Chapter Text
They'd arrived in Australia not two days ago, amidst yawns from tired humans and groans of mecha who'd spent the time in altmode aboard a military cargo plane. Thankfully he'd dropped right into recharge to avoid the Questions. But he knew they'd come eventually. Even the Knights of Light had come, along with their 'baby' Titan, allowing Wing to fly alongside them.
"A Titan...?" Optimus had practically whispered as the gathered mecha - there to see what could be done about the ship as they refused to allow it to fall into human hands- startled as the slow, laborious transformation of a titan into their stocky rootmode began in earnest. Noises were made that no-one had known their race could make as dust and grime sloughed off in great waves as parts shifted and rearranged as a form slowly, painfully - and somewhat drunkenly?- emerged.
It was perhaps a blessing that Grimlock and his crew had been the only prisoners left alive on the ship. Weapons could be folded away into storage, but living creatures could not.
Grimlock nodded with a grunt once the transformation was complete and a very dazed Titan stared down at them with purple optical bands. "Personal Titan of the Lord Primes. Aevum is yours to command, Lord Prime."
Optimus had nodded with all the tired, strut weary stoicism he could muster. "For now we shall focus on returning home."
Drift did not pity him the mire he'd waded into. If Dai Atlas were here... But no. The Knight was dead as far as Drift knew, and he did not want to think about Knights more than he had to; his CPU was starting to ache.
At least now they were on friendly soil and Aevum was parked in a field, for now, as self-repair took over.
Liaisons had come and gone, and he knew he wasn't alone in feeling like his processors had melted from all the legalise, even if Wing and Sideswipe had been in their elements, the fragging glitches. At least Invictus seemed to have settled at last.
The drive to their new home had been nice, even if at some point they'd gained an escort of a 'local' police car, white with blue checker marks and the high visibility markings.
Drift decided he'd get the full story as to why Barricade was with them later.
The location they ended up in was located on the Tamar river. Farmland and a small community on one side, with what the locals called Bell Bay on the other, and yet more farmland. The locals were curious if not friendly and willing to help the humans settle in, though they left the Cybertronians -and that's what they were to the Australian Government and people- alone otherwise.
"We could be with the Decepticons," Driftlock had muttered at some point as they settled into the ranch - farm, not ranch. They didn't have ranches here. Though perhaps it was more of a small base given how much work had been down to it.
"Why'd you say that?" one of the humans asked; he thought it was Carly, one of Sam Witwicky's lifemates.
"The accents and words," he groused, accent half away between native and not. He didn't care. "Double meanings and not speakin' straight."
"Well, don't you have access to the internet?" she shot back, hands on hips as she stared at him.
He dipped his chin in agreement. She had a point.
Later that night as he sat with Wing out in the field in the chilly air of a clear winter's night, Invictus across his lap and near purring as the polishing cloth ran across the blade, he glanced at the Knight. "I'm glad."
"Hm?" Wing blinked, glancing up from polishing his own Sword.
"That you're alive. That he didn't kill you." Like he killed Knucklehead.
"Knights are hard to kill," Wing murmured with what sounded like a smirk.
"Good," Drift grunted even as he scooted closer to the jetformer. "I won't let you die, Wing."
He'd sooner rip his own spark out, thank you very much.