Chapter Six
A/N: An update at last! In this chapter we get a look into Drift's backstory and Frankie gets to know some of the Autobots.
On an unrelated note, for those who've read my story Handicap, how would you feel about a second chapter?
If you read, please leave a review! I love hearing from all of you.
For the few Autobots leaving the firehouse for the Griffin Rock Lab, graciously provided by Doc Greene, the transition was a relatively easy one. The Dinobots couldn't have cared less where they bunked, so long as they were given their own warehouse in which to crash and plenty of space to let loose without sentient life to harm. Ratchet took decidedly longer to move, as the relocation of his various instruments had to be done with extreme care and under his strict supervision through the tunnels beneath the firehouse the led right to the Lab's front door. A downside of the move was that Ratchet would be farther from his team but at the same time would have double the amount of room to work as he did in their original base.
To Ratchet's chagrin the twins, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, would be joining him at the cliff side laboratory under strict orders from Optimus not to bother the medic while he worked or enter his medbay without permission. Ratchet liked to think that this was the Prime's way of punishing him for forcing him into stasis the week previous.
Ironhide was the last to join the Autobots at the Lab. He was to keep the Dinobots and the twins in line and away from any potentially dangerous equipment, of which Doc Greene possessed more than plenty.
The firehouse remained packed, which was nothing new, but for Frankie, who'd never lived with anyone but her father (and her mother for a short time); it was something to get used to. Seeing the Autobots every other day was astounding, but to have eight living under her roof was nothing short of incredible. There were living, breathing (sort of) alien robots only a couple hundred feet away from the principle lab building. And what's more, her father had bestowed upon her "breakfast duty", in which she delivered the Autobots' daily dose of energon. Doc Greene and Ratchet were currently still working on the synthetic energon formula, their reserves of natural energon dwindling quickly, but a breakthrough was promised soon. And Frankie did love her job.
She delivered the Dinobots' energon along with Ratchet's under his strict and frequent instruction. Frankie was not to go anywhere near the Dinobots or their barracks. Ratchet would take their rations to them, and that was that. The only glimpse she'd ever caught of them was from one of the Lab's domed towers as they entered and exited the bunker that formerly hosted the time machine. She wanted so badly to meet them but even her father had put his foot down. And so she delivered energon to the other occupants of the Lab.
Now on her final round, Frankie pushed the hover cart containing the energon rations through the human sized door in the warehouse housing three of the eight Autobots. Berths were already set up against the walls leaving the center of the warehouse empty save for a few leftover crates.
Ironhide was the first she spotted, looming over the entrance and examining his cannons. He sported that faraway look she recognized in the optics of some of the older bots but didn't completely comprehend.
Frankie cleared her throat to gain his attention. Despite her appreciation of having them so close, she was still unsure how to behave around the Cybertronians. After living with mindless machines for the entirety of her life adjusting to sentient robots not only existing but living on the same island as her was a massive change to accustom to. And so if she was left no other choice but to reign in her smart-aleck attitude for the sake of information (and not out of fear, of course not) then so be it.
Ironhide glanced down at her and she gestured to the three canisters of energon that were left.
"Your rations for today," Frankie said, and bent over the handlebar of the cart to pull up the canister that was bigger than the rest. Ironhide helped her out by plucking it out of her hands and administering it to himself. Once Ratchet and her father had perfected the synthetic energon formula a fueling station would be set up for the Autobots at every base/recharge area. Frankie wouldn't need to cart around energon canisters for much longer.
"Thanks, kid," he grunted, and Frankie smiled up at his scarred visage.
"You're welcome. And my dad said that the washracks outside have all been fixed, in case anyone here goes joyriding after another rainstorm again."
"Ah think yer referrin' t' those Wrecker punks, Franny," said Ironhide in that odd, almost southern accent of his as she shoved off in the direction of the other Autobot in the warehouse, once more refusing to call her by her proper nickname. "They track so much mud they a'most got Prime fritzed."
Frankie smiled genuinely as she reached the yellow Autobot. She liked Ironhide, even if his gruff attitude and appearance frightened her enough to make her wary of him.
