the least prepared. They began to re-energize as quickly as they could. The Decepticons had already damaged a considerable part of their headquarters, including Teletraan I. They then started to invade. They had destroyed almost all security and defence mechanisms. The Autobots fought back as best they could, but were losing.

The battle was long and hard. The Autobots had suffered heavier casualties than the Decepticons. The Decepticons were pressing the Autobots back. A few Decepticons suffered blast wounds, but not as great as the Autobots, as the Autobots were lower on energy.

"It's no use, Prime ..." said Prowl pessimistically. "We can't win."

"We can't give up yet, Prowl. We may still have a chance."

"What chance?"

"Our secret ammunition supplies" replied Optimus Prime. "I'd rather not use them, but we have no other choice."

He and some other Autobots quickly ran to the secret ammunition storage room and returned with some missiles and other forms of powerful ammunition. Optimus loaded some low explosive grenades into his laser rifle and began to fire them at the Decepticons. The other Autobots began releasing the missiles. The Decepticons were taken by surprise. They had not realised the Autobots had access to such powerful weapons. The Autobots continued releasing their missiles and grenades. The Decepticons were being forced back. There were a few more Decepticon casualties. The Autobots gave them time to help their wounded, which as more than the Decepticons had done for them. They finally managed to drive them out of their headquarters. The Autobots then immediately started helping their wounded. Optimus Prime saw a small Decepticon lying helplessly on the floor. He was very badly wounded. Optimus hesitated, then gently picked him up and turned him around. The Decepticon was bleeding heavily. The front of him had been torn apart by a powerful missile. Optimus Prime winced, then realised the Decepticon was unconscious and not feeling any pain. Skydive came to him.

"Prime ... What are you doing?"

"This Decepticon ... I found him lying here. He's badly wounded. I don't even know if he's alive."

"So what? He's a Decepticon. Let him die."

"I can't do that, Skydive." Optimus looked at the helpless Decepticon in his arms." Look at the severity of his wound. By the looks of it, he was blasted by a highly explosive missile at a very close range. It wasn't fair. There's no way anyone this small can withstand that."

"Do you know who blasted him?" asked Skydive.

"No, I don't, and I'm not saying it was deliberate. It probably wasn't ... In a way it's my fault ... but the only reason I ordered the use of our secret ammunition is we would have lost without it with severe casualties."

"Sorry, Prime ..." said Skydive, quietly.

Optimus nodded, understandingly and took the small Decepticon to the repair bay. He then began to repair his severe wound. Although severe, the wound was repairable. Optimus was being as careful and gentle as he could. Repairing a living Transformer was far different from repairing a machine or device. It was like a different thing altogether, although the work was more or less the same.

It was taking Optimus quite a long time. The work was very difficult, delicate and fiddly. He finally finished and re-energised the Decepticon. The Decepticon sat up, frightened.

"It's all right," calmed Optimus Prime, gently. "I'm not going to hurt you." He then paused. "I apologize for the way in which you were wounded" he confessed. "That missile shouldn't have been fired at that close range, but we needed to use the extra ammunition."

"I understand," said the little Decepticon, quickly, "but why did you repair me?"

"It wasn't fair to fire that missile at that range. There was no way you could've survived. I couldn't let you die."

"But why?" asked the Decepticon, still confused. "I'm your enemy."

"True," replied Optimus Prime, "but even enemies deserve a right to live. They too are sentient. I cannot stand back and watch another living thing die, not when I have a chance of saving them, even if they are my enemy."

The small Decepticon smiled. "Thank you" he said, a little shyly.

Optimus Prime smiled and let him go. He then walked to the other repair bay to see if anymore Autobots needed repairs. All of them had been repaired. Optimus then started to think about what had happened in the battle. Quite a few Autobots came to him.

"What are you doing, Prime?" asked Blue Streak.

"Analysing the battle, Blue Streak. We have to make sure we are prepared next time, so we don't have to use our extra ammunition supplies. We have to make more accurate measures in future."

"You should have devised a plan before" accused Cliffjumper.

