Chapter 10: To offline or not offline myself

Hercules ran outside of the medic room and screamed: "WHA-LA-LA..." He repeated his scream of sadness as his spark was devastated. No one was standing in his way and he wondered if he heard his queen calling him, but he ignored it. Coolant felt from his optic and obstructed his vision. He smashed against a wall, but he couldn't feel his pain receptor. He turned to his right and ran through the corridor until he was outside of the base. He turned to the left and stopped after running a short distance. Hercules wiped his optic from his coolant and looked at the horizon. He watched in the distance the metallic city partially reconstructed. He raised his servos and looked at them.

"I've. Fail. I failed at everything," Hercules said before wimping. He raised his head and looked at the sky. "Shellshock is right. When I was asked to help repairing the Space port...I failed. I injured a lot of vehicons because I lost my balance. I could have offline so many vehicons."

Hercules heard something in his comlink, but he didn't want to hear anything. He deactivated his comlink.

"I thought I was the best, but I failed at this simple task. How could I fail at bringing something with my servo?" he asked himself. He dropped his servo and felt pain in his chestplate. "They gave me a second chance in the Nemesis. I have to help them search and capture Starscream. I was there and I met Tek. He...He was the only one except my queen who like me," coolant felt off his optic and wimped. "I crashed the Nemesis and it was only luck that helped us capturing the decepticon. It was only Primus blessing that no one was injured or offline. It was also his blessing that spared the Nemesis. The only reason we captured Starscream was because he was in stasis. It was only chance."

Hercules grabbed his helm and shook it. He walked left and right silently.

"I'm a failure. I almost fail at my most important task. I couldn't- I just couldn't protect my queen against Shellshock! The only reason she was undamaged was because...Because Tek took the hit! He's...He must be offline now! It's my entire fault! Everything Shellshock said was right!" Hercules shouted.

At the moment he admitted that the other Insecticon was right, he felt his spark cracking in his sparkchamber. It was unbearable for the Insecticon.

"I'm an idiot just as he said. If I couldn't protect her! I couldn't react when he endangered her. I was on the ground and someone else protected my queen. I was too stupid to see it coming!" Hercules screamed after saying that and he felt on his knee plate. He looked at the ground, covered with cooling coming from his optic. "I was indeed in denial. I said I was the best and the strongest. It was all lies. My Hivemaster put me as a guard where it was safe because he knew I was weak."

Hercules said nothing for a few minutes. He was only silently crying and his sparkchamber became heavier and his spark started falling in pieces.

"My queen. I...I was happy to be with you,"

Hercules couldn't say anything more to about his queen; it was just too much for the emptiness of his spark chamber.

"I'm a failure as a servant and protector of my queen, I'm a failure as a friend, I'm a failure as an Insecticon and...I'm a failure as a living being," Hercules concluded. "At least, I had some moment of happiness. Just some...Even then, it was taken away from me. Why was I online in the first place Primus?"

He waited for an answer, but Primus didn't reply. It was just like he was expecting it.

"I was a mistake," Hercules concluded.

He raised his servo and turned it into a blaster. He stood up and looked at the sky. "I'm good at nothing online, but ending my existence...," Hercules pointing his blaster at his faceplate and said: "It's the only thing I'm good at."

He was about to fire when a blast hit his blaster and he fired in the air. Hercules realised he missed his own helm and grunted in pain.

"I'm not even good at joining the Allspark!" Hercules shouted when he felt on his knee.

He heard pedestep, but he ignored them.

"What were you thinking in your processor Hercules?!" Arcee screamed at him.

Hercules raised his faceplate and looked at Arcee. She saw his optic leaking on the ground. She saw the ground covered with his tears. She looked back at him and had a few thoughts.

"Explain everything now!" Arcee shouted.

Hercules said nothing. He knew she wasn't angry, but mostly upset by what he was about to do. He only closed his optic.

Arcee sighted. She decided to ask him softly: "Hercules. Why did you do it?" She walked near him and put her servo on his shoulder.

Hercules turned away from Arcee and didn't reply. Arcee walked in front of the Insecticon and looking in his optic. "Tell me. You are one of us now Hercules."

Hercules shoulder rose when he heard Arcee telling him he was one of them: "Me? I'm only an Insecticon who serves the decepticon. I'm only serving you my queen and...I failed you."