"Sunstreaker, I've got your rations," Frankie said. She pulled the cart to a stop next to the crate the Autobot sat upon polishing one of the blades that extended from his forearms. Like his twin and most of the Autobots Frankie didn't know what to make of Sunstreaker. A lazy arrogance about him, he hardly spoke, and when he did it was to dish out criticism and sharp remarks about his teammates, humanity as a whole, or the Earth itself. So very unlike Sideswipe, who cracked jokes at the expense of himself and others and was the only one who got away with calling Sunstreaker "Sunny" or any variation of the name. And speaking of Sideswipe…
"Where's your brother?" she asked, proud of herself for keeping the tremor from her voice.
Sunstreaker ran a discarded rag down his blade one more time before he lifted his arm to examine it in the shine of the overhead lights, the glint off the razor edge nearly making Frankie swallow her question.
"'Sides isn't here," Sunstreaker said, taking his share of energon from the cart without looking away. A shadow fell across his normally bored faceplate. "He's at Cliffjumper's service."
Frankie blinked. "Who's Cliffjumper?"
"Th' three o' us are gathered here today t', well, immortalize th' life o' a friend," Jazz began, his voice heavy with grief that few were given the chance to glimpse. "A warrior, Autobot, partner—if nothin' else he was our friend."
Jazz, Sideswipe, and Arcee stood in a small, loose circle around a pile of stones. It was the best they could do, and all they wanted to. The commander glanced down at the memorial for a quick second.
"Cliffjumper was a friend t' us an' every Autobot. An' I know that this ain't a proper ceremony, but this slagger's name will live on 'til a restored Cybertron is under our pedes, an' even after that." Jazz looked up at the two Cybertronians in front of him. "Cliff, we might not have been there with ya' when you joined th' rest o' our teammates in the Well, but we'll join ya eventually. An' drag Starscream, kickin' an' screamin', along with us."
"And preferably mount 'Screamer's head a stick before we get there," Sideswipe quipped darkly, getting a smirk out of Arcee and a laugh from Jazz.
Still smiling, though the corners of his mouth began to curl downward, Jazz bent down on one knee to gently lay a hand on the stone pile.
"Stay cool, man," he said. "We'll see ya real soon."
Frankie, watching the proceedings from atop a ridge overlooking the Autobots, sat in stunned silence. So strong was her concentration that she didn't have a hope of noticing the white-armored Cybertronian approaching her until it was too late.
"It isn't polite to spy on people, Miss Greene."
Frankie's heart leapt into her throat and she gasped as she spun to face the intruder.
Drift crouched only a few feet away from her, looking over her head to see the ceremony occurring two dozen feet below them. Frankie quickly rubbed her face free of any evidence of tears and narrowed her eyes.
"And what exactly are you doing?"
"Keeping an eye on you," Drift answered almost leisurely, apparently unconcerned by the glare, fueled by embarrassment, that Frankie leveled him with. Drift was another Autobot who Frankie was unsure how to behave around. He wasn't strict like Chase or aggressive like Heatwave and Ironhide and so many others, and his presence didn't fill the room or lift anyone's spirits as Optimus's and Jazz's did. He was strangely passive and very quiet, and quiet was something Frankie wasn't used to. Plus, she had recently received some rather disturbing news about him.
"Do you know why they chose not to create a gravestone for their friend?" Drift asked her abruptly, and Frankie started. It was out of character for this particular Autobot to initiate conversation.
Frankie shook her head in answer, glancing back at the trio and the small configuration of stones between them. "Not really, no. Dad could've easily made one that was big enough."
Drift was silent again for many moments, but just as Frankie turned to look back at him he responded, "While they honor his death on Earth, they will not memorialize his name until they're back on Cybertron, the place of our creation. I imagine that all our dead will be honored there." That faraway look that Ironhide often sported had seeped into Drift's expression, making his azure optics seem very sad in comparison to his schooled expression.
Frankie paused before softly saying, "Miko told me that you used to be a Decepticon."
"Did she now?" Drift commented, and the sad, faraway look disappeared as quickly as it had come. He began examining a tiny yellow flower by his right pede.
"Yes," Frankie answered, and felt her stomach churn. Miko and Bulkhead were explicit in their descriptions of the Decepticons and what they'd done during the war and after; entire cities decimated in a matter of hours, the massacre of younglings, the genocide of neutral parties, the list went on and on. She didn't want this sad, quiet 'Bot to be one of them. Frankie swallowed and felt her gaze drift to the crimson calligraphy symbols painted on the armor over each shoulder. "Is it true?"