"I didn't have the time" replied Optimus. "I ..."

"What?! But you weren't doing anything. This battle was your fault."

"It could not have been prevented," pointed out Optimus Prime.

"Maybe not" said Cliffjumper, "but a lot of the casualties could have been avoided."

"Perhaps," said Optimus Prime, "if I had time to design a counter attack plan."

"But you did have the time - And where were you when the battle was over?"

"I was repairing a small Decepticon, almost killed by a missile fired at close range."

"Why repair a Decepticon?"

"Firing that missile at close range was not fair. I had to repair him. I couldn't let him die."

Cliffjumper saw Optimus Prime's point, but said, "how do we know you didn't fire that missile?"

Optimus felt hurt.

"I was firing low explosive grenades," he said. "Incapable of inflicting such a wound. The missile fired was not intentional and I am not asking anyone to own up. I have already repaired the Decepticon and let him go."

"I still think there are other things worth repairing than Decepticons," said Cliffjumper, angrily. "Like my computer. You repaired it before, but you connected all the wires wrong. It doesn't work."

"What do you want me to do about it?" asked Optimus.

"Instead of repairing that blasted Decepticon, you should've been repairing this."

"Cliffjumper," said Optimus. "Life is more important than an inanimate object."

Cliffjumper paused for a moment. "Yeah, well you should've repaired it properly in the first place."

Optimus angrily looked at him.

"Do it yourself."

He then transformed into his truck mode and drove out of the headquarters.

"What's the matter with him? " asked Cliffjumper.

The Autobots could not understand why Optimus Prime was so angry and also couldn't understand why he said he 'didn't have time' to devise a battle plan. Cliffjumper then took his computer to his room and tried to repair it. It was hard for him, as he didn't know what to do. He tried many different combinations that all proved useless. He then put one wire in the wrong socket. The computer exploded violently. Cliffjumper took the full force of the explosion. It hurt him a lot and threw him across him room. He was split open and bleeding heavily and he was still conscious. The pain was unbearable.

The other Autobots were inside Optimus Prime's room, looking for clues as to why he was angry with them and why he said he had `no time.' They found the list he had written. It was endless. The Autobots hadn't realised that almost every one of them had asked Optimus Prime to repair something for them and all had expected him to do it quickly.

"No wonder he had no time" said Sideswipe.

"And no wonder he was peeved," added Brawn.

The Autobot began to feel guilty and wanted to apologize to their leader.

"We were taking him for granted ..." said Silverbolt, sadly. "I mean a lot of us were wanting him to do stuff that we were too lazy to do ourselves."

The Autobots began to feel angry with themselves and hoped their leader came back, soon.

Optimus Prime was slowly, sadly, driving on the road. He felt upset and angry, but much more upset. He stopped at a red light and watched a young woman cross the street. Optimus waited until the light turned green, then drove on. He didn't know where he was going, then again, he didn't care.

The Autobots, back at Autobot headquarters tried to contact him, but Optimus had cut off his communication links.

"I hope he's all right ..." said Ironhide concerned.

Night was falling. Optimus Prime had driven far out of the city and into the dark country. He then stopped, transformed into his robot mode and sat in a large gorge in a hill.

"I wish they'd understand ..." he thought, sadly. "I shouldn't be angry with them ... They don't realise ..."

Optimus too felt a little guilty. He wanted to return home and in a way he didn't. He remained sitting on the hill for quite a while. He then transformed and started to drive on. He felt he was getting low on fuel. Optimus turned around and began to drive back to the last service station he had passed. It was closed now. All the pumps were locked.

"I wish I didn't have to do this ..." he said, regretfully.

He broke one of the locks and began to drink as much petrol as he needed. He then looked at the charge -- $500. Optimus transformed back into his truck mode.

"I'll have to pay later" he said to himself, starting to drive back to Autobot headquarters, hoping he'd be welcome.

"Prime ..." greeted Ironhide when he arrived, "thank Primus you're back. We were getting worried about ya."

"Look, Prime, we're sorry about ..."

