CHAPTER 51

"Is that all you got, Drift?"

Fracture was getting exhausted but no way he will let Drift win! He never stopped. He kept on kicking, punching, clawing…Their blades collided. They were at the middle of a forest. The two bots gave no respite to each other.

He must admit…It had been quite a long time since they'd fought, one against the other…They recently fought together. That would be temporary…or permanent. The future was unknowable after all. But Fracture admitted it. He'd missed this feeling…Before, he had viewed his meetings with Drift as boring though they'd been necessary to get his bounties. They were rivals. But one way or another, that's still a challenge.

Now, Fracture realized how thrilling a spar with the samurai was. That's such a feeling he looked for whenever he hunted. When Drift had offered another way to relieve stress…a way other than making ships explode…he'd never thought Drift would let him play the old-fashioned way.

Playing dirty.

Anyway, every blow was allowed. Even sneaky moves…And Fracture took advantage of this rule with delight. He noticed Drift stepping back. The samurai had difficulties to block his attacks. Fracture had a slight smile. Honour above everything. So naïve…

He kept fighting. He didn't care about using two blades against Drift who used one sword. After all, the samurai refused to pull his katana out. Why? Did Drift truly want to give him an advantage? That was definitely a handicap!

At every blow, at every kick, Fracture let out a roar of rage. His homicidal thoughts came back. But they weren't against Drift. Far from it.

He wasn't seeing Drift, actually. His opponent was Lockdown. His foe was Foxtrot. His enemy was Shadow Raker. All of them appeared in front of him.

Fracture hit and hit over and over. He didn't care about varying his blows. He wanted only one thing: he wanted to put him down.

In the end, Drift managed to slice one of his blades off, with only one strike. Fracture jumped back, a mad glare at Drift. He didn't care about fencing anymore! He will put him down!

He must put him down.

Drift charged. Fracture looked up back at him. At the second the samurai raised his sword up, Fracture gave him a headbutt, right in the middle of his forehead. Drift moaned in pain, slightly stunned. Fracture stopped. This attack would always be his worst enemy. How long did they know each other? He should anticipate it!

The samurai dropped his sword and collapsed.

Fracture slowly moved closer to him. He put a servo on his chassis, staring deeply into Drift's optics.

"Really, Drift? Maybe do you wish to let me win?"

The samurai didn't reply. Fracture let out a sigh and stepped aside. He sat down on the ground, facing the Autobot. He needed to catch his breath. And from what he heard, he wasn't the only one needing it. The samurai was obviously exhausted as well. They definitely deserved some rest.
-

Yes. The battle had been enticing. Drift had definitely been caught off guard. Yet even if Drift had struggled to the point he had broken one of Fracture's blades, the Decepticon'd had the upper hand. Indeed, with all these tricks…Fracture hadn't hold back.

It hadn't helped that he was about to explode. But Drift thought it had been the best thing to do. The Decepticon couldn't keep all these emotions inside. He needed to let them out. The samurai sat up and he settled in a seiza position.

"…How are you feeling?"

"Same" Fracture replied between breathes.

"Don't say such a thing…Don't you feel better?"

"You killed me!"

"That was the goal."

In the end, the Decepticon was lying down on the ground. His optics were shut. He definitely sweated. Drift got closer, a soft tone.

"Wing said that was the best thing to do. During bad times, when you think the whole word is your enemy…don't stay in your room. Go outside. Train."

"I never trained, Drift. Never" Fracture coughed.

"But if you never trained…All these skills…where do they come from?" The samurai questioned him, curious. "It isn't an easy thing to learn"

Fracture shrugged.

"Oh, you know. You were a homeless bot once. You probably were aware of these illegal free fight clubs. These clubs on Cybertron. Every Decepticon came there. I was starving. I needed some money. So, every night, I came and I tried to win the prize. At first, I lost every time. I came back with a black optic. I lost several dentas, I was covered with scars…"

He paused, chuckling.

"One day…It got on my nerves. I managed to beat one. My very first one. It started from this moment. More my opponent was strong, more the prize was important. It…motivated me."

"As I said, you need motivation" Drift pointed. "But if you don't feel well…and I think it'll happen again…don't stay like this. Call me. Call me for another match just like the one we just did."

"So, you want to get revenge?" Fracture displayed an amused smile. "I'm a bit disappointed. I thought it would be a date."

He didn't add anything else. Silence fell again. For a few moments, Fracture wondered if Drift meditated. However, he didn't. Fracture asked him.

"…Why do you care so much about me? I said I would help you to deal with Lockdown…"

Drift sighed.

"Nobody deserves to be alone. Especially not after what happened. When Axe is dead…even if I hated it at first…I thought your presence made things…easier. It relieved my suffering."

The Decepticon didn't answer.

"I wanted you to understand, Fracture. Unfortunately, in your whole life, you'll suffer from other losses…It may be even worse. In your whole life, people will come and go. It's life. You can't help it. Sometimes it happens without any warning. The only thing we can…is enjoying precious moments with these people."

"Yes, yes…Why should I care about friendship and love…if I'll lose them eventually, Drift?"

The samurai leaned over him.

"You don't wish to be alone. I know you. You escape reality. You don't fight it. You just gave up. That's not what I want. That's why I'm here."