Drift bowed his head, his deceptive azure optics disappearing from view. Frankie wondered why he felt the need to hide from the gaze of a mere human child.
"In war….things change," Drift murmured. "People change."
Frankie couldn't find anything to say, only staring at the ninja-bot and wondering what changed him.
Without warning Drift stood, his head slightly canted to the side.
"Your father requests your presence for breakfast in fifteen minutes, Miss Greene," Drift said sharply. He looked past her, to the stone memorial that only Jazz stood by now. He bowed in its direction before turning around and slipping into the woods with hardly a sound.
Frankie stared after him for longer than she'd care to remember. It wasn't long before another familiar voice spoke up from below her.
"Yo, Franny, ya' stayin' up there long?"
Though this time she started only slightly, Frankie's face burned in shame at being caught looking in on the clearly private and personal ceremony. Jazz responded with the wide smile that never seemed to leave his faceplates.
"Hey, it's cool. Can't fault ya' for being curious." Jazz looked back toward the trees Drift had disappeared through. "And don't worry about him. He'll be fine."
"That's not what I'm worried about," Frankie muttered, standing up and brushing dirt from her clothes.
"I hear ya," Jazz agreed, offering his servo. Frankie looked over the edge of the outcrop and worriedly calculated the amount of space between it and Jazz's hand. But Optimus's second-in-command didn't look apprehensive in the slightest and that bolstered her resolve.
Frankie dropped through the eleven and a half feet of air with a cry, landing painlessly in Jazz's cupped servos. She exhaled wearily and said, "That wasn't so bad."
Jazz grinned down at her and allowed her to find a more comfortable position before he began walking back to the Lab. "Has anyone ever told ya' 'bout a 'Bot named Cliffjumper?" he asked her eagerly.
Arcee followed the winding dirt road down from Griffin Rock Lab with a final goodbye to her charge over her comm. As the dense trees of the forest became more prominent she quickly contacted Ironhide for the information regarding the Dinobots' whereabouts. To her luck, they were on the other side of the island, decimating the flora and fauna on a training run. She thanked Primus for her good fortune as she drove deeper and deeper into the woods. The Dinobots, and in particular Grimlock, were often apt to listen to Ironhide, Ratchet, and sometimes Optimus, but anyone else would likely be torn limb from limb if they tried telling them what to do, as she overheard Drift had learned firsthand.
Speaking of the ninja-bot, Arcee transformed and stepped off the road. The sky was sunny and blue as usual but thanks to the Rescue Bots careful weather watching she knew a strong storm loomed. Her sensors detected an Autobot presence nearby, and she began navigating around trees to locate it.
Arcee heard the sound of a sword slicing air before finding its owner, although she soon spotted the ghostly white chassis dancing amongst the pine trees as she drew nearer.
As she got closer, Arcee observed the ninja-bot's fighting stance more closely. While it strongly resembled circuit-su, and even metallikato, it was clearly something different to an actual practitioner. The movements were slower, though perhaps that was intentional, with more of flair between each stance. Whatever it was, Drift practiced a deadly dance. No wonder Optimus said he wouldn't need the extra training.
Arcee cleared her throat to gain the ninja-bot's attention as he was halfway through a movement. Moving faster than she keep track of, Drift had his sword centimeters from a main vein in her throat. A sparkbeat passed before recognition replaced the disconcerting blankness clouding his optics and Drift lowered his sword.
"Sorry," he said, sheathing his swords, "I don't like people sneaking up on me."
Arcee resisted the urge to rub the cords of her throat. "You seem to have no problem doing it to everyone else."
Drift smirked, though it vanished quickly. "Touché."
"What was that anyway?" Arcee asked her servos akimbo. "Not circuit-su."
The ninja-bot shook his head. "Ninjitsu, actually." At Arcee's look, he glanced away. "Just something I picked up over the years." Drift was quiet for several kliks before he said, "Is there a reason you came looking for me, Arcee?"
Arcee started slightly but nodded. "Yeah, actually. Optimus is taking everyone off-island for a training mission. Only Ratchet and Ironhide are staying since they both have more "pressing" matters to deal with. The human portion of the rescue team is making do with their normal vehicles."
One of Drift's optical ridges rose. "And what does this have to do with me?"
Arcee smiled none-to-kindly. "Well, June is calling in a favor. She needs you to watch the kids while everyone's out."
