Below is the poem I wrote, four lines at a time, over the course of 52 Saturdays in 2019.
A Robot and Its Master
(click here to see it in all its parts, including the weekly prompts)
Unit 78-B-2M-6O
(Better know as Big Buddy)
Served its master very long and very well
(Though sometimes things got bloody...)
Part I
The Master was sipping his morning coffee
(Which Big Buddy had just brewed)
When he suddenly decided his rival's
Lives all needed to conclude.
Big Buddy had no concerns or objections
When given the list of names.
In fact, his only question was simply: In
Which order should they be maimed?
The order matters not to me, loyal friend -
Proceed however makes sense.
Though to avoid drawing notice, the first to go
Should look like accidents...
So Big Buddy chose a name quite randomly,
A certain Wilson D. Fox,
Then rolled from the mansion, the tools of its trade
Carried in an unmarked box.
Big Buddy spied Mr. Fox at his local
Gym, where he was lifting weights.
While he was so preoccupied Big Buddy
Found his car and cut the brakes.
The accident was, frankly, magnificent,
The death count right off the charts,
Though Big Buddy only stuck around so that
It could harvest the spare parts.
The Master watched the news report with concern -
My list did not call for this!
But Big Buddy had gone dark - he had no way
To stop the rest of the hits.
The robot trundled on to its next target,
Unfailing in his duty;
Second up: Francesca Suarez, a lady
Most oft described as snooty.
Francesca was at a tres fancy part,
Sipping tea from a gold cup,
When the waiter arrived with a fresh teapot
Which then - zut! - tout de suite blew up.
It was a bigger blast than Buddy had planned
(The house was now a crater)
So it decided it was a fine time to
Head south of the equator.
Not like those in search of beaches or culture,
Buddy wanted something more.
So it tracked down who was next: Jose Loor, a
Resident of Ecuador.
Jose lived in an isolated beach hut,
The air full of sun and... salt.
Which, when combined with the wind-blown sand, caused poor
Buddy to grind to a... halt.
A local family found the stuck robot
But were unsure what to do,
So they brought it home in their red wheelbarrow
And inspected it for clues.
They cleaned it carefully but a stray dust brush
Stroke knocked its tracking chip loose.
Back home The Master swore, feeling like he was
Being fitted for a noose.
It was nearly three weeks later when Buddy
Awoke in the dark of night
To discover its parts were moving once more,
And gave the child quite a fright
As it rumbled down the hall past his bedroom.
Somehow the child did not scream.
Buddy paused, waved farewell, then returned to its
Life as a killing machine.
Part II
The Master watched the reports of the fire
In Ecuador with a smirk,
For in the mile high flames he could see the mark
Of his loyal robot's work.
But he was soon interrupted by a fist
Hammering on his front door.
It was the police with just a few questions...
And then a few questions more.
The Master denied everything without pause.
The police seemed satisfied,
Until they got to the questions that were not
So easily brushed aside,
Like: Where was Buddy now, and when and where were
Its last communications?
If it was so loyal, who else could order
All these eliminations?
Such serious men! The Master laughed. Relax!
Perhaps you need a plaything?
Oh, I know, he told them as the lights went out.
Have you met Buddy's offspring?
While Buddy Jr. and its brother Bucky
Disposed of the two bodies,
The Master packed his bags and planned his route to
His hideout in the Rockies.
Settled in the mountains, he poured a stiff drink
And tried to enjoy the view.
But then came word of Big Buddy's latest hit,
Which sent him spinning anew...
You see, Buddy had gone after the Karsk twins
For sins he couldn't forgive,
But The Master was horrified to learn that
It'd let the wrong brother live.
Clyde was innocent - relatively speaking -
While Charlie was the true threat.
Would he seek vengeance with his usual zest?
Well, that was a real safe bet.
Bucky tried to soothe The Master, assuring
Him he would be safe with them,
But he found it difficult to be consoled
By a master of mayhem.
So The Master told the two robots to guard
The grounds and locked himself in.
He dimmed the lights, drew the curtains closed, and saw
In every shadow Death's grin.
Part III
Buddy found itself plagued by a problem that
It just couldn't figure out.
Had it consulted any humans on the
Matter, they'd have called it doubt.
The doubts had appeared after the Karsk twin hit -
Such close names, Charlie and Clyde.
Now Buddy was convinced that it would have been
Best if both brothers had died.
But when Buddy returned to finish the job
Charlie Karsk was long, long gone,
And all that he had left behind was a note
Reading: Now the hunt is on.
Buddy thought it might be best to return home
To check in on The Master,
But when it found only blood stains on the floor
It feared Charlie was faster.
Then something that should have led to clarity
Only muddied the waters:
Signs of Bucky and Junior's involvement met
With: Am I a bad father?
Buddy activated the tracking signals
It had put in its kids heads,
Then set course for the mountains with a snarl... and
Charlie followed in its treads.
Bucky and Junior had grown bored with their post
And had begun to run tests
On the hideout's security measures, so
Missed the approach of their guests.
The Master was sleeping fitfully that night,
Haunted by vivid nightmares.
So when he woke to the smell of smoke he was
Not sure it was really there.
Buddy had hurled twenty Molotov cocktails
Over the hideout's ramparts
Before blowing apart the gates and rolling
In to deal with its upstarts.
While Junior and Bucky hurried to respond -
One feeling scared, one bolder -
Charlie strolled into the burning compound,
A shotgun on his shoulder.
The Master peered through a crack in his curtains
And spied only smoke and flames.
He began screaming for Junior and Bucky
But chaos swallowed their names.
The kids rolled slowly through the red and grey murk.
It's like the world has gone mad,
Bucky observed, then stopped in its tracks and asked:
Brother... did I just see Dad?
Buddy paused in its work, stashed the cocktails and
Brought its guns to the ready.
Scanning the courtyard, it found its first target
And its aim was rock steady.
Charlie thought he had seen it all before, heard
Every song that's been sung;
But even he was caught off guard when Buddy
Opened fire on its young.
The Master heard the shots ring out down below,
Followed by metallic pings,
And with hands made clumsy by panic and sweat,
Began gathering his things.
Bucky collapsed to the ground, ten bullet holes
Leaking black oil and grey steam.
Junior went next, its lights dimming before it
Even had a chance to scream.
Buddy stood over its offspring feeling... sad?
What did I fail to provide?
Though the moment was cut short by the sound of
Gunshots coming from inside.
Charlie swore softly and reloaded his gun,
For in the darkness he'd missed.
Now The Master had retreated to his room,
Where he worked on a new list.
Hid beneath his bed The Master wrote quickly,
Leaving him no room for thought.
He laid bare all of his sins, seeking Mercy
For the havoc he had wrought.
Big Buddy rolled slowly through the hideout's halls,
Quite certain of who he sought.
For none but Charlie could have followed him there,
And this time he would be caught.
Charlie unlocked the door with a shotgun blast
And entered with a snigger.
He stepped onto the middle of the bed, aimed
Straight down and pulled the trigger.
Buddy's shot caught Charlie in the back and sent
Him tumbling through the air
And out the window to the ground below, thus
Ending the sordid affair.
Buddy flipped the bed over, found the only
Master it had ever known
Had breathed his last, paused, then rolled slowly away,
Unutterably alone.
Epilogue
Now Big Buddy roams the streets, untroubled by
Thoughts of what it might deserve,
Instead entirely focused on its search
For a new Master to serve...
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