Other Autobots began apologising to him. Optimus transformed into his robot mode.

"Apologies accepted," he said. "You didn't realise. It's all right. I forgive you all."

The Autobots were grateful. Optimus Prime too was grateful. He then began to walk to his room. He thought he smelt blood coming from inside. Cliffjumper's room. Concerned, Optimus opened the door and saw Cliffjumper lying on the far side of his room, lying on the floor, surrounded in blood. Cliffjumper was too weak to make much noise, but was still feeling the unbearable pain. He made a few weak groaning noises. Optimus gasped. He hadn't realised Cliffjumper was still conscious. He ran to him and knelt down and being extremely gentle, began to pick him up. Cliffjumper could feel it, but was too weak to see or say anything. He was shivering. Optimus Prime quickly took him into the repair bay. He then injected some fluid into his neck. Cliffjumper was now unconscious.

"I wonder what happened to him? ..." Optimus asked himself, puzzled.

He then began to repair Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper was severely wounded. Optimus Prime wasn't sure if he could save him, but he was determined. He tried his best for many hours. He replaced a great deal of Cliffjumper's internal organs and circuits. He then waited until Cliffjumper's blood level was back to normal. Optimus then gently and slowly re-energised him. Nothing happened for a few hours. Optimus Prime patiently waited for Cliffjumper to reactivate.

A few hours later, Cliffjumper began to regain consciousness.

"Ohhhh ..." he groaned, putting his hand on his head. "Where ... where am I? ..." Cliffjumper then turned around.

"Prime ... What ... what happened?..."

"I don't know. What happened to you?"

Cliffjumper took a moment to recall what had happened.

"You were angry with me" he then said. "You told me to repair my computer. I didn't know how, so I tried all sorts of combinations. I stuck the wrong wire in the wrong hole and - kaboom -"

"Cliffjumper, I'm sorry ... I didn't realise ... I ... It's just that everybody was demanding me to repair things, taking me for granted, and ... "

Optimus felt terrible.

"Yeah ... I suppose I'm sorry too, Prime," confessed Cliffjumper.

Optimus smiled. "It's all right."

He then helped Cliffjumper off the repair bed and constructed a new computer for him.

"Uhh ... you don't mind, Optimus?" asked Cliffjumper, uneasily.

"I owe this to you, Cliffjumper. What happened to you was my fault."

"No, Prime. It was mine. I demanded you to do it. I didn't even let you recharge before you repaired the computer. You were low on energy and you couldn't help making the mistakes. I shouldn't've blamed you for that. It wasn't your fault. I was so demanding and selfish ... and I do thing repairing living Transformers are more important than inanimate objects. I was also rude to you. I'm sorry."

Optimus Prime gently rubbed his head.

"It's all right, Cliffjumper."

He then handed him the new computer.

"She's ready to go" he said. "If you have any problems with her, just bring her to me."

"But Prime, won't you ..."

"No, Cliffjumper. I won't mind."

"Thanks."

Optimus smiled, then walked to the energon room and drank a cube of molten platinum. He then walked into the main control room with the other Autobots. They all started apologising to him again.

"It's fine" he said. "I've already forgiven you all. I'm not angry."

"But we hurt you, Prime, and ..."

"None of you meant it. None of you knew that you weren't the only one who gave me something to repair."

"But we didn't thank you or nothin'" said Warpath. "By the way, thanks for repairing my gun. I'm sorry. I know you don't like fixing weapons and stuff. I guess I was lazy."

"It's okay. I've been lazy on occasion."

Warpath smiled, finding that hard to believe.

At that moment, Teletraan I blew a fuse and one of his control panels exploded.

"Teletraan needs repairs" said Optimus Prime, walking towards him.

"Prime, you have worked too hard," said Prowl. "Ratchet and I'll handle it."

"It's all right, Prowl, I'll do it."

Ratchet then grabbed hold of Optimus Prime's arms and sat him down in the chair.

"Prime," he smiled, "sit down and shut up. We'll do it."

Optimus Prime smiled.

*

Back to Autobot Page

Back to Transformers Page