The cycle-bot observed bemusedly as panic and elation battled for control on Drift's faceplate before being replaced with his usual aloofness.
"Why can't Nurse Darby do this?" he replied.
"Hospital's been short-staffed. She's helping out."
Drift didn't speak for a moment more before he nodded in acquiesce. "Very well. I will head out now. You may want to do the same; they will likely be waiting for you."
"You should hurry," Arcee called after him as he transformed and headed for the main road. "They want to go to the river, and you'll want to go and come back before the storm comes in!"
The ride to the river was an eventful one to be sure. All five children fit inside his vehicle mode, and their inflatable items fit in his trunk, but actually getting the children inside proved difficult.
Miko was the most challenging, refusing to ride inside an "ex-Con" to the displeasure of the others. Drift made no attempt to mollify her and it was only after Cody firmly but gently told her that there was no other way to get to the river besides driving that she relented. Their arguing reminded Drift of his own children.
The five of them talked amongst themselves the whole way there, though Cody helpfully provided directions whenever he came to a fork in the road. As soon as they arrived the children disembarked quickly and plucked their various inflatable toys from his trunk before sprinting toward the riverbank. Only Miko lagged behind to eye him warily and say, "I've got my eye on you, buddy. Don't even think of trying anything."
Drift didn't answer to her threat, which would have been amusing if she didn't have both Bulkhead and Wheeljack at her proverbial beck and call. She didn't seem to have expected him to respond and followed her friends into the water.
Drift transformed then and moved to stand on the river bank to the left of where the children were playing, where the water became rougher and he could easily spring into action if the need arose.
Miko did keep looking his way for about ten minutes, and each time he had not moved an inch. Soon she became absorbed in the game her friends were playing and forgot all about him, as he knew she would. As soon as her attention was directed elsewhere he sat down and crossed his legs, resting one of his two smaller swords across his lap. Drift allowed the sounds of the children's happy shrieks to wash over him, accented by the rumbling storm clouds miles away. The sky was still blue but he would need to take them back home before it began raining.
If he concentrated, Drift could remember what the multitudinous drops felt like bouncing off his mesh all those years ago.
"Rain?"
The boy nodded, sticking his hand out in front of him. "Yes. Like the water that came down from the sky during the storm yesterday." He retracted his wet hand with a small frown. "But the rain was worse then."
"Oh," the Cybertronian said, but remained safely seated beneath the wooden porch roof.
"What's wrong with rain, friend?" the boy asked, wiping his hand dry on his trouser leg.
"Nothing, Benji-kun. The rain here is…favorable. Back home our rain was very dangerous. It burned us whenever it fell."
The boy's eyes widened in horror. "You mean the rain in Heaven was cursed?"
"Not Heaven, Benji," the alien corrected. "Another world."
Benji nodded grudgingly. "Yes, I remember. You come from beyond the stars." He looked up cheerfully at the overcast sky. "Well our rain comes from Heaven! Father says the gods deliver it, and we get storms when they're mad."
The Cybertronian knew from observation that rain formed when condensed from water vapor in the atmosphere and then precipitated, but he also knew that Benji wouldn't understand or listen to his explanation. And so he only nodded in response to the boy's claim.
"It won't hurt you," Benji said suddenly, and the Cybertronian glanced down at the human beside him.
"I know that," he replied. If the rain was indeed harmful Benji and all other organics surely would've been affected. But centuries of instinct didn't just go away at the insistence of a little human boy.
Benji gave him a sidelong glance. "You were just out in the rain last night. It didn't bother you then."
"I was keeping the village safe from flooding," the Cybertronian answered, "I did not pay attention to it then."
"Then don't pay attention to it now," Benji urged. He stood up and climbed onto the leg of what he and his family still believed to be a tengu, gripped the massive spirit's wrist and began tugging it away from the protection of the porch. He resisted gently at first, but the boy's determined expression made him relent until Benji stood on his knee and out in the rain.
"You see!" the boy beamed, his wet hair slowly falling into his eyes. "It's safe! You're alright."
The Cybertronian flexed his servo experimentally, watching as rain pattered against his palm. "I suppose so," he admitted, and plucked the boy out of the rain before he could be soaked through. As he set Benji back down beside him, the boy couldn't stop grinning even as he was forced to shove wet hair out of his eyes. After some hesitation the Cybertronian returned the gesture with a small smile of his own.