"Explain everything now," she asked.

Hercules vented for a few minutes before he explained his long monologue he had before he decided to end his existence. Hercules felt some of the pain in his spark chamber subsided as he shared it with someone he considered important, even so...

"I failed everyone my- No. I don't deserve to serve you or to call you queen...Arcee," Hercules said.

Arcee gasped when he corrected himself to only say her name. She was surprised that it hurt her. She was a little used to be almost called queen. She knew that he felt worthless and wasn't honored to serve and protect her.

"Let me end my existence now," Hercules said. "It will be best for Cybertron. I might blow the entire planet if it's not the case."

Hercules was about to aim his helm again when Arcee kicked his blaster away and kicked the left part of the Insecticon faceplate.

"Argh!" Hercules shouted painfully.

"Do not do this. It's an order," Arcee told him.

Hercules tried again and Arcee kicked his faceplate again. "Urgh!"

"Don't be stubborn." Arcee hesitated to say the rest. I can't believe I'm about to say that. "I'm still your queen."

"But-"

"No but! Now. You will listen to me Hercules," Arcee told him.

Hercules dropped his helm and whined before sitting on the ground. Arcee sat by his side.

"First thing first. Tek is alright. He's going to have a complete recovery," Arcee told him.

Hercules looked at her and his mouthplate fully opened: "What?! He's online?!"

"Yes," Arcee replied.

"He's...online. Thank the Allspark," Hercules said. "But...He's still gravely damage because of me."

Arcee patted the backplate of the Insecticon. She wouldn't do that, but Hercules clearly needed that.

"Hercules. Listen to me. You are not worthless. You are a brave Insecticon who always do his best in everything he's asked for without complaining," Arcee said.

"I'm just too stupid to complain and I failed at those tasks," Hercules replied.

"No. You just haven't found something you are good at. Every time you caused trouble, it was an accident. The first one was just that you lost balance and the grinders that felt was purely accidental Hercules. You know it. It's just like the Nemesis. It wasn't your fault," Arcee told him kindly.

"But I failed to protect you against Shellshock. I was too stupid to see this coming. If I'm protecting you, I should-" Hercules was cut by Arcee.

"You couldn't! He just exploded and fired at you first because he hates you. You have done nothing wrong! You are just letting the scrap that came out of his mouthplate get into you!" Arcee tapped the helm of the Insecticon where his processor is. "You let his stupidity entered in there."

Hercules was in deep thought for a while. Arcee stopped tapping his helm.

"Hercules. It's true you are a little dump," Arcee admitted. Hercules mouthplate dropped before venting. "But that's nothing compare to your qualities that makes you who you are."

Hercules looked at her confused.

"What's important is not what you have in your processor, but what's in your spark Hercules. You have one big spark at the right place compare to Shellshock. You are strong, kind, honest, loyal and always do your best. Shellshock clearly lacked in his spark."

Hercules looked at Arcee and gave a small smile.

"You really think so my queen?" Hercules asked.

Arcee smiled in her processor when she heard the world queen. She knew he already felt better: "Would I tell you all this if I didn't think it was the true?"

"No," Hercules replied. His small smile grew in size as he turned to Arcee. "My- Arcee."

"We don't know for long, but I'm starting to like you and-" Arcee was cut when Hercules suddenly grabbed her and hugged her.

"Thank you my q-Arcee! You are the best!" Hercules shouted with a smile.

Arcee was confused by his suddenly switch of mood, but she guessed he was the type to change mood easily. She waited for him to let her go, but he continued hugging and praising Arcee for a while. Eventually, she tapped his chestplate and he released her. She saw he had his biggest smile he could possibly make. Hercules cleaned his faceplate of the remaining coolant.

"I'm sorry my- Arcee for trying to offline myself. Thank you for stopping me," he told her.

"It's alright. We should return to base now. I'm sure Tek will want to see you when he'll come out of stasis," Arcee told him.

"Coming Arcee!" Hercules replied.

They stood up and walked back to the base.

Hercules looked at Arcee and said in his processor: From now on, I will not only do my best, I'll do my best to succeed in my task!

AC: Here's the end of the final chapter.

Epilogue: Hercules becomes an Autobot.