Hey folks! This is iheartgod175 again, with a brand new fanfic for a relatively unknown fandom: Fantastic Max. I don't know if any of you even KNOW about this show, but a couple of years ago I discovered this show during a family trip to my grandparents' house. Ever since then, I tried getting more info on the show, and I eventually recorded every episode on my DVR box. I barely watch it anymore, since my dad has to find the cord for the DVR box, but it's still a fond part of my memory.
This fic came about while watching the show, as it amazed me that A.B. always seems to fuss over Max like a parent (in one episode, A.B. flat out says he's his nanny.) while Max is like the rebellious teenager who never listens to his dad. Even though A.B's not his real dad, I think A.B. would have a great sense of parental instinct towards the little tyke. So that brought about this ficlet.
As of Tuesday, this fic is going to be dedicated to my grandmother, who passed away recently. Rest in peace, Grandmama, and we'll miss you a lot.
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Fantastic Max, or of Hanna-Barbera. Fantastic Max is property of Kalisto Ltd. and Mike Young, along with Hanna-Barbera. Geez, is that a mouthful.
At the Young household, all was quiet and everyone was sound asleep.
Everyone, that is, except for Max's toy nanny, A.B. It had been at least two hours since they'd snuck in, and he couldn't get himself to sleep. Nobody else in the house had that problem. Zoe wasn't up to any hijinks, and even Max had decided to take it easy and sleep in for the night.
Well, anyone would after the kind of day Max had been through, A.B. thought. He looked up at the sky, his eyes focusing on the moon hanging in the starry sky. At once, memories of the last two hours started to flood his mind.
Including...that.
Oh, no. Please not now. All I want to do is to sleep and forget about it, the toy nanny pleaded mentally, battling with his mind. The battle was over before it even started, unfortunately; everything that had transpired for the last two hours came back in a rush.
They'd been in outer space fighting against a hijacker who'd stolen their ship and tried to sell it. It had take a long time for them to track him down, but when Max finally got control of his own ship, it turned out that the madman had messed up the controls, sending the ship on a collision course with a mountain face.
Max apparently had no time to eject from the ship before it hit the ground. The baby bottle rocket carved a trench through the moon rock before it slammed into the side of the moon's mountain. The explosive collision sent parts of the ship flying halfway into the air, and the entire area went up in smoke. Everyone present stared at the fiery wreckage, not believe what they were seeing.
When A.B. and FX saw that crash, it was as though the world had been ripped away from them. FX had crumpled into a shuddering puddle of tears as he cried for his best friend. A.B. shook his head violently, refusing to believe that this- the worst case scenario he'd been warning Max of his whole life- had actually happened.
A.B. cringed upon remembering the thoughts he'd had immediately after coming to that conclusion. They were thoughts of utter hopelessness, despair and regret, and blame. He couldn't forget how much he'd blamed himself for what happened.
This...this is all my fault. I've failed him as a nanny. I...I couldn't...
"I couldn't save him," A.B. had whispered aloud, his voice choked back by a sob. Memories of the feisty, adventurous tyke flooded his mind.
Max had always been a tough one to keep up with. With his thirst for adventure and his talent for trouble, the toy nanny often wondered how in the world they'd make it home in one piece. Being a robot nanny, his job was to make sure that Max didn't get himself into trouble or get himself killed, but his warnings would often go in one ear and out the other. And on the very few times he had Max's attention, the boy would tell him to shut up.
A.B. couldn't count on his fingers the number of times he and Max had gotten into it. There had been one time where he'd gotten so angry at Max's ignorance, he told him to make his own plastic parent. Max did, and the result was that they'd almost crashed into the sun. Although they escaped and made up for that particular incident, Max always got his way, and A.B. found himself sticking with him through all their adventures.
A.B. had to admit, despite his migraine making doozies of plans, he was rather fond of Max, to the point of calling him his own son. He knew he could be a pain in the butt to the tot at times, but Max was a little over one years old. He needed to have some source of guidance if he was going to travel the vast, beautiful expanse that was the galaxy.
A.B. had heard many stories about how parents would go to the moon and back for their kids; some even dying for them. He found that very admirable, but found himself constantly thankful that a situation like those haven't happened to him.
But today, that all changed.
When faced with the sight of the wrecked ship, A.B.'s mind raced with all sorts of even more worst-case scenarios.
What if Max was trapped in the ship and he couldn't get out?
What if he was halfway towards the exit, and another explosion hit the ship?
What if...what if he died?
At that moment, he realized what his duty was. He may not be his real parent, but plastic or not, a father will protect his children-no matter the cost.
A.B. had ran like an Olympic medalist that day, his mind running on Max's safety. He had screamed his name at the top of his lungs as he approached the ship, fearing the worst had happened. He had been about to rip open the door to the cockpit to see if Max was alive, but the door opened for him, and the tyke himself appeared. Albeit, he was stumbling a bit from the impact of the crash, but other than a few smudges of smoke on his clothes, he was alright.
For the next few minutes, A.B. had alternated between lecturing Max for worrying him and crying in relief that he was alright. He'd been cut off when FX jumped into the picture and almost crushed the tyke to death, blubbering about how worried he was. Max had been a bit confused and slightly overwhelmed as to how they were reacting, as though they really shouldn't be worried about him (he was Fantastic Max, after all), but he took it all in stride. He'd been in no mood to argue after all he'd been through today.
After the hijacker had been arrested by the space patrol, Max and his two toys went home, where it was already getting late. They'd managed getting in before Max's mother had come in to tell him goodnight. Once she had left, everyone had turned over to go to sleep...but not before Max had given A.B. a hug.
"M-Max?" he'd asked, slightly confused as to why he'd pulled him into a hug.
"A.B., you may worry a lot and annoy me sometimes, but you're the closest thing that I have to a father figure. And to think that you would've run into a wrecked ship to save me...thanks, A.B."
A few tears had come into the toy nanny's eyes and he returned it. "I may not be your real father, but I'll do what I can to protect you, Max. That's a promise."
The toy nanny sighed a little as the last memory passed over him. Surely after this, Max would find a way to get himself into trouble again, and would disregard A.B.'s rules once more. But should something like this ever happen again, he was ready to do whatever it took to protect the boy.
With that thought in mind, A.B. rolled over, and finally allowed himself to fall asleep.
The End