"Benjirou!" a woman called from within the house. "Benjirou!" A moment passed before Benji's mother slid the door open and looked outside. "Benjirou!" she chastised as soon as she spotted him. "What are you doing outside, you'll catch cold!"
Benji grimaced. "I'm alright, Mother."
"Not another word!" she snapped. "Dry yourself inside and go to bed. You've bothered our friend long enough."
The boy sighed but did as his mother said. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said to his friend as he disappeared through the open doorway.
"He was no bother, Fugiye-san," said the Cybertronian, inclining his head, "but I should retire as well. Good night to you and your family."
Fugiye bowed as the enormous yōkai stood and began walking toward the back of the house through the rain.
"-you okay? Drift? Can you hear me?"
Drift shuttered his optics, but showed no other sign of surprise. He looked to the concerned boy floating in the water.
"Yes, Rafael? Is something the matter?"
"You were kind of staring off into space for a while," Rafael explained, consternation coloring his expression. "Are you okay?"
Drift noticed that the boy's concern for him had grabbed the attention of a few of the other children, namely Miko who returned to watching him out of the corner of her eye. He looked back at the brunette below him.
"I'm perfectly fine, Rafael. But you ought to return to your game, the storm will soon arrive and we'll have to leave before then."
"O-okay," Rafael said uncertainly, but did as he was told and swam back over to his friends. He looked back at the silent swordsman on the riverbank once more before rejoining their game.
"Does anyone have any idea of when the bots are coming back?" Miko asked no one in particular as she entered the firehouse dining room, towel drying her hair. Her friends, new and old, were scattered around the room as the rain came down in sheets outside.
Raf and Frankie were watching television on low volume at the dining table, Jack stood over by the couch on his phone, hopefully with the Autobots on the other line, while Cody was hunched over the ComTab on the other side of the table, issuing information to his family through his comm link.
Frankie and Raf looked at her and shrugged, Cody didn't seem to hear her, but Jack finished his call and snapped his cell phone shut.
"Was that the 'Bots?" Miko demanded, nearly pouncing on the teenager.
More than accustomed to Miko and her inability to sit still, Jack didn't react as he answered. "It was Arcee. She said they're not coming back tonight. Fowler got an abandoned plane hangar for them to stay the night but their training's supposed to go on until after tomorrow." He thought of finishing the rest of his partner's message in private, when the younger children wouldn't hear, but decided that they deserved to know. "She said that they're gonna be doing these training exercises frequently. Optimus wants them ready for whatever's coming up."
It was certain that Cody caught the end of Jack's explanation by the way his eyes widened in the light of the ComTab, worry for his four best friends overshadowing anything else. Frankie noticed Cody's distraught expression and her mouth curved into a comforting smile, one which he shakily returned.
Miko's attention had not strayed from Jack. "So what does that mean for us? The 'Bots are out, minus Ratchet, who we won't see for another week if he has his way, and Ironhide, who's babysitting the Dinobots."
Cody looked up from the ComTab. "My family's going to be busy tonight too. The storm's coming down hard but it's not as bad as it could be. They'll probably be out all night."
Miko turned her body to face Jack expectantly, hope and excitement bundled together in her honey colored eyes. Jack sighed and relented. "My mom won't be back until late, either. The hospital staff is small and there are already people hurt from the storm."
No longer able to contain herself, Miko crowed, "Then we've got the place to ourselves!"
Thunder rumbled ominously from outside, seconds after a bright flash of lightning illuminated the area. Frankie shuddered. "Are you sure that's such a good thing?"
"Oh come on, Frankie!" Miko chastised lightly, slinging an arm around the smaller girl's shoulders. "Think of it as an adventure! We've got a storm outside, plenty of junk food that Kade hid from Jack's uptight mom-"
"Hey!"
"-and a highly trained Autobot protecting us," Cody added with confident finality. Miko scowled.
"Why do you guys trust him so much?" she asked them sharply, stepping away from the table. "Bulk told me stories about what he did. He doesn't trust Drift."
Jack decided to interrupt. "Yeah, but Bulkhead doesn't really trust anyone. Anyone besides the original team, that is."
