1001 Cybertronian Nights
Rewind: His Final Days
One hundred thousand years from now, the war between Autobots and Decepticons will be over. Indeed, the very distinctions of Autobot and Decepticon have no place in the future, for they are words without meaning. Two factions of a race all but forgotten and lost to the sands of time. However, as with most other rules, there are a select few exceptions. Pockets of both clans slipped through the jaws of oblivion and survived. A random member of the former warring dynasties would turn up from time to time, often broken and forever out of place. One such enigma happened to be former Autobot, Rewind.
Rewind had settled peacefully in a small asteroid-belt colony on the outskirts of the solar system that included New Cybertron as one of its celestial treasures. His existence was one of learning, in silence and solitude. Truth be told, the ancient archivist wouldn't have had it any other way. With the war of the Transformers now confined to a handful of respectful history books, and more-so a colorful embellishment for drunkards and dying veterans, Rewind had more than enough time to study whatever he wished. Every moment of every day he continued to function was spent absorbing knowledge from a wide array of topics. He had lost many, if not all, of his former friends, but his records and historical documents still comforted him. They wouldn't leave him, nor could they die and add another layer of depression upon his being.
Rewind, for a short time, had called New Cybertron home. But he was unhappy there and unable to shake his somberness. It was a constant reminder of what once was. A place that at every corner, down every street, did nothing but remind him of all that was lost. The name may have been similar, but it was a pale imitation of what he knew and remembered. With a painful acceptance of the truth, he chose to leave New Cybertron and settled on the nearby asteroid-belt colony that some had nicknamed 'The Crystal Desert'. It was, admittedly, a strange and odd name, but there were far more important debates to be contested. It was somewhat more endearing than another nickname, calling the colony 'The Asteroid of Misfit Autobots'. The name stayed, and so did Rewind.
Then, in an instant, everything changed.
They arrived.
The ruler of the invaders was known as Bak-Tonn, leader of the Morns. The Morns were a powerful and massive race of beings, ruling countless planets with an iron grip. Their home planet, Vabel, was more savage than the planet Beest and six times larger than Saturn. Twenty-seven moons circled Vabel, which made for quite the nighttime scenery. Two suns burned into Vabel's soil, removing virtually all traces of vegetation.
There was no rhyme or reason why they did what they did. It was the only way of life they had known; conquer all others. The siege on The Crystal Desert lasted less than a week. Politicians on New Cybertron and other neighboring planets refused to interfere. Cowardice or prejudice, call it what you will, it wasn't their role to police the galaxy. Rewind was one of only two thousand who lived long enough to be taken prisoner.
Bak-Tonn was known through out the galaxy for his determination and intellect in battle, and also for one of his crueler traditions. At the end of a Vabel day, many times longer than one day on Earth, the ruler would send an officer into the prison camps to fetch a random target. The selected victim would then be brought before the horrific looking Bak-Tonn and be forced to tell a story. After the story was competed, the storyteller would be dropped into a pit of liquid fire and destroyed. The entire ordeal would start anew the next day, with an equally doomed participant forced to take the role of speaker.
Rewind had long prepared for his day to be chosen, and he was not afraid when that day arrived. Standing before the ruthless conqueror, he could feel the heat coming from the hellish pit a few meters away. But the once proud Autobot was ready for his task, as he would draw upon all the knowledge and data he had accumulated to craft a wondrous and never-ending tale.
Rewind was careful in his selections and cautious in his delivery. Each word used expertly to craft an enthralling epic, certain to please the attentive ruler. Soon, the usual time allotted for the story had come to an end, yet the story itself had not been concluded. As he had reasoned, Bak-Tonn was so entertained by the tale, he waived the scheduled termination and allowed Rewind to live another day. This was the first time that had ever happened, but Rewind swore to himself that it would not be the last.
The next day, Rewind continued his story, and again talked his way through the usual time allowed without ending the story. With the story stopping at such a pivotal place, Bak-Tonn again extended Rewinds life another day. This continued again and again, for a thousand and one days.
For reasons never fully understood, Bak-Tonn lifted Rewind from his imprisonment and welcomed him into his inner circle. Perhaps it had something to do with a rare showing of mercy. Maybe he was spared as a means to quiet a possible prisoner uprising. Or, maybe it was as simple as Bak-Tonn's words made it out to be. "Any being that can tell stories as great as those, deserves better than a flaming death."
Of course, it mattered little seven days later, as one of Vabel's suns went supernova and all life in that sector of space ceased to be. But the stories live on, here and now, before your very eyes. Records of lost words and collections of knowledge for all to enjoy. Just as Rewind would've wanted it.
And who am I? Who is this being that now brings these tales to you? My name is not important, only know that I am like you. Always watching, always listening. Forever catching glimpses of all things unseen.
The storyteller is dead.
Long live the storyteller!
A/N: I'm going back and editing some of my older stuff. I'm also trying to clean up my List of Stories, so this will be a sort of Catch-All for my random fics of past and future. The first few "chapters" will be some of my older fics from here with a clean-up job; but I plan on adding new stuff down the road. Thanks for reading!