A Ghost Town From The Past Ch. 3
A/N... So out of the six people who voted, four went for Drift and two for Grimlock, so Drift it is. Apparently no one likes Strongarm, lol.
Drift's View
The Autobot bounty hunter stepped out of the ground bridge as it closed. He looked around and had to admit this planet did have it's charm but it was nothing special when compared to the other trillion or so planets out there. With him being a bounty hunter he had seen so many planets that the only planet he really liked was his home planet, Cybertron. Bumblebee walked in front of the group and said, ""See? Isn't it beautiful?" Drift looked around again, it was okay. Jetstorm shifted on his arm, "Master, I think Earth is very beautiful in it's own way, don't you think?" Drift glared at the minicon on his arm, 'I think that you spoke without permission Jetstorm.' Jetstorm shifted again, 'Forgive me master.'
Drift noticed Bumblebee rub between his optics. 'Strange, the only creatures I see doing that is the humans, he must have picked it up from them,' he thought. Bumblebee turned around, "Oh come on! This is great, you can go as fast as you want out here." Drift looked to the distance, it was quiet at least but the only thing he would do out here is mediate. Drift looked at Strongarm as she frowned and she crossed her arms, ""You could if there weren't so many holes out here, they could cause a lot of damage." Drift nodded in agreement but he doubted anyone noticed since everyone's attention was on Strongarm and Sideswipe as those two started to squabble. 'Younglings.' The bounty hunter vented.
Drift jumped out of Sideswipe's way as the red youngling transformed and sped off. Drift rolled his optics and vented as Strongarm transformed and sped off towards Sideswipe, "Those two should just tell each other already." He said. Drift looked at the dinobot as he scratched his large helm and asked, "Tell each other what?" 'Dear Primus, really?' Drift thought as Bumblebee walked over to the dinobot and patted his shoulder. "It's nothing Grim, but let's go catch up to them." Drift transformed and waited as Bumblebee did the same.
As they were driving Jetstorm wiggled and said, "Master?" Drift continued driving at a slow rate, 'What is it Jetstorm?' "I was just thinking on what leader Bumblebee said earlier, he said Earth is beautiful and that is so many things to do and so many places to see and I was wondering if we could do some exploring later?" Jetstorm's voice had an emotion running through it, Drift recognized it as hope. Drift was a little taken aback, 'We do not have time to explore this planet Jetstorm. Our duty is to be part of Bumblebee's team, not to explore this world. We must keep our word to stay with the team so we do not dishonor ourselves.'
"Of course master, please forgive my hasty thoughts," Jetstorm said with a hint of disappointment. Something stirred in Drift when he heard Jetstorm, the youngling sounded disappointed. The bounty hunter remembered what the human child said to him, that he was being too strict with his students. He was about to say something to his student when Sideswipe's voice came over the comms. "Hey guys, we found something." As Sideswipe talked Drift noticed Bumblebee speed up just a bit. The yellow bot was excited. Drift vented and thought, 'It seems that the War is still with him. I had hoped that the war had not affected the young ones but it seems I was wrong.'
"Well you heard Sideswipe, come on." Bumblebee said and sped up to a speed that Grimlock could not follow. Drift was going to say something but Grimlock beat him to it, "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." Very noble of him. "Okay Grim," Bumblebee said as he sped up. Drift shifted gears and floored it to catch up to the yellow car. As they were driving towards Sideswipe's and Strongarm's position Drift noticed that Bumblebee was swerving a little bit. The yellow bot was thinking of something. He said nothing since he knew bots that survived the War would do that a lot. Think. They would think of things they should have differently in the War or of the friends they could have saved. He knew it because he was one of them. He thought of the past all the time but he did not let it cloud his judgment. A leader should have a clear helm all the time to make sure the mission would not come out as a failure.
"Master!" With Slipstreams warning Drift moved out of the way as Bumblebee almost drove into him. "Bumblebee, you should focus more on what is around you rather than what is in your mind," Drift spoke to his leader and to himself. 'Remember, I need a clear helm at all times,' he thought. "Sorry Drift, I-" The sound of screeching tires reach Drift's audios receptors. He looked behind him and saw that Bumblebee was standing up and staring at a sign. He slowed down and went in reverse to sit by Bumblebee's side. "What is it Bumblebee?" The leader said nothing. He transformed and looked at the sign. To him the only thing wrong with it was that the metal was rusted and one of the metal poles that held it up was almost broken in half. "Bumblebee, what is wrong?"
Without saying anything Bumblebee transformed and sped off. Drift watched the bot leave and looked back at the sign. He shrugged and transformed and sped after Bee. He didn't understand why Bumblebee was so shocked by an old rusty sign that read, Jasper, 5 miles.
'Maybe it's something about his past, he did spend time on this planet during the last years of the War,' he thought. "Master?" Slipstream asked, "What is wrong with Bumblebee, if I may ask?" Drift was silent for a few seconds, he was thinking of what he should say. 'I'm not certain but I believe it has something to do with his past.'
As he was driving he noticed something in the distance, something large, black and spread out.A human town, or what's left of it anyway. He slowed down just to look at the damage, even from a good distance he could tell it was destroyed around 15 Earth cycles ago and that the town met it's end by a plasma blast. Drift had not seen anything like this since the War when it was on Cybertron but even then he had not seen a lot. As a Neutral at the time he left the planet and tried to find somewhere to stay and wait the War out. But as the Vorns went by he realized the War was not going to end anytime soon. It was then he became a bounty hunter for the Autobots. He never did choose a side during the War but he always worked for the Autobots so he always thought himself as an Autobot. After the War he finally decided to side with the Autobots for good but he had yet to get the Autobot symbol.
He shook his helm, because of him thinking of the past he had lost precious time. He noticed two bots standing at least half a mile away and he sped off to them. As he approached the bots he realized they were Sideswipe and Strongarm and they were around a fallen Bumblebee. He transformed and looked at the group. The younglings were freaking out and Bumblebee was on his knees in shock. Drift shifted his gaze to the destroyed town, so he was right. 'This town, Jasper, was part of Bumblebee's past.' He looked at the yellow bot again and thought, 'It seems Bumblebee could never escape the War, he could never escape the sorrow that it brought with it.' Drift vented in sorrow, 'It may have happened in the past but it seems even the past has a way of sneaking up on a bot.'
A/N... Soooooooooooo, what did you guys think? I was really nervous on doing Drift's view because, well... it's Drift. Did I do okay with this chapter? Thanks to all those who reviewed, followed and favorited this story! The reviews really do help. You can still vote if you want Grimlock or Strongarm for the next chapter.
P.S. I'm really shocked that this fanfiction is getting so many reviews. Like my other stories only get like three each chapter but this one got ten reviews for the first chapter and now nine for the second chapter! I'm so happy that you guys like this story so far. I could hug all of you!