"And maybe we should hear Drift's side," Rafael said, speaking up for the first time. When everyone looked his way he shrugged innocently. "It wouldn't hurt. And it might even clear things up with the other 'Bots. Did you notice that aside from Optimus, Wheeljack, and Ratchet most of the 'Bots won't even talk to him. Maybe if we asked him he would tell us-"
"What tell us his life story, Raf?" Miko cut him off. "Optimus doesn't even trust him enough to let him go on their training mission."
"Actually," Jack piped up. "Arcee said that he's already really well-trained. Like, he almost took off her head because she wasn't on her guard."
Not wanting to be left out, Frankie said, "And he was really polite to me yesterday, Miko. Acted a little weird, but he was nice. Maybe….maybe we should give him a chance?"
"Where is he anyway?" Rafael suddenly asked. "I just realized that he didn't follow us into the garage."
Blank looks went all around before Cody summoned them from the other side of the room, no one having noticed that he'd moved.
"I found him," Cody said solemnly, kneeling against the back of the couch with his ComTab still in hand.
The group joined him swiftly, crowding around Cody. Not even Miko needed to ask where the ninja-bot was as they all spotted him through the window almost immediately.
Drift stood like a ghostly sentinel outside the expansive garage doors, one the two swords he kept at his waist planted firmly in the concrete before him. He didn't move an inch despite the torrents of rain and fierce winds that bent the tops of pine trees just beyond the firehouse.
"How long has he been out there?" Frankie queried softly.
"Probably since we got back," Jack answered grimly. That had been over an hour ago.
The five children were silent for a time, until one by one they looked at the indecisive Asian girl. With a sigh that made it seem like a bigger deal than it actually was, Miko acquiesced.
"Fine. We'll go talk to him."
Drift found himself enjoying the sounds of the storm raging around him.
Since coming to Earth, the changing weather had fascinated him to no end. On Cybertron it was unchangeable, though he could hardly a recall a time when ash didn't fall from the sky and blaster fire had not permeated the air. All they had was the dreaded acid rain, falling without warning and burning through the armor any Cybertronian unfortunate enough to be outside. But on Earth the weather, while largely detrimental to its populous in the forms of tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, and the like, was enchanting to his optics. Nature worked seamlessly to form quiet, picturesque snowfalls and at the same time released its unrelenting might with a blizzard or flood. It was as devastating as it was awe inspiring.
During the time nearly half a year ago when the Earth's weather system completed an utter 180 and made it snow in Hawaii and created tornados in Japan, Drift came to realize once more why the humans feared the true power their planet's ever-changing moods held over them. True, he'd recently learned that it was all Unicron's doing, but the principle remained.
Lightning cracked the sky, illuminating his figure in stark shadows and shapes before being replaced by thunder mere seconds after. The storm was nearly on top of them, Drift concluded. He expected the firehouse to be equipped to handle such tempests, and so guarding the children was one of the few tasks that remained for him.
Drift contacted Nurse Darby when it became evident that the storm would be getting worse before it subsided. If the winds had not abated by the time her shift at the hospital concluded she was to call him and he would be there to retrieve her.
He considered informing the children of this, specifically the nurse's sparkling Jack, but thought better of it. They didn't seem to like him very much and he wouldn't wish to make them uncomfortable by his presence or interruption.
And thus without anything to occupy his processors, he allowed his CPU to wander, as it often did during a storm.
"Do all starships look like this?"
"Some," the Cybertronian answered absently.
"Can you make it fly, like you said?"
"Perhaps."
"What are these containers? They look like the ones in the shed."
Surprisingly, he did not find the organic's presence a nuisance, as he was certain others of his kind would. His endless questions concerning the alien were endearing, and he truly enjoyed answering. He'd never been around sparklings before, not even on Cybertron, where most were killed alongside their Caretakers before they stopped being made altogether.
He answered Benjirou's question from beneath one of the command consoles of his ship.
"Those are energon canisters, Benji-kun. They are…what keep me online. Alive, I mean." The endearments and honorifics the humans of this island gave to each other were something else the Cybertronian was quick to copy. Mimicking their language had certainly been simple as well.
"Oh," Benjirou murmured from atop the console. His attention meandered, examining his new friend's ship in awe, surrounded by objects and glowing lights that made little sense to him, and wondered why he refuted their claims that he was one of the gods. He gasped when laying eyes on the Cybertronian's command chair, which he had yet to notice.
Scrambling down onto the massive chair, Benjirou saw that was only a head shorter than the massive circle jutting out from the counter before him, reminding him of a ship's wheel. He could just barely grab the base of it with his small hands.
