Drift

It’d been a few days since the cons had been let loose on the streets, but so far Iacon didn’t look any worse for wear. The only real difference was that there were more and more Cybertronians out and about…and more arriving every day. It was getting rowdier…and louder and busier but it felt good too somehow – just to see so many of them gathered together in a place that isn’t a battlefield. But even with all the crowds of new faces cluttering the roads, tracking Rodimus down never got any harder. Apparently, most Cybertronians didn’t fancy a bright, flame-themed color scheme.

It’s towards the outskirts of the city where Drift spots the other bot this time, and he beelines over to him – bearing an eager expression.

“Hey there ‘captain’. You have a second to spare?"

How long has it been? A week? Two? Probably not more than that, but it was getting harder to tell. The cell they’d left him in was surprisingly spacious. It’d be a stretch to call it comfortable, but for a cell on board the Peaceful Tyranny? It was better than you’d expect. His captors had even kept him well stocked with decent energon, although Drift was surprised he managed to keep any of it down.

This was part of their game – that much was obvious. It was no secret that the DJD liked to torture and toy with their targets. They were only keeping him in suspense; making him second guess each time one of them passed by the door. Drift kept on eating since it was obvious they wouldn’t just let him get away with starving to death. And if that was the case, he may as well keep his strength up….may as well…

But for what? So he could try to fight them on his own again? Because that went over so well last time.

Maybe it had just been an inevitability that the DJD would catch him after he left the Lost Light…Maybe he’d done everything he needed to do. He’d kept Rodimus’ secret safe – kept his place as captain secure. Maybe…that was it for him.

He’d lived a long time, after all. He’d been there before the war, fought on both sides of it, and even lived through to see its end. That was more than a lot of Cybertronians could say. But he still wasn’t ready to give it up. Not yet. Not like this…wasting away in some dungeon, waiting for Badge-face and his cronies to come and finish the job.

A slight jostling sound on the outside of the cell interrupts his thoughts. When the door opens, he doesn’t even flinch. The whole stunt had grown old after the first few times and by now he’s just starting to feel tired of it. Only…this time something’s different. This time there’s someone else, someone new with them.

(WARNING: Drug mention, addiction discussion, etc.)

It’s been a month now – a whole month and he’s been completely clean. In retrospect it’s not a long time for a cybertronian, but it’s been an eternity to him. Drift had wanted to quit altogether at first, once he had been sure that he wanted to stop. He’d thought he could handle it.

A few weeks in and he realized that wasn’t going to work; that going cold turkey might just kill him. The withdrawal symptoms had hammered him hard. He changed tactics and slowly tried to wean himself off of every substance his body had become addicted to in the past hundred or so years.

Sometime later and he was finally confident that he could stop entirely; that he could rid himself of his dependency. And he had! A whole month and it had rarely even crossed his mind. Although until now, he’s had other things going on to keep him occupied. War can be a good distraction, if nothing else.

The situation he’s in now is almost comical in its irony. He’d probably find it funnier if he couldn’t already feel himself starting to get jittery. He’s been separated from his squad and the entire region of the planet they’re on is just brimming with all the materials he would need for his old mixing recipes. Drift is positive it’s some sort of test he has to pass in order to put this addiction behind him.

While waiting for his squad to pick him up, he does everything he can think of to turn his mind elsewhere. He goes for a drive, tries a little sword practice and even does some meditating. But no matter what he tries, he can still feel a constant, nagging ITCH in the back of his mind. It’s an all too familiar feeling; one that he knows could escalate soon if things stay the way they are.

Drift’s hands have started shaking and he feels a tight panic in his chest. His vision distorts a little and his surroundings seem to pull away from him. He knows he can get through this, knows he’s strong enough. He doesn’t need it – it’s been a month and he’ll be damned if he’s going to start all over again.

He just wishes someone else was here with him…he wishes Rodimus was here. Drift loathes the idea of appearing weak to Rodimus…but he’s one of the very few autobots who actually know about his addiction. And Rodimus is the only one that Drift feels comfortable enough with to talk about it or to ask for help.

The communicator by his side is silent. It would be so easy to just pick it up and call Rodimus – just to talk to him. Just to help keep himself distracted. But Drift knows that the communicators are connected to every squad member due to the nature of the mission. He can’t stand the thought of anyone listening in to them and he isn’t confident he could keep the shakiness out of his voice anyway.

It won’t matter once the shuttle picks him up. Everyone will be able to see his withdrawal symptoms clear as day. Still, he can’t bring himself to do it. Being an ex-con already gives the autobots plenty of reasons to doubt him, and he doesn’t want to have the label of “addict” slapped next to his name on top of that.

He kneels down on the ground and holds his arms together tightly as the shaking starts to get worse. Keeping his optics shut and his head down, he tries to fill his mind with something, anything, hoping that the tremors will pass.

Name: Your name…defines you. It’s your soul expressed in syllables. (It’s Drift).

Aliases: Formerly Deadlock

Canon: Transformers IDW Continuity

Role: Hero

Species: Cybertronian

Gender: Shonen

Age: At least a thousand years.