"Sheesh…You have always been too kind, Drift. Even as a bounty hunter."

Fracture sat up. He faced Drift now. The Autobot tilted his head.

"…Maybe do you wish me to show you meditation? It helps your mind, you know."

"…No."

His expression was unreadable. The Decepticon crawled closer to him. Drift was about to open his mouth when two arms wrapped around his shoulders, hugging him tightly.

"…If you wish" The samurai said. "…I could take you to the scrapyard right now. The others will not approve it. However, Bumblebee follows my idea. And…you'll be safe here."

"From their point of view, I will always be a threat. I don't hold a grudge against them though. That's understandable."

Fracture buried his face into his chassis. His arms were still wrapped around him. Drift hugged him back. It sounded so…natural to him.

"…just let it out, Fracture."

Fracture nodded, his face still into his chassis.

Drift gently caressed his back. A few seconds afterward, he heard muffled screaming.
-

"Russell? What's that cat?"

Denny put his hands on his hips when he caught sight of a fat, white and black cat. It played with an old sock. The cat let out a weak meow. Russell simply shrugged.

"It just minded its own business."

"It must belong to someone"

Denny leaned over to rub its head. The cat just bit his thumb quite hard. The father jumped and yelped in pain while the cat hissed at him.

"What's wrong with it? HEY! YOU DEVILISH CAT! YOU ARE PLAYING WITH MY SOCK!"

"Why can't you clean your scrapyard, Dad?"

The cat didn't react. Now it chewed on the cursed sock. Russell glanced back at the other members of the team.

Slipstream's girlfriend was quite nice. She was even quite cute. Berry helped Windblade to take care of stasis pods, carrying them with ease.

"Where are you from, Berry?" Windblade asked her. "I don't remember"

"Griffin Rock!" The Minicon said. "My Master has friends here."

"Hm, Griffin Rock? That's quite far" Russell pointed.

Berry smiled at the Autobot flier. Yes. Just like everyone else, she definitely was head-over-heels with her.

"I can't believe I'm meeting the one who had been sent by Primus Himself."

Windblade simply shrugged, a small smile on her face.

"I wasn't aware I had quite a reputation. People tend to worship Optimus instead."

"No. I heard about you" Berry smiled. "Tell me! How is Primus?"

"Ha. That's confidential." Windblade winked.

Berry wasn't upset about it. She kept helping her until Denny got room enough to put three more cars that he had collected.

Russell came over to Slipstream and Grimlock. They were watching the scene as well.

"Well, well" The boy chuckled. "At least, Windblade seems to like her. What about the others?"

"They haven't met her yet" Slipstream sighed.

"Don't worry" The young boy smiled. "I'm sure they'll like her too."

Grimlock pouted, his arms crossed.

"As usual, I'm the third wheel. The others are in couple and I'm left behind, like an idiot. What's wrong with me? That's my voice, right?"

"Hey!" Denny joined them. "You are far from being alone. I'm a single man and I'm proud of it! And Fixit, Drift and Windblade are as well! You are not the only one"

"Huh…" Russell cleared his throat. "Actually…About Windblade…"

"WHAT?"

Grimlock and Denny reacted the same. They immediately rushed over to the flier. Windblade displayed her new sword, Berry in awe over it.

"What? Windblade! You date someone and you didn't say anything to us?" Grimlock exclaimed.

The fembot sighed.

"Easy. I met him during my mission in Africa."

"And now I feel even lonelier!" Grimlock cried.

Russell grinned.

"What's his name, Windblade?"

"Chase. According to his words, he is part of another Autobot team. They had been sent on Earth as well. He is quite the professional one. We teamed up to capture a Decepticon. Afterward, we went for a drink" She answered with a smile.

"Hopefully we'll meet him soon"

Suddenly, Berry fell down on the ground. Slipstream rushed over her to help her up right away.

"Hey! Are you alright?" He asked her, panicked.

"Hm…I'm okay. I'm fine. I just…felt dizzy."

"Maybe you should let Fixit check it, shouldn't you?" Windblade advised her. "Better safe than sorry."

Berry covered her face, still stunned.

"I…Yes. I admit I don't feel very well."

"Okay. Let's go" Slipstream nodded and led her to the scrapyard's infirmary.


A half hour later, Slipstream was still waiting out of the infirmary. Jetstorm and Russell were with him, a bit worried too. He felt…nervous. More time passed, more he wondered why it was so long. Despite his friend's reassurance, he felt…awkward. No. He actually was afraid.

Then Fixit appeared in front of them. Slipstream stood up.

"…So?"

The Minicon's expression was unreadable. Primus. Slipstream felt like he was going to have a spark attack.

"…Fixit?"

"No, Slipstream. Sit down. It'll be better, I think."

"Why? What's going on?"

Fixit sighed and came back in the infirmary. He immediately reappeared, a cube of high-grade at servo. He handed it to Slipstream. Now he wasn't the only one to be worried. Jetstorm and Russell's confidence vanished.

"…What…What is that? We are not allowed to drink this!"

"You should. And I kept one for Drift as well. He will need it."

"FOR PRIMUS'S SAKE, TELL ME WHAT'S WRONG!"

He gulped. Fixit took a long breath and stared deeply into Slipstream's optics.

"…She is carrying"