"Is this how you steer your starship?" he asked eagerly, and his friend's legs, the only part of his visible beneath the strange blinking counter, shifted slightly.
"If you're referring to the steering module, then yes. But my ship's engines were damaged extensively in the crash, and will not-"
As soon as his friend's explanation grew too complicated, Benjirou looked back up the wheel and was instantly entranced by two glowing sigils, one scarlet like his mother's favorite dress and the other a deep blue he had only before seen in the ocean. Jumping to reach, he slapped his palm against the ocean blue sigil.
There was a sound like thunder and the ship lurched backwards violently, sending his friend crashing into the containers of "energon" as Benjirou fell against the back of the chair.
The Cybertronian was on his pedes not even five nanokliks after the engines powered down, rushing over to the command chair with an urgency that surprised him. His human friend leaned against the back of the chair, clearly dazed, but alive.
His systems released a vent in combined relief and exasperation, carefully picking up the boy.
"What were you doing, Benjirou?" he inquired even as he scanned the human for injuries. "Humans are not as durable as Cybertronians, you must know that." He pulled the boy away from his faceplate. "How do you feel?"
Benjirou looked down at his body as if he was almost wondering that himself. "I feel fine. My head hurts a little, but that's all." His head darted back up, worry in his big brown eyes. "I didn't break your starship, did I?"
The Cybertronian shook his head with a small, patient smile. "No, Benji-kun, my ship is alright."
The boy looked relieved. "Oh, good. Mother would've punished me for sure if I broke it."
He chuckled, setting the boy down on the floor. "Do not worry. My ship was already broken." He glanced around the cabin once before training his optics on the human again. "I believe I have done enough work for today. I should return you to your home."
Benjirou groaned but complied. However, they had hardly taken a single step outside when the boy asked to be carried again. The Cybertronian chuckled but consented, and Benjirou rested happily in his palm in no time.
"You have two fine legs to walk on, Benji-kun," he said as they began the long walk down the mountain. "Why ask me to carry you?"
Benjirou craned his head back to look his friend in the optics. "You said that your people last longer than humans, right?"
The Cybertronian shuttered his optics but nodded. "That is correct. Cybertronians can live for hundreds, even millions of years if no one kills us or we run out of energon."
Benjirou nodded firmly, cementing the determination of his next statement. "Then I'm going to live as long as you do, my friend." At the Cybertronian's stunned look, he elaborated with a smile. "So you won't be alone for so long."
Drift nearly shuddered when the memory receded, brought out of his reverie by the sound of one of the garage doors opening.
Looking over his shoulder panels, Drift was surprised to find Rafael, clad in a neon yellow rain jacket, walking out into the downpour.
"Is something wrong, Rafael?" he inquired, concern budding behind his furrowed optical ridges.
The young human wrung his hands in the rain, seemingly unsure of himself as he glanced down at his shoes. When he spoke it was with a surprising clarity.
"No, there's nothing wrong. I was…we were just wondering if you'd like to come inside."
Drift actually shuttered his optics in astonishment at the boy's statement. He didn't comment that it was likely a select few who allowed his presence within the firehouse, with the rest obstinately against it. Not wishing to cause the boy or the others grief, he bowed sincerely.
"Thank you for the offer, Rafael, but I believe it would be better if I stayed out here. I know that I'm not exactly welcome, and that is fine. You should go back inside before you come down with a cold."
Rafael looked stunned by the refusal for many kliks, and he blinked several times behind his rain-speckled glasses.
"No!" he said with sudden vehemence. "It's not like that! We all want to trust you, really, but…" he pushed his sliding glasses back up the bridge of his nose. He continued in a much softer voice. "We actually wanted you to come inside so you could explain... w-what happened to you that made you turn into an Autobot, I mean."
"Really?" Drift asked after a long pause. Something in his expression must have bolstered the boy for he smiled wide.
"Like I said, we want to trust you."
Drift's facial components began to slowly mimic Rafael's expression. "You just need a reason to," he finished for him.
Yōkai - "ghost, phantom, strange apparition". Kind of supernatural monsters in Japanese folklore.
tengu- "heavenly dog". A type of yōkai that Buddhism long held to be disruptive demons/harbingers of war. Their image softened into one of protective, if still dangerous, spirits of the mountains and forests.
source: wikipedia