Appearance: Robot / Car (MTMTE)

Origin Story:

Early on, Drift was in a “dark place spiritually” – living the high life out on the streets as a grade-A addict. As the decepticons rallied, he was eventually pulled in by their talks of equality and a better Cybertron. Years into the war and “Deadlock” had become known in the ranks of decepticons for his tendency to be both violent and disobedient…Tendencies that made him at-odds with his commanding officer and eventually got him kicked out of the decepticons.

In the time that passed afterwards, Drift went through some major changes. For one thing, he decided that swords were way more badass than guns (enough to carry not 2, but 3 at all times). Perhaps more importantly, he came to realize that the decepticons had lost sight of their original goals and no longer had Cybertron’s best interests at heart. Eventually, Drift would re-align himself with the autobots and spend much of his time trying to prove himself trustworthy.

Sometime later, and Drift was finally assigned a low-key solo mission. The objective was reconnaissance; scanners had picked up what appeared to be a Cybertronian artifact. As he grew closer, Drift narrowed his search down to the planet earth, though not before his something went wrong with his communicator. Days passed without him receiving any reply to his messages to Cybertron. He acquired an earth alt. mode and continued his search to the region of Japan. Upon discovery of the artifact’s location, he identified it as the Phase Shifter and reported to his superiors that it was located in a heavily populated area. Still not receiving any answer, he decided to remain on standby for the time being. He passes his days studying the humans, exploring the limits of solitude, honing his skills as a swordsman and watching anime.


Personality:

Since joining the autobots, Drift’s spiritual awareness has re-awakened and he’s not shy about vocalizing it. Although some might describe him as something of a hippy…his violent behavior from his days in the decepticons never completely left him. He’s quick to strike down potential threats to the point where it seems like he’s looking for them.

Ultimately, what’s really important to Drift is the greater good for all of Cybertron. He will fight to uphold his goals, even resorting to self-sacrifice if need be. To individuals that he truly respects or cares for, he can be generous, eager to impress, and willing to give them anything of his that they might need or want.

Differences from Canon: Largely the same as the IDW ongoing. His size has been scaled down to around 9 feet and he has been given a holomatter avatar. Past relationships are being kept vague for the time being.

Power Level: A

Powers: Two regular swords and a Great Sword that draws from the energy of his spark. Transformation into a high-speed vehicle. Cybertronian spiritual bullshit.

Team Affiliation: Autobots.

1st Person Sample:

Day 1: Drift here. I’ve arrived safely on the surface of the planet in a secluded area…Going to work on hiding the ship ASAP but for now it looks like all the other reports were right; the main species, the humans, are all small and organic. Also confirmed that they have compatible vehicles, I’m still scanning for a suitable disguise. Once all the preparations are finished, I’ll start scouting the area.

Day 3: The search zone is bigger than we anticipated, but I’ve started narrowing it down. Haven’t come across anything major so far. I’ll send updates as I go.

Day 7: Hey, HQ? I’ve been waiting a while for a reply…and…well, still haven’t gotten anything on my end? Is uh…is everything okay back there? Could you just let me know if you’re getting these?

Day 8: Alright well I still haven’t gotten anything but I thought you’d want to know that I’m starting to pick up some stronger signals. I’m sure I’m getting closer. The energy around here is strengthening, so I must be on the right track.

Day 10: Really guys? Why did you want me to send these reports back if no one’s going to answer?

Day 10, Message 2: Is this some kind of prank? This is a prank, isn’t it? Ha-ha, let’s pick on the ex-con? Yeah, never thought of that before! Real original. Come on, just…just say something already! Just say acknowledged, dammit! ACKNOWLEDGED!

Day 11: Time to get serious, ok? I found the artifact. We were right, it’s of cybertronian origin…problem is, the humans know about it. I’m not sure if they know what it does, but they swarm around the damn thing. Not sure if I’ll be able to get to it without being spotted. Should I hold position here?

Day 12: Guys, I’m getting worried. There’s joking around and then there’s taking things too far. I’m on standby for now but I can’t wait around here too long! I’m pretty close to civilization…I’m bound to get spotted sooner or later. I can send you the coordinates if you want, but I’m going to wait for confirmation that the line isn’t compromised.

Day 15: Still haven’t gotten anything from you HQ…on the slim chance that you’re trying to message me back and I’m just not getting the replies. I’ve had to move further away for now. I’m trying to study the humans to see if it’ll give me any idea on what move to make. You know, they aren’t too bad once you get used to them…They have these…television programs? It’s pretty much the same as an archive video except its…well I’m pretty sure is all just storytelling? And it’s definitely not a recording. They’ve…stylized it somehow. I think it’s called anime?

Day 18: I knew there was something special about the people here. I thought I could sense an aura emanating from them…since they’re so small it was hard to pick up at first, but it’s there alright. Studying the auras of people from other worlds is always so fascinating…you can sense the major differences but they are still very similar! I wonder how aware the humans are of -… A-anyway…I’m doubling back to the artifact’s location. As far as I can tell from the scanner, nothing’s changed.

Prose Sample: http://starscheme.dreamwidth.org/1379.html#comments